What I've Learned

So I am down to only a handful of days left here in Paris. Tomorrow is my final for my comparative criminal law class & then Sunday I fly back to the states! Crazy how fast this month flew by. You know, at the beginning of this month, I made a comment in my blog that said something to the effect of “I wonder who I will be when I come back from France.” Well, now I want to explore that. Here are 4 things (OF THE MANY) that I learned while studying abroad.

1. Yes, I’m really an American.

First, it's weird to tell people "I'm from America." Not used to saying that phrase AT ALL. ha! You think you know what being an American is all about, that is, until you leave our humble country. Being an American is a BIG deal. You are instantly open to criticisms of your government, over-sincerity, an English accent, & being super duper loud. I never realized just how loud Americans really are, until I traveled with my study abroad group. Any restaurant that we went to would have minimal noise, that is, until my group walked in the door. Also, I never really knew how many Europeans actually strongly dislike Americans. It's pretty crazy, actually. So a combo of all of these things, in conjunction with my American "look" & "way of dressing" has, for the first time in my life, made me feel American.


2. Be open to anything

We take a lot of things for granted in America. From air conditioning, to great food (including an abundance of processed ready-to-eat foods), to transportation, to good smells, and even the rights given to us by our Constitution. Being abroad can be a humbling experience and you learn how easy things are back at home. I’ve even realized the value of money..more than ever..since the U.S. dollar pretty much SUCKS in Europe. The exchange rate hurts. Example: Today I took out $80 in euros from the ATM…but it was really $111 in U.S money. Try living in Europe for a month, going to the ATM multiple times, or even shopping when something is on sale & thinking hm, that’s not too bad..but then you forget to convert it to U.S money to see how much you’re really paying..haha. Yeah..def adds up!

3. Ignorance WILL catch up to you.

Going to Europe for the first time you discover many things the hard way. I tried to assimilate as much as I could with good prior planning by talking to friends and asking for advice. But some things I still had to learn the hard way. Like packing a gianormously huge suitcase as if I was living here for 2 months instead of one, & then having to lug it around the entire CITY of Paris..everytime we went to a diff hotel..or even from the airport to the metro..& hating myself every single time. And plugging in my CHI to a European outlet & having it blow out because the electrical current is much stronger here..& even with my voltage converter..it still blew. Or walking around the city with no map. Or knowing you need to get to your hotel..but you forgot to look up the street address so that when you ask for directions..no one can help you because they’ve never heard of your hotel. Or not teaching myself basic French phrases before I left. Good advice: If you are like me & eat cereal bars, chew gum religiously, or have any other kind of guilty pleasure, make sure you buy lots of it & take it with you to Europe..because chances are..you won’t find it here…& if you do..it will be astronomically expensive. Example: batteries. A pack of 4 double A batteries that I bought the other day was like 5.50 in euros…which converts to $7.75 in U.S. money. Also, buy detergent before you come…& any other kind of Americanized product that you can take with you. Realize that food spoils very fast because they don’t use the preservatives we’re used to. Bread goes bad in a few days. Oh, and if you think you have a budget planned before going there—you don’t. Multiply your expenses at home by about 2 and a half and you’re heading in the right direction. Painful..yes.

4. Step out of your comfort zone!

Hanging out with the people you already know...limits who you meet! When I first got here, I only wanted to stick with the people that I knew..my classmates! But then, my outgoing nature/personality, allowed me to branch out & get to know other people..& I am so glad that I did! The friends I have made in my study abroad group..& even my French law student friends…are all awesome! The French law students have been very helpful when it comes to telling us what to do/not do..where to go/not go..ect. And my study abroad group friends have been there every step of the way with me..through the frustrations & travel experiences. Because of this trip, I have made many great, long-lasting friendships. These will be people that I will keep in touch with and visit. People that I may even refer a court case to one day ;)

So speaking of friendship, I read a really good testimonial earlier, that a good friend of mine sent to me. I wanted to share it with you:

Real and true friendship involves freedom of choice, accountability, truth, and forgiveness. Peter and Jesus give us this example: Peter, afraid for his life after Jesus is led away from the Garden of Gethsemane, denies knowing Jesus (John 18). As He is led away by His accusers, Jesus casts a look toward Peter that says, "I knew you would deny Me, and I forgive you" (John 21).

Real friendship looks at the heart, not just the "packaging." Genuine friendship loves for love's sake, not just for what it can get in return. True friendship is both challenging and exciting. It risks, it overlooks faults, and it loves unconditionally, but it also involves being truthful, even though it may hurt.

Relationships in real life involve different levels of friendships, and that's okay. But humans are designed by God for lasting relationships. Often our isolationist society offers only vague, empty relationships. God wants us to have friends here on earth. Most of all, He wants us to be friends with Him!

God's Word tells us that a friend sticks closer than a brother, and that in order for one to be a friend, one must show themselves friendly (Proverbs 18:24). The question is: what type of friend do you desire to be?

That is a good question. It really made me think. I desire to be a person that makes a sincere effort to try and understand where a friend is coming from or what they are going through..to be a good listener...supporter...& be there for them always. I hope that I have achieved that with all of my friends..old and new alike (although sometimes, as a human, we all fall short). I have definitely felt disconnected from a few friends more recently,but hopefully time will change that. For now, I just try to put a smile on my face & keep on keepin' on.

"True friends are the ones who never leave your heart, even if they leave your life for awhile. Even after years apart, you can pick up right where you left off."

So true! And as such...I send a big SHOUT OUT to my friends that I have lost contact with...I love you & miss you & you will always have a special place in my heart! :)

So...
Though a month may not be a long time to everyone, it was definitely a long time to me, & to everyone who has been keeping up with my adventures…THANK YOU. Thank you for taking the time to pray for me, check up on me, & just read my silly little blog. I hope you found it somewhat interesting.

And now that the days are ever so little...

I realize now more than ever..that I can do whatever I set my mind to. Not only is that a blessing, but also the fact that I now have a good, firm grasp as to who really cares for me, who my friends are, & all of the wonderful things I have to be thankful for in my life. I have realized that at the end of the day..the only person I can really depend on..is ME..and I can get along just fine by myself, thank you very much. Anddddd..what's more...I am a 23-year-old GROWN UP & the sky is the limit!

Thanks again to all of my faithful blog readers. Love you all. Oh & just a heads up..just because my Paris trip is ending..doesn't mean I will stop blogging. I love to write..& that's how I express my feelings. So you can still keep up with me by checking back regularly :)Plus..I will probably post my last PARISIAN blog tomorrow! After the exam we have a reception, then my study abroad friends & I are going to go out & have one last HOO-RAH as American-Parisians. So be on the lookout!
:)

Ahhh, paradise..through my eyes.

So to be completely & brutally honest…Greece was absolutely fantastic. It was so hard to leave & go back to Paris. That sounds really spoiled, lol, but it’s true…I fell in love with the Greek islands, the food, the culture, just everything! Before I get stated on my trip, here is a map of Greece & a few of the islands..so you can see where I was. I went to Athens first, then Mykonos, & then Santorini.


So Friday morning, a French law student friend of ours took us to the airport. She was so sweet for doing that! So we get to the Paris ORLY airport at like 5am & walk around forever trying to find our gate. A combo of it being very early in the morning in conjunction with the lack of English speaking skills of the people around us, made it somewhat difficult for that task. Lol. Anyways, once we finally did, we had to go through check-in. Check-in was pretty much the same as the U.S…except here they don’t make you take your shoes off..& they don’t really watch the X-ray machine too well, I realized. Haha. Anyway, after that, we sat & waited for our plane & then boarded. The plane wasn’t teeny tiny like I thought it would be. It was a commercial sized plane..except the seats were super close together so you couldn’t really ever get comfortable. Of course the whole flight attendant demonstration was in French but they also translated in English…although you couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying. Haha. We landed in Athens 3 hours later. Athens is one hour ahead of Paris so it was almost 11am Greece time when we got there.


Once the boys had their bags (none of us girls had bags to check-in..we all did carry ons!) we started asking people how we get to the center of town & stuff. Well we found out that it was by bus from the airport..so we went to buy tickets & then got on. While we were on, this crazed Greek man started being very rude. My friend Sarah had propped her feet up on the seat across from us because no one was sitting there. Well this Greek man comes up and starts hitting her legs with his water bottle & in his strongest heavily Greek-accented English, said, “Americans are animals. This isn’t America..get your feet down.” It was crazy! I wasn’t sure what to do or say..but luckily our stop was right around that time so we all just got off. That was my only experience with rudeness the entire trip though..not bad compared to France! Haha.

So we get to downtown Athens & our next mission was to find our hotel. Luckily, since Greece is the only country in the world that speaks Greek, their second default language is English. Most people in Greece know English & almost everything there is translated into English, as well. I loved that part because in France a lot of the time, you have to just guess..because not as many people speak English here as they did in Greece. Anyway, well we finally found our hotel..which..not surprisingly was kind of in a slummy part of Athens. No wonder it was so cheap. LOL. Our hotel room was like a dorm..it had 4 beds..& a remote controlled A/C unit. Haha. The boys had their own hotel room…which was like luxury compared to ours. After getting our stuff settled, we went on a mission to find food for lunch..& found this little Greek restaurant down the street. We all got gyros or kebabs..so good!

The waitress didn’t speak much English, & in Greece, the way they bring your plates out to you is random. Like in the U.S. most waiters/waitresses try to bring the food out at all ONCE for the entire table. Well in Greece, they bring it out as it’s ready. So like..one of my friends got their fries..then the next person got their kebab…then 10 min later someone else would get their fries…ect. lol. It was random..cuz that made us all finish our food at different times. Haha. After lunch, we had to figure out the metro system..

Here is a video I made while in the metro:

After getting downtown, we decided to get on a hop on/hop off bus tour of Athens so that we could see the city & not have to figure out where everything was for ourselves.

So we toured the city of Athens..which was nice. We got to see the Acropolis/Parthenon & Syntagma Square (the heart of the city) & also the stadium that was built for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.



Pretty cool. That night we were super exhausted so we went back to our hotel & crashed out. We had a ferry to catch to Mykonos the very next day.

The next morning we got up bright & early to wander the city & find the port that we were leaving from.

Our boat:

Catrina, Sarah, & I on board

The boat was pretty nice, except we got stuck in the SMOKING section. I guess when we booked our ferry tickets, those were the only tickets left or something..so yeah..that made for a horrible riding experience because people in Europe smoke like a thousand times more than Americans. Seriously, I bet some people go through like 2 or 3 packs a day...easily! Jeesh! And plus..anyone who knows me..know how disgusting I think cigarettes are..& I absolutely hate when people smoke around me! Ugh!
Here's a small video editorial that I made while on board:


Anyway so the boat ride was like 3 hours from Athens to Mykonos. It went smoothly, and on the way we passed a few Greek islands which were BEAUTIFUL. When we finally got to Mykonos I was beyond stoked!


We were all amazed how crystal clear and blue the water was & just how beautiful the island was in general. A lot of postcards of the Greek islands come from either Mykonos or Santorini..& I got to visit both! What a blessing! Anyway, we had a blast shopping around Mykonos & then we went to Paradise Beach & chilled for most of the day!
Jenn & Catrina exploring


A beautiful church

Here I am enjoying some of the best ice cream ever:

The Greektastic group: Sarah, Me, Catrina, Jenn, Sean, & Chris.

Paradise Beach in the morning:

Beach babes!


Lounging out under a tiki hut


It was great! I was a little surprised at some of the nudity, though. lol. It wasn't a nude beach or anything, but a lot of the people there definitely liked to freely and openly "express" themselves & their bodies...sooo umm yeah. lol. That night in Mykonos we had a wonderful dinner by the ocean.

My chicken with vegetables & a baked potato with weird traditional Greek yogurt stuff on top. I took the picture after I had already started eating it. lol. Don't judge me!

An authentic & DELICIOUS Greek salad:

I got to see the most wonderful sunset. It was so beautiful!
Mykonos is famous for its windmills:



Then we stopped by a Greek club due to the incessant urging of this really cute Greek guy.

Here's a video I made while at the club. We were only there for like..20 minutes. haha.

& then after that we retired to our beach bungalow to get some much needed rest.
Our bungalow:

Because we had so much fun in Mykonos, we decided last minute to change our trip plans. We were going to Mykonos for Saturday only & then had plans to go back to Athens on Sunday. Well, we found out that it would only be 30 euros to go from Mykonos to Santorini (which was the island we had originally wanted to visit but they were sold out of ferry tickets). We went to a little ferry travel agency place & talked to them & got it all switched & so we had plans to leave Mykonos bright & early on Sunday morning & then get on a ferry to Santorini which was another 3 hours away, spend the day there, & then get on a slow ferry back from Santorini to Athens which was 7 hours. So that's what we did! Well Mykonos is a party island & the boys stayed out until all hours of the night just living it up & definitely slept in the following day & missed the ferry completely! We were freaking out because we told them to be at the port at 8:45am. We had their tickets & everything & when we got there & they didn't show..we were frantic. We had about 10 minutes until our ferry was going to leave & they were already boarding passengers. None of us have our cell phones here so we were phoneless & had no idea why they weren't there. We (us girlies) had been late showing up to the port ourselves, so we thought that maybe they were out looking for us..& so we started to feel bad..thinking it was our fault. We waited until we couldn't wait anymore..& then made an executive decision to go ahead & get on the boat..so that's what we did. We got to Santorini

& had the best authentic souvlaki ever.

I had never had Greek food until I went to Greece, but let me tell ya...it's amazing! I am addicted now! lol. Anyway, like Mykonos, Santorini is a beautiful, breath-taking, awe-inspiring, island.




Actually, to say that it is ‘breathtaking’ wouldn’t quite explain it. Santorini is paradise. I can honestly say that those pictures that everyone sees of Santorini are not touched up. The sky is really that blue and the white-washed, cliffside dwellings that overlook the azure waters of the Aegean are really that picturesque and vibrant. To say any more about the beauty of this place would fail to do it justice.

I can, however, describe Santorini using facts. Santorini is a volcanic island.

Thousands of years ago, it was a much larger volcanic land mass, but when it erupted in 1450 B.C., it blew a hole through the middle of the island (and subsequently caused a tsunami that devastated Minoan Crete). The result is a crescent-shaped island with a few smaller islands in the middle of the crater, or caldera. These smaller islands are volcanoes, one of which is active. We were in Fira, Santorini’s 'capital.' Most of the postcard looking pictures that you see are taken in Fira.

Here is a video I made of one of the volcanoes steaming:


Anyway..enough of the history :) While there, we also looked at the little shops on the island & then started talking to some random people at the bus stop. They were Americans (dentists on vacation) & knew what they were doing & where they were going so we decided to follow them. We ended up going towards Red Beach & when the bus stopped, we got off & took a boat to see a few beaches. Here is a video I made while on the boat:



We went to 3 beaches:
Red Beach


White Beach

& Black Beach.

Santorini has volcanoes & so most of the beaches there are all made from volcanic rock & what not. The beaches aren't so fun to walk on, but they are all very beautiful!





We were limited with time because a lot of time was wasted trying to figure out where we were going, finding the bus stop, getting on it & getting to the beach, ect. so we decided to just pick the prettiest beach of the 3 & go there for the day.

We all thought Red Beach was the prettiest so we spent a few hours there & then got the last boat back & got on a bus to go back to the center of Santorini. We walked around, got some amazing ice cream, picked up a few souvenirs, & then rode cable cars down the cliffs & then rode donkeys back up them. It was the most amazing experience ever!

It was a little scary at times because the donkeys were all attached to one another & so me, Sarah, & Catrina were all following the Greek man on his donkey & the higher up that we went on the cliff, the more tired the donkeys got & there were times where my feet were literally dangling over the side railing of the cliff & all I could see was rocks & the ocean. LOL.
My donkey was the white one..& her name was Anna-Bella. She was a little trooper!

And here I am..holding on for dear life!

Here's a video that I made while I was riding my donkey up the cliffs:


After getting off of the donkeys, we had to climb up more of the cliff to get to where Jenn was waiting. Let me tell you..now I know why those poor donkeys were sweating..it was hard work getting up those steep steps..& I consider myself to be in good shape! Jeesh! Anyway, so we got to the top, & then lo & behold..who do we see when we find Jenn? THE BOYS! If you remember from earlier, they had missed their ferry to Santorini COMPLETELY & since we were cell phone-less we had no idea what happened to them, where they were, or anything. Well turns out the small world just got smaller. They ended up missing the boat because they had accidentally slept in late since they stayed out so late the night before, & ended up getting a last minute ticket to Santorini on the VERY last boat that went there for the day. They had only been on the island for about an hour before spotting Jenn & her hat..while Sarah, Catrina, & I were riding our donkeys up the cliffs. We were so happy to see them & find that they were okay because we were afraid that they weren't going to be able to get their ferry tickets to go back to Athens or that they might possibly miss their flights from Athens back to Paris just because there are only like 2 ferry boat times for each island..so not too many options! After our happy reuniting, we decided we wanted to get souvalkis for dinner...nevermind the fact that we had them for lunch already. They were freaking amazing. I got mine with LAMB again & wow..words can't even describe the yummy goodness. lol. And to make it even better..the souvlakis were super cheap..only $2.50 in euros! Awesome! We all got one & we were all wishing that we could take a million of them home with us..lol.

We got to see another delicious and amazingly beautiful sunset.

Proof that God exists:


The end is always bitter sweet isn't it? Here we are...waiting for our ferry boat from Santorini back to Athens! None of us was ready to go...

And here is a pic of my sunburn. It was so worth it though :)

So in 4 days, I experienced a LOT of things that most who vacay to Greece don't experience in 2 weeks. I fell in love with Greece, the culture, the food, the beautiful, handsome men (lol) & most importantly..the GREEK ISLANDS! There is still so much I didn't get to do/see on both Mykonos AND Santorini..which gives me even more incentive to go back one day. I would love to take a cruise of the Greek islands for a vacay trip one day or maybe even for my honeymoon when I get married one day..which is looking like will be a LONG freaking time from now so don't get any ideas people! :) I am so incredibly blessed that I got the amazing opportunity to visit Greece to begin with. God is so good! The people that I traveled with from my study abroad program are all awesome, & I had a blast with them. It's funny how much you learn about people by just being around each other 24/7, by being placed in unfamiliar countries/territories, & by just traveling together as a group. You really do see/hear/learn a lot about one another! I really wasn't ready to come back to Paris after Greece...but once our ferry boat landed in Athens at 4:15am, we took the metro back to our hotels & took turns showering & then around 7amish we checked out, grabbed a bite to eat, & went down to the Acropolis for a little bit..before catching our flight from Athens back to Paris.

Goodbye Greece!
View from my airplane window:

I miss you already :( & I am determined to go back there one day...even if that means I have to get on GreekMatch.Com & find me a Greek man. haha just kidding.

Anyway....so I am down to the single digits of my trip here. I only have a few days left here in Paris..so I have to make the most of it! I think tomorrow Sarah & I are going to go eat at a Greek restaurant down in the Latin Quarter (lol at the Greek food eh?) & then I am going to go to the catacombs at some point this week & hopefully do a little shopping, too, because the sales start tomorrow! Woohoo! :) My flight out of Paris is at 11:20am on Sunday & it is an 8 hour & 35 min flight back to Newark, New Jersey. When I land there though, it will only be 1:55pm due to the 7 hour time diff..so that means I am going to be jet lagged like whoa! Then..I have a 3 hour connect time before my next flight from New Jersey to Dallas..which is a 3 hr & 55 min flight & lands in Dallas at 8pm. I am staying the night there & then I fly back out to Lubbock the next day around lunch-time. Talk about exhausting!