Summer in the City

Monday was the first day I actually worked all day. We had a staff meeting- my second- and then I got invited to a conference where the Prime Minister would say a few words. Um, yes! Of course I’ll go! We got picked up in a car and driven to the Palais D’Iena. The talk was about social economics in France. When the Prime Minister arrived, no one stood up, no one clapped; it was like a normal person had entered the room. Quite different from all the pomp I’d seen with the President. It made me wonder what people did when Condi walked in the room. The point of the conference was interesting, but it was in French and they were using a lot of words that I wasn’t very familiar with so I kind of lost interest after the PM left. The woman with whom I went, Florence, is one of the coolest people I’ve met while working here. She knows everyone and has worked at the embassy for over 10 years, so she was in meetings with Sarko before he was president. Who’da thunk?! She’s got lots of little anecdotes about influential people and knows a bunch about everything. I told her my sob story about how I’m a little girl in Paris all alone interning and studying abroad and meeting the President and what all. Haha. I’m kidding of course. I can’t believe how much I’ve gotten to see and do since I started! I’m really blessed.

I went home after the important parts of the conference were over (it was supposed to last until 8pm or something crazy!) and made my dinner: sloppy joes. I’d picked up some mix in the convenience store of the Embassy earlier that day. My first purchase. I don’t want to make a habit of going down there and indulging in American treats, but I’d had a weird dream about sloppy joes in Venice and couldn’t get them out of my head after that. Every time I’ve gone down there before I’ve been so overwhelmed by all the American things that I’ve left without getting anything! I don’t have much longer here and I know I’m going to miss French food so I’ve gotta take advantage of it while I can! I just don’t want to be like one woman I overheard (granted I don’t know her, so there may be more to this) who said, “Ugh, I wish they sold vegetables here so I wouldn’t even have to go to a French grocery store.” Isn’t that sad?! I thought it was. Like, actually emotionally sad, not pathetic sad. (Well, maybe a little pathetic.) I mean, she must have had a really bad experience if she thought even going to a French store to get vegetables was bad. Plus, what about immersion?!?! Oh well. To each his own. And listen to me- I’m the one making sloppy joes! But at least I bought my buns at a French store and not the Embassy. Anyway, the sloppy joe was amazing. Better than I remembered. Probably because I can’t remember the last time I had one. Ahhh, America. I love you. I was on a roll, so I made my lunch for the next day and then went to bed. Working all day is exhausting!

Yesterday was actually really interesting. I’m glad I got to be there all day because I would have been sad to miss out on the cool meetings. There was an EU Torchpassing Ceremony/Conference yesterday so I had to be at work at exactly 9am which meant I had to get up earlier than usual. Even though I got there just a wee bit after, I was one of the last ones. Oh well. I’m still getting used to it. The Ambassador was there and opened up the conference by talking about what we were going to be doing now that Sarko was going to have the Presidency and began the discussion on all sorts of priorities: economic, political, scientific, defense, etc. There were lots of cool people there: a representative from the Embassy in Slovenia (where the EU Presidency resides now), reps from EMB Brussels, people from the TEC, people from USEU, and many others. It was all really neat to be that close to people who do what I want to do when I grow up (next year). I was able to talk with some of them and get an idea of what they do so that was cool.

I was thinking during the meeting about what a cool time this is to be an Intern not only in the State Department, but also in Paris, especially in the summer. I mean, I’ve seen Pres. Bush and Sec. State Rice, and I know the First Lady was here, but I never saw her. Then, we’ve got Nicolas Sarkozy, the new French president becoming the EU Council president in the next week! The last time France held the presidency was in 1989! So, this really is a great opportunity. The timing couldn’t be more perfect and I’m so pleased. God really had His hand in this one. Then, to top it all off, I’ve got July 4^th (U.S. Independence Day) AND July 14^th (French Bastille Day, much like our July 4^th) in Paris! There’s a cookout with the Embassy July 4^th and I’m definitely going to be watching the parade on the 14^th. It just gets better and better.

My day ended on a strange note. There are these American university groups that have been coming through and people have been speaking with them about what the Embassy does, etc. Well, this time, I got the honor to escort them in and out of the Embassy. These students come from all over the States, but mainly from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, California, and probably a few others. Not really from the South. So, when I would ask, “Where’re y’all from?” They would say, “Are you from the South? Because you just said y’all.” Every time. It’s always the saaame reaction: a repetition under their breath “y’all” said with a hint of disgust and humor, and then they pose the question of where I’m from. And I would stand proud and tell them exactly what they want to hear: born and raised in Texas, graduated high school in Georgia and attending Georgia Tech (NOT that other school), and now the family lives in Florida (Flah-rih-duh). I’m not ashamed! In fact, I think it’s kind of unique! Too many Yankees around here, anyway. So, that’s how my day ended.

I went home, worked out (which I’ve neglected lately), showered and then went off to one of the interns apartments for a wine/cheese party and then supposedly to watch fireworks that were to be set off on the Ile Saint Louis. The girls live at Saint Michel which is one of my FAVORITE areas of Paris. It’s just so lively! Then again, that’s the drawback. It never shuts down. I’ll take my quiet French neighborhood over the tourist-covered Saint Michel any day. The apartment I went to houses 2 interns, and then there was me and another intern. Not much of a party, but that’s what seems to happen with these interns- all talk, no action. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that I think they want so much for everyone to hang out and then they don’t realize how tired they are at the end of the day. We’ll get it together. There ended up not being any fireworks but it was a fun night anyway, sitting in front of the Notre Dame just talking. I was tired and it was getting late so I had to get home, and don’t you know, I caught the trains perfectly! I didn’t have to wait even 10 seconds, when for one train the wait was 11 minutes. Life is good.

Today is woke up and dragged myself out of bed. I found it really hard to get up this morning. But then, I went to work, spoke with my boss about my goals for this internship and then had a meeting about tomorrow. There is a Global Entrepreneur's Week event going on and I'm going to be helping out. You know, giving people their name tags, telling them where the bathrooms are, etc. But there should be some pretty cool people there, so that's exciting. After work I walked from the Embassy to the Hotel de Ville. It was good exercise and a really nice day so I had a good time. I passed all these souvenir shops, so if you're looking for souveys in Paris, just walk on Rue du Rivoli across from the Louvre. It is the first day of the summer sales and I didn't plan on it, but I walked into GAP and H&M and bought some cute things for super cheap! I'll be going back, though. It was crazy today. People were just trying things on in the store because the lines for the dressing rooms were so long. I tried on a skirt at GAP and thought it felt a little snug but with all the working out and eating healthy I figured I'd get into it comfortably by the end of the summer. Then I looked at the size!! I was so surprised that I couldn't even bring myself to purchase it. (It was such a small size...like, a size I haven't fit in since high school thanks to the Freshman Five Million!) I was in such shock so I think I'll go back and try again, but I was just like woohoo! Then, I reached my destination: the Pompidou Museum. You've probably seen pictures of this modern art museum because it's so weird looking: the escalators are on the outside of the building in a plastic tube. It's a cool building and I've always wanted to go. So, I did, because it was free tonight. The art was really weird. Very modern (aka. nothing I understand). I did see some Picasso, Man Ray, and Matisse so I felt like I knew a little bit about art, but the room full of blow-up plastic chairs was not exactly what I'd call an "artistic break-through." My favorite, though, was "Dark Blue Canvas" which was....yep, a canvas painted dark blue. Absolument ridicule! I left the musee at closing time- 9pm- and the sun was still out and shining. It's so odd how it doesn't get dark here until 10. I remember this winter when Christy and I would wake up at 10am and it would still be dark, and then we'd go out and have to be back by 4pm because the sun had already set!

I got my grades back from my classes, too. I'm very excited. I knew I did well this semester, but I don't know if I even expected to do this well: 4 A's and 1 B. The B, of course, is in my Spain class and the exam for which I was sick yet still took. I was close to an A, but no cigar. I guess you can't be perfect. But still, a 3.8 GPA?! That's crazy! (For me, anyway!) And I keep my scholarship! What a GREAT end to a year abroad! I just can't believe how much I've done and accomplished.

I'm still keeping up with my read-the-Bible-in-a-year resolution (probably the first one I've kept so long) and this one verse is really speaking to me lately, so I'll share: "Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!" -Psalm 37:4. I just feel like God has been so good to me and I've been praising and thanking Him for it all and before I can even finish, He puts another amazing opportunity in my lap! I know it's not going to be like this forever, but at least I'll have this time to look back on.

It's late and I have to be up so early, so good night! Happy early birthday to Derrick!!! :-)

Venezia, mi manchi!

June 21- Well I didn’t get as much sleep as I’d wanted but I did change my comforter to my summer one which was getting way too hot. I woke up at 06h30, finished last minute packing and cleaning and was on my way. I thought I was so smart going to the airport on a weekend when my metro pass would allow me to travel to any zone for free and not just 1 and 2, but I was sadly mistaken. I think going to Orly by RER is a fairly new concept so they want everyone to pay for a while. 7E20 later I was on my way again. I was pretty bummed about having to pay, because I knew I’d booked more trips through Orly instead of CDG. But thankfully, on the way back from this trip, I was going through CDG. I got on the train and then realized that there were two terminals to Orly- South and West and my ticket didn’t denote which one. I remember taking the South one with Erica when we went to Vienna so I assumed that the low-cost carriers flew out of there, but I really had no idea. In a last minute decision, I decided to go to South instead of West and thank goodness I was right, because there was no way to get back to West. It was all very confusing, especially when I realized that my airline is a subsidiary of a larger airline, so I very well could have been in the West terminal. I got through the airport fine though and the got to the gate to wait. The weather in Paris was beautiful that morning which was good for the music festival that night, but it made me sad to go. I remember all those dreadful weekends when you didn’t even want to go outside because of all the rain and/or cold.
My flight to Venice was good. Of course I fell asleep, comme d’hab. I needed that sleep though, because I was going to be walking a lot. I didn’t really know much about Venice, but Erica had given me a guidebook before she left so I perused that a tad and then when we landed, I got off, freshened up and followed the hostel’s directions to get to the correct bus that would take me onto the island. It only cost E3! I thought that was a pretty good deal, considering I could have had a private gondola take me in for E95. We got on the bus and got ready for our first day to Venice. There was a certain air of anticipation in the bus that I’d only felt a few times before: on my school field trips to Disney. Everyone was looking at their maps, applying sunscreen, giggling and just enjoying the ride. It was very strange. Something was going on on the mainland of Italy because it took us an hour to get to Venice. We were at a standstill for quite some time with police directing traffic. I even checked yesterday to make sure a football game wasn’t going on. All these people on the street and in cars were dressed in bathing suits and really light cover wear with beachmats and things. I wondered if they were going to the beach but they were going away from the shore. I never did figure out where they were all going.
Finally we reached Venice proper and I could tell we were there because we crossed a bridge that was only a bit above sea level- and the water was gorgeous. It reminded me of times when my family would drive down to Florida and go over the Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge and get all excited and look out for dolphins and admire how the water was “flat as a flounder” and “skiing-water.” *sigh* We got off the bus and though my directions told me to take a water taxi, my hostel didn’t look more than a ten minute walk away, so I decided to hoof it. I found the place almost by accident because not every waterway is labeled and the map that came with Erica’s book didn’t mark every street either. I never found a tourist desk in the airport so I was stuck with the book the whole time. It ended up okay, though.
It was shocking for me to realize that these people actually didn’t have cars, but instead, used boats. I always heard Venice was full of canals, but really, truly, there isn’t a single car there! You drive and park at the Piazza de Roma and then get out and walk! It was cute with the boats though. I even saw one couple coming back with suitcases and it made me wonder if they had just come back from the airport and then I got to thinking that, of course, the airport is on the water, there must be a dock for people to bring their boats and pick up their families and friends! What a cool culture! I checked into my room and although it’s not really a hostel (it used to be a high school) and it’s not horrible, the song “Bear Necessities” from The Jungle Book kept going through my head. It really was just a bed, a dresser, and a closet. But it was a comfortable bed, with a great view from the window, and only 30E, so I think I did all right. Plus, it was off a bit from the touristy area, which I love doing because then I get to see both local and tourist lives. I changed into shorts (I’m glad I brought them- it was in the high 20s!) and apologized profusely to my feet in advance because I just could not wear tennis shoes with my outfit. I had to wear my flats. So, I just figured every time I would sit down to rest my feet, it would also probably be a good time to take a break just because I was still a tad sick. I needed to take it easy anyway. By 13h30 I was on the street. I got to thinking of all the movies that I know Venice has been in- Just Married and that James Bond one- but I couldn’t really picture anything that was amazingly famous or that I just had to see and go, “Oh! I was there!” I was staying in the area called Dosoduro which was actually pretty cool. I probably wouldn’t have walked through it if I wasn’t staying there- story of my life. I walked and walked and walked. I was going to stop at a restaurant for lunch that was recommended by the book, but there was a take-out place right next to it so I opted for a E3 meal as opposed to a E15 one. I got a wrap with pomodoro, so it had ham, basil (puke!), lettuce, mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes. It was really good and I kept seeing people eating it the rest of the trip so I knew I picked something popular. Then, of course, I grabbed a gelato- E2 for 2 scoops!! Can’t beat that! I got strawberry and lemon- my favorites. It was great and I ate it while walking around St. Mark’s Square. This is a big deal in every travel book/guide/website I looked at so of course I had to go. It was beautiful- it reminded me of Plaza Mayors in Spain. There was a campanile at one end and you could go up it, so I did. It was beautiful. It made me realize how much I missed Florida- the beach, the breeze off the water, the scent of fresh fish that will never leave the air, the sound of seagulls, and the salt/sweat that will never wipe completely off your skin. I stayed up there for a while, getting pictures and just enjoying the view. I was in Venice but when I closed my eyes, I was in Destin on the docks.
I finally went back downstairs and went into St. Mark’s Basilica. My shorts were too short so I had to buy a cover-up. I actually didn’t mind though, because I probably would have given some money to the church anyway. Plus, I kind of agree with the concept. In the summer it’s so hot that you don’t want to wear anything, but when you go in a church, there has to be some kind of regulation, so no uncovered shoulders or knees. I thought that was reasonable, but there were some girls who were wearing barely anything so they had to shell out quite a bit to look decent for the Lord. I stayed in the church as long as I could, out of the beating sun and inside the beautiful basilica- much like the Sacre Coeur- except every inch of the inside was covered in paintings. After I finished, I just walked along the edge of the water. It was hot, sunny, humid, and perfect. It reminded me a little bit of Tampa, too, where my aunt lives, just on the bay. I walked all the way to Garibaldi- which is a whole different world than by St. Mark’s. This is all locals! I got a watermelon (!!) gelato, and that’s exactly what it tasted like. Go figure.
Once you pass a certain bridge on the edge, the men selling knock-off purses and souvenir shops just stops. It gets very quiet. And you finally start hearing Italian being spoken. I wandered through a little garden and had a lovely conversation with 2 Italian women who were determined to talk to me even though I don’t speak Italian. It went about like this (with them repeating things about 4 times in Italian until I understood and responded to them in a strange mixture of French, Spanish, and English): Them (noting my guidebook)- “Ooh, Venice! Where are you from?” Me- “France.” Them-“Oh, your First Lady is Italian. What is her name? Brun?” Me- “Carla Bruni. She sings, too.” Them- “Oh yes, and her husband, your president, his name is…” Me- “Nicolas Sarkozy.” Them- “Okay, yes. How do you say yes in French?” Me- “Yes (well, I said ‘oui’ but I’m translating.)” Them- “Oui? Okay. How do you say yes in Italian, do you know?” Me- “Si.” Them- “Very good! You speak Italian now!” Me- “Well okay…goodbye (I said ‘arrivederci’).” Them- “Ciao.” That took about 10 awkward minutes. I walked around a bit more and then decided to get back to the more civilized part of town. It was kind of freaking me out how quiet it was and even though it was bright outside, I didn’t want to get into a bad area and not know it.
I walked back along the edge of the island as the sun was going down. The city looked completely different. It was beautiful. I was a little undecided as to what to do after, so I got souvenirs. Yes, this time I remembered to get them BEFORE Sunday in case things were closed, which, go figure, they weren’t, but oh well. Then I headed on home to give my feet a little rest before dinner. I stopped at a grocery store- the only one I saw the whole time- and grabbed some drinks for happy hour in my room and journal writing. I sat there for a while, reminiscing and listening to musicians outside and boats go by. It was so cool.
I stayed close to my hostel this time and went to the Plaza San Margherita (or something like that) and watched the Russia v. Netherlands football match and ate spaghetti alla carbonera with wine and an espresso afterwards- for under E14! Russia won and then I went home and began to plan my next and last day. I was looking at my ticket for my flight and realized that it left two hours earlier than I’d thought!! So I was really going to have to book it if I wanted to see everything. I went to bed happy and full- of spaghetti, culture, and excitement.

June 22- I woke up that day to the sounds of the bells ringing at 9am. I was still really tired so I lay in bed until 8:15 and then remembered how much I still had to do and see. A string quartet was just warming up as I packed, dressed, and checked out. Unreal. I was on the street as the clocks struck 9. Perfect. I walked a lot, not really looking at my map, just sort of following the throngs of people because I knew it would lead me to where I was going. It was nice to put up the guidebook and just walk so I didn’t feel like such a tourist. I got to take a bunch more pictures that way, too, but I felt silly taking one at every bridge because after a while it got repetitive. It all sort of looked the same, but I took them anyway. It was already hot out so I enjoyed my breakfast of an apple and diet coke. Only an American would whip out the carbonated beverages before noon, but there was no was I was gonna have a hot coffee.
I passed a bunch of churched that I wanted to go in, but because mass was still going on, I couldn’t. I decided to try on the way back. The goal today was to see the northern side of Venice. I was staying in the southwest and walked all the way to the east the day before. I walked on the Strada Nova where the only McDonalds exists and of course, saw a Disneyland Adventures tour group. I don’t know what they were doing there but they were typically American, striking up a conversation with anything that would stand still long enough to be spoken to. Not that that’s a bad thing, Mom. I was going to the Ca’ D’Oro but it didn’t look too cool and it wasn’t very high up. My guidebook said it was like a museum inside, so I nixed that idea. It was too pretty out to go into too many museums. I crossed the river by a Traghetto (gondola ferry) that only cost E0,50! My first and only time on the water and it was great- definitely worth it. I bet those people make a killing though because there’s always a line, no motor on the boat so no gas, and all you need is one or two guys to steer. It would be kind of boring, though. But there are just so few bridges across the Grand Canal that these ferries are great! I got on the other side, took some pictures of the Ca’ D’Oro and still didn’t see what was so great about it and moved on.
My next stop: the Ca’ Pesaro where “Il Pensatore” (“The Thinker”). I got a discount with my European student card (yessss!) and it was probably the best money I spent here. The gallery was kind of cool, yeah, and the sculpture was big, but the best part was the view I got from the windows! I was so pleased with myself! The building was right on the water, but I only managed to get one picture of the water because a man working for the museum started following me. It was so funny. We were the only two people on the WHOLE floor and he would follow me from room to room as if I was going to try to take a centuries-old Chinese sword from the glass casing without anyone noticing. Ha! So, I went obnoxiously slow around the exhibit and felt his eyes on me every second. It was a fun and I left satisfied that I’d had my cultural experience and went to the Jewish area of town.
Everyone says that you must see it but I don’t know if there was a specific building to see or what. I did get a particular Jewish feeling and there were some places that could be described as the Jewish Ghetto I suppose. Then I found a kosher restaurant that served Gam Gam’s famous falafel and I thought that sufficed. It was quite a popular place, so if you’re Jewish and/or like falafel, you should go. I walked up the canal, which took me to the end of the island, completing my goal or walking to all 4 ends of the island and then walked back and own the very popular San Leonardo road. It was Gelato time. Flavors: Nutella and Coffee. I love my nutella. I walked to the Grand Canal and tried to get a ferry across but it was closed so I cursed it and then tried to figure out which bridge was the closest. I was probably in the worst spot- right in between them. I didn’t want to walk back the same way I came but I was going to have to a little. I got a few more souvenirs/gifts and then found the place my guide book recommended I lunch at. It was on the way back so that was good. It was called Ae Oche and it is a chain. I’d seen another one on San Leonardo and it seemed good, so I ate there. I had a big club salad and a diet coke. I could have had a salad with shredded horsemeat (no lie) but I opted against it. It was nice to sit down and people watch but I was on a tight schedule. So, I paid my 12 euros (Even though it was 13?) and headed out.
I walked to the Friari church, because again, everything I read said I must go. Mass was over and it opened to the public at 1pm so I was just in time. I went inside, but after realizing I had to pay a little more than I was willing, I took a good look and left. I passed another gelato place- the cheapest and BEST I’d had yet and got dark chocolate and After Eight (aka mint chocolate chip). It was so good and cold I just put up my map and walked. Bad idea. I got really turned around and what’s worse, was crunched for time. I didn’t let myself worry though. I figured out where I was and then just walked straight to the hostel. It wasn’t horrible because I hadn’t gotten to explore that part of the city but I wish I’d been able to enjoy it a bit more. Anyway, I got my bag and beat feet to the bus. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far and search around- it was the first one I saw! I got on feeling too gross to even sit in the seats, but I did. It was perfect timing. I was going to miss Venice. It reminded me so much of home.
I got to the airport and found out my flight was delayed an hour so I was really really early. There was also a long line to check us in so I bided my time and watched in awe as the couple in front of me created a scene. It was brilliant. They had over 60kg of luggage with them, and the limit to check is 20kg. They spoke Dutch, French, and a spot of English but even still, the ticket agent could not make them understand that the rules were the rules and they were going to have to pay extra to check the bags. The woman of the couple was furious because she said she read explicitly all the guidelines on line and it said nothing on there or on the ticket about baggage limitations. As a traveler who has experienced this problem before, I felt bad for them. 60kilos is a lot, especially when you factor in that you have to pay E8 per kilo over 20. That’s a veritable fortune! I felt bad, but at the same time I was shamefully enjoying it. I mean, it was like an accident that you couldn’t turn away from (and no one was injured!). The woman was giving everyone hell and they aren’t even employees of the airline, but of the airport! That’s what happens when you fly low-cost, though. What could those people have possibly packed though? Poor things. In another turn of events, they refused to leave the ticket stand they were at until they got some justice, so the ticket agents finally gave up and opened another desk. Haha! That was probably the best part. I was the first to check in and of course, it was a breeze. No bags to check. Nothing. I went through security and grabbed a coffee and began the wait. By the time I was done, the plane was delayed another hour so I checked out the duty free shops and got last minute gifts. Then, the plane was delayed ANOTHER hour! How sad! To think I could have been in Venice all that time! It turned out okay, though. I don’t really mind airports because I’ve been in them so much, so it’s kind of comforting.
I was sitting upstairs in the airport writing in my journal when I noticed a large influx of people at the restaurant next to me. I finished up and went to see what was going on. Apparently, Vueling was buying us a treat for being such dummies: a piece of pizza or sandwich and a drink! I showed my ticket and got a yummy slice of fresh-out-of-the-oven ham and mushroom pizza and a beer. For free! Probably that was like E5! I don’t think everyone knew about the cool deal, though. I think the couple that packed the kitchen sink would have felt better about shelling out all that money if they knew they could have had a sandwich for free. I was even luckier though, because some people got regular cheese pizza and I got toppings on mine! Woohoo! Maybe waiting in the airport for 3 hours was worth it.
We finally boarded the airplane and I got home around 10pm. It was a great weekend and I was completely exhausted. But my first day of real work started Monday so I had to get rested up!

Things I Noticed About Venice:
1. Not very romantic. I don’t know what everyone is talking about. There were so many tour groups and stuff I didn’t find any of it appealing. (Maybe the gondolas were cute, but the price was horrendous!)
2. It’s very easy to get lost- the streets are so narrow. In America, you’re taught to avoid narrow alleyways and stuff, but most times, it was the only way to go. This is another reason I didn’t find it romantic- you probably would spend more time bickering about how to get un-lost that you couldn’t even enjoy being there!
3. Venetians love blown glass. Everything is glass. That’s like, the signature thing. Along with masks like for Carnevale.
4. They say “prego” or “ciao” for “Next customer, please.”
5. You don’t have to know ANY Italian to go to Venice. Everyone speaks English.
6. Many women get sucked into the knock-off purses. I saw women carrying those shady plastic bags filled with illegal goodies everywhere.
7. Gondolas run all the time.
8. Venice is a cruise ship hub. I saw tons of them.
9. Food is just plain expensive- when eating out, plan on at least E15 per person per meal, even lunch.
10. You can’t walk the length of the Grand Canal, which made me sad. I guess that’s why people take water taxis up and down it.
11. Everything that cars do on streets, boats do here. I saw an ambulance, a garbage boat, a taxi, a shuttle bus, and of course, gondolas.
12. Food isn’t “typical” Italian, but more squid and anchovy things. And of course the horsemeat salad I could have had. I only saw one restaurant serving Fettuccine Alfredo- and it was tourist-y.
13. I wasn’t lonely here. Like I said- so many tourists and things. Even eating dinner out wasn’t weird!
14. A safe city- noted as the safest in Italy for young women travelling alone. I’d have to agree. I never felt endangered.
15. Very quiet. There are no cars, air conditioning is still rather new, and the only real sounds you hear are the motors of the boats. There are no skyscrapers, no metal, nothing. Everything is still old and in stone and bricks and looks like it did probably 500 years ago. It was very different and very cool.

Veni(ce), Vidi, Vici

I'm all packed up and ready to head out to Venice! I'm so glad I feel well enough to go. My throat barely even hurts anymore!

Today was a lazy day, but it was wonderful. I finished up my last load of laundry and ironing, cleaned my room, and then Ciara came over (finally!) and we had a great night. We went to the store and got the most random things for dinner: nachos and salsa, cream of chicken soup, white cheddar cheese, corn flakes, and chocolate. Funnily enough, we both love that soup and so we found some in the Anglo area of the Monoprix and grabbed some. Then I gave into my Mexican craving and we got chips and dip, to which Ciara had the brilliant idea to melt cheese over. I showed her the cheddar and she said, "It's so yellow!" so she found the white cheddar and we got some. Did I miss something when they taught everyone that there was white and orange cheddar? I mean, it was amazing just the same, but it was weird to me. I'm sure I've had it before and not even known it though. Then for dessert, we made this wonderful concoction that Ciara says is very popular at Irish birthday parties, we just melted a chocolate bar into a liquid, poured it over the corn flakes, mixed it up, shaped them in to a ball, plopped them on a plate, and froze them. It was delicious! We topped off the night with a favorite: Notting Hill. Every time Ciara and I hang out I'm amazed at how similar we are. It's pretty cool to have found someone like her. We've each invited each other over next year, and I know I'm going to have to take advantage of it- she'll be at school in Dublin, so heck yeah!

Anyway, that was all that happened. I did finally get to talk to my whole family today- that doesn't happen very often. In fact, I can't tell you the last time I spoke to all 4 of my family members the same day. It was pretty cool. I think my brother and one or both of my parents are coming over mid-to-late July. I'm really excited about that. Then one weekend just my brother and I are going to go to the city of his choice, and I think he chose London. Not that I mind! It's a great place! I think I'll try to coax him into taking a day trip to Stonehenge, though. I've always wanted to see it. And I WILL go to Abbey Road AND Platform 9 3/4 finally!!

I think I'll be ready to go back to the States. That makes me happy, because as much as I love love love love love it over here, it will make it easier to go back. But gosh am I going to miss it here. I think I'll have to start taking pictures of my own neighborhood. That won't be creepy or anything. Haha.

Okay, time for bed! Venice tomorrow! Yay for Italy- my favorite European country!!! :-)

Well, it's official: I'm a senior!

Also, Jaime Lynn Spears had a girl. I'm not sure which is more mind-blowing.

I woke up from a nap just in time to catch a girl in my class and get a study session going before the exam. I read over her summary and over my notes and by that time, it was time. I thought it went all right, but I just know I could have added a few more facts, or another point of view if I had just a wee bit more time to study. After the exam, I went up to the professor and told her that I'd never heard back from Sciences Po. She said that was so strange because even she contacted them, made sure I could take the exam another day and had even written up a different exam for me, and everything was fine. But I'd never heard from them, so I came to the exam. I thanked her for helping me, but I guess there's nothing I could have done more. I was really tired after my big day (ha! I'm such a weakling now.) but I'd always planned to commemorate my last moments of junior-hood with a crepe au nutella, and so I did. Now I'm tired and I have a stomachache, as that was the biggest thing to eat I've had all week, but it was really really good.

Now I'm home, with nothing to do. No work tomorrow! I asked my doctor if he thought I would be okay to go to Venice on Saturday morning, and he said, ultimately it's up to me, but I should be fine, just take it easy. So, yay!!! I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Venice so I really hope I get enough rest and am ready for my big trip on Saturday morning! Plus, I would have hated wasting all that money. (Truth be told, I probably would have gone anyway, even if it just meant sleeping in the hostel the whole time.) But yay! Venice!

And I'm a senior! :-) Two months from now I will have already started my senior year at GT. Now there's a scary thought.

My body's literally healing itself. It is amazing what the human body is capable of when you have a powerful brain.

I'm feeling so much better. Unfortunately, I still have an exam to take. I've got about 2 hours of time to study...and that will be as much as I'll have studied all together. I tried to study this week, honestly. But reading small font on a page or computer screen really hurt my head and so I ended up falling asleep most of the time. I wrote my professor, but she said I would have to contact Sciences Po administration to get a time to take a test. So, I did. I think that an exam worth 60% of my final grade deserves a good amount of non-sick studying. Well, they still haven't gotten back with me. So, that's it, I guess. I really hope I do well enough to pass. I would like a good grade, but right now, all I care about is getting a good enough grade to get those hours out of the way. I'm trying not to stress out too much because I don't want to make myself sicker. Out of these past 24 hours, I think I've been awake a little over 20, so no wonder I feel better. I've been keeping up with my meds and I told work that I wouldn't be in the rest of the week and they were fine with it, thank goodness! I'm very lucky that they're so flexible. Probably it has to do with the fact that they're not paying me. Gotta get back to studying! Thanks for the prayers!

One thing I won't miss about being in Paris: how often I get sick.

I feel like my immune system has just been shot since I've been here! The weather changes so much and I get sick so easily. I mean, bronchitis- who gets that? Me. Strep throat- who gets that? Me. In the States, I was never this sick. I've never been in so much pain as I have been since studying abroad. *sigh*

These past two days have been quite uneventful. I sent Liz a package (After a lot of convincing to the Post Office lady that I, in fact, did want to send it- she was very weird about the whole thing.), went to a City Hall in Blanc-Mesnil outside of Paris, and got Strep Throat. Yep. Sunday night my throat started hurting, Monday after work I just went to bed, and the same for Tuesday. Finally, Wednesday morning after being in more pain than I've ever felt (having a fever, sore-throat, being sleep-deprived, having the chills, and being so weak that even walking to my kitchen seemed like a chore) I told someone at work I was sick, got up, went to the pharmacy to grab a thermometer and the address to a doctor. The lady who helped me said I didn't look good at all and wished me well. It was nice. I went home and took my temperature just to see what I was dealing with since I felt pretty good at that moment: 101F, 38.5C. Oh, awesome. So, I put on some clothes and went to the doctor the lady recommended because they were on my street. Unfortunately, he was booked and so I asked them for more recommendations. After what seemed like forever, I reached the second building- it turned out that the doctor lived in that building, but he didn't practice there. Well, all that work for nothing. Exhausted but determined the next doctor was going to help me, I walked what seemed like miles and miles. When I got there, I was so woozy and out of it, the assistant told me to sit down and she was going to call the doctor. He was at lunch but just one look at me she knew I needed something. I fell asleep in the waiting room but finally, I was seen. The doctor said he'd never seen such big lymph nodes and that they were really swollen. He gave me three medications and asked me if I worked. I said yes and he said, "Well not this week you don't." And gave me an official document telling my employer that I am not well enough to work. Now, on any other day, this probably would have been my dream come true. A doctor telling me I HAD to stay in bed?! But unfortunately, I've got a pretty big internship, not to mention an exam Thursday that I haven't been able to study for. I feel horrible about not being able to work, but I'm not one to argue...I don't feel well enough anyway. I filled my prescription, took my first dose, and fell fast asleep for the first time in 3 days. It was wonderful, well except when my fever broke. I'm not complaining that it did, I just don't think I've ever sweat that much. Not that you want to read all the gruesome details. Haha. I don't know if my professor will let me take my exam next week, but I did ask. We'll just have to see what happens. :-(

The best weekend in Paris- ever!

June 12- Thursday I did absolutely nothing. Really. There was a Marine Barbeque so that was fun- I had Cheetos and Diet Dr. Pepper!! I don’t understand why they import all this stuff in as the food here is fine, but I suppose some people just can’t live with out their Frito-Lay products. I met three new interns and they all seem nice. I left work at 4 and finished up my paper. It was a relaxing day.

June 13- Friday I woke up, turned in my paper, went to my other class where I got my grade for the semester- A!- and then we had a mini-picnic outside. I took cookies, and so did everyone else. Haha. So it was more of a cookie party than picnic. I had to leave early though because I had somewhere to be for the Embassy- the OECD, where George W. Bush was speaking. All the other interns were working the event, but I got to go in and enjoy it. I admit I was a little jealous that they were able to staff the event, because I know they got to meet and see some cool people, but hearing them complain about how busy and tired they were made me a little less jealous. So I went into the conference center and sat about 10 rows away from Bush and took so many pictures. It was awesome. I was starstruck. I couldn’t believe that I had just been in the same room with our President, arguably the most powerful man in the world. It just didn’t seem real. I went home afterwards and looked through my pictures about a million times, ate dinner, and relaxed. Patty and Chuck invited me out to a bar with another friend of theirs so I went. We ended up having a great time. I’d never been to this bar, but beer was still 3euro, so you know I was all over it. We got to talking with this table of guys next to us and became instant BFFs thanks to the yummy shots I talked them into getting us. :-) So there we were: 3 French guys, 2 Franco-American guys, and 1 American girl. I didn’t think it got any better. The French guys were awesome. One of them lived in Texas for a year in Arlington and so had the cutest twang, another, Arthur, lived in New York for a spell and knew exactly how to be the typical French guy, telling me all those things that American girls want French boys to say to them- but I was cracking up because his accent was so thick and so he was just doing it to be funny, and the last guy was a 24 year old consultant at a management firm from Lilles who also made me laugh by whispering sweet nothings in my ear- I mean, come on, soooo cliché (but secretly, I LOVED it, haha). Romain, the management guy, took my number so we’ll see what happens there. It was just a great time and I’d missed Chuck and Patty so I was glad we got to hang out. So, after getting told multiple times that we needed to quiet down (I wasn’t the loudest at the table!), and ultimately closing up the bar, we left. I didn’t think the weekend could have gotten any better. Boy, was I wrong.

June 14- The Day I Met the President. I woke up with a bad hangover (whoops!) but a fresh perspective on life and was still happy from the previous day’s (and night’s) events. I went shopping for a little bit and got some really cute stuff at H&M- in a smaller size than last time I went shopping, too!!!: a skirt for work, a dress, a pair of shorts, and 3 tops- 2 were for work. It was going to be a good day, I just could feel it. After shopping on Rue du Rivoli I grabbed lunch at Paul’s bakery and went home. I was feeling a lot better after having some food in my stomach. I dropped my stuff off at home and then went back to the center because I had a Meet’n’Greet with President Bush. All the employees had been invited to come to the Ambassador’s residence to listen to him say a few words and possibly get the chance to shake his hand. There was tons of security to get through, and practically half of Place de la Concorde was blocked off! I got inside around 2:30 and he was supposed to arrive sometime around 3:30, so I hung out with the interns and got to hear some really cool stories of them having one-on-ones with the President and various other officials. One of them was going through the gifts that had been exchanged between the Bushes and the Sarkozys. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic of France, gave George Bush, President of the United States of America, an Hermes gold leather saddle. Yes. You read that correctly. Is that not the most awesome gift you’ve ever heard?! How perfect for him! Haha. The women exchanged purses- Chanel for Bush and Oscar de la Renta for Bruni-Sarkozy. We heard the helicopter about 10 minutes before he showed up. I was really surprised at all the trouble that they went through for security. I guess I just didn’t really think about it. I mean, at the OECD, we all had to be seated long before Bush was in the building and couldn’t leave until after was a safe distance away. So, we heard the helicopter and then started getting excited. I was standing behind some giant people so I asked them if I could stand in front of them so I could see. They were all really sweet and said yes. So, Bush came out with Ambassador Stapleton and after a brief introduction, began to speak. There were not that many people there, I mean, considering how many people work at OECD, UNESCO, and the Embassy and could have come, there weren’t. I got some great pictures and it was really neat to see Bush up that close. I was just so excited about the possibility to shake his hand. I was so nervous. His speech ended soon after, and it was a good one. He would say things that reminded you he was the president, but then, every once in a while, he would say something else that made you think, oh yeah, he’s a real person, too. It was all just so surreal, but nice. Then he got down and started shaking hands. One of the interns had the brilliant idea to bring paper with her so he could sign it. All I had was my day planner, so I tore a page out of there and prayed that he would sign it. Just anything I could have to remind myself that I was actually there, and that it wasn’t a dream. He came up to us, it was a group of interns, and he started shaking hands and signing papers- including mine. I held my hand out and he looked me in the eye and said, “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” I said, “It’s great to meet you, too. You know, I was born in Granbury.” He smiled and said, “Atta girl! So did you grow up in Texas?” I replied, “Yes sir, I did. In Colleyville.” He said, “Oh, Colleyville. I know it. Well, did you stay to go to school or did you move away?” I said, “Sadly, I moved away.” He looked at me again and said, “Well, it’s good to know there’s another Texan in the crowd.” I was beaming. Because through out that conversation, no matter how brief it was, I spoke with the President, and shook his hand not once, not twice, but three times. I thought, Okay, I can die now. But it wasn’t over. Ranna, one of the more outgoing interns, asked if he would get a picture with us AND HE DID! There were people taking pictures of him shaking hands and meeting people but Ranna handed one of them her camera so she got a picture, too! I couldn’t believe it- at one point I was brushing shoulders with him- the President!! It was just too cool. I was so blessed. It was a beautiful day in Paris with no rain and it wasn’t too hot; everything was perfect. I couldn’t wait for Ranna to get home and post the pictures so I could send it to my parents! My dad was so excited about me going there that day that he told me to call him right after it happened- and I did. He was so happy for me. I was still freaking out about the whole thing but I calmed down so I could actually tell him the story and tried not to forget anything. After, I called my mom. There I was in Paris, walking on the Champs-Elysees, talking to my mom and telling her about meeting the President. Reality check, please! If that was the real world, I was ready to graduate. Haha. All the interns were just going crazy basically with the same thoughts running through our heads: about 2 weeks ago we were just starting to work here and didn’t know what we had in store for us. Now, this has happened. How did we ever pull this off!?!? I was going to go see the Marie-Antoinette exhibition, but the line was way too long, so I kept walking along the Champs when Michael Schneider called me. He was in Paris at the moment because he is on the Georgia Tech Oxford summer trip and they were here for a few days. We talked about our plans for the rest of the day and decided to meet an hour later for a coffee and to catch-up. I was still sooo excited from what had happened to me the past 48 hours that I told him all about it and showed him pictures, too! We sat there for a while and talked and then walked around a little bit talking about relationships (blech, spare me) and stuff but then he had to go back to the hotel to eat dinner. I went home and made my dinner and we tried to figure out what we were going to do that night. The Oxford kids wanted to go to a club, but since I’m not a clubbin’ kind of girl, I couldn’t really help them out. Chuck and Patty invited me to a party where Hal would be so I told Michael that that’s where I was going and if they wanted to go, they could. They pretty much just wanted to go to a club, so I didn’t see them that night. The party actually turned out to be a birthday party for a guy that I sort of knew and a bunch of people from Sciences-Po as well as Paul and Ve! It was a lot of fun, but I probably should not have climbed that fence to get into the closed park because now I have a HUGE bruise on my leg. But it was the cool thing to do at that time, I think. I had to take a taxi home but it wasn’t even all that expensive! I’m starting to think taxis aren’t that bad around Paris. I mean, for 30 euros, you can go from one end to the other. Really, that’s not too bad. I mean, of course no one wants to pay that much for a cab, but it’s not complete highway robbery. Anyway, I went to bed after that. What an AMAZING day!

June 15- Sunday was kind of chilly. I woke up in the morning, thought about meeting Michael et al for church at the Notre Dame but fell back to sleep. I hadn’t gotten much rest that weekend, so I decided to take another nap and then we made plans to meet each other at the Bastille for lunch at 1. By 1:30 when he still wasn’t there, I decided to leave. As I’m just about to get on the train, I hear his voice call out and so we did meet after all. It was perfect timing, though, because I was gone 30 seconds later. I told him to exit the station and I would meet him outside. I guess he didn’t get my message earlier that morning about where I told him to meet me because he said he was just standing around waiting for me to find him, and I was standing at the meeting point I’d picked out because I knew how hard it would be to find him just standing randomly somewhere. *sigh* But he was found and it was all good. He had a hankering for pasta so we walked down a street and finally found a place where we could each be happy. I had a great salad and he had salmon ravioli. He had to be at the Louvre at 3, and I wanted to try Marie-Antoinette again so we took the metro to our designated areas. He was going to try to get people together to watch the Eiffel Tower at night and invited me with him so I said I’d try to make it. I got to the Grand Palais and after about an hour of waiting, I got in. It was really neat. I got to see a bunch of original things that she had in her life and even the shirt that she wore when she was executed. I thought it was very well done and I learned a lot. I didn’t get a head set, which I kinda wish I had, but they were really expensive, so I managed by just reading the French descriptions. It made me feel like a local, knowing that I could go to a museum and not have to worry about an English tour. :-) I got done with that museum in a little over an hour and then decided to see the Robert Serra exhibit next door. It was actually really cool. The space is in the big part of the Grand Palais where artists’ works are displayed. He created this art specifically for the palace- just 5 long slabs of steel standing. It was actually really interesting, even though it sounds weird. I did get a headset for this because 1) it was free and 2) I didn’t really understand the whole thing, so I needed an explanation. It was a good idea, what he did- he wanted to create something that didn’t take up too much space and wanted people to use the area like they wanted- if they wanted to just stand, sit, lay down, walk around, what ever they wanted to do with their time there. The pieces weren’t in a line, they were kind of spaced differently, and some were slanted and bent. I was really glad I saw it because I heard how neat it was. By the time I finished, I was exhausted, so I went home. I made chicken noodle soup from scratch and it was just what the doctor ordered. It made me miss home a lot, because my daddy makes the best soups. And it was Father’s Day and I wasn’t there. I just relaxed that night, and didn’t end up going to the Eiffel Tower. They were going out late and I was too tired. I wouldn’t have been any fun to talk to. I went to bed early and hoped I wasn’t too tired the next morning.

June 16- Today. So far, it’s been an okay day. I was wearing a cute outfit, spilled something red on it though, and so had to change. That was going to make me late to work. Then, to make things better, the metros were backed up for some reason and everyone was stuffed like sardines in a tin can. So I was late and hot and sweaty. I got to work finally and actually not too much later than I usually arrive. (I’ve been here some times and the office still isn’t even unlocked at 9:20, so I don’t think it’s a very strict show-up-at-9am policy, we are in France, after all.) Also, my boss is gone for the week, I’ve got an exam Thursday, and I didn’t get enough sleep last night, even though I went to bed before midnight. But then, a man in the office asked me if I’d seen myself on the White House website. I was like, um, what?!?! No!! And he sent me the link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/images/20080614-2_d-0773-515h.html . Hi, I’m Steph, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world and I’m not sure I deserve it. I don’t know what I did to be this blessed. I’m speechless about how this whole weekend turned out. And to think- I was thinking of going to Berlin this weekend! Ha! It was definitely God’s Will that I stayed. And I am so thankful. I have a long week ahead of me, but it’s my last one of school at Sciences-Po. I’ll actually be sad to leave it. I’ve been there for such a long time! This will be the first time since I’ve started college that I will not have school for a semester. Well, I guess the next 7 weeks. It’s gonna be weird!

My Junior Year Ends in Seven Days!!!

Today I woke up at 5:30am and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Funnily enough, I heard john up and about at that time, too. We must be on the same sleep cycles since we’ve lived together so long. Haha. I don’t think it works that way really, but it was weird. I finally managed to get a few last hours of sleep, woke up, and went to work. Outside my door, like usual, 2 butchers were enjoying their morning coffees and croissants sitting on their motorcycles and talking. I think they’re around my age. We always say hi to each other, but sadly their profession makes me want to puke. I couldn’t hang out next to carcasses all day. The morning was crisp and just beginning to warm up. The clouds were big and fluffy and my heels were clop clop clopping on the sidewalk. We’ve a new mechanic at the auto shop on our street and he’s been friendly, saying hello to me, too. I learned a hard lesson the other day when I over heard the pizza guy (okay, yes, we have EVERYTHING on our street) complaining to some lady about how I don’t say hi to him. Apparently, I hurt his feelings, so now I make sure to give him a big American wave hello and say “bonjour” and smile. That’ll teach him. Haha. I didn’t want to be thought of as “that rude American girl that never says hello” so I’ve tried to make more of an effort to say hello to people. It’s not that I don’t want to, I mean, I do it in the States all the time, it’s just that it never occurred to me that French people actually wanted that when you’re just walking down the street. Of course, you have to say hello when you enter a store or restaurant, but honestly, when I’m walking down the street I’m usually so caught up in my thoughts of what I need to do that day (or what I did) that I barely notice people.

So, I went to work and did nothing. Really. I felt terrible about it, too. I just read news articles online, or checked my e-mail. My boss wasn’t at work and I’d finished the projects he gave me. I think after the visit this weekend it will get more back to normal.

After I left, I got on the metro where this man began to tell me how cute I looked and blah dy blah. He wasn’t my type and I wasn’t his (well, no women were, if you catch my drift) so I figured I would be friendly back. He kept complimenting my shoes and chemise, saying I looked very French (yay!) so we laughed and had a good time. Then, we did the two kisses on the cheeks (because, you know, we were old friends) and he told me that I looked…caramelized. Now I have looked high and low for a translation for the French word “caramelisée” which is what he said, and all I got was caramelized. I don’t really understand it, but I’m thankful he didn’t say licorice, or worse, that I looked like a marshmallow. I chuckled a bit, then said good-bye. “Freakazoid” was the first word that came to mind. But he was sweet. I’m not really sure what he wanted to begin with, but I hope he wasn’t too lost. Haha. I came home, procrastinated like woah, and am getting to bed early.

I will be spending this weekend in Paris, so I’ve got a whole list of things to do and I can’t wait! Gaz de France (GDF) is hosting a 9km walk on Sunday morning, so if the weather is nice, I think I’ll take the ole iPod out for a spin around Paris. I’ve also made up my mind that I’m going to walk up the Eiffel Tower. It’s going to be a very exercise-filled weekend. There are some students from Georgia Tech in town (Michael!!) and so I’m really hoping to see them. I need some nerd in my life. Haha…I mean that in the nicest way possible. (Okay, you got me…I’ve a couple questions about Tech’s new e-mail system that I can’t figure out! Haha…I’m the worst, I know…but, hey, at least I’m caramelized.) So yeah, busy weekend. But I love it.

Oh yeah, while I was sitting like a lump on a bog (bump on a log) at work, I booked a trip- to Nice. I’m taking the night train there because I’ve always wanted to try it. So, July 4^th is a holiday at the Embassy (duh) so prolly there will be a smashing shindig somewhere (hopefully with some Marines :-D) during the day and then that night around 11pm I will be getting on a train to Nice. I arrive at 11am the next day, check into the hostel, and then, right now, I’m planning to hop over to Monaco for the day! You know, because I can. :-D It’s only a 20 minute train ride from Nice, and it’s not even 5 euro. I figure I can probably see the WHOLE COUNTRY in one day and then hop back over to France that night, sleep, then wake up and spend the day in Nice, most likely on the beach. I miss the beach like no body’s business. In the summers, Paris makes the quays of the Seine like a beach with palm trees and everything, but, um, hello, I’m at work during the day and travelling during the weekend. Major bummer. Anyway, so, Nice on the 6^th, and then I take the night train back at like 8pm and arrive in Paris on the 7^th at 7:30am- just in time for work! Haha. So, I’ve got every weekend planned until the 7^th of July.

THEN- Jack Johnson concert (!!!!!) the 9^th of July with Shealagh (the girl I met in London, and no, I’ve never heard from Thibault, in case you were wondering…cuz I was pretty sure we had something there, but I guess not) and THEN, another 3-day weekend because it’s Bastille Day (which the Embassy takes off for, too, because we’re in France)!!! I can’t wait for that. I’ve been in Paris for it before but didn’t see anything. I’m going to see stuff that day, I’ve decided. The next day, John moves out. And then 3 weeks later, so do I.

I can’t believe that my time here is almost over. I don’t want to leave. Don’t make me. Haha. No, it will be nice to be back in the States but ohhhhh man I am SO not ready to leave yet. That’s good, though, right?

“Glory in His Holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” -1 Chronicles 16:10-11

Back from Brussels!

Monday I woke up almost too late, but was okay. I was so tired but I knew I had to go. I dragged myself out of bed and basically was in a haze until I got there. This is an important week in the Embassy so everyone is busy getting ready and being important. I was able to grab a coffee with Tallie about half way through my day, and that is, I believe, the only reason I stayed up. I left for class after 2 and forgot which class I was going to. Thankfully, I had time to walk to the other building. I’ve only been going to these classes for months, it’s not like it’s habit yet. Sheesh. I’m losin’ it. Class was fun today- we did cheese and wine pairings: Chardonnay and brie. Pinot Noir and cantal, and Sancerre and chevre. All very good! I printed stuff out and then went home. I was still tired so I did some work, at dinner at my favorite sushi establishment, and went to bed. Not an exiting day, but not too stressful.

Today I was supposed to wake up at 7:30 so I could do work that I was too tired to do last night. Welp, I definitely turned off my alarm, but didn’t get up. God was definitely with me, though, because I heard a man playing music and woke up- at 8:05. I had to be out the door in 25 minutes. And I made it. Phew! Work went well…again slow, but I mailed a package I’d been meaning to for a while so that made me feel productive. Everyone but me seems really busy. My boss, John, is gone a lot, so he’s given me some things to do, but all the other interns are talk about how much they have to do. I don’t know if there’s just not a lot going on that I can do, or if John is giving me a lighter load because I’ve got school. And I don’t know which I would prefer. Oh well, it’s still early in the internship. I’ll have my busy times, I bet. I ate lunch with Tallie and Brendon in the garden/park across from the Embassy which was nice. I got a little tan, too. I forgot, again, what class I was going to, and almost walked into the wrong classroom before I realized it wasn’t Thursday but Tuesday and my classrooms were quite far from each other. At that point, I just laughed and took my time to get there. I was pretty sure someone would come later than me, so that’s what I counted on. Of course, I was right. This class has kind of been a disappointment. I mean, yeah, it’s the History of Paris, but it’s taught in a strange way (not chronologically) and he uses some words and phrases that I don’t understand. But then again, there are some presentations from students that I find interesting, so I guess it evens out. Tonight I’ve really got to focus on my paper- it’s due Friday!! Then only one exam!!!!

Belgium: where the air smells like waffles, brussel sprouts, and cream puffs...

June 5 cont’d- Thursday night I went out for Charles’ going away party and even though he had invited people and I had invited all the interns, only about 5 of the 12 people who RSVP’d actually came. I was there late, but of course, the first to arrive. Charles and Patrick showed up next bringing gifts in liquid form. So, we caught up and enjoyed the night air as we waiting for people who didn’t show. At 11:45pm we went in because you had to pay to get in after midnight (and we all know that wasn’t happening). It was my first time to a French club so it was quite an experience. A lot different than the Spanish and Irish ones I’ve been in. This one played a lot of old music with a beat track put behind it, or just late 80s-early 90s music. They played a Black Eyed Peas song once, and that was it. Apparently, it was a slow night so I’ll probably go again and give it another chance. Ve and Paul finally came to the party, too, so that was good. At this club, Le Mix, you put on stickers on your shirt to denote your nationality. Well, of course, I would go up to those with the American flag and ask where they were from. Most of them were European. Italy was also popular. I danced with a supposed Brit when all of a sudden I heard his accent- French. Come ON! Oh well. I ended up dancing with Charles and Patrick the rest of the night because most everyone else was scary. Before I knew it, it was late. I had to go! Ve and I took the night bus to Bastille and I was waiting to switch buses to go to Nation when I realized it was going the wrong way. So I grabbed a cab (Velib would have been cheaper, but I was in no mood to ride a bike) and went the rest of the way. It was the best 7e I’ve ever spent. I fell into bed when I got home.

June 6- Friday I woke up a little later than usual (I didn’t go to work from 9-10…there’s really no point because I get to my office around 9:20 and then have to leave at 9:45.) and studied for my French exam. I took it and then went to work. There was a barrage of e-mails from the interns about plans for that night and I asked Tallie about what they did the night before. She said they had gotten something to drink and by the time they’d finished it, it was already 11pm and so they decided to not go to the club. That was fine, I just wish I had known. It was only the first week…there will be other opportunities. Work didn’t last long and people were doing things but I had to go home and pack for Brussels. I’d sort of put that trip on the backburner because I’d stuff going on, so I was really excited when I remembered I’d be going the next day. I went home, ate, cleaned my room (because it needed it like woah), and then packed and went to bed. I may have dilly-dallied around and gotten to bed really late which made me really tired, but it’s my own fault. And maybe Facebook’s.

June 7- I had to get up at 4:30am to catch the first RER and make sure I would get to the train station on time. I think I got there a little too early though. I don’t know what it is about me, but (And I don’t mean to offend), the Arabs won’t leave me alone. They are the on they ones that talk to me in bars, on the streets, in the train stations at 5am, anywhere. I was hardly by myself in the train station because of all my suitors. What were these people doing up this early- and on a SATURDAY? Trolling already? It was creepy. I finally got on the train- they started boarding 20 minutes before it left- and I was off! It was only an hour and a half trip so I took a nap. I was afraid I was going to sleep through my stop because the train continued to Koln. Thankfully, I woke up and got off. I was in Brussels!! The first thing I noticed was how wet and cold it was. Wait a second- didn’t I check the weather just hours before leaving and it said it would be sunny and warm?! It wasn’t either of those. Well, I was used to Francophonic weather and brought my umbrella, but I was still cold. I got to the hostel sans probleme (Even though the lady at the information desk in the train station tried to get me to go the wrong way) and checked in. I dropped off my bag (My big Longchamps containing one change of clothes, a few books in case I was super bored, toiletries, and some snacks. I was only there for one night, how much did I need?) and had a cup of coffee and read over some maps. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do that day and I figured if I got lost it wouldn’t be horrible. My map from the hostel listed recommendations of things to see so the ones I went to were as follows: the Botanical Gardens (Where I saw a girl doing something nasty to a boy. No thank you!), a HUGE shopping mall where I got a shirt to warm my bones, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, The Cathedral (yes, that’s the name) but most of it was under renovation, the Royal Palace, 2 museums- one that featured Brueghel and British works and the Brussels City Museum, the Palace of Justice (the man who built it destroyed a small village in the process because it was so big), the Stock Market (where everyone meets), the Grand Plaza, stumbled upon the Red Light District (Like a moth to a flame- I can’t seem to avoid it…I got to see the girls getting ready for a big night, but decided not to stick around for the opening act), the Opera and last but not least, the Manneken Pis (This is a fountain that became very famous because it’s a little boy peeing into a bowl and sometimes he sprays the onlookers. It’s one of the first fountains that actually used the water to make the sculpture alive…i.e. the boy peeing as opposed to water being poured out of a bucket. Also, he is dressed in all these outrageous outfits all the time. There are tons of myths of how he came to be and he is a legend in Belgium.) which right next to has THE CHEAPEST AND BEST gaufres/waffles ever! 2e for a chocolate one! I wish I could have had about 8 of those but they were so rich I couldn’t stomach even the whole one. The chocolate had to have been homemade and was just delicious. Even though the weather sucked, I made the best of it. I went back to the hostel after all my adventures and checked into my room and hung out in the lobby area. I met these two boys who were from Roswell, GA and one had graduated from UGA. I offered my sincerest apologies and asked him was he was going to do with his Physiology major. Nothing, he said. He didn’t want a job. What was he doing in Brussels? Oh, he was on his way to the Ukraine to help kids learn English. I thought that was good of him, but he said he really just didn’t care about a job back home. His friend was even more impressive. He said school just never worked out for him. He got called to be a preacher, but didn’t like it, so dropped out. Then got called back, and again, didn’t like it, and left it to join a rock band that never made it. Now he’s travelling with his friend and then going back to the States where he aspires to…um, do nothing. I admired their frankness in the whole matter. They could have made up anything but chose to be who they were. I wished them luck in their endeavors and left for dinner. I got dinner on the Rue du Bouchers that is known for it’s touristy areas and all the restaurants. I saw the mussels chain restaurant “Leon de Bruxelles” which we even have in Paris, and decided to get mussels in Brussels. How original. The only hard part was finding a place to eat that wouldn’t scour at me when I told them it was only one person eating. That’s the hard thing about travelling alone. Dinner. Lunch you can eat by yourself and it’s no biggie. Dinner, on the other hand, is a different matter. But, I took a deep breath and walked into a restaurant with no name. I had a huge pot of mussels that I didn’t finish, a tiny Maes beer, and a plate of fries for 12e. The waiter even gave me a cappuccino for free! I thought that was nice, but I was a little annoyed with him at first because I thought he was going to charge me and I kept telling him I didn’t want it. After dinner I walked around a little more and saw a few buildings at night. There was one building in particular I’d been suggested to see because it did a little show on the windows (I wanna say it was the Sheraton Hotel or Marriot or something) and was really actually quite cool. It reminded me of the light show in Hong Kong. I went up to this parking garage that supposedly had a great view of the city, but since the weather was so gross visibility was pretty bad and so I just went back downstairs after a few minutes. I was starting to get a little creeped out anyway because it was dark and I was alone so I thought it would be best to get on home. This next part I’m wasn’t sure if I was going to write about, but I think it’s important for students my age (mainly female, and especially those travelling alone) to realize why it is SO important to stay alert in a foreign city and never get to comfortable. Knowing my night could have ended so much worse has really been the reality check I needed. So, I started walking down the road and kept getting approached by men. Some wanted to talk, others wanted money, others wanted to give me money for something, and one in particular was quite stubborn. He walked and talked to me. I had two choices: tell him to get away from me or use him as protection against the other men that would most assuredly talk to me. I chose to continue talking to him. It calmed me down a bit and he was a nice fellow. By the time he turned off to go home, I was lost. Competely and utterly lost. I didn’t see a metro sign anywhere, there were no maps, and even though I saw street signs, I couldn’t find them on my maps. I saw no women on the streets, only men and none of them were speaking French or Dutch, so I knew I wasn’t in the best part of town. I prayed and prayed and prayed and finally found a metro station and looked on my map to orient myself in the city. Well, wouldn’t you know it…I was on the exact opposite end of where I needed to be. Sure, I took the right street, but when I left the parking deck, I took a right instead of a left and didn’t look back. So, it wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. I got on the metro (after allowing myself a good 2 minutes to freak out and let go of any tears and fears that I had) and ran to the hostel when I got off. I know that God was with me that night and I know I could have disappeared and no one would have ever known. I got too comfortable and thought I knew the city enough to not consult my map every few blocks. I’ve learned my lesson and am thankful nothing worse happened. Please, y’all, please be careful. I’m going to do a bit more travelling alone this summer and I’m glad that happened now rather than later so I can remember what it felt like to be that afraid. Looking back, no one was out to hurt me, and they probably would have helped if I’d asked, but nevertheless it wasn’t a good situation. I got into my room, laid down, and was so exhausted from the past hour’s excitement that I fell asleep with my clothes and the lights on.

June 8- I set my alarm for 8am and for some reason, none of the other girls in my room were up at that time, so in my sleep state I just assumed there was a time difference of which I was unaware. Then a half hour later I realized how crazy that assumption had been. The only time there was a time change was when I went to the UK and Ireland. Belgium is in the other direction. There was no time change. The girls just weren’t getting up. Check out was at 10am and breakfast stopped being served at 9am, so I jumped out of bed, changed clothes, packed, un-made my bed and ran downstairs to the breakfast room. I was just in time, too. Unfortunately, the breakfast wasn’t all that worth it. A normal breakfast, according to the Van Gogh Hostel, was 5 slices of bread, 1 slice of cheese, a bowl of cereal, a glass of OJ or Grapefruit Juice, and a cup of coffee. I managed to eat 2 slices of bread and drank 2 cups of coffee. Then I checked out, dropped off my bag and was on my way. I knew exactly what I was going to do today. I walked through the Botanical Gardens again, and then took this walking tour that the map suggested. It led me through this really ruffian area so I whizzed through that, and then I saw the European Parliament and all that other cool EU stuff. I saw a sign that said Opening Day in June and I was like, oh man! If only it wasn’t Sunday, but no no, the opening day was yesterday, so I totally could have seen it had I known. Ugh. I was so mad at myself. I couldn’t believe that I’d missed such a great opportunity. (I’m still kicking myself.) I finished my walk and ended up at this pizza restaurant recommended by the map. It was good and fairly cheap (2 slices and a drink for 7e) and was nice to sit down. One piece was a bit spicy for me, but I was full after the first one anyway. I took a bus back to the center of Brussels and then took the metro to the Atomium. The weather was great today- hot and sunny. Perfect for seeing a cool thing like that. It was bigger than I thought it would be, which is what she said, but I guess that’s what people say about the Eiffel Tower, too. I’ve heard, like the ET, that it’s not worth it to go to the top so I saved my money. The best part about the Atomium was that there was a huge exhibition of Spain and Hispanic cultures underneath it and on the lawn. Everything was authentically made- paella, tamales, mixed drinks, churros, and anything you relate the Spanish-speaking world with was there. It made me sad I’d already eaten because the paella looked awesome! Seeing all that Spanish stuff reminded me of Liz which made me miss her. There was also a horse-show with flamenco dancing! It was just a really neat thing to have seen- sorta like I got to go to Spain AND Belgium in one trip! I spent an hour and a half there and then got on the tram- another suggestion. This tram went around the south end of the city but passed some really neat things. It’s nice because the tram follows the street and is slower than a bus so I got to see cool things and everything. The metro is probably two times faster, but I had time to kill. I still had a lot to do, but I crossed off seeing the African Museum (the Georgia Bums said it was good, though) so that opened up a block of time. I still hadn’t gotten any postcards, either! The tram ride was fun and I’m glad that I did it. I got to see how all the locals live. Well, if you can call them locals. It’s a veritable UN in Brussels! Or, a European Union. Haha. I heard Spanish, German, Dutch, French, Chinese, and a smidge of English. I accidentally went one stop too far so I had to walk back, but that was fine. I walked through a big archway which is connected to a fine car museum. The arch is on the same street at the EU stuff so I passed that again, lamenting the fact that I’m a dummy. Then, I walked to the center of the city and grabbed an ice cream at this famous place called “Australian Ice Cream.” Every time I’ve seen one there’s been a line, so I had to try it. Of course, it was wonderful and a perfect treat on the hot day. Then, I walked back to the hostel and grabbed my stuff. Again, I remembered that I’d forgotten to get postcards but I figured they’d have them at the train station. They did, but only a few. The main Relay store wasn’t open, just the tiny one, so of course I paid an arm and a leg for them, but I figured I needed something to commemorate my time there. So, half of my appendages gone, I crawled my way to the train and got on. There were some things I wish I’d seen/done: the inside of the Parliament, NATO/OECD, African Museum, and eaten at fritterie (but I had fries Saturday night). So, not much, really. I think I did all right. I was tired, blistered, and dirty, but somehow refreshed from a great break from school and work. I got home, had dinner, showered, and went to bed. It was a great way to spend a weekend.

Things I noticed about Brussels:

- People eat faster than in France.
- Police have both kinds of sirens- American and European. I missed the American one.
- You hear a lot of Dutch on the street but never from people working, like in a restaurant or grocery store. It’s all in French.
- I’m lucky I speak French, people rarely spoke English if I spoke to them in French.
- On the other hand, if I was approached by someone, they would usually speak English to me because I, apparently, look like someone who speak English. (I asked.)
- Everyone yields to the tram- pedestrians, buses, cars.
- Not all streets are marked at every corner.
- A lot more smokers here than in Paris.
- Nearly everyone drives instead of walking.
- There was not as much English spoken here as I thought there would be.
- Museums are cheap.
- Signs are in Dutch and French, much like how in Dublin they are in Irish and English.
- Behind where the European Parliament is is kind of sketchy. It looks like they put the EP there to build up that are and make it nicer.
- The city air is really dusty. There’s very little visibility any time of day. I don’t know if it’s pollution or what.
- There aren’t many places open, or people out, on Saturday and Sunday, or maybe it was because of the rain.
- Some bars still allow smoking even though it’s illegal.
- In general, there are a lot more men than women.
- Soooo many types of architechture (probably the Franco-Dutch/modern influences)
- A lot of construction is going on everywhere.
- There is a river that runs under Brussels, but they built the city on top of it.
- I didn’t see many people my age, a lot of adults and younger children.
- Belgians love ice cream and waffles…not necessarily together. I think fritteries (French fry places) are more of a touristy thing, because I didn’t see that many.
- They love markets- I saw probably 4 different ones.
- There aren’t too many grocery stores, and they’re certainly not big.
- When you buy tickets for the metro/bus/tram, there is sort of an honor system that you will put it through a machine. There are no turnstiles to go through and I’ve never seen anyone checking them to make sure you’re not using a ticket from last March.

The stress of my modern office, has caused me to go into a depression...well, just sick.

May 30, continued: That Friday night after I got done with classes, I went back to the Embassy to talk to more people about work stuff. I didn’t really get escorted around or a real tour of the place, so I was kind of lost for a while. I didn’t get much done, but I was really excited to be there so I didn’t care. I got to leave early because it was Friday so I was able to go home and wait for Kelly and Austin. I got home about an hour before them and rested. It had been a long day. That night we went to the Hotel de Ville and got bikes for the bike ride that goes around Paris from 10pm to midnight. I should have warned Kelly that I can’t ride a bike, but I forgot myself! (Okay, I can ride a bike, but one time I tried to ride my dad’s bike and my feet couldn’t reach the pedals so I was balanced for about a millisecond flailing my arms and legs. Then I toppled over. My mom and about 6 teenage boys were watching as I fell off a bike and scraped my knee. It. was. awful. So, now, my mother is hesitant about me riding a bike. She also takes great pleasure in saying to me: “It’s as easy as riding a bike…*giggle* well, if riding a bike was easy for you it would be.” Haha. I take it all with a grain of salt, though. That’s my mom.) So, everything was going great. We passed lots of great sights and the weather was nice enough for a bike ride. Then, it happened. I was trying to fix something on my bike and I was distracted and a man wasn’t watching and ran straight into me. I braced for the fall and closed my eyes. And I didn’t fall!! I later found a bad bruise, but I stayed on that bike like white on rice. The man, however, FLEW over his handlebars and scraped up his arm. His bike pedal went through the spokes of one of my wheels, too. I was so embarrassed but incredibly glad I wasn’t hurt. Poor guy. I kept apologizing and he said it was fine. We stopped for a little while at Trocadero to look at the Eiffel Tower and then went back to Hotel de Ville. Right in front of the Notre Dame, Kelly’s tire burst. We couldn’t believe how much we’d been through in two hours. It was crazy! But none of us was hurt, just hungry. We went home and made food to eat and watched some of Love, Actually (one of my favorite movies. It’s completely brilliant.). Then we went to bed- and didn’t set an alarm.

May 31- Kelly and Austin woke up early while I was still asleep and we decided I would meet them somewhere in the afternoon. I needed sleep. About 1pm Kelly called and we decided to meet close to the Notre Dame, meaning, of course, I had to get up. Ha. I got there and then we went to Paul’s bakery at Hotel de Ville for des sandwiches mixtes (ham, swiss cheese, and butter…basically the BEST sandwich invented ever). We were going to get water there but I asked the cashier if there was a grocery store close by and she said yes, so we got 3L of water for 50 cents instead of 33cl for 1,50. Crazy!! Then we got on the metro and went to the Porte de Clingancourt for the Marche aux Puces (flea market). We didn’t get anything, just looked around. Kelly kept saying how overwhelmed she was and taking pictures of all the antiques. I think they liked it. Then, we went to the Moulin Rouge and got a few pictures and then walked to the Sacre Coeur. We got really tired so we stopped and grabbed a café before we walked up the hill. We were having such a nice time, we got another one. Haha! By then, the caffeine had kicked in and we were ready to roll. Inside the church was a nun choir singing and it was really pretty. When we left to walk to the Place des Tertres, we walked through a little exposition of food, wine, and other specialties of a southern region in France. Kelly and I wanted to try some wine so she got a glass of red and I wanted to try the white. The man looked at me, and, I’m not lying, said “Wine is only for pretty women.” That was it. He then turned and started speaking to someone else. I couldn’t get over it. Wine is only for pretty women? What was he saying?!?! Ohh man, I was so appalled I just laughed it off. I mean, what do you do? At least I know now, right? If I can’t get free wine at a wine tasting then I probably shouldn’t expect drinks to be bought for me at a bar. Lol. Oh well. It’s a good story. At the Place des Tertres it started raining, but Austin still got his caricature done by a nice man who captured his “sad eyes”. It was fun. Then we walked around a bit more and then decided that it was late enough to eat, so we stopped at this place called “Marie Restaurant.” They had a review from an American guidebook and it looked fine, it had plenty of prix fixe menus, so we went in. I had French onion soup and a mediocre piece of steak with frites. Of course, we had wine with it. I didn’t have a dessert, but rather a café. We had great conversation and then decided to leave at a little after 10 because we still wanted to go out to the Buddha Bar for a drink! :-) We went home and changed real fast and then left again. The Buddha Bar is really close to the Embassy so it was fun to show Austin and Kelly that. We went inside and after having a little time getting seats, got a great spot and ordered drinks. I couldn’t believe how expensive they were! We each got one drink and the bill was as expensive for the drinks as the dinner we’d had earlier! It was a cool place with loud music but I was thankful to have gone. It was really sweet of Kelly. We left just in time to see the Tour Eiffel turn off her lights and just put on the sparkly ones at 1am. It’s something that you must see. It’s beautiful. We went home after that, Kel and Aus packed, and then we went to bed.

June 1- We woke up just a few hours later and I took Kelly and Austin to the airport. They were nice enough to agree to take my winter clothes home and they got on the flight. I was sad to see them go, but Austin is graduating (I think as I write this probably) and then they’re off on a cruise or something. And they say the Provows travel! Well…I guess they do…my parents and brother went to Hong Kong that weekend. Those jetsettin’ Provows. I went home after dropping of Kelly and Austin, shopped for my food, and despite my best efforts to stay awake, fell fast asleep. I had planned to go to the Louvre, so when I woke up, I went over there. Well…the line was so long that by the time I would have gotten it, it would have been closed! I laughed sooo hard when I saw all the tourists standing there. Not at them. I’m not that mean. It just made me feel so lucky to be living here. I had one of those moments where I was like, I know I should be disappointed I’m not going in today, but I can see it another time and do something else fun. So I walked for a while, looked around, listened to music, and just explored. It was a perfect lazy Sunday. I came home, relaxed, and went to bed semi-early, but didn’t sleep very well.

June 2- I woke up, showered, and got ready for a conference that was on International Property Rights that day. I was kind of thrown into it last minute so I didn’t really know what to do. I kept asking people what I could do and would do it, but once the conference started, I was told to sit down and watch. Not like I cared. I was so tired I could have fallen asleep standing up. But I didn’t. I drank as much coffee as I could but still, I felt no change. I got to see a bunch of people speak- it was quite an interesting conference. The President of the Motion Picture Association and the Motion Picture Association of America were there, as well as the French First Lady’s music manager from the company Naïve. Of course, the Ambassador was there. I heard of a cocktail party that was going on later and they said I could come if I wanted, and I thought it would be cool. I had to go to class that day, so I left at the lunch break. I went to class and then came back home to take a nap before the party. Well, I was so tired, I slept through it. I was bummed, but I was feeling so terrible I was almost thankful. I didn’t look great, either, so I thought it would be okay. Let the record show that I have not been asked if I attended not. If I had been more involved in the organizing of the conference I definitely would have gone, of course. And there will be plenty more. I woke up, ate dinner, and went back to bed.

June 3- Tuesday was my first real day of work. I woke up, showered, got dressed, and was on my way. I went to my office (!) and then realized I didn’t have any way to access my computer, so after about an hour or so of working on it, figured it out and was on. Then I met one of the interns whose office is across from me, Tallie from UVA. She seemed nice and invited me to lunch with the rest of the interns. I was a little surprised that most of the other interns already knew each other and was worried I wasn’t going to fit in. I went there and met Matt (Vanderbilt), Becca (Yale), Ranna (UC Berkeley), Brendon (Michigan), and Meghan (WashU in St. Louis, but she’s from Cali). They were all very friendly and had been there a few days with each other. We all kind of got to know each other, but then I had to go to class. We’d made plans to go out after work so I gave Tallie my cell number and told them I would see them later. That evening, I arrived at our meeting point early, and over 30 minutes of rain and cold and no interns, I decided to go home. I was crushed. I knew they were going to go out together and because of my class I couldn’t be included. That made me sad. However, I got to talking to Ciara and we made plans to see Sex and the City! I was already close to a theater so we met up and saw it. It was sooooooo good. I haven’t seen all the episodes but still understood it all. I thought it was well made and not as predictable as I thought it would be. I laughed, cried, just about every emotion possible. Brilliant film. And the clothes!! Unbelievable. So, my day ended fine, I went home, ate, and went to bed.

June 4- I woke up yesterday with a better attitude but a sore throat. Not feeling well at all. I got to work and got directions from my boss, John, to do some reading on my computer. Well, something was up with it and I couldn’t open any files. It was weird. So, I filed a request and then did some other paperwork I needed to do. I had to leave kind of early for class, but I knew I would be back at 3pm. The interns had a great time the night before and had made plans to go to get falafel this afternoon. I could make that! I went to class, came back, and my computer was still not fixed. John came in at about 5pm and asked how the reading was going and I had to confess that I’d been unable to do anything. He made one phone call and 5 minutes later someone was upstairs working on it. I felt horrible, but the few times tried to go to his office and tell him about my computer, he wasn’t there. Anyway, it was fixed and so it was all good. I found an office of a man that is friends of a man my parents know and so I introduced myself to him. He was a very sweet guy and took a genuine interest in my situation what with school and work going on. I get a lot of looks when I say that I’m a student at SciencesPo and interning there. Not bad looks, thankfully. After work ended all the interns met downstairs and a Marine came over so I got to talking to him because I wanted to see if he knew one of the Marines I’d met at a bar a few months back- he did. I hope I get to hang out with them more… just doing my duty as an American! Haha. We went to L’As du Falafel and got our meals. I felt silly though, because I ordered mine sans sauce because I knew they had a spicy sauce and I didn’t want it, but I forgot about their other sauce that wasn’t. Oh well. I had a good time and got to know everyone a bit better. They decided to go out to ice cream after but I had to do the last touches on my paper and was beat after the long day.

June 5- Today I woke up tired, showered, had breakfast, and just as I was getting ready, a man for our leak came and did some measurements. He told us that the metro was going extra slow that morning so I had to leave even sooner than I thought! I got there just a few minutes later and arrived to my computer that wouldn’t turn on. About 5 minutes after I arrived, I got a call from someone in IT saying they couldn’t access my computer and what was wrong. I was like, wow, creepy. They practically knew my computer was broken before I did! I let the man in and he told me that my computer was kinda broken and he was going to bring a replacement. I had a briefing at 10am and it was 9:45am. I was freaking out that I wasn’t going to make it, so I ran to the office and told them that I needed him to come later after the meeting. He told me to talk to someone else. So, and this is the reason I’m writing this story, because of this conversation. The man and I went up to the woman and he started telling her that he needed a replacement computer. She looked at me, looked at him, and asked, “Who is this?” I assumed she was talking about me, but I didn’t know. He said, “Her computer is broken.” She said- to him again, “Who is this? What is this about?” I turned to her and held out my hand, introduced myself, and explained the situation. She looked back at the man and said, “No. We don’t have enough computers for you to replace it.” I couldn’t believe this conversation. But, it was time for my meeting and I had to go. A nice man offered to look at my computer while I was gone and she consented. My meeting was good, but I was really tired. After the meeting, I saw the man walk out of my office and I asked if he was able to salvage it. He said yes and when I checked, it worked great! Yay! I could actually do work now! At 12:30 Ranna, Matt, Meghan, Tallie, and I met for lunch. That was nicer because it was a smaller group so less intimidating. I sent out an e-mail to everyone inviting them to a going-away party for Chuck tonight and I think a bunch of people are coming! Yay! That will be fun. We’re going to a club at 10:30, so I hope I can stay awake. I definitely won’t be staying long because I need my beauty rest. I had class from 2:30-9:30pm today and around 8pm I started dragging. What’s wrong with me?! I’m going to the gym, but not getting a lot of sleep. My gym is open from 9am-10pm, so I can’t go before work, I have to go after, which sucks. Anyway, I’m going to work on that this weekend.

And NOW that I’m all caught up!!! :-) I’m going to Brussels this weekend and can’t wait. Also, I booked a trip to Berlin the weekend of the 28-29 and one of my friends from middle school will be there so I think he’ll be able to show me around. Coincidentally, a girl in my Spain class will be there then visiting friends from high school (Is Berlin the city in which one walks down memory lane?) so maybe we’ll see each other there.

I turned in my wine paper and now I only have one econ paper to turn in and one Spain test. YAY!!! Then work for 40 hrs/week…not so yay. I’m excited to be travelling the weekends but the other interns aren’t that interested in it so I don’t think I’ll be as close with them as those sticking around, but I’ve got to take advantage of this opportunity!

It’s been a long week. It’s had its ups and down. The weather has been cold and wet. Hopefully next week will be better all around. I can’t believe just a few weeks ago I was sun bathing in the Jardin de Luxe! Bring back the sun!!!