if you haven't guessed, it's a twist tie. i love these things. they have, for me, so many uses. one of the things i use it for is to keep battery charger cords in order. i just loop the cord around like a garden hose and then twist tie it together. i remember when living in france, one of the few things that bothered me were their twist ties. whatever it is made from does not do a good job of staying secure. not that it comes undone, it just doesn't secure tightly enough. now i know for any future trip to france, i need to pack some twist ties from home.

lyon!

there are a number of fashion/sartorial blogs out there. today i came across one from a girl in lyon. she posts mostly photos of herself in different outfits. i was so excited when i came across her blog mainly because i lived in lyon. sigh... of her recent posts i learned that there is a new burger restaurant in one of the neighborhoods. she quoted the prices for her dishes (around 13€/plate!) . another post was about the opening of a lush store on the main shopping street, republique.  anyhow, why couldn't it have opened while i was there?

her blog is in french. luckily i can still read and understand written french. my spoken and comprehension part, however, not so great as it used to be.

old memories

I found these souvenirs in another souvenir (a tote from edinburgh). yup, i pretty much saved everything, even receipts. notice the mcdonalds logo? i was told macdonalds had gone green in parts of europe. i think germany (probably the greenest european country) started it. although i'm not sure how they are green.

the last image is of my expense booklet. i think the booklet was made for teachers but it works well to record expenses, too. i was on a tight little budget so this helped me stay within it. i loved recording my expenses in there and it's one of my fondest memories.

american studies

throughout my graduate school research of schools in europe, i came across an interesting program of study:  american studies. it's so odd, from an american perspective, to see it being offered. (in the u.s., a select number of schools also offer american studies which i was completely unaware of...)

today as i was looking into the university of utrecht i came across their american studies masters program. they have a school blog as well as a blog of one of the students. most of the students who contribute to the school's blog have had an internship in the u.s. in different sectors. it's interesting to see what career paths these students are pursuing as the first question that came to mind was what kind of career does one go into with a degree in american studies? for american students with a u.s. history degree it was always thought that there were only a few career paths: politics and academia. these european students, however, seem to have figured it out and are going into all these different areas that i would have never thought of.

reading the one blog that belongs to one of their most recent graduates, i learned what students of an american studies major call themselves (or at least this girl considers herself): an americanist.

memories

going through another one of those periods where i miss lyon...

kitchen views + wc (toilet room behind red door)

 these interior views are of the first place i called home in lyon.  i was only here for two weeks but i miss it more than the place i eventually moved into and called home for the 5 months i lived in lyon.  i think the warm welcome i received from the owner had a lot to do with that.

this was my bedroom.  it was small but cozy.  the ikea furniture kept me company.

view of fourviere cathedral with book market in the foreground.  lyon, france.

aug 12

paris to london

6 years ago, i came back from france and all i could do was think about how to go back.  i did internet research on this for nearly 4 years before i returned to france.  i found myself at a forum for english language assistants in france.  i read each post on just about every topic and became well-versed in every aspect of life in france.

tonight, i find myself doing the same for the u.k.  as impossible as french bureaucracy seems, you eventually get what you came for:  a visa, an o.f.i.i. stamp, something.  they may send you back twice to provide another document you weren't aware about but in the end, there's victory.  with the uk, it seems they are just as tough and impossible-sounding as their french counterpart.  except, people have been denied visas.  the british are super strict (though not as strict as the u.s.)  yep, i'm a little bit worried.  the uk authorities, have very strict guidelines and they are on top of things.

talking about border control, i remember the first time i crossed their borders.  i was going to edinburgh for four days.  i was travelling alone.  i arrived into the city during the evening.  i got to the front of the line and the personnel asked me how many days i was spending in the city.  she then asked what my business in france is and i told her i was studying french.  she then asked me if i came with the other visitors who were in front of me. (nope).  she stamped my passport and that was that.

i don't know why i'm so worried.  this is still not anytime soon and i should feel more confident than anything having all this international traveling experience under my hat.

ouch.

thinking ahead a few years when i will possibly be in grad school, i finally got to doing the math properly for one year of studying and living in london.  it is a lot more than i previously thought but still less expensive than going to a good school in the u.s.
 
  costs for one year:             tuition                                $27000
                                                     cost of living                      12000
                                                     rent in private flat           17000-21000
                                                     total                                    $56000-67000

 hmm... now i need to do the math for paris.

a year ago...

sitting by the fountain at the luxembourg gardens, paris.

the perfect afternoon.  those iconic chairs.  that garden of all gardens.  together, it's one of the quintessential parisian experiences.

the luxembourg gardens is one of my favorite places in paris.  it is beautiful in the autumn when the leaves turn orange and yellow.  i know how to get there from métro odéon by heart.  i wish i could be there now and i wish for many more trips in the future.  sigh.

paris

quoi?

i'm looking at some previously bookmarked pages regarding ngos and humanitarian work.  all of a sudden i see a link that i didn't notice before.  i click it and the website in front of me mentions french universities that offer international development, ngo, and humanitarian degrees.

anyhow,  if i want to work for a french organization, i have to go to their schools, first.  at least that's what i think.   however, if i want to work for an international organization with offices in france, i may not need to.  i'm not too sure on this.  however, i would still need to be fluent in french.  if i have a degree from outside of france, i will absolutely need to have the right to live and work in france.  it would be easier to do it through a french education.

well, this does make things more complicated. there are schools in france for humanitarian and international development studies.  if i want to study in france, i would have to go back to a language school and have my french at a high level to get into one of their universities.  darn it.  that's at least another 6 months.

here is my list of preferred schools so far:

• Ecole Superieure de Commerce et Developpement, Lyon France 
• Universite Paris 1, UFR 11, M2 Pro - Coopération Internationale, Action Humanitaire et Politiques de Développement
• London School of Economics

a memory.

this is lyon, france.  this is the color of the city:  all shades of peach.  it is what i knew for the five months i lived there.  not to mention all the cool traboules or passageways.  lyon is nothing like paris but it still holds a place in my heart.  i suppose it was a good thing i ended up in lyon.  though it's france's second city (or third or fourth, depending on who you talk to), it is very small.  i felt like it is closer to the size of a los angeles suburb.  for that reason, i was a lot more comfortable there than i was in the one month i lived in paris.  lyon is manageable.  plus its lighter on the tourists.  it's a good place to open up an american/british company there as there isn't much right now.  lyon will surely love for that to happen.

a different direction.

 now that i know i want to work in the nonprofit sector, i need to get myself a graduate degree.  why?  my bachelors was in art. though i don't plan to do this in the next year or two, my mind is already thinking about it.  why not.  i have a lot of time right now.

looking at all the experience and degrees required for a lot of job functions out there, i'm going to need a graduate degree.  at first i looked into public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management and international nonprofits.  today i realized, managing a nonprofit is not what i was thinking.  i skimmed through a few school's curriculum.  it's not what i had in mind.  i just want to work in one, not manage it.  then i looked into international relations.  one of the girls i met at the club is studying it right now.  she wants to work abroad.  looked at those masters program at the same schools for public administration and that's a lot closer to what i have in mind.  only problem is these programs are so expensive.  nearly $50,000 a year.  i know i don't want to do that though i know it would be an investment in my future.

  i can't believe i'm looking into a master's degree.  in international relations!  i really do want in nonprofit/humanitarian arena.  i've always been one who cares deeply about those issues.  i wanted to volunteer and help the victims of katrina, haiti, any major natural disaster.  i looked into volunteering while i was in france but my french wasn't strong enough yet.  this whole time, my intended career was right before me.

next up, i have to fine tune what i want to do.  what i'm going to study.  what area i want to work in.  do i want to go into this field because i want to travel, go back to europe, work abroad, all of the previous?  am i doing this for the right reasons?  only time will tell.

coincidence

coincidences are interesting.  i had one today.

there was a new volunteer that worked with me today.  i trained her on a few things.  i was supposed to train her on the database but that didn't happen because there were too many interruptions.  so we had an hour left before her shift was over.  the computer lab is also in the same room so we mainly watched the keyboarding class.  i then started to ask her about school.  she is entering her junior year in the fall.  i asked her if she was going to study abroad.  if she wasn't planning it, i was going to tell her to do it.  fortunately she is going to do it this coming school year.  in france.  she'll be there for the whole year.  i told her about my time studying abroad after graduation.  mine was in a language school.  first, paris and most recently, lyon, in 2009.  incredibly, lyon is where she'll be studying.  i told her about the city and a few other things.  i could tell she didn't do enough research on the city.  it was so much fun talking about lyon.  i missed it all over again.

i have a feeling the heavens were smiling down on me...