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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provence!

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ose.

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truc.

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18 May 2011

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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11 April 2011

provence!

          Finally! A blog entry within a decent amount of time after a weekend away (AND with details of the trip! Look at me go!).  Update: j'ai fini mon dossier d'histoire d'art!!! One down, one to go! Then, of course, there's finals too, but I'll worry about that some other time.


Pont du Gard


         Other update: Provence!  It was absolutement magnifique! It was unseasonably warm (around 80 degrees F) and cloudless the whole weekend, and it literally could not have been more beautiful!  The weekend kicked off at Chateauneuf-du-Pape for a lovely 10:30 am wine tasting and wine museum (2 glasses of wine before noon? No complaints here.), then off to Pont du Gard for a picnic and sad attempt at 'swimming' (aka 'wading', 'almost falling in', then 'giving up and collecting rocks')! 




On top of Chateau de Tarascon!
         Afterwards, we headed to Avignon to see Palais des Papes, have dinner, then completely crash for the night.  I found the quaint little city of Avignon to be beautiful with its tiny winding roads surrounded by large stone walls, however I think that I prefer the ambiance of Grenoble and the Grenobloises more....désolé, je ne suis pas désolé, Avignon.
        The next day we headed to Chateau de Tarascon, Arles, then Les Baux de Provence before resting in Saintes Maries de la Mer for the night and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.  Being there made me kind of wish I had chosen to pass my stage in a warmer city a little closer to the ocean (however, if I did choose a city like that, I am fairly sure I would be doing much less 'studying', and much MUCH more 'beach lounging').


La mer, je t'aime!
           Sunday morning was spent touring the petite ville the true European way, (via velos, bien sûr...) perusing the European markets (thank you, sketchy gypsy markets for supplying me with 1.50€ shirts/scarves/accessories that fit my non-existent new clothes budget!), and finishing the trip lounging on the European beach getting a not-so-European sunburn.
Sunburn in process
               I was sad to go home Sunday (partially because that meant beach time was over, but also because of a slightly irrational fear that my host mother was going to kick me out of the house after a semi-awkward miscommunication Friday morning before I left...) but now I am much more excited for my spring vacation in Nice!! Also, this week my best friend Julie is visiting Grenoble for a night before we head up to Paris to see our dear Alex!  Many things to look forward to!


hâtivement,ming. 
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07 April 2011

ose.

          The word of the day (yesterday, which is still a day I suppose, just not this day exactly...) is (was) ose, meaning daring, and I actually used in yesterday, which I was pretty proud of myself for. 
          Also, I am 135 words from finishing my histoire d'art dossier, and about 19 hours away from my weekend in Provence (specifically, Avignon)!!! Weather is supposed to be hot and beautiful for our weekend extravaganza, so it should be looking a little something like this I hope (sans the lavander, however, being that it is too early in the season, which is a shame since it's my favorite scent, but I can't really complain, right?): 



Now back to work,
ming.
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05 April 2011

truc.

          The word of the day is 'truc' (meaning 'thing') for really no reason in particular, except that I just learned what it meant the other day.  Actually, it was the word of the day yesterday, but seeing as though I bearly spoke any french yesterday, I will make it today's goal to use it!

          Went to Geneva, Switzerland for a day trip this weekend with my program and it was BEAUTIFUL (images to come!).  We took a tour of the Conseil de l'Union Européenne and the Croix-Rouge which was fun AND educational!!!  Then we pick-nicked in the park near the big spouty water thing (of which I forgot the name, because I am an idiot!) and the weather could not have been better!  Overall, a splendid time.


          ALSO, I have 1,184 words of my art history paper written and almost an entire outline written for my litterature paper!  My goal is to have at least one finished before our trip to Provence this weekend but.....we shall see.


ming.
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