i feel different.

last time visiting downtown before i left europe

metz, france, august 2011

i was talking with my circuits lab partner yesterday who has done a fair amount of traveling himself. we were talking about how when we're traveling, we become a totally different person. not in a sense of masking who we really are, but of finding this alternate being within yourself. someone who is capable of so much more than ourselves in our own comfortable homely environments. it's like being in foreign territory brings out the best of me. the more daring, honest, self-starting, diligent, adventurous version of me. i don't know. i've just been thinking since i got back from last summer. a day doesn't go by when i don't look back and yearn to be back in europe. i want to be that person again. i know this is cliché but i really do want to live my life as best as i can without regrets.

what i've learned in europe

"you can't depend on people, E. i realized that it's so hard to trust people more and more because people will let you down and they'll disappoint and it fucking hurts. i've felt it before, but you just gotta say, 'fuck it' and  move on. because we're still young. we don't need other people's mistakes and bullshitting to govern how we live our lives."
-S

notre dame, paris, france

july 2011

i've learned a lot about myself while i was in europe and changed as a person. sometimes, you just have to be selfish and have to think about yourself in certain situations. if you don't, you end up getting really hurt. i've learned to put all of my trust into family and the few close friends who i know are there for me. no one else really matters that much. yeah, i sound heartless but i am a much much much happier person now than before.

other things i've learned in europe:

1. how to find what you need in a foreign grocery shop by using pictures and hand gestures,
2. how to appreciate ice and free water at restaurants back at home in America,
3. how not to trust street gamblers, especially the ones that make you find which of the three cups the ball is under,
4. how to hold your bladder until you get to a free restroom facility,
5. how to pack five days worth of clothes and toiletries into one book bag in under twenty minutes,
6. how to keep warm on cold European nights by sleeping in a telephone booth as opposed to outside of a train station huddled with random Hungarian people,
7. how to sneak onto trains that you don’t have reservations for and slip past the ticket-checking conductors by sleeping in luggage compartments and restrooms,
8. a club is a discotheque, the subway is a metro (with the exception of england, where it is "the tube"), a restroom is a water closet, and a line is a queue,
9. disappointingly, british people don't fancy harry potter as much as we do,
10. how to talk comfortably to strangers, become friends with them instantly, and rent a car together to drive six hundred kilometers to your destination when you miss your train,
11. and most importantly, how to always have a pressing urgency to live life to the fullest.

no matter how hard i try

paris, france, july 2011

i can't stop thinking about europe. if i was allowed a single word to describe my experiences in europe: phenomenal. i am going through crazy withdrawal right now. for those of you who were with me, ya'll understand, yeah? oh, to be back in paris again. sigh.

some are born to endless night

st. vitus church tower, prague, czech republic

to see a world in a grain of sand, 

and a heaven in a wild flower, 

hold infinity in the palm of your hand, 

and eternity in an hour.

-william blake

bittersweet

only nine more days in europe

leaving is bittersweet. i miss america, but at the same time, i'm

going to miss the traveling, the crazy adventures, the good food,

the struggles, the frustrations, the joys, the planning, the refusal

to study, hahaha. i am so thankful for the new friendships and

experiences i've had here. let's have a good rest of the summer!

off to amsterdam, paris, bordeaux, barcelona, madrid, then home :)

spendthrift

best fashion purchases in europe so far...
          -vera pelle leather crossbody for 20 euros in florence
          -topshop boots for 7 pounds in london
          -vena cava for uniqlo dress for 9 pounds in london
          -bik bok dress for 5 pounds in london
          -mango jeans for 15 euros in milan
          -french espadrilles for 3 euros in mainz
          -les jolies strappy sandals for 10 euros in metz
          -black booties for 20 euros in munich
          -edelweiss head scarf for 6 euros in interlaken

i'm somewhat of a profligate. 

must. stop. now. 

my bank account is crying.

abbey road

with mexican john lennon

beautiful places, beautiful people

 

 

cinque terre, italy with a new friend ♥

the rest of summer

metz | prague | genoa | cinque terre | luxembourg 

london | frankfurt | milan | venice | paris

amsterdam | barcelona | ibiza | madrid | atlanta

the city of love

fell in love with paris this past weekend

might not come back to america now ;)

dte?

europe so far.

everything in europe just seems better. sans the ever-rising exchange rate. and it is not making me a happy shopper. so i live in front of this beautiful lake and across this lake is the georgia tech lorraine campus. normally, i take the bus to my classes when i'm in atlanta. but i love walking to class now. the weather was perfect today. it's sunny with the perfect amount of breeze and no humidity! i met so many new people. and i've had my share of crazy happenings. it hasn't even been a week yet and i already have some unbelievable stories. the local food is amazing! i have lost a lot of my appetite though. i only eat one meal a day now. i think it's partially the money-saving aspect too. also, it's weird being able to buy alcohol. i bought some sangria and a case of beer the other day. i am enjoying this privilege, haha. the french people are mostly friendly and i have picked up french pretty quickly. i never thought i'd be able to speak it with all of its gutturalness and classy nonchalantness. but it's quite exhilarating trying to carry on a conversation with a frenchie. i have had my shares of awk moments and mean-mugging natives. but i love love love it here. so much that i am considering another semester here. i love it too much, maybe.

i will post pictures soon. sorry, i'm so busy with settling in and planning to go to other countries that i have no time to be on my computer! but until then, au revoir! 

paris!

omg omg omg omg omg. our group just booked the hostel for our first weekend 

in europe! we're going to be in paris! can't wait to see the eiffel tower, the louvre, 

champs elysees, notre dame, versailles, arc de triomphe, laduree...37 more days!

live the language

can't wait to be in all three of these cities. been trying to learn french on my own time since i'll be in france most of the time, but learning another language while balancing schoolwork is difficult. at least i got my badass french flashcards, hahaha. getting back into the school grind is so hard when i've been spoiled by spring break. I WANT SUMMER. especially since mine will be well-spent touring all of europe. i can't hold in the excitement. 

gt lorraine 2011

alas! my acceptance letter has arrived. i am officially going to france next summer! 
it seems so surreal. i will be "studying," touring europe, eating good food, snacking on
laduree macaroons (^yum!), taking lots of pictures, sipping on champagne, and
hopefully, having the time of my life! i have quite a great deal of planning to do!
so what do i want out of this summer?

 ... i'll have to get back to you on that :)