Paris. Good days and bad days...

Written August 24-26^th, 2010

            I arrived in Paris around 11am (Paris time) on Monday the 23^rd.  My flight was an hour or more late and Ingrid’s flight had already arrived at like 9 that morning.  We had made plans for Ingrid to meet me at my gate.  As soon as I got off the plane though, I realized this wasn’t possible.  There was a big glass barrier separating the passengers exiting the plane from the people waiting for the flights at the gates on the other side.  I looked extensively for Ingrid but couldn’t see her so I continued along the path that led me to the baggage claim, expecting that she would be there, but my stomach dropped (does that make sense?) when I couldn’t see her.  My first thought was that she wasn’t able to make it to my terminal since I was in Paris Orly Sud (South) and her flight was Paris Orly Ouest (West).  I tried to calm myself down while I waited for my bags, but it was taking forever.  I slowly started working up the courage to ask someone if I could use their cell phone so I could call Ingrid.  Finally I asked someone but she said her phone was dead, so she directed me to the public telephones.  When I get there, I am completely confused to how it works since it accepts either bank cards or calling cards, and seeing as how I don’t have a calling card and my bank cards don’t really work here because their bank cards have magnets and not the strips (well they actually have both, but most machines can only read the magnet kind) I am unable to do anything.  I finally ask an airport worker and he points me to another set of phones which Im like, ok, if these other ones didn’t work for me, this one won’t either.  But after a second I realize there is a machine to buy calling cards right next to the phone, so I spend the 10 euros to buy a calling card and dial Ingrid’s cell.  I end up reaching Ingrid’s mother in Guadeloupe and she reassures me and tells me that Ingrid called her and told her she is waiting outside the baggage claim for me and that I should go get my luggage and then go outside.

            An hour later, I finally get my luggage and I am off with Ingrid in a taxi to her apartment.  We get to her apartment around 1 in the afternoon, I call my mom to tell her I arrived, and then we sleep for 6 hours.  We wake up around 7pm, still exhausted, and start making plans for dinner.  We end up eating at this nice little Italian restaurant in Ingrid’s neighborhood, which served us WAY too much food, but was pretty well priced for a Parisian restaurant.  After that, we walk down to the Bastille, which is this big monument surrounded by a huge roundabout that represents the storming of the Bastille on July 14^th, 1789, which is when the French celebrate their independence day. 

            Around the Bastille, Ingrid and I stumble upon a vélib station.  Vélibs are bicycles owned by the city of Paris that people can rent and ride around the city.  Everything is really high-tech and there are stations all over the city.  After walking around for a while, I finally convince Ingrid to go on the vélibs and ride around the city.  It is now 11pm Paris time, but we are not tired at all since we slept all day and are still somewhat on East coast time.

            I must say, there is a reason Paris is known as the city of lights.  It is BEAUTIFUL at night!  We crossed the Seine at Pont Sully and we ended up stumbling upon the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is beautiful when all lit up at night!  And it’s even better because it’s not crowded with hundreds of people at midnight like it is during the day.  After that, we continue our nighttime tour of the city and stumble upon things such as the Hôtel de Ville (the town hall) of Paris and other various famous monuments and buildings.  Thinking that we were only going to be out to dinner, I unfortunately left my camera at Ingrid’s apartment and wasn’t able to capture any pictures of these beautiful sights.  I would, though, recommend to ANYONE that comes to Paris, that you take the vélibs around the city to see everything.  Nothing is really quite that far away from things (ok, I lie, it’s a little bit of a bike ride, and it can be kind of scary in the middle of Paris traffic, but it is totally worth it!).  Around 2 in the morning we ended our tour and went back to the apartment, where we weren't able to fall asleep until around 4am. 

Paris- Day 2

We woke up at 9 the next morning to start our long day of sightseeing.  We took the metro from Ingrid’s neighborhood to the Eiffel Tour.  It was absolutely beautiful! Finally I got to see the symbol of what has been my ten-year dream of coming to France! I am absolutely ecstatic!  It is very crowded though, with tourists from all over the world, people are walking around trying to get you to buy their cheap souvenirs, and other people from Bosnia are begging you for money. 

At the Eiffel Tour

By this time it is lunchtime and we are both hungry.  I suggest we go walk on one of the side streets around the Eiffel Tour to find some food, since everything right around the tower is very expensive.  From the distance I see a Casino (one of the chain grocery stores here) and we head in that direction.  Seeing as how things here close from noon-2 in the afternoon, I was sure we’d be out of luck.  But then I see a sign that says they are open “non-stop” from 9am to 9pm.  But as we get closer, we see another sign that says “closed on Tuesdays”.  Quelle chance!

On the vélib

            We end up finding this cute little bakery across the street in which we take the menus at 5,90 euros a piece, which includes a sandwich of our choice (I chose chicken curry) on a baguette, a desert, and a drink.  We end up picnicking on the grass by the Eiffel tour and I thoroughly enjoyed my first real French baguette! After lunch we got on the vélibs again and we rode around to different sights such as the Palais Royal (Royal Palace), L’assemblée Nationale (The French National Assembly, kinda like our house of representatives), Les Invalides, Le Musée d’armée, and Sciences Po (Ingrid’s school).  In the neighborhood of Ingrid’s school is where I encounter my first rude Parisian.  This old woman (who apparently thought I was going to hit her with my bicycle even though I stopped and was nowhere near her) starts yelling at me in French “IT’S GREEN!!” and pointing at the crosswalk sign.  Im like, what the f***!? And then she continues yelling “GREEN!! IT’S US PEDESTRIANS WHO HAVE THE RIGHT, YOU HAVE TO STOP!” Then she yells “stupide!” so I yell back “salope!”, which is a very strong swear word kind of like “b****” in English, only a little stronger. Hehe. :\ I was mad...  So we ended yesterday’s sightseeing by taking a nap next to the fountain in the Tuileries gardens, then we took an ice cream and walked up the Champs-Élysées until we ended at L’arc de Triomphe and then took the metro home.

           

It was a beautiful day overall. That is, until we got home….

            When we got home we were both exhausted, which was probably a combination of both jetlag and the fact that we had been riding bikes around Paris all day.  The bad news came though when my mom called Ingrid’s apartment to tell me that my dog had passed away the night before.  In some ways I was shocked, but in others, I had known it in my heart all along that she wouldn’t make it until I got back from France next year.  I know I expressed some of these concerns to a few people and I know those of you I told did your best to reassure me that it would be ok, but I just knew it in my heart. 

            I never thought I could be this heartbroken over losing a pet but it really hit me hard.  Especially yesterday when I called home to tell my mom how everything was going and she told me that she had been too upset to tell me yesterday, but that before Scarlet died, she was standing by the door of my room, looking around as if she was looking for me to say goodbye before she died. 

            Right now I am writing this from the train that I am taking from Paris to Aix-en-Provence and I have not been able to stop crying for the last half-hour.  I have never felt so humiliated in my life.  Those of you who know me know how much I HATE crying in front of people, even close friends.  And right now, as I sit and look out at the French countryside, tears silently rolling down my cheeks, all I can think about is how scared I am, how much I miss my dog, my family, and how much I just want to go home.  What was I thinking moving to a different country for a whole fricken year!?!  I have wanted nothing more than to go to France for more than half my life and now that I am here, I should be the happiest I’ve ever been. But to be honest, I am scared shitless. 

I don’t know how I managed to hold it together so well before I left the US.  I didn’t even cry at the airport when I said goodbye to my family.  But I think that was because I felt more like I was going on vacation.  Now that I’m actually on the train though, on my way to Aix, I’m realizing that there’s no turning back.  This is it.  This is my time to shine, right? 

Speaking of shine… we have finally gotten far enough south of Paris that the sun is starting to come out.  Maybe this is a good sign.

Well I’m off for now.  I think I’ve finally cried enough that I’m ready to take a nap.

Paix,

Doog

Gwadloup-la bèl Days 3-5

Written August 21, 2010

DAY 3-La Désirade

            We went to La Désirade, which is one of the smaller islands part of Guadeloupe. People who are désiradien have much lighter skin and some people even have blue eyes because this is where the Bretons sent their prisoners from France a long long time ago. There we met Ingrid’s other mami, her stepdad’s mom. Her stepdad’s mom is another cute old creole woman who sits on a chair outside on the sidewalk by her house and says hello to EVERYONE that passes by, since La Désirade is so small and everyone knows each other. Every 5 seconds she had to stop her conversation to say “bonjour” to everyone who passed by and people in their cars would honk and yell out the window to her, since apparently everyone knows Ingrid’s mami. Then another one of her older lady friends came and they were gossiping in creole. The most I managed to understand out of all of it was that Ingrid’s mami was talking about certain people that didn’t say “bonjour” to her and how offended she was since even the little children always say “bonjour” to her. It was basically typical old lady talk, which I found absolutely adorable.  

            Since the minibus tours were all filled up already when we got to the island, Ingrid’s mami flagged down one of her friends who drove by on his scooter who got one of his friend’s to take us in the back of his pickup truck for a tour of the island. He took us up into the mountain pass and then down to the other side of the island where we stopped at a “source” (not sure what it is in English, but it’s like somewhere where you get fresh water to drink) and then we picked some goyaves (guava) from the trees and ate them. It was so fresh and delicious!

            After our day at La Désirade, we decided to go out clubbing with some of Ingrid’s friends. Everyone was really nice and we had an awesome time! I did have a hard time though because all of Ingrid’s friends speak creole to each other so I was only able to understand half of what was going on and at one point, after waiting in the long ass line to get in the club, Ingrid and I get separated and I had to go in by myself, which was terrifying since the bouncer was yelling at me in French to empty my pockets and had to search me to make sure I wasn’t bringing anything illegal into the club. Finally he let me go and I met back up with Ingrid and all of her friends. At the club, they played mostly popular Caribbean music called dancehall and jumpup. I absolutely LOVED the music. They also played a lot of American hip hop songs that I knew, and everytime I heard one I was like “I KNOW THIS SONG!” and would start singing the lyrics, to which everyone else would attempt to do as well, although I don’t think they really knew or understood the words. Then we had a session of kuduro, which is kind of line type dance which has the same moves as the electric slide, only with a real Caribbean flavor and slightly different footwork. Then they had a session of zouk, which I decided to sit out for since I was sweating my butt off and had been dancing already for probably a good 2 hours. We ended up going home around 3:30 in the morning, which is early for French people when they go out. Normally they stay out until 4 or 5 in the morning. :\

            DAY 4

            We met with two of Ingrid’s girlfriends, Skaranskara and Giselle, to take a tour of Basse-Terre. We went to the city of Basse-Terre, which is the capital of Guadeloupe. We also saw the crazy spider monkey, which is the only one on the island and is the pet of some family. I guess it’s become some sort of unofficial mascot of the island or something. On the way we stopped at a stand where they make kassave, which is made from manioc, which is some type of root vegetable, which is then combined with coconut. It was pretty delicious. Basse-Terre is mostly mountains and is where the volcano, La Soufrière, is located. We went up into some of the mountain towns and drove around, and then we went to an old fort, which used to be a prison several hundred years ago. Then we went to the beach and went swimming to cool off. After leaving the ocean, we decided to go way up into the mountains to Matouba, which is where one of the really cool (as in cold) rivers, called La Rivière-Rouge (The Red River) is located. We went to a part of the river where there were some small waterfalls. We had to navigate our way down among a bunch of large rocks to actually get there, but once we got in, the water was really refreshing (and cold!). We sat under the waterfall and danced and yelled out like savages and just had a general good time. It was probably one of the highlights of my trip. You just feel so connected to nature, which is something I’ve never really felt back home since I’ve always been the one who likes to be inside with air-conditioning and modern conveniences. After the waterfall, we went down to Basse-Terre (the city) and got some sandwiches that we ate on the main boulevard. It was a great end to a great day.

            DAY 5

In my last full day in Guadeloupe, we did the rest of the tour of Basse-Terre.  We had a really nice lunch on the beach and just drove around with Ingrid’s parents and Skaranskara.  It was a nice day, although I am very tired from being in the car all day, especially since I’ve had a bad headache all day. Although the French have this wonderful medicine called efferalgan, which is a large tablet that you drop in a glass of water and it fizzes (kinda like alka seltzer) and then you drink it and BOOM, you’re headache goes away within a few minutes. Absolutely WONDERFUL!

General observations so far:

            Guadeloupeans are crazy drivers. The roads are all very windy but people here drive really fast (although the speed limits are set very high, or at least higher than in the States, in my opinion) and they like to honk a lot. Since a lot of people know each other, they often stop in the middle of the road to chat and yell out the window to each other. There are big beef cows EVERYWHERE and I mean literally EVERYWHERE. All along the highway, in random fields, backyards, front yards, even on the side of the interstate. There are also a lot of goats.  French TV has no limit to how much they show. Ingrid and I were watching TV one night and there were just people having sex on one of the channels (and they showed EVERYTHING) and on another channel (this is all on regular cable, mind you) there were just naked women prancing around. So much different than cable in the United States…

Overall, everyone here has been very kind and welcoming and it has been such a wonderful visit! Ingrid’s mother insists that I come back again soon, only next time stay for a couple of weeks, which I would absolutely love! She has also invited me to go to Germany with them for Christmas when they visit Ingrid’s brother, who lives in Munich. I cannot thank Ingrid’s family enough for their hospitality! They have even started to call me their son, which really touches me. I can’t wait to come back again someday! Well tomorrow (Sunday) I am off to Paris, where I will spend 3 days at Ingrid’s apartment to see the city and celebrate Ingrid’s birthday. I am so excited to see Paris, which has been a symbol of my dreams of going to France for a LONG time now! Well Im off to shower and get some shut eye.

Paix,
Doogie

Gwadloup-la bèl Day 1-2

Written: August 20, 2010

As I approach what is my last (and not even full) day in Guadeloupe, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on things I have learned and experienced so far.

            The first day we got up early, had some “pain américain” with jam and cereal, and then Ingrid and I hopped into the very tiny car for our grand tour of La Grande-Terre. I kid you not, they do NOT exaggerate when they talk about how small European cars are. They are small!

Guadeloupe has two main parts of the island, Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, which are connected by a small land bridge. Locals call it L’île-Papillon, or the butterfly island, because it looks like a butterfly (although Ingrid thinks it looks like a vulture).  Grande-Terre is mostly flat and is where most of the sugar cane fields can be found, as well as the rum distilleries. As part of our tour we stopped at a Damoiseau rum distillery where I bought my first (legal) purchase of alcohol, a nice bottle of Guadeloupean rum. We also stopped in a small town on the coast called Port-Louis to see Ingrid’s mami (Grandma). Her mami was absolutely adorable and she was very welcoming to me. She spoke mostly creole and Ingrid had to translate for me because even when she spoke French to me, the accent was so thick that it was hard for me to understand.  After driving around Grande-Terre for a bit, we returned a kaz (creole for “home”) to have lunch with Jacques, Ingrid’s stepdad. After lunch, we headed out to Pointe des Châteaux, which is a beautiful point on Grande-Terre where there is a big hill you climb and you can look out on all of Grande-Terre, see the big éoliennes (wind turbines) and then look out on the ocean and see La Désirade in the distance, which is one of the smaller islands part of Guadeloupe. This was probably one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It was hard to pick out which picture to put on the blog of Pointe des Châteaux because there were so many good ones, but voilà, I chose one I thought was one of the best.

View of Guadeloupe from top of Pointe des Châteaux. FYI, I did not take this photo in black & white, this is just how it turned out with the sun and some hazyness. :)

After Pointe des Châteaux we went to Saint-François and went to a small market and then we went to Sainte-Anne to go nighttime swimming.  It was only 8 o’clock, but since we are closer to the equator, the sun sets at 6:30 every night so by 8 it is completely dark out.  The beach was lit up though and there were tons of people there.  It was nice to go swimming after spending a long day in the heat and humidity. My arms are almost constantly glistening with sweat and I am constantly feeling sticky, but I’ve gotten used to it now. After swimming we went to Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest city on the island, to find some food but it was too crowded in Place de la Victoire, so we went to a small stand in Morne-à-l’Eau and got some bokits, which are sandwiches made of fried pizza dough which you then put fried eggs, ham, sausages, cheese, and mayonnaise and ketchup. Pretty delicious!

Bokit

DAY 2

            We went to Pointe-à-Pitre to the market.  Before even entering the market, a Haitian woman flagged us down and took us to her stall to show us all the various spices and varieties of punch. When they say “punch” here, it is not like an American “fruit punch”. A punch here is made of strong rum, which is then mixed either with sugarcane syrup or with different fruits such as pineapple, passion fruit, or coco.  They often have a “ti-punch” (little punch) as an apéro, which is like a small alcoholic drink that you have before you eat your meal, kind of like an appetizer. So after buying a punch of ananas (pineapple) and fruit de la passion (I think you can figure that one out for yourself) we got flagged down by another Haitian woman who proceeded to show us all of her stuff as well. So after buying some sel épicé (spiced salt) and assaisonnement créole (creole seasoning), we left the market (so I wouldn’t be coerced into spending all my money by very persistent Haitian women) and went to meet Ingrid’s parents for lunch.

            Almost everyone here has a two-hour lunch break. The shops close down during lunch and people go home or go out to eat with friends and family. After taking a nice two-hour lunch, we attempted to go to Basse-Terre, where we were going to meet Ingrid’s friend Giselle at one of the rivers to go swimming, but instead we ended up getting lost and driving around for about an hour. Eventually we ended up at Plantation Grand Café, where we thought we would get a tour of a coffee plantation. WRONG. After we parked next to a huge field of banana trees, we walked up to the billeterie (where they sell the tickets for tours) and asked if it would be possible just to buy some coffee without doing the tour and the lady very confusingly told us that we could buy coffee at a supermarket. We were like, uhh, duh! And then she tells us that Plantation Grand Café is a bananerie (a banana plantation).  Woops!  We left and gave up on finding the river so we returned home early.

Mural in Pointe-à-Pitre

Lessons in Packing: Day of Departure

         I am currently writing this from my Ingy boo’s beautiful home in Guadeloupe (or Gwadloup in the local creole language).  We are chilling in the upstairs and watching Nuit au Musée 2 (Night at the Museum 2) which is, of course, all in French! So far I haven’t had any sort of culture shock type moments. Except, of course, when I actually think to myself “holy shit Doug, you’re on a French island in the Caribbean” and then my heart starts to beat faster as the adrenaline starts to run through my veins and then I tell myself, woa dude, calm down! J I am having such a great time though! And Ingrid and her family have been nothing but kind, hospitable, and very happy to find someone who is so interested in their culture, which they are so eager to share.

Before I talk about my adventures so far in Gwadloup, I will talk to you about my absolutely wonderful (NOT!) travel experience.  The first advice Im going to give to fellow international travelers/students going abroad is: PACK LIGHT! I don’t care if you think you’re going to “absolutely need this pair of shoes” or the huge bag of advil your mom gives you to last you the whole year, or the pound of baby powder you buy at kmart because, hey, you’re going to a country where it’s reeeally hot and you need something to help keep you dry and fresh! NO! You can buy that stuff THERE if you absolutely need it!

So here’s me, 20 year old, inexperienced international traveler, arriving at Chicago O’hare at six in the morning with my two heavy-ass bags, one weighing 70lbs and the other 40lbs. I say goodbye to my parents, my eyes barely even water because I am so preoccupied with the line of THOUSANDS of other people that are arriving at the airport at the same time to also catch their flights like I am, where Im supposed to go, where to check in, etc. So after my parents leave, I ask this nice lady if Im in the right line because since my final destination was Pointe-à-Pitre but my layover was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, if I needed to be in the line for the international check in. She tells me yes, that I just wait in this (long-ass) line and then go left. Ok. Cool. So about 10-15 minutes later of waiting in this line, this very “nice” airport worker comes up to me and yells at me that I my bags are too large and they have to be checked. Uh, DUH!!! Well, apparently the nice lady had told me to wait in the security line and NOT the line for international check in with American Airlines, so I was just, well, pissed. I just felt so stupid. I mean, I’ve traveled plenty before around the country, I’m not THAT inexperienced, but this guy just made me feel stupid…

But that’s not the worst part of it. So I finally get to the American Airlines international check-in counter line, I wait another 20-30 minutes because of this very large family of about 20 who are all checking in at the same time and creating this huge traffic jam of sorts and then finally I get to the counter. The lady asks me where Im going so I tell her and she has me put up my bags onto the scale thing and then tells me that, as I expected, my one suitcase is overweight and I will have to pay $100 ($50 for the overweight luggage part and $50 because I have two bags I’m checking). Ok. Not a problem. WRONG! After she sends them both down the belt and I am about ready to pay, she suddenly yells back at one of the other workers to take my overweight bag off the belt, right as it is about to go through the little opening and be taken into the depths of god knows where. Then she looks at me and says “The second bag can’t go”. WHAT! You can almost imagine the look of horror on my face. I felt my heart drop to my stomach and almost started to cry. Then I proceed to try to explain that I am moving to France for the year but I am going to Guadeloupe first to visit a friend and then going right from there to France. Couldn’t they make an exception? She very kindly explained to me that flights going to Caribbean cannot take overweight bags. Ok, so then I understood. I can take two bags, it’s just that I have to remove about 19 pounds of weight from it so it’s not overweight. I almost cried.

So I start going through my bag and pulling out assorted clothes and toiletries that I could throw out. In the end, I ended up throwing out all of my toiletries, the BEAUTIFUL candle that my friend gave me as a parting gift (SORRY SELBY!), and I ended up carrying my tuxedo suit (in it’s huge plastic case), my clarinet, my backpack (in which I managed to squeeze several more shirts and shorts), my pillow, the poster of Madison that I bought as a gift for Madly, Ingrid’s mom, and about 3 extra layers of clothing and a pair of jeans. So then of course I have a huge dilemma about how to make this work so that they would think I only had two carry-ons. The lady at the counter was sympathetic and very kindly helped me, suggesting that I put some of my clothes in with my pillow in the pillow case and put the poster in with the tuxedo. So I ended up with my backpack, pillow, clarinet, and my tuxedo thing stuffed full of stuff, not to mention the 3 extra layers of clothing I had to put on. So I finally get to the security line and the same “nice” guy who so kindly told me that I was in the wrong line now tells me that I can’t have all that stuff cause I can only have 3 carry ons. At this point I am just pissed off and I go off on him about how Im moving to a different country and what the hell am I supposed to do. Immediately I think that I will have to throw out my $400 tuxedo and all my clothes but then I manage to convince him that if I put my clarinet in with the tuxedo, then it’s only two, and he accepts.

So in the end I make it through security just fine (although I was subjected to the new full body scanners, which made me a bit uncomfortable, but at that point I was just happy to be making it through security) and I make my flight to San Juan, where I spent six glorious hours in the little airport there before catching my 8pm flight to Pointe-à-Pitre.

I was very proud of myself because other than the stuff at the O’hare airport, I didn’t speak almost any English the entire day! On the plane to San Juan, I sat next to two puertorriqueñas who didn’t speak any English so I spoke my (very basic) Spanish to them and managed to understand about 75% of what they were saying to me. Then on the plane from San Juan to Pointe-à-Pitre, I was the only American (and I know this because there was only about 30 people on the flight and everyone spoke French and had the red French passport, except for me) so the flight attendant, who must have assumed that I was Puerto Rican with my American passport, only spoke Spanish to me, which was cool, but I could only really reply with “si” and “gracias”. Then of course once I got to Guadeloupe, I only spoke French since Ingrid’s parents don’t speak English. So this is the end of my travel day story. My next post will be about my first few days in Guadeloupe so far. And remember travelers: PACK LIGHT!

Paix,

Doug (now officially known as “Doog”)

Being Emotional/Stressed Out

Today it hit me really hard that I'm leaving. I was out having coffee/lunch with Jane on one of our typical Starbucks/T-Bell dates and I was talking to her about the trip and I was suddenly like, oh... I'm leaving Monday! I have to pack! I have to get ready! OMG, OMG, OMG! (Ok, that's being a little overdramatic, but how else do you describe something hitting you so hard?). It was like a wave just came over me, adrenaline started pumping, my arms started to have a slight shake as if they are really weak from something, which is what happens to me when I get REALLY nervous. Oh, and I started sweating like a pig. How lovely! Jane made me realize how much support I have here in all of my friends and family and that everyone is cheering me on. And then, of course, Jane teared up when saying goodbye (yes, Jane, if you are reading this, I did see it!!) and so of course as soon as I get in my car I sit there for a minute, eyes starting to water, and just thinking, wow... I've really grown up! But I couldn't be more grateful for all the love and support I have back home and in my life, it's incredible. And I just have so much love to give back to the world, I can't stand it. (God, I'm such a queen! lol) But really, I've got all this love, and I think it's time I brought some to France and shared it... haha anyways...

Saying goodbye to my uncle, cousin, and grandma tonight was hard too... I think I almost lost it when I left my cousins and she texted me saying how proud she was of me and that even though I'd be far away, the year will go by fast and they (my family) will all still be there when I get back. Tearing up now just thinking about it...

But I just wanted to say to my family (if any of y'all are reading this) that I am doing this not only for myself but for YOU! I've wanted nothing more in my life than to make you guys proud, and I hope you are! If there's anything you guys have taught me the most, it's how to love, and I'm happy that I can share my love with other people. Even if I don't see you guys often and maybe we don't agree on things sometimes, I love you all so much!

Anyways, sorry for this random, emotional blog entry, but I just had to let it out. Missing my bff in Chile too... gah, this night is just getting better and better.... But it makes me happy to know that we are all on to better things, even if we have to be far apart for a while...

So to update on my departure situation, I am not currently packed but I have all my clothes, luggage, and assorted random toiletries and things piled in one GINORMOUS heap on my bed. Plus a huge pile of laundry to do (which I will then add to the heap), 2 cars to wash, some new underwear and toiletries to buy, and then comes the rest of the packing... It's gonna be a long weekend but I know it will fly by and then on Monday I will be happily in Guadeloupe with my Ingy boo! :) :) Sweating my ass off and getting eaten alive by mosquitos! I CAN'T WAIT!! Eeee!! :D

Ok, Im done now.

à bientôt,
Dougie <3

Days to departure: 3

Only one week left!

Last time I wrote I was overwhelmed and bogged down by my English class and moving out of my apartment, but now that I'm back home and only one week from departure, I am starting to get nervous...

Ingrid (who I will call by the nickname I gave her, Ingy boo) called my cell phone from skype on Friday to talk about trip preparations. Not only was I unbelievably excited to talk to her, but I was incredibly relieved. Her computer has officially died and she has had no way of contacting me as I had none of her numbers in Guadeloupe. Fortunately, she remembered my cell phone number and was able to use a friend's computer! So I now officially have her, her mom's, her stepdad's, and her fixe (home phone) phone numbers in Guadeloupe. I will not be traveling with a cell phone so my only way of contacting in case of flight delays or emergencies is by skype. Thank god for technology! Im now much relieved that I have this figured out! This was only one small part of my worries though. Today I ran so many errands to get things done, only to realize I have just as many more to do tomorrow!

What else did I manage today? I bought (after SEVERAL unsuccessful attempts) €300. What a fiasco that was! I first went to my credit union where I was told it would take 10 days for them to get the currency for me! 10 days!?! It only has to come from Milwaukee! Ayaa! So then the lady tells me to try M&I Bank, which is where they get the currency from. The lady at M&I, after yelling at me about having to be a member of the bank (how am I supposed to know, I just came here cause the lady at MY bank told me to come here!?!) tells me that my only option would be to go to their downtown headquarters. Downtown as in Milwaukee, not Racine. Umm, no thanks! Feeling defeated, I returned home.

About 10 minutes after I get home, I remember that when I went to Canada, my dad and I were able to directly buy the currency from Johnson Bank, where my parents are members. So then I dragged my dad there (since you have to be a member to buy the currency) and after about 30 minutes, we successfully left with my being $425 in the hole and only €300 in my wallet. Lovely exchange rate...

So after that fiasco, it was on to my other worries. What to do with my clarinet while Im in the 100+ degree weather in Guadeloupe (with no air-conditioning) and high humidity? A clarinet friend of mine recommended getting some bore oil and oiling it before I leave to protect it from the moisture. Problem solved. (I hope).

Also went to the insurance company to expand my personal property insurance while Im abroad and insure my clarinet and computer. Another check on the list!

Lastly, I went to my bank, thinking I would buy a couple hundred dollars in traveller's checks in order to have enough to pay for a couple months rent. Well, the bank doesn't sell them anymore and I guess they are not as widely accepted, so, I guess I am just going to have to use my bank cards if I need to withdraw that much (although hopefully that won't happen). aya!

So now I am basically in freak out mode. Oh, and I haven't started packing yet. Heh. It'll get done...

Well, so long for now folks!

Paix,
Doog

Because I can't sleep/Two weeks!

Soo, it is now officially only two weeks until my departure! It still seems far off though and I don't think it'll hit me until Im on the way to the airport. Since then I have bought a nice big rolling suitcase, some space bags (hopefully I can fit all my clothes in my luggage), and luggage tags. I still haven't decided if I should bring full size bottles of shampoo and soap or if I should just bring some travel sized ones and then buy some when I get there. Decisions, decisions...

Also looking for some French roommates! I met a French girl on CS who was also looking for roommates and said that she was about to go meet someone else and they were going to start looking for apartments, and that she'd me tenir au courant (keep me up to date). Hoping to hear from her soon! If not, oh well, Im sure Ill meet plenty of people while Im there.

I've decided a good way to meet people would be to join some sports clubs. All I have to do is buy a "carte de sport" (sports card) and then I can go to all sorts of different sports classes from aerobic and abdos-fessiers to musculation, danse, and équitation (aerobics, abs/butts, weight-lifting, danse, and horseback riding) plus like 20 or 30 other classes. I am so excited! I think the club I really want to join though is the randonnée pédestre sportive (hiking/trekking). The only deal with that is that I would either have to have un moyen de transport (a means of transportation) or I would have to procéder au covoiturage (partake in carpooling). I think this club would be not only a good way for me to meet other French students, but it would also allow me to explore the natural surroundings around Aix. Not gonna lie, Im imagining myself hiking up into the hills and looking out over provençal lavender fields with the Mont Ste. Victoire (the mountain to the north of Aix) in the background. ahh, how perfect would that be!

I have also decided to bring my clarinet along and join the CHORAUM (CHoeurs et Orchestres d'Aix des Universités Marseille) aka orchestra/band (Damn these French people love abbreviations!). I figured since I will apparently (or at least according to our professor in residence) have much more free time at the French university than I ever would here, I should take advantage of getting involved and doing extracurricular things, which I think will really help me get to know some of the local students at the UP.

Im so excited except for the housing situation, which is still unsolved until I get there (although I have been looking at online listings for apartments and rooms for rent and marking the ones I want to look into when I get there). I have also taken care of my first semester's program fee, which is one less thing I have to worry about before I leave. Looks like now all I've got to worry about is taking my final on Thursday, moving out of my apartment, and then coming home and enjoying the last week I have with family and friends before I pack up and head to Guadeloupe, and then LA FRANCE! Im going to miss it here a lot! I've come to love Madison this past year and couldn't be happier with my decision to transfer. Ill be back though for my senior year (although I may be "partaking" in an extra semester, but that's OK with me, especially in this economy...).

Well, I'm gonna try and get some shut-eye (I fell asleep at 8:30 and then woke up around 1am and was unable to fall back asleep, hence the 2am blog entry...).

Will be posting again at least once more before I leave Im sure!

Paix,
Doug

Days to departure: 14