Well, it's official...I am 21 years old ALL OVER THE WORLD! All times zones-inclusive. As usual, I don't feel too different...except maybe kind of sad to be officially "old." No more good milestones after this point...you just start getting older!!! LOL. Oh well, not going to wallow in that self-pity...I am going to look forward to this year! I have to confess that I didn't really celebrate my 21st in the American way...in fact, I didn't do anything! I was wierdly tired all day long, and after having spent all weekend in Strasbourg, I had to prepare an expose for tomorrow...more [View Full Entry]

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If you are going to be in France during December, it is worth your time to stop in Strasbourg, a picturesque city in the Alsace region...what a magical Christmas atmosphere! It deserves its reputation as the 'Christmas Capitol' of France. I just got back from a great 36-hour trip there (Saturday morning to Sunday evening) during which I stayed with my friend Stacy from Georgetown who is studying at Sciences Po Strasbourg. Everyone I had talked to told me I HAD to go there during the Christmas season, so I took their advice and went...tickets were only 70 euro round-trip, so [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone! I haven't posted a blog in a little while...so...what HAVE I been up to??? Well, for starters I have actually been doing some homework. I turned in a fiche technique and a revue de presse yesterday, and I have been reading all about Giuseppe Verdi in preparation for an oral expose in my class "Discovery of the Opera" next Tuesday. Actually, preparing the expose is tomorrow's project. I have been enjoying "discovering" the opera during the semester and have even managed to get to TWO in the [View Full Entry]

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The ridiculousness of the situation must be broadcast. Consider this blog to be the accumulated frustration of months of bureaucratic stalling, inefficiency, and roadblocks. In other words, a typical anecdote of the French immigration & visa system!!! Everyone is going to get an update on the saga of my carte de sejour-obtention efforts. Everyone must have a carte de sejour in order to stay in France (legally) for longer than 3 months. It's a long, drawn-out process that has now entered its fourth month since my arrival here in France. Today I went to the doctor (obligatory medical vis [View Full Entry]

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The Best Place in France...so far... I think I am a little bit in love with Bordeaux. Can you tell from the title? I just spent a WONDERFUL three days there with my friends Dorothy and Janine, and even during the rainiest month of the year it was fabulous! What a beautiful city...dating back to pre-Roman Iron-Age times...full of ancient history, beautiful medieval buildings, bustling pedestrian shopping streets and a magnificent river that arcs gently towards the Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean. And who can forget the hundreds of thousands of vineyard acreage that distinguish Bor [View Full Entry]

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Well, not mine, really. I was merely a curious observer. But yesterday on my way home from school I saw my first 'live' French manifestation, a socio-cultural phenomenon that is popular and accepted in France but rather foreign to me, being an American. Yesterday's Drama The manifestation that I saw yesterday was a protest by the 'pompiers voluntaires'- the volunteer-firefighters- who were agitating/manifesting for a pay-raise. I came across them in front of the National Assembly, first noticeable because of the 100 or so policemen surrounding them. In fact, I think there wer [View Full Entry]

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France has a lot of national holidays, but the one I like the best so far isn't an official holiday...it's the Fete du Beaujolais Nouveau, a celebration which took place last night and is cherished by all the Parisiens. What is it? Quite simply, it's an excuse to get together and drink wine. I'm hard-pressed to find a deeper meaning than that. But it's definitely a lot of fun, and I'm proud to say that I participated last night in this typically French tradition! The Beaujolais Nouveau is a little red wine (nothing special) that arrives on the market in late [View Full Entry]

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Hey! I am sitting in the lobby of the InnerAmsterdam hotel waiting to catch our eight-hour bus back to Paris...so I'm going to kill some time by blogging! You're being spoiled lately...lots of blogs in a row ; ) Here are my impressions of Amsterdam: Amsterdam: City of Debauchery? Hardly Amsterdam is very cool. That's not a very sophisticated adjective, but it works well. Amsterdam's international reputation as being an ultraliberal city is true, but it also has a lot of other great aspects above and beyond mere 'hippy-esque' freedom. There are a ton of great museums, a who [View Full Entry]

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Wow! I just got back from Marseille last night on the late TGV, and what a trip we had! Marseille was definitely a good way to end our eight day trip to Provence- the whole trip was kind of a build-up to the culmination, which was the vibrant port city on the Mediterranean. By far the largest city in the region, Marseille is the 2nd largest city in France (with a population of 800,000) and is incredibly old- it was founded as Massilia by the Greeks in 600 B.C. Legend has it that a band of Greek sailors anchored in the [View Full Entry]

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Blog #2, a continuation of my journey through Provence...which has been absolutely amazing. I highly recommend the region! No wonder the French love to come here... Arles & Roman Ruins Arles is located about 30 kilometers south of Avignon, just at the top of the Camargue region of Provence, which is wild, marshy, and flat. It used to be the most important city in all of Provence during the Roman era (known as Arelate), when it served as the primary port for the region and had a thriving import/export industry. It was located right on main road linking Italy to Gaul [View Full Entry]

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