The trip to Champagne began bright and early in the morning as we were going to travel via the TGV, which is the French high speed train, to the town of Reims in the heart of the Champagne region. As some of you may know, only real Champagne comes from the Champagne region in eastern France. Actually, this is not just a label that wine snobs have concocted to feel superior too the unenlightened, but rather in many countries this designation is actually a law. A bubbly wine that is not produced in the Champagne region of France is supposed to bear the name “Sparkling Wine” which detracts heavily from the chic-ness of the drink. Anyhow, if you did not know of the designation of Champagne to certain bottles of bubbly and not others, you do now! I digress though, and will return now to the trip itself.
We traveled across Paris to the Gare de Nord train station to catch out train out of Paris and into the heartland of Champagne production. The TGV was actually quite nice, considerable better than and airplane seat that I have ever sat in. I thought it was unfortunate that the ride to Champagne was only an hour, since that would be so little time to enjoy the train itself! Once the train started accelerating dramatically, I realized that this would be my first ride on a high speed train as well! Unfortunately, even that thought was not enough to keep me awake for long, as I quickly drifted off to sleep. I was awoken abruptly as the conductor announced over the intercom that we would be arriving shortly.
The town of Reims was not nearly as quaint as the town of Chartres, but it was still a nice city. Reims is actually the administrative capital for the region of Champagne, so it is a decent sized city. Our first act within the city was to venture to the cathedral in town. The cathedral in Reims was the site of the coronations of the French kings; so much history had taken place in the very building. As always, I was most impressed with the stained glass within the building. Walking around the ambulatory of the apse of the cathedral is always amazing since each side chapel will have an eloquent work of stained glass. Every gothic cathedral has amazed me in that way.
After heavily inspecting the cathedral, we ventured over to the tourist office to determine in what way we could end up visiting some vineyards as that was one of the primary reasons we decided to visit. We found a private tour that would take us out into several vineyards and culminate with a Champagne tasting! Quickly, we reserved a tour and decided to grab lunch prior to the tour. Deciding that we would rather save money on lunch and buy some Champagne later, we ate at a Kabob restaurant. I love these kinds of places, not only do you get good tasting food, but it is cheap too! Ah, my frugality is showing!
By this point, we all decided that we had already spent too much time in Champagne without having Champagne that we all pitched in and bought a bottle of Brut, which is dry, to share among us. Before drinking any, we head to the rear of the cathedral where the tour guide was to pick us up. Once there, we popped the bottle and gave the Champagne a try. It was quite good, and was extremely satiating after having lunch. After relaxing in the park and finishing off the bottle of Champagne, we noticed that our tour guide showed up.
The tour of the area immediately surrounding Champagne was great. We were able to see multiple vineyards and several small French villages. The tour guide was also extremely informative and knew four different languages. Of course, this made all of us feel inferior. In addition to the vineyards, we also saw an abandoned German bunker from the Second World War, which is another interesting part of the areas history. After seeing many vineyards, the tour guide provided us with traditional wine harvesting clothing. We all tried the clothing on and ventured out in a vineyard and acted as utter tourist with our cameras flashing.
After the tour of the fields concluded, we headed towards a winery where some Champagne was produced! It was quite interesting to see the different stages that each bottle of Champagne must undergo and the stack of bottles that would go on forever. After the tour of the cellar, we emerged into another room where we got to try a bottle of Champagne produced by the very building we were in. It was quite good.
By this point, the tour was over and our tour guide packed us into the van and dropped us off directly at the train station which we were departing from. We all boarded the TGV and were back in Paris within an hour. I would have to say that the trip to Champagne was probably one of my favorite trips of the summer for the vineyards and for the chance to taste different Champagnes. I now have even more of a reason to own a vineyard when I retire someday. Hey, I can dream, right?
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Pratical Nature of Fluency
One of the most interesting experiences as well as one of the most frustrating aspects of my summer here in France is the language barrier. I have experienced countless frustrating moments where I have had to make a fool of myself to get a point across. I really made no attempt to learn the language before my arrival. My logic for this decision was that I would only be in France for a little over two months and mastering a language like French would be impossible prior to my departure.
There have been several moments where I was waiting for the bus or on the street where a random French person would begin a conversation with me or ask me a question. Rather than immediately answering in some form or fashion, I typically would just stare at the questioner blankly. Eventually, I would muster up a broken response, my pitiful excuse for French. “Parlez-vous Anglais?” I would utter this with a horrendous American accent with a grimace on my face. Usually as soon as the first word came out of my mouth, the accent was a dead give away. Often the inquisitive person would scoff and turn away.
Over time though, I have gotten quite used to this typical response from others. I actually thought about how the French must feel when I cannot respond to them. Of course, there hostility is somewhat justified for someone like me that comes to a foreign country for a somewhat extended amount of time. However, the rude responses are often extreme but when I knew I was coming here, I already anticipated the wrath of the Parisians!
However, on the bright side of this experience…I did find out that even with absolutely no training in French before arriving here, I am able to pick up certain words and key phrases. With my basic skills, I can order food and inform people of my lack of mastery of the French language. I have found that with a little bit more French, the responses from people are a little friendlier!
One of the most awkward experiences that has occurred here was the tour of the Schlumberger facilities with many French interns. Although the company generally operates in English, I unfortunately signed up for the tour which all the French speakers has coincidentally also signed up for! While the power point slides of the presentations that were given were in English, the speakers used French exclusively. Needless to say, I spent the majority of the time focused on the slides and closed of my auditory observation abilities.
After a few presentations, the tour of the building commenced. To make matters more awkward, on of the employees recognized that there were two non-French speakers in the audience. After a long duration of French, a brief synopsis of English would be quickly thrown at us. The other non-French speaker and I just felt catered too. I personally felt as if we should have been ignored as the French to English transitions were often rough and seemed to ruin the flow of the presentations.
To summarize what I have been getting at…I will never work in a country where I do not know the language to a fluent level. Overall, with English, I have been able to get by and survive…but the embarrassment and frustration would be too much over a period of more than two months. If you ever consider working in a foreign country (at least one like France where people do not like speaking English), learn one thousand words in the native tongue!
There have been several moments where I was waiting for the bus or on the street where a random French person would begin a conversation with me or ask me a question. Rather than immediately answering in some form or fashion, I typically would just stare at the questioner blankly. Eventually, I would muster up a broken response, my pitiful excuse for French. “Parlez-vous Anglais?” I would utter this with a horrendous American accent with a grimace on my face. Usually as soon as the first word came out of my mouth, the accent was a dead give away. Often the inquisitive person would scoff and turn away.
Over time though, I have gotten quite used to this typical response from others. I actually thought about how the French must feel when I cannot respond to them. Of course, there hostility is somewhat justified for someone like me that comes to a foreign country for a somewhat extended amount of time. However, the rude responses are often extreme but when I knew I was coming here, I already anticipated the wrath of the Parisians!
However, on the bright side of this experience…I did find out that even with absolutely no training in French before arriving here, I am able to pick up certain words and key phrases. With my basic skills, I can order food and inform people of my lack of mastery of the French language. I have found that with a little bit more French, the responses from people are a little friendlier!
One of the most awkward experiences that has occurred here was the tour of the Schlumberger facilities with many French interns. Although the company generally operates in English, I unfortunately signed up for the tour which all the French speakers has coincidentally also signed up for! While the power point slides of the presentations that were given were in English, the speakers used French exclusively. Needless to say, I spent the majority of the time focused on the slides and closed of my auditory observation abilities.
After a few presentations, the tour of the building commenced. To make matters more awkward, on of the employees recognized that there were two non-French speakers in the audience. After a long duration of French, a brief synopsis of English would be quickly thrown at us. The other non-French speaker and I just felt catered too. I personally felt as if we should have been ignored as the French to English transitions were often rough and seemed to ruin the flow of the presentations.
To summarize what I have been getting at…I will never work in a country where I do not know the language to a fluent level. Overall, with English, I have been able to get by and survive…but the embarrassment and frustration would be too much over a period of more than two months. If you ever consider working in a foreign country (at least one like France where people do not like speaking English), learn one thousand words in the native tongue!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Incredible Video and Future Concerns
Ever now and then you find something that really catches your attention. I recently saw this video remix of Radiohead's Nude which I thought was incredible in many ways. Apparently, it was submitted for a remix competition, and since the title of the song has certain connotations, most of the remixes involved birthday suits of some sort! However, this remix took the interpretation of Nude to a more symbolic meaning. The song is constructed with the nude electronic components, most of which are outdated and considered useless to most.
The most interesting part is how the make of the video used an array of hard drives to distort the vocal line of the song. Makes me want to buy a bunch of old hard drives and try this myself! The most similar feat that I have accomplished is circuit bending. With a little rewiring, I turned an old radio into a cacophonous noise machine. Perhaps I will be able to find the device and film the noise that I can produce with it...it is quite amazing! Anyhow, without any more digressions, here is the remix of Radiohead's Nude:
Like I said, the ingenuity in the creation of this video is amazing and it brings lots to mind. Maybe I can run with the metaphor that I was leading into earlier...the notion that the old electronics, though nude and once forgotten, have found an amazing reuse. There are a lot of aspects of the modern culture that have become incredibly wasteful and inconsiderate. With the nearly exponential growth in technology, people need to ponder their effect on the environment.
I make note specifically of electronics because there is a growing fear of shortage of certain elements which are crucial to the electronics industry! What kind of world would we live in with a lack of gadgets! Both hafnium, which is used in transistors as a gate insulator, and gallium which is a crucial element in LEDs are expected to dwindle in supply in the next decades. Be careful people! Save your electronics, they may be worth a fortune someday!
The most interesting part is how the make of the video used an array of hard drives to distort the vocal line of the song. Makes me want to buy a bunch of old hard drives and try this myself! The most similar feat that I have accomplished is circuit bending. With a little rewiring, I turned an old radio into a cacophonous noise machine. Perhaps I will be able to find the device and film the noise that I can produce with it...it is quite amazing! Anyhow, without any more digressions, here is the remix of Radiohead's Nude:
Like I said, the ingenuity in the creation of this video is amazing and it brings lots to mind. Maybe I can run with the metaphor that I was leading into earlier...the notion that the old electronics, though nude and once forgotten, have found an amazing reuse. There are a lot of aspects of the modern culture that have become incredibly wasteful and inconsiderate. With the nearly exponential growth in technology, people need to ponder their effect on the environment.
I make note specifically of electronics because there is a growing fear of shortage of certain elements which are crucial to the electronics industry! What kind of world would we live in with a lack of gadgets! Both hafnium, which is used in transistors as a gate insulator, and gallium which is a crucial element in LEDs are expected to dwindle in supply in the next decades. Be careful people! Save your electronics, they may be worth a fortune someday!
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Plan for my First Day Home
As I near the end of my French experience, I am already anticipating my return home. There are many quirks and oddities of the French culture that had not boded well with me and have convinced me that France is not my cup of tea...or coffee! haha. Needless to say, the experience overall I think has been beneficial to me. If anything, I appreciate the life I have in America so much more now. First of all, I will complain a little bit...after my negativeness is spewed out, I will talk about what I am greatly looking forward too!
French culture, though it has provided the world with many great things such as Braille and the Laplace transform, has also proved to be hard to adapt too during a short period of time. Whereas in the United States, where coffee breaks are short and often are taken at your desk...here they are taken often and last for quite some time! Although I do not mind the length of the coffee break, the frequency is a little surprising. I often wonder how a country can operate with people taking breaks so often!
Another aspect of my life here that bothers me to no end is the mass transit system! Do not get me wrong! I am all for environmental friendliness, and I have done research in the area, but the shear quantity of people that ride the buses warrant additional capacity! Never in my life have I been so packed into a tight area with people all around me. I have been in some very tight spots before, but since I have to stand in this situation for 30 minutes to get to work, it is quite annoying. Typically this happens twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon. Needless to say, I actually prefer to walk even though it is nearly three miles to work.
However, not everything here is bad. I just like to complain and I suppose I should not. I have a great opportunity here, and should not take it for granted. The minor quirks just strike a nerve sometimes and today I felt like ranting about them! I really am thankful that I was able to have this opportunity and I think I will look back on this as a great experience. Without the support of Stephanie, I do not think I would have ever made it!
On that note, I am extremely excited about my return to Houston! Although my family will have moved to Tennessee by that point, I will have a few good days with Stephanie before returning to Austin to move my stuff between two apartments. Stephanie and I have already discussed things that we will do once I am home! :) We will eat Tex-Mex and watch Wall-E! Both will be amazing and just a outright great time with my sweetie! Wall-E is awesome and I want one that dances like this:
Anyhow, although dancing/seizure Wall-E is cool. He is not nearly as amazing as my first full day back in the United States will be. I will continue to look forward to that day and the smiling face of Stephanie!
French culture, though it has provided the world with many great things such as Braille and the Laplace transform, has also proved to be hard to adapt too during a short period of time. Whereas in the United States, where coffee breaks are short and often are taken at your desk...here they are taken often and last for quite some time! Although I do not mind the length of the coffee break, the frequency is a little surprising. I often wonder how a country can operate with people taking breaks so often!
Another aspect of my life here that bothers me to no end is the mass transit system! Do not get me wrong! I am all for environmental friendliness, and I have done research in the area, but the shear quantity of people that ride the buses warrant additional capacity! Never in my life have I been so packed into a tight area with people all around me. I have been in some very tight spots before, but since I have to stand in this situation for 30 minutes to get to work, it is quite annoying. Typically this happens twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon. Needless to say, I actually prefer to walk even though it is nearly three miles to work.
However, not everything here is bad. I just like to complain and I suppose I should not. I have a great opportunity here, and should not take it for granted. The minor quirks just strike a nerve sometimes and today I felt like ranting about them! I really am thankful that I was able to have this opportunity and I think I will look back on this as a great experience. Without the support of Stephanie, I do not think I would have ever made it!
On that note, I am extremely excited about my return to Houston! Although my family will have moved to Tennessee by that point, I will have a few good days with Stephanie before returning to Austin to move my stuff between two apartments. Stephanie and I have already discussed things that we will do once I am home! :) We will eat Tex-Mex and watch Wall-E! Both will be amazing and just a outright great time with my sweetie! Wall-E is awesome and I want one that dances like this:
Anyhow, although dancing/seizure Wall-E is cool. He is not nearly as amazing as my first full day back in the United States will be. I will continue to look forward to that day and the smiling face of Stephanie!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A Tourist Pilgrimage
Due to the fact that I am currently residing in Paris (well technically a small city that has been enveloped by Paris), I figured I should at some point see the sites of the city that this place is renown for! If I were to inform someone that I had a residence in Paris and somehow never managed to climb the Eiffel Tower, I would deserve to be pummeled! However, you will find out that I have prevented any need for lambasting!
As always, when we want to visit extremely popular tourist destinations, we leave early in the morning to attempt to avoid the rush of photo hungry tourists. However, when visiting such sites as the Eiffel Tower, the crowds cannot be avoided.
Eventually, we got out of the apartment and onto the metro to head toward the Eiffel tower. Inevitably, we had to transfer between metros, but typically this is not a hassle. The second metro we had to take was unique because it emerged from the darkness onto an elevated track that circled around the Eiffel tower from a distance. However, we accidentally took the wrong stop, and had to walk a bit further to get to the tower, but that did not hinder or dampen our spirits. With my digital SLR around my neck, looking like the typical tourist, we set off toward the tower!
Upon arrival underneath the tower, we were immediately bombarded with trinket salesmen whom we warded away! We waded our way through the crowds to the ticket sales to reach the tower top. We decided to take the stairs to the middle floor rather than the elevator to feel as if we earned the view from the tower! The climb was quite arduous but well worth the effort! The trip to the very top of the tower however was restricted to using the elevator only. We decided to pay for the trip since we had already made the effort to reach the middle section of the tower. Why would we Anyhow, the elevator ride was pretty cool, but a bit scary...I was pressed right up against the door and you could see straight down! The view from the top was very impressive and you could basically see the entire city!
Once at the summit of the tower, I put my telephoto lens on and was able to get some amazing shots from the top of some of the famous landmarks in Paris. I managed to get a wonderful shot of the Louvre and Centre Pompidue right behind each other. Additionally, at the summit of the tower, there was a single vendor stand. If one felt like splurging, there was Champagne stand from which you could purchase a single glass of Champagne for an obscene amount of money!
Once we had enjoyed the tower as much as possible, we began our decent. Compared to the initial climb, the decent seemed nearly instantaneous! We briskly jogged down hundreds of stairs until we were firmly planted on the ground once more. At this point, we decided to head towards the Arch d'Triumph which is only short walk from the Eiffel Tower. We noticed the prices on many objects in this area, as this part of town is one of the priciest. Everything from food to clothing was extremely expensive! Eventually, from behind the buildings the Arch emerged. The main obstacle to reach the arch was the De Gualle square, but fortunately an underground route was constructed to the central arch.
Upon arrival to the victory arch, I was immediately struck with the names of all the battles that France had been involved in. Celebrating victory in war also makes you question the initial motives of the war in the first place. However, I soon stopped pondering over the morality of war and was surprised to learn that there would be a veteran's ceremony at the arch that very day! The celebration was called the Ceremony of the 1000 flags. The amazing aspect of this ceremony was that the Champs Elysees was closed down for a bit for the 1000 veterans to march down carrying French flags. Overall, the ceremony was quite impressive. A majority of the veterans were in World War II uniforms which made the event all the more amazing.
Overall, my visit to the major tourist locations in Paris was quite exciting. However, I do believe that I might have gotten sick as a result of coming in contact with the thousands and thousands of people that were closely concentrated that day. Either that or the sheer amount of walking weaken my immune system and resulted in me becoming sick none the less! None the less, I am extremely glad that I was able to visit both of these famous sites and experience the true nature of the tourist!
As always, when we want to visit extremely popular tourist destinations, we leave early in the morning to attempt to avoid the rush of photo hungry tourists. However, when visiting such sites as the Eiffel Tower, the crowds cannot be avoided.
Eventually, we got out of the apartment and onto the metro to head toward the Eiffel tower. Inevitably, we had to transfer between metros, but typically this is not a hassle. The second metro we had to take was unique because it emerged from the darkness onto an elevated track that circled around the Eiffel tower from a distance. However, we accidentally took the wrong stop, and had to walk a bit further to get to the tower, but that did not hinder or dampen our spirits. With my digital SLR around my neck, looking like the typical tourist, we set off toward the tower!
Upon arrival underneath the tower, we were immediately bombarded with trinket salesmen whom we warded away! We waded our way through the crowds to the ticket sales to reach the tower top. We decided to take the stairs to the middle floor rather than the elevator to feel as if we earned the view from the tower! The climb was quite arduous but well worth the effort! The trip to the very top of the tower however was restricted to using the elevator only. We decided to pay for the trip since we had already made the effort to reach the middle section of the tower. Why would we Anyhow, the elevator ride was pretty cool, but a bit scary...I was pressed right up against the door and you could see straight down! The view from the top was very impressive and you could basically see the entire city!
Once at the summit of the tower, I put my telephoto lens on and was able to get some amazing shots from the top of some of the famous landmarks in Paris. I managed to get a wonderful shot of the Louvre and Centre Pompidue right behind each other. Additionally, at the summit of the tower, there was a single vendor stand. If one felt like splurging, there was Champagne stand from which you could purchase a single glass of Champagne for an obscene amount of money!
Once we had enjoyed the tower as much as possible, we began our decent. Compared to the initial climb, the decent seemed nearly instantaneous! We briskly jogged down hundreds of stairs until we were firmly planted on the ground once more. At this point, we decided to head towards the Arch d'Triumph which is only short walk from the Eiffel Tower. We noticed the prices on many objects in this area, as this part of town is one of the priciest. Everything from food to clothing was extremely expensive! Eventually, from behind the buildings the Arch emerged. The main obstacle to reach the arch was the De Gualle square, but fortunately an underground route was constructed to the central arch.
Upon arrival to the victory arch, I was immediately struck with the names of all the battles that France had been involved in. Celebrating victory in war also makes you question the initial motives of the war in the first place. However, I soon stopped pondering over the morality of war and was surprised to learn that there would be a veteran's ceremony at the arch that very day! The celebration was called the Ceremony of the 1000 flags. The amazing aspect of this ceremony was that the Champs Elysees was closed down for a bit for the 1000 veterans to march down carrying French flags. Overall, the ceremony was quite impressive. A majority of the veterans were in World War II uniforms which made the event all the more amazing.
Overall, my visit to the major tourist locations in Paris was quite exciting. However, I do believe that I might have gotten sick as a result of coming in contact with the thousands and thousands of people that were closely concentrated that day. Either that or the sheer amount of walking weaken my immune system and resulted in me becoming sick none the less! None the less, I am extremely glad that I was able to visit both of these famous sites and experience the true nature of the tourist!
Friday, June 13, 2008
A Thought Progression on Free Will
First of all, I would like to apologize to all the readers of the blog (which I know is minimal), but I have been exceptionally indolent in my updates. I have a partially written blog entry in which I describe my visit to the Eiffel Tower and the Arch d’Triumph. Once I feel up to completing the records of my wanderings, I will continue to add them to the site. Since I have concluded my heart felt apologies, I will begin my personal introspection. I will admit before I begin that this post may be a tad bit stream of consciousness in the composition, but that will be all the more interesting for you, the reader!
Right before I departed for France, Stephanie provided me with a book on the subject of free will to browse while I was in France. Stephanie also provides me with a great friendship and love that I am so very thankful for! <3 I love her with my whole heart, though I digress. ;) In addition to the book on free will, I brought a few novels by Franz Kafka and Albert Camus. Needless to say, my reading list for the duration of my stay in France has been somewhat philosophical.
To begin, though I had contemplated the subject of free will in my own mind prior to my reading of the book on free will, I found out that there were many ideas that I had never considered or pondered on. Prior to this summer, I would have claimed to be a staunch supporter of pure free will…and in philosophical terms I would have been labeled as a libertarian (not in the political sense, mind you!). Though once I began to expose myself deeply to the subject of free will, I began to think about the implications of a pure free will society.
Although in this type of society we would be inextricably connected to our actions, our thought process and decisions would all be rendered as random. This is a result of the deterministic reality of making a decision. Once one has thought about a choice for awhile, one will almost never decide against the best option randomly. If I were able to relive the past week, would I indeed live the week in a similar manner. Of course there is chance for slight deviations of the week, perhaps if I had tripped or some neurons fired slightly different due to slightly perturbed action potentials in my brain. Overall though, my thought processes would have been the same, I would not have decided to skip a day of work to enjoy Paris. That is not the type of person I am.
So that brings us to the issue of determinism. At this point, is everything determined for everyone…for all time? Obviously, this cannot be the case due to the fact that we have quantum dynamics involved in this universe! The events of minute particles are probabilistic and not determined by anything. If we were to rewind time and exist once again during this time period, the particles would still have the same probabilistic state. I would not be able to predict the location of a particle, even though I was reliving the same experience!
Personally for me, the destruction of absolute free will within my mine has been a wonderful enlightenment. Not longer will I ponder upon the human predicament and superimpose free will upon others. What I believe people are presented with (in my amateur philosopher mind) is a hybrid of free will and determinism, what is called soft determinism or compatibilism. I am not distraught by the lack of ultimate free will, and in fact I relish the idea that the negative implications of pure free will are unlikely. However, I do admit that I have a good bit more pondering to manage on this subject as I have only begun to open the doors to the ideas of free will!
For a lighter note, Dinosaur Comics puts the argument nicely and perhaps the comic should have just been my entire entry. I do admit that I will continue to think about free will and other philosophical ideas. Perhaps my next random philosophical blog post will be over ontology or perhaps my interpretations of existence! Until then, I will keep thinking!
Right before I departed for France, Stephanie provided me with a book on the subject of free will to browse while I was in France. Stephanie also provides me with a great friendship and love that I am so very thankful for! <3 I love her with my whole heart, though I digress. ;) In addition to the book on free will, I brought a few novels by Franz Kafka and Albert Camus. Needless to say, my reading list for the duration of my stay in France has been somewhat philosophical.
To begin, though I had contemplated the subject of free will in my own mind prior to my reading of the book on free will, I found out that there were many ideas that I had never considered or pondered on. Prior to this summer, I would have claimed to be a staunch supporter of pure free will…and in philosophical terms I would have been labeled as a libertarian (not in the political sense, mind you!). Though once I began to expose myself deeply to the subject of free will, I began to think about the implications of a pure free will society.
Although in this type of society we would be inextricably connected to our actions, our thought process and decisions would all be rendered as random. This is a result of the deterministic reality of making a decision. Once one has thought about a choice for awhile, one will almost never decide against the best option randomly. If I were able to relive the past week, would I indeed live the week in a similar manner. Of course there is chance for slight deviations of the week, perhaps if I had tripped or some neurons fired slightly different due to slightly perturbed action potentials in my brain. Overall though, my thought processes would have been the same, I would not have decided to skip a day of work to enjoy Paris. That is not the type of person I am.
So that brings us to the issue of determinism. At this point, is everything determined for everyone…for all time? Obviously, this cannot be the case due to the fact that we have quantum dynamics involved in this universe! The events of minute particles are probabilistic and not determined by anything. If we were to rewind time and exist once again during this time period, the particles would still have the same probabilistic state. I would not be able to predict the location of a particle, even though I was reliving the same experience!
Personally for me, the destruction of absolute free will within my mine has been a wonderful enlightenment. Not longer will I ponder upon the human predicament and superimpose free will upon others. What I believe people are presented with (in my amateur philosopher mind) is a hybrid of free will and determinism, what is called soft determinism or compatibilism. I am not distraught by the lack of ultimate free will, and in fact I relish the idea that the negative implications of pure free will are unlikely. However, I do admit that I have a good bit more pondering to manage on this subject as I have only begun to open the doors to the ideas of free will!
For a lighter note, Dinosaur Comics puts the argument nicely and perhaps the comic should have just been my entire entry. I do admit that I will continue to think about free will and other philosophical ideas. Perhaps my next random philosophical blog post will be over ontology or perhaps my interpretations of existence! Until then, I will keep thinking!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A Visit to Versailles
I awoke bright and early after my first week at work on a Saturday, though I am accustom to sleeping in back home. I knew that I would regret not waking up today as we were going to see Versailles, which many of the French I have met said was a necessity to visit. I was awake and ready to go and waited for every one else that was coming to join so that we could leave. As I had checked the weather the day before, I hoped dearly that it would not be too rainy during the course of the day, but I had surmised to bring my umbrella just in case.
To get to Versailles, we had to take several metros to eventually get to the RER station which departed toward the west of Paris. As we were meeting another person at the station, we were slightly disheartened to discover that a train to Versailles was leaving in ten minutes while we stood in a fifteen minute long line. None the less, it turned out in our favor when we discovered that there was a ticket deal in which you could buy a two way train ticket and an admissions ticket to Versailles for a reasonable price! That in itself was worth the wait. Once we had all purchased RER tickets, we awaited the arrival of the train that would whisk us away on the thirty minute journey to Versailles.
The train ride was similar to the trip to Chartres as I quickly drifted into a slumber, and that the scenery was nothing ideal for gazing upon. The few times I glanced out the window, I spotted several old apartment buildings and a few fields. Being just another suburb of greater Paris, Versailles was almost just a continuation of the city. The train was filled with others like us, most speaking in English, visiting the city for the palace. Eventually, we arrived and disembarked from the train.
The area of the city which we arrived was obviously oriented towards tourists as there was a McDonalds immediately across the street, with a few English signs. We wanted to get some food but didn’t want to buy expensive small things. Navid and I ventured into the non-touristy part of town in search of cheap sandwiches which we could eat once we were in the Versailles gardens. After walking a few blocks and having doubts, we spotted a quaint little shop that sold sandwiches and baked goods. They even had a package deal where you could buy a sandwich, a drink and a baked good. We bought plenty of food for everyone! I, myself, ended up getting a cheese and nut pizza, which was good.
Eventually, we met back with the others and entered into the palace gardens. I was immediately struck with the beauty of the entire place. Not only were the gardens amazing, the fountains were astounding. The French government actually only runs the fountains on the weekends, during certain parts of the day, due to the great expense of running them. We were very lucky that upon entering the gardens, the fountains were already activated!
Needless to say, taking all of the amazing visual sites in was a tedious process! Take into account that this was only part of the entire complex! All of the picture taking and visual intake was making us all hungry, and eventually we found a nice bench near one of the largest fountains to enjoy our lunch. As I previously mentioned, the pizza I purchased was quite good albeit a bit much for me to finish by myself. Some little brown birds joined in and helped to finish off my meal!
Upon completion of our meals, we ventured out into the gardens themselves, and again I was amazed at the opulence of the complex. The geometries and symmetries that prevailed through out the complex were stunning. Each area of the garden often contained another fountain or more statues. Apparently, originally the complex had 20,000 employees to maintain the property! I wonder if they still have anywhere near that amount to help keep the place in working order!
Another area that we visited in the complex was Marie Antoinette’s English garden and village. She had here own little village to escape from the castle and to enjoy herself! The village was quaint but you could tell which house she stayed in. Obviously the largest and best constructed abode for the queen! Her house had a shingle roof while the others had thatched roofs. Needless to say, her escape village was quite nice!
Eventually we made it back to the palace proper and took a tour of the interior. Again, the interior was spectacular. Certain areas of the palace interior were amazing. The Hall of Mirrors and the palace cathedral were both astounding sights! Other interesting parts of the castle interior were the clocks! One of the most amazing clocks I have ever seen was constructed in the 1700’s, had a second hand, could tell moon phases, and the position of the planets to some extent (according to Copernicus)! A magnificent work, if I say so myself!
By this point, we were all pretty tired of walking and decided to head back. Again, I soon as the train departed from the station, I had drifted into sleep. I swear, I could never sleep in a car or airplane before…I suppose I am growing out of my insomnia? I suppose I will find out!
By the time we had gotten into Paris, it was already late and Navid and I set off to find some food to eat. We were wandering around the Notre Dame area and eventually found a gyro place tucked into one of the side streets. I ordered a gyro baguette, which was pretty tasty. I have been craving them ever since! At this point it was late, and we finally returned to the apartment where I promptly fell asleep!
To get to Versailles, we had to take several metros to eventually get to the RER station which departed toward the west of Paris. As we were meeting another person at the station, we were slightly disheartened to discover that a train to Versailles was leaving in ten minutes while we stood in a fifteen minute long line. None the less, it turned out in our favor when we discovered that there was a ticket deal in which you could buy a two way train ticket and an admissions ticket to Versailles for a reasonable price! That in itself was worth the wait. Once we had all purchased RER tickets, we awaited the arrival of the train that would whisk us away on the thirty minute journey to Versailles.
The train ride was similar to the trip to Chartres as I quickly drifted into a slumber, and that the scenery was nothing ideal for gazing upon. The few times I glanced out the window, I spotted several old apartment buildings and a few fields. Being just another suburb of greater Paris, Versailles was almost just a continuation of the city. The train was filled with others like us, most speaking in English, visiting the city for the palace. Eventually, we arrived and disembarked from the train.
The area of the city which we arrived was obviously oriented towards tourists as there was a McDonalds immediately across the street, with a few English signs. We wanted to get some food but didn’t want to buy expensive small things. Navid and I ventured into the non-touristy part of town in search of cheap sandwiches which we could eat once we were in the Versailles gardens. After walking a few blocks and having doubts, we spotted a quaint little shop that sold sandwiches and baked goods. They even had a package deal where you could buy a sandwich, a drink and a baked good. We bought plenty of food for everyone! I, myself, ended up getting a cheese and nut pizza, which was good.
Eventually, we met back with the others and entered into the palace gardens. I was immediately struck with the beauty of the entire place. Not only were the gardens amazing, the fountains were astounding. The French government actually only runs the fountains on the weekends, during certain parts of the day, due to the great expense of running them. We were very lucky that upon entering the gardens, the fountains were already activated!
Needless to say, taking all of the amazing visual sites in was a tedious process! Take into account that this was only part of the entire complex! All of the picture taking and visual intake was making us all hungry, and eventually we found a nice bench near one of the largest fountains to enjoy our lunch. As I previously mentioned, the pizza I purchased was quite good albeit a bit much for me to finish by myself. Some little brown birds joined in and helped to finish off my meal!
Upon completion of our meals, we ventured out into the gardens themselves, and again I was amazed at the opulence of the complex. The geometries and symmetries that prevailed through out the complex were stunning. Each area of the garden often contained another fountain or more statues. Apparently, originally the complex had 20,000 employees to maintain the property! I wonder if they still have anywhere near that amount to help keep the place in working order!
Another area that we visited in the complex was Marie Antoinette’s English garden and village. She had here own little village to escape from the castle and to enjoy herself! The village was quaint but you could tell which house she stayed in. Obviously the largest and best constructed abode for the queen! Her house had a shingle roof while the others had thatched roofs. Needless to say, her escape village was quite nice!
Eventually we made it back to the palace proper and took a tour of the interior. Again, the interior was spectacular. Certain areas of the palace interior were amazing. The Hall of Mirrors and the palace cathedral were both astounding sights! Other interesting parts of the castle interior were the clocks! One of the most amazing clocks I have ever seen was constructed in the 1700’s, had a second hand, could tell moon phases, and the position of the planets to some extent (according to Copernicus)! A magnificent work, if I say so myself!
By this point, we were all pretty tired of walking and decided to head back. Again, I soon as the train departed from the station, I had drifted into sleep. I swear, I could never sleep in a car or airplane before…I suppose I am growing out of my insomnia? I suppose I will find out!
By the time we had gotten into Paris, it was already late and Navid and I set off to find some food to eat. We were wandering around the Notre Dame area and eventually found a gyro place tucked into one of the side streets. I ordered a gyro baguette, which was pretty tasty. I have been craving them ever since! At this point it was late, and we finally returned to the apartment where I promptly fell asleep!
Monday, June 9, 2008
A First Week Abroad
Well, my first week of work in a foreign country was interesting. I cannot my enjoyment of work fully as it had its ups and downs, starting off down and trending upwards toward the end. Compared to my beginning of work on Friday where I had all sorts of crazy things happen, Monday was exceedingly calm. Having bought a bus pass on Sunday, I stepped confidentially onto the bus Monday morning. Well, rather I crammed onto the crowed bus as another anonymous face. I got to work quite early and was the first person in my office space. Heading the other interns’ suggestions, I brought my own laptop knowing full well that I probably would not get a computer on the second day of work.
After a few days, I realized how I had missed a fast internet connection…glorious broadband! I checked numerous news sites and my RSS feed which numbered over 1000+ posts. I surmised that I would never be able to catch up on my internet readings due to the shear amount I had missed over a four day period. However, over the period of the week during lulls in work, I was slowly able to diminish my deficit of reading! I also wrote detailed e-mails to both my family and to Stephanie, as my boss was not in the office yet.
Finally, I was able to contact my boss on Monday and find out that my project was going to center around welding. However, details of my project were to be provided to me through another employee. I thought nothing of this, as I was used to easily contacting fellow employees via e-mails or even just dropping by their office. Little did I know on Monday, was that I would spend a good few days contacting this employee just to learn about details about my project. My boss would continue to give me papers to read over the period of the week before I was able to contact the other guy. Needless to say, I was not pleased at all about reading myriad papers on welding, when in fact I did not really need to read the papers in the end.
Anyhow, bulk of the excitement that I found in work for the first week was the visits to the cafeteria during lunch. That statement sounds like something an elementary student would say when asked what their favorite class was, but for me it was true! The food was delicious compared to any cafeteria food that I have ever had. So much so that one of the questions that Stephanie asks me everyday is what I had for lunch! And though it is probably not ideal for my health, the dessert choices are always so amazing that I got one every day during the week.
By Tuesday afternoon, I had finally received my computer which I quickly began installing all the necessary programs. Unlike last summer where I was doing a whole assortment of tasks ranging from CAD and LabVIEW to experimental procedures, this summer my tasks are strictly on a single computer using basic Office. With my own computer at work, I would no longer need to lug my massive “crappy lappy” or “Think Tank” to work! Haha.
By Wednesday afternoon, I had finally contacted the employee that would inform me further of my project. At last, I would no longer just be reading articles, I thought! I found out that my project was not nearly as exciting as my previous project during the past summer was. Not only was there less freedom on the execution of the project, there is not much I will learn during the course of the project. Even to this day, I am disappointed by this fact. My project is ultimately collecting internal and external files and information about welding to compile for an information database that will be available for all of the employees. Though the work I do will be utilized, which I am pleased about, I am not pleased with the work in general. I view it as a waste of a degree, haha. I think I will be able to tolerate the work over the course of the summer however. Or at least, I hope I can! Haha.
Also during the week, I was finally able to collect some groceries after work. This was pretty important, as I did not want to pay for eating out every night here. The prices are expensive for many food items! I ended up paying 9.50 euros for a single salad for dinner one night…which with the exchange rate was nearly $15.00!! I was pleased to buy my food for the week for 11 euros! I bought sliced meats (ham and salami) and bread for sandwiches and cereal to eat as well (Crousty 2 choco, haha).
Most days after work, I was so tired I felt like doing absolutely nothing but relaxing. On Thursday night, I went with some interns and some French people from work to a bar/café to have drinks after work. Since the place was a block away from my apartment, I couldn’t refuse. I has a delicious Belgian ale (Leffe) from the tap, so that made the effort worth it! Other than that, I came back to the apartment to relax.
Come Friday, I was exhausted from the days at work. I just stayed in the apartment and played cards till the evening. I knew I would have to sleep eventually as I would spend the next day at Versailles! I will cover my exciting visit to Versailles in my next post!
After a few days, I realized how I had missed a fast internet connection…glorious broadband! I checked numerous news sites and my RSS feed which numbered over 1000+ posts. I surmised that I would never be able to catch up on my internet readings due to the shear amount I had missed over a four day period. However, over the period of the week during lulls in work, I was slowly able to diminish my deficit of reading! I also wrote detailed e-mails to both my family and to Stephanie, as my boss was not in the office yet.
Finally, I was able to contact my boss on Monday and find out that my project was going to center around welding. However, details of my project were to be provided to me through another employee. I thought nothing of this, as I was used to easily contacting fellow employees via e-mails or even just dropping by their office. Little did I know on Monday, was that I would spend a good few days contacting this employee just to learn about details about my project. My boss would continue to give me papers to read over the period of the week before I was able to contact the other guy. Needless to say, I was not pleased at all about reading myriad papers on welding, when in fact I did not really need to read the papers in the end.
Anyhow, bulk of the excitement that I found in work for the first week was the visits to the cafeteria during lunch. That statement sounds like something an elementary student would say when asked what their favorite class was, but for me it was true! The food was delicious compared to any cafeteria food that I have ever had. So much so that one of the questions that Stephanie asks me everyday is what I had for lunch! And though it is probably not ideal for my health, the dessert choices are always so amazing that I got one every day during the week.
By Tuesday afternoon, I had finally received my computer which I quickly began installing all the necessary programs. Unlike last summer where I was doing a whole assortment of tasks ranging from CAD and LabVIEW to experimental procedures, this summer my tasks are strictly on a single computer using basic Office. With my own computer at work, I would no longer need to lug my massive “crappy lappy” or “Think Tank” to work! Haha.
By Wednesday afternoon, I had finally contacted the employee that would inform me further of my project. At last, I would no longer just be reading articles, I thought! I found out that my project was not nearly as exciting as my previous project during the past summer was. Not only was there less freedom on the execution of the project, there is not much I will learn during the course of the project. Even to this day, I am disappointed by this fact. My project is ultimately collecting internal and external files and information about welding to compile for an information database that will be available for all of the employees. Though the work I do will be utilized, which I am pleased about, I am not pleased with the work in general. I view it as a waste of a degree, haha. I think I will be able to tolerate the work over the course of the summer however. Or at least, I hope I can! Haha.
Also during the week, I was finally able to collect some groceries after work. This was pretty important, as I did not want to pay for eating out every night here. The prices are expensive for many food items! I ended up paying 9.50 euros for a single salad for dinner one night…which with the exchange rate was nearly $15.00!! I was pleased to buy my food for the week for 11 euros! I bought sliced meats (ham and salami) and bread for sandwiches and cereal to eat as well (Crousty 2 choco, haha).
Most days after work, I was so tired I felt like doing absolutely nothing but relaxing. On Thursday night, I went with some interns and some French people from work to a bar/café to have drinks after work. Since the place was a block away from my apartment, I couldn’t refuse. I has a delicious Belgian ale (Leffe) from the tap, so that made the effort worth it! Other than that, I came back to the apartment to relax.
Come Friday, I was exhausted from the days at work. I just stayed in the apartment and played cards till the evening. I knew I would have to sleep eventually as I would spend the next day at Versailles! I will cover my exciting visit to Versailles in my next post!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
A Search for Food
After such an action packed and arduous Friday and Saturday after just arriving in France, I figured it was about time that I take a breather and relax for the day. Rather than waking up bright and early to explore Paris or even Chatillion…I enjoyed the comfort (or lack thereof) of my bed, snoozing my way well into the early afternoon. The
Initially, my plans included buying a bus pass, some groceries and a cell phone…all of which by the end of the day were unrealized! What I did not think about was the day of the week and my location. Although in Austin, Texas where I am accustomed to basically everything imaginable being open 24/7…from food to video rentals to tattoos, in France, only the bare minimum was open. The electronics store closed by the early afternoon, the grocery store was closed by noon, and all other stores were not open at all!
What kind of quandary did I chisel my way into, I wondered. I had no food at that point and no real means of purchasing additional foodstuffs. I began to contemplate my options: of course I could ride the train into Paris and find something to eat, but I wanted to take the day easy and remain in Chatillion to explore. I could also try to get a hold of another one of the interns…but my lack of an operable cell phone made that a daunting task as to my knowledge all the interns had left for the day. My final thought which resonated through my head…there is always McDonalds! And although I had eaten there only two days before, I traveled over to the grand olde institution of Ronald McDonald and partook in a lackluster meal.
Due to my location in the city of Paris, the availability of English speakers is a little bit more sparse, but fortunately ordering at McDonalds was still no problem! I was easily able to order a Big Mac, fries and a drink, which I made large size just in case I would not be able to find dinner. Everyone always wants to know if the McDonalds menu is different in other countries, and I was surprised to see that even in France the menu is nearly identical! Rather than a quarter pounder with cheese, they have a royal with cheese. Oh, but they do provide variation for your French fry choice! Of course there is the classic mikey D’s fries but they also have potatoes wedge type fries. Unfortunately, I did not order them, but I will have to go back one more time to try the wedges out!
After my large meal at the world’s favorite fast food institution, I made my way back to the apartment to relax after such a busy weekend, and jet lag. I stopped by the internet kiosks in the lobby to check my e-mail and to compose a few messages of my own. Due to the ancient nature of the three internet booths, however, it took me about an hour to write a single e-mail to Stephanie. Quite a frustrating task, to say the least, but of course it was well worth the effort. Just typing out what had happened in Chartres to Stephanie was very reliving and soothing.
After sending off the message, I debated upon my activities. I eventually decided that I would begin writing this blog…well not this post, but the first two. I spent a good bit of the afternoon composing and editing my newly found past time of blog posting! On a side note, I have always been off and on with blog writings especially when summer would start. With the new found time on my hands with no school work, I would always attempt to keep a journal online, to no avail though. Perhaps this blog will also go the way of those blogs past, but you never know, but I digress.
With a decent amount of time spend composing blog entrees, I decided once again to check my e-mails on the internet kiosks. To my surprise, Stephanie was online and I was able to chat with her for a bit. She had also written a wonderful response to my post which was equal in length and a great read. Again, her written and chatting help cheer me up a great deal prior to the loaming work week (which I will detail in a later post :P ).
Once again, my stomach began to rumble and remind me that it too has a mind of its own. Although I did eat a large lunch, it did not suffice to get me all the way through the night. I considered eating a McDonalds again but mentally pictured the documentary “Supersize Me” and a bloated Jonathan walking around. I traveled over to the local vending machines within the apartment and browsed the selection. Though they had no full meals, I purchased the largest item in the machine. For my dinner that night, I ended up eating two little cake pieces and drinking a coke and then quickly fell asleep. I was able to survive till the next day, but I will save that for the next entrée!
Initially, my plans included buying a bus pass, some groceries and a cell phone…all of which by the end of the day were unrealized! What I did not think about was the day of the week and my location. Although in Austin, Texas where I am accustomed to basically everything imaginable being open 24/7…from food to video rentals to tattoos, in France, only the bare minimum was open. The electronics store closed by the early afternoon, the grocery store was closed by noon, and all other stores were not open at all!
What kind of quandary did I chisel my way into, I wondered. I had no food at that point and no real means of purchasing additional foodstuffs. I began to contemplate my options: of course I could ride the train into Paris and find something to eat, but I wanted to take the day easy and remain in Chatillion to explore. I could also try to get a hold of another one of the interns…but my lack of an operable cell phone made that a daunting task as to my knowledge all the interns had left for the day. My final thought which resonated through my head…there is always McDonalds! And although I had eaten there only two days before, I traveled over to the grand olde institution of Ronald McDonald and partook in a lackluster meal.
Due to my location in the city of Paris, the availability of English speakers is a little bit more sparse, but fortunately ordering at McDonalds was still no problem! I was easily able to order a Big Mac, fries and a drink, which I made large size just in case I would not be able to find dinner. Everyone always wants to know if the McDonalds menu is different in other countries, and I was surprised to see that even in France the menu is nearly identical! Rather than a quarter pounder with cheese, they have a royal with cheese. Oh, but they do provide variation for your French fry choice! Of course there is the classic mikey D’s fries but they also have potatoes wedge type fries. Unfortunately, I did not order them, but I will have to go back one more time to try the wedges out!
After my large meal at the world’s favorite fast food institution, I made my way back to the apartment to relax after such a busy weekend, and jet lag. I stopped by the internet kiosks in the lobby to check my e-mail and to compose a few messages of my own. Due to the ancient nature of the three internet booths, however, it took me about an hour to write a single e-mail to Stephanie. Quite a frustrating task, to say the least, but of course it was well worth the effort. Just typing out what had happened in Chartres to Stephanie was very reliving and soothing.
After sending off the message, I debated upon my activities. I eventually decided that I would begin writing this blog…well not this post, but the first two. I spent a good bit of the afternoon composing and editing my newly found past time of blog posting! On a side note, I have always been off and on with blog writings especially when summer would start. With the new found time on my hands with no school work, I would always attempt to keep a journal online, to no avail though. Perhaps this blog will also go the way of those blogs past, but you never know, but I digress.
With a decent amount of time spend composing blog entrees, I decided once again to check my e-mails on the internet kiosks. To my surprise, Stephanie was online and I was able to chat with her for a bit. She had also written a wonderful response to my post which was equal in length and a great read. Again, her written and chatting help cheer me up a great deal prior to the loaming work week (which I will detail in a later post :P ).
Once again, my stomach began to rumble and remind me that it too has a mind of its own. Although I did eat a large lunch, it did not suffice to get me all the way through the night. I considered eating a McDonalds again but mentally pictured the documentary “Supersize Me” and a bloated Jonathan walking around. I traveled over to the local vending machines within the apartment and browsed the selection. Though they had no full meals, I purchased the largest item in the machine. For my dinner that night, I ended up eating two little cake pieces and drinking a coke and then quickly fell asleep. I was able to survive till the next day, but I will save that for the next entrée!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A Visit to Chartres: A Gothic Adventure
So after such an action packed Friday…you would imagine that I would have taken things easy and slept in, but you would be far away from the truth! Not only did I wake up early for a train ride to Chartres, I woke up extra early so I could catch Stephanie on Google chat! Hehe. I woke up by 6:30 time here so I could chat with her for the first time since leaving, which would make it about midnight in Houston by the time I was on the computer. Just chatting with Stephanie online cheered me up a bunch as I was still shocked from all the change. We talked about what I had done before on Friday and my plans for the day, as well as her day at work and beginning to study for the OAT! (You can do it Stephanie!) :) It is hard spending time away from Stephanie…very hard!
Eventually the other interns came down to meet up before heading out to Chartres, I was a bit disappointed as that meant my chat with Stephanie had to come to a close, but I sadly bid my farewells to Stephanie and told her I would communicate with her when I was back from Chartres. At about 8:15 we began to head to the metro station. Another first for me today! Riding the train in France. We had to travel a few stations on the metro to reach the actual train station. There we were able to buy round trip tickets to Chartres, though it was tough as the ticket salesperson did not speak English. Though we thought for a few minutes that we were going to miss the train, we soon found ourselves walking and having a seat.
I thought to myself that this was the first real train ride that I was ever going on…which does not bode well for the train system in the United States! Haha As the train began to pull away from the station, I realized that I had brought nothing to read on a one hour train ride. Bah, I thought but soon I found myself drifting into sleep at the procession of the train on the tracks. Though I glanced out of the window occasionally, the scenery did not impress me much as it reminded me exceedingly of the plains in Texas. I was soon fast asleep, only to be jarred away once I was in Chartres.
My first impression of the entire city upon setting foot off the train was that of amazement at the sheer size of the cathedral in comparison to all the other buildings of the city. Though I had studied the building in my history of architecture class, nothing could really prepare me for the first hand sight of the building. My second thought was, “damn it, the place is under restoration, so I can’t see everything!” hah.
Upon beginning to walk toward the building, there were many quaint little shops, restaurants and bakeries. I should have looked more, and I really should have bought some pastries at one of the bakeries as they looked amazing! (Though I will purchase them at some point at a bakery here in Chatillion!) Some of the interns wanted coffee, which I could understand since it was so early. We all sat down in a nice little area and they were served coffees.
Soon afterward, we headed up to the cathedral itself. As we approached it, I was even more stunned by the sheer size of the building. The two tower spires reach up into the distant sky! The flying buttresses extended out and supported the walls of the nave. Just the whole structure of the building was impressive.
Upon entering the building, I was immediately struck by the light pouring through the stained glass windows…and the sheer amount of windows! Apparently the many of the windows are originals from the construction of the cathedral in the 1200’s. Simple amazing! The ceiling of the building also impressed me, as it was over a hundred feet in the air. Just thinking about the efforts that would have to be put into construction of such a building at the time blows my mind. It is amazing what people will do for devotion!
After looking through the entire cathedral with the exception of the tower (which cost 4 euros to climb) we all decided to eat. We traveled over to a café across the street from the cathedral so we could dine in the immediate presence of the building! Though I had hear a warning from my mom that pizza in France with egg probably means a raw egg, I decided to give it a try none the less in hopes that maybe I would get something else. Unsurprisingly the pizza came out with an egg cracked right on top! At first I considered eating around the egg, but hunger soon got the best of me and I devoured the entire pizza. Though the egg was a bit creepy, I did overall enjoy the pizza. Haha. Caving into peer pressure, I also ordered a dessert as all the other interns had. I received a crème brulee which was quite good…though a tad bit burnt on top. None the less, the meal was overall pretty good. (Random interjection: I miss eating tex-mex, haha)
Some of us after lunch decided to climb the tower of Chartres, myself included! I figured it might be awhile until I can climb the tower again, so I must seize the opportunity even if it costs four euros! Upon entering the cathedral however, we found that a wedding of all things had begun, which was utterly surprising. The amazing part about this was the presence of the organ player, who filled the cathedral with music. A choir also sung…an amazing auditory experience. I never saw the bride or groom, but I wondered how much they had to pay for a wedding like that!!
Climbing the tower was tough, especially on a full stomach! The stairs twisted very close together and the passageway was very narrow. After 400 steps or so, I saw light and figured we had reached the top, only to step outside and see that I was no where near the top…to my horror, the building was still twice as tall! Soldiering on, I began to climb more and more stairs. Unfortunately, the spiral was in the same direction, so one leg did a lot more work and was worn out! Bah! Eventually…and I mean eventually…haha, I made it to the top. The sight was beautiful. The entire town was visible, and I could see much of the intricate stone work on the gargoyles on the tower.
While on the top of the tower, the wedding was finished and to everyone’s surprise, the bells on top began ringing extensively! Standing five feet away from two large bells is quite surprising, as you could imagine. Listening to the bells was fun as they alternated their ring patterns which I found intriguing. Eventually, we headed down to leave Chartres for the day.
Gazing back at the cathedral one last time, I again marveled at the craftsmanship required by such a small town to construct such a magnificent building, which I though was more impressive externally than Notre Dame (though I had only briefly seen that, so I may change my mind). As I boarded the train, I thought about my family who were moving before I would return and Stephanie and felt sad. Though I am writing this entrée two days after the fact, that still feels true to me now!
Eventually the other interns came down to meet up before heading out to Chartres, I was a bit disappointed as that meant my chat with Stephanie had to come to a close, but I sadly bid my farewells to Stephanie and told her I would communicate with her when I was back from Chartres. At about 8:15 we began to head to the metro station. Another first for me today! Riding the train in France. We had to travel a few stations on the metro to reach the actual train station. There we were able to buy round trip tickets to Chartres, though it was tough as the ticket salesperson did not speak English. Though we thought for a few minutes that we were going to miss the train, we soon found ourselves walking and having a seat.
I thought to myself that this was the first real train ride that I was ever going on…which does not bode well for the train system in the United States! Haha As the train began to pull away from the station, I realized that I had brought nothing to read on a one hour train ride. Bah, I thought but soon I found myself drifting into sleep at the procession of the train on the tracks. Though I glanced out of the window occasionally, the scenery did not impress me much as it reminded me exceedingly of the plains in Texas. I was soon fast asleep, only to be jarred away once I was in Chartres.
My first impression of the entire city upon setting foot off the train was that of amazement at the sheer size of the cathedral in comparison to all the other buildings of the city. Though I had studied the building in my history of architecture class, nothing could really prepare me for the first hand sight of the building. My second thought was, “damn it, the place is under restoration, so I can’t see everything!” hah.
Upon beginning to walk toward the building, there were many quaint little shops, restaurants and bakeries. I should have looked more, and I really should have bought some pastries at one of the bakeries as they looked amazing! (Though I will purchase them at some point at a bakery here in Chatillion!) Some of the interns wanted coffee, which I could understand since it was so early. We all sat down in a nice little area and they were served coffees.
Soon afterward, we headed up to the cathedral itself. As we approached it, I was even more stunned by the sheer size of the building. The two tower spires reach up into the distant sky! The flying buttresses extended out and supported the walls of the nave. Just the whole structure of the building was impressive.
Upon entering the building, I was immediately struck by the light pouring through the stained glass windows…and the sheer amount of windows! Apparently the many of the windows are originals from the construction of the cathedral in the 1200’s. Simple amazing! The ceiling of the building also impressed me, as it was over a hundred feet in the air. Just thinking about the efforts that would have to be put into construction of such a building at the time blows my mind. It is amazing what people will do for devotion!
After looking through the entire cathedral with the exception of the tower (which cost 4 euros to climb) we all decided to eat. We traveled over to a café across the street from the cathedral so we could dine in the immediate presence of the building! Though I had hear a warning from my mom that pizza in France with egg probably means a raw egg, I decided to give it a try none the less in hopes that maybe I would get something else. Unsurprisingly the pizza came out with an egg cracked right on top! At first I considered eating around the egg, but hunger soon got the best of me and I devoured the entire pizza. Though the egg was a bit creepy, I did overall enjoy the pizza. Haha. Caving into peer pressure, I also ordered a dessert as all the other interns had. I received a crème brulee which was quite good…though a tad bit burnt on top. None the less, the meal was overall pretty good. (Random interjection: I miss eating tex-mex, haha)
Some of us after lunch decided to climb the tower of Chartres, myself included! I figured it might be awhile until I can climb the tower again, so I must seize the opportunity even if it costs four euros! Upon entering the cathedral however, we found that a wedding of all things had begun, which was utterly surprising. The amazing part about this was the presence of the organ player, who filled the cathedral with music. A choir also sung…an amazing auditory experience. I never saw the bride or groom, but I wondered how much they had to pay for a wedding like that!!
Climbing the tower was tough, especially on a full stomach! The stairs twisted very close together and the passageway was very narrow. After 400 steps or so, I saw light and figured we had reached the top, only to step outside and see that I was no where near the top…to my horror, the building was still twice as tall! Soldiering on, I began to climb more and more stairs. Unfortunately, the spiral was in the same direction, so one leg did a lot more work and was worn out! Bah! Eventually…and I mean eventually…haha, I made it to the top. The sight was beautiful. The entire town was visible, and I could see much of the intricate stone work on the gargoyles on the tower.
While on the top of the tower, the wedding was finished and to everyone’s surprise, the bells on top began ringing extensively! Standing five feet away from two large bells is quite surprising, as you could imagine. Listening to the bells was fun as they alternated their ring patterns which I found intriguing. Eventually, we headed down to leave Chartres for the day.
Gazing back at the cathedral one last time, I again marveled at the craftsmanship required by such a small town to construct such a magnificent building, which I though was more impressive externally than Notre Dame (though I had only briefly seen that, so I may change my mind). As I boarded the train, I thought about my family who were moving before I would return and Stephanie and felt sad. Though I am writing this entrée two days after the fact, that still feels true to me now!
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Lourve: A first "tired Jonathan" visit
Well, after somewhat apprehensive day at work, I was off with the other American interns to see the Lourve. One of the primary reasons we were going on this Friday was to utilize the free admission for those under 26. Apparently during the week, museums in Paris were free on specific days of the week and you could see them in the evening for free! So that was a welcomed surprise!
So we journeyed to the local metro station in Chatillon and I had to buy my bus pass. There was a package deal to buy ten passes for a lower price, which I bought. Rather than bulk purchasing additional tickets, I will eventually get a month pass with unlimited rides! Huzzah! My first metro experience was interesting however, as the subway was leaving at rush hour time, so it was packed to the brim! Standing in a packed crowd was the only option, so I cautiously guarded my pockets. The ride was about 10 minutes and several stops before we had to transition over to another subway line to reach the Louvre. Thankfully I had the other interns leading the way; else I would have been utterly lost! And after almost feeling completely lost in France from the morning, I was not ready for that to happen again!
Finally, we reached the Louvre station which exited directly into the basement of the building…beneath the glass pyramid by I.M Pei. Near the train station was the inverted pyramid and further ahead through a security booth was the external pyramid. It was pretty amazing how packed the place was, and I imagine it could be a lot busier at times of the year!
Once inside the grand entryway, we headed into the actual museum portion of the building. The art and sculptures that I was able to see were amazing. I was by far most impressed with the ancient Greek and Roman statues. The craftsmanship and dedication to create such a beautiful object is beyond my comprehension! Other works that I saw that were amazing were the large French paintings. The size of many of the works of art took up probably 150 square feet of area or more! I just marveled at the ability and patience of someone that could work on a realistic painting that was life size and that large…they would have to crawl on the canvas!!! What the heck?!
I could continue typing for awhile about each of the pieces of artwork I saw…and I didn’t even see all of them, so I will have to go back! And bring my camera, next time, for pictures! :D Eventually, we all exited from the glass pyramid in the front and I could see for the first time the entire Louvre. What a spectacle! I was also able to see for the first time, a glimpse of Paris.
Some of the interns were hungry and wanted drinks, though I was tired at the time, I happily obliged as I wanted some food as well. We wandered around awhile until we came to a pub called the Highlander. To my surprise, the bartender was actually Scottish! Haha, that was a pleasant surprise since that made ordering easy. I had a half pint of beer called the Carnne-something…well, it had a weird name that I can’t remember. But the beer itself was alright. The others had some drinks as well, and then we left to find food. Eventually after walking a bit, we found a gyro place and each of us ordered a gyro for food. The gyro was pretty dang good, maybe because it was street food or maybe because I was very hungry!
With food in hand, we walked over to Notre Dame which was nearby and sat in front and ate the gyros. There were some fire twirlers in front of the building which were entertaining to watch, and at the end of their show, one of them used firework batons that shot out fireworks. I do not know exactly how it worked, but it was neat.
By this point, I was very exhausted and since the other interns knew I had just flown in the day before and was still a tad bit jet lagged, we all decided to head back to the apartment. The metro ride back was a little tough for me as I would occasionally bob my head down before catching myself from falling! Ah! Finally though, we arrived in Chatillion and hurriedly went home. Since the plan was to travel to Chatres the very next day via train, I knew I would get little sleep! Plus, I wanted very badly to chat with Stephanie via google chat. Though I talked with her briefly that night, I decided to wake up very early here the next morning to chat with here at night in Houston. It was well worth it, as chatting with my sweetie always makes me feel better! Reading e-mails from her and composing them myself also cheer me up, as well as e-mails from my family! :D
Well, so much for making this entrée shorter…it was nearly as long as the last…sheesh! I will hopefully write about my Chartes trip soon!
So we journeyed to the local metro station in Chatillon and I had to buy my bus pass. There was a package deal to buy ten passes for a lower price, which I bought. Rather than bulk purchasing additional tickets, I will eventually get a month pass with unlimited rides! Huzzah! My first metro experience was interesting however, as the subway was leaving at rush hour time, so it was packed to the brim! Standing in a packed crowd was the only option, so I cautiously guarded my pockets. The ride was about 10 minutes and several stops before we had to transition over to another subway line to reach the Louvre. Thankfully I had the other interns leading the way; else I would have been utterly lost! And after almost feeling completely lost in France from the morning, I was not ready for that to happen again!
Finally, we reached the Louvre station which exited directly into the basement of the building…beneath the glass pyramid by I.M Pei. Near the train station was the inverted pyramid and further ahead through a security booth was the external pyramid. It was pretty amazing how packed the place was, and I imagine it could be a lot busier at times of the year!
Once inside the grand entryway, we headed into the actual museum portion of the building. The art and sculptures that I was able to see were amazing. I was by far most impressed with the ancient Greek and Roman statues. The craftsmanship and dedication to create such a beautiful object is beyond my comprehension! Other works that I saw that were amazing were the large French paintings. The size of many of the works of art took up probably 150 square feet of area or more! I just marveled at the ability and patience of someone that could work on a realistic painting that was life size and that large…they would have to crawl on the canvas!!! What the heck?!
I could continue typing for awhile about each of the pieces of artwork I saw…and I didn’t even see all of them, so I will have to go back! And bring my camera, next time, for pictures! :D Eventually, we all exited from the glass pyramid in the front and I could see for the first time the entire Louvre. What a spectacle! I was also able to see for the first time, a glimpse of Paris.
Some of the interns were hungry and wanted drinks, though I was tired at the time, I happily obliged as I wanted some food as well. We wandered around awhile until we came to a pub called the Highlander. To my surprise, the bartender was actually Scottish! Haha, that was a pleasant surprise since that made ordering easy. I had a half pint of beer called the Carnne-something…well, it had a weird name that I can’t remember. But the beer itself was alright. The others had some drinks as well, and then we left to find food. Eventually after walking a bit, we found a gyro place and each of us ordered a gyro for food. The gyro was pretty dang good, maybe because it was street food or maybe because I was very hungry!
With food in hand, we walked over to Notre Dame which was nearby and sat in front and ate the gyros. There were some fire twirlers in front of the building which were entertaining to watch, and at the end of their show, one of them used firework batons that shot out fireworks. I do not know exactly how it worked, but it was neat.
By this point, I was very exhausted and since the other interns knew I had just flown in the day before and was still a tad bit jet lagged, we all decided to head back to the apartment. The metro ride back was a little tough for me as I would occasionally bob my head down before catching myself from falling! Ah! Finally though, we arrived in Chatillion and hurriedly went home. Since the plan was to travel to Chatres the very next day via train, I knew I would get little sleep! Plus, I wanted very badly to chat with Stephanie via google chat. Though I talked with her briefly that night, I decided to wake up very early here the next morning to chat with here at night in Houston. It was well worth it, as chatting with my sweetie always makes me feel better! Reading e-mails from her and composing them myself also cheer me up, as well as e-mails from my family! :D
Well, so much for making this entrée shorter…it was nearly as long as the last…sheesh! I will hopefully write about my Chartes trip soon!
First day of work in France
Today was my first trip into Paris after my day at work. I suppose I should elaborate on my work experience first, haha. So the day started off with me feeling rather depressed and lonely as I had just left, Stephanie, my best friend/girlfriend of 2 and a half years in America for the first time in quite awhile. She had traveled to Korea with her family at once point for about a month and I was not able to talk with her other than e-mail for that amount of time. This time, however, I am going to be away for 2 months fully, which is tough. I know we will both pull through this tough time since we are deeply in love, but it is and will be arduous. I miss her deeply and my heart aches every day while I am gone from her. Stephanie, I love you! <3
I could write several blog entrees devoted to Stephanie alone…in fact I could write several entrees on her personality, eyes, smile, or fun nature if I wanted too… and I probably will over the period of the summer ;) Since I have discussed my feelings very deeply for my love of Stephanie to the readers of this blog... which is probably no one other than Stephanie haha and possibly my family, I shall move on to discuss my work day. So I was not sure at all how to get to work in the morning. I knew the address of the Schlumberger facilities and I also had the foresight to analyze a google earth map of the area so I knew exactly where the building was. I figured walking to the complex would not be so bad, since I measured it out on the map and it was only 2 and a half miles. I also was confused by an e-mail from the Schlumberger facility here that I interpreted as saying that I shuttle bus would pick the interns up.
I never saw a shuttle… Just in case though, I waited to see if I could spot any of the other American interns and ask them what to do…but to no avail, I did not know what their appearance was! So I asked some people on the street, and one kind person instructed me that I could take a bus…but did not elaborate upon that. So I figured, what the heck…I will just walk, since 2 miles is not so bad! Well, I began walking and realized that it was probably a bad idea, since a good bit of the journey was up hill! Plus, I had not had any water to drink in the morning so I was afraid of dehydration! (I had the unpleasant experience of that phenomenon once in my life and I did not want to collapse in the middle of a foreign country!)
The walking continued for nearly an hour… at that point I was getting severely frustrated and thought that perhaps I had taken a wrong turn and was thusly lost in France. But then, I spotted a landmark which I knew from when I was investigating google earth. I saw some EPAC (or something like that) research center, and knew I was getting close. I trudged on down the street while sweating and feeling partly dehydrated! I finally spotted a sign… and to my great relief, it read “Schlumberger”! I started into the facilities immediately and then met the gate keeper. To my surprise, he did not speak English but called the front desk of the complex and I talked with someone who did. She got a hold of the correct people and I was met by my boss at the back gate who led me inside. I later found out that the people in the back are significantly less likely to speak English compared to those in the interior of the building. Plus there was a front entrance that I completely did not know about since I would have had to walk another block!
Once I finally reached the complex and was actually inside, I was greatly relieved and finally relaxed a little for the first time since arriving in France. I had accomplished a major milestone of the trip…getting to work! Upon arrival, the first thing I asked my boss for was some water, and he quickly led me to a nice water cooler where I began to quench my thirst to some extent. My boss, also an American, gave me a quick tour of the building and dropped me off at another person’s office to get me all registered and ready to go. She showed me where my cubical was, but later changed it to an office with two of the American interns, and then she escorted me to get my badge created. I had my photo taken and my Schlumberger account renewed and was basically all set to go!
After twiddling my thumbs for a bit, it was about lunch time. I met the other American interns and we all headed over to the cafeteria for lunch. It was nice meeting others from America, especially since all but one was from Texas like me. Several of the interns had been in France for 2 and a half weeks, so they already seemed pretty well adjusted and seem to know the ropes per say. I hope I will be that well adjusted soon, since I am still much unacquainted with everything here. The food was delicious and I am excited that cafeteria food is actually good, and cheap! I had a penne pasta with some type of meat sauce on top of it. In addition, I had a bowl of fruits and a bread roll. To top it all off, I had a chocolate tart for dessert! All in all it was very good and I was impressed!
After lunch, I was given a paper to read that briefly summarized what I would be working on in general, but it was extremely vague. I know I will probably be investigation high temperature applications of materials, motors, seals, and adhesives. This project seems very general at the moment and it seems as if what I am working on will either be too easy or too hard. Haha. I do hope it will be fun though, at least. At a little after four, the American interns and I got off work and began to head downtown to Paris to see the Louvre. It was my first time to leave Chatillion and Clamart to see Paris. I will address that experience in my next (probably not as long) entrée!
I could write several blog entrees devoted to Stephanie alone…in fact I could write several entrees on her personality, eyes, smile, or fun nature if I wanted too… and I probably will over the period of the summer ;) Since I have discussed my feelings very deeply for my love of Stephanie to the readers of this blog... which is probably no one other than Stephanie haha and possibly my family, I shall move on to discuss my work day. So I was not sure at all how to get to work in the morning. I knew the address of the Schlumberger facilities and I also had the foresight to analyze a google earth map of the area so I knew exactly where the building was. I figured walking to the complex would not be so bad, since I measured it out on the map and it was only 2 and a half miles. I also was confused by an e-mail from the Schlumberger facility here that I interpreted as saying that I shuttle bus would pick the interns up.
I never saw a shuttle… Just in case though, I waited to see if I could spot any of the other American interns and ask them what to do…but to no avail, I did not know what their appearance was! So I asked some people on the street, and one kind person instructed me that I could take a bus…but did not elaborate upon that. So I figured, what the heck…I will just walk, since 2 miles is not so bad! Well, I began walking and realized that it was probably a bad idea, since a good bit of the journey was up hill! Plus, I had not had any water to drink in the morning so I was afraid of dehydration! (I had the unpleasant experience of that phenomenon once in my life and I did not want to collapse in the middle of a foreign country!)
The walking continued for nearly an hour… at that point I was getting severely frustrated and thought that perhaps I had taken a wrong turn and was thusly lost in France. But then, I spotted a landmark which I knew from when I was investigating google earth. I saw some EPAC (or something like that) research center, and knew I was getting close. I trudged on down the street while sweating and feeling partly dehydrated! I finally spotted a sign… and to my great relief, it read “Schlumberger”! I started into the facilities immediately and then met the gate keeper. To my surprise, he did not speak English but called the front desk of the complex and I talked with someone who did. She got a hold of the correct people and I was met by my boss at the back gate who led me inside. I later found out that the people in the back are significantly less likely to speak English compared to those in the interior of the building. Plus there was a front entrance that I completely did not know about since I would have had to walk another block!
Once I finally reached the complex and was actually inside, I was greatly relieved and finally relaxed a little for the first time since arriving in France. I had accomplished a major milestone of the trip…getting to work! Upon arrival, the first thing I asked my boss for was some water, and he quickly led me to a nice water cooler where I began to quench my thirst to some extent. My boss, also an American, gave me a quick tour of the building and dropped me off at another person’s office to get me all registered and ready to go. She showed me where my cubical was, but later changed it to an office with two of the American interns, and then she escorted me to get my badge created. I had my photo taken and my Schlumberger account renewed and was basically all set to go!
After twiddling my thumbs for a bit, it was about lunch time. I met the other American interns and we all headed over to the cafeteria for lunch. It was nice meeting others from America, especially since all but one was from Texas like me. Several of the interns had been in France for 2 and a half weeks, so they already seemed pretty well adjusted and seem to know the ropes per say. I hope I will be that well adjusted soon, since I am still much unacquainted with everything here. The food was delicious and I am excited that cafeteria food is actually good, and cheap! I had a penne pasta with some type of meat sauce on top of it. In addition, I had a bowl of fruits and a bread roll. To top it all off, I had a chocolate tart for dessert! All in all it was very good and I was impressed!
After lunch, I was given a paper to read that briefly summarized what I would be working on in general, but it was extremely vague. I know I will probably be investigation high temperature applications of materials, motors, seals, and adhesives. This project seems very general at the moment and it seems as if what I am working on will either be too easy or too hard. Haha. I do hope it will be fun though, at least. At a little after four, the American interns and I got off work and began to head downtown to Paris to see the Louvre. It was my first time to leave Chatillion and Clamart to see Paris. I will address that experience in my next (probably not as long) entrée!
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