Feb 11-14!!!!!

Feb 11, Wed So, Alex, Alyssa and I were waiting for the bus to go to downtown and these random guys drove by and offered us a ride, they said in French “Housh Housh?”, meaning the club where the soiree was at.  We took the ride and told them “ici!”- which means here!, we got out of the car because we were at the place where we were going to pre-party.  Before the soiree at Hush Hush, we went to Alex’s godfather’s house in Castellane and pre-partied there.  We were singing and dancing and having a great time.  We listened to Green Day and other nineties music that the French love.  Before we left, Alyssa accidently crushed my fingers in the bathroom door L It was like one of those moments that you just want to scream, but nothing is coming out! All I could say was Stop! Stop!  Alex could tell that my fingers were stuck, but she couldn’t tell what way to move the door to release my fingers…It sucked, but it ended up not being all that bad, just a little bit smooshed. . The theme was gang related. I wore a bandana and that was it.  I danced my little heart out!  I showed some more people how American girls know how to shake it! Hehe  good times.  I danced and had a “chopper” night with Oliver.  J It was a really fun party and we stayed there until like 445am, then we walked the journey back to the guy’s apartment that we pre-partied at and waited for the first morning bus.  We ended up getting back to Alotra at like 615am…I know, party animals ehehe!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183552&id=24606341&l=7370f

Feb 13, Fri  I definitely slept in today because of my party extravaganza the night before!  But it was nice to be able to just sleep all day.  Later that evening we had a birthday party for Jakub, aka. Kuba.  It was a really good party, and plus it was in Alotra so I didn’t have to take the bus or the metro!!!  Jenifer, Olja and Sofi came so I was really happy.  Everyone was dancing and having a great time. I rocked the red lipstick like always and everyone really liked it on me.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183725&id=24606341&l=1a82e

Feb 14, Sat So a few of us decided that we were going out for a group Valentine’s dinner, withOUT reservations. Smart I know.  So we were not able to go to the restaurant that we wanted to go to (they told us, can you come back at 11pm?-seriously.) But we ended up going to an Italian pizza place in Castellane.  It was good and I had Tiramisu for dessert! Yummy J After we got home, I went in the kitchen with the Quebecs and we played King’s Cup and we danced, danced, danced! It was a great night but I was tired so around like 130am I went upstairs and continued my picture uploading frenzy! I was super happy to finally finish, like 22 albums of pictures!!! I really need to keep up on doing this and the pictures because it becomes so trouble some to do it after the fact!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183727&id=24606341&l=d37d3”

 

Hope you had fun with my life catch up! Love Always, Ally the Jet-Settin’ Betty!

PARIS!!!! Feb 5-8!!!

Feb 5, Thurs  So my Paris trip was great :) we got to our hotel, had to walk up like 4 flights of stairs that were steep and spiral! We got changed then walked around town, walked thru the garden with all the statues and then took like a million pictures...we walked to the Eiffel tower and went all the way up :) It was so beautiful to see Paris from that high, at night. The sun had just set so the sky was amazing. We had racelette and fondue for dinner :) yum! Went to a pub and drank that night…

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183496&id=24606341&l=a9fe5

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183513&id=24606341&l=114f6

Feb 6, Fri The next morning we went to Palace of Versailles- couldn’t believe how huge it was, couldn’t imagine how they built it way back when...then we went to the Louvre at night and walked around and saw all the amazing art :) Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo and the other hundreds of millions things there...after that we went to Bastille and went to the street with all the bars…more fun :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183520&id=24606341&l=04d0d

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183527&id=24606341&l=ec02c

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183532&id=24606341&l=41e1a

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183540&id=24606341&l=d0510

Feb 7, Sat The next morning it was snowing! but we went to Notre Dame and walked around the town down there, for dinner we went to the Latin quarter and had Mexican food J… we were craving some guacamole! Then that night we went to this club that is under the bridge by Champs Elysées... it was great we had bottle service and there were some great bands...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183546&id=24606341&l=f7eb0

Feb 8, Sun We walked around Champs Elysées and saw all the different shops and the Arc de Triumph…walked around some more then spent some time with some people that we know that are studying in Paris and took the train home...had to run because the metro was about to be closed and then we got off at our stop, Rond Point du Prado, the same place that the entire country of France was at the same time (there was a soccer game that had just let out...tried to get a taxi but it was impossible, started to walk and finally a bus came! thank god because its like 5 miles to home-with luggage was not going to be cool....) so that’s my Paris trip....

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183549&id=24606341&l=dd980

Jan 21-Feb 3!!!!

Jan 21, Wed I decided that I was going to walk to the calanques today. I don’t have class on Wednesdays and thought I should do something productive with my day.  I power walked up the hill to the calanque and was a little hesitant to enter the park because it is a forest/woods area and I was by myself.  But then I thought to myself that I cant hold back while in Europe because I might miss out on things!  So I went for it, pepper spray close in reach.  It was so wonderful to have nobody around except for the few people walking in the park themselves, but people do not really address each other so it was still quiet J.  It is quiet a hike up the park to the first view-point of the calanque, but when it is reached the sight is so astonishing and well worth the effort.  I sat and just admired the view, thinking to myself how lucky I am to be viewing such beautiful gifts that God has given us.  Despite the growing wind, I decided to take the path to the high look out point so I could see even more of the calanques, and as I expected seeing the coast line was beautiful.  I saw another path that I could take the next time that would put me even higher so more of the coastline would be visible.  The wind began to get very heavy so I thought that I might head home and good thing I did because what I had to climb down is not something that you would want to do with very much wind.  I decided that I would walk there every Wednesday because not only was it going to be something productive, but it is a great workout.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183359&id=24606341&l=d58c1

Jan 22, Thurs  We attempted to go out for Mexican food tonight, but the restaurant that we were told about was non-existent!  We tried to go to another place that looked like Mexican food, but they turned us away! Didn’t even say oh we’re busy, there is a “?” minute wait…. But we ended up at a Moroccan restaurant and it was delicious! I had couscous chicken with like a vegetable soup…it was really good.  After the dinner we went to Exit Bar for a few drinks, happy hour all night! Our next stop was Shamrocks, an Irish pub that always has live music and is a great place…I had a great time until the time I decided to have a chuggin race, I can down it no problem but it was way more that I was used to…and lets just say that it was a good thing that I had a cup in my hand… We stayed out late and then I stayed in a downtown apartment with some friends that I know so I would not have to grab a cab home.  Thanks to Sofi I had a bed to sleep in J

Jan 23, Fri We went to the club that is just up the road from us, Mystiq…I was great like always because we knew that we could just walk home.  There was a dancer that came out on stilts and was wearing this crazy silver jumpsuit! Creepy! Also they had Go-Go dancers that were dancing on the bar and by the DJ.  I have really fell in love with going out to dance, such a great workout!  We got to go to the VIP area and have champagne J yummy and free, my kind of drink.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183361&id=24606341&l=455e2

Jan 24, Sat  After going out the night before we left for Aix en Provence at like 10am.  It was a little early you could say! But we went to St. Charles train station, grabbed out bus passes and then had to walk in the coldness to the bus that we were taking. BuRR! Definitely slept on the way over there.  The city was really beautiful.  There was well that was super old and was a hot spring.  I tried the Belgium fast food, Quick, hey I was hungry and it was going to be easy.  It wasn’t that bad, really just needed to satisfy my hunger.  We walked around went in to one of the churches that was in Aix. It was soo pretty of course. It is almost inevitable that the churches here are going to be beautiful.  Something that was unique to the town was that on the corners of some of the buildings were religious statues that pertained to birth of Jesus, like wise men, Mary, Joseph and other people that would have been a part of the events.  We went to the Picasso Museum, which I was super excited to see. But to my dismay it was not actual paintings but rather pictures of paintings L I just wanted to see some art.  I mean it was neat to see the exhibition, but it was not what I was looking forward too.  It was so cold on this trip! And it rained a little bit, but cant let the weather stop you from seeing the world!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183367&id=24606341&l=cad20

Jan 27, Tues We went out to the Baloo bar to meet out godfather/godmother that is supposed to help us with things while we are here. Though no one knew who my person was! So I just had a good time with everyone.  It was getting late so Lauren and I decide to head back. The metro was closed so we had to wait for the bus L and I was rather hungry so I decided that tonight would be the night that I experience a Royal with cheese (ie. Big Mac) from Mc Donalds…not that bad! Hehe I even could say that the fries are much better! They also call it McDo (pronounced Mac Dough) J oh those Frenchies!

Jan 28/29, Wed & Thurs The busses went on strike again for the second time in one month since we have been here! Like seriously! France really needs to be having a revolution all the time while we are here!!! Omg! But we didn’t do much because there really was not much to do without transporation!

Jan 30, Fri Krystal and I went to Ikea today. It was quite an experience because when I asked her if she knew how to get there, she said yes. The once we got to Castellane, she said okay we get on this bus…then I don’t know.  I was like adventure time! Hehe :) But luckily it was a GIANT building and it was clearly evident where to get off J It felt like being back in the States because there are relatively the same merchandise at this store here in France. Wish we would have come here when we first got here because there is so much here and it is also cheaper than the grocery store that we went to when we first arrived in Marseille.  The trip to Ikea was definitely exhausting so a much needed nap was had!

Jan 31, Sat Trolley Bus Time! So we all went to the club by the bus and we swear that they bus driver had it against us! He was driving like a maniac, taking corners really fast and if you have every been driven in France you would understand that their normal driving is no where near perfect normally.  But thankfully we made it to the club and just danced! The Trolley Bus is a really awesome club because you can change rooms to hear different music, so it never gets old….They do tend to play the same songs over and over just like America, but overall it was a great night!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183378&id=24606341&l=922f5

Feb 3, Tues The Interact group through us a crepe party at Alotra. It was really yummy! Crepes with strawberry and nutella are really amazing…I just cant have too much nutella, unlike everyone else…they eat it like it is going out of style! They be gaining weight, but im not!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183508&id=24606341&l=1e370

Jan 14-17!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2175933&id=24606341&l=3b687

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176368&id=24606341&l=88887

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2175896&id=24606341&l=9a3ca

Jan 14, Wed  The busses were on strike today so Krystal, David, Allie and myself decided to do the 10 mile round trip walk down town!  It was really nice because we were able to see downtown without being on a bus.  Though like half way we were starting to realize that we were going to have to make the trip back!  We made it home, but we were so tired and our legs were like jell-o! That night we went to Mystiq to go dancing.  It was really fun, even though it was nearly impossible to dance!  Since the theme was to represent each country, they had some dancers that came out in very elaborate costumes that had feathers and big ruffly skirts.  It was fun but I was more interested in resting my poor little puppies!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183228&id=24606341&l=7605e

Jan 16, Fri Today we went around Marseille with Lander, a guy from Belgium that has been here for a semester already. He took us to the Palais Longchamp, which was the site that water first arrived in Marseille. It was really beautiful with statues and fountains that covered the front landscape.  We then walked over to Eglise des Chartreux, a very beautiful church that is in town. Before becoming a parish church, this church was the chapel of a monastery of monks of the Carthusian order (l’ordre des Chartreux), which gave their name to the district. The churches here in Europe make the churches in the States seem like nothing.  Our next stop of the day was Prado Beach.  It was not like the typical beach that I am used to with the soft sand, it was more rock and pebbles that was not the greatest to walk on.  We walked over to the dock and Lander and Sylwia decided to get in the water because it didn’t look that deep, ya they were surprised.  Also there is a statue of David near the beach.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183231&id=24606341&l=c5e44

Jan 17, Sat Our trip to Cassis was really beautiful.  We took a 15 minute bus ride from the stop by Alotra.  We were able to see part of the city of Marseille, it was really pretty.  The bus ride was kinda freaky because it was going up a mountain and lets just say that the bus driver really did not observe the rules of the road…but thank God I made it there alive.  When we first arrived we walked through the town and saw the little shops and bakeries that lined the main street to the docks.  We took the boat tour of the first three calanques out of Cassis.  It was one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen.  Each calanque is different, different rocks, different plants growing in them.  There was one that had pine trees growing on the rocks.  The guide said, (so wonderfully translated by Chris Debano, an Interact member who speaks French and English) that this is the only place that these trees grow on these rocks.  The water in each of the calanques is so clear and like a turquoise color that is absolutely amazing.  I took some really amazing pictures that look like professional shots, but it is not really hard to get a good shot in this place.  On the way back we were told that the mountainside that we saw was the highest peak in all of France.  We took a walk around the town, in and out of the tiny streets.  There was a super small door, actually almost perfect for me hehe, that wa the entrance to some one’s home, quite different than anything that I had ever seen.  It is almost like a forced diet because the door was so small that you could never gain too much weight becaue you would not be able to either leave or enter your home!  The church that they had there was very beautiful.  The architecture and design of the churches here in Europe is so amazing and different that in the States.  It was definitely a great day and a fun adventure.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183357&id=24606341&l=e9571

Friday the 9th to Monday the 12th....

(here are the pictures from saturday. i cant figure out how to move them... haha)

Soo I really should hop on the computer like once a day and joy down some things but you not believe how crazy busy it is here...there is always something going on or I am really tired from all the things that we did the day before...so here is the catch up...

So Friday, the 9th, I went to buy my bus pass because the metro and the bus are the only transportation besides the taxis but they are really expensive. For one month my pass is 38 Euros. Its so worth it because it is like 1,70 euro each way. I probably have used it enough to pay for itself....The Interact group, the welcoming committee took us to a restaurant for dinner, Italian food. What the hell? haha I want French food sillys! But it was good, the weather was still kind of cold so we just went home, plus the busses stop at like midnight so if we went out to a bar we would have to take a taxi home.....

Saturday morning, the 10th, at like 9am we went to the Downtown area because they are having amazing sales right now on the clothing...seeing how I still did not have my baggage I decided to buy some clothes....plus STA travel association is supposed to give me up to $500 US because of my delayed baggage! whoo hoo! So far got 8 sweaters/shirts, a purse, a scarf, gloves and a clip for 75 euros(like $100 USD)!!! We were shopping for like 4 and 1/2 hours, but we were able to see the downtown which was really awesome, but really packed because of the sales. I bought an international cellphone, which has free incoming calls so my mom went and bout a phone card to call me! yeah! We were really tired when we got here, so I laid down for a little bit.  I cleaned my room and unpacked the little that I had because I did not want to see bags anymore! At this point I have been trying to get in touch with the airport about my baggage but still nothing! ughh, then I found a website that would show the tracking information and it said something like the delivery had been completed! So I finally got through to the lost and found and they said that the bags would be delivered between 5 and 10 pm! I didnt believe them! I was sooo happy. So I was taking a shower because we were going out, and I had the feeling that the phone would reing while I was in the shower because things just happen that way...and what do ya know, right as I was beginning to dry off, THE PHONE RINGS! haha. Bonjour? parlez-vous anglais? Said he was outside with my bags! So not having much clothes, I had to scramble to find what I could wear....When I got my bags I could not stop saying MERCI! MERCI! haha 5 days without clothes is forever and no toiletries either! I literally got ready in less that 15 minutes because it was time to leave...That was the happiest moment of my trip so far! We went to this bar down at the port called Baloo Bar. It was fun had like a liter of Heineken and some shots...yum! fun times :) Then we got free tickets to this club...it was like an under ground cave with different music in every tunnel! way fun....I kinda got in trouble for showing the foreign boys we are friends with how American girls dance...haha oops! We were there till like 3am-ish, then some of the people that I live with in the dorms took a cab home...So tired at this point... talked to my mom on the internet for a little while then passed out!!!!

Sunday morning, the 11th, I really didnt feel bad, just super tired!!! At 2pm we went to this place called the Calanques, (kal-unk) it was a beautiful hike threw some trees, then we climbed down some rocks and ended up at these beautiful ponds from the Mediterranean! I went and put my feet in the water! sooo cold! but amazing :) then we climbed up some more rocks and went down to another part that people were jumping in! omg! crazy people hahah....but it was just so beautiful. The hike back up was pretty intense! But hey I dont turn down a good workout, ps. my butt is extra sore....Dinner was the extent what I was able to do after that! Watched a movie and passed out!

Monday the 12th, was the first actual day of school, but I am not supposed to be scheduled for any, but I was so I went to the school to see if I could get some help with my classes but I went during the 2 hour lunch period when no one was there or they were not in their office. I got like one thing done that I was supposed to, but none of the important things that I wanted to get done today. UGH! So now I have to go to school even earlier tomorrow to catch the people that I need to help me.  I think that I am still jet-lagged and not fully adhered to the time change. 9 Hours is pretty intense. Also I have to wait to be able to talk to people because when I am up, Its like the weeeee hours in the morning back home. But all is well.

I am a lot happier here then I was. I just hope that this is a great experience for me that I can grow from. Time is flying by, I just hope that I can do the traveling that I wanted and not regret not being in the States....

Au revoir for now!

The Beginning of My Journey!

So... it's Sunday night January 4th, im still packing-running out of room before I even know it, mom is hemming some pants-yes I know last minute what can I say I've got the Paghense blood in me! Haha. It winds up that I am bringing waaay too much stuff, but Naunie and I some how make it work. About 12:30am on the 5th and finally get to go to bed! Lay down and tell Naunie how much I love her and how much I am going to miss her. The doze off till 4am and wake up. About now the anxiety begins to build up more and more! I get ready and throw on some clothes- not knowing that I would be wearing them until like Wednesday morning! (Ill get to that in a second). We jump in the car and make the trip to San Diego and when we get out of the car with my bags I again realize the amount of stuff that I brought with me. OMG! Long line-get told that  "my stay was not authorized", get in new line.....next get told-"oh your flight from Chicago to Dusseldorf has been cancelled! you can leave tomorrow or fly to Chicago today, get off plane, have ticket reissued and run to next plane in hour and a half! I decided to attempt it because I wanted to get as far east as possible...then I had to put my backpack in a box and empty out a bag to make room....The first plane ride was not even that bad :) Got to sit right by the door so I high tailed it out of the plane and went to the attendant that was right outside of my gate and he did what I thought was booking me the seat to Dusseldorf. I was happy at this point, things were going as planned. Then I walk like 40 gates at Ohara Airport to the gate for Dusseldorf at Lufthansa Airline. The girl said that I was not booked, nor did I have seat because they were over booked as it was. Freaking out. I told her that I was and here was the ticket, but she told me that I was not in the system and there was nothing that she could do for me and that I needed to go to United because they were the one's that booked me. United said that it was Lufthansa's problem because they overbooked me. So back and forth...not being helped and the people are getting ruder by the minute. I am stuck in Chicago and I have no clue as to what I am supposed to do. I am already freaking out because of the whole trip and now this! After like an hour and a half of walking back and forth between United and Lufthansa, this guy was able to book me a flight to Munich to Marseille. By the way its now about 4pm and I have had not one morsel of food. So then I had to again walk to the other side of Ohara Airport and go to the Customer Service Counter to get my ticket issued. I am starving but I have to stand in another effing long line that is not really moving.  After like an eternity I get to the window and the lady was actually really nice and she let me go sit down because I was about to have a heart attack.  So I took care of all that and now I got to grab a $10 small sandwich and a drink. Ya I inhaled the sandwich to say the least. The plane ride was not bad at first but 8 and a half hours on your ass in a little seat is ridiculous! The girl next to me was German and really sweet. But I definity had a few rum and cokes...mommy's orders due to my hectic day.  The flight never seemed to end! Ugh....It was really cool to see the town of Munich from the air. The little towns looked so cool and it was definitely really cold and tons of snow on the ground! So I get off the plane and get my first European stamp in my passport!! Yeah! I walked through security and began to walk the next journey to my gate. I go to the counter and check in. And what do you know....IM NOT ON THIS FLIGHT EITHER! I mean seriously do your jobs correctly people and treat me with some respect! GURRR! But I was able to get on this plane ride, thank god! So I go and sit down and this girl ends up being a student at Euromed as well...then while talking and beginning to line up to board my plane, I realize that I do not have my laptop! I left it at the security checkpoint! So I tell the lady at the desk and she says that there is only like 15 minutes left till the plane leaves. I RAN LIKE I WAS BEING CHASED DOWN FOR MY LIFE! I got alllll the way back to the security and try to tell them "white computer! this lane!" they looked at me like I was stupid for awhile, then the guard brought me to the office where by the grace of god it was there. He asked if he could start it and I said that my face would appear on the desktop. So then I book it back to the gate on the other side of the airport and see that everyone has already made it down the huge stairwell and on to the bus...so did some more hurrying and got on to the bus. I was so exhausted because it was super cold and my lungs were not okay....got on the bus and was hot so I took off my sweater...then getting on the little ass plane I was freezing because it was starting to snow :( burrrr! then it took forever to board and I was like all the way back in the plane, sitting by the window and the guys were not small. My stuff did not really fit in the over head compartments so I had to put both under the seats. I was no nauseous the entire flight and exhausted from traveling like 24 hours.  The food was ehh and I could have had alcohol but I was already about to vomit so I decided not to. We get off the plane and the girl that is with me gets her baggage and is waiting with me for mine. I already knew that there was a slim to none chance that my stuff would actually have followed me the whole way. The lost and found attendant came out and said that there was no more bags, SHIT! So I went and placed a claim with them. Then we took a bus ride to the train station to be picked up. The ride was intense because people in France really do not abide by the rules of the road. People were cutting each other off and then someone hit the back of the van! The girl that was driving opened the door and began to scream obscenities to the other driver. It was hilarious the way she was acting. But then we grabbed some food and went to our international dorm. It was decent, nothing special.  I couldnt contact them when I arrive in the afternoon on Tuesday the 6th grrr! Then a freak of nature happens the next morning on Wednesday the 7th.....and it effing SNOWS! It has not snowed in 20 years and we got like 6 inches. So we were supposed to have orientation but since the city never sees snow, they pretty much shut it down. So me and some girls walked to the grocery store in the snow when it was coming down the hardest! What an adventure. There were people just throwing snowballs everyone, even at us!  So...seeing how it has snowed the airport is closed still! Ughh. Then Thursday rolls around and still no word on my bags! I gave my mom the bag information and she called and they said that my bags were in Frankfurt! Whoo hoo! but all day Thursday I cant get ahold of anyone at the airport so I have no clue as to where my stuff is now :( I have one pair of pants and some shirts and a jacket and just two pairs of socks! This bites! I cant believe the trouble that I have had on this trip! I pray that this is not a preview of my trip to come :( Now it 5:30am Friday morning and I have been up since 2 am because people were running around outside my door. I cant sleep. I have to be up at 8am and I am wide awake. I tired but my mind is racing at the moment so I just decided that I needed to get on the blog and post the last few days. I need to contact the travel agency because I have travel insurance and it covers delayed baggage. phew! but who knows ill probably have to show receipts for things I bought to get reimbursed. I have no luck. Some times I think why did I even do this. I hope that in the end I am happy with the decision that I have made to come out here to Europe. I just wish I was not doing this alone. I am going to try to lay down now...au revoir for now.

pre departure.

well today is december 20th. i leave in 16 days.  it is such a crazy feeling to know that in like two weeks ill be gone to france for like six months.  im freaking out, my life is about to change like no other for half a year.  i know that i will get used to things, but right now its not.  i cant wait for these new experiences dont get me wrong, i know that its going to amazing.  

i just want to know that i am leaving things here back home okay.  it'll make for a bad trip if things end on sour notes.

this trip will probably have me do some soul searching as to what i really want in life, where i want to be, and if what i am doing in life fulfills who i want to be- because right now im not sure if everything is the way i want them to be.

i think that the things that are keeping back are the worries i have for my family and the people that i love most...all the holidays and events that i am going miss (ie.  eight birthdays, parent's anniversary, lindsay/melissa's graduation, and all the other things that i cant think of at the moment)...and the fear of being alone for so long.