thursday thoughts: missing you

Hey there!

Comin' to ya live from the library in Nantes.

It's been one week since I've written. I suppose there have been plenty of things going on lately. Last weekend, IES (my study abroad program) took a field trip to Mont Saint Michel and Saint Malo. Mont Saint Michel was so beautiful...and has been used since the 7th century. Everyone refers to it as a "rocky tidal island," but the actual abbey itself has monks that live and work there. Famous French writer, Chateaubriand, has his tomb there on a tiny island just off the shore. It was incredibly fascinating! Saint Malo is a little port town on the north coast of Normandy, right on the ocean, full of life. The sun was actually shining, and I had the chance to roam around the beautiful town in awe, tasting regional treats, doing some shopping, relaxing with other study abroad students. All in all, it was a pleasant field trip. Here is Mont Saint Michel:

Sunday after the field trip was a particularly low day. Nantes was hazy, rainy, and grey. Everything in the city is closed on Sundays, even grocery stores, which left me with nothing to do. Not wanting to sit around my host family's apartment, I roamed around Nantes for honestly a couple hours before finding a café that was open where I could read my book, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, for the second time. I just finished it and loved it even more than the first time.  My favorite citations:

"...sometimes I can hear my bones straining 

under the weight of all the lives I'm not living."

"She was funny and full of life. She liked to run around her empty house without any clothes on, even once she was too old for that. Nothing embarrassed her. I admired that so much, because everything embarrassed me, and that hurt me. She loved to jump on her bed. She jumped on her bed for so many years that one afternoon, while I watched her jump, the seams burst. Feathers filled the small room. Our laughter kept the feathers in the air. I thought about birds. Could they fly if there wasn't someone, somewhere, laughing?"

Don't you just adore that? It makes me smile every time. I loved that book -- really gave me some perspective, kind of made me think of how much life I have left to live, and how I have so many beautiful, inspiring people in my life to remind me of how grateful I should be on a daily basis.

The rest of this week has consisted of trying to pick classes for the semester. I attend classes at the Université de Nantes, and if I don't like them, I choose not to take them. So far, I'm 3 for 3 for disliking the classes I've gone to. Fantastic. I think I'm going to end up taking two literature classes at the university, one focusing on Marcel Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, the other studying Marguerite Duras' Un barrage contre le pacifique. In addition, an art history class caught my interest as well, one that focuses on 19th, 20th, and 21st century photography! I am also taking a phonetics class, which will most definitely help in my pronunciation of words. No other classes really fascinated me, but since there is a minimum of 15 credits, I'm forced to take another class. Ideally, a drawing class would have been great! Unfortunately, those are only worth 2 credits. Thus, I'm going to be taking the second section of a translation class I took last semester as a "filler" class, if you will. It'll be easy, so that's relieving. On top of all this, I teach English two times a week to two different groups of lil kids, work here in the IES library 7 hours a week (minimum wage, baby!), and occasionally babysit for a family when the parents want a date night! All in all, I am a workin' woman, trying to save up for spring break. (Rome...here I come!) Besides the whole class schedule and working shtuff, I've been laying low, feeling very very very fatigued & lethargic. 

Enough about me. I've been missing my friends & family so much since returning to Nantes. Winter break was like a tease -- I saw them shortly, but then head to jump across the Atlantic Ocean all over again. Luckily, we have all been keeping in great touch, thanks to Facebook and Skype. My heart hurts from being so far away from everyone: my family (especially my little Godson and nephew, Bennett!), my Loyola friends, my high school friends, the friends I made while abroad last semester...I miss everything about every single one of them.

You are all perpetually in my thoughts & bring me such joy, whether or not I've said it before.

I miss you more & more every day :

& many many many many many others.

You are constantly inspiring me!

I'm off to class. There's a strike today in Nantes sooo we'll see if public transportation is working or if I even have class. Who knows, some of the professors are on strike. Oh, France.

Until next time,

Feel Ridiculously Fine,

MG

thursday thoughts: ouvrez les yeux

Coucou!

I had a fairly interesting day. I woke up earlier today than I have all semester: 9am! Weak, I know. I've been having what I think are remnants of bad jet-lag, resulting in my sleeping until around noon and feeling like a lazy mess. It's been rough too because I love the morning very much! But...I love sleep more. Okay anyway, didn't sleep in today, enjoyed a lovely petit déjeuner of an apple, orange, yogurt, and espresso. Attended a noon class at the Université de Nantes called Contemporary Art History: the 20th century. But since I would only end up receiving two credits for it, and since I'll be taking a photography class with the same professor, I don't think I'll take it. Regardless, the class today my first time in a lecture hall -- yeehaw! I know, a 2nd semester college sophomore never having class in a lecture hall might seem weird, but I just always chose the small classes. It was kind of like being in church, you know when everyone sits down at the same time? Yep, just like that, except replace sitting with writing -- every time the prof said something that seemed minutely important -- swoosh! -- everyone busted out their pens. After class, I rushed to go buy a quick sandwich and was then on my way to La Clinique Sourdille, an eye clinic. Naww I wasn't there for surgery or anything, I was actually offered a "job" for today that consisted of correcting this hilarious French eye surgeon/optometrist's article that he had written in English. Dr. Ducourneau was one of those people who really took me by surprise -- I was expecting this hermit-like, unfriendly optometrist, but instead, met a boisterous, generous and passionate old guy! It was really fun and fascinating, and it was paid work as well, which is always a plus. I learned a lot about retinal procedures while putting both my French & English skills to work. From there, I took the bus back to my apartment, chatted with my host mama over tea (mostly about old French fables), scarfed a piece of her homemade, grainy, delicious bread in my mouth before heading off to babysit this adorable little boy named Nicolas while his parents went to the theater. He is precious! Yet, he makes me feel like crap with my French. The kid's only four years old, but knows more and speaks more French than I do. :( The only thing I one-up him on is reading. Ahh HA! But that's only because he can't read yet. Who knows, maybe by the end of the school year I'll be as fluent as he is. We played Memory, drew, ate tarte aux pommes, listened to music, read a story, brushed our teeth and went to bed. Once he was fast asleep, I got time to myself to read. I'm re-reading (well actually, I never finished it) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. If you haven't read it, please do. I got it at the university library yesterday and am 300 pages in...that's how good it is. 

I'm still trying to figure out my class schedule. Blah! But in other news, I found joy in so many things today: the unexpected good character and generosity of others (yes, good people do still exist!), talking with my real Mama, as well as my bro John and L.B., people whom I adoooore! (Speaking of...congrats to Lisa & Anna on adding Turtle, a guinea pig, to their little Madison family. Good luck with that, gals. Goooood luck.) It's impossible not to find joy and beauty in the complexity of the EYE. They really are intriguing. I'm also finding joy in the book I just mentioned...the main character, Oskar, is so full of life and imagination. I am so envious. All in all, I'm doing mighty fine. Trying to get in the groove of things again, make friends all over again (IES Fall 2008, can you please come back to Nantes? K thanks.), and soak up as best as I can all the things I find awe and wonder in.

Until next time,

Ouvrez Les Yeux, Open Your Eyes,

Feel joyfully fine,

MG

      

   

yes we can & yes we did!

Salut!

Yesterday was the inauguration of our 44th president. Though I am in France, I was able to watch it on television (granted, it was a poorly translated to French version of the inauguration, but nonetheless, I saw it) and found it incredibly moving. I can taste the hope & inspiration my country has even from across the ocean!

This guy is goin' far:

(and what a cutie he is!)

Talk about joyful journeys...just look at the joy seen here...could they be any happier? :

This picture was taken from www.lemonde.fr, and I love it because it shows the political leaders of both the countries I am "living in" at the moment...

"Que Dieu vous bénisse et bénisse les Etats-Unis d'Amérique"

In other news, during this time of change, I too am changing -- my class schedule! The French University system needs work (i.e. both the classes I had this week were cancelled for no reason, there is no organization whatsoever...), and I'm struggling trying to pick classes. Time heals all, I keep telling myself. I have two weeks to officially decide, but as for now, I don't have any classes scheduled on Mondays or Fridays. Four-day weekends every weekend??! C'est pas mal. 

That's all for now.  I have to go do something about this strange craving I've had all day...literally, this is all I want right now:

Until next time,

feel joyfully fine,

MG

bonjour from nantes

Bonjour, tout le monde.

Comin' to ya live from Nantes, France! And what a joy it is to be back. I spent winter vacation back in Milwaukee and recently returned back to my French life. The journey back was a pain, though...let me just recap that for you all. First, never fly stand-by internationally. Never. I initially tried to fly from Milwaukee-Atlanta, Atlanta-Paris on Thursday, January 15th. The 5:45am flight was canceled due to the cold weather freezing everything over (thanks, Milwaukee), so everyone was pushed onto the next flight...etc. etc....All flights full. Grand. So I tried again on the 16th, luckily got on the 7am to Atlanta, spent a grueling 6 hours in the Atlanta airport (which is, I believe, hell on earth. I passed time by organizing my iTunes library, talking with Elliot, people-watching...how can people eat fried chicken and biscuits at 10am? I mean the stuff's delicious, but come on), fortunately got on the next flight out to Paris.  An easy 7-hour plane ride to Paris, arrived there at 5am Paris time, and had to spend 6 hours waiting for the first train to Nantes. A 3 hour train ride to Nantes, 10 minute tram ride to my apartment, walked up cobblestone streets lugging my suitcases behind me. Arrived "home" finally!!...Only to discover, after being greeted/kissed/fed by my host mama & brother that the toothpaste, conditioner, lotion & perfume I had packed had exploded all over. Karma's a bitch, apparently. Probably payback for all the mean thoughts I've ever had, therefore, I deserved all that. But I'll tell you this much -- I couldn't be happier to be back. Wait, scratch that...maybe if my friends from last semester were still here, I'd be utterly content. But I missed Nantes big time. Plus, the fact that there aren't 3 feet of snow and -40º wind chill is a major bonus...

Though the cold sure can be beautiful...

Over winter break, I drove down to Chicago with Lisa to pick up Molly at the airport and spend the night together. Lisa and I went to the wrong airport (I mean, who knew Southwest only flew into Midway and not O'Hare anyway? Ahh, only us, right, Pisa?)

 We made dinner all together (what a garlicky delicious disaster), caught up, helped Molly organize her apartment, laughed our asses off, listened to some good jams, drank some good ol' Miller Lite, ate cookie dough right from the package (God Bless Toll House), and then hopped on the red line with some Loyola friends to meet up with other Loyola friends. It was so damn fun. Fun that I don't even find in Nantes all the time. 

I missed Chicago:

But I missed Loyola kids even more:

Yeah, it was a grand ol' time! However, I haven't gotten to the point of my blog (eww what a weird word). I was discussing my weekend with my mom back at home on Sunday night (after a delicious lunch with Luke, Amanda & baby Bennett, and of course, stopping at A&W for root beer floats with Lisa), and telling her how it felt like absolutely no time had passed since the last time I hung out with Molly and Lisa...how it felt like absolutely nothing had changed and we were freshmen again, messing around and enjoying each other's company. It felt like Lisa had never transferred to Madison and I had never left for France. We were comfortable as ever and were adoring every single minute together. Mama G, being the wise woman that she is, simply said, "Well, if that's not a sign of a great, beautiful friendship, then I don't know what is." It was perfect. 

I'm feeling very similarly upon my re-arrival in Nantes. Walking down the street this morning with no one but my iPod (and yes, Beirut's song "Nantes" did indeed come on shuffle, how fitting), it felt like no time had passed, like winter break hadn't happened, like I hadn't gone back to Milwaukee, where familiarity used to surround me. Now, Nantes feels familiar, and I missed it. The fact that I felt like I had never left this place makes me think that...well...Nantes and me? It's only the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Cheers to that. I missed my Fram (French fam), the rich French culture that they are very proud of, my host Mama's homemade bread every morning, the forever-drizzly-but-unbelievably-breathtaking Nantes weather, the ancient architecture, the individual boutiques, poised & well-dressed French women walking their dogs, and the view from my balcony, among other things. 

Although I am certain this semester will be different from the last, I am anxious to see what it will bring, and I will try my best to embrace it with arms outstretched. Goals for the semester? 1. To limit how much I speak English. I mean, I'm here to become fluent in French, after all. 2. Start every day with a 30 minute walk to wake me up and remind me of how beautiful this city is and how lucky I am to be here. None of my classes start before 11am and I don't have classes on Mondays or Fridays sooo I think I should be good. 3. GET INVOLVED! I think it'd be cool/hysterical to partake in choir or something. 4. Make some more French friends, though I don't think that will be too difficult as I am taking more classes at the Université de Nantes this semester. 5. Continue to have one hell of a good time. I think I'm well on my way.

So, going with the theme of "joyful journeys," what did I find joy in today? The sunshine that is such a rarity in Nantes, speaking with friends (Molly, Madeline, Mariel...ooo dang all M names!), and divine music. Song that I absolutely cannot get out of my head today? The Penalty by Beirut.... beautiful!

Until next time, 

Feel ridiculously fine,

MG

 

divine 2009.

Greetings from 2009, everyone! A new year, at last!

Well, I'm starting a blog...mainly because I am terrible at journaling. I think it will be fun, though, writing little tidbits about my ever-so-exciting life.  I'm studying abroad in beautiful Nantes, France this school year but am home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the holidays before heading back on January 16th. It's been awesome being home with my crazy family (four brothers and me = always a good time). Surreal, but awesome. Just two weeks ago I was 4,200 long miles away from home, establishing a new, entirely French life, away from all familiarity and the comforts of home. And here I am, sitting in my old bed yet again, contemplating possible new year resolutions for 2009.  It sure feels good to decompress though.

Since I find that new year resolutions are almost always forgotten come February, I'm going to be realistic this year. None of that "I'm going to exercise five times a week and eliminate white flour from my diet" garbage. So here goes:

I find that everyone, myself included, tends to really complain about a lot in our lives. I'm finally starting to realize that it is not worth it. I actually have so many things to be grateful for! So, I think it's about time I look on the bright side of things; be more positive, and recognize how lucky I am just to be young and alive. Find joy in the simplest things, like a beautiful song, a letter from a friend, a good breakfast, late nights with good company, a kick-ass glass of wine, meeting new people,...there are so many things to be grateful for! So let us stand back, get some perspective on our life, and start each day with a "THANK YOU." 

What am I grateful for today? My family, the sunshine, Simon & Garfunkel, and coming across this:

"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank.

Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music

Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night

Become the touches of sweet harmony."

--William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Can you imagine a more enchanting, divine scene than this? J'adore...

Makes me think... "2009, it'll be divine."

a time of quiet joy

"It is a time of quiet joy, the sunny morning, 

when the glittery dew is on the mallow weeds, 

each leaf holds a jewel which is beautiful if not valuable. 

There is no time for hurry or bustle. 

Thoughts are slow and deep and golden in the morning."

Happy 2009! 

Let us hope that this new year is filled with abundant joy!