oh france

oh france, you leave me doing the most random things these days!

Such as, tonight, because I was bored and needed something to get me out of my little apartment, decided to walk to the Arc de Triomph (a 10 minute walk), get a ticket to the top (which is free) and climb the stairs. Since I am only living this close to such a monumental monument for a short period of time and its free for me to go whenever I want, I feel I should take advantage of the opportunity whenever I can. Even a rainy, gloomy night. Blah! But I did it, without an umbrella, thank you! I walked the stairs to the top of the Arc and enjoyed the views of Paris. Even found my street, the quiet one, haha!

Another thing I am doing that I wouldn't normally do? Sit in a park across the street from my apartment typing on the computer because its the only place I can find free internet without having to find a friend who will let me come over at 11pm. My friend Grace lives across the street but she is probably not up nor do I have the energy to walk up 7 flights up stairs this late at night after I just walked up the Arc. So alas, I am sitting under a tree for shelter from the rain drops (its only misting right now) trying to find a few minutes of entertainment in the world wide web.

And yes, not having internet is horrible! It was ok for a few days and then I realized how much our worlds depend on the internet. It's quite sad actually! But I am learning to embrace my new world of no internet (except for my phone) and being out of the loop on world events (as if i ever kept up with world events), people in the world, and whatever else I did on the internet. It is rather inconvenient but I'm learning to embrace inconveniences.

Oh, and today I had a crappy experience with a french government worker. I will spare the details because there really aren't any but lets just say that my experiences in France do not come easy and fun sometimes. Life keeps throwing curve balls, one right after another, and I'm struggling to keep up! Some days, like today, I felt like I was being shoved under a heavy current of water and I'm struggling to stay afloat! Funny thing is that its been raining nonstop for the past 2 days. I have no doubt that whatever is supposed to happen will happen and I am ready to embrace another year here in Paris or somewhere else, I'm just ready to know where it will be. I'm ready to be able to sleep at night not thinking about what to say to a french government official the next day, or how much a ticket to the US will cost last minute and in August, or anything in between. I am trying to embrace today and not think about tomorrow but tomorrows happenings depend on todays so its a bit hard not to think about all the tomorrows coming up.

On a different note, I think I am going to start swimming again. There is an indoor pool (because there are no outdoor pools in the city of Paris, only in the suburbs) in the center of Paris that costs 3 euros to go to, or less if you buy 10 times at once, and every time I pass I see people working out swimming and I stand there and watch until I get so jealous I just can't stand it. French pools are intimidating but I think its time I took on a challenge I will actually enjoy and have an outcome I will actually like (and know ahead of time) so I might just go forth and conquer tomorrow...or the next tomorrow.

Well, lets just say, I miss y'all more than I can express right now! And a virtual hug or 30 sent my way are highly encouraged!!! Love you all to the moon and back and am very thankful for friendships and relationships and family and friends that continue to support me and love me despite my lack of keeping in touch or internet these days! Thanks!

Love, me