We got to Gatwick the next morning by getting up at 3 am London time, God knows what time my body thought it was… but our flight ended up getting delayed anyway so we were at the airport for a good amount of time. EVENTUALLY we took off, got to Lux, and went straight to the chateau.
By now, our host mom is like our favorite person, is so nice, and is letting us use her Internet and is cooking us food. She’s 51 and divorced and her 24-year-old son lives with us. He is really nice and is trying to find a job, something we all know is hard to do in this economy. We each have our own bedroom and share a bathroom. Our house is in a nice little neighborhood, but is still only a 15 to 20 minute walk from the train and only a 5 minute bus ride. The good news is the bus is right outside our door.
We’re about 45 minutes from the campus, so we have to commute but omigoodness Lux City is GORGEOUS. I think it is more beautiful than any town I saw in Ireland. It is very old and all the buildings are stunning. It’s build over a ravine, so you can see everything. The city center is all cobblestone and small thin roads and cafes. It’s so adorable all dressed up in Christmas decorations, like a scene from Love Actually or something equally cheesy that I would totally cave to. The Gund is the bar district at the bottom of one of the ravines and built around a river, very old-European. I have been attempting to take pictures, but the near Artic temperatures are threatening to take my fingers if they are out of my gloves for too long.
Orientation was difficult. You really do hit the ground running from the second you get here. It’s three days long and composed of various activities, meaning you are up at 6:45 am and going until at least 7 pm. We catch a 7:50 am train with about a bajillion (maybe an over exaggeration) other Miami students and walk from the train station to the chateau in Differdange. Differdange is much larger than I expected, and very adorable. The chateau is actually smaller than I would have thought. It’s very classic looking, almost like a fairy princess’ home. The mornings of orientation are composed of some of the single most boring lectures I have ever sat through. I know the professors are doing their best, but there is only so many ways you can say “don’t be rude to your host family and don’t travel alone.” Despite some dreadful mornings, the afternoons have been much more interesting. The first day we did a walking tour of Luxembourg City, visited the Battle of the Bulge field sites and graveyards, and a wine tasting at a Luxembourg vineyard. The frigid temperatures made it a little difficult to enjoy the tour of the city, but it was beautiful. The graveyards were very cool for a history junkie like myself. The difference between the German and American grave sites was extraordinary. The German graves had four names per cross, you entered through a small iron gate, and it was all gray with no flags. The Americans, on the other hand, screamed patriotism with huge marble memorials and flags draping everything. We even saw George Patton’s grave. The wine tasting was by far everyone’s favorite (no one saw that coming.) The second day we visited a high school, listed to some lectures on something no one can remember, went to a military museum, and then a Catholic church to see the monks perform a chanting ceremony. This would have been much cooler if we all hadn’t been dead on our feet and unable to concentrate to the rythmatic lullaby. Overall, decent days!
Last night was our first night out, since jet lag was finally beyond us and orientation was over. Biggest reason to celebrate by far! We went with a large group of Miami students to two of the bars located in the Gund: Fire and Ice and Scotts. The amount of Americans at each bar can be demonstrated by the first song played: Welcome to Miami by Will Smith. Do you think they knew where we were from? Alcohol was more expensive than healthcare (okay, impossible, but it felt like it) and the music was 90’s retro, as well as throwbacks to Grease and Celine Dion- who can go wrong with those. It was about time we all had fun, and my happiness meter went from about 10 to 110.
Overall, the cultural change has been difficult. The Luxembourgish people do not believe in lights, heaters, long showers, closets, and Internet. Most of these being requirements in my life, I am slowly adjusting. However, I am adjusting! I’m excited to begin traveling and class starts tomorrow! I’ll be in touch when everything is more in pattern mode
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