Quelques/trop de nouvelles {Some/Too Much News}

It has been FAR too long. 

It's not that I've been lazy in writing these blogs, but I literally have not had the time to do them. There's always something that I need to be doing here. I've only just gotten settled into my classes, so maybe that's why I feel it's okay to take a break to update this thing {finally}. So: let's get up to speed on European living!

First of all: classes. They are all quite good, except it's a bit difficult to understand certain professors when they're speaking at a million kilometers per hour. I'm currently enrolled in "A History of Lyon", "French Linguistics", "Methodology" {for the foreign kids}, "History and Fiction", and "21st Century Literature". Basically, all just French and History topics. The professors are easy to understand, but it's just difficult to pay attention in a different language for almost 2 hours per class {one of them goes for almost 4 hours...}. I really shouldn't complain though; I have 4-day weekends until November 5th, and then after that it changes to 3-day weekends... GOD FORBID.

And now it seems like everything is really falling into place. I finalized my schedule last Friday, got the materials for my classes {now all I have to do is actually READ the material}, and I also now have a small job on the side. I'm to baby-sit every Wednesday for a French mother who wants her son to continue learning English after living in the Philly {Philadelphia for those of you who aren't American} for just under 4 months. His name is Arthur, who is 10 years old, and very good at English. I could tell he would be totally content with just reading books in English all day. But meeting him today made me think about the opportunity that I {and the rest of the population in the US} should have gotten as far as language acquisition goes. 

In the US, it's completely normal for a student to go without another language until the hit high school {about 13 years old}, and are only required to take 2 years of that language. This is nowhere near enough time to learn another language {so what's the point of taking that class at all?}, and it goes without saying that most schools have a terrible curriculum for foreign languages {aka, most teacher couldn't give a rat's ass if the student is actually learning the information}. By the time the student leaves high school, he/she forgets everything he/she learned in that class, because it's most likely that he/she will never need to use another language other than English. But to learn another language is so much more than that, as I have already said in the previous German post. It's about connecting with the culture of that society which speaks that language; it's about learning the differences and the similarities one shares with another. In turn, as Americans have a terrible curriculum in languages, nobody in America knows a damn thing about other cultures. No wonder they think we're retarded. 

The only reason I am here in France is because I sought it out; I asked how I could go further with what I'd {barely} learned, and was forced to apply myself with no guarantee that I'd get anything in return. It's not a possibility to be bi/tri/multi lingual in America if you don't seek it out and chase after it. Which sucks, because if it were more easily accessible, Americans might be a bit more open-minded in their views of the world and other such stuff.

All of this makes me think about the ways that the American education system could be changed for the better to ensure better relations with other countries. Sure, America is a HUGE country, and one really has no reason to leave it because all one would ever need would be within those 50 states. But I truly believe that if everyone took the time and energy to learn a second language, the world would be off in a much better state. Not just so people can more easily connect through speech, but so others can understand a culture different from their own, and practice a little more tolerance for others.

I feel that this blog is turning into an anti-American rant wall.

SO! I will talk about something a bit more light-hearted, and talk about what I've done since I've been here {for about a month and a half}. One weekend, I went with some friends to Dijon, which is about a 2-hour train ride north of Lyon. What is there in Dijon, do you ask? Well, I'm here to tell you that there's nothing {particularly special}. I bought some mustard, because you know, "when in Dijon"... But later came to realize that the same brand could be bought at the local grocery store. I just have to tell myself that it probably tastes different because I got mine from the town itself.

I have still not been to any museums yet, but I have been practically everywhere else! There are some hills to the west, and on top of those hills rest the Basilica {and this ugly tower that slightly resembles a sad and small Eiffel Tower, but that's irrelevant information}. I finally walked up the hills to see it up close, and got to see the Roman ruins up around there as well. I'd remembered people talking about it, but didn't think it was that big. It's that big. Unfortunately, this was the one day that I forgot my camera, and unfortunately do not have any photos to show you. However, Google Images does!

Those pillars in the bottom right corner are about a foot taller than me, and much thicker. Just for scale. It's pretty big. Moving on.

Also! I recently went indoor rock climbing, which I had seen ads for all over the place, but had no idea where it was situated. Upon going inside the building, I had to keep my jaw from dropping {can't be rude towards the French, right?}. Here's a bit of a look of "Le mur de Lyon":

Holy shit, right? And that's not even all of it.

As far as traveling goes, I have booked way more flights and trips than I should have. Sure, they were all dirt cheap, but I need to exige a bit more self-control. 

"But there's no way you could have booked THAT many flights to feel bad about it, right Amber?" 

WRONG. Let me show you what I mean.

October 19: Leaving for Dublin, Ireland for the weekend to meet up with my friend, Caitlin {who's currently studying in Glasgow}. Return the 22nd {Monday}.

October 25: Leaving for Italy for the Toussaint {1 week} holiday: traveling to Milan, Rome, and Venice. Return November 2.

December 13: Leaving to spend a couple days in Berlin, then fly over to Budapest on the 15. Return at night on the 16.

December 20: Fly out to Cologne, Germany to spend a week {and Christmas} with my best German friend, J! I still haven't figured this part out {the return flight}. I want to travel, but at this point, I'm not sure if I'll be able to, with all the other shit I've booked. Return January 6 for beginning of Spring semester.

So yes, I think I need to calm down a bit. That's not even including the day trips I will more than likely take because they're so damn cheap! It goes without saying that I will be busy in balancing travel and studies and what not, but I will do my best to keep this updated {which I have clearly not been doing}, and as always, play tourist with my camera like it's nobody's business but my own. 

Until then, I'd like to hear about recent escapades you've gotten into lately! What was the latest adventure you had? It doesn't even matter if it only involved you going to the kitchen for some water; it matters if it means something to you! And where would you go if you could travel anywhere? What would you do there? Leave comments on this post; I'd love to hear some feedback/know that I'm not just talking to myself on this thing.

À bientôt!

xoxo 

Je vis encore. Tout juste.

Oh my god. My mind is just blown at this point. I've had so many experiences already, and it's only the 4th day that I've been here. You know that term, "roll with the punches"? Well, I tried. But I still got punched. Several times. You wanna know why? Lucky for you, I wrote down all my experiences down during the time I had no internet (which I still don't).

If you click on the image, it will enlarge (what she said). On another note, your computer zooms in too. Technology's cool, huh?

So, living without any technological means for four days in a foreign country has been fun. But I'm not planning on doing it again. A bit too stressful for me. And as you can tell, anything can go wrong. Keep that in mind if you're thinking about doing what I did on complete accident. 

But on another note, I've had amazing experiences here. The second night, The directrice took us at a restaurant to have a real French dining experience. And it was a gorgeous meal. I mean, it was so good. I didn't want it to ever end. I do have photos, but not of the main course because I was halfway through it before realizing I hadn't photographed it.

This is a bit of bread spread with crushed olives over a tomato paste with some basil. 

The second is the dessert: Thick, creamy ice cream on top of a raspberry praline. Absolutely to die for.

 I swear I'm going to come back a complete fattie.

So, here I am, sitting in a McDonald's in fucking FRANCE because that's the only place I can find free Wifi. The American. Sitting in the goddamn fast-food restaurant that is ruining French food culture.

Upon reading through what I've just written, I've come to the conclusion that there's been a lot of complaining for me being in France. Therefore, I have decided to write each time I post in the blog something that I'm thankful for when I spend my time here. 

The first thing I'm thankful for? Getting housing before everyone else did. Why? Because it's something I no longer have to worry about. It was a smart move to get a step ahead of other students coming here for their year abroad getting ahead of the "apartment search traffic". But there's another reason, it's mainly just that I lucked out (for once). My flatmate has been here for quite a while, and has a group of French friends, aka, I get to practice my French. So every day, I learn something new. Mostly it's French slang (l'argot), but at least I'm learning! For example, there's something that they do here called verlan, meaning l'envers (the inverse). So for the word for woman (femme) they throw some letters out, add some in, and mix the ones that are kept, creating the word meuf (woman). It's like saying "chick" for a girl in English. It's so interesting. There are lots more, too.

So to recap: I have only spent about 90 hours in Lyon, but I have already had so many experiences. And only until now am I feeling a bit better about my French-speaking abilities. It's difficult to understand people here because they talk so fast, but that's why I'm here. Also, I've learned so much. The most important: Always have a pair of headphones on you when using public transportation and DO NOT look any male in the eye while on pubic transportation. Follow these steps and you'll be fine. It's also useful to know how to say "leave me alone", or better yet, "fuck off" in French. As long at you hold your ground, c'est facile. 

Alright, I've had it with MacDo for now. Time to go back to the flat (which still isn't yet furnished because I haven't had time for IKEA), and put my brain through physical pain from trying to understand Mario Andretti-fast speaking French people. 

À bientôt!

xoxo

Here's To Not Being Homeless.

So... Visa appointments are definitely not what I expected them to be at the French Consulate in Los Angeles. When I signed up, I was expecting an interview (en Français) and that they were going to ask penetrating questions, like "What do you plan to do in France?", "Will you be traveling?", "Are you in any way affiliated with any nationalistic terrorist group?" (okay, maybe not that last one). I asked a friend who had just gone to the Spanish Consulate and her experience, and she described it to be more or less what is stated above. 

Mine went like this: I open the door, and turn around a short corner to see a security guard smiling (somewhat creepily) at me. I approach the desk, and share a few words with him, and show him my appointment confirmation. Asking if I spoke French, I responded yes. "Ouvriez la porte et assiez-vous" (open the door and have a seat). I opened the door to a tiny waiting room on the left, and to the right were two glass windows, one with a woman on the other side. When she called me up, all I had to do was literally hand over paperwork (half of which I was told to bring she didn't even ask for). I was out of there in 10 minutes, including waiting time. 

So, recap: My dad drove 8 hours to pick me up, then drove 2 hours to Los Angeles, sat through traffic for 30 minutes on I-405 only to travel 8 miles, got lost along the way, just to spend 10 minutes at a glass window. He also had to drive 8 hours back. Just for a stupid stamp??

Just for a stupid stamp.

Because without that stupid stamp, I wouldn't be able to spend more than 90 days in Lyon, which would be problematic seeing as I have enrolled at the Université de Lyon for the entire year. It seems like such a waste of time, energy and money, but in the end you realize that things have to be done. 

What if we viewed everyday tasks in this perspective? What if I said, "But I have to get on my bike, cycle to class, sit there for 3 hours and then work? Ha. Don't think so."?

It's this kind of thinking that will eventually screw over humanity. We all have that tendency to be a bit lazy with things we don't want to do. Technology has even catered to our need for "efficiency". Yet I think we can all agree that there is a huge difference between efficiency and laziness, although we as humans tend to mix them up to the point of synonymity. 

Why am I spouting off nonsense? I meant this post to talk about my apartment!

It's not official yet, but I am being sent the contract, and I'm more excited than a third world child finding a stash of food! It's a two-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen, 1 bathroom, and living room/entrance. When I looked at the photos of my bedroom, I was so confused. It. Is. Huge. Here is a photo just to prove its gigantic properties:

A bit blah, but no matter. I will use my amazing interior decorating abilities!

Also: There is an Ikea in Lyon, how convenient is that?

How freaking exciting is this? Knowing where I'll be living? IN FRANCE? 

Hell yeah.

It's really close to downtown as well. Although it's not located on the Presqu'île (which is where the heart of the city is as far as night life among other things goes), but it's not a 5-minute walk over the bridge, and you're there!

Okay, so it's like a 7-minute walk. Here is where the efficiency/laziness principle comes in. We all have legs. Let's use them.




Well I think I've extinguished my supply of rant for the time being. The next step is the most daunting of all I've done yet: packing for the plane.

À bientôt!

xoxo

New Horizons.

Well, hello there! Haven't seen you in a while! 

I've got to say, it's been busy between finals week, moving out of my old apartment and into my new one {for the summer}, and catching up on some reading and sleep. This last week was ridiculous because it was the first week where I had no obligation to do anything, so I didn't really know what to do with myself. So I read, tanned, and slept mostly. But today was an exciting day! Pourquoi? 

Today was the first day of my German language class!

Some of you might be saying, "Dude... why the fuck are you taking another language? Isn't one other than English good enough? Isn't English good enough?"

I won't go into the details of the obvious gaps in the intelligence of those who think in this particular manner, but I will explain why I'm taking another language. 

1) Because I can.

2) Because it's required of my major {Linguistics}.

3) Because I love languages {Hence, the Linguistics major}.

I mean, who doesn't want to learn what is {to that individual} the unknown? Different cultures? Customs? Languages? The latter, I feel, is the gateway to finding the true customs and ideas of other cultures foreign to our own. 

So, why German? Is it because I think it'd be cool to sound angry whenever I spoke {not necessarily true, I'll explain later}? Because I want to learn how it is Germans on average are extremely organized, precise, and professional? Because I want to learn those ridiculously long words Germany is infamous for?

Okay, one of those is false. I am really afraid of those long words. Par exemple:

donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellshaftskapitänsmütze.

Yes. That is a real word.

Why would you do that to someone? It literally took me a solid 10 minutes without a break to finally pronounce it without stuttering or hesitating. Do you want to know what this little beauty means? It's the law for a captain of a steam boat that sails on the Danube River in Germany that his hat must be of regulation size.

Who in the name of Zeus has a word for that? 

Apparently the Germans do.

Here's another fun one! You know that law called the speed limit that you usually ignore? Well in Germany, they decided to make that one difficult as well: geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung. How would that fit on a sign? I can't make this stuff up!

Back to the point that German speakers sound angry all of the time.

For us English speakers, it seems like they're always angry. This is mostly due to the phonetic sounds that appear in their language and are absent in ours. This occurrence is also a reason why people believe it to be an "ugly language". Why? Just because it has different sounds than yours? Americans celebrate the beginning of the oppression and killing of the population of Native Americans by gorging themselves on a pound of turkey, and plates of mashed potatoes, yams, cranberries, and whatever else they can slather butter on. Don't judge. 

Another thing: they're not always yelling. Why do people think they're always yelling? You don't just go up to someone {in any country, for that matter} and yell out "GUTEN TAG" when they're 3 feet from you.

I love America. I really do.

Are the feds gone?

Anyways, besides that I learned basic things like introductions, inquiries and such. The learning process will go that much quicker because I have this class for 3 hours Monday through Friday. Yay?

Yay.

It's about time I learned another language! I think I've secretly been dying for this. I would question if something is wrong with me, but I'll leave that up to someone else for a final decision.

Now that I'm going for another language, I can't help but think about what is next on my list. I know that I want to learn as many as possible, so the logical thing to do would be to weigh out my options as to which is the most useful to me {or will be in the future}. I can't say what that is now, because honestly I've not a clue. For now I want to stick to latin-based languages, but who knows? In a year that could totally change.

As I wrap up this post, I will just leave you with a photo that will possibly haunt your dreams.

Angela is watching you. Always.

À bientôt!

xoxo

Il faut que j'apprenne de la patience.

Merlin's Beard! 

Poseidon's Trident! 

Hammer of Thor!

Holy Interplanetary Yardstick Batman!!!

Please don't ask of me the context to which Robin was referring to, I don't want to know and you shouldn't, either {I spend too much time on the internet...}. But I have reasons to exclaim with joy! I just bought my plane ticket for August 27 to arrive on the 28, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm so happy, I'm jumping in my chair, blasting "Let's Dance to Joy Division" as I type. I feel like it's finally coming together, even though it's still pretty far off in the distance. But I'm one step closer than I was yesterday! Yay for traveling! 

So the flight has two stops: one in New York for about two and a half hours, and then in Brussels, Belgium for about an hour and a half. I was trying to find a flight with a layover in London for a few hours, but I don't have much room to be picky because prices for plane tickets are outlandish. Another thing: I'm going to be exhausted by the time I get off that plane on a count of it being about an 18-hour flight. It could most definitely be worse, but after that I've got to get my heavy bags {I'm packing for the year, people} to the tramway so I can actually get to the hotel where I'll be staying that night. So since my flight leaves at about 7:00 am, and it's an 18-hour flight, I'm required to be awake until 1:00 am PST. But when I arrive, it will be about 11:00 am in Lyon, France. This means I've got to stay awake for the rest of that day as well. So yay for me. That means I get to stay awake for a total of about 30-32 hours. Yay... for traveling?

I'll never be able to sleep properly again.

But I'm beyond excited that I've now got the ticket, because it seems more of a reality to me now rather than just an idea of, "Hey, you know what? I think I'll got to France next year. Could be fun." Now all that's left for me to do {in the States} is to go to my visa appointment on July 3 {farther away than I'd like it to be, but I can't really do anything about that} and patiently wait to hear back from CampusFrance. Patiently. 

I've just started to count down the days; who in the right mind thinks I'm going to be patient with time? And, if you were wondering, it's 94 Days. That's too far away. Maybe I shouldn't have thought of counting down. Or maybe I should count down to something closer in the near future. Like the visa appointment. That's 32 days away. I can barely deal with that, even if that were my flight date. But until then, I'll be jumping in my chair, waiting for my flight to finally depart. Hell, I'll probably be in the terminal jumping in my seat. 

Speaking of airports, this is the perfect time to tell you all about my brilliant plan {that I stole from Dane Cook [who probably stole from an actual comedian] about 5 years ago} regarding a massively hilarious prank, along with another one inspired by the hilarious Ellen DeGeneres. I've always wanted to do these, and now that I have a reason to be in an airport, I can fulfill my dreams!

The first one is to go up to unsuspecting people in the terminal {or just around the airport} and just start dancing behind them. Like crazy dance. Since I'll be traveling alone, I'm going to have to find someone willing to hold a camera as I do this, so I have proof. If this plan is a success, the evidence will most definitely go up on this blog. And now, the ultimate prank {almost}.

When you're in the terminal, walk up to someone and sit there for a couple of seconds. When they look up at you, simply say, "Don't get on the flight" in an all-knowing, quiet voice. 

However, with my luck, the person I end up choosing to say these words to will be an overly paranoid middle-aged man who thinks all Middle-Eastern people are terrorists and report me. But hey, I'm willing to take that chance! I mean, does it look like I'd smuggle in a bomb? Wow. I really shouldn't be talking about this. I'm almost positive that all sense of humor was banned from airports along with a person's right to privacy.

Happy Friday to you all!

À bientôt!

xoxo

Memorial Day... In Remembrance Of Those Who Said No To Paperwork And Decided They'd Rather Die In Battle.

Just to start, I want to say that I really will be posting more when I'm abroad, I suppose I just don't have much to say right now. All that I have to talk about at the moment is how much paperwork this process entails. So exciting surprise for you! This is a whine/bitch/moan post/rant! Yay for first world problems!


So, you think you got what it takes to be an international student? Let me walk you through the hoops I had to jump through to get where I am (and I'm not even finished with the process yet!).


*Upon reviewing this post, if you're feeling extra bored today you should count how many times "paperwork" is said here (including that one I just typed). I'm actually curious to know, but I don't have the patience to do it myself.


First: Apply to the program that you'll be traveling through (mine was the Education Abroad Program through the UC campus system). This consists of:

        - Statement of Purpose: An essay of around 500 words

        - Passport-sized photo of your pretty little mug   

        - Online application consisting of a bunch of housekeeping (contact information, intended program, all of that fun stuff)

        - Financial estimation paperwork

        - Academic Planning Form (to get a basic idea of what classes you'd want to take while abroad)

        - Copy of your passport

Once you've gotten all of this taken care of, congratulations! You're way more persistent than you really need to be! On to step two: waiting a long-ass time for your "interview". Now the interview sounds intimidating, which is why I was fully prepared to speak in French during the entirety of this interview. They also said to bring some information about the host-university you'll be attending, or of the city it's located in. I was much too prepared for this, because we (yes, it was a group interview which makes it much easier) only spoke in French (each) for about a minute, talking about ourselves. I learned introductions in high school, where was the challenge? After you've attended your interview, You wait for an even longer period of time for the best part: passports, visas, and all that other paperwork that's reducing rain forests in the Amazon.

In order to spend a year in France, you need a visa. This allows you to spend more than 90 days in a country that you do not have citizenship to. You can either get a short-stay or long-stay visa, which I have to get the latter (the short-stay is only valid for 3 months). But to get the visa, you need a passport, so you might want to do that first. Passports are kind of expensive; mine cost around $160. 

The visa costs €50, so the cost fluctuates, but right now that's about $63. With me I must bring to my appointment the following:


     1. Proof of Payment and Confirmation Emails for CampusFrance: This is the system in which I will be enrolled into the French academic system. I fill out the application online, and then send in $70 to them, along with a printout of the CampusFrance page with my ID number on it, and a photocopy of my UCEAP Participation letter. In short, there's paperwork for my paperwork.


     2. Passport, along with photocopies of the ID pages of it.


     3. Long-Stay Visa Application Form: Found with my pre-departure checklist, which asks for basic information.


     4. 2 Passport-sized photos: Because they apparently plan on losing one of them.


     5. Proof of Residence in Consulate's Jurisdiction: Sounds intimidating, but I just have to show that I go to school near the consulate. Proof, my student ID. I need my "that was easy" button.


     6. UCEAP Participation Letter: I picked mine up from the office on campus, which in short states that you're participating in the program.


     7. Proof of Departure to France: aka, a plane ticket. Also, my checklist says I can write a legible statement indicating my intended date of departure. So basically, I can just write the day I want to leave for Lyon. That sounds kind of half-assed... I mean, don't they just want me to do more paperwork rather than me scribbling a date on a scrap of paper? I just love me some paperwork to fill out.


     8. Proof of Financial Support: Since I'm a poor financial aid kid, I need to go to the Financial Aid Office on campus and request a letter stating what I'm going to be getting for this next year.


     9. OFII Form (residence form): basically, I have to fill this out to state that I'll be spending more than 6 months in France.


    10. Processing Fee: which was the aforementioned €50. I love spending money, especially when it doesn't buy me exciting things like clothes or books.



    11. Two Forms of Photo ID: besides the passport, I have to bring my driver's license and student ID (which, by the way, is really difficult to forget to bring anywhere).



    12. Photocopies: Passport pages along with proof of financial support documents.



    13. Self-Addressed Express Envelope: I bring this with me because the French Consulate is too cheap to pay for their own postage. I pay them €50, they could at least help out a poor college student with some postage.

And those are the only things you need for the visa! This whole process is so simple, I love how there's so much paperwork to simplify and speed up this process.

Dwight loves paper.

And even when I get to Lyon, there will be more glorious paperwork for me to do! And more money to spend on things I don't even want! I AM A GIANT SQUID OF ANGER AHHHHHHHHAKLSDJFAA;LKSJDFA;KFJEMCLKEED

I suppose that I'll be filling out paperwork for the rest of my life, but there's just too much in such a small amount of time. With all of this paperwork, I could keep a fire going for hours to keep some poor Russian children warm. But if had the choice to never have to do any paperwork again, yet had to live in Russia for the rest of my life, I'd sure as hell do it. And I'll be honest: everything that is Russia scares the common sense out of me. I'll have to stock up on that Bear Mace I'd seen at the camping/outing store back home. Probably couldn't take it on the plane though... does that mean I'll have to hitch a ride on some rusty fishing boat? Or what if I do that, and end up on an island with a giant gorilla...

LONG TANGENT. Anyways, what I mean to say is that if you want to go and do great things in life, you've gotta have the drive to go through with it. And at this rate, my drive is taking a plunge for the worst. But I've got this; the good news is that I always finish what I started. Mainly because I'm OCD like that, but I get the job done. Happy Memorial Day, and hope you all had a wonderful 3-day weekend!

À bientôt!

xoxo

Embarrassing Behavior in Public is Embarrassing.

So yesterday I saw The Avengers, and I don't want to crush your dreams or anything, but...


It was kind of amazing.

But watching this movie [that I had anticipated on coming out for a substantial amount of time before] got me thinking about movie-going with friends while I'm abroad. Do they even go to the movies often? Or is it that they just wait, or don't even value movies very much? What if they don't like movies, and it turns out that they value something much more intellectual, like chess or something?


Turns out, I wasn't even thinking about movies to begin with; I was thinking about the culture shock in general. How will I adjust to the drastic change not only in the atmosphere, but with the people around me as well? I feel that it won't bother me, but I just hope that I comport myself so as to avoid embarrassment.


But we all know that that just isn't going to happen. I can't go even one day without embarrassing myself. Today, for example, I ran out to grab some coffee and get out to study a bit, and I'm almost positive that people around me thought I was falling apart. A huge gust of wind had blown, leaving my hair disheveled, my shoe became untied, and I tripped over some uneven pavement; in trying to gain my balance, I tripped on my shoelace that had inconveniently decided to untie itself. But that's not all. The icing on the cake was that I had already bought the coffee, which I then proceeded to spill all over myself when I tripped on my shoelace.


How am I going to survive in another country if I can't go one day without accidentally killing myself?

For now I'll just blame my inability to keep my cool in public on the country I live in. Maybe as soon as I leave it, I will leave my PDE (Public Display of Embarrassment) behind, and will be free of my clumsiness forever!


Well, until I come back to the U.S.


À bientôt!
xoxo

Does This Blog Make My Voice Sound Weird?

So... this is me trying to figure out the whole world of blogs.

**This is not a language-filtered blog.

Honestly, I've never thought I was one for blogging, mostly because it's just one of those things that require work... and if you know me, I'm all about minimization. I enjoy reading other's blogs, though.


SO! If you're here, you're probably subscribed to this because I told you to. This will be the bridge between you and I while I am abroad in Lyon, France! Yes, I will be spending the entire academic year in France; I decided that it would be brilliant if I not only had some kind of transcript in which I could look back at this next year, but if you could follow me on this journey I'm about to take as well.


There will be pictures! There will be fun facts! There may or may not be video (this one might be too much work)! So please stick around, I'm sure this will be as entertaining for you as it will be for me. 


À bientôt!
xoxo