This is why I travel with Airborne

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/ap_on_he_me/tuberculosis_infection

Mi dispiace, non parlo italiano.

I'm very fascinated by other languages and I wish it was something I had time to work on. I feel like an underachiever because I *only* speak English. How I wish I was fluent in French and had a working knowledge of a third language.

A lot of my interest in languages comes from my interest in traveling as well as other hobbies. I think if you go to a strange country, you should try and learn a few phrases. Saying hello, please, thank you and do you speak english in another person's language may make him or her more apt to help you.

Even though I don't have time to work on it now, one of my favorite language sites is BBC Languages:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages

They have an awesome French program series with videos. It's where I learned the word tartiflette hehe. The site has the essential phrases for several languages. If I manage to learn French well enough during my stay, I think I may tackle Italian next. It's a very pretty and sexy language. Can you imagine an Italian guy whispering sweet nothings in your ear? Even if he's just saying grazie or arrivaderci, itjust sounds hot. I'm also curious about German and Danish but my brain probably couldn't handle those languages. I have a fairly good ear for repeating and copying sounds so that should suffice for those languages should I ever visit German speaking countries or Denmark.

Odds and Ends

My apartment now has a corner where I'm starting to store the stuff I'm collecting for the trip.

I got a new suitcase:



It's a Bill Blass 24" that can expand about 3 more inches. Sort of a brown and cream houndstooth pattern that should still work with my black carry on. I got a patterened one for easy identification among the usual sea of black suitcases. I usually don't check luggage but I didn't think I could get away with just the small carry on for the summer. Although I will say, www.thefashionspot.com is inspiring me to use only a few base pieces of clothing and building different outfits from there.

Here's a neat travel set that I got at Walmart:


At only $6.88 it was a deal and it isn't some weird shape that won't fit properly in my suitcase. The print is very tropical, no?

Last week, I bought my plane tix so I am actually leaving. It's real now. I shelled out $900 bucks (which I'm told is a good deal). My subletter decieded that he was interested in signing a lease for my apartment for the whole year so it looks like I will be able to get my name officially off the lease for July and August. Don't get me wrong, I think my subletter is a great guy and seems upstanding, but I'd feel a lot better not worrying if the rent is actually being paid. Cross your fingers and toes that everyting goes through!

Oh, and I'm OFFICIALLY a member of expat-blogs! I'm so excited to be able to share this blog with a wider audience. Let me say it again: I LOVE comments. So please if you're reading, let me know. That site was where I got addicted to quite a few blogs of people who moved abroad. It got me thinking that, "hey, I could do it too!" I promise to try and post more regularly.

New Home?

Here's to hoping I make the cut. It's time to take this blog worldwide, baby.

Another Door Opened

Well, today I received my acceptance letter from the French government:

I could potentially be teaching high school students in Lyon for 7 months! How cool is that? Lyon is the second largest city in France besides Paris and it's close to Paris and the south of France. The academie is also somewhat small so if I'm not placed in the actual city of Lyon, I will be pretty darn close. Vive Lyon!

Unfortunately, the news is bittersweet because my mother is very unsupportive of my, shall we say, international aspirations. It makes everything harder, you know? It makes me feel guilty for wanting these things for myself and for thinking outside the box.

*sigh*

But this is anything that I'm not used to. But you know what? What it comes down to is this: I'm going to do what the freak is best for ME. I don't give a damn about what anyone else thinks because people are only concerned about themselves. So maybe it's time I became un peu narcissistic, right?

The reality is, there's a chance I won't be able to do the program, not because I don't want to or because I'm scared, but because financially, it will be a burden to go. I have a car note and have one more year to go on that. Also, I'm already going to Europe this summer. Maybe I'm doing too much? Also, where will I live when I come back from Europe this summer for the month until I go back to France? THESE are my real concerns, not what my freaking family thinks. Anyway, despite the possibility of not going and the lack of enthusiasm shown by my family, I'm going to relish in the idea that I could be living in Europe for (almost) a full year (counting my two months this summer).

Nice is nice.

I just booked a hotel in Nice for the end of my trip. It's been my dream for a couple years to lie on the beaches of the Mediterranean and I will finally have my chance! I'm staying at the Hotel Regeance which is just off the beach in Nice along the Place des Anglais. I'm staying in Nice because it's the central point to get to the rest of the Riviera. I'd like to take a day trip to Monaco and St. Tropez.

Every so often, I have to remind myself that this isn't a 2 month vacation. I will be working and I shouldn't forget that! I intend to enjoy ever moment of every day of those 8 weeks, but ultimately, I'm trying to make a good impression so I have a job in a few years after I finish school. Gosh, how cool would it be to actually be moving to Paris for good?

Since starting this blog, a lot has happened. I'm moving even closer to my dream. I don't even know if anyone reads this darn thing (since I rarely get comments) but I hope it's inspiring someone out there to really reach for the Moon. You can never be wrong for striving.

I hope to purchase my plane tix by early next week. I've been watching fares for a while, and they don't seem to be coming down. STA travel said they had a flight for $700 (?) a week or two ago. I hope they still have it. I'm usually choosy about what airline I fly on (I'm loyal to Delta and Air France for flights to Europe). But Delta has been high high high. I also heard Swiss Air is nice. Of course, I'll post details when I know more.

Memories light the corner of my mind. . .

OK, so this movie that I'm about to review doesn't take place in Paris, but the protagonist wanted to live there, so it's close enough. If you don't know already (shame on you!) I'm talking about the incredibly moving The Way We Were starring the diva herself, Barbra Strreisand and Robert Redford. I became an instant fan of Barbra's after seeing her nail her role as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. It's been me and Barbra ever since.

The Way We Were has a very simple premise: boy finds the nonconformist girl attractive. Noncomformist girl finds the All American boy super cute. Their attraction is unsettled by the end of their college graduation where they part ways. He joins the navy and she becomes slightly more conventional (at least in terms of her hairdo). Katie and Hubbel are the quintessential opposites attract couple. Technically, they shouldn't be together. And ultimately it's their differences that draw them together and pull them apart.

The movie is a pleasure to watch. You see the relationship unfold between Hubb and Katie. You get the feeling they really love each other, faults and all. They come from different worlds, and the movie emphasizes this. You also see Katie trying to fit in to his world by looking more the part, but she will never fit in--not because she can't, but because she won't. Katie believes that love is enough and as long as they have that, they can get through anything.

Everything changes when they move to Hollywood, which represents temptation, facade, and even danger. It's harder for real love to survive there. The viewer can also see that the marriage is a little off. Katie dreams about moving to Paris or China ("maybe") and plans a life where Hubb will continue to write books and live up to his potential while Katie stays polotically active. We learn towards the end, that he's been humoring her while she plans their future life, never really communicating with her that he has no desire to write or move abroad. That's one of the things that disturbs me about Hubbell. He always seemed so introverted. He never really expressed his love for Katie in so many words. Katie loved him with her whole self and you can definitely tell.

The last 3 or 4 scenes of the movie are where Streisand and Redford really show their acting chops. By the end, you can see just how much Hubb loved Katie. It's in his face, his voice, the way he hugs her, the way he gazes at her before saying the final goodbye. You can see that the man truly loved her. So why wasn't enough? He was weak and she was stubborn. I think Katie wasn't willing to give even an inch and Hubb just wanted a simple life. So of course, without compromise, there can be no relationship. So you have two people who love each other deeply, but just aren't meant to be.

I've watched this move countless times, and complained that the end is so tragic. They never get together. He never calls her to come for a drink. He never connects with his daughter. (In fact, I wonder if his new wife even realized that her man was talking with his ex-wife and the mother of his child!). You just don't get the typical Hollywood ending. But I finally realized after watching the movie for the zillionth time that you get something much better: resolution. How much worse would it be if Katie never saw him again? What if the movie ended right after the hospital scene? Then we really would have had a bad taste in our mouths. At least they get to say goodbye and I think, Hubb finally opens up and lets her know that even though she was the best thing that ever happened to him, he just couldn't deal with it. So now, when I watch the movie, I still get a bit teary at the end, but then I remember that resolution is probably the next best thing that could have happened.

So, anyone been in a real life Katie-Hubbell situation? I have, and it sucks. . .

Sublet Success!

In the space of a week, I found someone to sublet my apartment for the summer. Now, that's what I call efficient. This is great because it takes a load off my mind as far as wondering about paying for rent her and rent abroad. Thank you God! (Now, this next part involves a bit of strong language so if you would like to retain your pristine image of moi, please skip this next part.)

Now, the leasing manager of my apartment building is a real bitch. I hate and despise her and when I am finally moved out of that apartment for good, I am either going to slap the bitch or curse her out. She knows nothing about customer service. Even though I had someone interested in subletting my apartment, she refused to get involved in the subleasing process. I wanted to completely clear my name of the lease and have the subletter officially take over my lease. Keep in mind that I spoke with that ho 3 different times before about subletting and suddenly when I actually have someone to sign, she says they don't get involved with summer subletting. Now, what the hell is the difference between subletting over the summer and over the school year? Bitch-ho.

Now, why, you ask, would a classy girl like me put up with that kind of treatment for 3 years? Well, the apartment was dirt cheap, and I liked being so close to campus. Next year, I won't be on campus so it was the perfect opportunity to move. I am moving on up to the apartment complex that I have always wanted to live in since I moved here. I was just biding my time and waiting for the right time to move.

Back to our regularly scheduled program! So, I'm praying that all turns out well with the sublessee and that he pays the rent on time. I don't want to have that hanging over my head over the summer.

I've officially started my workout plan. I plan to work out every day for the next 30 days at least and into June as well. Y'all don't hear me: European beaches + hot Euro guys= work out and get that bod tight! I cannot be chubby in Europe. My legs are in pain right now, but pain is good. I love the feeling of tight muscles when I walk around. In addition to my daily cardio, I will be alternating the Firm's upper body workout and the original advanced Tae Bo workout for lower body. Whew!