Monday, September 02, 2002
for those of you who are actually interested... read on. it's been a while, i know, but being in a different country has the tendency to distract a person.
i'm finally in paris after much long anxiety and anticipation. it wasn't easy leaving my familia at home and i did shed some tears at the airport before my departure. still, i made it and i'm hanging in there. i had a transfer over in toronto and then i was off to london. it was sheer hell carrying my bags that were WAY to heavy and large for a person like me to handle (AND this was after multiple attempts to pack lightly, mind you). anyway, after landing in london i proceeded to make my way through the subway system and the train system for the first time to get to cambridge where charlene was waiting for me. too bad i wasn't successful and my tired butt had to fall asleep and miss my cambridge stop by three others. when i finally got to cambridge, however, i got a taxi and made my way to charlene's dorm... then realizing i had no way of contacting her without a phone and i wasn't about to lug all my luggage back on the streets to find a public one. so i just sat on the lawn reading harry potter and then falling asleep until someone finally was entering the building. i found charlene eventually and had the best time in cambridge. it's the most beautiful and quaint little town i've ever had the advantage of seeing. the college campuses and cathedrals are amazing and i just felt so comfortable from the get go. i hadn't even felt homesick cuz i knew someone and met ppl right away as well. it was a really nice experience.
london, however, which i travelled to afterwards ALONE wasn't as great, i thought. i mean don't get me wrong, it has amazing sights and history but i just felt blah the whole time... probably cuz i was alone. BUT i did get to watch Phantom of the Opera with some ppl i had met at cambridge and it was just beautiful. it surprised me that a musical/opera could make me tear up. after watching it, i felt kinda of happier for the next few days. there was also THE most unique exhibit called Body World, which is comprised of real human bodies as sort of learning/art portrayals. this german doctor developed a process called plastination where the tissue is completely in tact, but just hard and filled with a type of plastic. sooooo, the bodies are skinned and displayed in several different ways in order to educate ppl on how diff parts look and work. for instance, there was one massive body that looked like it was playing basketball and it was talking about the size of the muscles of the man and such.. then there was one of a pregnant woman where her torso was cut open, displaying the fetus inside... then there were others where the bodies were perfectly sliced to show the placement of organs, etc in the body's compact structure. IT WAS JUST AMAZING AND GROSS AT THE SAME TIME. hopefully the exhibit will come to the US (but i have no idea if it'll fly here) because it's a travelling exhibit and there's actually one in seoul right now.
anyway, i saw most other stuff in london: westminster abbey, st paul's cathedral, changing of the guards at buckingham palace, all the shopping districts (one of which resembled times square in ny), tate modern museum, and many others. it was more than i'd ever seen in my life, let's just say.
now i'm in paris and finally moved in with my host family. it'll be my first night sleeping in the room that will be mine for the next 3.5 months. the place is ok, but much to expensive for what i'm getting. the school is pampering and they treat us well, which is good considering i'd go nuts if the school was as difficult to adapt to as the city. the only real problem is the language barrier, though. paris is beautiful.. just so much culture.. nothing like you'd find in LA. everything is just so old and historic. i'm sure i'm going to like it here... with the exception of occasional draw backs and homesickness. i see the benefits of both countries though (US vs. France) but i'm sure i'll have a better idea of things once i get around more.
anyhow, i must go run to meet my host family for dinner.. they've been really nice so far for the half hour that i got to see them. more details later... au revoir!
i'm finally in paris after much long anxiety and anticipation. it wasn't easy leaving my familia at home and i did shed some tears at the airport before my departure. still, i made it and i'm hanging in there. i had a transfer over in toronto and then i was off to london. it was sheer hell carrying my bags that were WAY to heavy and large for a person like me to handle (AND this was after multiple attempts to pack lightly, mind you). anyway, after landing in london i proceeded to make my way through the subway system and the train system for the first time to get to cambridge where charlene was waiting for me. too bad i wasn't successful and my tired butt had to fall asleep and miss my cambridge stop by three others. when i finally got to cambridge, however, i got a taxi and made my way to charlene's dorm... then realizing i had no way of contacting her without a phone and i wasn't about to lug all my luggage back on the streets to find a public one. so i just sat on the lawn reading harry potter and then falling asleep until someone finally was entering the building. i found charlene eventually and had the best time in cambridge. it's the most beautiful and quaint little town i've ever had the advantage of seeing. the college campuses and cathedrals are amazing and i just felt so comfortable from the get go. i hadn't even felt homesick cuz i knew someone and met ppl right away as well. it was a really nice experience.
london, however, which i travelled to afterwards ALONE wasn't as great, i thought. i mean don't get me wrong, it has amazing sights and history but i just felt blah the whole time... probably cuz i was alone. BUT i did get to watch Phantom of the Opera with some ppl i had met at cambridge and it was just beautiful. it surprised me that a musical/opera could make me tear up. after watching it, i felt kinda of happier for the next few days. there was also THE most unique exhibit called Body World, which is comprised of real human bodies as sort of learning/art portrayals. this german doctor developed a process called plastination where the tissue is completely in tact, but just hard and filled with a type of plastic. sooooo, the bodies are skinned and displayed in several different ways in order to educate ppl on how diff parts look and work. for instance, there was one massive body that looked like it was playing basketball and it was talking about the size of the muscles of the man and such.. then there was one of a pregnant woman where her torso was cut open, displaying the fetus inside... then there were others where the bodies were perfectly sliced to show the placement of organs, etc in the body's compact structure. IT WAS JUST AMAZING AND GROSS AT THE SAME TIME. hopefully the exhibit will come to the US (but i have no idea if it'll fly here) because it's a travelling exhibit and there's actually one in seoul right now.
anyway, i saw most other stuff in london: westminster abbey, st paul's cathedral, changing of the guards at buckingham palace, all the shopping districts (one of which resembled times square in ny), tate modern museum, and many others. it was more than i'd ever seen in my life, let's just say.
now i'm in paris and finally moved in with my host family. it'll be my first night sleeping in the room that will be mine for the next 3.5 months. the place is ok, but much to expensive for what i'm getting. the school is pampering and they treat us well, which is good considering i'd go nuts if the school was as difficult to adapt to as the city. the only real problem is the language barrier, though. paris is beautiful.. just so much culture.. nothing like you'd find in LA. everything is just so old and historic. i'm sure i'm going to like it here... with the exception of occasional draw backs and homesickness. i see the benefits of both countries though (US vs. France) but i'm sure i'll have a better idea of things once i get around more.
anyhow, i must go run to meet my host family for dinner.. they've been really nice so far for the half hour that i got to see them. more details later... au revoir!
