Project For Awesome: Girl Rising!

Hey everyone!

It's that wonderful time of year where everyone who is anyone on the internet decides to get together and raise money for charities! Julia and I decided to do a video on the charity Girl Rising!  Girl Rising tries to get all girls around the world education.  What could be bad about that?

It would be great if you voted on it, or at least voted on other Project For Awesome videos that you think are super cool!  All of the charities are awesome so even if you think ours is the worst video you've ever seen, help decrease the suckiness in the world by voting on another one!

http://www.projectforawesome.com/charity/girl-rising/project-for-awesome-girl-rising 

DFTBA

The Immaturity of College Students

So yesterday was one of those days in college where everyone goes off to watch our modern day gladiators fight it out on the football field.  I wasn't there because, well, I really don't care about football even a little bit, but I feel like I really could've been there the whole time after all the talk and news.  Apparently, Mary Sue Coleman, the current president of the University of Michigan, spoke at the game during the halftime show.  Now everyone (including Michigan students) is obsessed with the idea that her speech was drunkenly given and that this, somehow, makes her a horrible person that should be made fun of, and by association, the school a horrible school that should be made fun of as well.  Now I'm not one to be all up in that "Go Blue!" business, heck, I usually put on a yellow shirt to pretend I'm patriotic or spirited or whatever just so people don't bug me about it, but I find there to be a lot of problems to this ridiculous argument.

First, it does not matter even the slightest if Mary Sue was drunk.  She is over 21 and she can therefore legally drink alcohol at practically anytime.  The majority of the Big House is drunk on game day, so why should she be any different?  Does this really give means to make her a joke?

Second, I listened to the video.  To me, it sounds more like someone who is a nervous public speaker, sick, or recovering from a stroke.  All of these things are serious and require zero need for rude comments.  I don't know if any of these things are the case, and they could very well likely not be, but they are certainly things to consider.  After this year, Mary Sue is retiring from her position as president.  Did anyone consider that maybe this poor woman is just sick or tired.  She was just trying to make some encouraging statements at a game that wasn't happening to go very well for the school she works at.  Is there any need to punish her in her final year, or ever for that matter?

Third, just because people have created these silly rivalries between schools, doesn't mean they have to use humans to fuel these rivalries.  That is a manipulation that removes people from other people in a way that just doesn't make any sense. Why should anyone be mean to her, or anyone else?  People get all excited when their team beats the other team at a game of football.  They scream and shout that they are the best, but they actually didn't do anything.  They didn't play for hours and hours against a bunch of big hulking men, so they didn't do anything at all.  And how does one define best, anyways?  Best at what?  Certainly not being genuine human beings if you feel the need to be mean to others for the pure joy of it. 

Basically, I'm writing this post to ask everyone to stop being so cruel.  Think deeper about the situation.  Maybe President Coleman was drunk.  Maybe she wasn't.  Does it really matter?  I'm pretty sure we can all agree that the answer is no.  

Also, I would say this about anyone, not just the president of my school, so I don't need any annoying comments about that. However, if you would like to leave a comment about humanity or anything of the sort, I'd love to read them.  

The End of Your Comfort Zone

Every day I tell my roommate that I want to quit school and travel the world.  Everyday she laughs and says, "I know".  It isn't always that I don't like a class or am stressed or anything.  Usually I would just rather be off in Africa on some Safari.  Or seeing a play at the Globe.  Or swimming the Great Barrier Reef.  Or climbing the Great Wall of China.  One day I want to go to every continent.  (So far I've been to five out of seven so if you feel like donating to the cause I wouldn't say no.) After that I'll hit up every country.  Sometime I'll even make it to every state. (That one shouldn't be too hard, right?) 

I have a friend with a tattoo of the map of the entire world on his arm.  Well, minus Antarctica.  Every time he goes somewhere he marks it on the map just like I mark the map on my wall.  He has been to so many places that I can only imagine going to.  Today I talked to him all about the at least five different places he plans to go in the upcoming year.  Let me tell you... wow!  He has it all figured out.  He says that they are all just ideas, but how many people have done great things without just an idea? Yeah.  That's what I thought.

I'm on my way, but I'm definitely nowhere near there yet.  And guess what?! I don't care!  That's half the fun!  I get to spend my time thinking and planning and dreaming of all the adventures I will make sure that I have.  I'm so excited!  

I just felt like I needed to share that with you all today.  Go travel and see the world.  You'll be better off for it.  Trust me.   

One Small Step, Or One Giant Leap?

I have a map in my bedroom that takes up most of my wall.  It has a bunch of flags and pins reminding me of where I've been and where I someday hope to go.  Ever since I put it up years ago, I've had a picture of the moon just above it with one yellow pin.  I never thought I'd ever really be able to make it there, but it was fun to dream.  After last night I don't know how much fun that dream really is anymore.  Why you might ask?  Last night was the night all of my dreams of ever going to space to see the world, and I mean really SEE the world, all washed away like a footprint on the beach.  Last night I saw Gravity.  

Okay, even though it was terrifying, what an excellent movie!  It's not too long at all, but you definitely don't feel like you still need the satisfaction of a good ending.  Plus, the music and sound is outstanding, which really makes a movie for me.   It was especially awesome because the people in charge of sound really played with the oxygen and lack there of in a space setting.  The sound was totally different outside a helmet versus inside or inside a shuttle.  Totally great.  The story was pretty awesome too, but definitely hard to watch in some parts.  So awful sometimes.  I didn't even realize how tense I was until I looked down and saw that I had marks on my palms from where my nails dug into my skin.  Pretty freakin' intense.  And the 3D really just added to that.  I was physically ducking to avoid pieces of shrapnel flying in my direction.  

Now I'm going to warn you that there is a spoiler in the next paragraph of this post.  I really can't help it and I really don't want to anyways.  So skip a paragraph and continue, or if you're too lazy and just wanna stop reading I get that too.  Okay, here I go.  

Spoiler paragraph: This excellent and scary portrayal of space has basically one and a half characters that you immediately connect with without even realizing it.  You are totally invested in their journey right away.  Sure during the movie I was scared for them, and I felt bad, but lately I've been doing this thing where I don't cry or anything during a show, book, or a movie.  But hours, or even days later, I find myself lying in bed crying my eyes out for a character that had something super unfair happen to them.  My mom has always told me that life isn't fair, but it doesn't make it easier to watch it happen.  It doesn't necessarily mean that the person died unreasonably, but something had to happen to them that just shouldn't have. Sometimes something classically sad just happened to them, or something that just made their life that much harder.  But it gets me every time, just not right away. Last night I found myself doing this for Mr. Clooney.  I woke up in the middle of the night with tears streaming down my face for a fictional character that witnessed a certain kind of hell and then floated into the stars because it was his only choice.  He chose to do it.  He had to!  How unfair for him!   I couldn't stop crying.  Even writing this now I'm getting a little emotional. 

So basically how do you know when a movie is just amazing?  I don't know if this is the same for everyone else, but for me it's when you think about it after and you can still hear the whirring in your mind as it works to figure out what it just saw and what it all means.  When you cry for a character because you feel just that close to them and you're not ready to see them go.  When the music adds to it instead of plays in the background because someone thought it was too quiet without it.  And when the story is so good that it makes you change your mind about something you didn't even think was important enough to be changed.  So for me, Gravity: good movie.  

If you've seen it tell me what you thought. If not, go see and tell me.  I'd love to know what you have to say about it and if you felt the same way as me.    

P.S. I guess this was a movie review.  I didn't really mean to but it was on my mind.  If you like this style of writing let me know and I'll do some more of these.

We're All Mad Here

Another lovely Wednesday Write Night in my hall tonight!  Again it was great and it even included cider and donuts for all!  It totally made my night.  There was even more people there tonight too!  That means more poems to hear from more awesome writers!  And of course, everyone's writing was just actually amazing and inspiring.  It's so cool to see how different everyone's poems are when we all have the exact same theme and topic to write about.  

Tonight's theme was Weird Writing.   We chose the topic of Voices in Your Head.  Each of us said a word that was supposed to be included in the poems as well.  The words were: caramel, edict, twitch, auto tune, frazzle, loquacious, Viagra, and pillow.  Plus bonus snap points for including: chicken nugger, sweer potato, and/or french fried.  So here is my Weird Poem.  I hope you enjoy it!

A Weird Poem With Some Weird Voices

By: Christina AKA Me AKA Hannah

I’ve developed a twitch

I’m not sure what to do about it

I’m not really sure how I got it either

It probably has something to do with those voices in my head

Like auto-tuned robots singing in my ear

Go away you daft punk losers

But hey, they aren’t really hurting me right?

They just tell me to do stuff, but it isn’t usually bad

It’s just words.

I can lie on my chicken nugger pillow and think about all of the sweet caramels and cider of the world but the voices are still there whispering loquaciously as I try to sleep.

They aren’t dangerous, but their voices are sickening nonetheless

I’m frazzled and frizzled and freaked out and fucked

I feel like I’ve just found out what Viagra really is, two minutes after I’ve swallowed four too many.

I guess I should call a doctor.  But doctor… who?

Anyone I ask will pronounce I’m crazy with some kind of edict with lots of big words that I don’t understand.

But maybe I am crazy

Or maybe it’s not me. 

Heck it’s probably you. 

And here’s just for you.

Just for you and your crazy and me and my not.

Nobody dies

And the little girl never gets any older.

And oops that’s a spoiler

No it’s a plot twist.

No it’s not. 

I don’t know.

Those are just the voices talking to no end. 

There is no end

But then again,

There is no beginning

Unless you’re in the hospital

Oh well.

I’m not

And I’m not crazy

Those voices are just friends, and enemies, and frenemies staying by my side as I walk down the street in the dark by a parking structure

There are so many cars

Maybe I’ll steal one

Maybe the voices will too.

Yeah I think we will

Yippee, a new car for me

It’s shiny and new and now it’s mine

And now I’m done

Finished if you will

Yup

That Thing You Do

It's 11:47.  You're walking down the hallway to the printers after a long day of classes and homework.  All you can think about are the piles of books and articles on your desk and how much you would much rather be in bed.  Someone walks by you.  You don't even take the time to look at them.  Then you hear a shuffle behind you.  They've turned around and are coming your way.  They point at you and say "you look like you could use a hug", give you a big bear hug, and walk away.  And your day just got better.  Suddenly one of those days just became one of those great days.

You know what I'm talking about.  Those little things people say or do that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  The things that can change your day from the absolute worst day ever to one of the best days that you just have to tell everyone about.   In the past couple weeks, I've either watched this happen to a bunch of people, or I've been the lucky recipient!  Only problem is, I don't think I've been able to make anyone feel the same way from one of my awesome and much needed comments or gestures.  Oh well.  I'll work on that.  In the mean time, I thought I'd share a few of the lovely things that have happened around me these past few weeks.

So the example I gave you is actually a real story.  My roommate Nicole was having a pretty rough day the other day.  She was on her way to the printers in the basement when someone stopped her to hug her because apparently she looked like she needed it.  She came back with a short story in hand and a huge smile on her face.  She couldn't wait to tell me the story.  Her day was instantly made, and mine got better just from hearing about it.  Props to the guy who hugged her.  I never would've thought to do that.

The next thing happened to my good friend Holly.  Holly was at Thursday Night Story Hour sitting on the floor right in front of the chair for the storytellers.  She has one of those super encouraging smiles that take up her entire face and make you feel like it's a gift to see it.  Apparently one of the story tellers noticed, too.  As we were leaving, the storyteller rushed after us and tapped Holly on the shoulder just to tell  her she had a beautiful smile.  She was so flattered she cried.  Not that this was tremendously out of the ordinary since she cries at practically everything, but it was still awesome to watch.  Right away she called her mom to tell her about it.  It was adorable.  She couldn't stop smiling all night.  Go storyteller, you made a night better!

Okay, last example.  This one is super simple but it always makes me feel great.  My friend Cody is the best at telling you how nice you look.  I'll admit, a lot of the time it's just something that I threw together five minutes before class and the comment really only makes me feel good that it worked out.  But every so often I've actually taken the time to look nice, and Cody always notices.  Those are the days I get the "wows" and "damnnnns" that are silly enough and great enough to put a smile on my face and make me feel great for the rest of the day.  Yay Cody! 

I've figured out why I love these so much.  The best thing about these gestures and comments is that people don't even know the effect they are having on someone else.  Heck, someone told me they were glad they met me and I was instantly ecstatic.  They probably didn't have a clue, though. That is what makes them so great!  And they're easy too!  A quick smile.  A short wave.  A little wink.  These are day makers!  And people do these things just because they feel like it, not because they think people will actually need it.  I guess it's just one of the wonderful things about human kind.  On occasion, we just like being nice to each other for no reason at all.  We rock!  Keep it up humans!

But This...

So let me tell y'all about one of the best nights ever.  I laughed so much I surprised myself.  If you know me even a little bit then you know that has got to be a hell of a lot of laughing.  

Here's how it started:

I walked back from band and rushed into my dorm.  In the hall there was a circle of giggling girls standing directly in my path.  At first I was frustrated because, well hello, there was a group of giggling girls in my way and you know, people.  So I tried to squeeze by the best I could when I realized there is a cat!  Someone's mom brought their cat for everyone to pet!  Ah!  So, of course, I pet the kitty and continued on my way in totally the best mood.  Just wait.  It get's better.  

Then it was time for a hall RA event: Wednesday Write Night.  It was all planned out with a theme and everything (Bad Poetry) for 9:30.  Only question was where the heck was it happening?  I went to find Julia and head over to the event, but since we didn't know where we were going, we decided to send an email and wait it out in her room until someone told us where to go.  We were too lazy to go look around ourselves.  Oops.  As we waited, Julia gave me a cider mill donut and a mug full of apple cider.  Ain't nothin' wrong with that.  I happened to be sitting in front of her mirror, so obviously I couldn't stop looking at myself.  Of course this led to a conversation about Narcissus, and then of course Narcissa Malfoy, because Harry Potter.  30 minutes later and we finally knew where Wednesday Write Night was happening, delayed!  The lounge! 

So we headed to the lounge.  While we waited for the now 10 o clock RA event, we decided to watch the next episode in Julia's DW adventure.  As Sally Sparrow ducked, we realized no one was showing up.  We checked our emails again and of course, wrong lounge.  

So we headed upstairs! And here's where the night really gets good!

A few of us shared some of what we considered to be "bad poetry".  I shared a poem that I had read for AP Lit and totally not gotten (Howard Nemerov's The Lobster) (Sorry Mrs. Tay but it was just really bad).  Didn't like it then, still don't like it. Then we listened to a few bad high school analogies about trains and hummingbirds. There were some definite gems in those.  And then... we wrote our very own bad poetry! And when I say bad, I mean it.  All of us had to write about a kid named Dennis and Julia's braid.  We all worked very hard, and we definitely all succeeded in writing some of the worst poetry out there.  We read them aloud, laughed our faces off, then traded poems so we could read them again.  Because that made sense. They were still just as good and still just as funny.  We laughed so hard we cried.  Of course, being a narcissist, I loved hearing mine read most.  I got to hear it in slam too!  Golden!  Then we found out the whole time had been recorded by one of our lovely hall mates who I still don't really know what to call (Dandy?).  Excellent!  We listened to them for a third time!  STILL JUST AS FUNNY!!!  Every.  Single. Time. So. Funny.

Then I walked past a girl talking in another lounge.  She was telling someone about her day in the sun and she said, "I sat out in the sun today!  I think I photosynthesized!"  I don't know if she was trying to be funny, but seeing as I was already in the laughing mood, I found it hard to contain myself.  Sorry girl if you read this, but really?

So over the night I laughed so hard for so long that by the time I got back to my room I had a bad case of the hiccups and the after-laughs.  You know those laughs that happen because you started thinking about something that was funny that happened earlier in your life.  It was great.  My roommate thinks I'm insane.  But this...

Interested in reading my bad poem?  You're in luck! 

Dennis and the Braid

Dennis's name was like a boy's name called Dennis

He sat on the floor when I met him

Right by a girl

Who had a braid

Not just any braid

A braid on the side of her face

The left side.  That means not the right

It had a pink hair tie

I guess that's significant

Dennis wore a green hat that was green like grass, not the yellow dry kind.

His hair was long like long hair

It will be donated to people who don't have hair

Maybe the girl with the braid will donate her hair

She probably won't because she likes her hair

Like a kid who likes cake, likes cake

She isn't as nice as Dennis is

Because she won't donate her hair

That's not nice

Like a boy with a magnifying glass being not nice and killing ants

That kind of not nice

P.S.  I laughed when I typed this out again.  What a night.

P.P.S.  Title brought to you by my RA's bad poem.  What a great one.  

In the Eye of the Beholder

Yesterday I was doing that thing called homework off and on all day.  I was having a pretty rough time with it because the weather was that dark overcast that Michigan has just perfected.  And it was raining that kind of mist that makes you a little sad it isn't just a bit colder so that it's snowing instead.  I really love this kind of weather.  It makes you feel cozy and warm, even if it isn't like that outside.  I know that I am in the minority with these thoughts, but the safety created from an overcast fall day is one of the best feelings you can have.

At one point I was working on a surprisingly difficult response paper in one of the lounges by my room when I looked outside to take a break from staring at the computer screen in front of me.  I'm so incredibly happy that I did, because at that moment the clouds had taken a break from their windy rampage and the sun was setting just right that there was a bright pink-orange lining just at the top of one group of clouds.  It was downright pure beauty.  I tried to capture the moment on my phone, but of course you can't capture certain things on camera.  I know I say that I want to be some sort of photographer, but even I have to admit that sometimes it is better to just take it all in.  I can describe it to you now and you're probably reading this thinking that it sounds pretty nice, but you don't even know the half of it.  Then the clouds got swept up in the wind again and the scene disappeared before my eyes.  At first I was sad, but those clouds left me feeling so much better about everything going on yesterday.  I finished my response paper and spent the rest of the night relaxing and enjoying some free time before another busy week would start, no doubt in perfect cloud-free, rain-free sunshine.


I was right by the way.  It's been sunny all day. 

It's Always The Hardest Right Before You Begin

I'm in a weird mood right now, and for a lot of today, so I wanted to put pen to paper and create something.  But drawing sounded wrong and my hand cramps up when I write in a journal.  Instead, I've decide to start typing.  And I figure if I'm gonna type something I might as well do it here because otherwise I just forget about this thing for far too long.  So I'm sorry if this isn't the most interesting post ever and I jump from topic to topic without giving any of them a whole lot of thought.  That's just where I am right here, in this moment, staring at the cursor blink at the end of each word as my brain tries to come up with some sort of excuse for creativity.

Topic number one:  Rules. I've decided that I'm not too big on rules.  I won't list the ones on my mind now but they keep causing problems for me.  And didn't someone once say that rules should be broken rather than followed anyways?  And if we are breaking rules than who's to say what else we can break?  Like boundaries?  And we can easily break bones and easily break hearts too.  But then who does the fixing?  Who comes with their hammer and nails to repair all the broken things?  I think I'd like to be a person that fixes things. I'm not sure how I can do that, especially since I'm the one writing all about how I want to tear down those rules that cause the broken things, but being a fixer sounds like a lot more fun and certainly a lot nicer. 

Topic number two:  Proficiency Exams.  They are dumb.  So far I've only taken one, but I've done it twice so I think it should count for more.  Both times I did horribly but it didn't quite make sense because my scores in the class weren't half bad.  I thought I would pass.  I got all the credits so it technically doesn't matter, but I can't put it on a resume in case someone checks my transcript.  I don't get the special piece of paper that announces to the world that I am proficient in the eyes of my professors either.  It doesn't bother me all the time, just sometimes.  When someone shows me an opportunity I missed I get pretty upset.  Or when I walk past my professors and they give me that look like they think they know me and I just have to lower my head and avoid eye contact until they turn away.  It's not a topic I generally like to discuss but somehow it keeps coming up.

Topic number three:  Creativity.  You know how some people are just so creative you immediately get jealous when you see them because at list one time in your life you have listened to their work?  I know at least two people like that right now, probably more, and I seriously can't handle how amazing they are.  I don't understand how their brains work the way that they do but I'm immensely jealous.   And every time they speak my mind feels like it needs a second to recover from the blow it just got.  One day I'll be like them too and people will have to recover when I read them some of my work.

Today Julia is responsible for the title of this blogpost.  She told me to just start writing so I did and this is the result.  Thanks for the push.  Sorry it wasn't everything you had hoped for.

Be Ready For Inspiration

So I know it has been an obnoxiously long time since I've posted anything, but hey guess what!? I'm back!  I've actually been inspired to write again! 

Basically my week has pretty much rocked.  I've had homework but I'm totally not stressed so that is pretty awesome.  I watched and read The Graduate for the first time!  I even vlogged with my friend Julia on our new vlog (which you should totally check out!)!  To add to all of that amazing, I had my first creative writing piece returned to me and my professor really liked it!  He said I had great voice even the the topic was super weird which I thought was very funny and super exciting.  I'm starting to thing this whole big pretend dream of me becoming a writer someday could maybe totally actually a little bit happen!  Then tonight, my roommate decided to go to Poetry Forum and she was inspired by all things rhyme and wonder.  She was sad though because her poems weren't "long enough" or "good enough", so my RA decided to challenge us to write some poetry and basically not hate it.  Of course, being super competitive, we decided to accept.  Okay okay.  It wasn't a real "challenge" per say, but it definitely had potential.  So we came up with a theme (the moon) and a time limit (15 minutes) and just sat on the floor with a pen and a college ruled notebook and wrote wrote wrote!  It was awesome! 

My message to all of you wonderful people who have stuck with me and actually kept up with this thing:  GET INSPIRED!  Go do something spectacular and have the best time of your life!

Interested in the vlog? This here nifty link will take you right to it.  You're welcome! http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOKtpQKyLmusWsVmzMmV5Iw

Now I will leave you with the poem I wrote earlier this evening.  I don't care if you don't like it.  I would never claim that it's anything like Shakespeare or Dickinson, but I enjoyed writing it and I hope that you enjoy reading it as well.  

The Moon

Darkness
The sky is black except for the singular light of the moon
A glowing orb of hot white light streams to the ground
No clouds, no stars, just the moon and the people there to see it
They watch as it shines and shows them the after-hours world
A cricket chirps.
A frog bellows.
And the moon glows.
The grass moves and whispers to the river
The river answers as it rushes over smooth white pebbles
The moon shows it all with its hot white light

Cold
The night is cold with no sun to warm it
But the light, the illuminating light isn't cold
It isn't warm
It's hot like coals stuck under a mattress
while the little boy sleeps
and the mother and the father too
and the moon shows it all
with its hot white light

It was full
Then it was half
Now the moon is nothing but a sliver
Soon it will be nothing at all
And then there will be nothing to show the people the after-hours world
Until tomorrow when it beings again
It grows and grows 
Until...

A glowing orb of hot white light streams to the ground
And the people see it
And the crickets.  
And the frogs.
And the whispering grass and the answering river see it. 
And the moon shows it all with its hot white light and its glowing orb
And its man who smiles as the face of the moon looking down at the people that look up at him.
The moon

PS. This title was lovingly inspired by my good friend AGS. Thanks for the inspirational text the other day!

Adios Barcelona, Bonjour Paris! (Monday, June 10, 2013)

Today we woke up, had breakfast, and went to our last class at IQS.  Then we had some free time so my roommate Erica, Sara, and I took the metro to the Picasso Museum.  We heard it was a must see in Barcelona, so we figured we would take advantage of our time and hit that up.  We got there only to find out that the museum is closed on Mondays.  We were all pretty upset but my roommate was probably the most upset.  I felt bad that we didn’t make it.  Now we tell people, “Oh yeah, we went to the Picasso Museum.  You didn’t?” And no one (except you lovely readers) needs to know that we didn’t actually get to go in.  How perfect! 

Then we hit up some tacky tourist shops and a pharmacy to get some goodies to bring home to the US.  After that we took the train home.  We made the same mistake as yesterday and got on the wrong train, in fact the same exact wrong train that we had gotten on yesterday, at the same exact train station.  Someone told us we were going the wrong way and how to correct our error, so we were only lost for a few minutes instead of hours, but it still cut into our free time just enough to annoy us a little. 

Once we got back we went to the produce store and the market by our hotel so we could get food and water for the train ride to Paris.  Then we got our luggage from the hotel, loaded onto the bus, and got to the train station where we all waited in a huddle next to the tracks.  Someone dropped her wine bottle and it shattered with a splash of Cava, but otherwise that part of the day was pretty uneventful.  We just sat there trying to be sure no one got pickpocketed or stolen from. 

Then we got on the train and squeezed into these tiny little 4 person cabins with all of our luggage and backpacks.  It was crowded but honestly it was more like a cozy little Hogwarts Express, only not.  Plus once they pulled the beds down it was perfect.  All of FN had 3 full cars in the back of the train (mine was the last car) so we could be as loud and annoying as we wanted.  Obviously, with this group, we were pretty ridiculous.  We danced and ate and partied it up.  I also got to have some great conversations with the other people on the trip and blog a bit for when we had Internet again.  Then I went to sleep and woke up to the weirdest doorbell wake up call and the frigid air of the city of love: Paris!

Paris in the Rain (Tuesday, June 11, 2013)

This morning we arrived in Paris.  Ah!  It was way colder than Barcelona, and very cloudy, but everyone who knows me knows that I would always rather be cold than hot, and that this weather was perfect for me.  Then we got off the train and headed for the bathrooms to change and brush our teeth.  We had to pay to get in which really sucked.  And then they wouldn’t even let me brush my teeth because the sinks were for hand washing only (what?!), I wasn’t allowed to get my clothes out of my suitcase to change, and I forgot to go to the bathroom with all the hustle and bustle.  Oops. 

Then we grabbed our first French pastries and loaded onto the bus for a little tour of Paris!  We drove past all of the major landmarks before ending our tour at the Eiffel Tower to take pictures.  I know everyone always says that the tower is way less cool in person, but I disagree.  I still love it.  It was beautiful!  And yes, not as tall as I had imagined, but still taller than any NBA player I’ve ever seen.  We took a bunch of pictures and went right up underneath the tower.  I was sad I was still in my train clothes, but oh well.  It drizzled a bit, which was great!  Paris in the Rain was on my checklist of things to do and I got it out of the way the very first day (and every day after). 

Then we went to our first Parisian professional visit at OECD.  Everyone who went fell asleep as three speakers just kept on talking in a monotone for hours and hours.  They called us out for it too!  How rude!  We had just gotten off a train where we had hardly slept a wink and they were incredibly boring!  Give us a break!  And at least try to be a little engaging!

After that we went to our hotel.  Ty, Bowie, and I had dinner right next to the hotel and it was one of my favorite meals.  I had skirt stake, potatoes, and a crepe.  Yumm.  Also, in France we can ask for tap water, AKA we can cut out between 3 to 5 Euros off every meal! 

Then we went back to the Eiffel Tower with a bunch of people to take pictures at night with the tower all lit up.  It was beautiful!  We went up the tower, practically jumping out of our shoes with excitement.  The very top was closed because I guess they are renovating the tower, so we only went halfway up, but it was still pretty spectacular.  After a few hours up there, we took the stairs down the tower.  By the last step our legs were shaking and they couldn’t stop.  It was so strange. 

Then we went to take the metro back to the hotel.  Since the others didn’t have any crepes before they got some off the street.  My friend from Montreal asked for her crepe in French and the mean old man made fun of her for attempting to speak French.  Then my other friend tried to order her crepe and asked the one from Quebec how to say it in French.  She told the crepe man and he pretended to help her pronounce it, but instead he was actually making fun of her and calling her mentally ill for trying.  That jerk. 

Then we went back to the hotel.  I had new roommates now. Then I showered and was so exhausted that going to sleep on the rickety old roll away bed felt more like sleeping on clouds and bubbles.  Perfect first day in Paris!