Steph in Paris

This game--- the game is over.

2008-08-10T22:10:00.002+02:00

My internship is over. I'm leaving Wednesday.

My brother is here and we're having tons of fun.

I don't wanna go home.

That's all I have time for.

biz

The writing's on the wall...

2008-08-05T22:45:00.005+02:00

It's my last week in my internship and, wow, it sure has been amazing. I've learned a lot. I've really enjoyed it and I'm so thankful for this opportunity. I got a killer letter of recommendation from John, too. :-)

I'm trying to keep up with writing what's going on at least on paper so I can put it on the computer at a later date. It really just is one of the last things I want to do when I get home. But maybe, with any luck, I'll have it all up to date by the time I leave! Haha.

France is closing down slowly but surely...everyone is on holiday like they always do in August. If you want to go to France and not run into French people, August is the time to go. Just a little tip. :-) Even the Sarkozy has nothing on his calendar for this month because he's on the beach with Carla! Haha. Oh, the French.

It's sort of a sad way to end the year, because I didn't get to say good-bye to many of the people on my street that I've befriended. However, my baker DID ask me out the other day! Haha! I was on my way to a bar to meet a friend and he saw me and we had our first real conversation that didn't involve an exchange of money for a baguette. Haha. I politely declined his invitation but we talked about what a bummer it was that we were only just now getting to know each other. Haha...oh well. The pizza guy and I have reached a new level in our relationship, as well. We now care about how each other is doing. We first say "hello" as has become habit, but now, we add in a little "Ca va?/ Oui, ca va et toi?/ Ca va." ("How are you?/ Good, you?/ Good.") It's getting serious, y'all. There have been a lot of screaming couples on the street lately. I don't know why, but the other night a woman was yelling at a man, today I saw a fist fight break out AND the chinese restaurant had a fit below me- throwing plates and everything! I think it's because all these people can't afford to get out of the country for the month. Or maybe it's the heat. I don't know, but these people are in bad moods. Even more than usual.

My brother is *supposedly* coming over this weekend and I couldn't be more excited...we're finally going to get to do all the things he's wanted to do. If he comes over, that is.

I'm getting stressed about moving back. I get these mini-anxiety attacks which I haven't had in a looooong time. I remember getting them when I was a sophomore but now I think I'm more scared of moving back to the United States and not fitting in or not having people remember me or like me and all that (Though I think my sorority has finally realized I'm gone- that was horrible!! - if you don't remember, or maybe I didn't write it, in November of last year I got an e-mail from one of my sisters asking where I was because my roll call fines were adding up and my membership was coming into question...I guess the memo didn't get out to the whole sorority that I was gone?). I had a bit of a cold these past couple weeks and am still trying to get a good sleeping pattern and my imagination is pretty active so getting good sleep is harder to come by. Prayers are appreciated.

I was accused of stealing today. Yes. Me. Read on!

I walked into the EASE (the convenience store and gift store in the embassy) today and was asked by the cashier to not leave without talking to her. I went into the convenience store and was rung up and ready to pay and the cashier came back and began questioning me about my purchases at the convenience store and gift shop the day before. I’d purchased nothing at the gift shop and had only gone through the gift shop to get to the convenience store- I knew of no other way. At first, she was saying I was carrying a bag wrong, or a certain way. I asked her if that was a fashion tip, but eventually I understood what she was saying- that I had taken a bag. The cashier in the convenience store finally spoke up (which would have been much more helpful earlier, as I believe her English skills to be better for situations like this) and said that a Longchamp bag had gone missing yesterday and the other cashier believed I was the culprit.

I explained to both women that yesterday, after carrying a large box in my bag down to the Post Office and sending said package, I folded up my bag - as Longchamps do, which is why I found it so convenient- and went to get a cup of soup and a Fresca at the Convenience store. I paid for my food and left. In no way did I look at any Longchamp bags or was even trying to hide the fact that I was carrying my bag. It was my own, and I should be able to carry it however I want. I was not approached at all, and when I asked the first cashier about this she said she was busy with customers. I asked her why she didn’t ask any one else to speak to me and she had no answer. I asked to see a security tape, as I know cameras are all over the Embassy, but they were unable to show me one. There was no reason for such an accusation as there was absolutely no proof. What’s worse, is that my Longchamp bag isn’t even real- it’s a knock-off from China that my mother bought me at Christmas! It’s not any of the colors displayed in the gift shop and has holes and marks all over it from use as well as the fact that the bag the cashier was accusing me of stealing isn’t even the same size as the one I have. I understood that bags look alike, and it is unfortunate for them to have lost a bag on the very day I carried mine in, but I was still upset.

What is written above is basically what I wrote to the manager of the store and I ended it with an offer to bring the alleged bag in tomorrow as proof. I was so mad that this happened 3 days before I was done! It didn't seem right- I was innocent. The manager called me a bit later and was so so so apologetic. She did, however, mention that a *some* (yeah, more than one person) people called/wrote e-mails saying they saw/overheard the commotion and 1) thought I was innocent 2) thought the way I was being treated wasn't right. So that's good. I'm meeting with the manager and the accuser tomorrow morning at 10:30 before the store opens so that I can show my bag and she can apologize.

I'm not mad anymore, just frustrated that I had to expound energy on trying to prove my innocence. I apologized to the manager in case the e-mail was a bit harsh, but she said no and she was glad I wrote it after it happened because she wanted a detailed account. She said she would take disciplinary action with the woman and that I need not worry. Okay, I'm not worried. I just want to clear my name. :-)

After that, though, the most amazing thing happened. I got called to answer a technical problem for a woman's computer. A Frenchwoman, mind you. She couldn't get her CD to play. I took one look, opened the drive, TURNED THE CD OVER and pushed play. Worked like a charm. Unbelievable! Pretty much that made my ENTIRE day. Poor Frenchies with their bad technology skills.

Craziness. Well, that's about all the computer I can stand. I really really have been keeping up with my life- just not on a machine. I want to remember (almost) every moment of my last week here because I was so good about my first weeks...I wanna see the difference! Haha!

biz

What are we doin' in the middle of the Champs-Elysees?!

2008-07-30T22:32:00.005+02:00

Sunday- Mom and Dad arrived and I made chocolate croissants and coffee while we caught up. Then we went to the Marche aux Puces where I got some much-needed leggings. I wanted to get more flats but they were out of my favorite kind. I'll go back before I leave, though. Then we went to L'As du Falafel- they'd never seen it or had it before and my Dad had never heard of it!
They really enjoyed it and I was glad I could teach them something new even though they'd been to Paris so many times. Then we walked through Ile St Louis and Ile de la Cite, and finally through my favorite little area next to St Michel. Which of course, they knew about. We were all really tired (Remember I suffer from sympathy jet lag.) so we went home and took a nap. When we woke up, it was time for dinner and I made my famous Irish Pepper Tart. Mom and Dad loved it! I thought I did a pretty good job, and it helps that they were hungry. We watched some TV, as Daddy is amazing and fixed it, then took a walk on the Promenade Plantee that is close to my apartment just to get some fresh air, played cards, and then went to bed.

Monday- We woke up and the repairman for the leaky wall showed up. Finally- I couldn't waittoget that fixed.I had basically let John take hold of the little project and didn't really keep up with what was going on, and then he left. So I had papers to go through, letters to read (that I didn't even know had come!), and insurance and repair companies to deal with. John had been waiting for the repairman to show up for 3 weeks, but then he left, so then I got the lovely task of asking where the repairman was- only to find out that the insurance never called a repairman- that was our job! Somewhere down the line it got lost in translation, so I wish I'd been more proactive about the whole thing. In less than a week I had everything running like it should have probably in May or June. Just another cultural experience that down the road I will be thankful for. The repairman was nice and helpful. He said he would tear the wall out where it was the worst, scrape off the paint, then cover the hole up, and paint the wall. Pretty big stuff. I was a little nervous, I had to admit, I mean, this isn't my apartment. It's not my fault, but still. Plus, they were coming at a pretty inconvenient time with my parents here, but it had to get done before August because they were shutting down their business for vacation. Anyway, he said it would take a week. I went to work and Mom and Dad had a nice breakfast that I'd left for them. I really wanted to stay and enjoy it but I had to go...I wondered why I didn't make myself such nice breakfasts in the morning- it wasn't hard! On the metro to work, John and I saw each other. I hadn't heard from him in weeks and had finally just let it go and chalked it up as his loss, so seeing him put my knickers in a twist. Work was okay but I would have much rather been frolickng with my 'rents, but they met me at the Embassy and we went to my favorite boulangerie for lunch- that was closed. So, I quick thought of another restaurant in the area that I liked and we went there. It's right across from SciencesPo and it has some of the best burgers so that's what we all got. Daddy had a 1664 (beer), a cheeseburger,and fries, so it looked like he was at a fancy MacDo. The burgers were quite good but a little raw. I guess that's how it's done in France. I didn't really mind- as long as it wasn't mooing. We walked back to work and then I spent the rest of the afternoon doing something important, I'm sure. After work I came home and lazed about for a bit. Then we decided to go out to the Bastille area for Happy Hour. We had a few drinks and good conversation and it was fun to be able to go out to a bar with my parents- a first! We grabbed a crepe for dinner at the creperie right next door to one of my favorite bars and were walking back to the metro when I saw John- again. Okay, wait- do y'all remember John? He was British, met him on the metro, blah-dy-blah, now he's a, um, well he's not on my Good List right now, let's say that. Okay, so I'd just been all excited about having a good time with my parents not thinking about him since I'd seen him that morning and it was just awkward and I just wanted to remember the Bastille as a fun place I'd been to my parents with instead of where John lived, but no, b!tch had to ruin that, too. I told my parents that he was there and they were like, go on, go talk to him. And since I was lookin' pretty cute, I pulled up my big girl panties, sashayed over there, and in my best drippin'-with-suga Southern belle accent said hello. Flabbergasted isn't even sufficient to describe his face. He asked me what I was doing there and I said stalking him, and for a second, I think he believed me. Haha. Come on! Gimme a break. Anyway, he eventually introduced me to his friends who promptly invited me to sit and have a drink with them, but I politely declined- even though it would have been delightful to have done so. I said good-bye and went back to my parents. My mom was shocked I returned. The whoooole way home it was all, "Go back there, go talk to him!" Haha, I tried to tell her that if the past was any indication of the future, the night wouldn't end up with me coming home. That didn't bother her as much as the fact that I actually was declining his invite. Haha. Sooo funny, my mom. I think my dad was just observing the whole thing from afar. Whatever makes me happy is his point of view. He's a good supporter. Needless to say, I was surprised to get a text from John later that night apologizing for his rude behavior with a string of sorry excuses and the possiblity of hanging out before I leave. Whatevs. There are tons more James McAvoy lookalikes in this world. I decided yet again to take the "his loss" standpoint. Overall, I had tons more fun with my parents than any dumb boy...so it was a good day.

Tuesday I woke up and went to work. The repairman was going to do his business again today, but he could already tell he wasn't going to finish early like he'd thought he might, so to Friday it was. Mom and Dad came to the Embassy for lunch and I showed them around, too. They seemed very impressed and basically got to meet everyone I interact with on a daily basis. Pizza and salad was on the menu that day so that's what Mom and I had and Daddy got this weird meat casserole/stew thing that he said he liked. It was really neat that they came to the Embassy. I got to show them my office and they met some interns and all that. They were as amazed as I was about all the American food that was imported, too. That night was a lazy one, we had esacrgots and mussels- probably more than we should have, but it was soooo good. I hadn't had escargots in a really long time! We played a few rounds of Cribbage and watched some of the Office and just had a nice time sitting about.

Wednesday was almost as uneventful. Mom and Dad came and we went out to lunch at this pretty cafe close to La Madeleine church. Mom and I had chicken and fries and Daddy had lasagne. Then we got cafe creme (thicker than cafe latte) and had our dessert. We had quite a long lunch, so it wasn't too much time before I got to go home. We stayed in again and watched TV, movies, and played games. For dinner we had the rest of the tarte I'd made on Sunday night.

Thursday was a big day. The hole in the wall was patched and he was going to finish everything tobe ready to paint on Friday. It was Tallie's last day so I said good-bye to her, too. She was the only intern I really felt I made some sort of connection with. I think that was because we had offices across the hall from each other, and I was always travelling in the weekends. It doesn't bother me so much, it just is kind of strange now with out her because I don't know anyone well enough, and usually they hang out after work and I'm not included in that so I can't. It's all good though. I've got plenty keeping me busy, and I had an excuse this week, what my parents and all. That afternoon I went to Eric Kayser Boulanger that I wanted to go to on Monday. I picked up sandwiches and met them at the Eiffel Tower. We planned to meet at 11 but it was more like 12:30 when I showed. I'd forgotten how hard it was to get to the Tower. You can get close but the metros don't go too too close so you have to walk quite a ways. Thankfully, Mom and Dad had a little fiasco so they didn't wait too too long. I felt bad about their drama though, because the line they took by my house is under construction. Well, I knew this, and I'd heard announcements about it and I knew about the bus that makes up for the stops that it blocks, but my parents didn't. I didn't think to tell them about it and they didn't call me asking for help, so poor things. Anyway, on the way back I filled them in and they had a breeze. For lunch we sat under the bridge and listened to the sax player. I like him. He plays oldies but goodies. Mom and Dad went on a bike ride after lunch and I went back to work. At a little after 6 we met up to go to Marie's parents house for drinks.

THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!

2008-07-30T22:00:00.006+02:00

I woke up at 8 just in time to get to work. I left Mom and Dad sleeping and stepped out just as the repairman was coming in. When I got to work, I realized I was the only one in my section of the office! Tallie and Mark left the day before, Anita was leaving that morning, and there was never any one in the 5th office! So for 2 weeks I'll have no one. :-( 2 weeks...le sigh. I worked on the PowerPoint Florence gave me to update but I was pretty tired from the night before, so not much got done. My parents called when they work up and asked what I wanted to do for lunch. Thankfully, I had decided that and we made plans to meet up at Cafe Les Deux Magots (probably one of the most famous ones in Paris) at 1pm. Finally it was 12h30 and I left to try to figure out some things with the bank. The insurance money is supposed to have been put in my account but it hadn't been and I was getting anxious to pay the repairman. The whole bank episode was quite an experience- for the first time in a long time I had absolutely no idea what was going on! I didn't understand the simplest French and made a complete fool of myself. I'll tell you though, because you'll enjoy it as much as I did. You see, when I looked at my bank accounct, I thought I was looking at a balance that said the insurance had paid me 800E and will pay me 300E in a few days. Ironically, this is how much the insurance was to have paid me: 1100E. It also said somethign about "plafond," which means ceiling in French- which I had redone. I took this to mean that for the repair of my ceiling, there would be 2 dispersements
of 800E and 300E. So when I went to the counter at the bank and did my whole explaining thing, the lady looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently, I was all mixed up. The "account" I'd been looking at was not an account at all. And I hadn't been dispersed any money. The sheet I'd glanced at said the maximum- or ceiling- I could withdraw from the ATM per day was 800E and the most I could take out per transaction was 300E. How silly of me! When I realized my blunder I tried to explain my faux ps to the teller, but she was not amused. At all. So, I chuckled to myself and went on my merry way. I needed that money, but I was just going to have to wait a bit longer. I got to the restaurant and didn't see my parents so I went inside the St. Germain des Pres church like I'd been meaning to for a while. It was beautiful and old and lovely. It was built during the Moorish times, making it the oldest church in Paris. Of course, it's been remodeled quite a bit. I called my parents after I was done thanking God I'd made it to my 21st year and found them and sat down at the restaurant. We looked over the menu and I was able to order in French, no matter how badly the waiter wanted to practice his English. I chose the house salad. In Paris (maybe France) this is more like the Club Salad in the States- egg, cheese, ham or chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, corn, and carrots. The house dressing is usually a creamy mustard vinagrette of which I've become fond. When in doubt at a resto, I order this salad. You can't go wrong. So, I got my salad, my mom got a tomato/mozzarella/basil salad (I've found places that do tomato/mozzarella/proscuitto ham- it's so good! But I don't like basil, anyway.) and my dad got a Quiche Lorraine (ham and cheese). They were all delicious- and very French. We also got a bottle of Chardonnay and split that. At that moment I became useless to the Embassy for the rest of the day. Not that I was even buzzed, it was just the perfect amount to put me in that real sleepy disposition. And I'm prone to sleepiness as it is. The wine was certainly a treat, though! And it was good- perfect with a salad. Fresh and cold. We had an excellent lunch- well, except when the woman next to us got wine spilled on her white capris, then suddenly my mom was much more interested in her than the Birthday Girl. ;-) I'm kidding, but this lady was pretty sad. The waiter poured salt all over her, because that's what the French believe takes out red wine the best. He said the "salt drinks the wine." That day, the salt was not thirsty and the woman did her best at getting her meal comped... compt?...for free. But that's why you gotta think about those things! I know I do, but that's because I'm prone to as much clumsiness as sleepiness...probably because I'm sleepy. Aaaanyway, sitting at the cafe just a few blocks from my school brought back a lot of memories and made me realize I didn't have much time left. I was getting sad. After my internship, I didn't have any more excuses as to why I needed to stay in Paris. I do think, honestly, that traveling throughout Europe has made me love Paris more. If that's possible. Okay, no more talking about Paris. Lunch was good. Then we went to my favorite creperie and got Crepes aux nutella- which made my mother decide she needed crepe pan. From Paris. So we went to the Monoprix across the street and got her one. I also got some cheap sparkling juice for later that evening and my dad found some killer...placemats that he just had to have. We all left satisfied with our purchases. I went back to work and Mom and Dad went home. This trip has been nice for them because they just go home when they're tired and go out when they want. It's been very relaxing which is good because they don't do that very often. I went home after leaving work (early!) and was greeted by a clean apartment, escargots, baguettes, wine, and PURPLE FLOWERS!! My favorite. My parents are sooo sweet. We sat down and watched an episode of the Office while we enjoyed our snack. We also got to talk to Liz- cuz it was her birthday, too! Then, we showered up and went to our restaurant. Y'all, this place was amazing. It's at the top of the Pompidou Museum...well, just- here, look at the link:
http://www.centrepompidou.fr/Pompidou/Communication.nsf/0/C802434866E91C8CC1256D9800513026?OpenDocument&sessionM=3.8&L=2
That was where we went. I'd been to the museum part before and taken pictures from the restaurant terrace, but never did I dream that I would eat there! I thought, oh museum food, gross. But no, this restaurant is quite highly acclaimed among the Parisiens and the chef is very good. It was recommended to me by a Parisienne and so I took her word for it. It has a great view, and it's probably one of the more reasonable places, all things considered. When we arrived the sun was down but it was still light out. We were were going to be able to see the lights of Paris come on. Ahhh. We got a bottle of wine and I did my best translating the menu. I got the duck, my mom got risotto and langoustines and my daddy got the Chateaubriand (steak). They were all excellent- especially my duck! I was really hankering for some, so of course it tasted delish. The lights of Paris slowly switched on and I continued to enjoy my meal. I know I drove my parents crazy with how slow I ate, but I can't help it! I'm trying harder to eat slower in hopes
that one day, I will need less food! Haha. But I do love savoring every little bite. Well, it doesn't help that I talk a lot. Dinner ended and we got coffee and dessert. I got a fraise feuilletee (basically strawberries in between the crispy part of French croissants with a little creme between to make it stick together like a sandwich), and an espresso. My parents each got a boule of ice cream (which I'm pretty sure my dad ate both of) and cafe cremes. That was their favorite. It's different than a cafe latte- made with creme instead of milk. The way they presented it though was neat- 2 little pitchers- one with coffee and one with creme so they could make it as strong as they wanted. We enjoyed our last bits of dessert, walked around the restaurant inside (which was actually really cool, but I'm glad we sat outside. I think my mom would have rathered indoors, but she was sweet to let me choose.) The inside of the restaurant was eccentric (As you can see in the pictures if you click on the link) and matched the uniqueness (?) of the museum. We stood outside on the terrace a bit longer and watched the Eiffel Tower light up and took some pictures. It was so beautiful. I'm so proud I'm able to name the buildings at night just as easily as when they're lit up, too. I loooove Paris. It was the perfect meal and everything. But the night wasn't over! Ohhh no. I dragged my parents to the end of Ile de la Cite and we opened that bottle of sparkling wine and sat on the Seine and drank it. It was the only thing I wanted to do for my birthday since I'd arrived. Sure, everything else was stupendous, but that was the thing I said I would do in 2007. So, to have remembered that and actually fulfilled it- with my parents, no less- was really cool for me. It really was the best 21st birthday I could have ever imagined- with the exception of the absence of my other half. I really did miss Liz a lot that day, even though *somehow* I was able to have some fun. I think she managed without, me, too. And now I've had my 13th, 16th, and 21st birthdays in Paris (among others, I'm sure, but those are the Big Ones). I wonder how many people can say that! At midnight we went home because we had a long day to get ready for- Mom was going back to the States and Daddy and I were on our way to Prague! Not to mention, none of us had packed for it and I had to pack a bag for my mom to take home to the States.

I'm 21!!!!!!

2008-07-25T01:20:00.002+02:00

Happy birthday to my FAVORITE younger twin sister named Liz!!!!!!

I'll be home in a few weeks!!!!

biz

21 in a week!

2008-07-20T04:07:00.002+02:00

My parents are on their way to Paris (via Business Class, no less!!) right this second. I'm so excited I can hardly sit still! I've not seen them in about 3 months. I cleaned the apartment like crazy getting ready for them! I turned John's room into my room so my parents could have the master, moved EVERY piece of furniture in the place, some just a few feet, others to the other side of the apartment, and just basically made it look like a completely different place. I love it. I took tons of pictures just so I could remember how it looked.

Anyway, I'm still just crazy busy with work during the day, not to mention the fact that all I do is sit at a computer, that the last thing I want to do when I get home is get back on one. So sorry. I'll do my best to get back on track.

Hope all is well!!!! I'm turning 21 on Friday and have 3 weeks left in Paris!! :-)

biz

Happy Bastille Day, Tout Le Monde!

2008-07-14T20:59:00.001+02:00

Life's been pretty awesome recently. I've spent time with friends, been to Nice, Monte Carlo, and Lisbon, seen Jack Johnson in concert, and gone to work. I'll definitely be expanding on all that, though! It's just been so fun I've barely had time to think!

I am also now the only one from Georgia Tech over here from the study abroad. 2 people, one including John, left today. :-( And in less than 30 days I'll be back in les Etats-Unis. I'm still trying to figure how I feel about that because I really don't want to go back, but that sounds, I don't know, ungrateful? Selfish? Snobby? Just plain mean? I just really am having fun here and every time I talk about going home I don't get as excited as I feel like I should. And then there's the fact that America is full of Americans. It's been a weird week at work, that's for sure. I think once I get back in the South my faith will be restored in the American people. I don't understand Yanks....or people from CA. More on all that later.

Anyway, I had about 3 days done for the blog but then I accidentally x-ed out and didn't save, so I'm working on it.

xoxo

3-day weekend...heck yes!

2008-07-03T18:49:00.002+02:00

Monday I woke up bright and early. It was only a 4-day week! Which means 3-day weekend! That day was good...I did some work on the EU presidency and then after work I went to Cafe Flore, had an espresso and did the soduko in DirectSoir and finished a book. It was wonderful and relaxing and the perfect thing to do that afternoon. Then I went across the street and checked out the St-Germain-des-Pres cathedral- it's the oldest church in Paris! There was a service going on so I couldn't play tourist but I did take a little look. I'll have to research it more properly later. More properly? That just sounds weird. I went to the store on my way home and grabbed dinner fixins. Hal and Paul came over later that night because it was their last night in Paris!! How sad is that?! I told them that they should go see the Eiffel Tower as a last good-bye and expecially because it is blue (for the EU Presidency...it has 13 stars on it, too). Well, they liked that idea so we actually went! We went there, saw it, and then caught the last trains back. It was nice. The tower is carolina blue so it's bright and pretty. I bet it's really neat every hour when the other lights sparkle. We said our good-byes to Paul, but he said he would visit next year. I sure hope so! Sometimes I can't believe I haven't always known the people I met this year. It's going to be so strange without them around. We got home around one and I was exhausted so I went to bed. John fell asleep packing (he was getting ready to go to London for a week) but then his girlfriend's mom called at 2:30am to get a password for his internet so she could turn in some homework. I felt really bad that Christina had to go through all that trouble just to turn in homework but I was surprised (and maybe a little relieved) that no one was dead. I mean, nothing good happens after midnight, right? So, after that little episode of having to wake John so Christina's mom would stop calling I finally got some good sleep.

Tuesday morning was hectic. I got on the metro around the time I usually do, but it took me half an hour to get about 5 stops! I was going to be extra-super-duper late for work. And there was a staff meeting that morning. Blast. There was a big problem on our line with technical difficulties, passenger problems, and who knows what all. So, at Hotel de Ville, our conductor advised everyone who could get off to do so. I was 5 stops away from work, about a mile and a half, but I was not going to stand in that sweaty train any longer. Plus, I had my flats on and my heels in a bag, my iPod was on, so I just enjoyed a walk down Rue du Rivoli at 9:30am. Some things were opening up, people were already shopping, and Paris was getting busy. If I had time to just lounge around it would have been lovely, but I had things to do. It was still nice, though. I was going to take a bus, but as I found out later, the RER A had an unexpected strike so everyone was taking the bus, too. Something was going on underground. It was madness. I got to work a little after 9:45 and was so embarrassed that I'd missed the meeting. Then, I ran into Tallie who informed me the meeting was moved back to 10am! Praise the Lord!! I was EARLY! Haha. John came in and I apologized profusely for being late, but he didn't seem to have a problem with it. Phew! It was all good. The meeting went off without a hitch and then I went back to work. That evening I walked to Hotel des Invalides and saw Napoleon's Tomb. It was free that night so that was good, too. The Dome de l'Eglise is covered in gold and visible pretty much everywhere. I loved it. Everything was so old and ornate and like, yay Napoleon. I don't know, it was just neat. Alexandre Dumas is entombed there, too. I went to the military museum at the Ecole Militaire which is right next to the church and there is a great (What looks) new museum on Charles de Gualle. I really didn't know that much about him, but he was an amazing fellow. He took France through a lot- WWII, the Algerian War of Independence, the 5th republic, just a lot of really influential yet recent things that have happened in France. It was a good thing to see. I recommend it. It's not really the typical tourist thing, but it is neat. I went home, cooked dinner and enjoyed having the apartment all to myself. Glorious silence. Not that John is loud at all (sometimes I don't even know he's home and he just pops out of his room like magic!) but there's a certain vacant aura that only occurs when it's just me, the projector screen, and a good bottle of wine. :-) I talked to my parents and then went to bed.

Wednesday morning I got up ready for the day. I was to be involved in a meeting of all the heads of each department of the Embassy- including L'Ambassadeur- so I had to look good. I got this cute shirt that reminds me of a cross between Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn so I wore that. And it's a corally-pink color so I was feeling pretty. And as my mom always says, "Look good, feel good." (Right Liz?) I got on the metro and don't you know I'm standing right next to a boy reading a book in English. It intruiged me and I was feeling social so I asked him if he was American. He wasn't. It was better: English. We had a nice conversation and he asked for my name so he could look me up on Facebook. (Ohh technology) He seemed nice and he worked at a law firm right next to the Eiffel Tower aaaand he spoke English (With an accent!) so I decided that seeing him again wouldn't kill me. I got to work, had my meeting (John introduced me and said 3 things about me: went to Sciences Po, going to GT next year, and daughter of 2 Navy pilots, to which Stapes (that's the Ambassador) replied "More on that later!" which we all chuckled about.) It was an interesting enough meeting. Everyone basically updated the Ambassador on what he or she was doing. One department in charge of security told a story about a Russian who had been arrested in Monaco the other day. He was Wanted in New York for a bunch of murders and all this stuff that basically just showed he was not a good guy. So the arrest went down as follows: Man's bank account gets frozen so he leaves town for a few days. USEMB Paris asks Monaco police to keep an eye on his local hangouts, apartment, etc. Monaco police do so, but then one day (I think it was Friday) decide they don't want to have to do surveillance all weekend so they decided to knock on man's door. Man answers door. Monaco police ask if he is the man they are looking for and he says yes, his name is such-and-such. Monaco police arrest him. Haha! Isn't that awesome?! We all had a good laugh about that. We're just glad that man is caught now. The meeting ended and I worked on the EU Presidency calendar (translated it from French to English) and other random things. After work I went to the Maison Europeenne de la Photographie to see Annie Liebovitz's expostion "A Photographer's Life." It was really neat and I got to see a lot of famous pictures that I'd seen in magazines and stuff- even the Demi Moore pregnant one. There was one of Bush and his cabinet members. That struck me a bit. It was strange seeing that man that I'd met in this gallery. Of course, he looked completely different now because that was just when he'd taken Office, but still. The exposition was interesting and I'm glad I saw it. There wasn't much thinking involved, just looking at pictures. She's very talented. She was the one who took those controversial photos of Miley Cyrus a few months back. So that was neat. I grabbed food at the Franprix close by and went home and ate dinner. I checked my e-mail and Facebook and found a message from John the Brit! He asked me to drinks that night so I went, of course. We had a great time and talked about so much stuff. He asked me about American politics and I asked him to say certain British words so I could hear his cute accent. Basically tit-for-tat, right? A little after midnight we still wanted to hang out but I couldn't go too far because I needed to get home for work in the morning, so we went to his apartment and watched "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (man after my own heart- please, that's like one of my favorite movies!) and I ended up falling asleep there. He knew I was tired so just let me stay, as if I was one of his "mates" or something. I couldn't believe I'd just spoken to him that morning. Haha. He said I was very brave to just speak randomly to him like that. I said I am my mother's daughter. :-D And thank goodness for that!!!

I set my alarm just in case I did end up falling asleep chez lui and I got up at 7, went home (with all my neighbors, vegetable/fruit vendors, butchers thinking I'd been up to something naughty the night before...great, as if they need more to talk about) showered, and got to work right on time! I didn't run into any cute British guys on the way in, but I figure everyday can't be a party. I know I always say this and nothing ever does, but "we'll see what happens with him." He's here a little longer than I am so we could potentially see each other quite a bit before I leave, but since I only have a few more weeks here...I don't know. What I do know is that it's "Friday" and it's a 3-day weekend this weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to be doing lots of touristy things and then going to a July 4th Cook-Out (Barbeque) at the Residence. I'm really excited! July 4th just kinda snuck up on me, but it's one of my favorite holidays. I love America. The rest of my day was all right. I wrote a mini-report on digital dividends and the switch over from analog to digital in the coming months/years and then got assigned a project to do a summary of the whole Intellectual Property Rights subject, of which I was involved at the very beginning of my internship. So that's cool. I went to the Tuileries gardens and read for a bit but it was chilly. Who knows what's in store for tonight. :-)

Ich bin ein Berliner- Part Zwei

2008-07-03T18:47:00.000+02:00

The only weird thing about my hostel was that there was only one key per room. So you didn't want to be the first one asleep because then you had to keep the door unlocked so others could get in and, like me, when I thought I was the last so I locked the door, I wasn't. But it was silly of the hostel to think that I was going to fall asleep with all my possessions in an unlocked cupboard. Not to mention I didn't know there was someone else that was going to come in after me (she check in at like 2am or something). So that poor girl had to bang on the door until someone woke up- which, of course, wasn't me. I was so surprised to see someone else in the room. I set my alarm for the last possible second to have enough time to get dressed, pack up, eat breakfast, and check out. I texted Brendan to see if he wanted to hang out, had a cup of coffee (there was no food) and he called me about 20 minutes later. We decided to meet at the Potsdam Platz where the Sony Center is. I'd read somewhere that the Platz was like Berlin's Times Square, but I guess that had to be at night because I didn't really get that sense. The Sony Center is really cool, though- it's a big dome but open, so on the inside are like restaurants and a movie theater and stuff. Really neat. Potsdam Platz, Brendan taught me, was part of "No Man's Land" so it wasn't even built on until the 90s, so everthing looks new and modern. I could tell. It's amazing the difference between East and West Berlin. I didn't expect it to be so visible. We grabbed a drink and he took me to all the things I hadn't seen yet: the Berlin Wall, the Topography of Terror (where the SS Headquarters used to be), the East Side Gallery (where a really long strip of the Wall is still up and has pretty graffiti on it), and finally the Charlottenburg Chateau. We didn't go inside but we walked all the way around, sort of through the gardens and around to the cafe were I enjoyed my last bockwurst and ice cream, courtesy of Brendan. We got back on the S-bahn and I went to my hostel and he went to meet his friends by the Bradenburg Gate to watch the game. I checked out, went to the airport, and got to the gate. I flew easyJet which is actually a UK airline but I didn't hear any passengers speaking English- and very few were German. Lots and lots of French. I always love flying in Europe because when they see my American passport they sort of do a double take. And the passengers are soooo curious. Sometimes I'll have my visa and my passport out- England has always been very adamant about that. Anyway, I got chatted up by a few people who would just say "United States? America?" and I would say yes and explain my whole situation. And then, usually, they will tell me when they went to the States, what they did, and in some cases, ask if I know such-and-such person, you know, because if they meet one person in Florida, I'm going to know them. ONe guy I was talking to was actually quite interesting. He flew into LA on 8/9/01. He said he that getting back to France after the Towers fell was really difficult and that for a while, they weren't sure when they would be able to.

I still find it amazing, just the whole September 11th thing. It affected everyone! Anyway, that's enough digression...the plane ride was fine- the captain kept updating us on the match, which reminded me of something my daddy probably would do. Spain won, 1-0!! :-) I knew that Liz was going to have something to celebrate that night. When I got off the plane, I thought I would be able to take the metro, but nooooo, it was "closed." Aka- the girl working behind the counter didn't want to have to print tickets. It was only a bit past 11! It stopped running at midnight! So, we had to get on a bus that would take us to a metro/RER station. I didn't particularly mind that, though, because it meant I could just get on and wouldn't have to make any transfers- and I would be going to the even closer metro station to me! After a long sweaty-hot bus ride (standing), we arrived at Denfert-Rochereau and then I got on the 6 to Picpus. It also reminded me that I would no longer be able to ride that metro because they were closing down 3 stations. Seriously closing them. I think they're laying new tracks or something. So ligne 6 will be actually 2 lines for a while. Boo. Not that I use it that much, but it was convienent when I wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower or something around there.

Aaaanyway, I got home, unpacked, and went to bed.

Ich bin ein Berliner- Part Ein

2008-07-03T08:09:00.000+02:00

So, Saturday morning I went to the airport. I had to take a bus there because the metros weren't open yet. I took one bus to Gare de Lyon and then had to find another to Orly.

Unfortunately, there were no really descriptive signs anywhere telling me whree to go. I had to rely on instinct and other people's help to get me there. But finally, I did find it.

Thank goodness I alloted an hour to get there because that's how long it took! I kept dozing off in the bus but I was so afraid to miss the stop I never fully fell asleep. We got to the airport and I went right through security. I didn't have to stand in line and check in because I did that at home the day before. That was nice because I didn't have any bags to check. I got to my gate and then the plane came where I promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in Berlin. And it was raining. And cold. Now, why did I bring my umbrella, but nothing more than a short sleeve shirt and cardigan? At least I was dry. I would much rather be dry and cold than wet and have lots of layers- they're going to get wet eventually. I was a little confused as to how to get to my hostel as the directions weren't very good. I asked the information desk and they told me to take the express train, sold me a ticket and a map, and I was on my way. I never found the express train, but I just hopped on the first one I found and made it to the center of the city safely. I was going through East Berlin and it looked like it. Some places just looked really run down or vacant. Sort of like going through bad parts of Atlanta. On the train, my friend Brendan called and asked where I was. I told him I was on my way and asked if he wanted to meet up for a drink later. He said he was waiting for me at the airport, but sure, would meet me wherever and take me out to breakfast.

No, seriously, the guy went to the airport to pick me up. And I didn't even know! How sweet is that?! I got off the S-Bahn and then walked to my hostel. It looked okay. I checked in, got a coffee, and waited for Brendan to call and say he was at my stop. Then we met up at the station and went to the KaDeVe- the largest department store in the WORLD! It had so many levels, and on the top was a food court. Not an American food court, though. A really nice one. It had all these different sections and people behind the counters asking you how you wanted something cooked or with what or whatever. Then of course salad, fruit, coffee, etc.

I had a roll, a plate of fruit (allll my favorites- even dragonfruit!) and an espresso (for 10E!!!).

Brendan had a piece of cake and custard with glazed fruit on top. And probably, I still absorbed more calories than him. Boys make me wanna puke. Anyway, we had wonderful conversation (With me talking most of the time...surprise) and caught up and it was just very nice. We looked out over the city and he told me what certain things were that we could see. Even though it was still rainy, it was clearing up. Then, because Brendan had nothing to do and my schedule was free, he took me around Berlin, showing me Museum Island, the Berlin Cathedral, the French and Berlin Churches, the Opera, Kaiser Wilhelm Church, the TV Tower, Alexanderplatz, Bebelplatz, Reichstag, the Red City Hall, Bradenburg Gate, the Victory Column, and all that stuff. He knew so much about everything because he is German and loves history. It was so awesome! I was able to ask him pretty much everything- even who was who on certain statues and he just knew! Pretty neat. The weather turned out to be beautiful by the end of the day and we stopped for coffee (his treat) to rest and we did a little catch up of where people he knew from middle/high school are. He couldn't believe how many engaged/married classmates we have. I still can't, either. It was fun, though, becaues he was testing my stalking skills on Facebook- which are up to par. I knew just about where everyone was. we went to Checkpoint Charlie afterwards where I got my passport stamped. :-) Am I a tourist, or what?! Haha. But I had to- they didn't do it at the airport. We walked around a bit more. That day was very special for many reasons: 1) It was the day before the Germany- Spain Euro 2008 game, so the Bradenburg Gate area was filled with people already celebrating.

2) It was Gay Pride Day- and there was a huge parage on the Unter den Linden! Brendan wanted to join but I didn't let him. (Kidding.) 3) It was "Carriage Day" which meant all these horses and buggies were out. Brendan swore he'd never seen a horse-and-buggy in Berlin, but I have reason to believe otherwise. They were everywhere! And they acted as if they'd been there forever. So, this was a pretty good weekend to go, I think. We grabbed a wurst- mine was bock, his was the famous currywurst (finally! he let me buy- all of 3 euro!) and sat down and talked to Liz for a little bit. Brendan's friends were going out to dinner in a bit and they invited me to go with! We got ice cream (just guess who bought....and I'm only emphasizing this because a) I don't know Brendan that well and I really was just expecting to see him for a beer *maybe* b) even when I told his friends about how sweet he was, they seemed surprised and c) some boys need to take lessons from him.) and went to the river to see this building where it's said to look like Jimmy Carter's smile. I don't know...it looked more like their second nickname to me: the pregnant oyster. The sun was setting and it was time to get to the Greek restaurant for dinner. I met a bunch of his friends (Lars-Norway, Andrej-East Europe,

Victoria- can't remember, Amy-Aussi,Warren-Aussi, Gavin-Greek, and John-American, I think) and had good conversation with most of them. Andrej (pronounced Ahn-dray) is a twin and so we basically just talked twin stuff the whole night. It was nice to have that kind of thing in common with someone because it meant there was never any awkward silence. I talked to Lars, Brendan, and Andrej most of the night. The food was great, too! I had like a chicken kabob (American kind, with the stick), and potatoes with a raspberry flavored beer that Brendan suggested (thankfully he let me pay for my meal). Their Ouzo (the Greek licorice drink) was free all night so some people got pretty polluted. I don't like licorice, so I was safe. I was exhausted at 10pm, but we didn't end up leaving until midnight. It took forever for people to decide where to go, but before we left, Brendan again offered to take me around the next day. He'd had a bit to drink so I didn't know if he was just being nice, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to just text him to see if he was up the next day to say good-bye. Anyway, Bredan went with most everyone else, but John and Andrej took me about halfway home on their way to another bar. I was kind of uncomfortable going home alone because I didn't know the city that well but I was glad to have at least some company. Andrej offered to take me the whole way back but it wasn't neccesary. Such nice boys in Berlin. Haha. I got on my transfer line with no problem- the driver saw me coming down the steps so he opened the door for me!

The wait for the next train was 25 minutes! That was totally answered prayer, because I didn't want to wait too long by myself. I got off and got to my hostel safe and fell sound asleep.

One month down!

2008-07-03T08:07:00.000+02:00

Thursday I got up, went to work and did some data research. At 2:30pm, we went to the Residence for a Global Entrepreneurship Week kick off. There, I got a little tour of the bottom floor of the place. It was built a long time ago and then the Rothchilds came in and raised the roof (literally, not like the dancing you kids take part in nowadays). It looks completely different now. They also took the old walls from their other houses and put them in the residence. There's even one room that is really square, but the way the wall panels are, it turned the room into an octagon! Pretty cool. There's also a ballroom which has some John Singer Seargant originals. The discours was pretty interesting, on increasing entrepreneurship amongst the younger generations. It was sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation so the head guy was there. The Ambassador introduced it and so I got to stand pretty close to him. I think I'll probably introduce myself at the July 4th picnic.

After the presentation was over, there was a reception which we were invited to take part in and enjoy the Ambassador's chef's specials. The brownies are famous. They were good, I'll admit. And I hadn't had a brownie in a while. They also had French pastries, thankfully.

After that was over, I went to the Madeleine church, becauese it was close by. I took a few pictures and then went over to the H&M to tackle the downstairs of the store, as I'd only perused the top one the day before. I got tons of cute stuff. I was supposed to meet Ciara for her going-away dinner, but it turned out that she was going with a bunch of Irish people and not really any international students, so we decided that doing lunch the next day would be better. I went home, made dinner, watched some tv and just vegged. It was awesome.

Friday I, of course, did not want to get up. But it was the last day of my first full-time week so I felt a little more excited about that. It was also the ending of my first month as an intern. I couldn't believe a month had already gone by. There was a cook out (NOT a barbeque as they like to call it, because there was no barbeque to be had! Only hot dogs and hamburgers. I would even be okay with them calling it a barbeque if they had bbq sauce to put on the burgers or something! But no, what they had, was a cook-out, on the grill...

I'm very particular. But I do come from Texas where we know our bbq.) Anyway, because I had never heard from Ciara about lunch I had that and it was really good. It's sad we weren't able to meet up, though, because now she's gone back to Castleblaney and I don't know when I'll see her again. I'm hoping to make a trip next year but we'll see. Ranna, one of the interns, heard I was going to Nice (in the South of France) July 5-6 and offered to give me some advice about where to go because her family owns a house there and they summer there every year. (She's from California.) I'll be excited to go to the beach. But this

weekend: Berlin! I already looked up tons of things to do and I may do a free walking tour.

I think I'm also meeting up with a friend from middle school who is studying abroad there.

I'm thinking about my final trips before I go: July 26-7 Prague, August 2-3 2 of the 4 following choices: Bordeaux, Chantilly, Champagne, and Giverny (probably will end up being Champagne and Bordeaux), and August 9-10 Barcelona where hopefully Liz will meet up with me.

Work ended and I went to the Louvre to finish the museum. I saw some really cool paintings and even something from an exhibition that was in Brussels a few weeks ago- this really modern artist makes things out of these beetles that are multi-colored, sort of like the colors of male peacock feathers. You know, how they change. Anyway, it was neat. I stayed until I finished the Dutch paintings and saw Napoleon III's apartments and then went home.

It was a successful day. I had a great meal for dinner, did some laundry, showered, talked to my family and then had time for just a little nap before I had to leave for the airport.

Again, I was going to Orly, but this time it was even more complicated to get there.

Summer in the City

2008-06-25T22:27:00.002+02:00

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!

2008-06-25T12:23:00.003+02:00

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

2008-06-21T02:02:00.002+02:00

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!

2008-06-19T20:07:00.002+02:00

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.

2008-06-19T14:51:00.002+02:00

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.

2008-06-18T19:42:00.003+02:00

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!

2008-06-16T12:11:00.004+02:00

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!!!

2008-06-11T23:15:00.001+02:00

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!

2008-06-10T18:34:00.000+02:00

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...

2008-06-10T17:49:00.003+02:00

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.

2008-06-06T03:13:00.002+02:00

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!!!

Happy June! 9 Months Down, 2 and 1/2 To Go!

2008-06-02T01:13:00.002+02:00

May 20- John’s birthday party was fun. We went to Tribal Café because it was supposed to be a surprise. I left at around 8:40 and he wasn’t even out of his pajamas, so I knew it would be a surprise! Haha. When I arrived, there were people there already: Paul, Ve, two of Paul’s friends, and then Hal and I showed up at the same time. John and Christina showed up around 10pm but he was definitely not expecting all those people, so it was a success. Patty, one of our Franco-American friends (Remember Patty and Chuck?) showed up and then had let it slip that he graduated college the night before. I don’t know how big of a deal graduating is in France, but after that, the party became a birthday/graduation party. In fact, I’m not sure which one John was more excited about. haha. Every one came back to our apartment after that and they were up late. I was working on my papers and projects. It sucked, but I needed to get it done.

May 21- Wednesday I met with my Paris History professor about my expose, then came home, showered and ate. Then I went back to school for French and then hung out with Ciara afterwards. We got ice cream and walked around the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was a lot of fun and I met some more Irish people because I got to see where she lived. I got on the wrong RER, making me feel like an idiot. Haha. I guess you have to be here more than 9 months before you stop making those mistakes. Then, more work on my paper and expose.

May 22- I stayed inside all day and did work. Thankfully it was kinda gross and my Spanish History class was cancelled.

May 23- I had my Econ and French classes and then took a Velib (bike) to the Jardin du Luxembourg (via Montparnasse, so I got a bit lost), had lunch and listened to music, then went back home. I got a nice tan, too. Erica came over later and we had sushi and watched the Devil Wears Prada. She was leaving the next week. It was so funny to realize that she watched that movie to remind her of home (New York) and I watched movies like Beauty Shop! Haha! Two really different kinds of movies….but it says (and explains) so much about our personalities and cultures.

May 24- Woke up late, did some work on my paper, and then after a little confusion, I met Erica at Starbucks where we had white chocolate mochas. Yum! Then she came back for dinner and we watched some TV but we made it an early night.

May 25- Sunday morning I woke up really early for a sorority sister, Samantha, to come over who happened to be in Paris and needed a place to stay that night. Sadly, she didn’t make it until later that day, but since I was up, I finished wine paper, and then fell back asleep at 1pm and woke up at 5. Ugh. I just have NOT been sleeping well! I woke up, had dinner, showered, did French homework, finally Samantha came, and went to bed.

May 26- I woke up early, helped Samantha get on her way, worked on my expose, then had lunch with Erica at Le Pain Quotidien (Daily Bread). It was a great place and we had an open-faced sandwich. Erica and I had a great time and then went to just a few stores, BHV and H&M, looking for Erica some last minute things before she went back to the States. I went home and had dinner and worked project until really really late. Samantha was so sweet and brought me macaroons from La Duree! They were sooooooo good.

May 27- I woke up early to corrections for my expose Pete, finished it, printed it, and presented second to last in class. I was sooo nervous and what made it worse was that we had guest speaker who was invited to give his thoughts and that made me even more scared. I think it went okay but I wish I’d started it earlier. But it’s over now!!! Now I only have one more 5-page paper in between me and, basically, freedom. I went home after my project was done, ate lunch, and fell asleep. Still not sleeping well. I woke up late and realized I had to clean for Kelly and Austin’s arrival. After I finished, I went back to bed and was really excited about them coming.

May 28^th- I woke up and got last minute things ready for them and showered. They got here after 9am and had some trouble with my directions. It seems like everyone has a different problem with them. Haha, but they made it okay. Anyway, I showed them around and then we went and grabbed coffee and croissants. Then, we walked around the twice-weekly market close to me where I saw brains and skinned rabbit. Yum. It was time for me to get to class and so I took Kelly and Austin home for a nap. Poor things, they had the worst trip over, crying babies, no lights and no movies. Quel horreur! My class was good, but I was tired. I’m still not sleeping well. It’s just loud outside and with no air conditioning, I’ve got to keep the windows open. I go to sleep exhausted and wake up tired. Anyway, that afternoon I had a meeting with the Sciences-Po kids that are going to Tech next year. Maggie, Rachel, Hal, and I (so all GT kids, well, except John) met with Guillaume and Lucille (2 out of 4 or 5 SP kids) and went to Starbucks. Maggie brought homemade cookies- chocolate chip!! They were so good. I stayed for a little bit longer than I should have but Lucile is interested in rushing for a sorority (her English is almost perfect and she barely has an accent) and so wanted to talk to me about it. I’m excited to have that connection with her and think it would be great if we became better friends over the summer and then maybe sisters in the Fall! I went home and worked on my paper where Kelly and Austin were on a guided bike tour. I wish I could have gone, but I really wanted to meet these students. They came home around 7pm so went straight out to the stores to get food. They were so hungry! Kelly was so funny- anything that looked good, we got. We went to Monoprix and Picard and then home. For dinner that night, we had wine, escargots, baguettes, brie, a rotisserie chicken, green beans, and lasagna. I was suffering from sympathy hunger pains, so I scarfed everything down, too. We watched the movie Ratatouille and then went to bed.

May 29^th- We woke up at 8am and even though I got more sleep in that one night than I had the previous 2 nights together, I was still tired. I’m not getting enough sleep, but it’s a waste of time. I made breakfast quiche from Picard and croissants and coffee and helped Austin and Kelly get on their way. Then I did my best to get work done. I gave them my keys and phone and so I was in the apartment until class. I left at 4pm and just as I got to the metro station, I realized I didn’t have my wallet. So, no money, no metro pass. I decided I would go home and get it, but no key. Okay, so I would call John and have him let me in. Welp, no John. (They left early that morning for Berlin.) So, I was screwed. I decided to pass through with someone so I could make it to class. Phew! I was scared I was gonna get caught and fined, but nope! Class was fine, but I did get yelled at for sitting in the hallway. Silly Frenchman. I met Kelly and Austin at the Bastille and showed them the cool area that it was. We somehow managed to go to the only bar that had Happy Hour that only lasted until 8pm instead of 9pm, so our second drink was pretty expensive. We went to dinner just down the street that came recommended by the tour guides that had the bike tour Kelly and Austin had been on the day before. It was awesome- it’s called Café Divan. We sat down and had another drink and talked about what they did that day- Pere Lachaise cemetery, Arc de Triomphe, Trocadero, Tour Eiffel, coffee at Deux Magots, and St-Germain-des-Pres….so it was a pretty busy day! I was impressed. I got a great dinner- pasta with crawfish in a cream sauce and a bottle of Haut Medoc. Yum!! We had a great time and ended up taking our last ¼ bottle of wine with us, much to the disappointment of the table next to us, who asked us for it. Ha! Yeah, right. We got a crept for dessert on the way, Nutella and then got home at about 11:30pm. Then I started my paper. No matter how poorly I did, (ok, if I got below a 10, which is a B, I’ll be disappointed) it was worth it. I had so much fun with them! Kelly slept in the living room with Austin that night so I could work on my paper.

May 30^th- INTERNSHIP DAY!!!!

I woke up after just a couple hours of sleep just dragging. I showered and made breakfast. Thankfully, my adrenaline got me going because I was so nervous for my first day. Let me just preface this by saying that I won’t be able to write too much about my internship because I have to be careful about not getting let go. I had a great first day, filled out paperwork, met my boss, got my office and e-mail address, and kind of toured the Embassy. There’s a gym, a grocery store with REAL AMERICAN FOOD!, and even an American post office that YOU can send packages to Yours Truly to! It was such a great, friendly atmosphere…American, if you will. I loved it. Class was okay, but my professor upped my paper due date by a week, so that kinda sucked. Anyway, the whole day was great. :-)

My Last Sunday Sans Internship...

2008-05-25T22:29:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

That is all for now. A bientot.

xoxo

It's Cold Here Again!

2008-05-20T18:57:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008-05-19T14:03:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

xoxo

A Week in Review

2008-05-18T17:35:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

London!!

2008-05-15T23:08:00.000+02:00

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

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

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

The Rest of America and the First Week Back Home

2008-05-13T18:39:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'm still alive!!!

2008-05-12T13:46:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'm in America!

2008-04-24T21:45:00.003+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

xoxo

I love Paris in the Springtime!

2008-04-21T22:00:00.004+02:00

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

xoxo

I believe in a thing called love!

2008-04-19T15:45:00.004+02:00

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

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

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

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

I keep catching my neighbors in their underwear.

2008-04-16T20:27:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

...Back to work.

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

2008-04-16T18:47:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008-04-14T22:02:00.006+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

But then…..AMERICA!!!!! :-)

Ahh, le week-end!

2008-04-12T18:18:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008-04-11T18:43:00.001+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

La vie française (French life)

2008-04-09T23:44:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally COMPLETELY Caught Up!!

2008-04-07T22:22:00.000+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liz, Nia, and Laura’s Visit

2008-04-07T13:09:00.000+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Derrick's Visit

2008-04-04T16:04:00.002+02:00

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

____________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008-04-04T01:42:00.003+02:00

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

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

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

Please let us know if you have any questions.

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

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

xoxo

VIENNA- March 7-10:

2008-04-03T00:36:00.002+02:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Classes- Finished

2008-03-27T23:56:00.003+01:00

OVERVIEW:

The first week of March (3-7) was all new classes and feeling horrible. Two of my classes were cancelled (Monday and Thursday) but I’d wished more were. That weekend I went to Vienna.

The second week (10-14) I was diagnosed with bronchitis, so I pretty much disappeared into my room and worked on the many projects I had to do. I had one presentation in Histoire de Paris that went well. That weekend I slept.

Week 3 (17-21) was brought much happiness with Derrick’s presence. I did a presentation in my French class. I also slept all this weekend.

This week, (24-28) I recuperated and got ready for Liz and Matt’s arrival. I had a presentation on Friday in my Economics class. And, again, Monday’s class was cancelled.

I did 3 presentations in March with only 3 more to go the rest of the semester which I spread out a bit more. But, I do have 5 papers to do. And 2 exams in June. :-(

CLASSES:

The World of Wine in France: Mondays 2:45-4:45pm. I’ve only been to class 2 times but we have only 3 grades in this class: presentation, paper, and participation. I was thinking about doing my paper on the significance of wine in culture- religious, formal, celebratory (mostly champagne)…but I don’t know, I may just do it on my presentation or how wine labels have changed…I think marketing is interesting. I’m doing my presentation with a student from Georgia Tech about Beaujolais Nouveau (we had to choose a wine region in France, like Champagne, Bourgogne, Burgundy, etc.) Our presentation is April 21^st. The weekend before then, we’re going to Lyon to a winery. The first week we went over the syllabus and chose our presentation topic and wrote an outline for our presentation. The second week we read an article on how to make Champagne. It took a long time because there were a lot of words and phrases we didn’t understand, and then she had to translate a lot into French for the “foreigners” (in quotes, because I’m really the foreigner at school, but they’re in the English-speaking class, ergo de facto…) The professor knows everything about wine. Seriously. She’s very smart. She was telling us about all these cool wine stores and I can’t wait to take my daddy there. She’s got lots of speakers lined up and wine tastings for us to go to. I’m excited about this class.

Histoire de Paris (History of Paris): Tuesdays 2:45-4:45pm We have 2 presentations and participation as our grades. We began choosing topics for presentations the first week and I chose to have one the next class. That wasn’t the best timing as I was going to Vienna that weekend. But, at least it would be done and I wouldn’t have to worry about it any more. The professor is nice- very knowledgeable about Paris and its history, very energetic about it, too. Sounds like a cool class, but not exactly the history. He’s fascinated with the “identity” of a place in Paris. For this reason, we have 2 presentations this semester: one exposé (oral presentation with debate afterwards- very formal) and one presentation orale (less formal but not less important). The expose is chosen by him about an aspect of Paris (Jews in Paris, the importance of religion, and mine, “bars/cafes/pubs/etc.”). Presentations are about a “quartier” of Paris. This can be translated to quarter, like in New York how there is Chinatown, or Little Italy, or even Times Square. There is no requirement of square footage that makes a quartier, it is just a section that is self-defined by something unique. Examples of this in Paris are the many parks, the Champs-Elysees, the Latin Quarter, and the island on which Notre Dame sits. I did my presentation already and it was on the Cite Universitaire. If you remember, that was where I lived in September! I thought that was a cool way to tie in that experience with class. Basically, class goes like this: Professor talks for an hour, and then we have 2-3 presentations. Sometimes we run out of time while someone is in the middle of their presentation. Depending on his mood, the professor will require the student(s) to re-present the topic the next week, or the short presentation they provided is sufficient. This is bothersome on both accounts. If you have to do it again, it’s just another week to detain it but maybe you work on it and make it better. If it’s sufficient, then you worked your butt off for a full presentation and only did half. And usually the good stuff you don’t present until the end.

Français/French: Wednesdays and Fridays 12:30-2:30pm This is like every language class. I’ve done a presentation on President Sarkozy and his policies on immigration. There are some really good political cartoons about his thoughts of “immigration choisie”- which basically just means “chosen immigration”. Sarko wants to have all immigrants fill out an application to come in and if they have nothing to offer France as a country, he doesn’t want to let them in. This includes students. No one likes this policy and they think it’s ridiculous, especially because his parents were immigrants! Anyway, we did well on that presentation. We do some grammar/reading and have discussions so we can talk with students and then one presentation per class. Pretty standard class.

Spain: Franco to Zapatero: Thursdays 5:00-7:00pm This class is actually really interesting. The professor is a Spanish woman who was THE FIRST international exchange student at SciencesPo. She met a French boy while here and never really left. She became a teacher and has taught in the US, Spain, France, to name a few. I can tell what kind of accent she has…if it is more Spanish or French. She’s been in France longer than I’ve been alive so her accent is kind of a mélange of non-American-ness. So, that’s her. I’ve got few grades in that class, too: presentation, paper, exam. I’m doing my presentation on Spaniards and Religion because I think it will be cool to have first-hand accounts with Liz and her friends who are basically missionaries over there. My paper is just a summary of my presentation. I can’t believe we have an exam because you’re not supposed to in elective classes at SP. This means I really have to pay attention because she could ask about anything. Class usually goes like this: Week in Review presentation, other presentation on some topic, professor doing one section of Spanish history, usually going over time. I like this class because I never knew anything about Spain. They’ve only recently become a democracy, and it’s not very well represented, I feel. They’re just kinda, out there. Hanging out. So this is good.

Here’s something I learned that happened this past week: President Zapatero just legalized gay marriage. So, keep that in mind. Okay, so the oldest Dukedom in Spain lost its Duke and Duchess this past week. The weird thing is that they were separated for the past 30 years. They each also got married to their secretaries 2 days before they died. The secretaries were BOTH women. Yeah. The Red Duchess (as she was known in Spain) was gay with her secretary. How did they meet you ask? Oh, well the son of the Duchess got married and the secretary was at the wedding. She and the Duchess met, became lovers, and to keep her close, the Duchess employed her as secretary. So…Duke gets married to secretary last week and 2 days later, dies. Then a few days after that, Duchess marries her secretary and dies 2 days later. Freaky?!?!? So now there’s this big hullabaloo about who gets the inheritance: the secretaries, or the 3 offspring of the Duke and Duchess. Someone call Hollywood! Haha.

Transatlantic Economic Debates: Fridays 10:15am-12:15pm “This class,” the professor began the semester saying, “is NOT an economics class.” I heard the hallelujah chorus after he said that. Not that I’m not interested in this topic. In fact, the effects of the growing European economy on the weakening (hegemonic) American economy is more interesting to me than most things I’ve studied this year. I’ll have written 3 papers on it by the time my sejour is complete. Yay, European integration! This class has more grades than any, but they’re for ridiculous thing.s We’ve got 3 papers (2 5-page book reviews and one 10-page final paper), a presentation, and participation. I did my presentation the 28^th with a French boy named Pierre-Elliot, whom I lovingly call Pete. He’s very funny and he’s one of the first French students at SP that’s given me more than the time of day! Our presentation was on the twin-deficits (current account and fiscal) in the US and its effect on Europe. We talked for a while and the professor said we did a very good job. :-) Anyway, Jordy (aka Professor Jordan Stancil) looks like a skinny, American Hugh Grant. Same wispy hair, sad eyes, and war-of-epic-proportion situation in the mouth area (aka crooked teeth). He knows one of the professors at Georgia Tech, though, so I gotta make a good impression. I think he likes me though- I’ve embarrassed myself enough that he remembers who I am. Haha. When I had bronchitis, I slept through the first hour of class. This meant, even if I left right away, I would only be there for the last 15-20 minutes of class. So, I took that time to wash the Death off my face and tried to muster up enough strength to go. I also had a class after that, so I really needed to get there. He didn’t seem to care that I missed the second class of the semester but I explained to him that I needed to save my absences (we get 2 and then a warning, another and it’s a stern warning, a 4^th absence and we FAIL) in case my parents came over and we wanted to go away for the weekend. He said we could figure something out. He could see in my eyes I was really upset about sleeping in. Not that I wanted to- my meds made me drowsy and I was sick! At least at Tech we get unexcused and excused absences. Here- it’s all the same.

Now, the next thing I have due is my Spanish presentation (and paper) the 17^th of April. Then my Wine presentation is on the 21^st and my first Econ paper is due the 25^th. Thankfully, Spring Break is after that, when I’m going back to the States!!!

March 2- Salamanca/Madrid and Paris

2008-03-24T23:08:00.001+01:00

I got up at 10:30 and finished packing. Liz walked me to the bus station and we tried to think about her coming to see me in a month. I got on the bus and fell fast asleep. The lady next to me seemed to be crying, so I was torn between asking her what was wrong and asking her to keep it down because I was sleeping. Thankfully, I didn’t know how to say either of those things in Spanish and just minded my own beeswax.

I got off the bus, on the metro, to the airport, and then to the gate without a hitch. I didn’t even have to check my bag! Score! Again, my flight was delayed. Here’s a tip: if you are going to fly a low-cost carrier, think twice about flying Vueling. It’s an awesome airline if you consider service, but I’ve never been to a destination on time. I’ve always been delayed 15-60 minutes. So, if you do decide to fly Vueling, give yourself plenty of time to make any connections or appointments. Not to say that every other airline is perfect, it’s just that Vueling has been consistent in its delays. Eh, I guess they’re consistent.

I landed over an hour late and was so happy to be home. I unpacked and climbed into bed. I was feeling horrible but thankfully my class was cancelled so I didn’t have to go.

It was an amazing trip filled with new friends, new food, and great memories. I’m sorry it took me forever to finish writing- I’d just written in my journal every single day what I did and it wouldn’t have been fair to me (or you) to just paraphrase my adventures.

I’ll put pictures up tonight and then work on the last couple of weeks tomorrow. I want to write about Vienna but I’ll try to keep school stuff down to a minimum.

March 1- Salamanca

2008-03-24T22:29:00.001+01:00

I woke up really late, and got ready for the day. Liz and Laura had been up for a while and they were ready to go shopping! I wasn’t feeling great but the weather was so nice that I couldn’t wait to get outside. I wore jeans and a t-shirt because that was the only outfit I had for warm weather. Liz and Laura wore skirts and t-shirts because it was that warm out! It had to be in the high 60s, low 70s. It was awesome.

We got lunch at this chain sandwich shop called Pans & Company (Bread & Company) and took it out to the center of the Plaza and ate. What I wouldn’t have given to be back in Florida sitting on the beach soaking up the sun. *sigh* And I knew in just a few days I would be back in Paris with the rain. Not to mention that the month of March is notorious for its bad weather. In one hour there can be sunshine, rain, hail, then back to sunshine. It’s very strange, but then in April, the weather gets better.

After lunch, Laura, Liz, Joanna (another roommate), and I went shopping. I didn’t get anything, but I did lose my sweater. :-( It was an H&M sweater and ironically, we went to H&M where I put it down. I suppose a worker saw it, realized there was no tag on it, put one on it, and hung it up. I was so sad, but there was nothing I could do. Liz tried to explain that I wasn’t trying to steal it or anything, I’d just set it down to try on a jacket. No luck. Oh well. The worst part of it all was that I was going to leave it for Liz because she kept mentioning how cute it was! I was so mad at myself…so we left H&M and went to ZARA. I love ZARA. I have a few things from there and they are just so cute! Liz and I found an adorable spaghetti strap/cardigan shirt set in pink and purple and of course had to get them and switched under-shirts. We’re too cool for school. Then, it was getting evening time so we went to a cute bar/restaurant that overlooked the Plaza. We sat at a table that required us to get something to eat, so I suggested the croquetas (like what I had in Ireland with Ciara) and the girls loved them! Yay me! We watched the sun set and the people slowly change from t-shirts to their winter gear. Quite impressive, actually. They had to carry it around because they knew it would get really cold once the sun set. I have a hard time remembering my phone when I go out.

So, we left and Liz and I walked to the bus station to get my ticket for the next day. It was crazy to think that even though my flight wasn’t until 5pm, I had to leave Salamanca at noon just to make sure I got there on time. On the way home, because Liz was being SO good, we got a treat. I got an ice cream bar and she got a pink star. It was just sugary ice. But she’d given up chocolate for Lent, so that was all she could have. Plus, it was pink. I’m not sure she would have chosen anything with chocolate anyway after seeing it. Lol. Win-win-win.

We walked home, happy as little clams, and showered and got cute for dinner and then going out after. It was already late when we were walking to the restaurant Liz had been telling me about so there were no places available. Apparently, in the one week they’d been there it had gotten so popular that reservations were required! Must be pretty good. So we tried to go to another Italian restaurant, but everything was full. We ended up at a place called ERASMUS which actually wasn’t that bad. I got shrimp and mushrooms. Which is exactly what it was. 2 skewers of shrimp and a big pile of sautéed mushrooms. It looked kinda strange on the plate, but it was good. I don’t recommend that combination, though. Shrimp and mushrooms? I don’t know, they just don’t seem to go well.

After dinner, we had planned to meet up with a group of people but they were going to a bar that we didn’t want to go to so we skipped that one and went to the next stop on the list. As we walked we noticed how many bachelorette parties there were- and they were all themed! It was so funny! There would be one woman dressed as Little Red Riding Hood/an Inmate/etc and a group of women around her dressed as Wolves/Policewomen/etc respectively. Cute! So, the bar we went to was called LUUX- it was a very strange place. There were all different types of people there, there were some older men and women dancing with teenagers! Just…different. Of course, I managed to meet a group of guys that spoke a little French so we had a nice conversation and then we met up with the other group and left. We went to the Chupiteria but it was too crowded, so we went to the bar next door where they played everything from Amy Winehouse to Elvis to Black Eyed Peas to Grease. We were there for a good long while and then made our way to The Irish Rover for one last drink before closing time. Unfortunately, there was a bouncer and so we had to stand in line. Fortunately, he spoke French. I explained to him that it was my last night and my friends and I wanted to go in just for a bit and we talked about me being a student at SciencesPo and all that jazz, and we were let in. Sweet!! I found my calling! Lol. I think he was a little surprised at how many of us there were…I think I counted 12? I’m not sure. We went in and Liz found the same bartender as the other night and voila- free shot! The bar closed down and it was time to go. I wasn’t ready to be done, though. I don’t know why, but I decided to accompany 4 other Spaniards back to their apartment (don’t worry, there were 2 boys and 2 girls and they are all Liz’s friends from En Vivo). Because, you know, I speak Spanish (not), and had time to kill (not…still hadn’t packed), and wasn’t sick (not true again!). Haha. I had a good time, though. Met some more people, practiced my Spanish, and watched a Family Guy episode in Espanol. I was cracking up before they were because I knew the episode. Lol. When the sun started peeking out, I realized I needed to get home. One of the boys walked me and I crawled into bed for a few hours.

February 29th- Salamanca

2008-03-24T16:44:00.001+01:00

I got up and Liz was already in class. I was exhausted from the night before but I didn’t want to just waste the day away sleeping. There were things to see and do! I got dressed and ready to go out sight-seeing when I noticed 2 things. 1) I was locked in the apartment and 2) I lost my camera. I wasn’t sure which was worse. I unpacked and repacked about 3 times and couldn’t find it and then it hit me- I’d left my camera on the bus. I thought I would do some sightseeing on the ride and instead I passed out and was so excited I forgot to check the seat pockets in front of me. So I was determined to go to the bus stop and find it. But, like I said before, I also discovered I was locked in the apartment. (This seems to be a very common security measure- when the door closes- it locks on the outside but not the inside, but if you want to feel even safer, you can use your key to lock it and it is impossible to open it from the in-or-out side without the key at this point.)

So, I had to wait until Liz or a roommate got home. I was frantic at this point. Every second they didn’t show was another I didn’t have my camera. And who knew where it was? It could be in Madrid, it could be in Salamanca, it could be on the bus still going God-knows-where. from the minute I realized my camera’s absence, I’d been trying to get in contact with Liz. I knew she got out of class at 11, but it was over an hour later before she came home. (She had been cleaning up at En Vivo for the night before and there was no service there.)

Fortunately, one of her roommates got home before her so I was out the door with a message for her to relay to Liz. Coincidentally, she was walking up the stairs as I was sprinting down them. I didn’t have time to explain and I was kind of flustered, so I just kept on going and figured I would find her later. I ran off trying to retrace my steps back from the bus station the night before. It proved more difficult than I expected. I knew if I could find the Plaza Mayor, I could find the station. (For those of you that don’t know exactly what a Plaza Mayor is, I’ll do my best to explain: every city/town has one. It is the “city center” which is a large square building with a courtyard in the center. Generally, the courtyard is paved or has cobbles, but I’ve not seen many, so some could be landscaped. The courtyard is very very big and around the perimeter, there are restaurants, cafes, and shops that people can sit in the Plaza and people-watch. The Plaza Mayor is a typical meeting place and there is always some type of entertainment there- musicians, people dressed in costumes, etc. Also, there are markets held there. So, yeah.) Thankfully, I saw one of the girls I’d met in Spain and she saved my life. She had a map of Salamanca and showed me the way. I pretty much had it right, anyway. :-) I went over all the Spanish I’d learned when I was in elementary school and tried to create a game plan and not get my hopes up too much. I only made one wrong turn and finally ended up at the station. I went to the Help Desk and first asked if they spoke English or French- of course, no. So I said, “Perdido mi camera ‘on’ el autobus de Madrid a Salamanca ayer.” (I wasn’t sure if that was grammatically correct, but I knew if I got some form of the verb “lost” and “camera” in the same sentence, I’d get some help…basically what I tried to say was, “I lost my camera on the bus from Madrid to Salamanca yesterday.” She told me to check with the bus company that I rode on. So I went over and repeated my phrase as best I could. He looked at me, held up my camera and said, “Oh, esta?” (Oh, this? Well, at least I think that’s what he said.) The second I saw it I felt like a 3-year-old in a candy store jumping out of my shoes. I was so excited that I’d actually successfully found my camera all by myself I was saying “Si-esto! Yes-that’s it! Oui-c’est ça! He toyed with my emotions for a bit, asking me if that was what I was looking for and asking if I was sure if it was a camera and not a phone, etc. Haha, very funny. I was about to pee my pants. I didn’t, though. So, camera in hand and a smile on my face, I walked out of the bus station. I texted Liz and let her know of my victory and asked if she wanted to meet for lunch. She agreed and I had a lovely, enjoyable walk back to the Plaza Mayor.

I met Liz at the Plaza, and although we were supposed to meet some of her friends for lunch, I kinda just wanted some one-on-one time with her. She finally agreed, but I felt bad because she is in Spain to fraternize with people here, I’d just barely talked to her the night before and felt like we’d not even really spoken and I hadn’t seen her in so long! We went to Burger King (something they don’t have in France, so it was a treat!) and then went back to the Plaza to eat in the sun. Ahhh….the sun. Soooo nice. I never wanted to leave! it was hot enough out that we got some lemon sorbet and enjoyed it with the sun beating down on us. Yum!

Then it was, of course, time to go shopping. Souvenir shopping, that is. But don’t worry, I stopped at H&M and Claire’s, too. Then we went to Carrefour (a big grocery store) and grabbed chips and dip. Mmm…I sure do miss my Mexican food. When we got home we watched the movie “Wedding Crashers.” There were so many people in their tiny little room- 8!! There were 4 people on each twin bed, but it was fun. Then 3 more people came over after the movie and we had to move the party out to the living room. They don’t use it that much because they mostly hang out in Liz’s bedroom, so everyone was kinda creeped out. Lol. After a few episodes of The Office, we all went to bed. It was a pretty laid back night, but it was fun to be with Liz and all her friends!

February 28th- Paris and Madrid/Salamanca

2008-03-17T00:20:00.001+01:00

I got up at 8:30am and got ready to go to the airport. I got there and wouldn’t you know it, they made me check my bag. *sigh* That was something I didn’t want to have to deal with, but oh well. I’m always so wary of it getting lost. I got on the flight and of course, fell asleep. When we landed I arrived to a hot, sunny, beautiful Spanish day. I never wanted to get into the shade, but I had a bus to catch. I retrieved my bag from the belt and thankfully I knew exactly had to get to the metro station that was also a bus station- Alvarez. The Madrid metro is not the most easy to navigate- it always seems to go the opposite direction of where you want to go. There are a lot of transfers you have to make because lines seem to end abruptly with out rhyme or reason. Thankfully, I found the place, ordered my bus ticket (in Espanol, thank you very much!) and sat and waited for its departure. I was sitting there by myself minding my own business when this man came up to me and started asking me questions about some kind of bus or something. And I kept responding, “No espanol senor. Lo siento. No espanol.” (No Spanish, sir. I’m sorry. No Spanish.) He kept on. It became humorous…almost like a game. He would mumble something in Spanish, I would tell him I didn’t speak Spanish. It was fun, but there was no clear winner so we parted ways. Haha. I knew that wouldn’t be last strange encounter I would have before this trip was over. The ride was gonna be a 2 ½ hours and I could hardly wait. I hadn’t seen Liz since January and it was just then that I realized how much I’d missed her. So, to speed up the trip, I of course, fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later with still over an hour to go. Great. I passed a lot of tiny villages that usually consisted of a small grocery store, maybe a bar, a hostel, and some living quarters. They looked nothing like what Liz’s pictures had seemed like so I hoped I wasn’t there yet. Not that there’s anything wrong with small towns, it was just that I’d heard of these great big cathedrals and everything and expected Salamanca to be an okay size. But the trip wasn’t over, so I was just being patient.

Then, I had arrived. I called Liz and she and I met about half-way down the street. I was so happy to be out of public transportation... and to see Liz!!! She was so excited to see me too, she said she’d told everyone that I was coming and had been calling me ‘Sissy’ for so long that that’s what everyone would be calling me. And by everyone…I mean the youth group we were going to. It’s called En Vivo and I’d heard great things about it. Anyway, I’d been warned. I was tired and cranky from traveling all day, but I was meeting a ton of people that I didn’t know that all knew me. That kinda threw me for a loop. For some reason, that kind of social situation really puts me in an anti-social mood. I met tons of people, but all I really wanted to do was sit and rest and watch everyone interact with each other. That wasn’t going to happen. I was thankful to see people I knew from my last trip to Madrid when I dropped Liz off for her study abroad. Finally, things settled down and it was time for prayer and the sermon. Even though it was in Spanish, I understood a good amount. After a few hours, it was over, and I was exhausted. But, in true Spanish fashion-it was early and there was still time to go out! When in Rome (or in this case, Salamanca), right…lol. I had a few cups of coffee and was ready to roll! We went to a few bars…including a “Chupeteria”- a shot bar where all they pour is shots. It was fun, but I’m not too big into shots. I saw a few people I’d met in Madrid that weren’t on the same program as Liz and again, it was so nice to see friendly faces! Everyone here had been together for months and were very close-knit, which is great! It made me sorta wish that I had that in Paris, but it’s a completely different atmosphere here. And I understand that. One thing I noticed was that in Spain, it was still legal to smoke in bars! It had been outlawed in London about the same time as in Paris. The smoke didn’t really help my sore throat and I was only feeling worse. (I suppose I should just say by now that I found out a week or so later that I had bronchitis…so, yeah, I only got sicker) After those bars, it was still “early” (read 3am) but I’d found my second wind and was ready to party, thankfully. We went to one last bar- the most American one of all, where Liz and I got a free shot- just for being twins! Imagine that! Haha.

After the bar closed we went home and went to bed. It was a long day, but I was so happy to be with Liz!! Tomorrow was gonna be another fun day!

February 27th- London and Paris

2008-03-15T01:37:00.000+01:00

I woke up early because I still had a lot to see in London before I caught my train home. I finished packing, went downstairs, grabbed my last breakfast, and was able to check out early but keep my bags in the hostel.

It was still early, before 9am, but I took my chances and went to Westminster. I still hadn’t gone inside and there was so much history there, I just had to see it. Thankfully, it was open. I went inside (begrudgingly paid the 7£) and saw tons of cool historical things! I saw the coronation chair where every king (and queen) has been crowned since pretty much forever. I saw Mary, Elizabeth, and Cornwall’s tombs/where they were buried, as well as the Poet’s corner where people like Chaucer and Shakespeare are buried. I left at about 10:15am and decided to actually walk to Trafalgar sans interruptions. As I was leaving, there seemed to be some commotion at the Houses of Parliament. There was a security breach (surprise) and a group of people had broken in and climbed on the roof protesting the 3^rd runway at London Heathrow Airport and they’d hung posters down the outside walls. There were TV crews all over! I don’t think that happens all that often, so I thought it was cool to be there during that time. After watching a while, I continued on to Trafalgar Square. It was interesting, but I didn’t really see what the big deal was. Maybe I was there on the wrong day and time. After Trafalgar Square, I went to Piccadilly Circus (again, Piccadilly Circle). I took the Tube but it turned out to be a stone’s throw away. Again, I was wondering what the big deal was. It looked like a mini-Times Square. I enjoyed all the screens and lights and things, but it just wasn’t much. Again, maybe it was the wrong place and time. I did stop by the GAP and got a pretty gold colored shirt for Tech games! Woohoo! And then I stopped by a souvenir store because I hadn’t so much as a post-card from London before then. I walked back to Westminster and caught the Tube to Hammersmith where I picked up my bags and stopped at another cute shop where I did find a cute dress for 5 pounds, so of course I had to get it, and then went to St. Pancras International train station for my ride to Paris. I grabbed a delicious salad from M&S-to-go for the trip and went though security.

The train ride wasn’t that bad. I sat across from a cute father and son who spoke both French and English. The poor little guy’s nose never stopped running. Anyway, I got to see rural England and France along the way. I’d fallen asleep about halfway through the trip so the only way I knew how to tell which country we were in was to look at the cars alongside the road (as the part I’d fallen asleep through was the actual Chunnel) and see which side they were driving on. Then, a little after 6:30pm the train stopped and we were at Gare du Nord in Paris! It was amazing! And what an easy transition! I was only about 5 RER stops from my apartment! I went home, caught up with John over Thai food, and then was informed about a leak in the apartment. I’ve already written about this, I know, so I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say, to this day, the fireman still texts me wanting to know when we’re going out. Haha.

The night ended kinda late, but I was able to do one load of laundry and get a few hours of sleep. I was SO excited to see Liz the next day I could hardly stand it!

February 26th- London

2008-03-14T01:18:00.000+01:00

I woke up at 10am to the sound of Shealagh coming in. She had a late night, too, I guess. ;-) She was leaving that morning so we said our good-byes and I fell back asleep.

I got back up at noon, showered, and got ready for my rendez-vous with Tibo. I wasn’t sure if he remembered that we set a time to meet, but I wanted to go to the Natural History Museum anyway, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to wait a while. I grabbed a chicken Caesar wrap and sat outside on the bench basking in the sun. It was wonderful! About 20 minutes later he showed up. Cute as a bug’s ear he was. We went inside and explored for hours and hours. There were no information guides in English or French, but it didn’t matter- he speaks Spanish, too. So he grabbed on of those guides and would translate it for me. (I’m like, come on! I think he was just a figment of my imagination.) Anyway, he’d never seen dinosaurs before and so when we went in to the exhibit, he freaked out just like the group of 8 year olds next to us. It was pretty adorable. The museum was actually really cool. There were different sections- the dinosaur one, an Antarctica exhibit, a bird one, and even a monkey one! Their most famous one is their big room of life size animals. They‘ve got a blue whale up next to a dolphin and other sea creatures. It was, of course, a huge room to fit it. I really enjoyed it. They’ve got a kid’s area with mind games. It was really interesting. And free! Loves it. We closed the museum down and had to leave so we went back to Hammersmith and went to our respective hostels. We had plans to meet later for dinner so I had a few hours to kill. I checked my e-mail and got my bags ready and packed because I was leaving the next day. As I was just getting off the computer a guy came up to me and said, “Miss, I don’t know you, but I just have to tell you you’re spending WAY too much money on this computer. There is a CyberCafe just down the street that is half as much as this. I just can’t stand seeing you here using these computers. I just needed you to know that.” As surprised as I was at this outburst, I felt compelled to tell him it was my last night in the hostel, but that I appreciated his help. How very odd.

I texted Shealagh to meet for a coffee, but she was busy moving into her apartment, so I went to Starbucks alone. It was actually really nice. I’d barely had a minute to myself since the first day and I barely had had time to write in my journal, so I took that opportunity to catch up. I closed down Starbucks (it seems that that’s all I do around here- close places down...lol) and texted Tibo to come over. We decided to meet in the bar but I got there before him. So, I grabbed a beer and sat down. Then a British man started talking to me…well he said, “It’s silly for us to be sitting alone and not talk to one another…hello, my name is Paul.” I was like, well, well, well…if I can’t grab a beer by myself what is this world coming to?! Not that I minded terribly, lol. So I got to know Paul a bit. He graduated from Liverpool in Economics and is now a British Television agent. About the time I was telling Paul about all my travels around London and my escapades with Shealagh and Tibo, he showed up. Strangely enough, Paul left shortly afterward. Lol. Oh, boys. So, Tibo grabbed a beer and we talked about what we wanted to do that night. We decided to grab a frozen pizza and some wine (that he swore was some of the best in London- I trusted him since he was French and all) and take it back to his hostel and cook it. He had a guitar and after dinner sang some of my favorite Ben Harper songs and then I went home. I had to get up early tomorrow and explore the last of London before my train home.

I couldn’t wait to get back in my own bed in Paris- even if it was just for a few hours before I went to see Liz in Spain!

February 25th- London

2008-03-13T22:53:00.000+01:00

Shealagh and I woke up around 10am…I was really not feeling well. We’d missed breakfast but grabbed a cup of tea at the bar anyway. There were already men drinking beer there! I couldn’t believe it!

Shealagh had some work to do at her school but she said we could walk along the Thames for a while before she had to go. I thought that was sweet of her to do. I got a text from Thibault wanting to hang out before he went to work, so I told him maybe, but that I was out with a friend and may not be back in time. We caught the tube to the London Bridge and started walking. Something I didn’t know: the London Bridge is NOT the one with the towers, which is called Tower Bridge! Another thing I learned is that the London Tower is NOT one of the towers on that bridge! London Tower is a fort (yeah- a fortress) next to Tower Bridge. Okay, I know that’s confusing. Suffice it to say, everything you thought about London architecture and its geography is probably wrong. Probably. Anyway, after all that newly-acquired knowledge settled it was time to take pictures! Shealagh took a bunch of me and then I got some of the H.M.S. Belfast for my Daddy. We walked towards the bridge where I got to see the Globe Theatre, and then over Tower Bridge and then around London Tower. And then we were in the City of London. I know…it’s not that we weren’t in London, but this is the City of London- the financial area, which is called the City. So we walked through there and then grabbed something to eat- McDonald’s of course! It was the NICEST McD’s I’d ever been in. They had comfy chairs- like, couches! It was really neat. We had a relaxing lunch and then moved on.

There is a movie called “Closer” with Julia Roberts, Clive Own, Natalie Portman, and Jude Law and it was filmed in London. There is a particular scene in the movie where they NP and JW visit a wall in a park and look at a plaque with the name “Alice Ayers” on it. NP chooses to take on the name Alice through the movie because of this plaque. Well, Shealagh knew where this garden was and of course I had to go!! It was smaller than I thought it would be and I never would have found it without her. Quite a cool concept, though. A man wanted to dedicate a park for those who have sacrificed their life to save another’s. Alice Ayers was one of them. On the plaques it had their name, birth/death date, and how they died. Many people saved someone from a fire, or jumped in front of moving machines and things. It was a cool concept, but some were really sad, because you realized that a lot of them were relatives. Then, we walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral, but in finding that it cost a lot of money to get in, just got to the lobby and walked out.

By that time, Shealagh had to get some work done, so we went to Oxford Circus (this just means Oxford circle…like big intersection) where she goes to school. It was lucky because there was some good shopping to be done there, so while she worked, I shopped. I went to H&M but nothing tripped my trigger. Then I went to a very hip London shop called Top Shop. It’s quite popular, and while a tad more expensive than H&M, it makes up for it in quality. I headed straight back to the sale section and found THE CUTEST top for going out. Only thing was, there was no size and no price. I tried it on anyway and it looks like it was made just for me! I gave myself a limit I would pay for said shirt (but who are we kidding, I would have probably cut off an appendage for it) and luckily enough- it was under! Not to mention, students get 10% with their student card. :-) So I was happy. Then I remembered to text Thibault and tell him I wasn’t going to make it and he was none too pleased. I felt bad, but I was having fun, and I still had a few days in London. Plus, he was a boy, so he probably had cooties. So we planned to meet up later that night after he got off work.

Shealagh and I met up a bar called Ron Crouch and had a pitcher of a drink called Lust. The bar was decorated like “The Addams Family” and had all these scary things all over. Even the bathroom had a cackling witch noise. It probably was the coolest place over Halloween. It’s pretty famous for its Test Tube Shots which are, yeah, shots in test tubes. But they’re all named after characters from the movie! Anyway, we looked at the menu and saw these really fruity pretty drinks called “The Seven Deadly Sins” and were hooked. It was yummy. Of course, it was only about 5pm so the place was getting busier by the second. After the drinks we were pretty hungry so we went to a place where I had a burrito. Man, I miss American Mexican food. I’m going to destroy Moe’s Southwest Grill when I get back! Lol.

We were going to go back to the hostel bar and hang out there but Shealagh had a few bars she went to that we decided to see first. We went to one called the Cock Tavern where the drinks were pretty cheap- even with the area they were in! One of the ex-bartenders is a friend and so he came over to hang out and then ended up joining us for the rest of the night. We decided to check out Covent Garden as there is a bar/club there, Longheads that they like. I later found out it was really American, lol. So we got in for the last bit of happy hour where drinks were BOGO (buy one, get one…also known as 2-for-1, or half-price…why do we have so many names for this?) and I got a drink called “Georgia Peach” because that’s what I am. It was REALLY good. Maybe a little too good? Lol. There was a cover band and then a dj that played a lot of fun dancing songs. I danced a lot. And then we had to leave cuz the place closed. Shealagh and Julian (South African (which they pronounce Safrika- like one word) ex-bartender) decided to go out with some people they met at the bar, but I was exhausted and took a (London) taxi home. It about broke the bank, but it was worth it. I got a text from Tibo telling me he was out of work and I told him I was on my way home. We got to Hammersmith at the same time. It started raining so we went into the hostel and upstairs where there were computers and just hung out and talked. Before we knew it, it was 7:30am!! I couldn’t believe it! We made plans to meet up late in the afternoon and then I went upstairs and went to bed.

February 24th- London

2008-03-13T02:04:00.001+01:00

Today I was on my own! Travelling by myself! Last night I set my alarm for 7:30am, thinking that would give me plenty of rest and still allow me to grab breakfast before I went out. Well, I forgot about the time change…it’s the same time zone in London and Dublin. I thought it was that much farther over from Dublin, around the same as Paris, but I guess not. So, I really woke up at 6:30am, practically ran downstairs…only to discover my faux pas. I was so excited I wasn’t even tired anymore! I walked upstairs and checked my e-mail and things and then after an hour or so, grabbed breakfast. It wasn’t much- toast, cereal, and coffee/tea, but it was better than having to go out and grab something. After seeing that the sun was still coming up, I took my time plotting my route for the day, drinking tea, and trying to get rid of the sore throat that had been bothering me the past couple of days.

After about an hour, I could take it no longer. I had to go see London. Hammersmith is on the West End of the city, so I decided to start on the left and work my way right. First stop: Notting Hill. I don’t know what I was expecting to find, I guess I thought there would be signs saying “This is where Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts did such and such in the movie” or “This is the house that they passed when they were walking during this scene,” some nonsense like that. Of course, it was like any normal city. There were no shrines to Hugh Grant, or Colin Firth for that matter, and I was deeply disappointed.

Anyway, I got on the Underground and got off at Notting Hill Gate. Because I was on my own, I realized I could do what ever I wanted! So, instead of heading directly towards the “gate” of Notting Hill, I saw signs for “Portobello Market” and decided to follow them. But because it was barely 9am, NOTHING was open and no one was up. I couldn’t believe it! But it was lovely just walking around seeing the quiet streets and thinking about everything. I passed a lot of old architecture (which, out of habit I spell architechture and must correct myself everytime…oh Georgia Tech). A lot of it reminded me of San Francisco. Really cute little townhouses and such- I think I put up pictures. Since it was Sunday, I realized that probably that was another reason things were slow. I found an old church and said a little prayer for my aunt and family and then kept walking. It was then that I realized I should probably be a little more careful about walking around. Here I was, walking around, not knowing if where I was going was actually not the best area and such, so I went back onto the main road where there were a few people out, which was safer than where my curiosity was taking me (down all the little alleyways and peering into the scary holes just to see what was in there…gives me the chill bumps just thinking about it). But I was really enjoying my freedom. I finally found the flea market of Portobello Market and examined it. It was cute and reminded me of home a bit, because, strangely enough, all markets are kinda the same. A one-man’s-trash-is-another-man’s-treasure sort of thing. There were antiques, jewelry, clothes, cds/records, souvenirs, and even US and Great Britain military uniforms! That was weird. I kept walking but then realized it was getting to be a bit on the “dodgy” side and so turned around and started walking back. I noticed the next street over was quite busy so I went to it. (I later found out that the street that Portobello Market is on WAS in fact in the movie “Notting Hill”- it is in the scene where the seasons change…one of my FAVORITE! So I did see something!)

I never did find the gate of Notting Hill (if such a thing even exists) but instead quite a posh area with gated gardens and such. I passed the Notting Hill Church, but that was about as close as I got…since then I realized Portobello Market is pretty much the exact opposite direction, so, awesome. I guess I’ll have to go back!

Somehow or another I ended up in Kensington Gardens a while later and absolutely couldn’t take my eyes off all the green!! I walked around for the longest time, taking pictures, watching kids play (not in a creepy way), and just breathing in the freshest air I’ve breathed in a while. I knew there was a Princess Di exhibit going on at the Palace, so I went there and checked it out. It was really neat to see some of her clothes and realize what an affect she had on the entire world! I heard so many languages while I was there! It was a lovely day, so I didn’t spend too long lingering, but I was very interested to see where royalty had lived (of course). I got hungry so I started foraging for food. I wasn’t too keen on a restaurant, but couldn’t find a grocery store! Finally, I just asked someone where one was…it’s called M&S (I can’t remember what that stands for- like Martin and Spencer, or Marks and Spencer or Marks and Smith? One of those.) and had a great selection of on-the-go type foods and even a little area where you could sit and eat what you purchased. The English love those kinds of foods. Even more than the French! There are sandwich shops all over. I was quite surprised. So, I was sitting down, resting my feet, eating my pasta salad, when all of a sudden I realized no one around me was speaking English. No one! There were some people from South America, some French (they infiltrate everywhere I’ve figured), even some East Europeans- but NO English! I thought I was in England!!! *sigh*

I had planned my afternoon by starting with Westminster Abbey. I wanted to catch Evensong (something the Westminster choir performs every Sunday around 3) if I could. I got on the Tube and when I exited- there he was. Big Ben himself. In 30 seconds I saw Big Ben, The London Eye, the London Aquarium, London City Hall, and Westminster Abbey all at once. It was quite the picture-taking area, so I decided to follow suit. Strangely enough, I ran into a few people travelling by themselves too, so we each took pictures of each other. You can always tell who’s alone. They’re the ones struggling to look suave while pointing a camera as far out in front of them and still get whatever is behind them in a way that looks like they didn’t take it. Rather than be that girl, I went around offering to take their pictures if they took mine. It worked well and I got some good ones. I walked to Westminster Abbey (behind the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben) and tried to get in, but it was too late. Instead there was this parade of Irish and Scots playing music. Very strange, but a cool experience. I was falling asleep standing by that time so I grabbed a coffee at the Abbey Café and walked around its garden and down by the Thames. I was so amazed at how HUGE the buildings were! They’re enormous! It’s hard to describe how many blocks they spanned…just so many and such intricate exterior architecture.

The plan was to walk to Trafalgar Square, but of course, I got distracted by the Calvary Museum and walked around and saw a little show (like 3 minutes long of the riders walking around sans horse) and then walked into St. James’s Park. There were so many pretty flowers there. I just sat and watched people and took pictures of nature. And then I ran out of memory on my camera card. So I had to sit back down and start deleting things from Ireland. L So sad! I had taken a lot of pictures of the same things, so it wasn’t that bad, but still! I’ve got a 512MB card…lol. Buckingham Palace is at the end of the Park. It was not as big as I thought it would be. Poor Queen. I’d heard she didn’t like it there and no wonder. It was square shaped…but it had a nice view, I guess. It overlooked 2 parks- St. James’s and Green Park…named because there are no flowers- just grass. I walked through Green Park, and then realized how tired I was. It may not seem like I walked a lot to you, but you may need to look at a map of London. I pretty much took the longest route possible…good exercise, but really wore me out. I decided to call it a day and go home. I realized that I actually wasn’t far from Hyde Park and even though it started raining, I knew it would let up soon, so I walked through it and down the Serpentine- the lake in the Park that winds and turns…like a snake. So, I did pretty much all the parks of London in the first day! But I had blisters to show for it. I couldn’t believe that after all my time in Paris and all that walking, it was my first day in London that resulted in blisters! I got to Lancaster Gate tube stop and took it to Hammersmith. On the way home I was going over my day and realized how much time I spent outside and in parks. There are only 2 “park” parks in Paris, but there are a lot of gardens. I just missed nature a lot, I guess. Tech is nice in that it has a lot of green around. I missed the smell of dirt, even!

So I went home and stopped at a cute store in the station, but no luck. I wondered what to do for dinner, but since it was Sunday night around 7pm (yeah, it was a looooong day) one of the only places that was open was the Kebab place. They had fish’n’chips and I figured I had to get that once in England. The man at the restaurant was so sweet and because the food took so long to make (he wanted to make it fresh for “his darling”- that’d be me) he let me sit down and eat- it costs more. But he let me pay the price as if it were take out! So nice.

After dinner I went up to the hostel and started looking for someone to hang out with for the night. I hadn’t heard from Tibo, but there was a real sweet girl who was there alone and agreed. Her name is Shealagh and she’s a grad student in London- she studied abroad in Paris during undergrad, too! AAAAAND- she’s back in Paris this summer working at a bike rental place. To top it off- it’s at the same place Christy (my aunt) and I rented our bikes when she was here!!!! Crazy! I couldn’t believe my luck. God must have known how lonely I was.

We went downstairs and watched the live band that was playing. They were very good, but Shealagh and I were talking about Paris when all of a sudden we hear, “And this one goes out to the girl in the pink shirt!” Well, guess what- yep, I was the girl in the pink shirt! Haha! They played the song “Valerie” which became famous because of Amy Winehouse’s cover of it. Sadly, I didn’t really know the words…but I was still thrilled to have a song dedicated to me. I went up to them afterwards to thank them and they said they would pop by our table after their set finished. Then we met this Aussie and South African and began talking about politics and things. They were very sweet, but their presence dissuaded the band from coming over. Lol. Oh well…I can only pay attention to so many boys at once. ;-) We closed the bar down, the boys left, and then Shealagh and I showered and went to bed.

England’s a pretty cool place. :-)

February 23rd- Ireland and England

2008-03-12T00:02:00.000+01:00

Ciara and I woke up late and checked out of the hotel but left our bags so we could walk around for a few hours before my flight left. Ciara knew about a food market on Sundays in Temple Bar so we went around there. I believe I put pictures up but there were so many different things. They were all fresh or organic products: Chinese, burgers/hot dogs, Irish cheeses, antipasta (that was the most amazing thing I’d seen- BARRELS full of olives), vegetables still with the dirt on it, cakes, smoothies, and even an oyster bar where you could just taste one (for a small price)! We got a smoothie made with organic oranges and strawberries and things and kept walking around. I thought the vitamin C would be good for me because I was still feeling poorly! L

We walked to Dublin Castle (across from Queen of Tarts- you HAVE to go there!) and went to the Chester Beatty Library which contains some of the old Korans and even pages from a Bible dating back to 250AD! Chester Beatty was a man who began collecting old documents before it became popular. The Library/Museum won an award for the “Best European Museum in 2002.” This was a huge deal because it’s quite a small library and goes up against all the others.

We walked along the River Leffey where I learned about certain different bridges. there was one bridge intricately decorated…it is called the Ha’Penny Bridge. It’s called that because it cost a half-penny to cross it. It was a toll bridge! A half penny now, estimated by Ciara, is about 1 euro. I thought that was a cool piece of info, though. There are other bridges that you don’t dare cross at night, though. And even some you don’t linger on during the day! It seemed kinda dangerous.

We walked back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and walked to the big spire where I caught the bus. One of Ciara’s friend met her there so I got to see him once more, too. His name was Desmond-Dez for short. Seems to be a very Irish name. Anyway, Ciara invited me back to Dublin when school ends and I could maybe stay with her! J I’m so glad we got to hang out. She’s so sweet.

The train to the Dublin airport wasn’t very long but I got to see some more of the countryside which was nice. I got to the airport and got McDonald’s for lunch. I just had to! Just so you know, they’re mayonnaise is pretty sweet there. When I went through security I put in a few euros to check my e-mail and that’s when I found out about the money I got that I wrote about earlier. Now that I think about it- that money paid for this vacation! Awesome! I had to switch some euro into pounds because I didn’t want to have to fool with that when I arrived as it would be kinda late. I got 17 pounds for 25 euros. It was soo weird to see coins from the 1990s because I’m so used to seeing the brand new Euro coins! Haha! Only problem is…I know that 15 pounds is $30, but I wanted to know what 15 pounds in Euros was! I had a hard time with the exchange rate because I kept wanting to know what it was in euros- that’s how I think now! *sigh*

The plane to England was, of course, delayed, but I got to hear a Frenchman’s conversation while I waited. That was interesting. He was very happy to go to England. Then the plane arrived and we got on. I fell fast asleep.

When I arrived in England, I got what is called an Oyster card. Read carefully- because if you go to London, you should do this. It will save you TONS of money. An Oyster card costs 3£ and then you just add money to it as you go along. Each trip costs roughly 2£ with the card. Without it, you’d be paying 4£ each time you ride the Underground!! I was so thankful Ciara told me about this. To get the card you have to go to the ticket desk and request one, but then you just go to a self-service kiosk and tap it, add money, then tap again and you’re good to go! It was so nice. I got to my hostel on the Hammersmith stop. It is a great area! I recommend it a lot. There is a great bar downstairs and the rooms are upstairs. I checked in and then went back out to walk around. Inside the station there is a strip mall with restaurants (including a McDonalds) and a grocery store, Tesco. I grabbed a sandwich and continued my exploration. I passed 2 Subway restaurants, a Coca-Cola building, a Claire’s jewelry store, and pubs galore. All in the same block. I got SO lucky with this hostel- thanks Erica!

My room was an all girl’s 8-bed dorm. I got a bottom bunk and set up my stuff. Not all of the beds were full so I got a pretty good one. We shared 3 showers and 2 toilets with another room of 8. There were a lot of Orientals and Auzzies I noticed. But there were 2 girls from Michigan that I met. If this was hostel life- sign me up!

There was a rugby game on in the bar- France versus England. I grabbed a beer (got 10% off because I was a guest at the hostel) and watched a bit of it. At first I was the odd one out rooting for the French, but then when I listened a bit harder I realized I was only the odd one out because I was the single Anglophone cheering for the French. After half-time I found an empty area and sat own. A few minutes later a CUTE French boy asked if I was waiting for anyone, and when I said no, we struck up a conversation. (Of course, I leave France, not wanting to hear a lick of French and the FIRST person I meet is not only French, but the best-looking one I’d seen in months. No wonder there aren’t any in Paris! They ALL left! Wish I knew that earlier…lol) We spoke in Franglais the rest of the night, each of us trying to speak the foreign language until we couldn’t exactly wrap our minds around what we wanted to say. Turns out, Thibault Gautier (pretty much the most French sounding name I’ve ever heard) is a chef at a restaurant called Nando’s which specializes in spicy chicken dishes. I asked him why he was here and he said he just wanted to learn English. I was determined to teach him a few things before I left London. “The handwriting’s on the wall” was that night’s phrase as in the last 20 minutes of the game, England scored a bunch of points and people started leaving because they knew it was over. The game ended (the French lost, but they put up a good fight) but we stayed and talked until the bar closed up for the night. Tibo (phonetically spelled) and I exchanged numbers and planned to meet up again before I left. I thought it was so strange that I came to London alone, but already I had plans to meet a new friend! Too cool!

My last day in Dublin and first night in London were pretty freakin’ good if you ask me.

February 22nd- Ireland

2008-03-10T13:37:00.000+01:00

I woke up to a fresh cup of tea and a couple aspirin. It couldn’t get much better. My throat hurt something awful though and my nose was all gross. We had Chinese for breakfast and I just couldn’t believe how much I’d missed Tech!!! It was so sad! I just wanted to be back home with my friends relieving the previous nights festivities nursing our hangovers. Of course, I was doing that, but they weren’t as good of friends as they would be at Tech or Georgia State. Haha. We watched Oprah while we were eating, Denzel (Washington) was on. It was so weird being the only American there because they had so many things to say about the show…and it was an American show- but I felt like the foreigner! I don’t know. I guess since the US doesn’t have many foreign shows I’ll never understand. However, we also found out J.Lo had twins! So, congratulations to her.

We left Aine’s shortly after and had a plan to walk around campus for a bit and then go back to Dublin center. Ciara took me to the building where she has most of her classes- the Arts Building and got coffee. The smell of coffee and sound of students talking just screamed Einstein Bros. to me because we have one at Tech. *sigh* They even had Splenda at the coffee place!!!

After, we walked around a bit more and of course I took pictures. We walked to the bus stop and went into the center of Dublin. Ciara had a tapas bar she wanted to show me for lunch so we went there. It was really good. I had white bean salad with onions and peppers. Then I had a popular dish called “croquetas”. Basically is just a fried cheese ball with add-ins like Serrano ham. They didn’t have “normal” drinks, but like, organic drinks. so I got something called Curiosity Cola. It tasted exactly like those coke gummies! It was all really good and I’m glad we went. After, we walked around for a bit longer and found our hotel for the night. We were staying at the Paramount hotel (on Parliament Street in Temple Bar) because we thought we would be able to stay at UCD but it turned out that Aine was going home that night so we couldn’t. Ciara was checking out hostels two nights earlier and realized that because of the Ireland v. Scotland rugby game, the hostels were booked full. She did find one, however, while looking for hotels, but it was even more expensive than the hotel! So, for 50 euro a night, we stayed in a four-star hotel in famous Temple Bar instead of some ratty hostel where we would need a taxi to get there anyway. Cool! I missed hotels. We checked in and then decided to go to the Guinness Factory.

The Guinness Storehouse was SO neat! It was in a bit of the dodgy end but we were okay because it was during the day. Before we even saw it, we smelled the hops. It was incredible! What a stench! We ended up being a few blocks away so you know it was potent. We got there and there were so many kilts! Haha. It was fun. I learned a lot about making beer and then we got to try Guinness…I didn’t like it, but we still had to go up to the 360˚ view bar where we would either get a free pint or a soft drink. I got Guinness, but just to take pictures. The taste was just too intense for my young tongue. Lol. I grabbed a couple of pictures and then we went to the hotel. My favorite part was the section on advertising. I got to see all the Irish adverts and slogans. I don’t know if they have “Genius” in the States, but I saw it there. Apparently, the way the creators of such a slogan were told to stay in a hotel room until they could think of something worth presenting to the boss. One of the men wrote G-U-I-N-N-E-S-S and crossed out one “N” and one “S”, did a little word scramble and what did he get? GENUIS. On the way out I got a t-shirt and serving tray as souvenirs.

On the way home we ran into some jovial Scotsmen who I think had a few too many Guinness. Ah…the Scots. Now I don’t have to go to Scotland because I experienced the culture! What with the bagpipes and all…it was just a cool weekend to be there. And all the Irish girls were SO excited to have them here. I don’t know what kind of reputation Scots have in Ireland, but for the women, it’s not bad. ;-)

We were kinda hungry after all that walking, and it was getting late so we decided to grab something to eat at the grocery store and take it back to the room. Of course, that was before we realized that ordering room service was cheaper than going to a grocery store. Who’da thunkit? Ugh. But my dinner was good. I had a ciabatta sandwich with ham, turkey, cheddar cheese (again!), and salad (that’s just lettuce and tomatoes, but they call it salad on sandwiches). Then we splurged and got Cooler Ranch Doritos (something not in France) and Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. Yum-o! To top it off, we had a bottle of rose wine. Cuz, why not?

Ciara and I showered and got ready for a fun night out with the Scots and Irish. I straightened my hair for the first time since Christmas. I decided then and there that it would be one of my purchases when I returned to Paris. It was just too pretty. Lol. We watched the Club International (amateurs) Ireland v. Scotland as we got ready, too.

Then, we were gone. We headed over to a place called the Purty Kitchen where they had a live band, aka one man playing the guitar in front of a mike with a pint next to him. Haha. It was kind of slow so we went to another pub (The Porterhouse) and got a beer. They only had specialty brews so I asked for their lightest and the bartender goes, “Ok, I’ll give you the most American one we’ve got.” Gee, thanks. Whatevs, it was good. By that time we were ready to go back to the PK and it was a little livelier. The guitarist played songs I knew, like “Sweet Home Alabama” and a song that’s really famous “off-the-continent” (that’s to say the UK and Ireland)…it’s called “Wonderwall” by Oasis. It was done in the 90s but they still love it. They opened up the dance floor a little bit later, so you know I was on it busting all kinds of embarrassing moves. Poor Ciara said she didn’t like that kind of music (rave music I think she called it) but she was sweet enough to stay and dance my little heart out with a troupe of, yep, Scotsmen. Well, first I danced with this Polish man, but apparently there is some animosity between the Irish and Poles as he was escorted out soon after his presence was made aware.

After I was too pooped to pop, we left. We went home and snuggled into our comfy hotel room beds and I started getting really excited about England!

Ireland Notes

2008-03-10T05:58:00.002+01:00

Some things I noticed about Ireland that I’m gonna list just so I don’t forget:

- All the clocks in Dublin told a different time. I don’t know what it was, maybe a time change recently or something, but every time there was a public clock, it said something different than the one next to it! You know like the phrase “Where the hell am I?” I kept asking when the hell I was!

- Because the drinking age is so low here (18), that means everyone begins drinking at 15 and 16. which means they’re making the mistakes we make at 18 or 19. Just something I realized here…even though in France the drinking age (for beer and wine) is 16….meaning kids start drinking at 13/14-ish.

- There is no underground railway in Dublin. Only buses. So there are TONS of buses all over the city!! It was such a strange sight, because there are buses in Paris, but these are just everywhere!

- There is an advert right now for Motorola phones- one is pink and one is purple. And the slogan is “Are you purple or pink?” It was so cute because those are mine and my sister’s favorite colors, respectively.

- UCD (University College of Dublin) students LOVED Abercrombie&Fitch clothing. It was what all the cool kids wore. It reminded me of middle school! haha!

- The accents in Ireland are different in (roughly) each county…but everyone knows which one is which! It’s crazy! One of the main words they pronounce differently is “much.” Some say like muh-tch, some say it like mooch. I guess it’s sort of like knowing if someone is from Minnesota or the Northeast or South, but they can name all areas! Sometimes people in the States don’t have accents but could be from anywhere. Just kinda cool. It’s the same in England, too.

- The Irish say a few words differently than in the States. For example, they call the jetway (that connects an airport gate to an airplane) an airbridge. They say “yous” like in the Midwest for pluraled people, and they also plural “math” like the subject in school. Odd.

February 21st- Ireland

2008-03-06T23:46:00.000+01:00

When I woke up I was really confused because I thought I was in Florida, but definitely wasn’t. My throat was sore again, but I was smart enough to bring cough drops! Yesss! We got dressed and went down to the bus stop and got on the bus. It was a 2 hour bus ride into Dublin and so Ciara and I just slept. We passed a lot of fields that reminded me of Iowa, but a little more hill-y. We would go through these little towns and they are so cute! The architecture for each “section” of the building is different, whereas in Paris, it’s pretty similar. But there were purple and blue and red exteriors and different windows and everything! Adorable!

When we got to Dublin, I noticed all the construction going on. There was tons! It was like they were building a whole new city right next to it! So…if you go to Dublin in about 10 years it’s gonna be completely different than what it is now! Also, we passed Colin Farrell’s apartment. Like it was no big deal. Lol. I almost turned into an expert paparazzo, but we were on the bus that was moving too fast. When we arrived in the South side of Dublin the first thing I noticed was this huge tall spire. Ciara couldn’t really tell me much about it, but I got a few pictures. It was just odd. We walked through that area and then by the River Leffey. Cute architecture lined the river. There are pics up.

Then we went to one of her favorite restaurants for lunch. It’s called “The Queen of Tarts”. I guess it’s more like a bistro, but it was so cute. Reminded me of a little place that would be where I live in Florida. Menu was written in chalk, barely fits more than 10 people in it, what you see in the glass case is what they’ve got, with a small kitchen to prepare the sandwiches. It was located right across from the entrance to the Dublin Castle and what I believe is City Hall. Really cute place. I had a great ham sandwich with cheddar (!!!!) cheese on foccacia bread and a slice of Bailey’s Irish Cream cheesecake for dessert. I just had to. It looked sooo good. And it tasted better. We’d rested for long enough and decided to walk around the city. It is a relatively small city so I saw most of the things TripAdvisor suggested on the first day. We walked to Christ Church which is just up the street from the restaurant and looked around. It was the first time I had to pay to get into a church! I couldn’t believe it! It’s an Anglican/Episcopalian church but has some Gothic architecture. I really enjoyed it. They had just redone the pipes for the organ which cost a lot of money so I think that’s why the price was up a lot. After we went next door to Dublinia- a museum about Viking history and stuff. The cool part about this place was that you could touch everything! And they had really realistic artifacts and stuff. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot.

After that, we went to the University of College Dublin (UCD) where we were to stay that night. I passed Trinity College- the more famous of the 2 universities in Dublin, but Ciara goes to UCD. It’s just a little out of the city center so we took a bus. When we got there I started missing Tech. Seeing residence halls, classroom buildings, student centers and just the feeling of community made me miss it. Sciences-Po doesn’t have a campus or sense of community, and it’s something I know I’ve been craving. We met some of Ciara’s friends in her dorm- Aine (Ahn-yah) and Sean (Shawn) and hung out for a bit. the crazy thing is that the dorm smelled the same as a dorm at Tech! Just the halls and stuff. It was crazy! Then we decided to go for a drink at the student bar. That was on campus. How neat is that?! Of course, in the States that wouldn’t exist because the drinking age is so high. But everyone just goes to the student bar for a pint after class or whatever. What a different culture! That’s what I really enjoyed. Seeing how those students lived. We had a couple pints at the bar and then decided to order Chinese delivery for dinner. Order! Delivery! Chinese! Wonderful to hear those words. We stopped at the grocery store on campus and grabbed some wine and then went home and ordered. I got something safe- broccoli and beef. It was really quite good. We were supposed to go to this bar/club called Copper’s but we decided to stay in and watch stuff on YouTube and Anchorman. I tried to introduce rap into their culture but they HATED it! Absolutely couldn’t stand it. I was so sad! I wanted them to like it, but I think it is just my Atlanta influence. *sigh* I tried. They didn’t know Panic! At the Disco, either. Sean did, because he works in Wales, but I thought that was odd that the UK knew them but not Ireland. It’s not like they’re far away. The whole time people were in and out so I met some nice girls: Bevin (kind of reminded me of a girl from my high school…but a much more intense version, and Collette was a girl I didn’t get to know well but she apparently is a lot of fun and loves the States.

Anyway, the night wound done and I slept in the common room by pulling the couch cushions out and making a bed. It was actually really comfy! Ciara, poor thing, had usually slept on the floor if there were no rooms empty she could use. She never thought to do that. Oh well. We slept soundly…but I was still feeling poorly and knew my head was gonna hurt in the morning. Lol. Ah, college.

February 20th- Ireland

2008-03-06T18:08:00.001+01:00

I pulled an all nighter last night so I could get on the plane in time to get to Dublin. I got there in plenty of time, which is good, because I tend to stress about flights. I had some breakfast and relaxed before the flight. I went to the terminal, but the cheap airlines aren’t given gates until the last minute, so we just had to hope that we were in the right terminal before it was too late. Of course the flight was delayed, and I almost fell asleep waiting for it. But it eventually did arrive and we got on and I fell asleep before we took off.

When we landed I was tired but so excited to be somewhere I’d never been before. It was weird speaking English and I was surprisingly timid at first. I was in Dublin, but going to visit a friend, Ciara, in her home in Castleblayney, in County Monaghan, near the border of Ireland and North Ireland. She had told me to get on the bus to get to Castleblayney, but for some reason it didn’t click that there was a time change when I got there, so I missed a few buses. L So, instead of waste my time outside, I went inside and explored the Food Court- surprise, right? I noticed that McDonald’s in Ireland served curly fries- like at Arby’s!! Oh man, that was cool. I didn’t try any, though. I also noticed that in front of all the counters of little shops are rows and rows of chocolate bars. They love Cadbury, and it made me think of my mom a lot because she LOVES the Cadbury Crème Eggs. After I got a coffee, I finally got on the right bus and almost fell asleep immediately. I would wake up intermittently and notice how GREEN and lush everything was! I saw hills!!

I eventually got to her town and she and her uncle picked me up in his car. The first thing I noticed was that I was on the “wrong” side of the road. I don’t know how I didn’t notice this in the bus, but I think I was so tired I didn’t even care. Now I was alert because my brain was working hastily on translating the accent! Haha. It wasn’t that bad, but it took some getting used to. We went to her grandma’s house where I had a traditional dish- stew. It was quite good! Like, chowder-y. And then, of course, a cup of tea. That felt good on my throat because some how I’d developed a sore throat and wasn’t feeling great. Boo. I then proceeded to meet Ciara’s aunt and cousin. Already, that was a lot of family, but it was so nice being in a household. After we were done eating, we walked to Ciara’s house- which was 2 away from her gmas. That was nice. Her family lives really close…most of them within blocks of each other. It reminded me of my mom’s family.

When we got into her house I got the grand tour and was amazed! It was a huge house! Lots of rooms, I think that’s because there was no central heating when it was built so usually the family chills in one room and closes the doors so at least they’re warm there. The weather was muggy, but not raining, thankfully. So Ciara and I sat in a room and caught up, talked about school, differences between the States and Ireland. Mostly she wanted to hear about sororities, fraternities, and American college life. I thought that was cute, but it made me miss home some. She was so curious about things like how I met people if we couldn’t go to bars (frat parties) and what driving was like (she doesn’t have her license), and an explanation about Prom versus Homecoming. I also told her about college dances like semiformal and formal! It was all really fun to explain- especially since I could do it in English, but I’m not sure how she took it. I think she was just in awe. It was cool.

Her brother came home after a while, and poor thing, I couldn’t understand a word he said. He’s got the thickest accent! He seemed real sweet, though.

Finally, Ciara’s mom came home and we talked about what we were gonna do for dinner. Ciara’s mom was so sweet and they look so much alike. She’s a Home Ec teacher at school, so she cooks most everything from scratch. So, not only was I in a real household for the first time in a while, but I wasn’t going to have a microwave dinner, either! Wow- I got lucky! The sun had set, so we had to skedaddle to the store and get the fixins for our dinner- a tart- and walk around a bit. She took me to the Hope Castle and I took a bunch of pictures. Probably if you’ve checked out the pictures you’ve seen it and the rolling hills that surround it. The Hope Castle was named after the same family that the Hope Diamond was named after- cool, huh?!

We came home and made the dinner and dessert. First, the dessert, of course. Ciara asked what I’d been missing at home and for some reason, I just missed cake! So we made chocolate cupcakes with the best homemade chocolate icing I’ve had in a long time. Then came the tart. I felt like such a bump on a log because Ciara just let me sit back and watch her cook because she insisted I relax as I was the guest. After a while I had NO problem with that. I just sat back with my glass of Cab-Merlot and watched her cook the most amazing thing! Y’all have to try it. Ok, she took all these vegetables- all kinds of peppers (because I love them now), an onion, minced garlic, and fresh tomatoes and cut and roasted them in a pan in the oven. I think they were covered in olive oil, too. Then she took a puff pastry (it was in the frozen food aisle…I’m not exactly sure where in the States you could find it, but maybe they sell them there…) and spread a mixture of Philadelphia cream cheese, garlic, and tomato pesto (I don’t like basil so she was sweet enough to use tomato pesto, but she says its real good with the basil one) on top. Then, when the veggies were done she put them on the pastry, covered it with mozzarella, cheddar (pretty much any kind of) cheese and put it back in the oven for a bit. Then, we ate it. SOOO good!! Oh man, it was amazing. Also, to top it off, her parents had all this beer in the Frigidaire and asked me to drink as much as I could, because, you know, they don’t drink beer. (They’re Irish!!) I did my best, but sadly, there was too much and I didn’t succeed in finishing it all.

Afterwards, we retired to the sitting room where we watched Sex and the City. I’ve never seen all the episodes, so we did our best to get through them. Her daddy, another aunt, and both grandmas came over during the rest of the night and I got to meet them all. It was a family reunion!! It was neat. Her daddy is obsessed with the States- completely. He was so cute about it. They’re going to Fort Meyers in Florida for over 2 weeks this summer and they can’t wait.

We went to bed kinda early because we had to get up early and take the bus into Dublin. I had a great first day on my break!!

In Paris for 12 hours!

2008-02-28T01:22:00.003+01:00

Ooh, I get to sleep in my own bed tonight! :-) My beautiful, big, lush, queen-sized bed!!! Yummm.

I posted pictures so you could see some things I saw. I just don't have time to write for a long time.

This has been one of the best vacations I've ever taken. I can't believe how it's turned out. And wouldn't you like to know?! Haha. I'll fill y'all in soon enough. Until then, let me describe what I did tonight after arriving in Paris...I got a kick out of it.

John informed me that we had a leak in the apartment and may have to call the fire department. That wasn't exactly the best welcome home present, but oh well. I can think of worse. We called our land lords in the States and asked then what they suggest we do. They were very concerned, poor things, as they're so far away and basically depending on us to keep their apartment from falling in on itself. They told us to call the pompiers (firefighters) and so we did. They cut off the water in the apartment above us, but the man was not too happy to have that done. About 20 minutes after the pompiers left, we get a phone call, and it's one of them (don't ask me which one) asking me out on a date!! Puh-leeze. I didn't understand what he was saying at first, because I thought he was asking how the leak was (...silly me) and if we had a "verre" (glass) underneath it (to catch the water falling). But he was asking me out for a verre (of something to drink). Haha!! You don't know how surprised I was- or John for that matter. We had a good laugh...I think my relationship with the pompier is doomed since he could probably be my dad, but it was sweet to ask.

Such is my life at the moment, though. It's been quite a week with men, let me just say that. I've been on top of my game. ;-) Not that I expected it. *sigh* I can't go into too much detail without writing a huge long blog, and no one wants that right now. I'm leaving the apartment in 7.5 hours...ugh. But I get to see my favorite younger-twin-sister-named-Liz in the whole wide world tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

So, check out my pictures and I'll write when I'm in Spain!!

xoxo

Last night in London!

2008-02-26T19:51:00.002+01:00

All's well here. London weather is beautiful!

Received notice that I got a $1000 stipend for the International Plan. Basically it's just extra spending money. But I'll take it. :-)

I don't know what I'm doing my last day, but I'm excited to get home and the make my way to Spain to see Liz!!!!

Going to grab a coffee and write in my journal/read the paper. I write what I did during the day so I can write it on here when I get back!

xoxo

London, baby!

2008-02-24T08:39:00.001+01:00

I'm in London!!!!

I had a great trip to London and am staying in an awesome hostel. Erica recommended it to me, and I couldn't be happier. It's called St. Christopher's Inn. It's a chain, which, in American-speak, means more reputable. They've coined the phrase "Beds and Bars" because their rooms are above bars. It's a brilliant idea. Thankfully, I'm on the tippy top floor, so it's not loud. Last night, after I got in, I had a sandwich and went to the bar. I watched the first half of the France v. England rugby game standing and then moved to a sitting area. And what do you know, I sit myself right next to a Frenchman. We started speaking French and we got to talking about what each of us was doing in London. He's a cook at a restaurant looking to improve his English. I'm a student/gypsy looking to forget everything French for a week. It was a great match. Lol. We spoke Franglais for the rest of the night and I think we're going to see each other again tonight. It's too bad he's a smoker, but no one's perfect.

I don't know exactly what I'll be doing today, but there will be lots of pictures, that's for sure. That is one nice thing about being alone- no one to answer to. I think tomorrow I'll be going up to Oxford to visit one of my friends from middle school who goes to U(sic)GA and is studying abroad there. ;-)

Well, I've got to go take advantage of the free breakfast they offer in the bar downstairs!

xoxo

In Ireland (which isn't the UK...but, you know...)

2008-02-22T12:49:00.002+01:00

Everything's grand so far!

I've met loads of Irish and there's a rugby game tomorrow against the Scots so there are a lot of kilted men around. :-)

Going to the Guinness Factory today...there's a great view at the top where the bar is, so I'll get some good pictures. The weather isn't that bad today, and yesterday it was just chilly and SO windy.

I've had a really great time and will expand later. I didn't know I'd have a computer today, so I wanted to write a quick note.

xoxo

Off to the UK!

2008-02-20T05:56:00.003+01:00

I don't have time to write too much right now. I was able to get my fingerprints and sent off my application. That's such a relief.

To celebrate, I went shopping at H&M and bought things I didn't need. :-)

Erica and I already have our first trip planned and booked- Vienna, Austria from March 7-10. I can't wait!

I'm meeting Ciara in Ireland tomorrow where she lives: Castleblaney and then we're going to Dublin the next day.

I'll try to get on a little way through and let you know how the trip's going.

I think I'm going to miss Paris.

If you'd like a postcard from Ireland or England, post your address (or e-mail it to me : gth789q@mail.gatech.edu) and I'll try to get one out to you!

xoxo

Really?! President's Day?!?!

2008-02-18T12:50:00.003+01:00

I didn't know that was today. I'm completely dumb.

I have this packet to fill out for my internship and it's due the 22nd of February. I got it about a week ago, but last week was exam mania, so I didn't even look at it. (I know, great idea.) So I got up this morning ready to fill out everything and turn it in before I leave for Ireland. But then everything went wrong. I'm supposed to fill out an application online but the website is down. I'm supposed to get my fingerprints but I have to get it done at the Embassy- which is closed. And I wanted to call to make an appointment, but it's closed, so no one's answering their phone. :-(

I've looked into changing my ticket to go to Ireland, because there is nothing I can do today. I feel so horrible about my lack of motivation to get it done earlier, but this is the price I will pay I suppose. In the grand scheme of things, it's just one more thing to do, but I'll be a better person because of it. Well, that's what I'm going to tell myself. Plus, if you've got to be stuck somewhere for an extra day, is Paris really that bad of a place to be? No, not really. I actually commented the other day on how I wanted a few days to relax in Paris because the weather was so nice, so maybe it was meant to be! :-)

xoxo

Henri's Gone! :-(

2008-02-17T17:11:00.003+01:00

Today was Henri's last day in Paris so we met up with him and Erica at Le Marais (the Jewish and Gay Quarter) and had falafel at the most famous falafel place: L'As du Falafel. I'd never had it before and it was actually quite good! I was impressed. My taste buds went crazy. Falafel is fried chick peas in balls put in a pita with cabbage, red lettuce, tomatoes, and fried eggplant topped with a white sesame sauce. I'd never had eggplant, either and enjoyed it. Yay for trying new things! I've added pictures of us in the Luxembourg Gardens (where the Senate is) and on the Seine. I'll miss Henri a lot, but Erica and I are gonna be travel buddies- we're already planning to go somewhere in March! :-)

Friday I woke up and went to work at 9am and got ready for a long day. For some reason, Isabelle wasn't as sympa as usual...always double-checking my work...I guess that's normal in an office, but I got the feeling that she didn't think I was doing something right. *sigh* I met this really sweet French girl with whom I helped stuff folders for the Spring Orientation for hours. We had so much fun talking about the views of Sarkozy-Bruni love affair. (A little background: the French president divorced his wife a few months after taking office...and now he's remarried to this model/singer, Carla Bruni...his popularity in France is suffering because they think he's not focusing on the state, but in America he's ballin' because he's married to this younger girl.) So, we talked about all that and it was so cool actually getting along with a French girl and speaking French with her. That evening we had Henri and Erica (and of course Hal) over and played the Wii until late into the night and watched "Billy Madison."

Yesterday we didn't do much but stocked up at the grocery store so that we wouldn't starve Sunday. Finally- we learn! Haha. For dinner we made potato skins again and then called a bunch of people to see if we wanted to celebrate Henri's last night in Paris. A bunch of people met at the bar (Hal, John, me, Vé (Middlebury girl), Patty and Chuck (Franco-Americans we met), and my new friend Josh (who I met at work Wednesday))...yeah, Henri didn't make it to his own going away party. Lol. It was okay, we knew he'd been busy packing and moving out, but it was so funny we all had a great time and celebrated his time here, but he wasn't even there! Haha. Josh and Vé went home and Chuck and Patty continued the party chez nous. We Wii'd and they loved it. They pronounce Wii like the letter "Y". Interesting. But they were fun and I'm glad we met.

Tomorrow I'm finally going to a movie (well, I think...it's not 100%)! John and Hal are going to watch Death Match 4 (aka Rambo) tonight, though. John informed me that he read a statistic that every minute 2.95 people die. That's a lot of dying. Instead I'm going to see "Sleuth." (Sorry, Ry.) It's with Michael Caine and Jude Law. It's a remake of the 1972 Oscar Winner in which Michael Caine played the part Jude Law now has. I'm really excited because it's such a clever movie. Ryan and I happened upon it last year on the TV and fell in love with it. Then we heard a remake was coming out, but unfortunately it didn't make it to the big screen in the ATL. So, I get to see it here! I don't think it will be awesome, but, come on, Jude Law?! Also, the director is Kenneth Branagh- who played Hamlet in the movie...Hamlet. He was my favorite Hamlet- and he's quite a looker. So, I'm excited- so many firsts today!

I leave for Dublin Tuesday morning. :-)

xoxo

P.S. Keep those prayers coming for the Provow family! Thanks!

Disneyland Paris!

2008-02-14T22:33:00.002+01:00

Last night there were a few of us that went to a good sangria bar. It played a lot of old 70's American music. It was fun and I got to know a bunch of people that I'd not met before.

This morning I woke up and got ready for Disneyland! I got flowers delivered to me this morning- red roses from Ryan. So very nice of him- and completely unexpected! The delivery guy loved my shocked expression. Lol.

Hal, John, and I met Russ at the train station and were on our way! the boys had fun talking about France and asking him if he'd ever heard of really American things- for example, he'd sort of forgotten what Pop-Tarts were, Easy Mac, and he completely missed the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" commercials!! Unbelievable!

Disneyland was so fun- we rode Space Mountain 3 times! It's the fastest out of all the Space Mountains! We ate at all these fun restaurants in the different sections- Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Discoveryland, and Mainstreet, USA! At 3pm, we saw Russ and his band at the Cowboy Barn in Frontierland. It was fun to hear that Southern Country/Folk music- I didn't realize I'd missed it. Hanging out with John and Hal was fun because they're funny boys. It was one of the only times we'd done something outside of school completely. I'm so thankful I've met Russ- I'll definitely be going to Disney a lot more.

I'll put some pictures up- suffice it to say, this Valentine's Day was pretty cool.

Also, please keep my dad's side of the family in your prayers.

xoxo

Fini!!! /Finished!!!

2008-02-13T19:25:00.002+01:00

I finished my last exam today. It went really well, I think. I had a lot of terms memorized and spat them out, and tried to make them fit the question, just to show the professor that I really had studied. It was a bit hard because there were only 2 questions and we just chose one, so if we had focused on one thing, that would have been bad. But I think I did all right.

I went to work afterwards where I began meeting some new North Americans here for the Spring Semester. Poor things. They looked really frazzled. I'm sure I looked that and worse. One girl was trying to get access to her e-mail and didn't know what was wrong with her account so we spent about 20 minutes calling people and wondering what it could be when all of the sudden, I asked her if she'd actually even activated the account. She hadn't. She'd gone to help desk after help desk, poor thing, and no wonder no one could help her- because there was nothing wrong! Another boy came in and his housing fell through last moment so Matthew and I were trying to help him figure out where to live. I met his mom, too. He goes to UNC, so, ACC rivals!!! Lol. Anyway, I think we'll be hanging out this next semester. I've also been talking to French students about their study abroad applications to the University of California. They have so many questions and I'm glad I'm there because no one else knew much about how school and registration works in the States.

Then I came home (John was asleep, of course) and watched the movie Atonement. It was a beautiful movie. Just...breathtaking. But the most wonderful thing of all was that I looked up the translation for the movie in French and it's called "Reviens-Moi" or "Come Back to Me"- one of the lines in the movie. It gives the movie a more romantic sense than a repentanceful (?) one. But, wow...it made me fall in love with the French language all over again. You should all see it.

Tonight is a celebration for being done with exams!!! So, I'm gonna go. Ireland/England/Spain in 1 week!!!!!!!!

xoxo