It's Not Easy Being Awesome

Disclaimer: This post will be extremely long. If you dislike reading, please read no further. Although if you dislike reading, it was dumb of you to try to read my blog in the first place.


ANYWAY.

I'm thinking about going into modeling.

This past week was our program's study trip to Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France. Let me tell you, it was quite the week! We departed on Sunday for Brussels, and after 5 hours of train riding, arrived around 4pm. Our hotel was quite nice, even though our pillow was basically a few cotton balls with a sheet over them. This is a common problem, actually. I'm adding adequate (aka real) pillows to my list of things I miss about America. Brussels is the capital of the EU, so the next day we had class at the European Commission, which was pretty neat. It's very interesting to study the internal problems of the EU, because they are not much different from the US. Just in a different place! After class, we set out on a mission to eat the famed Belgian waffles. No exaggeration, I don't think  I will ever again eat any breakfast food that tasted as good as that waffle. These waffles were crispier than traditional waffles, as if they had been glazed with sugar, because they were also sweeter. Then I added a layer of Nutella, fresh strawberries, and topped it with a pile of fresh cream. It. Was. Incredible. Best 3.5 Euros I will ever spend. Eating it, however, was another challenge, as demonstrated by the photo above.

The real thing! Apparently, he has 800+ outfits, and wears them on various occasions.  

A waffle stand with culturally accurate decorations

Nonetheless, I don't think my taste buds have ever been more satisfied! To make it even better, we ate it right next to the sculpture that Brussels is most famous for... Manneken Pis. If you think that that sounds like a sculpture of a little boy peeing, you would be right! Next, we ventured through the Grand Place, and I was amazed by how absolutely breathtakingly beautiful it was. Without this program forcing me to go there, I can honestly say never in my life would I have actively tried to go to Belgium, but after this particular afternoon, I had decided it is an extremely underrated destination. Grand Place is surrounded by Willy Wonka-esq candy/chocolate shops, beer shops, and adorable restaurants and cafes. Later that day, a few of us ventured through the city... all the way through it... through parts where I thought I was going to be kidnapped by the men lined up on the street whistling at Sam and my blonde hair (but seriously, is being blonde normal anywhere in the world?)... to find a local brewery that received rave reviews. It was worth the walk! We met a very nice employee named Cedric who educated us on the Cantillion's "spontaneous yeasting" beer. The whole "spontaneous yeasting" thing did not really make me that excited to try it, but the beer actually was really tasty. The next day, we had class in the morning and then a few of us decided to go to a "flea market" across the city. Apparently, in Europe, flea market means selling absolutely useless items that could not possibly be of use to anyone in the entire world. For example, entire boxes of used post cards. Or a broken nativity scene, with a decapitated baby Jesus and Joseph. Or used underwear. It was extremely confusing. We made a hasty departure and found our way to a restaurant, where I ordered a burger and fries because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. If that doesn't make me a stereotypical American tourist with a budget, I don't know what else will. Upon our feast, we discovered that ketchup cost 1 EUR per person. I was furious. In my mind, free ketchup is a constitutional right!!!! Don't worry, I have since calmed down, but ladies and gentleman... take advantage of your free condiments while you can. Kiss your ketchup bottles for me. Later that day, we found a cute bar that served microbrews, and parked there for a few hours just enjoying some delicious beer. I had a Christmas beer that had a hint of chocolate, and it was aaaamazing! However, the bacon flavored beer that our waiter made us try was not good. At all. I never thought I'd use the terms delicious and beer in the same sentence, so thank you, Belgium for that experience.

Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium

Wednesday morning, we departed Belgium for Paris! It feels incredibly strange to so nonchalantly be talking about heading to Paris for the weekend. My life literally is a fairytale right now. Anyway, Wednesday was a beautiful day, and some of us trekked (16 km, to be exact) around Paris for about 5 hours, in awe of the fact that we were actually there. As it turns out, people haven't been lying for thousands of years, because Paris is beautiful. Thursday we had class all day. We spent our morning at the OECD, learning about things like corporate bribery, and then spent the afternoon at UNESCO, learning about gender inequalities in education in Africa. The good news is, both of these organizations are actively working to fix said issues. I know we all have complaints about our every day lives, but seriously people, count your blessings. We were told that in some places in the world, textbooks don't even show the anatomy of the female body. That means that somewhere out there, children are growing up thinking that a man's body is "normal," and because women are abnormal, they are less superior. Additionally, many females never get the chance to go to school, because they are married off and with child by the age of 14. Can you even imagine? I'll take 1 EUR ketchup over that situation  any day.

Just a casual day at the Eiffel Tower

Later that night, I had plans to FINALLY see Jackie, who is studying in Paris. She had planned to meet us at our hotel at 6... which didn't happen. We had no way to communicate with each other (#studyabroadproblems) and at about 6:30, my group of friends and I started to get a little nervous. We walked outside and posted up in the center of this square, thinking she was maybe just lost. Still no Jackie... so, I gave them as much description as I could, "Her name is Jackie, she's taller than me, she has blonde hair, blue eyes, always smiles, is from Las Vegas, and likes lunging," and left them to stand guard while I ran up to the hotel room to try to find someone Facebook who had her French number. I come back at 6:50, still no Jackie. At 6:57, we decide to just leave, but then... WAIT! We see her! After much screaming and hugging, we went to dinner at this awesome fondue place that served wine in baby bottles. It was a delicious dinner with an amazing group of friends, and we ended the night with a trip to the top of a hill to see the entire city lit up! I was on a life high.

I guess that's pretty cool

Reunited and it feels so good!

...Then, the breakup happened. Unexpectedly, I found myself crying all night long, heartbroken and shocked at what had happened. After a night full of Skype calls with my family and friends, I was unable to sleep, and was no longer exactly psyched about being in Paris. But, never fear, Sam came to the rescue! She forced me to get out of bed, shower, she packed my things, bought me an apple, and marched me to the nearest Creperie where I ate 1.5 Nutella crepes. Because I was extremely embarrassing and couldn't stop crying, we opted for the double-decker bus tour of Paris. It actually was a really good purchase, because we saw the entire city and it was a gorgeous day. Anyway, during this tour, I was apparently feeling really nervous because I ended up ripping my skin off my cuticle on accident, and my finger started bleeding profusely. So, now I'm crying and bleeding. This day was going well. We got off the bus and Sam kindly asked some police officers in front of the Eiffel Tower if they had a band-aid. Seeing my tears after looking at my bleeding finger, they started laughing, because they thought that I was crying over my "boo-boo." That's a direct quote. After I was bandaged up, not a joke, one of the officers pulls out a Blackberry and photographs me with another police man because they thought it was so funny. So, now, to some group of policemen in Paris, I am forever captured as the stupid American girl, crying over a bleeding cuticle. We actually found this really funny, and was the first step to getting to a positive place again. Next, we made our way to our hostel for the weekend, where I ran into Sarah, who was in town from Spain! Next good thing, check. Finally, we met up with Jackie again, and then went to the Louvre. That museum is too big for its own good. It's incredible, but seriously, I really don't understand art. My thought process is this: "Oh, that's pretty! I like the colors." or, "This photo is not pretty and is depressing, I don't like it." I don't know enough about it to have much more complicated opinions than that, and I also don't understand who gets to decide what "art" is. I'm pretty sure that I can draw a line across a piece of paper and frame it? I appreciate art to the extent that I could definitely never do most thing that are in museums, but I decided I am more drawn to detailed architecture, ceiling paintings, and sculptures rather than paintings. Like the pyramids, for example. Thinking about how incredibly difficult and time consuming that would have been is mind-bottling (Blades of Glory reference). To create something so beautiful and intricate on such a large scale is way more impressive to me than paintings, for some reason.

Now THAT is art I can appreciate. Beautiful! 

Anyway, the day was still a little rough, but I found it very difficult to be sad when I was around such great company. I was with my best friends from home, and all the girls in the program were so good to me. It just wouldn't be right, to not appreciate them! Sarah, Jackie, Azline and I went to dinner, then went back to the hostel for a night in. Unfortunately, I fell down the stairs later that night and bruised my tailbone, then woke up in the middle of the night with a cold... so all day Saturday I had a fever. BUT, I was determined to make the most out of my weekend. I was in Paris! Thank you, Dr. Cross and Symbolic Interaction for helping me create my own positive energy. Saturday, we went to the Army Museum, which was awesome. Everyone knows I'm a sucker for everything World War II related. Then we went to the Musée d'Orsay, and headed back to the hostel where I attempted to watch my baby sister compete at state swimming, via internet webcast. It didn't really work out. I stared some people at the hostel down until they stopped using the internet, but even after I had scared everyone off, it still didn't work. Once again, Oh well, I'm in Paris! Let's go have fun. So after 2 hours of much needed catching up time with my friends, I suddenly didn't feel so well... oh. Now I have the stomach flu? Cool! Another night in bed for Dana! Sunday morning I felt much better, and although I was disappointed in my body's immune system for not cooperating, I rallied and we went to Notre Dame during mass. It's a beautiful place. Although I don't agree with the fact that they make you pay to light a candle to "properly" pray for your loved ones, I can see why it has been recognized as so historically beautiful. 

European Chi Omega love!

Then, the time came where I had to depart my friends. It was so sad! Spending the weekend with them was exactly what I needed, and this weekend made me realize how many amazing people I have in my life. So many things are taken for granted on a daily basis, but I genuinely don't know what I would do without my friends and family. They are there to tell me all the amazing things I'm capable of, and build me up when I feel like I won't survive. They also are there to tell me when I need to shower, when I need to wash my face, or when my outfit is ugly. What more could I ask for?! So, to everyone reading this, thank you for caring. My life is as unexpectedly dramatic as always, but if it wasn't, it just wouldn't be right. 
I can honestly say that my trip to Paris did not go, in any way, how I expected it to. But, what is important is that I left with a smile on my face, and have now realized how exceptionally awesome my life is. And, quite frankly, I'm ready to kick some ass. Hopefully without falling down (too many) flights of stairs, cause that really hurts. Seriously though, the tailbone is used wayyyyy more than I really expected. 
Moral of the story, being awesome is exhausting. 






Anyway, until next time! I'm off to Barcelona this weekend. THANK GOD FOR SPANISH!  

Feeling Lucky

Bon soir, my friends. My father told me today that I need to update this more, so alas, here I am.
The reason that I have not posted anything in two weeks is because my life has really not been that fascinating! Well, okay. Comparatively.
This is a summary of what I do every day:
7:20am: Wake up, eat whatever breakfast is put out for me. Which doesn't include Nutella, because my host mom announced this week she hid it from me because she's worried about my waistline.
8:30am: Walk to the train station
8:50am: Board the train
9:06am: Arrive in Geneva, walk to class
9:30am-12:30pm: Class
12:30pm-2pm: Lunch, usually a 6 CHF panini or 7 CHF falafel. And a Coke Zero.
M,T,TH 2pm-5pm: French class with Jean, where we still have learned close to absolutely nothing in the French language.
W,F: Afternoons off! Sometimes. Sometimes we have to go international security conferences and they take all day. But, I mean, that's pretty cool, I guess. (In case you can't catch my sarcasm, I complain about not having my afternoons free when that happens but then my nerd senses tingle and I get really excited about being around so many intellectual experts.)
5:14pm: Train home
5:30pm: Arrive in Nyon
5:50pm: Arrive home
5:50-7:30pm: I pretend that I'm doing important things on my computer but really I sit in my bed and watch really crappy pirated links of U.S. television and talk to people on Facebook.
7:30-8:30pm: Dinner
8:30-10pm: I do more pretending about academics, but really spend most of my time trying to do everything but homework
10:30pm: Sleep!
Exhilarating.
In reality, we are learning some pretty cool stuff. I totally nerd out every single day after class and think about all the neat things I want to do with my life, and right now I'm really into the idea of studying International Humanitarian Law. To spare you a political-natured post, I will just say that the future of conflict in the world is not going to be combat based, but the military is going to still be extremely important. What does that mean? The military is going to need to change its focus and rules of engagement are going to become increasingly important. And I would like to be a part of that! New Age peace keeping, as I have come to call it. I wrote my first paper (about the Schengen Agreement free movement of people across Europe and its correlation to human trafficking, ironic later) this semester, due yesterday, so that has consumed a lot of my time this past week or so.
My homestay situation is interesting. Ahmed, my host dad, is awesome. No complaints. My host mom is a little nuts. As I mentioned before, she hid the Nutella from me. Literally nowhere to be found. And when I asked her about it, she said she hid it because she's been putting me on a diet this week, as she's concerned about my waistline. I don't even know what to say to that. No Nutella for me, I guess. My host sister also has been interesting this week. She's very nice to me, but I've been waking up at 6am every day, only to see her creeping around my room with a flashlight, looking for things in storage. I don't understand. It's stressful. It's bad enough that this family wakes up at 5am and is ready to live, and is so excited about it, it sounds like the apocalypse. BUT, I talked to them about it, so hopefully things will get better. Minus my Nutella-free diet.
So, lastly, last night I was roofied! I know that it's minorly strange that I'm so lighthearted about it but I just am so happy that I am okay. Got creeped on by a guy, watched him buy me a beer, took one drink of it to get him off my case, he grabbed me and stuck his tongue down my throat, and I immediately proceeded to sprint out of the bar with my friend, Jasmine. I ended up not being able to see anything, barely making it back to my apartment and my bed, with paralyzed limbs and poor speaking ability. I was on the phone with Tyler, I blacked out, and woke up on my floor 4 hours later. I don't know how it happened, because I was cautious and close to sober at the time, but it did! It was scary and not an experience I wish to repeat, but I am alive, not a sex slave, and not chained up in a basement anywhere. And for that, I am incredibly grateful.
Today Sam, Jasmine, and I went to the Old City in Geneva to get some fresh air and enjoy the incredibly beautiful day. Below are some pictures!
Tomorrow I leave for our week long study trip in Brussels (the EU) and Paris, and then will spend a weekend in Paris with some of my best friends from school! I cannot wait. I'm an incredibly lucky person!

Just some finger puppets that I wanted to buy.

The World's Largest Bench! Literally. 

Geneva! So beautiful. 

Anyway, I can't complain about my quality of life. Yesterday's experience was a bump in the road, but it happened because I am in another country, spending my semester doing things that are changing my life. I have a life filled with luck, love, and happiness, and especially today, I don't know what else I could ask for!

...really?

Greetings, friends. I am currently writing this from a train station cafe in Milan. Why am I in Milan, you ask? Because Italy does not know how to function in snow. Wait, Geneva is not in Italy... you're right!
This week was a little rough. I was tired (although I FINALLY didn't fall asleep in class), stressed because like I've previously stated, I chose the Nazi Germany of study abroad programs, and annoyed that I chose to be a responsible adult instead of go and have wild European adventures like my friends, who I missed terribly.
So, thanks to my loving parents, I bought train tickets to Florence to see some of my friends! Logical.
On Friday I board my train to Milan, ready to go, and halfway there, I discover that my train ride was going to be 6 hours... instead of 4... and I wasn't going to make my connection. Oh, okay, well I'll get a new one, not a big deal. Wait... I don't speak Italian and I left the country without my friends' phone numbers... why am I so smart? So, frantically, I text Tyler back in Chicago to see if he can get a hold of Fran, and I text the most responsible person in our entire study abroad group, Chris. Thank god for Chris, because even when I got Fran's number, it wouldn't work. So, I finally get to Milan, and someone tells me there are no trains to Florence for the rest of the night. What?  So I found an English speaking couple, and they tell me that the best idea is to get in a rental car with them to go to Bologna. Also not Florence, but on the way, apparently. So I'm going to do that then all of a sudden, in a split second decision, I see an Italian man mentioning me over to him, and I don't know why I listened, because upon further evaluation that definitely was not my smartest move, but he actually helped me find a ticket to Florence and an hour later, I was on my way. Well, after I had to pee but couldn't go because I didn't have any Euros and there were no ATMS, and apparently it's PC to charge for basic access to toilets, and after I ate a cold loaf of bread for dinner. Meanwhile, Chris was posted up on Facebook, messaging Fran, updating her on my new ETA and plans. Finally, I get there, and my phone works! Reunited with my friends, at last. Worth it!
The weekend was amazing. Cold, but amazing. I feel like "predator" would be the best way to describe Italian men, because I was told, "UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT," and I probably was extremely offensive to a lot of people when I couldn't help but stare at acts close to sexual intercourse going on in the bars/clubs.
Yesterday, we walked around Florence (or waddled, cause we were so bundled up), ate a delicious lunch, I bought jeans for 9 Euros, and then we stopped by to see an Italian man that has the hots for Lindsey in a cafe. Although we had already drank half a bottle of wine and really just wanted to say hi... this man and his server friends insisted we sit down and drink MORE wine, and take some shots as well. If that's not love, I don't know what is... oh wait, he has a girlfriend. That he doesn't know we know about. But, they were hilarious and it was free, so you know, who am I to stop him? Later, we went to eat Mexican food for dinner, and drank margaritas. I never thought I would be so excited to eat nachos.
Then, convinced it was all going to be okay, I went to the station this morning at 9:30 to make my train at 9:55... OH! It's cancelled! Of course it is. So I waited for an hour in a half in 25 degree weather to go to Milan, which is where I am now. I arrived at 1 and the train doesn't leave until 5:25, so here I am, posted up! I honestly don't know what people did before WiFi. I still have 2 hours left and I think the people in the cafe are starting to get mad that I only bought a sandwich for 4 Euros... so I might have to get down on a crossaint with Nutella here in a few minutes. Problems, I tell you.

Anyway, it was a great weekend, and was even better to see my long lost friends. I can't say I'll voluntarily travel to Italy any time soon... but luckily, I have many other choices!