We Dangle Our Feet From the Highest Places

And it's a home that wakes you up at 2 a.m. when someone yells "I LOVE THIS CITY" to the sky outside your window. It's a being that is so in love with itself that never mind what you think, we're going to have a freaking good time. It's the smell of exhaust, oranges, sweat and live music. It's a book that uses the F word so passionately that its definition changes in your mind. It's a hole in the wall of tofu, Vietnamese subs and Mexican chocolate milk for the vagabond in all of us. It's a road of courteous scary drivers, risk-your-life-everytime-you-hop-on cyclists and many, many overheated pedestrians. It's a dance that grooves and jives to its own beat and the beat of live music every night everywhere.

It's Austin, TX.

You Got So Much To Do And Only So Many Hours In A Day

Our top priority today was preparing for the Harry Potter 7P2 midnight premiere! Erika, Laura and I went on a search first thing this morning for the cinema so we could buy tickets for everyone. Eventually, we figured out that the cinema was in the mall. Yep, there also happens to be a mall within a 30 second walk of the apartment. Get this, there's ANOTHER H&M in it and it's huge. I died. Anyway, the mall appeared to be teeny from the outside but was GINORMOUS. It went on and on and had a library and a swimming pool and so many awfully named stores (who names a shoe store SHOESTORE? Was it so hard to come up with something even mildly creative? Do you think you're being creative by not putting a space between the most straightforward description of your store? What if I interpret it as SHOES TORE? That's really bad advertising.) and some great gelato. We eventually bought the tickets and the whole trip was interesting, amusing and a success!

Kelly has had her eye on this art gallery so, after a delicious brunch of twice baked potatoes (thank you, Amber), we went! It was really small and sadly only featured one of the pieces Kelly wanted to see, but someone who worked there gave her some advice regarding places in Paris to see street art. In the meantime, I decided I was thirsty so Ale and I left and walked down the street to get a water bottle. We ended up stumbling into this little garden area outside of some apartments that was quaint and beautiful. Everything here is beautiful and unique and a piece of art, even the people. It fascinates me. In Houston, things look practical and efficient and, at their best, pristine and modern. Here, however, lies history and careful creation and everything from small bridges to huge churches is grand and dazzling. It blows my mind that people live here, grow up here. Haha I hope that makes some sense! Anyway, we returned to the group but not before passing some people bouncing on HUGE rubber tubes (as in, floating n the river tubes) big enough for a smart car. Not exaggerating.

It was decided that time for shopping Part 2 (Part 3 for me) had come, so Laura, Kell and I got right on top of it. It was fun. We went into some unique, quirky stores and the best part of it all was the sales. Not to much say on that that I haven't said already!

Of course, after a day of exploring, analyzing, stumbling upon and a lot of shopping, we were ready for dinner. My dad had recommended this restaurant and sent me off to Paris with the address in hand. The trip there was, like most of the things we do, comical. It was at a time when the metro was completely packed, so you can imagine what it was like when the whole thing came to a slamming, unexpected halt in the middle of tunnel. The (best) most unfortunate incident was when this poor woman fell on this poor girl in a way that placed one of her flailing hands directly onto the girl's chest. The girl looked violated but was trying to hide it, the woman looked mortified, Kelly and I looked like we would die from laughter. I swear up and down that I do not usually laugh at things like people walking into poles or molestation, but I cannot help it for whatever reason! The metro picked up and the rest of the long trip there was rather uneventful. The restaurant was really cute and, get this, had English menus. Half of us looked at a chalk board and ordered the filet mignon and the other half off of the menu and ordered the pork tenderloin. Surprise! Same thing. We're just idiots. Ale and I also ordered this tomato and basil mousse which was odd (duh), but I'm glad I got it... It was something new and interesting! For dessert, we had the best dessert we've had thus far. It was amazing. We got two things (and multiples of each): creme brulee and chocolate cake with chocolate lava on the inside. The creme brulee was the best I have ever had in my life, so you know it was good. By the time we all walked out, our stomachs were aching with being too full and it was time for HP7P2.

The movie was great, probably my favorite, but we'll discuss that later. The other Harry Potter fans in the group agreed and Amber used her wand to keep us safe on the 30 second walk back home.

But It's The Life You Lead

Yesterday was our day for shopping. And while we didn't accomplish as much of that as we had planned, it was still another good day. We started off by hitting up the flea markets in a part of town we drove through in our taxi on our way from the airport. It was a place of character, my friends. We began in your typical flea market: souvenirs  clothing you would never buy, jewelry you sort of look through, odd trinkets from a random part of the globe, etc etc. After we tired of that, we stopped for a snack of french fries and hydration at a pizza restaurant and I embarrassingly ate twice as much as everyone.

Kelly was determined to find the flea market from Midnight in Paris, so we decided that was our next mission. We walked a few blocks and actually found it! It wasn't really a flea market so much as a lot of small shops selling vintage clothing and really, really odd furniture. It was so neat! I felt like I was in another world or at least another time. Something that I, and I think the other girls as well, really love about this trip is how different it is than your typical tourist trip. We enjoy more than just famous sights, we enjoy getting (the metro is always an adventure) there and the little incidents that happen and taking the time to do things like finding the flea market from a movie. That probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm basically trying to say that I'm really tha)nkful to be here! Aaaaaaaaaanyway, back to the story of the day. We finished up there and started heading home when we made a stop in the leather jacket store for Kelly. Let me tell you, leather jacket stores are never to be taken lightly. Ale and I had a hilar time picking out things for ourselves. There were quite some hard choices to make! How do you choose between a magenta leather man jacket, tight leather pants and a sweet fur vest? You don't. The only reason we didn't buy anything was because we couldn't buy it all. Kelly, however, actually found something that she liked and got it.

Finally, we got back to the apartment to make a snack of chips and spinach dip (thank you, Eri and Ale) before (baha) going out to dinner. I wasn't feeling very well at all so I made sure to get some greens at the grocery store when we stopped there for spinach dip ingredients. The grocery store trips, believe it or not, always end up being a good time. This time, we got creeped on by the grocery bagger; he asked Ale for her name (duh, she said Kelly) and her age (she said 15...12...10. I'm 10).

The snack was a good one and held us over until dinner, which was yet another great time. We met up with Alvero, one of Ale and Erika's friends from their French class, at Notre Dame and all walked to this Mexican restuarant that Kelly's uncle recommended to us. Alvero. What a character. He is from Spain, but is staying here for the summer, and is a huge fan of all things Lady Gaga, Glee, Dexter, Kelly Clarkson and the Dixie Chicks. He really was so funny and interesting and nice. He told us about how he loves America and shared stories about his host families here in France and in Philadelphia. Needless to say, he made a great seventh member.

We ate dinner and went back to Notre Dame where we watched an entertaining (in many ways) number of street performers. We started at the fire baton twirler (what are they called, really?) who had almost setting a girl on fire (awkward) as part of his performance (it was one of those "member of the audience, please come up" moments). I did not enjoy this bit at all. Rather, I turned around and glanced over my shoulder to make sure he hadn't killed the innocent tourist girl on accident. Ale and I discussed for quite some time what his origin was. We decided he was Egyptian but went back and forth between that and Moroccan for a little bit. When he was done, a fun group of four young ghetto dancers were up for a turn. We decided they were extras from "Step Up 3-D." One of them was rather disturbing. He refused to walk upright and instead would hop around like a gorilla. WORSE, he went up to a fellow dancer and nuzzled her leg and she proceeded TO PET HIM. What? It was eerie, to say the least. We enjoyed their performance and proceeded on to the roller skaters. Their big trick was going really fast off a huge ramp and flying in the air over bars and then bystanders. Who was one of the chosen bystanders? Our one and only Amber. Laura got a picture of it all, so look forward to that.

It was then time for us to retire to the apartment for an early night in of cards and sleep!

And You Know That When The Truth Is Told...

Yesterday (sorry... I fell asleep before reporting about our day!) was our day for Versailles. It started out at an early 8:30 and after a small breakfast of either nutella and bread or croissants, we were on our way. The metro there was a 30 minute ride and I didn't get hit by the door at all! I was very careful about it. As we decided that we were ready for a snack/meal, McDonalds, Starbucks and a little Parisian cafe came into sight. Ale, Erika and I chose McDonalds and the other three went for Starbucks. The McDonalds.... Well OMG. I hate to be the girl that's excited about the McDonalds, but it's really not my fault... Erika and Ale's excitement was contagious. It was huge and fancy and had a little McCafe and I laughed and laughed at all of that. We got some food and headed over to Starbucks to meet with the others, but (awkward) they were about to get food from the little restaurant so we were those people eating McDonalds at Starbucks sans Starbucks. Then, awkwardest of all, we got kicked out of the restaurant (after we were done) because we didn't order anything even though we were sitting with people who ordered something. In a huff, the three of us sat on the bus stop bench and had some entertaining conversation.

Fed and ready, we made our way over to Versailles. The lines were crazy long. And, yes, I said lines. There was a huge line to buy tickets and another to actually get in, but we made it go buy fast being the interesting and amusing girls that we are. While in a deep discussion with Ale regarding crazy Arab women parties, there was a commotion among the other 4 girls. We quickly found out that a bird had pooped in Erika's hair. I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that I (and Ale) burst into laughter like immature bullies. It was hilarious. About 20 seconds after all of this, a women who worked there warned us about birds pooping on people who stood where we were. Bahahahaha. Anyway, Erika was a good sport about it all and we cleaned her up. I was happy to find out that she was not mad about us laughing at her. We got through both lines and were finally allowed into the awesome (and I mean that in the "inspiring awe" sense) place that is Chateau de Versailles. The walk through was both fascinating and entertaining. Fascinating because, just as a friend back home told me, it really made history come alive. It was crazy huge and bled wealth and extravagance. I mean, of course it did, but I never could've imagined to what extent. Anyway, I enjoyed that aspect of it. Entertainment-wise, well, let's see. There was the little boy who, despite his mother's screams and the metal chain, decided he was tired and just took a seat on one of the chair's in the king's sitting room. When his mother's yells reached a new level of desperation, he became a rebel and ran across the room, slammed his hand on the organ and ran back to his mother. That's a story they'll be telling for a long time. Then, there were the mobs and mobs of foreigners all clutching those audio guides as if they were whispering the secrets of life. At one point, Erika was completely surrounded by a group and couldn't move. I died laughing. I got really excited when we found a mob of my people, the Arabs. Last but not least, Ale accidentally tripped a man and he flew and caught himself right before falling flat on his face. He immediately turned around and glared at at the place where he tripped and then stomped off. I didn't start laughing (I'm not that horrible!) until Ale confessed to it being her fault. We made sure to make stop at the gift shop before returning to the apartment to nap.... We were exhausted!


For dinner, we stayed in and made pasta with tomato and basil sauce. Then, for dessert, we went on a search for creme brulee and chocolate cake! At the last minute, we decided not to stray far and randomly chose a place. Luckily, it was amazing! I was so excited and, on top of that, Amber really liked creme brulee after trying it for the first time. The cake-eaters were pleased as well and it all turned out to be a successful outing after a long, tiresome but great day.

Claire and Trent, it was so lovely to skype with you.

Song of the day (a classic haha)- Bass Down Low by The Cataracs

You Got Your Passion, You Got Your Pride

The day started off with a slightly earlier start, but still embarrassingly late. Granted, the Disney girls desperately needed their sleep so it was certainly excused! Amber had a good birthday, and it was such a treat to celebrate her 18th with food, fun and adventure in Paris. After we all had a nice breakfast of nutella sandwiches, coffee and chocolate milk, Kelly and I went to Etam for some quick shopping while the other girls got ready. I was in awe of the place; it was huge. I spent some time just walking up the staircase with my mouth wide open... it was, oh, 8 stories? During check out, it was a relief to have a sweet (and gorgeous) cashier after yesterday's terrifying ones. As pathetic as it sounds, it really brightened my day!

We returned as quick as we could to the apartment to meet up with everyone and really start the day as a group. It was a really quick walk which is pretty common for a lot of the things we do here. The apartment has a really great location.... 3 H&Ms, remember? We dropped off our purchases and it was finally time to go out and about in Paris. First thing first, we needed to figure out money for Amber and Laura and find a bank. Before telling you a fun little tale that happened during the walk, I need to explain one quick thing. I don't know why, but there are a TON of random waist-high poles here everywhere. Laura, sweet Laura absolutely crashed into one and sort of stumbled back (thank God, she didn't fall). It was hilarious. I made sure to warn her about every single one I saw afterwards. For whatever reason, she found my helpfulness not helpful as much as she found it annoying? Whate'er.

We got the money all sorted out and decided to get some Arabic food at a restaurant that Ale and Erika had tried once before and enjoyed. The food was good and pretty authentic. To get there, we passed through this neat area with really cool street performers. When I get home (internet here isn't good enough to upload pictures), I'll put up the pictures I took of the three of them. We spent the rest of the afternoon just walking around Le Marais (same area as the Arabic restaurant), an area much like Houston's Montrose. It was filled with cute, unique shops and we were quite entertained. There were bakery's with creatively shaped breads to stores with really cute skirts (Erika, Ale and I all got the same one and plan on wearing it one the same day haha) to a calligraphy shop where I got Claire and Trent little gifts! Haha we even went into the Nike store because I thought I might find something there for my sweet little brother. Before we returned to the apartment, we spent about an hour sitting and chatting in a coffee shop where Erika got a "milkshake" and Kelly found out that a "mochaccino" does, in fact, exist.

The evening proved to be much more amusing than our relaxed, pleasant afternoon! We donned warmer clothes, grabbed some blankets and took the metro for an evening at the park next to the Eiffel Tower. The metro smelled, well, horrible. I almost gagged, but we made the best of it and it turned into a lot of laughs. Now, about the Eiffel tower. Let me tell you, the place was hoppin'. We were not the only ones with this great idea for there were so many groups having a good time. This provided a fun atmosphere and it ended up being a really nice evening with a really great view! Of course, pictures will be provided. We stayed long enough (about an hour) to watch the lights twinkle at the beginning of the hour, and then went home to get something to eat for dinner and, duh, not to miss the metro before it closed. I, probably out of karma for making fun of Laura, got smashed by the closing metro door. Everyone went "ooooh" and it was pretty darn awkward, but it certainly humbled me. Sorry, Laura. Once back in our area, we were on the hunt for food! First, we stopped at McDonalds where Erika got fries. The... manager? (he was dressed in a suit but certainly worked there) was very excited by the fact that we were foreigners. Upon hearing that we were from Texas, he said, "shook norees?" Which I SOMEHOW managed to understand. He was saying, "Chuck Norris." I responded, "Chuck Norris!!!!!" And he, in his excitement, did a few karate moves. It really was a great time and we promised to return tomorrow. In order to feed the crepe craving bunch (Laura, Kell, Amber and I), we hit up a little cafe close by. As we were all waiting for the crepes to be made, I got a new boyfriend. So sorry, Trenton. The 40-year-old Arab man making our crepes proclaimed his love for me. I mumbled, "love ya, too" and blushed. He then asked me for my name (I said Kelly to save my own rear) and he asked (jokingly. All of this was a joke) what I was doing afterwards. When I mumbled a response about a hotel with angry parents, he pretended to rip off his shirt and join us. It was all slightly creepy, but his affections paid off later when we were harassed by a strange man mid crepe enjoyment and I beckoned him (no joke) and he came and got the guy to leave. Amber enjoyed yet another nutella treat and has come to love the stuff! How thrilling. We are now home and all getting ready for bed! Goodnight and sorry for the length of this one!

Listen! God Only Knows cover

Take Your Phone Off The Hook and Disappear For Awhile

After a nice, long nap, we decided to go to a free concert in which a French rock band entertained us with their mediocre music in which every song started out uniquely only to end up being the same song. The people attending the concert were entertaining as well; they were characters to say the least and had rather amusing habits. Eventually, our stomachs starting rumbling and we scidaddled to a dinner of crepes and sandwiches. It was lovely. We then went dancing last night at 9:30. The Parisians dance quite magically. It's a series of head bobbing and shoulder shaking and the crazy ones have almost violent hand motions/seizure-like movements. We got back at 11:00 and were asleep by 11:30. It was much needed rest!

Today, four of us (Kell, Amber, Erika and Laura) went to Disneyland Paris in honor of Amber's birthday. Out of exhaustion and a craving for shopping, I decided not to go. Instead, I spent a magnificent day with Alejandra. She is funny and witty and very easy to talk to. I woke up pretty late (whoops) and after a breakfast of a nutella sandwich and milk, we were off to H&M. Let me tell you, there are so many H&Ms here. It's so exciting. Ale and I were enjoying our day of leisure until the evil check out lady at H&M refused to take my credit card and informed us that we had "one owah" (one hour) to get money and come back. Our search for an ATM was a stressful one in which we repeated "we have one owah" over and over again to ourselves in hushed tones. One was found, and all was well and purchased.

After getting some great things there, we went to Zara and stopped at the supermarket.  For dinner, we randomly picked a place and intended to find this supposedly really good place for creme brulee (recommendation courtesy of google) after a good meal. We ended up just staying at this restaurant for a dinner of steak with pepper sauce, french fries, salad and a dessert of creme brulee. The creme brulee wasn't the best I've had to say the least, but the dinner made up for it. It was delicious and filling and warm and exactly what I needed! In fact, it was so good that we took the rest of the group back for dinner upon their arrival about 3 hours later. They waiters remembered us and were so excited to see us back so soon and with friends. While our waitress (the second time around. The first time waiter loved us and was a sweetheart) was scary (the people here have very little patience with my awkwardness), everyone seemed satisfied. On our way back home, we grabbed some nutella crepes (yum) and retired to the apartment for a night of much needed relaxation and chatting.

But Then If You're So Smart, Tell Me Why Are You Still So Afraid?

After being delayed about an hour (sorry for about 293847397 goodbye texts), we began our nine hour flight. It was.... rather uneventful. I did that thing about 40 times where you don't think you fell asleep because it was so light and horrible, but time has passed, so it must've happened. There were two magical little babies that provided much entertainment for Amber and I for they were cute and lovely. Finally, we arrived. The airport was more like a funhouse filled with odd ways of transporting people. Instead of escalators, they had these terrifying electric ski slope-esque things that made you almost fall. THEN, they had this giant center room area filled with all these tubes that we went in to get across the airport. I took pictures.

Finally, we got to baggage claim. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a foreign country to humble you. I am not a shy person nor do I lack confidence (sometimes too much confidence, I'm sure), but I became a soft-spoken, hesistant person here.

Then, Kelly got coffee and a treat. I broke out my cliff bar. Just so you know, Trent, it was delicious. 

The ride was long, but entertaining. Amber was mistaken for a moment and saw a speed limit sign saying 90, got very nervous that we were going to speed to the death, and then remembered the whole kilometers thing. It was amusing. There was a small incident on the way. The question involving the incident is, "did we hit the biker or did the biker hit us?" He was fine, but there was some yelling.

While waiting for Erika and Ale to come back from their French class, Amber posed an iteresting and terrifying question, "Wouldn't it be funny if this whole time they were in Paris, TX and we came here and got stuck here?!" Funny indeed. There was another incident in which I loudly yelled the apartment address number to Kelly and was overheard by a creeps Parisian man. We immediately assumed we were about to get "Taken," only to realize that we weren't being very subtle American girls to begin with. We've survived thus far.

Now, after a nice lunch, I'm off to nap and then we will go celebrate Amber's 18th birthday! Happy birthday, Amber!

P.S. Claire, buy your AWOLNATION tickets.

A favorite plane tune: All I Need by Awolnation

Slow Down, You Crazy Child

Off to France France France yet again-gain-gain! I am in a preparation frenzy (Molls has heard all about this... I'M STILL SORRY), which is frustrating considering I am all packed and ready to go! After a 9 hour flight with friends Kelly, Amber and Laura (Laura will actually be on another flight at the same time), we will land in Paris to visit Erika and Alejandra for ten days! I am so excited. I don't know what I want to do first.... eat creme brulee, go shopping, go to the Louvre and stare at my favorite sculptures for hours, eat more creme brulee? Anyway, I'm rambling now, but, maybe this time around I will actually put up the pictures I take in France instead of just saying that I will! Until then!

P.S. While last year, I played Home every day and stole lyrics from it for every blog post title, I've found a new song for summer 2011. Granted, it's a little odd considering I'm going to France, but oh well, it's still wonderful.

Listen away- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdiXvDU4P0

These Times When Everything Slows

One, throw on your swim suit. Two, grab that book you've been meaning to read and that playlist you've been meaning to listen to. Three, don't forget Claire! (Four, make fun of Molly.) Count 'em one, two, three- my morning ritual for the next four days. This week is Spring Break and I'm heading to Ixtapa along with a big group of senior hooligans and our families. I cannot wait for the feeling of the sun shining on my face, not worrying about what time it is, and being to sleep and eat whenever I feel like it. The last few weeks at school have been tough on all of us, so I'm so excited that we're getting a well-earned few days in the sun to run around like idiots and be merry!

Wherever you are and whatever you're dealing with, I hope this week is kind to you. I hope you take the time to focus on you and your need for relaxation, for alone time, for sleep, for laughing, for vitamin D, for quiet, for music, for anything and everything you love.

Frayed Edges

Home. Let Me Go Ho-o-ome...

And it starts with a plane ride. And ends with a plane ride. Airplanes are weird. They are both a greeting and a farewell; you are both leaving and going. Planes. The dramatic Hellogoodbye. Dang. Today, I peaced Brown and it was wet and snotty and sad. Weepy. It was weepy. Goodbye. I'd have to say I left with a lot more than I came with. New friends, new abs (laughter, guys. Please. Like I would ever start “working out”), new perspectives, and 10 pounds worth of new stuff (Continental let it slide though). What a surreal experience. Freakin' weird. I mean, think about it. You grab (about) 18 different girls with 18 completely different lives and throw them all together in Hegeman A (including Javier, of course) in Providence, Rhode Island of all places. You make them live together, give them nothing to do (Providence, you kind of suck) except spend time with each other, and make sure they know that this is the only thing tying them all together. It's almost cruel but it's awesome at the same time and while we all were homesick and ready to go home, there were still tears over seeing each other for the last time. And then there's that, the going home part, the hello part of the dramatic airplane ride. I am ecstatic to go back to my life again. After two months. Two months. I did it. I made it through and I'd have to say I'm a little different. I am a little battered, a little crazier (shocker.) and a little older. Whatever I am, I'm going home. Home is a strange concept to me now. I kind of forgot what it's like to have your own space that you can do whatever you want with. I've jumped around so much in the past two months that even the idea of leaving your things in the bathroom instead of having a little bathroom bag to carry stuff back and forth is foreign to me. Even when I was home for 3 days, it didn't feel like home. It was just the next place I was staying before taking off. Not my own permanent residence. How strange is that?I mean, it's not a bad thing. I'm certainly not complaining but it is very weird to me and not something I really like. Hello, Home. You are a concept that I am aching to understand again. Hello, life, friends, room, family.

I'll miss you, guys!

Here I am. Saying hellogoodbye on an airplane (I'll have been on 9 planes this summer) for the last time.

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The best of “Summer 2010” playlist thus far. I'm sure after the whole yearbook camp thing and staying with Grace, I'll have some more great jams.

Home shouldn't even be mentioned at this point but I'm putting it at the top anyway.

Nobody Knows Me At All by The Weepies

Signs by Bloc Party

Lemonade by CocoRosie

California by Phantom Planet

17 by Sky Ferreira

I Am Not A Robot by Marina and the Diamonds

Skinny Love by Bon Iver

Boston by Augustana

***Strong and Courageous by Kirby McDaniel

King of Anything by Sara Bareilles

For the Widows in Paradise by Sufjan Stevens

Give Me One Reason to Stay by Tracy Chapman

You Make My Dreams by Daryl Hall & John Oates

The Cave by Mumford & Sons

***This is a beautiful song by one of my good friends Kirby. Check her song out on iTunes, and if you don't know her but could, TALK TO HER; she's an amazing person.

Things You Just Get Used To

So, as many of you know, I have been out and about in the world for about two months now. After traveling in 3 different countries and, in the US, 10 different states, there is a pretty interesting list of things you just get used to.

1. Accents- Everyone's got a great accent (including myself sometimes). From my cousin's Syrian accent to the French waiter's hot accent to Kat's (Claire's good friend from Arkansas) southern accent to Cansu's Turkish accent to Lexi's northern accent to Clara's English accent to Javier's Puerto Rican accent to my random y'alls, there has been a lot of different ways to say "tomato" if you know what I mean. For those of you that know me, you know I am eating this UP. I love accents! They are hilarious. I swear the reason we all have different accents is because it's so freaking funny.

2. "Let's just ask the locals."- When you're in a new place and you're starving and ready to eat, you better get over being shy and being a tourist. After a horrible incident in Paris that involved picking a random restaurant, my father and I learned quickly that the best thing to do is "just ask the locals."

3. Weird Phrases- This kind of goes along with accents but there were too many great Clara-inpsired phrases to not mention weird lingo. Let's see. There's... playsuits instead of rompers, braces instead of suspenders, pop instead of soda, fives instead of shuffle, argyle instead of hookah, and (thanks, Deb) "Pop this blowsicle stand" instead of well... that one's self-explanatory.

Cansu, me

In our RAWmpers. 

Photo by Kristie Fan

4. "Bipolar Weather"- While it has been summer everywhere I've gone, it is weird to adjust to 13948239587 different temperatures, weather patterns and humidity. My poor hair has been through so much not to mention my skin is as confused as I'd be in a level 5 Chinese class. You just gotta learn to always have an umbrella nearby, master the messy bun and enjoy the good days.

5. Airplanes- Sadly, airports and airplanes are more familiar to me than my own home at this point. Oh well, last time in a long time (I hope...) will be in only 3 days!

6. Bathroom Keys- I don't know why but about half the bathrooms I use in the north require some sort of key. I find myself needing to go to the bathroom and asking one of the employees for a key only to have them hand me a really strange object. After about 30 seconds, I realize there's a key attached to it but I never fail to be confused at first every time. I mean, you just don't expect someone's response to your plea to use the bathroom to entail them handing you a giant metal spoon or the top to a plastic tub of ice cream.

7. Water Bottles- You want water when you're thirsty, you better have one of those babies. Besides the two or three times I've eaten in the dining hall, I don't remember when the last time was that good-tasting water (hotel faucet water is vile) came from the tap.

8. "Hi, my name is Lana! I come from Texas. (pause) No, I don't have a gun license nor do I own a horse." and "Yes, I did just say y'all. (pause) Please get over it now. (pause) It's really not that funny."- Self explanatory.

9. "Home" by ESMZ- It always seems to start and end with this song, the theme song to my summer. I swear I've mentioned this song about every time I post something but oh well, it's always worth mentioning. I've listened to this song without fail at least twice a day. It connects me to the people at home and now to the people at Brown as well for they all seem to know and love it (MOLLY, WHY DO YOU WE LIVE IN TEXAS?!).

Brown: Day.... 5? Who Knows At This Point

Gotta love some Thayer street.

Hello, hello! I know it's been a couple days but between the people, the reading, the classes, the food, the sun and the walking, I really haven't found the time! By the time I go to bed (shockingly about 1 or 2 a.m. Which for me is late!), I'm exhausted. As I'm sure you've gathered, I have been really busy because there's so much to do and while that's awesome, it definitely comes with a lesson or two. During our first floor meeting, my RA Amy was talking about how we were going to have to learn “time-managent” because of how much freedom we have. I, of course, scoffed and flipped my hair because, in my oh so experienced opinion, I already knew everything about time management. Unsurprisingly, I was wrong. Always so wrong! Ah well, at least I'm learning. I failed the first day. Miserably failed. I ended up with 25 pages worth (which is nothing compared to an actual college load. I know.) of scientific article to read at about one in the morning (which, for me, is quite late). Sheesh. Naturally, it didn't get done and I was a little lost the next day. Besides that, everything's been pretty easy-going! There are the greatest girls in my dorm and the weather has been really great! My favorite thing to do is lay out on the green on a blanket and just talk to the friends I've made. It's so wonderful. So wonderful in fact that yesterday I did it for oh... 4 hours? It was blissful. Speaking of the girls in my dorm, living in a building with 20 or so girls that you JUST met has been a really neat and weird experience. I know that I'm extremely comfortable around them already and thinking about how awkward and shy I felt only 4 days ago is surreal. I never understood what people meant when they said about experiences like this but I'm starting to get it. I guess what makes that “get-to-know-you” process go faster is the fact that I live with these girls and they are the group of friends that I have here. I don't know. Either way, it's been really awesome. More later! I'm exhausted and hope to take a little nap before my “How to Find the Right School for You” seminar... Yay college.

Christiana, Debbi, Marissa, Lexi

We walk so much. It's lovely because I like being outside and the weather is superb.

Lexi, me

Lexi from Cleveland, Ohio. She has an AAAccent.

Christiana, Lexi

This is the green and our little "study" spot.

Brown: Day 1

Today I arrived at Brown in Providence, Rhode Island for my 2 weeks in the Summer@Brown program. I have a single and am in a triple suite with two really sweet girls. My floor is a good group as is my whole dorm. There are girls here from London (she's actually FROM Italy though and got really offended when someone said Nutella was French... It's Italian apparently), New York, India, Turkey, Minnesota.... everywhere! I, however, always mumble "Texas" whenever I say where I'm from and rightfully so because today I was asked if I had a gun license. A GUN LICENSE. I've embarrassingly said y'all like 135723958797 times today but that's okay, it was "cute" apparently. While today was about socializing and getting moved in (I NEED TO BUY A FAN. It's hotter than Texas because there's no AC), tomorrow I start classes! Yay! I'm taking the Special Topics in Developmental Psychology: Socio-emotional Development in Children and Adolescents class. I cannot WAIT to go and learn and talk to my professor and be a little (pre-)college kid. I will have homework (which I'm actually excited about) but will NOT be doing it in my closet-sized, sweltering hot dorm room. My room is something to laugh about. It is in the corner on the very top floor (I, being the diva that I am, packed 2 HUGE suitcases and now will have to carry them down by myself on the last day) and has some serious wall issues. I won't elaborate because I'm trying to cut down on the whining that I do (you can thank me later) but I've, of course, included a picture for your entertainment!

It's a joke but I love it anyway! Yay college.

Lolly

I've Been Everywhere With You

I decided to write a letter to Molly here because I miss her so and figured this would be more special than another e-mail. Inside this letter, you will find references to some great music, T.V. Shows and restaurants. Plus, for those of you who know Molly, this is a great time for you to bask in her cuteness. Bask on!

Hi, Molly. We are thousands of miles apart and have been all summer (except for one fateful July evening) and still, Molly, you have been a huge part of my summer. The e-mails alone have been a huge part of that! They mirror a typical conversation between us, some serious talk paired with the entertaining silly stuff... bia. And while that has been one way you have been a part of my summer, there is also the way you've been present in the music, the laughs and the even the sights.

The song “Home” (the song you showed me, the song for your alarm, the song that WAS Hart's baptism, and so many other moments) has been my theme song all summer and I play it whenever I get homesick and miss my life and friends.

Molly, you set the soundtrack for the road-trip with Claire! We listened to “California” the O.C. song, “I am Not A Robot” by Marina and the Diamonds, “Home”, and “17” by Sky Ferreira over and over again. Not to mention, I definitely wrote your name in a guest book in one the places we visited and put New York City as your city.

I, as you already know, have watched the O.C. obsessively all summer and even got Ryan and Al into it. Not to mention, Claire and I watched it in the car on the long car rides which definitely made them all the more fun.

I see things that make me think of you all the time! For example, most of the activities in the schools I'm visiting involve Wilderness-esque things and it makes me laugh every time 

I picture you ending up in one of these schools and being peer pressured into hiking up a frozen mountain. There's little things too like there was a restaurant in Hannover called Molly's and I insisted that we go there solely because it was your name. Silly, I know but fun none-the-less. It turned out to be a really good spot and I'm sure the restaurant really did have something to do with because the menu's were record sleeves of all different albums. It was so neat! Plus, the food was delicious.

The Molly's menu

Oh, and Molly, I'm in New York right now... (although it is the middle of nowhere countryside) New Yoooork! I look forward to visiting NYC and all the other wonderful places we will be traveling to together.

Al and I watched Kinglsey last night.

So, Molls, Lolly, Molly Bolly, I cannot wait to talk to you when you get back. While I still will not be in Houston, it will be an improvement from this e-mail every three days act. And, of course, I cannot wait to see you and fall back into the old familiar patterns of text Molly until I fall asleep, wake up at 3 a.m. to find messages on my phone from her and respond to find her still awake ooooorrrr wake up in the morning for school and respond, then finish conversation at school in R206 (and in the horrible case of junior year, Duke's classroom). So, until our Tiny's lunchdate, yearbook camp and some great walks, I miss you and I love you!

Ohio

Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie.

I am now (well, not anymore...) in Ohio visiting my dad's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Baumgartner. My grandmother lives in Bryan and my grandfather lives on a farm by Archbold, both places are in the tippy-top northwest corner of Ohio. Like the countryside we drove through last week, the scenery here is beautiful and the weather is usually pretty great even though right now, it's unusually hot. The farm has been in my family since 1982 and I've always loved coming and relaxing and exploring the barn. While the farm is nice and quiet, Bryan is.... well, it's also nice and quiet considering it's a really tiny town. The movie theatre plays 2 or 3 movies and there's a courthouse that you can see from basically anywhere in town. Both places are so relaxing in their own way. Oh, Ohio, you are such a wonderful Pause button on my life.

Missouri

Man, oh man, you're my best friend.

Today, today we woke up early to go to University of Missouri for the morning. We learned a lot and now feel much better about this whole "college" thing aaaaaaaand Mizzou is definitely on the list now for the both of us. It's a fantastic journalism school so we definitely had yearbook on our mind. Oh wait, we always have yearbook on our mind. Above is the creepy tiger we tried to avoid and scoffed at just minutes before this picture was taken. I swear he heard us. 

Mrs Hogan: We'll take this for Ms. Hartman!

I love Claire's photos.

Acme shirts. It's a t-shirt design company. SUPER cool store.

Just editing the Declaration for Thomas. 

(Claire just goes: Holly Hartman's minions... CO-CHIEFS!)

Long day.

Nashville

Alleyways and Pay Phone Calls.

ALL PHOTOS BY CLAIRE AND MRS. HOGAN

Reporting from... the road. 70 west going to Missouri. Who KNOWS where exactly that is. Anyway, we have a special guest here with us. Her name is Claire and she is my travelling companion for this week but normally, she is my life companion (we're best friends) and for next year, my yearbook companion! Yes, this is the co-chief Claire (great nickname, we know).

Claire has decided to make a cheer with this little nickname. She had the wonderful idea to do a spin off of the Hillshire Farm commercials (Hillshire Farm... GO MEAT!)... so far, we've got.

Memorial High... CO-CHIEFS!

R206... CO-CHIEFS!

Reata 11... CO-CHIEFS!

And my personal favorite and a reflection of Claire's wonderful creativity...

Holly Hartman's minions (you get to say it really fast)... CO-CHEIFS!

Ms. Hartman, if you're reading this, what are your thoughts? Is there one you would prefer?

Wooh. So, after arriving in Nashville at 10 p.m. And on the way to our hotel, we stopped at the famous Blue Bird Cafe. While enjoying some delicious spinach dip and chips, we listened to some fellows play country music. Now, I am not one for country music OR concerts but I sure did enjoy that night. It was very intimate and, unlike the concerts I'VE been to, you could tell that the reason people were there was because of the music. They quietly, calmly and happily listened to the music, which was actually pretty enjoyable. After purchasing t-shirts and taking some pictures, we drove over to our hotel. Funny situation our hotel. We planned on staying at the Grand Ole Opry but sadly enough, it got flooded so the guests were moved next door to The Radisson where we had an outdoor room and a toilet that, as Claire put it, sounded as “people shrieking and dying in a dark alley.” Claire says it was as if she was being attacked by a Death Eater. We got some sleep after chatting about our trips and I managed to steal the covers right off of her cold, miserable body. Lana: 1, Claire: 0. Win! Then, we started off our day.

After waking up, chatting some more and leaving Magda (our maid) a nice note, we headed out. First, we went to Vanderbilt and had a disappointing adventure (we chickened out of setting off the alarm in one of the buildings we allegedly broke into it). We did, however, make some friends with a mom and son, Carson or Carter or something, who were from New York City. Oh, they LIVE the life. Deciding it was time for lunch, we drove on over to Broadway street and ate some absolutely delicious barbeque at Jack's. While Mrs. Hogan waited in line (it's a popular place, folks), Claire and I walked around and into some stores and it was at THAT moment that I realized just how southern Nashville is. Oh, so southern, guys. 

Claire

Typical (ha) Nashville Mural

Record Store (Only country music. Shocker.)

Hatch Show Print. It's actually a historical building AND a shop. It was AWESOME.

So anyway, lunch. Let me tell you, I've never had a BBQ sandwich (and OKAY, like 4 ribs too which may or may not be double what Claire ate) as great as that one. After another walk down Broadway St, we decided to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for a little bit. 

We stayed a lot longer than expected and actually got kicked out but only because it was actually a really nice time! It's very thorough and well done, the museum is. Next up was a short walk down 21^st St where Claire and I popped our heads into some stylish, and way too expensive stores. I'd have to say they best part was that a lot of stores have pets! One of which, an adorable little kitten, fell in love with Claire. I was super jealous. Then, to finish the day off, we went to the Grand Ole Opry.

 It was definitely some great entertainment. We listened to many different singers perform and some FANTASTIC musicians and it really was a great experience. 

On the way to the car though, we ran into some trouble. We decided to take the service elevator down to the garage floor and only after closing the door did we realize that you are not allowed to go on the service elevator and the only way to get the doors to open again is to have a pass key. 

Trapped.

Between Mrs. Hogan hitting the alarm button, Claire laughing and me banging on the door, the security guard heard us and happily released us. It was hilarious. Eventually, we made it to the car and I fell asleep shortly after that in the car while Claire and her mom got lost (that's what they told me anyway. I was long gone at that point) and enjoyed a good rest after a good, long day.

Sunday, (today) we woke up early (ha.) and drove on over to the Pancake Pantry where we feasted on some delicious sweet potato pancakes after waiting in line for an hour an a half (it was worth it). Our tummies full, we drove on over the Chihuly Botanical Garden Exhibit and even though it was extremely hot, we were still able to appreciate the art. Chihuly is a glass artist and he is original and wonderfully talented and his pieces looked so good amongst the beautiful flowers and plants. 

WAY too hot.

Claire doing something she loves and is very good at, taking photos

Afterwards, we stopped at the Loveless Cafe and Motel to grab some fried tomatoes, which are pretty good, and then carried on our way to Missouri.

After thinking about the name Loveless Cafe and Motel, I decided that Claire and I should open up a small cafe in Houston specifically for people who have just gone through break-ups called, wait for it, the Loveless Cafe. At this cafe, we'll serve all the best comfort foods, have fresh baked cookies on demand and comfortable couches and, of course, a lending library. We'll get rich so there's really no point in us continuing to look at colleges.

And that was the end of Nashville.  

(a ton of) Pictures from Syria

You're the apple of my eye.

 

Front balcony

Views from the balcony onto a typical street in Damascus

Old mosque by our grandmother's place

Jabri House (our family's restaurant)

Beit Jabri (or Jabri house in english) from the second floor

Street in old Damascus (they're tiny!)

View from "my spot" on the back balcony. Sorry about the bars in the picture, they're an irritating "nice touch" to the cute balcony

My new car! I wish.

Typical apartment building. I actually got chewed out for taking this picture by the taxi driver and my mom because we were driving right by the president's house and apparently, you CANNOT take pictures by there or you'll have your bottom handed to you.

Me, Geoffrey, Ryan

Dinner with the Abrahams, really good family friends of ours. Geoffrey and Keenan (those are the boys) both go to A&M. Always fun!

Old ruin in Old Damascus... I'm so sorry I can't tell you more about it!

Little shop in Old Damascus. Cute, isn't it?

City in the mountain... Looks a little different than down the mountain

My uncle's "ranch". I loved going here because we're out away from the city, the weather and food's great, and of course, it's really fun to hang out with my family.

Really crappy picture, but look! It's green! Aaaaand, no camels :)

The youngest of the seven grandchildren, Jad. We mostly call him Jado though because he's so cute.

Typical. This is a hookah that my family owns. I'd be nervous to find out how many we own.

Typical breakfast with the fam. (I got a lot of "typical" pictures so I'll be using that word a lot)

Typical (told ya) dessert! They eat so healthy there and it's delicious. I love it

Ryan playing (probably unfairly) basketball with Fufi (Rafik is his real name. He's Jado's older brother) and Jad

I think it's beautiful there, no?

OH MY GOD SO TYPICAL. This is my uncle doing a strip tease for me and the camera... and everyone else at Fufi's birthday party. Much better than a clown, sure

Jado, Tamooh

Tamooh is closest to me in age (he's 16)... and closest to me in general. He's really smart, creative, funny and just a joy all around

All seven of us. If you look closely (hopefully you don't have to look too closely), you'll see that I'm the only girl and the oldest. I actually really like it that way

Jad, Omar, Fufi, Hamoodeh, Ryan, Tamooh, me

The seven lined up by age. We're actually at this Crusader castle on the top of this gorgeous mountain. It's fascinating to be in if you think about all of the emotions and thoughts that those walls saw.

Ryan, Hamoodeh

 Hamoodeh is Tamooh's younger brother and the middle child of my aunt's 3 kids. He's Ryan's age and very different than Tamooh; he likes the bad-A image.

Hamoodeh, Khalto Roula (or, in english, Aunt Roula)

Tamooh

Omar, Ryan

Omar is the youngest of my aunt's 3. He is Fufi's age, 11, and one of the sweetest kids that I know. He and Ryan like beating each other up and the picture above is proof.

Snack time

Statue of Liberty?

Tamooh and his crown

Omar. So adorable.

Tamooh, Ryan

We were talking about politics. I knew more than I thought. And yet, still so little...

Me, Mom, Teta (my grandmother)

The 3 generations

Those are my favorites! All 2340927349238752935623987 of them. I have one last post and then I'm moving on to Paris!