Mon Anniversaire sur la Cote d'Azur

I have six days left in my Nice paradise. When hearing that I was going to spend my 21st birthday in a country where the drinking age is 18 anyway, some people said "that kinda sucks" and the others said "you get to spend your birthday in the south of France?!?!?" Yesterday was my birthday and I can truly say that I wouldn't have changed a thing . . . . well I may have chosen not to take my French final, but I survived. I celebrated with some of the most amazing people from around the world and enjoyed every minute of it.
With six days left, the mixed feelings are becoming increasingly evident. Seeing my family, going back to work and simply enjoying the comforts of home will be a welcome to this globetrotter. On the flip side I've been packing my suitcases and it feels as if I am packing up my life here, the memories, the friends I've made, the experiences I've had and the person that I've become. After my family's trip to Europe in 2005 I began to forget the details. I don't want that to happen this time. I promised myself that I was going to write in my journal everyday I was here and I haven't written in it once. I know that it is something I will regret one day. My fear is that this will all seem like a dream when I get back to the US. These four months have flown by and despite my best efforts, I am not able to pause, rewind, or put life into slow motion. I want to lead a life worth writing about. This will not be the last time I have an adventure to share with you and I refuse to be that classmate who goes to their high school reunion with nothing interesting to say. By no means am I a patient person. I will hunt down opportunities to live life to the fullest and trek the world looking for experiences that will help me grow.

Très Tard!

First off, I would like to apologize for my lack of posts recently. As much as I know documenting my experiences is important, having them at all is a bit crucial to the writing. Sometimes it is really difficult for me to figure out what to write. I ask myself  "what do they want to know?" Throughout my time here I have experienced many interesting, shocking, different things and it complicated to choose which to tell you. I have done the cliche, the unusual, and along the way I have discovered a lot about myself. So I'm not going to tell you as much about what I saw, but what the experience was like instead. On April 13th the three amigos (Me and my two roommates) left for Ireland. The first day we were there we crossed the country from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher and the second day, we conquered Dublin. Ireland was all that I could have hoped for and more. The people welcomed us warmly and the culture was comforting. I don't exactly know how to describe. It felt as if we were wrapped up in a blanket next to a fire with your best friends, a feeling I've had many times back home in fields of Plymouth with the high school gang. The entire time we were there all I could think about was how I finally understood why my grandfather was always so proud to be part Irish. Ireland made me feel a very distinctive connection to it's culture, something the Irish pride themselves in. This trip made me even prouder that my grandfather called me his little Irish granddaughter. On the next leg of our journey Carley and I went to London to explore the city and meet up with her friends from Brockport. The night we arrived, I found out that my grandfather had passed away. It has become unusually easy for me to pretend that it never happened. I can convince myself that I'll go home and he will be sitting in his chair and I'll ask him how he is. He will respond "Nice." There were many times I looked him in the eyes and prayed that he knew how much he meant to me. Of course it was difficult at times to be patient and listen to his stories, but sometimes I wish I had listened a bit closer. It was comforting that he knew I was in Ireland having a good time when he passed. It was surely a sign that we were with each other no matter how many kilometers were between us. As long as we have the love of our family here or in heaven, we will always be homeward bound. Despite the difficulties of losing him while traveling, London was incredible. Carley and I did all the things that we wanted to do and I was able to cross some things off my to-do list that I didn't last time I was there. Carley's friends were hilarious and it was nice to spend time with friends from back home, even if they weren't originally my friends. After our journey to two spectacular countries, we headed back to our dwelling in the south of France, a welcome site I might add. Leaving here will be one of the most difficult things I will ever have to do. This place, this life has changed me and when I come back I'm sure people will regard me as they did before I left. I believe that their are people we meet in life for however brief it may be, that truly change you in an instant. They say something or look at you in a particular way and you are never be the same person that you were before they stepped into your life or you stepped into theirs. May 8th Carley and I leave on our fabulous french fashion trip to Paris, an excursion we are both in desperate need of. That is all for now, but I promise there will be more soon. 

Le Premier Voyage

I know I haven't posted anything recently, but life has been quite the adventure lately. March 8th my two roommates and I left on a whirlwind trip around southern Europe. Our first stop was Pisa, where naturally we did the touristy picture holding up the tower. We only spent a few hours in Pisa before we took the train to Florence. This was the beginning of possibly the most rainy week I've every experienced. Thankfully our hotel was extremely close to the train station so we were only mostly drenched. I knew very little about Florence and I can't say that I learned a lot about the history of the city, but the visit was incredibly unique and opened my eyes a bit. Our first outing was to the leather market and we went back about three separate times. We found some incredible souvenirs and attempted to barter for the first time. Carley and I decided to  buy a leather bracelet from each city that we visit, but we both ended up buying a couple from Florence . . .I mean when in a leather market . . . you buy leather.  Seeing the statue of David by Michelangelo was really important to me. It is quite possibly one, if not the most famous statue in the world and let's be honest it is a huge statue of a man with beautiful muscles. We went to the wrong museum to begin with, but I have learned that sometimes getting a bit lost is what you need in order to find the adventures and stories worth talking about. While in the "wrong museum" (Museo Nationale del Bargello), we saw some amazing artwork and ran into a Professor from the University of Rochester. He was ditching the Alzheimer's conference he was there for, to visit the museum with his wife. Eventually we did make it to see David, but we walked around the rest of the museum first to build the suspense. I'd say I was speechless, but as many of you know I typically have a lot to say even when I am completely astounded. Plazza de Pitti was almost like a fairytale. It is a bridge lined with old shops with windows of "I'd have to sell a limb" jewelry.  In an effort to save a bit of money, Carley and I went to a grocery store near our hotel to buy a bit of food for dinner one night. While we were looking at salad, we met a girl from Alberta, Canada who invited us to go see a band at a local bar. We agreed to go with her and Dave came along too. It was incredible to hear her story. She took a year off in the middle of her bachelor's degree to travel through Europe by herself. She explained how it had already changed her and told us some of the most inspiring stories about the people she has met along the way. We had a great night and she gave us suggestions on where we ought to go once we got to Barcelona. On our last day in Florence we went up the hill to Ponte Vecchio where you can see the entire city and a replica of our best bud David. Of course it started to rain, but , sometimes a view is worth getting caught in the rain. Our next stop was Rome. I had already been to Rome, but there is no other city like it and no less amazing than the first time. We saw the Colosseum at night, climbed the Spanish steps, drank from the fountain in front of them, gawked at the Roman forum, threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, ate gelato after visiting the Pantheon, ate at a neighborhood restaurant full of locals and prayed at St. Peter's Basilica minutes after the cardinals left for the conclave. We did it all, rain or shine, we conquered Rome. As we were waiting in the airport in Rome, the new pope was elected. Then we were off to Barcelona.                                                                          

I truly fell in love with Barcelona. Despite how tired we were, the cold I had gotten from travelling in the rain and our longing to sleep in our own beds, the city was unforgettable. We saw the Arc de Triomf (yeah I know not the one in Paris) and  were bewildered by Gaudi's imaginative architecture  We went to a chocolate museum, visited two incredible markets, ate at an amazing vegetarian restaurant named Teresa Carles (that Hailey the Canadian suggested) and went on a walking tour that might have been the most informative and fascinating part of the entire trip. I mean, we were able to see the steps that Ferdinand and Isabella waited on when Columbus returned from the New World! Dave and I did have quite the adventure in Barcelona. We went to meet up with some of the Russians, who were also visiting Barcelona and when we left to head back to our hostel, we discovered that the metro does not run passed 12 a.m. speaking liberality no Spanish I found some people who spoke English at a bus stop. After about 20 minutes of trying to figure out what bus we would have to take, they told us that our best bet would be to take a taxi. One of the helpful bus riders, was kind enough to tell the taxi driver where we needed to go. Twelve dollars later the taxi dropped us off and the man told us that we just had to go down the steps and we would be where we wanted to go . . . . . . That wasn't exactly true. We ended up wandering around until I found some city workers who were cleaning the street. Neither spoke English, but with a few hand gestures and the name of the street we needed to get to, they were able to point us in the right direction. We made it back at 3 a.m. and I will never be so happy to see a hostel again. I literally thought we may have to sleep on the streets. I will return to Barcelona one day. It contains one of the most beautifully rich cultures in the world. That pretty much sums up our adventures during our first break from school. Since then we have been back to the usual here in Nice with a few midterms thrown into the mix. We are about halfway through our time here and it's going way too fast! Sorry for the long post. Until next time, bonne journee!

Extraordinaire!

As usual life has been a bit hectic over here in Nice. We finally got internet service in our apartment, which had to have been one of the most rewarding accomplishments yet. We didn't end up going to Monaco because the weather was a bit too cold to fully enjoy the experience. Instead, we went to three different museums. The Matisse Museum was incredible. Some of our group members didn't enjoy his later works, but to be in the presence of artwork that made such a difference in art history was a great experience. We also went to an archaeology museum where we saw Roman ruins and the following day Carley and I went to the modern art museum, where we saw pieces by Andy Warhol and other amazing artists.  This past weekend was much more eventful. Carnaval (Mardi Gras) started and the festivities don't end until March 6th. None of us had any idea what to expect, but the opening ceremony made it very clear that it would be one giant party. During the ceremony this past Friday, there were acrobats, an opera singer, massive floats, fireworks and a sky full of confetti. Essentially it was a joyful representation of how rich the culture is in the south of France. Following the spectacle we went to meet up with some of our friends in the Old City. We were about to walk down the stairs on the edge of the neighborhood, when a large group of security started walking towards us. Naturally we were a bit nervous, though we had done nothing wrong. When they came a bit closer we realized that they were protecting the mayor of Nice who had been at the event. He shook our hands and said "Bonsoir." I find it pretty awesome that we've been in Nice for a couple weeks and have already personally met the mayor. I mean how many people can say that? Saturday there was a parade and Sunday we participated in Zumba on the beach followed by the Nice version of the "Polar Plunge." It was crazy cold, but I can say that I've been in the Mediterranean! This week I have been busy with classes and homework which seems quite normal for a college student; however, there are many differences that make college here quite different then back home. For instance, all notebooks have grided paper instead of just horizontal lines, the schedule changes every week and you get very little assigned work during the semester. Last night I went to Salsa and a bar in the Old City. There was a large group of students from IPAG and we had a blast! They had lessons earlier in the night, but I got there too late for the beginner class so I went to the intermediate one. It was quite the challenge and the fact that the women had to change partners every few minutes made it even more difficult. All the men were patient with me and although some laughed at me they all did their best to help me out. This weekend my lovely ex-roomie Jeanne and my ex-roomie in-law Jake are visiting! They are both studying in London this semester and are planning on spending the weekend with me. I can't wait!

Création d'une Maison à Nice

I've been in Nice for about a week now, but it honestly has felt more like a month. When Dave and I (the other student from SUNY Oswego) arrived, a French student from our school picked us up. He spoke a little English, but it was difficult to hold a conversation with him. I was still extremely nervous to speak French to anyone. Once we got settled into our hotel room we noticed that there was no shower curtain, that started the list of Things We Didn't Expect in Nice. Later that night Carley, one of the students from Cornell arrived and the three of us decided to go exploring and find dinner. That was easier said than done. We ended up getting salads at a To-Go pizzeria and got lost on our way back to the hotel. When we made it there we realized we didn't have and forks, so Carley went down to the front desk to ask for some. The girl at the desk kindly said she would bring some up to our room. About five minutes later, she showed up at our door with three blankets. . . . I graciously accepted them, but we were all very confused. Later we found out that in french the words "fork" and "blanket" are quite similar. Our search for an apartment started the of Orientation at Ipag (the school we are attending). The first apartment we looked at was perfect, but we found out later that it was too expensive with all the charges they add on. We eventually found an apartment    that was much cheaper and in a good location. We live in an neighborhood were many of the streets and hotels are named after famous musicians and when I say we I mean me, Dave and Carley. It has been extremely difficult to get to a point where we just felt like we could just live. Everything has been more complicated then we thought it should be. From getting internet (which you have to open a French bank account to do), to purchasing phones and even buying groceries, life has been busy. We have started classes and they are not too bad, but the schedule changes every week so it is hard to keep up with when your classes are scheduled for. It's strange, but I'm sure we'll get the hang of it.We have made some amazing friends from all over the world and together we have all started to figure things out. We tend to call each other by the country or state that we come from, which is actually really fun. Our first friend was from Ireland and her name is Mairead. Then there is James and Liz from Australia, Rachel who is also from Cornell, the amazing Russian clan, the Mexicans, a bunch of other Americans, a French girl who has helped us out a lot, and so many more! I bought my first drink at a pub in the Old City. It was a White Russian, because my mom has always said they were really good and she hasn't been able to buy either of her daughters their first drink. This Friday we are going to a candy factory with a big group from Ipag and then Saturday we are going to explore Monaco. Sometimes I wake up in the morning shocked that I'm here in such a beautiful city. The fact that I can look out my window right now and see a palm tree is surreal. Life in Nice thus far has been a challenge, but one that I wouldn't trade for anything.

The Preparation

With less than 48 hours left before take off, I have said many goodbyes. Last night my grandmother threw me a surprise going away party. She bought a cake with the French flag on in and invited the family members that still live in the area. It was truly a surprise and a great farewell present. My "sister" or best friend from birth Elsa, visited me today. We made homemade pizza and picked up some last minute travel supplies. It was hard to say goodbye to her, but what makes the goodbyes even harder is the fact that I don't feel like I'm going anywhere. I have been preparing for this trip for years. . . .well at least thinking about it for years. When I chose to go to SUNY Oswego, one of the deciding factors was the opportunity to study abroad. Since then I have been planning my course schedule around this trip and researching Nice like it is my job. I've stayed up until the wee hours of the morning filling out paperwork, traveled over four hours for a ten minute Visa interview, and asked many favors of friends, professors and family. After all of this, it seems nearly impossible that I will be sitting on the plane in a couple of days. I've also had very little time to think about the trip. My winter break consisted of working full time, taking an online class and trying to begin my thesis. I honestly don't know when it will all hit me, but it's finally time to embark on this adventure. I have had to plan a lot to make this opportunity a reality, but letting go of it all and getting on the plane is a refreshing idea.