A plethora of thoughts

This might be a bunch of random stuff with some France update as well. First, if you’re not in for a good read might as well stop before beginning. . . by good I don’t mean good but rather lengthy. Next, let me just put it out there that I figured out that all my necessities start with F. I call them the four F’s of my life. In some sort of order I would arrange them as follows: family, faith, finance and food. Oh and I forgot fsleep haha. I’m sure to be happy anywhere with my four F’s :). And yes, I am aware that I forgot other F’s that I can include but this list is enough for me. I mention this part because I miss family, friends, and I simply miss you!

Okay, so I don’t know if it’s because I am not working or whatnot (or maybe because I have had 2.5 weeks of vacations) but I feel like a generation X child out here. Perhaps, this is because I am used to working, studying, and playing all in one day. Out here it’s more like party, sleep, and eat, with a little of school here and there. I’m not gonna lie, school is pretty easy out here. Maybe it’s a combination of things that have made me feel “the entitlement mentality,” which I truly believe I have avoided so far in my life. I like work and then spend; here, I only spend. For me life has consisted of working hard, keeping my ambitions high, my determination set and getting what I want. The key to achieving anything for me has been working hard. The more I think out here, the more I realize I want to take shortcuts in as many things as I can. I then realize that if I take shortcuts, I will not reap the experiences and results that only an arduous journey brings. I am realizing that there are no shortcuts, only shortened results with which I can end up satisfied with because I might not know anything better.

Anyways, I am surprised by the extent that American culture has permeated throughout Europe in everything from music to TV to fashion and more. I guess I can now go watch CSI in French :). When I went to Mexico I thought that American culture was strong in similar aspects but because US and Mexico are neighboring countries.

On another note, I finally found my niche. In the grand, small town of Clermont-Ferrand there is a place to dance salsa and some bachata and reggaeton. We all know how happy this makes me. This will help me to relax and to dance off my worries. Well, as I mentioned, I had 2.5 weeks off school so my time off consisted of a trip to Paris, lots of parties, and a road trip to Switzerland, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg. I must say that I feel like I need a break from my vacations because I get so sleep deprived during vacations haha.

Viva las Paris! My trip to Paris was a blast and I couldn’t go with better company (since they knew where to go, what to do :)). To Paris I went with triple Ace, which consisted of Ade, Aida and Adriana. Turker, a friend from Cypress also came with. The trip was a blast and I had tons of fun because I went with people who are tons of fun. I visited most of the historic and tourist places such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Versailles Castle, and many many other places. Even though pictures say a lot, what my eyes have seen cannot be limited to words or pictures. . . so much history, symbolism and beauty. Something interesting that happened while at Paris was that whilst we were walking to the Arc de Triumph, we ran into a red carpet opening by Mel Gibson. Aida got three autographs, of which I think she gave me one (if not I simply stole it haha). I only got a short video of Mel walking down the red carpet. We also went to a nightclub to dance and the best part, which was only slightly good, was the fact that the DJ had an international playlist. That inspired me to begin my own international music playlist. But before dancing the night away, we ate some fine French cuisine and overall the night turned out to be a blast. The whole trip to Paris was 4 days and 3 nights. Enough to wear me out, but not enough to see all of Paris.

After Paris, my next week was off. I only enjoyed movies, sleeping in and lots of parties. Crazy French people party Wednesdays and Thursdays in spite of having classes every day. The best party of that week was Turker’s birthday party. From what I remember hahaha, that party will remain, as J.Lo would say, legend. . . wait for it. . . dary!

Finally, this past week was the official winter break. Who would’ve thunk, winter break in mid Febraury (and I am aware that thunk is not a word). From February 15 to February 20, Jose Luis (aka J.lo; Mexican), Cristina (aka Kristy, Spaniard), and Andrew (aka che Andrew, Columbian), we rented a car and went to Switzerland, France, and Luxembourg in that order. The week and trip turned out awesome and tons of fun; however, by Saturday when we came back we were all tired, broke, hungry, cold, but full of good times! In Zurich, life is cold and expensive. That’s what I learned from there. But we had a good hike and saw a lot of the city. After Zurich, we drove to Strasbourg. In Strasbourg, we visited an ancient Cathedral, went to the top of the Cathedral, visited EU office buildings, and did much more. One night we had a nice dinner with Bebe, a friend from school who is from Strasbourg, and at dinner “someone” (not me) threw up because they “drank a little bit too much.” How I see it, it was some expensive throwing up. 15 Euros per throw up since dinner was 30. Oh in Strasbourg I found some good pics for the fail blog: a bathroom sign and a statue. In Strasbourg we also visited a castle and drove through wine towns for “degustation” (meaning samples), but not to worry because I was the designated drunk driver haha jk. Finally, on Friday morning we drove two hours to go to Luxembourg. I must say that it is a unique and beautiful place. There, we had a great city tour, went to a sick (top notch) museum, enjoyed amazing landscape, explored, and ate pizza :). Of course, I was a great co-pilote who never got us lost. Oh in Luxembourg, I don’t know if it was because of so much walking or because of the cold weather but I would get the munchies like crazy and very hungry. My good friend Kristy compared me to a one-minded creature when I’m hungry—all I can think of is food until I get it hahaha. So true. I can’t think clearly until I’m fed. Feed me! The road trip will definitely remain legend. . . wait for it. . . dary!

Finally, I can say that I have classes in 6 hours and I say it in a happy way. I never thought I would be happy for classes but after 2.5 weeks of break, parties, and so much vacation, I definitely need a break from my vacations. To my anonymous reader, I must say that if you endured this lengthy reading, you ought to have something to comment. I’m just kidding, as you should all know, I’m just a little bit crazy, but then again who isn’t. Be happy, smile and remember to be grateful for all you have. Evil prevails when good man fail to act! I don’t know what I’m saying anymore; I am tired, a bit sick, and a bit restless.

Until next time!