Travels of a Histrionic peripatetic

Hi everyone! I will never be done telling you I am sorry for not writing as much as I wish I could have during my time here. Really, it is only difficult to do so when I work full time and I have class-- and this memoire. Now, I only have not even two weeks. I am so extremely sad about it too! I never imagined that I would fall in love with this city the way that I have. Partly, I think it is due to the fact that I had the opportunity to work with some great people- people that have now become my friends. They are going to be what I miss the most-- that is of course aside from all of those great coffee shops, the rush hour on the metro where you get up-close-and-personal with any and every stranger. Life here has been wonderful, even with all of the work that I have (and have not) done. Sometimes, I imagine myself not returning to the US, but then that would make absolutely no sense since I want to finish my degree. My parents have asked me plenty of times if I am ready to come home,...

Hi all! So I figured that it was about time that I caught you up. As you know, I have been interning for almost a month now. The reason I have been unable to post anything is for that same reason. I get up every day (except today since it is a holiday here) at 7:30A—sometimes at 7:45—to get to work by 9:30A. From then on, until about 1 in the afternoon, I take an hour to two hour lunch, since it really depends on with whom I eat lunch. Afterwards, I keep on working until about 6:30P. That is of course from Tuesday to Friday, otherwise on Mondays, I have class from 5P to 7P. At work, I keep up with any and every article that mentions us- from advertising our event to complete stories; I have pretty much seen it all. I translate for the newsletters, I translate for others in Spanish and English, and I make phone calls in French. When I first started out, it was a bit difficult to wholly-integrate myself into my work place. It was about trying to find the balance between getting to know...

Hi everyone! Sorry i have been unable to post. As you know, about two weeks ago I was in Madrid having the time of my life. No really, I mean there was not a night that I did not sleep before 4AM- of course that was because I was out with friends AND making friends. I think that Madrid will always have a special place in my memories- for reasons that I can and cannot disclose (because I feel as though some are more personal and also because I feel like I can't quite express myself in the way that would be fair to those emotions or memories). I made some Italian, Spanish, French, Mexican, Russian, Eastern European, American, and I don't even know what other kinds of friends. It was great too because I got to speak Spanish, French, and English simultaneously while listening (and understanding) people who speak Italian. At this moment, I am leaning towards making Italian the next language I learn. The rest of that week was just crazy! It was not until that Saturday that I forced m...

Saludos a todos! (Greetings to all) I hope that life is treating you as well as it is treating me. For some reason or other, I still cannot fathom that I am in Madrid. I never really knew how much it changed my life until I left and explored some more. As the moment, I am sitting at my hostel on one of the busiest streets at night in Madrid- especially for the young'uns. While I am writing this, the television is on and there are music videos playing. Well, I don't have a television in France, so while I am sitting here and typing this, I am fascinated by all of the music and the videos currently playing. Just to let you know what I have been up to these past couple of days- to summarize it neatly- eating, drinking, walking, observing, hardly sleeping. No kidding! I am exhausted at the moment, but I am enjoying every second of my time here. I went to eat yesterday at my favorite restaurant, and let me tell you, it is as though we never left. They still treated my friends an...

So at the moment, my emotions are running amok. I mean it in all sincerity. Now, it's not that I don't like Paris, because trust me, Paris is an amazing city, full of so much history- small yet stuffed to the core with culture, history, food, bread, nouggats, life. But (of course there is a but), it is not until now that I have realized just how much Madrid has meant to me. Not only was it the first time that I studied abroad in a country similar, though not really to my own culture, but it is also a place that holds many treasures in my mind. To this day, I appreciate the work we had to do to get our servers' respect at la Cafeteria Calvin. It really was all about building relationships. To this day, I thank Humberto for organizing the program the way that he does. We got to know Madrid quite well because that was what was expected of us, and in doing so, we also enjoyed it. Here, I don't have the facility of going out and getting lost on a bus or going to a different ...

You know we are everywhere! I say this because, first of all, I am here with a Gilman Scholarship. It is a scholarship from the federal government meant for students who receive the Pell Grant and who want to study abroad. Today there was a college fair for French students looking at American colleges and universities. Well, here they have both Fulbright and Gilman Scholars and they had a couple of go so that we could explain to them a bit about the educational system- the process, the financial aid, etc. I volunteered to be at this college fair from 1:30P to about 5P. Definitely met lots of parents. It reminded me a bit of when I was in high school looking at where I wanted to go. But I will say that it was interesting looking at it from an international point of view- I mean we had it easy because we live in the US but they had to go into the whole process in a completely different manner. Point is that there I got to meet a Carleton alum from the class of '04. She was a hist...

Hi everyone! So I know that it has been quite a while since I last updated you- frankly I have some very good reasons. Yesterday, Thursday the 23rd, we finished our five-week-intensive course program load. These weeks have been filled with the stereotypical French "grève" (strike) that so often fill history textbooks. The transportation has been hard to manage as there are so many more people. Meetings with internship directors, class visits outside of regular class time- we have had it all these past couple of weeks. That does include the sporadic weather conditions that we have been having lately. Before that, on that Monday, we had a Dissertation which is the French take on the essay. I decided no that I appreciate so much more English essays! Perhaps it is because writing a strong essay comes with years of practice and here we are trying to dive head-first into one. The week before that, by Wednesday, I had agreed to translate my host-mom's speech. At the moment, an...