Dear children! Let me first give a piece of valuable advice: Do NOT EVER take a flight at 6 am… this means checking in a 5 am and leaving home at 4am… That said, lets skip right to arriving in Cergy after an hour-long bus ride through the morning-misty countryside around Paris.
Cergy is located about 30 km west of Paris and has around 60 000 inhabitants. It is part of the ville nouvelle Cergy-Pontoise, and in larger terms it is part of the Île-de-France region, allowing me to say I live in Paris and allowing it a spot on the outmost corner of the Paris public transport map (zone 5 of 5, hell yeah!). Apart from the university, there is one shopping mall (also containing the one big hypermarché (that’s right, it’s not just a supermarket)), a handful of cafés and shops, two bars (as far as I can tell so far), and that’s pretty much it. Not the most spectacular place, but then again, Paris is only 40 minutes away. What is spectacular though, is the ridiculously idllic lake and park behind the port, including a view point overlooking the whole park. It is part of the so-called axe majeur, a larger creation of art/sculpture that is in line with the axis on which the Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Arche de la Défense, and the Jardins de Túileries in Paris stand.
A few words on my residence:
Chênes d‘Or sounds more idyllic than it really is, but nothing beats a mere five minutes to the university by foot. From what I hear and by now have also seen myself, I was quite lucky with my room as it has semi-white walls, no mold (not even in the bathroom), and only minor cracks in the wall. The room has a certain prison air with its Spartan interior of bed, table, chair, and shelf - nothing else – but with my talent for interior design it is already much friendlier… NOT! But seriously… I hung up a poster… and bought a candle… I’m content. The mattress is the only real difficulty, as I continuously roll towards the middle as it is well worn. Also, I feel really at home due to the “thickness” of the walls… it’s just like hearing my Viennese neighbors’ nocturnal activities…
Otherwise, the French are surprisingly nice and helpful (first thing happening here was a handsome French guy offering to carry my suitcase to the third floor!) and even try to speak English at times. The other Erasmus students, naturally, are awesome. Unfortunately, the “first semesters” are in the process of leaving already. So long!
To be continued…
Cergy is located about 30 km west of Paris and has around 60 000 inhabitants. It is part of the ville nouvelle Cergy-Pontoise, and in larger terms it is part of the Île-de-France region, allowing me to say I live in Paris and allowing it a spot on the outmost corner of the Paris public transport map (zone 5 of 5, hell yeah!). Apart from the university, there is one shopping mall (also containing the one big hypermarché (that’s right, it’s not just a supermarket)), a handful of cafés and shops, two bars (as far as I can tell so far), and that’s pretty much it. Not the most spectacular place, but then again, Paris is only 40 minutes away. What is spectacular though, is the ridiculously idllic lake and park behind the port, including a view point overlooking the whole park. It is part of the so-called axe majeur, a larger creation of art/sculpture that is in line with the axis on which the Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Arche de la Défense, and the Jardins de Túileries in Paris stand.
A few words on my residence:
Chênes d‘Or sounds more idyllic than it really is, but nothing beats a mere five minutes to the university by foot. From what I hear and by now have also seen myself, I was quite lucky with my room as it has semi-white walls, no mold (not even in the bathroom), and only minor cracks in the wall. The room has a certain prison air with its Spartan interior of bed, table, chair, and shelf - nothing else – but with my talent for interior design it is already much friendlier… NOT! But seriously… I hung up a poster… and bought a candle… I’m content. The mattress is the only real difficulty, as I continuously roll towards the middle as it is well worn. Also, I feel really at home due to the “thickness” of the walls… it’s just like hearing my Viennese neighbors’ nocturnal activities…
Otherwise, the French are surprisingly nice and helpful (first thing happening here was a handsome French guy offering to carry my suitcase to the third floor!) and even try to speak English at times. The other Erasmus students, naturally, are awesome. Unfortunately, the “first semesters” are in the process of leaving already. So long!
To be continued…
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen