It has been over a week since I have been able to post, but with something to do at every second of the day in this city, it continues to get harder to put all my thoughts on "paper!!"
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to meet up with one of my sorority sisters in Lisbon, Portugal who is studying in Barcelona for the summer. A few months ago when we realized we would both be in Europe at the same time, we decided that it was necessary to pick a country in between so to speak, and go there for the weekend! Finally, the time came and we were in Lisbon together for the weekend! I arrived Friday evening as Paige came earlier that day, so by the time I got there, she already had our bearings of the city. Our first thought was to explore some of the city before it got dark out, and then naturally go out for the evening. Although we were both tired planning to go to bed semi-early, an early night turned into an early morning as we were out until the sun came up, literally, as we walked up the stairs to our hostel and into our room, opened the windows and there the sun was. Yikes. Despite this late bed time, we were still determined to get up and site see for the entire day.
We allowed ourselves a good four hours of sleep before we woke up to site see in the 90 degree heat. We actually got to see most of the city in a matter of hours as we did the typical tourist bus tour. Because it was so nice out, we sat by the water for a good hour before we decided it was necessary to go to the beach for the evening and have dinner and drinks by the Atlantic Ocean for the rest of the night. While it was a short stay, I was more than happy to be able to meet up with a friend from school half way around the world!
Unfortunately, returning to Paris meant that I was approaching my last week here as my program comes to a conclusion at the end of this week. I have made an amazing group of friends on this trip who I will now be able to call my best friends, especially my roommate Ashlynn, lived and soaked up the Parisian culture, ate AMAZING food, explored new areas of city that I did not know of before, and be able to improve on my French that I will hopefully become fully fluent in some day.
However, although almost over, it isn't fully yet! My mom and sister are both in Paris for a few days, mom on a layover just as she is every week, and Mari here for a quick visit from London. She is finishing up grad school and her Thesis before she heads off to Nepal specially asked to do research for UCL. I couldn't be happier to be able to spend my last moments here with them. One of my favorite memories of French was made tonight when my host mother had my mom, sister, Ashlynn and I of course, as well as our other roommate who is attending culinary school at the Cordian Blue, for dinner. We had another amazing French meal turning into food coma after we were done. Because Mari is fluent in French, she was able to keep conversation going as we were able to learn a lot about Madame and her life up until her good ol' 87 year old years. We all sat around laughing, drinking, and talking for over two hours after the meal was finished. In this moment, I truly felt so lucky to be part of the culture that takes place here in France. Family, friends, and conversation is valued more than I have ever seen before. To be able to share this with my mom and sister was truly amazing!
I fully plan on taking advantage of my last week here as I go out with my friends every night, keep eating this amazing food before it is no longer an option, spending time with my family, and overall embracing the rest of my time here!
A bientot!
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