February 13 , 2005

Wandering and Laundering in a Foreign City

What’s the best way for 24 American students to blend into the city of Strasbourg? Well, I haven’t exactly figured that one out yet, but I can attest from experience that if the said 24 all rent bikes and ride around the city en masse, visual integration will not result. Nonetheless, it does make for an interesting way to orient oneself to a city and its surroundings. You just have to ignore the umpteen exclamations of “Zut alors!” and “Sacré bleu!”.

As you might guess from this incident, our program director for this term, Dr. Ken Keffer, is notoriously fond of the unconventional. His orientation to the Rhine Region has certainly proven as much. We’ve sampled almost every means of transportation including bike, boat, bus, tram, train, and of course, foot. Notice that the car is conspicuously absent from that list. Coincidence? I think not. Cars here are actually more of a hindrance to the ease of day- to-day living. The streets are so small and the interior of the city is so compact that it makes infinitely more sense, not to mention that it’s better for your health and the environment, to either walk or use public transportation.

Personally, I’ve enjoyed not being encumbered by a car. It allows you to step out of the comfort zone of your sedan or SUV and actually appreciate the details of a city. It’s nice to be able to smell the confectionary items baking at the countless patisseries, to listen to the school children giggle together on their way home from school, and to just bask in the general ambiance of the city.