tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20403641140731893372024-03-13T04:16:19.981-07:00Blossom Day SoonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-33243647603350976422012-12-21T04:03:00.000-08:002012-12-21T04:07:11.262-08:00Five Things: Lia and Amanda<div style="text-align: justify;">
This last post is dedicated to my two best friends here in Paris. Lia and Amanda have been amazing friends since I met them. Let's tell the story of how I became friends with each of them.</div>
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One of the first nights I was here, there was a group of people getting together in a room at the Cite U to hang out and meet each other. I was supposed to meet someone at the center building and we were going to walk there together. Without phones, it was quite difficult and we wound up not finding each other. I went back to my room and received a Facebook message from Lia saying we should try and head over together, so we agreed to meet up. I was walking to the other side of the Cite U and all of the sudden I here someone quietly say my name. I looked to my right, and there was Lia! The rest is history.</div>
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Amanda and I were walking back from a night out with friends. We were walking from the metro and first realized we were in the same building, then the same floor, then realized we lived right next to each other. We were neighbors! It was so funny when realized our rooms were directly next to each other and we hung out all the time after that.</div>
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These two have been with me since the beginning and I am so lucky to have them in my life. They have helped me through good times and bad times, but I owe so much of this amazing semester to both of them. They talk all the time about how I don't mention them enough in blog posts, but here you go, you two! I love you both and know we will be friends for a long time. Try not to miss me too much when I'm gone but I know Paris has more in store for you. Thanks for everything.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-13580783979427109592012-12-20T07:27:00.002-08:002012-12-20T07:27:42.837-08:00Five Things: The Metro<div style="text-align: justify;">
All of my friends know that the metro system is one of my absolute favorite parts of Paris. I love the system so much. I'm not sure if it's the brilliance of it, how much fun it is to ride, how grown-up I feel making transfers and following the pack of rush hour people in and out of the system, or how it takes me anywhere I want to go in Paris. My NaviGo (the monthly metro pass) is one of the greatest investments I have ever made. I take the metro anywhere from two to twenty times a day, maybe more, but not a day goes by that I do not use it. I feel like the coolest person in the world when I swipe my NaviGo and walk right through the turnstiles. I will definitely miss that.</div>
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This map is my best friend. I use it all the time and feel no shame. I keep one with me at all times, sometimes more than one. The information desk in each metro stop gives them out for free and I've collected quite a few since I've been in Paris. It may look complicated, but within a week or so of living in Paris, you, too, would be able to navigate the metro!</div>
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My metro stop is Dugommier on line 6, but my favorite line is 4. Maybe it's because it was the first one I used when I lived near Porte d'Orleans during my first month, but I love how it goes right through the center of the city and the way the route looks on the inside of the metro cars. My school is also on line 4, at the Saint.-Germain-de-Pres stop. I really am going to miss the metro so much. I could get anywhere in the entire city of Paris these past four months with just a swipe of my pass. The city was mine.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-75305199367234784912012-12-18T08:46:00.001-08:002012-12-18T08:46:25.851-08:00Five Things: Traveling around Europe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
One of my absolute favorite parts of my semester in Paris has been the ability to travel around Europe. My original plan for my semester abroad was to go to Washington DC for an internship program. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that was not what I wanted from my semester abroad, and it was hardly a semester abroad at all. I wanted to see Europe. And I absolutely have. I have traveled to Barcelona, Florence, Pisa, Amsterdam, London, and of course, Paris. I have seen so many incredible sights and experienced so many different adventures. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-11848638679937145672012-12-16T12:35:00.000-08:002012-12-16T12:35:10.004-08:00Five Things: The bakery downstairs<div style="text-align: justify;">
As my time in Paris is coming to an end, I've decided to write a few last blogs to feature the five things I will miss the most about this incredible city and this semester in general. There are other amazing aspects of my experience I will miss of course, but these are a few of what I'll miss the most.</div>
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The bakery downstairs right outside of my apartment has been one of my favorite places since I moved into this apartment. It may not be the best bakery in all of Paris, but it is absolutely adorable and I have fallen in love with their bread and treats. Besides the fact that it is directly next door to my apartment, they have such great food and are so nice to me. It took a while, but the lady knows that I always want <i>une tradition</i>, which is basically a fancy baguette. She sees me walk in, gives me a smile, and grabs one from the basket behind her. I then give the nice woman my 1.15€, give the homeless lady that always sits outside the bakery some change, and start eating the tasty bread on my short walk home.</div>
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By the way, the bakery is open every day except Wednesdays. I don't usually like Wednesdays.</div>
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When I don't purchase <i>une tradition</i>, I usually treat myself to a <i>pain chocolat aux amand</i>e. This is definitely my pastry of choice. A <i>pain chocolat</i> is basically a chocolate croissant, but when made into a <i>pain chocolat aux amand</i>e, they add powdered sugar and almonds which makes for a perfect mid-morning snack. I wish I could take a million of these home with me so I never run out. YUM -----------------------------------></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-52314425714673253362012-12-11T07:57:00.001-08:002012-12-11T07:57:12.347-08:00London, baby!<div style="text-align: justify;">
This weekend, I went to London with Lia and Amanda. London was my last trip of the semester and it was quite exciting crossing this final destination off of the list I made at the beginning of the semester back in August. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xJSdiMjrEiE/UMdXoGb5LaI/AAAAAAAAAQo/GEfagPdkOCw/s1600/IMG_2392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xJSdiMjrEiE/UMdXoGb5LaI/AAAAAAAAAQo/GEfagPdkOCw/s200/IMG_2392.jpg" width="150" /></a>I'm going to make this post short and sweet since a play-by-play of the weekend seems unecessary. We saw the Parliament building, Big Ben, had tea with my friend from IU, Kelsey, rode a double decker bus, went up the London Eye and the Tower Bridge, and saw the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. I, of course, took my Harry-Potter-Lover photo at Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross and fawned over the Harry Potter goodies at Harrods department store. As far as touristy things go, that was the gist of our weekend. They were all great sights to see and someday I'll return to buy all of those Harry Potter goodies. </div>
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The best things, however, occurred on Sunday, our last day in London. Lia and I decided to get friendship piercings. Amanda held our hands, so she counts, too. That night, we went to a bar that was basically empty. They had karaoke and I decided to sing "Somebody to Love" by Queen, one of my signature songs. Both of those things I have been wanting to do for a long time and I'm so proud of myself for doing them. No matter how much my mother may hate the piercing or how few people were there listening to me sing, I had a blast. I was so happy that I finally found the courage to do both. Getting the piercing was super scary but the karaoke was fine, especially since so few people were in the bar. But the best part was that I did them. Two things I was scared to do, I just went out and did them and it was amazing. I'm so thankful for Amanda and Lia who helped me through all the fear and silly nerves and and grateful to them for watching me sing and cheering me on. And Happy Hanukkah!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-52930795956091518272012-12-06T12:48:00.001-08:002012-12-06T12:48:21.053-08:00Jukebox the Ghost<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Tuesday night I saw Jukebox the Ghost in concert. Since Jonathan played their song "Hold It In" for me one day while we were in the car, I've absolutely loved them. They were in Indianapolis this year, which was a huge bummer for me since I was in Paris. However, their Facebook page informed me that they were coming to Paris!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They were the second opener for a guy named Allen Stone, who I've never heard of, but I bought a ticket to the concert nonetheless. Since I've been in Paris, Jukebox the Ghost has really become one of my favorite bands, one of my favorites that has all the members living (unlike The Beatles, another one of my favorites). My friend Amanda so kindly came with me and it was really a great night. I even tried my best not to be a weird, annoying fan. I think I succeeded. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I snuck up to the front and was standing right in front of the guitarist, Tommy, or he may have introduced himself as Tom. I knew all the songs and most of the words to all the songs. It was so much fun to hear some of my favorite song played live. After the show, they were at the merchandise table so I went to introduce myself and had a nice chat with them. Since I already have all their albums, I asked if they would sign my ticket, and they did. The ticket also says nowhere that I saw them so they added the name to it. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I talked to Tom(my) first and when he realized I was American and that I had came to the show specifically to see them he said he had seen me in the audience and was confused as to how I knew all the words and was singing along. Made more sense after I talked to them. I met Jesse the drummer and talked to Ben the pianist, too. Ben went to piano camp at Indiana University (where I normally go to school), which is pretty funny. I told them that Jonathan hadn't let me go to Outside Lands with him to see them and they called him an asshole. (Sorry, Jonathan. Maybe you can redeem yourself someday.) Super funny. I took a picture with them and as I was leaving, Tommy said, "Bye, Steph!" What a great night and so happy to have seen them live!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-19022082264631234052012-11-26T09:32:00.001-08:002012-11-26T09:32:20.800-08:00Completing the Trifecta<div style="text-align: justify;">
For those of you who don't know, there is a well-known Jewish camp song entitled "Wherever You Go (There's Always Someone Jewish)." In this song, there is a line that goes as follows:</div>
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Amsterdam, Disneyland, Tel Aviv<br />Oh they're miles apart<br />But when we light the candles on Sabbath eve<br />We're sharin' the prayer in each one of our hearts</blockquote>
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I went to Tel Aviv in 2008 with my trip to Israel, I have been to Disneyland countless times, and on November 16th, I was given the honor of completing what has come to be known as the Jewish Trifecta by visiting Amsterdam.</div>
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This semester, five of my camp friends and I are all studying abroad. Hannah is in Rome, Ali is in Florence, Jenna's in Dublin, and Rebecca and I are in Paris. Unfortunately, Rebecca was unable to join us for this trip, but I met Hannah, Jenna, and Ali in one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to in my life.</div>
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Once I arrived at the airport, I took a train into Amsterdam's central station then a tram to our hostel. Immediately, I couldn't believe my eyes. The tram ride over completely blew me away. I felt like I was in a fairytale land. It was as if Disneyland Main Street was every single street I was passing. For some reason, Amsterdam has a reputation for being the place study abroad students can travel to legally smoke marijuana. Along with this reputation comes the expectation that the city might be a bit run down and sketchy. On the contrary, Amsterdam is not only one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen, it's one of the most clean and incredibly safe.</div>
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On Saturday the four of us took a free walking tour and my eyes were opened even more to the beauty of the city. We had an incredible tour guide. His name was Julian and he had been living in Amsterdam for about three years with his Dutch girlfriend who he had met back home in Australia. I learned more from Julian in that three hour tour than I ever expected to. He explained the history of Amsterdam, some interesting facts, but most importantly, he taught us about Amsterdam as a city of tolerance. You can be whoever you want to be in Amsterdam. Whatever religion you practice, politics you follow, things you believe in, it doesn't matter. The four of us felt like we were in some sort of dream world. I believe more than anything in the idea of tolerance and live and let live and my friends and I were blown away that we were in a city that believe so much in what we also believe in. </div>
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Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam and smoking marijuana has been decriminalized. The city has put it's efforts into cracking down on hard drug use and has almost completely ridded the city of crime. Some of this made me uncomfortable but Julian put it all into a perspective that helped me understand things in a completely new light. </div>
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After learning so much from the tour on Saturday, we headed out on our own. We wandered the city, ate good food, and just enjoyed each other's company. We visited Anne Frank's house which was amazing. The house has been turned into a museum and all of the furniture has been removed. They do, however, have her original diary in a glass case which was incredible to see. It was so strange being in the place Anne Frank and her family lived in for such a long time and a place that's known around the world.</div>
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This semester has been particularly hard for me but being with my friends was a comfort I so needed. Being in Amsterdam (and all my trips this semester, in fact) have taught me that there is so much more to life than we realize sometimes. I am extremely guilty of getting wrapped up in school and forgetting that having fun is just as important, if not more important, than work. The tests we take, assignments we complete, and essays we write are so minimal in our lives compared to what is out there. There's an entire world to be explored and tons of people to meet. I am more than lucky to have the opportunities that I do to see so many places and learn so many things. No matter how difficult this semester has been academically, mentally, and emotionally, I have gained so much. As I move into my last month here in Paris, I make a promise to myself and to all of you reading this that I will keep everything in perspective and continue to have fun. Much love.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-77414106646321961012012-11-11T10:40:00.002-08:002012-11-11T10:40:38.135-08:00My Grandma's Name is Florence<div style="text-align: justify;">
This post has nothing to do with my Mema and everything to do with my fall break trip to Florence. Additionally, please ignore the fact that I am wearing the same shirt in every photo and that my trip spans over four days. I packed extremely lightly for this trip and did wear things at other times of day and on the one day I am not in any photos. Thank you for your understanding. </div>
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One of my number one destinations during my semester here in Paris was always Italy. My plan was to head to Rome, but after a friend decided to go to Iceland instead, my agenda changed to Florence. And thank goodness. </div>
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My parents have always told me their favorite city is Florence, and now I completely understand why. My three short days there were not nearly enough and I am already planning my return for someday far in the future. </div>
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A friend from school, Taylor, is studying abroad there this semester and she so graciously hosted me. From seeing the Birth of Venus to walking the streets of Florence till a ridiculous hour of the morning, I could not have asked for a better vacation. I've really been feeling stressed lately with school and such and going to Florence helped me gain some perspective and understand what this semester abroad is truly about.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m9a4oF2R9og/UJ_sx6CMvHI/AAAAAAAAAPA/ln8IZN8T6eY/s1600/IMG_1993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m9a4oF2R9og/UJ_sx6CMvHI/AAAAAAAAAPA/ln8IZN8T6eY/s200/IMG_1993.JPG" width="200" /></a>As soon as I arrive on Wednesday, Taylor and I went out for a walk. She took me all over. It is so drastically different from Paris but beautiful in its own way. You walk everywhere, which is such a huge difference from Paris. The streets are small and all sort of look the same, but you rarely have to worry about cars and congestion everywhere you go. After our walk, she dropped me off at the Uffizi Gallery where I wondered around for a bit. I then popped into a cafe for a tea, read my book, and headed back to Taylor's apartment where we got ready for dinner and going out for Halloween. We ate at an incredible pizza place called Gusta's. I took a business card and taped it into my journal. Some of the best pizza I've ever had. Don't get wrong, New York pizza is one of my favorite foods in the world, but this place is unparalleled. </div>
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After dinner, we went out to a bar to celebrate halloween then wandered around the city taking silly photos. It was tons of a fun. We also stopped in a bar called Ebby's. A man named Ebby, who resembles Einstein, owns the bar so we ordered a shot named after him. He gives you a plate with orange slices, coffee grounds, sugar, and banana with something on it. You take the orange slice, place it in the coffee grounds then the sugar. You place the orange on your tongue coffee grounds side down and eat it you. You then take the alcohol with something mixed with coke (which was tough for me since I HATE soda) then eat the banana. It was such an experience all on it's own!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SU11LPNUb5M/UJ_t6F8BxLI/AAAAAAAAAPI/WZSgXxLh0kw/s1600/18487_10152219026130431_1266710914_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SU11LPNUb5M/UJ_t6F8BxLI/AAAAAAAAAPI/WZSgXxLh0kw/s320/18487_10152219026130431_1266710914_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a>On Thursday, we spent the day walking around again and went to a beautiful spot that looks out on the entire city of Florence. It was truly amazing. I had such an emotional moment when we first stepped off the stairs and I saw my first glimpse of the city from up there. I know I say this all the time, but all my life, I've seen photos of this exact scene, and here I was, seeing it with my own eyes. We have a photo of Florence hanging in our house that my parents took when they visited, and now I have my own photos of the same beautiful city. I am so lucky.</div>
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Friday was another amazing day. We first went to a market to buy food to make for dinner. I'm not sure what it was, but the market gave me an amazing feeling about life. I had no idea a food market could do that. Everyone was so pleasant, sharing food and conversing. For some reason, this little market in a random place in Florence helped me realize how beautiful life can be. No matter how cheesy it sounds, it's what I felt at that moment and may never forget. After buying food for dinner, we took the bus up a giant hill to a small town called Fiesole. Taylor and I packed a lovely picnic lunch and proceeded to walk. We wanted to find a great spot to eat lunch, and that we did. We found a spot that not only looked over Florence, but gave us a marvelous view of the hills and mountains surrounding the city. As we were sitting have our lunch of fruit, cheese, and bread, two men passed us and told us we were far from the spot where Leonardo da Vinci took his first flight. We, of course, decided to go explore. Again, we found an incredible look out spot. We followed some trail markers and found a few cool things, but, unfortunately, couldn't find the exact spot of his flight. It was an incredible day of beautiful views, good food, and great friends and Taylor and I both absolutely loved every minute of it.</div>
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Saturday was my last morning in Florence. Taylor and I woke up and quickly headed to the train station where we made our way to Pisa to see the leaning tower. It was honestly one of the strangest sights I've ever seen. It was a bit smaller that I was expecting and, of course, beautiful to see. But really, it was so strange. You feel as though your mind is playing tricks on you. We took a ton of silly photos of ourselves but also of other people taking their own photos. Seeing the photos being taken is quite hilarious and I'm sure we looked ridiculous as well!</div>
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Overall, my trip to Florence was absolutely incredible. Having a break from Paris and stress was much needed. I hope to have a chance to explore the rest of Italy some day and of course return to Florence. It is such a unique place and, as my dad says, frozen in time. Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed! Much love <3</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-10540060362907263292012-10-30T10:43:00.004-07:002012-10-30T15:27:01.361-07:00Best Friends in Paris<div style="text-align: justify;">
This weekend, Jenna and Hannah, two of my best friends from camp, came to visit Rebecca and me. It was truly an incredible weekend. How did we get so lucky to get to spend a weekend together in Paris? </div>
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Thursday night, Rebecca and I picked up Jenna and Hannah from the train station. On my way over, I was hit on by two men. This doesn't often happen so I was quite taken off guard. The first instance happened while I was standing on the platform of the metro by my apartment. I was listening to music when the man next to me leaned over and started talking to me in French. I, of course, said sorry I don't speak French. He asked if I spoke English and I said yes. He then proceeded to tell me that I was beautiful for him and then said if I wanted to show him some fun, he would like that very much. I said thanks for the compliment but told him no thanks for the fun. The second instance was when I was waiting outside the train station before Rebecca arrived. I was sitting on a bench when a man came over and started speaking to me in French. As always, I said I don't speak French and he said perfect, that he's looking to make some English speaking friends. He then told me that he was meeting some people in the bar down the street and didn't want to go in alone so he invited me with him. I told him I was actually waiting to pick up my friends and he said it was fine and asked the girl on the other side of the bench instead. </div>
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Seeing Hannah and Jenna walk through the turnstiles was unreal. Rebecca and I both screamed and we all hugged. It was quite the moment. We went back to my apartment to drop off their stuff then all went out for a midnight snack which consisted of meat, french fries, and crepes. Friday, I unfortunately had a lot of things to take care of. I met them part way through their day to say hello at the Louvre. As we were sitting and talking, I realized I couldn't find my phone. After a few minutes, I looked behind me and saw that the phone had fallen into the fountain. It wasn't the nice fountain with all the water flowing out of it, it was the disgusting fountain that wasn't running and the phone had fallen into a little crevice. We asked a security guard to help us whose arms weren't long enough and had to run around the outside of the museum looking for someone to retrieve my phone. Lucky for me, the phone survived and is doing fine. That night, we went out for a fun dinner at Restaurant Chartier, which has the best vibe, and then out to Cafe Oz for a crazy night of dancing. As we were at the bar, I realized that it was the first time we had all gone out together. We felt like such adults. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N9_qxv1O54k/UJAMpWsnW9I/AAAAAAAAAOs/xsFx4JtMinI/s1600/247620_10152230492215085_1980891947_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N9_qxv1O54k/UJAMpWsnW9I/AAAAAAAAAOs/xsFx4JtMinI/s320/247620_10152230492215085_1980891947_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a>Saturday was an incredible day at Versailles. None of us realized it was going to be in the middle of a town. We all thought it was going to be secluded in a countryside but it wound up being down the street from a Starbucks. Lucky us since it was a freezing cold day. The palace was amazing and we are all ready to move in whenever there's an opening. The inside was grand an beautiful and the sun was setting outside as we were passing through the Hall of Mirrors. We took some fun and cold pictures in the garden after the palace closed. After Versailles, we headed to what Jenna calls her favorite meal of all time. We went to a tiny fondue place that services you wine in a baby bottle. Sort of a strange concept, but just kind of their thing. We were squished at a long table with a bunch of other people. The walls are covered in graffiti and we all desperately tried to find someone related to us. We found a few Santa Barbara, sorority, and travel related things. I SWEAR I saw an IU trident written on the ceiling, but other than that, nothing that applied to any of us specifically. Rebecca had made plans for us to go out that night to a club she had registered us for, but we were all pretty tired from Versailles and spent the rest of the night cuddling in my bed. Couldn't have asked for more. </div>
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Sunday was a lovely day as well. We went to Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees, Laduree for incredible macaroons, and sat at Trocadero staring out at the Eiffel Tower. Hannah, unfortunately, had to leave on Sunday, but Rebecca and I had Jenna for an extra day. Monday, we went shopping, had falafel, and said our goodbyes to each other and to an amazing weekend together in Paris. </div>
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This is the secret part of the blog post that you'll only get to see if you had read the whole first part. This trip is turning into something so unexpected. I was thinking I would be having fun every day, loving life, and going crazy all the time. But this has turned into a journey of self discovery. I may not be backpacking my way through Southeast Asia or working with orphans in South America, but I am learning so much about myself and growing so much as a person. I had no idea soul searching could happen on its own in a first world country. I've found housing and moved into an apartment in a foreign country, planned four trips to other foreign countries, and so many more things, all things I never knew I was capable of doing. I've experienced my first anxiety attack and felt emotions I never knew I had. So many things have happened that I never ever expected. I have just under two months left here. I wonder what's in store for me. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-49044124241385020392012-10-17T11:45:00.004-07:002012-10-17T11:45:54.195-07:00Stephanie Lia Barcelona<div style="text-align: justify;">
This past weekend was my trip to Barcelona, Spain with Lia and it was absolutely incredible. We took a bus to the Orly airport. Because we didn't have to check bags (we only brought our backpacks like good little study abroad kids) we were let into a shorter line directly to security. Since we had arrived at the airport unnecessarily early and the Duty Free shop was the only store in our terminal, we decided to look at every single chocolate option the shop offered before making our decision on which one to buy. Lucky for us, we settled on a lovely option that was, to our delight, on sale!</div>
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As soon as we landed in Barcelona, we were ready to see the town. We checked into our hostel around midnight and were shown around to our rooms by an extremely nice girl. We couldn't stop talking about how nice she was the whole trip. After putting our stuff in our lockers, we immediately went to meet Lia's friend Debbie at one of the most interesting places I think I've ever been. It was a bar in which you would pay the bartender three euros and receive a glass. In this glass, you could pour in as much of whatever you wanted. Alcohol, juice, soda, whatever you wanted. Not only that, they also gave out an unlimited amount of popcorn to all the tables. Most of it ended up on the floor or on the table, but definitely a nice gesture. The bar was filled to the brim with Americans and the locals from Barcelona. I met people from all over the US, even some who I had mutual friends with. It's so crazy how I can go to the complete other side of the world and still meet Jews who know my Jews. As we were being herded out of the bar, the old lady owner gave everyone a bottle of water. It was so motherly and kind!</div>
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Unfortunately, I didn't sleep too well in the hostel. Lia and I wound up in separate rooms. Lia was in an eight person room and I was in a six person room. In my room, there was a guy who was snoring so loudly, I didn't ever get to fall asleep. I tried waking him up three times. Nothing. I tried putting music on my ipod and squishing my head in my pillow, but I could still hear him. I decided not to let my lack of sleep ruin the trip, which brings us to Saturday.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GSnULKTJVlo/UH77j4spMSI/AAAAAAAAAOA/tIHNR__X_4Q/s1600/IMG_1795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GSnULKTJVlo/UH77j4spMSI/AAAAAAAAAOA/tIHNR__X_4Q/s200/IMG_1795.jpg" width="150" /></a>Saturday was a great day. Lia and I started at the Barcelona Cathedral, which I've seen paintings of here in Paris at the Musee d'Orsay. Seeing the subject of paintings I've seen was really interesting, really being able to understand the details of the building that went into the paintings. After the Barcelona Cathedral, we went to Parc Guell, the whole reason I wanted to go to Barcelona. The architecture and colors are amazing. The view of Barcelona and the ocean was just as lovely as the park itself. We then went to lunch and the Picasso Museum. The museum was a little underwhelming and the staff didn't seem to like me too much. When I showed the woman at the desk my student card to buy my ticket, she went over to another woman, talked to her for a bit, showed her my card, and came back and sold me a ticket. Strange. Then, another woman who took my ticket gave me a weird look. After tearing my ticket, then Lia's ticket, she once again looked back and me and gave me another weird look. Lia and I weren't actually sure what was going on, but we made it through the museum just fine.<br />
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Also, the same weekend, about three people I know from home were going to be in Barcelona for the weekend. One of them was Rebecca, my closest friend from pre-school, who is also studying abroad in Paris this semester. I was waiting all weekend to run into her and on Saturday night I was walking through the metro and saw her from across the hallway! It was crazy!<br />
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Sunday, however, was definitely the highlight of the trip. Debbie met Lia and me at Sagrada Familia. We waited in a long line for over an hour, but it was completely worth it. The church may be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and will ever see. From the outside, it's a little bit dark and intense, true to the gothic style. But inside was unbelievable. The room is massive, filled with white and grey stone and stained glass windows everywhere. Gaudi studied light and believed that too much light is overwhelming. He, therefore, designed the building with the intention on letting in just the right amount of light. I purchased an audio tour and leaned so much. Without it, I probably would have just blown through all of the things to see in a little under an hour. But with it, I was able to spend three hours learning and really seeing the church and all the little details Gaudi put his heart and soul into. I hope to be able to return to Sagrada Familia one day, as it isn't scheduled to be completed for another 30 years.<br />
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Overall, Barcelona was a great experince. I loved the vibe of the city; everyone seemed to be having such a good time there, study abroad students and locals. The trip did, however, make me miss and appreciate Paris a lot. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to be here and excited to finally be able to check off one of the destinations on my list! Love on top. Hearts.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-73202969827653705642012-10-12T08:49:00.004-07:002012-10-12T08:49:32.489-07:00A Friday StoryToday, I am going to Barcelona! I'm so excited, I can't believe it. My first big trip of the semester.<br />
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I really wanted to write this post for one reason. Today, as I was leaving class, I saw six or seven young men undressing on a street corner. Only in their underwear, they proceeded to all attempt to fit into a glass phone booth.<br />
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Looking forward to blogging about Barcelona! Happy Friday everyone :DUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-6519587412458250292012-10-09T11:02:00.001-07:002012-10-09T11:02:17.536-07:00Big People, Small World<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am sorry how long it's been since I've blogged. It's not even as if I'm busy. I spend far to much time on Facebook and DEFINITELY have had the time to blog, just haven't gotten around to it! </div>
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My friends Amanda, Dana, Lia, and Anna-Lee all share an apartment about a half-hour metro ride away. Their landlord has yet to set up internet for their apartment, so they're over a lot. It's mostly just Amanda and Lia, and mostly just Lia nowadays, but when everyone's over, it's a ton of fun. We all just sit around, trying to do homework, talking and laughing about all the silly things that happen to us as foreigners and kibbitzing (gossiping) about the goings-on of Paris. Last Tuesday night, when Lia and Amanda were over, we talked about how we hadn't been to the top of the Eiffel Tower yet. So, we decided, we would go Wednesday night. And we did!</div>
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As you can imagine, Paris was beautiful from up there. It was insanely windy and rainy but it was still tons of fun. The best part is, now that we've been in Paris for a while, we can recognize things from up so high. For example, the neighborhood of our school, Sacre Cour, the big metro stations. It's really quite amazing how the city is laid out. I took some pictures from the top but my camera doesn't do too well in the dark. It looked like the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland, with all the cars moving as little lights (you know what I'm talking about) and it felt like being a giant seeing everything so tiny, like I could just pick up Paris and put it in my pocket! What I really loved about all this is that we wanted to go, and we went. We just decided that we wanted to do something and we did it. I really need to start doing this more often. Not only is it amazing that I can just head up to the Eiffel Tower on a regular Wednesday night with my friends, but that I really do have the opportunity to do all of these amazing things, I just need to decide to go out and do them. I really hope that this is something that translates into my daily life when I return home from Paris. </div>
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I'm heading off to Barcelona this weekend. One of Lia's best friend from school, Debbie, is studying abroad there. The crazy thing is Debbie and I both did the same Jewish retreat program through high school, we have the same birthday, know a lot of the same people, both live in Orange County, yet we didn't meet until she visited Paris this weekend. There is no doubt that we've crossed paths, but so interesting that we didn't meet until now. It really is a small world!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-35399323183896479752012-10-02T03:27:00.003-07:002012-10-02T06:13:55.089-07:00Disneyland ParisI didn't feel the need for a creative title today. Disneyland Paris is eye catching enough! Sunday's trip to the park was so much fun, I will do my best to put in into words.<br />
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On a quick side note, photos and blog of the apartment will be coming soon! Just need to clean up a bit, decorate, and then take the photos for your viewing enjoyment.<br />
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Back to Disneyland.<br />
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Today's blog will be filled with lessons. If the lesson receives a "Pass," Disneyland Paris has done something better than Disneyland (in California). If the lesson receives a "Fail," Disneyland has beaten Disneyland Paris. This is not to say that if Disneyland Paris receives more "Passes" then "Fails" it is a better park than Disneyland. Nothing can beat Disneyland. There are just some aspects of Disneyland Paris that are quite smart or deserve recognition. At the end, there will be a summary of the lessons and the mark received by Disneyland Paris. Furthermore, the objective of the lesson will be in bold. <b>Like so</b>. Let's begin.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CTV6pQTTgkM/UGoIsbnuPZI/AAAAAAAAAL8/lM-JSaQMoa4/s1600/IMG_1650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CTV6pQTTgkM/UGoIsbnuPZI/AAAAAAAAAL8/lM-JSaQMoa4/s320/IMG_1650.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We took the train right to entrance and excitedly danced to the ticket booth. There are two parks in Paris. The first one is just the normal Disneyland park, and the second is called Walt Disney Studios. Our plan was to save money and just buy tickets for Disneyland, but they had a <b>student deal</b> (Lesson #1: Pass) in which one ticket for both parks was 62euros. Just Disneyland would have been 61euros. So we paid 1euro to add the second park. What a deal. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Dxxq5jHxbg/UGoIZGcwMLI/AAAAAAAAAL0/yINmPaKL6lA/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Dxxq5jHxbg/UGoIZGcwMLI/AAAAAAAAAL0/yINmPaKL6lA/s200/IMG_1590.JPG" width="200" /></a>As soon as we entered, I honestly could not contain myself. I was an avid Disney goer from 8th till 12th grade, annual pass and all. I felt right at home and started snapping photos of everything in sight. I'll spare you. We immediately got down to business, mapped out our day, and began (as every good annual pass holder knows to do) with Space Mountain FastPasses for a little later in the morning. The first ride we hit after that was Indiana Jones. Much to our surprise, it was completely unlike the one in California. It was an <b>outside roller coaster, with a loop</b> (Lesson #2: Pass). I was quite thankful, as the Indiana Jones back home scares me quite a lot. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Words over the photo</b> so you can't steal a good copy<br />
Lesson #6: Pass</td></tr>
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We then moved on to Pirates of the Caribbean, which I am sorry to tell you does not contain <b>Jack Sparrow</b> (Lesson #3: Fail). The ride had <b>three drops, none of which occurred at the beginning </b>(Lesson #4: Pass). </div>
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Our FastPasses were finally ready, and we headed over to Space Mountain. This ride was actually amazing. It is so much more thrilling than the one in California. The line is a lot more entertaining, the theme of the ride is better, AND there's a loop! They, do, however, <b>take your picture at the beginning of the ride</b> (Lesson #5: Fail). Pictures of faces mostly lacking in emotion and showing confusion as to why this is happening. </div>
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After Space Mountain was Star Tours. They don't have the <b>new ride</b> yet (Lesson #7: Fail), so it was kind of like a little throw back. After having been on the new one at Disneyland, it was strange to see the same film for the ride again, in French, of course. (Forgot to mention, in case you didn't know, lots of stuff in French, but still had fun!)</div>
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I'll stop boring you with this play-by-play of everything that happened and jump right to our transition to Walt Disney Studios park. We were quite impressed by how fun the park turned out to be. We couldn't quite decide what to do first, so we hopped on the <b>Studio Tram Tour</b> (Lesson #8: Fail) of a Disney backlot. Sounds cool, right? Not exactly. We waited in line for 40 minutes for a waste of a ride. They showed props from <u>Dinotopia</u> (no one knew what that was), <u>Pearl Harbor</u>, and some other stuff no one knew was Disney, or maybe they're not. I won't spend too much time on it, so that's enough.</div>
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We wandered around <b>Toy Story Playland</b> (Lesson #9: Pass) before heading to <b>Crush's Coaster </b>(Lesson #10: Pass) which was the coolest ride I've ever been on in my entire life. You sit in a turtle shell and coast through the East Australian Current with Crush while the turtle shell turns and rocks back and forth. As soon as we got off the ride, we were all freaking out about how incredible the ride was. Lia and I feel bad for anyone that never gets to go on the ride. Which is most people. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H0a9dh0PPpY/UGq8nEtbVkI/AAAAAAAAAMc/1eJcrtDcsd0/s1600/IMG_1655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H0a9dh0PPpY/UGq8nEtbVkI/AAAAAAAAAMc/1eJcrtDcsd0/s200/IMG_1655.JPG" width="200" /></a>After that, we went back to Disneyland for a great rest of the night. One of our favorite parts of the whole park was the entrance to Adventureland, which was <b>Aladdin themed</b> (Lesson #11: Pass)! We took a bunch of silly photos. If you care to see them, go ahead and check Facebook. Kind of just wanted to give y'all an idea of what the Aladdin entrance looked like!<br />
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We spent the rest of the the night exploring the tree house and the rest of the park. We went on Space Mountain one last time and watched the fireworks, which included a great show projected on the castle. It really was a magical day. Lia, Maggie, Amanda and I had such a fun time and are so lucky to have gone! Oh and this photo...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Couldn't ask for more <3</td></tr>
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And that's it! Please keep reading my blog and I hope you're enjoying my adventures. A bientôt!<br />
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As promised, a recap of the lessons:<br />
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Lesson #1: Pass<br />
Lesson #2: Pass<br />
Lesson #3: Fail<br />
Lesson #4: Pass<br />
Lesson #5: Fail<br />
Lesson #6: Pass<br />
Lesson #7: Fail<br />
Lesson #8: Fail<br />
Lesson #9: Pass<br />
Lesson #10: Pass<br />
Lesson #11: Pass<br />
Pass: 7 Fail: 4<br />
Definitely passed :D</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-9261661833320027132012-09-18T14:01:00.002-07:002012-09-18T14:01:51.115-07:00Is Monet's House for Rent?This post might be rather long. I've inserted a table of contents. Feel free to jump around as you please. I suggest you start at the beginning and read till the end. But that's just me.<br />
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<li>Giverny-Monet's House and Gardens</li>
<li>Rosh Hashanah</li>
<li>Finding an Apartment</li>
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Saturday, Amanda, Lia, and I went to Giverny. We took a train to Vernon and rented bikes. 12 euros for the whole day! There's a shuttle you can take to Monet's garden and house, but we thought having bikes for a day would be great, and it was! On the bike ride there, I had the most amazing moment. I finally realized so much what this trip is about. Not to get all sappy, but this is my chance to explore. I have this amazing opportunity to see a part of the world I've never seen before, experience new cultures and new things, and actually live life to the fullest (lame I know, but true). I always make the joke, "Oh, you went to a party this weekend? That's cool, I went to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic." And silly stuff like that. It finally hit me during this bike ride how amazing this all is. It shook the homesickness right out of me. I do feel it still sometimes, but as is with anything when times get stressful or during the holidays. But there's no time for that business, it's time to get started for real.</div>
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Monet's garden was stunning. I couldn't believe it. His house was so beautiful and big, covered in flowers and vines. </div>
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The whole garden is well tended and bursting with color. I took a million pictures of flowers. Not exactly sure what I'm going to do with all those photos of flowers, but y'all know how I love my florals.</div>
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Now, I'm sure you can only imagine how gorgeous the water garden is, so whatever you just imagined, multiply it by a million and you might be half way there. We were so lucky with the weather. It was a wonderfully beautiful day. This is one of those places that doesn't seem real. One of those places you hear about and never think you will see, and then you do. This picture gets to be medium sized instead of small sized because it's just so beautiful. I won't bore you with any more details about Giverny. Just know, it was incredible.</div>
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2. Rosh Hashanah wound up being a lot better than I expected. Rebecca's family friends invited us over for dinner, and, surprise!!! They took us to services! It was so great and the whole night was more than I could have hoped for. Services was fairly liberal so not too long, it was great. After that, we went back to the family's house for dinner, which I loved. Even though I may be Jewish, I learn new customs from other Jewish people all the time. We passed around a type of food, said a prayer, then repeated the process over and over again. It was so interesting. Each prayer and food represented something different. Something new and different to add to my Judaism. I really liked it and might want to look it up and maybe do it with my family some day. Shanah Tova!</div>
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3. I'VE FOUND AN APARTMENT. This whole process has been absolutely horrible and stressing me out to the max, but my fellow Hoosier, Maggie, and I couldn't be happier. The apartment belongs to a friend of a friend of a friend (that's right) who owns the apartment but lives south of Paris. She needs to keep the apartment for her daughter in a year so she rents in out so she doesn't lose it. We are each paying only 350 euros a month, we each have our own bedroom, there's a full living room with a couch bed and a full kitchen. After all this searching and hell I've gone through, it's incredible we found such a great place. Don't worry, it's completely legit and I'm not getting ripped off or my money stolen or anything. But, I'm extremely happy that is over and done with! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is our building in the 12th! You can all<br />thank Google Maps for this one. Such an adorable building<br />with a big gate at the entrance. We love it!</td></tr>
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This didn't turn out quite as long as I thought, as I am tired and a bit lazy. Thanks for reading and hopefully the stress of school doesn't interfere with my blogging too much as the year goes on. Love you all!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-4353647194203705712012-09-13T15:02:00.001-07:002012-09-18T14:04:42.198-07:00Singing from the Coeur<div style="text-align: justify;">
What a day. This may have been one of my favorite days so far in Paris. My friend, Amanda, and I went to Sacre Coeur. Not only was the church absolutely beautiful, the view from the steps was even better. Before we headed up to the actual building, we wandered around the little town for awhile. It was so adorable! There were artists everywhere painting scenes of Paris. Each artist had it's own distinct style in the way they portrayed Paris through their art. Some were clearly Notre Dame in a cartoony, colorful way. In others, the Eiffel Tower was sort of an illusion, but once you saw it, the scene was so clear. I am definitely planning on heading back there and buying some of the art, maybe a present for Mom and Dad?</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iczaw7X0uM4/UFJS39pNXiI/AAAAAAAAAKU/5yx61gNSEOE/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iczaw7X0uM4/UFJS39pNXiI/AAAAAAAAAKU/5yx61gNSEOE/s200/IMG_1367.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bses-w9uVIM/UFJQMiXMwSI/AAAAAAAAAKE/Bm2jip6LsFk/s1600/IMG_1370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bses-w9uVIM/UFJQMiXMwSI/AAAAAAAAAKE/Bm2jip6LsFk/s200/IMG_1370.JPG" width="200" /></a>After walking around for a while, we headed up to the actual Sacre Coeur, and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a look out of almost the entire city of Paris. You could see Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, and an incredible skyline. As you can see in this photo to your left, there was a man standing on a light post doing tricks with a soccer ball. People were going crazy for this guy, shaking his hand, putting money in his little hat, it was insane. At one point, he kept the ball balanced on his face and scaled the entire light post. After the soccer show, Amanda and I went into the physical building of Sacre Coeur. They don't allow you to take cameras inside. It's kinda cool. The only way you can see what it looks like in there is by going inside. I like that idea, keeping it sacred. I may not be Catholic or Christian, but the church is so lovely and such a special and beautiful place. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-avf7Q53-mi0/UFJRjcxVyJI/AAAAAAAAAKM/vl1olJIaWeY/s1600/IMG_1382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-avf7Q53-mi0/UFJRjcxVyJI/AAAAAAAAAKM/vl1olJIaWeY/s200/IMG_1382.jpg" width="150" /></a>After walking through the church, we sat back down on the steps to admire the view. Lucky for us, there was a couple that had just gotten married being serenaded by a man and his guitar. He sang them a lovely song about love and then began singing a Bob Marley song to everyone. He would yell "Come on, Sacre Coeur!" to get us all singing. It was quite hilarious. After that, he asked for suggestions. Being the brave, abroad-going, Paris-exploring gal that I am, I yelled out, "The Beatles!" and he played "Ticket to Ride." After that, he called me the beautiful girl with the request and proceeded to play "Imagine." Almost everyone sitting on the steps began to sing. What was so amazing to me was that all the people on these steps were from all over the world, yet we were all singing together. Besides that the lyrics of the song are all about the people being one, music, in general, is such a unifying thing. Everyone was singing together, enjoying the beautiful view, and really seeing Paris. It was a great moment for me and really helped make the day amazing. After the lovely serenade, we walked around the little area and bit more. We stopped in a chocolate shop and found a chocolate model of the Eiffel Tower. Doesn't matter how touristy it was, I had to take a picture with it. I hope to head back there soon and enjoy the sights again! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HI MOM!!!!!</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-26182419564970109962012-09-10T14:31:00.000-07:002012-09-10T14:31:19.878-07:00Fakes and Falafels Some great, some not so great, things have happened over the past few days. Let's start with the not so great so we can blow right past it.<br />
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My housing search is rough. I'm trying my best not to let it affect my time here, but it's pretty rough. I just gotta keep reminding myself it will all work out in the end. I'll have somewhere to live. May not be as close to my school as I'd like or as "cheap" as I'd like, but I'll definitely have somewhere to live. </div>
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Currently, I am being scammed by three different people from Craig's List Paris. Don't worry, everyone. I'm completely 100% aware.</div>
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Obviously I know it's a scam when you say,<br />
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"I<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">f you notice you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard renting price this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for our property and i know there is no way i can be sure that you are the right person to live in our place because we won't be able to meet in physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the place"</span></blockquote>
This person's name is apparently "Moore Cribbs." He signs the emails "Cribbs." MTV called.<br />
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Or, when you tell me the apartment is in the 1st district of Paris and send me a photo that looks like this, <br />
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I know you're trying to scam me for my money. First of all, NO apartment in Paris looks like this. A large space, a flat screen TV, a DOOR that leads directly to the outside? Nice try. And when your email address says your name is "James Luke" and you sign off using the name "Adrian," I don't think so. All three of the places I am talking to have suddenly had to leave Paris for a job or some other silly reason and the only way I can get the apartment is if I send them my information, and money of course, and they will mail me the keys. I may be just an exchange student from the US, but do NOT underestimate me. </div>
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Now on to the good stuff! A group of friends and I went to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic dinner on Saturday night. It was so much fun. There were birthday parties, party buses, wedding parties, and party people everywhere. It had such a great vibe. Gave a good feeling to the end of the summer and a great feeling to the start of a great semester in Paris. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are my friends Lino, from Switzerland, and Amanda, from Canada. </td></tr>
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We sat on the Champs de Mars for almost three hours just talking and hanging out. Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle at the top of every hour is so fun. I feel like a little kid seeing a Disney princess for the first time. </div>
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Then on Sunday, I went with Amanda and some other friends to the Jewish quarter where we ate 'the best falafel in Paris' for dinner. It was amazing. I've never really liked falafel before, but this was WOW. Except, it was missing hummus. That was a bummer. I was hoping for hummus. We decided to hit up "Falafel King" next time. They'll give me lots of hummus. Sunday night falafel will be a dinner tradition. We also went into an adorable bakery. The lady asked what I wanted and I said I didn't want to spend too much. She gave me a little mini cookie and that was it! Didn't make me pay or anything. Got a free cookie! I think the Jewish quarter is where I belong. The people I was with made fun of me, but it feels great to be there. Little Judaica stores all around, pushy Jews, falafel, it's just a great place to be. I definitely want to go back and spend some more time there exploring. </div>
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And just for fun, I leave you with this, the ending to one of the emails,</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">"my family and I really known how you are feeling about this whole thing, cos you sound skeptic from your other email, and that's very wrong, if you are thinking that we just wanted to take your Advantage for nothing. When We known how people worked and earn their money, We will never think of taking some advantages over you and your money, please take that out of your mind, that is really awful thing on the earth that We will never think about doing. Please understand us better, we are not trying to lure you into this, everything about us and our apartment is 100% real ok,we will like you to know one thing that we wouldn't do such a thing when we have blood running through our vain.I really understand how you feel .It's just that the bad once has lay down a very bad Reputation for the Good Once."</span></blockquote>
Because your rambling about how it's not a scam is going to help me think it's not a scam. If only those bad once didn't lay down a very bad reputation for the Good Once. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-47257925252440798402012-09-06T15:32:00.003-07:002012-09-06T15:32:47.970-07:00California Dreamin'?<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm going to write things a bit out of order here because today's events were good, but not as funny as yesterday's. Plus, if you know something funny is coming, maybe you'll keep reading! Tonight, a few friends and I decided to grab some dinner and go sit by the river seine. On our walk over, we passed this little band of old men playing jazz music. Except for the kid playing the bass. He looked young and a little out of place. But it was so great. There was even a little old lady doing some sort of dance to add to the atmosphere. Sitting by the seine with some wine and some friends is the cool thing to do. So, we thought we'd try to be cool and it wound up being a wonderful night. Two other girls and I sat and ate dinner and just talked for about an hour. We had a view of the sun setting over some random bridge to our left and a view of part of Notre Dame to our right. After the cheap chinese food, we bought some ice cream and walked around a bit. </div>
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This is when I had my "OH MY GOD I'M IN PARIS" moment. We were walking down some cute little street and we passed an outside cafe. Someone inside was either playing the piano or the they were playing music. There were lights on the trees and a great atmosphere and I just felt it. As cheesy as it sounds, it was great, and I think really something I needed. </div>
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One class I have is called "Equality and Diversity in the US." Why I decided to take a class on the US during my semester abroad in Europe is beyond me. But, I needed a class so I clicked the little box and that's that. Anyway, if you don't know, each french student is required to study abroad for their third year of schooling. In this class today, we went around and introduced ourselves and one french girl said she taking this class because she's interested in doing her year abroad in the US. The teacher asked where specifically and she said California. When I introduced myself, I can honestly say, I felt pretty awesome. California is such a destination, which we forget some times. But to me, it's boring, and PARIS is the place to be. She said she'd never been to the US before, which is crazy talk to me. But Paris is the norm to her. Such an interesting difference. </div>
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Another one of the classes I'm taking is a lecture class called "Foundations for the social sciences: analytical and critical social theory." It seems like it's going to be an interesting class, a lot about philosophy and theories and how people can go in circles when having discussions. Doesn't seem to be too hard but will definitely be a great class and my first about anything related to philosophy.</div>
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I usually google my teachers beforehand but didn't get a chance to for this professor. He walked into the classroom wearing a nice suit and rolling a suitcase. The class went through the usual routine of quieting down as soon as the professor walks in, then realizing that he's not ready to start and everyone continues talking. As he was unpacking his suitcase, I kept an eye on him to see exactly what is was he had in there. Out of the bag came, of course, a lap top computer, some notes, some sun glasses, and, to my surprise, a bag of peanut M&M's. I thought to myself, okay, that's fine, so he likes to snack during the lecture. Can't blame him, seeing as though the lecture is two hours long.</div>
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He decided to give a simple little intro lecture just to get us started on the ideas of the course. First, he posed two questions. "Are you (really) free to choose?" and "Is it 'reality' you can see in front of you?" Already, it was clear this would be an intriguing class. He talked at us about the "model society" and the "model man," what exactly it means to be able to chose freely, and if we actually have the power to choose freely. Society can be viewed as a box. The example of a free model society is America (which he decided to spell "Amerika"). And the people within this box who are most free reside in the bottom left hand corner. This bottom left hand corner of Amerika is also known as California. And within this bottom left hand corner called California, the people who are most free are from a place called...Los Angeles. </div>
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Already, I could tell this wasn't going to be good. I was utterly embarrassed and pretty much laughing out loud to myself in a silent classroom. Fortunately, he went with the typical surfer dude stereotype, a boy named Brad who was free to surf and vote and be Amerikan. </div>
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Yet, the real fun had barely started. As the lecture continued, he removed his tie and began to get more comfortable with the class and the lecture really became interesting. We began discussing reality, and if what we're seeing is really real, if all the knowledge we've learned is actually applicable and meaningful in the broader scheme of the world. Before I knew it, the sunglasses were on. There was a blue peanut M&M in one hand and a red peanut M&M in the other hand. He told us we had a choice. Some of you can see where he's going with this. We could either take the blue "pill" and keep on living believing the reality is, in fact, real, or we could take the red "pill" and join him in the journey of discovering if reality is actually real. Guess we didn't have much of a choice. Guess I'll be seeing how deep the rabbit-hole goes, as long as I don't have to be reborn in a gross pod of goo, or whatever. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-67418397876304691452012-09-03T15:17:00.000-07:002012-09-03T15:20:13.319-07:00Home, Omelette Me Go Home<div style="text-align: justify;">
To be honest, today was the first really good day I've had since I've been here. I've been pretty homesick the past couple days. The whole crying over Skype, "I-miss-you-but-I-know-things-will-get-better"type of thing. Not so good, but I know things definitely will get better. After all, I AM in Paris! (And I'm not going home, so I can choose to either sit and be miserable or go out and try to have fun! But those are my only two options because I'M NOT GOING HOME.)</div>
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But today, what a great day. I woke up at 6:30am to crappy, rainy weather and proceeded to my first class, which was French, Level 0. That's right. Not even level one, but Z-E-R-O. THAT'S how unprepared I was coming to Paris. The problem is, I might be the only one in the class who actually doesn't know any French at all. And, to my teacher who explains things in French, you're a wonderful lady and a great professor I'm sure, but I'm sorry when you ask if we understand and everyone else responds yes that I'm the only one who says no. And, if you wouldn't mind, no matter how slowly you say whatever it is that you're saying in French, I still don't know what it means. So, bonjour, je m'appelle Stephanie, okay? </div>
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After class, a wonderful friend named Amanda went with me to the bank to finish opening my account. Thank goodness she came because, even though there's a sign outside that says "WE SPEAK ENGLISH," there was no English spoken during my appointment, except on my end. I then purchased a cell phone, which was probably the highlight of my day. I can finally communicate with people, maybe make some friends. </div>
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Another great part of this day was my first attempt at cooking while in Paris. Today's menu? An omelette with mushrooms and cheese. I bought a pan, spatula, and cooking oil, grabbed my eggs, cheese, and other necessary things for this omelette and headed to the weird kitchen with Amanda. As I was cooking the mushrooms, it smelled as though something was burning. All was well when I suddenly realized I hadn't taken the paper off the bottom of the pan, which was sitting directly on the hotplate. Don't worry, I pulled it off BEFORE I set the kitchen on fire. All good. The omelette was pretty great, and even though I spilled cooking oil all over the floor, cut the mushrooms with a plastic knife that was on the verge of breaking on a plastic plate that probably melted when I set down the omelette, I would say it was a successful meal and overall a successful day!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-36240280422839367712012-08-28T14:16:00.000-07:002012-08-28T14:16:23.145-07:00Learning How to Learn<div style="text-align: justify;">
The past few days have been rather stressful. Though I have somewhere to live right now, I can only be here for a month so I'm actively looking for somewhere to live. Today, I oh so proudly called regarding four different possible places. Two home stays and two apartments. I felt so good about myself. The people I spoke to didn't speak the greatest of English, but somehow we were able to communicate enough to make an appointment for me to come see the room. So proud of myself! It was rough, but I'm glad to be going somewhere in this housing search. </div>
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Right now, in the Welcome Program at Sciences Po, we are taking what is called a methodology class. We are taught the thinking process that is expected of us in our classes here in Paris. It's not the most fun class I've ever sat through, but I understand why it's important, and as I learned this summer, I just have to deal with it! Basically, they placed us in this class to teach us how they teach us. Meta. </div>
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The Welcome Program is also organizing a "bar-a-day" activity where they pick a different bar each night of this week for everyone to meet at and hang out with each other. Last night was tons of fun. We completely took over and I met people from all over the place. I've started to realize that this is going to be the best part of this trip. Even though Paris is such an incredible city and I'm insanely lucky to be here, I think I'm going to enjoy the people I meet the most. Learning all the cultural differences and being made fun of for saying "AMMURRICA"is so much fun. I did finally meet some local French people! There was a group of four who had a friend studying at Sciences Po. I wound up talking to two boys who were absolutely hilarious. Even though the language barrier were difficult, they were definitely telling jokes and being silly, which was the best. Love meeting people from around the world, of course, but so happy to meet some people actually from France!</div>
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Tonight, I went on a walking tour around the Notre Dame. We didn't cover much area, but the small part we saw was so beautiful. We also walked right over the spot that is on the movie poster for "Midnight in Paris" which was really fun. Overall, I'm doing well! Still having a bit of a hard time adjusting and struggling with the whole not speaking French thing, but I think once classes start and I have a real routine, things will be much better. Thanks for reading!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-91065623574594986032012-08-25T16:46:00.000-07:002012-08-25T16:46:16.893-07:00Lost in Paris<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ivD7aG59N3g/UDlUj8lf1GI/AAAAAAAAAIM/OWYdL2ru32Q/s1600/IMG_1255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ivD7aG59N3g/UDlUj8lf1GI/AAAAAAAAAIM/OWYdL2ru32Q/s200/IMG_1255.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ataBe6WV4nw/UDlUbkJE96I/AAAAAAAAAIE/l2eYFUaNV9E/s1600/IMG_1253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ataBe6WV4nw/UDlUbkJE96I/AAAAAAAAAIE/l2eYFUaNV9E/s200/IMG_1253.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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Today was quite the day. My new Canadian friend, Ksenia, and I decided to take the metro into the center of Paris and walk around. We debarked at a stop down the street from the Eiffel Tower to have a nice walk there. As soon as I stepped off the train, I was overwhelmed. I'll sound like a silly little American girl when I say this, but I was stunned by the city and all the sights. Everything is just so beautiful! </div>
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Seeing the Eiffel Tower was unreal. How I felt reminded me a lot of when I went to Israel and saw the Western Wall. It's one of those things you see pictures of and hear about all the time, but you never think you'll ever really get to see. Yet, there is was, all big and beautiful right in front of me. It's a Saturday so it was fairly crowded. Ksenia and I plan on going back eventually to head to the top, but it was insanely crowded today with people lining up forever at all four sides. </div>
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After the Eiffel Tower, we decided to just walk around a bit. We came upon this adorable carousel and I just had to take a photo. Too cute. We walked around a lot and went pretty far, and we were suddenly facing the Arc de Triomphe. Such a lovely surprise! At this point I was getting a little bit tired. It was a lot of walking so we decided to look for a cafe or something to sit down at. We went into a little bakery and bought some goodies then sat down on a bench. Ksenia, being the little explorer she is, saw, on our map, a giant green area right outside Paris near where we were and wanted to go check it out. It wound up being an adorable (but large) park. So we were walking through and popped out the other side near a map. We looked at it and figured out if we went down the right street we would hit a metro station to take us home. This was about 4 hours into our day of nonstop walking so I was pretty ready to go home. Unfortunately, we did not go down the right street. We wound up walking farther into the park and farther away from the metro station. We checked out a map and couldn't quite figure out how to get to the metro station. So we asked an interesting lady (well Ksenia asked in French) who sent us down the street we were on. We think she may have been a gypsy! Not sure how we came to that conclusion but that's what we decided based on the facts in front of us. We continued down the street and decided to ask another man because were kinda lost again. It seemed as though he was about to send us BACK down the same street we had just walked up. Mind you, this was a long street and a far walk, so we were too happy about that. The man could clearly see we were confused, so he told us he would walk us to the metro station. It was, again, kind of a far walk and I couldn't believe how nice he was being to completely stop what he was doing to walk us to the train station. My friend translated for me later the conversation they had had in French. Turns out he moved here from Algeria without his family to find work. He was so kind and we were so thankful to him.</div>
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After an exhausting day of walking, I met up with some other exchange students in someone's dorm room and chatted with them for about an hour and half. It was really fun and nice to be hanging out with a bunch of people all together. Finally feeling all settled in. Heading to go grocery shopping tomorrow, hoping to something more to eat than apples, yogurt, and cookies. Oh and cereal. But I have no bowl. Or milk. Or spoons. Goodnight!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-11775066317570928252012-08-23T13:05:00.002-07:002012-08-23T13:07:26.627-07:00Power to the PeopleThat's right everyone! I MADE IT!!! I made it to Paris all by myself like the big girl that I am. The road here wasn't too bumpy but there were definitely some interesting occurrences. Immediately after my mom and uncle dropped me off at the Air France terminal, a slew of interesting and eclectic people began to grace my presence. Let's just say, if you were to put them all together in one place, it would be the motliest crew of all time. These strange yet wonderful people will help guide us through my journey to, and my first day in, Paris. If you don't really care how many times I went to the bathroom before getting on the plan or my train ride, that's fine. But I advise you continue on even if just for the people I encountered.<br />
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Going through security wasn't too bad. I'm a pro at it by now and I have a good system going. In front of me was a man whose only carry on item was a boogie board. He must've been going somewhere nice! After security, I decided to pace around the terminal a bit and make some last phone calls. I tried to separate myself from most people so as not to disturb their joyous wait for their planes, yet a man wearing a shirt that read "YEAH BUDDY!" decided to sit rather close to me. His choice. I'm sure he enjoyed my conversations. I then, of course had to go to the restroom a few times before boarding. During one of my visits, I was washing my hands and suddenly noticed a nun standing next to me. She looked great. As I was sitting at the gate, they started making some announcements. They say the announcements in both French and English which is much appreciated. They started calling some names of people that needed to head on over to the front desk. You've got your French names, some American names. But when the lady with her French accent, over the loud speaker, attempts to pronounce an Japanese or Chinese name? I lost it, but quietly to myself. Once on the plane, I settled in and pulled out the Air France magazine. To my surprise, the state of Montana was the cover story. Whatever they're doing over there in Montana that makes them worthy of the cover of Air France magazine...keep on keepin' on.<br />
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It was smooth sailing once I arrived in France. It took me a while to find a bathroom, which was rough, and after customs, which is scary. As I was heading into the ladies room, a finely dressed monk appeared from the men's room. Maybe he and the nun talked and wanted to make sure I was safe. Oh so proudly, I made it on the train heading to Paris. The first stop was the other terminal in the airport and, lucky for me, a man with an accordion boarded while playing "Happy Birthday." His second piece was one that strongly resembled a rendition of "Aloha, oy." Whatever he was playing, I was into it. He was on the train behind me and I didn't want to be all tourist-y and turn around and look, but COME ON. I was given a train ride to Paris set to a live accordion soundtrack. (This is where the motley crew ends, but pictures are coming!) I then debarked the train at the correct stop and lo and behold, my dorm neighborhood was right across the street.<br />
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I'm staying at a place called La Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. It houses international students and each building is themed to a different country and that country's style. I am in the building called Collège Franco-Britannique, a little combination of French and British. I entered the room and was not surprised by the size, which can be viewed below. Sorry (Mom) about the mess. I haven't slept in about two days and haven't had a chance to unpack yet.<br />
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What I was surprised by, however, was this sight.<br />
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To the right of that elevated mini room is my toilet. To the left, my shower. I still have yet to get inside as it's quite a small space and let's be real here, I'm a little scared.<br />
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After the room exploration, I made a new friend from Canada and we walked around running some errands. It's absolutely beautiful here. It honestly looks like a movie set. It's so unreal to me. Those little chimneys at the tops of the apartment buildings are just so cute. It's probably going to take a while to adjust to everything but I'm feeling good so far! Tomorrow is the first day of the Welcome Program at my school, Sciences Po, so things will hopefully start becoming more clear and I can make tons of new friends. Bonsoir!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2040364114073189337.post-86704799588437656502012-08-19T14:00:00.001-07:002012-08-19T14:04:06.507-07:00The State of the Packing "Adress"Friends. My fellow Americans. Welcome to my blog! I am honored that you have taken the time out of your oh so busy life to sit down and read what I have to say about my semester abroad in Paris. I was planning on waiting until I actually arrive in Paris to start blogging but the events of the last 24 hours have been far too funny not to blog about.<br />
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So, first things first before I can hop on that airplane to Paris, I'm heading to New York to visit my grandparents and uncle, which is going to be a wonderful time. Even before that comes, I must complete the unbelievably annoying task of packing. For the boys, if you want a good laugh, please continue reading. For the girls, I'd appreciate if you kept reading so someone could understand where I'm coming from.<br />
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I decided to limit myself to one backpack, one small duffel bag, and one large suitcase which can only be 50 lbs. If I may say so myself, that's PRETTY solid for a California girl heading to Paris for an entire semester (regardless of the fact I plan on buying only GOD knows how much). Some of you may have seen my Facebook status from a few days ago:<br />
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Since I decided to go to Paris back at Indiana University (GO HOOSIERS!), I knew I was going to be packing a lot of dresses. My mom, however, did not. After that initial trial run, I let it sit for a few days. Last night, however, the real adventure began. The bag wasn't too much over 50 lbs but of course my mom asked me how many dresses I had, having recently gained some insight into my strange addiction for dresses. So I counted as best I could and came up with 15. Not too bad for four months in Paris! Mom then decided that 15 dresses was far too many, especially since most of them are sleeveless (though I tried to explain to her the cardigan/jacket combination I often rock back at school in Bloomington, Indiana during the cold fall and winter months), and I was asked to remove a few dresses. After much silly fighting and friendly yelling, I removed a few dresses from the suitcase and proceeded to count the dresses yet again. Strangely, there were still 15 dresses in the suitcase...<br />
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Some unknown time during this whole process, my brother Jonathan decided to post a little Facebook status of his own:<br />
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This isn't exactly 100% accurate yet somewhat of a good representation of what occurred last night. You'll be happy to know that after another round of weighing this morning, my suitcase is now 47 lbs and no (new) dress sacrifices had to be made. More to come as the adventures continue!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0