Just Call me Quasi

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The transition from vacation to school again was not a smooth one. I tried not to consume so much caffeine on Monday to see how my body handled being up so early and working/thinking hard and it did not do well. I fell asleep in most of my classes and crashed as soon as I got back to my room at 3h15 and slept til around 7h. I was a little stressed out because I was not prepared for an exam in my Italian grammar class and failed it majestically (oh it can be done). I don't like the structure of the class and I think it has a lot to do with my learning progress. The class is split up in the day. I have lecture for 1h30 and that's just the professor reading off the slides with no in class reenforcement. Then much later in the day we have the practical part and that's just filling in blanks on worksheets. I don't know how to do it at home so I leave it blank and just fill it in in class and don't really understand why that answer is right as opposed to others. I can't stand this because I'm not used to being totally lost in any class much less Italian. All of it in general is very discouraging to me because I feel like I'm wasting my time here and not learning in a constructive way and will just have to repeat it when I get home. Good thing these classes won't count towards my GPA. I figured out when I can sign up for classes at VCU and I'm so excited because next semester I'll actually have real classes where I learn stuff.

This Thursday is the last day of the carnaval. At the finale they burn the sun king which is that big dude that has a sun for a head and after that are fireworks. I can't wait to see if it all goes horribly wrong because that float is huge and I bet it makes a pretty fire. Today is Elsie's birthday (Happy Birthday!!!!) We are going out for dinner and drinks tonight and this weekend she's going to Paris to celebrate. Marissa and I sat down and talked about all of the places we want to visit before we leave here. The list so far is: Paris (because how dumb would we look back home if we were in France for 5 months and didn't go to the capital, especially since it's world renowned), Dublin/Ireland (Ellen wants to get in on this too. We plan to go visit Jesse after she goes back home but before I head back (I leave first) and see her and her family for a few days and then see other parts of Ireland and Scotland, which isn't far away by plane), Normandy (I would like to see first hand the destruction that even still exists in France from the Occupation in the 40s. I just read a book about it and the islands between France and England and it piqued my interest in what that part of the country looks like), Montpellier (to visit my friend Ghislaine who goes to VCU with me and is there now doing what I'm doing), Italy (since I still have yet to get over there), Amsterdam (because...well you know), Switzerland (to do some mountain climbing and because it touches France and consequently close and seeable) and finally Germany (also because it touches France and because I want to visit Andrea).

I met Andrea when I was a junior in high school. She was at James River as an exchange student with a family a year above me. We met in my French class, but we also had APES together. We have kept in touch ever since. Every time she goes somewhere she sends me a postcard with an exotic picture of where ever she happens to be. I send her a postcard back that has RVA on it or something that says I miss her. She's come back to visit once since then and I'm so happy to finally be able to visit her. We are trying to coordinate now our plans. I hope we both get to visit each other because I really want to host her and go see Germany at the same time.

I would like to take this time to complain and forewarn anyone who thinks they want a duck feather pillow. Don't get one. I was dumb and didn't think about it because I just really needed a pillow at the time. OK well they suck. I have been having the toughest time trying to get to sleep lately because that thing is so freakin' FLAT. Every time I try to puff it up it always dies and ends up flatter than a pancake. Might as well not be there at all. I keep waking up super stiff and feeling worse than I did when I went to sleep. I seriously think I might be getting a hump from this stupid pillow. I might as well retire to Notre Dame right now and get used to ringing bells...okay maybe it isn't THAT bad but it feels like it is.

Need to go to the grocery store today because I have only a few crumbs left to nibble on. This is a great time to explain how unhelpful the grocery stores are here. The French still have bread shops and meat shops and all that as well as the open markets, but they have slowly become more American and have moved more towards supermarkets that have a little bit of everything. My store of choice is called Casino (pronounced Caz-e-no). They have a decent selection of things as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. There are of course a few pronounced differences. Firstly you have to have all of your own reusable bags. You can ask for a plastic bag but 1) you have to pay for it and 2) you get a dirty look from the cashier and all those around you because A) you're killing the Earth B) you're holding everyone else up because you're too lazy to bring your own bags and C) you're making the cashier work harder which is never good. I always bring a reusable bag that I bought here and my back pack to carry stuff home in. Remember now that I live on a hill so this really diminishes the amount of stuff I can buy because I have to carry all that home and up two huge hills that I like to call mountains of short breath. Another difference is that the people who work there hate you and show it. They have no idea where stuff goes or what's on sale or any of that so don't you dare ask them. They like to pretend you're not there and you should do the same. If you want fruits and vegetables you must weigh and sticker them. This was super weird for me because I had no idea you had to do that until I was in line and got kicked out because I didn't have stickers on my vegetables. Do I get an explanation for how to do it...nah. So I had to go and watch other people to figure out how to do it. The most noticeable difference for me is the abundance of alcohol in the stores. There are no restrictions on the kind of alcohol allowed to be sold there so there's like two aisles of every kind of alcohol ever hard to soft. The really expensive ones have sensors on them like the things you see on clothes at the store. All of the American alcohol is outrageously priced too. Who would have though Corona (close to pee beer, sorry but true, would be close to $20 for a six pack?????) Crazy French weirdos.

The weather is finally beginning to cooperate. Last Friday was a jacketless day and it was glorious. I can't wait for this area to finally live up to it's name. I'm dead tired of Winter and being cold. My pale as death body needs some serious vitamin D and then some. I plan to come home with a semblance of a tan....hopefully. Enjoy these pictures from a night carnival Ellen and I went to. We got covered in confetti from the paraders who were throwing it everywhere. : )

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Photos

La Grande Roue
The ferris wheel downtown.

Comments

[Galadriel Johnson]

hey Quasi
So the song that is being played during the first video sounds like it came from the Fifth Element. You remember the part where the blue lady is singing before she gets shot up. LOL I love that movie. Well how fortuitous that Carnivale just happened to come round when you were in France! ALL the good stuff happens to you. Hopefully we will talk to you soon. Love ya