réfléchis

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ode aux bottes en cuir brun

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le temps est fugace...

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les examens finales

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18 May 2011

réfléchis

          This is it.  Although I cannot say I have been the most faithful to this blog, I am glad that I wrote as much as I did.  This little chunk of cyberspace will be my favorite souvenier of the best semester of my life thus far.  Although I did not go into complete detail with everything, I was honest with all of you, and to myself.  I am so lucky to have had this experience.  I have loved every minute of it (although I may have not known it at the time...) and have learned so much about the world, the French language (some other languages too), new cultures, and myself. I can't really sum up everything I've learned in the last semester, so I will try to jot down some thoughts and lessons from this semester that I will really attempt to carry with me through my journey home and beyond.


  • Be thankful for your ability and ease to express yourself.  It doesn't come that easy to everyone.
  • Less talking (especially about yourself). More learning. More listening. More loving.
  • Cultures are all very different and they define much more about ourselves than we like to believe.
  • TRY. Try very hard and have confidence and you can accomplish almost anything.
  • Never forget those who are important to you, and on that note, never fail to constantly remind them of how important they are.
  • Life is a series of changes; ups and downs, phases of friends, change of place, change of emotions; take everything with stride.  What is tangible now may not exist in the future, but life goes on nonetheless. 
  • Each and every single thing that happens to you has a hidden lesson, and thus the potential to change your life.  It's your choice whether or not you profit from it.
  • People are generally good, but that gets hidden by the fact that people are generally selfish.


          Bags are packed (almost), gifts have been bought (for the most part), and goodbyes have been said (almost all...).  The only thing that stands between me and home is time and airport security.  I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this semester is over. Where do I go from here? On verra.


ming.
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ode aux bottes en cuir brun

          ...I really should be packing/writing letters but...nope!
          ....oh brown boots. Where to start? I have loved you (a little too much, clearly) over our last year and a half together,  but now your time has unfortunately come and past. 
          You've had a good life.  You've been to Ohio and back more times than I can count, seen a lot of shitshow nights, sorority chapter meetings, cold winter days, and even some breezy summer nights as well.  You've traveled the world with me, met hundreds of interesting and amazing people, and been with me through literally my best and worst times of my life. Overall, I love you.  From the first time I set eyes on you that fateful Black Friday afternoon until your last 'shebang' in Grenoble last night, you have truly been one of my favorite and classic pairs of shoes I have ever owned.
          And, because of your loyalty and your persistence, I felt obligated to give you a proper burial.  Fret not, brown boots, you will most definitely not be spending eternity wasting away in a a landfill, or (even worse) the back of my closet back in Chicago. No, that simply would not respect the time we spent together. Instead, you will be reincarnated into a fabulous belt, as well as some crafty little friendship bracelets that (hopefully) will be cherished and loved by my friends as much as you were cherished by me in your first life.
         Your journey does not stop here, brown boots. You will continue to travel the world with these people, you will see great things, and you will live your life to the fullest. I will miss what you were, and I might even try to replace you (please don't be offended by this.... you can rest easy knowing that either way I will surely never love another the way I loved you), but I will always miss you. 


RIP Brown Boots 
(November 20, 2009 - May 18, 2011)


ming.
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11 May 2011

le temps est fugace...

          Seven days. That's all I have left in this wonderful country.  Although I can't say it really 'creeped up' on me -- I've been dreading my departure for a while now, but it really just hit me this morning on my walk to my final exam, as I thought to myself, This is one of the LAST times I will see these mountains. These mountains that were so breathtaking to me four months ago, which are now just part of my everyday life. It's crazy to think that seven days from now I will return to the states, where I won't see my friends everyday (who have become my family in every sense of the word), won't live with my host family, and will only hear people speaking english...always.  I don't know when the next time will be when I can see the beautiful alps, or eat a yaourt nature with a cup of espresso in the morning, or even have a conversation in French, but I'm not trying to think about that now.
          Profite-bien.  Profite-bien.  Profite-bien. This phrase is on repeat in my head.
          So what am I planning for my last sept jours? Picnics (LOTS of them....with tons of wine/baguettes/cheese), concert (hopefully techno/house/DUBSTEP?), speaking french (and ONLY French, no exceptions), being grateful for this wonderful experience, soaking up some sun, loving my friends, and the inevitable packing/crying/mental breakdown/blahblahblah.


ming.


Sidenote: after re-reading my blog from the last four months (Narcissisme? Peut-être. Nostalgie? Absolument.) and realized how symbolic and ironic some of these posts are in hindsight. For example, I mentioned the purchase and first wear (and afterwards, hatred and spite) of my Zara flats, which have now been loved and worn literally to pieces (they were put in the trash last week after the discovery of a hole in the bottom of one during spring break in Nice).  They had been with me this entire experience, and part of me wishes I had kept at least a piece of them, but alas, like most things in life, it is best to just save the wonderful memories and move on.
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10 May 2011

les examens finales

           Final exams started yesterday, so naturally I have been procrastinating a lot lately, and this time it has led to the discovery (and love) of 'dubstep'.  In my opinion, it's wonderful study music since it's intense (to keep you awake) and has no words (to not lose your focus).  I'm not sure if it's big in America, but it's apparently HUGE in the UK and parts of Europe, but not that big in France.  I first heard this specific song in Amsterdam and it was....well....magical, to say the least. 


Enjoy,
ming. 
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08 May 2011

          Ooooops. I guess it's been a while. Since my last post, I went to Paris, I went to Italy, I went to Nice/Monaco/Cannes/Antibes; all of which were wonderful, and I am so lucky to have had the chance to see all those places, and I saw beautifully touristy things and have lots of memories and pictures to look back on. However, as of right now that is not what I would like to write about sooooo....there.
Front page of Le Monde May 3, 2011
          Since my arrival in France, I have felt much more ‘in-tune’ with the rest of the world and global events.  Three times a week as a listening comprehension exercise in my language class, we listen to the nouvelles from that morning and discuss the happenings in the world afterwards.  The class is primarily comprised of American, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean students (and one rando from Tunisia), so there are definitely interesting perspectives and opinions accompanying each day’s stories, and further, almost every great world event within the last semester has largely impacted at least one person in my class, as you can imagine.  I watched in the very beginning of the semester as the Tunisian student happily recounted his personal stories and feelings as his country underwent a revolution, opening a new chapter for their country and the world, and weeks later painfully stood by and consoled as my Japanese friends watched the television in horror of the natural destruction of their country, however I never thought that the Americans would have the next turn.  
          Just a few weeks ago in this same class we discussed in small groups a time in our country when citizens bound together, for good or for bad, suchas the manifestations that grace the streets of France far too often.  Coincidentally, I chose September 11 and the events that followed.  For me, and most of the Americans of my generation, that one simple autumn morning was all it took to forever change our generation.  Before that day I had no idea what the ‘World Trade Centers’ were (much less 'Al Qaida’ or our relations with them…) and had absolutely no clue in my adolesecent 11-year-old mind how much those events would forever impact my life from then until now.  For the first time in my generation's history we have seen a world-altering event from start to finish (let's hope).  I literally cannot remember a time when the phrase 'terrorist attacks' didn't conjure up images of massive buildings crumbling and wreaking havoc in the streets of New York City; a time when our country wasn't at war; I can't even remember back to a time when you could simply throw lip gloss into your carry-on without having to carefully stow it in a plastic bag with it's liquid friends and not be concerned about whether or not it had reached it's federally mandated limit. To say the events of 9/11 have impacted our lives would be an absolute understatement; it has truly defined my generation.
          Thankfully, being in France and in a completely different time zone has forced me to form my own opinions about these last couple days instead of relying on what my sisters, professors, family, peers, and friends have to say.  At first, I was happy (happy? Relatively, I suppose. Isn’t this what we wanted? What we were searching for all along?), but literally moments later I was struck with a sense of fear and disgust. Is this a good thing? How can the death of someone be responded to with feelings of joy? What will happen after this? What will be the repercussions? Surely there must be some terrible wave of karma coming our way after celebrating/chanting/singing at the news of another person’s death…right?  After much internal reflection, I think I have come to terms with the way things turned out.  Yes, I still think it is wrong – dare I say indecent and inhumane – to act in this manner when another human has been brutally slaughtered, however the person we are talking about is (well...was) much more (and less) than a human.  He was a leader, a visionary to some, a symbol, a public enemy, and a murderer himself.   Although I wouldn't go as far to say that I am happy about the events of the last week, I think it is soemthing that needed to be done, and is probably for the good of our country and the world.  On verra.


ming.
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