I'm sorry its been ages!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so sorry that I’ve failed to update in weeks! I’ve been soooooo busy!
Nothing too exciting happened again until October 14th, when I met Emily (the girl I went to Bestival with) in Paris. We stayed in this very cool hostel called Lucky Youth Hostel near Gare Monparnasse. It wasn’t like your typical hostel because it was an actual apt in an apt building which meant there was a full kitchen and even laundry (if I had known I would have brought some!). We also got to meet the owners- a really cute, funny couple!
In the hostel were two Italian girls who I pretty much never saw and two Aussie guys who we ended up hanging out a lot with.
Emily and I went to a show on Rue Oberkampf, a street famous in Paris for its fun bars. We went to a venue called Nouveau Casino to see the Glitch Mob. Glitch Mob are two djs that play electronic music and they did a great job but the venue was so overcrowded that it was disgustingly hot and the crowd forcibly separated Emily and me for the rest of the night. Due to these awful conditions, I can’t say I really enjoyed the show. However, after Glich Mob got off stage, a female dj (very rare) came on. Most people left and I quickly found myself reunited with Emily right at the front of the stage with plenty of wiggle room. To my surprise this dj was AMAZING! Not only were her mixes seamless, upbeat, and energized, but she was insane. She jumped up & down, contorting her face, raising her hands up, bobbing her head up & down. Mid way through the set, this was clearly not enough space for her & she left behind the booth to run around it, stand in front of it, & jump up and down. She had to race back behind the booth, but later, still not content with the space behind the dj set, she actually climbed up on the equipment and began jumping, shouting, and waving her hands. It was unreal! Her name, I discovered, was Miss Ill, pronounced missile.
Saturday I took Emily and the Aussies to an Anglophone bar called the Frog and Princess (on Rue de la Princesse near Odeon & Saint Germain des Pres). At this bar they brew their own beer & I was proud to show off my favorite to them (a bar tender there has told me “this is the beer that all beer brewers will drink here- they find all the others to be crap!”). Sadly, the Aussies don’t like a lager- they find it flat. They just don’t have a refined taste in beer like myself I suppose!
Sunday I took Emily to the Jardin Atlantique. This garden is located above the Gare Montparnasse (on the roof) & because it is surrounded by apartment buildings, it cuts off the noise of the streets, making it very quiet and peaceful. Around us, children played games and one definitely French couple was making out a bit too much.
In the evening, the Aussies wanted to see the Moulin Rouge & have snails & frogs legs. So I looked on Trip Advisor to find a budget eatery with authentic French food. When we got to the Moulin Rouge, right in front where you take pictures of it, someone was having what appeared to be her wedding photos taken. I don’t know why in the world you would want your weddings pics taken in front of there, but ok.
After, I took everyone to this restaurant and it turned out to be awesome. It wasn’t super cheap, though nothing in Paris is, but we did get out “authentic” meal. The didn’t have frogs legs, but they did serve escargot, which everyone loved. One of the boys got French onion soup and Emily and I got raclette. The raclette was a large block of cheese that you melt by putting it near hot coals. You the scrape off the melted bit and eat it with meat that you’re given. It was delicious!! Then we did the cliché thing and bought beers and wine and drank under the Eiffel Tower.
The next day, the Aussies left for Dublin. Emily and I headed to Le Havre. She stayed with me until Saturday and we spent a lot of the week just hanging around.
On Thursday, I had to go to Rouen to complete my visa by getting a brief medical examination. Afterwards, we went to the Musee des beaux-arts there (free for students!). We also went to the Church of Joan of Arc. The Church has a very weird look as it appears both medieval and modern at the same time. The square surrounding it is quite quaint as well for walking around.
Mom came on Friday and got to meet Emily. On Saturday, Emily left & mom and I rented a car. We went to Etretat where you can see these amazing rock formations and straight cliffs. This was my second time there, and this time it was low tide so we were able to walk through a cave in the cliff on one side to get to the other side (at high tide you would need a boat). An old French woman was the one that showed us the way. She was pretty adventurous seeing as she was definitely over 70, travelling alone, and could hike with the best of them.
We continued on to Yvetot, a small seaside town, slightly les touristy, but also not as beautiful as Etretat.
After that, we went to Fecamp where we saw the Benedictine Palace. This palace was built by some guy after he uncovered the lost formula for todays liquor known as Benedictine (or B&B when added to brandy). This palace is still where the liquor is made, so not only did we get to see a palace (it had beautiful art & architecture), we also got to see where the liquor is made and taste it at the end.
The next day, we headed in the opposite direction to the beaches of Normandy, or debarquement. We went to Omaha beach and a tiny museum near it which had a nice film and lots of items and mannequins (though in retrospect, I would have skipped this whole bit and headed straight to our next site). The we headed to the American Cemetery. At this cemetery, there are over 9,000 American graves (all killed in Normandy during WWII) and the free museum give informative facts and emotional tales of real sacrifice and heroism at the battle of Normandy.
After, we left Omaha Beach and headed to the quaint town of Bayeux. In this cute little town is the amazing Bayeux Tapestry. About 90m long, this tapestry tells the story of how William the Conqueror conquered England (which explains why a lot of English words are of French origin). The museum has a really nice audioguide that walks you through the entire tapestry and tale. Afterwards we walked around this very picturesque town.
On the way back to Le Havre, we stopped for an hour at the beautiful seaport, Honfleur. There isn’t one specific attraction here, but the town is breath taking. The narrow, tall homes have the traditional wooden beams visible from the outside. There is quite simply a character here that in many places seems forced, cheesy, unnatural or not fully developed. You can understand why many impressionist painters came here during their summers to paint.
The next day we drove to Le Mont Saint Michel. It was not the most beautiful day, but it was nice. We got there pretty early and went straight to the top to avoid the crowds. We missed the tour, but we walked through it ourselves and it was quite nice. My favorite part is always the cloister where the garden is. It’s a lovely place to walk around and you can see over the whole hill/mountain. This was my second time there and it was just as striking.
We ate in a really lovely restaurant overlooking the whole ocean. The food was great. Mom had a fish soup and I had a Sheppard’s pie or something (hard to remember now- but it was very good!).
Afterwards we walked through the narrow alley that comprises of the one main street on the island. There are lots of cute little shops that sell really lovely things. However, it was beginning to rain, so we left for Le Havre. When we returned to Le Havre, we had to drop off the car and grab some dinner. By then it was already starting to get dark. We went down the the Docks to see the boats that were coming by for a major regatta to Costa Rica. It was dark and starting to rain and no one was there, but you could tell these boats were cool and quite impressive. It’s too bad we didn’t have more time to see them.
The next day we woke up bright and early and headed to Giverny. We took a train to Vernon, dropped off our bags in a café that allowed us to check our bags there and took the bus to Giverny. We headed straight to Monet’s garden. Because it’s pretty late in the season, it wasn’t as vibrant as it could be, but it was still very nice. Afterwards, we enjoyed a simple meal outside. This was my third time to Giverny, but I had never gone to the Impressionist museum there. This time my mom & I went and it was great! There were all kinds, and they were doing a special exposition on this couple that collected impressionist art. The art featured here was the art they had collected over the years. Would definitely recommend checking out this museum if you ever go to Giverny! My mom & I also went to see where Monet is buried. I also had never seen this and it was quite nice. I was surprised though to find that most of the other tombstones there are in complete disarray and there are notices that if you would like to buy the plot it is available. There was a little church there too, but that was very cute and beautiful. It was nice to have a seat and just relax here.
I’m wiped and that’s a lot for you to read… coming up: Paris and Dublin!!!

Now in Le Havre!!!

Last time I wrote, I was in Paris, anxious about going to Le Havre.
I struggled with my bags through the Paris Metro (subway) up and down possibly a dozen stairways. I had to ask (beg) for help from passing men, broke into a heavy sweat, and even paid a gypsy to help me. Apparently the French are not too concerned about the handicapped as nearly none of the metros are wheelchair accessible (and therefore don’t have escalators or elevators). Shocking, I know.
So after finally finding a car on the train that had enough space in the baggage hold to contain my FOUR bags (I’m a real American girl, what can I say?), I was able to finally relax. It is a mere 2 hour train ride from Paris to Le Havre, with Rouen (the capital of this region, Haute Normandie) being exactly in the middle (1 hour from Paris, 1 hour from Le Havre by train). When I arrived, I was greeted by Janick, my contact person for the position, and driven to the dorm (luckily, she has a car).
I had arranged to temporarily stay at the YMCA dorm in Le Havre, mostly meant for unemployed youths, but conveniently located near the center of the city. The dorm, because of said role, is mostly dingy and dirty. It smells and you have the distant impression when you enter your tiny room that it has a dirt covering that is not completely visible upon inspection but is felt when you enter the room, and for some reason it feels like it is not possible to scrub off the dirt, but rather its is like a permanent fixture on the room; it has always been there and always will. The room itself was tiny. Very, very tiny. I immediately thought of a kind of spaceship pod, because the bathroom is a tiny little toilet, sink and shower all in one. If I were a boy, I could pee, shower, and brush my teeth all at once (I say boy, because the toilet isn’t really in the shower). The room was maybe 10ft or 15ft by 10ft. It contained a single bed with one drawer beneath it, a desk, a small fridge and microwave (which is pretty nice- I didn’t get that when I lived in a dorm in Paris), and a tiny closet. I’ve been told that after receiving the CAF (money the government gives to students, young people, and families for housing) in December, the rent for this room would only have been 50euro a month (not everyone would get this much money, but because I am a youth working for the government I would get a huge CAF). Pretty cheap, and hence the conditions. I would maybe have stayed, if I could simply have fit all of my belongings in there. Also, because it is for the unemployed, the characters who come through there are not all that great. Some are quite nice, to be sure, but some have slight mental disabilities, social issues, and hygiene problems that can make it awkward, especially since its pretty much all men. For example, the boy in the room across from me smelled so bad, that if I chance to be trying to get into my room while his door was opened I would literally be trying to cover my mouth and mute my gagging. You also cant drink in these dorms (understandable), making them even more intolerable. Clearly not the best place for me.
So anyway, I arrived to this awesome dorm and met the other girl who also has my contact person and we will be sharing the same school district’s elementary schools. Coincidentally, her name is Kristen as well. She’s 25 and comes from San Francisco. She has experience teaching abroad, as she taught English in Madrid, Spain for 2 years. Janick left us and we wandered around the city together. The city is pretty much under total construction until Dec. 2012 (lucky me!). Le Havre used to be a very wealthy seaside resort town as well as port. However, when it became occupied by the Germans in WWII, the Brits decided to bomb the hell out of LH and it has never been able to recover. They’re trying to revamp it now by building a tramway and promenades and putting in a lot of trees and plants. On a Monday, everything is pretty much shut down so there wasn’t much to really see and it was pretty chilly, so I won’t really bore you with the details of the day…
Since this was already over a week ago, I’ll just give you some of the highlights of the week…
So the biggest exciting thing that happened was that I got an apartment. Well, not really an apartment, a house! I have a large bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room with two futons. The house has everything I need in it and the couple I’m renting from told me that if I need anything in the house, they will get it for me and that I shouldn’t buy anything! I’m so lucky! The house is really an apartment above their garage. They have a beautiful home that is over 100 years old and then I have my own place with my own entrance. They have a lovely garden. The couple is an older French couple and they are so nice and very lively- they bike ride and play golf and garden and everything.
I felt bad for Kristen though because she wanted the apartment as well, but I snatched it up pretty quickly. So, to make her feel better, I took her out for some moules frites, or mussels and fries. We got a one with a creamy sauce and one with a tomato based sauce and they were amazing. Kristen had never experienced the glory that is mussels and fries, and so I took her out to a restaurant on the ocean to have some of this deliciousness and she loved them. They were incredibly fresh and definitely the best I’ve ever had.
Kristen, another teaching assistant John, and I also went to Etretat. Etretat is less than an hour from Le Havre and is one of those places to see before you die. It is lined with these amazing white cliffs that drop straight down but from erosion there are a few pillar like things and arches. You should Google it because at the moment I don’t have any pictures. There is also a small pebble beach there and though the water was so cold it would take your breath away, it was unusually hot. For the first week I was in Le Havre England and France had a freak heat wave that brought the weather up to the 90s- the hottest it had been all summer. The sun was shining, no clouds in the sky, and the water was an amazing blue.
At Etretat, you can walk up the cliffs and see for miles. It is a great place for hiking or just sitting on the beach, and I really loved it. In fact, we loved it so much that we went back the next day and John and I went kayaking! That was pretty cool because there are all these little strips of beaches that aren’t accessible except for by boat. It was also really incredible to be able to actually kayak through the arches, which tower over you.
This kind of hot, sunny, beautiful weather is very unusual though. Le Havre (and the north of France in general) is known for its crummy weather: mostly cold, windy, rainy, and cloudy. So by Tuesday, my beach days were over.
This past week I finally started working. On Monday all the assistants in the department (France’s version of a state) met in Rouen to finish paper work, meet, and learn a little something about teaching. There are about 29 countries represented by the assistants which teach English, German, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, and more. There were a bunch of kids, some of whom I’ll never meet again because the department is so big, but still it’s pretty cool. We also got together with all the other primary school English assistants and talked about what our role will be in the classroom, etc. Afterwards we went straight back to Le Havre, which I regret now because I didn’t get to see any of Rouen. I’m going back this Thursday for another training and next Thursday for a physical (its part of finalizing your visa), so maybe then I’ll get a chance…
On Tuesday I signed up to be an “auditeur libre” or an auditor for a class, meaning that I’m free to audit any class at the University here. I’m thinking about taking a history and maybe beginner Spanish class (I really want to go to Spain). I’ll let you know which class I decide to take and how it goes next week…
Wednesday Kristen and I went to the first two schools (out of 4) that we might be working at. When I left my house it really wasn’t that bad out, but by the time we got off the bus, it was torrential down pour and we got lost and couldn’t find the school, so we were drenched by the time we got to the school. We were able to stick it out for a while, but after about an hour and a half we had to leave- I had a puddle under my chair because I was so soaked and I was worried about getting sick. So we left early to go back home to change and have lunch. After we went to the second school and it was very nice. It’s funny how different teacher’s teaching styles are. The first class we saw in this second school was an English class and it was very fun and interactive. It got the kids getting up and walking around and moving and playing games. Then Kristen and I split up to see different classes, and the one I was in was intense- the teacher was quite serious and very strict. I think I’d rather be the fun teacher.
The next day we saw the other 2 schools. The first school was awesome- the teachers were incredibly nice. Kristen and I couldn’t believe it. We also got to eat with them for lunch (for free!). it was lamb with oats, and the sauce was amazing. I was totally stuffed from all the food as well! And the teachers were super friendly and nice and chatted a lot with us (at some of the other schools it was more awkward and people didn’t really talk with us). The next school was a little intense. The teacher we stayed with was incredibly nice as well, but she had a hectic class. In her class there were a lot of problem kids. 2 had serious learning disabilities, 1 had some sort of serious behavior problem, 1 had a physical disability, 1 had parents with severe mental problems, 1 who was orphaned by her mother, and 2 who weren’t in the educational system so they essentially know nothing and she has to catch them up. She deals with all of this in one class without any helpers- there are no assistants for the students who can’t read or write, no one to scribe for the boy with a handicap who can’t physically write, no special ed classes, nothing. It was insane and the poor teacher looked incredibly worn out. After school, we had a meeting with the teachers from these 2 schools to talk about what we’re going to do with them this year. These teachers were so nice and gave us their phone numbers and emails and invited us to do things with them, etc. it was so amazing to experience this kindness.
Also, I forgot to mention on Wednesday, Kristen and I went to see standup improv comedy! It was pretty awesome. I didn’t understand all of it, but some of it was very very funny. I especially liked one skit where they set up some props on the floor on their sides and then had a camera above recording it. Its hard to explain, but basically they had to wiggle around on the floor doing the skit so that on the projector it looked like they were standing up. It made for some hilarious comedy.
On Friday I had a little house warming party at my apartment. Spent most of the weekend sleeping. It’s very cold now- low 60s and cloudy.
Wooh! That was a loooooooong update! I’ll try to be more diligent and write more regularly now that I’m settled in!

I see London, I see France...

Wow… It’s been so long since my last blog post, it will be hard to remember all of the details!
My last blogpost I posted about how gray it was in London. Well, then it suddenly turned around! It became amazingly gorgeous. I went to British Museum and saw all kinds of neat stuff! They had really interesting coffins from Africa (I think Ghana?) where the burial ceremony calls for a coffin that is fashioned after some part of the persons life. For example, there was a giant Kodak camera coffin and a big car coffin. I also saw the mummy collection which was my favorite part of the museum. And there was the real Rosetta Stone, which was pretty awesome to see as well. For those of you who don’t know, the Rosetta Stone is a stone in which there was a law or decree written in Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and some other language I don’t know anything about. Having all 3 of these ancient languages written on one stone about one thing helped to explain some of the mysteries of these languages.
Then I walked for hours and hours. I found some cool square thing with some street performers. And wouldn’t you know, there was this guy that I had seen a few years ago with I went with my Aunt Martha to see the Bodies exhibit in Chelsea Piers! It was a performer who was a kind of contortionist. He could dislocate several parts of his body and make himself fit through really weird things, and in the end he fit himself into a small box! His name is Yogi Lazer and he does it for yoga practice I think (they talk about shakras and stuff during the performance). Anyway that was pretty weird, and I talked to him for a little bit after.
Then I walked down to the river and walked along it. There are some nice parks along the Thames, and a really cool skate park that has a lot of graffiti all over it. I walked all along it, until I got to the London Bridge where I was supposed to meet a friend for some annual event where they let sheep cross the London Bridge. Sounds pretty cool right? Well, sadly the event was cancelled . So I went back to my hostel, changed, and went on a bar crawl. Was not super awesome, but it was cool enough… I wanted to go on the bar crawl to at least say I went out in London, but in retrospect, the bar in the hostel is so awesome I may have had more fun just staying there chatting with travelers.
The next day Emily came to London to see me!!! I was so happy! After we dropped off her stuff at her hostel, we went to Kings Cross station to have our pics taken at platform 9 and ¾ (the famous Harry Potter platform!). We kinda just loafed around in my hostel after that, trying to figure out what to do that night. That night we went to a club called Fabric that’s supposed to be soooo awesome and have good electro music, but it just had crummy house music, but with Emily there it was so much fun that it didn’t matter. I’m so lucky to have met her on CouchSurfing!
On Friday I was so sad to leave Emily yet again (we talk every day trying to reunite since then). I went to Paris on the Eurostar. Was very nice to take the train. It was very fast and easy: you leave from and get into the city, instead of the airports which are outside of the cities. I sat across from an awesome family. They were originally from Texas but moved to England because of work. They have two really cute little boys, and the older one was quite smart. At 2 years old, he looked in the window and said, “Look at my reflection mommy.” I feel like reflection is a big word for such a little kid, and I could tell their parents were very proud. They were headed to Euro Disney.
When I arrived, I stayed at my friend Mickael’s. I was quite tired and sad because I missed Emily. Being back in Paris also brings back a lot of memories from the summer before and when I studied abroad. Mickael and I just walked around talking for a few hours. We sat under the Eiffel Tower and watched it sparkle (every hour for ten minutes it sparkles). It’s very stereotypical to do this, so there were TONS of groups of students (probably all on study abroad) and romantic couples. It made me miss the old friends I had when I was there.
The next day I went and got a phone and did a few errands. Above the Gare Monparnasse is a park, le jardin Atlantique. I had been there in the fall when I had studied abroad and there had been no one there (it was quite cold then). Now it was full of people and there were beautiful waterfalls and plants. When you walk out the back of the park, you are on street level because the Gare (French for trainstation) is on a hill. From this point you can look and see a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower with a tree lined boulevard leading up to it. Beautiful!
That night I met a friend Karim who was a close friend of my friend George from Lebanon. We had met last summer when I had been in Paris. We went to a friend’s apartment for a cool little party with half French and half English speakers. He picked me up on his scooter/motor bike. I had been on a Harley once before, but driving through the streets of Paris was kind of cool, but also kind of scary since I’m a big scardy cat. Karim’s dad was in town, so the next day Karim, his dad, his cousin and I went to a Chinese-French buffet for brunch. It was pretty funny to see eggs, springrolls, sushi, and pain au chocolat all in one buffet.
Later I wandered down the Champs Elysees and then took the metro to St Michel, which I frequented a lot when I was studying abroad. It brought back a lot of memories, and I began to yearn to go back in time. So, naturally, I went to the bars we used to go to in that area. First I went to the Frog & Princess, which has their own beers that they brew. Then I went to the Moose bar, which is an American sports bar and was showing a Yankee’s game, a Buffalo Bills game, and a Jets game. So funny.
Afterwards, I met up with a friend from middle school who is also going to be a teaching assistant outside of Paris. We met at a brasserie for a few drinks to catch up.
The next morning, I was off to Le Havre. I was pretty nervous, because I literally had no idea what to expect. Would there be cool music? Would I meet nice people? Would I practice my French enough? Would the kids I be teaching be a terror? So many worries…
And I’m still a week behind! Fortunately, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights I expect to be pretty slow, so I’ll shoot you another update about Le Havre soon  xoxo
PS: if anyone wants to get emails every time I post a blog, please let me know and there is a way I can do that!

Manchester & London

So when I arrived in Congleton (the small rural town that my friend Gemma lives in outside Manchester) I was so dog tired from all the fun I had in Bristol, that I was kind of glad that Gemma had work from 2-9pm. We spent the evening catching up and chatting late into the night.
The next day we drove into Manchester to meet some of Gemma’s friends and go shopping. Manchester is really cool because the scene there is very trendy vintage. In Manchester I bought my first vintage shirt. We also went to a place called Affleck that is a large warehouse-type place that had lots of boutiques that have second hand clothes and hand made clothes by new designers. Gemma’s sister works there and sells her own label “Vampire Bunnies.” We had lunch in a really cool little coffee shop, I forget what it was called, but it was all vegetarian. Surprisingly, it was actually quite good- I had a baked potato cut open and stuffed with veggie chili and cheddar cheese. These stuffed baked potatoes are found everywhere in England and they’re called jacket potatoes.
Because it was “freshers week” (the week that freshman arrive), going out was very difficult, especially because there are many universities (“unies”) in Manchester. At first it wasn’t so bad, but by the end of the night, every bar had a crazy line outside it, so we went home.
The next day we went for dim sum just outside of Manchester. It was a super authentic restaurant and it even had an Asian supermarket on the first floor where you could buy all kinds of interesting things, including aloe juice (which you drink), a full cooked duck (with head and everything), and Mountain Dew (the real kind that we have in the US; the Dew in England is a gross energy drink). After waiting for close to an hour, we were finally seated. We ordered TONS of different choices and it was all so good. I’m trying to remember now what was the best, but I can’t seem to bring it to mind…
After being stuffed with amazing dim sum, Gemma and I drove back to her home and cat napped and watched TV for the rest of the day.
The following day, I packed my bags and then Gemma and I went to the silk/cotton mill. Manchester during the industrial revolution (and even a bit today) was well known for its silk and cotton production. The museum was awesome because you could go through it and see the different machinery that was invented through time and they actually run the tools so you can see how they work, which is amazing because they are so old. I got to watch a woman use a spinning wheel, as well as the spinning jenny. We also got to watch the machinery from later on, and it was so loud that when it’s fully running you’re only supposed to stay in the room for 10 minutes. The people who worked on the machinery could go deaf from working around the machines. We also got to see how a real waterwheel works- they’re very big!
Then I took the train to Manchester and met a friend from Bestival for a drink. Then I hopped on a train to London. When I arrived in London, I stayed in a hostel that was referred to me by a few people called the Generator. The Generator has this really sick bar in it that’s always bumpin’. I met tons of Aussies, a few Canadians, and one American. It was really fun actually. I didn’t even have to leave the hostel! Pretty sweet.
The next day was pretty gray. Went on a free walking tour that was pretty boring, but at least I got to see a lot of the city. Saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. But all in all it was a pretty boring day. Later on, I met my old housemate, Thea, her friend Jenny who is in London for a bit for an internship. We stopped at a random pub and got bangers and mash, which is sausage and mashed potatoes. Just thinking about it, my stomach is starting to growl. It was so good, and quite a good find. Then I left Jenny to meet my friend Pat after he got off work. He’s the amazing friend who’s holding my bags for me in London while I was travelling. We got to hang out for a bit and I grabbed a few new shirts, since after 2 weeks I’m starting to get sick of the other ones.
Then I went back to the hostel and hit the bar again. I have come to the conclusion that a good hostel is marked by its good bar. No bar, no bueno.
I will try and finish the update as soon as possible!!!

England!

I arrived to London last Wednesday after a hectic flight that almost didn't happen because of terrible rain. The Air Canada terminal was a mess with holes in the roof everywhere so that it was practically raining inside. Pretty funny.
Got into London and it was pretty much freezing cold. The hostel I stayed at was super cheap but not super fun. I was supposed to meet my friend Pat to give him my suitcase, but he was stuck at work til 10pm! So my first night in London was pretty lame.
The next day I took the train to Gatwick airport and met up with the girl I met on Couchsurfer who I was going to camp with at the music festival Bestival. Turns out, she's not crazy, she's actually super super cool and we became really close friends!
The festival was intense. To get there took about 15 hours. I left my hostel in London at like 8am and didn't actually finish setting up the tent until about 11 or 12. So crazy and frustrating.
The festival was pretty insane- there must have been 50,000 people (considered "small" by European festival standards), over 100+ acts, and shows, games, and rides. It was incredible. Everyone was also super nice. I made a ton of friends and luckily its super easy to get a phone here so I was able to keep in touch with people and have already met up with a few of them.
At the festival we asked a ton of people where is the place we should visit in England, and pretty much unanimously everyone said Bristol is a really cool place. So Emily & I went off to Bristol. A guy I met recommended a hostel called the lanes which was located above a bowling alley. It was pretty cool. It was quiet there at the beginning of the week which was good for recovery from the festival, but by Thursday the hostel was pretty full and the students were starting to move into the city for school. The city of Bristol is really cool. There's an amazing music scene and it's known as the origin of dubstep- a type of electronic music I really like. It also has a lot of history. It used to be a major port for exporting slaves to the US. There is a park with a castle in it and a tower that over looks the whole city. There's also one of the 1st suspension bridges in this city, though I didn't see it.
Emily, the girl I went to the festival with, and I spent a day in Bath. It's an ancient city that has a natural hot spring. We got to go to the Roman baths museum, which was actually really cool. It's really well preserved still and at the end of the museum you get to try the "healing" water that comes from it. Supposedly Queen Elizabeth or someone was barren til she drank some water from Bath and then had a baby 10 months later. Hopefully that doesn't happen to me? haha
After, we had tea in the Pump Room. It used to be a ball room for the rich and famous in the 18th century. It was super swanky- my mom would have loved it. There's a charming river that cuts through the town that you can walk along and some old apartments from the aristocracy that used to live there that we scoped out. Then we went to Thermae Bath Spa and got to spend an hour or so in the naturally heated pool. It was just the 2 of us and it was pretty cool. The water was quite warm and it was outside.
So now I'm in Manchester visiting my old suite-mate Gemma from sophomore year. I'm relaxing after a crazy week, watching tv with her sister Ellie and eating tv dinners (Gemma had work today from 2-9, which is good b/c I'm too wiped to do anything anyway). In Manchester til Mon night, and then London until Friday morning. Then off to Paris, though I don't really want to leave :(

Update from Africa!

I never thought I’d say this, but, greetings from Africa!
Flight was LONG. Flew from NY to London, but because of the blizzard, my flight was delayed and I missed my connection to Nairobi, Kenya. Luckily, I got the last seat on the next flight. Unfortunately, the next flight wasn’t until 7pm that night- and I’d arrived in London at 11am!
When I arrived in Kenya at 6:30am, my friend Julian met me at the airport and we went straight to the bus station to get on a bus to the coast. The bus ride was long- about another 7 hours to Mombasa. It was also terrifying- the bus driver drives in to the other lane to pass a vehicle then swerves back into the lane just in time to not get hit by oncoming traffic. Better than that, the roads are mostly unpaved so it’s pretty bumpy and uncomfortable. And hot. And smelly.
When we got to Mombasa, we took a type of taxi called a pikki pikki or something. It’s a motorbike with a cab on the back that fits 2 or 3 people. More terrifying than the bus, because now there is nothing between you and the oncoming traffic, which we were swerving in and out of.
Then we took a free ferry across water to an island so we could get to the beach at Diani. Ferry is paid for by the gov’t and comes every 15 min or so. I don’t have any idea why they don’t just build a bridge- it’s not that far…
Waiting for the ferry is when I saw an albino for the first time. That was kind of different that you don’t really see in the US… Julian says they’re seen as having magical powers or something, particularly in small villages where superstition often prevails. If you want to read more, here’s an article I googled quickly: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/11/28/2009-11-28_10000_african_albinos_in_fear_of_lives_after_spate_of_killings_spurred_by_magica.html
We then took another type of taxi, a dalla dalla, which is more like a large van where they fit as many people as possible in it- think 15 people in an 8 person van. After taking 2 of those, we finally made it to the campsite in Diani and met up with Julian’s friend Ben, who is an Australian teaching in a village in Tanzania about an hour from Arusha. Turns out, most people visiting here are Australian and mostly no Americans at all. A few Canadians and some Brits…
The bus and dallas are nice to take because you get to see the area (as opposed to just flying). Most people take ground transport or walk, but it takes a while and is always hot and crowded.
There is also no sanitation here really- no one uses a trash can but either just throws garbage on the ground or builds a garbage pile and then burns it, which greatly contributes to a general stink in those areas. Awesome.
Camping was fun, but rough. The ground is hard and it’s so hot at night it’s impossible to sleep for long. It’s around 90 degrees near the coast (Arusha’s much cooler since it’s at a higher altitude).
Diani had a lot of foreigners and there were 2 big parties for New Years so that was fun and cool. The beaches are beautiful- pretty desolate, perfect white sand, palm trees lining the beach for miles, very sparse hotels. Where we would sit was mostly where a lot of natives would come and chill, which was cool to see locals hang out. It seems Africans don’t really own bathing suits- they go in the water in their underwear and children go in naked. The problem is, you stick out a lot because you’re white so everyone tries to come over to you and try to get you to buy something from them or get water from you or whatever.
The food was pretty good- 2 of the days we ate in these little shacks on the dirt road to the beach. Freshly caught fish with rice and sauces and bread… Soooo good… Other than that, though, the food is pretty bland and you try not to eat anything too sketchy. So we eat a lot of French fries, toast, rice, and pastas. At the hostel, they provide food for you. Food is pretty good- I think from the heat and sun you get pretty starving, so anything tastes good. There are a lot of veggies, which I think is good, but now were moving out to a house today, so the veggies might get cut back a bit.
I also went on a day safari with Julian and 3 of his friends. I thought it was awesome- I saw ostriches, 5 elephants (including babies!), mearcats, baboons, giraffes, antelope, and warthogs; even lions, though they were far, far away. They thought it was lame and we didn’t see a lot, but since it was my first and all I can compare it to was the safari ride at Busch Gardens, I thought it was excellent! I’ll post pics soon- I need to figure out how to upload them, since the computer I’m using doesn’t have the memory card.
In terms of technology, it’s pretty cool here. I already have a phone for less than $40 and it’s not locked, so I can use it where ever, I would just need to buy a new chip. And the internet is really cool. The connections not very strong (it cuts out a lot) but instead of WiFi they have internet sticks and you can buy credit ($20 for 1 month unlimited internet) and you just plug the stick into the USB port and can use the internet anywhere. Basically, you have wireless broadband where ever you go! It’s pretty cool- you don’t need a box or anything!
Cars also drive on the left side. Which often leaves me looking in the wrong direction when crossing the street. Cars don’t always stop for red lights either.
Arusha’s pretty nice. It’s a little city (municipality, really). Not much to do around here except volunteer and chill, which is good.
Just moved out of the hostel and into a house with a bunch of other kids. House is beautiful. Will upload pics soon!

June 24- June 30

This is my LAST BLOG POST for this trip! Ah!!!
Hm... Thursday I met for lunch with Jacky Jad and Laura. A girl Laura used to babysit was studying in Spain, so she visited Paris with 5 other American girls who were on the trip. We all met in Troccadero in front of the Eiffel Tower for a huge picnic. It was really fun and the girls visiting got to see the Eiffel Tower.
After, Laura and I had to leave because we were going to an Edun party. Edun is a new brand by Bono's wife that uses products made by Africans. After, Laura had to meet the girls up for dinner, and I went with a friend Kathrine to a Carrera party (its a sunglasses brand). It was totally dead because apparently there were 6 other designer promo parties that night or something, so I got to invite all my friends. Laura couldn't make it, but Jacky and Jad did. The place was beautiful! It was some famous French actors apartment (don't ask me who, I keep forgetting) in the 16th arrondissement (the most expensive area in paris) and it overlooked the seine and the eiffel tower. So nice!
Friday, I met up with a bunch of people from work, since they go out to lunch together every Friday. After, I met up with Laura in Bastille. I got there early, so I walked around on the docks near by. Its so beautiful, all the boats. It made me really excited to come home and spend time on our boat! Then Laura, Jad, and the girls met me and we walked to some stores though Bastille towards the Marais. By the end I was so exhausted, I went to Luxembourg Garden to lay down. After, I decided I wanted to make me and Noelle some dinner, so I made fried rice. But if you know me, I'm not a cook. So, I messed up right away with the eggs. The rice and the shrimp went well, but then when I put in the peas and carrots, there were just too many peas. It ended up being peas with fried rice instead of friend rice with peas. However, Noelle said she liked it and we did eat it! After, we watched Barefoot in the Park- such a good movie!!!
Saturday Jad and I went on a tour that a teacher of mine recommended. It went through a Carmelite church that was very pretty, but the tour was a little too detailed and a little boring. Finally, after an hour, we got to the cool stuff- a room where there is a splatter of blood from a massacre during the revolution and a room with skulls and bones from the people who were massacred. After, we walked through Luxembourg Garden and stumbled on the Gay Pride Parade going down St. Michel. It was actually really cool, with these huge flatbed trucks with music and djs and people dancing and dressed up. It was incredible. After, Jad had to go home to get something he had forgotten, so I went with him. He lives outside of Paris in a small suburban town on a river. I think its really quaint; he thinks its very lame.
Sunday.... i dont remember what we did Sunday...
Monday I went to the Chateau de Vincennes. It is this neat old chateau located on the eastern corner of Paris. It is very old and what you imagine what a real castle would look like with white brick stone walls and towers and everything. There was also a small chapel that was based on Saint Chapelle, one of the most beautiful chapels in France, but this one was disappointing.
Monday night I went to a club called Queen where they play disco music! There was even a Mickael Jackson impersonator. So funny, and I really felt like i was in the 70s haha
Tuesday I went to the catacombs. The catacombs were ok. The bones were stacked and it was mostly femurs and things and then there'd be a row of skulls and that was pretty cool. The bones on the top of the stacks were loose- you really could just pick them up if you wanted to (though they check at the end to make sure you don't steal any). I was a little disappointed though- I thought there would be more art using the bones, but really they were just stacked with a few designs randomly throughout the catacombs. After, we went for a walk in the Bastille because I wanted to see a railway track that was converted into a beautiful walkway. Then we met George and went to a bar to eat (I had fish and chips and they had hamburgers- so french haha)and to watch a World Cup game. After the game, George left and we went to another bar called the Long Hop to meet Jacky and Laura... I stayed as long as humanly possible before I had to leave to go and pack. My flight was at 8am, so I had to catch a 5am train. No sleep for Kristen.
That was definitely the best week of my life, and I really got attached to Jad, Jacky, and Laura since we spent so much amazing time together and really clicked well. I wouldn't trade that time for anything, and honestly I think I may have had more fun with them than on my last trip to paris....