Emerson College - Emersonian Yearbook (Boston, MA)

Page 28 text:

“Emersonians adapted extremely well to their spartan lifestyle . . ” Dr. Robert Roetger Scenes from Semester Abroad by Carmen Marusich and Barbara Szlanic Last fall, fifty students and four professors opted to spend their semester studyiny, travel- ing and experiencing different cultures in Europe. The challenges and joys oj this voyage are here recorded through collected journal en- tries and after-the-trip interviews with stu- dents. We arrive at the Chateau de Pourtales late-nip:ht, September 13, weary with travel fatigue and nervous anticipation. Bus rolls up a long, narrow drive, gravel crunching beneath its tires. We crane our necks to see an historic castle glowing in the darkness in the shadow and night of trees. Tall glass doors are thrust open, welcoming, and this castle radiating cheer and warmth becomes our home for two months. The Chateau not exactly in the city of Strasbourg but in Robertsau, a village of farms, cornfields, ferocious dogs and a post office invaded by Americans the very next day. A smoke-and-news store sells postcards of our Chateau and for five francs we hop the bus that takes us into Strasbourg. City of . . . cobblestones, stucco and dark beams, the river Ille and canals, billboards displaying Flashdance and Le Retour du Jedi. fine Alsatian food, German beer and French wine, and, of course, Wliat-a-Burger. Adjusting to the weather — and what happened to the rest of summer? Begging for an extra blanket, mosquito-mashing. No, screens hadn’t been invented when they built the Chateau. Shiver in the darkness. Sleepless nights and early yearnings for the comforts of home. Mom, I miss you. Waiting in winding queues for the latest of Frederic’s gourmet creations. Potatoes again? And again and again . but who can ever get enough French bread? I could KILL for an Oreo! “Adapting so well — not having hoards of junk food and no T.V. — meant that the students could experience things that were more French, like the food and the culture. Dr. Robert Roetger First-thing-in-the-morning classes with Bob Roetger, sleepy-eyed, we yawn, shiver and shift in uncomfortable wooden seats, anticipating the stampede to the mailboxes. Mail from home fast becomes the thing most-looked forward to as days stretch into weeks, then months. Watch the season change; the trees turn red and orange while you think of fall at home. Lazy days and warmth of sunshine. A late “Indian summer.’’ Sunning on a sprawling estate, on endless lawns, on long, stone steps. Late afternoon soccer games. “The soccer program, taken through the initiative of the students, was essential logical carry-over of campus li fe into a European environment. We really got out there and looked forward to it. Playing soccer was great exercise; we worked up good appetites and also developed a spirit of camaraderie . Dr. Robert Roetger Fun, action, excitement filling long drawn-out days melt into magical evenings in the city. Mingling in bars, stammered attempts at francais — some shy, others bold — always resulting in communication of sort s. “The universals were music, dancing, and drinking.” Kelly Gammon Favorite night-time hot-spots: the Turkheim, La France, and the infamous Irish Pub. Friends made and early morning rentrees. Hear the rumble of tires, then doors slam, crunch of footsteps and whispers beneath your window. Taxis deposit Emersonians safely at the doors of the old Chateau. “It wasn ' t a vacation. Jennifer Barbone No hot water again? and when can I pick up my laundry? How long will this mail strike last? A quiz every Friday? “One of the best things about these trips abroad is that the classrooms learning doesn’t end at a particular time. Maybe more learning goes on outside the classroom than inside.” Professor Walt Littlefield i High spirits in a Munich beer hall Jennifer Hirshan, Debbie Rabinowitz and Billy Glasser celebrate Oktoberfest. 24 Compendium Events 1

Page 27 text:

School Store Opening A long awaited event — the opening of the Emerson College Store! Stocked with magazines, gum, cards, Emerson memorabilia and other essentials, the store, under the management of Susan Tabano (below right) and Lisa Rosenthal (not shown) kept students, faculty and staff coming back for more. Compendium Events 23

Page 29 text:

Field trips to the Council of Europe, Strasbourfj’s Cathedrale, the KronenbourfT Brewery and a vineyard. Those excursions were only the begrinning’. Weekends found us on a nine hour truly romantic road trip through Germany, freezing on the side of an Alp, exploring the crumbling castle in Heidelberg, marveling at Koln’s most fantastic cathedral eaten away by mortar shells. Or sitting amidst swans in Lucerne. Stampeding off a boat to catch a train, or chugging lazily up the Rhine as castles, fortresses and the Loreley drift on by. Nov. 6 Moist and misty morning. We depart, say goodbye to the Chateau de Pourtales, to our Chateau. Mixed emotions as we’re sorry to leave it behind but anxious to move on. Bags packed and breakfasts eaten boarded on a familiar bus. Tape blasts “Magic Bus.” Turning slowly away from an old castle, we wave to friends made: our governess, Susan, Chef Frederic and Pascal, the maids. “Why do a lot of them cry when the time comes to leave the Chateau at Strasbourg?” Professor Ted Phillips Catch final, blurry glimpse through fog-shrouded trees. A fairytale castle vanishes existing forever as part of us. Later that day, we arrive in Munich “Sure you can carry a fifty-pound bag across the street, but try walking with it for three miles!” Jennifer Barbone Our first luggage-lugging experience — we drag suitcases, bend forward under the weight of backpacks and try to keep up with a brisk-paced Ted Phillips. We grimace, groan, whimper and sweat our way to the Hotel Herzog, a fifteen-minute haul from the train station. Collapse on the beds in the quads we share for the next three days. Dash off a letter over continental breakfast the next morning Rested and ready to explore. Visit Dachau on a cold, stark day. Clear day, blinding sunlight, harsh white walls reflect the glare. Rectangles of concrete, foundations left intact, stand as reminders of pain, torture, suffering and despair contained. Listen the wind whispers their anguished souls. Sit in the warmth of the sun. Feel the breeze, softly on cheeks, hair in your eyes, you reach over, pluck a grey stone from the rubble a souvenir, you say — a symbol of the pain that was, the desolation that is what’s left. Feel a great sadness If you could resist . Julie Kreichman sinks her teeth into a French confection in Strasbourg. The call to exit answered by Emersonians clamouring to reach luggage, haul it off the train and deposit it on a new platform in a new city. Fifty-three ragamuffin Americans find themselves awake, but barely, ready to trek to a new hotel. In Vienna it’s the Hotel Furstenhof we wait in the lobby for our guide; the invasion of Emersonians is about to begin. “Europeans could definitely spot us. And sometimes I think we were treated with an almost ‘American policy. ' Like, ‘There’s an American. Let’s treat him a certain way.” Kelly Gammon Discover this city of cheap Toblerone Forgotten that night in a beer hall where robust bar maids wield master pitchers of local spirits Long, wooden benches, soaring, beamed ceilings. A traditionally-garbed band churns out lively folk tunes; we sing, drink and laugh alongside jovial drunks from all over the world. An international feast of song, brew and laughter. Cacophony of voices singing, laughing, shouting. Instruments tooting, oompa-pa-ing, glass pitchers clashing together, crashing to the floor. En route to Vienna. Scrunched up train ride. Comrades sleeping bundled in coats and sweaters. Feet propped on luggage, seats and against cool glass. Grey-white sky blank outside the window. Silence in the compartment interrupted by foreign voices. chocolate, closed banks and underground street crossings. Vienna is winter already. The trees are bare. Escape the chill by retreating inside coffee houses. Watch passers-by bustle past bundled in wool coats. Indulge in another huge pastry, another cup of coffee. Discover a quiet elegance, a deliberate slowness. Stop to look in a candy-shop window come face to face with life-size edible statues. Ronald Reagan and Yuri Andropov square off in a store front display. A sign of growing fear in the Western World. Ted Phillips in toga (below). Compendium Events 25