Florida Dreamin'

After spending the summer cooped up, tirelessly applying for jobs, helping out around the house, and helping my mom out after an appendectomy, I decided that I needed to get outta here. My original plans failed, and in search of a beach to visit, I found very reasonably priced tickets to go to Orlando... So, as if I didn't get enough of Disney with my annual pass to EuroDisney this past year, I decided to visit the whole kit and caboodle, the very epitome of all things happy: Disney World!

Recently I heard a DJ on the radio use the anecdote: "Who goes to Disney World alone? It's like going to Chuck E. Cheese's and sitting in the corner smiling." I beg to differ. I had a great time! Just one of the perks was the single-riders line. It was so much faster than using a FastPass! And, I didn't spend the entire time at Disney World, either. I broke it up and spent a day at Universal Studios, a day at the beach, and two days at Disney (Hollywood Studios and Epcot).

On my arrival in Orlando, my flight came in at a pretty stormy time. There were thunderheads here and there, and I definitely chose a seat on the right side of the plane. I was able to see 3 rainbows on the way back down to the ground! Even a double rainbow! After getting into the airport, I went to pick up my rental car (my first rental entirely on my own!), and I drove straight to my hotel. I was staying on Disney property in the 80s/Rubiks Cube section of the Pop Century Resort, and elected to eat dinner in their cafeteria.

My first day, I went to Universal Studios. After a bit of confusion about which park had what areas, I made it to the correct location: Islands of Adventure. I just started out by walking counter-clockwise through the park, visiting all of the different Islands (Marvel Super Heroes, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, the Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing). I hit up nearly all of the rides, and enjoyed a Butterbeer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To give you an idea about Universal's take on Butterbeer, it was much like Root Beer, but sweeter, and a layer of slightly whipped cream was put on top to be the foam. I also saw the Hogwart's choir, and I watched Olivander help a young man pick out a wand. I sort of wanted to purchase myself a wand, but found it difficult to justify 80 dollars on something like that. Maybe someday!

I spent all day at Universal, and I went back through and re-rode a couple of rides. It was an exhausting day, and it was rather hot outside. It's interesting that September begins the down season even though the weather is still pretty decent for doing everything in Florida. It's a great time of year to go since the lines for rides aren't too long, and it's definitely not as hot as the middle of July!

The park closed fairly early at 6, so I headed to The Cheesecake Factory, which was relatively close. I sincerely think Southern Missouri needs to get one of these. They are sooooo good! It's always fun to go to The Cheesecake Factory when I visit my brother in San Francisco, and I was very glad that Orlando had one I could go to!

My second day in Florida was my day for the beach. I had checked weather, and it sounded perfect: 92 degrees and sunny. So, I took to the road, and ended up in Cocoa Beach. I started out by going to Ron Jon's Surf Shop (always a great place to wander), then I drove South of the city and found a nearly abandoned beach. I was a bit wary of it being so empty, so I drove back into the city and found a stretch of beach that was part of a park. I had bought some spray-on sunscreen, and doused myself up, then hit the water. It was pretty murky, and the rip currents were pretty strong. I avoided the surfers as I guppied my way through the water. After just being out in the calm of the ocean for an hour, I went back to the beach and dried off. I then got in my car, and drove North to Daytona Beach in the hopes that the water might be a little clearer. It wasn't, but I did get to see more of Florida. At Daytona Beach, you can actually drive your car on the sand - a fact I didn't know about previously. I decided not to do that, though, and I parked in a Beach Access area, and made my way down to the water there. The beach was much flatter than in Cocoa Beach, and the water was so strong I didn't make it out very far. I could always easily stand in the water as I was swimming around, and it seemed like the water in Daytona was pushing me around more than the water in Cocoa Beach. I didn't spend a lot of time in the water, and when I got out, dried off, and grabbed my camera to take a few pictures, something interesting happened. Three military helicopters came up the coast, and the lifeguard in my area went a bit wild for them. He took down his umbrella, shouted to the few people on the beach to wave, and as the helicopters went by, he waved to them with the water quality flag and gave them all a thumbs-up as they flew by.

I realized when I got back to my hotel that my spray-on sunscreen had not been effective that day. I looked in the mirror and saw that I should have sprayed, then I should have rubbed it in... as a result, my arms and back were quite splotchy. It's rather funny, but man, was I in pain that night! I went to CVS to buy Aloe Vera, and began a regimen of ibuprofen, with a promise to myself that my last two days I would douse myself up with twice the sunscreen as should probably be necessary.

My third day in Florida, I went to Disney's Hollywood studios. There was a shuttle from my hotel that I took to the park, and after comparing prices a lot, I went with a two-day pass with access to one park each day (and even that was more expensive than my yearly pass to EuroDisney!). I rode all the rides, and got to see The Hollywood Tower Hotel again, which is one of my favorites. This was the ride that I noticed the most differences on compared to EuroDisney. It wasn't a huge difference, just the build-up to the elevator drop was a bit different, and I still really enjoyed it! I also got to ride the new version of Star Tours (it is more up-to-date, no more 80s flashbacks, and there are different worlds that can be visited in the ride, so every time it will probably be different from the time before), I saw the parade and the Beauty and the Beast show, and I got to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride. The Toy Story Mania takes you through a series of CG arcade games where you have to shoot and get the most points possible - fun! It was also the busiest ride with at least 50 minutes of a wait all day, so I got a fastpass for it. Since I got to the park when it opened, I was done with everything by around 6. I was tired and sore from the sun burn, so I decided to skip the fireworks that night, and just go rest at my hotel and hang out by the pool.

Oh, and I also got to get pictures with Winnie and Mickey! In a little side note, I really like what Disney is doing with their photographers these days. You get a photo pass ticket, and each time one of their Cast Members takes your photo, you give them the pass and they scan it. You can then buy the pictures in the park, or you can buy prints or digital copies online later. They also do this with the ride photos, so you can claim a picture from a ride with your card and decide to buy it later, too. And, in the spirit of niceness, the photographers are pretty cool about taking a picture with your own camera, too. I really liked this idea as I was going through the parks.

My last day in Florida, I went to Epcot. All the Disney parks are fun, but for some reason Epcot holds a special place in my heart :-). I started the day by riding one of the new rides in The Land: Soaring. In this ride, you're lifted up into an IMAX-like rounded screen, and it's meant to feel like you're hang gliding over California. There's even a puff of different scents that is sprayed whenever you fly over different areas (the ones I picked out were evergreen for the forests and oranges for orange fields), but to be honest, most of the scents smelled a bit the same, so maybe they were starting to blend together. I then stayed in the same area and took a boat ride that talked about sustainability and it took us through the greenhouse for Epcot. I'm pretty sure I've done that ride before, but maybe I'm more eco-conscious now, and I was just really impressed by how much they attempt to grow for their restaurants in the park. I then headed to The Sea and rode the Finding Nemo ride, and went to Turtle Talk with Crush, and then I watched the dolphins in the aquarium for a while. I then went to the giant golf ball, followed by The Future, and learned about fossil fuels with Ellen, went on Space Mountain, and Test Track.

My trip to Epcot also coincided with the first day of the International Food and Wine Festival, so in addition to traveling the world in one park, I also got to eat my way around the world. I spread several tastings throughout the afternoon, and ended up trying a lot of different food. I guess I stayed mainly in my comfort zone, though, and would have to say the best thing I had was a lettuce wrap from South Korea. At the booth for Italy, they were speaking Italian and were very complimentary towards me ;-). In France, I went into the French movie that featured footage from all over France, and it made me miss the country. People were talking about how beautiful it was and how much they want to go there, and I know that I really want to go back. I went to the French bakery and ordered a coffee, and the cashier even asked me if I was French :-). I told her that I had spent time in France, and she told me that my accent was quite good, which makes me glad since I haven't been speaking it much lately. Another interesting thing about the France of Epcot was that they sold a lot of the same items that are in EuroDisney (Paris coffee mugs with Mickey and Minnie, Eiffel Towers, that sort of thing), and a lot of it was cheaper than at Disneyland Paris, but then again the tickets to Disney World are much more expensive, so maybe that is where the difference comes into play.

I was at Epcot all day, and I decided to stay for one night of fireworks. The show was really well done, and I especially enjoyed the globe that was floated out to the middle of the lake. It had screens over all of the continents and had video playing. It was really something to see in person! After the fireworks as I was walking to the exit, I noticed a lot of people taking pictures and saw that the moon was hanging right at the skyline, and it looked amazing! It's at times like these that I wish I had a super camera with incredible zoom capabilities, along with a tripod. Unfortunately, I don't, but I'll still share the picture my camera produced.

And, finally, I would like to give a shout-out to Steve Jobs, who passed away just after my trip. I've been a mac user for about four years now. For the past year, I have been using an iPod Touch not only for music and video, but also to help me find my way around the world. It was a portable computer everywhere I went, and I was able to save itineraries, keep in touch with my family, and plan out what I wanted to do while traveling. I recently switched to an iPhone, and this trip to Florida had a lot less hassle because of it. I was able to download apps for the parks which included ride wait times, I was able to check my flight times, and I even avoided getting lost (hallelujah!) due to the maps on my phone. It's amazing to think that none of that would have been possible on a phone ten years ago. So, thanks for all of these innovations, Mr. Jobs, and I hope your legacy continues to bring us life changing products!

Skyscapes

The things you miss while not at home can be surprising. There are the usual things like your family, your friends, your room, Dr. Pepper....

It may be silly, but one of the things I missed about Missouri while in France was the weather. The sky here just tends to look amazing at times, and I never really noticed the sky in Paris. There were times in the South of France that the sky would be amazing, but nowhere near as often as it does here, with thunderheads rising so high into the sky they block the setting sun creating an explosion of color. Plus, it never really thunders in France, or at least it's very rare. I missed falling asleep to lightning and thunder as a storm rolled through the area. So, I thought I'd share a few photos of the sky I've missed the past three years.

Today it's very gray outside and there's been a constant pattering of rain on the roof, and it reminds me of Paris. What are some of the things you miss while not at home?

The Help

Way back in the day I was my own webmaster. I created Wam's Movie Spot, where I wrote reviews on films like The Matrix, Wild Wild West, and Ever After. Feel free to visit the still-existing site, but be warned that I just found out that it is still out there as cyber junk on angelfire, and it has a lot of broken links and images. I moved on quickly and hosted it under my own domain name for about two years, and that more refined website is gone. However, you will get to read a lot of ramblings about movies. I was a teenager when I made the site. I loved writing, and movies were something I could write about. These days, I still love writing (obviously) and movies, and I probably go to them too often.

So, why have I brought all of this up? Because I'm going to go back to my movie reviewing days and talk a little bit about The Help. This isn't really so much a review like I did all those years ago, but really a reflection on some of the issues the story brings up.

Let me preface this by saying that I have not yet read the book, despite my love for reading. I hope to do so soon, but I'm naively waiting for it to come down in price after it jumped with the release of the movie, but I might just jump that ship soon and get it anyway.

The story behind The Help is a young woman trying to break into a literary career during the 1950s. She has a job at a newspaper, but dreams of more. She sees the injustices going on towards the African American women, who are only 'the help' in so many people's eyes. So, after a chain of events, she is able to get these women to speak to her and share their stories about being the maids, caretakers, cooks, and any other role that might be necessary in their line of work.

The movie has provoked a lot of discussion with my family. I had classes in high school and college that taught me all of the bad things that happened to good people during the time of racial segregation, and I especially know that discrimination still exists and will not be going away soon, no matter how much people wish for that to happen. That being said, I don't think about these things on a daily basis. Seeing this movie brought back all of those ideas and emotions for me, and I learned more from the film, like how even in private residences white people tried to keep their toilets separate from the toilets of their staff. Yes, this film was a work of fiction, but it was based on many women's realities, and I'm glad that times have progressed in the past 50 or so years.

On the ride home from the movie, my mom told some stories about her past. Apparently, one of my great-grandmothers would always call African Americans 'darkies'. Also, while my mom grew up in the 60s and 70s, she felt that she was often discouraged from hanging around black boys, even on purely platonic terms.

Then, I went to my grandparents' house the weekend after seeing the film. My grandmother had read the book, but not the movie, and she shared some simple stories with me about that time period. Living in Northern Missouri is nothing compared to how things were in Mississippi, but they still weren't as progressive as areas in larger cities. My great-grandparents had a huge farm that sprawled as far as the eye could see. Back then, in the 50s or so, they owned that land, but they also had a lot of black people living on the land. The way my mom and grandmother have described it to me is that these people worked as farm-hands, or they just worked a little plot of land near their homes, and just lived on the farm, likely with no charge to them. Their homes were not much more than shacks, and they didn't really earn much money, but they didn't seem to want for anything more. They just lived their lives.

Most of these people were illiterate. The two that my grandmother told me the most about were Perry Elder and his wife. My great-grandparents would buy groceries occasionally for the Elders, and even though Mrs. Elder couldn't read, she would copy the letters off of the packages of the items that she needed the best she could. I was told that the one thing she needed every trip was a package of cough drops, which she ate as her candy.

My grandmother told me that Mr. Elder would come for dinner at their house sometimes. He always refused to eat with my grandparents in the kitchen, and always waited until they were finished before he would eat. My mother was a baby around that time, and he apparently just loved her. She would sit in her high chair and they would entertain each other while he ate. My grandmother said he would tell her jokes, and just laugh and laugh, which often made my mother burst into a fit of giggles too.

While my mother was still a toddler, if even that old, Mr. Elder passed away in his home. His wife was arrested, even though his death was of natural causes. When my great-grandparents found out about this, they pitched a fit! Mrs. Elder was taken from her home against her will for no good reason, and then she had no real way to get back to her home once she was released. My mother guesses that my great-grandparents went to the jail to bring her home, but we're not really sure how she made her way back.

I found it interesting to hear these stories from the past, and I thought I should share them. The past is always there, and it's good to not forget so that the same injustices can be recognized in the future. I'd love to hear some of your stories, too!

As the Corn Grows...

This hot, dry, long summer is coming to an end. I have not really done a ton in the past few months since I've dedicated a lot of my time to job applications (150+ so far, which is nothing compared to some people).

So, what exactly is there to do in this town to keep a girl like me busy? Well... I guess there's sitting on the front porch, petting the cats, and watching the flowers bloom. Fun, right? I've also spend a fair few hours trying to get my car back into shape. It's sad to say, but she's getting old. I discovered that she wasn't honking anymore, so I tried to take her to a new place that said they would work on Volkswagens, but after 6 or so hours they hadn't really started to look at her, and when they did they gave me the run around, so we decided in all it was just best to go back to the dealership for the work. The dealership has been acting better, but we've just had a few mishaps with them along the way (not looking at items I specified, water drains being put in upside down causing the car to flood once when it rained, a busted plastic panel... all of these were annoyances but they did fix them free of charge).

I've tried to keep my eyes open for cultural events. One weekend there was a French-themed 'fair' going on in Eureka Springs, AR. I thought it might be cool to go, but on closer examination of the offerings, it seemed like they were events more for people on vacation there. There were things like very expensive French brunches at the hotels, wine-tasting boutiques having art shows with an entry fee, the movie Chocolat would be playing in the town square, etc.. It just didn't seem like it would be an event that would really have anything for a Francophile to really go out and experience, especially without spending tons of $$$$.

Then, the rodeo came to town. I talked my mom into going (neither of us had ever been to a rodeo before). It was pretty fascinating watching grown men being tossed about on the backs of bulls and broncos like they were rag dolls, but it wasn't truly enjoyable. It was rather cringe-worthy, truth be told. Like watching a train wreck, knowing that something bad could happen at any moment, but you couldn't peel your eyes away. Yes, all of the events take tremendous skill, and I admire the people competing for that, but it was still an event which was hard to watch. Then, when they were roping the calves and goats, it just made me feel bad for the poor creatures. At one point, all of the kids were invited out into the stadium, and they had to chase calves and get ribbons off of their tails. The 4 or 5 kids that got the ribbons received prizes, but it just seemed rather silly. And the rodeo clown was rather idiotic. He was telling jokes that were terrible, not even worth laughing at, and he was very opinionated in a not-so-good way. So, in all, I think my rodeo days are more or less over. It was worth going to see, but didn't seem worth repeating.

Before I left France, mom surprised me with tickets for us to go see Michael Bublé in concert. The opening act was quite fascinating. It was a group called Naturally 7, and the 7 members each were able to make their voices sound like different instruments. Because I like youtube clips lately, here's the group performing in the Paris subway, Line 1, I do believe:

Then the main event was Michael Bublé. Mom got us tickets on the ground, really close to the front. The 25 or so rows in front of us appeared to be for people with season tickets, or who had won tickets to the concert. There had been problems earlier in the year with purchasing tickets online to go to the Elton John show, so the day the tickets came available mom was online, ready to click, and was one of the first put into the virtual waiting room. Pretty soon, she was able to go purchase the tickets, but she was a little worried because the system only allowed about 3 minutes to choose seats and enter all of her billing and credit card info, but she did it, and she got us some terrific seats!

Michael Bublé was a bit more of a smart alec than I had imagined, telling the audience that one of the band members was from Springfield (he wasn't) and flipping the audience off once for booing (which I didn't hear and didn't get it), but I guess it made for a good show. And, his voice is, shall I say, dreamy? About 3/4 of the way through the show, I noticed the grips rolling out what looked like might be a stage, right next to where we were sitting. I figured it out quickly, and when one of the guys said "Go for it," I grabbed mom and we went over to the stage, which was literally only 10 feet away from our seats. I don't think I'm one of those fangirls that just dies when touched by a celebrity, but with all of the peer pressure, I reached up my hand and Michael grabbed it. So, now I can say that I was one of the lucky few, I guess? It was more interesting having one of the guys from Naturally 7 sitting right beside where I was standing. I have no idea how they do it, but they were the 'big band' for one of the songs performed while they were out on that temporary stage. Then, Michael sang the song "Home" and dedicated it to Joplin.

Other than all of that, life has been, well, life. My mom and I took up lap swimming over the dog days of summer, and that turned into the highlight of my day for a while. I even bought my own kick board and swim buoy, and I enjoyed using them while the pool was open. I was also a bit of an enigma, since I came every day, could swim well, and no one knew who I was, but no one bothered to ask who my mom and I were, either. But really, the only people that were there at that time were the lifeguards and the older women doing swim aerobics who gossiped the entire time.

Applying to jobs is a full time job, and I haven't been very impressed with the amount of call backs I've gotten, but I also know that it's a tough job market. I've made it through to the final interview stage once, but I got the feeling that there were some weird office politics going on, and somehow I just didn't make the cut. Some places I've applied to have written back saying that usually they receive at most 15 applications for that type of job, but they received more than 100 applications. So, I'll just have to cross my fingers for now and hope that someone somewhere will see my resume and cover letter and say, "Now, that's the person for this job!" Until that day comes, I guess I'll get to help out around the house and keep applying and hoping. If you know of any jobs, send 'em my way!

Un Coup de Main

Back home in Missouri, life has the tendency to go a bit slower, and I've also lost track of the days sometimes. Especially when one is technically unemployed. There are things I've been doing to keep me occupied in addition to my endless task of applying to jobs. The first of these starts with a sad tale...

On May 22nd, I was at my grandparents' house in Northern Missouri. There were bad storms rolling through that stretched in a diagonal line from Southwest Missouri to St. Louis in the Northeast. We had the TV tuned to the news, ready to go down into their cellar if necessary. My cousins even showed up to use the cellar if a tornado were predicted to come by us. To those of you not in tornado alley, you know to dread the sound of tornado sirens. Since my grandparents live in the middle of the country on their farm, there are no sirens to be heard, so you have to rely on the tv for tornado warnings until the signal is lost due to the storm, and then switch over to a weather radio, if you have one. Well, that night, we were not directly in the path of a tornado that touched down about 30 miles from us, but we soon learned of the devastation that had fallen on Joplin. An EF-5 tornado blasted through that city, with a 3/4 mile wide track that went on for 6 miles. We watched the television as a storm chaser from The Weather Channel checked cars for anyone he could help in the parking lot of the St. John's hospital, and it was hard to imagine the destruction.

Soon, the storm had passed, giving way to a beautiful sunset on the farm, along with a faint double rainbow. Turns out, double rainbows were seen all along the path of the storm, even in the devastated Joplin. It's such an odd reminder that out of the ruins terrible beauty can be found.

Joplin is close enough to where I live that I could drive there in about an hour and a half. So, I decided to give a helping hand, un coup de main, when I could. When I drove through the city for the first time, my heart broke. So many people perished, so many more had no place to live, and so many had lost their jobs because of this act of nature. The majority of the time I've sorted clothes or helped people through one of the many food banks set up around the town for the thousands that found themselves homeless. One woman had given space in her home to over 10 people she knew that had been left without a place to live after the tornado. The outpouring of compassion for this town has also been amazing to me. There have been many days when I have felt useless because there are so many volunteers, which I think is an incredible thing. Talking to people, you can see that everyone wants to help: boy scout troops, youth groups, people even dedicate their family vacations to helping Joplin. So, in this case, it's a good thing to not be needed!

One day in early June, my mom and I both went to volunteer. We started the day by helping to remove the rubble of a destroyed neighborhood. We came prepared with work gloves, sunscreen, water, and we were given a face mask that turned out to be very necessary due to the smells of the rotting wood and other items in the ruins. There was really no good or bad place to start, so we just dug into the pile of mulch that had once been someone's home. I was pulling up pieces of ventilation, and underneath I found a purple teddy bear. He was pretty dirty, but he was still in one piece. I placed him among the items that could be salvaged from that home, and I hope that he has made his way back to the child that loved him.

One day, I was very touched by a pillow that was left on the curb by a tree that had been cut down in front of a home that would soon need to be demolished. The words etched on the pillow summed up how this community is pulling itself back together. It is the love that people feel for their neighbors that guided so many people to help in Joplin. I know that there is still a lot of work to be done in this city, but if people continue to share their time and compassion, then I think that there will be a bright future ahead for these people who have gone through so much.

Au revoir, France. Hello, unemployment.

I've probably been so slow at getting this blog up to date because I'm a bit nostalgic. I have things to write about from the time since I've been home, but this is the last post about France. I'm sure that there will be other France-related posts in the future, but for now, this is it. No more baguettes, Navigo, UGC, EuroDisney, pain suisse (aka drop, pavé bastille (près de chez-moi), ou gourmandise), Eiffel tower, Nôtre Dame, Montmartre, random areas of Paris. No more BIA, Crèperie Josselin, Maraichères, friends hanging out on Ile St Louis. No more guilt over not going to enough (or any) museums, no more green parks, no more uncomfortable train rides, no more commuting (reading) for 3 hours, no more two day work weeks. And while I'm very sentimental over this, I can't help but add No More Teaching!

Overall, I had a much better experience this past year in the classroom. The kids were better behaved (for the most part, I only really had one 'incident' where a student exposed himself to another student), and the teachers were more considerate in letting me know what was going on and how I could be more effective at practicing what they knew. But, every class was just a little bit different, and every teacher used me in different ways, that I never really got the hang of what they wanted from me. I think that I met or exceeded their expectations, but I still have anxiety over the fact that I wasn't doing the job well since I wasn't sure what they wanted.

In the weeks leading up to the end, I was invited on a few field trips with the students. I went to a couple of science exhibits, and learned that France is an area where there was once sea, and that there have been quite a few pre-history organisms found in the area. The main thing I gained from the field trips, though, was that I got to visit the Château de Fontainebleau, which was gorgeous. I think I might even prefer it to Versailles. The bus to go there was a rickety old thing, and we ate lunch in the gardens on the grounds. Even though we were on a field trip, lunch was still two hours, and the kids got to run around and play a form of tag that had to do with putting people in the dungeons, very appropriate since we were at a castle. We visited the castle in groups of 6-10, and after the tour of the castle, we waited outside for the rest of the groups. To keep the kids from being too restless, they were given pencils and paper to draw the castle. However, there were still kids running around trying to roughhouse.

The last day in class, one of the teachers asked her students how many of them liked English at the beginning of the year. Two raised their hands. Then, she asked them how many liked English now, and every single student had their hand in the air. She then sat me down in front of the classroom, and I said I felt like I was sitting on a throne, so a kid pulled out a cardboard crown he'd had from a play they did recently as a class, and I wore it while they went around the room and thanked me for teaching English. Now, that was really sweet! Some of the students got a little bit out of hand, saying that the regular teacher didn't speak English (even though she spoke VERY well), and that he wouldn't have learned anything if not for me. Well, it wasn't so great saying bad stuff about his teacher, but it was nice to know that he had a good time when I was in the class with them.

Other teachers used the last day for their students to draw me pictures to say goodbye. Some were generic, but others you could tell had a lot of heart in them. I also left an email address with the students, and I have about 10 that email me occasionally to see what's new.

In the rest of my life, things were a bit disconnected for the last couple of months. I visited a few places, like La Defense, just to visit them. I went to see the opera of Romeo and Juliet with my assistant friends. I had my friend Sarah from London stay with me for a night when she was in Paris. My fellow Spanish auxiliar, Sara, also came for a visit at the beginning of April and we visited EuroDisney. I wandered new areas of Paris, like the Parc de Bercy, which was quite near where I lived but where I had never been before. I went to the Musée de Rodin since I had never been, but I'd heard wonderful things, and I got in free due to my teacher discount.

Then, there was the last trip I took. Kelly, a friend who works at HEC now, accompanied me to Orléans for the Fête Medievale. I had wanted to go to this since I went to Orléans the first time in 2009. This is basically a two week festival, commemorating Joan of Arc's arrival and eventual liberation of Orléans. I had a colleague that was from the city, and she told me that it would have been better to have gone the weekend of May 8th, but I guess I'll just have to go back someday. As it was, Kelly and I went on May 1st, a Sunday. I had not really been able to find online where the festival was at, so we had to just walk and try to find it. We went by the cathedral, by the Loire, and around to different places. We narrowly avoided a protest, and we saw evidence of Joan's ride through the city earlier in the day. With all of this, it took us forever to find the festival.

Once we got there, it wasn't quite what I expected. It was held across the river, overlooking Orléans. It's cool that this is where the French camped out, back in the day when they were trying to liberate the city, but it was so far to walk to get there. The fête seemed more like an excuse for people to camp out for the weekend and pretend they lived during the 1400s. There were a few demonstrations going on, a few items for sale, but mostly it was people living their lives as it would have been over half a millenia ago. There were a few food stands, but the people staying there for the weekends had their pigs roasting on spits. There were a few hands-on demonstrations, like teaching kids how to shoot a bow and arrow, but there were also guys preparing for battle in their encampments (never mind that they were being taped by tons of cameras). Kelly and I wandered, and ended up laying in the grass for a while relaxing in the sun before the big joust began.

About 15 minutes before the joust, some performers came out. I guess the best way to describe them would be as animal tamers. The animals, however, were sort of dragon-like, and walking around on stilts. I was one of their unfortunate victims - as they walked around, they went to areas where people were sitting and tried to trap them between their arms and legs.... I guess instead of trying to get out I took the 'play dead' course of action. Part of me was thinking I'd knock the person over if I tried to get out, though. Pretty soon they went on to another group of unsuspecting victims.

The joust was all right. The theme was something to do with King Arthur and his knights trying to win Excalibur. I wondered if they were the same group I had seen in Tours in 2009, but there's not really a way to be sure. The most eventful part, in my mind, was that the center line had fire, and it caught the cloth on fire. There were people running to the railings every time the horses went by trying to stop the fire with sand, but it didn't do much good.

After the joust, I rushed Kelly to get back to the center of town. Joan of Arc was parading through the city again, and we caught up with her finally. The parade was full of boy and girl scouts, and once Joan got to the center of the city, she stopped and each troop came up to salute her. It was a pretty interesting ritual, in my opinion. When it was all over, Kelly and I went to a restaurant on the square, one of the only ones in town that appeared to be open. We then walked back to the train station, and I exchanged my ticket for an earlier train, but Kelly was unable to do change her ticket, too. So, we parted ways at the train station.

I then used the rest of my time to pack up, really. I cleaned my apartment (which was a waste, since my landlord still charged me for cleaning and took it out of my deposit), and I left Paris. It was bittersweet, really. I am ready to enter a new chapter in my life, but I was sad to leave this wonderful city and the friends I've made there, even if they've moved on to other places, too. Now I'm looking to start a career, and I hope that my experiences these past three years in Spain and France will count toward finding a position that will be a good fit. Until then, hello unemployment!

Amsterdam

Most backpackers would contend that a trip through Europe is nothing without a stop in Amsterdam. However, I think I went there with different intentions than most of those people: I wanted to see the tulips.

I guess I missed it in history class, or at least forgot it, but Holland is famous for its tulips, and it Keukenhof Garden is one of the most photographed spots in the world. With only about two weeks left in France, I decided that I needed to stop by Holland before I left.

I traveled by train to the city on the Thalys, which has an addicting commercial before movies in UGC cinemas right now:

Unfortunately, I didn't see a green glitter lobster on the train, but the ride went off without a hitch.

I arrived in Amsterdam and walked to my hotel, which was about a mile from the train station. I only had one minor hiccup along the way, and I got to cross over so many canals! After checking in at my hotel, I went to Burger King for supper, very typical, right? I guess I was most fascinated by the fact that everywhere, even fast food places, the employees greeted customers in English. It was somewhat as though Flemish didn't even exist.

The next day I started out fairly early and took my time walking to the pickup point for my tulip tour. Along the way, I came across a fair set up in Dam Square by the palace. I paid an arm and a leg for tickets to get on the Ferris Wheel, but then i got a few good aerial views of the city. I shared my carousel with a Hungarian woman whose husband was from Amsterdam, and we switched sides so that we each could get the different views of the city. She also gave me a few suggestions on what to do in Amsterdam, and I followed some of her advice the next day. Then, though, I was off to see the tulips!

On the bus to the Keukenhof Gardens, I got quite a bit of trivia. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than people. The canals in Amsterdam are 3 meters deep: 1 meter water, 1 meter bikes, and 1 meter mud (which might be true - there are plenty of youtube videos showing bikes being pulled out of the canal by huge cranes). Flemish is a language that no one wants to learn. There used to be a lot more windmills than there are today. The tulips fields are not in existence to cultivate the tulips themselves, but rather to cut off the blooms and harvest the bulbs for sale. We even drove by some old Sugar Silos that have been renovated into apartments, and now they're called Sugar City.

When we arrived at the gardens, it was packed! Il y avait du monde! It was a free day to get in, so I suppose maybe it would have been cheaper to not take a tour bus there, but you know hindsight. I decided to just wander the gardens. I took my time meandering through the colorful blooms, and I got a few snacks along the way (fresh strawberries, yum!). It was pretty hot, and I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. Throughout the gardens there were many things to see and do in addition to looking at the flowers: a windmill to be visited, a petting zoo, a playground area for kids, and places to see more flowers indoors. They even had some clogs and clog craftsmanship demonstrations!

After about six hours, I had had a beautiful day wandering, but it took a lot out of me. One of the things I shoulda coulda woulda done was the boat rides on the canals through nearby tulip fields. I got to the ticket booth a couple of hours into my time there, and their tickets were already sold out until a half hour before I would have to leave, so it just didn't happen. I did get to see the fields from across the canal, though.

When I got back to Amsterdam, I decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for supper. It was fairly near my hotel, and I felt that I could get back to that area without a map. Well, I took a wrong turn along the way, and I got sooooo lost! With all of the canals, each section of the city was a bit like a little island, and I was on the right 'island', but I was on the opposite side of where I needed to be. So, after a lot of walking, I finally made it to the restaurant.

I had noticed that there was seating on the water, so I requested to go back there. It was a bit freaky - there was only about two feet of walking room between the table edge and the water, and my waiter told me that he had a buddy that worked there that had fallen into the water twice. Talk about job benefits! Anyway, I ended up staying a lot longer than I intended since my food never came out. The perk of that was that I got apple strudel and chamomile tea for free after my meal finally arrived. I wasn't really paying attention to the time between reading and people watching, but I'd hazard a guess that I was waiting for about an hour. It was rather fun sitting right on the water. There were 'party' boats that came by every once in a while, blasting music, trying to get attention, and it was fun to see all of the attention they received. At one point, a girl got onto one of the boats pretty near the restaurant. It's anyone's guess whether she was spontaneously joining them or if they had planned to meet her there.

My third and last day, I checked out early and went to do the canal 'taxi', or rather, the hop-on hop-off bus in boat version. It was nice to see the city this way, going past the house boats, and when my only real hop off was at the Anne Frank house.

The house has been renovated with the houses on either side of it so that you can walk up through the house like through a museum, and then walk back down through a real museum about the holocaust. The house is left unfurnished in respect of Otto Frank's wishes, but he allowed the house to be re-created with all of the furniture he had and there were pictures of how it once was in each of the rooms. The stairs were something that I was not expecting since they were so narrow and steep that it was like climbing a ladder. The hidden section of the house was hidden by a bookcase, and one had to duck down and step up to get past the low wall and up the stairs. The hidden part of the house was quite large, but at the same time, it was tiny for all of the people that were staying there.

It was heartbreaking to think about the devastation that came from the holocaust, and the struggles of this one family in particular. It is a miracle that Anne's diaries even survived, and we're fortunate that her father was willing to read them and remember her and share her with the world. Her diary is one of the most translated books of all time, and it was clear that people loved her just by how many people were at the museum. I believe I waited for over an hour just to get inside the house, it was that packed, and it wasn't even really a vacation time, so I can't imagine how many people visit it in the summer.

To brighten my day afterwards, I went to a nearby stand and got an order of fries along with a Dr. Pepper (score!). I ate that as my lunch as I waited for the next canal taxi, and I stayed on it throughout the rest of the city. I decided to get off at a place on the canal route map called the Sea Palace, which I thought might be an aquarium but turned out to be a floating Chinese restaurant.

From there, I walked back to the train station across a man-made island that is being built up into high-end apartments, cafes, and restaurants. I had a few minutes to kill before my train, and I realized I forgot to buy playing cards. I tried the tourist office first without any luck, then I went into a tourist shop of ill repute that mainly had racy or mj playing cards, but they also had one pack of innocent looking ones with the countryside on them. I went for the ones with the countryside. Then, I was going back to Paris!