Strasbourg!

*Apologies for the latest of this recent post. The past few weeks have been incredibly hectic and I hope that the length of this one will make up for any withdrawal symptoms my many readers have been experiencing...!*

Last Monday I boarded a six hour train far too early in the morning for my first ever work trip. Every month, the radio sends two interns to the European Parliament in Strasbourg along with the permanent journalists and now it was my turn. My two colleagues immediately got out their laptops and began preparing their debates. I, however, decided that I wasn't important enough to have to work at 7am and spent most of the journey asleep, or staring soulfully out of the window as we crossed from the West to the East of l'Hexagone.

My first impressions of Strasbourg were just that it was incredibly Germanic. Everything from the place names - 'Wacken' being one delightful tram stop, how beautiful the German language is - to the bretzels hanging in bakery windows made me aware of just how close to Deutschland we were. However, I spent almost the entirety of my three days in the city ensconced in the behemoth that is the European Parliament so I was unable to discover any more about the city. Schade (that's shame in German, Herr Tiger, you should be proud).

Hallo Strasbourg

The first day at the Parliament was a confusing and stressful blur as I tried to work out who I could  find to interview, where the press cafe with the apparently delicious pastries was and why there were so many different passerelles (bridges) in the Louise Weiss building. My first interview was with a German Green MEP, Gerald Hafner. He's co-author of the Single Seat report, which argues that the Parliament should only have one location instead of shuffling back and forth between Brussels and Strasbourg every month.This migration causes enormous financial and environmental waste, and over a third of MEPs voted in favour of the proposal, because clearly it is a slightly ridiculous system. But guess who didn't? The French...

My evening meal gave me a better idea of why some MEPs are pretty happy to keep coming back to Strasbourg every month. With the joy of expenses, they can certainly enjoy the many restaurants proffering Alsacian cuisine, which is essentially composed of cheese, meat and cream. We took full advantage of our food allowance to try out this healthy concoction. My tartiflette (just a plate of bacon, potatoes, cheese and cream) was pretty good. The Spanish intern wasn't too taken with her choucroute though.

A light snack.

The next day was more successful - I had invited Denis Macshane, an ex Labour MEP, to take part in a debate about the far right run by the radio. It was pretty interesting - there was also a member of the Vlaams Belang, the Flemish far right party - who the other speakers attacked throughout the debate. We saw him later on sitting in the Parliament in the 'far right corner' (MEPs are seated according to their political affiliation)along with Marine and Jean-Marie Le Pen, a fairly unpleasant looking pair. The BNP even put little British flags on their desks, which I suppose is just in case anyone in the vicinity is unaware of their stance. Malala Yousafzai was at the Parliament to receive the Sakharov Prize and it was a privilege to be able to watch her acceptance speech.

I'm up there in the corner somewhere.

The other highlight of the trip to Strasbourg was interviewing so many interesting MEPs. They represent huge swathes of Europe and really do have a lot more power than our local MPs, yet almost no one in the UK at least is aware of what they really do or who they are. I had the pleasure of meeting Claude Moraes, a Labour MEP for London. He is heading of a European Parliament enquiry into surveillance and the NSA, trying to understand what we can do to better protect the data of European citizens.

You can listen to the interview here if you so wish.

I also met Andrew Duff, Lib Dem MEP for the East of England and President of the Union of European Federalists. Surrounded by UKIP and Conservative MEPs berating Brussels, he represents many of things that are good about European cooperation that many people in the UK unfortunately ignore.

I also interviewed Mary Honeyball, another Labour MEP for London and accidentally found myself being videoed to promote her work on regulating prostitution in the European Union. Apparently Sweden has the best prostitution laws which she is seeking to implement on a European scale. This doesn't surprise me, given that it is a country which also recently opened an LGBT retirement home. They're doing pretty well as a nation.

Me and Mary

The Parliament in Strasbourg may be underused and full of paper shipped unnecessarily across Europe, but it has a certain charm that makes me see why some MEPs are reluctant to relocate back to Brussels. It was a hectic and stressful experience but definitely an unforgettable one. If nothing else I managed to find my way around a building with over 800 offices. Even though I did have to sprint across the building to retrieve a lost memory card, it was totally a graceful sprint. Like a stressed giraffe.

Searching for ambient sounds

So I said I'd explain what sons d'ambiances are. Essentially, as part of the reportage, it is important to have atmospheric sounds in the background. A person just talking with no background noise apparently lacks ambiance. The odder the sound, the better. Two weeks ago I did a reportage on a project to make laundry in hotels more environmentally-friendly.  I know a lot about different types of laundry facilities now. I also had the experience of spending an uncomfortable five minutes standing in a local launderette, surreptitiously recording a stranger's laundry whooshing around. The glamour is too much, I tell you.

Last week I attended my first ever horse racing competition at the Petit Port Hippodrome in Nantes, in search of more ambient sounds. I wasn't disappointed. The horses were attracted to my tape recorder, and whilst I tried to interview their owners they jostled for attention, grunting as their huge heads pushed their patient minders to one side.

This is Ubriaco. He has fancy legwarmers on which I'm jealous of.

Whilst at the Petit Port, I also learnt what the horses eat to prepare for big races (beetroot pulp) and received a marriage proposal from the son of a horse trainer from Normandy with no teeth. I'm thinking about it.

You can listen to my horse report here.

In other news, I went back to Paris to see Lottie which was brilliant as always. Everyone in Nantes refers to Paris as 'une ville dure' and to their own city as 'une ville humaine' but what's hard or inhuman about living in a city that has it's own designer eclair shop? I don't know.

This weekend I went to the Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley, which was beautiful. I also found out that Diane de Poiters, an inhabitant of the Castle, fell in love with a seven year old (Henry II of France) when she was 27, but she did the decent thing and waited until he was 17 to get involved with him. Unfortunately, he was married to Catherine de Medici by that point, but Diane was still his fave so she just hung out at the castle a lot and occasionally signed royal documents. She was also obsessed with maintaining her youthful looks (as you would be if you were trying to snare someone 20 years younger than you), so she used to take baths in the River Cher all year round, believing it would preserve her complexion.

That's the 1550s for you. Catherine's daughter-in-law, Louise de Lourraine Vaudremont, also had a passionate love for her husband Henry III, so much so that when he died in 1589 she spent the rest of her life in the castle and covered her room in skulls and crossbones.

Happy in Chenonceau (in a room minus skulls and crossbones)

Overall it was a great day and a good chance to spend lots of time on the train, one of my favourite activities as it allows me to legitimately stare out of a window for hours. The French train system is pretty quirky. There seem to be strikes and delays almost every single day and the SNCF have planned accordingly by leaving enough 'Repas d'Urgence' on each train for all passengers, with lots of dried fruit snacks and an SNCF quiz book. 

They are also far more romantic as a transport network than the good old National Rail. Every time I ascend a train there are at least a dozen young couples saying tearful goodbyes, and a announcement telling those accompanying passengers to kindly alight before departure. This kind of business would be unheard of in the UK, where a stiff upper lip and countless ticket barriers prevent such romantic gestures.

Les 50 Otages

The format at work which I find the most challenging - but which can also be the most interesting - is the reportage. It is essentially a five minute documentary, and involves going out onto the 'terrain' i.e out of the office, to talk to people and get lots of 'sons d'ambiance'. More on that later...

A couple of weeks ago I did a reportage on the Commemoration of the shooting of the '50 Otages' who were part of the French resistance in Nantes during the Second World War. Obviously, this is a very important topic and I wanted to do it justice. However, after missing the initial memorial ceremony due to getting the time wrong and consequently spending a long while desperately searching the recycle bin at work for the information I'd written down, I was quite worried that I would have no material whatsoever.

Luckily, thanks to the kindness of my colleagues, I found myself at a second memorial ceremony in a suburb of Nantes, which I missed almost entirely due to the 'Chronobus' taking a mysterious detour in what seemed to be a route that went back on itself. Alas, I fear I will never understand the Chronobus, nor the Busway, nor the Bicloo or the other hybrid-named Nantes public transport systems. I hitched a ride back into the city centre with a bus full of war veterans wearing copious medals. I felt very out of place indeed but it was really interesting to talk them.

Once the bus had disembarked I was directed towards 'le Colonel', a man who must have been at least in his 90s and seemed to be almost completely deaf. He began to tell me about how he had fought in the French Resistance, helping to liberate France from German Occupation. I was pretty astounded, obviously - having spent a large amount of time studying French History, it was of course incredible to meet him...

But as I walked away, a man ran up behind me urging me to wait. He was a local historian and he wanted to tell me that this man was an impostor. It was a very sensitive issue, he explained. The 'Colonel' often showed up to such commemorative events. Most people weren't aware of the truth behind his story, but the historian had done extensive research and had found that in fact there was no evidence at all of this man's participation in the Resistance. If anything, he added, he had most probably worked with the Vichy government.

As a young history student this was pretty astounding to me. Of course I knew that many people in France bent the truth about what they, or their families, actually did in the War. But it was a different matter to experience it in person. It made me realize just how important the memory of la deuxieme guerre remains today for France.

Here is the reportage if you are interested.

This is a reason why I like working at the radio - I have encountered people, and situations, that I would never otherwise come across. Coming up next: What racehorses eat before big competitions...

Les Zombies de Paris

Last weekend, I finally boarded a train from Nantes to Paris, after over two years without a trip to my favourite city (after London of course- don't worry Golders, you'll always be my number one). I was a tad overexcited and spent most of the journey bouncing up and down. When the train eventually pulled into the Gare and I caught a glimpse the glittering Eiffel Tower out of the window it was simply too much for me to handle.

I met the lovely Lottie at the Gare Montparnasse and we went straight to one my favourite culinary corners of Paris - rue de Montparnasse by Edgar Quinet metro, a street dedicated entirely to creperies. Despite having just spent over two months in Brittany (well, Nantes is not actually in Britanny, but everyone refers to it as part of Bretagne...), Creperie Josselin was better than almost any nantais establishment I have tried.

Me looking quite happy.

The whole weekend was one big food-fest, which also involved a return to the best Lebanese sandwich shop ever in Rue St Jacques, the most chocolatey hot chocolate in the Marais and, saving best for last, FALAFEL. L'As du Falafel is a hardly a well-kept secret in Paris - the long queues at all times of the day are a testament to it's huge popularity. It was just as good as I remembered, if not better.

Lottie is living with a lovely family just outside of Paris and they also cooked us an amazing Sunday lunch. Finally tried foie gras, which was pretty good - luckily at the time I couldn't really remember how it was made...

I also tried to go and visit my old apartment in the Marais. However, there was a zombie walk going on at the exact time that we attempted to walk down the street, which made matters rather difficult. We gave up after someone tried to bite Lottie, but later saw the zombies enjoying burgers in McDo, which we agreed made for a much better diet.

 My old apartment is just above the zombie's head

Overall it was a wonderful weekend. Paris, I'll be back before you know it!

FLASH - Argh.

Last week I presented the midday show and this week it was my job to present the 'flash' which is essentially the 12 O'Clock news. It happens at midday, then at half past, then at precisely 12.57. I have discovered in the past two weeks that:

• When panicking and trying to say something in French, my brain becomes too confused and simply says words in English instead. I recently enthusiastically announced WELL! in the middle of an otherwise French sentence. Swapping between two langues is clearly too much for my overtired cerveau.
• Similarly, I cannot say numbers in French on air. I've always been spectacularly bad at all things mathematical (shout out to Mrs Fidler, my year 9 Maths tutor who tried, but ultimately failed, to help me understand long division), but it seems like my ineptitude for all things numerical is MULTIPLIED whilst trying to speak on the radio. So I just spontaneously make up numbers that don't actually exist such as 'eighty-five fifteen'. Then the lovely presenter has to explain to the listeners that I have said a made up number and tell them the correct one. Sorry to all who have been affected by me getting the date of everything wrong... 
• Talking is hard. A word as simple as libéralisation becomes a minefield, as I witnessed today. I struggled on: liber... liberaliseaa... liberalazeatieeeon... but it was all in vain. At least the technician found it funny.

Some more successful radio endeavors have included a report on people stealing chemical toilets in Bulgaria, which involved me spending the afternoon translating Bulgarian twitter comments into French. Probably my most successful piece of work to date to be honest... 

Today I also attended my first ever press conference. I didn't know I was going until an hour before and rocked up in shorts and a snazzy T-shirt. Unfortunately  everyone else there was a middle aged man in a suit. Whatevs.

Tomorrow, I am going to PARIS. It's been over two years since I was last there and I can't wait!

A bientot xxx

Baggel?

Bagels are one of my favourite things in the world. They're just so great. Lucky for me, I hail from Golders Green, which is essentially the home of the bagel.

Things aren't so simple for me here in Nantes. For one thing, the Nantais are pretty keen on baguettes and haven't really got the hang of what a bagel even is. For one thing, they often spell it 'baggel'. Just...no. The only kind available in my local supermarket are a brand called 'Regent's Park' which purport to be bagels but in fact are sorry, soft and soggy excuses for bread.

So I was cheered to discover a cafe near the cathedral which tantalizingly displays a selection of these beautiful baked goods in their window. Shefferville Cafe is named after a town in Ontario, Canada, near the border with Labrador and on the North Shore of Knob lake (how great are THOSE names.) It's small and cozy with a great music playlist -  we all need a bit of Englishman in New York to accompany lunch. There is a good selection of different bagels and some exciting combinations of fillings. I would recommend the Naskapi (bacon, goats cheese, egg, other amazing things). The owner of the shop seemed relentlessly cheerful and asked with what seemed like genuine concern if he had given us too much food.

The only problem: these bagels are on the steep side price wise- around 5 euros to eat in - because they are imported from Leeds. Yes, that's right, Leeds. Still, it's something. Merci Shefferville.

Shefferville Cafe
93 Rue Maréchal Joffre
44000 Nantes

Madam Blå: Danish delights.

                           

Anyone who knows me well is probably aware of my love of food from different countries. I have bored many of my close friends with tales of an incredible Indonesian rice dish I ate in Amsterdam and or an amazing apricot-laden kebab at an delicious Afghan restaurant in Kilburn. Simply put, it makes me happy. So I was very keen to try out Madam Blå, the Scandinavian cafe in Nantes that my Swedish friend suggested.

I've never really tried that much Scandinavian cuisine, having always associated it with smoked fish, which is more my Dad's kind of thing. Madam Bla, a little cafe in the centre of Nantes, certainly would suit his tastes- it serves big salads of herrings, salmon and shrimp. However, there is of course much more to the food from this part of the world. The Danish Smørrebrød, made on dense, dark rye bread, can be topped with anything from salami with fried onions to meatballs. Or herring, of course, if that's your kind of thing.

On this occasion I tried out something sweeter: the famous Swedish dessert, Kanelboller. It's essentially a cross between a Danish pastry and a cinnamon bun and is absolutely delicious:

The whole atmosphere in the cafe was lovely, from the Danish-French owner who referred to everyone as 'mon ange' to the ornate handwritten menus. They also host creative writing classes, sewing groups and art exhibitions in the space. Anyone passing through Nantes who is craving a meatball or two should head there immediately.

Madam Blå
8 rue Armand Brossard
44000 Nantes
www.madambla.com

La Grille commence.

Today was a big day - it marked the beginning of our proper work schedule and the end of the training stage. This essentially means that we have to produce about two programs a day and that if we don't, we will HAVE to sing on air (in the words of one of the journalists.)

Luckily, I didn't have to do any singing today, although I am pretty exhausted. Today I wrote and presented a press review of what was going on in the newspapers in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and Belgium (I feel slightly limited by being unable to speak any other European languages.. any Finns out there feel like helping me out...?). I also did a 'revue de caricature' about some offensive cartoons alluding to Fukushima and the Tokyo Olympic games in Le Canard Enchaine. Tomorrow I have to go interview someone about European Mobility Week (turns out there are a LOT of different European weeks...)

It is fun getting to write about and interview different people everyday and I'm sure that as it goes on, it will also become less tiring. The website has seen a spike in hits after publishing a video of a French minister swearing at a journalist (draws in many more viewers than actual news!) so people do actually seem to be listening to what we are producing, which is both daunting and comforting at the same time.

We'll see what tomorrow brings...

A plus. xxx

Now in Nantes.

Hello readers,

I apologise profusely, for I have terribly neglected this blog - I thought I'd resurrect it so that those who are interested can read about my next adventure...

For the past three weeks I've been living in Nantes, the sixth largest city in France. It's more well-known than Zhuhai - the main attraction is a giant mechanical elephant that walks around the city. Yep. Here it is:

(This photo is slightly deceptive. It moves very, very slowly. It does, however, spray water out of its trunk.)

I'm working at a radio station which focuses on combining local and European news. I am part of the journalism team, along with two Swedes, two Spanish girls, an Italian and a German, all of whom have completed journalism degrees. I have not completed any degree at all, so feel slightly out of my depth. I also have to keep calling people on the phone and describing myself as a journalist, which feels mildly ridiculous!

The hours are long, the work is difficult (mostly trying to work out how to use radio editing software in French having never done so before even in English) and it's tough knowing that I can't go home until Christmas. I'm going to miss my family, friends and boyfriend in London and Oxford a lot,
(I already do...) and already realise how much easier the student lifestyle is, even that of Oxford. I'm actually looking forward to doing Finals, which I never thought would happen.

Anyway, no one likes a moaner so I shall try and describe some of the more positive experiences I've had since coming here. They mostly involve food, unsurprisingly!

• Before starting work, I spent a lovely week in Noirmoutier, an island in the Vendée-We spent lots of time cycling around and visiting the dune beaches of the Atlantic. We also became well-known patrons of the local ice cream shop. I celebrated turning 22 with more ice cream and was told by a man in a sandwich shop that my French was good which made my birthday even better.

Plage de la Luzeronde (where Sam's bike seat was stolen. Not the bike, or the wheels, no. JUST the seat. Interesting crime - maybe the thief's seat wasn't cushioned enough?)

• Sampling the delights of Nantais cuisine

La Creperie de la Broceliande in the centre of Nantes has some of the best galettes I've ever tasted: I'd recommend it immensely!

I've also enjoyed being able to cook, even though my kitchen is pretty tiny. Today I made Smartie's cookies. That was great.

• Work

Despite feeling quite out of my depth, what I have to do at work is actually interesting and varied. So far I have interviewed a germanist about the similarities between Nantes and Hamburg, a Japanese journalist in London and the head of an airport trade magazine among many others. I do like the fact that I basically get to do new things everyday.

So hopefully the next post will include more exciting culinary discoveries as well as more optimism in general! Stay tuned (promise I won't leave it two months this time.)

xxx

First blog post...

Hi to anybody reading this! :)

I'm Nina, a student of History and French at Oxford University.

I've just embarked upon my obligatory third year abroad, a project I wasn't particularly keen on to start with. However I'm attempting to see the situation in a positive light:

A little break from this place...

(my college library in Oxford.)

....and a little break from studying these French authors (don't worry Flaubert, I still love YOU.)

Instead I'm currently in a city called Zhuhai in the Guandong province of China. I'm participating in the International Youth Leadership Program (IYLP) which involves 15 foreign students from Oxford, Harvard and Birmingham universities working as mentors with students from Beijing Normal University Zhuhai and Beijing Normal University to design a research project.

I applied for this program under slightly false pretences, thinking that the entire program took place in Beijing, which I visited two years ago and loved. In fact, the bulk of it, which is nearly over now, is held at BNU's new campus in Zhuhai. 

Frankly, there isn't that much to see in Zhuhai. It's a Special Economic Zone, a region in China that is specially designed to export goods and provide employment, like nearby Shenzhen. Consequently the standard of living is higher than in most Chinese cities - this university is only accessible for relatively wealthy students. 

I've been able to try some fairly interesting cuisine though - turtle soup, chicken feet and some curious, gristly things that not even the Chinese students can identify! I've also been lucky to learn a lot about Chinese youth culture from working with my group of ten BNUZ and BNU students. There is definitely an insurmountable language barrier but some things have made their way through:

• Chinese girls love really pale skin like mine. So much that they carry parasols with them all the time to shade themselves and try to make their own skin whitening cream. Pretty bizarre given how so many Western people spend so money on fake tan and so on.
• The university experience here couldn't be more different to the British or American one. There is far less freedom; the internet is switched off at 11.30pm and the only bar on campus seems perpetually empty.
• However, everyone from all over the world can enjoy KTV (Kareoke.)

I'm going to try and record some of the experiences I've had here that might be of interest to people. I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you have any suggestions, I am new to this blogging world!