Mind Over Matter

A lot is going on this week. It's MUDEC's 50th Anniversary, I went to Paris, and midterm exams are just around the corner. In this post, I'll give you the details on all the events and let you know how I'm coping with all the excitement.

Song of the Week: Humility by Gorillaz feat. George Benson

With midterm exams coming up and the celebration of MUDEC's 50th, both excitement and stress levels are high around the Chateau. The 50th Anniversary celebrations have drawn over 800 alumni to Luxembourg, where they will feast and reminisce all week long. Students are required to be at several of these celebratory events, most of which involve free food. These events are also a great networking opportunity, since several of the alumni own businesses or work in high profile companies. On Sunday, I took part in the Open House welcoming all the alumni back to MUDEC and went to see the art exhibit featuring both alumni and faculty artwork. Tomorrow, both students and alumni head downtown to Lux City for a special convocation, and both President Greg and the Grand Duke will be in attendance. I might even get to shake hands with the royal family! Thursday is a closing ceremony of sorts, where we mix and mingle at the chateau and celebrate a mini version of Oktoberfest.

I have also reached the point of the semester where I have begun to run out of steam. I only have two midterms, but they are going to require a significant amount of review and studyingSo, how am I coping with all this? The answer is organization and a lot of tea. Eating is my traditional way of dealing with stress, but with portion control at the chateau, I have managed to avoid that so far. Everything I'm doing for the next two weeks, down to the letter, has been put in my daily planner, so I know how much I have to accomplish each day to stay on track. Am I unraveling a little at the edges? Maybe, but I think everyone else is too. My friends have expressed similar emotions and reactions to what I'm feeling, so I know I'm not alone in this.

This weekend, I was back in Paris for my very own photo shoot! Well, technically it was for the university, but I still felt like a model with a pair of wonderful photographers following me around. On Friday, we explored the Palais du Versailles and on Saturday we took got to relax in the Luxembourg Gardens in the heart of Paris. Versailles is about 45 minutes by train from the Paris city center and it is one of the most magnificently opulent buildings I have seen in my life. The outside is guided with gold and the solid marble floors give you the illusion of walking on ice. Rumor has it that Louis XIV built the palace out in the middle of nowhere so none of the common people could see the result of their taxes in the form of this exorbitant building. As astonishing as the inside of the palace was, I was even more impressed with the gardens surrounding the palace itself. "Gardens" is a bit of a misnomer because the area is more of a park, complete with a hedge maze and a giant pond (or small lake) at one end. The gardens are immaculate and I can only guess at the amount of manpower it takes to keep them looking as fabulous as they do. The weather this weekend was perfect for being outside and we actually spent more time in the gardens than we did in the palace.

The next day, we got to see even more gardens, but these were nestled in the heart of the city. The Luxembourg Gardens are just as impressive as the gardens at Versailles, but the vibe of each one is completely different. While the Versailles gardens are meant to impress, the Luxembourg Gardens are meant to be relaxing. People sit on the lawns, having picnics with baguettes and wine, and families mill around the central fountain while children race their sailboats on the water. Chairs are set up all around garden, so if you get tired walking, you can take a rest and enjoy the vibrant flowers. The Palais du Luxembourg in front of the gardens is actually the seat of the French Senate, and they hold several meetings there a year. The combined atmosphere of the Palais and the Gardens is both regal and relaxed. People go there to have a good time, and take a break from working all while still being part of the city. It's a little strange, since the city parks in the US are not very similar to the gardens you find in Paris. It could be that they treat shared public spaces differently, or that they have different ideas of what you should do at a park. One isn't necessarily better than the other, but I enjoyed sitting in the gardens after running around the city in the morning.

"The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway." -- Michael Pollan

This weekend I am headed off to Barcelona. Even though it's my Plan B, I'm still looking forward to spending time in such a vibrant city. What happened to Plan A, you ask? Well, the first rule about Plan A is that we don't talk about Plan A (that was a Fight Club reference in case you were wondering). Right now, I'm focused on the enormous amount of tapas and paella I am going to eat over the weekend. My friends and I will probably hit all the tourist attractions, but we might search for something off the beaten path too. To be honest, I'm feeling a little tired of all these big cities. While I love exploring and getting a feel for the character of each city, the high energy environments wears me down more than I realize. Later in the semester I might try to plan for some countryside visits or try to find another place with good hiking.

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What should I do while I'm in Barcelona? Any tips for dealing with stress? Suggestions for getting out of the city and into nature? Let me know in the comments!

Until then, I'll keep wandering.