And to think that 2 weeks ago, I was a scared little girl...

Well, maybe I'm still a scared little girl... somewhere inside me... Maybe...

Being a Friday, I find myself wanting to go out and do something, but I also don't want to go out at all. I finished the fourth and final paper for the Paris part of the program, which ended up being about Versailles, so that feels great. It feels like I shouldn't be allowed to feel like I have nothing I need to do. I might create tasks just to give my life purpose. For instance: I will run up and down the 7 flights of stairs in less than 3 minutes. I must cut all the apples in my room in half before I eat them. I should short-sheet my roommate's bed... See, all those things would grant a little more purpose to my life, but that just sounds like a lot more work than necessary. So, maybe I'll be ok with relaxing... Whatever that is.

I was walking out onto the street with Abbey today and I remembered what it was like to walk into the Foyer for the first time. We didn't know any one else in the group really and we just asked the person closest to us to be our roommate... and then, when we wanted to leave for the first time, we had no idea what to do... The last time I stayed in Paris, we had to turn the key in before we left... Abbey and I were at a loss, so we stood there and watched other people come and go... And then we figured it out. We felt a little silly, needless to say. That whole trip was rather interesting because we were starving and we were trying to find food, but we couldn't figure out how to get a lot of the food vendors' attention, so we just ended up walking into a store and buying pain au chocolat (croissant with chocolate inside, for those of you who are not familiar with French goodness...) Yeah, that whole experience makes me laugh...

Yesterday, Abbey and I went to Les Invalides, a building built by Louis XIV for military purposes, including an infirmary, and it was pretty great. It is full of military museums and I thought of my brothers, Ben especially, as I peered at the signs. We are girls, so naturally, we didn't want to pay money to go look at weapons, so we just walked around. Abbey then went to the Musée Rodin while I went back to the Foyer. I could have taken the Metro, but I needed to clear my head. My mission was to get some good exercise while looking Parisien. I think I accomplished both. I also was my normal self and almost fell, for no reason, twice. One guy saw me do the whole ankle roll thing and I think he followed me for a couple of blocks to make sure I wasn't going to fall into traffic... I then made it my mission to lose him. And I did.
As I walked, I saw people with cameras, white atheltic shoes, and confused faces and I chuckled to myself. I'm not far removed from that, but it seems so long ago since everything in Paris was daunting and confusing. Not to say that I know everything, because I definitely don't... I just feel like I've been here a long time and I'm sad that I'm going to be leaving for another foreign place. It's ok, though. These two weeks have been great for getting to know other people and getting to know more about myself. I know that sounds strange, but I have learned so much about people during this time... Things that I couldn't have learned in Colorado Springs...

Tomorrow, we are going on an early excursion to the Revolutionary part of Paris, meaning the key places linked with the French Revolution, just to clear any confusion... I don't know how long that will take, but I'm excited to be walking around and learning more about one of my most favorite times in history. Then, we (not the whole group, but those interested) are going to go to the banks of the Seine and check out the free dancing lessons that go on every night there. I'm so excited for that. On Sunday, I'm going to go to visit with a German girl I met in my class, which I think is pretty great. As silly, sheltered, and American as that sounds, I'm totally excited to have friends from different countries! Well, Julia is just from one country, but I hope to make more friends... haha.

I do miss America, though. I could really use a cup of hot chocolate and some popcorn that I could curl up with on this chilly evening... Just two things among many to look forward to when I come home in December :)