Halfway There! (Livin' on a Prayer!) - October Blog 2/2

              Against all reason, I am already halfway done with my semester abroad. I really can seem to make sense of it. It feels like the plane landed, I blinked, and then here I am, post midterms, fall break so close I can almost taste it, and not being able to imagine what it’s going to be like to not be here. Granted there are things that remind me that it really only has been two months that I’ve been here. I still get lost (not as frequently but it does still happen), I still misunderstand people in stores (again, less often but it does happen), and so on and so forth. I’m still making the same “learning opportunities” (mistakes) that I was making when I first arrived. In all honestly, I really haven’t been here that long.

              As I said, midterm exams have came and went, bringing all the same hair tearing, pillow hugging, junk food eating stress as they do in the US. The only difference being these midterms are one of only four or five grades in the whole class. So, there is a good chance that this is the first grade you’re getting in the class and even if it’s not, there’s a lot more riding on it than there would be in the US. You don’t have a daily homework grade to save your butt this time, friend. Luckily for me they all went more or less well. I am satisfied with all the grades I’ve received. I have one grade I’m still waiting to find out, because we took the test a week after all the others. There’s a good chance I won’t know what I got until after I come back from fall break.

              Speaking of fall break! I’m finally starting my travels in Europe! For fall break I’m going to London and Glasgow to meet up with friends who are studying in those cities. I also plan to visit, Florence, Italy, Granada, Spain, and Geneva, Switzerland, before I head home. I can’t wait!

This is the month in which all my other friends who are studying abroad decided to visit me. All the visiting of me in Paris is done until my parents arrive during Thanksgiving week near the end of November (I can’t wait!). Two different weekends were full to the brim with two different friends visiting me, both of whom, hilariously enough, are currently studying abroad in Spain! Together we did all the usual tourist stuff, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Montmartre (which I have officially decided is my favorite place in all of Paris… so long as you avoid the hawkers that will literally grab you if you get too close), etc. etc. etc. I have to admit the big-ticket places in Paris are starting to get a little old for me, but seeing my friend’s joy at seeing them for the first time was worth going again. I do plan, however, to have my parents do those things that I’m sick of while I’m in class. They will be here for about a week, during which I will still have my classes so they will have good time on their own.

Life has not slowed down at all and I’m along for the ride. Let’s see where it takes me next! Allons-y!