Ups and Downs, But I'm looking ahead.

So now it's that time again. End of August. End of Summer. Well, maybe just the end of the 'Idea of Summer'.

School is back in full-swing. It's almost like I never left.

Except I did.

And things changed (don't they always?).

But I'm ok with that. Change can be good. It can be great. It can be scary. It can be all of the above.

I have so many reasons to be thankful.

Although, I re-did my budget for the next 11 months and the gas and food price hike is kind of killing me. Also some things that popped up that I did not expect. Also I miscalculated last time I did a huge re-haul (3 or 4 months ago) and somehow, now, after double-, triple-, quadruple-checking, I am 500$ short from where I thought I once was. Oops. Not a great mistake to make.

Not so thankful for that, but it will work out.

Alright, I guess I should start working and get back into school mode.

Gainesville->Paris->London->Atlanta->Smoky Mountains->Savannah->Pensacola->Daytona->Gainesville

So, I didn't update as much in this blog as I would have liked.

I think I shall bullet point some interesting tidbits about the past two months and you all can just bring them up with me if you would like to know about it. It has been a crazy past two months. That is for sure:

• Evil EWR
• Missing Three trains
• The lady at the Eurostar counter
• Sitting in the Tip-Down Seat for 3 hours
• Meeting an awesome old British couple
• My accent changing way too many times
• Feeling oddly 'at home' instantly in Paris when I got into the Métro at Gare du Nord
• Meeting my landlord and finding the only French people who don't drink café
• Living in the smallest space I have ever lived in
• A toilet being in a shower
• A bed that is stored in the ceiling
• French junkmail
• The Postal Service on the super-fast moving sidewalk in the Montparnasse Station
• Getting to know the crazy and awesome staff at the PRC
• French Rock Radio
• My students
• Ridiculous stories about what other students did
• Beignets
• Playing Tour-guide for Joe and his parents
• The Blue Eiffel Tower
• Belleville Park
• The search for slouchy
• Michelle came to visit
• Bastille Day in the Bois de Boulogne and on the Champ de Mars
• Drinking on the Champ
• Cafe Cremes with Joe and Tom in Normandy
• The best croissants in the world
• deux pains au chocolat
• Qu'est-ce tu fais tous les jours?
• The markets
• The best strawberries in the world
• The photo exposition
• Getting to know the staff well
• Helping to pull the program together
• Louay's
• Dinner with my old host family
• The most ridiculous cell phone game ever
• The almost-smart-car-adventure
• Chinatowns
• Telling off the people on Montmartre
• Dr. N trying to explain to the Italians that they already were in Montmartre
• Dr. N's explanations
• Laura's visit
• The 1200$ worth of texting
• French Starbucks and Service and the ridiculous around St Mich/St Germ/Odéon
• très sexy
• No scrubs
• My love for the métro
• The NaviGO
• Making lamb
• A Microsoft Publisher Nightmare / Does anyone know about technology?
• That bloody 80s song that got stuck in my head for a week thanks to Laura
• Sleeping on a tile floor for a week
• Leaving France via train and feeling like I've left another home
• The Not-Nearly-As-Awesome Tube in London
• The London Eye
• Big Ben (cooler than you think)
• Mussels and Beer with Laura
• Crazy nights at the hostel
• British Television
• London is the most expensive city ever
• Wandering in London
• An American giving directions to French people in a British accent in a city he's spent a total of 30 hours in.
• Knowing more about London and how to get around than any other tourist I met.
• The tower of London guide who was amazing
• The longest ride home sitting in the back seat of the smallest plane ever.
• Family time
• Camping in the Smokies
• Tubing on the rapids....Thrice
• Getting stung by a hornet....Thrice
• Pop 5 ninjas
• Killing a hornet with a frying pan
• Building and Cooking on a real fire
• S'mores
• : sigh : Yes, I am was boyscout, lol
• Sleeping in BunkBeds with Micah again (this happens too often)
• Beautiful mountains
• Driving slowly for others to catch up :P
• Taking 3 routes to get to the waterfall
• Creek walking
• Mary was hardcore
• Crêpes in the morning with bananas and peaches flambées (flambeee for micah)
• Tons of games with awesome people
• The hot tub
• Lots of alcohol without anyone being drunk
• Funny southern accents
• Wineries in Tennessee
• "What are apple fritters?"
• Forgetting Godfrey
• Sweet-Tea-less restaurant in Asheville
• The chocolate store
• Amazing architecture and renovation plans
• Drives through the mountains
• Savannah River ice cream and talkss
• Jellyfish in Pensacola
• Surprising Mobile
• Sunburnt on the beach with a good book
• Tons of seafood and relaxation with family
• Sleeping in my own bed again

My summer was ridiculous, yes that was a long list. Most will not read it. But it was two months of amazingness that I would not trade...even through some of the rough times. "Without the sour, the sweet wouldn't taste..."