Scheiße!

Time is flying! And so much has happened in the past couple of weeks.

On Monday I came back to Hamburg after two weeks of traveling. First, we made our way down to southern Germany with mitfahrgelegenheit , which is a carpool program. There we hung out in the small, university town of Erlangen where the weather was really nice and warm! For one of our days there we went to the town of Nürnberg which has a lot of old buildings and castles and altogether just cute, old Bavarian-ness. We then took the train up to Amsterdam, Netherlands. All I have to say is, crazy. Honestly, you do not need more than three days there. Our last full day there was Koninginnedag, or Queen's Day, which is the national holiday of Holland. If you've already seen my photos you can tell it is basically a huge mass of people, party, and orange. A little overwhelming to be honest, especially having been in Amsterdam for a couple days already, but nonetheless very entertaining and fun!

After Amsterdam I came back to Hamburg for all of 1.5 days, where I had only just enough time to be sick, do laundry and pack for Paris. STRESS. But I made it to my 8 am train on Tuesday morning, and I made my train connections successfully, and landed on Paris soil (or concrete?) safe and sound. I have to say, I was a little nervous about travelling to Paris alone, but in the end it turned out be an amazing and rewarding experience. I was on my own with a tiny map in this huge city but I made it around pretty well, because I had to. Independence growing. Also, I was able to go to all of the sights and museums that I wanted to go to without having to wait for anyone; on my own time, and the weather was also warm and amazing!

Highlights: + Staying in Paris for free. I stayed with my friend Ragnhild and her room mate Lisa, who made me some yummy risotto the first night I arrived, and for dessert we ate tiny delicious cakes from a bakery down the street. This really helped me to not be nervous about Paris, and to just be excited.

+ Château du Versailles. It was really quite interesting to see this massive place where French royalty used to live. The decor and furniture was ridiculous!

+ Museums in France are free for students who are studying in Europe! Louvre, Centre Pompidou, etc.

+ Two words: tiny cakes.

+ Seeing the Eiffel Tower. Surprisingly, I was quite awe-struck when I saw it. I hate to admit it, but seeing this famous piece of architecture in real life is crazy surreal. I mean, I can't even remember how long I have known about it?

+ A small, cute, old English bookstore called Shakespeare & Company. I went there very late at night, about 10 pm (it closes at 11) and it was very quiet, not a lot of people inside, so it was really nice to experience this hole in the wall store/library in Paris. Although I believe during the day it is very touristy. I ended up buying a book there in a sort of frantic. Turns out, it has been one of the best books I have ever purchased: 'Learning to Love You More' by Harrell Fletcher & Miranda July. Check it. P.S. pictures from this place soon, all on film.

I arrived back in Hamburg very late at night BUT I had a very nice surprise waiting for me outside my door: a package from my Mommy!! She had sent it before Easter and I JUST received it last week. It was filled with some soups (my favorite), tea, and LOTS of chocolate. So much happiness. This is actually the first thing I have received in the mail from Canada, and I am so happy for it!

Last night I saw DEADMAU5 live at Dock's. SO GOOD. Oh my. I'm not sure if it is the music or the people in Germany, but this show was so much more awesome than it would have been in a bar in B.C., especially Kelowna. People had way more respect, and care, and everyone just had a lot of fucking fun! But still, those of you who are seeing him in Kelowna or at Sasquatch are in for a treat!

So basically here I am now. Haven't been to school in two weeks, although I did spend the last couple of days painting in my room to have something to show next class. I dropped off a bunch of film a couple of days ago which should be ready for pickup on Monday. Now to find a scanner...

Also, before I left for Amsterdam, the cheap airline in Europe called 'Ryanair' had a really good seat sale. A lot of flights within Europe for only 3 Euro! I ended up booking a round trip to Edinburgh in June for only 16 Euro (incl taxes)!!!!! I'm so excited. But even as this trip has yet to happen, I am still trying to book at least two or three more trips.

If you have read all of this, truly, thank you. I should really be more brief, but I guess this also serves as a journal for myself of my exchange.

lovelovelovelovelove,