'appy Sanksgeeveeng!

AHhhhh I'm so excited for Thanksgiving!! We're having a big ol' Smithie party, and it's sure to be kick-ass. I made my mom and aunt's famous chocolate toffee crunch bars yesterday. I showed my host mom how to make them, who was amazed at all the steps I took to get to those delicious cookies that magically showed up in her house the last time I made them. She hardly believed that I made them myself! Now that I showed her how to do it, I think she's at least minimally excited (I've found that French people don't get excited, on general principle) about having learned a new recipe. I just have to translate my mom's recipe into French now!

Also, I made macaroni and cheese with Abby today. Definitely a bit different from my grandma's original recipe, especially without the rigatoni, "whole milk", and HUUUUGE effin' bowl. We made it in two casserole dishes, and I'm sure it turned out beautifully! Especially with our "raped Emmenthal cheese"("râpé" = shredded. Isn't that terrible?) on top. Mmmm.

Wednesdays are the worst. I feel so unproductive, even after about 10 straight hours of classes. I really just want to hit the library, do my art history readings, and go Christmas shopping.

I'm kind of upset that I'm missing the Thanksgiving parade tomorrow, since I'll already be at our Thanksgiving party. Maybe they'll do the honors of showing it?

Or maybe I'll be really lame and search nbc.com like a BEAST when I get home tomorrow night to see if they posted full video of it. Didn't you ever watch Miracle on 34th Street??? The Thanksgiving parade is the official start of the Christmas season. I'm so excited. It smelled like snow today.

Okay. I'm going to try to be productive. This is my horoscope for the week:
"Two of the best money-saving steps you can take, says TV's mock pundit Stephen Colbert, are to stop filling your hot tub with champagne and stop lining your gerbil's cage with hundred-dollar bills. I highly recommend that you brainstorm about initiating similar conservative and preservative actions, Cancerian. It's time for you to get really serious about shedding wasteful habits, cutting out needless excesses, and culling trivial activities that impinge on the time and energy you have available for the really important things. This shouldn't be a cause for demoralization, by the way. On the contrary, the more creative you are about setting limits, the more long-term blessings you'll set in motion."

I think it's a pretty good one. (If you want to check out yours: http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/allsigns.html"

Bonne nuit! Bon Thanksgiving!

Sick is the worst.

It finally happened. I'd been bragging for so long that I was the only person on the program who hadn't gotten sick yet, and it finally happened approx. 48 hours ago. J'ai mal au ventre, j'ai mal à la tête, j'ai la nez embouteillée, et j'ai envie de dormir toute la journée.

I skipped my first two classes today. I really would not have survived 2 hours of my Art History class tonight. I've been in a daze all day, and I've found that my levels of punchyness and cracked-out-ness ameliorate with my sickness.

That's all I got for now. As per us(ual), here's another list for things I have to do:
- change facebook event for Disneyland
- e-mail MBF about Restos
- e-mail Emery about frisbee
- e-mail Stéphane about the tourney
- make study sheets for history
- read history articles
- write up bio for Jacques Prévert

SLEEP. I could probably sleep through the night if I tried right now. But instead, I might just clean my room and knock off at least half of the things on that list. Whoo, productivity!

Working hard, or hardly working?

BOTH. Let's re-cap.

I locked myself in my room at 2:00 this afternoon. I made a small list, which was precisely this:
- review notes
- review readings
(1 hour)
- write exposé
(1 hour)

It is now 7:30. I read over my notes and readings exactly one time, but I vaguely remember what I read. I have 30 seconds of an exposé written. I wrapped a package to be sent out tomorrow. I got on convincing people to come with me to Disneyland Paris this Saturday. I checked my mail about once a minute. I did readings for a class on Wednesday.

5.5 hours. I only left my room once. It wasn't even all that much that I'm futzing around on the internet. I get so frustrated when I have to stare at something for more than 15 minutes. Even taking tests, I get so fidgety.

Unless I absolutely feel like I have to do something in a timely fashion (a.k.a. review for a test that happens in the next hour, or write a presentation that I have to present in the next couple hours), I just put it off until the very last minute. Which, at that time, I proceed to freak out and get the same amount of work done (read: very minimal) in a shorter amount of time (as in, instead of doing next to nothing in 5.5 hours, if I had tried to do things tomorrow before class, I would to maybe a little something in the course of an hour).

However, as this seems to be the case, at least for the moment, I'm learning to deal with it. I force myself to read over the same words I've been reading, and I realize that some of them are beginning to stick. My history test isn't for another week, and I've already learned 2/3 of the material that will be on the test! I've been making myself read over my notes every night since Monday. I've never done this.

Also, I'm sorry that I can't make an lj-cut or something to hide all that business up there. I've just been feeling frustrated.



Not to say that I haven't been chilling in the meantime. I saw 4 movies during the Festival européen des 4 écrans, which was.. depressing, as expected. But still fun! Good times with good people. We even bought candy at a Monoprix before seeing the last film. It was called Une femme à abattre, and it was about a woman looking for her husband in Russia. Afterward, I met up with this girl Sonia, who I found out was a visiting student from Russia (we're in the same Art History class at the Sorbonne). She said that they invented some of the details for cinematic effect, but she was shaken by the accurate portrayal of the images of Soviet Russia.

She had a cigarette to take off the edge, and I split ways with some of the Smithies to meet up with Sarah and Rachel at the Frog and the British Library. We got all-American fare (chicken wings, quesadillas, nachos, fries) AND deep-fried camembert with plum sauce. Holy crap, it was SO GOOD. I tried a beer cocktail, since they brew their own beer there and I sprung for the occasion. It was quite tasty!

Anyway, it is dinner time. With all luck, I will be more productive afterward. A plus!

A whole week with no update! Wowza!

Mmm. I just made myself a nice bowl (yes, bowl) of hot chocolate. I had a long week with my friend in from the States, so I feel like I've lost a week from doing nothing. It kind of sucks that last week was my week off, but I don't feel any more relaxed than if I had had school that whole week, since I was running around showing her Paris. However, I did get to do things that I hadn't done yet, like climb the Arc de Triomphe and ride on a Bateau-Mouche along the Seine.

Anyway, I'm kind of excited to be crazy-productive. I've been the worst student ever lately, and if I don't want to fail out of this program, I need to get my act together.

I'm totally ready. Also, I have to start planning more than one day at a time so I can finally see some of Europe. I can't wait to get my education under control so I can start really having fun.

Though I did have some goodtimes this past week. I got to see Vampire Weekend, which was AWESOME. I still want to see "W" sometime, since it looks to be an interesting film. I'm really excited for the European film festival this weekend, too! I'm going to check out what's on the schedule. I've wanted to see "Home" since I saw the ad for it before "Coluche: L'histoire d'un mec". It's about a family that lives on an abandoned highway, until someone decides to pave the road over and make it new. It looks like it could be dumb, but I think it's a cute premise. Also, I'm really excited to go to the MK2 cinéma by the Bibliothèque Nationale. It's such a neat theater! I know that it's huge, but I think it's neat that as huge as it is, it's never full. Plus, they have those cuddle chairs. Such a good cinema.

Agenda for today:
2:00: Research Sylvia Beach for Methodology paper
3:00: Write letter to history teacher
3:30: Study history
6:00: Read about Obama in French newspapers for History presentation

I'm going to start reading my history notes every night. I've never been good at studying before I feel like I need to. I think that this goes hand in hand with my belief that it only takes me a half hour to get anywhere; I feel like I can cheat the system if only I think it hard enough. I've been proven wrong enough times to change my ways. This includes leaving the apartment before 8:30 to get to frisbee practice on time.

Alright. Game time.

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

I can't believe I just celebrated my first election in which I could participate IN FRANCE. It was so extraordinary. I'm watching Obama's victory speech again, and I'm nearly ready to cry.

I can't believe we're finally changing in the right direction. I kept thinking to myself that no matter what happened, our country would drastically change and set a precedent that would continue on for decades. I'm so glad that we elected the right man. I have a restored faith in the American people. 338 electoral votes.


To celebrate, a group of Smithies got together to go to the official Democrats in Paris Obama Victory Party, which was supposed to have Barack O-bagels and continuing coverage of the election. However, after waiting on line for an hour, the organizers tried to get all couple hundred of us to line up in alphabetical order by last name. People started pushing and crowding, we heard glass bottles breaking, and people were uproarious about not being able to get in.

In making the best decision we could have made, the mamas of our group got us together to take the night bus at 1:00 to get to a better area to watch the election. We met up with two girls on the BU program, and we all ventured to Chatelet, walking to St. Michel to find The Frog and the Princess. Before we got there, we found a Canadian pub, broadcasting the election on TV's around the bar. We decided to stop in there, which was awesome. I even ran into a girl from Amherst on the frisbee team! Around 3:30, we finally got a table for all of us. Every so often, the club would start playing loud music to get us all awake. Being 6 hours ahead of all of the action was a hard thing. We were enthusiastic until the end though, with all of us screaming and yelling when our own states were called. There were a bunch of French people there, though we were by far an American majority.

The reports from CNN that showed that there was no possible way that McCain could win, and I regained confidence in the American public. I can't believe that we're all united (well, most of us), behind a man that has ideas that will benefit all.

When they flashed his name across the screen, the room ignited with uproarious sound. Just so much sound, and so much joy. We all ran around kissing and hugging and screaming. We went outside to leave, and it was raining. We let it fall. It felt like the dawning of a new era, and I couldn't help but think that it was an incredible omen for the washing away and renewal of spirit.

In between all of the celebration, we ran around outside the pub. Some screaming, in English and French, about the incredible event that had just come to pass. One man came up to me and said that it was incroyable. In French, he said to me that less than a century ago, Obama himself wouldn't have been able to vote, and now here he is, President of the United States.

However, he then ruined the moment by asking for my number and saying we should go out to dinner sometime. I was too emotionally content and ecstatic at the same time to do anything but laugh. Luckily, we saw from outside that McCain was about to make his speech, so we all huddled back into the pub. Listening to his speech and listening to the people who supported McCain so strongly that they couldn't even stop themselves from booing at the mention of Obama's name, I wanted to cry. I heard the underlyingly racist comments that McCain made about the nature of the election, and I was appalled at the way in which he brought up Obama's grandmother's recent death. I sincerely pray that even the McCain supporters can get behind Obama and his ideals for uniting our country. He has a big job ahead of him.

The pub owners kicked us out of the pub at 5:30 a.m., so we all ran around frantically, trying to find somewhere that was open for us to watch Obama's victory speech. We asked one cafe owner on the Boulevard St. Michel if they had a TV. When we mentioned Obama's name, he said that he was sure Obama was going to win. We didn't waste any moment to tell him that Obama had already won.

Not finding any luck, we all rushed into the nearby metro station to get home. All through the metro, we informed everyone we could about Obama's victory. Even on the street on our short walk from the metro stop to my apartment, we crossed the street in front of a truck driver, who rolled down his window and shouted "OBAMA!!!!!!!!!"

We got home to my room and watched the rest of Obama's speech online. He is such a powerful speaker. His way of moving a crowd is impressive, to say the least, and I can't wait to see how he'll rally the American people to work together for the common good.


I fell asleep around 6:30 a.m. and woke up at 11:00 to get ready for class. I saw Elise, who had already heard the news and seemed just as excited as I was. I rushed off to class, where I was greeted by none of my other classmates, who were assumedly all still asleep.

I can't wait to go back to my homeland now.

J'écris en français

J'écoute de la musique d'une amie. Cela me plait beaucoup. S'il vous plait de me pardonner pour la manque d'accents. Cette traduction sera sans doute incompréhensible.

Ce week-end était vachement génial. La fête était EXTRAORDINAIRE mais EXTRA EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!! J'ai fait beaucoup de plats délicieux, et tous mes amis (on était 7 en tout, parce que notre amie de Genève a du partir avant la fin de l'apératif avec Hannah) ont adoré la cuisine que j'ai faite. J'ai utilisé les serviettes de Halloween que ma mère m'a envoyé (merci Maman !), et j'avais aussi du confetti. Mes cookies étaient fabuleux, même avec mes changements de recette.

Samedi soir, on est sorti encore. On s'est déguisé encore, mais presque personne ne s'est déguisé pour la fête de Halloween pour le tournoi international de frisbee. C'était amusant quand même de m'être déguisée en cowboy, parce que j'ai mis mon chapeau de cowboy sur les gens que je trouvais beau. Quel jeu. J'ai rencontré plusieurs gens de l'équipe que je connaissais pas, et je rigolais avec ceux que je connaissais. Surtout Emma, la canadienne, qui me disais sans cesse, "Mardi, je ne m'en souviendrai pas du tout. I'm drunk!" Trop marrant.

Mais dimanche matin, j'ai du me lever tot pour aller chercher mon amie à l'aéroport. Elle est là maintenant pendant une semaine. Je ne sais pas quoi faire avec elle. C'est vrai que c'est sympa qu'elle soit là, mais seulement pour que je voie Paris de nouveau d'un oeil d'étrangère. Nous sommes montées l'Arc de Triomphe. La vue sur Paris était merveilleuse. J'ai même vu mon quartier ! J'ai pu voir les travaux qu'ils faisaient sur la bibliothèque près de mon appartement, avec leur drapeau vert, les lettres "GTM" inscrit là-dessus en blanc. Je pense à toi, mon père, quand je le vois.

Puis, on est allé à La Durée. J'ai acheté une Elysée, qui était un petit gâteau fait tout du chocolat. C'était trop bon. On a mangé chez Quick (the Quality Hamburger Restaurant), et on a écouté la musique que faisaient des gens africains.

En gros, ces jours sont longues, et je ne pense plus à mes devoirs, ce qui est affreux. Je dois me concentrer un peu, parce que le plus que je m'amuse, le plus que j'aurai à faire plus tard. Je pense que jeudi, je ne ferai que mes devoirs. Je vais laisser mon amie à l'hotel, et elle fera ce qu'elle veut. Je ne veux plus m'occuper d'elle, je vous jure. C'est dur d'être gentille.

D'accord, je ne vais plus me plaindre. Je vais peut-être me mettre à dormir, et demain, on SAURA LE PROCHAIN PRESIDENT DES ETATS-UNIS!!!! AIEEEEEEE même ma soeur d'accueil, qui a 10 ans, a peur pour l'avenir des Etats-Unis, si "celui que je nomme pas" gagne. Ce qui était sympa: mon amie lui a donné son bouton avec le visage d'Obama là-dessus.

BONNE NUIT, MONDE!


Oh aussi j'ai parlé beaucoup avec mon père d'accueil sur le sujet de la laicité en France, ce qui est la liberté en France par rapport aux Etats-Unis, et la culture des minorités dans les deux pays. C'était trop bon. Je dois me laisser ivrer plus avec lui. Il a des idées intéressantes, et je n'ai plus peur de me débattre contre les Français dans les débats (encore moins quand je suis bourrée).