. reverse culture shock

HELLO ALL! I'm back in the States & I've been on kind of a high. In Paris I've been craving Korean food, snow, and seeing familiar faces. Right now everything's on overload!

As soon as I came home, I had spicy Korean food, which my stomach wasn't used to! I had heartburn because pretty much everything I ate was mild in Paris ;) Although most of the snow melted, I still loved seeing patches of snow here and there. Even the SMELL of winter, seeing stars, and being in a MALL put a huge smile on my face.

But there's also a bit of reverse culture shock too:
- The automatic impulse to say "Pardon" and "Bonjour" to people... and how I greeted someone at JFK only to get "Wussup" back
- Not being familiar with recent news or songs on the radio
- Forgetting that I have to tip and dealing with American currency again (but the joy in realizing that the prices are in USD and not Euros!)

I hung out with my high school friends today and I ran into Char at the mall! That was an awesome coincidence =) And I think I found my apartment in Boston so I'm really happy! Although I can't go out and go crazy for New Years, I'll be spending time with my extended family at our house party! wooot!

That's all for now. I'll post more if I come up with anything!

. leaving on a jet plane

I'm currently sitting in a cafe near Notre Dame on my last full day in Paris so I'll reflect a bit.

What I love about Paris:
. amazing baguettes
. the awesome ways they eat yummy cheese
. their faux-Mex beer and the availability of Belgian beer
. interesting art and museums
. gorgeous historical architecture
. the Metros that tell you when the next two trains are coming
. tip is included
. chance to practice speaking French
. accesibility to travel to other countries
. good looking guys ;]

What I didn't like:
. how hard it was to meet French people
. AUP enough said
. poop poop poop on the streets
. cigarette smoke
. lack of service usually
. no internet
. stores closing early and on Sundays

All in all Paris was great and anyone would love living here. I think I've had a great 4 months and now I can't wait to go back to NJ and Boston after a year!

Best of:
Raclette - Le Serpent Qui Danse @ Faidherbe Chaligny / cheese you actually scrape onto plenty of food and an amazing old man waiter
Fondue - Refuge des Fondus @ Abesses / serves wine in baby bottles, fun atmosphere and interesting waiter.. says Northeatern 2012 in the bathroom :/
Onion soup - Cafe Central SOMETIMES on Rue Cler near AUP OR La Marmite @ Pigalle
Bread - pain Max from Julien the boulangerie on Rue Jean Nicot- it's heavenlyyy and everyone wants to make babies with it
Falafel - Rue des Roisiers in Le Marais
Fave museum - Invalides which is the World wars museum and holds Napoleons tomb

Hot chocolate - Angelina's near Concorde (on the list of 1000 things to do before you die)

I can't wait to go back to
- Tabasco sauce
- Netflix / internet / TV
- moms cooking and family
- Thai and Mexican food
- cleaner air

OMG I'm coming home!!!!! And I'm coming back with 1 broken camera and two messed up mp3 players :**[ US and A here I come!!! Oh but I won't be away from Europe too long as IBWE 09 is in Italy!!!!!! Ciaoooo!!!

. au revoir

Ahhh my time is almost up in Paris! I just dropped Lindsay off at the airport so she could go to Ohioooooo. I decided not to go home early, because I wanted to spend as much time as possible in Paris, but now I'm so excited to go home!! I miss a lot of things even though I love Paris (not really AUP).

Some things I did with the gang:

• Saw the Montparnasse Tower- it really is ugly
• Went up the Eiffel (but only to the 2nd floor) - the elevator is so scary =( I have post-traumatic stress from the Tower of Terror!
• Went to the Grande Arche aka "Future Paris" because all the buildings look so strange and high-tech
• Pompidou museum - got to see a real live Magritte!
• The Louvre again- I saw wings I hadn't seen before
• Met up with Sunny & Jeremy and had tapas at a nice place in Le Marais (Somethingsomething Pablo is the name HAHAH)
• The Catacombs - it's INSANE in there... so many dead people =/ and the fact that their remains were 'aligned' in rows... crosses... hearts... columns... is really really creepy
  
• etc etc. We basically ate a lot, laughed a lot, some were injured coughDevisagimp.

Speaking of Dev who only posted ONCE on his blog- Ohio, Leann, and I went to pick him up at the airport and he was NOT where he was supposed to be. I managed to contact him by phone for all of 5 seconds before it cut us both off so I couldn't contact him again for some reason. Basically we wandered the airport, getting police involved for 2.5 hours, assuming that Dev would not leave the airport and take a train into Paris! Finally I checked online and he left me a fb wallpost saying he was in PARIS! omgg crafty little bugger. Basically a cabride home from CDG airport = 50 EUROS. If you can avoid it- DONT DO IT!!! But we couldn't be mad at him for long, because he had an injury and we had to take him to a general practitioner.

Uhhh what else to mention?
- Oh, it's SO hard finding an apartment while being away from Boston! I'm still struggling to find a place...
- Um always be sure to have a metro ticket... I did "sharesies" with Ohio right before I'm about to leave Paris and I FINALLY run into those RATP people that check for tickets!!! Luckily I had an unused ticket so my 40 EUR fine was lowered to 25 =*****( W T F.
- Aaaand a lot of stuff are closed after Christmas until the first so basically I can only do one thing today to round out my trip (Musee d'Orsay?)

I'll post later with a recap of what's good in Paris and comparisons of US & France!


Memories...because I'll forget:
Hugh Jeckmen / meggik / "Nice bobbypin..." / GIMP / absess-abesses / AIIIIIIR POLLUTION! / Would you rather... / Signs, storytelling, movie games / Raspberry beer - Lindemanns is soooo good! / singing everywhere / magicknifing / jasmine city / gushy stuff = "squishy ass" according to Jay-Z / and moreeeee!

SOOOOOZZ AHNNNNN IM COMING HOME!!!!

. terrorism

Ummm yikes... bikes! Lindsay Massau is here in Paris!! Soon we'll be joined by Leann, Devinson, and Sunny!

But today I read in the news and heard from a friend that there was a bomb threat at Printemps on Boulevard Haussman which is a department store shopping area o___O Basically some group that the French Police were not aware of called in their threat, and it turned out they planted 5 dynamites in the building-- but supposedly there was no chance of them exploding...

Uh.... still. It's really scary, because the other day on the Champs Elysees there were a whole bunch of French riot cops blocking part of the street and telling people to keep on moving... There was also a hugeee jewelry heist at Harry Winston on Avenue Montaigne right off of the Champs... SCARY.

Yeah, I'm going to try not to think about it....

1 Final finished!
1 Final finished and ready to go!
1 Final almost finished but not feeling too good about it!
1 Final in progress!

WOOT!

. Mexico in Paris!

It's Reading Week, meaning that FINALS are coming up! While I have something to dread, I also have something to look forward to-- LINDSAY / DEVINSON / LEANN / and SUNNY are coming to Paris!!! WOOT! BSIB REUNIONNN! I'm sooo excited ;)

Some things I have to show them:

• Invalides - has a really interesting World Wars museum & Napoleon's tomb
• Arc de Triomphe - the Champs Elysees is really lit up right now for the holidays, it's so cute!
• Eiffel Tower - of course!
• Sacre Coeur - & try not to get mugged this time
• Latin Quarter & Bastille - lots of bars & fondue
• Faidherbe Chaligny - home of my favorite raclette restaurant
• Musee d'Orsay - I haven't been yet!
• Pompidou - Haven't been there either!
• Angelina's - on Rue Rivoli where the best hot chocolate is supposedly served w/ whipped cream!
• & I'll wing the rest =]

Anywhoo, I'm off to Reims tomorrow to shoot my movie for my final. I really enjoyed the Prin. of Video Production class- it was definitely my favorite and I learned the most. My prof is really cool (& cute!)

Yesterday I went to the Objectivites from Dusseldorf photo show in the Musee d'Art Moderne & got in free with my Art History card (woot!) It was pretty interesting... some interesting photos, but overall not the best show I've ever seen. I caught a glimpse of the Dufy show which was a HUGE room that was all painted, it was sooo cool.. The Musee d'Art had a really nice view so I'm gonna go back and take pics when the weather is nice.

Speaking of which, the weather sucks. Can't wait to go back home!!

. americans

This past weekend was very nice! I got to see people from BSIB- reunion!

• Thursday - Fizz came in from Dublin! We did a minimal tour of Paris since he was exhausted & we went to Montmartre to get some food. We were in Pigalle- the red light district and Fizz almost got MUGGED!! The funny thing is, on the Metro just 20 minutes before I warned him about thieves so he buttoned his back pocket shut holding his wallet. While we were walking down the street a man cut around me and dropped a piece of paper right in front of me. While it was happening I had a feeling it was a scam so I turned behind the man towards the car and kept my bag close, but Fizz was the target! This man made Fizz stop short and the partner behind us "bumped" into Fizz and tried to get his wallet. LUCKILY, his pocket was closed shut! Whew!
• Friday - While I had class, MJ came in from a co-op interview in Hamburg! We went to the Arc de Triomphe & went through the Louvre while we waited for Martina
• We were tired from walking around all day so we started drinking haha- Fizz got drunk realllyyy fast
• When Martina finally arrived by car with other ESB-ers, the four of us went out to an awesome raclette dinner at a restaurant called Le Serpent Qui Danse @ metro: Faidherbe Chaligny

A raclette cheese wheel that melts into gooey deliciousness that you scrape onto potatoes, vegetables, baguette, & cuts of meat if you choose

• Saturday - We did a tour of Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, took Fizz to the bus station, went up the Arc de Triomphe (paying to walk up steps- BOO!), then we had dinner in what I thought was the Latin Quarter (famous for raclette & fondue) but nooo Bastille was just a bar area. We went to 2 bars, played Never Have I Ever, Would You Rather, and Who Would You Do- met a really nice bartender, then we went to the correct Latin Quarter area. The drink that I got was so terrible & strong that I couldn't even finish it =*(
• Sunday - Martina wanted to go see the Louvre & MJ wanted to see Invalides (which I haven't seen) so we split up. Invalides is a museum that was originally a hospital for injured soldiers. There was lots to see so we spent most of our time going through the World Wars museum- it was SO interesting. I was so fascinated by it all, because I don't understand the point of war at all. It's terrible & sick & seeing this bloody history just made me feel really glad that I was born in this period. We also got to see only a little bit of the Charles de Gaulle section, but I definitely want to go back!

On a different note -

Since I've been here, I honestly can't stand Americans! I don't know why, but when I hear that loud, obnoxious accent in the streets I get really repulsed. I'm not quite sure why, maybe it's because I feel embarassed by association. There are a lot of young students studying abroad or they just came here for college, but they're definitely making a bad name for Americans in general.

That's also why I feel like I can't stand the people at my school. Some people are nice, don't get me wrong, but there's also a lot of the frat crowd who butcher French or only speak English really really loudly.

Anyway, I love Paris, but I'm excited to go home to see my family & high school friends. And I'm excited for NEU friends to visit me in December. It's going to be cramped, but I think it will be worth it.

Sighh, back to homework. Finals are coming up soon! =****(

. American edition

WOW- first of all-- WOW! I'm so happy Obama won... listening to his victory speech was amazing. I teared up at how honest he was- even though he's optimistic he knows the government can't solve everything in just 4 years. You can just tell he's going to try his hardest and overcome the divided two-party bullshit. It's so immature, because we as a people are all suffering under the economy & the moral strains of war.

People can disagree all they want, but the public has spoken, and you just know a good change is going to come! And people in France are really really happy for the Americans- hopefully we can mend bridges w/ the international community!

Gina Ahn - proud to be an American... finally! and outside of IBWE nonetheless

Anyway, it's finally vacation-time at AUP. Sunny will be coming to visit for the first part of the weekend, I'll be going to a Vampire weekend concert, and then I'll be off for Amsterdam with Jen!

I'm also a little homesick so I'll be visited by these lovely people who want to see Paris... & me- duh!:

1. Michael - November 20 weekend
2. Charlin - early December
3. Lindsay - my love arrives Dec 12
4. Leann - mid-December
5. Devinson - mid-December

Class registration starts soon & I have to find housing in Boston from Jan-April as well... I luckily have one summer vacation then my last co-op! So I gotta make it a good company... preferably outside Boston as much as I want to spend a semester as a SENIOR (omg.) with my friends. Hopefully I'll get the job I've been eyeing since I've been a freshman and even heard about co-op... I'll be crossing my fingers!

Finally-- rant-time, perhaps?

For some reason, it's hard for me to get along with Americans I don't know... I feel like I have such little in common with them. I meet all these international & French people and they have substance- because they've LIVED and travelled and are open-minded. Hopefully I'm not as boring to them as I find other Americans.

The sucky part about AUP is that although there are a lot of nationalities, people just seem clique-y here or basically they're all the same. They look the same, although there are some individuals, generally people here are not very interesting... I came here pretty much by myself which sucks. That's why I insist on visiting Reims/Sunny so much or traveling to other countries where my friends are with their own international friends. Here, everyone speaks English & it sounds ridiculous in Paris!

It's also hard because Paris is a big city and everyone lives separately- mostly on their own. I live in a shoebox on the 8th floor, because of the ridiculous USD. I'm at least trying not to wipe out my co-op savings by the time I get back to Boston.

Sighhh... anyway. Classes for me have been pretty great. Teachers really like me and hopefully I'll pass with flying colors. I'm glad that I've had this chance to take cool electives in another city outside Boston. But now, I kinda miss Boston =*( However I know once I go back, I'll really miss France.

In conclusion, I miss American TV.

. the great mosquito war

Hullo everyone! Just a few rants to get off my chest...

1. French mosquitos SUCK! They buzz near my ear at night and attack me endlessly! Argh!! Once I wake up and kill one, another one appears to make my life a living hell, and then after that one, another shows up in the crack of dawnnn!!! It's impossible to get rid of them. I seriously kill one, and then another gazillion replace it. I'm scratching myself like a freak because it itches everywherrreeee. Is there a certain smell that they don't like? Garlic? I have plenty of cheese? Should I leave a sacrifice of a dead animal in my doorway? It's driving me UP THE WALL. SOMEONE SAVE ME!

2. This whole asian thing! Another thing that drives me nuts. I've seriously never felt more asian in my life. It turns out it's not only a French thing, but more of a European thing. At Oktoberfest in Germany, the same "Konitchiwa/Ni Hao/You are asian" thing happened MULTIPLE TIMES when I was with Sunny, Martina, and a caucasian girl Jen. What's people's deal anyway? I'm not quite sure I understand why people do this. Because for all they know, I could be asian but from Africa and not know a word of any asian language.

I'm seriously trying to figure it out. At first I thought, maybe they're just trying to talk to a group of asian girls... but the thing is, they're assuming we're asian tourists who can't speak their language, so what were they gonna say after they said "Konitchiwa"?? Were they just gonna walk away? Try to speak in English? It's just seriously irritating... BLAH! And honestly, after the 1309328th time, I'm getting more and more irritated at each person who does it. Hopefully we get our point across when we tell them that we don't speak those languages, we're American, third of all, we're Korean, and ultimately they can't assume.


ANYWAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY...

• Classes are going great. I have awesome creative classes (except for one Euro Cultures class) which is a nice break from business classes and co-op all of the time!

• I just got back from Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany! It was fun and Germany was an all-around cool place. It had a better selection of food than France and I didn't realize how big into pretzels they were! (huge pretzels, cheese pretzels, stuffed pretzels, cream cheese pretzels...)
  

• It was also great seeing Martina & MJ, especially since they'll be in Reutlingen for TWO YEARS... I couldn't imagine being away from home that long speaking another language, so kudos to them ;] We also tried to meet up w/ Oldboys & german NEU grads, but they were going to some club so we passed on that sadly... But I came away with lots of German candies & MARS bars which are extinct in the US!
  

• I'm going to Reims to visit Sunny finally! The school I should've & everyone thinks I'm going to: CESEM! It's Integration weekend, aka an IBWE for RMS students! Even though it's expensive I think it'll be worth it-- esp if I get to meet new people and see others from past IBWE events!

Uhhh that's all for now, because I need to pee and it smells like smoke in the Grenelle building because everyone at AUP smokes- urgh. Peace out everyoneeee!


***WARNING***
DO NOT EVER BUY EXPENSIVE ELECTRONICS IN THE STATES AND HAVE IT SHIPPED TO YOU IN EUROPE........ I JUST GOT MY CAMERA....... AND I GOT CHARGED 99 EUROS TO BRING IT INTO FRANCE. W.T.F.

. cheese, zomg, cheese!

SPOTTED: My favorite phrase!

WOW. I have a lot to update on so let's get started!

First order of business-- I am housed & have electricity! I was able to survive a week without electricity, not sure how, but I did! Although now I'm staring obsessively at my electricity counter which jumps up each night because of the refrigerator.

Rawr, send me mail!

Gina Ahn
14 rue Cognacq-Jay
Chambre 20
Paris 75007

Here are some pictures of my closet- I mean, room. This is what 360 Euros will buy you in the 7th arrondissement of Paris very close to the Eiffel Tower / Champ de Mars... accompanied by a rough idea of where I am located.

Quick Updates:

• The Pope came to Paris! -- didn't see him, too crowded, too busy.
• Sunny came to Paris! -- bags were heavy, Metros shut down, Pope sucks.
• Joined the volleyball team! -- the girls will have their own team, yay!
• Went to the chateau in Versailles & got in free with my AUP art history ID! -- I can get into any museum... fo' free! woot!
  
• Classes started! -- European Culture, Video Production, Editing Process, Digital Photo
• Going to see Vampire Weekend in November! -- woot!!! anyone wanna come too?
• Rewatched Amélie with Sunny -- remembered how magical it was!
  
• I sent in my absentee ballot form so I can vote! -- GObama!!!

Some thoughts:

1. I was approached by tourists and French people asking for directions & etc. I feel at home! Not really, but it was very cool when it happened! Whenever people speak fast ass French to me, I freeze a little, but I'm survivin'! Parisians are not as haughty and mean as they're famous for.
   
2. Pont des Arts is a sick place to chill. There's depressing photos around on a bridge over the Seine, but for some reason it became a hoppin' place for young French high school or college kids to hang out. Of course there are the occasional creepers, but there were people willing to converse with us to practice their English. If someone clings to your arm and says "I love you" or flings an alligator finger puppet in your face asking to "Prends un photo?"-- just keep walking! Or in Jen's case, play lesbian!
   
3. It's so hard being vegetarian here. I think I'll have to join the Eat Your Veggies club or something! Everything is bread & cheese, bread & cheese. I mean, I looove cheese, but being in Paris for awhile just might cure me of my love of cheese!
4. As a business major I realize what a sucker for marketing I am! It's very cool seeing new brands and flavors as well as American companies that tweak their products for consumers. I've seen new flavors in drinks & yogurts such as cassis, agrum (tropical types of fruits), etc.
5. New favorite beer: Desperados - a tequila flavored beer! I swear it's GOOD!
6. I started running around the Eiffel Tower in the Champ de Mars. It's such a gorgeous landmark, I love it. I'm TERRIBLE at running, but hopefully I'll get better. I'm definitely a short distance person-- just don't have that stamina! Bleh, I just don't wanna pay that much for a 6-month membership to a gym..
7. Everyone here loves Obama. I love everyone here.
   

The Negatives:

SO many people smoke here, include young kids. It's really annoying... Supposedly it's not taboo for pregnant women to drink either?

Anyway, when Sunny visited me in Paris before shipping off to Reims, we encountered a lot of minority issues. Some racist, some innocent. In any case, people saw the two of us together and some had the gall to make comments.

- At a cafe, we moved the placemats around for the waiter who had his hands full -
Waiter: Konitchiwa!
Us: Uh... nous ne sommes pas japonaises. Nous sommes coréenes.
Waiter: ...Taekwondo.
Us: -__-

- Walking in the street after club night in Montmarte -
Guy: Nihao! [bowing with his hands together]
Sunny: Nous ne sommes pas chinoises!
Other guy: sdaiohweoihgeiklhagjlkga [getting pissed in French]

- Sunny buying a hot dog on the street -
Guy: Excuse me, are you chinese?
Me: German?? [he had a thick accent so at this point I was happy he thought we were German despite us speaking English!]
Guy: Chinese?
Us: No, nous sommes coréenes... Corée du Sud?
Guy: Corée??
Sunny: TU CONNAIS KIM JONG-IL??
Guy: No...
Me: Entre Japon et China... Corée du Sud?
Then FINALLY he understood. Urgh.

Then our taxi driver this morning asked us if we were Japanese and when he discovered we were Korean he sounded pretty happy and he went on and on about how we have kung fu fighting skills and that he should be afraid of us. LOL er, okay.

I don't know about this... I feel like maybe French people are just curious about other nationalities since there are heavy immigrant populations. For example, we went to Belleville yesterday only to discover it was Chinatown. I was shocked because I rarely saw asian people around. Today while driving to Gare de L'est, I saw an African town in the 3rd/4th district. Sometimes it gets annoying, but for now I'm going to stay positive, try not take it personally, and just correct people's misconceptions.

But all in all, Paris is GORGEOUS. Despite the dog poop. But even with that, it's a lovely city, full of character and lots to see & admire. I really really can't believe I'm here, but I am!

Quote of the Day:
À coeur vaillant rien d'impossible. / Nothing is impossible for a willing heart.

YAY FOR THE INTERNETS!

HELLO! I am sooo glad that I have the internet right now... I'm currently in the AUP computer lab going on every website possible. After touring around London - Paris - Madrid/Valencia, I realized that finding FREE wireless is harder than I thought! As soon as I *think* I have free wireless, a page opens up asking me to log in or pay... grumble grumble.

Now I'll talk about what I can remember up to this point!

Aug 18 : I MADE IT TO EUROPE! Cue the muzak!

• I made it to Paris, barely got any sleep on the airplane- probably nerves
• Successfully got on the Eurostar train to London
• Navigated the London Underground - very very easy & made it to the hotel, luckily they let me check in early!
• My cousins + my aunt finally arrived pretty late around midnight

... - Aug 21 : LONDON

• We didn't do too much, just the basics because we were tired, lazy, and had young kids- oh and it was mostly rainy! Blehhh...
  
• London Eye (didn't go in), Big Ben (didn't really go up to it), Trafalagar Square (watched the Olympics), the museum at Trafalagar (forgot the name), aquarium
  
• We did the bus tour, glimpsed at the special parts, that was pretty much it. Didn't feel like going to Buckingham Palace haha
• The highlight: Madame Tussaud's in London! It was really funny taking pictures with the wax figures... especially Daniel Radcliffe & David Beckham! I really hoped for a Rupert Grint wax figure... but it's kinda good that there wasn't, because who knows what I would do to it MWAHAHA ;]

... - Aug 25 : PARIS

• The WORST part about the Metro is how it's NOT handicap accessible. So if you have luggage and you must transfer to different lines, you have to drag your stuff UP and DOWN so many stairs... it was really terrible with heavy luggage (now I gotta use cab or bus!), but everything else is cool with how there are many signs & there's a board that tells you when the next two trains are coming (Why can't we have that for the NYC Subway??)
  
• The highlight: Walking for around 30 minutes clueless w/ my cousins, eating Chinese food, then turning the corner to see the HUGE, clear view of the Eiffel Tower- it was so amazing to see it for the first time! I thought I was gonna tear up- it just was so awesome to see it after studying French for so long!
• Did the bus tours & a boat cruise - saw stuffs
• Eiffel Tower (didn't go up), Louvre (went inside, saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc), Sacre Coeur at Montmartre, Arc de Triomphe at Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, etc.

... - Aug 29 : SPAIN

• At the ass-crack of dawn I went to take the RyanAir bus shuttle to Paris Beauvais airport to Madrid & arrived at the airport only to discover Devinson's phone number was not working! So I paid 1 Euro to check Facebook and luckily he had a working number
• Easy-to-use metro system so I was able to find him and visit ICADE where they were still doing construction- tiny seats in the classrooms, blue & white tiles all over
  
• Met up with Thad in the late afternoon, went to the bus station, decided that the consigna luggage storage was a bit shady so we went back to Charlotte's place to drop off our shit and go "light" to Tomatina
• Took a 4-hour bus ride from Madrid to Valencia, arrived at around 12:30am? Wandered around on foot ALL night because we decided a hostel wasn't worth it-- there were crazy drunk people all around town getting naked & wet in fountains, particularly from Australia on the FANATICS group tour
• Got followed by a baby kitten, got VERY confused on the train system looking for the one going to Bunol- we went back & forth & ran up and down stairs and talked to SO many people... finally we found some shirtless Canadians (one of whom talked EXACTLY like DOB) and they gave us false information, then we found the correct way, and Dev & Thad shirted them [Important: You need a shirt to board a train]
• Took the first train to Bunol, dropped off luggage, and we took "bare essentials"* to Tomatina: goggles, ear plugs, monies, shoes. *Don't even bother bringing that, it's all useless
  
• Dev & Thad got pissed drunk off pineapple juice that some girls ditched on the train + rum, attempted at the ham pole, got injured in bits and pieces
• Tomato fight occured, I got scurred with all the pushing + shirts ripping off, lots and lots of hard tomatoes were thrown, I thought my toenail fell off
• Finally found Dev + Thad, we eventually got back to Madrid early, only to find no one answering Charlotte's door but LUCKILY her brother was home and let us in after we called her from a payphone
• SLEPT, then I went on a Madrid bus tour, went to the Bodies museum, met up with Allison + Dev + Thad, had dinner, then went to the airport

This is not me, but this is probably what I looked like... except with a gazillion people surrounding me on all sides and in more pain.

... - Now : PARIS!

• Currently I'm being housed at the FIAP in the 14th arrondisement near Denfert Rochereau & Glaciere Metro stops
• Orientation started- there are a lot of visiting, freshmen, transfer, & graduate students of all nationalities.. I think there are ~100 nationalities represented at the AUP currently
• My roommate at the FIAP is very cool luckily, but I haven't met many people so far that I'd hang out with on a daily basis... I'm getting kinda nervous about that. There are a lotta... snobbish, rich girls with LV bags haha but... there are a few nice ones too... It's just annoying because I want to feel settled! Oh well...
• I bought a pay as you go mobile phone for 40 Euros + added minutes... this is my number: 06.59.81.28.87 / from the US add 33 and drop the 0 so: 336.59.81.28.87
• Yesterday I discovered my ATM card was NOT working- WTF! I tried calling yesterday but it's Labor Day in the States (boo!), so I called them this morning... should be good now, I spent all 650 Euros + 50 pounds that I bought at home already
  
• Today, I have my housing meeting... I'm hoping to: 1. Be near the school (7th arrondisement near the Eiffel) 2. Not pay that much 3. Have internets (very very important!)

Few things I've learned...

1. There is some racism in France- you've just gotta deal with it and move on and not say anything or else you can get in huge trouble. Once my cousins and I were at the Trocadero metro stop after visiting the Eiffel and a huge group of French black men from across the stop were calling out to us calling my little cousin "Bruce Lee" and making like asian-chinese sounds.. it was really dumb and pathetic. I really wanted to shout back at them in English, but I knew that would be dumber so I let it go. It's a good thing though, because I heard stories of someone at AUP who flipped off a carful of people who were flipping him off and then they stopped the car & beat him up.
2. The plumbing system sucks- deal with it
3. Bread is SO freakin good... You will not get better bread anywhere else!! I can't even eat "French" bread in the US anymore, it's just NOT the same
4. "Bon soir" is not a goodbye... it's a greeting at night! Did not know that... There are also such greetings such as "Bon journee" & "Bon continuation"... Don't ask me what that means just yet
5. Don't smile at men in Metros... or they'll chase you.

That's it for now... I wrote too much anyway. Will update when I get my chambre de bonne**! Oh & I miss me mum!

**aka a really really really small amount of space that I will call home for the next four months

My current mental status: A little anxious about everything, but generally happy!

. j'ai mal à la tête

What. a. headache.
(Just check out how creepy this picture is.)

The fine people at the Boston consulate have messed up and now I have to go to Boston after 3 weeks of waiting to hand in an acceptance letter (which I did already) in order to receive my passport and visa. FINALLY!

The cherry on top- I'm leaving in only a few days and NO ONE in that office called me to tell me that they didn't finish with my passport or encountered issues. I found out through my good friend who was picking up her own visa*.

Why can't the system be more efficient? They don't take phone calls, e-mails, and they clearly don't have their stuff together. Urgh. Also the NYC French consulate is appointment-only booked until mid-August with a month turnaround time. Terrible. o__O

The upside is that I'll be able to see a handful of people in Boston just one last time even if it is for a short while! I wish I could go to Mexico too though...**

All I have left to do in the States is:

• Buy Eurostar tickets from Paris to London (soo expensive)
• Finish packing (...and keep telling myself not to overpack... dontoverpackdontoverpackdontoverpack!)
  
• SECURE my passport & visa!!!
• Plan a general itinerary of places to see with my cousins
• Haircut?

What my schedule looks like:

1. 8.17 - Leave from JFK airport
2. 8.18 - Arrive in Paris
3. Get on the Eurostar to London, because for some reason my family chose to go to London first... SO inefficient & costly for me but whatever, I'm already bleeding monies!
4. 8.21 - Leave London & head for Paris!
5. 8.26 - Get to Porte Maillot to Beauvais airport bus for the RyanAir flight to Madrid in the crack of dawn
6. Meet up with Dev & Thad & other Spanish kids to go to Valencia
7. 8.27 - La Tomatina 2008!***
8. 8.29 - Leave Madrid, get to the hostel in Paris
9. 8.30 - Orientation Week starts at AUP!

With all this going on, something's bound to go wrong haha... Already things aren't looking too good. But it'll all pass and soon it'll be crazy fun! GAH! I'm excited but scared! Time moves wayyyyy too fast.

* THANK YOU SUNNY!!! You're a lifesaver! Bisous & can't wait to see you again!!
** OHIO, I miss you... hahahha I know you know this already! Go tame that obligatory psychotic jackass in your Mexican classroom & turn him into a Logan Echolls... for me ;)
*** zomg.

Quote of the Day - "Mieux vaut plier que rompre."
Adapt and survive.

. excited yet so scurred!

Oh Eiffel Tower, you're so cute I wish I could shrink you with my magical ray gun and turn you into a handbag!

- - - - -

D-12 til Europe
D-3 til the last day of co-op
- - - - -

Gahhhhh!! I'm finally leaving for France early on Aug 17 from JFK Airport to travel around London, Spain, aaaaand sweet ol' Paris. There's so much to do and right now I'm pretty terrified about leaving my comfort zone. I have a friend already in Mexico settling down for her BSIB program, but it's really hard to imagine that I'll be in Europe soon & getting used to a whole new way of life... Yikes, only a few days left!


Things to Worry About:

• Language - j'ai trop oublié! et mon accent... o_O
  
• Monies - damn l'Euro! grumble grumble...
  
• Traveling by myself
  
• Being away from friends & family
  
• Housing - cheapest rent pretty much gets me a closet six floors up.. no elevators.. shared hallway bathroom.. zut alors!
  

Buuut on a more positive note...


Things to Look Forward to:

• Enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Yay!
• Utilizing my dismal high school French & improving it
  
• Taking electives I'm interested in - film/media/culture
  
• Becoming a more cultured & open-minded person (I know it's so fromage-y)
• Checking out good-looking Europeans ;] hah im so sketch.
• Nutella crêpes - 'nuff said.
  
• And finally getting to see the country I've waited years to see (Madame would be so proud..)
  

Well, France, are ya ready? Sure you're ready? Because here I come!!!

Quote of the Day - "Quand on veut, on peut."
When we want, we can.

[ photo by danorbit. / Flickr ]