I'm in America!

And it's SO hot! I really couldn't get over it at first, but I think I'm okay now. Haha. I'd just forgotten about how much Florida has been affected by "global comfortabling" (global warming).

Let's see...I woke up early on Tuesday morning after packing until late Monday night and was off to the airport. Without a hitch I made it there, checked in, and went through security. I didn't have to wait that long before I was called to claim my seat- 7a! Business class, baby! Woohoo! I was so excited and overwhelmed with the fact that I was actually going home, and in style, that I started crying. I know, I'm pitiful. I had a glass of champagne before take-off and then took a little nap until lunch was served. Then I ate and fell right back asleep. I knew that to keep up with my family I was going to have to get on their schedule as soon as possible. I ended up sleeping almost the whole trip so that when I arrived in Atlanta I was awake and ready to roll. We landed almost a half-hour early, which gave me the ability to take a MUCH earlier flight to Florida. Instead of arriving at 3pm (if I was lucky and got a seat) I got to Panama City at 1:30pm!! And I got to see both my parents! It was my dad's birthday so that was really special, because if you remember, I also made it home for my mom's birthday. (Sadly, I don't think I made it home for their birthdays either year I was at Tech, but from France I did.) First stop: Chik-fil-A. Ohhhh man, there's just something about fried chicken and sweet tea.

I went and saw my daddy's business as opening day is today (the 24th) and there's a big party tonight. Check out the website: www.30AResorts.com . I'm really excited about this new chapter in his life. Anyway, so I saw that and then my mom, my brother, and I all went out shopping for Dad's presents. When we came back, Totty Time (that's the time my parents and their friends sit on our deck upstairs and watch the sun set with a beverage...usually wine or something like that) was well under way. My dad was happy as a little clam. We watched Jeff Dunham's DVD (he's a really gifted ventriloquist) and went to bed. And even though it was 10:30pm, I was exhausted. That was 5:30am my time!

I woke up early the next day and took a walk with my mom. She had to leave that day for her trip to China and won't be back until Saturday. Then we came back and had a real southern breakfast- scrambled eggs, cheese grits, biscuits, and sausage. It just doesn't get better, does it? My mom is a good cook, but for some reason, she's really great at breakfast- and she rarely eats it! Then I had to rush over and take my grandpa to the doctor for his appointment. Poor thing, he took a nasty spill the other day and now has to use a walker. Please keep him in your prayers. I came back just in time to say good bye to my mom and then had time to work on my paper. My brother came, bearing gifts of Chik-fil-A, and I didn't know what to hug first! Haha. He's such a sweetheart. He got invited to a birthday party that will be filmed for MTVs Sweet Sixteen show, but apparently they film dozens of parties and only show the best. But it's cute, he's learning how to do all these dances and learning how to speak "cool" and I told him all that he's learned this year could have been taught to him on the streets of Atlanta in an hour. ;-) He introduced me to his snakes (he's got 4 now) and I introduced him to the world of YouTube videos like "Charlie Bit My Finger," "Shoes," and "I'm F*cking Matt Damon," you know, things every 16-year-old boy oughta be familiar with. My dad came home later and we had salad with freshly-caught grilled snapper (my favorite) and watched the movie Delta Farce. Not a great one, but funny enough, I guess. Then, bed time.

Today I woke up and went to get my hair cut. One of our family friends used to work in the country music business and so knows all these people. Well, Carrie Underwood's old hairdresser moved down here a few months ago, so she gave me a free cut and I love it! It's not too too different, just a little trim and a few layers, but I'm trying to keep it long so I can cut it for Locks of Love again. Anyway, you can see Mindy's work on the cover of the January 2008 Glamour magazine (Carrie's on the front). I've just been reading up for my paper and lazing about until my dad's party starts at 5:30pm. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I've already been lectured about missing The Office. I know it's gonna be good. And it kills me that I may not see it "live" but, hey, somebody's gotta eat all the lobster tails and all the yummy treats they're going to serve there. I'm definitely taking pictures.


Oh yeah, last Sunday (I forgot I was going to write about it) I met with a woman who's family has mutual friends with my family. She's over in Paris for a while and has been having a hard time adjusting. So we met and went to Angelina's where they are famous for their African hot chocolate. It was like pouring a melted chocolate bar into my cup. And not Hershey's chocolate- like, Dove Dark Chocolate. Soooooo delectible. We talked for a while and I gave her some tips on where to go and what to do. She recommended a really good Italian restaurant so I'm hoping to try it out when I get back. We went to church with Maggie afterwards. It's a non-denominational church and it just felt so good to be back in such a welcoming place after being on the streets of Paris. I really felt transported somewhere else. I'll be going back there.

Well, that's it for now! I'm really glad I'm in Florida. It's still kinda hard to believe that I was in Paris just Monday. The water is crystal clear, there are no clouds, the weather is in the 80s, and everything is great. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

I do miss talking to Liz, though. I talked to her more in Paris because I could call her on my phone and it was cheaper. *sigh* I wish she was here. It's not very often I'm home when she's not. It's weird.

Gotta get back to my paper so I can go to the beach soon!! (That's my reward for finishing- a cold brewsky on a hot beach....it really DOESN'T get any better than that.)

xoxo

I love Paris in the Springtime!

I added some new pictures. For some reason, the web album isn't working properly but if you click on my pictures you should be able to see the ones I added. I just figured out how to add pictures in the blog, too. I'll try to use that more often, but I add lots of pictures at once, so you'll still have to click the slideshow. Anyway, this is the first picture I took today. The weather was so nice out and so I decided to take a walk. I took dozens of other pictures but I won't post them all on my blog. So, I had my World of Wine presentation today. We presented on Beaujolais (which is pronounced bow-zho-lay, but I've been saying it bew-zho-lay so long I can't stop!) and it went well. Poor Rachel is sick but we did it anyway because she had another expose to work on so just wanted to get this one over with. Then we had a guest speaker who co-founded 1885.com. It's a wine distributing website that does really high-end stuff. Par exemple, the average customer spends $1000-$2000 each visit (usually once every 1-2 years) with an average bottle of wine costing $30. Sheesh! He went on and on about different marketing techniques and some of them were pretty cool. I just thought it was funny how he was talking to kids no more than 23 years old about wines we wouldn't be able to afford for a good 10 years. After class ended I went back around to the Notre Dame area and took some more pictures. I just had to take advantage of the nice weather. I finally got back around 7:30 and my dogs were barkin'. (C'est-a-dire: My feet were tired.) I made dinner and now I've got to pack. I had a great day Sunday, too, but I'll add that in later.

xoxo

I believe in a thing called love!

There was a wedding at the church down the street from me. As I write this the bells are going crazy. It's so cute. I was passing the church as the bride was entering it and everyone on the street was just stopped and watching so I did, too. Just adorable. Yay for another cultural experience! I'm not sure how often people get married, but everyone seemed pretty interested. I guess I'd stop and watch in the States, too.

Speaking of- I'm going to the States soon! I don't know if I've gotten this across enough, but I can't wait! Je me manque la plage. (I miss the beach.)

It's my best friend's 21st birthday today, so Happy Birthday, Ryan! Also, one year ago today was the day I found out I was coming here to Paris. I've just been thinking how much everything has changed. It's phenomenal! I'm just so blessed.

At the store today, I bought purple toilet paper. All is right with the world. :-)

I keep catching my neighbors in their underwear.

When I look out my kitchen window, it faces my neighbor's kitchen. I can also see the guy's kitchen above him.

For some reason, they love to do their laundry in only their underwear. The man upstairs prefers whitey-tideys and on my floor there is a preference for black boxer briefs.

And I've seen them each at least once this week. Sometimes I catch them dancing, too.

Needless to say, it's kind of awkward. Especially when we smile and wave at one another like there's nothing strange about it.

...Back to work.

Nothing like a ballet one day and sunshine the next to put a bounce in your step!

Yesterday I woke up, worked on my project (that is actually taking a LOT longer than I thought it would :-( ) and then Maggie came over and we caught up and then called Georgia Tech for the phone conference about the grading system. Unfortunately, there seems to be a good chance that nothing is going to happen, but I’m keeping my spirits high and realizing that I’ve got a pretty good case. Most of all, I know in my heart that I’m not the C/D student Sciences Po says I am and that’s better than anything. I just wish there was a better way to make this part of studying abroad a better experience. After all, it is called “studying” abroad...not “fail” abroad. *le sigh*

I finally got all my classes that I needed and am happy with my schedule. According to the Georgia Tech website, if I pass my History of Paris class and my other French language class, I’ll have my minor in French!! I wasn’t expecting that so soon, but it would be great! It would save me from 3 hours I’d have to take at Tech, too…which will be nice.

Yesterday afternoon was the day I’d gotten tickets to go to a ballet at the Opera Bastille. Looking back, probably it wasn’t the best choice because of all the work I have, but hindsight’s 20/20, right? It was well worth it in the end. Erica and I met at 5:30 for an early dinner at the Mexican chain, Indiana. Yes…you read that correctly. But it’s quite popular. Erica and I dressed up and we looked so chic and French in our all-black ensembles. We had margaritas to celebrate…something, I’m sure. The best parts were that it was happy hour- half price- and that they were blended! I miss my frozen drinks so much…a lot of bars don’t have blenders so it was quite a treat! We got chips and guacamole for an appetizer and then I got another appetizer for a meal- a dang quesadilla. (Napoleon Dynamite, anyone?) It was so good. Just a little taste of home, because I frequent Moe’s/Willy’s quite often in Atlanta. I’m really jealous of Eric (remember him from January?) because he lives in Dallas now (actually just a little ways away from where I grew up!) and gets all that yummy TexMex. So, we ate, and after having to ask only a few times for the check we paid and walked just around the circle and into the Bastille Operahouse.

It was built quite recently, with President Mitterrand, so it’s very modern and ugly on the outside. Like the pyramids at the Louvre. But on the inside- oh my gosh! What a neat place! The architecture was unbelievable! I bet all the Architecture kids love it here with the different buildings. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before, but there are about 23 kids IN PARIS from Tech right now. I don’t know that many Arch majors, but I know of one that’s here…we actually live in the same area of Paris, but of course I’ve not heard from her since I wrote her or run into anyone else on the street. What a surprise…you’d think we’d stick together or fait un effort to see each other, but no. How very French of us. But I digress…the Opera house was really cool- I’ll upload some pictures. We got our tickets about 2 weeks ago and thought we would be in the very back…we’d paid a pretty penny for them, too, but noooo….7^th row!! It was great! We were so close and that was nice because I got to see little nuances with the dancer’s feet that people far away couldn’t.

The ballet was spectacular! There were 3 parts that were very different. I didn’t know what to expect as I’d never seen a ballet before so I knew I would be pleased with anything. The first one was very modern (said Erica) with black and white outfits and 4 pieces/songs/dances that were called by some emotion, so the dances matched the music. The second part was more what I thought of in my head when I though of ballet- extravagant ensembles, loud brass instruments, very classical. It sort of told a story. I liked that one the best. The third part was very very odd. By far the coolest one. The music wasn’t live all the time, but the dancing was incredible! Very very modern…almost creepily so. It’s hard to explain, but like, every once and a while the curtain would go down for about 10 seconds, the dancers would move, and then the curtain would come up. Every single time that happened, someone would clap and someone else would sshhhh! them. With no luck. We’re like Pavlov’s dogs when the curtain goes down- we clap automatically! Anyway, I got to see 3 very different types of ballet, and I think it was a great introduction. I really enjoyed it and I’m glad Erica and I got to do something- she’s gone during the weekends now so we only have the weeks, and we’re both busy. We mentioned how being at the ballet reminded us of being back in the States- her at some shmancy New York fete, and me at the Fox Theatre, but still cool. Her parents are coming over soon and so I’m going to get to meet them. I’m excited- I’ve never met people like them- New York lawyers who have a view of the Empire State Building from their office and talk about Manhattan as if it was their personal playground. What a neat life! I can’t wait to visit Erica next year- we’re hoping to make it to a Rockettes show!! Eek!

Why does high school never seem to end and college, is like, almost over! Where was I when that happened? At the moment, I know at least 20 engaged couples, and about 10 married ones. Most of them are within 2 years of my age…older AND younger. And I’m just shy of 21! What the deuce is going on?!?! I definitely missed the It’s-Now-Time-to-Grow-Up-and-Become-an-Adult-Memo. It’s crazy! Graduating college without a ring on your finger should not be a fashion faux pas…not now, not ever! Plus, how un-fun would it be to not even be able to enjoy a glass of bubbly on your wedding day? Unless you don’t drink anyway, I guess it’s not so bad then. Okay, I didn’t mean to go off, I’m just saying….sheesh!

I went home after the ballet dead exhausted with still a lot of work to do. I heard back from a man at Atlantic Station, so I now almost-officially have housing next year! Liz and I are living in a 4-person apartment with a view of a golf course and the Atlanta skyline! Sweet!!! A little while later, I convinced myself sleep deprivation was something I didn’t want to suffer, so I crashed.

I woke up this morning and met Rachel to talk about our wine presentation. We went to Starbucks and grabbed coffee and talked about classes, Tech, summer, life, basically everything. The area we went to was a little off the beaten path and soo nice. I’m definitely going there again. Rachel knows a lot about the area around our school because she lives there. But because she lives so close to school, she doesn’t ride the metro a lot and doesn’t even have a monthly card like the rest of us! I mean, she’s saving money, but she was like, “Yeah, it’s quite an experience when I do ride it.” To me, it’s like completely normal now! Haha…just one of those things I guess. We went to class and then I came home with my friend Jini who lives just a block away. We still haven’t managed to go out outside of class, but that will happen soon I hope. Tonight is just work work work night. Gotta finish this paper and project! It’s gonna be good, I know…it’s just such a huge part of my grade it has to be perfect.

Tomorrow’s a busy day: work from 11:30-2:30, and then class (including my presentation) from 2:45-6:45. Yep…4 hours tomorrow…to make up for a cancelled class. Oh well, at least I like it.

The car elevator, the weather, the wine store, and mi vida loca

So, on the way to working out this morning I passed a garage entrance that was a car elevator. I've always wondered how they parked all those cars because a lot of underground Paris is the metro, too. So, basically, this is what happens. A lot of parking garages have a little road that drives underground, but this thing, you just drive in, the doors close behind you, take you down and then you back out and park! Craziness! But like, if you had a big car (like, all of a Camry or something) you wouldn't be able to use it!

Next topic, the weather. I woke up to a bright and sun-shine-y Parisian morning...checked my e-mail and then worked out. It was actually WARM out! I almost took of my jacket but there was a cool breeze, but I did unzip it! One step at a time...haha. After I was done working out, the sky was grey, the temperature had dropped to a miserable number, the wind had picked up, and it was raining. Gross. I was so thankful that I had gone to the gym instead of class because it was much closer and I would have not been prepared for rain. A few hours later I was talking to people about it and heard that it had hailed at some point during the day, too. Somehow I missed that. But still....can't Paris just make up its mind?

Class today was at Lavinia, one of the COOLEST places I've been to ever! It's just a huuuuge wine store. 6,000 different kinds of wines from 30 countries...not to mention they've got over 1,000 types spirits! I saw a bottle of wine for 30,000euros- granted it was a Rothschild, but still. And don't worry- that wasn't the most expensive. The most dear wines are in a locked cage. I couldn't believe it! I'm totally taking my dad there. He's gonna flip and I can't wait. They've even got a bar and restaurant where you can buy a bottle in the store and then take it up to drink it with your meal/appetizers at no extra charge!! The entrance floor is where the tasting area is. You can purchase a card for different amounts and then taste all these cool wines. But each taste costs different amounts depending on how much the bottle costs, so some tastes are 2euro, and some are 10!! For 3cl! But, you'd be able to say you've tasted a good Chateauneuf-du-Papes. The lower floor is where all the wines are showcased and then the top floor is the liquors and bar/restaurant area. Very cool. I now know where to search for any alcohol that is introuvable in normal grocery stores. :-)

I’ve been having trouble registering for classes next year at Tech for many reasons. First, I’m not in Atlanta, so it was hard for them to remember I was a student and that it was my time to register. By the time they fixed that problem, a class I needed was already filled up. It’s being offered at other times, but duh, I wanted the other one. Then, I need to take a Senior Seminar class, but Tech doesn’t have that I’m a senior! Ugh. Problems, problems. But like I told Derrick, this is NOTHING to what I’ve had to deal with here at SP, so it’s hardly even phasing me. I know it has to get worked out. I never realized it until now, but that’s something that I’ve learned here- I’ve stopped stressing as much. Because once you’ve beaten French bureaucracy, there’s nothing you can’t handle! :-)

This weekend was nice and relaxing, but this week is gonna suck ballzinis. I’ve got my project and paper due Thursday, then another project due Monday and one of my Econ papers due the next Friday! Gahh!

But then…..AMERICA!!!!! :-)

Ahh, le week-end!

Last night I went to my gym (my favorite machine is the AMT by Precor!) and then did work at home. I’ve lost a little over a kilo so far…that’s not great…but it’s something and it keeps me going! Had I done any while Liz was here probably it would be more but I’ll be here until August.

Not having wireless anymore is really throwing me for a loop. I feel like I’m not being productive. Or something. Anyway, I hung out at home (yes, on a Friday night…lol. Is that a big deal?) and watched some Office and Ugly Betty. That’s my new show that I watch. It’s okay…definitely better than no entertainment at all. I called it a night a little later than I wanted, but just about the time I was dozing off, Hal came over. So John and them were up a bit later I’m guessing.

I woke up and had one of the best workouts. Sometimes there is just one machine or area of the gym that everyone wants to be in, me included, so I have to either do what’s open and hope something comes available or just promise myself I’ll make up for it the next day. But today, nosireebob…there were only a few people there. :-)

I came home, talked to my dad, ate, and then showered. Phew! Sure has been a busy day…oh wait…nope, I slept in. So now it’s 6pm and I’ve done barely anything. Now sounds like the perfect time to work on homework. So that’s what I’m going to do…

I've been talking to one of my sorority sisters who is coming over to Sciences-Po for the year next year and I'm so excited she's doing it. There are 5 other people with her, so it's 6 kids again I think I might meet up with them while I'm in Atlanta so they can pick my brain...I sure wish I had someone I could have done that with last year. I'm more than happy to help them though, and it would be great if I could find 2 of them that would rent my apartment again...I know my landlords are looking for people, so why not carry on the tradition?!

Dieu merci, c'est vendredi!! (Thank God it's Friday!..just not the same ring to it en Français, but it does rhyme!)

Yesterday was Thursday and the first day of the semester I went to work at the American Center. I was given the very important task of copy/pasting information from the Sciences-Po website to a word or excel document and then organizing said information into a user-friendly format. I didn’t finish because the archives go all the way back to 2002. I got to May of that year. But I’ll be going back next week. It was good to see everyone again. I spoke with Marie about our grading scale and she offered to write our study abroad director an e-mail. Soon we were talking about having a phone conference with her and some of the GT students in the room. This is such a great idea and I really hope that it works out.

Speaking of work, I set my start and end date with the Embassy. I’ll begin the 30^th of May and my last day will be August 8^th. This gives me plenty of time to move out and then move to Atlanta for the first day of class on the 18^th! No rest for the wicked, huh? It’s funny to think that John will be moving out the 15^th of July, and I’ll only be there for a few more weeks but have a whole internship under my belt. But the other Tech kids will be leaving in June, I think. Because I’m starting the internship while I’m in school, I’ve worked it out to where I’ll still be able to attend class as well as be working fewer hours those 3-ish weeks until school is done the 19^th of June when I’ll start my full 40-hour-a-week job. I’m very thankful to have this opportunity and but I know that they’re able to be so flexible with my schedule because they’re not paying me…so maybe it’s a good thing.

I went to class after work and I was reminded that I have a presentation next Thursday along with a paper due. It’s gonna be 40% of my grade so it’s gotta be good. That’s just a large chunk of my final grade.

When I got home I turned on my computer only to discover that my wireless wasn’t working. John came home later and tried to fiddle with it, but it looks as though it’s just broken. Thank goodness I’m going home soon so I can get a wireless adapter. I’m still kinda hoping that it will fix itself. I mean, it broke itself, right? It’s just so sad to think that in the course of 3 hours it just stopped working. Last night, I hooked myself up to the internet in the living room, which is by the TV, so it was kind of awkward. Why can’t my computer work just because it wants to?!

Yesterday in between work and class I was sitting doing some reading and I happened to sit next to this girl who had a dog with her. That’s cute, I thought. And then I realized what a stupid thing that was because he was her seeing-eye dog. There tend to be many blind people in Paris and I’d never really been around one long enough to see how they function. I don’t know if that’s offensive to anyone, but let me just finish. Watching this girl brought me to tears. She was so fearless, so strong, and yet her world was pitch black. I got to thinking about what sense I would be willing to give up…and I’m just not sure any of them would be worse than another, but to not be able to see must be just so hard. Then she pulled out this machine and I couldn’t stop watching her. It was like a computer, but it only had about 8 buttons which she pushed and then below her was a strip where Braille would be typed out. Every once in a while she would read what she wrote and make any corrections. It was incredible. I wondered how the machine worked and almost got up the courage to ask, but then a man came up to her and told her it was time for class, so I said a little prayer for her and went about my business.

This morning I had to wake up early to make sure I got to class on time. Jordan was peeved last week when a few of us arrived as he was taking role, but it was ameliorated by the fact that people continued showing up for the next half hour. That made him really mad. So, I left just 15 minutes early this time, but getting up at 8:30 was killer. I made lunch and then left at 9:15. Usually it takes 30-45 minutes to get to school but I gave myself a whole hour today. On my way to the metro station, I passed a moving van that was moving boxes into an apartment. They way they do this is fascinating and I wish I had my camera to show you. What they do is give you boxes of a certain size to fill up with your stuff. These aren’t big boxes by American standards…maybe the size of one row on a filing cabinet? It’s hard because everything I can compare the size of these boxes to is something I’ve seen in France, not America. Sorry. Anyway, these things aren’t big. So, you fill these boxes up and then put it on the moving van. The moving van drives from your old apartment to your new one and then, you open your window in your new apartment. The truck then unloads this machine that unfolds into a vertically slanted conveyor belt which reaches your window from the street. One man operates the belt, one man puts the boxes on the belt from the truck, and another is in your apartment unloading the boxes off the belt. Formidable! That way- no carrying up stairs if you don’t have an elevator!

This morning was full of culture as I got on the metro there was an announcement saying that my line was to experience delays because of an accident. Awesome. I was going to be cutting it close, even for giving myself so much time to get there. It’s weird though, because I sorta dreamed about that happening last night…maybe God was telling me something. I got to class on time amazingly enough. I only have French left after Econ class- then the weekend!! Usually our class is WAY rambunctious on Fridays…I don’t know what it is, but for most of us, I think it’s our last class of the week, so she couldn’t get us to not talk if she wanted. Haha…at least were speaking French, right?

I was talking to my dad last night and he was telling me about his new business that he’s starting up with a few other friends. You should check out the website- 30aresorts.com. They’ll plan your hassle-free vacation at the most beautiful beach in the world! It sounds like it’s going to be really neat with rental homes/condos, deep-sea fishing, catered meals, etc. the whole shebang (is that really spelled like that?!). I hope I’ll be able to work with my dad one day, if just for a little bit, maybe even after college when I’m starting out. What a neat job to have...but then again, I love planning trips and events and stuff. Not to mention 1) I’d be living at the beach and 2) I’d be in America. *sigh*

I sure do miss the Home of the Brave(s). ;-) But I’ll be back in 10 days! Eek! Yep, that’s right, 10 days. How can I pull that off, you ask? Oh, because I’m amazing. I have a presentation that Monday (which, blech, I could have gotten moved so I would have had that whole weekend before that too, but I’m already getting a great deal, I can’t be too picky) and then my Tuesday and Thursday class are cancelled. I can afford to miss class on Wednesday and Friday so I’m going to! J The opportunity to be home on my dad’s birthday is too tempting. Especially because I went home for my mom’s back around Halloween! Too cool! So, I’ll be in America from (hopefully) the 22^nd of April to the 2^nd of May!!!

So this afternoon I started downloading the new Office episode and went shopping for the weekend. On the way back I saw my first rainbow- and it was a double!! Sadly, by the time I’d walked up the stairs to grab my camera, the weather was clear and sunny again. Gahh! Paris weather is going to be the death of me. Or at least trying to figure it out is.

Anyway, it’s time to work out… so far, no plans for the weekend, but I’m sure something will turn up…but there’s always homework to fall back on. I’ve got to work faster now that I’m going to be home sooner. Wish I’d not procrastinated quite as much. Oh well- it’s worth it!!!

La vie française (French life)

I woke up today and went to the main building of SciencesPo because I was to meet a friend for an early lunch and get my grades back for last semester! I got there late (surprise, I can’t seem to be on time for anything except class these days) but was able to retrieve my grades without queuing. I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped, but there were so many things this semester that attributed to that. I didn’t fail anything, thankfully. I was given false hopes about how easy this school would be, though. So I hope those going abroad next year are prepared. I would compare it to coming from high school where GT Freshman think they’re “all that” and then at Tech, get their first C. I’d finally been doing well at Tech, and now I come here and it’s a huge step back. It’s just different. I think the Tech students at SP now are going to try to get the grading scale changed because my grades are NOT indicative of how hard I worked. That’s the most upsetting. But, it’s over. I’ve still got a semester left and I can’t dwell on the past. God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle, right? And at the end of my life, am I going to want to remember studying all night in order to get straight A’s, or taking this time to experience what it is to be “French?”

Lunch with Ciara was awesome. She really took my mind of my grades and I hadn’t seen her since Dublin so we had a lot of catching up to do. She’ll most likely be working downtown this summer so I’ve got a standing invite to her place! :-) We’ve got plans next week to have lunch again and I’m excited about that.

I went to class where we talked about what it means to be happy and whether or not there are parameters that make a person happy. A little too abstract for me, but I tried to participate as much as I could. Happiness, to me, isn’t a checklist. Achieving everything or having everything you want doesn’t make you “happy.” And there are so many who are deemed happy who have next to nothing.

Anyway, I came home and worked out, then had dinner, and am now doing this/homework. Hal is over again so they’re all hanging out as I try desperately to get ahead in classes so I won’t be so stressed.

I haven’t told you much about my gym, but I’m going to this time. It’s called FitnessFirst (look it up) and it’s only about a 5 minute walk from my apartment which is lovely. The first day I went in to sign up I ran into more women wearing heels then working out. This was a little disturbing because in all the other gyms I’d been in, if you worked there, you wore “work out” clothes. These women were dressed to the nines. My first thought was, oh how French. Then I looked at what people wore while working out. You guessed it- lots of black. Black pants/capris and usually a black t-shirt. But only the men wear shorts. Women work out in jewelry and full make up. Sometimes a few men will wear a shirt that says “NYPD” or “Texas Athletic Association” and I feel like approaching them, but am always too nervous. The odds of that shirt being bought as a souvenir as opposed to them actually being American are too great. But I proudly sport my GT gear and although I get the occasional she’s-wearing-navy-blue-not-black horrified look and just go about my business. The machines there are AMAZING! They’ve got some of the most high-tech things! Like, there’s this one that is a stairclimber, a treadmill, and an elliptical all in one! It detects your strides and adjusts accordingly. And it gives your arms a GREAT workout, too! but there are all the normal things too, like rowing machines, bikes, and even that treadmill that has separated tracks for each foot and moves up and down. Cool stuff. Then, the free weights are unlimited! It didn’t take long to figure out that they were in kilos instead of pounds. It only took as long for me to just lift one and allow it to fall to the floor in a loud thud because I couldn’t hold on to it much longer. So now I’m on the “baby weights,” you know that tiny little rack where they can hold those tiny things instead of the ones with the discs on either end which get shelves. Oh well…I’m not there to get huge man-arms…just tone. I’m enjoying it a lot and am glad I signed up for it. I was feeling kinda lazy and I’m not someone to just go out for a run. I prefer walking and absorbing the scenery. But the thing that gets me most about FitnessFirst is how there's sort of a "mini-cafe" inside. I mean, you could get coffee or tea or a snack and then drink/eat it in these comfy chairs. But, what are those people doing there? What are they waiting for? Someone? Are they just there to watch others work out? Or is that the new local hang out? It's just so random! And all sorts of people will be there, some in sweats, others in dressy clothes. Some people will, it seems, be stopping by with their groceries on their way home. I mean, come on! It's a gym! Haha. I don't know. I think it's funny, but it's another one of those things I probably will never understand because I'm not French.

So, that’s it for now. I’m just way too good at this procrastinating thing.

Finally COMPLETELY Caught Up!!

Another thing I forgot to mention is the Wine Salon that I went to! It was while Liz and her friends were here. For my wine class, we had to go to a wine salon which was basically just a HUGE wine tasting. Its hundreds of chateaus that come to Paris to sell their wine We got glasses to keep and I tasted a lot of Beaujolais because that’s what I’m doing my presentation on. I like that wine, but I’ve not chosen my favorite yet. I’m still working on it. ;-) Lots of research to be done. Rachel and I had to taste some champagne of course and by the time I got out of there I had a nice little buzz. Haha. Probably I should have eaten before going, but I didn’t think I’d get to taste unlimited wine! In class we have presentations and we taste the wine that the group is presenting. that’s sweet. so far we’ve only had one, but they brought in 3 different wines…a Chardonnay (white-12.5%), a Cotes de Bourg (red- 12.5%), and a Languedoc/Maury (red- 16% alcohol!!). A class where it’s okay to drink wine in the middle of the day, nay encouraged…yes please! My professor always says, “et cetera, et cetera” at the end of pretty much every other sentence. Always twice, never just once. Interesting.

This weekend was crazy for the weather! On Friday I got out of class and it was hot. I wasn’t even wearing a jacket! It was wonderful. It was just one of the reasons I’d come to Paris. I knew the summer could be so amazing, and I was so excited to get an internship here to experience it. being here a whole year really is the way to go. I feel for those who are only studying abroad for a semester. Studying abroad is a great decision, but being here for a whole years is just, *sigh*, wonderful. Anyway, the weather…it was so nice. I walked around just to walk around. and be out in the sun. I’m so glad I’m going home for the break- I need the break and the sun and beach. So, that night, Erica had invited me out to dinner with a few of her friends from Brown. I got out at the wrong exit and then proceeded to walk the wrong way but I did find the Arenes de Luteces, which was an amphitheater for the Romans and there would even be animal fights there. Very pretty and a cool history to it. I don’t normally do this, but I’m putting a link to one website I found in case you’re interested: http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Parks_Gardens/Arenes_de_Lutece.shtml On my way to walking towards the correct pharmacy where Erica and her friends were, I ran into someone from one of my classes. How strange! It made me happy though, like a real citizen who runs into people they know on the street. Paris just gets smaller every day. Dinner was good, there was a prix fixe that we got and a bottle of red wine. I had pho and cold noodles with eggrolls. It was interesting but I enjoyed the conversation and was thankful to get out of the apartment with some girls. I’m happy Erica and I are friends because she and I have the same love for Paris, which is hard to find in guys, especially the ones over here. Anyway, dinner ended after 10 and so we were going to a bar but one of the girls had to leave so then we decided to go to the St. Michel area that I like and get crepes and walk around. (I saw another one of my friends on his bike going somewhere- I was like, yesssss, I’ve run into 2 people I know in Paris!!! Haha.) I got a crepe with sugar, cinnamon, and butter. At home, I remember making this with my mom, and even Beachmama (my mom’s mom) who would make it with tortilla wraps instead of crepes and we called it “biggabaggabugga.” Just another thing that reminded me of home and how much I couldn’t wait to go back for a while. We dropped the other girl off close to her apartment and Erica and I kept walking. We ended up walking all the way up to the Arch of Triumph and talked and watched the Eiffel Tower light up. It was a great night. The weather was nice- no wind, not very cold, tons of people were out talking, walking, drinking, celebrating the first real warm night of spring. We ended up catching one of the last metros home and I was satisfied to have had a great night out. I came back and about 20 minutes later John and Hal (of course) came home from somewhere. They were up for a while longer, but after all that walking I was exhausted so went to bed.

Saturday was fun…I worked on school stuff /cleaned my room/did 3 loads of laundry and then Erica came over and we had baguette dogs and watched the movie “The Other Boylen Girl.” That was a killer movie. I absolutely loved it. That sort of genre, historic fiction, is my favorite. It seems to give the movie a bit more value if it’s based on a true story. The baguette dogs were really good and she hadn’t had them before, so yay!

Sunday I woke up really late after finally getting a real night’s rest and went to the gym. John’s brother arrived that afternoon so I met him. He’s a few years younger- still in high school- and though I thought they would look a lot alike, they don’t really. Maybe when they were younger. Anyway, I hadn’t been to the gym in a while what with Liz being here and then a *bit* of forgetting I was a member (you just can’t make that up) and then utter laziness. I had a good work out, came home and ate and worked on school until late at night. John, his brother, and Hal were all playing Wii or watching something and I was about to go to bed when John told me it was snowing!

And was it EVER!! I looked outside and couldn’t believe my eyes! It wasn’t just snowing a little bit- it was flurrying out- with HUGE snowflakes. I couldn’t believe it! I hadn’t had the best night so snow really made me feel better. We all ran out side and started playing in it, gathering snow off the cars and throwing snowballs. I wasn’t the best shot it turned out. Who would have thought? Anyway, my fun ended when Kyle (John’s bro) thought it would be humorous to pelt the only girl with iceballs not once, but twice! I’ve got some nice bruises now. Haha…thnks fr th mmrs…kids…I guess I should give the boys a break- they’ve never had sisters so I guess they don’t realize women are a bit more fragile. At least I didn’t get any ice down my back. I suppose I should be thankful!

This semester, over all, has started fairly nicely. I’m not having to work on school as much…and I can tell this because my phone card is almost out of money already! (Which means I’m socializing more and texting/talking on the phone more)…whoops…And I’m only working at the American Center once a week on Thursdays. I don’t think I was what they were looking for. It got kind of confusing last semester because I would go in and there would be nothing to do, so I would just do homework. I thought it was great, but I felt bad doing that, so this semester I told them to e-mail/call me when they had a project for me. I finally got a call last week so I guess they’ve been okay so far. They said to just come in on Thursdays from now on so I’ll have a little pocket money. Somehow I need to figure out how to make money over the summer. Does anyone have any ideas? This internship is unpaid, and I’m just not sure that’s going to work. Preferably something easy, or something I can do at home when I get home from work…hmm.

Today I got up a little later than I wanted, but we were up late playing in the snow. I did some work and then went to class. Then I came home, had a great work out, made dinner, and now am just working on my presentations. It would be so great if I could get ahead of class so I didn’t have to worry about it, but I’m such a procrastinator! I’m working on it, though!

Liz, Nia, and Laura’s Visit

So, I had SUCH a good time with Liz and her friends. When they got here, it was so nice because they were already used to the time difference and we didn’t have to worry about jet-lag.

Their arrival started off a little rocky…only one of the girls made the train they’d made reservations on so I had to leave class early to meet her because 1) she didn’t know any French 2) she didn’t know where I lived 3) the train station in Paris isn’t in the best area 4) her cell phone had no battery. This last point made it particularly difficult to find her because she didn’t actually stay in the terminal when she arrived- she just went out and got something to eat and somewhere to plug her phone in, hoping that Liz would contact her and let her know what the deal was. After searching up and down with no luck, I had one of the information desks do an announcement, but since she wasn’t there, she didn’t hear it. Finally Liz got a hold of her and then called me, but Liz’s phone was dying, so I had to quickly find Nia so that I would at least be with her so we could wait for the other two. After about an hour, they found us and we were on our way. It was a little more stress than I’d planned on, but I was just so thankful everyone was together that it didn’t really matter. I’d made a tart at home for dinner (the same Ciara made for me in Ireland), but it was well after 11pm when we ate and I was starving. Not to mention I still had a project to finish up that was due the next day! *sigh* Oh well, I had the girls entertained with a movie and I finished my project with a few hours of sleep to spare.

The girls saw tons of things…we went out to get crepes and walked around a lot. We also went shopping because Laura wanted a Longchamps bag…or two. Haha. One night was Hal’s birthday party so we went to Tribal Café and then I took them to the Bastille area because that’s a pretty bars-y street.

We went to mass on Sunday, and even though I thought it would be in English, or at least bits would be, the priest only read one Bible verse in English and everything else was in French.

We lunched in one of my new favorite areas by St. Michel and got a yummy 3-course meal for only 10euro! There was a huge group of Spaniards next to us and every time the girls said anything about Salamanca or Spain in general they would turn their heads. Well, I’m in this Spain class this semester so I knew what was going on in Spain, so I started talking about what was going on with the elections and Zapatero just to be funny, but it was like a little switch that went on and off, like every time I said some thing one of their heads would turn. It was a fun game.

We also went to the Champs-Elysees and got ice cream at night and walked. Soooo pretty. Another night we went to Montmartre and saw the Sacre Coeur and the Red Light District (while drinking a beer, of course. it’s hard for me to walk through there without something else to keep me occupied. ;-) ) and watched the Tour Eiffel light up. Ahh Paris, how I love thee.

We did all the touristy things, so there’s not much else to say…but we did have a great time. I’m glad I got to spend more time with Nia and Laura, too. I hope Liz comes over the summer so we can have fun- it’s been such a long time since I’ve seen her by herself…like, since Christmas I guess!

Derrick's Visit

I'd just like to say it's over 16 degrees here. No clouds, plenty of sunshine. Jeans and t-shirt weather. I'm in love. :-)

____________________

Derrick came to visit me during Georgia Tech’s Spring Break. John and Rachel also had friends over from Tech, so apparently I wasn’t the only one with the good idea. Crazy! It was like a migration!

Derrick arrived on a Monday morning, after a lot of long days from Atlanta to Detroit, then Detroit to Paris. He got to my apartment and we went straight out. Now, you know me, I was suffering from a serious case of sympathy jet-lag. It’s simply amazing how my body can exhaust itself practically on demand. *sigh* So I wanted to sleep, but we didn’t. What is the first thing we did? Go to the Eiffel Tower of course! It was a pretty day out for which I was thankful and Derrick got some cool pictures. Throughout the week, we (or just him if I had class) would go to all the sights. We went to the top of the Tour Montparnasse but it was freezing, so again, not much time was spent up there. Derrick had never been to Europe before, so I think he had a really great time. Sadly, he didn’t try escargots, but he DID try ratatouille! I’m not gonna do a day-by-day because there were more interesting anecdotes that I’d rather write about. Suffice it to say Derrick saw all the important stuff and experienced French culture at its best…

The first night he was there I asked him what he wanted for dinner and gave him his choices: pasta, chicken, etc, or Dominos Pizza. Guess what he chose?! Yep- Dominos. So, we went there and got our pizza and on the way back, experienced the oddest thing. A man on the metro heard us speaking English and began talking to us- IN ENGLISH. He said, “Oh you Americans, of course you are eating pizza. Your country is so fat. You only eat pizza and hamburgers and just get fatter and fatter.” He continued for a good 3 minutes, but we just shut him out. Let the record show 1) Derrick is tiny. Like, probably a hamburger would do him some good, 2) there was one pizza between the two of us…it’s not like we had 6 pizzas to ourselves and 3) there were TONS of French people in the Dominos, too, so why do we get picked on? Oh yeah, because they’re bitter. It drives me crazy how the French are so anti-American companies and everything, but go to Starbucks to get their coffee. Or shop at Gap. If you’re going to bad-mouth something, you don’t endorse it, right? Anyway, I was thoroughly embarrassed and Derrick’s “Detroit past” was about to make an appearance (he wanted to say something that probably was not too nice…I would have but I could hardly swallow, much less form words), but thankfully, we had to get off. We were appalled by the man’s arrogance, but took it in stride and enjoyed our pizza.

Then, we went to church on Wednesday at the Notre Dame because it was Holy Week and I wanted him to see the cathedral. I didn’t know the Mass was going on, but it was pretty cool. There was a sermon and then a processional. During the organ music, I turned to Derrick and began explaining what was going on, what the man had said, and just a few tidbits about Notre Dame. This woman turned around to us in the middle of my explanation and, in a normal outside voice (I was barely above a whisper) said, “Can you just shut up? It’s mass!” Again, I was red with embarrassment. She hadn’t given any indication that she could hear us and wanted us to quiet down- no hairy eyeball, no shhhh!, just a comment. I didn’t think I was being that loud, and its not like we were sitting down- we were standing on the “visitors” side, and it was during music playing! Not the liturgy! Ugh. I just couldn’t do anything right. (Plus, and I hate to be a stickler, but her grammar was wrong, too. She was yelling at me and it wasn’t even right.) :-( We left soon after and I found a really cute alley-way that was all walking and had cute restaurants and shops. We walked around and this man approached us asking us if we wanted a free drink. After much persuasion we said sure, but I was very clear with him that we’d already eaten (okay, not really, but I didn’t want to get stuck with a bill if that’s where this was going) and that we weren’t going to order food. A free drink is a free drink. He said okay and ushered us inside. We sat down and enjoyed a glass of red wine. When the server asked us what we wanted to eat, I explained that we’d already eaten, but thank you. He turned around, came back and plopped a check on the table- 6 euro! No way was that happening. I went outside where the man was who’d agreed we could come in for a drink and gave him the what-for – in French of course. He wouldn’t have taken me seriously in English. He was “appalled” that his co-worker would do such a thing, walked in and said something in different language, and the check was promptly removed from the table. I said thank you and we walked out. What a strange night! At least we didn’t have to pay…and now Derrick has a good story.

The last night he was there, Derrick took me out to the restaurant called Hippopotamus because we’re meat-lovers. If we got there before 7:30pm, we got 30% off our check and since neither of us had eaten that day, we were like heck yes! There was even a location on (well…half a block off) the Champs-Elysees! We each got an alcoholic beverage and these HUGE cuts of yummy meat for a great deal. Half-way through, a big group (I’m talking upper 20s) of kids and teenagers (anywhere from 10-17 years old) came in and sat right next to us. Turns out they were Canadian and not American, but still! It had been a while since I’d seen tourist groups that big, and I guess it was their spring break. They were running all over the restaurant, ordering tons of food, and even finished their meal before us! It was just, amazing. Very grounding. And Derrick was so surprised. He was like, “Okay, NOW I understand why foreigners hate us.” Haha. We walked down the Champs and saw the Pyramids (I think they’re prettiest at night) and then moved on to Tribal Café (3 euro beer bar) where Hal met us a bit later.

The next morning I accompanied him to the airport as it was the weekend so it was free for me. His flight was delayed a good 3 hours. So, I stayed there, we bought snacks, and watched the Office until he had to go through security. He got all the way back to Atlanta that night, which I definitely didn’t think would happen, but God is good…guess He wanted Der with his family over Easter.

A few days later I got an e-mail from him saying that he got an internship at the Defense Intelligence Agency for the summer (right across the Potomac facing the Pentagon, I believe) , which is absolutely amazing! He’s even got a more secret security clearance than me!

It seems like Derrick really got to experience French culture…although he didn’t have to deal with the strikes, so he got off easy. I think he liked it, and I’m really glad he was able to come over.

The first day of the rest of my life...

So, I figured I'd give you an update on what's going on in my present life. School's getting less intense, but it's hard to WANT to go when I don't have exams in 3 out of 5 of them but attendance is still mandatory. Ridiculous. I've still got a sore throat, but yes Mom, I'm gargling with saltwater and it's getting better. I got this e-mail today, though, after I met with an employee at the Embassy for a few "clarifications" on my application:

We are sending this message to inform you that you have received your interim security clearance. We are therefore pleased to make you a final offer of an unpaid internship for Summer 2008.

Please contact your bureau coordinator to establish your start date, fill out the attached medical release form, and return it to us per the instructions on the form.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

I know, I was expecting fireworks and a banner and champagne to come shooting through my speakers, but nope. Just a notification e-mail. Lol. I'm still SUPER-PSYCHED and can't wait to start! I've got to write the HR guy and talk with him about my starting date, but that's about it!

That's what's going on with me right this moment...I've got a busy weekend planned. I just hope I can stay awake....and on top of (dumb) schoolwork.

xoxo

VIENNA- March 7-10:

The first weekend I was back in Paris, I went to Vienna with Henri’s girlfriend, Erica. I didn’t know her that well, but I was excited to be hanging out with a girl for once! Lol. She goes to Wellesley so of course I talked to her all about “Mona Lisa Smile” (the movie was set at that school, but not all scenes were filmed there). I’m sure she’s never gotten that before.

We left on that Friday night, even though I was feeling horrible (remember, I hadn’t been diagnosed then, so I was real cute-lookin’). I’d never flown out of the Orly Airport so it was cool. Of course, our flight was delayed, so we got in about 2 hours later than expected. I was excited about Vienna because a) it was somewhere I’d never been b) I wouldn’t have gone had she not asked me c) I was interested in the differences in accent between Germans and Austrians (they both speak German) and to see how much German I could understand since I spoke it a bit when I was younger. When we arrived, we found the train that went into the center of the city and found our hostel. We had sort of a unique situation because we switched rooms every night, though we stayed in the same hostel chain, but not always the same location. The first night we were in kind of the dodgy end of Westbanhof. Tired and hungry, we checked into the hostel and went back to a kebab place we found on the way to the hostel. Yum, kebabs. You really can’t go wrong. The bread was sooo soft! We marveled at how it felt not to be chewing a piece of bread that cut the roof of our mouth (baguettes). Oh man, it definitely hit the spot. And you know what? I ordered the kebabs in German! :-) Success! I know knew I would never starve- as long as that place was open. We walked back to the hostel, passing a Croc shoe store on the way. Because, you know, that’s what I think of when I think Vienna: Crocs. Haha. But they did have the CUTEST ballet flats- and in PURPLE!!! Does it get any better?! I think not. There was a bar in the hostel (which seems pretty normal, now) so Eri and I grabbed a beer and watched this high school group (there had to be about 20 of them) grinding and dancing all over each other. They were polluted, that was apparent. It was almost too much. It wasn’t like a club setting, there was a bar, a pool table, tables to sit at, and some couches. Not even a dance floor. Oh, high school. To be 18 and be able to drink legally. Haha. Then, I suppose the person that was their guide/teacher/guardian on their field trip came down and they all cleared out in about 30 seconds. The fun was over, so Erica and I went to bed. We were staying in a 4 person room, but only one of the girls came in, and only for about an hour. What luck!

Saturday, we woke up early and had breakfast. It cost 3€50, but that was probably cheaper than what we could find on the street. It was a typically German breakfast- meats, cheeses, fruits, coffee, tea to drink with jam and bread, which will bring us back to DO. (Austria…The Sound of Music...the von Trapp family…) The students were there, recuperating from the previous night and we just sat in silence. We had to check out of our hostel that morning to check into the other one down the street. It was newer but unavailable the night before…and in a better area, even though it was just down the street. So we checked out/checked in and then were off. The first place we went was the Museumplatz, where all the museums are. We went into the National Art Museum where artists like Petier Bruegel, Peter Paul Reubens, and Albrecht Durer are exhibited. (The only reason I know these people are because I studied them in AP European History in high school- shout out to Mrs. King!) There was one painting the Erica wanted to see so after searching for it, we finally find it and discover that it was out for refurbishment or something. What a bummer! There were a few painters inside the museum, painting famous canvases for their own. It was neat to see. On a side note, it was only a few months ago that I realized that artists drew rough drafts and sketches of their paintings before they did a final copy. I guess I thought it was more like sculpting where you envision the object within the marble and release it from its containment. You get one chance. Artists can draw it until they get it right, then outline it, and fill it in with colors they want. Isn’t that kind of like cheating? I was kind of disappointed in finding this out, sort of like finding out famous holiday characters aren’t real. :-(

It was cold and kinda rainy in Vienna that day, but we braved it and walked across the street where a castle/royal palace was and then walked to Albertzplatz (?) where Erica had seen it online that there were the best frankfurters and bratwurst…which were just different kinds of sausages…however you had to ask for the bread around it- like “Ein hot-dog mit bratwurst” (The hot-dog was the bread part, so I ordered the bratwurst with bread around it.) If you ordered it without bread, the man cut it up for you and put it on a plate was reading the menu because there were tons of different kinds of sausages you could order and I realized I recognized some of the words- like kasë (kay-zuh), meaning cheese! They had a bratwurst with cheese in it! Erica was dying to try one, lol. That girl loves her some cheese. We tried to see if we could get tickets to the Opera but as it turned out, it was sold out and we were going to have to get there 2 hours before it started just to see if we could get standing room where we would stand for another 2 hours. No, thank you.

We were exhausted but kept walking. I, of course, wasn’t feeling well so definitely was tired. The Spanish Riding School was a must-see so we went to it and got to see the inside of the performance hall as well as the horse stables. I’d forgotten how even not the best smells like horses made me miss home and long for nature. It is difficult to describe the SRS because I didn’t realize I knew what it was until I saw the pictures of the pearly white horses outfitted in the most extraordinary garb and their riders were the same. These horses are bred for the sole purpose to do these shows. But I’m not sure they’ve got it the worst. I think the riders go through more to have the opportunity to ride as it is such a select few that do so. They must only be men and go through years of training before they are as good as they should be. One of the things they must do is break and train a foal. There are under 20 riders at the moment and over 60 (I think that’s right) horses. This means that each rider must ride at least 3 horses for at least an hour a day. That doesn’t sound as impressive, so maybe it’s not right. Anyway, these people eat, sleep, breathe horses for the rest of their lives. One cool thing I learned about the horses it that they are grey when they are young and turn the brilliant white that they are so well known for after about 5 years. When we visited the stables, we were able to tell which ones were older and which were younger. There was one horse, however, that they called their “lucky” horse- because instead of turning white, he turned brown!! He still performs just like the white ones. The Asian tourists with us couldn’t STAND the smell of the horses which I thought was hilarious- it made me wonder if they’d never smelled it before, or if I’ve smelled horses more than the normal person.

We went to the Stephensplatz which has a great big church in the center. It was a huge square that just turned into a lot of walking area and it was really neat. We went into the church and got some pictures and walked around a bit, grabbed a kasëbrat .It really was quite good. Very hot though, because the cheese was boiling inside the wurst. Yet again, Erica knew of this great café with cake called a “torte”. Café Centrale was known for it’s torte that was chocolate cake with an apricot flavor to it and an excellent hard chocolate outside. We got a coffee and cake and listened to the piano player in the café. Viennese cafes are different from French ones but this one was really cute. It looked like it came out of something from the 1800s and we should have all been dressed up like Scarlet O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Kind of a strange comparison to make, but it was the décor that made me feel that way, especially with a pianist in the center of the room and the servers dressed up nicely.

It was after dark when we left and we didn’t really know what else to do so we went home and met our roommates for the night. They were nice enough- one Brazilian and one Romanian. Their names were really similar, too. Like as close as Alicia and Alyssa or something weird. They were going downstairs to the bar and so Eri and I decided to join them for a drink and then ended up staying. We didn’t realize how tired we were! So, dinner was pasta with spinach in the bar- actually quite good. We also met an Aussie who had left Australia in November and had been travelling since then. He’d been so many places- even Egypt! The funniest part of it was that the Brazilian and the Australian had run into each other a few months before at another hostel somewhere else (Amsterdam, I think?) So that was funny. Apparently, when you’re away for a long time, it’s bound to happen. And- Portuguese and Romanian are quite similar languages. Like, there was this one word that neither of them understood in English, so we tried to explain it and then asked them what it was in their mother tongue and they were spelled almost exactly the same!! How bizarre! Erica and I were feeling very much like we needed to feel like it was summer so we got piña coladas and then I took my first straight tequila shot (with the lick (salt), sip (shot), suck (lime)) and went straight to bed. We’d made plans to meet Aussie in the morning to go to the Vienna Boys Choir for Sunday Morning Mass. It was going to be both Erica’s and Aussie’s first Catholic Mass. (Okay, so I never got his name…sorry…I feel like it was something un-original like James or William, but Aussie works.)

Strangely enough, all 4 of the girls had to get up at the same time the next morning- really early- but it was nice because we didn’t feel like anyone else was being woken up against their will and we could be as loud as we wanted. Erica and I had to check out again because we were getting a single room for our last night because we had to get up at around 4am the next morning and didn’t want to wake anyone that early and also wanted to get to bed kind of early. We checked out and I asked to keep my computer behind the concierge desk for the day because there was a locked drawer they could put it in and the boy who helped me was very friendly, commenting how the we, the Americans, were always so friendly in the morning and wanted to know our secret. Ha! I’m not a morning person and I definitely wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t know what he was talking about. Again, we went downstairs and got breakfast, met Aussie downstairs and got ready to go.

We got to the church early and had to wait for a long while because we were just waiting for standing room. I didn’t know what to expect. We got to know Aussie a bit (obviously not that much if I can’t remember his name) and he told us one of his funniest/scariest stories- he almost died in Egypt!! He got electrocuted really badly. Kind of a difficult story to explain but suffice it to say, he dissuaded me from wanting to go to Africa by myself. Not that I wanted to in the first place, but still. We were let in and although didn’t have the best view, I knew that it was just singing, so listening was the most important. I didn’t mention earlier that Aussie was about 6’7” so he had NO problem seeing over anyone. He was kind of awkwardly tall. Just…a lot of height. Anyway, I felt bad asking him to take pictures from here he was standing so I just did my best to raise my hands as high above my head as possible. The boys started singing and it was beautiful. They didn’t sing any songs I knew, but they were in German which was cool. (Oh yeah! I wanted to talk about the differences in accents between German German and Austrian German. To say “thank you” (informally) it’s “danke.” In Germany, they would pronounce it dahn-kuh and in Vienna, they said dahn-kay. Of course, it’s been so long I can’t remember another example, but one’s good enough.) So, the mass was neat, I understood a few words because German is similar to English, but it was funner to just listen and pretend like he was speaking English because it didn’t make sense at all and it was hilarious. Afterwards, Erica and I parted ways with Aussie and wished him well. We went to the Starbucks close by because I needed a tea for my throat and all that standing had worn me out. At that point, I knew I was sicker than I’d thought.

We sat in the sun for a while and then made our plan for the day. We wanted to go to the Schlossbruhn chateau which is called the “Eastern European Versailles” so of course we two girls had to go see it. We caught the u-bahn and went out there. It wasn’t that far, but of course I fell asleep. When I woke up, the sun was shining and we were ready to see everything. They were having a little, I don’t know exactly what you would call it, but I suppose Easter market/festival would suffice. There was a band (that sang in English) and then little shops that sold hand painted eggs, toys for kids, and even better- authentic Austrian vittles. They had bratwursts, potatoes a million different ways, bretzels (pretzels), open-faced sandwiches, and stroganoff! For drinks, there is something that was popular- chilled red wine with fruit floating in it. When it was served you got a little wine class 3 parts liquid, one part fruit. It was like sangria but the fruits were red berries (straw and rasp among others). Everyone was drinking it. We planned to see the chateau first, then eat, then check out the gardens.

The chateau was AMAZING! Just remember- these royal families were “royal” until well into the 1900s. So there were photos taken of the families and everything was a lot more modern, though still ornate. I don’t know which one I prefer now- West Versailles or East Versailles! I think everyone who visits Vienna needs to see this place. It’s breathtaking. I bet it’s even prettier in the summer. We went back to the market and I got spring-vegetable soup in a bread bowl and Erica got an open-faced sammy. We were both pleased with our choices and gobbled up our food. We’d spent about an hour longer in the chateau than planned so we were starving. Then we walked around, taking pictures, and enjoying the nice weather…lamenting the fact we would have to return to Paris the next day were it was inevitably cold, rainy, and gross. (But still Paris!!) There was a Canadian high school band there playing in the gardens- a little random, but it was nice. They of course played a bunch of Sound of Music songs. At the tippy top of the hill facing the backside of the chateau was a huge building. Erica and I climbed the hill, which, coincidentally has a great view of Vienna and discovered that the building we saw is now a café. We sat and I had a coughing attack or two (Bless Erica’s heart, she was so sweet and carried around water the whole trip in case I got one, which was often.) The sun was going down and so we went back to the market where we each got a sweet treat- for me a chocolate covered pretzel and for Eri, a cookie. We took the subway back and went back to Starbucks because we were freezing! Again I got tea and we planned out our last night in Vienna. We’d heard that the tram that went around the city- the Ringstrasse- showed all the important monuments and landmarks in about 30 minutes. It was the perfect amount of tine for us to rest our bones and get ready for dinner.

We knew where we were going then- to get some weinerschnitzel at Figlmuller. I couldn’t wait…for some reason it just sounded sooo good. And we’d seen pictures advertised all over the city- they were famous for they’re bigger-than-the-plate-schnitz! Yum-o! We found the place, but there was a line, so we followed the signs to their OTHER location just around the corner and got right in! We decided to split one schnitz because we saw most plates go back with food still on them. The menu suggested 2 sides: a potato salad and a green salad, which was lucky because Erica wanted the potato and I wanted the leaves! So, we ordered both and the schnitz and sat and waited. It was just about that time when we looked around and noticed there was a HUGE line to get seated! Lucky us- we didn’t dilly-dally when we saw that huge line, we just left and went to the other location. I think all those people waited for a bit and THEN realized they could go somewhere else. When we got our schnitz, of course, I took so many pictures. And then we dove in. Oh man- it was SOOOOO GOOD! And the perfect amount of food. We were stuffed after that. And exhausted.

So, we went back to the hostel, checked in, and then went to bed. We got up early the next morning, caught a taxi, and then the plane and were back in Paris in time for class.

I had a really good time in Vienna. And I’m glad I went with Erica and got to know her a lot. She’s in Atlanta quite a bit to see Henri so hopefully I’ll get to see her. And she’s invited me up to New York to hang out and you KNOW I won’t let her forget that! ;-)