Blogs from Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Europe - page 5

Dear all, My life in Cambridge is over so it is high time for an update of my travel blog. The past few months have been tough, but now I can look back at my year in Cambridge with great satisfaction. The third term in Cambridge (Easter Term) is exam term, which means that one has to study 12-16 hours a day, seven days a week for eight consecutive weeks. Fortunately I had some relaxing intermezzos with Sebastian, my parents and my brothers visiting me. Not much else happened during this period because I was in the library all other days. The results came out a few weeks after the sitting of the exams, and I received them with rather mixed feelings. My grades were OK, but I unfortunately missed out on a first class mark ... read more

Disclaimer: I am typing this in an internet cafe in Montpellier on a french keyboard so I have to type slow thus a fairly weak blog which will be riddled with spelling errors. Bonjour. Had a fairly decent train ride up to Montpellier. Rode along the coast for a while on the way up so those were some pretty fantastic views. Was greeted at the station by Alice, a nice British girl who is friends with my host Anil and another CSer. Went back to her place so I could put my pack down so I could roam around town until Anil got off work. Showed me a bit around before she had to head off to take care of work. Spent a little bit of time roaming around before stopping for lunch. The food here ... read more

Just testing this out....... read more

The grève has been going on since late January now. Sadly we've all gotten used to missing proffeseurs and the political propaganda on campus. You would think that it couldn't get any worse. But of course it did. The students have decided to rally alongside their teachers and take a stand against the government, and so things have gotten bad. It all started last Tuesday. After a nice relaxing lunch, a group of friends and I sat out on the grassy knolls to enjoy the weather and gaze upon an art exhibit. It was quiet, relaxing, and very enjoyable. Later we get word from a fellow American students that there is a gathering a Amphi Building A in which French students are yelling at professeurs and other students and are exclaiming that the university is officially ... read more

France is really really really special. I still don't get it, but I refuse to question it. Last Thursday was the National Greve, meaning National Strike. Most classes were canceled by teachers and students who went on strike against the government. It was impossible to get anywhere on public transportation because the roads were blocked off for at least three hours. I'm told that the Strike was for French workers who were angry at the current state of the economy and wanted the government to come in and intervene. Create more jobs and such. There were a lot of Anti-Sarkozy things and one group in the parade (because really, it was a big party) had a guilitine chopping off the heads of dolls for their visual. Yep yep yep. Still don't get how people not going ... read more