Thanksgiving in France

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving, and although it is not celebrated in France, my fellow students from the United States organized a Thanksgiving at my residence, Le Rabot, with the resources we had. We don’t have ovens in our kitchens, only stovetops, so there was no turkey. But pretty much everything else was present, including many different types of desserts. Le Rabot is very culturally diverse, and everyone was invited, so there were some not-so-traditional dishes, too. All in all, I think it was very successful. I’m sure non-U.S. students were a little confused as to what we were actually celebrating, but we did our best to explain Thanksgiving to them.

As the semester comes closer to the end, you can be sure that final exams and projects are on everyone’s mind. I had my final exam today in Telecommunications. My Software Engineering, Operating Systems , and French exams will all be on 15 December. Just two more weeks, really! As I expected, the semester flew by much too quickly. I wish I had done more traveling throughout Europe, as the opportunity to do so will be much more difficult and expensive once I’m back home. I'm going to Berlin for a couple of days though right after my finals.

In the meantime, Grenoble has entered into the Christmas season. The weather is much colder now than in September, its usually around 50°F in the daytime and 20s-30s at night. It hasn’t snowed yet, and it’s actually been fairly dry, but I’m sure it will come in December. For the past week, stalls have been set up in the Victor Hugo Square for the Christmas markets. They are now open, and very popular on the weekends. They have many things for sale, including Christmas/holiday items, but also food, sweets, and Vin Chaud, which is wine served hot. It has spices, citrus, and sugar in it as well, and it is very popular here and throughout Europe this time of year. 

Classes, Traveling and the Holiday

Since I haven’t posted in a while, I’ll try to think back to the some of the things worth mentioning. My classes are going pretty well. Each class has time set aside for practical exercises (sometimes in addition to a lab), and I think this helps with the comprehension of the subject. For example, in my Software Engineering course, the professor organized a 3-hour session and broke us up into groups of about 4 or 5. One person was a client, and the others were the engineers who had to come up with the requirements for the project after a few hours of questioning. I was given the role of the client, so it was my job to answer the engineer’s questions and explain how I wanted the software to work. It was a very successful exercise, because it showed that writing requirements are not as easy as people think when learning about them. Each group left plenty of important things out, or wrote requirements that were vague/untestable, etc. 

We had a week-long break from classes from 24 October to 2 November, and with the break, I had the opportunity to travel to Barcelona. It is a very cool and unique city. It has traces of Roman architecture more than 2000 years old, traditional Spanish influences and influences unique to the Catalan region of Spain. Locals definitely identify themselves as Catalan, and not Spanish, but most people speak both languages and usually English as well. The city has a notorious problem with pick-pocketing, but I was with 6 other people and we were careful, so it was never a problem. Walking tours were given daily, organized by the hostel. I got to learn a lot of interesting things about Barcelona. 

The art school Pablo Picasso studied at when he was a child (now closed). 

City Hall Building

Also organized by the hostel was a Tapas and Flamenco tour, which is where you eat tapas and get to see flamenco music performed afterward. I can’t describe the music very well, so here’s a youtube video taken previously of the place we went to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqBSqYBGMqU.

Probably the most incredible sight to see in Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia, which is a cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi over 100 years ago. The church still has not been finished! Its predicted to be completed in 2028, but the locals said it might take even longer. There are many things I learned about the Sagrada Familia, but I didn’t have a formal tour of the church/area. Here are a few pictures, but obviously there are many more online (Wikipedia has a picture with the construction digitally removed from the photograph). 

This was taken at the Roman Excavation Museum. Many ruins exist, buried by centuries of building layer upon layer on top of each other. Today's Barcelona is several meters higher than these remains.  

Grenoble and the Campus

I realize now I haven't gone into much detail about the actual city I'm staying in or the university, so today I took some pictures of Grenoble and the campus. I'll start from the part of Grenoble closest to where I live, Victor Hugo Square:

These next pictures are a little further east, in the Notre-Dame Musée/Sainte-Claire region.  

The Université de Grenoble campus is actually made up of several universities, grouped mainly by their disciplines. My university, Université Joseph Fourier, specializes in science, technology, and medicine. The university has partnerships with some of the other universities, depending on what they offer. As an exchange student, I attend classes in several departments in several buildings. This is where I have my Computer Science classes:

I attend my Telecommunication course in this building, IUT:

This is the common campus, which includes an inter-university library and resources that all students need, regardless of their disciplines:

 Lastly, I wanted to show the public transportation offered in Grenoble, especially since its my primary means of getting around. There are 4 major tram lines and around 30 to 40 buses that are in operation from early in the morning until fairly late at night. As a student, I can pay about 25 € a month for unlimited use of any tram line or bus. This is a typical tram station:

One of 3 trams stops on campus. This one is closest to the library. 

One of the trams, up close. 

To get the idea, this is the map of the public transportation available:

Classes and Traveling

With my classes now in full swing, I thought it might be a good time for another post. So much has happened my first 3 weeks here, its hard to think back and remember everything. I'm sure I won't be able to think of everything.

The courses are going well. Since my first post, I have had a slight change in schedule, due to some issues with the course that was offered as Real-Time Systems. I have switched to a Software Engineering course, and I think the change has made things much better, especially for future semesters back home at Embry-Riddle. The grades here are on a scale from 0 - 20, 20 being the best (although from what I hear, its nearly impossible to get a 20). I haven't received an actual grade on homework or labs yet, so I can't say how the grading scale compares.

The cafeterias on campus are really interesting. When you have a prepaid meal card, you get a large lunch for 3 €! Here's an example of a meal from the cafeteria:

Unfortunately, every student on campus eats at the exact same time, so the lines are really long. But the prices and quality of food are both very good.

This weekend, some friends and I went to Mont Blanc, which is the tallest mountain in the Alps and in Europe. We rented a car and drove to the closest town, Chamonix, and stayed at a bed and breakfast. We  were able to ride a cable car up a mountain called Aiguille du Midi, which has an altitude of 3842 m (12,602 feet), 900 meters shorter than Mont Blanc. We were able to take many great photos from the top of this mountain. Here are some of the better photos of the day:

This was taken on the way to Mont Blanc, in a town called Chambéry.

Annecy, France

The bed and breakfast near Mont Blanc, in Chamonix

Mont Blanc is the tall, round mountain towards the left (shot from the top of Aiguille du Midi).

A panoramic shot of the range, from the top of Aiguille du Midi

My friends and I. From left to right: Me, Jaime, Lina, and Jean

I hope to do more traveling throughout France and other countries in Europe, if money and classwork permit.

Lastly, I wanted to say a few more differences I've noticed with the culture. Thankfully, some of these things are not personal observations, but taught to me:
- Tipping is not necessary at restaurants. You can, but it is not expected.
- It is considered rude to ask to take food home from a restaurant. Also, expect to spend a few hours for a dinner.
- Tax is included when the price is listed. Usually things are rounded to the nearest euro.
- You have to bag your own groceries at the market, and the bags are usually not given to you. You buy a large, reusable bag (or several) and bring it with you each time you shop.
- The first floor is not the Floor #1, but rather the ground floor. So the floor above that is the first, then second, etc. Think of it as counting from zero.

I'm sure there are others, but I will post more later. My French language courses will start next week, but I have learned some French in the meantime.

Registration and Classes

I have finally registered at UJF! The process was long, but now that I have my student ID card, I have access to a lot, including internet on campus, buying a meal card, going to the library, etc. We have not really started classes, except for a Labview class I had yesterday, and a Real-time modeling class I should've attended today, scheduled for the same time as orientation.

Some interesting observations:
- They do not teach with textbooks. The concept of a textbook was lost on a few professors, actually. They simply teach the lectures and assign homework/exams. At least I don't have to buy books!
- Each department of the university maintains their schedule for their courses, which may change from week-to-week. Unfortunately, each of my classes is in a different department, which means attending several different orientations and managing several different schedules, making sure no classes overlap.
- They use Azerty keyboards in France. (Here's a link to what those look like: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/KB_France.svg). It is very difficult to type. I think I will be using my laptop on campus frequently.

Yesterday, I tried to put my ATM card into an ATM here that has an agreement with my bank in America. It ate the card. It took it, did not respond, and didn't give it back. I went inside to ask them to help, and the lady said to wait until Friday. I can't believe they can't retrieve the card before then! Right now, I have no way of getting money. It was my first truly negative experience here. I was not happy.

I will post after some more of my classes have started. I hope to start posting in French as well soon. I am learning it slowly. The formal French classes don't start for another month I believe

I Have Arrived

I am here now in Grenoble, France. I arrived yesterday around 1 or 2pm, local time here. I took a train from Lyon, France to Grenoble, which took about an hour, and cost 25 €. Then, I learned that the bus I need to get to my housing does not run on Saturdays. So I took a taxi up there for 12 € (might have been ripped off a bit).

My room is small, but so far, I like it. The students staying here are very diverse, although most have a better grasp on French than I do (hopefully that will change soon). Tomorrow I will meet at the Université Joseph Fourier for orientation, and to meet with Dr Thiriet. Here are some pictures of the housing: Le Rabot

I have already experienced great food, and a bit of the French/European culture. So far, it has been very positive. Everyone greets each other and is polite. If you try to speak French, they will usually try to help. Of course, switching to English is possible for most, but it is discouraged to start speaking English with a local. This is my experience, anyway. The streetlights are much smaller, and easy to miss. I am glad I won't be doing much driving. I will post pictures of the city/university later.

Almost Ready to Go

It is 9 o'clock at night, and I am almost fully packed for my flight at noon tomorrow. I will be arriving at the airport in Lyon, France on Saturday around noon, which is 6 am EST.

This being my first post, I just want to say that I plan on discussing a few different topics regularly. I will talk about my observations of French culture (or other cultures depending on where I travel) and some of the differences I encounter. I will also talk about my academic experiences. As a Computer Engineering student, I will be taking courses such as Real-Time Systems, Telecommunication Systems, and Operating Systems.

I will try and post pictures, and maybe even videos. My next post will hopefully be from my dorm room or at Université Joseph Fourier.

Also, since I will hopefully be learning French along the way (I know very little French right now), I may try to post things in both languages. We'll see.