Hello everyone!

I am back from my first study/travel break to Copenhagen and Milan. I had a FANTASTIC time in both places with the people I went with. Copenhagen was my favorite because the people there were very friendly and spoke english(danish also sounds a lot like english-they are similar!) Also, we saw many, many buildings and were able to walk more places.

Admittedly, I liked Copenhagen a lot more than I thought I would. I much prefer historic architecture to modern architecture, so when I heard that Copenhagen was very "modern" I was a little hesitant about going. But I was very wrong! Copenhagen is modern in the sense that it is very neat, clean, and geometric. They don't necessarily have a lot of skyscrapers and metallic buildings, but the style of architecture is very postmodern-it's different and sort of avant-garde. We stayed at a hostel where the furniture looked like something you would find in a cutting edge art museum! We were in Copenhagen for three-four days and explored lots of the buildings and did lots of sketching. Some of the buildings/monuments we saw were...a glass Opera house on an island right off the coast, the Marble church, the main square(where the queen lives), the Denmark Art and design museum, the Little Mermaid, the National Gallery of Denmark, Rosenborg Castle and the King's gardens, the Old Stock Exchange, and Christiansborg Palace. On average I did about four-five hours of sketching every day, walking around to different places and drawing all that I could. Still, I wish I had done more ;) The weather was very cold and foggy...not so good for sketching, but it gave the harbor and coast a nice look. One night my friends and I carved pumpkins at a bar. A few of us also stayed at a REALLY fancy hotel(because we suddenly couldn't find housing for the last night)....so that was fun. Overall I really enjoyed my time in Copenhagen and am so glad I went.

Then we headed to Milan, Italy. As you can imagine, no one else thought to veer that far off course! But we found a cheap flight there and it was well worth it. We had less time in Milan, but I still got a lot of sketching in and saw a lot of wonderful places. One of the buildings we saw was the Duomo cathedral(by far one of the most amazing buildings I have seen....ever.) It is the most massive cathedral I have ever seen, with every square inch carved with ornate stone detail-figures, flowers, animals, etc. The whole building looks like a big ornamented castle. It is very wide and tall-right in the middle of the main square of Milan. You can even go to the top of the cathedral and walk in and out of the structure, touch the buttresses and spires, and get a really great view of Milan. I went up at night, and it was absolutely magical. We mainly explored the main square and the buildings around it....some of the other buildings we saw were the Palazzo Reale, S. Babila, a modern art museum, and Castello Sforzesco(a huge fortified castle and courtyard). There weren't as many buildings to see in Milan, but I enjoyed the different atmosphere, the food, and hearing the Italian language. I did an intense sketch on the art museum. I noticed that by the end of the trip my sketching had REALLY improved, which is what I was hoping for. It really is important to just practice, practice, practice.

So...I had a wonderful first study/travel break, and I look forward to the next one(Barcelona!!)

The Friday after we got back there was a studio party at the school...put on by the french architecture students. It was a halloween-themed party, so everyone dressed up in costumes, zombie-like attire, makeup...I really enjoyed dressing up. At the party I met up with my french friends(the people I worked with for the first project) and I met some new people. They had a big brass band and they played Beach Boys music! Everyone was swing dancing to the music and having a good time.

The next night I went to the "Cyrano" movie theatre to see Tintin in 3D. That's right-in french! I actually understood a lot of the french, and learned a lot more words and the correct way to say things, etc. The french theatre is different from the US because people basically gather in a huge mob(with no breathingn space) until they are let in. I don't know if it was just that night, or if it really is that way in general, but it was crazy! Also, the seats are 100% cushion on top and bottom and very comfy :) The theatre space was nice and large.

Then...yesterday I spent the whole day in Paris. I met up with a french friend in the morning who showed me around Paris a bit, we had lunch at a cafe, then I went my own way and explored some buildings I hadn't seen before. I taught myself to use the metro system-so now I know how to go anywhere and everywhere in Paris! Before I would just take the train into Paris, pick a good stop to get off at, and then just walk everywhere, but the metro makes life so much easier...you can go from one side of Paris to the other in a matter of minutes, so it really saves on time and it keeps you less tired! I saw the Chateau de Vincennes, the Place des Vogues, and the place where the Bastille originally was(now there is just a monumental column). I hadn't known that the Bastille burned down...but now I do!

Later that night our group went to the Stade de France for the US vs. France soccer game! It was a pretty short game...France beat the US 1 to 0. We met other American people there, which was cool. I thought it was awesome to see a sports game in France...overall the french are a lot quieter and really intent on watching the game. It was a really fun, great day in Paris.

And tomorrow I am going to go to church with my host family. We are going to the same church that I went inside when I was walking through the neighborhood a while ago...it is such a beautiful church, and I had no idea they went there! So I am very excited for that.

Until next time.
Au revoir!
~Diana

Hey everyone!

Whew...there is a lot to tell you ;)

Last week I went to the Chateau gardens, so now I can say that I officially know what and where my blog picture is! It was absolutely amazing...very beautiful. I will have to go back when the weather is warmer and the flowers are in bloom. When I walked down to the large area with swirling hedge designs, however, there were fruit trees and bushes in bloom, so that was nice. That was where King Louis had all of his exotic plants and animals imported from all over the world!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before...but I am currently working in a team with four french students for our first studio project of the school year. It is a four-week intensive project, so we are actually close to finishing it. There is only one american per team, so the most of the communication is in french, and it has been a challenge for us all! I have learned a lot more french from my teammates, but overall it is still difficult for me to understand what they're saying(they speak english very well, but they almost always speak in french while working). I have had to push myself to speak french more.

We have studio from Monday-Wednesday all day during the week. The other two days we have our regularly classes(in english ;)) Turns out that the french students are taking very similar classes to us, but of course, their lectures are in french. The school I'm going to is an all architecture school, so we are with the same people all the time(all of the american students have the same classes together, and everyone comes together for studio during the week). We can eat lunch in the cafeteria in the courtyard of the school, and see everyone we know. Upstairs there is a student cafe where people serve drinks, listen to music, play games, and just hang out. Overall the school is a really neat place.

Our project coordinator was just telling us about all the student associations at the school and the activities we can join. They all sounded really interested and I'm thinking of joining a few. One of the U of I students suggested(in the spirit of Halloween) that we take the french students to an orchard to pick pumpkins and then carve them. I am super excited for that! Our coordinator also told us that there is a band at the school(a jazz brass band) that would come and play and it would be a lot of fun.

Another special thing we're doing is our Thanksgiving dinner, right before our second travel break. We eat a fancy thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant in Versailles. I also think that we might have a dinner with the french students. I hope so! :D

I was really happy to hear about all the activities going on at the school and getting involved with life at the school. I love the french students and I want to get to know them better. I am really excited for the rest of this year and all of the wonderful things it is going to bring!! :)

So...our first studio project is due this Wednesday. We were given an architectural word(carving out, assemblage, suspension, bridging, etc.) with the purpose of creating a piece of architecture that represented that word. We had to choose two sites(one in nature and one in the city) and design one building/structure/space for each that portrayed our word. Our group got "bridging"(franchissment). Most of the orientation lecture and directions were explained in french! I found that as I worked with my group, we had a lot of the same ideas and lines of thinking. It was nice, because that kind of made up for the barrier in communication. This Wednesday our studio reviews last the whole day, and we have to present our project in front of everyone in the auditorium. Ahhh!! I am hoping it will go well.

On the Thursday afterwards a group of friends and I are leaving for Copenhagen for our first study/travel break. We are staying in Copenhagen and the surrounding area for the first four days, and then we are flying to Milan for the rest of it. For our travel breaks we are required to do intensive sketching everyday, and turn in a record of our trip through these sketches when we return. I am super excited for the sketching! I love to draw and I look forward to seeing how much my drawing is going to improve.

Last week our statics(architectural structures) class went to Paris to see La Defense(a modern square with lots of skyscrapers and modern buildings). I think it's interesting how Paris is full of historic architecture, yet also becoming more modernized for the future. Yesterday, our history class went to Paris and visited the Sainte-Chapelle cathedral(the building I'm doing my paper on, so I had already been there before), and Notre Dame. I went inside Notre Dame for the first time and saw a service going on. It was incredible! It is amazing just to be in these buildings and to be there in Paris!

I also took a walk around my neighborhood last Saturday(it was a beautiful day) and saw so many wonderful buildings just in the area...all of the houses are tall with stone/rubble walls, painted wood doors, and lacy metal trim details. Even the churches in the area must be very old because they look Romanesque-built with the same stone vaulting and stained glass windows. I am amazed by everything I see. It is so beautiful here in France.

So things are moving pretty fast now...I am really excited about everything that is going on and everything that is coming up...I finally feel like I really love it here and I'm beginning to dread coming back home! I know it will be a long time from now, but I feel like the time will go fast and I just want to enjoy every minute of every day.

Until next time!
~Diana :)

The French

Here are something interesting things I've learned about french culture that I'd like to share with you, in case you didn't know:

1) They do not like to show people around their house. The family I'm staying with has a HUGE house-and I didn't get to see any of it! They only showed me the room in which I'm staying. They didn't even show me the garden in the back, or say anything about it. It really is a beautiful house though and I'm so happy to be living here and in this nice neighborhood. My family did have me for lunch though, so then they took me into the dining room and I saw more of the house, but it is not in their nature to give you a "tour" of their home, so to speak.

2) In public they do not smile or even make eye contact with other people very often...they tend to look very serious and caught up in their own thoughts, and smiling can mean that you are interested in somebody, so people have told us not to do it!

3) They have different ideas about stores...most stores are closed on Sundays, and also a lot on Mondays, and there is no such thing as a store that is open 24/7. You won't find a place like Walgreens where you can get medication anytime you need it, you just have to wait until the next day.

4) I've also noticed that when I go to the grocery store people don't bag my groceries...haha. I noticed this because I used to work at a Pick n Save. You are expected to bring your own bags and bag your own groceries.

The culture is different over here, but not difficult to get used to. The only difficult thing, in my opinion, is speaking French(I'm still learning), especially since native speakers are going to talk really fast and with the accent it's hard to pick up on what they're saying.

I'll keep you guys updated with other interesting things I observe!

Travels in France

Hey everyone,

I am back from my three-day trip to Orleans, Tours, and Saumur. We took a bus to various different buildings, and stayed there a while while our professors spoke about them and gave us time to sketch. It was the Fall semester sketching trip-a field trip specifically to document our experience through sketches and notes. Just from that trip, I learned what I am doing wrong in sketching and how I can improve my work, and have already noticed an improvement just from all the practicing we've been doing.

The various buildings/monuments/bridges we saw were: In Orleans: Orleans Cathedral, and Pont de l'Europe(by Calatrava). In Tours: Vinci Convention Center, and Cathedral St. Gatien. And in Saumur: Chateau de Saumur, Place de St. Pierre, Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame d'Ardilliers, Abbaye de Fontevraud(an abbey for monks, one of my favorites), and Chateau de Chambord(a beautiful castle-home, another favorite).

I am contemplating posting some of my sketches on facebook(only the good ones, though, hahaha).

During the field trip we stayed at a really nice youth hostel where they served us dinner and breakfast(we ate lunch while we were out). At night we went out and explored the town and sat under the Pont de L'Europe. Very pretty!

On another note...due to all of the hours we spent on the bus, we watched all three Lord of the Rings movies(I had never seen them, so I really enjoyed that :) )

People are already making travel plans for this semester, so my friends and I have decided that we are going to Copenhagen and Denmark for the week-long thanksgiving break, Barcelona for a four-day break, and Germany during a three-day weekend. That should take care of first semester travel breaks. For the Spring semester I plan on going to Greece for the sketching trip, otherwise Italy(that is the other option). So I have a lot to look forward to!! :)

Keep reading, and have a nice day!
~Diana

I forgot to mention, if you want to see my photos of the trip so far you can go to my facebook page. All the albums are public. I update the pictures regularly, so there is lots to see!

http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=341768#!/profile.php?id=660758736

You might need to have a facebook account, but after you sign up just add me as "friend" and then you will be able to see my photographs.

Diana's adventure in Paris

Hey everyone!

So...last Friday my friends and I decided to check out the Versailles mall. It was pretty fun, and we saw some cool stores. On the way home we talked about going into Paris again the next day, but most of my friends wanted to do some shopping. I wasn't interested...so I decided to go into Paris by myself!

On Tuesday of last week our history professor told us that we were to meet in Paris for another walking tour. Meet...in Paris. That's right. No meeting at the train station. Well, I was completely terrified. I didn't understand how the train system worked and was feeling really stressed about it. Transportation(buses, trains, airports) is not something I naturally embrace in life, so I felt the fear(haha) but knew this was something I had to learn how to do on my own. A friend met me at the train station and explained to me which train to take and what stop to get off at, and we met the rest of the students just fine that morning. We had another small tour of Paris and did some sketching, then were dismissed for lunch and were free the rest of the day. My friends and I decided to stay in Paris and do some more sketching. I sketched Notre Dame! It was a great day.

But anyway, getting back to last Saturday...I didn't want to go shopping in Paris, I wanted to see more monuments and architecture like the Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle cathedral, etc. so I decided to go by myself! As you can imagine, I was somewhat scared because this would be the ultimate test to see if I could navigate the train system and make it back to Versailles alive(haha...I'm not exaggerating, transportation scares me that much), but I also felt excited because I was going to learn something new and really grow as a person!

So I got a map of Paris from the tourism office and planned out where I wanted to go in Paris! On Saturday morning I got there early, got on the train, and arrived in Paris getting off at Notre Dame(the usual stop). I got off the train and exited the train station(Go me!) and there I was, in Paris, on my own and free! I was super excited. I walked to the Sainte-Chapelle cathedral(for those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's probably my favorite cathedral because it has the most stained glass of any cathedral I know, it's so pretty) and since it was early in the morning there was so much light shining in it made the interior absolutely breathtaking! I am also doing my research paper on Sainte-Chapelle, so I was super anxious to see that cathedral first!

Then I walked down the street(not really knowing where I was going, but willing to explore) and shopped at various street shops and bought a few souvenirs. As I was exploring the area I saw a few of the buildings we had seen on the walking tours and began to understand more of where I was and how the city was put together. That's right, I was learning how to get around Paris!

I had lunch and then went back to the train station to get off by the Louvre. I used my map to walk to the Louvre, but ended up exploring the Tuileries gardens instead. Suddenly I saw the Arch de Triomphe in the distance and decided to walk to it! Unfortunately I was deceived by the distance and ended up walking over a mile...haha. But it was totally worth it, and I got to see many Parisian shops and other beautiful architecture along the way. I finally got to the arch and went underground in order to stand right beneath it(the arch is on an island in the middle of a road, so you have to come up from beneath). It was very cool to see it.

Then I did something else that was very exciting...up until going to the arch I had been walking on my own down the same street, but this time I pulled out the map and was figuring out how to get to another place I wanted to go(the Opera house). I had walked a really long way to get to the arch, so walking to the Opera from the Louvre seemed liked nothing! I walked all the way back, navigated the streets, and successfully made it to the Opera house.

By that time I had done a lot of walking and was ready to go home. I walked back to the train station(keeping in mind which train I had to take) and made it back to Versailles. I had an absolutely fabulous day in Paris, my own adventure, where I went everywhere I wanted to go! More importantly, though, my confidence sky-rocketed in terms of taking the train, reading maps, finding my way around, etc. I've never had to do that on my own, and with Paris being such a big city, it was a great learning experience and now I know I can do it!

My friends ended up shopping the whole day so I was really really glad I took the chance and had my own day in Paris, hehe ;) Now I have overcome my fear of the train station and map-reading.

This weekend all of the students are going on a three-day trip to Orleans, Tours, and Saumar. It is a sketching trip, so we are required to document our experience through multiple sketches, sort of like a scrapbook except all hand drawn. I am very excited to do this and get more sketching experience. I'm sure I will enjoy the trip!

On Monday we start our first studio project. This project will be a challenging one because we are put in teams with french students, and possibly students that speak languages other than french, so communication will be difficult and we will have to do the best we can. Studio life is different here-we kind of have to assert our own workspace, we are not given one. We really have to make an effort to communicate with the french students in order to accomplish a goal. The french students have their own classes in french, so they are not directly with us, but come studio time we will be seeing them most days. I am excited to meet new people and use my language skills. This will be like nothing I have ever done before!

Until next time,
Diana :)

First update from France

Bonjour everyone!!! Sorry it took me so long to update, but finally I have some time to sit down and write!! As you can imagine, I have been super busy getting settled in and enjoying my time here in France. I have already done many things and seen wonderful pieces of architecture, what this trip is all about!

For starters, I am living with a French family here in Versailles. It is a man and woman with four children, all very young(the oldest is 8, the others are around 3-6). The couple speaks English pretty well, but the children know only very little, so they are always speaking French to me! From the moment I arrived at my housing, I had to muster the little french I knew in order to communicate with the family. They help me with my french, and I help them with english. It is a nice trade off, but is certainly a challenge for me considering I know very little french and am living in an environment where french is spoken all the time! I am definitely making an effort, trying to spit out words here and there and use hand motions, and I am making lots of mistakes, but I look forward to seeing how well I can speak french by the end of the next 8 months!!

My family is super nice and welcoming. They live in a small but beautiful home in a quiet neighborhood. Every day the french come home to eat lunch, so I see lots of kids walking home in groups and I love listening to them speak french! My room is wonderful-I have my own little kitchen area, my own bathroom, and internet access. I really couldn't ask for more. My family invited me to have lunch with them yesterday, and I told them all I could about where I was from and what special hobbies I had, so we got to know eachother better. I feel so lucky with my housing and don't think it could be any better.

As far as my school life is going, our group(all 40 of us), have the same classes so we are with eachother all the time. Right now we are taking history, statics, and french language, but we do not start our studio projects until October, so we have not met the french students yet. As I mentioned earlier, the school is the building where the horses' stables used to be, so that is where we are studying!! It is a beautiful building, right next to the Palace of Versailles.

A group of friends and I went to see the palace and walked around the interior-it is absolutely magnificent. I am planning on seeing the gardens sometime this week...what it shows in my picture above! It is so easy to get to the chateau by bus, and it is right next to the school so we can go there anytime!

I am getting used to getting around Versailles-taking the bus, grocery shopping, getting a cell phone, eating out, etc. and am becoming more and more comfortable with my life here every day. French food is amazing, and their fashion sense is also a lot better than ours, so these are little things I have observed and tried to be sensitive to. They live life differently-they don't use as much water and electricity, so I have accommodated my routine to also using less, because I want to be as 'french' as possible while I am here.

The most fun I have had so far is going to Paris-I have been there twice now with my friends. The first weekend we had a walking tour, where we saw tons of buildings like Notre Dame, walked through the park, circulated among the streets of Paris, and ate out at a fancy cafe. We learned how to use the train system to go to Paris and back to Versailles(well, I'm still struggling with it, but my friends understand :P)

The second weekend(this weekend) in Paris we left early in the morning and stayed there all day, late into the night. We saw the Roman baths of Cluny, la Sorbonne(a really famous prestigious school), the Paris opera house, the Basilique du sacre-coeur, a basicila at the top of the highest point in Paris(which gives you a wonderful view of the city), and of course, the Eiffel tower! After walking around, street shopping, etc. we went to a store to get baguettes, french cheese, wine, and chocolate, and headed to the Eiffel tower for a picnic! We sat in the grass and enjoyed our french meal while having an amazing view of the tower. When it got dark, the tower lit up and it was a beautiful display! Then it started to rain and everyone took out there umbrellas and started to walk past the tower-it was such a cool scene! We took pictures in the rain for a while, and then walked towards another building where a band was playing music, and I learned how to salsa! haha ;P It was a perfect ending to a fabulous day, and I became really good friends with other students on the trip.

I've really enjoyed my time here in Versailles so far. I can't believe it's only been two weeks-I've done and seen so much. My classes are interesting, and there is just so much to see and do in Versailles and Paris alone. I have not yet decided where I'm going for my independent study/travel breaks, but the places I'm interested in are Barcelona, Germany, and Greece. Groups are already forming based on where we want to go, and I am getting really excited to see the world!! :D

I will keep everyone updated with my travels and experiences! Until next time!!!

The journey begins...here

Hey everyone!! I am so excited to start this blog!!! It's hard to believe, but in less than a week I will be on my way to Europe to begin a whole new way of life! I want to make this trip as meaningful as possible, so I am making a promise to myself that I will take chances and live each day to the fullest, attempt to speak the French and take in everything I can culturally, aesthetically, and experience-wise. I know that I will have many wonderful adventures while I am abroad, learn sooo much about the architecture, and really grow as person...and you will get to see my progress as I share my stories with you! I hope you are as excited as I am!

For those of you who aren't familiar with what I'm about to do...this is my third year in architecture. During the third year, students can study abroad in France for the whole year, while still taking the same classes they would at the university. The school I'm going to is stationed in Versailles, France. It is part of the Palace of Versailles, which was remodeled for this purpose. A group of about 40 of us are studying at this school, along with other French students in architecture. We are able to work directly with French students on various projects throughout the year. In addition, we take field trips throughout the year to specific places in France, and we also have special "study/travel" periods where we can travel to other places in Europe. I am really looking forward to the people I'm going to meet and the places I'm going to see!

Thus begins a once in a lifetime journey I'm sure I'll never forget...I'm glad I can keep my friends/family in the US posted as I take part in this amazing experience. Next time I post here, I'll be in good ol' Paris! Bon voyage!! :)