Okay, so I am so ridiculously excited for all my upcoming travel, it's not even funny. Next week Grant and I are going to Belgium and Amstedam: 2 nights in Brussels, 4 nights in Amsterdam (I don't even want to begin to discuss how freakin pumped I am for this, because its a complete cliche for a college aged stoner to be excited to go to Amsterdam), then 2 nights in Bruges, then home. We're taking trains the whole way, which will be a little bit tiring, but we got a eurail pass so it's actually a lot cheaper than flying -- plus I actually prefer trains to airplanes.
Then, the weekend after we get back, I'm going to Marseilles to visit my French friend Marine. She lives and goes to school there. She is awesome and I'm really looking forward to seeing her.
The weekend after that, I'm not sure where I'm going, but I'm definitely traveling -- either to Ireland or Prague, I think.
The weekend after that, horseback riding in the Cevennes (organized by my study abroad program). It's just a day trip, which is good, because I don't want to be away for the entire weekend for weeks in a row.
The weekend after that is the start of my super intense travel spree: I'm taking the bus to Barcelona, where I'm meeting Casey. The two of us are stayiing there for the weekend, then taking the bus back to Montpellier, where Casey will spend the week with me. Then on Thursday or Friday we're going to fly to London together. I'm going to spend a night or two in London with Casey, and then meet my mom, who is flying into London as well. She and I will spend a night or two there and then take a train to Montpellier. We'll stay there for a few days and maybe then travel to La Rochelle to visit Marine's family. We also might go to Holland (Leiden or Utretch) to visit my cousins who live there.
Then, after my mom leaves, Grant and I (and possibly Lauraliz and/or Francesca) are going to Italy and CROATIA. Holy shit I am so excited for Croatia it's ridiculous. I've heard it's one of the most beautiful places on earth.
So anyway, how I'm affording all this is yet to be decided -- I mght have to go without food or alcohol for a little bit, but that's the price you have to pay to the travel gods, I suppose. Also, I recently sent my resume to some tutoring business and they said they wanted to meet me for an interview. So that would certainly bring in some necessary and much helpful revenue. I also might start babysitting. We shall see.
I'm gonna make another post in an hour or so with more of an "update," but right now I have to go to the local tabac for cigarettes because they close at lilke freakin 8 PM and its really fucking frustrating, because I always say, "I'll just get them when I'm out tonight," totally forgetting that to do so is impossible because the only things open past 8 PM are bars, kebab restaurants, and McDonalds.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Drunken 2 AM convo with Francesca:
Francesca: You're just so....joyous. That's why I was attracted to you when I first met you, because you're just such a joyous person.
Me: Joyous?? I'm cynical and bitchy.
Franesca: Well even when you talk shit about poor heartbroken Kevin, about how much you hate him, and how annoying he is...you do so....
Me: Joyously?
Francesca: Exactly!
Montpellier continues to be awesome; the amount of homework I have is literally unbelievable -- in the sense that there is so little, I can't even believe it. I have so much free time. Which is awesome, but hilarious for me who is used to the psychotically intense Columbia workload, 20 hours of work a week, plus babysitting, plus "occasionally" going out, plus visiting family and friends, plus doing the million and one city things that one *has* to do (i.e., the new Met exhibit). I am sleep-deprived around 90% of the time and I am NEVER at a lack for something to do -- be it entertainment or work. Here, I have no homework, like ever. I have no job (although I'm trying to find one). When we go out, we do so early, and generally return at like 1 or 2 am. Nothing is open on Sunday. Everything closes early on Friday. Lunch hours last from 12 - 2, during which only restuarants and cafes are open. The combination of all those factors leaves me with so much time on my hands. But it's great, because now I get an average of 9 or 10 hours of sleep practically every night. I take frequent naps. I'm finally reading all the non-school books I've wanted to read but never got around to because I never had time. I take bike rides. I go for walks. I think a lot. I write. Basically, all the things I SHOULD be doing otherwise but for which I never have enough time. It's like a fucking 5 month long vacation; it's amazing.
I absolutely LOVE my avant-gard art history class; it's all my favorite artists. My history of french foreign policy course is a joke, I might as well not be taking it because I can't understand more than 20% of what the professor says because he speaks at light-speed AND he mumbles. My other courses are just grammar, phonetics, and translation. Nothing fascinating, but good for improving my French. Grammar is a painstaking 3 hours, phonetics is 2 but it's hell -- mostly because I'm almost always hungover when I go to class (even though its at 2 pm...haha), and because phonetics is the most tedious class in existence.
My french is definitely getting much better -- the best night I have had here thus far was last Friday. I went to a bar with some American friends but we hung out with a whole bunch of French guys and we got into this really amazing conversation about French vs. American cultural values, stereotypes, etc. Basically all the things I love talking about in English. And I was totally holding my own -- I understood everything, I communicated everything I wanted to say correctly and quickly...the conversation really picked up a rhythm, which is sometimes hard to get when one person isn't fluent in a language, because you're always stopping here and there -- "je ne comprends pas..." "je ne connais pas le mot en francais..." etc. So it was just so satisfying that I was able to communicate so well, and on top of it it was just awesome to have such an interesting convo with real live French people.
We went to Provence last weekend, it was amazing. For pictures, check out my facebook album titled "Provence" -- not to brag, but I took some fucking awesome pictures on that day (although I admit that that's mostly due to the amazingness of my camera and not my own skills).
In 2 weeks we have our 10 day February break. Grant, Francesca and I are going to Belgium and Amsterdam, maybe even Luxembourg. I'm soooooo fucking stoked to travel, and of course being the token stoner college student that I am, I'm really excited for Amsterdam. My dad already lectured me, he's like "I'm assuming because pot is legal there, it's stronger. So just be cafeful, because you don't want to get so stoned that you lose your passport or something."
I recognize that this blog is probably semi-boring, so after today I'm going to start trying to post more interesting things -- i.e. top 10 lists, quotes, etc. As fascinating and exciting as my life is, writing a blog makes one feel incredibly self-aggrandizing, which is a quality I generally try to avoid.
I miss everyone, and I'll leave you with the most amazing Hunter S. Thompson quote I've ever heard (there are so many, but I really think this one takes the cake, and pretty much sums up my feelings on Bush-lovers):
"Who are these Swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush? They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. I piss down the throats of these Nazis. And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck Them."
Francesca: You're just so....joyous. That's why I was attracted to you when I first met you, because you're just such a joyous person.
Me: Joyous?? I'm cynical and bitchy.
Franesca: Well even when you talk shit about poor heartbroken Kevin, about how much you hate him, and how annoying he is...you do so....
Me: Joyously?
Francesca: Exactly!
Montpellier continues to be awesome; the amount of homework I have is literally unbelievable -- in the sense that there is so little, I can't even believe it. I have so much free time. Which is awesome, but hilarious for me who is used to the psychotically intense Columbia workload, 20 hours of work a week, plus babysitting, plus "occasionally" going out, plus visiting family and friends, plus doing the million and one city things that one *has* to do (i.e., the new Met exhibit). I am sleep-deprived around 90% of the time and I am NEVER at a lack for something to do -- be it entertainment or work. Here, I have no homework, like ever. I have no job (although I'm trying to find one). When we go out, we do so early, and generally return at like 1 or 2 am. Nothing is open on Sunday. Everything closes early on Friday. Lunch hours last from 12 - 2, during which only restuarants and cafes are open. The combination of all those factors leaves me with so much time on my hands. But it's great, because now I get an average of 9 or 10 hours of sleep practically every night. I take frequent naps. I'm finally reading all the non-school books I've wanted to read but never got around to because I never had time. I take bike rides. I go for walks. I think a lot. I write. Basically, all the things I SHOULD be doing otherwise but for which I never have enough time. It's like a fucking 5 month long vacation; it's amazing.
I absolutely LOVE my avant-gard art history class; it's all my favorite artists. My history of french foreign policy course is a joke, I might as well not be taking it because I can't understand more than 20% of what the professor says because he speaks at light-speed AND he mumbles. My other courses are just grammar, phonetics, and translation. Nothing fascinating, but good for improving my French. Grammar is a painstaking 3 hours, phonetics is 2 but it's hell -- mostly because I'm almost always hungover when I go to class (even though its at 2 pm...haha), and because phonetics is the most tedious class in existence.
My french is definitely getting much better -- the best night I have had here thus far was last Friday. I went to a bar with some American friends but we hung out with a whole bunch of French guys and we got into this really amazing conversation about French vs. American cultural values, stereotypes, etc. Basically all the things I love talking about in English. And I was totally holding my own -- I understood everything, I communicated everything I wanted to say correctly and quickly...the conversation really picked up a rhythm, which is sometimes hard to get when one person isn't fluent in a language, because you're always stopping here and there -- "je ne comprends pas..." "je ne connais pas le mot en francais..." etc. So it was just so satisfying that I was able to communicate so well, and on top of it it was just awesome to have such an interesting convo with real live French people.
We went to Provence last weekend, it was amazing. For pictures, check out my facebook album titled "Provence" -- not to brag, but I took some fucking awesome pictures on that day (although I admit that that's mostly due to the amazingness of my camera and not my own skills).
In 2 weeks we have our 10 day February break. Grant, Francesca and I are going to Belgium and Amsterdam, maybe even Luxembourg. I'm soooooo fucking stoked to travel, and of course being the token stoner college student that I am, I'm really excited for Amsterdam. My dad already lectured me, he's like "I'm assuming because pot is legal there, it's stronger. So just be cafeful, because you don't want to get so stoned that you lose your passport or something."
I recognize that this blog is probably semi-boring, so after today I'm going to start trying to post more interesting things -- i.e. top 10 lists, quotes, etc. As fascinating and exciting as my life is, writing a blog makes one feel incredibly self-aggrandizing, which is a quality I generally try to avoid.
I miss everyone, and I'll leave you with the most amazing Hunter S. Thompson quote I've ever heard (there are so many, but I really think this one takes the cake, and pretty much sums up my feelings on Bush-lovers):
"Who are these Swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush? They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. I piss down the throats of these Nazis. And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck Them."
Monday, January 8, 2007
Montpellier!
Okay, I finally have a chance to update again!
So I'm in Montpellier now. This is really such an ideal city. First of all, the weather is wonderful. It's the middle of January and its in the 60s. I walked around without a jacket yesterday. And it's just sunny and perfect. Also, it combines all the aspects of what I consider to be a perfect place to live: it is a city with lots of cultural stuff to do, lots of restaurants, bars, etc., and it's really good for walking. Yet everything outside of the centre-ville is beautiful and picturesque. In general I find that NYC is a great city but it's overcrowded, claustrophobic, and ugly. However other cities like Boulder and Madison and LA I find are just too small and don't really feel like real cities, they're pretty spread out, and the area considered the "city" or downtown area is pretty small -- i consider cities like those to be more like glorified suburbs (esp. cuz they're not always so great for walking). Montpellier seems to find a nice balance between the urban and the rural.
The center of the city, called the Place de la Comedie is amazing. There are no cars allowed, so its great for walking, and all the buildings are very regal and old, 19th century mostly, I think. Lots of little side streets and places to explore. Lots of stone. And then there is this big area lined with these huge trees -- it's kind of like College Walk at Columbia only much bigger. In fact the trees have white christmas lights so it really looks a lot like College Walk.
Also, there are all these grassy knolls where students sit around and chill out, playing guitars, etc. It's kind of like your token university city in that way, which I like because it's something that I never experienced going to a city school. Now I have the bona fide college environment. The campus is about a 25 minute walk from the city, and my dorm is right next to the campus. The campus itself is also pretty spread out, and more of a typical University campus, unlike Columbia. I'm really glad I get to experience the flip side, typical college lifestyle that I don't have at Columbia.
Everyone that lives in my dorm is French; I haven't met anyone yet because I just moved in yesterday but everyone says hello to me in the hallway and seems pretty nice. Last night right after I moved in there was a really intense screaming fight between the couple directly next door to me. It was pretty scary, I just kept wondering what I would do if the guy hit the girl or something, I mean that's how bad it was getting.
My room itself is pretty simple; it has a nice window with shutters which let in a lot of sunlight. The one problem is the bathroom -- the toilets have no seats and there is no toilet paper. You would think that means they're only for guys (they're pretty much urinals), but no they're coed bathrooms. I'm still tryign to figure out what to do about that. Also, the showers automatically turn off approximately every 2.5 minutes. So you're going along showering and then the water stops. Youjust have to be on your toes and keep turning it on again, but it's slightly stressful. But the dorms in general seem really social -- people were out talking and listening to music to really late last night; it's good, I definitely chose to live in the dorms because I wanted that kind of an atmosphere. I'm also glad that I get to live in a coed dorm, something I never had at Barnard, obviously. Just gotta remember the cardinal rule of not hooking up with anyone who lives in your building. This might be a struggle. The average attractiveness level here is about 40% higher than that of New York / Columbia. Plus the guys are a lot more forward. I got followed down the street last night when I was walking home, which was actually kind of scary since the suburban streets (which I have to take to walk to the dorms from the city) are a little more desolate so after I told the guy "Je ne suis pas interesse. J'ai un petit ami," I just kept praying he wouldn't turn around and slap me and steal my money, screaming "petite americaine degeulase" or something like that. Haha.
It's funny because I'm so used to feeling so in control of everything and so tough -- I mean I live in NY, and you kind of feel like after living in NY you can handle anything, I mean it is one of the most intense American/Western cities. But once you're in a foreign country, with a language that you speak, but not fluently, it's a lot scarier. Like I would walk around an unsafe neighborhood in NYC late at night and only feel slightly uncomfortable. I take the subway at 4 am and its fine. If a guy comes up to me I generally know exactly what to say or where to go or how to deal with the situation. Here you just feel a little less in control -- you don't understand exactly what is being said to you, exactly how you should respond, what you should do in a bad situation...plus as an American you're much more vulnerable. Hopefully this situation will improve as time goes on and as my French gets better though.
Yesterday I went into a French grocery store and the guy started talking to me and when I told him he was American, he was actually surprised -- he had thought I was French! Pretty much the number one compliment I could get right now. He told me I spoke French very well and that I had a strong accent. I was in h-e-a-v-e-n.
Okay once again this post is way too long, but what can I say, that's what happens when you only update once a week. Love and miss everyone, and will try to post again soon.
So I'm in Montpellier now. This is really such an ideal city. First of all, the weather is wonderful. It's the middle of January and its in the 60s. I walked around without a jacket yesterday. And it's just sunny and perfect. Also, it combines all the aspects of what I consider to be a perfect place to live: it is a city with lots of cultural stuff to do, lots of restaurants, bars, etc., and it's really good for walking. Yet everything outside of the centre-ville is beautiful and picturesque. In general I find that NYC is a great city but it's overcrowded, claustrophobic, and ugly. However other cities like Boulder and Madison and LA I find are just too small and don't really feel like real cities, they're pretty spread out, and the area considered the "city" or downtown area is pretty small -- i consider cities like those to be more like glorified suburbs (esp. cuz they're not always so great for walking). Montpellier seems to find a nice balance between the urban and the rural.
The center of the city, called the Place de la Comedie is amazing. There are no cars allowed, so its great for walking, and all the buildings are very regal and old, 19th century mostly, I think. Lots of little side streets and places to explore. Lots of stone. And then there is this big area lined with these huge trees -- it's kind of like College Walk at Columbia only much bigger. In fact the trees have white christmas lights so it really looks a lot like College Walk.
Also, there are all these grassy knolls where students sit around and chill out, playing guitars, etc. It's kind of like your token university city in that way, which I like because it's something that I never experienced going to a city school. Now I have the bona fide college environment. The campus is about a 25 minute walk from the city, and my dorm is right next to the campus. The campus itself is also pretty spread out, and more of a typical University campus, unlike Columbia. I'm really glad I get to experience the flip side, typical college lifestyle that I don't have at Columbia.
Everyone that lives in my dorm is French; I haven't met anyone yet because I just moved in yesterday but everyone says hello to me in the hallway and seems pretty nice. Last night right after I moved in there was a really intense screaming fight between the couple directly next door to me. It was pretty scary, I just kept wondering what I would do if the guy hit the girl or something, I mean that's how bad it was getting.
My room itself is pretty simple; it has a nice window with shutters which let in a lot of sunlight. The one problem is the bathroom -- the toilets have no seats and there is no toilet paper. You would think that means they're only for guys (they're pretty much urinals), but no they're coed bathrooms. I'm still tryign to figure out what to do about that. Also, the showers automatically turn off approximately every 2.5 minutes. So you're going along showering and then the water stops. Youjust have to be on your toes and keep turning it on again, but it's slightly stressful. But the dorms in general seem really social -- people were out talking and listening to music to really late last night; it's good, I definitely chose to live in the dorms because I wanted that kind of an atmosphere. I'm also glad that I get to live in a coed dorm, something I never had at Barnard, obviously. Just gotta remember the cardinal rule of not hooking up with anyone who lives in your building. This might be a struggle. The average attractiveness level here is about 40% higher than that of New York / Columbia. Plus the guys are a lot more forward. I got followed down the street last night when I was walking home, which was actually kind of scary since the suburban streets (which I have to take to walk to the dorms from the city) are a little more desolate so after I told the guy "Je ne suis pas interesse. J'ai un petit ami," I just kept praying he wouldn't turn around and slap me and steal my money, screaming "petite americaine degeulase" or something like that. Haha.
It's funny because I'm so used to feeling so in control of everything and so tough -- I mean I live in NY, and you kind of feel like after living in NY you can handle anything, I mean it is one of the most intense American/Western cities. But once you're in a foreign country, with a language that you speak, but not fluently, it's a lot scarier. Like I would walk around an unsafe neighborhood in NYC late at night and only feel slightly uncomfortable. I take the subway at 4 am and its fine. If a guy comes up to me I generally know exactly what to say or where to go or how to deal with the situation. Here you just feel a little less in control -- you don't understand exactly what is being said to you, exactly how you should respond, what you should do in a bad situation...plus as an American you're much more vulnerable. Hopefully this situation will improve as time goes on and as my French gets better though.
Yesterday I went into a French grocery store and the guy started talking to me and when I told him he was American, he was actually surprised -- he had thought I was French! Pretty much the number one compliment I could get right now. He told me I spoke French very well and that I had a strong accent. I was in h-e-a-v-e-n.
Okay once again this post is way too long, but what can I say, that's what happens when you only update once a week. Love and miss everyone, and will try to post again soon.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
"you've got to go through hell before you get to heaven"
The above is a line from the Steve Miller Band song, "Jet Airliner." I listened to that song on the teeny tiny jet that we took from NYC to Washington, D.C. (Why we had to fly literally out of our way to DC before flying to Paris is beyond me, but such is the life of a broke college student who buys the cheapest ticket possible...).
I listened to that song because I felt like being cliche, then I heard that line and I realized how appropriate it was. We certainly went through hell before we got to heaven. Hell being the AWFUL 1 1/2 hour plane ride to DC, to begin with. The jet we took was so small -- 60 people -- and completely claustrophobic. We sat in the very back row right above the engine. In addition, it was raining and windy and the ride was bumpy, to say the least. I sat the entire time with the vomit bag held to my face (although I never actually threw up, thank god), barely able to breathe. It was a sad site. Then hell continued with our 3 our layover. Luckily, our flight to France was fine -- a normal size 747 with good airflow and I never had to look out the window and see the side of the plane dip 45 degrees....
However, it was a huge ordeal to get to Eve's apartment. First we went through customs. Then baggage. Then we waited on a long line to take an elevator to the ground floor of the airport. Then we took a shuttle bus to the RER (train) station. Then we took the RER. Then we took a taxi. When we arrived at Eve's hours later, we were so excited and desperate to get inside and sleep after almost 24 hours of travel. But just our luck, the code to open the door didn't work. According to Eve, this happens a lot recently, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it because the company is on vacation so nobody will come to fix it. Meaning that people are regularly unable to enter their own apartment buildings. We had no phone and no way of getting inside, and we didn't know what to do. So Em went to seek out a phone -- which took 20 minutes and required her literally crossing the bridge and leaving the island for the left bank. Then she discovered that the phone booth didn't take coins and had to buy a phone card. All the while I was waiting at the door in the freezing cold with our suitcases. At some point during that time a beautiful man came out of the building and let me in, and helped me with my suitcases, which lifted my spirits, but then I still had to wait a while more for Emily to come back because I didn't know which apartment was Eve's.
All that being said, we are here now and everything is fabulous, as expected. We had an amazing dinner at a creperie last night, complete with dirt-cheap yet delicious wine, and a perfect crepe au sucre for dessert. Eve is hilarious and lots of fun -- she talks more than anyone I have ever met so I can't always keep up with what she's saying but I understand most of what she says (we are speaking only in French), so that's been reassuring. We've been able to get along pretty well with our French, and I'm feeling pretty good about my language ability and it gets better with every day.
After we leave this cafe (where, by the way, half the people are American, and the French half are all playing WORLD OF WARCRAFT -- oh, the irony), we're gonna hit some museums, maybe try to go to some bars tonight -- although it's been difficult to convince Eve that we can handle coming home past 10 o'clock by ourselves...
Friday I leave for Montpellier, which I am mostly excited for but slightly scared -- only because my two suitcases weigh about 40 pounds each and I am physically incapable of carrying them...I guess all I can do is act cute and pray that someone will help me (they did in the Paris subway stations, and supposedly people in Montpellier are even nicer, so I'm not too worried). Not to mention the fact that I've been going everywhere with Emily so we've put our French skills together and it's been easier...starting Friday I'm going to be on my own...which is, like I said, exciting but a little scary.
Mostly I'm just pumped to get out of this 40 degree weather and into the 60s, which is the avg. temp in Montpellier right now.
I love you all, I apologize for the length post, and will try to send out some personal e-mails as soon as I am in a position where I'm not paying for internet by the minute....
Bisous!
I listened to that song because I felt like being cliche, then I heard that line and I realized how appropriate it was. We certainly went through hell before we got to heaven. Hell being the AWFUL 1 1/2 hour plane ride to DC, to begin with. The jet we took was so small -- 60 people -- and completely claustrophobic. We sat in the very back row right above the engine. In addition, it was raining and windy and the ride was bumpy, to say the least. I sat the entire time with the vomit bag held to my face (although I never actually threw up, thank god), barely able to breathe. It was a sad site. Then hell continued with our 3 our layover. Luckily, our flight to France was fine -- a normal size 747 with good airflow and I never had to look out the window and see the side of the plane dip 45 degrees....
However, it was a huge ordeal to get to Eve's apartment. First we went through customs. Then baggage. Then we waited on a long line to take an elevator to the ground floor of the airport. Then we took a shuttle bus to the RER (train) station. Then we took the RER. Then we took a taxi. When we arrived at Eve's hours later, we were so excited and desperate to get inside and sleep after almost 24 hours of travel. But just our luck, the code to open the door didn't work. According to Eve, this happens a lot recently, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it because the company is on vacation so nobody will come to fix it. Meaning that people are regularly unable to enter their own apartment buildings. We had no phone and no way of getting inside, and we didn't know what to do. So Em went to seek out a phone -- which took 20 minutes and required her literally crossing the bridge and leaving the island for the left bank. Then she discovered that the phone booth didn't take coins and had to buy a phone card. All the while I was waiting at the door in the freezing cold with our suitcases. At some point during that time a beautiful man came out of the building and let me in, and helped me with my suitcases, which lifted my spirits, but then I still had to wait a while more for Emily to come back because I didn't know which apartment was Eve's.
All that being said, we are here now and everything is fabulous, as expected. We had an amazing dinner at a creperie last night, complete with dirt-cheap yet delicious wine, and a perfect crepe au sucre for dessert. Eve is hilarious and lots of fun -- she talks more than anyone I have ever met so I can't always keep up with what she's saying but I understand most of what she says (we are speaking only in French), so that's been reassuring. We've been able to get along pretty well with our French, and I'm feeling pretty good about my language ability and it gets better with every day.
After we leave this cafe (where, by the way, half the people are American, and the French half are all playing WORLD OF WARCRAFT -- oh, the irony), we're gonna hit some museums, maybe try to go to some bars tonight -- although it's been difficult to convince Eve that we can handle coming home past 10 o'clock by ourselves...
Friday I leave for Montpellier, which I am mostly excited for but slightly scared -- only because my two suitcases weigh about 40 pounds each and I am physically incapable of carrying them...I guess all I can do is act cute and pray that someone will help me (they did in the Paris subway stations, and supposedly people in Montpellier are even nicer, so I'm not too worried). Not to mention the fact that I've been going everywhere with Emily so we've put our French skills together and it's been easier...starting Friday I'm going to be on my own...which is, like I said, exciting but a little scary.
Mostly I'm just pumped to get out of this 40 degree weather and into the 60s, which is the avg. temp in Montpellier right now.
I love you all, I apologize for the length post, and will try to send out some personal e-mails as soon as I am in a position where I'm not paying for internet by the minute....
Bisous!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Bienvenue
Bonjour, and welcome to my new blog. I promise to try to my best to make sure this isn't pretentious or obnoxious. And if it is...well, then don't read it.
Since this is an introductory post, all I'll say is that I already miss my Columbia/NYC friends more than words can say. I'm departing for Paris in a week, and am both excited and overwhelmed. Oh yeah, and it's currently Christmas Eve (being the heathen that I am, mine was spent eating pizza and watching movies with my dad), so Merry Christmas and much love to all!
Since this is an introductory post, all I'll say is that I already miss my Columbia/NYC friends more than words can say. I'm departing for Paris in a week, and am both excited and overwhelmed. Oh yeah, and it's currently Christmas Eve (being the heathen that I am, mine was spent eating pizza and watching movies with my dad), so Merry Christmas and much love to all!
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