http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2011/10/2011101810101934363.html#disqus_thread
Ahmedinejad is kind of like the Sarah Palin of Iran....in that he makes similar blanket phrases such as "the Iranian people are great people and have made history" and that "terrorism is bad and Iran doesn't believe in terrorism or people killing each other" etc. etc. He also uses long-winded, round about explanations to completely evade answering questions directly. Sarah Palin much? That being said, I think he makes good points on US foreign policy being too invasive and pro-Israel. I definitely agree with him on some of that. Overall I feel like he tries to come off as being some sort of Zen New Age Ghandi with his talk of "freedom, justice and respect...for all" (Iran's official core values, of course) and all I could keep thinking about was the Iranian gov't and the Basij shooting live rounds into the peaceful protests after the 2009 Election....
I also just love his 1 minute intro/response to Tony Harris' first question about the US accusation that the Iranian gov't helped plot to kill the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia....his response starts out like this:
"In the name of god, the most benevolent and the most merciful, oh lord, hasten the reappearance of the Mahdi and grant him victory and good health and make us amongts those his followers. First I would like to say Greetings to all the viewers, and I would like to say Goodnight to the places where it is night and Good Afternoon to the people in the other parts of the world, and I would like to grant happiness to everyone, in the world".
Is this just the typical type of greeting? I've never heard him say this type of greeting before....has he gone further off the deep end? Or has he just reached a certain level of enlightenment and inner peace....??
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
sayin 'my god is a good god and he cares'
everyone should listen to this song on repeat for at least a few cycles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glIXlwwxi68&ob=av2e
Thursday, September 22, 2011
in the eye of the hurricane called life
Its been such a good day. Despite waking up at 1pm and being unmedicated for the past 3 days, resulting in me obliviously floating down to the downtown, the day has come together quite nicely.
The medication was picked up finally, and the surge of serotonin coupled with a hazelnut latte set me in the path of jittery energy and bliss.
I love where I am. This place, this space. Full of beautiful people who are living beautiful existences, or even if they aren’t, most of them still manage to emit beauty.
So many friends have contacted me today, and I’ve realized that’s really what life is about- having human connections and loving your friends. Without people, existence is pointless. Not to say that a certain degree of solitude isn’t necessary, I whole-heartedly believe solitude is healthy, but in moderation.
I titled this post “in the eye of the hurricane called life” because that’s the perfect description for how I feel right now. It could be from my erratic sleep schedule and inconsistent compliance with medications, but I feel like life is swirling around me and I’m just sitting here peacefully in a coffee shop, trying to enjoy the moment and find satisfaction in the here and now. But I should be working, I should be doing so much more. I should I should I should. I guilt myself daily on being unemployed and not doing enough right now.
Im reading Russell Brand’s “Booky Wook” right now and I swear to whomever that this man is a genius. It’s gritty and real and fucking hilarious. The literature fits perfectly into my life right now, it’s like a hearty dose of whatever I seem to need at the moment.
The only scheduled event in my life right now if my weekly soccer matches. Tuesday nights from 8:45- 10:15 is the only block of commitment that I have. It’s gloriously concerning.
The medication was picked up finally, and the surge of serotonin coupled with a hazelnut latte set me in the path of jittery energy and bliss.
I love where I am. This place, this space. Full of beautiful people who are living beautiful existences, or even if they aren’t, most of them still manage to emit beauty.
So many friends have contacted me today, and I’ve realized that’s really what life is about- having human connections and loving your friends. Without people, existence is pointless. Not to say that a certain degree of solitude isn’t necessary, I whole-heartedly believe solitude is healthy, but in moderation.
I titled this post “in the eye of the hurricane called life” because that’s the perfect description for how I feel right now. It could be from my erratic sleep schedule and inconsistent compliance with medications, but I feel like life is swirling around me and I’m just sitting here peacefully in a coffee shop, trying to enjoy the moment and find satisfaction in the here and now. But I should be working, I should be doing so much more. I should I should I should. I guilt myself daily on being unemployed and not doing enough right now.
Im reading Russell Brand’s “Booky Wook” right now and I swear to whomever that this man is a genius. It’s gritty and real and fucking hilarious. The literature fits perfectly into my life right now, it’s like a hearty dose of whatever I seem to need at the moment.
The only scheduled event in my life right now if my weekly soccer matches. Tuesday nights from 8:45- 10:15 is the only block of commitment that I have. It’s gloriously concerning.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Home is where the heart is
It's my last night home (in CA) before I go home (to WA). Had a really great visit and just wanted to recap some of the best moments:
~ Boating on Lake Berryessa. So much fun wakeboarding, soo sore the next day.
~ Ride along with the BFD!!!! So many great learning experiences!!!
~ Monterey Bay Aquarium with mom, dad, and NIkki
~ Hanging with Nikki, Sam, and Luke in Lafayette- reminiscing on elementary - high school aka gossiping about where people are at now.
~Spending time with Genna, teaching her how to do "tricks" like sticking out her tongue and going "ahhhh" and high-five-ing
~ Crogans with Will and Lucas (bahaha)
~ Watching tons of Giants games and falling in love with Lincecum/ the rest of the team.
~ Sweet Affair sandwiches!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man, Im gonna miss them.
~ Riding in the Alpha Romeo with my pop
I feel like I fit a lot into 10 days. It really felt like a vacation and it was so good to spend time with my loved ones down here. Of course I miss Seattle and my life up there though and can't wait to get back up there. But it's always bittersweet, I have so much that I love about each of my "homes".
Friday, September 2, 2011
Life
It's all about changing and perpetual re-evaluation of yourself and how you fit into this place. Its a never-ending cycle that every human is going through simultaneously. No one ever knows exactly where they are, only where they were before they began wondering. I knew what I wanted to say before I started this entry, but I cannot know what has become of it now.
Monday, August 8, 2011
A Thought Experiment on Neurodiversity
The term "neurodiversity" came up in the documentary Loving Lampposts that I just watched. It made me start thinking about how society categorizes people with disorders, in particular mental and emotional disorders.
The film focuses in on Autism and how Autistic people are misunderstood as disabled, when the reality is that they perceive life and react to experiences differently than most people. This is implying that within the category of "most people", everyone perceives life and reacts to experiences the same, or similarly enough to stay within an acceptable spectrum. Assuming that everyone has a soul, which for this purpose I am defining as unique energy that manifests differently in every human being, then no one has the exact same perception or reaction to any experience. The majority learns how to perceive and react in ways that are congruent with social norms. Perhaps autistic, or otherwise mentally disabled, people simply behave more congruent with what their actual experience is.
I'm naturally prone to depression. I tend to gravitate toward being in a state of sadness. I am capable of getting into intensely emotional experiences that are very difficult for me to get myself out of. At times it affects my ability to maintain a functional life, but overall I have adapted to get along just fine with it. There have been many, many times when I have had to act to disguise myself as normal so that people wouldn't worry about me or think I have a problem. Times when all I've wanted to be is vacant and withdrawn but smile and talk anyway, even though my internal experience is still vacant and withdrawn. I've always gotten decent grades, had good friends, and been involved in a lot of activities and organizations ranging from sports to music.
This was all until March of 2009 when I started taking medication for my depression. Since taking the medication the depressive behavior has virtually stopped. I very rarely get as sad as I used to, and it is never as intense as it used to be. I'm still "me", just more able to fit within the realm of "normal" emotional experiences. I still get decent grades, enjoy sports and music, and have good friends- would say that all the outward signs of "success" are pretty much the same as before I began medication. However, I would argue that my internal experience is much better all-around now than before when I was not on medicine. Does that make it right for me to be taking medication? I don't know. Maybe I am deviating from my natural self.
My point is that I think we are all mentally and emotionally disabled. So if we all are, than no one is, right? I have the sense that this concept could be the next sort of civil rights battle...just as skin color and sexual preference have been, and continue to be, battles in society. Im not sure that civil rights is quite the correct wording here, but the idea is similar; something that was once categorized as a "disorder" can begin to be accepted as order. I don't want to make the mistake of grouping all mental or emotional disorders together, but for the purpose of this thought-experiment Im going to come awfully close to doing so.
I think the idea of tolerance of neurodiversity will become more prevalent in the next decade. My forecast is that people, as I have tonight, will begin to think of autism, depression, bipolar, anxiety, and schizophrenic disorders simply as different ways people perceive and react to stimuli. Different ways of being. I think neurodiversity could really become an acessible concept that will cycle through society in a similar way that racist and homophobic sentiments have and are still cycling through society- that is, racism and homophobia in the US were originally fully accepted until they began being questioned, and eventually totally rebuked.
There are stages of civil progress that any category of marginalized people go through. First they are categorized as "not right" or "not normal" by the majority. They are different from mainstream society so they are feared. Gradually pockets of people who actually know the marginalized minority begin to stand up against the marginalization and demand a second examination of the "fact" that these marginalized people aren't normal. Gradually more and more mainstream folk realize that their previous conceptions about the minority are false. Progress occurs. What were once black and white outlines of normal and not normal are now appropriately blurred to accommodate the reality that is humanity.
Its nighty-night time. Peace.
The film focuses in on Autism and how Autistic people are misunderstood as disabled, when the reality is that they perceive life and react to experiences differently than most people. This is implying that within the category of "most people", everyone perceives life and reacts to experiences the same, or similarly enough to stay within an acceptable spectrum. Assuming that everyone has a soul, which for this purpose I am defining as unique energy that manifests differently in every human being, then no one has the exact same perception or reaction to any experience. The majority learns how to perceive and react in ways that are congruent with social norms. Perhaps autistic, or otherwise mentally disabled, people simply behave more congruent with what their actual experience is.
I'm naturally prone to depression. I tend to gravitate toward being in a state of sadness. I am capable of getting into intensely emotional experiences that are very difficult for me to get myself out of. At times it affects my ability to maintain a functional life, but overall I have adapted to get along just fine with it. There have been many, many times when I have had to act to disguise myself as normal so that people wouldn't worry about me or think I have a problem. Times when all I've wanted to be is vacant and withdrawn but smile and talk anyway, even though my internal experience is still vacant and withdrawn. I've always gotten decent grades, had good friends, and been involved in a lot of activities and organizations ranging from sports to music.
This was all until March of 2009 when I started taking medication for my depression. Since taking the medication the depressive behavior has virtually stopped. I very rarely get as sad as I used to, and it is never as intense as it used to be. I'm still "me", just more able to fit within the realm of "normal" emotional experiences. I still get decent grades, enjoy sports and music, and have good friends- would say that all the outward signs of "success" are pretty much the same as before I began medication. However, I would argue that my internal experience is much better all-around now than before when I was not on medicine. Does that make it right for me to be taking medication? I don't know. Maybe I am deviating from my natural self.
My point is that I think we are all mentally and emotionally disabled. So if we all are, than no one is, right? I have the sense that this concept could be the next sort of civil rights battle...just as skin color and sexual preference have been, and continue to be, battles in society. Im not sure that civil rights is quite the correct wording here, but the idea is similar; something that was once categorized as a "disorder" can begin to be accepted as order. I don't want to make the mistake of grouping all mental or emotional disorders together, but for the purpose of this thought-experiment Im going to come awfully close to doing so.
I think the idea of tolerance of neurodiversity will become more prevalent in the next decade. My forecast is that people, as I have tonight, will begin to think of autism, depression, bipolar, anxiety, and schizophrenic disorders simply as different ways people perceive and react to stimuli. Different ways of being. I think neurodiversity could really become an acessible concept that will cycle through society in a similar way that racist and homophobic sentiments have and are still cycling through society- that is, racism and homophobia in the US were originally fully accepted until they began being questioned, and eventually totally rebuked.
There are stages of civil progress that any category of marginalized people go through. First they are categorized as "not right" or "not normal" by the majority. They are different from mainstream society so they are feared. Gradually pockets of people who actually know the marginalized minority begin to stand up against the marginalization and demand a second examination of the "fact" that these marginalized people aren't normal. Gradually more and more mainstream folk realize that their previous conceptions about the minority are false. Progress occurs. What were once black and white outlines of normal and not normal are now appropriately blurred to accommodate the reality that is humanity.
Its nighty-night time. Peace.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Is This Real Life?
Lately I've really felt the need to be creative and create things. I did Henna all over my left hand and it looks awful. Someone in my EMT class asked me if a 5-year old went crazy and drew all over my hand. Nope, just me.
Can't wait to live in Capitol Hill for real. Walking and pubic transit and city feel. Cooler people, probably.
Colorful and comfortable clothes is whats up. Laying in the sun and working out is also in. Kombucha is all the rage, oh my gosh. Hanging with people is fun and drinking heavily sometimes happens. Browning out might result.
People are leaving and people are coming back. Transitions are occurring and some level of confusion will always remain.
Just gotta keep calm and carry on. And kill it.
Can't wait to live in Capitol Hill for real. Walking and pubic transit and city feel. Cooler people, probably.
Colorful and comfortable clothes is whats up. Laying in the sun and working out is also in. Kombucha is all the rage, oh my gosh. Hanging with people is fun and drinking heavily sometimes happens. Browning out might result.
People are leaving and people are coming back. Transitions are occurring and some level of confusion will always remain.
Just gotta keep calm and carry on. And kill it.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Dreaming Dreams
The news said that Mubarak had been taken out. 'Finally', I thought. Then in a conversation about the north African events, I confused Egypt's situation with Libya's....how embarassing to be an IPE major and mess those up. 'Too bad Gadaffi isn't gone yet', I thought.
Next I was living in an appartment inside of a mall. A "penthouse" we called it. It was me and one other friend. A guy knocked on our door and just walked straight inside our place. He kept just casually talking a walking further and further into our place. Neither of us really knew what to do. I guarded the steps to upstairs and asked him what the heck he was doing here. He wouldn't give a straight answer. He made his way upstairs and I found the phone (sitting on the kitchen floor) and called 911. I calmly explained the situation that we were in and they said they'd be right over. It was a nice cop guy and he seemed as suspicious about this guy as we were. The guy came downstairs with loads of clothes and stuff he claimed to be his. Neither me or my housemates had ever seen this stuff before. He said he used to live there but when we asked when he had lived there, he couldn't recall the exact year. The policeman patted down the intruder and found a large knife on him. He also found a bizzare wooden sculpture that was full of French Roast coffee grounds. The intruder had a friend that decided to show up at this point. His friend was a chauvinistic pig who kept implying that we slept together. I tried punching him but it didn't work out too well. He was very strong and I felt so enraged that I couldn't defend myself against him.
That was basically the end of the dream. Incomplete as usual.
Next I was living in an appartment inside of a mall. A "penthouse" we called it. It was me and one other friend. A guy knocked on our door and just walked straight inside our place. He kept just casually talking a walking further and further into our place. Neither of us really knew what to do. I guarded the steps to upstairs and asked him what the heck he was doing here. He wouldn't give a straight answer. He made his way upstairs and I found the phone (sitting on the kitchen floor) and called 911. I calmly explained the situation that we were in and they said they'd be right over. It was a nice cop guy and he seemed as suspicious about this guy as we were. The guy came downstairs with loads of clothes and stuff he claimed to be his. Neither me or my housemates had ever seen this stuff before. He said he used to live there but when we asked when he had lived there, he couldn't recall the exact year. The policeman patted down the intruder and found a large knife on him. He also found a bizzare wooden sculpture that was full of French Roast coffee grounds. The intruder had a friend that decided to show up at this point. His friend was a chauvinistic pig who kept implying that we slept together. I tried punching him but it didn't work out too well. He was very strong and I felt so enraged that I couldn't defend myself against him.
That was basically the end of the dream. Incomplete as usual.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
I've realized that to describe my perfect guy is not a simple task. I've been getting more and more picky as I get older. And then I had a revelation:
I need a man who embodies the music of Bon Iver.
The depth, truth, intelligence, hint of sadness, and beauty that make up his music is what I'm looking for in a guy. The calmness and certainty it gives me would be my perfect companion. I am still capable of doing my homework while listening, and it even helps me think more clearly sometimes. It relaxes and inspires me and I thoroughly enjoy it's company.
Do not confuse this with the idea of me wanting Bon Iver (or the lead singer of the band, Im not sure what his real name is...) to be my boyfriend, I'm really not one for celebrity crushes. It's more about the art that he creates and the way it moves me to be a better person. This would be my perfect relationship.
I need a man who embodies the music of Bon Iver.
The depth, truth, intelligence, hint of sadness, and beauty that make up his music is what I'm looking for in a guy. The calmness and certainty it gives me would be my perfect companion. I am still capable of doing my homework while listening, and it even helps me think more clearly sometimes. It relaxes and inspires me and I thoroughly enjoy it's company.
Do not confuse this with the idea of me wanting Bon Iver (or the lead singer of the band, Im not sure what his real name is...) to be my boyfriend, I'm really not one for celebrity crushes. It's more about the art that he creates and the way it moves me to be a better person. This would be my perfect relationship.
Monday, September 6, 2010
OMG. PUMPKIN ALE.
The title of this blog post pretty much sums up everything I have to say. I just had my first ever sip of pumpkin ale and the explosion of refreshing crisp beer mixed with the festive taste of pumpkin and spices has left me with a profound nostalgia for Fall. Good thing it is coming up soon. Pumpkin ale is the new starbucks pumpkin spice latte in my life. The new fall drink to look forward to.
Drink it up.
Drink it up.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
I like making lists
Books Read this Summer:
Omnivore's Dilemma
Beloved
Complications
Push
Freakonomics
Books to Read:
Eat, Pray, Love
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
A Little History of the World
In Defense of Food
The World Without Us
Common Wealth
Where Men Win Glory
Three Cups of Tea
Omnivore's Dilemma
Beloved
Complications
Push
Freakonomics
Books to Read:
Eat, Pray, Love
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
A Little History of the World
In Defense of Food
The World Without Us
Common Wealth
Where Men Win Glory
Three Cups of Tea
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Keen on Eugene
Well folks, it's day 4 of my 9ish day stay in the lovely town/city of Eugene, OR. I drove Miya up to Portland yesterday where we made our parting, and am now left to hang in Euegene for another week tout seule. The loneliness hasn't yet made me go mad, fortunately. I've been keeping busy studying for the GRE's, reading Freakonomics, playing guitar, and running/walking. I went over to the U district today and café hopped. Espresso Roma was a bit dissappointig and not very lively but I found this interesting place called Java Rock on 13th and Oak (ish?) that played nonstop Bob Marley and had a very laid back barista that made a mean iced chai. Got some more GRE vocab flashcards made. I'm almost done with vocab flashcards now, only 4 or so more pages to go.
Two more weeks until classes start- I have mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement for the start of the year. I'm a bit nervous cause I feel like I've been on vacation so long (since December '09 if you dont count Paris as real school, which I'm not sure if I do...) So I will have to get back into the swing of UPS level learning once again. Also I'll be taking some harder classes and will have to start thinking about writing my thesis. Not to mention the pressure of not knowing what I'm going to be doing with myself after graduation. I'm thinking I would really just like to move up to Seattle and live and work for awhile. and maybe go to grad school after a year or so of doing that. Or maybe I'll just take a really long roadtrip and drive around the country for an indefinite amount of time.
I always feel like ending blog posts is a bit awkward- like I need to come up with an excuse to stop typing.
Two more weeks until classes start- I have mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement for the start of the year. I'm a bit nervous cause I feel like I've been on vacation so long (since December '09 if you dont count Paris as real school, which I'm not sure if I do...) So I will have to get back into the swing of UPS level learning once again. Also I'll be taking some harder classes and will have to start thinking about writing my thesis. Not to mention the pressure of not knowing what I'm going to be doing with myself after graduation. I'm thinking I would really just like to move up to Seattle and live and work for awhile. and maybe go to grad school after a year or so of doing that. Or maybe I'll just take a really long roadtrip and drive around the country for an indefinite amount of time.
I always feel like ending blog posts is a bit awkward- like I need to come up with an excuse to stop typing.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Summertime, the Living's Easy
So I've decided to turn my "travel blog" into my "life blog"...we'll see how this goes. Feels like forever since I was in Paris but in reality its only been a little more than a month...it's crazy how four plus months can go by and then you look back and it just feels like a dream you had one night.
Summer has been going interestingly enough so far. I did 3 weeks of kid sitting and now I'm just house sitting for the same family while they are in China. Basically I have an abundance of free time on my hands and have been trying to come up with fun ways to spend it. I've been teaching myself (re teaching myself..?) guitar and am pretty proud of the progress I've made. I have a fair amount of chords down and some noteworthy calusses on my finger tips. I've also been reading a fair amount and studying for the GRE's. All of this is helping me from sinking into the feeling that I am doing absolutely nothing with my life.
I might possibly job shadow a nurse at some point this summer, but the application still hasn't come in the mail yet...
Blah, blah, blahhhh.
Saturday was fun, aside from USA losing in the world cup that is. I watched the game and then, feeling inspired, went out with my friends and bought a soccer ball and then proceeded to play for awhile. Then played some Cranium. And at sunset we drove to Point Defiance to watch the sunset on the beach with wine. We mistakenly stayed past hours and got locked in the park for an hour until security came to unlock the gate. We saw approximately 10 deer and 2 raccoons.
Thats all the life I have in me to update right now.
Peace.
Summer has been going interestingly enough so far. I did 3 weeks of kid sitting and now I'm just house sitting for the same family while they are in China. Basically I have an abundance of free time on my hands and have been trying to come up with fun ways to spend it. I've been teaching myself (re teaching myself..?) guitar and am pretty proud of the progress I've made. I have a fair amount of chords down and some noteworthy calusses on my finger tips. I've also been reading a fair amount and studying for the GRE's. All of this is helping me from sinking into the feeling that I am doing absolutely nothing with my life.
I might possibly job shadow a nurse at some point this summer, but the application still hasn't come in the mail yet...
Blah, blah, blahhhh.
Saturday was fun, aside from USA losing in the world cup that is. I watched the game and then, feeling inspired, went out with my friends and bought a soccer ball and then proceeded to play for awhile. Then played some Cranium. And at sunset we drove to Point Defiance to watch the sunset on the beach with wine. We mistakenly stayed past hours and got locked in the park for an hour until security came to unlock the gate. We saw approximately 10 deer and 2 raccoons.
Thats all the life I have in me to update right now.
Peace.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
becoming an amateur fashionista
I must admit, that while living in Paris these past 3 months or so, I definitely have been bitten by the fashionista bug. Just walking around the city offers so much fashion insight and outfit ideas. It also doesn't help that my beloved house mate, Annie, is a fashion design and merchandising major and is always up on the newest trends and offers excellent fashion advice. I really feel like this is one thing I'm going to miss about Paris once I leave. In the US (and in Tacoma, WA in particular) the majority of the population goes for comfort and cheapness over fashionable, when it come to clothes. The past 19+ years of my life I have never found anything wrong with this simple fact, but now that I've spent a considerable time in Paris, something has changed, and now it seems like a big problem. Parisians even believe that it is utterly necessary to dress your babies well. I can't count how many 2 year olds I've seen in perfectly tailored pea coats. I don't even have a perfectly tailored pea coat. My first opinion of these well-dressed toddlers was that they were adorable, but that it was completely unnecessary, considering they will probably grow out of all their beautiful clothes in a month! Now, something in my mind has changed, and I see how important it is for those 2 year olds to have their wool pea coats, thick, colorful tights, matching hats, and mary jane shoes. It makes perfect sense.
All joking aside, I wanted to make sure to document some of the current trends that I have notice around Paris. Here they are:
First off, we have the tights and shorts combo. I love this one. I have acquired many pairs of tights over the last couple of months (hey don't judge, they're versatile and cheap!) and love to pair them with many things and even just wear them under jeans as sock replacements when I haven't done laundry in awhile.
Next we have the black skinny jeans, black blazer, and French retro striped shirt. You can never go wrong wearing these stripes in Paris, they are everywhere and widely accepted as fashionable.
Another blazer photo. There is a kind of magic that happens once anyone puts a blazer on; a sense of maturity and professionalism arrives out of nowhere. You're suddenly in charge, and you can handle anything. Highly recommended to wear for job interviews, internships, and any other environment demanding professionalism to be pulled out of thin air. The blazer is also a very versatile item of clothing and can be a great light layer to add to any going-out outfit.
Last but not least, the Ben Simon. The Ben Simon is the trademark tennis show of Paris. To put it in an analogy: Ben Simon is to Paris as Converse is to the US of A. They are simple, low to the ground shoes that come in many fabulous colors and various styles. The lace up (shown on the right) is the most classic, but recently they have come out with more styles such as the slip on (as seen on the left) and the faux lace-up slip on (as seen in my closet). Ben Simons are worn amongst children, teens, and adults alike, although seem to be a bit more popular among the younger populations. Selling for 25 Euro a pop, it has been hard for me to resist buying all the colors and variations my little amateur fashionista heart desires.
All joking aside, I wanted to make sure to document some of the current trends that I have notice around Paris. Here they are:
First off, we have the tights and shorts combo. I love this one. I have acquired many pairs of tights over the last couple of months (hey don't judge, they're versatile and cheap!) and love to pair them with many things and even just wear them under jeans as sock replacements when I haven't done laundry in awhile.
Next we have the black skinny jeans, black blazer, and French retro striped shirt. You can never go wrong wearing these stripes in Paris, they are everywhere and widely accepted as fashionable.
Another blazer photo. There is a kind of magic that happens once anyone puts a blazer on; a sense of maturity and professionalism arrives out of nowhere. You're suddenly in charge, and you can handle anything. Highly recommended to wear for job interviews, internships, and any other environment demanding professionalism to be pulled out of thin air. The blazer is also a very versatile item of clothing and can be a great light layer to add to any going-out outfit.
Last but not least, the Ben Simon. The Ben Simon is the trademark tennis show of Paris. To put it in an analogy: Ben Simon is to Paris as Converse is to the US of A. They are simple, low to the ground shoes that come in many fabulous colors and various styles. The lace up (shown on the right) is the most classic, but recently they have come out with more styles such as the slip on (as seen on the left) and the faux lace-up slip on (as seen in my closet). Ben Simons are worn amongst children, teens, and adults alike, although seem to be a bit more popular among the younger populations. Selling for 25 Euro a pop, it has been hard for me to resist buying all the colors and variations my little amateur fashionista heart desires.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Adfrenchuring
Today, since a large number of IES students containing many of my friends, headed off to Giverny for the day, I decided to do some Paris adventures toute seule (by myself). I started off by trying to find Le Jardin Rosiers, which my host mom told me is a beautiful, hidden little park not far from where we live. Her directions were only about 70% accurate, but with the help of some friendly french florists (alliteration much?) I was finally able to find my destination. Despite the fact the roses were not yet in bloom, it was a quaint little hide-out with a good number of french people and lots of soleil. I forgot to mention that it is beauuuutiful out today. All the best "spring in paris" generalities combined into today; Pefectly comfortable weather, an ocassional breeze, beautiful city, and of course lots of fashionable french people out flaunting their new spring wardrobes. I spent probably a good hour and half to two hours having a picnic with myself at Le Jardin Rosiers. It was the perfect chance to get some much desired sun and reading time in.
I then left the park to go to my new favorite shoe store called "Tout est pour Moi!". The reason this was my third time in the last 2 weeks that I was entering this shop is due to their supply of an adorable and simple french tennis show called le "Ben Simon". I am in love with these shoes. They are basically the Converse of France, but in better colors and more frenchy looking. Also, I see young french people wearing all the time, so I know they are a basic french fashion must-have. The reason I keep coming back is because the store owner (who I'm basically bff's with now) keeps expecting a new shipment of colors in and I keep waiting for them to arrive. Also, my friend requested that if I go by the store I buy her a pair in charcoal gray, so you see I had to go check it out again. I left the store with my friends pair and a pair of my own in white (I almost bought 2 pairs for myself, so this is a success)!
Now in a buying mood, I headed to Monoprix to pick up some sunscreen and socks. On my way back I decided to chercher for some macaroons, a french cookie-type thing that I hadn't yet tried and decided it was high time. I figured they would be everywhere, but in fact they are a bit hard to find. Boulangeries don't have them, and even a lot of patisseries don't make them! I headed in the direction of the Jewish quarter where I know there are a lot of cute small food places. I finally found a patisseries that had one kind of macaroon on their shelves. It was white chocolate (which isn't my favorite taste) but I decided I had to get it since I had walked all the way over there and didn;t have anymore ideas of where I could go to get one. Despite the over-sweetened white chocolate taste, the macaroon was absolutely delicious. A bit crispy, a bit crumbly, a bit creamy, waay yummy. I need to find some more of these in more flavors soon.
In the area I came across two tea stores, both of which I have fallen in love with. One is called "Palais du Thè" and the other one starts with a K but I can't remember the rest of the name right now.. In Palais du thè I bought tea sachets (100 for 2 euro) so that I can make my own tea bags. I also found a rice green tea that I've been looking for, for awhile. Success.
Overall, I realized that it's nice to go adventuring by myself once in awhile. I can do what I want and have my own weird goals (like finding a rose garden or a macaroon) without worrying that the other person/people I'm with won't be interested. I feel like I got a lot of ground covered and a lot of things I've been wanting to do done.
Also, my final class schedule:
ECON 371 (Int'l Econ) with professor Ly: Mon_Wed_Fri 12-1250
IPE 301 (Theories of IPE) with professor Peine: Tues_Thurs 1530-1650
IPE 311 (Third World Development) with professor Konto: Mon_Wed_Fri 11-1150
REL 222 (Jihad & Islam) with professor Ingalls: Mon_Wed 16-1720
The only curve ball is the religion class. I decided to take it right as I was registering. The wine class that I wanted was already full with 8 people on the waiting list, so I decided to take something that I've been interested in even though it doesn't go toward anything. Both the professor as well as the subject are completely new to me, but I'm excited for the class. I feel like during my time abroad I've been more exposed to Islamic culture and want to learn more about it.
Long post, hope it was able to hold someone's attention!
Julia
I then left the park to go to my new favorite shoe store called "Tout est pour Moi!". The reason this was my third time in the last 2 weeks that I was entering this shop is due to their supply of an adorable and simple french tennis show called le "Ben Simon". I am in love with these shoes. They are basically the Converse of France, but in better colors and more frenchy looking. Also, I see young french people wearing all the time, so I know they are a basic french fashion must-have. The reason I keep coming back is because the store owner (who I'm basically bff's with now) keeps expecting a new shipment of colors in and I keep waiting for them to arrive. Also, my friend requested that if I go by the store I buy her a pair in charcoal gray, so you see I had to go check it out again. I left the store with my friends pair and a pair of my own in white (I almost bought 2 pairs for myself, so this is a success)!
Now in a buying mood, I headed to Monoprix to pick up some sunscreen and socks. On my way back I decided to chercher for some macaroons, a french cookie-type thing that I hadn't yet tried and decided it was high time. I figured they would be everywhere, but in fact they are a bit hard to find. Boulangeries don't have them, and even a lot of patisseries don't make them! I headed in the direction of the Jewish quarter where I know there are a lot of cute small food places. I finally found a patisseries that had one kind of macaroon on their shelves. It was white chocolate (which isn't my favorite taste) but I decided I had to get it since I had walked all the way over there and didn;t have anymore ideas of where I could go to get one. Despite the over-sweetened white chocolate taste, the macaroon was absolutely delicious. A bit crispy, a bit crumbly, a bit creamy, waay yummy. I need to find some more of these in more flavors soon.
In the area I came across two tea stores, both of which I have fallen in love with. One is called "Palais du Thè" and the other one starts with a K but I can't remember the rest of the name right now.. In Palais du thè I bought tea sachets (100 for 2 euro) so that I can make my own tea bags. I also found a rice green tea that I've been looking for, for awhile. Success.
Overall, I realized that it's nice to go adventuring by myself once in awhile. I can do what I want and have my own weird goals (like finding a rose garden or a macaroon) without worrying that the other person/people I'm with won't be interested. I feel like I got a lot of ground covered and a lot of things I've been wanting to do done.
Also, my final class schedule:
ECON 371 (Int'l Econ) with professor Ly: Mon_Wed_Fri 12-1250
IPE 301 (Theories of IPE) with professor Peine: Tues_Thurs 1530-1650
IPE 311 (Third World Development) with professor Konto: Mon_Wed_Fri 11-1150
REL 222 (Jihad & Islam) with professor Ingalls: Mon_Wed 16-1720
The only curve ball is the religion class. I decided to take it right as I was registering. The wine class that I wanted was already full with 8 people on the waiting list, so I decided to take something that I've been interested in even though it doesn't go toward anything. Both the professor as well as the subject are completely new to me, but I'm excited for the class. I feel like during my time abroad I've been more exposed to Islamic culture and want to learn more about it.
Long post, hope it was able to hold someone's attention!
Julia
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Countdown Begins
Today is April 11th. Exactly one month from today I will be meeting up with my parents in Paris. Exactly one month and four days from now I'll be on a plane coming back to the states. It is truly unbelievable how fast time can go by.
I feel like I need to make the most of every single day left here but then again, sometimes I feel like just being here is enough. A group of us went to Barcelona for our extended Easter weekend. It was so nice to stay in just one place and not be moving to new places every day like all our other trips. Barcelona was absolutely beautiful, I only wish it had been a bit warmer so I could have gone to the beach! I've had a lot of summer/beach envy recently. I want to go to the beach and have it be hot and be able to just lie in the sun. I am sincerely hoping that this will happen when we go to Nice and Greece after our program is done.
I finally feel like I have made some decent progress with my french acquisition. The other day I was just walking around la place de Republique by myself. I went into a show store (bought a pair of shoes) but the important part of the story was that I was able to have a lengthy conversation in French with the woman working at the shoe store. She didn't even try to slip into English with me! I felt very accomplished.
Im starting to really feel like I need to get on a regular exercise schedule. My running has been pretty sporadic and this needs to change soon! Months of baguette and cheese eating mixed with little physical exercise does not do a body good. Fortunately, the amount of walking that is a necessary part of a Parisian's life is keeping me from becoming obese :)
Below are some Barcelona pics:
View from the top of Park Guell
On the longest park bench in the world! At Park Guell
Eating churros con chocolate (very popular thing to do in Barcelona)
Beach!
I feel like I need to make the most of every single day left here but then again, sometimes I feel like just being here is enough. A group of us went to Barcelona for our extended Easter weekend. It was so nice to stay in just one place and not be moving to new places every day like all our other trips. Barcelona was absolutely beautiful, I only wish it had been a bit warmer so I could have gone to the beach! I've had a lot of summer/beach envy recently. I want to go to the beach and have it be hot and be able to just lie in the sun. I am sincerely hoping that this will happen when we go to Nice and Greece after our program is done.
I finally feel like I have made some decent progress with my french acquisition. The other day I was just walking around la place de Republique by myself. I went into a show store (bought a pair of shoes) but the important part of the story was that I was able to have a lengthy conversation in French with the woman working at the shoe store. She didn't even try to slip into English with me! I felt very accomplished.
Im starting to really feel like I need to get on a regular exercise schedule. My running has been pretty sporadic and this needs to change soon! Months of baguette and cheese eating mixed with little physical exercise does not do a body good. Fortunately, the amount of walking that is a necessary part of a Parisian's life is keeping me from becoming obese :)
Below are some Barcelona pics:
View from the top of Park Guell
On the longest park bench in the world! At Park Guell
Eating churros con chocolate (very popular thing to do in Barcelona)
Beach!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
just a quick update...
I'm finding that I'm beginning to miss the strange things about home/school such as the vegetarian riblet and mac and cheese I would get every friday at the SUB. Wow, Im in France and I'm missing my school cafeteria food.
I'm registering soon for next fall's classes and it doesn't look like its going to be an easy semester by any means. My classes will look something like this:
IPE 301 (Advanced Int'l Pol. Economy Theories)
IPE 311 (IPE of 3rd World Dev.)
IPE 405 (The Idea of Wine)
ECON 371 (Int'l Econ)
The last one is the one I'm most afraid of...but the rest are a little frightening too, but mostly seem really interesting.
I'm pretty exhausted from this week so far and have a fair amount of homework to do so I'm going to lie in bed and attempt to work on some of it...
I'm registering soon for next fall's classes and it doesn't look like its going to be an easy semester by any means. My classes will look something like this:
IPE 301 (Advanced Int'l Pol. Economy Theories)
IPE 311 (IPE of 3rd World Dev.)
IPE 405 (The Idea of Wine)
ECON 371 (Int'l Econ)
The last one is the one I'm most afraid of...but the rest are a little frightening too, but mostly seem really interesting.
I'm pretty exhausted from this week so far and have a fair amount of homework to do so I'm going to lie in bed and attempt to work on some of it...
Friday, March 12, 2010
Highlights from SB
So if I were to go through all the places and things I did over spring break it would be a novel; thus I am going to paraphrase. We took the plane into Rome where we stayed for 3 nights. Ate lots of gelato, pasta, and pizza and saw lots of old and cool things such as the coliseum, the vatican, ruins, the pantheon, and trevi fountain. Next we took a 3 hour train to Milan. I honestly could have skipped over going to Milan; everything seemed to be oddly spaced out and empty. We had a hard time finding our hostel and when we finally got there they informed us that the water heater was brokedn therefore we had to stay at another hostel for the night that was way the heck across town. So we trecked our booties waay over to the new place, which ended up being a 3 star hotel (pretty nice for our standards). We finally got out for some sight-seeing and saw the famous cathedral (absolutely gorgeous) and the Galleries where all the expensive designer shopping is. Later on we met up with some of Amanda's friends who are studying in Milan and went out to a nightclub with them. It was fun, but I don't think I would plan on returning.
Next we hopped on a plane to Agadir, Morocco. Driving from the airport to our hostel random Moroccan kids were waving to us-- I felt like some hyped-up celebrity, it was bizzare and kinda sweet at the same time. Agadir was beautiful and warm and the sunny weather and beach scenery was a nice change from Paris' cold, city feel. We had a really nice taxi driver named Moulay who we arranged to have pick us up the next day and drive us up to Marrakech. He showed up the next day with his old, clunky Mercedes form the 80's all shined up and ready to go. He was still wiping down the hood as we were getting in (another example of the small things in Morocco that make the average american student feel like royalty). He drove us the whole 4 hours up to Marrakech and it was cool to see the Atlas mountains and random Moroccan terrain during the trip. Marrakech met us with the chaotic atmosphere we were promised. We arrived in the city around 10:30 pm and our loyal taxi driver set us up with a Moroccan who would show us our way to the hotel since there was no access by car. Our hostel was nestled into the bustling Medina district which was very vibrant and lively even at 10:30 at night. The next day we woke up early to take full advantage of our day. The day started with free breakfast at our hotel of delish Moroccan bread rolls with butter curls and fresh honey. yum. From there we pretty much just let the city take us where it wanted. We ended up seeing a big tannery where leather is cured and dyed (smells awful) and then got to see the shop with all the final products (beautiful). I bought a camel leather luggage bag (my splurge of the trip). We then wandered through more shops, eventually got lunch where I ate Tagine chicken (first time I ate chicken in a long time, but it was delish). Saw lots of cool/exotic animals such as monkeys, turtles, chameleons, and cobra snakes and saw some less exotic animals such as millions of stray kittens in the streets and donkeys carrying stuff everywhere.
Anyway, back to Paris now and midterms start next week, blehh. It's hard leaving paradise and coming back to reality, I feel like I had a small degree of culture shock coming back to Paris where things are so much less chaotic and laid back. That being said, I still seem to fall more and more in love with this city as the days fly by.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Le Début de Mars
So tomorrow Annie, Amanda K, Kelsey and I are heading out to Rome. We will be spending 3 nights in Rome, and then taking a train up to Milan and spending one night in Milan. We will then take a plane from Milan to Agadir, Morocco, stay one night in Agadir then take a taxi from Agadir to Marrakech where we will spend our final night before heading back to Paris. As excited as I am, I am also very exhausted just thinking about the whole trip. It'll be a total of 6 airports that we will be dealing with across the span of 7 days...I know it sounds a bit crazy but students take drastic measures to cut down the costs of traveling, especially while abroad. If I had it my way I would have probably only wanted to go to either Italy or Morocco and spend the bulk of my Spring Break in one of these two countries, instead of running around like crazy, but we'll see how it goes-- I'm sure it will end up being an adventure.
Reading other people's blogs who are abroad, I feel like I'm failing as an international blogger. Coming on here has been feeling a bit more like homework than an enjoyable pass time and I don't feel like my writing quality/stories are as exciting as the others I've been reading (this could be due to the fact that it's feeling like homework). As much as I want to have an exciting blog, I haven't really had the motivation lately.
What I am excited about are the upcoming trips that Annie and I have been planning. We have tickets to go to Barcelona, southern France (Nice...Monaco..), Athens, a ferry ticket from Athens to Santorini, and we are trying to set up a weekend to go to Munich, Germany as well. I feel like the mindset about most students studying abroad (and especially in Europe) is that they want to travel a ton. I've realized this is more difficult said than done since traveling takes a lot of preparation and money. Also, since we are first and foremost students here, there is limited time for traveling which means a lot of the trips end up being rushed. Part of me wishes I could just take as long as I wanted in each place and not worry about rushing around to get everything in. What it comes down to though is that I really should not be complaining about anything while I'm here since I'm incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to study abroad in the first place!
Below are some pictures of the Louvre at dusk:
Reading other people's blogs who are abroad, I feel like I'm failing as an international blogger. Coming on here has been feeling a bit more like homework than an enjoyable pass time and I don't feel like my writing quality/stories are as exciting as the others I've been reading (this could be due to the fact that it's feeling like homework). As much as I want to have an exciting blog, I haven't really had the motivation lately.
What I am excited about are the upcoming trips that Annie and I have been planning. We have tickets to go to Barcelona, southern France (Nice...Monaco..), Athens, a ferry ticket from Athens to Santorini, and we are trying to set up a weekend to go to Munich, Germany as well. I feel like the mindset about most students studying abroad (and especially in Europe) is that they want to travel a ton. I've realized this is more difficult said than done since traveling takes a lot of preparation and money. Also, since we are first and foremost students here, there is limited time for traveling which means a lot of the trips end up being rushed. Part of me wishes I could just take as long as I wanted in each place and not worry about rushing around to get everything in. What it comes down to though is that I really should not be complaining about anything while I'm here since I'm incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to study abroad in the first place!
Below are some pictures of the Louvre at dusk:
Friday, February 19, 2010
So I know I haven't been updating this as much as I was hoping to....honestly I can't think of too many exciting events to talk about at this point. I've officially been here in Paris one month and one day and everything is starting to feel like normal. This past week or so I've just been wanting to catch up on sleep and so today I was finally able to sleep in as long as I wanted, it was much needed. All my classes are going well and we're starting to get into tougher material and actually writing papers/doing presentations etc. Spring break starts at the ends of next week and 3 friends and I will be adventuring to Italy and Morocco. There are so many places I want to visit around here it's going to be hard deciding which ones to leave out.
Anyway, the little video I posted is of La Bonita (the 4 month old kitten) and Samsam playing with eachother. I really love having a kitten around despite all the scratches I receive from her.
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About Me
- jewls89
- I'm currently a student at the University of Puget Sound and will be going into my senior year this coming fall.
la tour eiffel
