Yes! Finally she writes a new blog!

I have to apologize— I can make up a thousand excuses in the world but the truth is that although I am busy, this semester is 4 times less crazy then the last; somehow I managed to stay up to date then, so no justification is good enough.

It has been well over a month since my last post. My 15 visitors have come and gone and I am now well into my final projects and papers. Believe it or not (I can’t!), I will finish my Sciences Po education in just two and a half weeks before spending another two soaking in some final Paris memories. Then I head off to Venice and Munich for a few days with my 18-year old brother, who is now a high school graduate! Even while writing this, I don’t think I quite believe the words- My 11 month adventure is almost at a close. I am long past the days when I would wake up in a daze questioning which city (let alone: continent!) I am in; as was a daily occurrence in September and whether I noticed it or not, I have become a little bit more European everyday.

Don’t worry! I am a long way from a total transformation and I have a feeling that after only a few days back in Boulder, my mind will return to its comfortable origins.

For now however, I am trying to enjoy the time that I have left in between essays and exposés. Yesterday morning I gave my first (and only!) solo presentation in French (for my Innovation course). I have given a few others this year already but always with partners who covered my back during the Q and A section. Though my stomach was twirling the whole time, I felt pretty good about the feedback that I received afterward and more then anything was relieved to have it over! This afternoon diminished even more stress as it was D-day of a 2-month prepared, 2-hour group presentation. One of my favorite projects that I have ever worked on, we spent the last 10+ weeks preparing to present a full lecture on how to do business in China. After the past week of several after-midnight work sessions, I’ve never been closer to 5 classmates that I just met. Today, dressed in full Chinese costumes that we found near Sacre Coeur, we entertained the class with a 2008 Olympic Games overview, negotiation role plays, fortune cookies, Mandarin lessons, a dancing dragon, and a dozen youtube videos. A large portion of our grade was boredom prevention… J Tonight, I’m breathing a bit more easily! Now, only one more group project (this one is only a very non-threatening 10 minutes long) and one paper stand between me and a transcript bearing the marks of a very intense (and incredible) year at Sciences Po.

Summer arrived with the tourists in late March. Since then, 15 friends have passed through my doors and slept on my futon (once it even slept 3 at a time!). Working on the few free days that I had in between visitors in order to stay ahead of my school work, I spent the last 2 months joining the tourist crowds and then ducking out of them again to sit at cafés with my friends, trying to let them in on a little bit of my Paris experience. After 7 different trips to the Eiffel Tower, 3 to Versailles, and 4 to the Louvre, I will admit that I’m probably done with the big sites for the rest of the year. In most cases, however, having them all here had great perks. From the joyous “ooohs” of the ever enthusiastic Marsha to the laid back day trip to Giverny with Tina, my eyes were reopened to the excitement that I first felt in September. I showed them things that I loved and they gave me tour guide tips which led to new adventures and discoveries in buildings and parks that I pass everyday. Then there are the perks to having your great friends stay over— unending conversation, cooking dinners for 2+, and even a surprise birthday (Thanks Jamin, Landon and Kristen!). I could go on and on with stories but now realize that I have to save something good to tell you all when I return in a month!

The person who made me appreciate Paris the most, however, was my dad. He came and went in just 5 days -- his first trip to Europe. He gave me a pretty difficult (if not impossible) task before arriving—“I don’t want to go to any museums or monuments.” Hmmm. J This is my dad- the man who decided on our 1999 trip to Disney World two weeks in advance, the man who let me go skydiving for my graduation present instead of getting me a wristwatch like my other friends’ parents, the man who (frequently) veers onto a mountain gravel road on our way home from church leading to a 2-hour drive going ‘nowhere’… Over the years, he taught me to choose experiences over things—a character that I love best about him—and so it fits that a trip to Paris should include as little line-waiting as possible, and should be full of afternoons at cafés and nights with bottles of wine: and it did. We walked miles—and MILES through the streets each day. I managed to get him out to Versailles for one of them and we spent a much of it in the gardens—returning to Paris via Sèvres to pass by my old apartment. I still can’t get over his expression when he saw the Roman baths near the Cluny Museum—“they are HOW old?!!” Of course, after 8 months, he was destined to be my favorite visitor—but it wasn’t until I saw him sitting at a café outside of the metro stop waiting for me that I realized how excited I really was to see him.

I can only imagine the homecoming in July—

Before I sign off to get some much needed sleep, I want to assure you that I will be keeping up this blog in the next month. With 2 weeks to do 2 assignments, and then 2 more to be a bum in Paris… I want to spend some time writing to you all. Keep your eyes out for a new post soon!