A Whole New World… Or is it??

A Whole New World… Or is it??

by Ranada ♥ 6 Comments

The last four days have been a whirlwind for me.  While I’m very much blessed to experience all that I have, I swear I expected none of it and I’m not sure if I’d go through some of it again if I had the choice.  I’ll catch up on my blogging in the next few days, but I’ll try to at least give an overview today.  One thing I will say before I start unloading on here is that when I decided to come on this trip, I was primarily seeking exposure to ways of thinking and problem solving that would expand my realm of possibilities.  Although I love studying racial disparities and issues, it never crossed my mind that I could be walking in on a real life social experiment of my own about how blacks are treated in Europe.  I’ve been in 3 countries in the last 4 days, and what happened to me Saturday in France is still resounding very loudly in my mind, heart, and spirit.  I don’t know if this is really new to me or if the language barriers and inability to go home and destress with people that love me makes it a whole new unbelievable experience…

Saturday

After lectures, we spent some time in the city centre of Strasbourg.  Got invited to a Slavery Abolishment Celebration, then argued with a cohort about the point of the book I’m reading, The Spook Who Sat by the Door, even though she’s never read it but her boyfriend saw the movie and I guess told her enough about it to feel like she could enlighten me, who has seen the movie at least twice and had read a third of the book by then.  Had some nasty azz non-fulfilling dinner that makes me wonder where my program fee is going while all the patrons around us ate food that looked amazing and then sought out for some fun.  Ended up getting doused with water by some French teens, going to a wack dance club to try to feel better, then being the revolutionary third of the black girl quest to save a group of naive or stupid or a combination thereof girls from a stoned stalker who hates Americans and minorities, which includes women and coloreds, both of which I am proudly.  Yes, if it can happen, it definitely will if I’m around, even when I’m a daggum innocent bystander.

Sunday

Got up early, got packed and ready to go to Baden Baden, Germany, so that I could catch a flight to Rome, Italy.  Was irritated by melanin-limited people who want to run everything and a RANDOM unidentified huge guy who locked us out of OUR bathroom.  Found that so far, I’m loving Baden Baden the most of all the cities.  Missed my mom very very much but found a tiny bit of solace in finding a really nice cafe in downtown Baden Baden and getting an actual ham and cheese croissant and a yellow flower for being a girl and being helped by a waitress who was NICE and wasn’t offended by our limited German.  Found out that you have to go for the gold and get in where you fit in to board planes in Europe.  After missing trampling by mere inches, got to Rome safely and found that Italian men evidently like my shade of blackness and that some Italian women are extreme haters.  Then walked half a kilometer uphill to get to the hotel through the urban set of the beginning of The Wiz  (graffitti, random park, and all) b/c someone thought it was a good idea to skip calling a cab…  Found the hotel was nice, was happy about that, then became sad once more to find out that real Italian pizza is not my thing…  Went to sleep happy I was in Rome though.

 Monday

Got up, ate free breakfast in the hotel then ventured off for a full day of Rome.  Stopped at a souvenir shop close to the Vatican and got a few trinkets and some postcards without realizing I don’t know people’s addresses by heart.  I went to the Vatican first and was OVERWHELMED by the awesomeness of the artistry, architecture, history, spirituality, and overall beauty.  Had a nasty azz lunch (not doing too well with Italian food so far which is crazy since it’s one of my faves in America) at this side cafe, but got some chicken to replace my disappointing meatballs.  Went to the Coliseum and cried the entire circumference (due to personal reasons–I know… The older I get, the less in control of my emotions I am.  I’m striving to return to my days of just cutting folks off…) then walked around and saw a monestary and so many other just beautiful structures that are just a part of the city.  Then went to the Spanish Steps and sat for awhile.  Had a pretty good dinner at an Italian restaurant where I had Sicilian Steak and a capaccino and very very interesting conversation with a couple from England.  Ended the night discussing the convo with my cohorts and listening to some good ole Raheem.

Tuesday

Got up early for some more free breakfast, tried to get to the City Centre in time to get our bags checked so that we could venture out for some more sight seeing before our charter bus was to take us to the airport.  Ran out of time and just explored the area.  Saw some girl who almost won Charm School on MTV (gave her hopefully good directions).  Ate a Mickey D’s cheese burger and found that just like in America, they take a super long time if you say no anything.  Had a really really smooth and relatively quick trip back to Strasbourg (now that we were ready for the boarding process) and finally ate a good dinner in the city.  Saw two of our professors on the way back to the Chateau and started sharing our amazing time in Rome with them, and now I’m sitting here typing on this here blog.

I put more details than usual for an overview so that I would remember to come back and tell each and every good (or bad) story in detail.  I swear I’m okay so don’t be out there worrying.  Besides not having my hair done now, I’m just as Ranada as Ranada can be. 🙂  I’m smiling in cyberspace and in real life.  Oh and be patient with me since I don’t have immediate internet access.  Trust and believe I won’t forget any of this before I get to chronicle it.  Keep praying for me!  One week down, two to go!

Hallo!

Hallo!

by Ranada ♥ 3 Comments

Ok folks, yesterday was a day…  We did two site visits in Germany to private firms–a family-owned (for 8 generations!!) paper maker and Pfizer.  And I’m sick. 😦  Scratchy throat and runny nose…  But I went to the apotheke, and I got some medicine in boxes I can’t read.  One of them I have to take 4 pills at a time. :-/  (Don’t worry–there are actual pharmacists at the register for these places so I didn’t make that up or guess!)  The other is a nasty licorice-tasting cough drop-like substance. 

The food in Germany…  not so much.  I’m not in a hurry to go back there (I think we go two more times).  I will do the bratwurst and beer next time though.  I did meet a really nice Italian cafe owner who got me to eat the German equivalent of a calzone with “beef” and cheese (wasn’t that good) and some yogurt and strawberry Italian ice.  Yes, folks, I went to Germany and ate Italian.  Go figure.  How would we know??  The guy was nice though, although he duped me–I still don’t know what i ACTUALLY ate.  The aftertaste was not what’s up.  But he was so funny–he made fun of my pronunciation of bratwurst.  I swear I said what he said, but he mimicked me as I’m used to and said that I said “brat werst,” even almost saying it with a fake southern accent, lol.  Whatever though.  I’m a southern belle wherever I go, I guess.  I can say thank you and hello correctly in German (Danke and Hallo) and that’s about it.  I tried to say their word for sink about 5 times and it just didn’t work out.  One of the hosts of our Pfizer visit needed me to tell him how to say sink and anti-bacterial in English so I asked him back how to say it in German.  We both gave up on me after a while…  The Germans add a BUNCH of syllables to almost everything!  And you gotta be more throaty. 

The French thing is ok though.  I went to a little cafe today where the waitress ne parle pas Anglais, so I had to speak the little French I remembered to order.  It was pretty cool.  I just had some tortellini avec quatre fromage.  Yummy (in a almost bland kinda way)!  Back to yesterday…

Y’all know I’m in heaven cuz I’m SUPPOSED to be observing, which I do anyway.  There’s so much to notice here.  For instance, I noticed only about 5 colored people yesterday.  I don’t know of what background, so I can’t say of African descent necessarily (for those of you who find “colored” offensive, even tho that’s what the C stands for in NAACP…).  I think it was just the city we were in, but I have no real idea.  Also, I noticed people enjoy their time here.  They’re not all stressed out like we are so often.  When I walked down to a cafe for lunch, there were folks eating in the park.  And the folks at the restaurants don’t rush you in the least.  Everybody’s just chill.  When we had lunch yesterday in the Pfizer cafeteria, the workers were all chilling and just enjoying lunch.  They had an ICE CREAM parlor in there.  And after lunch, they serve coffee.  Complaints? NO sense of personal space.  None.  Zip.  I was in H&M yesterday (didn’t buy anything, just wanted to see if it was any different from the ones in the U.S. since I spent so much time being envious of Europe when I would see it in fashion magazines before I had ever gone to D.C. on my own tab), and so many people would just walk into me or stand close enough to me that I could feel them before even seeing them. 

One question I hope to answer while I’m here…  “What is luxury here?”  Everything is modest–seems like simplicity or some version of it is luxury.  Of course you see Benzes and Beemers and Audis everywhere, but they’re made here.  The houses are cozy.  The accomodations are cozy.  So I wonder if they think Americans are just really over the top and materialistic (like I sometimes do) or what.  I wonder how they view success tangibly.  But I’ll keep observing… 

Ok, I’m done with lectures for the day and I want to explore.  I think I’ll take a nap first and then off to the center of Strasbourg I go!

Je m’appelle Ranada!

Je m’appelle Ranada!

by Ranada ♥ 6 Comments

I just got to France earlier today, and I am truly ecstatic!  I’ve been waiting ALL my life (or at least since my mom exposed me to the French culture and language when I was small) to come here!  Already, I’m in awe.  And I’m already learning!  For instance, WHO KNEW that storks still exist??  I thought they were extinct.  My trip roommate thought they were always just a fictional character.  Well, Strasbourg evidently is known for its storks, and I saw a bunch of them when we got to the city.

Also, I don’t want to ever hear anyone call me a weakling again!  I carried my luggage up 3 flights of narrow castle steps this afternoon!  With my post-shot arm!  Lemme tell you how uncomfortable this trip has been after getting a Tetanus booster and a Hep A shot in my left arm.  Hep B went in my right, but it doesn’t hurt anymore.  I’m still having pain when I even MOVE the left one.  But the charm of being overseas trumps the pain.

One of my biggest fears was that I would get here and leave all emaciated cuz I hated the food.  So when I received a ham and cheese sandwich on the flight from Paris to Frankfurt and saw the creamy cheese with speckles, I knew it was time to find out.  Well, even though the cheese melted in my mouth and I still can’t figure out how that can possibly be a real lunch for someone, it was delish, and heck, I can pretty much move now.  This evening, the folks at the Chateau barbequed for us, and I AM STUFFED.  As soon as I stop typing, I’m gonna go to my room and get some DEEP sleep after that 5 course meal.  I ate Ciabatta bread with herb butter and this awesomeness Feta cheese that Eduardo the VERY talented cook added his flavor to.  I had grilled fish (can’t remember what kind), grilled sausage, some Portuguese potato stew, grilled zucchini (y’all know i love that!), grilled chicken, some sort of cold salad with lentils and corn in it, and some concoction that was half beer and half lemonade.  It was better than beer, but I can pass on that from here on out.  Think I’ll be sticking with good ole H20.   So I’m cool with the food.  I’m cool with my roommate.  I’m cool with the other folks so far.  So I’m cool as a fan right now.

Stay tuned for more.  Tomorrow we do two tours and a lecture or two, so I’m sure I’ll have something to say.

So bonne nuit, mes amis!