#decemberbreakdiary

[lisakimnguyen]

Days 22-27: The last week.

January 12: Exploring Berlin. I had breakfast, then took the subway with the girls to Museum Island. It was a pretty nice day and we got to relax and have some time to explore and take pictures. We also went shopping at the Mall of Berlin. I bought a scarf from H&M. We had dinner at an Asian restaurant near our hotel, which was alright. The environment was nice. Berlin was my favorite city that we visited.

January 13: We had our last breakfast at the nice hotel, then went to the airport for our flight to Brussels. There wasn't much to do at the airport - I bought a BLT sandwich which was pretty good, and Minute Maid orange juice. The flight was only a little over an hour, so I just napped. We arrived in the evening, and it was a little tiresome figuring out the train from the airport to Brussels Central, but we got it done. The hotel was close to the train station, it was small though. Sadly probably the least fancy hotel during our trip. The Wifi was down when we arrived, but they had it fixed the next morning.

January 14: I have to say I didn't really enjoy the agenda in Brussels, although I did like exploring the Grand Place which was right outside our hotel. It had a lot of shops and restaurants and pretty buildings. The things planned on the agenda were made by Audencia, which included lectures that I was not interested in ... they were mostly historical. We went to the Parlamentarium Museum which was alright. Then they drove us to the Audi assembly plant where we got a company tour. It would've been interesting cool if I liked cars - but I don't like overpriced things and it was really similar to the Scania company visit. Aimee and I stayed in the back and had our own fun not paying attention during the tour haha. By the time we got back we were tired - so we took a nap. Then we went out for dinner which was waffles! It was delicious. 

January 15: We went to the European Parliament and the National Bank of Belgium today. The Parliament was better because we got to see the actual conference room, but at the bank they just stuck us in a lecture room for 2 hours. It felt like I was wasting my time in Europe and I did not appreciate it. I think for dinner I had waffles again.

January 16: After hearing about the events in Brussels, I was even more unwilling to leave the hotel to attend boring lectures. We went to the EU Economic and Social Committee and then to a hotel conference room to listen to a guy who works at the Brussels World Trade Center. We were quite disappointed that a lot of the stuff on the agenda were just lectures instead of company tours. We ended early though, so Janae and I walked around the Grand Place and to the Mall Strip for a while. We bought chocolates and desserts to bring home. For dinner we met up with all the girls at the hotel, and walked down a street that greatly resembled what we saw in Paris. Since it was our last dinner in Europe, we ate at a nice place called Lobster House. It was pretty inside and had good menu options, and the food was good. The only downside is that it was very "French" meaning that the food took forever. We were there for over 2 hours because we had to wait for the appetizer, entree, then dessert. They really don't emphasize customer service in Europe. I heard it's actually gotten better in recent years. I can't imagine what it was like before. Our professor from last week told us that French businesses have a "take it or leave it" attitude, meaning that everything is set, you can't customize or substitute or request special things when ordering, and they really don't care whether you buy their stuff or not. Anyway, it was a nice and relaxing ending to our trip though. 

January 17: Breakfast, then train ride to the Airport. There was a 1.5 hour flight to London, a 3 hour layover, then a 12 hour flight to LAX. I watched Lucy and The Book of Life on the plane. British Airways has really nice Airbus planes. There were new movies on the personal screen and it was great. I slept a lot also. At one point when were were flying over Yellowstone, there was a lot of turbulence and I was really scared. We landed 25 minutes late. Everyone was happy to be home.

[lisakimnguyen]

Days 17-21: Things have to turn bad before they turn good

January 7: We had class at 9 am, a case study about bicycle sharing in Europe. That went on for almost three hours, then we had free time until 1. My friends and I brought lunch to school which we had bought from the supermarket, so we didn't leave the comfy auditorium. They're like theater seats. Sometimes I take up 3 seats to lay on them and take a nap. Our next instructor came in and my first impression of her was that she was really cool. She is from America and she is really chill. The topic was Intercultural Management so she talked about the differences in culture between US and France. I have an interest in things like psychology, personality, and personnel management so I paid attention during the entire lecture. After class, Aimee went exploring so Ivette Janae and I went to the mall again. We could not find anything to eat in the mall - it's all bakeries. We were so sick of bread. So we went to the supermarket.

January 8: We had time to work on our marketing presentation, then we had 2 classes with the cool instructor. She is quirky but also very laid back and very American. She's been living in France for 22 years and she looks young but she really relates to us. We talked about stereotypes and more cultural differences that we observed in France. Just to name a few - they don't believe in sharing food at restaurants in France, their language is really nasal-y, and they are a culture of negative feedback and do not understand the concept of compliments.

January 9: In our Intercultural Management class, we did a negotiation workshop. It was fun, the instructor gave each of us different managerial positions and cultural identities to negotiate a budget cut of 2 million pounds in total. It was very entertaining. Then at the end of class our instructor gave us cake! It was a good start to the day, but then we had to work on our marketing presentations and study. We had 4 hours of free time so I watched Running Man and took a nap. The presentations went well but our evaluator was mean and no one liked him. Afterwards, we went shopping in the mall to relax. 

January 10: After breakfast, we took public transport to the Nantes SNCF train station. It was a 3.5 hour train ride to the Paris Airport, where we checked in and waited for our flight. The flight from Paris to Berlin was only 1.5 hours. We went through the worst turbulence I have ever experienced in my life and I was really scared. We landed in Berlin and I realized I can't even guess what the German words mean. At least in French some vocabulary is similar to English/Spanish so I could interpret it. We arrived at our hotel around 11pm so we just went to sleep

January 11: Original Berlin Walking Tour. It was cold and raining. Our tour guide was Alex from New York. He was kind of good looking and had a deep voice, hehe. We had lunch at a really nice place that had Curryworst, a local favorite. We saw a lot of cool stuff on the tour and learned a lot of history about Berlin. We got back to the hotel around 2. Aimee and I took a nap, and we woke up in the evening because we were hungry. Janae, Ivette, and I went walking around our hotel for food. Aimee stayed in because she was tired. We walked around for an hour and a half but couldn't find the perfect place to eat. We ended up finding other students from our group (what a coincidence!) and decided to have dinner at the same place that we had lunch because it was so good. We had to walk a bit, but that's okay. The restaurant is right next to the "Holocaust Memorial" (quoted because that's not it's official name)...and the more daring people in our group decided to walk through it...when it was dark outside. After that we walked home, and met up in one of the rooms to watch movies together! There were like 11 people in one room. We watched Taken and Pitch Perfect. It was my first time watching both of them and I thought they were good. I was paranoid after watching Taken though haha. I went to sleep around 2. It was a good day.

[lisakimnguyen]

Days 13-16: Tiring days of traveling, & homesick

January 3rd: We had to be ready by 8:30 to leave for Normandy from Paris. We took a coach and Aimee and I started watching the Princess Diaries on the bus. Always a great movie. We arrived at the Colleville Sur Mer and Omaha landing beaches. A national tour guide led us, who had been working for 25 years. She was really cool, although I did fall asleep on the bus when she was talking about some history stuff. I couldn't help it, I was tired and bus rides are relaxing. We walked outside and saw the bomb craters and bunkers that are still on the beaches. It was really cold and raining. I felt uneasy the entire time because of the weather, and she showed a picture of an aerial view of the impact of the war which had all the bomb craters and I was scared because of my trypophobia. So I couldn't really enjoy the beach part, but I did enjoy the part where we went to an American memorial. It had a really nice view of the ocean and a nice pond in the middle. It was still rainy and windy and my umbrella flipped inside out a few times but I was glad I had it (thank you vien!). We arrived at our hotel Novotel Bayeux around 6:30pm and ate dinner in the hotel. I had steak and fries. It was soo good. You know what's weird, everything is extremely sweet here. The others ordered pasta and said it was weirdly sweet. Everything else I've eaten has been sweeter than I'm used to. Things are sweet and cheesy here.

January 4th: Again by 8:30, we had to be ready to leave on the coach - this time to Mont St. Michel. Until arriving there, I thought it was another memorial site. Aimee and I watched Princess Diaries 2 on the bus this time. They dropped us off and said we had 4 hours to explore before getting back on the bus. Aimee and I were confused why we were given so much time when there wasn't much around us, but after taking a bus to the island it made sense. It was pretty cool there. The birds are cute. I went up to the church, and there was mass so I stayed there with Aimee and Ivette for a while. It was in French! I still don't know much French. I've only been saying bonjour, bonsoir, and merci. I walked through the monastery and it was very nice. I was impressed by the architecture and how they put together all the rocks to build this place in the middle of nowhere. There are also restaurants, hotels, and shops on the island. I didn't buy anything though. At 4 we left for Nantes, and watched National Treasure. I love those movies too. It was a good thing we watched movies with earphones the entire ride because there were students from other schools (from Argentina and George Washington University) who were talking so loud the entire bus could hear them, and they were the only ones talking, and right next to each other. It was so uncomfortable with their loud voices and awkward flirting. It's okay because Aimee and I were too into our movies to notice them that much. We arrived at the 7 Urban Suites hotel, and it seems like everyone likes their room, which I'm glad. Each room has a kitchenette and living space with a queen sofa bed and another queen bed in the bedroom. With 2 people in each suite, it's pretty comfortable. We took the bus to get closer to the center the city, and brought back chinese food. It was good.

January 5th: First day of classes at Audencia. We took the bus and tram to school, and were there from 8:30 to 5pm. School in France is intense. We got a free lunch but it was not that good. It was like a hamburger/steak patty but it was rare. It came with fries which were alright and dessert which was really sweet. I slept during the short break afterwards, and during the last lectures. When we got back, we went shopping at the mall which is a 5 minute walk away from our hotel. They have some high end stores, claire's, h&m, quicksilver/roxy, and a supermarket inside. There are 120 stores in total so its a pretty big mall. The supermarket, Carrefour, is as big as a Walmart and looks a lot like one. Aimee and I spent $72 on groceries. It was great, we bought fruit, vegetables, snacks, sushi, dessert - anything that looked good and reasonably priced. We also bought a rotisserie chicken and baguette to eat for dinner with Ivette and Janae. That was the best part of the day.

January 6th: We had to be at Audencia by 7:45am. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by tram. When we got there we took a coach to the manufacturing plant of Scania, a Swedish company that makes trucks and buses. There we learned about their company practices and assembly process. We toured the floor of their production facility. It was interesting, but a long tour. Also, it was like a repeat of our Operations Management class. Afterwards, the coach took us back to the mall by our hotel - conveniently. I don't think they knew we were staying so close to the mall; they took us there because it was the mall that was the largest and closest in the area, and we were supposed to walk around and do 'consumer research' for our marketing project. Everyone just went back to their place to eat or rest. I ate some bread and took a nap. We had to be back at Audencia by 3:30, which gave us almost 2 hours. My friends and I were late though, we got there around 3:50. I did not fall asleep in class this time, because I was watching an episode of my korean drama. I was also checking for my grades from time to  time. The lecture went by quickly, then we had a different lecture about marketing and got time to work on our group project. Thank goodness our instructor cut the lecture short - we got home around 6:45. Now I'm just catching up with these journal entries, and will be eating dinner with the girls again soon. Janae and Ivette's room is right next to us, which is nice :) We're having a lot of fun together, although we do want to go home. It's cold here and we miss our beds, and we miss being able to sleep in, and good food. I miss the feeling of the sun on my skin. I also miss a lot of people back home. And we're only at the midpoint.

[lisakimnguyen]

Day 12: Experiencing Paris

January 2nd, classes with Audencia School of Management begin. We had to be ready in the hotel lobby by 8:15 to walk to the Montparnasse Tower, where the school office is on the 25th floor. We had an introduction and sat through a 2 hour lecture about the European Union presented by a guy with the Jean Monnet Association. He was an interesting lecturer although it was hard for me to stay awake. I actually got caught up in my thoughts and started feeling down. But we took a break then I spent the last hour playing the pre-installed games on my computer. I had lunch with the girls at this Japanese restaurant. It had the best California rolls. Instead of cucumbers there was fish inside and it was so good. Then we went to the Invalides War Museum, which was really pretty and our tour guide was interesting an informative. Afterwards I took the Metro with Janae, Ivette, and Aimee to Notre Dame and the lock bridge. Janae and I were very critical of the idea, how it does not look good and how over half of these are probably broken up now. It was at this moment that I realized maybe I don't believe in romance anymore. Sure at one point I dreamed of all the nice things and I still see it happening in people, but I know that I never want to go through this again. Like I didn't even go through it all, but I feel jaded about the whole concept of it. Partnerships are more efficient than relationships. Optimism is a waste of energy. I want to go home. I have some scores to settle.

[lisakimnguyen]

Day 11: The first of 2015

What a nice number. I woke up at different times this morning (8:30, :45, :50) as set by my alarm so that I could wish friends and family in CA a Happy New Year :) I quickly went back to sleep, and had difficulty actually getting up the entire day. I woke up at 5:40pm and was like wow the sun isn't even up anymore. I really needed a day to recover. When I was asleep, I had the nicest dreams. I dreamt about good times with my family, friends, etc. It was all so real. I realize its the New Year and I should be excited and looking forward to new things, and I sort of am, but there are some things I wish I could bring back. All these things were played out in my dreams and I woke up realizing things aren't like that anymore. Like I'm just a friend now. I can tell the difference. The words aren't loving anymore. I know it's going to be really hard, but I think I can do it. I'm really scared, but I know that this is what I want. I know I might be left behind in the end, but I'll still do everything I can so I don't regret anything. It's okay if I pour my heart out and get nothing in return; since I live to give, not to receive.

[lisakimnguyen]

Day 10: The last of 2014

December 31st: Woke up and got breakfast, packed and checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi to St. Pancras International Station. I got the tickets then we went onto the train. It was a nice train ride, I was sleep deprived so I just knocked out during the 2 hour ride to Paris. It was cool, you could feel the pressure in your ears as the train went underground and under the channel. We got to Paris and all public transport is free for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, so we took the Metro to our hotel. The station is full of stairs going up and down (no escalators), and we were carrying our suitcases and it was so tiring and painful. After getting out of the station we found our hotel. When we got into our room I napped for about 1.5 hours before going down to the lobby to meet with everyone. We took the Metro again to this plaza (I forgot the name) next to Notre Dame. We spent about 3 hours there eating, walking through shops, and exploring. Then we went with everyone to the station to take the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. It was a scary experience. It was where everyone was headed and the train was packed and people were trying to get on the train at each stop even though there was no room. These people from LA next to us said that someone died already when they fell off the train. I was so scared. Everyone from our group got off the train safely but getting out of the station took a while. There was no room and we were moving slowly. Our group held onto each other like a train so no one would get lost in the crowd. We finally made it outside, 3 minutes until midnight, with a pretty nice view of the Eiffel Tower. When it hit midnight there were fireworks and the Eiffel Tower lit up and people were celebrating. It was nice. We spent about an hour there and didn't want to get back onto the train so we walked just a little over 2 miles back to our hotel. After settling down, Aimee went to sleep right away around 2 and I went to sleep at 3. 

[lisakimnguyen]

Day 9: I'm up all night.

The Day of December 30th: Woke up at 9:15, got ready and ate breakfast downstairs. The breakfast at the Mercure London Bridge is so good! Then we went back upstairs to finish getting ready. We walked about 10 minutes to a place to exchange our money, then headed for the London Bridge! We also stopped at a shop that was selling pretty things. We went to the Tower Bridge and I walked back home from there to take care of stuff. I met up again with Michael Ivette Lindsay Aimee and Janae to buy tickets for the London Eye. I walked there by myself, and got lost a couple of times. I thought I was heading the right direction but I had to turn around and go another way. I eventually ended up in the right place - I mean, it's hard to miss the giant blue wheel. We got our tickets and stuff, watched a 4 minute 4D promotional video, waited in line, and went on the Eye! It was very pretty. Afterwards, we went to Great Britain's Fish and Chips. I did not enjoy it because it was technically $12 and it was really oily, and the fries were not crisp. Then we walked home, I finished my essay and started packing, and now it is 5:40 AM the next day and Aimee and I are in the lobby hanging out. 

[lisakimnguyen]

Day 7 & 8: "London, baby!"

December 28th: The entire day went by quickly - Breakfast, checked out of the hotel, waited until it was time to go to the airport. The flight from IAD to LHR was around 6 hours. British Airways is so nice. I actually liked the meal they gave us. I got pasta, salad, a roll with butter, carrot cake, and water. I watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time during the flight. I liked it :) Then I napped.

December 29th: We arrived at London Heathrow Airport around 6:20am, went through customs and got to our coach around 8:00am. We stopped by by a coffee shop named Coffee Affair, then went to the Royal Air Force Museum. It had a lot of planes. It was pretty nice but we were all tired from the flight. We were settled in our hotel around 2:30pm, and I knocked out for like 3 hours. Michael, Ivette, and Lindsay knocked on our door which woke us up, and we all went to see the London Eye and Big Ben together. So far, I think London is alright. Everything is great and all, but I like central commercial centers, and walking only when the crosswalk says I should. The streets and local coffee shops/restaurants aren't that clean, we pass by a lot of people who smoke, and I'm starting to think that we have good customer service and prices in California. Really though, there's no place like home.