yolo

this is a phrase i've been living out literally. it means "you only live once" and back home i only say it in order to make fun of others who actually mean it when they say it. it sounds a bit "jersey shore" to me and i believe there are more profound ways of saying you're going to live life to its fullest, but in paris, as an american this phrase is commonly used by my friends, and even more commonly lived out.
after regaining strength from my all night rave experience (still the most fun night of my life thus far), i met up for dinner with the girls on friday. we went to a restaurant near isa that served vegetables, betsy was pleased, it's hard to come by those in restaurants here. mostly theyll serve a small side salad, but i mean its SMALL. i ordered fish, and apart from having to pull out the tiny little bones, it was delicious. for dessert i got the sampler and tried a bit of everything, but the creme brulee was the favorite. the food here is phenomenal. expensive. but phenomenal. and the good news is that i walk so much and i walk so fast that i know the exercise helps cancel out all the crepes i eat. it really does need to get warmer though so i can put on my sneaks and go for a run.
saturday i was supposed to meet up with some clemson friends, more specifically some xo's and i was excited to take them out for a french lunch! unfortunately, they got lost in the louvre and were 30 minutes behind in getting to our meeting spot. the most frustrating part is that i made it 25 minutes before feeling so cold that i needed to leave so we just missed each other :( but we're all hoping to meet up in italy, so fingers are crossed. since i needed to thaw, i went to a nearby cafe with an all inclusive meal of 11 euros. this meant i'd get a starter, a main course, a drink, and a dessert for only 11, a great deal in paris! i ordered french onion soup, spaghetti with mushrooms, a diet coke, and a coffee for dessert. it was delicious and filling, and warmed me thoroughly. since i had time to kill before obi and i were going to meet up, i decided i need to put my childhood fears aside and get a haircut. my ends were desperate for some TLC, so i walked until i found a coiffeuse that looked like they wouldn't butcher my precious locks. i'm very particular about haircuts, if you look through old facebook pictures of when i made an attempt to do something drastic, you'll see why. i went into the place and felt immediately at ease with their warm smiles and the tea they handed me to warm me up. (on this day it was snowing a ton and the wind was blowing at insane speeds, it was veryyyyyy cold).
my hairdresser took me to the shampooing station and began her work. she also gave me a conditioning treatment to help my hair and that junk came with a 20 minute head massage, i was in heaven!
this hair cutting experience also tested my french skills, as no one spoke any english and i had to explain to her what i wanted. i was successful! and she said my french was "tres bon." winning.

later that night, i met up with obi, andi, betsy, and rachael at a creperie called creperie suzette. no words can describe how amazing this food tasted. to start we got a bottle of cider, as we'd read on tripadvisor that it was something worth trying. i order a crepe with basil, chicken, emmental, mozzarella, cream, and bacon. and for dessert-nutella crepe.

after crepes, obi and i decided to go to a jazz club for a relaxing evening of good music and good wine. we were by far the youngest in the crowd, but both of us have a bit of an old soul within, we felt right at home. we looked around the club at the different groups of people who were there, trying to guess their stories. it was a fun game, and we shared deep thoughts, and hilarious secrets with one another. im so glad she's here in france with me. once we realized the lead singer of the group was an american, we asked to request a song- "the way you look tonight" and after explaining that we were singers he asked if we'd be interested in singing it with him. obi needed a bit of convincing, a few glasses of wine, but we both got up to perform. the audience loved us and the band was a bit surprised i think. my guess is that most people who ask to sing probably are a bit drunk, and probably sound that way wit a microphone. i thought obi and i did well, and the most important part was that we get to cross it off the bucket list. 

 the next day, we were craving something other than french cuisine, so we headed to the one (and only) chipotle in all of paris and met up with andie. oh the sweet taste of home. it was actually really refreshing to be eating something other than soup and sandwiches. my burrito was delicious, not quite as good as in the states, but it definitely was comforting. after our burrito, we walked a good 45 minutes in order to find the famous macaroon place calle laduree. i'd never had a macaroon but everyone had been raving about how amazing they were, so my hopes were high. we had to wait outside for a bit, but oh was the wait well worth it! the restaurant is precious, so quaint. it looks like something right of a movie. i chose to get a black chinese rose petal tea and 4 mini macaroons- 2 chocolate, a pistachio,

and a salted caramel. i cant describe what a macaroon tastes like, it's too complex, and the textures and consistency would be hard to explain, but i will say if ever given the chance, try them. it was a delightful afternoon in the company of two of my most favorite friends. after a quick promenade down the champs elysees with andie, i headed home, exhausted from the weekend and in a serious food coma. i'm sure it was my lack of sleep and the homesickness brought on by chipotle, but sunday night was a bit emotional for me. i had such an amazing weekend, and such a perfect day, so i was really confused as to why i was feeling so sad. but im realizing that in a city as big as this one, there are times where you just feel sad and a bit lonely, it's not uncommon and i know im not alone in feeling this way. it's a very different place then clemson and even atlanta, but i do feel very much at home here, even through the occasional tears and loneliness. shoutouts to my mom and dad for always being there when i need them, and this week to brenna, anna, and simone, a few of my greatest and most loyal friends who know just how to make me smile.

"we are your friends, you'll never be alone again"

there are no words to describe my night last night. i literally got back 3 hours ago-6:30 in the morning. it was the most fun i think i've ever had, which surprises me because it was my first true rave experience and i wasn't sure i was going to like it or not. the idea of the flashing lights, super loud music, and people jumping into me wasn't initially intriguing, but my friends wanted to go so i hopped on board the bandwagon.
unfortunately betsy's been feeling some of her mono symptoms creep in again, so she decided to sit this one out. since andi didn't want to meet up until 11, i joined my new friend leland (who also happens to be my sister in chi omega at william and mary) for a pub crawl with some people from her program at the American Business School. it was nice to be around so many americans my age, especially guys. our program only has 3 boys in it, and in my actual french class there are only a couple but they're grown men, so this was a good change of scenery. i only stayed at the crawl for a bit, in order to meet andi on time.
we made it to le grand palais, where the concert was being held (this concert was basically a bunch of different dj's playing all night from 8:30-6 am) and then we walked in.
the rest i can't tell you. but i will show you. enjoy these pictures and let your mind ponder how unbelievably insane this night was.

come 6:00 am, this what had become of le grand palais. 

le weekend.

it's about 1 am here and as exhausted as my body feels, i can't sleep. my hope in writing this is that revisiting all that's happened in the last 48 hours will wear me out all over again and i'll soon be dreaming of sugarplums and croissants.
valentine's day made me miss home a bit. i was flooded with texts, snap chats, and facebook messages full of love, and i missed all my valentines in the states. but the homesickness was cured soon-after, when a fellow clemson tiger came to visit me. breen and i met in french class this year. what started as "using" one another when we would forget our textbook, soon developed into a friendship, and i was so excited to spend the weekend together in paris.
after a quick bite to eat when she first arrived, we headed to my apartment to drop off her luggage. we put on warm clothes and headed to the seine river for a boat tour with the rest of the isa group.
as we came out of the exit to the metro, i screamed. full force for all to hear. right in front of me was the eiffel tower. i keeled over in excitement. i've dreamt of seeing this monument since i was 5 years old, and here i was, looking right at it. i was completely overwhelmed with joy, and wished so badly that my mom and dad could have been there to see it with me. i can't wait for (hopefully both of them) to come and visit. as we were looking for the boat we were supposed to get on, we ran into two other isa'ers. they were lost as well, and so the four of us set out on an adventure to find the dock we'd be leaving from. there are a lot of boats on the seine, and a few different places from which the tours leave. as it would be our luck, we went to the completely wrong port and ended up having to sprint about 2 miles to make it to the correct boat on time. we finally made it, dripping sweat. everyone on the boat was bundled up and shivering, while the four of us were stripping down all of our layers. it was an intense run.
the boat ride was chilly once we started moving, but worth the cold and worth the effort it took to get there. the architecture of the buildings here is beyond beautiful- there's so much history in each of them. we got to see the eiffel tower sparkle on the hour, which resulted in yet another girly scream on my part. it was breathtaking, and even alongside strangers, it was the most romantic valentines day yet.
breen and i headed back home to eat dinner, and while on the metro we met some americans who invited us to a valentines day party for international students. after we ate, we got ready and headed out, first stopping by an english pub to meet up with some other clemson students.
the term "forward" is an understatement. it seems as though the french men have no concept of personal space. sitting with breen, we had multiple frenchies come up and talk to us, they spoke to me only centimeters away from my face. it was slightly uncomfortable, and they didn't seem to understand that we clearly weren't interested. we were offered a promenade through the streets of paris with one of them, but kindly denied. we left without looking back and took the metro to the champs elysees, where the valentine's day party was being held. the metro at night definitely isn't somewhere you want to find yourself alone, breen and i were practically joined at the hip throughout every transfer we made. we came across a plethora of weirdies on the metro, most of whom appeared to be highly intoxicated. our tactic was to blend in and only speak french to one another, as to avoid the creepy people as much as possible. our plan worked pretty well apart from a few stares and scoffs, and we arrived safely to the champs elysees. we went by the club where the party was and it looked sketchy so we decided to spend the remaining hours of the holiday in a quaint and well lit restaurant, laughing and sharing stories over wine and french fries. apart from the old couple dressed in cowboy attire making out at the bar behind us, it was a lovely end to our evening. (side note. everyone makes out here- everywhere. on the metro, in restaurants, on the streets, in stores, the french are not shy of fondling and groping in public. its awkward, i dont like it).
breen and i got a taxi home and were in bed by 4 am. i then woke up at 8:30 to get breakfast, and to make it to class on time. i was successful in doing so, though i felt incredibly sleepy. (i may have to abstain from staying up til 4 am on school nights, food for thought)
breen and i met up once i was done with class and a phonetics test. i've been placed in a high intermediate language class which is perfect for me. the intermediate would be too easy, and i have a feeling advanced would fry my brain. but for phonetics, i've been placed in an advanced level which is super exciting. this means ill come away from paris, speaking just as the parisians do, im thrilled.
breen got to meet betsy which was exciting for me. i love introducing my friends to one another. im of course biased, but i really do believe that i have the greatest friends in the entire world, both in paris, and back in the states. we ate at a small cafe and then went our separate ways. breen and i met up with some people she knew who were visiting from barcelona and betsy went home in a drunken stupor from her vino at lunch to take a power nap. the visit with breen's friends was short but we made plans to meet up later, as we were also in need of a nap. we slept, got ready to go, and then met up with my long lost lil birdie OBI! this chick literally fell of the face of the earth for 6 months. she got into nyu, then deleted her facebook, and moved to paris. such a bold move, but i missed her! so it was such a treat to be reunited here :) she greeted us with a bottle of wine in hand, and we headed to the metro. in paris, you can smoke and drink pretty much everywhere. never been a fan of smoking myself, but those who know me know that i do enjoy a good glass of wine, so the leniency thing is awesome. we met up with betsy and her roommate rachael (rachael welcome to my blog), at an indian restaurant/hookah lounge. i love curry, and love hookah even more, so this was my kind of place. disappointed that they didn't have guava (S/O to olivia, simoney, and bella, who understand just how good it is), we resorted to their tropical fruit flavor. it worked, and the food was delicious. we also were given bindis to put on our heads, and incense for our rooms, tres cool.

after the restaurant, obi, me, and breen went back to the bar to meet up with the barcelona crew. the bar was crowded, but it was nice to be in the company of some fellow americans, especially guys, because this meant the creepy frenchmen stayed away. we debated going to a club but by the time we left most clubs weren't letting new people in. lame. we ended up finding this tapas bar/cantina and so we went inside. the place was hysterical, and no matter how much i try to explain the ridiculousness that i saw, you still won't be able to fully understand where we were. the band was horrid, yet everyone was dancing like they would never dance again. women were being thrown in the air, people were shimmying like mad, it was definitely a scene. i grabbed some maracas that were lying on a table and started messing around with them. well, the entire room started clapping along with my shaking the maracas,  whistling and hollering as if it was the greatest music they'd ever heard. it was funny. the night ended perfectly as they played shakira's "this time for africa" and i did my entire swamp routine (S/O to olivia and eres and our awesome dance).
we made it home around 5 this time and literally fell into bed without saying a word to one another. we were all so tired, and even sharing a twin bed with breeny, i slept like a baby.
the next day we woke up around 11 and my host mother had croissants waiting for us. she's the sweetest (a housing update- im moving into a much nicer parter of town in the 16th arrondissement in a couple of weeks. i hear the area is incredibly posh and im so excited, although i will miss this woman so much) after we ate, we headed to pere lachaise, the cemetery here in paris where some of the most brilliant writers, musicians, and philosophers are buried. the cemetery is magnificent. each grave site is so beautiful and so detailed. some of them looked like small houses they were so elaborate. this was the first cemetery i've ever been in where i felt peace instead of fear, it was spectacular. we were on a mission to see oscar wilde and jimmy morrison. we wandered for over an hour but finally found both, we also got to see chopin along the way :)

for those of you who have seen the movie "paris je t'aime" you know that oscar wilde's grave is covered in kisses, when we arrived the tomb stone had been completely restored and there was a glass casing around it. we were pissed. but we broke the rules, put on our red lipstick and kissed the glass around mr. wilde.
we left the cemetery soon after because we were all starting to feel really hungry again. we had walked for what seemed like miles and finally came across a small cafe. eager to get some food in us we went inside. we were greeted by a large man wearing a very dirty apron bowing down to us when we walked through the door-should've left then, but we didn't. we were also only one of two tables being filled at this place, apart from 2 guys standing at the bar, so we were a little curious as to why no one was here...was this why he bowed down to us? we looked at the menu and nothing looked appetizing, in fact there were post its inside describing the specials. this place was unreal. as if that wasn't enough, the owner came over to hand us our silver ware and i swear to you this man's fingernails were about ready to fall off. im sorry for the graphic details but it was repulsive. if you have hands that look like that...the last place to be working is in the food industry. we all looked at one another and knew we had to get out of there. my friends voted me as the one to tell the man we wouldnt be eating there, but i couldn't do it. i felt bad number one, and couldn't stop laughing number two. we had chosen the absolute WORST place on the entire street, and when i feel uncomfortable i giggle a lot. the man got the idea that we had lost our appetite and ushered us out...this was awkward and i felt bad potentially hurting his feelings but im telling you this place was completely unsanitary and we tried the best we could to be mature about it.
we finally found a soup place, it was decent food and it hit the spot. after we ate, obi had to head back home to babysit and breen and i went to some really cool thrift stores in the city with another one of her friends named malin. i decided to be lame and stay in saturday night. i was exhausted and could feel my body screaming at me to rest and take care of itself. so i listened. breen went out with malin, and i enjoyed a quiet saturday night with a cup of tea and a skype date with my sister.
getting breen on a bus to bordeaux was not only aggravating, but time consuming. it wasn't her fault at all, but the people in france are not helpful with directions nor with coming up with solutions to problems. breen didnt print out her ticket so we ran back and forth between the bus station until we finally found a hotel where she could print it. after she made it to the bus, ticket in hand, we said our adieus and i headed to meet up with andie, rachael, and betsy. im so glad breen came to stay with me, it took our friendship to a whole new level and the adventures we had will become memories well laugh about it for a lifetime. im also so happy i got to see my obi, she's such a gem, and i feel so lucky to have her so close by to me.
my sunday evening with the wolfpack consisted of tea and coffee at a cafe, followed by a trip to the flea market. we didn't buy anything this time around, but it was good to get an idea of what kinds of things they have there. the clothes, the art work, and the small trinkets, are interesting, but the best part of the flea market are some of the people who work there. mostly the people who sell african goodies. they are so friendly and so warm, and i'm eager to get back and buy some of their merchandise.



 
 this weekend was unforgettable and it made me so thankful for all of the amazing people i have in my life. i feel as though im living in a dream here, surrounded by the most genuine human beings and the most breathtaking places. paris, je t'aime.

"amsterdamaged"

before anyone starts jumping to conclusions about the title of this post, i was told this is a common phrase used by the dutch and people traveling to amsterdam. i was in no way shape or form "damaged," though i'm still recuperating from the lack of sleep.

i will say though, that at the airport before i left my dad told me "to suck the marrow from the bone on this trip." so dad, i think i sucked all the marrow out of amsterdam.

before heading to amsterdam i met up with some other students who i learned were traveling there as well. as brave as i try to be, im not comfortable taking the metro alone really late. i met up with some very friendly fellow americans and we headed to the bus together. when waiting in line i also met another girl who goes to UGA and grew up in Buckhead. we know a ton of the same people, such a small world!

we boarded the bus around 11:30 pm and weren't scheduled to arrive in amsterdam until 6:30 am the following day. it was a long bus ride, and i barely got any sleep, but alas, we made it to amsterdam. i hopped in a cab with my new georgia friend and we were off! i made it to my friend Vicki's house around 7 in the morning. she and i grew up going to camp together and became really close when i was 13 and she was 15. her older sister carolyn (who also lives in amsterdam) was also one of my counselor's at camp, so we all go way back. i was beyond excited to reconnect with these girls and to see the city they left the states for.

after a quick shower to freshen up i had to start getting ready for my disneyland paris audition.
vicki came with me and we got to the audition place at around 9:45 am. i've been to quite a few disney auditions before, but this was intense. there were 300 other girls there. minimum. and i was probably one of the shortest girls there. awkward. we got measured first, and then watched a short presentation about the contracts they'd be offering. i was definitely the only american in the room, so i thought i'd have a pretty good chance. we split up into groups and did an "animation routine" which really meant we posed like a pirate, a cowboy, one of the 7 dwarves, a princess, and a villain. then we waited to see if we made it onto the next round. i was cut. honestly i was completely shocked. i've never been cut so early in an audition before, and i'm bummed they didn't even get to see me dance. i got 15 seconds for them to look at me in various poses and then i was dismissed. i assume they didn't have any contracts for girls of my size, considering i don't see how i could have messed up posing. whatever, it was an experience.

then vicki and i headed to a pretty central square in amsterdam and got to see a flashmob. it was awesome. we met up with some of her friends and had lunch, it was good, but definitely not as good as french cuisine. i've become so spoiled with the food here, though not gonna lie, i REALLY miss chipotle.

i got to experience snow for the first time. ive woken up to snow before in both atlanta and clemson, but to be walking down the street with little flurries getting in my eyes, this was a first for me. and it was COLD. we walked around for a bit, stopping in various shops to look around and take pictures. i saw the market where they sell flowers and it was beautiful and smelled heavenly. right across was a marijuana cafe, didn't smell so nice, but now i get to say i went into a marijuana cafe in amsterdam. it's crazy to me that people can just smoke it on the streets, but no mom and dad, i didn't smoke any.

in the evening, we headed back to vicki's to take a nap. we slept for about an hour and a half and then were suddenly woken up by her friends banging pots and pans together in her room. not cool. we went over to carolyn's for dinner and i got to see chelsea hartline! another long lost camp friend. it was crazy that we were both visiting at the same time, but such a gift. we sat around the table, laughing and sharing stories for hours. it was some serious soul talk, but all three of these girls are so easy to talk to and relate to. all are so confident in who they are, i admire them so much.

later that evening, vicki and i went out with some of her friends, but honestly didn't stay out too long. we were tired and it was snowing. we did however carry the fiesta back to vicki's room, and people were over until 5 in the morning. i don't know how these people do it. i can barely make it to 1 am with friends back home.

the next day was a completely chill day. i walked around, met some more friends, and then hung out with vicki back at her place. her friends are wonderful and i love the dynamic all the students have with one another. it reminded me a bit of living on the hall and constantly having people in my room. (shout out to my chi o sistahs back home. i miss you more than i can put into words.) just like the girls in my sorority, these people are not only fun to be around and go out with, but also great listeners, and even better talkers. it was a taste of home, and i loved it.
before heading to bed we went into vicki's neighbor's room. its so freaking legit. a bunch of them splatter painted the wall but left a huge white space to watch movies from a projector. i was amazed. we watched pirates of the caribbean.
the next morning i woke up at 6 am to catch my bus back to paris. i was exhausted, but glad to have been able to spend the weekend around such wonderful and loving people. amsterdam was a blast and i recommend it to anyone looking for a fun weekend getaway.

happy to be back in paris now. it already felt like i was coming home, and the friends i've made here are absolute gems. they make living here a breeze.


classes start tomorrow which is exciting, but nerve wracking, considering i haven't been in a classroom setting in two months. and one of my favorite clemson tigers is coming to stay with me this weekend! can't wait for you to get here breen! paris better watch out this weekend- the tigers are on the prowl.