MAAAAAH FACE

Need to pack all of this into 3 suitcases

Packing, Packing, Packing!

This is pretty much the saddest thing ever as I am letting go of a lot of things that I like. I do not like to let things go. EVER. 

I'm pretty much a classic packrat, I enjoy having my things around me and even more, I like little whimisical and hilarious items to be near me at all times. This does not a clean, organized bedroom make.

I really want to bring my bike home to the US, but I have limited arms and legs.
What is a girl to do?

Reflections on 6 months

My internship is slowly winding down. I've got a week left to go.  It's been an all around awesome experience that has taught me a lot and given me a bigger view about the internet, working abroad, and marketing in general.  I'm now deciding between finding out more and more about the inner workings of websites and also website design.  I know that I am going to need to be more proficient in design tools to make myself a better and more interesting candidate after next year.  I also know that I want to work in the states for a bit after graduation. 

Working in my second language has been a stressful and rewarding experience.  For 6 months I have constantly doubted myself and even though I know I am doing a good job (and have been told I am doing a good job), I come home feeling on edge and slightly desperate about my situation.  I just don't like feeling like I can't do something and sometimes the French part of my job was making things just out of my reach.  This has also made my French get a lot better, but it has been painful along the way.

It has also been a way for me to understand that I really like being good at what I do. I like owning my projects and taking the lead on them.  I want to be brilliant at what I do, and I think for that reason I am going to work in my maternal language for awhile.

I remember when I was in classes in the fall and I was constantly all like "when I'm on coop I'm gonna have so much free time", but here on my last week I can promise you that I have not had that much free time.  Or maybe I have had that time, but I haven't used it to my advantage, but seriously with the dollar falling short to the euro and my energy being vampired by French; I really don't know how I could have done better. 

And yet, and yet, I feel like there is still so much to be done, and somehow wrapped up in all of it that I have failed to get my share of it all.  That I failed to get really into the mess and beating heart of Paris.

Maybe deep down in all of this I feel like I was supposed to like Paris more than I do,  that I feel like my failure is in liking Lyon and Reims better than the capital of France.  I used to think that I liked living in big cities, but now I see that I like the smaller neighborhood feel of Boston and Lyon. The green spaces,  the easy navigation, and the comfort of not feeling lost in the mess. 

All in all I must say that I have had a wonderful time living in the Penthouse.  We have made a great run,  cooked a lot of delicious things and had a ton of good laughs.  I wouldn't give up our lazy days at home for anything. 

But I'm ready for Reims :-).

ps. This was all brought on by me wanting to go to this restaurant and it being closed for summer vacation. It made me realize ... there is a time limit to things.

Running

My roommate and I have started running. It all started with a dreary Saturday morning in Paris and ended with a 35 minute run on the banks of the Seine. Not bad for scenery, right? I felt marvelous as my legs kicked into stride, and even though it was a slow jog it made me feel wonderful. It's what being alive and part of the winter thaw is all about.  The stretching my legs after months of being cooped inside because of the cold, is so amazing.

I used to be a self-proclaimed anti-runner, but last summer as I decided to loose a bit of weight; I jumped on the  bandwagon.  More like I huffed, puffed and trudged onto the bandwagon, but I got running. I lived next to this adorable little park in Boston called The Fenway and it was so nice to be able to do a couple laps around the park and mosey on home.  In Paris, we're obligated to go out and find a place to run as our neighborhood isn't the ideal place for hitting the pavement.

First day out, we did the Seine near Notre Dame and then the next time we did the Tuileries in front of the Louvre and also the first part of the Champs Elysée. Today, we tackled the canal area, running past Republique et all the way to Bastille. It was nice and the Canal is going to be great in the summer. And by great I really mean AMAZING - all caps, full on.

Running has become a great way to see the city. We've found new nooks each time we've been out. Though we look pretty hot doing it. And by hot I mean NOT AT ALL. We look like New Jersey housewives with our cropped capris, oversized t-shirts and puffed vest. As we schelp around the streets of Paris where everyone looks gorgeous in every shade of black imaginable, we can only laugh at ourselves and how awful we must look - but whatever it's always a good time.

We are thinking of running a 10k. This could get messy, but hey - as long as messy includes loosing a few pounds; I'm prepared. :)

Joyeuses Pâques

Wow, I’m back

It took us over a month for us to get Internet. We started the long process on February 12 and the little button on our livebox stopped blinking yesterday the 14th.

What a hassle.

But I'm here. In Paris. You've caught me at my pseudo one month anniversary and things have been happening at our little apartment.

First off, my apartment will be herein referred to as the Penthouse, because it takes me 7 flights of stairs to get there and it is wonderfully grand. I like it. My bed takes up my entire room so it is more like sleeping on the floor every night than anything. It is also incredibly low to the ground which makes it interesting. I like it though, and I fall asleep nestled between a garden of ikea flower. My room is cute.

The Penthouse is working out quite well. We are all interning at various parts in and out of Paris, and its been a whirlwind of commuting learning the ropes and settling in. I took a week off before I started my internship to grab so much needed rest. But I didn't end up resting too much. It was more getting things done, being hassled with Penthouse necessities and dealing with our sexy landlord.

My internship is great. I get to do all my work on a Mac which is brilliant and exciting and fun. I'm in charge of a lot of stuff that I am interested in and this week I really started to feel like I was getting a feel for the numbers. I'm doing search engine marketing coupled with affiliate marketing and then whatever else I can get my hands on. It's cool work and it's for an even cooler company. I dig it.

We've been baking a lot. Since we've moved in, we've made:

• chocolate chip cookies


• scones


• 2 birthday cakes


• cookie cake

Pretty exciting stuff. We have a nice little oven and it is getting used all the time. Last night we had a little dinner party where we made a gorgeous lasagna and had some smashing salad.

Paris is different in a big way. When we were in Reims our little community was so close together and now were are spread out among the arrondissements of Paris. Its been interesting to see the effort we make to hang out and be together. Its inspiring in a community centric way and to be honest, I love it.

Paris: Here I come

I've been wrapping things up as of late in the booming metropolis of Reims. Over the last week I have pretty much been commuting to Paris going from interview to interview! Today, I can honestly say I have done the most interviews of my short life . . . in French. I was asked so many questions, like: what is your favorite website?; what is a life proverb that you have?; and also a plethora of normal questions, but mind you everything was in French and everything was responded to in French.  I practically had an ulcer after day one.

The craziest experience was when I was at L'Oréal and they squirted shampoo on the table and asked me to give three adjectives about the smell and color. I can promise you; I'm not working at L'Oréal. But all that is finished now that I have a job! Hooray! A job that is going to be interesting and exciting as I know the company and they are going to send me a portfolio of information to get started (I'm taking a week off to move and be a human). And to boot, we also found an apartment that isn't very far from where I'm going to work. I think I will have a 20 minute commute but that is "peanuts"*.

So that means I have to devote all my attention to the looming exams that are coming up in a week. I just started studying on Friday when I was sure I had a job (before then I had been too stressed) and now things are all coming together. Hooray! So pardon my absence during these next few weeks! I'll be studying, examing, and then moving! Bleck! But then I'll be in Paris!

*For some reason in France it is common to use "peanuts" in their daily lingo. My managerial finance professor when describing a 100,000 difference in an answer. . . c'est peanuts.

Whilst studying for accounting. . .

"Do you know what the difference between dotation et provision is?"

"I think they are the opposite or something. . .hold on, I'll look it up on wordreference."

(pause)

"Kristyn, you're never going to believe this."

"What????"

". . .dotation means provision."

Fast Forwarding and Rewinding

When I was fifteen I lived in France for a year. I was excited and ready to go if even a little too young and impetuous. It was the best year of my life (so far) and in a nutshell utterly wonderful. Fast forward five years, 40 pounds, and more than one case of champagne and you will find me here, on my bed, writing my blog.

I'm going back to France and I'm absolutely terrified, but at the same time overjoyed. It's the culmination of my college career. The only reason I ever decided to come to Boston/Northeastern (Northeastern possesses an amazing BSIB program that allows one to stay abroad for a potential 2 years; something at 18, I highly valued). It's not that I'm afraid of leaving Boston. . .well . . . maybe I am. Boston is the place I've made home for the past three years and have spent minimal time away from since my arrival freshman year. It's where I can easily access the treasures of the city by train or bus. It's the place that has beautiful springs and gorgeous falls and I am going to miss it.

But then I think of France and the gorgeous way of life that is there. The slowness and familiarity of French life dresses me comfortably. I want to be there and more than that I want to want to be there like I wanted to be there five years ago. I know I have to go back and truly want to go back. Because there isn't a moment in the day when my inner monologue doesn't skip merrily between French and English or I don't see something that reminds me of my French friends. I need to go back because there are so many things that define me that are in France, and I need to find out if it's where I want to live and be for awhile. I love France. I love the streets, the cafe culture, and the way I evolve into a strangely confident person whilst gravely spouting vous, tu, et nous without a moment's hesitation. When I am there I am so much more sure of myself, my freedom, my entire being. I think that is why I cling so much to my year in France; it let me become what I always wanted to be and for a moment I wasn't absolutely terrified of who I was or what I was becoming. For a year , I was just me and that was o.k. no extra adjectives needed.

I've gone into this ridiculous indecisive post because I've been planning where I am going to live and fast forwarding in such a way is choking me with the reality of my departure. This time next year I will be working in a French company speaking French with the Joneses. I'm also planning flights with no return in mind (one way ticket, my friends) and it's frightening. I've never been one to gasp at reality, but at 20 things like this are much more real and the consequences seem greater. I'm sadly realizing I've lost some of my 15-year-old self in these past few years. Five years ago, I wouldn't have been scared. Five years ago, I wasn't scared of anything.