I have abandoned this blog for over a month. I have been way too busy being sick, traveling, and working to really sit down and write an entry. Now that I have no class today (the strike continues), I am entitled to some procrastination.
Where to begin? Last entry was right before my birthday. My birthday was calm, it was pretty much how I wanted it to turn out--except I missed being with my friends and family.
Since then I've been here:
Barcelona!
Dock close to our hostel
Sagrada Famila
Barcelona is a beautiful city! The people are nice, the city has a very chill vibe, the architecture is awesome and the weather is splendid! I felt extremely comfortable speaking in Spanish, it was a wonderful feeling to speak a language I was fluent in! Unfortunately, I was extremely sick throughout the entire trip, so I did not get to do everything I wanted to do. Definitely a city I want to visit again.
And here...
London!
The London Eye
Platform 9 3⁄4, obligatory nerd pic
London! I remember that as pre-teen, I was an absolute Anglophile. I had a blast in London but it was not like how I had dreamed when I was a gal (BBMak playing in the tube, hot British men everywhere, falling in love with a duke....), still I could see myself living there, if only for a little while. London was a nice trip for several reasons: I got to see Allie, the weather was fantastic, and it was a break from Paris. London was much more "welcoming," the city reminded me of New York a lot and I ate tons (aka Gorged on food that was not French).
After my two weeks of travel, I had to buckle down and do work. Le gasp! But I thought that in this country you do not have to work! Well, technically all the work I had was for the Columbia program (leave it to Columbia to tackle on work). As for my class at la Sorbonne, I do not recall the last time I had class to be quite honest with you. I think this is week three at least. This time though, the professor emailed us all to inform us we would not have class today. All the other times I have had to go to la Sorbonne only to be surrounded by tons of cops (donning bullet proof vests and huge guns) and striking students. Personally, I am not really sympathetic to this strike for various reasons. Not only is it hindering my ability to learn at a French university (as was my intention when I decided to study abroad), it is also a huge waste of time, money and effort to everyone. This strike has been going on for over 2 months now, obviously it is not working, so really why continue? Thirdly, the American in me just wants to tell them "Man up! Get a grip, stop being so lazy!"
Asides from that I am finally feeling at home in Paris. I am happy to be here while it seems that many are starting to feel anxious and pissy. I understand how they feel because I felt exactly like that for a long time. My frustrations were entirely based on the French education system and how I absolutely am not a fan and miss the efficiency of Columbia. Now I know that I am used to not expecting much from the French education system, I can sit back and enjoy my ridiculous amount of free time by catching up on all the tv shows I have abandoned since starting college, reading and of course, getting myself lost (on purpose) in Paris in hopes of finding awesomeness.
Well that's all for now. Maybe I will update this more often.
