13% of the World

I’m back in Paris and have been here for a few days. The trip to Nice was fabulous. I think I could live in Nice all my life and never get tired of looking at the Mediterranean Sea. It’s so beautiful and tranquil. It always boggles my mind that the same waters wash upon the shores of Nice, Athens, Barcelona and Beirut. I’ve enjoyed being back in Paris. I’m getting myself adjusted (again) to the life here and the people. There’s always a little bit of culture shock. It’s always the little things that are the most difficult to adjust to, at least for me. For example, most French hotels don’t have shower curtains. That’s just odd to me. Today my friend and I bought our train tickets and booked our hotel room for Strasbourg. We’re going to go there on February 22-24. I’ve always wanted to go there because I like World War II history and last semester I thought I was going to go, but then I didn’t and I was disappointed. According to a map I have on Facebook, that keeps track of everywhere I’ve been, I’ve only seen 13% of the world. That’s pitiful. So, in the spirit of traveling, I’ve made a list of places I will go this semester, including Geneva, Vienna, and Copenhagen.

Another Bomb, Another Day

Almost 24 hours ago, I boarded American Airlines Flight 48 with non-stop service to Paris, France. Upon boarding the plane, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no one sitting beside me, which gave me an extra seat to put all my things in. I took my Tylenol Simply Sleep, ate my dinner, read a little, and then promptly fell asleep for two hours. Around 9 pm, Dallas time, the pilot came on and announced that there would be moderate turbulence for the duration of the flight. Fun. The rest of the flight consisted of me almost falling asleep and then having the plane drop, along with my stomach, so I never got much sleep. When I arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport, I was exhausted. I went through passport control, retrieved my luggage, and continued to the RER, the regional train to take me into Paris. After walking 80 gates (Charles de Gaulle is one of the worst planned airports), I was abruptly stopped by a military officer holding an AK-47 and telling me to turn around. So, me and about 200 people, had to wait behind a security line while the officer explained that there was a security threat and they had to clear the area. Charles de Gaulle Airport is notorious for these security threats in which they find an unidentified piece of luggage, suspect that there is a bomb, and then proceed to blow the bag up. Literally. I glanced up at the Airport Monitors to notice that every flight in Terminal 2, from Dubai to Stockholm was delayed because of this security threat. I knew that was an indication that this was going to be a mess. After waiting for almost an hour, the security threat was over and I was able to proceed to the RER where I bought my ticket and got on the train. I arrived at Gare du Nord in Paris (the same train station where the Eurostar is) and caught the Line 5 Metro and then the line 11 Metro and then I finally, finally arrived at my apartment in Belleville. Everything is great. I’ve been able to sleep a few hours but I’m going to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow, I fly to Nice, in the French Riviera, for orientation for this semester. Since I’ve already been through orientation for the Paris program, it will be like a vacation. Sounds good to me!!!

New Year's Resolution

"I swear I will not dishonor
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace."
- School Prayer, Diane Ackerman

2008

I am in Dallas celebrating the holidays with my family but will be returning to France very soon. I hope that everyone who reads this blog had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!