installer! (presque)

No comments
, by

J'arrive!

No comments
, by

Paris, je t'ehhh......you're alright

1 comments
, by

Old Ming, New Mission

1 comments
, by

réfléchis

1 comments
, by

ode aux bottes en cuir brun

No comments
, by

le temps est fugace...

No comments
, by

29 September 2012

installer! (presque)

PRAISE EVERYTHING HOLY After 6 days and 8 apartment visits, I have FINALLY found myself a place to live!!! 



No more are the days of staring lustingly at espresso cups and home decor waiting until I had a reason to purchase them!

FREE are my sweaters, pants, and t-shirts adorned with profanities from the confines of their vacuum-sealed prisions (FUCK SWAG, that means you!)!

No longer am I threatened by the potential of leading the  bleak life of a gypsy!

Read more »
Posted by at No comments:

25 September 2012

J'arrive!

I have finally arrived in Angers and am LOVING it thus far!

 Sunday night I took the TGV from Paris to Angers, which was WONDERFUL primarily because I knew it was the last time I would have to carry 100+ pounds of luggage toute seule. My couchsurfing hosts met me at the gare which I was SO grateful for, and they really have been such incredible hosts this whole time. 

 I keep thinking back t0 my vacation in Nice last spring, when two other American girls from my program (Bailey and Michelle) and I decided (and by that, I mean it was circumstantially forced upon us because we were all broke as a JOKE by that point in the semester...) to couchsurf instead of stay in a hostel. We were all a little weary about the idea but decided that between the three of us we could pretty much handle anything.  My favorite part about the whole ordeal was that along the way we had somehow come up with the motto "This is either going to be the greatest experience of our lives....or we're going to die" and just went with it. That kind of 'all-or-nothing' attitude made it by far one of the best vacations I have ever been on.  
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:

23 September 2012

Paris, je t'ehhh......you're alright

          I have officially arrived in Paris and am closing up what has been the longest 72 hours of my life thus far. I cannot believe that a mere 3 days ago I was throwing my bags in my car and running off to O'Hare, not sure if I would make it to France!  Luckily, after a flight to Detroit and 5 hour layover in one of the greatest airports I have ever been in (ACTUALLY...not kidding. It was impressive.), then a minor heart attck after misplacing my Grandma's ring and then a subsequent full-on heart attack after being the only person left on the standby list, I not only made it onto the flight, but got into first class, which, needless to say, was SWAG.  Ollie the Otter enjoyed the life of luxury as well, although his presence during my naptime made me painfully aware how out of place I was.  Although.....my plane buddy ordered the cheese plate for dessert and ONLY ate the cheddar so I pretty much just called it even on the 'embarassing things to do in first class' front right there.

          So after like 18 hours of traveling (which was actually 25 if you count the time change, which I do because it sounds more impressive......) I landed safely in the Charles de Gaulle airport and, after pacing back and forth a couple of times, finally resorted to asking for directions (in French) with a clear and follow-able response (in French).  I was so happy that the woman didn't have to ask me to repeat anything or answer in English, and it gave me just enough confidence to be able to make the whole trek into Paris by myself sans iPhone or phone in general. After getting into Paris, I dodged all the haters on the metro who apparently did not enjoy my oversized hot pink duffel bag (courtesy of the one and only Eileen O'Connor) and eventually made it to Alex's friend Adib's apartment. Adib was wonderful and got a café with me to help keep me awake, which I did!! (until about 8 pm at which point I passed out for 14 hours).
Read more »
Posted by at 1 comment:
Location: 14e Arrondissement, Paris, France

19 September 2012

Old Ming, New Mission


 Well here I am again. I have tried to re-start this blog multiple times but I don't really know how to introduce what I'm doing or even know what I want to say, but I feel the need to write something now to get myself motivated to keep this blog for the next seven months.  I don't really feel like discussing what coincidence/act of God led me to this place in my life, nor do I feel like anyone wants to hear me retell the last year and half of my life post-Grenoble/pre-Angers, so I will just proceed with my goal list segue that I thought was pertinent and relatively amusing.

As I was packing yesterday, I ran across my school supplies from when I studied in Grenoble, and therefore also found.....MY GOAL LIST.  My goal list for Grenoble is kind of funny to me because I'm not usually one to lay out specific goals for myself.  I'm not entirely sure why I felt so inspired to start one when I was leaving for France but.... ANYWHO, as you can imagine, not many of these got accomplished, but here they are:
              
                1. Ride on the back of a Moped
.....REALLY? This was my NUMBER ONE goal?!  I think in my fantastical little mind I was picturing myself as a brunette version of Lizzie riding around Rome clutching to my wonderfully semi incognito Paolo (if you don't get this reference, you don't deserve to be my friend). Needless to say, it didn't happen, and therefore will remain on my list.

                2. Have a dream in French
I've heard before that if you have a dream in a foreign language, that means you'll never lose your ability to speak it. Well, about halfway through my semester in Grenoble, I DID have a dream in French.  Unfortunately, the dream entailed my host mother calling me stupid but ERRONEOUS.....I understood it. ACCOMPLISHED.

               3. Kiss a French man
Although I'm a little hesitant to call anyone around my age a "man".......ACCOMPLISHED.

               4. Be classicly "French" somewhere (wear a beret, hold a baguette, smoke a cigarette)
What was I even going for with this? Not accomplished.

Read more »
Posted by at 1 comment:

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.
Posted by at 1 comment:

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.
Posted by at No comments:

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.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)