It's Time to Get Goin'

Today was not productive at all.  I gave myself a manicure and a pedicure and went out to eat alone, which was kind of fun, actually.  I sat there for a really long time, just contemplating life =)  Afterwards I walked the half hour home.  It was raining.  Thunder-storming, actually.  I'm gonna shower and finish reading Franny & Zooey (J.D. Salinger).  I love reading when it's storming.  I hope I can fall asleep tonight after all the sleeping I did this weekend.  Oh. Another thing.  I really wish my host sister would wear a bra.  She always wears these disgusting tunic things with NO BRA underneath, it's disgusting!!! Her boobs are like massive and saggy.  Dinner is the only meal I really eat all day, and I should be hungry for it, but her boobs never fail to steal away my appetite.  I really hope next weekend will be fun in Nice! I know my friend Geoff (from Hong Kong) and my friend Andrea are both going! So hopefully we will have a blast.  I really hope we can get out to Monaco!  Anyway. Sorry for the multiple updates this weekend, I've been super bored.  Benny, I hope your birthday was amazing, although I am still mad at you for putting those hideous pics on FB.  Don't worry though, check out the payback in my Paris album =)

Lazy Sunday

I've been sleeping a lot lately! Friday night I went to bed at 2 a.m. and slept straight through until 12:30 p.m. the next day.  Yesterday, there was barely anyone in town (everyone went to Marseille for the day and didn't get back until between 12-1), and everyone who was in town was lame and/or didn't want to go out.  So I was bummed about that.  But I took advantage of the situation and just took some alone time...I read a few stories out of the new David Sedaris book and ended up going to bed before 11.  Didn't wake up til 10:30 this morning! It felt so nice.  I just hope I can get to bed tonight since I have to get up at 7 a.m. for the rest of the week.  Ughh.  This morning, I woke up to thunderstorms and just laid in bed reading celeb gossip and listening to music for an hour or two.  The rain has stopped and I am debating leaving the house to go get a sandwich or something.  Otherwise I won't have eaten all day by the time dinner rolls around between 7:30-8.  I might bring some work with me and just sit at a restaurant and eat.  Sounds good. Guess I'll get out of bed.  Hope everyone had a fun weekend! Tell me about in the comments section.  Love you guys!

Oh, I forgot two things: Thanks to Allie for sending me a lovely letter! & Happy Birthday to my baby brother Ben, who is now a teenager! (SO WEIRD!) Love you! Can't wait to hear about your GIFT =)

Other Stuff From This Week

Ok so Thursday afternoon after class, I went out and wandered around with my friend Michelle.  I REALLY like her.  She's a grade younger than me but she is so cool and very mature.  I am definitely hooking her up with my cousin Gabi, since she will be going to Wisconsin also in the fall.  Michelle and I both had some errands to run at an electronics store and then we got ice cream and headed to the park to eat it.  We sat there for like two hours, just talking. We had a really good talk.  I really like her.  Too bad she is in Geneva this weekend. Speaking of Geneva, I am meeting my friend Saad from Harvard there right after my program ends.  I think I'm going to spend the remainder of my time in London, but I really wanna find someone to go with me for my mother's sake, although I really wouldn't mind exploring London toute seule.  Yesterday I did some retail therapy after class and it definitely worked.  I bought Anna the cutest pair of orange flats!  I also got myself a dark grey metallic quilted pair of flats. I also found a place that sold super cute chandelier earrings for about 3 Euros a pair! Not bad.  They are at least $15 in the states. Last piece of exciting news: I weighed my self yesterday and the French diet is definitely working! If I finish a draft of my paper today, maybe I will go running before dinner and give my metabolism a little boost.  Maureen and I decided that we are going to look fab when we return to school in our new French bodies and French clothes.  Anyway I need a sandwich or something so I'm gonna run out and grab one then lay by the pool and work on my paper.  I'll let you all know how tonight goes! Andrea and I are probably going out with this kid Mitchell from my grammar class.

Most Awkward Night Ever

But still very fun. Will explain later.  Tomorrow is the first day I get to sleep in ... it's been weeks. 

Racism in France

Today was fun! After class, my friend Wendy and I went and searched the town for iced coffee (super hard to find, by the way).  We eventually succeeded and let me tell you, the caffeine was tres necessaire.  We finished our coffees, went to the grocery store to pick up some snacks and pop, and headed back here to go swimming.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.  One of Mme.'s neighbors came over, who is about her age, and she was telling us how her 19-year-old daughter is dating a black guy, and I think she is living with him.  One of her sons is living with his girlfriend too, I think she said he was 26.  After lecturing Wendy on I on the dangers of living together prior to marriage, she proceeded to warn against marrying outside of our race.  She not only denounced dating black people, but also Arabs, who are "le pier" or "the worst."  Having had enough, I told her I was Arabic and climbed out of the pool.  She tried to ameliorate the situation by saying, not Arabs, just Muslims.  To make her more uncomfortable I lied that I was Muslim.  It was funny.  I brought it up at dinner, thinking Mme. Cottave would have a more a liberal stance on the situation.  She didn't.  She and the Polish lady began tearing into black people and Arabs.  Fortunately I was done with dinner and retreated to my room to work.  Tomorrow, I have to give a presentation on Le Musee Galliera, which is a museum on Parisien fashion, past and present.  I'm about to go practice for Mme. right now! Then bedtime for me.  I don't do so well with getting up at 7 a.m. on a regular basis.  Bon soir!

Staying Fit in France

I forgot to blog about it then, so I'm doing it now, but I went on a really long run (4 km - long for me, at least!) last week and noticed some strange stuff about exercising in France.  It's bizarre to them, I guess! Everywhere I ran people were staring and men were catcalling like nobody's business.  When I was about a minute from returning to Mme. Cottave's house, a man started shouting at me and asking me why I was running! Apparently, it's true what they say: French women don't exercise.  Unfortunately, they are not as skinny as they are made out to be.  However, I will say that while some of them smell terrible...some of them wear the best perfume!  Leaves me wondering how anyone can smell that good in this kind of weather!