I went to a little going away party last night for this girl that's in Germany with AFS from Malaysia because she leaves this weekend. She was here for the year program, but for some reason, it started last february and went till this january. But it was a few towns over, and in taking the 3 trains I had to in order to get there, I ended up taking a train that went by Edenkoben, which is where I lived for the month with the family that just didn't work out. Passing by was kind of weird. It was the first time since I've switched that I passed by the town. I feel like most people would be bitter after having such an experience, after living with such a family and going through everything but I can honestly say that I'm not. Yes, I got manipulated and it was a hard thing to go through. I can say that at the time I felt completely deflated, crushed, and to blame for it all. But looking back on it now, as bad as it was at the time, I'm really glad I went through it (sounds kind of sadomasochistic right? But no). It definitely made me a lot more calm and I can say that I'm not as quick to get worked up because it made me realize that so many things are not nearly important as people think they are and it's completely pointless to get so worked up over it. I think that, had I landed in a family where I fit right from the beginning, I wouldn't have learned that. It was something I had to go through. Though I will admit that, after leaving the family, I cut off contact, simply because I didn't know what they thought of everything and how they perceived me because of it. There is a german version of Facebook called SchülerVZ, which I'm on in an attempt to network, and the daughter of the family I switched from sent me a message on it saying "It's a shame you didn't keep in touch, how's everything going for you now, etc." So I replied saying how good it was to hear from her, how sorry I was for the way things happened but glad to see that she wasn't upset, how things were going better now and asked how things were with her and the family. That was November. I still have yet to get anything back. I'm not sure if it was an attempt at manipulation or an attempt to guilt me that backfired or what, but again, I'm not upset by it. It really does upset me that things didn't work out and that everything ended up playing out how it did, but again, it's simply what happened. There's nothing I can do about it now and I've come to terms with the fact that what happens happens. You can't change things, only keep them in mind for the future. I know that's a terrible cliché but it's one of those life lessons that you're always told but rarely live.

And now time for a little political talk. As I'm not living in the US, I definitely feel removed from the political scene, which is really heating up now. But I read my NY Times diligently online and try to keep myself up to date. Looking at the democratic race you have 2 strong candidates: Hillary and Obama. I am partial to Hillary because I think it's time America had a female president and, on top of that, she has more years in the Senate than Obama and she was in the white house for 8 years. During that time, she didn't lay around eating bon-bons and watching the daily soaps, nor was she just a first lady to the president, appearing with him at public appearances as nothing more than a trophy wife, presenting a façade of the "perfect" american marriage. She took action in the white house. She was the one who tried to institute a universal health care plan. She got torn down by the republicans in power at that time and was told not to speak of it again during Clinton's presidency. [Going on a tangent, I have nothing but respect for Bill Clinton. He was the best president our country has seen in a long time. A strong democrat, not only did he improve our international relations but he brought our country up out of a deficit and into a surplus, one which has now been squandered into a trillion dollar deficit, financing... well, you know. Yes, Clinton did have his little sexual affair, but in the scope of things, is it really that much of an issue? Has anybody else noticed that the politicians who condemn anything other than a man and woman in a marriage are usually the ones that turn out to be guilty of much more and are nothing like what they preach: such as pedophiles, or homosexuals soliciting sex from boys on the internet or men in airport bathrooms? But I digress.] I have a theory as to why America is afraid of having a woman as a president. American politics is essentially male dominated, so there is the sex card to play - and that's exactly why. Children are raised almost always by their mothers, even when both parents are living together, it's typically the mother that rears the children. Thus when men grow up, and are forced to respond to a woman in power, they feel inferior; they feel as though they have lost their power and are regressing to the state of being a child where their mother told them what they were and were not permitted to do. Obviously, no man wants to relinquish his power, and thus Hillary Clinton's votes are confined to women, and liberal men who are comfortable with a woman in power. Sadly, the rest of American is still too conservative to grant a woman power. Unfortunately, this isn't just in America: it can be seen in France too. The French elected Sarkozy just last year (2007) and I'm not a fan of him at all. And over whom did they elect him? Ségolene Royal - a strong, independent woman and member of the socialist party. And what is Sarkozy doing now? Attempting to turn Frances economy into Americas? Becoming good buddies with Bush? Divorcing his wife and marrying his model girlfriend of only a few months? All of the above? Yeah, nice pick, France... It really makes me curious to see if this sexism is one of those things that will never change, or will future generations truly work towards equality? I guess only time will tell.

And on another note, it rained yesterday for about, 30 seconds and was a TOTAL downpour but the sun was out so I thought, hm, there must be a leprechaun around here looking for his pot of gold. I looked out the window and sure enough I found what I expected.

2008?!

Well, Happy New Year! I am fortunate enough to say that I truly celebrated the new year in the best way possible: in Paris! I got to visit my friend, Andrew, from America who is spending his year studying in Paris for 6 days. My schedule looked a little like this:

Friday: Arrive in Paris, stroll the Champs-Elysée, get french food, get looked at as though I'm crazy by the waiter after ordering 3 appetizers and no entree, walk across the bridge, over the Seine, to the left bank, take pictures of the Eiffel Tower in an epileptic fit of lights, take the metro home.

Saturday: Wake up, eat a baguette/croissant, head out, meander through the city, visit Montmarte, Moulin Rouge, Sacre Couer, et Les Deux Moulins (the café from Amelie), meet Andrew's friend who was in Paris for only half a year and was heading home, take her and her luggage to the train station, meet up with another friend of andrew's for her birthday, go out to dinner in the Latin Quarter and then a local bar, catch the last metro home.

Sunday: Wake up, meet said people from the night before at the Jardins Luxembourg for a little while, sit and watch people, say goodbye, walk around Saint German de Prés, head home, get ready to head out, take the metro out, enjoy Paris at night, take the first metro home, sleep.

Monday: Wake up very late, walk around for a little while, head back home, finalize plans for New Years, catch the 11pm metro towards the Champs-Elysée, get stuck on a PACKED metro, get off at the Louvre and walk from there (it was faster, I swear), discover that the Champs is like Times Square for Paris, observe the people, drink champagne, avoid obnoxious drunk people, head to a little café for drinks, back to the Champs to walk towards the 1st Arrondissement, have a few drinks in a pub, take the first metro home, sleep.


Tuesday: Wake up very late, loaf around the apartment watching TV and putting pictures on the internet, make dinner, get ready to go out, metro out late, meet some germans, early metro home, sleep.

Wednesday: Wake up late, relaxing day of just walking around and hanging around the apartment, eat my last meal (steak frite), pack, and get no sleep because of bad sleeping habits.

Thursday: Cry myself to sleep on the train leaving Paris (just kidding).

Honestly though, I've decided that my goal in life is to live in Paris. I know this seems somewhat redundant as I'm currently living in Germany for a year but, there's just something about Paris, a certain je ne sais quoi, that is amazing. It's like New York City but better (I know, is that possible? Yes, it is). I just know it's where I want to be. Also, as of January 1, 2008, there is no smoking in restaurants and bars in Paris. I'm not how I feel about this. I know smoking is terrible for the health, blah blah blah and I can understand not wanting to smell smoke while eating but, there is that image of paris, of people in a smokey café eating croissants and drinking coffee and just isn't there anymore. And for bars and nightclubs I am of the firm belief that it should be the choice of the establishment and its patrons whether or not smoking is permitted inside. I wasn't sure if this ban would just be a giant joke but I can say it's not. Every place I saw after the 1st had no smoking signs and when we went out that night the bouncers told us before we were allowed in "No fumer" (no smoking). Interesting. We'll see what happens.

Well, I am exhausted. It was a wonderful 6 days and I can't think of a better way to have wrung in the new year. I hope 2008 will be as amazing as it promises to be!