49100

Chronicles of a working mom who went to Angers, France for a 5-month International Student Exchange Program stint

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# 1: The Biggest Challenge

# 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9   ESSCAn for a semester # 8   The International Students Community # 7   The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers # 6   The Ultimate French Food Porn # 5   Of Paella & Sangria & Sagrada: Hola Barcelona! # 4   In Itay, “La Vita e Bella!” # 3   À Bientôt, La France # 2   Team Pinas: Acquaintances Turned Lifetime Friends

This is to culminate the series of posts about my international exchange program experience.

The biggest challenge was leaving. It was excruciatingly difficult to be away from family. My hats off to the OFWs who continuously endure it. I cried myself to sleep during the first few days. I missed their smell. It was difficult to sleep at night when I was used to sleeping beside them for years. I learned to drink milk to put myself to sleep. Thank you to Skype for letting me see them real time. However, the time zone difference can get tricky at finding the best times for these calls.

Because I left, I missed my husband's 34th birthday, our anniversary, and yeah, 5 months worth of s** that we compensated with lame video calls and SOPs that usually happened at broad daylight in my timezone. I missed Hanna's moving up day from SK. I missed 5 months of my daughters' lives that I cannot bring back.

I've been judged to be selfish because I left my family behind. Maybe, I was. Maybe, I was not. Looking at how I am and who I've met two years after, I would say, it's not bad. It's not bad at all. I did it for myself. I did it for them. The moment my family expressed their support, I wasn't obliged anymore to justify my decision to anybody. My family got my back. They always do, as I to them too.

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# 2 Team Pinas: Acquaintances Turned Lifetime Friends

# 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9   ESSCAn for a semester # 8   The International Students Community # 7   The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers # 6   The Ultimate French Food Porn # 5   Of Paella & Sangria & Sagrada: Hola Barcelona! # 4   In Itay, “La Vita e Bella!” # 3   À Bientôt, La France

When I thought I already have enough circles of friends in this lifetime, they came.

It all started when we had to attend to the requirements of ESSCA and the arrangements of travel to Angers. Since Pirkko and Leila were the travel buddies, Tin was with her parents, and Mich will stop over Dubai, I ended up with Ron. Ron is the perfect travel partner. He is very attentive to the details of his plans and will always choose the best options that will return his money’s worth. When we were in Angers, I love how he maximized his time by visiting as much places and befriending as much people as he can. And for that, we fondly call him Papi. *wink* He is one-third of Team Lamon where we pooled resources and enjoyed travels to Carrefour, Lidl, and Geant to find the best deals for our weekly meals. He was in charge of cooking rice and was really good at it. My favorite memory of Ron is the moment when his Goldilocks baon tasted dishwashing soap because he didn’t wash the container well. Hahaha! As a friend, Ron can be your most sensible adviser as he puts aside emotional attachments behind when he has to.

I first got to know Mich when we waited together for our travel insurance and embassy interview at the Pacific Star Building. If there will be the “nicest” award in the group, she’ll get it, along with the most introverted and most artistic. She doesn’t speak a lot but you’d be surprised you can spend hours and hours of time with her. It’s because she listens. It’s that one trait I would love to have. Hehe! My favorite memories of Mich in Angers will be the burnt floor tile which triggered the fire alarm of the building, and that one time when we were running late and exhausted our lungs out biking to school, only to arrive looking raped in class. Hahaha! I will miss the afternoon strolls with her, my disgust of her dump-anything-to-your-pasta dishes, and her contagious laughter.

Leila is the personality of our group. Team Pinas would look dull without her. She knows what she wants and knows how to get it. She can break away from all your stereotypes with a pretty young lady as she did with how I knew her. Deep inside that strong woman is somebody you would love to take care of. I won’t forget the trauma she had when there was fire in her dorm building. She didn’t deserve that at all. On the brighter side, that incident brought the group together. It says a lot about friends helping out each other in times of need.

Pirkko is our Mr. Congeniality who you’d easily love. Accordingly, he falls easily too. Hahaha! He knows everyone and can be friends with anyone. With that, amongst us, he has made this trip most worth it. He is my Team Lamon anak I love to feed. I may not be good at cooking but he eats all my dishes with gusto! Hahaha! Service is his act of love. I won’t forget how he would always lend his jacket when I’m feeling cold and carry the grocery bags when they’re too heavy. Girls should go gaga over how good a catch our Pirkko is. <3

When Ron, Pirkko, Mich, and Leila were travelling during weekends, I had Tin to spend time with at Couffon. We started with her teaching me a lot of things, from cooking to losing weight. A typical day would involve her spending hours in my room or at times, me at hers. I would borrow cooking stuff, and ask for meds from her seems-to-be lifetime supply of them. As days go by, we started to share our life’s experiences over good pastries or red wine. The next thing we knew, we cried together over our past and dreamed about our future. I would not be me today have I not met her. Those five months I’ve spent with her had made so much impact in my life because she taught me how to dream and believe in myself. I love Lola Tin so much!

Beyond the education and travel, Team Pinas counts as one of the best reasons for going to France. Five months were more than enough to gain a treasured friend in each one of them. More than being friends, I see a family in us, who will reunite regularly to relive the precious memories of Europe.

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# 3 À Bientôt, La France

After blogging about Couffon, ESSCA and its international students, Angers, French food, Spain, and Italy, it's time to document our experiences in the French cities we've been to. Yahoo! # 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9   ESSCAn for a semester # 8   The International Students Community # 7   The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers # 6   The Ultimate French Food Porn # 5   Of Paella & Sangria & Sagrada: Hola Barcelona! # 4   In Itay, "La Vita e Bella!"

I am still in awe that we've been to 7 regions or 10 cities in France! Of course, Angers is the closest to my heart, with Paris as the close second. :) Aquitane - Bordeaux & Lacanau - January 24 - 26 Poitou-Charentes - La Rochelle - February 15 - 16 Pays de la Loire (Angers included) - Nantes - February 22 Ile-de-France - Bazoches-sur-Guyonne (March 8) & Paris - March 27 - 30 Languedoc-Roussillon - Brissac - April 12 Lower Normandy - Mont Saint-Michel - May 11 Brittany - Saint-Malo - May 11

  Lacanau and Bordeaux Having to experience weeks of riding a bus to go to school and to go grocery shopping, it was a relief to drive a car again. We were so happy to learn that France honors PH-issued driving licenses. So we rented a 7-seater car from Hertz which cost around 40 euros per day, with gas and toll fees on us. We were so excited at the thought of driving in Europe for the first time! The toll booths and gas stations require debit cards, as all establishments most do. The car had 6 gears and a reverse, with dual airconditioning (cooling and heating). I've seen sun roofs on cars before, but I just understood its purpose in France. It can drastically affect car interior temperature. Our best friends then were Waze and Google Maps, thanks to data plans of Mich, Leila, and Pirkko. *winks*  The drive to Lacanau took us 4 hours, with a La Rochelle stopover to grab a Domino's dinner, buy booze, and fetch David. Ron, Mich, and I took turns in driving.  

  It was late at night when we got to David's grandparents' house. It was so beautiful and cozy. I love its windows, furniture, kitchen (I've never seen an electric dishwasher before. Haha), and its attic. To top these, it's by the lake side! <3        Of course, the plan was to get a little drunk all along. We had red wine, white wine, scotch whiskey, and beer. No wonder we all had hangovers the next day! Hahaha! That night was also my first time to eat walnuts with shells still on them. Yummy!!! Now for something opposite of yummy - Before we hit the sacks, Pirkko threw up and we had to wash the sheets. Let it be put on record that it was our first test of friendship. Hahaha!  The best part of this trip was waking up to a cool morning, and drinking coffee by the lakeside. For brunch, we had freshly baked baguettes and soft-boiled eggs eaten on a special ceramic egg holder. After brunch, we headed to Bordeaux, parked underground, and went straight to a coffee shop to nurse our hangovers. After a few minutes, we started walking around. It's known for its wine, but for me, it should also be known for its splendor. There are castle-like structures, artsy edifices, beautiful symmetrical buildings lining up the river, not to mention beautifully-designed bridges, and lots of open spaces to admire the views. We went to see the shopping stretch, get David's grandma a gift, and see the arc at the end of the road. It was also in Bordeaux where I first experienced using a public automated sanitary toilet. High tech! Hehe!   Before dinner, David took us to the popular bakery that makes canule, their known delicacy. We had dinner at Entrecote. For 17 euros, we get a nice serving of steak and unlimited frites. It's a really popular restaurant coz we started lining up even before it opened. We entertained ourselves by singing Eheads songs the whole time. After dinner, we still saw a long line of people outside. The next morning, we had a quick trip to the beach facing the Atlantic ocean. The winds were strong and freezing so the place was deserted. David said it's a crowded place during summer, as evidenced by the numerous establishments around. Before heading home, we went to David's grandparents' house for lunch. We were served multi-course meals, i.e. breads, salads, fresh cuts, fish, rolls, and desserts. We will never forget how nice and hospitable they all were. I(We) will forever be grateful to David for letting us experience a French home, an official rugby match and everything else that he had taught us and done for us. Maraming salamat Ginoong David!

La Rochelle For the La Rochelle trip, we got ourselves a smaller car. It was cheaper at 25 euros per day.

First in our agenda was the La Rochelle rugby game. On our way there though, we passed by a park with a mini zoo. At the game, we met David's father. He looks just like him. The rugby players were really huge and looked really strong! It was my first time to watch a rugby game so Pirkko was explaining the rules throughout the game. We had food and beer while cheering with them, Ici! Ici! La Rochelle. La Rochelle won so the crowd was very happy. After the game, we grabbed kebab for dinner and went to a nearby Irish pub, where I was first introduced to my now favorite beer, Grimbergen Noir. And finally, just like back home, I was having peanuts while drinking, and ice on my beer! :) We spent the night at David's condo, and the next morning, some of us went to the market to get stuff to cook for lunch. We bought rice, roasted chicken and I made some buttered garlic shrimps. After the boys' haircutting sessions, it was time to see the city. I will remember La Rochelle for its boats and its beautiful port, that is enclosed by walls, and nice towers. Before heading back to Angers, we dropped by David's father's house where we were served with pastries and champagne, and were introduced to their cute fat cats. Once again, the family took us with all the hospitality. For the nth time, Maraming maraming salamat Ginoong David!

Nantes Our trip to Nantes was very quick as it was just a stopover before heading to Spain for our spring break travel. For being the capital of Pays de la Loire, it has an international airport. We went to its castle that was surrounded by water with swans swimming around. It was the first castle I ever saw and I was amazed to see traditional doors, gates, walls within walls, and a mini city inside a city. I remember it was not the most relaxing walk because we were carrying our heavy bags with us. Haha!

  Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, Jean Monnet's House One day, we received an open invitation to a tour to Jean Monnet's house. So we quickly signed up and got ourselves slots. Together with other international and chinese students, we rode a chartered bus going there. The trip took us around two hours with views of mostly green fields. When we got there, we learned about the European Union, Jean Monnet, and the history of the house. After a whole day of learning, and lots of photos, we went back to Angers and enjoyed a night of EU discussion with the Professor and some students at a bar near the dela Maine dorm.

  Paris My trip to see Paris was scheduled way before any other trip we've been to. It was supposed to be just with Allen. All of Team Pinas had already seen the city, but good thing Tin, Ron, Mich and Pirkko came with me too. We got to Montparnasse and bought a 3-day train pass right away. As we were earlier warned, we took care of our bags to ensure we don't lose anything to skilled pickpockets they say the crowded city endures from. Our first agenda was to check in to our apartment which was our home for four days. It may not have a view of the Eiffel Tower, but the place is fine and well worth our money! It just requires a couple of blocks of walking to a train station. The purita turistas that we were, the apartment's kitchen had been a crucial part of our efforts to save money. We made sandwiches, and cooked meals to take with us while we see the city. At night in this apartment, we usually ended up with wine and cheese which resulted to oversleeping and missing a few items in our agenda the next day. Hehe!

After check in, we dropped by the Philippine Embassy to register ourselves and get our Student IDs. We also met up with Germee there. The embassy showcases photos of Philippine Presidents, and products made in the country. The office people were friendly and accommodating. It's nice to again speak to more fellow Filipinos besides ourselves. Then, the Eiffel! Seeing it for the first time made my heart feel fuller for some reason. Based on my facebook post, I guess that heart-bursting sentiment came from all the gratefulness I feel for my family, friends, and 3M, for the opportunity to see "the world." And I quote myself, "Taga-Recto pero nandito. Salamat sa isang masipag na nanay na pinag-aral ako. Idagdag pa ang suporta ng asawa, pamilya, mga kaibigan, at mga ka-opisina. Wuhooo! #Paris #France #Swerte #ILoveYouMamaBenny" We first saw the tower from an elevated platform overlooking the gardens surrounding it. Needless to say that we took hundreds of photos at the "ultimate profile pic-ish location you could ever be." Then we walked towards it where people were lining up to get tickets to climb the top and see the rest of city.     After the tower, we rode the train to get to Arc De Triomphe. The roads around the arc were closed and there were policemen all over the place because of a state visit of someone I cant remember who. For ten euros, we climbed this ridiculously high flight of stairs and reached the top of the arc which is under repair. To compensate the experience, we waited until the Eiffel sparkled with white lights. It was magical and romantic that it made me forget the tiring experience that preceded it.  Using foursquare, we found this Yuppy Cafe that serves moderately-priced French food. After having dinner there, we walked back to Champs-Elysees to see the posh district at night, and to try the famous but absurdly-priced Laduree macarons. Haha!   Day 2 was our Louvre Day.  The museum had me at the glass pyramid that serves as the entrance to its underground lobby. It was so beautiful! We got in for free because of our student IDs. Just like the Vatican's, the museum itself and its collection is so huge that a day is not enough to tour every corner and appreciate each art. Highlight of the collection is the underwhelming Monalisa. After seeing enormous paintings of all kinds, the size of the Monalisa will not be that impressive. It's the highlight because it's still one for the books though to see the real thing. It's also the day that I completed selfies of all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle characters' inspiration - Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello. I finished touring Louvre earlier than the rest so I just bought a museum coffee book and read it while lying down on one of the benches beside the fountains. After Louvre, we then walked to the Lovers' Bridge where we wrote our names and those of we love, on a padlock and attached it together with the other thousands. The keys should be thrown to the river symbolic of forever. Influenced by romance, we saw couples kissing after attaching their locks. Yiheee! After the romantic area, we moved on to the lusty one, Pigalle. It's the "sex district" where there are a lot of shops selling adult stuff. It is also where Moulin Rouge is. After a few photos, we bought some Paris souvenirs and had dinner at KFC. On Day 3, Tin and I met up with Allen at the Orsay. The musuem is a capsule of huge space in the middle, as it used to be a train station evidenced by its huge clock and platform-like walk ways at the sides. The collection here highlights works of impressionists, Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh, among others. Van Gogh's works were very impressive and moving. How can such random-like strokes project powerful images? Galing! The rest of us met outside Orsay, then we set off to the Luxembourg Garden for some leisure walk. It's a park lined up with symmetrical trees and right smack in the middle was a lagoon where kids play with toy sailboats steered by wind and sticks. After Luxembourg Garden, the Pantheon was our next stop. It was inspired by the real one in Rome and is now a mausoleum of famous French citizens. We didn't go in anymore and tried to find the Vietnamese restaurant instead. When we found it, it was no longer taking in customers as it was already fully booked. So we decided to have our dinner in the area near the Grand Opera. We went to see La Fayette first. This posh mall branch has jewelries on display worth millions! Interesting as well is the fact that the mall for women is housed on a separate building from the one for men. After being dazzled with grandeur, we then had dinner at a nearby diner to end the day. Day 4 was the day when we had different itineraries. Tin stayed at the apartment, Mich went to a museum while Ron and Pirkko headed to Versailles. Allen and I started the day by going to a large hill, Montmarte to see the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur at the summit. The place was a beautiful mess. There was a street musician beautifully playing a harp, while the rest of the crowd admired the performance beneath a great view of Paris at the background. Next on our list was the gothic Notre Dame Cathedral. The huge church houses religious relics and has beautiful stained glass panels letting in natural light. Le Marais capped off my Paris tour. It's a shopping district that has beautiful buildings of historic significance. We didn't have the time to see the Picasso Museum so we had coffee instead and waited for Mich so we can go back to the apartment together.   By this time, Tin was already sending us text reminders that we should already be on our way back. She was worried that we might miss our train back to Angers. I will never forget how we were scared of Lola scolding us for being late. So we diverted the issue to Mich's "very interesting story." Hahaha! So we checked out of the apartment and rode the train to Montparnasse to catch our train back to Angers. No wonder Paris is the most visited tourist place in the whole world. It boasts of numerous attractions, it would be impossible to run out of things to see or do. I can't complain about my trip companions, but as a city known for romantic places, it would be nice if I could see it again with my husband. Yihee! 

Brissac Together with a few international student friends, we get to see another place outside Angers... Brissac. Via a quick bus ride, we arrived at this small town which is far from being crowded. After a lunch picnic, we went to its castle which was owned by Brissac Dukes of some distant history. The halls and rooms were grand and the gardens outside are serene. We leisurely walked around the lagoon for around an hour and took lots of pictures. We ended the afternoon with a coffee and some pastries from a local bakery. Thank you to our French friends, Ed and Romain, for taking us there! :)

Last few weeks left before going back to the Philippines, Team Pinas embarked on our last France trip together - Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo. We rented a seven-seater car and woke up really early to cook packed meals and drive to the Lower Normandy region. We arrived at Mont Saint Michel around lunch time. It was very windy that day that instead of eating by the benches a few meters away from the island, we had our nagsesebong adobo lunch inside the car. The same wind made it difficult to take selfies and groupfies. Hahaha! Mont Saint-Michel is this stunning island structure surrounded by sand in very shallow waters. Because of its proximity to the land, some pilgrims walk to the island by foot. Of course, we took the bus instead. Upon entering the gates, it was a series of walking and climbing stairs spirally until the abbey on top. Along the way are shops, restaurants and mini-museums. At the abbey, is a chapel where we said our prayers and proceeded to enjoy the view at the decks. 

        Then off we drove to the Brittany region to see Saint-Malo, a walled city by the beach. We toured the city by walking on top of its walls, where Pirkko fed a few sea birds with their famous pastry, Kouign Amann. We then spent a few minutes by the beach and view decks to admire the lighthouse, nearby islands, waves, and the sea, before driving back to Angers.  

France is the world's most visited country for a reason. Each region/town I've been to confirmed their penchant for aesthetics. The richness of their people's history, arts and culture, and the symmetry and asymmetry of the houses, buildings, structures, castles, and landmarks, are all testaments to the French people's pride in their successful attempt at making the world a better place! And most importantly, preserving everything for the rest of the world to see. I can't wait to go back. For that, À Bientôt, La France!

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# 4 In Italy, "La Vita e Bella!"

Three months from now, it would be a year since I came back from my exchange student program in France. Schedule has been crazy that I am still up for four blog posts out of my planned ten. These are the links of the previous six: # 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9   ESSCAn for a semester # 8   The International Students Community # 7   The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers # 6   The Ultimate French Food Porn # 5   Of Paella & Sangria & Sagrada: Hola Barcelona!

Coming from a four day stay in Barcelona, we then flew to Milan to carry on with our Spring Break adventure. The 8:55am Easyjet flight just cost us 19.71 euros. What a steal!!! I have so much to document about our 6 days in Italy, but first, a run down of our itinerary: First stop for us in Italy was Milan. We met up with Germee as soon as we got there. She helped us with our itinerary, even to recommending which hotel we should stay at. The owner of Hotel 22 Marzo was very accommodating, he prepared for us personalized drinks. Mine said, "La Vita E Bella :)," which means LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. Indeed. :)   Our schedule in Milan was very tight. As soon as we finished checking in, we rushed to Pizzeria Napoletana La Taverna for lunch. Each of us had a whole pizza to our own because the waiters don't expect us to share. So how did an authentic Italian pizza taste like? The freshly baked crust, use of less salt, and the taste of fresh ingredients made the difference. Yummy!    After a late lunch, we headed to Duomo Di Milano. The gothic church looks like it's made of one huge solid marble. Because of its beauty, we can't get enough of selfies and groupfies. :) Situated within the Piazza Del Duomo, there's also a monument of Vittorio Emmanuel II, the first king of a united Italy.        The same king was the one the posh shopping stretch is named after - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Here, we saw displays of LV's, Prada's, and more! Leila bought a pair of sunglasses for herself, but nada for the rest of us. Hehe! In the middle of the place was a mosaic art of a bull, where we spun our heels on its balls for good luck.    After the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Ron, Mich, and I, went ahead to see the original The Last Supper fresco painting of Da Vinci. The rest of us were not able to get tickets so it was just us three. The mural painting is inside the Santa Maria delle Grazie, where we also saw the Bramante Sacristy. The sacristy housed a collection of Da Vinci sketches at that time. As for The Last Supper, we were just allowed to see it for 15 minutes, with only 25 tourists at a time. Seeing it gave this surreal feeling, as this image is so iconic! Unfortunate for my faith, it also reminded me of the Da Vinci Code book. After seeing The Last Supper, we made a quick stop at a nearby chapel I don't know how called, before we met up with the rest of the group. We had dinner at Spritz Navigli, situated beside a small river. It was not meant for dinner actually, as it was supposed to be an "aperitivo." 15 euros each got us a drink, and a buffet of relatively lighter food or pica-pica. There we met Jenny, Germee's friend. We had fun particularly with teasing Pirkko and Jenny! Hahaha! Because of an early train ride to Pisa the next day, some of us called the night earlier than others.     I will not forget how small cars are in Milan, and how they manage to park really close to another car. The tram system of transportation looks webbed and complex, yet it amazingly manages to move around the city together with Vespas and cars. There are a lot of Filipinos too. One time before riding the tram, we were offered palabok, siomai and casava in Tagalog. Hahaha! Had we not been in a hurry to catch our Last Supper sched, we could have bought Filipino food we so miss at that time!    We woke up really early the next day to catch our 6am train to Pisa. We missed our breakfast buffet so the hotel made us packed meals which we ate in the train.    We arrived in Pisa around 11am. We deposited our bags at the train station before a few kilometers walk to our chosen restaurant, Il Montino. We had to wait til it opened for lunch. Besides the foccacia pizza, they serve traditional foccacina, a hot freshly prepared foccacia sandwich. Yummeeeh!         A few more kilometers of walking and we got to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, our reason for the stopover. I would not consider myself to have been in Europe without a picture with this very popular landmark. The piazza offers more than the leaning tower. There's the beautiful Pisa Cathedral, the Camposanto (cemetery) where there are huge mural paintings and sarcophagi, and the Baptistry, a round building in front of the cathedral.            Around 4pm, we went back to the Pisa Centrale train station to catch our train to Rome. We got to Rome around 8pm, and walked straight to our planned overnight stay at Hotel Romae, which is just near the train station. The Filipina receptionist was very friendly and the white theme of our hotel rooms made it very enticing to hit the sacks immediately. We were so tired we just had dinner at a nearby restaurant.    We started the next morning with a hearty breakfast at The Yellow, in front of the hotel. We left our bags at the hotel and went to our first Rome destination, the Colosseo. It is an ancient amphitheater that housed public events during the old times. The lines were long to get in, but they were worth it. Outside the Colosseo were people dressed in gladiator costumes you could take pictures with, and sellers of rosaries and souvenirs. I was even tricked to buy some souvenirs coz the man said he sells them cheaper, and he speaks tagalog! "Mura!" Hahaha! After touring the colosseo, we took a break and had gelato from the streets. The next stop was the Monte Palatino where we saw archaeological sites of the ancient cities of Rome.                Last stop for the day was the Trevi Fountain where we all threw coins, made wishes, and took lots of pictures.     We then had dinner at a nearby pizza and pasta place, before heading to our rented apartment called St. Peter Inn. The apartment building had a small elevator that can fit two people. The unit was spacious though and had a nice kitchen.     Day 2 in Rome was kicked off by a home-cooked breakfast and a leisure walk to the Roman Forums and Altare della Patria, another monument of Vittorio Emanuele II. During the walk, we saw the non-edible orange trees and the smallest cars we ever saw. Tin was not able to join us to the Altare because she met up with Father Allan, whom we met the next day at the Vatican. Tired and hungry, we got lost on our way to the Vatican that Pirkko and I shouted at each other. Haha! I remember him walking out to fetch Tin while the rest of us had lunch at a restaurant near the Vatican walls. After lunch, we scored some souvenirs from the shops around the Vatican walls. Most salesladies are Filipinos from Batangas. Bet these are the people with huge Itialian-inspired houses I see in Bauan and nearby towns. Hehe             After lunch, we regrouped at the St. Peter Square where we fell in line to get into the St Peter Basilica. The moment I got in, I was already holding back my tears. I felt so blessed to see the majesty of the largest church in the world, the burial site of its namesake, and the rock onto He built His church. I felt God in my heart as I walked pass the basilica door. I needed to go into a chapel to cry, calm myself, and allow the surreal moment to sink in. I saw the original La Pieta of Michaelangelo and the dome with the inscription: TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... Vulgate, Matthew 16:18–19. Underneath the Basilica, is the crypt where we saw the mosaic image of San Pedro Calungsod, St. John Paul II's tomb(?), and exhibitions of Popes and Saints. Father Allan, my fellow Sebastino, then took us to his school across the basilica where we had a good view of the whole St Peter Square, the Vatican, and some of Rome.                 After lots of pictures, it's time for the most popular gelato in town, Old Bridge! We didn't have the most apt weather for a gelato, but who cares, we had servings and servings of this authentic Italian ice cream! After ice cream, we had some crepes and sandwich at a diner beside old bridge.       For our last day in Rome, we allocated all day to seeing the Vatican Museum, coz according to Tin, half a day is not enough. The museum overflows with precious religious art. One can easily feel the fanaticism the artists have for their beliefs. Each masterpiece is an expression of passion, love, and faith. Highlight of the walking tour are the Raphael rooms where we saw the murals of the famous painter, and the Sistine Chapel where there are frescoes of Michaelangelo and Botticelli, among others.           At around 4pm, we left the Vatican museum to fetch our bags and see the Spanish steps before we leave for the Ciampino airport. Unfortunately, the fountain was under renovation, we had to do with the steps alone. A few minutes of peechur-peechur and we went ahead to spend a night at the airport.   I will definitely go back to Italy to see Florence and Venice, and bring my family to see Pisa, Milan, Rome, and The Vatican too! The Italian people are very warm and their pasta, pizza, and gelato are yummy!!! Months after seeing this country, I can still feel in my heart how I felt blessed to experience such close encounter of a country so rich of faith and artistry. <3

Ending the Spring Break Adventure Because our flight was 6:50am, we decided to spend the night at the Ciampino airport instead of checking in at a hotel. We thought we will have benches to sleep at for the whole night. But at around 10pm, we were told to move to the arrival area where there were no benches. Charged it to experience, we slept on the floor! I can still remember how cold the floor tiles were! Brrrrr... Purita Mirasol at its finest!!! Hahaha!       As scheduled, we left Rome 6:50am and arrived at the Beauvais Airport 9:10am. We rode a bus to the SNCF station at Beauvais, where we rode a train to Montparnasse and ran fast to catch the other train to Angers. Pagoda tragedy, we hit our Couffon Pavot beds we sooo missed after spending the previous night at an airport's cold floor tiles. And that's how we ended the 9-day Spring Break adventure. Lotsa euros poorer, with a sleep-at-the-cold-airport-floor experience to boot. Hahaha! There are more side stories that came with every stop, but these stories will be up to us Team Pinas to reminisce during drinking sessions in the years to come. :)

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#5 Of Paella & Sangria & Sagrada: Hola Barcelona!

May 8 of this year, I started a 10-blog posts project. I was able to do four within that month and the fifth was dragged down to September. Two days left of 2014, I still push myself to finish what I have started. Here's the first half's links: # 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9   ESSCAn for a semester # 8   The International Students Community # 7   The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers # 6   The Ultimate French Food Porn

I was intending to just stay in Angers, France for the whole 9-day break. Thanks to Lola Tin, I was able to join them in their Spain-Italy trip. I owe you big big big time Lola!!!! In planning the whole trip, we assigned ourselves with cities to research on. Ron and Leila were assigned the Barcelona itinerary. With David's help, they were able to find a cheap accommodation, and a set of popular tourist spots. The difficult part of being assigned a city is the burden of finding ways to go around the metropolis. I remember we left it all on Ron, treating him as our tour guide during the 4 day stay. Ron was stressed navigating through the Barcelona transportation system, and finding the hostel and attractions. Day 1 to 4 looked like this: We left Angers Saturday morning to catch the 9am train to Nantes. With only a few hours to spend in Nantes, we just walked around its castle, took pictures with our friends from China, Piao Piao and Wenjing, and headed to the bus stop to catch the trip to the Nantes airport. Unfortunately, there were French people on strike marching around the city that day, rerouting the bus schedules. With a little suspense on whether we'll be late for our flight to Barcelona, we still made it a little earlier of our boarding time. Whew! Flight was ok and we reached Barcelona on time. Leaving the Barcelona airport, we bought a 3 day unlimited train pass. First on our agenda was to find the hostel, and my gulay, it was a difficult task! We blamed it on the signage at their door. It was a strip of white paper with a 16 font size print of "Ideal Hostel." Hahaha! We took a few minutes of rest, then we headed to our first destination, Fira de Barcelona. It was located near this nice dome, Arenas de Barcelona, close to the Espanya train station. We had a great time taking lots of pictures of our silhouettes in front of this colorful fountain dancing to modern tunes. We had dinner at  a resto in the area, Tapa tapa and had the chance to try their tapas tapas - small servings of spanish dishes like callos, and assorted jamon on slices of bread. That expensive jamon iberico / pata negra melts in your mouth! Second day's morning destination was the Sagrada Familia Church. Even though it's not yet finished, I was very impressed of the church's grandeur. It was my first encounter of Antoni Gaudi's architectural work. Learning about his inspiration of nature and the story of his life and death added to the astonishing experience. We spent hours admiring the cathedral and the artworks located at the museum underneath the church. While Leila, Tin, and Pirkko took lunch at a nearby paella place, Ron, Mich and I went to KFC. We so missed food back home that KFC tasted so much better! After Sagrada, we went to Casa Batllo. It's a weird but nice looking building along the main road, Passeig de Gràcia, where posh shops are located. We didn't go in and instead spent a few minutes enjoying Casa Batllo's free wifi. Enjoying the artsy view, we then had coffee and pastries in a nearby coffee shop before heading to our next destination, a park called Placa Catalunya. Here, we fed and chased pigeons, and of course, picture picture! Next destination was the Barcelona Cathedral where we attended the Sunday mass. That time, I was not able to contain my tears. While I was saying my prayer of thanks, I just cried tears of joy. I vividly remember how I felt so undeserving to experience God's grace in the majesty that I've been witnessing the past weeks. My heart was and still is feeling so full, filled with gratitude. Adjacent to the cathedral, there was a museum of catacombs and saints, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We then headed to Las Ramblas, a stretch of restos, shops and bazaars, to stroll and find a place for dinner. We found a diner of a hostal, Albergue Fernando, serving paella and sangria. After the heavy meal and chats of a few minutes, we continued to walk along Las Ramblas. At the end of the stretch is the popular explorer's monument, Christopher Columbus. It was constructed in honor of his first voyage to the Americas. On our third day in Barcelona, we spent the whole morning at Park Güell. It was situated on top of a Carmel Hill. The park showcases the impressive architectural works of Gaudi, mostly of ceramic mosaics, and nature-inspired shapes. It also houses the iconic salamander, el drac, which means "the dragon." Our next destination was the beach front, La Barceloneta. We had lunch in the area, in a resto called Nass. After lunch, we went to the beach and took off our shoes to feel the freezing water. After lots of pictures and leaving Pirkko sleeping on a bench, we started walking again, this time, heading to Arc de Triomf. This one was a loooong walk that we had quite a few stops to rest. All it took for us to forget about the tiring walk was of course, photo ops! Haha! ...and also the entertainment from the young people doing tricks with their roller blades. A dinner of burgers and kebab near the hostal culminated our last night in Barcelona. Lastly, I should mention that there were spirits making themselves felt in the hostel we stayed in! First night, Ron and I caught a shadow at the end of his bed. Second time, the floor was squeaking and beds were rocking in the middle of the night! On the last night, we were so scared, we put our beds together! Hahaha! Four days were not enough to see Spain. I would really love to go back and see the other capital, Madrid. The Spanish food is tasty (and cheaper!), the Spanish arts and culture are rich, and because of a 300-year Spanish colonization of the Philippines, I find the Spanish language very similar to Tagalog. It's a must-stop for any Filipino on a Euro tour, and I'm just in awe that I'm one lucky "indio" given the chance to experience it.

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# 6 The Ultimate French Food Porn

To say that this post is long overdue is an understatement. Harharhar! Seeing my Team Pinas family yesterday inspired me to finish my 10-part blog. I'm done with #10 to #7: # 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9   ESSCAn for a semester # 8   The International Students Community # 7 The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers

Interestingly, we hated French food during our first week of stay in France. We found it bland and "under-" seasoned, yet expensive. Later, we found out that we're just used to salty and strongly-seasoned Asian food. Seasonings can be toned down to better appreciate freshness and flavor. French cuisine can't be embraced in a span of five months. But the food lover in us can't be stopped by time and budget constraints. So here's a rundown of an unadulterated French Food Porn! :) Deserved to be firsts would be their food triad of Bread, Chesse and Wine.

French bread in wide assortment can be bought by piece or by grams. They are mostly available in boulangeries, supermarkets and flea markets. A few stash I bought from Lidl are the Petit pain graines (small bread with grains), bretzel au sel - salty covering, and boule brioche salée -also a little salty. Lola Tin and I were addicted to Brioche. It's a very common supermarket find, yet it's the simplest proof of how the French make good bread! :) It's perfect with butter or jams. The Pain Au Chocolat is another signature food. The croissant-ish bread is made more delicious by generous fillings of rich chocolate chips. But the most common bread would be the baguette. You can munch them as is or make a sandwich. I once bought a half-baked baguette from the supermarkets, then baked it to freshness and filled it with fresh mozarella, basil, lettuce, tomatoes, and ham. A favorite as well is the shredded rillette, salade, and tasty rocquefort bits on a slice of baguette.

Related to bread are the pastries. My favorite is the choux chantilly. It's heavenly and served best when chilled. The distinct choux pastry used in éclairs is made to burst goodness in every bite with its yummy chantilly cream. Then there's the the Coffee Eclair. We had a first taste of this wonder when we were invited for lunch by David's grandparents. Nobody can contest French baking as the best, when served this. *drools* Next is the Mille-Feuille (Thousand Sheets) - Layers of crunchy bread with cream and custard topped by a sweet thick sheet. They also have the Meringue which come in really big sizes. Very sweet and mostly available in patisseries.

During our weekend walks, we were fond of getting ourselves French "street food." We tried Palet à la framboise. This is a yummy Breton butter cookie with citrusy filling of strawberry. We found this during a stroll around Angers. There's Ker Y Pomme which is a bread with a big chunk of apple inside and chocolate chips on top. This, we tried in Saint Malo. In Bordeaux, we had the Canelé which is a caramelized crusted custard filled pastry with rum and vanilla flavoring. Taste like maruya. :p Churros with Nutella dip is a sinful combination. More sinful is the most common street food: Crepe. It usually comes with nutella and served hot off that flat cooker. Croque-Monsieur is the French version of KFC's cheesetop. Hehe! It's basically grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Add egg and it will be called Croque-Madame.

Fromage is how they call their cheese. Fromageries can be found in almost every other block. The supermarkets have dedicated aisles for frozen and on room temp cheeses. The Team Pinas favorite is the Aged Mimolette. The secret to enjoying this cheese is to slice it as thinly as you can. Once it melts in your mouth, you wont get enough of it. Super yummy! Next to Mimolette is the Roquefort cheese, a sheep cheese. It has this strong awful smell that can be overpowered by its yumminess when paired with rilette on a slice of baguette. Emmental is the most common cheese used for cooking. It comes shredded in packs of different sizes. The La Fayette farmers' market has this fromagerie that sells this cheese cake you buy per grams. Its texture that is smooth and kinda melts in your mouth consistency, made it the best cheese cake I have ever tasted! Last cheese picture shows Le Vieux Pane, Blue Cheese, Gouda Cumin, Mimolette, Goat Cheese, and Brie. I dont have a picture of the camembert. But I remember Father Del introducing it to us. It's best when baked with garlic and rosemary. :)

Wine assortment in major supermarkets in France occupies aisles and aisles! They are categorized into red, white, rose, and sparkling. And then further sub-categorized into their origins. Our favorite wine is the light and sweet Monbazillac. I regret not bringing one to the Philippines. :( Instead of beer to get us drunk on a weekend, we get a 5-liter Bordeaux Red Wine box for just 10 euros. Hihi Lastly, the rose wine from Port De L'Ille is smooth and worth the long walk. But there's more to French food than just the bread, cheese, and wine. A trip to the supermarket or the wet market is very therapeutic amidst the homesickness I feel ever single day.

In chest freezers, we found the Escargot. It is a dish of snails with herb butter. A quick heat in the oven, and voila, a French appetizer! Steak Hash is a usual dish we cook in our dormitory. It is affordable pure beef patties. I spread foie gras to give it a nice kick. :) If there's a list of top signature French food, Foie Gras de Canard would top that list. I first tried spreading it on bread and it was an epic fail. Thanks to Lola Tin, I learned that I will enjoy it better as a spread over meat. Charcuterie shops is where we find the cured meat, sausages, hams and patés. From it, you can find ingredients for Home-prepared Boudin Noir and Boudin Blanc with caramelized apples. The blood sausage's taste blends well with the apples. Lardon and Emmental Cream Pasta is the most convenient pasta to cook. We just toss some onions and lardons and stir in some fresh cream and melt generous shreds of emmental cheese. Recipe taught by David. Then there's the Duck, Ostrich, Pork, and Rabbit spreads. I usually eat them on bread canape sizes sprinkled with bits of blue cheese. Also common in our dorm is the ready to oven frozen pizza. We just add to it our food leftovers to make it more "meaty." We also made a version of the CHOUCROUTE GARNIE (Dressed Sauerkraut). We could have added pork belly, potatoes and more. Galettes are like crepes but made from a different kind of flour. Never eat it plain. It's as if you're chewing on a pillow case. Haha! It's best heated over a pan to make it crispier and top it with eggs lardons cheese etc to turn it savory. There are also ready-made crepes with ham and cheese.

French supermarkets have a wide assortment of puddings for dessert. This coffee flavored one is good. But the best chocolate is the Mon Cheri made of liqour, cherry and of course, chocolate. Thanks to our French teacher for introducing this to us.

In wet markets, there's an 8-euro roasted whole chicken that is yellowish and comes with roasted potatoes and onions. There are also dedicated stalls for caramelized fruits such as prunes and apricots. Greens come in humongous sizes, as big as bowling balls. Then there are the berries. :) Don't be fooled with their beauty. They taste weird. Haha! The strawberries in France are very affordable, taste sweet and comes in big sizes. I love dipping them in cream cheese. (Fromage Blanc). Some food stalls in wet markets also sell cooked Asian meals.

Also found in wet markets are the walnuts. Im sure this is not exclusively French, but I was amazed to see an actual one! It's kinda addicting to eat them. We tried them at Lacanau together with eating half-boiled egg the French way. They have this special holder and super small spoon to scoop out the egg dashed with salt and pepper. Thanks again for this experience David! There's also the Quiche. We were served with it during the welcome lunch at ESSCA. It's like a savory pie usually with veggies and/or meat.

The following may not be French but I'll mention them anyway. Best beer that I've had is the Dark Grimbergen I had in an Irish pub in La Rochelle! Second to Grimbergen, I will gladly down a Desperado (4th from last). French are fond of sparkling water. I still go for the "water" water. When I ran out of my Nescafe 3in1 stash, I looked for powdered milk or coffeemate and all they have is that box of powdered milk cream.

The rest of this blog post will be about the food stalls, restaurants and the food they serve. Starting off with the a Student Meal from QUICK: Buy 1 Take 1 Sandwich, les boissons à volonté (Drinks at will/Bottomless), avec frites (fries) or wedges, et dessert. Kebab places are also all around France. A meal of a sandwich, fries and drink would usually cost 5 to 8 euros. Paul is a popular food stall that serves good coffee, pain au chocolat, and more :) In Saint Malo there's a bakery that sells the Kouign Amann. I don't have a picture of this butter pastry. We didn't get to finish eating one coz it's too buttery. Lastly, our favorite pig out place is Flunch. For meals below 10 euros, we enjoy steaks and unlimited sides! Their ribs are good too!

In Mont Saint Michel, they make Traditional Omelette at La Mere Poulard. In Angers, we tried the entrecôte at La Boucherie to celebrate Leila's birthday! :) We also had Calzone and Pizza at L'Eau a La Bouche, Angers. The highlight of these are their cheese! Wild!! Yummy!

Crepes are everywhere in France. But this Mon Cheri Crepe Flambé from La Soufflerie was the best I had. The liquor blends well with the strong chocolate taste and neutralized by the cherries and crepe. This Salmon Soufflé is also a must-try French dish. The unique consistency and richness would make you close your eyes so you can savor the great taste. No overstatement there.

Also in Angers is this restaurant beside La Boucherie. We ate there while Ron and Pirkko are out of town. I forgot the name but their salad have more meat than veggies. Them French say they eat with their eyes. Proof is the shredded duck meat sandwiched by Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. Leila ordered a duck dish too, hers cooked in honey. Tender, sweet and tasty.

Also a memorable dinner is the one we had with our French teacher. She ordered Choucroute Garnie (Dressed Sauerkraut). Tin had the Jarret de porc français braisé à la bière. This is their "pata" in beer sauce. The meat is so tender it would pass as a corned beef. Hihi The rest ordered steaks with frites - Rumsteck and Bavette. To share is the Flammeküche which is a French/German thin-dough pizza that is topped with cream, lardon, onions and cheese. Our classmates had Fruits de Mer (seafood) - Bulots and Fresh oysters served over a generous shavings of ice - and beef tartare which the La Taverne de Maître Kanter server prepared in front of us.

In Paris, we had dinner in this Yuppies Cafe which serves the yuppy burger meal and beef tartare - a fresh raw ground beef mixed with herms and spices. Tastes.... raw. Hehe! Lola Tin had the Salmon and mashed potatoes. For the last night in the city, I had lamb chops. It was somewhere near Galleries La Fayette

The best steak/entrecôte comes from Bordeaux's Entrecôte resto where people line up outside to get sitted. It's super tender and the sauce is very tasty.

For desserts, the star is the famous Ladurée Macarons - it's not a trip to Paris if you haven't tried them. Quite expensive. I remember loving the citron (lemon), and the cafe (coffee) ones. Macarons can be found in every pattiserie in France like these ones in an edible basket from Bordeaux. Soufflés are not just savory. They also come in sweets like that Chocolate Soufflé for dessert there. :) Being away from home can be very lonely, but a serving of a cafe gourmand will surely lift your spirits up. It includes a cup of espresso and three assorted desserts. By just writing this blog post on French food, I want to go back.. NOW! If only I could. :)

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#7 The never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers

# 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9 ESSCAn for a semester # 8 The International Students Community

I’m camping all night in CDG-Paris because I refused to book a hotel even with a tight train sched vis-a-vis flight sched. I might as well squeeze in the fourth post that will talk about the city I left a few hours ago. It has been my home away from home for the past 5 months—- the never-been-heard-of city west of France - Angers. Angers will not be your you’ll-fall-in-love-at-first-sight kinda place because it looks boring if you compare it to Paris and the rest of the big cities of France. You have to give it time and soon enough, you will fall in love with this city like I did. <3 I am not sure if it’s about its being student-&-old-people-friendly, its efficient transporation system, its conduciveness to biking, its relaxed lifestyle, its diverse markets and shops, its churches and attractions, its beautiful parks during spring, or plainly because some spots have been witness to numerous fun moments with new found friends. As mentioned in the previous post, the city is pretty much safe for foreign students and french students alike. Unless of course, downright stupidity is exhibited, such as leaving bikes unlocked, cellphones and gadgets unattended, going home way past bed time, etc. The morning rush is almost non-existent. You’d see mostly students in buses, and a lot of old people making their way easily through the city, most often in churches. Besides the observations that streets are clean, trees and plants are maintained, and waste management is effective, what awed me most is that the transportation system is efficient. The tram and city buses, managed by Irigo and driven by very-well-dressed drivers and operators, are often on schedule. A single journey is 1.40euros, but residents can get a full-month pass for 40. The “honesty” system of fares and parking tickets through booths and censors is so first world. Hehe! Residents can also get a 4-month free use of the city bikes. Besides the exercise and eventual weight loss, it saved me 160 euros. Aint bad, huh?! Buses’ last trips can be as early as 8pm. Shops open 9am, have long lunch breaks, and generally close as early as 6pm. Some have 5-day work week while some have 4! Told ya it’s a relaxed city. Retail shop formats are mostly different from the Philippines. My favorite among them are the farmers’ markets. Twice a week, a parking lot is converted into a half-day market with individual stalls selling meat, vegetables, fruits, cheese, spices, cooked food and dry goods. Boulangeries, Pattisseries, and French food will have a dedicated post. They have tabacs that sell the items of convenience such as cigarettes, magazines, post cards, etc. Cigarettes are expensive so they have these do-it-yourself sets where you can buy the dried tobacco, paper, filter, and a simple machine that makes a cigarette, separately. Working for the consumer goods industry made me a little more interested in the supermarkets. The players are Geant, Casino, Carrefour, Super U, and Lidl. Each with a customer base profile. What surprised me most is the power of their house brands. Yeah yeah, we have house brands in the Philippines, but not at the scale like what they have in here. Almost everything has a relatively premium and lower-end house brand. There’s Carrefour and Carrefour discount, Casino and Tous Les Jours, U and Bien Vu, etc. Also, the lifestyle of French people can be seen through their commodities. Six aisles of wine, freezers and freezers for cheese, no bar laundry detergents, the popularity of Nespresso, flat mops, microwavables/oven-ables/stove-top-ables, and canned everything. Advanced consumer behaviors are seen in every aisle. The mall’s concept where all shops are inside a huge airconditioned establishment, is different here in France. They have department stores like Galleries La Fayette, and somewhat similar to a mall like L’Atoll, but the botiques are mostly along the streets. The city center has most of them. I also noticed the numerous flower shops which led me to believe that French people really have a penchant for aesthetics. Speaking of aesthetics, I now move on the beauty of the city’s attractions. Due to budget constraints, I didn’t get to go with all the travels of Team Pinas. Tin (no bugdet constraints though) and I skipped on Amsterdam, Belgium/Lille, Geneva/Lyon. Because of that, we had all the time to walk around and see Angers. One weekend, we walked more than 5 kilometers to go to this by-the-river farm house that serves rose wine and rilette. I will never forget how we missed the pedestrian lane and ended up walking at the side of the road, passing by what looked like a forest, getting scared by sudden movements beneath the trees and grass, and crossing the river through a pull-type boat. We also saw pleasing sights like wind surfs along the Maine river, and hot rowers in tights! *wink* Another weekend, Mich, Tin and I just walked around the city center to have coffee by Maison D’Adam, see H&M for the nth time, and take pictures of beautiful flowers. There’s also this one time we decided to catch the beautiful sunset reflecting on the Cathedral. Interesting artworks are those in front of Musee Des Beaux-Arts and Gare. The last stroll I had around Angers was when we visited the Chateau, Le Jardin Du Mail, and Jardin Des Plantes. Of all these attractions, captivating are the flowers of spring. Fresh and in vibrant colors, they bring a certain mood-uplifting vibe. Our all-time favorite though was the 2-week blooming of the cherry blossoms along Av de la Blancheraie. The beautiful sight was almost surreal. The churches are beautiful but all hold mass in French (well, except the one celebrated by Father Del). I’ve attended a few celebrations and just took context clues to follow the flow. Notable as well are the skewing of more older people than young ones hearing mass. I think this one is not unique in Angers, and France in general. :( On a good note, the shrine of the founder of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier is also in Angers. Thanks to Father Del, we had access to take a glimpse of the shrine. As for the night life, unfortunately, I’m not a reliable source. I’ve just been to 4 bars. Twice for almost-official international students’ events and Pirkko’s birthday(Falstaff & Le Chic), once for a post-field trip with the professor(L’Abbaye), and another one for Ron’s birthday (Matt Murphy’s). Mr. Congeniality Pirkko is more knowledgeable on this matter. He happens to value Angers differently too. The random places where moments happened are imaginarily marked with sentiments of happy memories. :) Mich and I will miss the route we take biking to ESSCA. It was with a heavy heart to use for the last time the bike we borrowed, and then finally return it to Velo Cite. These simple things I am sure I will miss. I will never claim to have lived like a true French local in Angers for a lot of reasons like language barrier, the limited time I’ve resided there, the places I was not able to visit, etc. However, I’d say I was privileged to have witnessed the lifestyle in a city though not as busy and prestigious as Paris, has its own unique personality that felt like home to people longing for their own.

[eufr49100-blog]

# 8 The International Students Community

Filipinos (mostly gays, and gays in their past lives like me) are fond of watching beauty pageants, are amused of seeing how each country competes for beauty and wit, and are entertained watching out for the opening parade where all contestants will greet the world in their native language - Mabuhay! I’m Mico Reyes, representing the beautiful group of islands, PHILIPPINES!!! With my funny frustration of someday being crowned a world beauty queen, yes, I will compare my experience of suddenly meeting dozens of people from all over the world to as if joining an international beauty pageant. Of course, I’m kidding. It’s too girlish for my liking, and more so, I think this experience is way better. *wink* So this is the 3rd from the series of my blog posts about my studying-in-France stint. It will be about the International Students. <3 First two posts are these links: # 10 Life in Couffon Pavot # 9 ESSCAn for a semester The international students community can be further classified amongst the different types of programs - European students from the Erasmus program, the Chinese students from the China-EU Business studies, and the International students from the international exchange programs. I am not European nor Chinese, so that easily puts me in the third group. The Erasmus program aims to increase mobility of European students and mingling of their culture, through exchange student programs between EU countries. I’m not sure if UP and ESSCA’s partnership somehow sprung from this, but it would really be interesting if the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) can have something similar. After all, the world is getting smaller and smaller. In ESSCA, there are a lot of Chinese students. It’s because they have a masters program called China-Europe Business Studies. How impressive is that huh!? China is such an emerging industrialized nation, that there’s a dedicated program about its doing business with Europe. Then finally, (pardon the bias) the coolest group - the international exchange students. :) We come from all over the world! Argentina Australia Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile China Ecuador Germany Hong Kong India Italy Mexico Morocco Philippines Poland Portugal Russia Singapore South Africa South Korea Taiwan USA Just as how a college organization works, there is some sort of a feeling of affiliation towards each other. One says his/her bonjour’s, salut’s, ola’s, hi’s and hello’s whether meeting a fellow international student in a school corridor, in a supermarket, in a bar, or anywhere else. Most interactions happen in the Facebook group. Queries are answered and parties are organized. Kudos to the weekly party-goers for making the most of their stay in France. I should have come here maybe 8 years earlier, when I was younger and was still enjoying night parties. I should have met more people have I gone out more. At this point, what floats my boat will have to do. Unfortunately, I was not able to get to know each and every one of them. But allow me to name a few remarkable personalities. Ron and I met Argentina’s handsome Rodrigo and pretty Paula in a bus from Carrefour during our first week. Besides her curves, I would remember Brazil’s Julia for her triumph in teaching Rodrigo and Angie ride a bike.   Radi from Bulgaria is the smartest. Canada’s Brandon whom I first met in Societe, and Steph a fellow stunning Canadian will be missed for their positive auras, and big smiles.   Chile’s Fernando is the most gorgeous dresser, best dancer, and will forever be one of my favorites. Romina, also from Chile, is my classmate in CRM and surely is one of the most energetic dancer I know.   Our Chinese classmates in French class are very nice- Wenjing, Piaopiao, (who invited us over for lunch) Lily, and Daisy.   Ecuador and Mexico’s crew are the funnest and the warmest. There’s something about them that feels so homey. I will surely miss seeing and small-talking Malvina and Angie in Couffon and the rest of them dancing lively in parties. Morocco’s Nora and Koutar are my fellow master-enrolled international students who are very friendly.    Poland’s Iwona surely made an early mark when she gave us kitchenware for us to use for the rest of the semester. South Africa Chanelle has the prettiest face and the loveliest personality. I will also miss the very appealing Nina & Courtney from USA for their upbeat personalities. The funniest is Charles, also from USA, who makes the wittiest comments about everything under the sun. There are our Couffon cute neighbors we often share our meal with- South Korea’s Miran and Da Hye, and Taiwan’s Eva and Carol.   And of course, there’s our charming Yumi, a fellow Filipino from Ateneo doing her exchange program in another school here in Angers, France. At its backbone, the international students community has ESSCA’s support through Nadége, Katie, Alejandro, the Welcome Team, and a bunch of exceptionally friendly French students. Five months ago, when we were still in the Philippines, I can still remember the email exchanges we had with Nadége and Katie. They are the accommodating people from the International Relations Office. They helped us with our admission, residence reservations, requirements for our visa processing, and course options. Upon arrival in Angers, the hospitality continued. We met Alejandro who graciously assisted us in our course choices. Elise, Marylou, Jeanne, and Nicolas were the nice welcome team who picked us up from the train station, helped with our bags, drove us to Couffon, assisted us in getting our bus passes in Irigo, and took us to Societe for our bank account opening. All international students wouldn’t make it in any way without them. They deserve all the thank you’s!!!    Special mention goes to Leila and Pirkko’s French classmates Ed, Romain, and Marie. They have been so nice to us, they took us to a trip to Brissac, and even took Ron and Pirkko to North of France, and see Belgium too. They were part of the living proof that it’s not true that French people are not friendly. :) I have seen and met “foreigners” before. They were either the tourists who usually ask for directions, or my big bosses of Unilever and 3M I go on trade check with. But this 5-month experience is different. Meeting people like me, but of different nationalities in so short-a-time made a huge impact on how I see the world. It seems suddenly bigger and smaller at the same time. Bigger because even if I’ve always known that there are 190+ nations in the world, just meeting people from 22 countries has overwhelmed me. It’s like imagining that there are 190+ nationalities with their own idiosyncrasies, and I’ve yet to meet a 170+ more. Smaller because connecting to my new-found friends, even if they will be miles away from me days from now, is not impossible. I am sure we will keep in touch and hopefully, some of them will be allured to our persistence that they visit the Philippines. :)

[eufr49100-blog]

#9 ESSCAn for a semester

...continued from #10 Life in Couffon Pavot When I applied for UP's MBA program, I didn't know that such an international exchange program exists. And better, in France! I heard it first from a former orgmate, Marves, who also came here last year. Then I was awed to hear about it again during the MBA freshmen orientation program last June 2013. A few days after, I met Mathilde Lefrancois in my Entrepreneurship class. She's an exchange student in UP coming from ESSCA Paris. From then on, I placed an eye on the goal until I managed to pool resources (and even tears) to afford coming here. (wink wink on Mama Benny's support and 3M for the fleet car expiration). By resources, I just meant the living expenses, because ESSCA is too generous to us Filipinos that they waive the tuition fees. So technically, I'd like to think I'm on a 6-figure-ph-value scholarship. Kami na! (Us already! Haha) At posting date, I'm down to my last two classes, 2 cases, and 4 final exams. By now, I have a lot of things to say about my ESSCA experience. *grin*

ESSCA stands for École supérieure des sciences commerciales d'Angers. It has a campus in Angers, France, and more from other sites like Paris, Shanghai, and Budapest. We are admitted to the Angers campus. I used to wish we should have been admitted to Paris instead. But now, I understand how the Angers campus is better. It is more student-friendly, not too crowded, and more "homey." My i've-come-to-love Angers city deserves a dedicated post, so I will talk about it separately. In general, though a little small, the Angers campus is pleasant. Wifi, your own physical mail box, cozy library, clean toilet rooms, nice classrooms & cafeteria, and beautiful landscape - It has the works, you know... *thumbs up!* Before coming to ESSCA, we were asked to choose amongst a list of courses. I vividly remember how Pirkko and Leila bugged Nadege, and Ma'am Talavera about the curriculum and what will be the courses that can be credited to our degree, etc. Now that I have thought about the choices I made, I realized it's not about credits. Moreso, when it's an opportunity to study in Europe, I suggest you make it about learning subjects you are interested in. I took the following courses: (In order of my eventual fondness to them)

Basic French Language

Digital Marketing

Leadership & Strategy

Customer Relationship Management

Financial Management

International Corporate Finance

I regret not taking the Intercultural Diversity Management course. I've heard so many positive feedback about it. Basic French Language Class Even though it won't be credited, this is my favorite class! I love my professor Madame Marie! and I love learning the French language. It's really unfortunate that we can't learn the language in 45 hours. Good thing there's a good website where we can continue learning. Francais Interactif - http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/ French is very complex. Here are the reasons why:

They do have gender for nouns.

They put A LOT of letters in words and then, not pronounce them. Wow...

They have additional letters and accented letters. Try looking at a French keyboard.

They have gazillion ways to conjugate.

It's hard to count beyond 69

I bet there will be more to discover why it is difficult to learn the language. For now, I'm just happy some French words already sound familiar, whether we're in the supermarket, or in boulangeries and restaurants. It's also amazing to learn that most common English terms are French or have French roots. Valet in the playing cards is servant. RSVP is répondez s'il vous plaît, and the list is endless. I will never forget the last exam we came unprepared. We kept on saying our apologies and felt shameful about it. Haha! To culminate the class, we treated our professor to a French dinner at a restaurant of her choice. We chose the dishes we learned in class, requested for steak done "à point," and said our sweet goodbyes.

Digital Marketing This is the class I learned new things the most. Business model, SEO, website privacy policies, ethics, and social media marketing. In this information age, and Europe's advanced online consumer purchasing behaviors, the things I learned in this class will really come handy when I go back to the Philippines. Traditional marketing is ancient. Digital marketing specially mobile marketing is the way! As if this class can't get any better, I happen to have the coolest groupmates for the company project. There's Clara, Claire, Antoine and Benoit. At first, I'm really apologetic that I have to be in their group. Instead of them just speaking French, which obviously they prefer, they have to speak English so I can participate. Then eventually, I think they got used to my bugging and I then felt very welcome. For me, we nailed the project and its presentation. Props to them cool-headed but brilliant people. To celebrate the end of the class, they invited me to their flat and we shared a few drinks. Leadership & Strategy For this course, my favorite part was the 3-day business game. I was luckily teamed up with equally competitive students who aimed at nothing but winning. I am referring to my team mates, Marine, Pierre, JB, and Nathanael. The business game was outsourced to a third-party, Optigest. In addition to the trivia contests during start of the sessions and during breaks, they made us do market analysis, production planning, financial number crunching, PR, HR, and marketing P's strategy formulation for a swimming pool maintenance robot line. We compete on these strategies against other teams, as if we're competing in the same market. The team with the highest net income won. That's us! :) We won the "grand prix." I think the "well-applauded" promotional video greatly contributed. Haha!

I would highly suggest future international students to take this course. It's quite an experience to participate in a competition amongst French students. This can reflect dynamics in the real world, you know. Notable as well is the online final exam. Very innovative that you take exams online and get the score real-time. Customer Relationship Management This course is sort of special to me because I took it even if it's not credited in my home university. I will eagerly fight for it though. Being somebody who works in Sales, customer relationship management seems very basic. It's simply what we do. But as I see them flash in high-level strategy slides of the company I work for, I can't help but wonder: 1. How do they structure CRM? and, 2. How does it get measured? After taking this course, voila! I still don't know. Choz! (Kidding!) The class is kinda weird in a sense that we listen to a teacher through webcast and we recite using a microphone. But I was impressed with the technology they use that when the teacher in Paris writes in her whiteboard, it shows up on our screen. High-tech! You can't blame ESSCA for not providing a dedicated professor in Angers, because there's just 7 of us in class! Haha! Sending my thank you's to Paul, Alison, and Nicolas, for the translation favors.

Anyway, I got a better picture of CRM because of this course. I learned that CRM is not just about sales. It's about every interaction a company has with its customers- including pre-sales, and post-sales. Making those interactions the best experience for the customer while making it very profitable for the company at the same time. It has very broad scope. And if I ask myself the CRM questions that bugged me before, I say some light have been shed. Financial Management & International Corporate Finance The best part about these courses are the snippets and trivial extras the professors provide. Like- learning what the market for lemons is (information asymmetry), insuring climate risks, European commission, Greek economy as viewed by a Greek himself, etc.. However, I must admit I am biased to my home university in terms of Finance subjects curriculum, and/or manner of teaching. My undergrad BS Business Administration and Accountancy education counterpart courses are taught way better back home. I wish I took them more seriously 12 years ago, or not! (I have a JPIA degree! Hehe!)

Having said all of these about the academic side, I must say the culture and my blending in it, are fascinating too. Like the fact that the classes tend to be noisy. And most of the time, I'm like an old maid who swooshes them to be more considerate. Or at one point, the rest of the class watched a movie, while I'm the only one who listened. Call me geeky, but nobody in their sane mind would leave their kids, travel miles, be away from loved ones for 5 months, just to sit in class and not learn anything. Of course, I've been there. I once attended classes just for the heck of them, struggle to pass, and actually learn nothing. It's a different scenario altogether when you've had professional experience, and appreciate the lessons taught cause you know they will come handy for your work. Call me late-bloomer, but I'm on my life stage that I crave and savor learnings. And I see this going on for a while for me. It makes me feel more alive, than dead in life's routines watching myself age and rust. Thank you ESSCA and UP for this realization. :)

-Soon an ESSCA alumna

[eufr49100-blog]

# 10 Life in Couffon Pavot

This is my attempt at capturing the whole experience. As best as I can, I will try to blog everything about this studying-and-living-in-France stint. Besides the fact that I love blogging, I’m doing this because I’m sure it will help the future UP MBA exchange students, and maybe some International students as well. (Thus, shifting to blogging in English again from my previous Tagalog one). The ESSCA practical guide has everything, but it wouldn’t hurt to hear from somebody who experienced it first-hand, and in an informal narrative. Had someone done this before, I may have saved myself of some puny unfortunate decisions.

So let me put things in perspective. I am someone of Asian origin. From the Philippines to be particular. I haven’t been to Europe ever, or any other developed country at that. The average age of students in ESSCA may be 24, or maybe younger. But I am 30. 99% are single in civil status. Surprise, I am married with two kids. :) Lastly, while most are full-time students, I am a part-time student and already working in 3M Philippines, who allowed me to take a 5-month leave. (Thankfully they did!) My case merits an explanation. Unlike France and other countries, where you can take your masters right after the undergrad degree, Masters Program in the University of the Philippines requires an MBA-aspirant to have three years of work experience. That puts the average UP MBA student to 24. I took the program at 30 just because it was never the plan for me. It’s just later that I realized I wanna continue learning formally. As for having kids, that’s a whole different story to tell. Haha! Now that my view has a perspective. I should also be blunt to say that everything I will write here are just opinions and dont intend malice, nor negative bias of any kind to someone or something. Peace! :) On how I will go about this, I would like to remember this experience by counting down the 10 things I will definitely miss. #10 - Life in Couffon Pavot # 9 - ESSCA experience # 8 - International Students # 7 - Angers, the city # 6 - French Food # 5 - Spain Travel # 4 - Italy Travel # 3 - France Travel # 2 - Team Pinas # 1 - Missing Home # 10 - Life in Couffon Pavot Back home, I work in the morning, study at night, and spend time with my kids on weekends. When all I have to do in France is study, I was expecting dull moments most of the time. I thought I would have a lot of free time in my hands. WRONG! For someone who’s not physically fit, don’t do her laundry, don’t do the cooking, don’t wash dishes, and don’t clean her own room, life in Couffon definitely stretched me to be self-sustaining, and be fit. My normal routine on a school day would go like this. Wake up 6am, facetime with my kids, cook breakfast, prepare my packed lunch, bike to school, attend classes, bike home, facetime with my kids, cook dinner, wash my clothes, then off to bed. There’s the cleaning the room, doing assignments, and trip to the supermarket regularly. This is a far-cry from what I already do in the Philippines as a corporate/part-time student mom. I am way past my “student life” routine, having done it 6 years in college, 14 years ago. So imagine it’s kinda amusing to be taken back in time and experience this the second time around. The “stretch” I was referring to includes the fact I am assigned a 4th floor room, and with no elevator. Pardon the exaggeration but really, the first few days of climbing the stairs stretched my smoking lungs to its limits. Haha! Oh by the way, I already quit the smoking part, and with pride, can say that I can now do this plight of stairs easily. ;)

Four months to this routine, I am so done with the chores part. I can’t wait to go home and have other people do them for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, shoot me, if I rather spend my precious time with work or with my kids, than doing these chores. I miss you Ate Belen! Huhuhu However, I wanna keep the biking part. I am already thinking of buying myself a bike and continue biking in the Philippines. I remember when it used to take me forever to bike uphill to ESSCA. It took us almost an hour and few short breaths to literally dying of exhaustion. Now, Mich and I can do it in less than 20 minutes, still tired but a little more gracefully exhausted. Haha! Moving on, let me tell you about my residence hall. It was supposed to be relatively cheap, and the cheapest in fact. I am not sure but I think it’s due to government subsidies and all. But for the bread-winner mother in me and by Philippine standards and monetary conversion equivalent, it’s quite expensive. Also, there are other options that were not made available to us. Like renting an apartment elsewhere, and sharing it with someone. It will be a cheaper option. However, you may need to have a friend in Angers who can help you look for one, and also another to share it with. Else, couffon may be the best option. I initially wanted the cheapest unit but ran out of slots. Nevertheless, I’m glad I took the one with its own toilet. It’s bad enough to share the kitchen with a lot of people, so having your own toilet room is really a plus. But don’t be shocked how small the toilet room can get in Couffon. I remember how Charles told the story on how he had difficulty showering in our very petite shower. Haha On the brighter side, sharing the kitchen has an advantage of its own. You get to see and meet other people. I would always observe other students and what they cook. It’s really amazing that you can learn diversity in the most bizarre places. Haha! Let aside the incidents when the kitchen would be forced close on some days, because some of us stubbornly leave trash behind when we are supposed to throw them by our own, it’s the common and FUN place where we get to chat and mingle with some ESSCA international students. There’s Miran, Da Hye, Eva, Carol, Minji, and the rest of the Asian mafia. *wink wink* I love those times that we let them taste Filipino food, and they also cook for us. I will really miss them. We also met Jonathan, the half-French half-German guy, which occupies the room next to mine. We invited him to one of our dinners. There’s also Youssef from Tunisia, who BI’d Ron to (secret). Haha

And from the other floors are nice people you always come across with in the hallways. There are the lovely Latinos and Latinas namely Fernando, Angie, Malvina, Victor, Romina, Julia, Paula, and Rodrigo. Gorgeous Americans? yeah Couffon definitely houses them in Charles, Nina, and Courtney.

Couffon has also been the home to a bunch of hosting dinners, and what-nots. We once invited our dear friend, Father Del, together with Ed, Romain, Marie, and Radi. Also, there was one where we invited our Chinese friends Piaopiao and Wenjing, Angie, and Jonathan. There’s also one with Iwona. And of course, we also celebrated Ron and Pirkko’s birthday here. And on May 17, Leila’s. :) Couffon housed the worst and best memories of my stay here in France. Worst are the really cold winter nights, and the no-heater-so-it’s-still-hella-cold spring nights. Also, we’ve experienced regular fire alarms. Quoting my facebook status when I felt the danger at its height… "Yesterday, there was a fire incident in the building across ours. (All of us are really thankful that Leila is ok. ) It frightened the hell out of us hearing the traumatic accounts of what happened. It didn’t help that for the past months, we’ve experienced three fire alarms in our own building! Sigh… So this is how it feels to be scared AND be away from your family. Passport always in the bag now, escape routes figured out, and no more sleeping soundly." The incident made me realize that living in a dorm makes you put your own safety on some few people with irresponsible behavior. They are young and relatively care-free. Not everyone though. Sigh… I just don’t wanna think about this anymore. I will stay positive and will go home safely to my family. Best memories are my moments with Team Pinas, my fellow Filipino International students. Most of our memorable time together are in this residence hall. My accounts of Team Pinas deserve a dedicated spot in my countdown, so I’ll talk about them separately. <3

To end this section, here’s a list of what you may need to survive living in Couffon. Some items are preferably brought from your home country, whilst some can be bought here in France.

Toiletries and Detergents + a pail and hand gloves for hand washing clothes. For those who dont want to handwash, washing clothes in the laundry machines costs 3 euros, drying 1 euro.

Medicines (headache, flu, diarrhea, allergies)

Alcohol disinfectant, cotton, bandage, nail cutter

Winter coat preferably with hood- At least two, better more, so you wont be wearing the same coats in the photos you post on Instagram. Haha

Scarf, gloves, bonnet/beret

Warmers / Thermal undergarments

Extension power cord and universal adapter (at least 2)

A good-quality water heater/boiler/rice cooker. Good quality I say because Mich ended up burning her floor because of her 168ish substandard heater. Hehe! Although Couffon confiscated other people’s heaters. :(

Speakers for Spotify music

Wifi router

Playing Cards

Hangers (Minimum 10 preferably)

Cork screw - wine is a staple drink in your first few months

Utensils, plate, bowl, mug

Cookware, knife, chopping board, scrub sponge (Scotch-Brite!)

Food container - preferably glass so you wont taste the dishwashing liquid in your meals (like we did!)

Electric blanket - they will turn the heaters off during Spring (even at 4degC temperature! grr!)

Sweeper

Umbrella

Trash Bags and Grocery reusable bags

If you’re Filipino, you will find a lot of what you need in Asian stores but you wont be able to find these here so squeeze them in:

For a Nescafe 3-in-1 addict in me, I need 5 packs

Bearbrand (Milk at night for me)

Safeguard

Lucky Me Pancit Canton

Mama Sita Mixes, Sinigang Mixes, and cubes

Creamsilk

Spam

Corned Beef (Purefoods or Argentina)

Johnson’s baby powder

There, that’s my life in Couffon. Up next, # 9 - my life in ESSCA… … To be continued :) cross-posted on http:\micomicolet.livejournal.com