Having Insight

From the very beginning I knew that I would save this blog prompt for last. Now that the semester is over I can truly look back and see if I experience any insight. Obviously my insight was not to the same extent that Greg Mortensen's insight in Three Cups of Tea. Though less significant to the greater population, to me it has had a vast impact on my life.
I think that Greg Mortensen's greatest moment of insight is when he wanders into that little village and sees the school children. It was that moment when he realized what he life was in the part of the world where he went for recreation only. That moment he discovered what he was meant to do and what he was going to spend his life doing. At a moment of personal disappointment and assumed failure he saw his calling. By gaining this perception of how the village people live Greg Mortensen's life is completely changed.
The moment that Greg saw the little group of schoolchildren he knew what he was meant to do, he gained insight into his life's meaning. The insight that I gain was not as remarkable as Mortensen's. Obviously it was of much less importance, but I am talking about how it was even unapparent to me. I did not realize that I even had insight into my life until I looked back over this semester.
I now know that I am completely capable to survive on my own. I know that this is insignificant but I feel that is an important aspect of my life. Before leaving for France I knew that I was going to have a hard time living so far away from home. The first days on campus were extremely tough and I almost regretted decided to come on this trip. Now I realized that I have been living on my own for almost four months. Time has gone by so fast that I didn't even realize how long I have been away from everyone thatt I love. Now I am leaving France in two days. I now know that I am completely capable of anything that I choose to do. This trip has helped me realize that.

Our Final Week of Classes and the Stress that it Brings

Our final week of classes has now come to a close and we are finally on the last stretch of this semester. While looking back some parts seem to have passed by very quickly. I feel like I have not had enough time to spend in France with my friends, but on the other hand the classes seemed like they were never going to end.
To be completely honest I enjoyed very few of the classes that I took part in this semester. I really love European Union, I like philosophy,and I enjoy my writing class. Other than that my other courses were quite unbearable. Now that it is December and I am leaving in less than a week it seems like a miracle that I made it this long. It was a real challenge at the end. Not the work load, I have grown accustomed to the massive amounts of homework, it was the extent to which it killed my soul to sit three hours at a time in these classes. Two of my classes absolutely nothing ever got accomplished. The teachers stood in the front of the room and talked randomly about a mess of things. Eventually they would announce a test and say all of the things that they supposedly taught during their classes. Mentioning a name once does not mean you taught the class about that person!
I just get frustrated when I think people are not doing there jobs. I am just glad that these classes are almost over. Finals are next week and I plan on spending the entire weekend studying. Come what may but I want to try to ace all four of them. As hard as that sounds I have set a personal goal that I will work to reach. At this point I am just ready to go home and after finals that is exactly what I am going to do.

The French Take Christmas Very Seriously

The French are a very tradition based cultural.France being a much older country than the United States these traditions are older and more widely spread. One of the most time honored traditions, at least for this region, is the Christmas markets. From mid-November through the end of December the Alsace region along with Germany is a complete Christmas wonderland.
Our little village of Robertsau is completely covered with lights. They are dangling from the trees, from the buildings, and even draped over bushes. The roads are arched with giant banners forming glowing stars and Christmas tress. In the center of the city by the church the Christmas spirit is truly at its highest. Every single business is not only displaying the Christmas decoration they are completely covered. One building can hold three dozen Santa hats and several giant teddy bears. It is crazy how into Christmas everyone is.
It is not only the decoration that makes the Holiday season special here in Alsace it is the markets. The entire town has gotten taken over by the festivities. Strasbourg is known as the "Capital of Christmas" and I can see that it truly deserves this title. There are maps displayed throughout town that show the entire layout of the market. Strasbourg is home to the first and largest Christmas market in France. Because of the market's size it is divided and is spread into different areas of the city. I have walked around the market here in Strasbourg and one in Freiburg, Germany both are wonderful, but I have to say Strasbourg is the best.
The Christmas Market is a wonderful place to buy presents, eat food, drink hot wine, and admire all of the beautiful lights and decorations. But First and foremost the Christmas Market gets you into the Christmas spirit. That makes me miss home. I cannot wait for a great, big New Hampshire Christmas with all of me friends and family.