OK so the last one was a hot mess. I know no one is actually reading this blog because no one told me about this. Thanks guys - loveeeee youuuuuu. Maybe this one will work??
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Of Peanut Butter and Crazy Bitches
Week three in Montpellier has come upon us and according to Marie (the wonderful woman who is in charge of the whole trip) this is the week where things start to go downhill and the honeymoon period is over. Well let me tell you, there was some DRAMZ last night which will def be spoken off at the end of this here post, so stay tuned folks!
I realize I've been doing a lot of listing and just telling what I've been doing and no real reflections as of late. With every new place we visit here I feel almost rejuvenated like a whole new life is ahead of me. It's a wonderful feeling. Although I've only been here 2 weeks, I just feel like I live here. Honestly, I could never go back to the states and be 100% content with my life. I'd just travel through France and all of Europe and write about it all. If I had family money I would so do that... Alas, this is unrealistic.
Anyway, I've grown accustomed to the ways here and am probably gonna get huge culture shock when I get back home. I'm so used to colorful money and coins actually counting as real money it's gonna be weird to see a dollar bill. Also, I now look completely different and oh so french you probably won't recognize me when I get back. Here's a picture of what I look like now:
This was taken the other day while I was walking to the bookstore in the village nearby. I started singing about the baker that crossed my path and all of a sudden people were following me and singing about how weird I am.... so bizzare.
ALSO! I met this cute boy here and we are totally dating now. He's my french boyfriend and I would have never thought I would fall hard for someone like him. He's got gorgeous blue eyes and dark hair. Here's a picture of him for you all to see!
He's kind of a loner and likes to just hang out at his place the whole time. Sometimes he has trouble controlling his temper and some of the girls here say he can be rather beastly. It's ok though, I still love him dearly.
So this weekend was very eventful! On Friday I got to sleep in for the first time on this trip and let me tell you it was glorious. At night there was this huge festival called Estivales (festivals in french -- very difficult to translate I'm sure) in the main square where you bought a wine glass for 4 euros and got to try 3 different types of wine. I had one rosé and 2 whites and they were delish. I had some bbq sausage with hummus at one of the stands and then walked around a bit with the group. I also may or may not have gotten separated from the group so I walked around by myself for a while looking at all the cool stuff at the little tables. There was this awesome band playing called Las Vegas Wedding and they sang some oldie American songs that made me feel like I was home. After Estivales we went to our usual spot at Shakespeare (Yup we have a usual now) and played some darts and talked to some french guys. The yewsh.
Saturday once again was sleep in time for sim! A bunch of us then went to the same market that we went to on tuesday and got some more fresh goodies. Michelle, Lizzy, and I then attempted to go to the beach on our own, but failed miserably. We took a tram all the way down and then couldn't find the bus stop to take us to the beach. We walked around and back to the previous stop and asked a bunch of people who all said different things. So we got right back on the tram and went home. I like to count that experience as an adventure.
Then Lizzy, Michelle, Beth, Natalie, and I made a DELICIOUS dinner in my room. We made sausage on baguette with guac, lettuce, and tomatoes. We also cooked some zucchini, potatoes, and onions on the side. So domestic. ALSO - WE FINALLY FOUND PEANUT BUTTER!! We've been on the lookout for a while now and been craving it hardcore- but we finally found it at this store near the dorms. SUCCESS. The night ended with a cute movie night in Aryelle's room where we watched Baby Mama, which is only the funniest movie ever. *sidenote - I know y'all don't know the names I'm writing but I'm trying to use more names so you can get familiar with my friends here.*
Oh, I know! I'll do a little breakdown of the people I mention each time.
In order of appearance:
- Marie: awesome cute woman who is the director of the whole program. She's french but lives in New Orleans and works at UNO
- Michelle: sweetest girl ever and one of the people I hang out with most here. She asks the bests questions ever when we play 20 questions... From UNO.
-Lizzy: Drexel girl from Abington - only my long lost bee eff eff. We live across the hall from each other and always say the same things at the same time. We also speak in Russian voices a lot.
- Beth: From Boston. Basically this girl is the shit and we have adopted her into our Drexel fam. I always sing "Beth I hear you callin..." to her.
- Natalie: Also a Drexel girl. Lives next door to me and is hysterically rambunctious. That's the only way to describe her. Also, a baller.
- Aryelle: Marie's daughter and has been on the trip 19 years. We are Taylor Tequila Twins and everyone is jealous of us. duh.
Yesterday was Sunday and a few of us woke up early to try to get tickets for Barcelona for the last weekend. This was another great adventure... We walked all the way to the train station to be denied. Then were told to go to the bus station so we took a tram down 6 stops to find out that the bus station was closed... good times. But at least we made it back in time for the Tour de France! We waited 2 hours by the closed off street until the caravan finally came by. They were tossing free shit to all of us and people were going bat shit crazy! You would think these were starving people who hadn't eaten in days and needed that baggie of 5 gummy bears to survive... nuts. Then the tour went by in about 30 seconds, but it was still the coolest thing ever and I got some awesome pics out of it!
Ok are y'all ready for the dramz?!
Backstory: So our dorms are all in these buildings that have a courtyard in the front. The courtyard is the only place we get internet and where we all hang out most of the time. "Quiet hours" start at 10:30, but are loosely enforced and are only a problem when people start yelling. There are a few grad students in our program and most of them are cool. 2 uncool grad students are: Lacar (who asks dumb questions and is rude to everyone - even teachers in class and it's way awk) and Ann Michelle (who got stuck in Italy bc of the train strike and whom I have never met until last night...)
SO last night Aryelle, Lizzy, Beth, Michelle, Blake (Marie's son and Aryelle's older bro), and Josh (UNO kid) were playing 20 questions in the courtyard. At about 11:30 pm Lacar (what the hell kind of name is Lacar?!) creeps down from her room in the front corner of the place and comes up to us and says, "Ummmm - my room is all the way over there and I can hear you guys yelling and I can't sleep.... soooooo..." To which yes, maybe a little rudely laughed... but said we would be quiet. As she walked away she mumbled under her breath " No really... just shut the hell up." Whatever, we ignored it and began to legitimately whisper the rest of our game.
All of a sudden we see Lacar and Ann Michelle sitting on the steps in front of their dorm staring at us. Whatever, we were playing our game quietly and laughing a bit at the situation. THEN they come marching on over and Ann Michelle began ripping us a new one with quotes that included:
"OK SO... this could go one of two ways... either I can treat you like adults or I can treat you the way you are acting and treat you like children."
"We can stand here all night and recite the magna carta..."
"Sweetheart, don't you understand the concept of an if then statement"
"I am from New York so I know just how to handle people like you."
To which we obviously freaked out -- Lizzy taking charge of the firing back comments such as:
"That doesn't even make any sense..."
"You guys were sitting on the steps soooo you weren't even trying to sleep."
Meanwhile I'm trying to moderate the situation and trying to have people speak in turns but it was quickly escalating and I was failing miserably. Until she started pulling out the sweetheart term and saying she's "from new york." Bitch, I am from Philly and I will beat your ass if I have to. I totally could. Anyway it finally ended when we said we would have gladly moved to the back if they came out nicely and asked instead of condescendingly screaming at us like we were 4 years old. So she "nicely" asked and we walked away to prove a point. As she watched us like our damn mother saying she couldn't wait for Marie to yell at us tomorrow. Little did she know that Marie had already called Blake asking about the situation because they called the EMERGENCY number to report us "yelling." Bitches are crazy and got yelled at today. Also, the entire group was buzzing with this story all day today everywhere you turned. Legendary.
So I was gonna write about my day today, but my computer is about to die... so I'll fill you guys in on the next post!
<3
I realize I've been doing a lot of listing and just telling what I've been doing and no real reflections as of late. With every new place we visit here I feel almost rejuvenated like a whole new life is ahead of me. It's a wonderful feeling. Although I've only been here 2 weeks, I just feel like I live here. Honestly, I could never go back to the states and be 100% content with my life. I'd just travel through France and all of Europe and write about it all. If I had family money I would so do that... Alas, this is unrealistic.
Anyway, I've grown accustomed to the ways here and am probably gonna get huge culture shock when I get back home. I'm so used to colorful money and coins actually counting as real money it's gonna be weird to see a dollar bill. Also, I now look completely different and oh so french you probably won't recognize me when I get back. Here's a picture of what I look like now:
This was taken the other day while I was walking to the bookstore in the village nearby. I started singing about the baker that crossed my path and all of a sudden people were following me and singing about how weird I am.... so bizzare.
ALSO! I met this cute boy here and we are totally dating now. He's my french boyfriend and I would have never thought I would fall hard for someone like him. He's got gorgeous blue eyes and dark hair. Here's a picture of him for you all to see!
So this weekend was very eventful! On Friday I got to sleep in for the first time on this trip and let me tell you it was glorious. At night there was this huge festival called Estivales (festivals in french -- very difficult to translate I'm sure) in the main square where you bought a wine glass for 4 euros and got to try 3 different types of wine. I had one rosé and 2 whites and they were delish. I had some bbq sausage with hummus at one of the stands and then walked around a bit with the group. I also may or may not have gotten separated from the group so I walked around by myself for a while looking at all the cool stuff at the little tables. There was this awesome band playing called Las Vegas Wedding and they sang some oldie American songs that made me feel like I was home. After Estivales we went to our usual spot at Shakespeare (Yup we have a usual now) and played some darts and talked to some french guys. The yewsh.
Saturday once again was sleep in time for sim! A bunch of us then went to the same market that we went to on tuesday and got some more fresh goodies. Michelle, Lizzy, and I then attempted to go to the beach on our own, but failed miserably. We took a tram all the way down and then couldn't find the bus stop to take us to the beach. We walked around and back to the previous stop and asked a bunch of people who all said different things. So we got right back on the tram and went home. I like to count that experience as an adventure.
Then Lizzy, Michelle, Beth, Natalie, and I made a DELICIOUS dinner in my room. We made sausage on baguette with guac, lettuce, and tomatoes. We also cooked some zucchini, potatoes, and onions on the side. So domestic. ALSO - WE FINALLY FOUND PEANUT BUTTER!! We've been on the lookout for a while now and been craving it hardcore- but we finally found it at this store near the dorms. SUCCESS. The night ended with a cute movie night in Aryelle's room where we watched Baby Mama, which is only the funniest movie ever. *sidenote - I know y'all don't know the names I'm writing but I'm trying to use more names so you can get familiar with my friends here.*
Oh, I know! I'll do a little breakdown of the people I mention each time.
In order of appearance:
- Marie: awesome cute woman who is the director of the whole program. She's french but lives in New Orleans and works at UNO
- Michelle: sweetest girl ever and one of the people I hang out with most here. She asks the bests questions ever when we play 20 questions... From UNO.
-Lizzy: Drexel girl from Abington - only my long lost bee eff eff. We live across the hall from each other and always say the same things at the same time. We also speak in Russian voices a lot.
- Beth: From Boston. Basically this girl is the shit and we have adopted her into our Drexel fam. I always sing "Beth I hear you callin..." to her.
- Natalie: Also a Drexel girl. Lives next door to me and is hysterically rambunctious. That's the only way to describe her. Also, a baller.
- Aryelle: Marie's daughter and has been on the trip 19 years. We are Taylor Tequila Twins and everyone is jealous of us. duh.
Yesterday was Sunday and a few of us woke up early to try to get tickets for Barcelona for the last weekend. This was another great adventure... We walked all the way to the train station to be denied. Then were told to go to the bus station so we took a tram down 6 stops to find out that the bus station was closed... good times. But at least we made it back in time for the Tour de France! We waited 2 hours by the closed off street until the caravan finally came by. They were tossing free shit to all of us and people were going bat shit crazy! You would think these were starving people who hadn't eaten in days and needed that baggie of 5 gummy bears to survive... nuts. Then the tour went by in about 30 seconds, but it was still the coolest thing ever and I got some awesome pics out of it!
Ok are y'all ready for the dramz?!
Backstory: So our dorms are all in these buildings that have a courtyard in the front. The courtyard is the only place we get internet and where we all hang out most of the time. "Quiet hours" start at 10:30, but are loosely enforced and are only a problem when people start yelling. There are a few grad students in our program and most of them are cool. 2 uncool grad students are: Lacar (who asks dumb questions and is rude to everyone - even teachers in class and it's way awk) and Ann Michelle (who got stuck in Italy bc of the train strike and whom I have never met until last night...)
SO last night Aryelle, Lizzy, Beth, Michelle, Blake (Marie's son and Aryelle's older bro), and Josh (UNO kid) were playing 20 questions in the courtyard. At about 11:30 pm Lacar (what the hell kind of name is Lacar?!) creeps down from her room in the front corner of the place and comes up to us and says, "Ummmm - my room is all the way over there and I can hear you guys yelling and I can't sleep.... soooooo..." To which yes, maybe a little rudely laughed... but said we would be quiet. As she walked away she mumbled under her breath " No really... just shut the hell up." Whatever, we ignored it and began to legitimately whisper the rest of our game.
All of a sudden we see Lacar and Ann Michelle sitting on the steps in front of their dorm staring at us. Whatever, we were playing our game quietly and laughing a bit at the situation. THEN they come marching on over and Ann Michelle began ripping us a new one with quotes that included:
"OK SO... this could go one of two ways... either I can treat you like adults or I can treat you the way you are acting and treat you like children."
"We can stand here all night and recite the magna carta..."
"Sweetheart, don't you understand the concept of an if then statement"
"I am from New York so I know just how to handle people like you."
To which we obviously freaked out -- Lizzy taking charge of the firing back comments such as:
"That doesn't even make any sense..."
"You guys were sitting on the steps soooo you weren't even trying to sleep."
Meanwhile I'm trying to moderate the situation and trying to have people speak in turns but it was quickly escalating and I was failing miserably. Until she started pulling out the sweetheart term and saying she's "from new york." Bitch, I am from Philly and I will beat your ass if I have to. I totally could. Anyway it finally ended when we said we would have gladly moved to the back if they came out nicely and asked instead of condescendingly screaming at us like we were 4 years old. So she "nicely" asked and we walked away to prove a point. As she watched us like our damn mother saying she couldn't wait for Marie to yell at us tomorrow. Little did she know that Marie had already called Blake asking about the situation because they called the EMERGENCY number to report us "yelling." Bitches are crazy and got yelled at today. Also, the entire group was buzzing with this story all day today everywhere you turned. Legendary.
So I was gonna write about my day today, but my computer is about to die... so I'll fill you guys in on the next post!
<3
Friday, July 15, 2011
Of Naps and Kleptos
Today was the first day we've gotten to sleep in past 8 and let me tell you it was glorious. The shades in my room close so tight that it's pitch black, so when I woke up at 11, I thought it was about 3 am... so I slept some more. It's been nonstop over here for the last 2 weeks.
On Tuesday we had the usual wine class in the morning, but for my french class we went to this cute litte market under the aquaduct a few blocks away from our school. We had a sheet of paper with questions and had to interact with the sellers in french in order to answer them. They were really nice and eager to help! After the class we had lunch and boarded the bus for our first beach trip! Although it was an overcast day, the beach was still fantastic and the ocean felt so refreshing. All the New Orleanders were complaining about how cold the water was, but it was way warmer than the Jersey shore. While we were on the beach we "studied" for our wine quiz that was the following morning. We boarded the bus back at 6 and got ready for only the best thing ever: Harry Potter 7 double feature! We got tickets for part 1 at 9pm and then part 2 at midnight in 3-D. A bunch of us walked down and got some snack before hand. I'll save the Harry Potter discussion for another separate post, because I don't want to spoil anything, but I just want to say that it was absolute perfection. We got out at about 3 am and walked back to our dorms. What would have been an uneventful walk home filled with hp discussion turned into being caught in a hardcore monsoon about 5 minutes into the walk... We started running back and gave up once we were soaked to the bone and laughing hysterically at our situation. The night was EPIC.
Wednsday I was supposed to wake up at 8 for my wines class and quiz at 9... But after staying up after hp and studying and only getting about 4 hours of sleep... that didn't happen. I woke up at 8:55, threw on the first clothes I could find and literally ran the entire way to the classroom. I breathlessly walked in halfway through the quiz, but thank God he let me take it. Then I proceeded to try and keep my eyes open for the remainder of the class.... The lack of sleep was def catching up to me. After 2 more classes and 2 more naps we headed downtown to an English bar called Robin Hood to watch the women's USA v France soccer game. It was a chill time and we left the bar to head on over to this other place called Shakespeare. My friend Josh though left with 2 glasses of theirs to "add to his collection." So began the night of stealth. At Shakespeare we were basically the only ones there and hung out with the bartenders and each other. The one bartender Oliver gave us free shots which was probably what started the downfall of the night. Sloppiness ensued filled with graphic conversations and stealing of a rubber duck game that sat on the ledge. I am currently in the possession of one indian duck who I have lovingly dubbed Tomahawk. She's pretty baller and carries a weapon under her wing, so she's pretty badass too.
Thursday morning 8 am wakeup once more for our day canoe trip at Cinquieme le Desert, for Bastille Day. We canoed 3 miles down this clear river surrounded by beautiful mountains. The landscape was straight off a postcard. Stunning. We stopped for lunch on some rocks by the river and then went to take on some rapids. We had dinner in the little town by the river and then boarded the bus back. After a LONG nap at home we got ready to go out again. We hung out with some frenchies who live in the apartments with us by the barbecue area before going out the see the fireworks for Bastille Day. We caught some fireworks in the distance on the walk there and ended up at Shakespeare again. Unfortunately our Oliver wasn't there, but another cutie Oliver was working instead. (So many Olivers...) We ended up talking to these Germans who were visiting for a few days and learned some German words.... which I can't remember at all... One of the girls ended up flirting hardcore with them although they were kind of standoffish so I was over it. Me and my friend Allison ended up talking to this guy from Paris (don't remember his name) and his cousin from Virginia who were both very sweet and funny. I got to practice my french and learned a lot of weird quirky colloquialisms that pretty much just confused me. We got invited to a local Montpellier party tonight - so we'll see how that goes....
Anyways I'm so excited for this coming free weekend here in Montpellier. It'll be our only weekend here, since I'm trying to plan a Barcelona trip for our next free weekend. Tonight is Estival in the main square - which is a wine and food festival. So should be lots of fun! I just got finished a skype date with Sarah and I'm missing home a little. I'd love some more skype dates so please add me so we can chat! Simjalon!
<3
On Tuesday we had the usual wine class in the morning, but for my french class we went to this cute litte market under the aquaduct a few blocks away from our school. We had a sheet of paper with questions and had to interact with the sellers in french in order to answer them. They were really nice and eager to help! After the class we had lunch and boarded the bus for our first beach trip! Although it was an overcast day, the beach was still fantastic and the ocean felt so refreshing. All the New Orleanders were complaining about how cold the water was, but it was way warmer than the Jersey shore. While we were on the beach we "studied" for our wine quiz that was the following morning. We boarded the bus back at 6 and got ready for only the best thing ever: Harry Potter 7 double feature! We got tickets for part 1 at 9pm and then part 2 at midnight in 3-D. A bunch of us walked down and got some snack before hand. I'll save the Harry Potter discussion for another separate post, because I don't want to spoil anything, but I just want to say that it was absolute perfection. We got out at about 3 am and walked back to our dorms. What would have been an uneventful walk home filled with hp discussion turned into being caught in a hardcore monsoon about 5 minutes into the walk... We started running back and gave up once we were soaked to the bone and laughing hysterically at our situation. The night was EPIC.
Wednsday I was supposed to wake up at 8 for my wines class and quiz at 9... But after staying up after hp and studying and only getting about 4 hours of sleep... that didn't happen. I woke up at 8:55, threw on the first clothes I could find and literally ran the entire way to the classroom. I breathlessly walked in halfway through the quiz, but thank God he let me take it. Then I proceeded to try and keep my eyes open for the remainder of the class.... The lack of sleep was def catching up to me. After 2 more classes and 2 more naps we headed downtown to an English bar called Robin Hood to watch the women's USA v France soccer game. It was a chill time and we left the bar to head on over to this other place called Shakespeare. My friend Josh though left with 2 glasses of theirs to "add to his collection." So began the night of stealth. At Shakespeare we were basically the only ones there and hung out with the bartenders and each other. The one bartender Oliver gave us free shots which was probably what started the downfall of the night. Sloppiness ensued filled with graphic conversations and stealing of a rubber duck game that sat on the ledge. I am currently in the possession of one indian duck who I have lovingly dubbed Tomahawk. She's pretty baller and carries a weapon under her wing, so she's pretty badass too.
Thursday morning 8 am wakeup once more for our day canoe trip at Cinquieme le Desert, for Bastille Day. We canoed 3 miles down this clear river surrounded by beautiful mountains. The landscape was straight off a postcard. Stunning. We stopped for lunch on some rocks by the river and then went to take on some rapids. We had dinner in the little town by the river and then boarded the bus back. After a LONG nap at home we got ready to go out again. We hung out with some frenchies who live in the apartments with us by the barbecue area before going out the see the fireworks for Bastille Day. We caught some fireworks in the distance on the walk there and ended up at Shakespeare again. Unfortunately our Oliver wasn't there, but another cutie Oliver was working instead. (So many Olivers...) We ended up talking to these Germans who were visiting for a few days and learned some German words.... which I can't remember at all... One of the girls ended up flirting hardcore with them although they were kind of standoffish so I was over it. Me and my friend Allison ended up talking to this guy from Paris (don't remember his name) and his cousin from Virginia who were both very sweet and funny. I got to practice my french and learned a lot of weird quirky colloquialisms that pretty much just confused me. We got invited to a local Montpellier party tonight - so we'll see how that goes....
Anyways I'm so excited for this coming free weekend here in Montpellier. It'll be our only weekend here, since I'm trying to plan a Barcelona trip for our next free weekend. Tonight is Estival in the main square - which is a wine and food festival. So should be lots of fun! I just got finished a skype date with Sarah and I'm missing home a little. I'd love some more skype dates so please add me so we can chat! Simjalon!
<3
Monday, July 11, 2011
Of Lady Gaga and Urination
Hello friends,
I am currently back in Montpellier after an amazing and unforgettable weekend in Paris. Although the weekend was incredible, it's nice to be back in quiet Montpellier and I feel quite at home here sitting in the courtyard and sleeping in my little bed in what we have dubbed "the treehouse." Paris as a whole was full of adventures and crazy stories and here it is in this week's video breakdown...
jk - no video - but i was feelin the need for the tosh.0 reference...
Friday
We all woke up bright an early at 5 am so we could get on the bus at 6 and get to the train station in time. We rode the TGV, the fastest train in the world, 2.5 hours to Paris. Like true soccer moms/Americans, my friends Beth, Lizzy, Natalie and I filled our little table with all sorts of food and drink. Highlights of the trip include playing Old Maid completely wrong and playing name that tune with Lizzy and Natalie so wonderfully acting out songs on an ipod.
As soon as we got there we loaded on a bus and took a tour of the city. Although our tour guide was pretty funny, about 95% of us fell asleep... which seems to be a common theme here in France... We stopped at this little plaza in front of the Tour d'Eiffel for some pictures and to be harassed by the 15 people selling Eiffel Tower keychains within 50 ft. To call us over the men go "Lady Ga-Ga, I show you keychain." Why the hell we were Lady Gaga, I have no idea. One of these lovely gentlemen actually followed us on the bus and gave us 10 Eiffel Tower keychains for one Euro because he loved us so much. Clutch. The next exciting thing that happened on the bus is the start of one of themes of the trip: urination. So the story starts with Lizzy's extremely full bladder and lots and lots of water. Of course, what should have happened was her going to the bathroom when we got down to take pictures, but one never thinks of the practical things to do. So she's sitting across the way from me on this bus tour with her legs crossed and face in pain. What to do?! She goes up to the front and asks if they can pull over for a bathroom. After 15 minutes of trying to find one, the bus turns down a street with porta potties but was denied. Another 10 minutes goes by and Lizzy is about to burst like a geyser. She keeps saying "Just pull over I'll pee behind a bush!" Alas, the driver will not listen and so Lizzy takes matters into her own hands. She marches back to her seat, pulls out her empty bottle of water (which she now wishes she hadn't finished) and takes it down the little steps of the bus, like a true Philadelphian. I'll let you all finish the story on your own, but needless to say, the entire bus was half flabbergasted and half ridiculously proud. Best moment ever.
We finally got to our hotels and were divided amongst them. Of course me and Lizzy got stuck in the reject hotel with the professors and leaders but it wasn't that big of an issue. Our place was really nice nonetheless and we got the penthouse room with the double balcony. Right away we walked to Notre Dame, did some souvenir shopping, and then went on our boat tour of the Sienne River. I did this last time I was in Paris, but it was still amazing all over again. My absolutely favorite part was the Padlock Bridge. Here lovers come together and write their names on a padlock and lock it onto the bridge. They then take the key and throw it into the river, symbolizing their love forever locked. Hundreds of locks are currently there. Incredibly romantic.
That was my girl moment of the post... continuing...
Then it was time to experience nightlife in Paris. It was one of the girl on the trip's birthday so we all attempted to go out to dinner together.... that ended up being completely chaotic and took an hour to wait for everyone to come together. We eventually had to split up because restaurants could not accomodate a group so large... duh. We then went out to the club district in Paris and the girls got handed free "lady passes" which was a free entrance to an otherwise 20 Euro club PLUS a free bottle of champagne to share amongst 5. We basically took over the dance club and raged with ourselves to American music. We met some nice british men who joined our dance circle and tried to show us up... to no avail. Then a one armed man asked Natalie if she wanted to bang and grabbed her ass under her dress.... swear to God. So, we moved on to bigger and better things. The second place we went to was a nice bar with a basement just like Drexel house parties, except for with a higher ceiling... and way nicer. Still the same amount of creepers tho...
Saturday
After what felt like no sleep, we woke up bright and early at 8:30 for our Eiffel Tower trip. We walked around a bit and I got a free print of the Eiffel Tower from one of the vendors! French people love giving me free things apparently... We went up to the first level of the Tower which was fine by me because I was not tryna have another anxiety attack thank you very much. The view was beautiful and I got some nice pics that y'all can check out on the fb. Afterwards we went to a cute antique market and got some lunch. We then decided to take advantage of the month long sale that goes on in France (with 50-70% off all items) on the metro another unexpected adventure occurred. Somehow everyone got off at the right stop and I was left on the metro by myself watching as the back of Beth's head flew by me... Thank god I'm a philly girl and can handle myself on the metro... I got off the next stop took it back and made the connexion in time to meet up with everyone else. When I met them on the platform it was a glorious reunion. We had dinner and then got ready to go out.
At the pregame we went to the other hotel and sat out on the balcony with our wine. Such began the best drinking game ever. Natalie was rockin the boob wallet and accidentally dropped a Euro coin off the balcony and onto the sidewalk. Drink for every group that walks by. Drink 4 seconds for everyone who steps on it. Drink 6 seconds for every biker who runs over it. Chug and cheer if someone picks it up. Sounds semi-dumb but for some reason it was the most fun game ever. Finally the dumb concierge picked it up and it was sort of anti-climactic... so we decided it was time to leave! We went down to watch the light show at the Eiffel Tower. The stupid metro took an hour because people are slightly dumb when it comes to buying the ticket but we made it in time for the midnight show. We sat out on this strip of grass with our champagne bottles in the fresh Parisian breeze. Cue second peeing story of the weekend. So as you all know (or maybe not) but some girls in philly spend their nights out peeing all over philly streets and bushes when they can't hold it in when shwasted. I can happily say that I have never done that, because I think it's kind of gross. BUT sitting outside of the Eiffel Tower and having other girls going off to do so... eh... sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do... Also, in continuing with the night of firsts I also uncorked my first wine, smoked my first cigarette and cigar (and by smoked I mean took a drag of each and coughed up half a lung. You know, totally like a boss) All in all it was the perfect night with perfect people. Minus the 2 hour walk back afterwards (which included one of the girls peeing on the Louvre.... urination story #3). Eiffel Tower to about 4 blocks past Notre Dame... look at a map...
Sunday
9 am wake up once again... (we are pretty exhausted by this time) and headed over to the Louvre! Of course when we got there I was dyingggg of thirst so me and this girl in the group walked over for about a minute to buy some water from a vendor. Of course, with my luck the entire group left to enter the museum so we ran around like crazy people trying to find them. We actually entered the museum and after a call to one of the guys, were able to meet up with the group. We saw all the famous artwork and I found my new favorite painting: Le Jeune Martyre (The young Martyr). Check it out: Le Jeune Martyre. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is a beautiful piece that plays with the darkness and light. She looks so peaceful in death and I love the way she's painted. We were all really exhausted after a long weekend, so we didn't stay that long in the museum so we went and got some lunch and did more souvenir shopping (with more of being called Lady Ga-Ga... apparently all Americans are Lady Gaga...?!). After that we met up with the group for the train ride back to dear Montpellier. At the Gare de Lyon a few of us stopped in the famous Train Bleu and had a drink before the train ride. It was the perfect ending to an amazing weekend.
Oh geez...that was so long.... I hope you stayed with me! :)
I am currently back in Montpellier after an amazing and unforgettable weekend in Paris. Although the weekend was incredible, it's nice to be back in quiet Montpellier and I feel quite at home here sitting in the courtyard and sleeping in my little bed in what we have dubbed "the treehouse." Paris as a whole was full of adventures and crazy stories and here it is in this week's video breakdown...
jk - no video - but i was feelin the need for the tosh.0 reference...
Friday
We all woke up bright an early at 5 am so we could get on the bus at 6 and get to the train station in time. We rode the TGV, the fastest train in the world, 2.5 hours to Paris. Like true soccer moms/Americans, my friends Beth, Lizzy, Natalie and I filled our little table with all sorts of food and drink. Highlights of the trip include playing Old Maid completely wrong and playing name that tune with Lizzy and Natalie so wonderfully acting out songs on an ipod.
As soon as we got there we loaded on a bus and took a tour of the city. Although our tour guide was pretty funny, about 95% of us fell asleep... which seems to be a common theme here in France... We stopped at this little plaza in front of the Tour d'Eiffel for some pictures and to be harassed by the 15 people selling Eiffel Tower keychains within 50 ft. To call us over the men go "Lady Ga-Ga, I show you keychain." Why the hell we were Lady Gaga, I have no idea. One of these lovely gentlemen actually followed us on the bus and gave us 10 Eiffel Tower keychains for one Euro because he loved us so much. Clutch. The next exciting thing that happened on the bus is the start of one of themes of the trip: urination. So the story starts with Lizzy's extremely full bladder and lots and lots of water. Of course, what should have happened was her going to the bathroom when we got down to take pictures, but one never thinks of the practical things to do. So she's sitting across the way from me on this bus tour with her legs crossed and face in pain. What to do?! She goes up to the front and asks if they can pull over for a bathroom. After 15 minutes of trying to find one, the bus turns down a street with porta potties but was denied. Another 10 minutes goes by and Lizzy is about to burst like a geyser. She keeps saying "Just pull over I'll pee behind a bush!" Alas, the driver will not listen and so Lizzy takes matters into her own hands. She marches back to her seat, pulls out her empty bottle of water (which she now wishes she hadn't finished) and takes it down the little steps of the bus, like a true Philadelphian. I'll let you all finish the story on your own, but needless to say, the entire bus was half flabbergasted and half ridiculously proud. Best moment ever.
We finally got to our hotels and were divided amongst them. Of course me and Lizzy got stuck in the reject hotel with the professors and leaders but it wasn't that big of an issue. Our place was really nice nonetheless and we got the penthouse room with the double balcony. Right away we walked to Notre Dame, did some souvenir shopping, and then went on our boat tour of the Sienne River. I did this last time I was in Paris, but it was still amazing all over again. My absolutely favorite part was the Padlock Bridge. Here lovers come together and write their names on a padlock and lock it onto the bridge. They then take the key and throw it into the river, symbolizing their love forever locked. Hundreds of locks are currently there. Incredibly romantic.
That was my girl moment of the post... continuing...
Then it was time to experience nightlife in Paris. It was one of the girl on the trip's birthday so we all attempted to go out to dinner together.... that ended up being completely chaotic and took an hour to wait for everyone to come together. We eventually had to split up because restaurants could not accomodate a group so large... duh. We then went out to the club district in Paris and the girls got handed free "lady passes" which was a free entrance to an otherwise 20 Euro club PLUS a free bottle of champagne to share amongst 5. We basically took over the dance club and raged with ourselves to American music. We met some nice british men who joined our dance circle and tried to show us up... to no avail. Then a one armed man asked Natalie if she wanted to bang and grabbed her ass under her dress.... swear to God. So, we moved on to bigger and better things. The second place we went to was a nice bar with a basement just like Drexel house parties, except for with a higher ceiling... and way nicer. Still the same amount of creepers tho...
Saturday
After what felt like no sleep, we woke up bright and early at 8:30 for our Eiffel Tower trip. We walked around a bit and I got a free print of the Eiffel Tower from one of the vendors! French people love giving me free things apparently... We went up to the first level of the Tower which was fine by me because I was not tryna have another anxiety attack thank you very much. The view was beautiful and I got some nice pics that y'all can check out on the fb. Afterwards we went to a cute antique market and got some lunch. We then decided to take advantage of the month long sale that goes on in France (with 50-70% off all items) on the metro another unexpected adventure occurred. Somehow everyone got off at the right stop and I was left on the metro by myself watching as the back of Beth's head flew by me... Thank god I'm a philly girl and can handle myself on the metro... I got off the next stop took it back and made the connexion in time to meet up with everyone else. When I met them on the platform it was a glorious reunion. We had dinner and then got ready to go out.
At the pregame we went to the other hotel and sat out on the balcony with our wine. Such began the best drinking game ever. Natalie was rockin the boob wallet and accidentally dropped a Euro coin off the balcony and onto the sidewalk. Drink for every group that walks by. Drink 4 seconds for everyone who steps on it. Drink 6 seconds for every biker who runs over it. Chug and cheer if someone picks it up. Sounds semi-dumb but for some reason it was the most fun game ever. Finally the dumb concierge picked it up and it was sort of anti-climactic... so we decided it was time to leave! We went down to watch the light show at the Eiffel Tower. The stupid metro took an hour because people are slightly dumb when it comes to buying the ticket but we made it in time for the midnight show. We sat out on this strip of grass with our champagne bottles in the fresh Parisian breeze. Cue second peeing story of the weekend. So as you all know (or maybe not) but some girls in philly spend their nights out peeing all over philly streets and bushes when they can't hold it in when shwasted. I can happily say that I have never done that, because I think it's kind of gross. BUT sitting outside of the Eiffel Tower and having other girls going off to do so... eh... sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do... Also, in continuing with the night of firsts I also uncorked my first wine, smoked my first cigarette and cigar (and by smoked I mean took a drag of each and coughed up half a lung. You know, totally like a boss) All in all it was the perfect night with perfect people. Minus the 2 hour walk back afterwards (which included one of the girls peeing on the Louvre.... urination story #3). Eiffel Tower to about 4 blocks past Notre Dame... look at a map...
Sunday
9 am wake up once again... (we are pretty exhausted by this time) and headed over to the Louvre! Of course when we got there I was dyingggg of thirst so me and this girl in the group walked over for about a minute to buy some water from a vendor. Of course, with my luck the entire group left to enter the museum so we ran around like crazy people trying to find them. We actually entered the museum and after a call to one of the guys, were able to meet up with the group. We saw all the famous artwork and I found my new favorite painting: Le Jeune Martyre (The young Martyr). Check it out: Le Jeune Martyre. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is a beautiful piece that plays with the darkness and light. She looks so peaceful in death and I love the way she's painted. We were all really exhausted after a long weekend, so we didn't stay that long in the museum so we went and got some lunch and did more souvenir shopping (with more of being called Lady Ga-Ga... apparently all Americans are Lady Gaga...?!). After that we met up with the group for the train ride back to dear Montpellier. At the Gare de Lyon a few of us stopped in the famous Train Bleu and had a drink before the train ride. It was the perfect ending to an amazing weekend.
Oh geez...that was so long.... I hope you stayed with me! :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Of Wine and Philly Accents
So I've been crazy busy with class and other adventures here in Montpellier so I'm sorry I haven't updated!! I feel guilty but do not fret because this will be a nice long post filled with awesome stories so it's ok.
Tuesday was pretty uneventful. It was the start of our classes so we all gathered for some delish croissants and café in the amphitheater and had our little orientation. Then I went straight to my first class, Wines of the World. 10 am and sampling some French wine from the region. My life is real tough. Then I went to my intermediate french class which is 100% in french which is pretty awesome. I'm surprised how much I understand, although I have to get my baring on the speaking part. My last class of the day was western cinema which was a straight 3 hours of this man talking about a bunch of shit. It was partly annoying and mainly boring. After class we went into the city around where we had been the night before and around where I stayed the first night. A few of us had dinner right outside the opera in the center of the Place de la Comedie and it was wonderous albiet reaaaal long. The french take their time doing everything - it's definitely a nice change of pace.
Wednesday we went to classes again and then went to our official welcome party at this BEAUTIFUL Spanish ranch about an hour and a half away. We took a hayride through the bull herd and everyone took about 100 pictures of the bulls - because that's obviously the most important sight in France. We arrived at the ranch where a huge pot about 5 feet across was filled with steamed mussels with onions in this tasty broth. With our sangria in hand, we all crowded around like starved children and dominated the pot in about 20 minutes. Then we proceeded to the paella for dinner and drank way too much wine which was perfect for when the music started playing. The entire group, with professors included, got up to dance in the middle of the floor to songs that included Juanes and Shakira. My friend Lizzy and threw it down to the Hips Don't Lie rap like true Philadelphians - nbd. Then full on discussion ensued about the differences between New Orleans and Philly talk. Apparently saying "flagged" is a philly thing... and we were definitely saying that... Once we got back to our apartments we hung out by the bbq area and played drinking games with wine because we are now classy french people and all we drink is wine.
Today was our last day of classes for the week and then we went into the city again. Sidenote -we bought our tickets for Harry Potter 7 - part 1 and 2 for the 13th. YUP two days earlier than the US. Love life. Tomorrow we leave for PARIS for the weekend!!! ahhh!!! It's going to be trés magnifique!
Yeah..... sorry this blog post completely sucked. I am not feeling very creative at the moment cause I am trés fatigue and I gotta wake up at 5 am. I'm not bringing my laptop to Paris so all the crazy stories will be posted on Monday for you guys.
Miss you all!
Bisoux!
Tuesday was pretty uneventful. It was the start of our classes so we all gathered for some delish croissants and café in the amphitheater and had our little orientation. Then I went straight to my first class, Wines of the World. 10 am and sampling some French wine from the region. My life is real tough. Then I went to my intermediate french class which is 100% in french which is pretty awesome. I'm surprised how much I understand, although I have to get my baring on the speaking part. My last class of the day was western cinema which was a straight 3 hours of this man talking about a bunch of shit. It was partly annoying and mainly boring. After class we went into the city around where we had been the night before and around where I stayed the first night. A few of us had dinner right outside the opera in the center of the Place de la Comedie and it was wonderous albiet reaaaal long. The french take their time doing everything - it's definitely a nice change of pace.
Wednesday we went to classes again and then went to our official welcome party at this BEAUTIFUL Spanish ranch about an hour and a half away. We took a hayride through the bull herd and everyone took about 100 pictures of the bulls - because that's obviously the most important sight in France. We arrived at the ranch where a huge pot about 5 feet across was filled with steamed mussels with onions in this tasty broth. With our sangria in hand, we all crowded around like starved children and dominated the pot in about 20 minutes. Then we proceeded to the paella for dinner and drank way too much wine which was perfect for when the music started playing. The entire group, with professors included, got up to dance in the middle of the floor to songs that included Juanes and Shakira. My friend Lizzy and threw it down to the Hips Don't Lie rap like true Philadelphians - nbd. Then full on discussion ensued about the differences between New Orleans and Philly talk. Apparently saying "flagged" is a philly thing... and we were definitely saying that... Once we got back to our apartments we hung out by the bbq area and played drinking games with wine because we are now classy french people and all we drink is wine.
Today was our last day of classes for the week and then we went into the city again. Sidenote -we bought our tickets for Harry Potter 7 - part 1 and 2 for the 13th. YUP two days earlier than the US. Love life. Tomorrow we leave for PARIS for the weekend!!! ahhh!!! It's going to be trés magnifique!
Yeah..... sorry this blog post completely sucked. I am not feeling very creative at the moment cause I am trés fatigue and I gotta wake up at 5 am. I'm not bringing my laptop to Paris so all the crazy stories will be posted on Monday for you guys.
Miss you all!
Bisoux!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Of New Friends and Cowhide
Well my oh my what we have here is a whole new entry! In case you didn't know, that was written in a southern accent in honor of all my new friends from N'Olands. Us poor lonely philly folk are in small comparison to the New Orleans crowd. They are all so nice slash funny and I'm lovin on em hard. I even have my own personal Tammy Taylor here to keep me entertained until I can finish watching FNL (seriously, she looks and sounds JUST like her). We gonna be partying hard with this crowd.
This morning I arrived on the grounds of the université and made entry into my studio. Here are some pics for y'all to see. ( I really gotta stop with the accent... It's day one and I'm scared they're gonna think I'm making fun of them, which is so not true!)
Whilst I unpack I realized that I am the worst packer of life. I literally don't have to do laundry for the entire month because I brought that much clothes. Hey Sim, why did you pack that gold bandeau from American Apparel that you wore once to an all-greek toga, huh? Did you really think you would need it here in France? That's just silly. Also, maybe next time don't bring 4 pairs of wedges... FOUR... You break your ankle every chance you get, WHY do you need 4 pairs of wedges...? But despite those minor setbacks, all other necessities were packed so I'm not hating on myself too hard.
* Sidenote all the above was written yesterday with all intentions of being posted last night but then all craziness ensued. Now it's 6:58 am Tuesday morn and I'm writing the rest before orientation so ya'll don't get gyped from a post.*
After unpacking a few of us roamed a few blocks near the université and found a supermarket and a pharmacy. Ready for the best news ever? At the supermarket beer, liquor, and wine are sold. Ready for the better news ever? Wine costs ONE AND A HALF EUROS. I kid you not. The big bottle of water more expensive than the bottle of Riesling I bought. This may either be the greatest thing or the most dangerous thing of life....decision to come in about a week...
We then went on a scheduled tour of the area at 5pm followed by some casual pre-party party. (The real thing is Wed night at a ranch!) Than, the craziness ensued...
We all brought our aforementioned wine, even those new people who I haven't met yet, and convened in the back courtyard in the middle of our dorm buildings. Magically there was some random ass plastic cowhide just chillin when we gathered, so we lovingly dubbed the place "On the Cowhide". Yes, this is a very original name and took a lot of hard thinking to come up with...
We spent the next few hours chatting and getting to know everyone over our 1.5 Euro wine. I got to know the Drexel girls a lot better and got to learn about some of the life in New Orleans. Some girl even found a wild hedgehog and picked him up. Needless to say, everyone found this ridiculously entertaining and gathered around the poor scared animal. A few of us have dubbed this girl Sonic, for obvious reasons. Also, to all you DPhiE's reading this: I met a sweet girl who has Cystic Fibrosis and told her about our philanthropy and how we try to help people suffering with her illness. She really appreciated it, so I'm passing on the love. It's crazy when you meet someone who is affected by something so strong that you dedicate your time and service to help. It's very rewarding.
After a few hours and a bottle down each, everyone became too rowdy for the courtyard and antsy to go out. We joined our peer leaders and walked a good 20 minutes (past beautiful architecture and plazas) to a local bar where things got REAL. We all grabbed some beer and played shoulders (best game everrr) and continued our getting to know each other convos. By the time we were done Sonic was mackin it with some French dude on the pool table and we were drinking our beers outside by the music show that was going on. I'm so mad that I forgot my camera, but lots of other people took pics so they'll be all up on facebook I'm sure. I did get this picture of a few of us by an American flag on my phone! Happy Fourth of July!
Then at about 1:30ish I believe we all decided to walk back, beers in hand, since orientation started early the next morn. In France they don't care if you leave with your beer and don't chase you half a block calling you an idiot several times if you're carrying a glass of water out... ahem, CAVS... The walk home was filled with drunken stories and friendly banter as well as me HURTING MY SHOULDER AGAIN. Not ok. First night and I'm already injuring myself. I don't know if I really messed it up or not, but I went to playfully hit someone and it locked in place and now it's hurting for realll. Good times. Love my life.
So that was yesterday in a nutshell! I feel like I've been here a week already and that I've known these people for way longer than a day... it's all so weird! Anyway, today is orientation and class happens, followed by a trip into center city Montpellier, as well as probs another gathering On the Hide. I'm probs gonna end up drinking a bottle of wine a night... which I can't decide if it's completely aweome or the dumbest idea yet... What do you think?
Things to Note:
1.) Some parts of Montpellier remind me of Guayaquil, Ecuador where I'm from so it totally throws me off.
2.) We only get internet from the main courtyard, so that's realll annoying and may delay my blog posts just a tad because I can't update from my room.
3.) I just retyped this entire post that I had constructed in MS Word because this stupid site wouldn't let me copy past it. Dedication.
Catch y'all later!!
<3 Sim
This morning I arrived on the grounds of the université and made entry into my studio. Here are some pics for y'all to see. ( I really gotta stop with the accent... It's day one and I'm scared they're gonna think I'm making fun of them, which is so not true!)
Whilst I unpack I realized that I am the worst packer of life. I literally don't have to do laundry for the entire month because I brought that much clothes. Hey Sim, why did you pack that gold bandeau from American Apparel that you wore once to an all-greek toga, huh? Did you really think you would need it here in France? That's just silly. Also, maybe next time don't bring 4 pairs of wedges... FOUR... You break your ankle every chance you get, WHY do you need 4 pairs of wedges...? But despite those minor setbacks, all other necessities were packed so I'm not hating on myself too hard.
* Sidenote all the above was written yesterday with all intentions of being posted last night but then all craziness ensued. Now it's 6:58 am Tuesday morn and I'm writing the rest before orientation so ya'll don't get gyped from a post.*
After unpacking a few of us roamed a few blocks near the université and found a supermarket and a pharmacy. Ready for the best news ever? At the supermarket beer, liquor, and wine are sold. Ready for the better news ever? Wine costs ONE AND A HALF EUROS. I kid you not. The big bottle of water more expensive than the bottle of Riesling I bought. This may either be the greatest thing or the most dangerous thing of life....decision to come in about a week...
We then went on a scheduled tour of the area at 5pm followed by some casual pre-party party. (The real thing is Wed night at a ranch!) Than, the craziness ensued...
We all brought our aforementioned wine, even those new people who I haven't met yet, and convened in the back courtyard in the middle of our dorm buildings. Magically there was some random ass plastic cowhide just chillin when we gathered, so we lovingly dubbed the place "On the Cowhide". Yes, this is a very original name and took a lot of hard thinking to come up with...
We spent the next few hours chatting and getting to know everyone over our 1.5 Euro wine. I got to know the Drexel girls a lot better and got to learn about some of the life in New Orleans. Some girl even found a wild hedgehog and picked him up. Needless to say, everyone found this ridiculously entertaining and gathered around the poor scared animal. A few of us have dubbed this girl Sonic, for obvious reasons. Also, to all you DPhiE's reading this: I met a sweet girl who has Cystic Fibrosis and told her about our philanthropy and how we try to help people suffering with her illness. She really appreciated it, so I'm passing on the love. It's crazy when you meet someone who is affected by something so strong that you dedicate your time and service to help. It's very rewarding.
After a few hours and a bottle down each, everyone became too rowdy for the courtyard and antsy to go out. We joined our peer leaders and walked a good 20 minutes (past beautiful architecture and plazas) to a local bar where things got REAL. We all grabbed some beer and played shoulders (best game everrr) and continued our getting to know each other convos. By the time we were done Sonic was mackin it with some French dude on the pool table and we were drinking our beers outside by the music show that was going on. I'm so mad that I forgot my camera, but lots of other people took pics so they'll be all up on facebook I'm sure. I did get this picture of a few of us by an American flag on my phone! Happy Fourth of July!
Then at about 1:30ish I believe we all decided to walk back, beers in hand, since orientation started early the next morn. In France they don't care if you leave with your beer and don't chase you half a block calling you an idiot several times if you're carrying a glass of water out... ahem, CAVS... The walk home was filled with drunken stories and friendly banter as well as me HURTING MY SHOULDER AGAIN. Not ok. First night and I'm already injuring myself. I don't know if I really messed it up or not, but I went to playfully hit someone and it locked in place and now it's hurting for realll. Good times. Love my life.
So that was yesterday in a nutshell! I feel like I've been here a week already and that I've known these people for way longer than a day... it's all so weird! Anyway, today is orientation and class happens, followed by a trip into center city Montpellier, as well as probs another gathering On the Hide. I'm probs gonna end up drinking a bottle of wine a night... which I can't decide if it's completely aweome or the dumbest idea yet... What do you think?
Things to Note:
1.) Some parts of Montpellier remind me of Guayaquil, Ecuador where I'm from so it totally throws me off.
2.) We only get internet from the main courtyard, so that's realll annoying and may delay my blog posts just a tad because I can't update from my room.
3.) I just retyped this entire post that I had constructed in MS Word because this stupid site wouldn't let me copy past it. Dedication.
Catch y'all later!!
<3 Sim
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Of Welcomes and Jetlag
Bonjour Mes Amis!
Welcome to my lovely blog! I will be furiously typing away posts of some of my awesome days and adventurous experiences that I have over here in beautiful France so that you can join in on all the fun. And by some days I hopefully mean most and/or everyday, but if I had said that initially it would have been way too strong of a commitment and I really want to see where this relationship is going before I make any bold outlandish statements. It's only fair.
Basically I have no real format of how these blog posts are gonna go, so I'm just gonna wing it. Perhaps these posts will simply be straightforward stories. Perhaps they will become an outline of the present day. Or maybe this blog will become a magical fairytale story that will be recounted for years to come and they'll build a statue in my name in the middle of Montpellier and everyone will flock to it and leave their own stories for people to pick up and read. (In case you haven't noticed I am quite delirious thanks to what felt like 24 hours of travel. (Time zones are the worst part of traveling. Next to turbulence, that is...))
So, as I lay here on this semi comfy yet quite sturdy twin bed at the Hotel de la Comédie I am desperately trying to keep my eyes open. If my plan had gone accordingly I would be straightening my hair at the moment, but since the world and little french electric sockets hate me, I am sadly left looking like Hermione Granger... with glasses. So definitely really cute...
ANYWAY - as my first day in Montpellier begins to come to an anticlimactic end I have learned slash discovered three important things that everyone must know for their lives to be complete. They are as follows:
1.) If you sit next to an elderly couple on an 8 hour flight they will stare at you as you clutch the armrest during a very strong bout of turbulence BUT will not judge you if you are 22 years old and watching Gnomeo and Juliet on the little TV in front of you. At least not aloud....
2.) When you travel, the taxi ride from the airport is the absolute best feeling on your trip. Closely followed by the taxi ride to the airport at the end. Looking out the window and absorbing the surroundings brings strong feelings to the surface such as excitement, gratitude, and hope.
3.) French soap operas are as CRAZY as some spanish ones are... Even though I didn't understand most of the dialogue, I'm pretty sure the main character was cheating on her husband with either a transvestite or a very feminine cancer patient while her daughter was in the house and then later is kidnapped and made to watch a rape and beating.... I could not make this up.
A Demain!
P.S. - This is Place de la Comédie from my reading spot on the Opera steps.
Welcome to my lovely blog! I will be furiously typing away posts of some of my awesome days and adventurous experiences that I have over here in beautiful France so that you can join in on all the fun. And by some days I hopefully mean most and/or everyday, but if I had said that initially it would have been way too strong of a commitment and I really want to see where this relationship is going before I make any bold outlandish statements. It's only fair.
Basically I have no real format of how these blog posts are gonna go, so I'm just gonna wing it. Perhaps these posts will simply be straightforward stories. Perhaps they will become an outline of the present day. Or maybe this blog will become a magical fairytale story that will be recounted for years to come and they'll build a statue in my name in the middle of Montpellier and everyone will flock to it and leave their own stories for people to pick up and read. (In case you haven't noticed I am quite delirious thanks to what felt like 24 hours of travel. (Time zones are the worst part of traveling. Next to turbulence, that is...))
So, as I lay here on this semi comfy yet quite sturdy twin bed at the Hotel de la Comédie I am desperately trying to keep my eyes open. If my plan had gone accordingly I would be straightening my hair at the moment, but since the world and little french electric sockets hate me, I am sadly left looking like Hermione Granger... with glasses. So definitely really cute...
ANYWAY - as my first day in Montpellier begins to come to an anticlimactic end I have learned slash discovered three important things that everyone must know for their lives to be complete. They are as follows:
1.) If you sit next to an elderly couple on an 8 hour flight they will stare at you as you clutch the armrest during a very strong bout of turbulence BUT will not judge you if you are 22 years old and watching Gnomeo and Juliet on the little TV in front of you. At least not aloud....
2.) When you travel, the taxi ride from the airport is the absolute best feeling on your trip. Closely followed by the taxi ride to the airport at the end. Looking out the window and absorbing the surroundings brings strong feelings to the surface such as excitement, gratitude, and hope.
3.) French soap operas are as CRAZY as some spanish ones are... Even though I didn't understand most of the dialogue, I'm pretty sure the main character was cheating on her husband with either a transvestite or a very feminine cancer patient while her daughter was in the house and then later is kidnapped and made to watch a rape and beating.... I could not make this up.
A Demain!
P.S. - This is Place de la Comédie from my reading spot on the Opera steps.
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