Catching Up

So this is the blog I meant for last week, but somehow last week turned into this week without my permission, so here it is. . .

We are certainly in Europe in "the off season."  Why do I say that?  Well, it seems to me that every place we visit is covered in scaffolding!  Paris, London, Basel, Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Brussels, EVERYWHERE was covered in the eyesores of renovation!

In a way, it is really interesting to be over here in the not-so-touristy season, in fact I rather prefer it.  It is much less crowded, and we get to see things from a different perspective with it being fall/winter.  However, I find it very hard to believe that every historical monument needs restoring at the same time!  I have a large collection of pictures of scaffolding on major historical buildings, monuments, or whatever! It's all under construction!

I guess they won't restore themselves, and I guess it makes for a good story!  Really, I think the benefits of being here in the off season outweigh anything else.  It has been really nice not to be fighting with hundreds of other tourists everywhere we went! Seeing everything in its not-so-pretty state reminded me that we are really here in unique circumstances, and might have even been a quite reminder that "touring" shouldn't have been our main purpose here.

     My supplementary book was Mark Twain's "Innocent's Abroad".  I found this book to actually be pretty dense, sometimes it was a little tough to follow the descriptions that Twain presented about certain things, such as his peers or his destinations. However, the descriptions that I was able to follow easily I found them to be pretty witty. He incorporated humor into his book and it did keep me entranced with the book, despite the weight of it. I also found his descriptions of the places that he went to were wonderful as well. He depicted scenes of grandeur as well as squalor in very vivid colors. It made me want to experience  all of these places myself. All in all I would recommend this book for future students.
     In summation of my trip here, It was an experience of a lifetime. Yes, I know that is just the typical, regurgitated description of a trip abroad. Nonetheless, it is an accurate one. I have never been abroad before in my life and the fact that I was able to cover so many places I have only seen in magazines, books and the internet it was amazing to see them first hand and say "I've been there". I can now be able to say that I have done something that no one in my family has ever done before. I am a truly a lucky person. I know that the majority of my friends and family will think so as well. My best friend Colleen said something that I had never thought of before. She told me that she has always thought that I have been the most independent and bravest person that she has ever met in her life. And considering I have known her for the better part of 15 years, I would say that is quite the achievement. That statement made me think, I have never thought of myself as independent or brave at all. However, now looking back over the past three and a half months I would say yes, I have grown to be an exceptionally brave and independent person. I have had to go through some tough times in order to get to this status, but I am here. And although, I have never missed home as much as I have during this time, it was all worth it; because if I had never come to France away from everything that was near and dear to me then I would never have grown into the person that I am today.

Homeward Bound

So I go Home in a week? Yes I suppose this is true. I can't believe it has flown by so fast. It seemed like just yesterday I was running to catch the plane or train to get here. Everything was so new. I think today's class was very interesting. It was cool to see the quotes everyone picked and their remarks.

This trip has been full of surprises from the start, even before arriving. I had mindset coming in and somewhat of a plan. For the most part, both of those have changed. Everyone's said this over and over, but I have truly learned alot about myself. For about a four month period I was certain of my career. I wanted to work for the government and be a diplomat or an ambassador. After being here, this is certainly not the case. There were a number of positives as well, but this totally is changing my plan.

Also I have changed; I am certainly not the same Sharrell Barnes who arrived here.

I am the same in respects that I will always have the same background and things of that of nature; but outlook is certainly different. I am so proud of myself, not to toot my own horn. But I never thought I'd be here. I didn' t know just what I was capable of. I can tell the change in just how differently I act in situations, and my response.

I have met a number of wonderful people. Some of the people I really believe will become life long friends. I have been challenged and I have been inspired. This will certainly be a memory for the rest of my life. The frustrations and aggervations may fade, but I will remember the important things that effected me.

My hope is that everyone has had a life changing experience just like I have. I can't say that if I had the opportunity I would do a few things differently, but I'll keep that in mind for next time around. I can't wait to apply what I have learned here to my life in the states. This is only the beginning, can't wait to see what's next.

BEWARE! The end is nigh.

It's difficult to imagine that it's already been over three months since I was met by Willi at the Gare de Strasbourg in the waning summer heat. As classes come to an end and the finals beat me about the heat, I reflect quietly on the time I've spent in France. I've seen history, dreamed of the future and become lost in the present. I will miss the friends I've made here. I will remember fondly stepping onto the tram upon returning from my trip to Paris and thinking, "Ohmy! I'm home."

As I look back, I see that I could have done some things differently. But at the same time, I value every moment that I've had here. It's sad to grow so fond of a place and then have to be ripped from it. That said, another band of merry GSU students will soon be on their way to take the place of my cohort. I can only wish them the same awe-inspiring experience that I've had.

The Inflexibles

I have a new word for the people in Strasbourg: the inflexibles. It seems that they don't want to alter the smallest things, really small things. My example is my first French final. First of all, I didn't know that I was going to have to take the final. I walked into class and she just starts going a mile a minute, in French, talking about that being the only option. So another Guy and I went to "Kahina's" office and sitting there was the other girl that wears the glasses. She gives us some blank booklets and another paper with our assignment. Keep in mind, I am from the U.S and we do things quite differently. First of all, no matter how many times we have taken a certain type of test, like scantron,essay, etc., the professors make it a point to give us clear directions. She just gave it to me like I was supposed to know what to do. So, thinking that the professor was supposed to write his/ her comments on the first page, I turn and start on the second, or really the third page. While I am half way done with my 200 word response, she stops me and tells me, " you started on the wrong page." I wish some one was there to see her face! She was so distraught. So she says something along the lines of answering the second question on the first page, where I should have started. I completely ignored her and continued on, I did not want any body to be confused about what I was doing. To make a long story short, I handed in my paper. She looked at it, and made a sigh. You didn't start on the first page, she said. " You had time to rewrite. I was hungry and was short and I asked " Is that a big problem?" She said no, but it looked like she was really bothered by me not starting on the right page. Why can't you just open the booklet and start reading where I started writing. Its that simple. Just make a little movement, I'm not asking you to move a mountain.

On my way!

"I'm going home, to a place where I belong. Where your love has always been enough for me. ..." And whatever else the song says but I'm happy I made it here...in this airport. It is much more brighter this time around. The last time I was in this airport, it was 10pm and I had just missed the last bus to Strasbourg. So guess what, I had to spend the night. I tried to check into the Sher....(however you spell it)...ton hotel and it was booked for the night. This airport has no carpeted floors and there was a half naked man, pants unzipped and "draws" showing, with some type of hip condition, walking around the airport. This time, my bags are checked in I am sitting in the USO office taking advantage of their free wifi and soft drinks. This is the first time I've drank gingerale in a long while, I don't really care for it unless I'm sick, Sharrell Barnes, or its FREE. If any of you are military dependents, when you get here take advantage of this..its great. My flight leaves in about four hours but I am content to just be here, on time. I had three scares so far. The first one was on this morning when my ride was a little late. I was ringing Jim and Jan's doorbell like crazy. Just to make sure they weren't parked on the other side, I walked over, but there was no one there. I was so scared that I walked to the Path. Tears started running down my face, and I said.." I wanna go home". I'm such a baby. As soon I turned around, a saw the lights of some french car come down the path. My second scare was when I scanned my passport to look up my ticket and there was no data. But I went to the check-in line and the clerk handled it there. Finally my last scare. I went to go pay for my second check-in bag. Now, previously, I was told that I would have to pay 40 euro and that was good, because the website said 50. When got the desk where all of those things were handled, the lady tells me that I have to pay 127Euro. I looked at her a little sideways and I boldly asked "why?". I was not about to swipe that card until she gave me an explanation. She explained and I said " Why?". I just didn't understand, she was speaking a foreign language. Then I asked a question that kind of guided her to the correct price. " How did the price go from 40 to 127, and website said for flights going into the U.S, the extra bag is 50." So she asked for the little sticky notes they give you when they give your boarding pass. She said, "Oh, Atlanta!" " I think its 40"..I let out a sigh and said " Thank you Jesus!" Instead of being in this office writing one my final blogs, I would have been on the phone, trying to get some money in my account, just so I wont over draft. By the way, in the USO office, you can make free calls to the U.S. Anyway, that is my journey so far and I'm pretty sure I'll be writing again during my 20 hour layover in Poland. Life is funny.

I don't know what I wanna be when I grow up...

   The past week I have been enjoying copious amounts of time to myself just lounging around the Chateau. Well, actually the computer lab since there is now a gigantic lack of wifi anywhere close to my room. It is quite a crying shame. The point in this is that I haven't gone anywhere, no random travels to distant places. No spending money I do not have on things that I do not need. These past few days I have been preoccupying my time by thinking about the future. Trying to get an apartment set up for the upcoming new year. Trying to figure out what my budget is looking like for the near future, which is pretty much next to nothing. Money has never been a big deal to me. I know things will straighten itself out eventually, and I can only try to work towards that little by little. This will be especially difficult with the amount of debt I have built up this semester while studying abroad. Living ain't cheap is what my dad always tells me, he just never said living in France will run ya into the ground. That part I was not prepared for. However, I have always been very independent and I realize that money is always a priority, but to me it's just paper. I can manage mine pretty easily, despite what my mother thinks.
    It has been a pretty enlightening past few days, figuring out what my near future holds. The one thing I know for sure is that I will be so stressed that my hair will probably be falling out by the end of the semester. Some things that I am not sure about is whether or not I will be have enough hours to graduate like I intend too this upcoming semester or if I will fall short of a few of my major requirements. If my advisor would ever get back to me on this subject then I think I could put my mind at ease. Another thing is of course, my financial situation but I have already talked about that. Something that has been weighing on my mind the most lately is if I am even prepared to graduate next semester. This time I don't mean hourly wise. But am I seriously prepared to take on the real world? I seriously have my doubts. I have a great resume that I have built up over the years, however where will that take me. What kind of jobs can I look forward too. These are the sort of things that I have to look forward too in the next few months, loads of uncertainty. Hopefully I can get myself set up with an internship or two in order to further build my resume. Then if all works out then I can move on to law school, at least I know that if I manage to make it through that then I will have set myself up for the future. See, the thing is, I have a hazy plan laid out in my head, but who knows if everything will work out the way I hope to God that they do. I guess that is just the funny thing about the future, you never know what it will hold. You don't know if it's "gonna run ya into the ground." Or if it is going to let you land on your feet. When I drop out of the sky that is college, I guess that's when I'll finally find out.