Today, I was hit by the sudden realization that I have been living in France for almost two months now. Midterms are approaching, and I have finally reached a point where my eyes no longer need to stay glued to the google maps app on my phone in order for me to understand how to make my way home no matter what my departure point might be.
I wouldn’t say I feel like a complete Parisian (yet), but my room has finally become a safe space I look forward to retrieving back to after a long day, it feels natural to walk around my neighborhood to do groceries and pick up a few beauty products at the pharmacy, and I have become a little more adapted to classes at Paris Diderot, the big university I attend in addition to Reid Hall.
Upon this realization, I started to reflect on just how much I have grown here in such a short period of time, through both victories and moments of pure euphoria, as well as the expected occasional discomfort and homesickness that come with relocating to a new city. Looking back, I am really thankful that HiF organized a ten day long orientation in Biarritz, a small beach town in the Basque country, at the frontier between France and Spain. To think that orientation ended about a month and a half ago feels incredibly surreal. I so vividly remember being quite nervous and truly not knowing what to expect the evening before my flight. My time in Biarritz ended up being beyond special. As a Miami Beach local, it felt comforting to begin my journey in France in proximity of the sea. The summer-y ambiance and generous length of the program’s orientation allowed me to conduct some much needed introspection, become acquainted with a different rhythm of life, discover an area of France I had never traveled to previously, and form very special connections that have only been strengthened since my arrival to Paris.Â
Considering I never shared any photographs from my time in Biarritz, I thought doing so now, during this moment of (premature) nostalgia, would be a good way of celebrating already being halfway through this Parisian semester.Â
I’m thankful for the sorbets by the beach with friends at sunset time, that one karaoke night, the post-class baignades at the Grande Plage, my host family’s tortilla de patatas, pan tumaca, and tarte a la tomate, the uphill walks home with my roommate after a night out, and all the beautiful, different-colored roses I saw during my stay.Â
Evening commute near Old Street, London
Evening commute near Old Street, LondonEvening commute near Old Street, LondonEvening commute near Old Street, LondonEvening commute near Old Street, London
“Old Street and the surrounding areas of Hoxton Square and Great Eastern Street host a thriving night life. The street and its adjacent areas have attracted IT and tech companies, both established and start-ups, and Old Street Roundabout, located at the junction with City Road, has been dubbed Silicon Roundabout. Old Street station is located under the roundabout. With the increase in passenger numbers using the station, in 2014 Transport for London announced that it was to offer pop-up retail space there as part of a drive to increase its revenue. Within the past few years, Old Street has become a favored location for notable graffiti artists such as Banksy.”
Extinction Rebellion climate protesters have promised to continue their mass civil disobedience campaign in London despite a city-wide ban on their demonstrations announced late on Monday night.
Hundreds of police officers moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s camp in Trafalgar Square on Monday night.
Here is a series of photographs I took at the protest.
Billingsgate Market is UK’s largest in-land fish market, with nearly 100 stalls, 30 shops, a cafe and an array of cold rooms and freezers spread over the 13-acre site at Poplar, in the shadow of the Canary Wharf skyscrapers. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London. Inside the market, Piggy’s Cafe is legendary. This is where you can have your classic English breakfast, or sit down to a delicious haddock and poached egg breakfast over a tea or coffee. It’s easy to find as it is the only restauarnt in the market. An authantic English breakfast with FISH would cost around 11-13 GBP. Highly recommended!
At Dawn
Billingsgate Market and the highrisersShoppersTransportation is CRUCIAL for keeping the seafood FRESH.RushShoppersFresh SalmonPiggy’s Cafe is legendary.Reduce, reuse, recycleReduce, reuse, recycleAfter 7amGood Place for Good Fish
This past weekend, HCAYS went on an academic excursion to AndalucĂa. AndalucĂa is located in the southern tip of Spain and it’s significantly different from other parts of Spain because there is a huge Arabic influence in the area, having been under Moorish rule from the 8th-15th centuries. Language, culture, and gastronomy were all different from those of the North and continue to be different ’til this day. Ever since I started listening to Spanish singer RosalĂa, I’ve become a fan of flamenco, so it was cool to visit the region where the famous style of dance & music originated. The three cities we visited were CĂłrdoba, Ronda, and Málaga and they each had something different to offer, but I think it’s safe to say that the one thing that they all had in common were beautiful views.Â
Friday
In the morning, we took the AVE (Spain’s high speed rail service) from Madrid to CĂłrdoba. It took a bit under 2 hours on the AVE, and for comparison, if you were to drive down there, the fastest route would take about 4 hours.Â
After la Reconquista, the Moors were driven out from the Iberian peninsula if they did not convert to Christianity, and the Christian population re-took over the south of Spain. Because of this, there exists Mosques with Christian symbols and sanctuaries inside. In the Mosque shown below, an entire cathedral was later built onto the back end of a mosque.
These two photos belong to the same building.
Saturday
Today, we headed over to Ronda, which is a mountaintop city with the best views out of the three cities we visited in my opinion. We took a long walk through the historic city and saw the main monuments such as the Plaza of Bulls, the bridge that connects the two parts of the city, and Ancient Arab bathrooms.Â
Puente Nuevo
The ancient Arab bathrooms were not only used as a place to cleanse yourself both physically and spiritually, but they were also a place of socialization…kind of like the bathrooms at Hamilton!
Sunday
We spent Sunday in Málaga, which is the birthplace of famous painter Pablo Picasso. In addition to visiting his museum, we visited a castle located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and an ancient Roman theatre.
View from the Castillo de Gibralfaro. If you look closely at the horizon, you can see the coast of northern Africa!
In addition to the art history class that I’m taking, we usually visit at least one museum on these academic excursions around Spain, so I am consuming, analyzing, and critiquing a lot of art this semester. I found many of Picasso’s works to be captivating, and I really like the cubism movement that he started because I think it’s genius that he thought to represent objects and people as a composition of shapes. On the other hand, he also has a large collection of abstract paintings, which to me looked like they were rushed and/or created by a child, and I feel like if that style of painting wasn’t unique to him, people wouldn’t find them at all special.
This cool hand/bird statue I found while walking through the streets of Málaga reminded me of how I used to draw turkeys as a kid.
Bankside, LondonLondonNew housing units in progress, St.Pancras Basin, LondonLondonLondonTower Bridge not London BridgeLondonLondonLondonStratford Place, LondonStratford Place, LondonStratford Place, London
This cool hand/bird statue I found while walking through the streets of Málaga reminded me of how I used to draw turkeys as a kid.
