On Wednesday I went to the château in Gruyère with Laura, about 30 or 40 minutes away by car. Gruyère is a touristy little town on top of a hill (go here: http://www.la-gruyere.ch/en/navpage.cfm?category=GruyeresFR to see more.) The château was pretty cool, It was built in the 13th century but changed by various inhabitants over the centuries to create a nice blend of old and really old.
On Thursday and Friday I went to school, and I can't remember that anything exciting happened. I had to give a presentation of Friday to my classmates, it was basically 'this is Minnesota' and 'this is Minneapolis in the dead of winter' but in French. I am definitely behind most of the students in my class, because they studied French longer in their home countries. Right now I feel like I am not very good at French, and maybe I learn better by reading and seeing than by hearing. I am not just picking up French left and right from hearing it. However, I have only been here one week so I think I need to be easier on myself. It is just difficult because I want to be able to say what is on my mind right now, not in a few months... but oh well, I will cope.
Last week Jess asked me if I wanted to go see Madonna with a group they were going with, and not wanting to pass up a good opportunity, I said 'oui.' Yesterday around 3 we drove to the train station in Romont where we met up with three of PA's sisters and two of their husbands. The trains were all ridiculously crowded, partly because it was Saturday but also because the whole world was taking the train to see Madonna, as train fare was included with the concert ticket. We rode the train from Romont through Fribourg to Bern, where we switched trains, then to Zürich, where we switched again to take a special Madonna-goers only train to Dübendorf air base (where the concert was.)
The crowd was gigantic but luckily I didn't get lost from the group. Apparently the concert attracted more than 60,000 people, which is pretty crazy. We ate some overpriced not very good Mexican food while waiting a few hours for the concert to start around 9. I was not suprised to see portable toilets but I WAS surpised to see portable urinals like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Portable-toilet-Netherlands.jpg just in plain view. It was obvious I was in Europe...
The concert started around 9:30 after some mediocre singer I had never heard of opened for Madonna. We were in the standing part in front of the stage but I could barely see a thing. The concert was fun but also a drag. I was tired before we even left home, then we had to stand up for at least 3 hours straight which was hard to endure, and the crowds afterward were terrible- it took us more than an hour just to get to the train. But complaining aside, I think I am glad I went. Madonna sung some of her hits which I knew ('Into the Groove', 'Music', 'Like a Prayer', 'Ray of Light') and were fun to hear, but a lot of the new songs were pretty bad. And the audience, for the most part, was very unenthusiastic- I heard someone say on the way out that it was 'like being at a funeral.'
I was a walking zombie for an hour or two trying to get to the train. And then we took about two hours to get back home, but I fell asleep on the way. We got home around 3 and then I slept until noon today.
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6 comments:
You sound tired mon petite chou. Your brain is working overtime, but soon all will make sense to you. This international jet-set lifestyle is causing la fatigué des métaux. Avec tout mon affection, Maman
madonna, cool beans. umm, i mean 'legumes froids.' there is no way that is correct. it's the effort that counts, right? we will all think about you in french class when we play cluedo instead of learning and when you get back you can laugh at us and mock us in french that we won't understand! hooray! miss you, love you, -mikayla
Hi Sweetie,
I think you are wise to go easy on yourself when you get frustrated trying to express yourself in French (hey - isn't that a Madonna song - "Express Yourself"?). It will come in time. The concert experience sounds like an ordeal but hey, you're the only person I know who's seen Madonna live! And I can relate to the tedium of the crowds and the train after being at the Olympics for a month...Love, XOXOXXOXO aunt Amy
Hahahaha, Mikayla. "Legumes Froids"
Madonna sounds cool, even though people said it was like being at a funeral. It's still a concert, right? And a cultural experience indeed! The more you speak francais, the better you'll get. I wish I had an oppertunity to improve like you do. But back to school I will go! Best of luck in AFS language camp and in regular Swiss school!!! Lots o' love,
Chloe
P.S. In front of one of the oldest and most venerated temples in Lhasa Tibet, the Chinese have thoughtfully constructed a fountain for the Buddhist pilgrims that blares pop music - today it was playing "Get Into The Groove". Madonna is everywhere!(Oh, and the street sweeping trucks all play "Happy Birthday", so you know they are coming.)XO Aunt Amy
hey there ruth--i am completely jealous of your madonna experience (funeral or no funeral). her shows are more about the theatrics than the sound (her career was launched during the MTV age, after all), so too bad you did not have a better view of the stage. anyway, thanks for giving me yet another reason to live vicariously through you!michele
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