My Last Sunday Sans Internship...

I really am alive. This week and whole month has been crazy. This is the worst I've been at blogging in a while! So sorry. Last you heard it was cold. Well, its cool here, especially at nights, but the days can be warm with some wind. Not too gross, but then it started raining. I don't mind at all anymore. Really. It's almost nice because I'm still not used to all the sunshine. Haha.

I've finished my huge long paper. I'm working on my presentation. It seems like it'll be okay, but my professor wants a PowerPoint. No one else has had one. So, I'm kinda feeling the pressure. My Econ paper will be difficult to write, just because...well, I don't really want to. I'm so done with school. Thankfully, after this Friday, I'll only have 2 exams and one of them I can't study for.

I booked another trip- to Venice. I've always wanted to go, so I am. I'll be gone the 21st and 22nd of June. I'm still waiting to hear from some people I know in Germany because I may go see them the 14th and 15th. I want to take advantage of every weekend. I've spent enough weekends in Paris and I'll have every night after work. It's time to see Europe.

I'll write what I did this past week later...just wanted to give you a little heads up. But there are some things that I at least want to remember that I did. After all, that is the point of le blog.

I've got a sorority sister staying here tonight. She's great friends with the girl who will be living here next year so it will be nice she can tell Emily what it's like. Wednesday my Aunt Kelly and cousin Austin come. They'll be here until Sunday. I hope I can spend as much time as I want with them. I just have to finish my work. I'm glad they're coming over. I can't wait to show them around.

That is all for now. A bientot.

xoxo

It's Cold Here Again!

I just don't know what to do about this weather. It'll be like crazy hot or freezing like it was in February! Ugh! Please decide!

Yesterday actually turned out even better than I thought! Well, except for class. In class, the worst happened. Our paper’s length got extended from 2000 words…to 3500 words. That’s over doubling it and she only gave us one more week to do it! To give you an idea, there are roughly 250 words per double-spaced page. She is asking for a 14-page paper…on wine. No matter WHAT your topic…there is only so much you can say on wine. Not to mention that (as a snooty French boy pointed out), there are those of us who are taking “serious” classes and can’t be bothered with such things as this. Also, it’s 33% of my grade, but one of my other classes is asking for a 5-page paper which is 15% of my grade and yet another is counting a 10-page paper as 30%! How can she think that 14 pages is okay…especially after in March she said it was 2000 words only?! And she was NOT happy to hear our groans. Ugh. So, awesome. On to better things…

After class I met with Powell at the bottom of the Sacre Coeur. It was so great seeing him because although I didn’t know him too well, Liz and all those Spain kids loved him and he was very friendly. Probably he could have made friends with a French person…haha! That’s terrible, but no, he is very nice and so that’s why I was excited to see him. We went inside the church and then around the back to the little Place des Tertres which I love. Then it was down the hill and to a café. We got a coffee (espresso…not that watery stuff Americans drink ;-) ) and talked for a couple of hours, catching up on life, talking about Europe, our experiences, and what it would be like at home. Then we got to talking about his trip and he said he was “couch surfing” instead of staying in hostels. I asked what this was and he told me about this website that has been set up where you create a free profile and you can search other profiles for people who are willing to let you stay in their apartment/house/on their couch for free! Some of them even take you around and show you the city from a local point of view. It sounded awesome. So, I asked Powell if he had a place he was surfing to tonight and he said he had one and I said well if you ever need a place, I’ve always got a couch. Well, he took me up on it! For a thank you, he offered to take me out to dinner, but I didn’t know a place to go and get something that he wanted…he wasn’t too hungry because he had a big lunch but didn’t want fast food (understandably), and was on a budget. Well, you can’t get dinner in Paris for under 10e (as far as I know) so we went to a Monoprix and got stuff to make dinner, which I actually preferred. We went home and made chicken, tortellini, and broccoli and watched EuroTrip. Funny movie, but not at all like what my experience has been here. However, the nude beach scene is something I have experienced in France…when I was 12. My poor eyes! I’m scarred for life. After dinner, we cleaned up and went to bed. You should have seen Powell’s face when I pulled out the bed under the couch. I guess that’s not too common with couch surfing. He was so excited to have a bed it made me happy to make him happy. We made plans to wake up and get coffee before he left for Belgium. I love how this stuff happens, and had I not seen that he was in Paris, it may not have!

We woke up at 9am (shoot me) and got coffee and talked, again, for hours about the differences between France and Spain, the future, and our families. Around 11:30am we parted ways and I was excited to get home and sign up for CouchSurfers. Check out my profile on the left column on this page! There are couches all over the world! I think I’ll try it out at least once this summer. It sounds like a great experience…and of course I’ll be careful. I made lunch and watched the newest House and can I just say wow. I was bawling. It was very different and moving. I played around on the computer for a while and dreaded writing my papers. The next couple weeks are going to suck. Hard. This is what I’ve got to look forward to the rest of this semester: May 27- Presentation on cafes/bistrots (in French), May 30- 5-pager due in econ class (and start internship), June 2- 14 pager due in wine class, June 6- French language exam, (June 7-8- Belgium), June 19- Spain exam (60% of my grade), June 20- 10 page paper due in econ. FINISHED with my year studying abroad!!!! In less than a month I’ll have finished. It’s hard to imagine.

Class ended and now I’m biding my time doing work. It’s John’s birthday today so who knows what could happen! :-)

Things Are Winding Down...So I'm Escaping Again!

Yesterday ended on a better note than it started. I got to talk to Liz and Matt, and I was supposed to talk to my dad but he was busy. I’ll catch him soon. I also found a bunch of people from the States that are studying abroad in France or are visiting Paris and am having coffee with one of them this afternoon after class! How could I be sad after that? We’re meeting at the Sacre Coeur, and of course I’m taking my camera. Montmartre is a really cute area as long as you stay in Montmartre. Also, there’s this one angle I want to get on the Moulin Rouge. So, I’ll go to my wine class and then coffee with Powell! The only reason I know Powell is because he studied abroad with my sister and is now making his way through Europe. He’s an interesting fellow and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better. (He was a student at Tulane but because of the hurricane had to transfer somewhere above the Mason-Dixon Line I think, and then transferred again to Kennesaw in Georgia.)

I’m still feeling a little lonely, but I’ve got more than enough to keep me busy. And even better, I’ve got God. I need to trust in Him more when things are bad, not just when things are good. Which, kinda seems opposite for human nature. Isn’t it more instinctive to be praying to get out of a bad situation than give praise to someone else for a good one? I’m all backwards.

Okay, time for my wine class and then coffee-time! Afterwards, I’ve GOT to get back to the gym. I’ve seriously lacked in that area when Ryan visited. I’ve got a goal weight and I’m going to do my best to achieve it, no matter how tempting Nutella crepes are! :-)

But, to cheer myself up and just be happy in general, I booked a trip! I’m going Brussels, Belgium, the capital of the European Union! We’ve got some family friends that live there, but they’re busy that weekend so I’ll be spending some quality me time. I leave Saturday morning, June 6^th, and get back late Sunday night, the 7^th. So, not a long trip, but I’ve not really heard too too much about exciting things to do there, just more sightseeing, so I think I’ll be fine. And that way, I am only paying to stay in a hostel one night. I actually don’t mind travelling alone. And not many people are too keen on spending just a couple days somewhere, but I don’t have the luxury of a week-long excursion. I’ve sort of made up my mind to go somewhere every weekend once school is over. I’ve got quite a list, so I’m gonna do my best to get through it all. It’s something I should have been doing all along, but didn’t want to spend the money. I’ve decided that I’m going to have to just get over it and bite the bullet. You only live once, right?

xoxo

A Week in Review

This week has gone by fast, but with Ryan here it’s been fun. I told him normally I don’t like having company for very long, but if he was having a good time (and more importantly, not getting on my nerves, lol) he could stay for a few more days...well, he was here for almost 2 weeks. Haha. We just have too much fun together!

So, Monday we went to the Marche aux Puces (Flea Market) where I got a snazzy pair of shoes. We walked around for hours there not buying just looking. Then we went to Monoprix where we got fixins for my excellent tart that Ciara had taught me to make. I call it my Irish Pepper Tart. Kinda cute, huh? It was excellent, maybe better than the last and we watched 2 movies: Hitman and Batman Begins. I didn’t really know anything about Batman so that was cool.

Tuesday was the day we’d planned to go out to dinner at one of my favorite places- Hippopotamus. I went to class and then came back and showered so that we could be at the restaurant before 7:30 for the 30% off! We had a great steak and a easily drunk carafe of wine and then left to hit the Bastille bars during Happy Hour. We went to a couple bars and even got a free drink at one place! All the bartenders asked us our situation, like were we tourists and how long would we be staying, etc, and I told them I was a student at SciencesPo and one of them looked very impressed and said “my congratulations to you” and the other bowed and called me “Madame” for the rest of the night. Haha- so see? SP gets you respect in France!! Cool! It was a pretty fun night, and I think even Ryan, who’s not a bar person, had a good time. Yay!

Wednesday I woke up, went to class where we had a comprehension test, came back, and we watched a show on TV. We tried to find yummy seafood to eat for dinner but ended up with escargots. Aww…too bad. Haha. I looove escargots and hadn’t had them in a while, so I didn’t mind! I got an e-mail about the paper I wrote over the break and I got a 15! That’s an A!! Woohoo! Then I got another e-mail about me receiving $1000 for my unpaid internship! That was great! God is so good! For dinner we had escargot and watched Iron Man.

Thursday I woke up and did some school work. I had 4 hours of class today and was not looking forward to it. It’s an interesting class, Spanish history, and my professor is crazy-linked with government officials in Spain. For example, one of the past prime ministers was in her wedding (her husband’s best man). The other day she met with the eldest son of the Duke of Wellington. She’s written a book and because of that has gone to dinners and sat next to huge higher-ups. We are all astounded when she throws these big names out as though she was saying that she and her mom went shopping. After class I went back home and somehow convinced Ryan that we needed to have sushi again. Haha. And we found a movie that we’d been wanting to see for EVER so we watched it. We took a walk around my neighborhood and then went to bed. I’ve been having to go to bed earlier to get as much good sleep as I would have a few weeks ago because of how loud it is outside with the windows open. Around 8 am, sleep becomes kind of impossible, but if you can manage to drift in and out until 10am to listen to the church bells and garbage trucks and the city waking up, then good on ya.

Friday I had plans with Erica for dinner. She’s leaving in 2 weeks! I’m so sad. Most of my friends will be leaving in the next month because that’s when school ends. All the exchange students will be going home and the French students will be going out of town because all of France goes on vacation during the summer months. Thankfully Shealagh will be here for a bit. Anyway, I went to my classes on Friday where I found out I got another A on a presentation and an A on the French test I took Wednesday! Yesss! I came back and Ryan and I went shopping for dinner things. Then I showered and soon after Erica was over. John went to class that night so Christina hung out with us, too. Ryan was planning on leaving that next day, but we went to bed too late and so he extended his trip one more day.

Yesterday was lazy day. It rained on and off but I hadn’t heard a thunderstorm in forever and it made me miss the beach a lot. We had a good dinner last night, did some laundry, and then just as we were about to go to bed John and Christina came home. Ha! I didn’t even know they were gone! I mean, I was worried I hadn’t seen any movement from their room since Ryan and I went out a few times but only to take a walk or go grocery shopping. They’d just been gone all day! That made me feel like a lazy butt.

Today we got up and I dropped Ryan off at the airport. I was still exhausted and fell asleep on the metro back. I’ve done two loads of laundry but it’s getting chilly here again and still rainy, also I’m lonely again and sorta homesick, so boo. I really should get ahead in school work…I start my internship in less than 2 weeks!!!! :-)

London!!

Friday morning we got up really early and left the apartment at 5am and took a taxi to Gare du Nord. It wasn’t that expensive, thankfully- only 10e, but we got there about 45 minutes too early. We stood in line to check in and then, because of a technical problem with the kiosk, were one of the last ones on the train. Since I don’t stress out about stuff like that, it was okay. Haha. Right. Before the train even left I realized I left my memory card of my camera in my computer. That made me really sad but thankfully Ryan had his camera so we were still going to get good pictures. We fell asleep really quickly, briefly getting up when we went through the tunnel, but it was really uncomfortable and my leg kept falling asleep. When we woke up, my first goal was to find Platform 9 ¾ but I couldn’t. I’d seen so many people with pictures from there but I couldn’t find it. Then we had to get passes to ride on the Tube and of course there was a huge line. By the time I tried to get to an ATM to get cash there was a huge line so we had to use our cards. We were tired and frustrated by the time we got to the hostel and then came to find that we couldn’t check in until after 1pm, I think we both kinda just gave up. We were too tired to be mad any longer. We dropped our bags off and then went to a little diner thing and I got a coffee and Ryan got a sandwich. It was only about 9am then so we had do something to keep ourselves awake until 1. We walked through St. James’ Park and then Westminster and finally to Trafalgar Square and got a few pictures. Then we ate lunch and sat in the park. Finally it was time to check in and we slept until about 6pm. Our roommates came in just as we were leaving and of course, they were French. I spoke with them a bit, but I was a bit put out because I was trying so hard to get away from everything French for just a weekend and couldn’t. Typical. But they didn’t speak English back to me, which suggested to me that maybe they didn’t speak English much at all, so I thought maybe I could practice my French on them. We went to Ben Crouch, the bar that Shealagh and I had been to when I was in London in March. I thought Ryan would like it because it had chemistry things in it and the décor was like The Addam’s Family. They had these test-tube shooters that I’d been told to try so we got one of those. I had the one called Wednesday and it was Cointreau and something else. Of course, the cheapest pint there was Foster’s so that’s what I got. Then we got hungry, so we walked around looking for something to eat. We stumbled across Chinatown and sat down at a buffet place. If we’d only looked a bit more we would have found a better one for a little cheaper, but c’est la vie. We were hungry and tired and the buffet was wonderful. We went back to Tesco after dinner, grabbed a few beers, and then went to St. James’ Park and enjoyed them, like everyone else. I sure am going to miss that about Europe (save Espana because there’s an open-container law there….boring). Just being able to go to the river or the park or anywhere and sit and talk with your beer or bottle of wine. No worries. But maybe it is a bit different here, too, because I’ve got class once a week instead of 2 or 3 times a week. After we were finished, we went up to Piccadilly Circus where our hostel was, and went to bed.

Saturday morning we got up really early because I wanted to see the changing of the guard. Piccadilly Circus is a great place to be staying because it’s very very central. We used the Tube 3 times the whole time we were there, and 2 times were to get to and from the train station. When I was here in March, I spent the most money on transportation. We had breakfast in the hostel and I got an egg and sausage roll (I asked for a biscuit instead of a roll, and the man looked at me as though I was insane…because a biscuit in most other countries is a cookie.) and Ryan got a typical English breakfast- a slice of bacon, a sausage link, an egg, one piece of toast, refried beans, a few slices of mushrooms, and a baked tomato. I think it’s safe to say I won. After that delicious meal, we walked to Buckingham Palace which was closer than I thought. Seriously, if you go to London, consider staying in Piccadilly Circus (maybe not in our hostel, but the location is worth it). We left at 10 and the performance was supposed to start at 11:30am. But by 10:30, the place was packed. So instead of walking around in the gardens like we were planning on doing, we tried to get the best spot possible and then just stand. The changing of the guard was not at all what I expected it to be but I’m glad I saw it. There were 2 bands and one of them played “Final Countdown,” the Overture of “Grease: The Musical” and another popular piece. It was neat to see everyone singing and dancing along to songs, I guess I never knew how popular Grease was around the world. After the hour-long stand-a-thon we sat in Green Park for a bit. I was thankful that Ryan stood there for that long about something that turned out I didn’t even understand and he definitely didn’t care about. Poor guy. We were hungry afterwards so we tried to find some place cheap to go for lunch so we could have a nicer dinner. We ended up in Leicester Square where we’d seen a sign for 2 meals for 7£95 and that was a great deal. The restaurant was cute, too, and played good music. We split a Chicken Caesar Salad and fried shrimp and chips. I recommend The Crooked Surgeon to anyone who goes to London. They serve breakfast 24/7, too, so if you want to try something like what Ryan had…go for it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though. And it was good to sit down. Everything in Europe is so much more relaxed. I know I’ve said that before but I know that’s something I’ll bring back to the States, just taking things a little slower and enjoying everything instead of rush rush rush. I’d seen a gelato place called Rendez-vous and so we got a scoop to split. It was good and nice to have on the hot day. It wasn’t as hot as in Paris, but still. We walked to Big Ben because we wanted to see how much it cost, but paying $30 per person was not possible just to ride in a Ferris wheel that you had to stand up in anyway (not to mention the hour line you had to wait in beforehand). We walked past Big Ben and down to a bridge and then crossed and walked up on the other side of the Thames. Then we went back to the hostel to rest until dinnertime. Our roommates were in the room and Ryan, being the sociable fellow he is, invited them out with us. He didn’t speak any French, and they didn’t speak much English. So guess who played Translator alllll night?! Yep, me. It wasn’t horrible, but it would have been nice to have been able to speak in just one language and enjoy my time out a bit more. We went back to Ben Crouch because Ryan wanted to try the drink that Shealagh and I got when we went there. It was weird because I guess it hadn’t been stirred in when he poured our drinks because mine was purple (duh, my favorite color) and his was blue. Delish! After that drink and 2 test-tube shots I was hungry. I’d been craving Italian so we walked to Old Compton Street from Oxford Circus and went to a cute little restaurant. The food was excellent there. We split our food again and got penne pasta with whole artichoke hearts and a tomato sauce and spinach and mozzarella-stuffed ravioli under a butter-garlic sauce. It couldn’t have been better. It was late when we got out of dinner, so we went back to the hostel and went to bed.

Sunday was the first day I felt fully rested and of course it was our last day. We checked out and got breakfast at the Tesco Metro across from the Houses of Parliament. We walked across Westminster Bridge, passed the London Eye, and took the Queen’s Jubilee Walk past the London Bridge and all the way down to Tower Bridge, taking pictures all the way. On the way back we got lunch at the Thameside Inn where we enjoyed beer-battered fish and chips on the Thames. We walked across the Millennium Bridge on the way back and realized that 2 days ago had been it’s 8-year anniversary. That was cool. We ended up at St. Paul’s Cathedral and took the Tube back to the hostel. It wasn’t far, but we were tired and becoming pressed for time. I grabbed my bag that I’d left there and then walked to Tesco, grabbed a bottle of cheap champagne and we went back to St. James’ Park to enjoy our last drink in London. We caught the Tube to the train station and after freaking out for a little bit that our station was closed for repairs, we got there with a few minutes to spare and got on the train. I never did find Platform 9 ¾ so I’m starting to wonder about it’s existence. When the train departed we went to the car with the snacks and stretched our legs and watched the countryside whizz by. We went back and took a nap and arrived in Paris with only 0£65 in my purse. Pretty good! We were back in my apartment around 9pm and so we ate dinner, watched a movie, showered, and went to bed. Yay London! I love good trips.

The Rest of America and the First Week Back Home

Thursday I met with the Georgia Tech kids who are going to SciencesPo next year. I also saw Henri! I was so excited to see him. It was strange to think we’d had a class the summer before and I didn’t even know him and he just knew me as “one of the twins”. And here we were,9 months later, screaming and hugging and laughing like we’d known each other forever. Which is sorta what studying abroad does to people. That’s what I love about it. Yeah, I’m meeting tons of people here that I hope to keep in touch with, but these 5 people I’m here with, I know we’ll always have this time. And that’s cool. Anyway, the students had a lot of questions about daily life and classes. We were a bit hesitant to tell them too too much because we didn’t want to give them any expectations because every exchange is different. We did warn them about classes and the grading system which I was trying to get changed, but I hadn’t heard anything in quite some time. Henri and I would get a little carried away catching up and talking about things we’d experienced together and everyone was a little lost, and that’s when I realized it was going to be like that next year a lot. People would be talking about things that happened at Tech that I wouldn’t know about and vice-versa. That kinda made me scared to come home, which was a weird feeling. Anyway, we finished talking with the students and Emily, one of my sorority sisters that is coming over, is pretty sure she’s taking the apartment after I move out! That’s great! I’m so excited. I hope we can keep Tech kids in there for a while because it’s a great set up. Henri and I went to lunch afterwards and really caught up and I was telling him about the other students and what’s going on with them. Henri was in some ways that glue that held us all together, so a lot’s changed since he left. But it was great to hang out with him. We then decided to go to the Office of International Education and speak with someone about the grade change. Unfortunately, they were all in a staff meeting so we had to make an appointment. I wasn’t sure if I was leaving the next day or Saturday so we had to meet Jennifer at 9am. Ugh- so early. Oh well. Henri and I sat on a bench and talked some more and then we parted ways. I hung out at Derrick’s for a while and watched a movie on his favorite channel- Lifetime- and then went over to Ryan’s. We had plans to go to dinner that night and I was really excited. We went to The Melting Pot which is a fondue place. I’d never had fondue and it was such an experience! First of all, we got the best seats in the house. He’d made reservations so they put us in the front of the restaurant so we could look out on the street- there were only 3 tables that had that view. And each table was sort of an alcove-y thing. Very secluded. I loved it because otherwise we would have been sitting in booths with everyone else and since it was my first time with fondue I was afraid I’d do something wrong. The food was great and we were there for about 3 hours just talking, eating, and perfecting the art of fondue. There was a coupon I’d found online that Ryan printed out that gave us a free dessert fondue so we got that, too!! We were really full, but having flambéd dark chocolate fondue was too good to pass up. It was hands down the nicest dinner date I’d ever been on. I recommend everyone go there and try to get alcove seating. It’s lovely. It was about 11pm when we left so it was definitely bed time. Sleeping on a full tummy is probably the best feeling in the world.

Friday I woke up and met Henri for our meeting with Jennifer. I had my fangs bared and was ready for a tussle in case things got ugly. I was not going down without a fight. I was determined to make them see that we needed a change in policy. Of course, I wasn’t going to be rude about it, but it was no more Ms. Nice Girl. Jennifer ushered us in, let us have a p’tit vent and then said, oh have you not received the e-mail about the new policy? We looked at each other and then her and were like, noooo what is it?! Well….it’s AWESOME. I could have cried I was so happy. Henri said he wanted to make out with something. Pretty much the same sentiments. Instead of my 3 C’s and a D, I now had 1 A and 3 Bs. Which means I had a 3.25 GPA instead of a 1.75. This ALSO means I kept my scholarship!!! I could not believe how good God was. Did I need any more proof of His existence?! Heck no! he is so good! I can’t say it enough. I called my dad and told him the good news and he was, well, giddy. It was cute. Henri and I celebrated with my first Chicken Biscuit at Chik-fil-A and it was soooo worth it. I’d had Jennifer make a copy of the grading policy so I could e-mail it to the current and future Tech students at SP. I couldn’t wait to tell them of our success! Henri dropped me off at Ryan’s apartment because he was going to Peachtree City that day and I wanted to go with. It had been a while since I’d been down there and I was itching for a long drive. I helped him pack up a lot of stuff and then we were on our way. As a treat for helping him pack, I got McDonald’s sweet tea and a Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. Yay America!! Haha…that was pretty much my motto the whole time I was there. We got to Ryan’s house and his mom actually screamed when she saw me. Haha. I guess she didn’t know I was coming, but I hadn’t seen her in probably a year, but we’ve talked on the phone a bit. I also got to see Ryan’s 2 younger sisters and Sammy, the youngest, was asleep when I got there, so I called her by her nickname, Samalicious, and she woke up and was like, “Steph? Is that you?” Haha, I guess no one else called her that. Kendall, the too-cool-for-school teenage cheerleader was like, oh whatevs, hi. Lol, oh Kendall. We have fun. Ryan and I un-packed his car and then went back up to Atlanta because, obviously, I didn’t get on the flight to Paris, so it was time for a Braves game!!! We picked Derrick up on the way up and got some pre-game festivity materials and then ordered wings to pick up on the way. We got there about 3 innings late, and though Der said he wasn’t mad, I felt bad anyway. He looooves baseball. Thankfully, the score was 0-0 when we arrived and about 10 minutes after we sat down, it became 1-0 Braves! Woohoo!!! The game was good with Braves winning 2-0 and then it was time for Friday Night Fireworks! I’d never seen them before but it was like Independence Day fireworks. Unbelievable. Incredible. Yay America! Haha. Again, got back late and it was bed time. I was leaving the next day. :-( Boo, France.

Saturday went fast. At first it looked close as to whether or not I was going to get Business, but at that point I just wanted to get on the plane. I needed to get back for school. I got to see Ryan and Derrick before I left and I got my last American meal- Atlanta Bread Company’s French Onion soup bread bowl. There’s nothing better, probably. Ryan accompanied me through security and I got a seat in business!!! I called my parents to say goodbye and then got on the flight. It had been a great trip in America and I was excited to get back to my own bed and finish out these 3 months as an exchange student at Sciences Po and become and intern at the Embassy.

Sunday morning I landed, rested and ready to go. Unfortunately, customs was going really really slow and after about an hour of waiting, I finally made it out. I met an American couple and helped them out a bit on how to get to the train and get where they were going. When I got out of the RER station close to my house, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, birds were singing, and, once again, I was happy to be home. I love coming back to Paris. It’s a feeling I don’t get when I go to the States. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel for the States what I feel for Paris. I love them both, but differently. Sadly, my suitcase made it’s last journey. My wheels have been used so much, they are now mere squares. I don’t know how that happened, but I had to drag it the last few blocks home. I loved that suitcase, but it was over 5 years old. I was determined to stay awake as long as possible, so I grabbed some food and diet coke and, at 10h30, made lunch. Haha. I unpacked, started laundry, took a shower, ironed clothes, watched a movie, and finally, just around 2pm, fell asleep for a little over an hour. I woke up a little groggy but I knew I had to keep going. So, I ate again, took another shower, cleaned, scrubbed, swept, basically anything to keep me up, and then, when it got late, I talked to my sister. I was feeling homesick already. It set in pretty quickly. I think it was also because John wasn’t in the apartment, either. So I really was all alone. I went to bed early in hopes to kick my jetlag in the butt.

Monday I woke up late afternoon/early evening. I think I slept through my jetlag, so I guess I succeeded. John got home and then we went grocery shopping. I came back, made some food and finished cleaning the apartment. I cleaned more than I ever had. I needed to. That place was sparkling and it was great. I’ve gotten that habit from my parents to clean before company came, so I guess that’s good. I was exhausted again so I went to bed a bit early.

Tuesday I got up before noon! Woohoo! I went to the grocery store and got food that would last more than a day and other things because at the moment I didn’t have anything, and that wouldn’t do. Ryan was going to land early in the morning the next day and I could hardly contain myself. I went to class, boring, and then went out looking for some new shoes. Sadly I couldn’t find them so I went to H&M to look for something. Anything. There were so many sales, but that meant the line to try clothes on was not worth it. I went home empty handed. Not such a bad thing. I made dinner, showered, and watched a movie and then went to bed.

Wednesday I woke up at 8am, and Ryan walked in at 8:22am. Phew! I almost hadn’t gotten up when I did. He found my apartment without any directions. Incredible. He didn’t want to sleep so we went out and walked around the market that was close to my house and then to Monoprix for some food. I had to go to class afterwards and so that’s when he took a nap. When I got back from class, he woke up and I had to take a nap. Crappy sympathy jet lag. ;-) I care too much. Lol. That evening we did something I’ve wanted to do since my arrival in Paris- we sat on the Seine and drank. Actually, we had quite a fancy picnic. We took a blanket and set it out with wine, cheese, a baguette, and meat, and sat, talked, people-watched, ate, and watched the sun disappear behind the buildings. Ahhhh…j’adore Paris! We left around 10pm and I was convinced he had to try a kebab. So we got them and went home, where we fell asleep before even tasting them. Again, I attempted to kick jet lag in the butt.

Thursday I didn’t have class, so we had the whole day to explore. We woke up and had kebabs for breakfast- not bad- and then went to the center of Paris. There is a famous ice cream place, Berthillon, that we went to. It was on Ile St. Louis, on the island next to the Notre Dame. We got hazelnut and chocolate ice cream. It tasted like frozen Nutella. Yum. We had a nice waiter who took our picture in front of the sign and then we were off to find a restaurant that both of our dads had taken us to: Sergeant Recruiters. If you remember, that was where my dad took me and John on one of our first nights in Paris. Funnily enough, the ice cream place was at 31 blvd Ile St. Louis, and the restaurant was at 41. Good to remember! We got plenty of pictures and then did my favorite walk from the Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. I took Ryan through the St. Michel area first because it’s such a cute place and then we continued walking. We got to the Eiffel Tower and sat in the grass around it to rest. As we were crossing the bridge to see the Eiffel Tower from the other angle, we noticed a little market so we went and checked it out. There was a candy stand, so of course we had to get some. It was crazy expensive! Totally not worth it, but what can you do? We finished walking across the bridge and got great pictures. There were people playing in this huge fountain, almost like the Reflecting Pool (though not as big) and also skateboarders, skaters, people laying out, etc. It was cool. I’ll put pictures up of it. There was an absurd number of tourists, but I guess I need to get used to it. The reason Ryan was here was because we’d planned a trip to London, so we decided to sleep now and then wake up and pack and stuff. We woke up at 10pm, just late enough that we couldn’t go to the store, which I’d forgotten we needed to do earlier, so we didn’t have much to eat. But it was okay. We showered, packed, did laundry, and then took a late-night walk to stretch our legs and find a taxi stand for when we needed it in a few hours. We went back and took a short nap. It’s been so hot in Paris we’ve got the windows open 24/7 and it’s still sweltering. We’ve got no air-conditioning (very common in Paris) and the cars are really loud, not to mention the church bells. Ughhhh. Wayyy too loud for me. I’m also suffering from allergies, which I didn’t expect.

My London post will be separate….what a great first week back!!!

I'm still alive!!!

The rest of my trip in the States went really well. I’ll briefly catch you up.

Thursday was the day of my Dad’s party and the day I got my hair cut. I like my hair cut, and I never mentioned the hairdresser’s previous employment and neither did she. I walked out of there with a fresh haircut and a new friend. I really liked what she did and I knew I would see her that night, so I couldn’t mess it up. The party went off without a hitch. Everything was great. There were so many people there that I knew and I got to see my 2 aunts- Kelly (who will be coming over in a few weeks) and Christy (who came a few months ago) and caught up with them. The food was amazing- oysters, conch fritters, fried lobster tails, duck-stuffed fingerling potatoes, and a few other things. Yummy! I got to meet a few new people, and this one couple whose children attended UGA. They were the typical Southern All-American family- boy was big football star in high school, girl is cheerleader, both have great grades and settle for UGA keeping HOPE the whole time all the while ruining the curve for those who actually should be going to a public university but can’t because they can’t get accepted. Let me digress for just a moment…

I don’t know if this happens to many other schools, but this is what I see happening. Let me preface this by saying this isn’t meant to bad mouth UGA or anyone who is attending/has attended/will attend it. I’ve many friends who go there. However, there are good, well-rounded students apply to a large liberal arts public university in their state but don’t get accepted. Why? Because the excellent, better-rounded, valedictorian (or Top 10), Model UN students apply and get accepted. This isn’t how it should be! You shouldn’t be able to be accepted to the Air Force Academy and not the University of Georgia. The average SAT/ ACT scores and GPAs of the freshman class should not be so great that students, for whom HOPE scholarship was created, cannot attend a good, public institution. I understand that every school wants to be number one. And I applaud UGA’s efforts for doing so. They are getting better students to attend, and those students will go on to do great things and then say that their Alma Mater is UGA. Awesome. (They’re also known for their better-than-average football team. En fait, they thrive on that fact. To prove a small point, when I was choosing schools, more than one Dawg told me to attend UGA because “they cancel classes on game days.” I chose not to test the validity of that statement. Alsot, to think that those students who are now so pro-football, anti-classes were once the best students in their high school!) When I applied to UGA and Georgia Tech, the average GPA for the freshman class at Tech was lower than UGA. If you look at the rankings, GT still looks better on paper, but at what cost? We’re losing some of the best high school graduates because they assume a technical college doesn’t have a good liberal arts school! C’est pas vrai! Okay. I’m done. I hope I didn’t piss anyone off. I didn’t mean to. That’s just how I see things.

The rest of my dad’s party was smashing. I was sad my sister and mom weren’t there to help celebrate, but I took a few pictures and I know that since the company is just starting up, there will be many more parties to attend. I left after making plans with Christy for our typical dinner-and-a-movie date and went to bed.

Friday morning my dad and I woke up early and wanted to go fishing. Sadly, there were too many waves and so we had to rain check. I had plans with Christy later that night so I decided to work in my paper that was due as soon as I finished. (It was due that day but I got a little extension.) Around 2pm, Christy picked me up, we did a bit of shopping, then saw the movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” It was one of two movies I’d heard of since I returned. The other one was “Baby Momma” but Christy and I decided to see a movie that had a less chance of having children in the theatre. It was okay…but, forgettable. It’s sad what movies today are becoming. What happened to the good old days?! We went to T.G.I.Friday’s for dinner and I got ribs! Yum! They just don’t do barbecue (well) in Paris. Pas du tout. The best part was- Christy paid!!! Woohoooooo! I talked Christy into taking me to Wally World and I just breathed in the fumes. Ahhh…how I missed Wal-Mart and capitalism. ;-) It was almost too much to handle. We got home late but it was a good day.

Saturday was paper day. But, of course, before paper, was fishing. A girl’s gotta keep her priorities straight. We had some company come in while I was out the night before but they came with us. I caught my first keeper grouper and a few snappers. I also hooked an 8-foot shark, but my brother reeled it in. He’s SO strong now! I highly doubt he would have been able to do that a year ago. I was impressed. That was probably the highlight of the trip, but then we heard that one of my dad’s friends caught a 104 pound Cobia!!! Those things are MASSIVE. We were on shore within 3 hours of leaving with a dozen fish in the boat and a few more stories. It was awesome. I worked on my paper until dinner time and afterwards was able to pick my mom up at the airport. I joked that she’d chosen to fly exactly the days I was there, but she didn’t really. I just didn’t get to see any of my family as much as I’d wanted. What with papers, work, and school, it wasn’t really any one’s fault. When we got home, it was late so we went to bed.

Sunday was church day. It was good to be back and see everyone. We’d had a few members die recently so it was a little more somber than I remembered. However, I was the only one wearing bold colors. It was all pastels there. *sigh* I stuck out like a sore thumb. My mom sang in the Praise Band and I like making funny faces trying to make her smile/laugh during the song. I’m bad. My parents friends left soon after church and I was back up to my paper. I finished a few hours later and was able to spend some time with my family that night.

Monday was the day to spend with my mom. We worked out in the morning, then I applied to this grant that I’d forgotten about, and after a “late start” (my mom’s favorite phrase that day) we were off. We went to Old Navy and Target (!!!) but things were a bit too…bright for my tastes. I did find some shoes and a few shirts though. Lunch was at the Hofbrau Haus. We had probably one of the worst waiters ever. She would have fit in perfectly in France. After 5 minutes of not receiving mustard that my mom asked for, I went in, found another waitress, and it was delivered promptly to our table. The next time we saw our waitress, she looked as us, looked at our mustard, and asked how everything was. As though she’d given us the mustard. Not the case. Oh well. Good memory. We had to rush home as my dad was throwing a little dinner party. He had invited a couple and their daughter and her family. A loooooong time ago I met with this family’s daughter- Louise and had lunch with her. I hadn’t heard from her since, but that was okay. Anyway, I’d met the older couple before and the husband was a Tech grad who went on to do great things and worked with the government, too! He actually knows Craig Stapleton, the ambassador of the States in Paris. I got to speak a lot of French with Louise’s parents (who’s father was actually English- what a hoot!) and that was good because it was one of the few times my parents actually have seen me do it. When they were here, every one spoke English because they assumed I was a tourist. They were there late into the night, but it was fun.

Tuesday was the first day I was able to really sleep in. Past 9. On vacation. Haha. My parents are always moving. I went with my mom and some of her friends to lunch at Criolla’s and had a great soup and salad. They just opened for lunch and with the outdoor seating, it’s great! They’re gonna have to do something about the bugs and heat, but I think it’ll work. It was my first taste of shrimp the whole time I’d been in Florida!! We had to leave to get my mom to the airport and afterwards, I went to the Panama City mall for a bit more shopping. I got more candles than the law should allow, but I loooove Bath and Body Works! I had the most helpful employee. He was very attentive. Almost creepily, but I was still trying to get used to the friendliness of Americans. I left a few hours later and got ready for dinner at Kelly’s. She still had a lot to plan for when she was coming and I hadn’t seen one of my cousins in ages. He’s a Senior, attending UF next year (traitor), so he’s very busy living life. Hopefully he’ll come out to Paris with Kelly, but he had a choice to go to Paris or his Senior Prom, and chose prom, so I’m not holding my breath. I think he’ll make it over, but he’s got other things on his mind. *sigh* Kids these days. It was a great dinner and I found that I was the same size as my aunt (my brother kept rubbing that fact in…that I was the same size as an over-40-year-old woman…such a sweetheart) so she gave me some of her NEW clothes that she didn’t want! I couldn’t believe it! Just gave them to me. That was so sweet. I left with 3 dresses and then started wondering how I was going to pack it all in! It was my last night in Grayton. :-(

Wednesday I woke up early because I had an appointment to get my nails done at a spa. My mom gave me a gift certificate so I got to do that. It was great! It was only the second time I’d been to one, and I understand why women like them so much. I was very relaxed. After it was over, I was reaching for my wallet when I ruined one of my nails. So, after paying, because it couldn’t get much worse, I went back and asked my manicurist to fix me. She sat me down and re-did all of my nails because she didn’t like how the rest looked anyway. Lol. Very unnecessary, but I got my money’s worth! By that time I was late, so I had to hurry home and finish packing before my flight. My dad left work and took me up to the airport, and after a slight delay, I was on my way to Atlanta. I landed with the view of the skyline in my window and as sad as I was to be away from my family, I was “home.” I rode the MARTA to downtown and stopped off and met a friend for coffee. Ryan had an exam to study for but he was able to meet me during his break. Before that, I had planned to walk over a mile to drop my bags off at this girl’s place where I was staying, but Ryan drove me! I was thankful, as one of my bags has seen better days. I met Derrick for dinner at Moe’s and practically devoured the goodness that is a burrito. We went back to his place and watched movies, to which I ended up falling asleep. Thankfully I’d called Lina, the girl who had my bags in her room, and told her that might happen. I was going to see Henri the next day and I couldn’t wait!

And this is as far as I've gotten....will write more when I'm bored and not having fun in Paris!!! ;-)