janvier

Finally! I am officially done with all the presentations, papers, and quizzes (for better or worse and before I start madly studying for finals) which leaves me time to offer a few updates!

SO, after the parental departure, I got to spend some time showing my roomie from yester-year around Paris, checking out some of the art, restaurants, and sites I hadn't seen yet such as the Catacombs, also a day-train trip up to the center of the EU government in Bruxelles, Belgium where we had some of the best waffles of my life, saw lots of peeing statues, checked out some cheap pubs, and enjoyed beautiful, albeit cold, weather.
Pictures to come : )

Then 'back to school'. Only this is not the usual easy going beginnings of a new semester, no this is the finish of the fall semester, meaning lots of papers, exposés, presentation, QCMs, etc which translates into little sleeping and many overdue library books (finally turned them in today and the library man literally laughed before informing me that the hold on my card will last through part of Feb).

But I must confess, the educational aspect of my study abroad time has been enriching and I am learning a lot. Unfortunately the majority of knowledge acquired origniate from a great deal of my mistakes/misunderstandings, but hey, learning is learning.

However, learning outside the classroom is amazing too. Which is why I am super excited to go SKIING this weekend! 12 fellow int'l students and myself will be heading to the eastern part of France to spend 3 days on the snowy mountain-sides near Switzerland. I am a little nervous because I have never done the whole ski thing before, but everyone assures me that while soreness is to be expected, the overall experience is quite worth it! We also had an 'intro' session into winter sports with an ice skating in front of the Hotel de Ville on a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon...





despite much wobble, I managed to stay upright the entire time : )

Then back Monday night to start studying for our exams, after which, I wll finally have a REAL break, with NOTHING due, which I must take advantage of, bien sur. Therefore, in February I will be heading out to London, Edinbourgh, and Dublin with a few southern belles from Georgia to enjoy the isles for 2 weeks!

Thanks again for all the love and support during the last little bit of my first semester in Paris! And please pray nobody breaks anything this weekend ; )

oh and first pic is the Luxembourg gardens under a light blanket of our recent snowfall...