The Big Round Up

Well it is Wednesday morning, early and a brutally short week is ahead of me. So much to do with organizing and getting ready for the next part of my grand adventure. All I know is I have to do laundry early tomorrow morning because I won't have a chance to do it Friday morning before I leave for Scotland and I don't have any time other than tomorrow morning. So reset the alarm clock for being up before the students (probably 7 am will do) and then get laundry going first thing.

So what does the rest of the week look like? Tonight is dinner at Jesus College, though not in the normal hall, but elsewhere on campus. I am not sure why exactly, but I am guessing it has something to do with the Nebraska students arriving (there are more than 100 of them this year). It is okay, but I do admit the food in college has been a little variable this year. The first night's impromptu meal wasn't bad, the big welcome dinner was better, the second week's wasn't so good, the third came back strong and was quite good, so who knows what tonight's meal will offer. Thursday afternoon I have a small impromptu field trip to London for my History of Science students to go see the Science Museum in London. We are leaving about 1 pm on Thursday and probably will be back around 9 pm or 10. We will try to hit the Science Museum so that they can have enough time to find exhibits to discuss for their final project. It should work out. Friday it is off to Scotland on an afternoon train ride. Like last year, I am not bringing my laptop so no updates until Monday evening when I get back. That will be the last week of the semester which is equally busy, including off to see a play in Stratford. I can't believe we only have about 10 days left here.

So what has been going on? Well other than the usual drama starting to build after 33 students have been together for 3 weeks, its been quieter than last year for the most part. Knock on wood. No real drama with people threatening others or not bathing. Just interpersonal drama that all college students have. Oh and the smoke detectors going off a couple more times and fewer late night entries to rooms since I instituted the "pay as you unlock" plan.

So what have we been up to?

Paris mostly. Thursday last week was spent as a normal college day, with a bit of pre-trip running around to supermarkets etc. Friday morning it was up quite early, 6 am, to get on the bus to Dover and the Euro Tunnel. We had to come back after going about 5 miles up the road for one of the students who called and had missed the coach, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. We arrived with less traffic than expected, so we had about an hour lay over at the Euro Tunnel complex, then on the train and 30 minutes later--France. Then a 3.5-4.0 hour drive to Paris. Due to the later train and the driver having to make his mandatory 45 minute stop after 6 hours of driving, we arrived in Paris a bit later than last year, around 4 o'clock CET. Some of the people went off to dinner, but about 18 students and myself, plus General Locurcio and his wife, Ingrid, all headed out to dinner about 6 pm. We stopped in a small restaurant around the corner and down the street from the hotel. It was a great meal, and I tried the house special, which was mussels and fries. Add in two beers and free desert (Ralph and Ingrid bought dessert for all the students) and it was a wonderful night out. By that point it was getting late, around 8:30 or so (though it would still be light for a while) and I headed back to the hotel. However, once I got back to the hotel, I was dragged out by a couple students to give an impromptu tour of Paris. So we got on the metro, went to the Arc de Triomphe, walked down the Champs Elysee (where most of the shops were open to either 10 or 11) and then to the Place de la Concorde. By this point it was dark and close to 10:30. We had walked more than 2 miles, so we made a slow turn back to the hotel along the opposite bank of the Seine, in time to see the Eiffel Tower light up at 11 pm with their light show. The tower is blue this year due to the French president also being the EU president for the next few months, which is an odd and eerily beautiful sight. However, by 11:30 it was time to return to the hotel and bed.

The hotel was the Mercure Sufferen, about 3 blocks from the Eiffel Tower and next door to the Hilton Paris. The rooms were a little on the smaller side, but more comfortable than last year's too hot room. The a/c seemed to work well enough and remarkably this was the first trip in which I wasn't sick in Paris, ever. Oh, I might be fighting a cold, but I seem to be doing alright now. Some of the students though are getting sick and one girl is fighting a very nasty cold. The one down side, okay two, were the closet for the separate toilet, which really was a closet in size and somewhat claustrophobic. The other was the daily cost of internet access, which was 20 Euros a day. I had to have it for all three days as I am working against a deadline for a project, so internet access was a business expensive. I usually worked about 2 hours a night, so I could justify it, but that was about 35 dollars a day! You know, I bitch in the us when it is 10-15 dollars a day at some hotels, but $35+ is a lot. C'est la vie.

Saturday morning was bright an early for the Louvre. We broke into two groups and had a good tour guide take us to see the highlights of the museum over a 90 minute tour. He also didn't put up with any crap from the group, keeping them together and interested. I have to say that despite being a bit pushy, he was informative and the students largely kept their attention focused on him. Oh they might have other comments, but compared to the guide from last year, he was open and warm. After that, groups began to break up for the day. I went with a small group of people on another walking tour to see the other side of the river before heading to Notre Dame. But at that point, I was getting complaints of starvation and fainting...okay, they were hungry. I could go through the day without eating that much, but they needed food. So we went to the Latin Quarter and got lunch from a souvlaki/gyro pita stand (there were a few, but this was the only one with a line). It was cheap and filling, probably the best meal in Paris that did both. What was we all got? A small batard of French bread, filled with tatziki, lettuce, tomato, shaved chicken and topped with frites. Sounds fattening but it was remarkably light and filling. I intended to go back again, but didn't.

Then we went back to Notre Dame, but the line was too long and everyone was hungry. So...back to the Metro and back to the hotel for a nap. This turned into a mini tour of the metro because the main route back was being serviced by buses and I wasn't quite sure how the bus system worked. So we hoped on the metro and took a series of three routes to bypass the closed section and reach our hotel. It was a bit longer, but we were back by 3. I needed a rest as well as my feet were hurting at this point. Then a large group assembled at 6 pm and headed out again with myself and the Locurcio's to the Rue Cler, a pedestrian street filled with shops, restaurants and food sellers. We ate at a small restaurant the nearly 17 of us this time, and I had duck this time which was pretty good. Then a slow walk back to the hotel around 9, and upstairs to do some work. Then I wanted to go out and take some pictures of the Eiffel Tower at night, but I ran into a bunch of students and we chatted/then griped and complained, until about 11:30. It was a bit cold, but I played big brother and they felt better afterwards. There wasn't much I could do to make things better, but be sympathetic.

Sunday morning was off to Giverney (Monet's house) then a wild ride through the countryside to Chartres to visit the cathedral. We were taking a short cut to get to Chartres with Ralph Locurcio navigating for the driver down a lot small back roads. It was fun and interesting, though one or two of the students were getting motion sick as we drove this twisting back roads. But it actually saved us about half an hour. However, it was by 3 at this point, and everyone was hungry. Ralph, Ingrid and I (later joined by two students) went off to a restaurant recommended by one of the locals, the Serpentine. It was a 19th century tea room that also served meals. Here it was that I had a true French experience. Ralph and one of the students, Jesse, ordered steak and frites, a traditional French meal, Ingrid had pasta, and Keir had pasta with smoked salmon. After talking to Ralph, who speaks French a bit better than I do, but we both read and understand French at the same level, I decided to try one of the house specials, Andouillette des Troyes. We both figured it was a type of sausage made with a natural casing. Heck, I have had andouille in Lousianna and it is good. Let's just say I managed to eat half of what arrived on my plate, while Ralph, who has a cast iron stomach couldn't even eat part of it and Jesse chewed and chewed and spit it out. I am not sure he liked me.

It wasn't so much the taste, it was the smell. If you don't believe me, type in the name of the sausage online and read the reviews. The sausage, which was grilled and covered in a light mustard sauce (which did nothing to cover up the smell, but frankly, it was okay to taste) is grilled pig's intestine filled with chopped and folded pig intestine and stomach. One of the kind reviews said it smelt like a "rotting pissoir". I have to agree and since smell is a big part of taste, I am proud that I managed to eaten half of it. I pushed the rest to one side, Ralph shared a small piece of steak with me, Keir gave me her smoked salmon which she didn't like, and desert more than made up for it. The waitress, and apparently a lot of other Frenchmen, loved the sausage that smelt horrible, and with your google search, there are fan appreciation clubs for it.

God the smell was bad enough, but when it also caused a bit of gas and you had to "taste" it over again, it wasn't very nice.

Then after lunch it was a brief jaunt into the cathedral itself, but honestly, while it is beautiful, it was Sunday afternoon and mass was going on. I felt more than a little awkward wandering the halls. I was glad that lunch took as long as it did and we headed back to Paris about 5:15. Then Heather took the group on one of the Seine River cruises before calling it a night. I wasn't hungry, so Ralph, Ingrid and I went for drinks in the hotel bar. It was tres expensive, with 3 drinks costing 24 Euros. Not something we would do on a regular basis.

Monday morning was a quick pack, get stuff on the bus and see more of Paris. They wanted to see the smaller version of the Statue of Liberty that is in the movie, National Treasure 2. So we walked there, then took the metro. I took the group to the Army Museum afterwards. I originally wanted to go Cluny Museum of medieval art, but the students were "Meh", so we went to the army museum. Four guys and one girl, and they all had a good time. I acted as tour guide after having an initial scare when two of my credit cards didn't work. Turns out it was the stupid machine the people were using at the museum not my cards since they have worked since then. We went and saw Napoleon's Tomb as well, but by the time we finished it was after 1. The students wanted lunch and decided that since the Rue Cler was nearby, they would eat there. I dropped them off and headed back to the hotel, since I had a 2 o'clock late check out. I had to get my room key reactivated, but got my computer and passport from my room. Then it was downstairs to wait with Ralph and Ingrid, and a number of students who eventually arrived. A brief jaunt off to the supermarket for food for the trip (which frankly, I never really ate) and then on the bus at 4:15.

I sat up front for much of the journey and talked to the coach driver, Ray. He and I had briefly talked about his tours of World War One battlefields, but we talked about all sorts of things on the way home, and shared an interest in discussing old episodes of the British car show, Top Gear. Anyway, it was back to the Channel where we got a train 30 minutes earlier than normal, and then back to Oxford where we arrived slightly after 11:15 BST. Then it was unpack, deal with some minor crises along with one student claiming he had money stolen while he was gone. He had left 20 pounds out and next to his towels and the scouts had come in and cleaned while we were gone. All I could do was shake my head and offer some sympathy, but privately, if you leave money next to towels, who is to say what exactly happened to it.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was something we almost forgot about, but was a tour of Bodelian Library. It was something I had never done before and I found it fascinating, but a few of the students said it was a "library". We did have a few screws ups never show up despite their entrance being prepaid, but about 27-28 people did show up for the two groups. Then it was back to my flat to get ready for class. Last night was a quiet night in my room grading papers, making a couple phone calls, including to the university to deal with computer issues that have to wait until I return.

Ah well, like is exciting, isn't it. I think I have filled in most everything. Today is back to a normal schedule for classes, then dinner in the hall. The students are going to a concert afterwards but I have some work I need to finish. It might also be a good time to do some laundry, but we shall see.

I will post pictures later on today.