Student Blogs

La Deuxième Partie

January 14th, 2013 klkuts14

Happy New Year one and all! It is now 2013, meaning we have all survived the apocalypse so congratulations because I was a little bit worried there for a while…I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday like myself, in which for the first time in a total of five months, I was home (well home as in at least on the same continent as my hometown). There are too many exciting things that happened over the past several weeks so I think I’ll save everyone the agony of reading and go straight to best parts.
I can’t tell you how much it was a blessing to be able to come home for Christmas. I know that all the advisors tell study abroad students that they should not go home over Christmas break, but I have to say that it was the best Christmas present a kid could ask for. While I’m sure my experience in France would have been special indeed, I have gone five months without having direct contact with my closest family members and friends, and although we do have lovely technology to connect, there’s nothing better than having Holiday parties for four days in a row surrounded by people I know and love. It is also a good refresher to sum up my halfway point experience in France, and an opportunity to be able to step back and really appreciate everything that has happened to me here. While blogging is one thing, I had not yet been given the opportunity to recall my experience and wonderful memories and feelings face to face with those inquisitive souls from the States. It also gave me an excuse to sit back and reflect on what I would like to change about next semester and what I would like to accomplish. Therefore, below are my new year’s resolutions:
1. Hit my top travel destinations to see friends. This does not involve seeing everywhere in the world that I want to see (mainly because I am far too broke to do that) but instead, to visit those friends who are close by me who can share their cultural experience with me as well! Therefore, I have narrowed down the list to six travel destinations which will be shared with you in due time.
2. Make Friends. I love my Strasbourg girls dearly but especially after visiting Kelia in NYC (yes, that happened because it had been a whole week without seeing each other and technically that coincides with resolution number 1), we decided that we need to branch out and meet more French friends (I’m hoping my EPITECH boys can help me with this one).
3. Say Oui. This is the last semester to accomplish everything that I want in France (for this year that is) so it is time to branch out, take risks, and make my Junior study abroad experience one that will truly be for the books!
With that in mind, I will continue by recalling my Euro trip with my two long lost neighbors from home, Nikki and Daniel. These two friends both agreed to come to Europe with me and see what my life here is all about, in addition to taking a couple pit stops at Paris and Vienna for some sightseeing fun. With that being said, I left home, a little sad because my time there was so short, and arrived in Paris, to my great relief, completely reborn and ecstatic to begin a whole new semester here. I will again highlight only a few key components of the trip:
1. The Jazz Club (yes, Nikki and I took Paris by storm and swing danced all night in an underground 1930sesque cavern with several 65 year old men in suspenders)
2. The Mystery Tour guide (let’s just say thanks to my wonderful academic advisor and her incredible connections, I was able to get in touch with an invited guest from Thanksgiving who lives in Vienna and toured us around the city, introducing us to the best restaurants and sights)
3. The Food: Schnitzel with noodles, wild geese (just kidding), pumpkin soup, spinach puree like I’ve never quite seen nor tasted before, Chocolate torte, Himalayan food (let’s just say I have a magic book with wonderful recommendations), Goulash (don’t worry, only Daniel consumed this carnivorous dish)apple strudel and lots and lots of Kaffee. Yes, friends, if France had not already convinced me to start liking Espresso, Vienna definitely changed my thoughts about coffee (and when I say I drank it every day, I think it’s only fair to say that I am now spoiled by the strong dark Viennese coffee flavor that I will never be tempted to drink American coffee anyways)
4. The French-American connection once more where my two close friends from home got to interact with my life here and experience the life abroad, hopefully to share this experience with all of you as well! Feel free to ask them what they think! (If they happen to mention anything about me getting on a wrong bus and leaving them at the curbside, don’t believe a word they say Fraulein…)
Keep reading and I wish you all a healthy and pure loving start to 2013! To be continued.
-K

One Response to “La Deuxième Partie”

  1. Aunt Lisa says:

    Too funny, Ktina! Always the comedienne and always light – hearted fun! Tres Fun! I love you more every day and LOVE, LOVE reading about your adventures, food and of course, the coffee! J’adore cafe au lait! ;-D 2 pieces, I love you. Aunti Lis

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