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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!
LuxembourgIMOTrainingCampTrainers
Led-to-right:me(algebra,numbertheory),Mike
Dostert(combinatorics),CharlesLeytem(geometry)