You and me, we got our own sense of time

My best friend is studying abroad in Athens this summer. I've been keeping a list of the things she needs to bring back for me, like new sandals. We spent four days in Athens when we backpacked through Southern Europe together last August. I miss it a lot. I remember we could see the Acropolis from our hostel balcony. Yeah I know, I got the travel bug again. Whenever I think of moments in my short life of intense happiness or fear, many of them fall under that period of traveling. So I can't help sometimes wishing I was somewhere else sometimes (especially when exams are close).

I stumbled upon some beautiful photos from The Colors of Travel 2012 by The New York Times. Stoooop I want to go to there.

Enjoy your Friday! I'll be sleeping on the Warren Dunes tonight in Michigan, which is the closest thing I have to traveling these days... :)

Post title from Hannah Hunt by Vampire Weekend.

Montpellier, France

Turkey

Penang, Malaysia

  

Hyderabad, India

Rivers 'til I reach you

Thoughts on life:

1. HAPPY 2013! Last year was amazing, so we'll see if this one can beat it. 

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."

— Neil Gaiman

2. After nine countries spanning eight languages later, I will be arriving back in the US tomorrow. Yay? Yay! I have been in Europe for five months, and my dad has been here for two weeks. He has more bags than I do. I don't want to judge or anything.

4. Here is a little video about the United States from a French perspective. So true. Ok I understand it is in French, but at least we can all agree that he is attractive and the French language sounds beautiful. Oof. I'm gonna miss them attractive French boys.



Post title from The Head and the Heart, Rivers and Roads.

I want it, I need it, I want your eyes to turn

Merry Christmas Eve! I'll be back in Paris in a week to say my final goodbye. But right now my dad and I are in Lausanne, Switzerland. A friend gave us her apartment while she and her husband are out of town. She has a pretty amazing blog, Lavender & Onions. Trust me, you wanna check it out. Fun fact, her mother was my fifth grade teacher, and one of my favorite teachers  of all time :)

For now I leave you with the view from her apartment. Just stop.

Post title from Somebody by Jukebox the Ghost.

L'inspiration est partout

I have four more days to profiter de Paris!

And my car won't stop 'cause I cut the breaks

So Amsterdam. I loved it. It has got to be one of the top three cities I have visited this year. I could definitely live in one of those cute house apartments by the canal. We peaked into some of their windows around dinner time, and I could not handle it. People were actually nice too! Crazy. Oh and there were so many cute modern coffee shops, my weakness. I'm talking about literal coffee, not to be confused since we are talking about Amsterdam.

However we did not stay in the area I described above. We stayed in the red light district. It was cheap. And now I know why. The manager of the hostel loved us though, really loved us. Because we were a breath of fresh air in comparison to the quality of teenage boys that normally stay there...

The first night I was paranoid out of my mind walking down the street in our area. There were so many guys, almost all guys. And the smell of weed and the sight of mostly naked girls really freaked me out. But then I realized that these areas exist in every city, I just don't stay in them. And this area in Amsterdam is actually safe. Our tourguide told us there are security cameras everywhere, two police stations, a church, and a kindergarden (go figure). 

Some interesting moments:

- Watching a Christmas parade in Amsterdam that includes Santa followed by his African slaves... We are talking black paint, wigs, the whole deal. We were completely shocked. Weed, prostitution, ok I can handle it. But borderline racism/cultural insensitivity... no, just no.

- Listening to our hostel manager complain to us. In one of his many rants, he mentioned that he killed Chinese when he was in the Taiwanese Army, and that he stayed up til 6am drinking Tequila because he was so annoyed with the stoned Belgian boys in our hostel. A very fascinating man.

- Eating stroopwafels. Those things are good. And addicting.

- Taking the Red Light District tour. I learned many things, including not to take pictures of prostitutes because they will throw pee on you. Also who knew it only cost 50 euro for 15 min?

- Going to a bar/slash club one night when we weren't planning on going out. Some of us were wearing multiple layers of sweaters... sexy.

We also did some touristy things in Amsterdam as well: two tours, the Rembrandt house, the Anne Frank house, the Heineken factory, a sex museum, the "I Amsterdam" letters, and a Christmas parade.

I would definitely go back to Amsterdam! But maybe stay in a different area...


Post title from Morning Song by The Lumineers. One of my favorite songs by them and one of the best concerts I've been too.

And the way you move, I won't close my eyes

Life is good.

Yesterday One Direction released a new album. Be still my heart.

This morning I had breakfast with my dad. We had a real breakfast at an American diner, eggs bacon pancakes.

Tomorrow night I will see The Lumineers in Paris. And I will probably cry.

Thursday I will leave for Amsterdam. I have always wanted to visit Amsterdam, I've heard it is beautiful, among other things.

I don't think this is real life.

Tell me what's so easy about coming to say goodbye

I survived a trip to Berlin and Prague! My friend and I had a several panic attacks throughout the trip including one before we even left Paris. Sometimes traveling by yourself is hard.

I loved Berlin. Really loved it. We were only there for a day and a half, and we did a four hour walking tour and learned more than I ever did in history class. I loved how there were modern coffeeshops everywhere. Like legit coffeeshops. None of this old fashioned café nonsense like Paris (just kidding, those are great too). Apparently Berlin is known as "poor but sexy." I was not there long enough to really experience the city, but what I observed rings true.

Prague was beautiful. We were there for four days and did another four hour walking tour which covered several historical and touristy sites. Who knew they had a mini eiffel tower? It was endearing... The only problem I had with Prague was the sheer number of tourists. Oh and the lovers. Like seriously? And this is coming from a girl who is used to seeing people in Paris making out on the metro or at various historical sites. But Prague was worse. And to make it even more annoying, these lovers were not half as attractive or as well-dressed as Parisians, so I couldn't even be jealous. But this speaks only for the tourists in Prague, because I'm not really sure I saw a legit person from Prague between the hostel and the touristy historical sites. But I don't blame all those lovers for coming to Prague, because the Charles Bridge and the river pretty much kills you. 

Some highlights:

- Withdrawing a 1000 Czech bill. I felt rich for five seconds.

- Getting caught by the German police for not having metro tickets. Too much money was lost paying for that ticket.

- Meeting someone from my college town at a bar crawl. So so random!

- Avoiding various creepy men. By the end of the trip, I was paranoid of everyone. Talk to me, and I will cut you.

- Plotting ways to kill pretty much most of the people in our hostel room... if you see someone sleeping at oh say 3 in the morning, its best not to talk loudly, just sayin.

- Going to the sketchiest club ever in Prague. It was pretty much a four story frat house with old creepy men. Yeah, we didn't stay too long.

- Losing my camera in Berlin :( I bought a disposable camera in Prague. Someone asked me if I was a hipster. Nope, just really needed a camera...

Last week was great, but one thing I realized is that it is so much scarier traveling to new cities with one other person rather than a group. And I also realized, I really want to return to Berlin someday, longer than 36 hours I hope. The photo is from this really cute coffeeshop near our hostel in Berlin. Unfortunately I never went in, because I had given all my extra money to the German police.

Post title from Three White Horses by Andrew Bird.

All the things that make you lighter

This week, I am so lucky to be visiting Berlin and Prague with my friend from Northwestern. I cannot wait! This is my first time leaving Paris since arriving. This is kinda odd, but I am actually really looking forward to feeling no pressure to speak the language. Because I know no German or Czech. In Paris, I try to speak French, and I just get frustrated. For example, my host dad went on an hour long rant during dinner last week about the differences between the US and France. Clearly he liked one country better than the other. I had so many things to say; it reminded me of dinners at home, when my parents and I would talk for a long time after dinner. The only problem is that in this case, I couldn't form any sentences. By the time I had a thought and simplified my thought so I could find words to say it in French, my host dad had moved on to a new topic. So many struggles. All over the place.

Something I have officially realized. I can never fit in here. Not only for the above scenario  but also because there is no direct translation for the phrases, "I am confused," and "This is awkward." These two phrases define pretty much every moment of my life.  The closest French phrases literally translate to "I am embarrassed," and "I am not comfortable," which just doesn't cut it for me. I guess Parisians never really feel confused or awkward. Ugh of course they don't.

Anywho, please enjoy this pretty picture of Prague I found off of pinterest. I'm excited to take my own soon. My best friend from high school studied abroad in Prague this summer, so I've been reading up on all her notes! 

Post title from Girls Like You by The Naked and Famous. I love this song.

It's best we both forget before we dwell on it

Some things I miss about the US.

To-go coffee.
Big showers.
Nice people.
Wearing sweatshirts in public.
Zoning out in class. Or really just understanding what is going on in class.
Feeling at home.


But then there are things in Paris I know I will miss when I return.

So many cafés.
Cheap crêpes.
Cheap wine.
Macarons.
The Seine.
Free museums.
Fast public transportation.
Attractive men who know how to dress.

Also if you have the time check out my new blog post for IES! It is about going to a class at the Sorbonne.

Post title from Love Love Love by Of Monsters and Men.

There's such a lot of world to see

Today I had four hours to kill, so I decided to take some time alone. This was the first adventure I have taken alone in Paris so far. I felt a little nervous not using this time to be social, but then Paris is a place where you learn how to be alone and discover yourself, right? Cheesy I know, but I took this thought as an excuse to wander. Of course while I wandered, I looked as stylish as the Parisian woman above. If only.

I started with some shopping. I didn't buy anything, but I sure was tempted. Then this guy started following me. I thought I was being paranoid, so I stopped at a window for quite a bit of time, and he was still there. Awkward. Then he tried to talk to me, and being the nervous person I am, I gave him the Parisian hand brush off and power walked to the nearest metro stop.

I decided to get off at a random stop on the way home, and I chose Tuileries. I walked through the Tuileries Garden, and stopped at a bench under a tree. I sat there for almost 30 minutes, listening to folk music, eating dark chocolate, and watching the rain. I then wandered to the Louvre and had a hard time breathing because it was so beautiful. I didn't know which direction to look. I didn't go into the museum, but I discovered yesterday that most museums are free for students, so I will be coming back. Once it gets too cold to do homework in gardens, I'll just go to museums :)

Tonight I'm having dinner on a boat on the Seine. What is life. La vie est belle, oui?

Post title from Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Photo from The Sartorialist.

How dare you say it's nothing to me?

I have been here a week, and I've seen five museums, three churches, two gardens, a cemetery, among other monuments.  Man, I'm beat.  But très contente :) The Musée d'Orsay just about killed me. I must go back. And there is still so much more to see! I don't think it should be legal for one city to be so rich with culture and history. 


So unfortunately I don't have this view outside my window. But my area, Neuilly-sur-Seine is quite nice too. Former President Sarkozy used to live in this area, and current President Hollande grew up here. No big deal... There are also body guards outside the apartment building next door, not quite sure who those are for.

Without a doubt, Paris is the most beautiful city I have ever been too.


Post title from Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer. My current song obsession.

J’essaie de trouver l’équilibre

I arrived in Paris last week! We survived the last three weeks of backpacking still friends with each other and with most of our things intact. This was the first time I had traveled without my parents for such an extended amount of time, and it was so much fun to see another side of traveling: staying in hostels, avoiding taxis, eating cheaply, meeting strange people, and experiencing how different the night life is. I want to go back and relive it.

I almost forgot I could unpack my things until my host mother showed me my closet. It is nice to feel settled, even though I can barely understand anything that is going on around me. Dinners with my host family are a little bit of a struggle, but they have been so patient with my housemate and me. I was really ashamed of my accent at the beginning; I hated how easily people can peg me as an American. But I traveled to Normandy with my orientation program yesterday, and now I'm realizing that being an American in Paris isn't such a bad thing after all. 

Is my life in Paris like the video below? Why yes: everyone smiles, people help me with directions when I'm lost, the metro is never crowded, and of course I have met a cute French boy. 

False: no one smiles, no one helps an American tourist, the metro is always crowded, and I'm still working on meeting a cute French boy. 

I smiled at the gardener when I left my apartment the first morning, he gave me a weird look.

Post title from La terre est ronde by Orelsan.

And use my head alongside my heart

So I have been going a little insane. I go through moments of intense excitement and then complete panic. I may or may not have a word document of all the things I must walk around and visit when in Paris, organized by arrondissement...

I will keep my few readers (I'm looking at you parents) updated though, on here and on my study abroad program blog.  This Fall I am excited to be blogging for IES, check out my first official post here!  Yes, it is pretty much an extension of my annoying ramblings from this blog.  Only this time I get paid doing it. Well not that much, but enough to stop at a few cafés in Paris :)

Photo of Paris from The Public Diary. Post title from I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons. I think we can all agree this song is amazing.

Ps can we talk about how great the boys of One Direction were at the Olympics? So so proud.