Another Weekend...

Well hello folks -

To be honest, I don't have much to say about this past week/weekend. I went to Brussels, Belgium with Sam and it was a really low key weekend. I don't want to say that it was a bad weekend because realistically, what weekend traveling around Europe can be bad? However, it just wasn't as great as Paris.

We went into this weekend with an open mind - even after people told us that Brussels was lame and there was nothing to do there - and a conscious effort not to compare Brussels to Paris, but it was kind of hard when the two places were so similar. In both places, French was the main language, the architecture was practically identical, etc. On the other hand, Brussels was just so slow and quiet compared to Paris; there really wasn't much to do - especially in the rain. With that being said, between the two places, I liked Paris better.

Even though this weekend was super uneventful, there were still a few noteworthy things, so here are the top five highlights of my weekend:

1. I weighed myself for the first time since I got here…
If I said that that put me in a funk, that would be an understatement. I knew that I had gained a little weight since being here - I mean we eat pasta at every single meal and gelato after every other meal, so who am I kidding, of course I gained weight. However, I didn't think that I had gained five pounds worth of weight… I know that it shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but I just worked so hard these past seven months to lose the freshman 15 that it was just kind of disappointing to find out that I am just negating all of my hard work here. Oh well, as long as I'm enjoying every bite of this food, there should be no reason to regret a few extra pounds, right?

2. I got bit by our hostel owner's dog…
This weekend, we stayed at more of a bed and breakfast rather than a hostel. With that being said, the owner lived in the place with his dog…his devil dog. On Friday night, we stayed up until around 2 AM literally doing nothing while also waiting for our other roommate to come back. After sleeping for approximately 3 hours, I woke up to find our door wide open and the lights still on. Not only was I tired, but I was also pissed that our roommate didn't close the door or turn off the lights. So, I got up to do those things only to find the dog lounging in the middle of our room. After a few minutes of persuading, I finally got the dog out of our room and closed the door behind him. However, right after I climbed back into bed, the dog pushed our door open and came right back in. I was so annoyed. I tried to get the dog out again, but he wouldn't move so I tried kind of petting/nudging him out and he turned and bit me! The devil dog bit me at 5 AM! At that point, I was livid. The dog finally left, but I had a feeling that he would be coming back, so I stood at the door and held it closed for about ten minutes. I decided that I couldn't hold the door all night so I got a chair from our room and propped it against the door in hopes that it would hold the dog out. Wrong. Right after I put the chair against the door and got back in bed, the dog pushed the door right open - chair and all - and came right back in to lay in our room. At that point, I was over it and let the dog stay with the door open and just went to sleep, hoping that no one would come in and steal all of our stuff in the middle of the night (unless it was the dog).

3. Another Valentine's Day came and went…
And I celebrated another year being single - wooooooh. No, I really could care less about Valentine's Day - I mean, I'm sure I'll love it when I have someone who wants to show me love, but until then, it's just another day.  However, I did see something really cool on Valentine's Day. In Brussels, there were a few homeless people around the streets with their cardboard cups asking for money. When we were walking back to our hostel Friday night, we saw this group of people going around to all of the homeless people giving them warm food and drinks. It really was the coolest thing. It just reminded me that everyone deserves love - even (especially) the people who everyone just kind of ignores and don't acknowledge.

4. I saw two movies - in English!
This weekend was a super lazy weekend for us, so we decided to see a few movies while we had the chance to see them in English.  On Friday we saw Dallas Buyer's Club and on Saturday we saw The Wolf of Wall Street - both were absolutely amazing; I would highly recommend them to anyone. Both were pretty intense movies and I'm not sure that I was supposed to analyze them as much as I did, but my overactive brain obviously did. With that being said, there was one line in Dallas Buyer's Club that particularly stood out to me. A little preface: the movie is about this guy who is diagnosed with AIDS and is given a month to live, but decides to take fate into his own hands and try to help himself as best as he can. At one point in the movie, the main character (a very sickly-looking Matthew McConaughey) says, "sometimes I feel like I'm fighting so hard for my life that I ain't got time to live." Cue a flood of emotions. At that point, everything around me kind of froze and I just kind of sat with that thought for a few minutes. That line just made so much sense to me and I connected with it probably more than I care to admit. With everything that's happened in my life - most recently, my daily struggle with depression - oftentimes I find myself getting caught up in just trying to get by that I forget to enjoy each day and just be happy. It is so easy for me to get wrapped up in the business of life, distracting myself from my problems that I don't really appreciate the joys and wonders of life. I don't really know what I'm trying to say…that that movie made me think and just reminded me to truly live while you are alive and not take life for granted.

5. I got a Tinder…
Now, for those of you who don't know what Tinder is, it's basically a dating app where you either "like" or "dislike" a person based on their four pictures and if you mutually like each other, you are matched and can chat through the app. I told myself that I would never get a Tinder because I think it is so superficial and just not a good idea, but I caved. I was bored one night and Sam was talking to all of her Tinder loves, so I guess I just wanted to join in on the fun. Well, that lasted for approximately eight hours… I got a Tinder, talked to a few guys, and decided that it was kind of creepy so I deleted it. However, I did meet someone who really made me think. I guess my blog was linked to my profile, so he read it (I'm not entirely sure how to feel about that - creepy or cute - I don't know). Anyways, he was telling me that he not only thought that I was pretty, but also a cool person - all of this just after reading my blog. He told me that he's always wanted to meet someone like me - someone who is constantly trying to be a better person, help people, and just be happy. Even though I was a little creeped out, it also gave me hope. The hopeless romantic in me has always wanted to be with someone who not only admires those qualities in me, but also has similar qualities. I guess this Prince Charming just gave me hope that someone like that does exist - I just have to find him…just maybe not on Tinder…

So there you have it folks, the top five most exciting parts of my weekend. Now it's back to reality and another week in Florence!

Here's to embracing life and everything that comes with it!

Ciao for now!

Sincerely yours,
Just Another Original

Passport to Paris!

Bonjour!

Despite the French's air traffic controller's best efforts, my roommate, Sam, and I finally made it to Paris this weekend. Now, everyone told me that Paris was overrated and not worth my time, but I respectfully disagree. Those people are the same kind of people that say that Disneyland is just for kids - aka people without souls. My trip to Paris was the reason why people study abroad - it was absolutely magical and I had the time of my life.  

Our trip started on Thursday at about 4 PM and we didn't get to Paris  - and by Paris I don't mean the Eiffel Tower postcard looking Paris, I mean the boonies of Paris - until about 10 PM. After over six hours of travel, we had to take a two hour bus ride into the city to our hostel. Even though we were exhausted from the traveling, Sam and I talked the whole way to the hostel. At one point in our conversation, we see the Eiffel Tower lit up in the distance and we both just go silent, Sam's jaw drops and she starts crying. Even from a distance, the Eiffel Tower was absolutely magical - the kind of thing I was only used to seeing in the movies. Needless to say, we were both pretty excited to be in Paris.

When we got off of the bus, we were dropped off in the middle of the city with no directions on where to go. We found the nearest metro station and navigated our way underground to the street closest to our hostel. Let it be known that I have never ridden on a subway before and was essentially forced to confront that fear or else I would be stuck walking miles in the middle of the night around the unfamiliar city. Once we got on the metro, I realized that it wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be and just had to do my best not to let the over dramatic pessimist in me think about the very real possibility that I could potentially be stuck underground and die if the train just stopped moving. After missing our first stop and then getting off on the wrong stop, we finally made it to our hostel.

When we arrived, we were welcomed with open arms and bright smiles. Even though we were exhausted, Sam and I decided to just drop our stuff off in our room and check out the hostel's underground club. Now, I haven't been to too many clubs, so take my opinion as you will, but I don't think that the club was much of a club... It reminded me more of an awkward middle school dance, just with older people and a bar. Even though the DJ sucked and the people weren't very fun, Sam and I still had a blast. We danced like fools and met a few new friends - including the security guard who reeked of B.O. and thought that it was okay to grind up on Sam all throughout the night. After a few hours in the club, it was time to finally go to bed.

The next day, after about five hours of restless sleep, we woke up and started out our real first day in Paris. After navigating the metro again, we found ourselves at the Louvre. Even though I'm not all that into museums, the Louvre was still pretty cool - I mean, how many people do you know that can say that they've seen the Monna Lisa in person? However, to be quite honest, I was more impressed by the glass pyramid outside and the architecture of the building rather than the actual art inside. Oh well - beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

After spending some time in the Louvre, we walked down the Champs Élysées and did some window shopping as we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe. The whole walk was absolutely perfect. The sun was shining, the sky was bright blue, and the view was just breathtaking. I really am a sucker for the French architecture.

From there, we spotted the Eiffel Tower in the distance and finally made our way to the famous landmark. When we got to the tower, we were speechless. It was unreal to finally see something that you have grown accustomed to just seeing in the movies all the time. To all who say that the Eiffel Tower is just a hunk of metal, I challenge you to look for beauty in the little things. If you think about it, how cool is it that something that huge and intricate was ever built and has lasted as long as it has? Needless to say, I was in awe. We walked around all sides of it, taking pictures from every angle before we found the side with the lawn in front of it. Sam and I were so ready to re-enact Mary-Kate and Ashley's baguette sword fight in front of the Eiffel Tower when our dreams were crushed and we found the lawn roped off to pedestrians -aka *spoiler-alert* Mary-Kate and Ashley must have obviously used a green screen to act out that scene. Childhood ruined.

We had a bit of time before sunset, so we made our way back to the Champs Élysées to the famous macaroon shop, Ladurée.  Now, I had only had a macaroon once before so I wasn't all that excited to go to the shop, but boy was I glad that I did despite my original thoughts on macaroons.  These macaroons were delectable.  I just got the simple vanilla, chocolate, and salted caramel, but they were still so good! If you ever find yourself in Paris, I strongly recommend you get your macaroons from there and not McDonald's (because they sell macaroons in McDonald's…).

At that point, it was about 5 PM and the sun was going to be setting soon, so made our way back to the Eiffel Tower and got in line to get to the top of the tower. When we finally made it through the line, we found ourselves on the second balcony of the tower right at sunset. It was picture perfect. From the top, you could see the all of the famous landmarks, the canals, and everything. Besides the freezing windstorm, it was stunning. In fact, we saw two proposals that night - talk about romantic.

After our day in the city, Sam and I headed back to our hostel for what we intended to be a relaxing evening.  However, I should have known that things never seem to go according to plan for me.  That night was anything but relaxing - but not in a bad way.  Friday night was one of the best nights I've had in a while.  Sam and I started out just hanging out at the bar where we met two girls from Australia.  After talking to them for a while, we met up with some boys to play a few very, um, interesting (to say the least) games of beer pong. During our time at the bar, we hung out a lot with a couple of Australian boys that we met. The whole night was spent laughing, telling stories, taking selfless, dancing, and sipping on cheap vodka. Our "relaxing" night didn't actually end until about 3 AM, but it was worth every second of exhaustion the next day.

The next morning, we woke up to the sound of someone puking in our hostel room.  I guess that's what you get for staying in a room with 8 strangers, right? Anyways, after that eventful wake up call, Sam and I were feeling the consequences of our previous night's adventures, so we decided to lounge around and take it easy until around noon.  Once we felt a little better and got ourselves together, we decided to finally get out of the hostel.  We were a little bummed because it started pouring on our way over, but right when we got out of the metro, we were welcomed by sunshine and blue skies - talk about good luck! We made our way over to the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens and took in the gorgeous scenery.  It was literally what you would see in a movie (or did see in Passport to Paris).

From there, we tried to navigate the streets to find the famous love lock bridge.  We were struggling a bit to find the destination, so we stopped what we thought was a French couple to ask for directions, but it turns out that they were tourists from the east coast looking for the exact same place.  So, we decided to tag along with the couple and find our bridge. The couple was super welcoming and happy to take us under their wing, but they were definitely from the east coast… The husband would not stop talking and was just super boisterous - very nice, but just very overbearing.

Needless to say, once we got to the love lock bridge, we were happy to part ways with them.  The love lock bridge was beautiful!  The entire bridge was covered in locks and the view was just magical.  It really didn't do much to help the hopeless romantic in me.  Since I had no boy to lock my love with, I bought a lock and just put "me & you someday" on it.  I know, I know - pathetic but you have to admit, it's kind of cute, right?

After that, we decided to stop by Notre Dame since it was just a short walk away.  Sam's brother goes to Notre Dame, so she figured that she should at least see the real Notre Dame since we were in Paris after all.  However, it was probably the most underwhelming part of Paris. If you're ever in Paris, don't stress yourself out trying to make time to see it. We literally just went to the building, looked at it, took a few hunchback pictures, and left.

At that point, we had about half an hour before sunset, so we decided that we would go back to the Eiffel Tower so that we could see the tower lit up in the dark. We were getting pretty good at navigating the metro, so we thought that we would be able to make it there on time without any problems.  Wrong. We were on the metro for about ten minutes when the train just stopped in the middle of a pitch black tunnel and the driver announces something in French over the intercom and everyone on the train sighs and sits down. Sam and I look at each other out of confusion when a 16 year-old French boy across from us told us that the metro was having technical difficulties. The boy told us that it was going to take about two hours before they could get us moving again so we should just get comfortable. Great, my worst nightmare was coming true.  I was going to die in a metro. After freaking out for a few minutes, the train started to move again and the boy started laughing at us.  Cool, thanks for messing with us, kid.

Anyways, once the train finally started moving again we were able to breathe a bit and ended up making it to the Eiffel Tower right as the sky was going dark and it started to sparkle.  It was magical but also very cold and windy, so again, we looked at it, took a few pictures, and then left.

That night, we decided that we were actually going to have a low-key night because we didn't need to have a repeat of that morning the next day.  We ended up just hanging out at the bar and met some young British kids - they were actually 18, but they acted like they were 10… Even though they were kind of annoying, they were pretty entertaining.  They were obsessed with Sam and me because we were from America.  In fact, at the end of the night, they all came up to us and asked to get a picture with us! I guess that's what it's like to be a celebrity? Oh well, it was pretty funny. After saying goodbye to our adoring fans, we went to bed around midnight.

The next day we had to get moving kind of early to pack up and check out on time.  After getting our stuff together, we made our way to Versailles for a bit - and by a bit I legitimately mean an hour.  By the time we actually got to Versailles, we only had about an hour before we had to get back on the train to make it to our bus to take us to the airport on time.  Needless to say, it was a quick trip.

We came. We saw. We conquered.  With that being said, the city of love has captured my heart.

After another long day of travel, we finally made it back to Florence.  Now it's back to school for a few days before our next adventure - Brussels!

Ciao for now!

Sincerely yours,
Just Another Original

Pity Party: Party of One

Forewarning: this blog post is my pity party for myself.  If you are expecting happy stories and cute pictures, read no further - that is not what this post is about.  I am fully aware of how pathetic and ridiculous I sound, but I am just saying how I have been feeling.  Part of the reason I started this blog was so that I would start sharing my feelings - no matter how ridiculous they are.

Now, before you can study abroad, you are supposed to watch all of these informational videos on what to expect when you go abroad.  One of those videos is about the highs and lows of being abroad - how you cannot expect life to be perfect just because you are in a new place.  Even though you are in an amazing new place, life will still happen and you are not exempt from experiencing all ranges of emotions - good and bad.  With that being said, this week was a low week for me.  I guess I should have expected as much - I mean, it would have been too much to ask for to have two good weeks in a row, right?

Anyways, the week started on an iffy note when I realized that I forgot to take my meds over the weekend - those meds being my anti-depressants.  I hate to admit that they have such an impact on my mood, but they really do.  I mean, I'm not bipolar or anything, but when I don't take my meds, I can totally feel a difference.  I start to become way more irritable, doing little things become somewhat of a task, and my negative thought patterns spiral out of control.  With that being said, this week definitely did not get off on a good start…

Then, over the weekend, it was recruitment back at LMU.  Now, you are probably wondering why this affected me in any way, shape, or form.  To be honest, it should have not mattered to me as much as it did, but it caused me many sleepless nights.  I got really close to a lot of my residents this past semester and I guess I was just worried about them.  I was worried some of them wouldn't get their first choices and feel like they weren't good enough.  I was worried that some of them would get caught up in stereotypes and think that they were better than other people.  I was worried that some of them would be heart-broken and I wouldn't be able to be there to help them.  Needless to say, everything ended up fine, but still, it was just another thing that caused me anxiety this week.

On Tuesday morning (Monday night at home), it was bid night back home.  Again, this should not have mattered to me, but it did.  FOMO - or the fear of missing out - is a real thing for me.  I know that I am in Italy and realistically I am not missing out on much back at school, but this logic didn't work very well for me this time.  So many of my residents went Pi Phi and I just wish that I was there to celebrate with them.  Seeing so many pictures of my best friends with so many of my favorite residents just made me miss home that much more.

With that being said, I just missed all of my friends a lot this week.  I have been keeping in contact with a lot of them, but not to the extent where I am not present here in Italy.  Talking to them has just made me miss them more than I think I would if I wasn't talking to them.  Since this week has been especially rough, all I have wanted to do was sit in my best friend's room with a carton of ice cream and just cry about life with them.  I am fully aware that none of my relationships at home were perfect, but it's easy to look at them as if they were when the relationships here aren't quite as good - yet.  I have a lot of faith that I am going to create wonderfully life-changing relationships here, but it's just taking some time and I'm getting antsy…

Then there are the people here.  I really like a lot of them, but it has been hard to weasel my way into their lives.  98% of the kids here are from Gonzaga so even if they weren't necessarily friends at school, they all at least knew who each other was.  With that being said, it is easier for people to approach people that they recognize, find common ground with people that they have mutual friends, etc.  So, since I don't go to Gonzaga, people have not been as willing to approach me and make an effort to befriend me.  This isn't to say that I haven't been trying to make friends, it's just that it has been hard to making lasting relationships when it is easier for the other people to cling to the people they already know.  I really feel like an outsider here.

On top of being ostracized for being a non-GU student, I am also on the outside because of the fact that I don't drink.  This may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but it really feels like everyone here is focused solely on drinking to get drunk - all the time.  Now, I have absolutely nothing against people who choose to drink - it's your life, do what you want with it, but don't judge me for deciding not to partake.  At school, I hang out with people who drink and go to plenty of events where people are hammered (hello Mob Days) and don't drink and it's fine because people know me as more than just the girl who doesn't drink and they accept me for who I am.  Here, all people know me as is the non-GU student who doesn't want to drink, and oftentimes it seems like people don't care to get to know me beyond that.  It's just kind of sad.

Besides all of that going on, there was also an air traffic controller strike in France - aka my flight to Paris was cancelled.  My roommate and I got an email from the airline less than 24 hours before we were supposed to leave telling us that we no longer had a way to get to Paris.  Cool.  So, I have now been in Florence for three weekends in a row.  I know, poor me, I'm stuck in Italy, my life is so hard.  But really, it is kind of a bummer.  I was just ready to get out of my pensione and explore Europe a bit more.  On the weekends, it's pretty dead around here.  On top of no one being here, its also been raining here for the past couple weeks, so it's been hard to find motivation to do anything since God has been literally raining on our parade.

So yeah…needless to say, I am ready for this week to be over.  I am hopeful about what the future has in store…

Ciao for now!

Sincerely yours,
Just Another Original