Summer Plans

Hello All.

I wanted to update you on my plans for the summer....but first, I'm going to keep you in suspense and tell you about my week!

Thursday night - Seine Boat Cruise with CEA. It was gorgeous going along the river at sunset and we were with all of our friends so we had a great time. From there, I went with a bunch of my friends to a concert for a DJ called MSTRKRFT (I guess he doesn't like vowels). Great show

Friday - NO SCHOOL! It's the Anniversary of the End of WWII so it's a holiday in France. My roommate Justin, my friend Chris and I did a walking tour of Montmartre. It's an amazing neighborhood, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. We started at Moulin Rouge, did a tour of the Erotica Museum (very strange, to say the least), saw a bunch of old wind mills, a small vineyard in Paris, and of course, Sacre Coeur. We ate crepes in Place Tetre, which my guidebook tells me is THE SINGLE most touristy place in Paris...but the crepe was delicious! Montmarte reminded me of San Francisco in some ways...really quaint buildings, hills, gorgeous trees and view of Paris. It's worth spending 4 or 5 hours exploring Montmartre if you're ever in Paris. Very enjoyable afternoon. I'll post pictures of it soon.

(SPOILER ALERT! This is the part where I reveal my summer plans)
After coming back from Montmartre, I talked with the Assistant Director of my camp. I had discussed the summer a lot with my parents. For most of the semester, I had been planning to stay in France after my finals...try and get an internship in Bordeaux or Paris and improve my French. But that means I would have no money next year at school and it would definitely be very expensive to stay in Europe. A position opened up at camp and I decided to take it. I didn't go back to camp last summer but I was there the previous 4 summers before that.

So, this summer, I'm leading the Pacific Northwest trip for Thunderbird. I am so excited...I did this trip as a camper in 2002 and now I get to lead it. I have wanted to lead a trip like this for a long time and I lead the 21 day 2 summers ago. I'll be making some money, not SPENDING any money, and I will definitely not be bored, at all, for the entire summer. The trip is a backpacking trip around Washington and Oregon. When I was a camper, we did an Olympic Coast hike, on the beach, a day trip to Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, a 7 day in the Olympic Rainforest and a 6 day in the Cascades. We also did a white water rafting trip that was amazing. I'll be at camp from June 11 until August 14 but I'll definitely be able to keep in touch.

So now I am planning on coming home in the beginning of June. I will be sad to leave Paris and Europe but I am ready to be in the wilderness all summer. From one crazy adventure to another. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of avoiding the 'real world'.

I have friends coming in town from May 14 to May 22. Jeremy Borovitz, recent graduate of the University of Michigan and future Peace Corps Volunteer, will be stopping in Paris for a few days this next week. Then, 4 of my pledge brothers are coming for 4 nights, the end of their European tour. Theo, Jaryd and Evan all came to Europe after they finished at Michigan for the semester and Marshall (who I visited in Barcelona) has been traveling for a while and will end in Paris. I'm really excited to see all of them and play tour guide again...but I think I won't cram so much into each day this time.

Friday night I went to dinner with a bunch of my friends at a really good Moroccan restaurant. We didn't sit down until 11:45 but had a really fun dinner. I went to another concert after that and went home a little early (early being 3:30) and fell asleep.

Saturday was very relaxing. It was rainy all day so I got a bunch of studying done, sent a few e-mails, caught up on the Office, and just relaxed. My roommate's parents were in town for the day (Justin's mom is a flight attendant and his Dad came with for her trip to Paris) so we went out to lunch. It was fun to meet them; they were very nice. At about 6:00, the weather suddenly cleared up and it was sunny and beautiful! I cooked dinner with my friend Chris - pasta with veggies, chicken, and sausage - and we had a few bottles of wine, with our other friends Will and John.

We all went to this bridge is Paris called Pont des Arts. It's one bridge west of the Pont Neuf and looks out at the Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame (or the Eiffel Tower from the other view). A lot of Parisiens hang out there at night, drinking wine and relaxing with their friends. We met up with our French friends, a group of girls our age who are studying in Paris. We've hung out with them a lot the past few weeks. They'll meet us at bars, come over to our apartments, etc. They're very funny and we pretty much always speak French. We hung out with them at the bridge and some of our American girl friends came too. It was one of my favorite nights in Paris! How can you not be happy when you're surrounded by great people and the most amazing views. You're drinking wine on the Seine! It was a clear, beautiful night and we all just really enjoyed ourselves.

Today is Sunday. I woke up and went to the local market. I bought the most amazing baguette, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and cheese. I made myself a great breakfast: an omelette with spinach, mushrooms and onions; an orange, and bread with jam. Its not that warm out but very nice and sunny. I think I'm going to go for a run in a few minutes, then dinner tonight with Hillary and Carrie August, and presumably Pierre (Hillary's boyfriend).

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Mom (and Nonnie and Mamo and all the other mother's out there). Miss you all and will hopefully be able to talk to you sooner than originally expected!