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Published: November 6th 2011
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Hello everyone!
Here is Grenoble it has been rainy for the past couple days, which is a first because usually it is nice and sunny! This weekend has been pretty quiet for me, I went out with some friends on Friday night and on Saturday I went skating with some other exchange people which was fun.
Courses are going well; I have a midterm in my economics class in a couple of weeks so I will have to work hard for that. I also have a couple of presentations due this month, so you see November is going to be a busy month!
I will now fill you in on what has been going on the last half of October.
I told you that I was going on a weekend trip in the mountains with a bunch of international and French students from the program Integre. They are a program that organizes activities every week that brings people together to form new friendships. The weekend was really great.
Weekend in the Mountains
The weather was hot and sunny, the trees were all changing colours and being in the fresh mountain air was invigorating! We went to the chalet
by bus which took about an hour or so, and when we got there we started off on a big hike. We had the choice to turn back after lunch, but I stayed on and continued till five in the afternoon! My legs were aching the day after, but it was worth it to see the spectacular views, and the mountain ranges that were formed over centuries by the wind cutting them into bizarre shapes.
After the hike we got ready (quickly) for a disguise party. We had to dress up in something that starts with D, so I decided to be the Dali Lama. Unfortunately I was not the only one that though of this and another guy with a pretend bald head looked way more like the Dali Lama then I did! We danced all night and sang Kareoke song which was a blast! I loved learning some French songs that were pretty funny.
“pour un flirt avec toi” and “Partenaire Particulare” where some of my favourites.
Then I got some girls together to sing Spice Girls at the end, which was a big hit.
The next day, we did acrobranching in the trees. This is
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the hike at the top an activity like rock climbing but instead there are rope courses in the trees that you have to get yourself through. I was one of the few girls that did the most difficult part.
After that we spent time in the sun, playing card games and soccer and then headed back home. I was exhausted from a great weekend with friends, fun and nature!
Belgium
The students of France have a week vacation for the fete de le Toussaint. It is a religious holiday which is pretty contradictory as France is one of the strictest countries in the world for the separation of church and the state. Public schools in France run by the church get no funding from the state, and this is also why they have banned Muslim girls from wearing burkas that covers their face.
Anyways as I was saying, I decided to spend my holiday in Belgium to visit my friends that I made when I lived there at eighteen. I stayed in my friend Adeline’s apartment and had a lot of fun with her discovering the Belgium night life.
The most interesting soiree by far was the 24 hour student party
in Louvain le Neuve, which is the biggest student party in Belgium. We did not go for the whole day, but basically it is just a big student party where they make weird parade floats and race them around the city of Leuvain, then they have a bike race to see how long the contestants can last.
I went there with Adeline and her gang of Bâtisses from Mons. They are a sort of club that most universities have in Belgium. The goal of these clubs is just to have a lot of fun, and party and drink all the time from what I saw.
Basically to get into these Batisses circles, they haze the students; making them do pretty disqusting and embarrassing things sometimes. The haze phase for Adeline went on for two weeks (not everyday luckily). So she made it through the whole thing and afterwards she was officially part of the group. She got her Peigne which is a hat with a very long brim that ‘hides their face from god’ and also a white scientific coat which everyone writes on and she is not allowed to wash it no matter how dirty it gets.
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me as the Dali Lama These student groups are a tradition in Belgium and have been going on for almost 100 years. They put on parties that are exclusive for members only, and the goal is to drink allot of beers. They are very close and act like a big family group that have fun together.
Anyways I was in a bus going to Leuvain with all these crazy people. During the ride they were all singing very barbaric songs (mostly about sex and drinking and that they were better than the student group at Levain that does not have a brim on their hats. It was a very interesting experience to say the least!
We got to Leuvain, which was filled with students (im guessing
around 40,000). And we just drank beers, listened to music and danced all night. The bus took as all home at 3 in the morning which I was glad because I was exhausted trying to keep up with all these crazy people! Lol
It was an experience and I really enjoyed the night, learning more about Belgium folk lore and its people that love partying and love their beer!
Coming up!
This month besides
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In belgium with new friends doing allot of school work I plan to go on a day trip to Lyon ( the second biggest city in france)next week as well as a day trip to Tourin Italy the last weekend of the month. I already bought my ticket to spend Christmas with my host family in Belgium so that will be nice spending two weeks with them in a house instead of a tiny little room with no bath!
I am happy here in Grenoble France, and I’m excited for the end of this semester and starting another one that will be easier and stressful because I have learnt the drill and have done all of the paperwork, at least I hope!
Much love
Your adventurer
Rebecca
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Sarah Bloom
non-member comment
Bonjour!!
Hi Rebecca, Lovely to read about all your adventures. What an amazing experience you are having. Grenoble is stunning for sure. It sounds like you are putting 100% into school, travel and friends. Good for you. Enjoy every moment!!!