Home Again

My last entry has taken sometime for me to muster, because I'm still in denial that I'm home.

I was so excited to go home, I was really mostly excited to be around something that was familiar. Yet, when I stepped off the plane into customs, all I could think about was the mistake I made.

I shouldn't have left.

The English everyone was speaking was almost too foreign to realize. I moved numbly, recounting and thinking about not answering everyone in French. It was bizarre. I didn't understand why everything was so loud - Americans are HORRIBLY loud. I woke up the next morning in my bed, and the first thought I had was "I can't walk to the bakery."

I know that life moves on, but I can't help but feel stuck. I feel like I'm frozen in time, waiting for the US landscape to disappear and for the familiar streets to reappear.

All I can think about is returning. When I go back I will....or when I go back I will eat, see, visit...it's so strange. It's a completely different way to learn - studying abroad - because it's so hands on. I didn't read about the Charles Taylor trial, I watched it. I didn't read about what the architechture of Brussels square was - I saw it. I touched the beaches of Normandy, and I felt the atmosphere of Amsterdam.

I told someone before I left, oh, I won't change. And I don't think I have - but there is a desire planted in me (or perhaps rekindled) to learn more. I've not felt this in a long time, but now I actually understand why I learn things, and now I want to pursue them.

I will return to Europe, whether to study or live. It really became such a part of me, and I'm so eager to learn more about the culture and languages. I'm ready to return.

Farewell, London

London's visit, however brief, reminded me of a few notable things

(sorry - I'm into lists now, they ensure that I remember things properly)

1. I still love Europe, even English speaking Europeans.

2. I love, love tea.

3. The English are very very amusing people who, unlike the French, aren't arrogant. A man walked around the London Bridge yesterday as a playing card, decked out with with a wig. It was the Bridge's 800th anniversary or something like that.

4. Seeing Juliet made my day/night. It was beyond comforting to see someone I know and really care about. If Ally Wright was here, then I'd have seen the whole of our dance group!

5. I love theater, and seeing a Shakespearean play at the Globe is definitely top 5 for the trip.

6. Wandering around London isn't as fun as wandering around Paris - things don't sneak up on you as well. But the really old stuff is fun to find when you can.

7. My love affair with Harry Potter has only intensified as I am reading the last two books for the first time here. Everything makes more sense....everything.

Must go - pack for Belgium and attend some services at St. Pauls!

London

1. Parliment
2. Big Ben
3. Russel Square
4. The Globe

I saw Midsummers.....and I think I might have just died right there. It exceeded my expectations beyond belief. Plus, it's my favorite play (bite me you Hamlet emo kids who can't get past yourselves to see that happiness is the end goal of life. stop trying to dissect it otherwise - you'll just end up concluding that death is envitable, and we have a pointless existance.).

love an

Happy Birthday America!

I missed going to the 4th of July - a lot. Considering what I did last year, this year was a bust. It was however, the best meal ever. We found an American Diner, run by Americans, with milkshakes and burgers and breakfast. It was the best burger ever. I miss you, red, white, and blue!

Normandy, Strasbourg, Louvre

It's a three for one. I've really buckled down with my schoolwork lately, and the passport situation has been a living nightmare for a week and a half, but hopefully it's over. I'm going to have to bullet this and give you the best of what I can because I am exhausted. I'm going to try a new style - instead of narrating, I'll give you what I took away from each.

Normandy
I will never think twice about my freedom and what it means to live in the most powerful nation in the world. The power, influence, and security came at a high price. I didn't even go to more than one cemetery, and I was so blown away. The shelling marks, the dagger cliff, the over 100 mi of military beach that was seized in one offensive - the survival rate.......mindblowing. Yet when you visit the cliffs and the huge holes in the ground from shelling, and walk through the meadows, you wonder how so much death could surround such a truly beautiful place. The wind just whips through the fields, and the wildflowers bend in the breeze. So beautiful.
Yet, the horrible reminders of war still remain. The cemeteries were so huge...I can't begin to imagine their immensity. Arlington is huge, but it seems nearly limitless of how many people died. I didn't even see all the American cemeteries, and there were still British, French, Australian, and Canadians who died. Thousands. They say that 4000 died before noon on D-Day.

Strasbourg
Not really that interesting. I didn't visit the old town full of Gothic Architecture (shocker, I know). I instead decided that I'd cross the Rhine and go to Germany. I had a delicious meal of a fish from the Rhine, and a fantastic beer called a Radler. It's sweet beer - light and half lemonade. Soo good. Don't judge me. I was so tired of French food. Saul had a fantastic steak...such a fine piece of meat.
The European Court for Human Rights was possibly the most boring thing we've done all trip. Everyone, I mean everyone, dozed off at some point or another. I didn't feel too enlightened about the human rights court - but it is kind of amazing that all members of Europe obey the court's rulings, even though they are expensive and have no enforcement. They just do. Kinda neat.

Louvre
I spent almost four hours there today. I didn't come close to spending enough time. I still have 3/4 of the museums to go. =)
I love Raphael. I forgot how much I adore da Vinci. I forgot how HUGE Napoleon's coronation was. I forgot how stunning Cupid and Psyche's moment of passion was - locked in perfect for just a moment. I smiled at Nike, climbing the stairs. It's so odd to see the pieces again - it's like i'm returning after an absense.
I was exhausted...so exhausted and just sat in the Tuleries, thinking about the art, history, and overwhelming sense of amazement.


Tomorrow - I'm going to the catacombs, mass, and hopefully a jazz club. maybe - a real american hamburger!!!