The Long Post

Oh, man. Where to even start?

Let me begin by explaining why the posts starting lagging. 4 weeks ago - right, 4? - all of our lives changed in a pretty drastic way, and it didn't feel right for some time coming here to outline all the little details about my petty day. I also didn't feel like using the blog as an outlet for my grief or a means of distraction.

Now that some time has passed, I want to make so sure that everyone really knows how much the wonderful outpouring of love that you have sent my way has meant to me. It is hard being far away, surrounded by people who feel for you, but they just don't really know. My friends from home, Lucy B, McGahee, Pree, Aaron, Maddy and everyone else, have been so understanding and I really don't think that they truly understand how much it meant to me just to hear their voices or read their cards - because I know they knew how much Grandma meant to me, and how hard it has been for all of us to pick ourselves up and figure out where we are. It is a good feeling that, having to go through something like this, I am only reminded how lucky and blessed I am to have so much love around me.

So...taking a big, giant step back. Italy was really incredible. I'm sure I will remember more stories when I am sitting down looking through all my pictures, but for now, we were big, obnoxious American tourists all weekend. My friend Mariel was a totally gracious hostess and tour guide. I know she hated us by the time we left because we had been there for four days and she took us everywhere. My friend, Leah, and I couldn't believe we were in Italy the entire time. Leah didn't want to leave. And the weather was beautiful, except in the early morning.

At the Colosseum, I met up with some friends of mine from GWU - Marie, Nicole, and some of their friends from their program in Madrid. One of their friends brought their 35 year old Spanish boyfriend who didn't speak any English really. Awkward. We had a really nice dinner with them at a small Italian place that had 5 courses and was run by all these great little Italian people. Afterward, we went to Campo di Fiori, which is pretty much a big street party for everybody our age in Rome. Mariel says they get sick of it sometimes but I totally loved it. So much more laid back than posh Paris.

Earlier that day, we woke up at the crack of dawn and waited in line to go to the Vatican, where there was a special exhibit on the Apocalypse. My favorite part, personally. In the Vatican museum, we wandered through some cool rooms with maps, tapestries, and statues. I got hit on by a not-cute Vatican Museum Employee (Docent?) and beat the crowd for the most part because of our promptness that morning. The Sistine Chapel was not exactly what I pictured. I saw it as sort of...a chapel...away from the museum. In fact, it is connected to the museum and you get to it by a white, modern walkway. It is packed with people and they play a very loud announcement every 15 minutes in 7 different languages telling everybody to be quiet, which I found irritating.

Afterward, St. Peter's Basilica, which is, without a doubt, the most beautiful church I have ever seen. I can't really explain how gorgeous it was, and my pictures do not do justice. Big and crowded, yes, but amazing. It is also the home of the Pieta, Michaelangelo's statue that I've wanted to see forever, but it's far back behind some glass now because some idiot tried to attack it with a hammer.

We also mailed postcards from the Vatican post office, which is much faster than the Italian post and all mail is blessed by a priest.

So, onto Barcelona. You already heard a little about it. It was definitely the opposite effect of my touristy experience in Italy. I told Madison I didn't feel like wearing myself out and he didn't want to be my tour guide, so we just relaxed and had fun. Of the touristy stuff, we went to Montjuic and saw the old Olympic grounds - an empty, unused waste of a beautiful space - and the Sagrada Familia, which was BEAUTIFUL and so different from anything else I've seen before. Also went shopping and had a really nice dinner with Aaron at a place called Quinze Nits or something - which is run by student chefs, so all the food is terrific and really really inexpensive. The last day, I got a bad case of the "Barcas", which means a fever and bad cold, and I was pretty sick for about 3 days afterward.

And, the most important part, the Barcelona game! I don't really remember who they were playing but they won, which was cool. It was SO much fun and it all happened very fast. Ronaldinho scored and I bought out the FC Barcelona megastore. Poor Aaron must have carried around a million different things while I decided what to buy Trevor, because he would want everything. At one point, I think Aaron had a dog leash and some sort of bobble head. I did not buy either, I promise. On another note, there was a very large group of obnoxious friends above our seats and I told Aaron, "I swear they're American." He said the odds were kind of bad because there were so many of them, but none of them had on the typical Spanish FC Barca regalia. Plus, they kept trying to start a wave. Finally, they started yelling "Fight! Fight! Fight!" I totally win.

The next week, Madison came for 6 days, which was terrific, but I felt like a terrible friend and tour guide because I had SOOO much work to do and he ended up spending a lot of times with my friends here in Paris, who he got along with so well. I can't stop hearing about how in love with him they all are. Typical. His trip was pretty similar to mine in Barcelona, in that it was a pretty fair mix of tourist and fun.

My friend Aaron came to stay the weekend before Italy, and I wish he could have stayed longer. We crammed in a lot of tourist and he didn't get to meet a lot of my friends. (Hear that, Aaron, you need to come back!)

So, this is only a small sample of my life the last couple of weeks. The inbetweens are not interesting, because they are full of papers and studying - and believe me, you don't even want to know. I am flying home to the States tomorrow, YAAAAAAAAAAY, so tonight is all about packing and cleaning. It's already very late, but I'm not worried about it because I figure it'll be better to be dead tired tomorrow so I'll sleep on the plane. There is an AirFrance strike tomorrow, which will be interesting. Thank God I'm not flying AirFrance. My friend Kate is on my plane to Dulles, tomorrow, which will be awesome. Someone to pass the time with.

On a last note, I met up with Emily Moreland and her fiancé, Jeremy, last night. They have been here since Monday and it sounds like they had a great time. It was so great to see her and I like her fiancé very much. They both could not have been sweeter or more fun.

So, this post closes my first semester in Paris (and I'm not even half way through my year here). I said goodbye to all of my friends last night and today. I will miss them but I'm soo ready to go home. There is a whole new batch of APAers arriving when I get back to Paris - minus 5 of us who plan on sticking it out together. Believe me, there will be plenty more amazing stories to come. 21 new kids with no idea where they're going and no real language practice yet? Time to impart my wisdom. Expect sarcasm and a little criticism.

Ola from Espagne!

I just can't believe how much time has passed since I last wrote. I know it's only been a week or two, but man, what a crazy crazy couple of weeks it has been.

I think I can justify my absence pretty well with all the stuff going on at home and my suddenly very stressful approaching deadlines for very long French dissertations on books I haven't read. Anyway, I promise you have I haven't been deliberately slacking. I think of writing everyday, but that means taking up time I could be writing my eight-page dissertation on Flaubert, the most boring, verbose author in the French language.

Anyway, I have made a list of all the things I'd like to write, so expect a very long entry probably before the end of the week, now I've found some time to finally breathe.

But...it can't happen today because I'm in BARCELONA with Madison! It's a very different trip from Italy last weekend, though, because but I told Maddy I didn't want to be Miss Tourist America all weekend and he told me he didn't want to be my tour guide. It's perfect, even though I was exhausted from sight-seeing in Rome and that was perfect, too.

So, yesterday, I arrived at the airport and waited at the arrivals gate for an hour, without his cell phone number, when I finally decided to look for him at the other arrivals terminal. There he was, having forgotten my flight information. We could have stood there all day had I not used my smarts to actually look for him. We had lunch at a Chinese take-out place that he loves called Walk to Wok, which was delicious. I have so been jonesing for Chinese, cheap mexican, and groucho's for the past couple of weeks. Then, we got ready for an end-of-the-year mixer and presentation of his architecture program's final projects, which was really interesting. I am always shocked by the fact that he actually creates things in his major, while I....um....talk? in French? and write? I am also always shocked by his talent, but not in a bad way.

Afterward, his professor took all of us out for dinner (surprise!) at a great Italian restaurant, where I had people translate to menu for me because it was in Italian and Catalon. Afterward, we made our back to his studio and hung out, then home to bed. We slept in and today we are going shoe shopping and to wander around a cool neighborhood. Later, we are meeting Aaron, my friend from school, for dinner and probably going out to a place called the Fairy Bar, which Madison said looks like Disney decorated it to look like A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Ultimately, it is looking like I am being a very very bad tourist, but it is definitely what I need after the weeks of work and stress that are finally coming (sort of) to an end. It has been amazing timing that I am finally seeing most of my old friends when I really need them. Aaron was in Paris the weekend before last, and he couldn't have been any more understanding of my weepy butt while we lingered in tons of museums. Last weekend, in Rome, was an active, busy, and very welcome distraction with my friends Mariel (from home) and Leah (from APA). There, we met up with my friends Marie and Nicole from GWU. And this weekend, a really fun and more relaxing - read: therapeutic, maybe - weekend with Madison and Aaron (again).

I have tons more stories to tell you - but later. On Sunday, I am going to a Barcelona soccer game with Aaron, where I'm pretty sure I'll be spending lots of Christmas present money.

Love you guys and see you soon!