Woooo Corsica

I’ll begin by saying I had a great time in Corsica. I got to experience a lot of great things, get to know more great people, and travel somewhere I will probably never get to see again in my life. Having said that, this is where the greatness begins:

I went into this trip having the mindset that this was going to be an amazing trip. I also knew that I had to make it an amazing trip because my Comm group and I were documenting it for our final presentation. This is where the ‘woo Corsica’ comes in, our theme for the week. We had to always be excited about the trip in order to get incoming Lausanne students learning about EFTs excited about their future year abroad. I don’t think I have ever been so annoyed by a phrase in my life and I am so sorry to all of you who had to listen to my group say it 20 times a day. So maybe my positive mood was a little forced, but it turns out forcing positivity made everything we did worthwhile. Don’t get me wrong, there were some rough spots. I woke up at 4:00AM on Tuesday morning not in the ‘woo Corsica’ mood. It was cold, I was tired, and I am not a morning person. But I soon cheered up when I realized that I would be on an island in the Mediterranean. Although my roommate and I were late to get on the bus (no surprise here) I happily sat down, ready to embark on the journey ahead. Six hours of no sleep later, we arrived in the windy city of Avignon. I ate the best Pepperdine meal ever, and took the most informative tour out of our entire EFT about the Pope’s palace. We then traveled to Marseille to board the ferry that took us to Corsica.

Highlight #1: the musical gypsies; probably the most interesting group of people I have seen abroad so far. We watched and danced as this seemingly random group of people played their instruments together, making up tunes and feeding off of each other as they played. Because of our Comm project, I got some great video of their performance, which they noticed. It turns out that it was two street bands playing together from Belgium and France who were traveling to Corsica to play at a boat show. They were very excited to give me their card so I could post the video on Youtube. Woo Corsica Wooo

Now back to the EFT. The entire trip was packed with sightseeing. The only part I can say that I truly did not like was the museum in Corte. I have no idea what was said or went on during that time period. Everything else was unreal. Yes, it was cold in the mountains in Corte, and sure the boat ride to the “city with only 18 people?” was a tad bumpy, but when are you ever going to get the chance see those places again. My memory will forever be engrained with the blueness of the water and breathtaking views from the mountains.

Highlight #2: Asia shots with an authentic Corsican. We went to Restaurant Asia on Friday night where we met this little old Corsican man. He quickly became our new friend and gave us a Corsican desert after our dinner and a free round of shots from his homemade stash of liquor. Sounds kind of suspicious but it was definitely a woo Corsica moment. That night gave me a little taste of what Corsican culture truly is.

Sadly the last day of our trip came where we headed to the airport and back to a much colder Lausanne (along with wifi in La Croisee).

Highlight #3: Bonding. I felt like I got to know a lot more people in the house. There were many of those in depth life conversations that everyone loves to have.

This week was basically a week off of school to enjoy and explore a new culture with your friends. Although titled an Education Field Trip, there was not too much educating that went on… Which I am sure everyone is happy about. I am very happy to have gotten the opportunity to go there. Like I said before, Corsica was a great time.