IMMIT Graduation: The End

For more pictures see: IMMIT Graduation: IT Symposium & Party IMMIT Graduation: Ceremony

Two years have passed so quickly. Just yesterday, we were all; packing our bags for France; preparing ourselves for this adventure; formatting our minds for cultural shock and discovery; now the end is approaching.

'The end of IMMIT' was officially represented by this graduation ceremony; the granting of our three Degrees, and the declaration of us all as 'Masters of Management of Information Technology'. However 'the end of IMMIT' also signifies a 'beginning'; a beginning of: strongly-bound friendships, new explorations and endeavours, and the application of knowledge and cross-cultural-interrelation-skills gained during the programme to real problems across the world. It also does not represent the end of my Blog: 'EuroJev', since I still aspire to stay in Europe, at least for a while longer, and I still continue my travels and experiences here.

Since IMMIT began in France, they thought that it should end in France. The ceremony was held in the sunny south of France, in Aix-en-Provence, at the IAE Faculty; and was well organised and eventful. The graduation was actually split into two days: the first day: an IT Symposium, where we were forced to present our theses for a second time with company-, faculty-, as well as family-, representatives present as audiences; and the second day: the actual ceremony.

As opposed to the traditional French system which doesn't allow for elaborate graduation ceremonies as this one, we had a full formal procedure, with granting of diplomas, speeches, cocktails, and even full graduation gowns and hats! French students simply get their diplomas mailed to them at home; and will never have something such as graduation gowns since it's too 'Americanised' :).

At the end of the first day, we had a [successful] 'final' IMMIT party at my apartment; something somewhat traditional and unique to IMMIT: 'the IMMIT parties'; we thought we should end with one final grand party as it may be the last time that all of us were to be together as such a big group in the same place at the same time. It was as expected: fun; and we even had an after party in the city-centre afterward.

My family [Dad, Mom, & Sister] in addition to my girlfriend, Maïté, were all present as well [they decided to take the trip to attend my graduation]. Many other IMMITers' families also attended the graduation, and we used this opportunity to show each other off, introduce each other, and to really show them what IMMIT was, and what we've been boasting about [the IMMIT Family] for these two years.

At the end, we all bid each other farewell, as we were all going our separate ways. Some would go back home, some to Finland, others to Netherlands, and yet still others, like myself, would stay in France. Looking back now, writing this blog piece, I remember one other which I wrote at the beginning: 'The IMMIT Crew', and I feel exactly the same now, when Leonardo DiCaprio opened the group-photo that 'Francois' [the sexy French girl] sent to him in the movie 'The Beach'.

IMMIT was this 'Parallel Universe': I hope I could enter another one very soon…

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Other people's graduation pictures:

• IMMIT Graduation Album 1
• IMMIT Graduation Album 2
• IMMIT Graduation Album 3
• IMMIT Graduation Album 4
• IMMIT Graduation Album 5
• IMMIT Graduation Album 6

Normandy: North-West France

End of May: the semester, my thesis, as well as my  programme were nearing their end, and I felt like I needed a well-deserved vacation; a break from all of this academic 'hoo-ha'. I've been 'with' Maïté for a while now, and seeing as she also needed a break at the end of her student life, she invited me to her home-town: the ville/commune of Gavray, in the department of Manche [just next to Calvados], in the region of Normandy [French: "Normandie"], in the North of France. This also implied the dreaded and commitment-intending act of 'meeting the family', or at least her dad and her 18-year-old French-blonde little-sister.

Nevertheless, we planned a trip* and almost 7 hours & 1,094 km later I was in the middle of nowhere: Gavray.

*Trip	7 hours & 1,094 km
A. Train from Aix to Paris	3 hours & 758 km
B. Waiting time on Champs Elysée	1 hour
C. Train from Paris to Gavray	3 hours & 336 km

View Larger Map

Overview of Gavray:

Gavray is a French commune, situated in the département of Manche and the région Basse-Normandie; and is located in the heart of "la Vallée de la Sienne". The town is nestled between several hills, one of which housed the ducal castle of Gavray. The bridge on the Sienne, called the Peace Bridge (2004), was destroyed along with all the surrounding district during the Second World War.

In summary, Gavray is a small village with: cows, horses, donkeys, lots of nature, no internet, no buses, no people, and farm girls. :) [OK, that's maybe a little bit of exaggeration, but one gets the point]. The population is around: 1,678 people in 2005. Wow!

Overview of Normandy:

Normandy [Normandie in French] is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the English Channel coast of Northern France between Brittany (to the west) and Picardy (to the east) and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands.

During the Battle of Normandy in World War II, Normandy became the landing site for the invasion and liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. This is recognised as a turning point for the war in Western Europe. It's for this reason that's it's quite famous, and it was even more interesting for me to be there at the same time that President Obama was there for the commemoration of D-Day.

Some Famous things from Normandy include: Crêpes [more so from Bretagne, but famous here too], Apples [Maïté is ironically allergic to apples], Camembert Cheese [which smells uncannily like a dead fungus infested cave-dwelling animal, but tastes good once you've acquired the taste :)], and of course Apple liquors such as calvados and Pommeau. It's probably also where the commonly used expression "ah la vache!" comes from, somewhat translating into "holy cow!", because of the cows and all, you know… [The pictures to the left & right above are of Pointe du Grouin].

Overview of Trip:
[click on the bolded-title-links for more pictures]

• French Sunday Lunch: A 3-hour long lunch including:  aperitif, appetizers [or as we say in Trini: "cutters"], main course, dessert, wine, champagne, family, friends-of-the-family, and a 2-hour long promenade [after-lunch-walk], on the cold beaches of Normandy. We actually swam there, that day, uncannily freezing.
• La Baleine: A refreshing walk into the wilderness of the small  village of La Baleine [the whale]: trees, cows, horses, rivers, small churches, English-country-side-houses, and an Andouillerie [a fumerie, where they smoke and cure pig intestines filled with chopped-up pig intestines and stomach, to create an appetizing "sausage" called "Andouille"].
• Gavray's Sheep: I never really saw sheep like this until I came to Europe. Maïté's dad was trying to explain some stuff about them and the terrain around. The beaches just beyond actually look beautiful here.
• Le Château de Fougères & Mont Saint-Michel: This day we  visited a Medieval fort of Fougères and the famous Mont Saint-Michel. Fougères is a commune of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Bretagne in north-western France. Here, a medieval fort is built atop a granite ledge, which was part of the ultimately unsuccessful defence system of the Duchy of Brittany against French aggression. Le Mont-Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy [this is often frowned upon by "Bretagnians"]. It is located approximately one kilometre off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 41. On this day, we also visited the Pointe du Grouin [the rocky finger that points out and protects the entrance into the bay of Mont Saint Michel] and the picturesque fishing village of Cancale also known as the "oyster capital" of Brittany.
• Chateau de Gavray: Basically it's not a castle, it's the ruins of a castle; I climbed all this to see some crumbled rocks; but the sunset and the stray dog we found were nice. On top of a steep-sided hill that dominates 'Vallées de la Sienne et de la Bérence', stood at an imposing medieval fortress: Le Château Ducal de Gavray. Its location at the crossroads of routes from Caen and Nord Cotentin, which led to the Mont Saint Michel and Brittany, was a strategic point of interest. It is why the Dukes of Normandy had chosen the site of Gavray as a seat of viscount and had established this castle, for military purposes.
• Granville: Maïté drove us there: first time I saw her driving [manual car]. It's a nice port-town, where the beach tides recede super-fast and very far-out during daytime, and advance all the way up to the port-side at night. The old town of Granville preserves all the history of its military and religious past. The lower town was partly built on land reclaimed from the sea. The upper part of the old town is surrounded by ramparts from the fifteenth century. These are entered through the drawbridge [Grand'Porte], the bloody theatre of the "Siège des Vendéens" in 1793.

It was a very relaxing, inspiring, and well-deserved trip after a long and tiring thesis. It allowed me to discover another side of France: another landscape, another culture, another language, another history, and another adventure…

IAE Gala: Casino Royale!

It wasn’t my Gala, but I was invited. A large ‘ball’, a final year party for students of the master programs in IAE, organized by the BDE and held within the IAE compound itself!

The IAE Gala 2009, at first sounded like a really corny idea, but in the end it astounded me past anything I could imagine. The entire school complex was turned into multiple dance floors, each with a unique theme of its own. The entire party was named “Casino Royale”, and thus had the air of a casino theme.

The cafeteria had a dance-club-type atmosphere, with disco lights, a DJ and electronic music blasting throughout. The courtyard was turned into a concert-type environment with a live rock band performing throughout the night. The “bubble” or mezzanine/lobby was 80’s style with pop and dance music. The reception held the big bar with fairly affordable drinks [ranging from beer to whiskey to some weird green stuff].

One large classroom featured a live Jazz band with tall cocktail tables arranged for casual conversation. Finally the room next to it was the casino room, with a Roulette table and a Black Jack table, with actual casino staff teaching you how to play, and where you could actually win free drinks!

In all, it was nothing short of a great party: dancing, drinking, with my girlfriend, with past IAE friends [Emeline, Ewa, Taina], watching the drunken IAE bourgeoisie girls in their evening dresses; awesome night.

For more pictures, see:

• IAE Gala: Casino Royale

Trekking Aix

In the month of May, Maïté and I suddenly had a realization of the short time that we had together before she left for Paris in the start of June. Thus we tried our best to visit as many places as possible, but failed. Ha-ha. So we spent some quality time in Aix instead, not so bad, considering that it’s quite the charming little city. Here are some recounts of things we did, along with the censored pictures.

• Bulldogge [25 April]: Bulldogge, the best burger in Aix? Perhaps; quite a nice place, good food [and beer], with a familiar British theme . [Bulldogge Pictures].
• Parc Jourdan [1 May]: The First of May [May Day] began with traditional Muguet de mai [Lily of the valley] flowers. We attempted to go to Arles, but missed the bus somehow and thus had to settle for Parc Jourdan, it's a nice park when you think about it. [Park Jourdan Pictures].
• Sushi [1 May]: Later that night we had sushi at a restaurant on Cours Mirabeau, but surprisingly, it wasn't as good as my first sushi in Beni Hanna in Trinidad! [Sushi Pictures].
• Puyricard [6 May]: A day at school, ending with a peaceful mid-summer's eve walk through the countryside of Puyricard. Old country roads, chateau's, blossoming roses, the works. [Puyricard Pictures].
• Ice Cream [8 May]: On the promenade! [Ice Cream Pictures].
• Ratatouille [8 May]: Traditional, home-cooked, very colourful, very French Ratatouille, made with love by ma copine :). [Ratatouille Pictures]
• Marseille [9 May]: Just walking around Marseille, attempted to go to 'les calanques' but the bus was messed up, so we just went to 'la plage de catalan'. [Marseille Pictures].

Sunny-side-Aix: St. Victoire Encore

Wow! This weekend, I experienced the best weather since I've been here; it was so hot, and beautiful out, that we just had to do something. So Sunday morning, Maite and I decided to visit Mount St. Victoire.

Firstly, however we had the pleasure of:

• having a Pizza Capri pizza [one of the best pizza's in Aix] – me: a "royale" [ham, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese], and her: a "trois fromages" [three cheeses]. [location]
• visiting the Sunday Food Market in Aix at Place Richelme [near Hotel de Ville] and having fresh strawberries.
• having a Turkish tea in a traditional small tulip-shaped Turkish tea glass, and a Kebab at one of the better Turkish diners in Aix.
• viewing part of the Carnival in Aix: it was much bigger than the Carnival in Vitrolles. What we saw was a huge parade of street dancers performing quite a dynamic and choreographed dance sequences to music that was a mix of Spanish, and some other things. The dancers were of varying ages, and it was quite different to see the streets of Aix so lively and vibrant.

We didn't have time to see the entire Carnival however, since we had to proceed to the highlight of the day – a trek up the gradual [and sometimes steep] slopes of the symbolic Montagne Sainte-Victoire of Aix-en-Provence. It was funny that every person we passed by on the way said "bonjour" to us, even though we never knew them before, it's just the polite nature of the French!

I've been here before, on this mountain, with Slavica, Blijana, Kris, Dawit; but this time it was with Maite, and certainly more romantic. With magnificent panoramic views, peaceful atmosphere, fresh provencial countryside air, warm sun comforted with cool winds – it was simply amazing. Ok, Ok, I know you people really don't care about my love life, so I'll try to refrain from posting these "lovey-dovey" posts again in the future.

Here's what they say about this peak on the tourism website of Aix:

Oriented east to west, this limestone range has a sheer drop down to the Arc basin on its south side, while the north side slopes gently in a series of limestone plateaux towards Durance Plain. There is a striking contrast between the bright red clay at the foot of the mountain and the white limestone of the high ridge, particularly between Le Tholonet and Puyloubier.

For more pictures, see:

• Sunny-side Aix: St Victoire-Carnival

Carnival: Vitrolles

Well say 'goodbye' Netherlands, Dutch liberty, and rainy weather and 'hello' to the Côte d'Azur, Bouches-du-Rhone, warm ravishing weather, and les filles français! Yes, I chose to do my internship, my final thesis and complete my master programme in the charming city of Aix-en-Provence, France [more precisely  Vitrolles, at an IT consultancy called Osiatis]. There were many valid reasons for the choice, aside from the weather, my French girlfriend [Maite Bouysse], and learning a [useful] language; but I won't go into the gory, corporate details in such a social setting.

So I'm in France now, there's just such a magical feeling about it, with he vast landscape, the polite, friendly [beautiful] French people, and fresh [seemingly] unpolluted springtime air, and the oh-so accessible nature surrounding Aix. Contemplating what to do with our weekend [which dare not be wasted on petty work], we decided to go to my work-place city of Vitrolles for a traditional Carnival.

It was something quite culturally oriented and not "adult-oriented" as our Carnival in Trinidad. It was interesting, but lacked a certain, "je ne sais quoi"…perhaps alcohol, half naked people in costumes, hot weather, and blasting music and chaos! [See the video below on Trinidadian Carnival that has passed this year in February]. There was live jazz-type music by some of the players, and a few locals in costumes, not large but homely. In all, the day was enjoyable except for the fact that it ended in my 10th break up with my girlfriend, but, c'est la vie! [we're back together now by the way; sinusoidal relationships; *sigh*].

I've come to realise that European Carnivals [Maastricht's  Carnival, Nice Carnival, Finnish Vappu Celebrations], will never be the same as the Carnival back home in Trinidad. They will always be some how more "sane", perhaps all have their own cultural aspects, but Trini-Carnival, is all about the fun, sun, and one-love! A time when all are together and united, and break free from social laws and norms and create a controlled and enjoyable chaos [or as we say "bacchanal"].

For more pictures of Vitrolles Carnival, see:

• Carnival Vitrolles

Vitrolles Carnival [from the City website]:

All areas of Vitrolles will come alive on 7 March on the theme of imagination and dreams at the carnival organized by the City and the associations vitrollaises. The inhabitants of the Frescoule, embodied as gypsies, will join the city center to the edge of their "tank-trailer, under the orders and disorders of the" Emperor of the country trips." The program of this parade: gear wheels, oversized characters, waders, country, etc.. Les Pins, the Hermès Liourat and will not be left with their "Island of Dreams". Brazilian dance, African and capoeira are there. The inhabitants of the village, they trace the legend of Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of rain for Vitrolles. Around Caramantran, theatrical tableaux, folk dances and music will be organized. Starting from 14h, on the place de Provence, where the final will take place in the parade, several activities will be introduced such as free riding school, a makeup workshop hosted by the municipal or ludothèque a bar held by the associations vitrollaises.

Now the real Trini-Carnival: remember the sun is hot, and people playing in costumes usually have access to a free bar with unlimited drinks, so they have no choice but to behave like this. :)

New Crazes in Life

Suddenly I've found my new favourite craze drinks/cocktails in life. I never had a favourite drink really before, hopefully I'll find better ones as I try more. So here they are:

1. Nescafé Gold Café Mocca: One-third espresso, one-third hot chocolate, and one-third steamed milk. Try it yourself with NESCAFÉ Gold Mocca.



2. The infamous Gin & Tonic: dry, sweet, lemony taste. A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water, usually garnished with a slice of lime or lemon and often served over ice.



3. Muscat dessert wines: Muscat grapes are used to make a variety of sweet dessert wines in various parts of the world. Typically, these are fortified wines, though some sweet late harvest and noble rot wines are also made from Muscat grapes. Muscat is often used as a sweet aperitif, and some varieties are used to make "sherry".


4. And Finally: Bacardi Lime [Mojito]: oh yeh!

Tonight, do the Mojito, with the refreshingly cool taste of the Barcardi Mojito!

Voilà! [I just felt like expressing this to the world].

Turkish Affinity: Hall of Fame

It was the absolute last days of Tilburg and The Netherlands, the last weekend of my Dutch student life, and it was the best weekend spent there since we’ve been there. I must say it was somewhat of a weird yet enjoyable and culturally-explosive experience which I had on these two nights [Saturday and Sunday].

The evening began with meeting and dining with some mutual friends of Wasiq and I who happened to be Turkish. We ate, quite ironically [since Marcos was not there] and haphazardly [since the other restaurant we were going to was full], at a Mexican Restaurant in Tilburg Centre.

One of the girls we both knew, Buket, then took us afterward to an underground party! I cannot believe in our entire stay in Netherlands, this place existed and we never visited it! It was held in a messed up spray-painted graffiti-ridden place [which looked like an abandoned community centre].The name of the place was "Hall of Fame", and the party was "Terug Spoelen" [which means "rewind" in Dutch]

But wait! That’s not the weirdest part! Guess who we went with and got us in free? A 66 year old Dutch woman – Buket's "Landlady" – "Hanneke" - who drinks, smokes, stones-out-on-weed, and parties like she’s 20 years old! She was dancing with us and buying us drinks, she even invited us to her "secret basement" to do some "Shisha", however we didn't go that far. Everyone there were like moms and grannies, like really old people stoning-out and dancing and chilling. Buket, Wasiq and I were the only three people in there who were young [below 30].

Wait! There’s more! That’s not even touching the weirdest part of the night! When i went to the restroom, I met a girl from Berlin who is doing her Bachelor Degree in Circus Acts! Hahahaaha! Yes you read correctly: a Bachelors Degree in Circus Acts. WTH! how weird can you get...how much weirder can you get man? Please tell me something weirder than that! And I believed her too, since i actually knew the circus school she was talking about. But she was really cool, so I asked her: "Circus acts like standing on your hands and stuff? So can you show me some tricks?", she was willing to of course, but her response was "I would, but I’m just so insanely drunk and stoned right now, I just can't". Understandable, don’t you think? I think my next Degree will be in this.

On Sunday, after this crazy night, we relaxed with the Turkish girls at their place, in Stappegoorweg - with food & fondue, Shisha, Turkish tea, Turkish Coffee, and Turkish song [with a violin too]! It simply shocked me how much culture these girls had in them, how much they stuck to their culture and brought it out in song and enjoyment with each other. And I resent my own culture and hide it. I felt somewhat awakened, at the deepness to which their tradition lay, and how it brought them together. It was at that moment that I gained my fascination for Turkey and Turkish culture [I just didn't really care about it that much before]. It was at that moment that I realised why Wasiq was so drawn to this genre of people in all our adventures. It was at that moment that I gained my Turkish Affinity.

For more pictures, see:

• Turkish Nights: Hall of Fame

Return to Aix [Again]: Shisha

Well officially I’m the only one in my programme to return so many times to France since we’ve left. Once, when I was in Finland [to see Maïté]; another when I was in Netherlands [to pursue Maïté] after my trip to Ireland. And yet another time [this time] in the same semester with Wasiq [to drop off some of my luggage]. Yes, my third return to France!

Well Aix-en-Provence will never change, it remained the same charming little ville that I had left it to be. On this return however Wasiq and I, spent one night only; and spent it well in an amazing Shisha-Tea Bar [Salon de thé oriental] in the centre-ville called Sur la route de Samarkande.

Very oriental, charming, warm, and flavourful place: with teas I would never dream existed [well over 30 flavours in their menu], and the hugest Shisha pipe I’ve ever seen [not that I’ve seen that much in my life].

Of course the Shisha was used to smoke herbal fruits and not cannabis, since we were in France and no longer the “free” Netherlands [not that we smoke cannabis in Netherlands, just that it’s tolerated to do so there]. I can’t remember the name of tea I had, but it was some fusion of flavours that exploded in my mouth. Wasiq had gotten me into the “tea” culture a week before, so this was quite the treat for me.

And of course we were in good company of the girls: Wasiq’s Germany friend Rebecca, and my French friend Emeline [who we crashed by for the night]. Thanks Emmy!

For more pictures, see:

• Return to Aix: Shisha

IMMIT Last Days: Tilburg

It was the last days, in Tilburg, halfway between exams and our coordinators decided to have a farewell get-together for us. It would be the last time that we would all really be together as a group, since we were all parting our separate ways to do internships in one of the 3 countries in which we've studied.

IT was a nice evening, beginning with a 'clog' [traditional dutch wooden shoes] painting workshop, and ending with a nice dinner [with great wine], at a Dutch restaurant in the Tilburg City Center.

For more pictures, see:

• IMMIT Farewell Party [courtesy Biljana]