My Apologies- Technical Difficulties Resolved

September 14, 2008

First, I am happy to have finally arrived in Luxembourg to start the year with Rotary Club Kiem after passing the first month studying French in Brussels! I apologize to any of you who may have checked my blog for updates before now and I hope you haven't given up on hearing from me! I think I was a little over confident in my knowledge of the use of technology abroad. So far, I have run into almost every technical problem imaginable from an adapter that despite its claims did not fit a Belgian plug, issues with my newly installed Windows XP, and problems with Wifi security selectively excluding certain websites, but none of that is too interesting and needless to say, I'm glad to have access to the Web and this site now.

Ideally, I would like to use this blog as a daily journal to record my impressions and experiences in Luxembourg, so I will try to keep my updates as regular as possible from now on. My classes at the University of Luxembourg start tomorrow, so I have no idea what my workload will really look like as of yet, but I will always be sure to give a few words when something interesting occurs.

My host counselor and his wife were kind enough to meet me at the train station when I arrived and to give me on Monday. The Rotarians were very welcoming and especially impressed me in that, as I have now learned is actually very typical here, all of them seemed to be quadrilingual. As someone who is trying to master her knowledge of her first foreign language, it is flabbergasting to observe a group transition from French to Luxembourgois (a dialect of German specific to Luxembourg), to German, to English in the span of five minutes conversation without even batting an eye. To me, it seems to be an amazing opportunity to grow up speaking four languages, but I suppose it might be regarded as more of an inconvenient necessity to some who are not so inclined towards learning foreign languages. I will admit that I had some reservations about studying in a country where French is only one of two official languages (German, which I can hardly speak a word of, being the other), and Luxembourgois given as the language commonly spoken on the street between natives. However, I am happy to say that I've found that one can manage here quite easily in French and I've even smiled inwardly to overhear fellow English-speakers grumbling that "everything is in French."

My host club is also welcoming this year a Japanese ambassadorial scholar, whom I have not yet had the chance to meet, who is 27 and following up his masters in Arts (cinematography I believe) with European cultural studies in the bachelors program offered by the University of Luxembourg. This should create an interesting dynamic at club meetings and I am looking forward to getting to talk to him.

Luxembourg City itself is quite amazing, and not at all just a sprawling metropolis of banks, as some might say. Being a prize military bastion throughout history due its positioning in the heart of Europe and to its formidable geography presented by the Petrusse valley which runs through the center of town, it is now, in my opinion , one of the most beautiful cities in Europe (of the few that I've seen, it must be said). The view from the many impossibly high bridges spanning across the valley as it winds through town is breathtaking- nature and verdure and charming footpaths below superimposed by charming architecture (or in some cases the skyscrapers of yes, banks) above. Today, I visited the Petrusse Casemates- the system of tunnels and underground storerooms running from the town above down into the valley that was built and added onto by various occupying armies throughout the centuries and was used as an air raid shelter during WWII for the citizens of Luxembourg before the Germans occupied and later the Americans liberated the town. My counselor recounted that he remembers the American liberation from when he experienced it as a boy of five, and is currently writing a book about it. Should be interesting to read someday. I also was intrigued to learn that the section of the casemates situated on the other side of the valley is now used as, surprisingly enough, a bank treasury. The Luxembourgois seem to be very talented at using historical sites as more than tourist attractions- the chateau in Vianden (in the Ardennes in the Northeast of Luxembourg) ,which I had the opportunity to see with a friend who was visiting from Brussels this week, is also used as a concert hall and as a reception area for visiting dignitaries.

Well I should probably call it a night now! I hope to cover the highlights of my experience last month in Brussels tomorrow.

Bonne Nuit!
Erica