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WARNING

Thefollowingpresenta7oncontainsgraphicsofveryen7cingfoodsthatmayresultinextremehunger.

Proceedatyourownrisk.

StudyAbroadExperienceReport:LuxembourgCodyJohnson

Thissummer,thankstotheJenningsFamilyBraveCompanionsFund,Iwasabletopar7cipateasaninstructorintheLuxembourgInterna7onalMathema7calOlympiadone-monthtrainingprogram.

IflewinthroughBarcelona,wheremycousinslive,andIspeakCatalan.Iwasabletoseemyfamilyforafewdays

beforetheprogramstartedaswellasvisittheUniversitatdeBarcelona,withatourofthemathdepartmentfrommy

friendswhostudythere.

Plaçad’Espanya(Barcelona)

Afountainthatflowsthroughthesidewalk(Barcelona)

UniversitatdeBarcelonamathdepartment

Xurrosambxocolata(churroswithchocolate),typicalstreet

foodinBarcelona

InCatalan,xispronouncedaschFlagofCatalunya,whichis

tryingtobecomeanindependentna7onfromSpain

TheDönerKebabisaTurkishfastfoodinvasiveinWesternEuropemademainlyoflamb(everykebabisdifferent)withleZuce,tomato,“whitesauce”(Idon’tthinkthereisanequivalentEnglishwordforthissauce),andvariousotheringredients.Itappealstostudentsduetoitsprice($3-5),prepara7onspeed,andofcourseitsamazingtaste!Imusthaveeatenatleast30ofthemduringmyexperienceabroad.(Barcelona)Ieventuallymademy

waytoLuxembourg.

ThecitycenterofLuxembourghasmanybeau7fulgardensliketheJardindeParis,picturedtotheled.Mostpeoplenavigatearoundthecitybybusandonfootbecauseitisaverysmallcityguaranteedtohaveapleasantwalkbetweenanytwoloca7onsinit.

LuxembourgCitywasactuallydesignedinthe14thcenturytobeonegiantfortress,whichexplainswhythecityiselevatedaboveitsfeaturesaroundit.

TheGëlleFra(GoldenLady)

isastatuethatresides

overLuxembourgCityandisits

mostprominent

feature.

Luxembourgtransporta7onisverysophis7cated:transporta7onwasverytop-notchandefficient,andIusuallydidnothavetowaitmorethan10minutesforabusortraintoabsolutelywhereverIneededtogo.Also,thefactthatLuxembourgmakesitasmallcountryallowsmetogofromthenorthernmostpointofLuxembourgtothesouthernmostpointinnomorethantwohours.

Aposterdepic7ngtherulesonthetrainTheviewfrominsideatrain

Mydailycommuteconsistedof15minuteswalkingtothetrainsta7on,5minuteswai7ngforthetrain,30minutesonthetrainfromCruchtentoLuxembourg,5minuteswai7ngforthebus,and10minutesonthebustol’Athénée.Thenrepeatinreversetogetbackhome.

Thedirectorofthetrainingcamp,CharlesLeytemisanavidclimberandthustookmetoveryscenicplacestoclimbinourfree7me,likethespotinPe7teSuisse(LiZleSwitzerland)picturedtotheright.

ArockweclimbedinPe7teSuisse

Crackclimbing

Anarrowpaththroughtherock

ClimbinginagyminArlon,justacrossthe

Belgianborder.Belgiumissoclose!

TrainingsessionswereconducteddailyatAthénéedeLuxembourg(alocalhighschoolthatmostofthestudentsaZended),generallyforthreehourseachsessionwithlecturesandhandoutsgivenstrictlyinFrench.Totheright,studentsareapplyingthepigeonholeprincipletosolvetheproblem:Inahexagon,wedrawalledgesanddiagonalsandcoloreachoneeitherinredorinblue.Provethatwecanfindthreeofthesesegmentsofthesamecolorthatformatriangle.

Mewiththestudentsselectedtopar7cipateattheIMO2016inHongKong.

Wecoordinatedacollabora7vetest

thatwassupposedtoserveasamock

IMOforthestudentstounderstandthecontestpressureand

difficulty.TheproblemswerethemedaroundDonaldTrump,anditwascalled“TheInterna7onalOlympiad

ofMath,Awesomeness,Explosions,andDonaldTrump.”

TeamLuxembourgatIMO

Thecelebra7onconcludedwithahugefireworksdisplay.

TheThüringersausageistheessen7alLuxembourgishsausage,thoughitisodencalledtheLuxringersinceThüringenisacityinGermany.

Andgauffresareatypicaldessertseen

onthisholiday.

Essen7allytheyarea

waffleloadedwithplentyof

junkyfood,similartoafunnelcake.

WhenIwasinLuxembourg,therewasana7onalholidaysimilarinmagnitudetothe4thofJulyinUSA.Seenonthefoodstandistheword“gromperekichelcher,”whichisaverydeliciouspotatopancakeonlyeatenonthisoccasion.Iwasunabletotakeaphotoofone,butIfoundoneonGoogle,shownbelow:

Food

BrocheZesd’agneau(lamb) Pasta(anothersurprisewashowpastaisconsideredafast-foodinLuxembourg)

Verylargeblackberries! Pe7tspainsgrillésavecchocolat(crackerswithNutella)

Juddmatgaardebounen(smokedcollarofporkwithbroadbeans).Theonly“authen7c”Luxembourgishfood.

Rhubarbpie,agidfromoneoftheorganizersofthetrainingcamptome

ExcursiontoAmsterdam

VariouspicturesofLuxembourgtakenbymyfriendandfellowIMOtrainer

Photocredits:NinaAnikeeva

THANKYOUTOTHEJENNINGSFAMILY

forenablingmetopartakeonthishighlyeduca7onaljourneywiththeJenningsFamilyBraveCompanionsFund!!!Itwasanabsolutelythrillingexperiencetobeabletodosomuchmathema7cswhileatthesame7mesharing

cultures(andfood)withlike-mindedindividuals!

CodyJohnsonctj@andrew.cmu.edu

LuxembourgIMOTrainingCampTrainers

Led-to-right:me(algebra,numbertheory),Mike

Dostert(combinatorics),CharlesLeytem(geometry)