Decisions

The weekend has come and gone. Saturday I saw Kendall and Claire, and we went to the American restaurant, Breakfast in America. I got pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, and bacon, and then an oreo milkshake. It was so amazing and tasted like the real deal! I was so full afterward though, but it was definitely worth it. Then we walked around le Marais and window shopped a bit, and then sat ourselves down at a bar and got a carafe of wine. Then the girls went home, and I went back to Jerome’s, who had just finished moving into his new room. He bought all the furniture this past week, and finally unloaded everything, so that’s nice. We then got ready and got some sandwiches to go and headed to our friend’s apt. We pre-gamed and hung out a bit, and finally went out to Memphis (a club) at like 1-2am. Then we had a blast dancing until like 5:30am when me and Jerome took a cab back home. Btw it takes so long to find a cab in Paris at night… very annoying walking in the cold being drunk and tired. In Raleigh, you practically had 5 cabs waiting on you, so it is just different!

The next day we slept in, and around mid-afternoon we went to the same area the Chocolate Festival was at for a Wine Festival. It was 3 euros for students, and they gave you a wine glass, and then you were in this very large space with countless wine stands. It was very crowded, and you had to wait a good 5 mins to taste a wine, so we just left because the boys said it just wasn’t the same as the one they went to in the South. It was very industrial and non-friendly. There was also a pet adoption thing, so we stopped by to see some animals, but they were all in cages, so it looked kind of sad, so we left that too.

We got home and stayed there for a bit until the boys went to a movie, and then I just took a train home. I got home at 8:30pm and just stayed in my room all night because I was skyping my mom and then Hannah (!) and chatting Mary Kate on fb. God I miss my friends a lot. It is hard to be so far removed and not updated on their day-to-day life. That is why I am so excited for Rebecca to come to Paris for Xmas break because it will be nice having a piece of home here for a bit and a really good friend as well.

I FaceTimed Hannah with my iphone, which I had no idea I could do! I assumed I needed 3G for that, but nope just wifi, so that is really exciting and good news, so hopefully I can keep in touch better with my friends who have iphones, which is most of everyone luckily.

Today I have done laundry and slept. Not much. No one could hang out today in Paris, but oh well. I have just slept, watched tv shows. I also ran for like 20 minutes, go me. So today has been nice. I have been having trouble finding food here. There aren’t snacks, so I can’t easily just grab something out of the pantry. I had to make a peanut butter banana sandwich and then a grilled cheese. I just like my snacks to be easy… I know I am lazy bc those two things don’t take much time, but it is still annoying. I am hungry and need a snack now. The only easy thing to get is fruit or nasty ass non-sugar yogurt. I do have goldfish, but I am not in the mood for that haha.

Well it is a good sign that that is the biggest problem in life right now; although, figuring out after au pair life plans looms in the back of my mind. I think I have decided grad school. I think regardless of which country I’d be in next year, I’d do grad school. Because I feel like it will be easier to get an internship while in school as opposed to just being graduated. I know grad school doesn’t automatically mean an internship, but I do think I am right when I say it will be easier to find one. If I stay in France, I feel like au pairing for a year won’t look as great as if I go back to America if that makes sense. So I think grad school is the best option.

Kendall, Clare, and I discussed au pairing this weekend, and we realized au pairing does strip you of a lot of independence you gained while in college. I mean I can’t drive where I want when I want, I can’t see my friends as I please. I am bound to a schedule every day to take care of kids and the train schedule. It is just my freedom has been taken away, and that is a hard thing! So excuse me for not being 100% ok with my new life, but that is why—I have less freedom, and that is an adjustment, and who knows if I will get over it because freedom is a big thing in one’s life. Especially when I got a nice taste of it for 4 years, and now it is taken away.

So there is my little rant. But I do like life now. I just want more friends. That is all, and it will come. I will meet more girls next semester with new classes and all. Anyway back to grad school, I feel like I can give France another shot next year because I will be living in the city as an independent student (most likely), and that independence will be all the difference! I really do think so. I will have a flat and can come and go as I please, and just have to worry about class and homework, which is no biggie because I am used to that lifestyle. It will be more work though, but I am aware of that.

Well now that I have almost decided or at least thought of all this, money and planning comes into the equation. FAFSA only pays for so many schools in France, like 5, and 2 of those are business schools I think, so I need to decide if I want FAFSA loans or real ones, and I am pretty sure FAFSA loans will be cheaper in the long run.

Oh life… and growing up…