Other Goings On

So now I have written about two big things that happened in the past week... my trip to Josselin, and my birthday, so I thought I might write one more entry just to talk about some of the smaller things going on in my life, and to record some of my thoughts and ideas and things... perhaps more like a journal entry than a blog, but that is ok. Especially since I haven't updated in over a week, which is really bad I know. But if you are reading this out there, then keep on me to update it and I will. This is much better for me than a journal since I have officially 13 people following it, which helps to keep me accountable for updating (and my mom keeps on me all the time too.) I know that as Mac talked about, a blog has a different feel to it than a journal might since I am writing this knowing that someone somewhere might read it, and generally a journal is written for one's self presumably to be read by one in the future. But this seems to be working for me now, and I am sure when I get home from all of this, I will be glad that I kept some sort of a record of what I did as I went. So I will do this entry by themes I think, if that is ok, and I don't really have any pics for this one... but I probably will by the next one.

Food

So I have definitely been eating well. I sort of thought when I got here that I might not eat too terribly much since I am trying to live on a dime, and the city is very expensive. But as it turns out, I am doing a relatively good job of being a creative cook, and trying to find new things to cook on a dime. So far I have made several things involving rice and noodles, and grilled chicken and spinach (including barbeque chicken since I found barbeque sauce in the kosher section at the grocery store). But I am getting more adventurous as well, and tonight I am making shish kebabs and mashed potatoes! It is nice to have some time to try to learn how to do some of this on my own... the sish kebabs for tonight are marinating as I write in a wine and olive oil marinade with lime juice and onions and some other spices... So I am feeling very proud of myself indeed. Today I also bought this thing that makes coffee... essentially it is a funnel that you put a filter in and some coffee and you dump hot water in it and presto you have coffee. I may have mentioned this before on this blog, but for a country that prides itself on wine cheese and coffee... the majority of people drink instant coffee in their homes, and espresso in cafes. I like the espresso, but it is expensive. But I just can't stomach nescafe. I don't care if that makes me a coffee snob, I can't do it. So I made some coffee this afternoon with my new contraption... and it tasted amazing thank you very much. I know I have said it before, but if anyone has any ideas for good recipes I should try shoot me an email at halliemoberg_2011@depauw.edu and I will try them! So yeah, that is how the food front is going.

Class
My classes are going very well... I can't believe I have been here for more than a month! I have now been through three morning professors, and I have really enjoyed my classes, especially the most recent one which was along the lines of a mix between art history and art politics which was right up my ally. I learned a lot from Jerome, my silly and shiny headed prof. On this past Thursday I started my last class which is a modern history sort of deal focusing on France's international policies since the 1800's. I like it too, but my new prof talks really fast and is really intense which will be good for me in the long run I am sure, but makes for a challenging 3.5 hours. I have 3 more homework assignments to finish (one essay, one presentation, and one essay/presentation book report mix) and then an in class test on Thursday, and the first part of my program will be finished. I simply can't believe it! Then my internship starts March 1st, and goes until May 21st. During that time I will also have one class, several home works and a large 30 page paper project to finish, which will be hard, but when I am finished I am sure it will be rewarding to know that I did it all.


The next few weeks
Since class ends on Thursday, that means that my break will be starting thrusday night. I will then promptly be on a plane to Milan Italy. Next weekend will be spent traveling from Milan to Venice to Florence, and I will end up in Rome on Monday... where I will spend the next week exploring and spending time with one of my best friends in the entire world, Alana DeWitt. I simply cannot wait! If anyone has any suggestions or ideas of things that I simply shouldn't miss in Italy please also send me an email and I will do my best to see everything there is to see and I will keep the pics coming! I also hope to do a few more trips over the course of my internship... One to Normandy, one to Amsterdam, one to Berlin, and one to London. I can't wait to plan it all... but I have to take it one thing at a time.

Other Musings

So I have been thinking a lot about a lot of things lately, as I spend my time doing lots of fun and exciting things. One thing I think that I have definitely realized is that I really like living in the city. I know that it is busy, and there are always people around, and I fall asleep to the sound of passing cars... but I really like it. I like to feel the grass under my feet too, and Greencastle is good for that, but for now I am loving running to catch buses and metro trains, and trying not to get run over by cars and people on velib bikes. I really like it. There is always somewhere to go, and things to see and do. I have been taking full advantage of the Pariscope which Anne introduced us to, and it is awesome. Last night I sat in a small restaurant and listed to jazz music, enjoyed a glass of wine with some of my favorite people, in a place that we would have never found without the most awesome Pariscope. There is everything in there I could ever even dream of doing, it is so awesome.

Also, I find myself loving it here, and my friends... and then I always can think of someone from home that I would love to share something with... which is a strange feeling, since it sort of feels like homesickness, but not quite. I don't really know what to make of it. I miss people from home... Mirandy and Josh and Daryl and the CSL and everyone. It is just a strange feeling I guess.

Ok so yeah, now I am going to go and work on my hours of homework, and I will keep updating over the next week, and while I am in Italy I hope! Post a comment or shoot me an email if you have any ideas for me, and I hope to update again soon!

Bizoux! (kisses, something along the lines of XOXO!)