My Life in France

A Biento! And then there were two.

2008-04-26T18:40:00.003+02:00

With tears weld in their eyes, I waved as the navette pulled off with 5 of them. They disappeared in the distance so fast and then I realized tomorrow was my day to pull out.
Ambialet, France has made such an impression on me. The sweet sound of silence, fresh air and a loving community has become so natural to me that I have no idea how to go back home. In fact, I still don't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. My suitcases are, but I'm not. That's exactly what I told my mom after I confirmed that she would remember what my suitcases looked like if I were not holding them. She hasn't responded to that e-mail yet, so I'm taking that as a yes.
However, today was quite adventurous for a last day. We saw some painting and sculptures done by Marie (our housekeeper) and her friend Willy. It's amazing how talented they both are. The funniest part is that they have a perfect sculpture of our soon to be former President George W. Bush Jr. I wish I would have known sooner how talented she was. I guess that will just be a big part of my incentive to come back.
We also became apart of the family of Le Prieure, of 50 years. Their reunion was held here today, followed by a mass. At the end we sang Cantical of the Sun for them and they sang a song in their native Occitan. It was great. It sounded like a fight song for their native language. You can tell that they were so proud of us coming in to save le Prieure, which was quickly decaying. They all lived here, with no heat and cold showers, in their younger years, only returning to home three times a year. This is home to them and now it's home to us as well and they accept that and love us for being here. We are valued so much them and I will never forget that. To me a home holds a legacy, whereas a house can be knocked down without regrets.

A Biento my home of Ambialet, France.
Love Always,
Alexia Shashara

Easter Break

2008-04-05T17:50:00.004+02:00

A moment to break away and center myself, is exactly what my easter break was. 3 days and 2 nights well spent in Marseilles, France in a hotel. After traveling Europe and staying in hostels, the hotel was much appreciated and luxury as well. The cable television was a great add in as well. I have never experienced bad weather on Easter and I didn't this year either. With the great weather from the entire weekend made it a perfect time for the beach.
Tim and I came up with an ingenious idea to go into the water with our regular clothes and climb the rocks without getting wet. I almost plunged in several times staggering back and forth due to the force of the waves going in and out to land. Finally I made it to the top of the rocks and had my Debut as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. It was quite funny. The waves splashed up in perfect timing. Tim however wasn't successful in not falling into the water. Just as he shouted "there's no way I'm getting I'm falling in now", he fell in completely. Too bad I didn't get that on camera.
The cutest moment of my Easter break was being in the Boulangerie and a little girl ran in and shouted "Je voudrais un baguette, si vous plait?" She got her roll of bread and ran out to her mom if a big smile of accomplishment on her face.
The most memorable moment was watching "Be Kind Rewind" starring Jack Black, Mos Def and Danny Glover, all in french. As the movie started we realized it was all in french and there were no subtitles. I think the only reason I stayed is because I payed 8 euros. It was so worth it. I didn't need to know the french language in its entirety to understand the concept of the movie. It was great. That movie is definitely a must see. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it. If you want a brief summary of what it was "Be Kind Rewind" was about, google is the best option.
My proudest moment was the entire trip. I felt free and stress free and with people I enjoy myself with and love to enjoy adventure on an as it comes basis. My last break in Marseilles, France was definitely a moment to remember.

Until Next Time
Love
Alexia Shashara

75 degrees in Ambialet, France!!!

2008-03-17T17:57:00.003+01:00

OOOOOOO my o my was this weekend beautiful starting from the day break of Friday. 75 degrees compared to snow in Loretto is a major difference. This is the type of weather that when you wake up in the morning just puts a smile on your face. I'd rather be woken up by the sun in my eye and the chirping of birds, than by a snow plow going pass my window.
After class we took advantage of the day by going for a really long hike in the mountains. It was so much fun. I love those adventures that you just get up and go. 6 of us all carefully climbing down the rocks, over the fallen tree and up some more rocks stumbled across a beautiful spot along the river. We sat there for a while skipping rocks and joking. We even pretended to find ancient rocks and act like television explorers from the discovery channel. We didn't realize how far we went and all of a sudden we realized that we did a complete loop of the river. The loop brought us to the road that leads back to the monastery.
So what started out as a day for tennis (unfortunately the courts were closed) ended up being a great discovery of our surroundings and still getting to enjoy the beautiful weather.
On Saturday we got to some water rapids where people learn to do kayaking. We climbed the rocks in the river and luckily no one fell in. We're definitely on a mission to go back with some tubes to pretend we're on a lazy river. From there we headed out to some ancient ruins. We climbed ALLLLLLLLL the way to the top. Centuries ago, when in war, they were used to see when the enemies were approaching. You could see from days maybe even weeks in a advance when they were coming. We stayed on top for a while to soak in the view and then back down we were. Our adventures never cease to amaze me.

A demaine
Amour
Alexia Shashara

Hopping the fence to Budapest!

2008-03-08T22:10:00.008+01:00

William, a kid we met in our hostel in Prague, Kristin, Bridget and I walked out of the hostel at about 6 am hiking towards the station to pick up the bus to go to Budapest. With backpacks on our backs packed for 3 days and 2 nights we went uphill and downhill and in a dark alley. The gate was open so I preceded to walk. As we continued to walk is when we noticed the disappearance of light, but we were too far along and too determined to turn around. All of a sudden the barking of a dog broke the silence of the city. We all stopped and looked in that direction. The dog was fenced so we weren't bothered. William immediately hopped over the wall as that was the only way to get out of the yard. Bridget hopped thereafter as I stopped unable to climb the wall because I was laughing so hard. I saw how William hopped it by stepped on a lower wall first, but Bridget somehow scurried to the top of a flat wall with the same American Chucks I was wearing. I laughed talking to her saying how did you do that when all of a sudden I saw a man coming our way yelling. I quickly stopped laughing and hopped over the wall. There goes a little inspiration.
However, I turned and noticed there was no Kristin. About 2 minutes later she came along with a big smile on her face. The man immediately looked at her and started yelling. Seeing as none of us speak czech we have no idea what he was saying. It sounded like he was yelling "You all are polish", which confused us even more. Then he kept repeating and he might have said something along the lines of police. Anyway, he started tugging at Kristin's bag as she kept talking to him in english saying "let me go". He clearly wasn't going to open the gate for her, so she too had to hop the wall. I'm shocked he didn't let that dog go on us.
She went to climb the wall and made the situation even funnier. She was gripping the wall and wouldn't let go shouting she didn't want to fall. Seeing as it's a wall the only way to get on the ground is to let go and fall. After gripping on for what seemed like forever she finally let go with battle wounds left on her wrists and somehow on her knee.
Finally, after getting over we all proceeded to the station.
"There is only one ticket left" the woman tried to explain through a ticket window in her czech accent. Somehow Bridget's ticket got cancelled. Bridget bought the ticket. William's ticket went through and so did mine that we bought ahead of time. Then Kristin's ticket was canceled as well. Unfortunately after hopping the wall Kristin was not able to get on the bus to go to Budapest with us. We looked to meet her later as she would have gotten on the next bus as we agreed.
After a 6 hour ride stopping in Bruno and Bratislava, we arrived to Budapest. Absolutely breathtaking. The smile quickly appeared on my face as we rode through and got a glimpse of Budapest. Soon after we arrived to our hostel, "Imperio Max". I didn't feel like I was at a hostel at all. In fact, I felt like I was at a friends house. It was so homey and they were so welcoming. We talked on a first name basis and stayed up all night playing games together and making jokes and watching movies.
Did you know that Budapest is two places in one? We stayed on the Pest side. We crossed the bridge the first two days to go and explore Buda. The place was really nice. We climbed to the top of a mountain and looked down and soaked up the beautiful view. You could see all of Buda and Pest from the top.
The last day we were there William left really early that morning so we didn't get to see him the last day, but Bridget and I went searching to get her a bathing suit and then off to the thermal bath spa we were. Budapest is famous for its healing waters. The thermal baths were great. The place has 13 pools all together, saunas, whirl pools, hot tubs, jacuzzi's and pools for regular swimming as well as water aerobics.
After the spa we headed over to the bus station and back to Prague for one more day and night we went.

A demain
amour,
Alexia Shashara

RAWWWWWWWWW... Queen of the London Jungle!

2008-03-08T22:10:00.007+01:00

The first time we went to London about a month ago, I didn't get the chance to climb the lion. With determination I made it to th etop of the lion located in Trafalgar Square in front of the national museum. Getting up was funny, but the getting down was even funnier. Unfortunately, it took 2 hours to upload the one video, so uploading two would be to much. To give you a visual of coming down, I almost went head first over the right back side of the lion. I would rather say the lion began to come to life and almost through me off. ENJOY!!!

Thermal Baths of Budapest

2008-02-28T00:57:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow or should I say later on today I will be in Budapest, Hungary. I am so excited. Budapest if you ask anyone whose been there will say it is absolutely beautiful in every aspect. No one has anything negative to say about it. Budapest is also known for its many healing waters. I bought a bathing suit today and am looking forward to the God given sun and healing waters and relaxation. O and yes the Spring Break continues...

A demaine
Amour
Alexia Shashara

Loving Prague

2008-02-28T00:54:00.002+01:00

I have learned that the best things in life are not planned. This entire trip so far we would wake up and walk. We have seen the castle of Prague as well as many churches and even gone to a museum on Communism. The best was sitting out in the sun and thinking of how exactly where we sat 20 years ago were street riots. Even more shocking is I was 1 year of age in 1989.
...to be continued

Passport, check Ticket, check... Prague CZECH! O YEA BABY

2008-02-23T01:14:00.000+01:00

WOW! I can't believe I'm really getting to travel this much. This is so exciting. For those of you who did not know, Prague is yet another fashion capital of the world. They were just recently added on to the uniqueness of fashion. But that is not why I came out here.
I have no idea why I came out here. I think the best experiences are the ones not planned. Days before we were going to book Italy, Bridget and I came up with a master plan. Prague seemed cheap and we'd heard how beautiful it was. Kristin overheard and hopped on and Karen heard about checked it out and did the same. So here we are the four of us in Prague. It's soooooooooooo beautiful. I arrived last night so today was the first full day we had. We walked around town to get a feel for the area we are in. We picked the perfect Hostel. The Chilli Hostel is walking distance from town. There are so many stores, clothing, eyewear, jewelry, stationary etc. Just to give you an idea of the we stumbled into plenty of eyewear places trying on glasses that would be extremely expensive in the states. We also stumbled into H&M, Promod, the New Yorker, and YAMAHA. We loved Yamaha. I am going to learn how to play an instrument. I went to Catholic school all my life so the archdiocese didn't cover learning how to play an instrument. I always wanted to play the piano, but I think I'm going to aim for guitar lessons first. The guitars there were gorgeous. Bridget had to talk me out of getting one because I would have to tote it all over and have it shipped everytime we traveled. There were 5 floors of instruments, strings, woodwind and keys. Bridget plays the piano very beautifully I might add. We sat in on her playing a variety of compositions for about an hour. The piano was all white and made in the Czech Republic. IT WAS SOOOO BEAUTIFUL. Trust me if I had unlimited funds I would have bought myself the guitar and Bridget the piano. No worries, we'll both be rich one day.
Once Kristin, Bridget and I realized how late it was we started to head back to the hostel. We didn't realize we were going in the wrong direction until we stumbled across OLD TIMES SQUARE. GREAT! We covered one of the adventures on our list earlier than expected.
Well, it's getting late and tomorrow is another day. Off to bed I go :)

A demaine
Amour
Alexia-Shashara

Musuem of Modern Art

2008-02-23T01:13:00.003+01:00

I wish I had pictures to post but I was not allowed to take photos at all. This museum is a must go to. Every painting had so much meaning from genocide to slavery to communism and much more. I find great interest in paintings that aren't of royalty or perfect measurements. We clearly don't live in a perfect world and this museum brings it to life. I must applaud the artists. I understand why they would not let us take pictures. Go to the Museum of Modern art on 11 President Wilson in Paris and you will see what I mean.

A demaine
Amour
Alexia Shashara

Farewell Paris

2008-02-23T01:13:00.002+01:00

coming soon!

LONDON: FASHION CAPITAL

2008-02-23T01:11:00.000+01:00

coming soon

Trying to get to the top: Eiffel Tower

2008-02-23T01:03:00.000+01:00

A beautiful day. Sun high in the sky and it is warm enough to only throw on a light jacket. After receiving a phone call from the group, I hopped on the metro in an attempt to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We stood in the line right before the heavy crowd came. As we stood there, Kristin noticed that the sign that once read the cost to how much it was to get to the top suddenly changed to CLOSED.
We were all so confused as to what was going on and decided to get out of line instead of just send one person over to read the sign closer or ask someone else that worked there. One of the guards that worked there told us it was only closed for 30 minutes because it was too full at the top. So there we were, out of line when we were so close and now looking at a 30 minute wait and an even longer line that meant 2 - 3 hours. We decided to try for it another day.
However, everything happens for a reason. We caught a beautiful sunset across the street from the Eiffel Tower. I will post pictures March 4th.

Crank that Spider Man Saturday 26/27 Janvier 2008

2008-01-29T13:38:00.000+01:00

No, No, No…almost in tears as it is now 10 minutes after the time I was supposed to leave the house and I could not find my RER pass. The RER Pass, is a weekly pass for the metro so that you save money and don’t have to buy a new ticket every time you get on a train or bus. I was meeting up with a cousin of a friend at school (SFU, P.A.). I searched the house all over. I new I had put it in my pocket book earlier and suddenly it disappeared. Finally it hit me. Also, in my pocketbook was a book I was reading. Could it have possibly slipped into the pages of the book? I ran back upstairs for the sixth time and flipped through the pages. There it was my life saver to the beginning of a good night.
I got in; club Gibus, for free because I arrived before 1am. The party went from 12 – 6am, for me and my friends at least. When we left people were still on the dance floor. The club was jam packed. Normally when you go to a party, there is a point when everyone sits down due to a certain genre of music. That was not the case. No one ever cleared the floor. The DJ played, hip-hop, R&B, Pop, Reggae-ton, Salsa and plenty of his own special mixes. There was absolutely no techno, which I was happy about.
I noticed the Parisians dance extremely close to each other regardless of the fact their girlfriend or boyfriend may be standing there watching. Dancing is seen as strictly dancing over there. In the states, people tend to get upset if their significant other is dancing with someone else. They do our own dances better than we do. I was impressed. They do the best Crank that Michael Jackson, Crank that Spider man and Crank that Super Man. No one does the Lion King and Scooby Doo out here. It was so funny. One kid pushed back a line of people and starts moon walking and whipped a silver glove out of his pocket. He and his friends started to do the dance from the “Remember the times” video, to the Crank that Michael Jackson beat. With creativity on the dance floor like that, I don’t think I’ll ever leave Paris.
I also met someone who will be touring with the band “The Roots”. I didn’t quite catch his name because it was so loud in there, but he is the best beat boxer I have ever seen perform. Somehow he was able to make the beat with his mouth and sing the song. It was so great. I’ll give him about a year before I see him on MTV.
After the club we all went out to eat crepe’s, which are absolutely delicious. We stayed at the restaurant and talked for a while. They knew I couldn’t speak French, but when I said “merci beacoup”, the guys started making all this noise. I got scared for a second, because I knew I hadn’t said anything wrong. Then one of the guys that spoke good English told me they love the American accent. I thought that was so funny because we love their accent. Well, now that I have friends who are natives of Paris, I am sure to acquire French instead of strictly reading a book to learn it.
So, I got to party for free because I got there before 1 am. I found my RER pass so I wouldn’t have to buy a ticket to get on the train. And I went to a club that was “hopping” the entire night. Got home at… 8 a.m. Yea…..Great Night!

Amour
Alexia-Shashara

Le Mix (Verdi 25 Janvier 2008)

2008-01-29T13:35:00.000+01:00

Last Friday- Le Mix
So here we were, the 7 of us, getting ready to try at another Friday of clubbin. We were in hopes that this Friday would be successful. Again, we all dressed up, running through the house like headless chickens making sure we had all the necessities to get there and get in: RER PASS, check…Money, check…ID, check…ready to Party, two checks. “Allons-y” (Let’s go)
We got on the train and there was group of roudy college students who got on as well with jungle juice in huge bottles. For one, they weren’t French with the amount of noise they were making and they weren’t American because of their accents. So who exactly were these people? They started talking to us and announced some of them were from Italy, Ireland and Spain. They were so funny. It seemed as though we all knew each other by how well we got along on the train. We all shared laughs and sang “OLLLLLLAAAAAYYYY OOOLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAYYY OLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAYYY OOOOLLLLAAAAAAAAYYYYY”. After being on the train with them for about 25 minutes it was time to part ways.
Going through the train station to get outside was a conveyor belt with blue streaming lights, which stretched for about the equivalence of two N.Y.C. blocks. We started racing on it which was actually a lot of fun. Ducking and dodging people in a rush to make it to the end before the next person gave us the greatest rush ever. I think the lights gave it the effect we were going a lot faster than we really were aside from the conveyor belt.
Once we arrived near our destination we decided to sit in on a bar to kill some time. All of a sudden we noticed people coming from all directions on roller blades from ages ranging from mid 20’s – 60’s. Imagine your grandpa speed racing down the street on roller blades and doing tricks. Some of these guys were riding backwards and crisscrossing the legs down hills. I felt like I fell into a time warp into the 70’s and it just happened to be disco night.
After the bar, I decided to go home instead of to the club. I needed to save the money to go to the club tomorrow night. I’m not sure how much it is going to cost. So I hopped on a bus back and that was my night. Le Mix looked like it was all techno anyway, which I am not a fan of. I had no regrets passing on that. I was actually a bit relieved. I’m sure the train ride there and the conveyor belt was enough fun for the night.
Amour
Alexia-Shashara

Catching up

2008-01-29T02:42:00.000+01:00

Hey, everyone. Thanks for reading my blogs. Check back tomorrow for blogs from last week. There has been so much to do and alot more to tell. I need to catch up.

Talk to you all soon
Alexia-Shashara

Barack strikes again...One mile walk for pizza 22 Janvier 08

2008-01-23T10:51:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, for my economics class, the teacher took us to the library. We went to look at the different currencies of money in all of Europe. It's far more complex than the exchange rate between the European countries and the U.S. All of the symbols are measured to the degree of parallel lines. Too bad starring at the money long enough didn't make it a cut out to spend and split between the 7 of us.
After the Library we went back to the station to wait for the train. As I turned I noticed Barack Obama starring at me. I ran over to take a picture of his poised face at the news stand. No, he wasn't really there in the flesh. Barack is the only American figure I have seen here since I have been in Paris. He is absolutely everywhere. I am going to begin to count the ammount of times I see him.
After arriving into Sceaux, we decided to go and find this pizza place that Bridget and Karen passed by one night when they were out running. We took one good look at the map and off we went trucking up the hill that seemed to never end. Then around the corner and up some more hill. At this point we had been walking for at least 10 minutes. Then I happened to look up and to the right. Gorgeous. Looking through the trimmed tree's was a full moon which shined brighter than ever.
(If you look very closeley you'll notice that all the trees are perfectly trimmed.)We continued to walk and finally we reached...Only to find out that the restaurant that smelled like great pizza was a bar. So we continued to walk and found Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, it was only take out. There was no way we'd walked this far to walk back with food in our hands and not our stomachs. We backtracked and went to the chinese food restaurant.
The French are very different when they eat. They don't seem to speak at their dinner tables whereas we laugh and joke and share stories of all sorts. It was obvious that we were not French. They also seem to take up so little space. We tend to slouch or sit with our legs a little spread apart. They sit upright with their hands in the laps and legs pressed together.

The Louvre (out of order): Verdi, 18 Janvier 2008

2008-01-21T17:41:00.001+01:00

I breathed in a gasp of air on the approach of The Louvre. The architectural structure of the outside along was breathtaking. I couldn’t wait to go inside to find the mystery of the Mona Lisa, the secrets of the Greek gods, and the hidden treasures and legends of the Egyptians.
Never have I been to a museum that withheld so many different segments. Where does the money come from to support this all? It is all so amazing, absolutely amazing. Since I was a child I was always so mesmerized by the Egyptians and their pyramids. I had an obsession with what the after life would be like. I had a teacher who once explained that you should always look your best because you never know when it is your time. You want to go to God looking your best. Now if you can actually take things with you to Heaven or wherever you go after life, I’m not sure of. Unfortunately there has been no documentation of any being dying and coming back to tell the story.
The Egyptians prized death just as much as life, if not more. Death is eternal whereas life is just a segment of time.
Claire and I, parted from the rest of the group and, went off to see what we fancied most after the Egyptians, The Greek gods. I learned about the different Greek gods and goddesses since I was in 5th grade. It was my English teacher Mrs. Ingalls who started my obsession with Greek art and literature. I was always so excited to get the sheets of the stores of Hermaphrodite or Hercules and so on. How gods and goddesses came to work together and/or toy with the mortal world; or ever how mortals would go to the immortals for help. The statues were great. I was able to immediately know who each one was without even looking at the name. It was like flashcards. I would guess from the stories I remember hearing and then look down at the script below the statue. It’s amazing how much you remember from childhood schooling.
The arrows then lead to the great MONA LISA. My senior year of high school I read Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. I remembered in the book said the MONA LISA was neither he nor she. If you look at it from one angle it has female features and from the opposite angle has male features. I couldn’t quite see the difference, but I will look again the next time I go. I was looking for the puffiness that they were talking about on the right side of its face. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it because the MONA LISA sits at angle in the painting. I would need to go back when there aren’t a million people pushing and shoving.
I plan to go back at least another two times. I plan to be as awed every time I go as I was the first.

A demain

Amour

Alexia-Shashara

Notre Dame

2008-01-20T23:00:00.000+01:00

Today, Karen and I attended the International Mass at Notre Dame. I liked it alot. The only thing that was different is that the entire time of mass there are tourists walking around the outskirts of the seats observing the church.

After church I walked over and there was a guy out on the strip roller blading. I must say, he's really good. He was doing all types of tricks around the cones. One time when I was out there he was break dancing on the roller blades. He didn't even fall. That's skill right there.

Then I managed to wonder over the the Shakerperean and Company Bookstore which I absolutely love. I was in there for a really long time. I ended up buying three books. One was a poetry book, the other was a novel and the third was a book for writer's book. I'll tell you the names of them when I finish. I'm holding the bag of books in my hand. The bag reads "Born to be a Livre", which means "Born to be a Book."

The other side of the bag has a quote from Dr. Seuss- "The more that you read, the more things you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

After the bookstore, Karen and I wandered around for 3 more hours and found so much. We ran into all of the nifty side stores. I saw so many things I want to get. I need to go back down that way loaded with euros next time. It was like China Town for Christmas, except there was no bargaining about to happen. There were set prices for everything. Going into these side stores made me feel the culture difference FINALLY. That is what I was looking for since the day I got here, CULTURE. Now I feel a lot better. I was starting to get a little disappointed and frustrated because it started to feel exactly like N.Y.

Right acorss the street from Notre Dame are so many oil paintings, music cd's, drawings, and post cards. Then there was this really big case of stamps cost that cost 40 euros. I want to get it so bad, but 40 euros is about 80 U.S. dollars. I can't wait to go back and buy all those things I saw.

Well until next time...

A demain

Amour,

Alexia Shashara

BARACK! BARACK!

2008-01-20T22:01:00.001+01:00

We went to a bar last night and this guy asked us the typical where are you from? He spoke good english. He also knew alot about the states. Then he randomnly asked Bridget and Hannah, "What do you think about Barack Obama?" We all went silent. Then somehow Bush's name came up and he put his hands over his face and said NOOOOOO and smushed his hands against his face. It was so funny.

He thinks Sarkozy, President of France, is crazy. Then he randomnly yells VOTE BARACK! BARACK! BARACK! I hit the floor laughing. He was raising his hands in their air as if it were a civil rights movement. It was classic. So classic we had to get a picture of him.

A demain

Amour

Alexia-Shashara

Where's the party at?

2008-01-20T20:57:00.000+01:00

O my goodness. Friday night was absolutely crazy. We had our own pre party of running around like little kids trying to figure out if what we were wearing was party ready. Once we walked out the door and smelled the fresh midnight air, the party search was on. We took 3 trains before we found an area that looked like it was apart of the party scene.

These guys that worked at a bar who weren't so sober, directed us to a club. So we hopped in a two taxis between the 7 of us to get there. I guess they're in a rush out here just as in the city (NYC) because the taxi I was in almost rammed into the back of the taxi the other half of our group was in. So we made it safe in about 10 minutes. We had the bright idea to not wear coats. It felt really warm. I guess that wasn't such a good idea. We were the only ones without coats. Could you have thought of another way to scream tourist?

We met this nice couple on the strip. He spoke French of course, but along with that he spoke English and Spanish which was great. He and his girlfriend were very funny as well. We told them about the original place we were headed to and he said no, don't go there. He told us about a place called O P A. He wipped out a map and with every whistle he made was him telling us to make either a left or a right. I don't recall how many times he whisteled, but off we went. Into the dark and absolute quiet. There was no one around and absolutely nothing but closed stores.

Eventually we came across a woman who walked us part of the way and pointed into about the same direction the guy from the club strip told us to go to. We continued to walk and still didn't see it. Then we ran into a group of guys one of whom looked like he was ready to sweep Bridget off of her feet.YES!!! They spoke English too which was another plus. They guided off to this club. Once we got there French was thrown back and forth between the guards at the door and the guys that had taken us there. Somehow we all managed to get in except the guys that brought us there.

What happened was those same guys were trying to get in earlier but weren't allowedin because they didn't have any females with them. So when they came back with us they were wearing a completely different wardrobe. How is that for a laugh? I was wondering why they were so anxious to help us.

So we went in...there wasn't much dancing there at all. Every one was pretty much just sitting around. Then we went to the second tier and I noticed a naked woman who seemed to be a hostess. All of a sudden the "hostess" stood us and it was a man. AHHHHHH. NO NO NO. He was about mid 40's had on no shirt and these short short short shorts that showed half of his butt cheeks. I was ready to run for my life. He looked like he could have been a professor. It was terrible. He was wearing these outdated prescription glasses and had hair to his shoulder.

Soon enough he came over to us and bent over to talk so we could hear. I felt so bad for Karen. His butt was smack in her face. I'm surprised it didn't make her eyes tear like onions. He asked us what we wanted to drink and we said nothing. His response was, "Then you have to leave (pause) NOW" He sounded like Tarzan it was so funny. That guy literally pushed us out the door.

I swear that guy was Fabbio gone wrong. I would cry if I saw that guy in a commercial saying. "I can't believe it's not butter".

But there's more...So getting back home was the next part. We walked forever and by this point it's about 3 a.m. I was freezing. Remember I had no coat. Every bus driver we asked told us to walk to the next stop and catch a different bus. Imagine that happening 4 times. So we had enough. We looked at a map then found a help booth that by God happened to be open that early in the morning. So the bus we were supposed to take just happened to be there getting ready to pull off. They all hopped in the backdoor excluding me. Yes I was still standing there on the sidewalk. I looked and saw the front door still open so I ran on. My heart never beat so fast.

It was terrible these guys wouldn't leave Bridget, Hannah and I alone. So we came up with alias'. Bridget and Hannah were from England and I was from Spain. I must say we have great accents. They believed us. He kept trying to speak english and french to me and I had a lost look on my face. I repeated " Lo siento, no hablo ingles o francias" Imagine me trying not to laugh in saying all of this. It went great. Finally we got off the bus and they just so happened to get off at the same stop.

We waited for the 2nd bus. When it was time for us to hop on, one guy ran out of nowhere and kissed me on my cheek. It was so gross. He said if he spoke spanish he would marry me right now. I laughed so hard. Only if he knew I knew english better than he did. The other guy grabbed my arm and went for my cheek but when I turned away he bit my other cheek I couldn't believe it.But with little time to slap him I opted to just get on the bus before it pulled off and left me behind only to be stuck with those ingrates.

Then we needed to get on a third bus. We got on and there was no driver but plenty of people. All of a sudden the entire back of the bus ran off. We looked out the window and saw people running from every direction. A fight was about to break out. All of a sudden the police showed up and everyone ran back on the bus including the bus driver. At that point I felt like I was back home and it seemed so natural to me.

By 4:30 a.m. we were finally at our stop. Walking up Marx Dormoy never felt so good. Suddenly the green gate to the house looked gold. Home sweet home!

Until next time

Love
Alexia Shashara

P.S. We passed the original club we were trying to get to on the way home!

Paris Loves ME!!!

2008-01-18T21:12:00.000+01:00

One week, and there's so much covered it's too much to write about. I guess this is just one of those situation that you realize it can only be experienced first hand .I honestly want to stay out here forever. Imagine the Eiffel Tower being in your backyard. Yes, we are seconds on the metro away from the Eiffel Tower.

Paris absolutely loves me. I swear. When I wake up in the morning the birds are whisteling my name. "Come out and enjoy the beauty of Paris." Yes, beauty. If you did not know, Paris is the capital of fashion, which I absolutely love. If you know me, you know I wore sweats once first semester. I spent 78 euros on make up alone which is actually almost 200 American dollars. Ladies, if you know what Sephora is, then you know why. But I honestly keep forgetting the currency difference. So maybe I returned it and got my money back. That I will never tell. There are shades here that you won't find online. And ahhhh yes, parfum....not eau de toilette. I hope I spelled that correctly.

No, I've never taken a french course before ever. I speak spanish. But when it came to shopping I knew the right words to say and the people in the store understood me perfectly.

Ladies, I don't know what you've heard about French guys, but they love love love American girls. I myself am Trinidadian, but I pass for American pretty well. Just kick your accent out the window and you'll do just find. Just kidding. Trust me they will love you no matter what you are. My second night on the metro a guy followed me and got off at my stop. He shook my hand and introduced himself and asked where I was from. He saw I was in a hurry so he wanted my number... Well no I didn't give it to him I was filled with shyness and giggles.

However, tonight is Friday...Yes, our first Friday here. Can anyone say club? CLLLLLUUUBBBB! O yes, clubbing with the internationals and locals in the heart of Paris, France.

Well, until next time!!!
Au revoir...
Love,
Alexia-Shashara