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Posts Tagged ‘french’

Nadia, Alissa, Kelly, Jeff and his friends all abandoned me today to head back to the London town.  It was so much fun having them all around for the past few days, and I can’t wait to hang out with them all again in a couple of weeks!

There’s nothing much going on in my life today, so I’m just going to post a few good French music videos for you guys to listen to/watch.

I guess that’s it for now! Enjoy!!

So…I’m currently doing something completely new and exciting…sitting on the Mass Pike in a buttload of traffic.  Well, that’s actually not the new part…I’m sittong on the SECOND level of a double decker MegaBus with WiFi and a comfortable seat.  SO COOL.  Literally, this is going to be an amazing bus ride, even if it lasts for significantly longer than it’s supposed to.  Although, I suppose I shouldn’t jinx it…?

It’s funny looking around the bus, too, and thinking about all of the changes that have occured just in my lifetime.  I remember when everyone first had desktop computers and used dial-up to connect to the Internet, usually via AOL…remember the crazy noise it used to make?  It seems so long ago.  I still remember my first screen name, LBI7, followed by SnowGrl2468…and then EmoGeek21 (which my brother LOVES to make fun of me for, and I suppose rightfully so).  After this, the laptop came out, but everyone was kind of opposed to it because it was a bit slow, unreliable, etc.  Somewhere along the line, the laptop “got its shit together,” if you will.  And then there was the fast Internet connection…no more dial up.  And now here we are today, each of us sitting with a pretty laptop on our laps, using wireless Internet on the bus, watching movies, checking sports scores, creepily stalking Facebook, or in my case, blogging.

Anyways, for all three of you who read this, my deepest apologies for the lack of updating as of late.  I have never had so much homework in my entire life, it has been such a rough semester.  I’ve had major papers due every week in every class, with a spattering of exams and a Spanish quiz tossed in here and there.  I don’t even know how I’m still functioning at this point, considering the sleep deprivation I’ve had to deal with.  I had an 8-page French paper due today, which was quite a nightmare to write.  It was on the history of the French language, and how the people handled the attempts at purification, or “impoverishment,” as my teacher puts it.  I mean, interesting topic sure, but writing an 8-page paper in English is hard enough, let alone in a second language.  I guess I better get used to it, though, considering I’ll be in Paris in less than two months!!

I bought my plane ticket a few days ago, I can’t believe it’s really going to happen!  I’m coordinating my flight with a few friends, so it’ll be nice arriving and sharing wine (as in, we each have a bottle) with some fellow Americans.  My friend Jill and I requested to live together in an apartment, so I’m hoping that turns out nice!  I have heard that the apartments they set us up with are absolutely beautiful, fully furnished, and in the best areas of Paris.  AKA I’m probably never going to live in something that nice again until I’m 35, at least.

Victoria and I went to a concert a couple weeks ago and saw Blind Pilot, the Low Anthem, and Mimicking Birds.  It was a great show, and I’m pretty much in love with the lead singer of Blind Pilot.  He’s got the most amazing voice, and I love the way he stands on his toes when he gets really into certain parts of his songs.  It’s weird, he kind of looks like Billy Crystal…except, cute.  I know, I didn’t think it was possible either, but you just have to see for yourself.  And Low Anthem was really great, too…they were all so talented, played several instruments, and kept the crowd really engaged.  I’m going to post a couple links of their videos, but MegaBus won’t let me access YouTube.  So for now, search for them yourself…and check out 3 Rounds and a Sound by Blind Pilot, and Charlie Darwin by the Low Anthem.

Anyways, I’m going to pop a movie in, or maybe do some reading.  But I promise I’ll try to keep you guys posted more!

I cannot believe the amount of time that passed between Michael Jackson’s death and his burial, nor can I believe the commotion they both caused. I’m not going to deny the incredible amount of musical talent he possessed, nor am I going to comment on his questionable personal life. I am going to comment, however, on the amount of time American people spend gossiping about celebrities and discussing the intimate details of their private lives. Why are so many Americans content knowing so little about world affairs, and yet crave ever more celeb gossip? If people were as willing to learn about other cultures as they are to absorb more celeb gossip, then I believe people around the world would be better equipped to understand each other. I hate how people are not interested in discussing the recent death of say, Robert McNamara (the architect of the Vietnam War), but can spend 10 days discussing the tiniest details of the controversial life and death of Michael Jackson. And again, I don’t mean to discredit him, I think he was incredibly talented and deserved the beautiful memorial service he received yesterday. I just think more people should be as passionate about other pressing issues in the world, too. Anyways, that’s my rant for the day. Moving on…

Julie and I decided to go golfing last night…FUN! It was the first time I had picked up my clubs in over a year, so I had no idea how it would turn out. We got lucky and got a couple of tokens for free because we went so late, and were pretty much the only two knuckleheads on the driving range. I fell right back into the groove and hit a few really nice shots, and I know if I keep up with it for the rest of the summer I’ll have my A-game back in no time. Aside from feeling good about that, I managed to pick up a few lovely bugbites on my legs, arms and one right below my eyebrow (fabulous). Spook Rock is so damn buggy at night!

I’ve been working a lot lately, and I still love my job! I really think I should go into something that allows me to interact with and talk to people. I love meeting new people and talking about them because I feel like there is always something to learn. And I never really thought about it before, but the hotel business is actually a great way to do that and can be very profitable if you make your way into the upper echelon and/or are wealthy enough to own your own hotels. So maybe I can do something with that…internationally?

Hmm, am I a dork if I sit here memorizing French vocabulary for when I go abroad to Paris? I’ve been learning my fruits and veggies, and I’m moving onto meats later on today. In my eight years of French classes, I have always felt that too much time was spent on grammar and not enough on vocabulary. I can conjugate verbs and change tenses pretty well at this point, but if you ask me to describe what I’m wearing, what’s for dinner, or what’s going on in the world, I’m pretty much at a loss. I figure these are the things that are important, so for the rest of the summer I”m going to work on increasing my vocab. I know, I know, I’m a nerd, and I’m pretty sure I can hear my brother chanting “Nerd!” from his office in Hackensack…

Also, I’ve been thinking about how I want to organize my pictures here on spazzle. I can put them on individual pages as I had them before I transfered my blog to Wordpress, or I can create albums much like my photograph albums found at the top of the page. What do you guys think? Any opinions/suggestions/preferences?

Well, it has been approximately 18 hours since I turned 20, and I don?t feel any different. I don?t think I look any different (except maybe for the wrinkle that might possibly be forming next to my right eye?crap). It?s an eerie feeling though, because everything actually is starting to change. I?m not a teenager anymore, and I never will be again. The so-called ?best years of my life? are caput, and I?m just a twenty-something now. Or a twenty-nothing, I should say. Ironically, as I was sitting here pondering the meaning of my life (or lack thereof), John Mayer?s song ?Stop This Train? came on. Creepily pertinent to how I?m feeling right about now:

No, I’m not colorblind
I know the world is black and white
I try to keep an open mind
But I just can’t sleep on this tonight

Stop this train
I want to get off
And go home again
I can’t take the speed it’s moving in
I know I can’t
But honestly, won’t someone stop this train?

Don’t know how else to say it
I don’t want to see my parents go
One generation’s length away
From fighting life out on my own

Stop this train
I want to get off
And go home again
I can’t take the speed it’s moving in
I know I can’t
But honestly, won’t someone stop this train?

So scared of getting older
I’m only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun

Had a talk with my old man
Said “help me understand”
He said “turn sixty-eight
You renegotiate”

“Don’t stop this train
Don’t for a minute change the place you’re in
Don’t think I couldn’t ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we’ll never stop this train”

Once in awhile, when it’s good
It’ll feel like it should
And they’re all still around
And you’re still safe and sound
And you don’t miss a thing
Till you cry when you’re driving away in the dark
Singing

Stop this train
I want to get off
And go home again
I can’t take the speed it’s moving in
I know I can’t
Cause now I see I will never stop this train

Anyways, so here I am, making another lame attempt to start this blog up. Over the past few months, I realized that I have some ABSURD thoughts that need to be examined, some CRAZY ideas that need to be commented on, and some INCREDIBLE things that happen and need to be documented. So I figured, what better way to accomplish all of these things than to spill my guts on the Internet? Geez, and if I?m lucky, maybe someone will read them and even give me some feedback on them.

So I guess I?ll give you the scoop on my life. I was accepted to the International Studies program here at Boston College, so I?m officially an International Studies major with a concentration in Ethics & International Social Justice. I bet you?re wondering what I?m going to do with it! Unfortunately, so am I.

I have also decided to pursue a French minor. I figure I may as well put the past 8 years of French language studies to use by getting hold of a degree in it. I have also decided that I want to be at least tri-lingual, and picked up Spanish last semester. It was hands down one of the best decisions I have ever made! I feel I?m picking it up so much faster than I picked up French. I guess it?s mostly because I finally figured out how to properly learn a language. I mean, after eight long years, I finally discovered that flash cards aren?t for dumbasses…they’re actually quite beneficial study tools. CRAZY.

As I?m clearly interested in all-things international, I have decided that I want to study abroad in spring 2010. The university of my choice: L?Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, also known as Sciences Po, which is located in the heart of Paris! I?m planning on taking some classes in French and some in English, and they offer a lot of awesome classes in their International Relations, Political Science, and History departments. I am SO EXCITED!

Anyways, I hope you guys actually read some of these posts and take the time to respond?I?d love to hear your reactions and thoughts about some of the [absurd] things I do SLASH think about.

Oh, did I mention I say banana in my sleep? ?Cause I do. :)