albuquerque, new mexico.

So, I've realized that i've been on hiatus for quiet some time. But that's to be expected of me adapting to situations and new experiences in my life. But I am here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three weeks have gone by and I feel finally ready to share what I've been doing.

Week one was a bit of a challenge. Despite not knowing anyone in Albuquerque except Bob and Suz, they introduced me to so many people that live their lives how they love to live.... making art or being a part of it in some form. I've met costumers, jewelers, knife makers, ninja warriors, sculptors, heard stories from actors and artists alike. Which lead me to where I am now.

Week one was spent on a ballooning crew for 5 days. A regiment. Everyday i'd wake up at 4 am to get myself ready for a day of ballooning. The International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque is the most photographed event in the world. Being an amateur enthusiast of photography I felt that it was something I needed to be a part of but not solely for the photos. It was being a part of so much more. At this point in time in my life I'd be at preseason practice for basketball. The NCAA starts preseason practice in September and goes till a time in October where real practice starts. I felt I was missing that part of my life this year a little bit, but I realize now that in true form, I was a part of a team. New people, new experiences everyday. My team was all very new to me. I didn't know a single person. But my next door neighbor, Rachel, took me under her wings and showed me a totally different world.

Hot air balloons.

Now if you're from the midwest like I am, you'd realize that hit air ballooning is somewhat of a figment of the imagination. I got to live it. I dont particularly consider myself a morning person but I know when there is something too good to pass up. Judy- our pilot, who happens to be the municipal judge of Albuquerque, couldn't have been more welcoming. The first morning I was sitting at breakfast eating breakfast burritos in the crew and pilots tent with our crew, Judy made a point to include me in everything that was going on. While everyone was chatting and finishing their food she said "want to come see what the weather is like today with me?" Inside I had no problem getting up to find out what it was all really about.

The mornings usually started as this: We'd get to the field. Meet in the tent for breakfast and everyone would have something to tell each other. It was all very strange to me at first, being a 22 year old amongst people in their 40's 50's and 60's on my team, to get things together. To be honest I was the youngest in the bunch but there were younger people who came along for a similar experience. A crew memeber Ken and his grandson were both their the first day i started, totally unexpected ot meet anyone my age, but were there for the ballooning just like I was.

My first day was total excitement. As Rachel would say.. I experienced the "thrill of the chase"-- relating to the sheer experience of being a part of a balloon crew and getting to set and take down the balloon. Our part that day was to chase and follow the pilot and her passenger, that day being my very favorite person on the crew, Ned, from West Lafayette, Indiana. I got to see the inside workings of a hot air balloon team and even got to be a part of it.

Day two was no different from day one. I woke up @ 4 am to greet Rachel at my front gate and go meet the rest of the crew to caravan into the fiesta field. We ate breakfast et al. That day was a competition day where balloonists would compete in different events to try and win prizes such as $200 or even a new car. Judy decided that the weather was too risky to even put the balloon up that day so we didn't. I was adjusting to work with Suz so I felt compelled to go home and try to work some instead of jsut playing.

I continued crewing the rest of week only to be totally humbled by the experience of "flying with out wings" for the first time in my life. Being above the ground so many thousand feet made me feel things in a different light. When we were trying to find a place to land... the winds stayed steady and fast. Our landing would've been so much different if kind fellow balloonist didn't literally lift us up. We landed safely in a parking lot where 5 other balloons landed shortly after us and every person around lent a helping hand. Something I really liked to see. It reassured me that I was supposed to be here, even by the kindness of strangers. Later that afternoon during the normal tailgate after flight I was inducted into the Wicker Clan by hearing the story of ballooning and being blessed with an Irish prayer. In the Irish fashion, there was drinking involved... but with Champagne.... how French.

We listen to the story about the first flight of the hot air balloonist which really existed only of a turkey, a duck and a goat. Started in all in France-- how nostalgic of me.. (GEORGE). At the end of the story the whole wicker clan says an irish prayer and "blesses you" as you drink champagne from a plastic cup with out hands and ultimately pour water over your head as you're trying to drink while saying, "don't spill!"

What an amazing first week.

The second was a bit more frustrating for me.

I realized that I can't be good at everything and that I'm still learning and will constantly be learning in my life. I feel that it's the only day way of doing it.

Week three proposed a challenge for me: A visitor and work... when I work from home. My dear friend Jake came for a visit a few days earlier then expected and it realy put things into perspective for me.... I'm here to do what I'm here to do... work...learn and be a part of a different way of life and had a hard time separating this for the most part. I'm glad that it was Jake I was with because he had no object to me doing what I needed to do during the week despite my feeling of being a "bad hostess" because I couldn't cater to him. But he's a willing and able human. Thanks Jake, for being able to see past the surface of what most would expect from a visit.

Right now I feel very willing and able to do anything and everything especially with the help from my "landlords" or "bosses".. but those words to me don't seem to fit how Bob and Suz have taken me in. I feel really a part of their family. They like having me around and I like being around with them. I have so much to learn from them-- and I know their never ending life experience is going to give me a lot of what I need for the future.

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. I get to see a bronze pour for the first time in my life.. a feat that Bob describes as "spectacular". Then a costume party hosted by Suz's son and fiancee, her son who i've known my whole life. I'm very excited to continue to be a part of this world that I've found here in Albuquerque.

Chicago-- i still love you, but I'm doing what needs to be done.

Thanks for being so supportive the past few weeks... Bob, Suz, Mal, Sam, Jake, Sheila, Megan, Britt, Brandon, Kenny and Kelly. you've all really helped me.

Now-- HERE WE GO! I'm ready to continue. Until next post.

Peace and much love,
kmb

How Far We Travel in Life matters far less than those we meet along the way

So this entry is reallllyyyyyy over due. But I found my journal from Paris/Amsterdam and decided these posts needed to go up.

The beginning of the journal are letters etc I never sent, but that's kind of like me.. I write letters and never send them.

"I'm never traveling with out my passport again" Katherine Lauri Johnson
10/31
Amsterdam
I'm sitting at the Centraal Station with Katherine, O'neill and Charley. The space around us is incredible. The roof is on massive arch.. the whole place is amazing. This is pretty much our day. We [Katherine and I] woke up, walked to meet the guys and hung in the book store for about a half hour. I purchased, "My Name is Charles Saatchi and I'm an artaholic". Couldn't have found a book more suited for me in France. We had to make the usual debate about food. (just had the most glorious sugar waffle). I saw Subway and didn't wanna fuss. Katherine got a hot dog. We found the french fry place for Charley and then went on the search for a coffee shop. Walked near Daam Square and its neighboring areas we found really crazy places. Today is Halloween and I'll be spending it on a train. Maybe alone, I might be a totally different bus which I have a feeling is going to happen but whatever. I'll be in Paris tomorrow. Paris, I really can't wait to see you. Tomorrow we'll be together but I have to leae after a while back to Aix. It'll be wonderful to see Jade, Jacob and Alexis. My life here can't really be beat. I'm so ready to start a life- but then I ho and what happens? I told Charley last night how I'm afraid to go home because the drinking is going to be so strange to me especially with my friends. I'm just afraid that going away will have changed so many things- but at the same time I needed do this. Tomorrow is our first game of the season!! It's so weird that I'm not going to be there and they're at SIUC. I really truly miss being around my bball family but it's a bit a part of growing up. I really want to Meg about moving to Denver. It's scary but I'm really graduating. I don't know how I'm really going to handle that... just another journey ahead, I suppose.

Just some random prose..
"Our seating changed from wall table to chill area to the coolest box area for smoking hookah near the front window. I drank a beer and watched soccer highlights and day dreamed about the boots that girl was wearing. Everyone [enter TGUK- No way to begin] was kind of doing their own thing when I saw Nick walking past on the street. O'neill ran out in so much excitement. The two of them and Nick's friend Kat came in and sat with us. I feel like the weekend was good for us and came full circle."

"The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty to think, to feel and do as one pleases."

Amsterdam... WHOA! We arrived last Tuesday evning and now we're heading home to Aix. When Katherine and I arrived in Amsterdam we took the 2 tram to Leidseplein. We got off to find out Hostel. Once that happened I was so realy to find a coffee shop and we did not too far from Leidseplein. We went back to the Hostel for beers and hanging out with some of the people staying at the Hostel. I met two guys who went to Stagg and grew up in Palos. It was seriously such a small world. I also met this guy from Estonia, the first Estonian to enter my life! He was really cool and had been traveling for about a year.

"since i've been here I've never felt more meditative then when sitting in front of a Titian"

"we're not tourists, we're fucking FRENCH!"- Mary Hamilton

"Etonnante peinture, sans dessin et sans bord, critique sans parole ou l'art sans le secours des forms sans vignette sans anecdotte sand fable, sans allegories corps et sans visage par le seule vertu des ton n'est plus qu'effusion lyricisme ou le coeur se raconte se livre change ses emotions"- Les Nympheas

11/15/09
Paris

It's really interesting leaving Paris. I truly don't feel like I've gotten my fix. I saw the Eiffel towe but Really didn't see it. But what I see was something totally different then what most would see. We staying in the 5eme Arrondissment. Our hostel was great. Pretty nice for a hostel Jamin, Katherine and Joy were my roomates. I thought it was going to be hard at first but they were all great. Our first day we had some train problems leaving Aix so we lost a few hours. Once we arrived in Paris, we made our way to the Grande Palais for the Renoir exhibit. I've never seen Renoir in person so it was exiting to be going. My entry group was Kate, Nick and Joy or "team sexy" as we called ourselves. Ha. We were able to walk arond for a bit before our entrance time. Sandwiches were desperately needed because we didn't have time to eat so, we went back to the metro station and got some food and mosied along. We walked toward the place where Napoleon was buried over the most beautiful bridge above the Seine. We noticed a few "l'espaces vertes" and watched the guys playing rugby rough one another up while the ball was in play. And we even found some inviting grass to lay on.
We returned to the Grande Palais and entered the exhibit. I fell in love with one painting in particular. Country Dance (Aline Charigot and Paul Lhote). The way this woman is painted really makes me feel like she's truly happy in the arms of the man holding her. She's laughing. The way she looks over his shoulder makes me wish i were this girl and the way the man (paul) holding her is paying careful attention-- absolutely made me fall in love with him and this painting. The unity of the exhibit was great. I love the photos of Renoir's life.
We headed back to the Hostel to get some awesome college dorm food. haha. We had diiner and after all went to bed. The first night's sleep was amazzinnnggg!
The next two days were spent at the Louvre. I wasn't quite sure what to expect becuase I'd never been before. The quarter outside was huge. We walked thru a square to get to the main entrance. Ahead you'd see the massive arches that date back a few years, the most incredible fountain; it was striking even though it wasn't projecting water. You could seriously feel grandeur that the Louvre holds even on the outside.
We saw Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese exhibitand looked at Titian that was maybe a Giorgioni through the morning session. The afternoon was dedicated to Rembrandt's "bathshiva". It's incredible how far you can arrive in a painting by looking, seeing and discussing what's going on by differences in color form subject even light.

After the Louvre, John and Alan took us to a pub in St. Germaine for a post work beer. After the pub we walked a long the river. Nick, O'Neill and I decided we needed to have a birthday beer for (for nick) by the Seine. And by birthday beer I mean we went to a convenient store and bought a few and shot gunned them. :) We made it dinner a little bit late but everoyne had gotten our food for us- what sweethearts! Since it was Nick's birthday Mary surprised him with a cake- Mary is awesome. After dinner some us decided to go to Notre Dame and hang out. Martha's friend Zoey is studying in Paris for the semester so she came to meet us. We hung out there for a few hours then walked home. Listening to Sigur Ros' album ( ) along the Seine was one of the most incredible experience of my trip. Paris is truly magical even with out music but when you have the right song and open your eyes to what's around you - you find meaning to so many things. Music is a language that I speak and it speaks loud and clear to me.
Friday morning we were at the Louvre again. We split into two different groups. Martha, Jamin Nick Joy and I were with John. We visiting the Marquis by Goya and then Delacroix's sketch of "The massacre at Constantanople". Then saw the final version in the great big rooms. THE LOUVRE IS INCREDIBLE [Getting rid of the old feelings, the old way of thinking.]
I knew how extensive and amazing their collection is but I never thought of how amazing it would be to stand in front of these pieces and dissect them as if they were a worm in 7th grade Bio lab.
We left the Louvre around midday and headed dwon along the river towards our afternoon session @ Musee D'Orsay.
We bough sandwiches and ate on the steps of the D'orsay. We broked into small groups again for the afternoon. I was having a really hard time concentrating and standing in one place at a time. My legs kind of hated me because I'd been running a lot before Paris and forgot to bring my running shoes- so they were pretty restless. We looked at Delacroix, Lautrec and Van Gogh. Because I was having a hard time concentrating and was in a very small room where the Lautrec, I had a small panic attack. It was kind of scary but i got out of it. Our afternoon ended in front of some Daumier sculptures. I thought it was fitting to do a cartwheel in the museum at the end of the day.
Mary, Martha and I went for a glass of wine in St. Germaine. It was so nice to se a little big of a different side of Paris wtih two great friends who know the city. We walked back for dinner ended up staying in and playing cards in the boys room. Saturday morning we were at the D'Osay again. small group assignments were given. My group looked at Monet's "Camille". That painting was so incredibly powerful. I ended up sobbing in front of it. It was a very tender moment towards the end of our session. Our second painting of the morning was a Cezanne "Old Man"-- it was a painting with an amazing color palette. Cezanne has a way of applyin paint to canvas that's soft and harmonious.
The afternoon was spent at the l'Orangerie. I'd neve seen such an amazing exhibit in my life. The cool part of the afternoon was that we were given an assignment to concsider explore and discuss the relationships of this work by Monet. (The waterlillies). To set the scene you walk into a normal entrace of a museum. We walked to where the exhibit was after receiving out tickets. The first room was a round room with small verticle slits on either end. There were two entrances to the exhibit. Either door would bring you to the first room and it hit that you you're looking at these huge panels of color and you start to recognize that you're seeing Monet's "Les Nympheas". The white surrings of the oval shaped roomsgive your attention to the paintings. The first room held panels that were seemingly done @ different times of day and different times of the year. After spending time in front of the nymphs in the first room, I moved to the second and found myself in awe. The sound was more open because the room was larger and the painting were almost able a conducive series. Walking around the room was like walking around an island. I took a few laps and realized a person could go crazy in this room if they were moving around at a rather quick pace. But walking around the room you were able to get a feeling of being right next to this body of water. Being at the Orangerie and having been to Giverny where these were painted gave two very different experiences but all in all both unique and memorable.
After the Orangerie some of us went back to the hostel. It was 2 day before my birthday they surpsied me with a raspberry tart cake from Paul to celebrate. I felt really special. We opened a few bottles of wine after dinner, played some cards and formulated a plan for the night. We went to a bar called Pop Off in the Murait to meet Martha's friend Zoey. We stopped for birthday beer along the way thanks to Nick. We got a pitcher and the night was off. Good conversation and dancing with some of the greatest people I know couldn't have been a better birthday. Sunday morning we went to Musee Monmartent Monet in a pretty nice area near the Eiffel Tower. We had a great last morning looking at more Monet. I was kind of bummed because I had to leave early to catch my train to geneva to meet my International Relations class.
(insert train ride to Switzerland)
I met Meg and some of the other girls when I arrived in Switzerland. We had a great dinner then went back to the Hostel. I was pretty whacked out because I was so tired. Monday we went to the ICRC, The UN and Botanical Gardens and on Tuesday to the International Office of Migration. I am on the train back to Marseille and I'm still exhausted. I'm going to London this weekend which I'm excited about. I get to see Mike, Maz, Sal, Rob and Franny. Steve and Laura may or may not be there which is a bymmer but It'll be a great trip either way. Really looking forward to it. Tonight I'm going for a beer with Nick and Thusday is CURRY NIGHT!!


...that's just what I wrote in my journal because I know i was going to be busy after returning from Paris... hence why it's taken me a year to put this up!

Dear readers...Sorry to keep you on your toes, but i'm sad to say you might have to wait longer for entries about Paris, Geneva and the weeks to follow. I'm just about at the breaking point of insanity with school work. (And someone once told me study abroad is a joke, HA! I've never worked harder in my life.) Stay tuned...

Sylvia made me write this post.

Only because my dear friend-sister Sylvia is active follower of my blog, I decided I'd fulfill her wishes of me updating. Yes it's been almost a month but I've been busy and out of the country....ha.

This was written previously on my way to Amsterdam from Giverny

27/10/09 Tuesday.
Listening to: Pixies: Surfer Rosa

Dad's visit was nice. It was really intersting have him where I'm living now. It was really funny to see him just walking down the street in the middle of a French day. It was really a great visit. I'm glad that Kathy and Bob Schmidt came too. From what I was told about their travels, it sounds like the three of them had a ball in Paris and Lourdes as well as Aix with me! Dad arrived on a Monday when I had my critique for midterms. It was kind of a bummer that I able to hang out with him for more the meals when he was here, but it was midterm time and I unfortunately had them. We we're fortunate enough to be able to go to Marseille. The only downside was the the temperature and the abundance of precipitation going hand in hand with the wind. We made the best of it. Jade and Jacob, my host parents, invited my dad, Kathy and Bob over for dinner Wednesday evening of their stay. Jade and Jacob couldn't have been more welcoming. I thought the translation barrier was going to be cause a lot of problems but I think we did very well with that. It's always funny when your brain switches on and you can figure out what you want to say and how to translate that to others. I also think that with a glass of wine and aperatifs helps everyone relax a bit more.

The rest of my midterms we're too bad but it's still very weird that it's almost november and this adventure is almost done.

Dad left Friday morning, as did I. I had one French class before departing where we watched "Paris Je T'aime". The film is truly brilliant. Les Marchutz left for our great adventure to Giverny around 10:30. We arrive in Paris :) and transferred to the metro. (side story: while waiting for Alan to buy our tickets for the Metro, we had noticed an abandoned bag at the Gare du Lyon, which is one of the central train stations in Paris. We moved a ways away from it when the security of the station came down and roped it off. It was kind of funny seeing them put queue markers up around it, you know just incase people wanted to come and check out this abandoned bag.) We took the metro to Gare St. Lazare and made out way to Giverny. Arriving in Giverny, we were met by a woman called Verral. She is a friend of Alan and John's and is very intellegent, resourceful and overall a nice person. She took us to where we were staying for the week.

Since there are 12 of us we had two house on the Terra Foundations grounds in Giverny. The Terra Foundation was started in Chicagi. It was once a museum on Michigan avenue but they close it and continued in different fashion of the Terra Foundation.) The 7 girls stayed in the big pink house :) and the 5 boys stayed in "The Bear Den" as O'Neill would call it. We had the most incredible gardens on our grounds. Givern is a good place as is but where we were tsaying one enhanced out experience. Firday night we had some aperatifs with Verral and had our first dinner of Quiche (which would continue to be a dish for our dinners.) After dinner we sat outside and didn't stay up too late.

Saturday morning I woke up really early so I could go for a bike ride. It was still pitch black when I got up but decided to go anyway. After a while it started to rain so I idnd't want to get my camera wet, I headed home. I had a nice breakfast with Mary, with BIG cups of coffee- I was in heaven. We met around 900 to walk around the town of Giverny. The majority of the morning it rained but we saw the whole of Giverny. Up until lunch time and afterwards the lot of us painted the garden from our backporch. Later that evening we had Quiche for dinner, but it didn't matter. We were together and loved every second of it. Sunday morning we went to Monet's gardens. Wow- I really had no idae how breath taking they are. We spent the majority of our time in the many different part of the gardens. For my work that day I paintined in the gardens and took some pretty rocking pictures. I Sunday night we had a few previous students come for dinner. and it was kind of weird having them there because John and Alan were at dinner with Verral.

O'Neill opted to teach us Texas Hold 'em. Instead of using chops or €/$, we bet sips of wine. Probably not the best idea. I think there was one point a bet of 45 sips, of course the losing party didn't take those sips because it's just silly to do that with nice wine. Diner was lamb, rice and potatoes. It was pretty disappointing. It was bad news for me because I didn't want to eat meat that day when I probably should've. After dinner we were outside on the porch for a while where we had a small night painting session. Charley, Mary, O'Neill, Katherine and Kate all made some good stuff. Charley, Nick, Mary and I were the last ones outand it was nice just hanging out. Mary and Charley wen t to bed so Nick an di Stayed up and some some photos in the studio. I tried giving him a photo lession but it turned out to be a bit of mess. Monday I did some water colors in the morning, went to lunch and attempted an oil in the afternoon but I felt it was really unsuccessful. John and Alan though differently. The museum forgot to send us dinner so we order pizza. We played assassin thorugh the majority of the night. Nick eventually won because I didn't want t o play anymore. Alan came in to join the game of Poker we had going on. So, some of us ate together while the others played cards. The pizza was lousy as usual but still together we were in a good spirits. Mary, Martha, Charley and I foind ourselves hanging out upstairs in mine and martha's room with a bottle of wine laughing out heads off at the silly comments we were making. Eventually we joined the rest of the gorup outside.

The frivolity continue for a few more hours. What was meant to be sleeping upstairs in my room turned into a small fance party/dog pile on Martha's bed. It was pretty funny to be quite honest. We really have a sense of community between the 10 of us. We really are a family. I'm so lucky be with such amazing people at the end of my college career, making things seem a little strange. This morning I woke up next to Mary and Charley, I guess we all had switched rooms. The house was a mess so we had majory cleaning to do. I had about 20 minutes before we had to leave for the train so I walked by my favorite staircase at the Butler house and just listened to "Sweet Avenue" by Jets to Brazil. The line "now all these tastes improve through the view that comes with you. Like they handed me my life for the first time it felt right" completely blew me away looking at some of the most beautiful things my eyes had seen. I finally got my fall color in the fall weather:) I was really missing that down in Aix. It felt right ot be in Giverny with these people. Currently I'm on my way to Amsterdam with katherine. We're meeting the boys in the morning and our Dutch vacation begins. We were given assignments in the Van Gogh and Rijks Museum of paintings to look at. I hope this leg of our trip is going to be graet. For now.. you'll find me lost in art and music.

Amsterdam really was a lot of fun. Katherine and I stayed at a Hostel called the Flying Pig. Sitting downstairs in the bar we met these two guys from.... CHICAGO!!! Not only were they form Chicago, but they were from Palos Park. that's about 5-10 mins from where I live. They also went to Stagg High School, one of the three in my HS district. You never really know how small the world is until these kinds of things happen.

We woke up Wednesday morning with O'Neill's head popping through our door. Stupidly, O'Neill, Nick and Katherine all forgot their passports. How that's possible i'm not sure but it was kind of funny hearing the boys story about Passport control coming onto the bus. Wednesday we basically just explored the city. We had a rockin lunch at this cute little cafe where they would sell light fixtures from the ceiling. It was pretty cool. I had the BEST aubergine and humous sandwich. Nick showed us a lot fo the city because he's been there before.

Thursday we went to the Rijks Museum where there was an exhibition for the Masterpieces. It was a good three house museum session. We looked at some really great pieces but were getting antsy to do something else. We walked around the city for a bit while longer and explored the canals a little bit. WOW. The canals are some fo the most beautiful bodies of water I've ever seen. The way they were placed through out the city and the overal aesthetic gives me a huge appreciation for them. We went back to the boy's hostel for a bit. Took little naps and the boys showered. We went out and had sushi for dinner that was A-w-e-s-o-m-e. We retired early because we were runnin low on fumes.

Friday we met the boys around 1. Katherine and I spent the morning sleeping in a bit then going out to shoot some photos. It was nice to be able to just go out and shoot for the fun of it and not for work. I think being in Amsterdam helped with my photos because there were so many things that appealed to me. I took some great shots whilst being there. We finally reconnected with the boys and went over the Van Gogh museum. This museum was SOOOO great! There are 4 floors of predominantly Van Gogh pieces and the majority are amazing. I had seen a Van Gogh/Gaugan exhibit in Chicago when I was younger and remember looking at his pear tree for about 20 minutes and when I saw it in it's proper home I couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

We left on Saturday to get back to Paris on sunday on an overnight bus. Boy was that an experience. All this time I thought I was going to be away from traveling on coach busses but I find myself more and more on them whilst I'm here. Basketball season must be here! We arrived in Paris and were able to hang out at Mary's apartment for the remainder of our stay. She showed me around the Mazarin, the oldest part of Paris. I saw a lot of the old squares that definitely looked like 1940's film. It was so quaint and endearing. The train ride back wasn't too bad but I was just totally pooped by the end of the trip. Good thing I didn't have class until 2 on Mondays.

Last week we started painting still lifes in the studio. It's really different to paint a still life instead of just draw them . I had a bit of trouble working it out but I'm getting the hang of it. I want to crank out at least two or three more painting before we leave for Paris. I can get it done.

Wesnesday we're leaving for Paris..... I AM SO EXCITED!!

I'll try and keep this updated but my schedule the next few weeks looks pretty busy.

11/11-15/11 Paris
15/11-17/11 Geneva
17/11-20/11 Aix
20/11-23/11 London
23/11-03/12 Aix
03/12-06/12 Paris or Barcelona
06/12-18/12 Aix
19/12-31/12 Chicago
31/12-MAY Quincy

Got a lot of places to go and see!!! I'l try and keep you all posted!

Danse: Waiting

Tonight i went to one of the presentations of the "Fete de livres" which is an asian book festival. My host mom Jade had one of her books published and is highly involved with it. The dance I saw tonight was called Waiting. It was one of the most interesting things that I've ever seen in my life. here are some pictures that I took. They're all long exposure because I wasn't allowed to take picture but I did anyway with out flash.

Weather

Today's seminar was great! But the only thing that's really eating at my is the weather....

It got cold. Mind you I'm a Chicagoan, I LOVE the cold weather.... But it changed so suddenly here!!! Last weekend I was wearing shorts and a tank top... This week I'm trying to hold on for dear life to stay warm.

Let's take a look.....

Today's Forecast for Orland Park, IL

High /
Low (°F) Precip. %
Today
Oct 15 Showers 41°/39° 60 %
Fri

Tonight
Oct 15 Partly Cloudy 41° 20 %
Fri

WELL LOOK AT THAT!! Just no rain.... Can't wait for my winter coat to arrive on monday....!!
OH YEAH AND MY DAD!!!!!!!!

As of today

I've officially quit smoking. I've been two days smoke free.

It's a little harder then I thought. (being around smokers 24/7).

I've decided instead of smoking- I'm going to run a marathon.

I've said all of this before... but there's something about being here in France that's giving me a little extra drive to not just fall back into old habits. So, I've decided to quit smoking and run a marathon.

My first goal would be to run a 5k. Second 10k. And where I can squeeze in the others. This is not for anyone else... solely for me. I've realized that I my body is still capable of being very actice despite the past injuries... I'm not wimpingn out this time. I'm going for it. In May Quincy hosts a half marathon, that's ultimately my goal for second semester. I might have a little bit of help form Ms. Brittany Carper who might run it with me :)

All is well today.

quit smoking, run a marathon?

just something i've been thinking about here...

http://www.chicagorunner.com/staceys_first_marathon.html

Migranes, Van Gogh and Mistral

So where did we last meet? Ahh yes, last sunday. The Migrane. Well, I want to say I bid it "adieu" but stayed with me until about Wednesday, coming and going. Which was a total bummer. Not sure why it was happened, but remember why I never got truly sick as a kid...when I truly was, I can't move. It turned into one of those kinds of head aches.

Aside from that the week was pretty good. I wish i had more time to blog about what I'm doing during the week but it's all just go-go-go! Monday was a very successful day in the landscape. I kind of feel like Monday's are my day to paint. I never really get a "case of the Monday's" here but at home it's brutal. Looking at how my paintings have progressed I feel like I'm going to be prepared a little bit better for returning home and trying to put together my senior show. There's just so much I have to thiink about for next semester... basketball, what classes I need to take to graduate, sr retrospective show, classes in general, becoming an adult?! Ahh I dunno. It's just weird to think that in a few short months I'm going to be done with school... but right now I'm in FRANCE?! My life is so crazy right now. In so many ways!

Tuesday was the normal long day. Katherine and I went out but it was so bizarre because it seemed like Aix was a ghost town! Wednesday was spent sitting in my room all day because the migranes returned. Thursday I was back at it.

Thursday night we tried looking for somewhere to watch MLB postseason games, but I guess France could care less about who wins the stinkin' World Series!! It was kind of frustrating. Katherine and I ran into some guys we know from IAU near the Pizza Place. The 5 of us went to IPN, got some drinks and the night commenced. The rest of people we knew that were out that night followed close behind to IPN. The bar tenders at IPN are american students and they are some of the coolest chicks we've ever met. They're hilarious too and kept giving us discounts on our drinks which is AMAZING because firstly, they can't serve true liquor, like most bars in Aix, everything is premixed and most things don't taste good. So, it was good becoming friends with them. Hearing the music pick up, everyone around us started to move a little faster, dance a little sillier and make their way over to the dance floor. I ended up staying until about 1:30 knowing I had a field trip to Arles in the morning.

On my walk home I could see and hear the lightning from a distance. Just as I was rounding the corner at Place de l'Université a ::CRACK:: whipped overhead and the rain hit the ground with a loud thwap. I stood and just looked up and screamed " YES!!" If you think this is weird, then so be it.. but I'm Chicagoan. We have four seasons. About this time, I'm heading over to the Corn Stalk Farm to hang out and sell some pumpkins, be wearing long sleeves, hats and boots, while watching the days get shorter. Here-- the weather had been consistantly warm during the day and cool in the evening, a summer cool. When the rain started, the tempurature dropped a good ten degrees making me shiver as I walked home, but it was fine because FALL in France had finally arrived. Just as I was passing St. Saveur behind me I hear "Excusez-moi, Mademoiselle, pardon! pardon!" I turned around and looked to see a normal looking guy who looked kind of lost. I was waiting for it to be some creepy French guy but to my surprise he said "Parlez-anglais?" He needed some directions to the Sun-set Cafe in Aix. I didn't know where it was so I felt really bad. But he was American as well. Because it was raining so hard we stepped under a doorway and we're talking a bit. He asked if I wanted to go out to the bar with him, but I politely declined because I was already on my way home. WIth the proper greeting of an "air kiss" we said our goodbyes and left.

I got home with a huge smile of my face, freezing, soaked and so incredibally happy. Fall has finally reached AIX!

Friday morning I woke up, ate breakfast and made my way over to the Office of Tourism. I don't remember what I was listening to as I left my house but realized I was taking my sweet time to walk over because I was still half asleep. I knew what song I needed to listen to pick my step up... "shooting star" of course. HA! A little shout out to my boys in the Pink House! "Love just who you are... ain't trying to change ya, you are my shooting start that's why you are my favorite!" Anyway... We we're waiting until about 7:45 to depart for our trip because Katherine hadn't arrived yet. I had an erkin suspiscion that she wouldn't make the bus when i left my house a half hour previous. I was right. About a half hour into our bus rise to Arles, I got a phone call from her. She had just missed us. Oh Katherine, when are you going to learn that chronos does mean something :)

Our first stop was just outside Arles. It was where Van Gogh painted a draw bridge. We discussed a little about our reading... what we found interesting about Van Gogh. Having known Van Gogh since I was a little girl because of "Sunflowers" at our awesome old cottage in Koontz Lake, I realized I didn't know anything about his life, other then he cut his own ear off. The reading we were given was a memoir of his letter's by his sister in law. I learned much about his life, where he painted, for how long, the importance of his parents, the importance of his brother Theo, his biggest supporter, his relationship with Gaugin and so many little details that you can relate to his art.

Our second stop was in the Alyscamps!! If you are ever in Arles, the Alyscamps is one of THE most interest and beautiful places you will see. The place is famous for being a Roman necropolis. Van Gogh came to this place and painted very well known pieces known as "Les Alyscamps". Martha and Katherine, who are both in my program at Marchutz, copied a piece of Van Gogh's at the Alyscamps. I thought they were incredibally aweomse pieces but never really knew what was IN the paintings. When we got to the place I saw these huge bath tub looking stone structures in a straight line running up the sides of the area creating a wide path for walking. I had NO idea these structures were coffins! It was totally cool to see how an old place such as this continues to have all their original things. We stopped to find a place to have a quick discussion when I spotted an Osage Orange chillin on the ground up ahead.

I totally freaked!! My Keems and I found some of them near the cornfields and it's definitely something that always reminds me of two of my best friends. I got very excited.

We made our way back to the bus and were headed just down the road to our next motif. We stopped in front of an archway that read "Hotel Dieu". The translation would be Hotel God. A little confused, we all took a stab at what it truly meant. We got everything from only clergymen could stay there to a place where only god could go. But really what it was, was the public hospital. Hotel Dieu is where Van Gogh spent some time because of his mental illnesses. In Arles it's known at "Espace Van Gogh". He painted his famous, "Le jardin Hotel Dieu" in the very place we were standing. During our discussion a very kind professor, who taught at the Hotel Dieu (which is now used for schooling in part), joined in our conversations about what we were seeing against what Van Gogh was seeing. It was a very interesting conversation.

After this place walked near the Rhone where we'd stop for one more motif before walking around the riverside to go get lunch. We have about an hour to eat lunch. In French time, that's nothing. But for us, it was huge. Katherine, Kate, O'Neill, Nick and I walked up to the Cafe Nuit, where another one of Van Gogh's famous painting's were done. The food was excellend. We had to wolf it down to make the bus on time. But it was nice to be able to sit for a little while and enjoy the surroundings.

Following lunch we traveled to Montmajour, a benedictine monastery built between the 10th and 13th century. A really cool building where we'd spend a few more hours looking at a Van Gogh drawing of the lands below call "Le Crau" It was really incredible to understand that all of which he saw stretching out from Montmajour, he was able to retell on paper. The sketch of the lands below Montmajour are absolutely incredible.

We continued to our last stop of the field trip to St. Remy, the mental institution which Van Gogh stayed. We got there and it was closing with in 15 mins of our arriving so we quickly made our way up to mock up of his bedroom. We walked into this very tiny room, very plain walls and bars on the windows. It kind of brough back some bad memories for me, so, I made my way into a more open area in the next room which was a mock of the bathing area. There were some very interesting facts on the wall about the hospital itself and the area in which we were standing. The conclusion of our day was spent outside of St. Remy discussing the painting "Reaper" (three of them which were painted at different times of the day.) Before we started Nick spotted the BIGGEST worm I've ever seen in my life. It was great!!! We finished our motif and got on the bus. Everyone fell asleep on the way home. It was like we were all little kids taking a nap after a great adventure with our family, in all reality, we were, with our Marchutz Family. 7 girls, 3 boys, two father figures.. we make a pretty great bunch!

I left Friday evening for sleeping, but woke up in the middle of the night and was awake from 4 until 7:30. Luckily a friend from home was online so, I got to chat with him until I was able to fall back asleep. Saturday afternoon Katherine and I bought our Cartreize bus passes and hopped one to Marseille. Not having any real idea what we wanted to do, we got off the bus and headed to McDonalds. This is the first time i've ever eaten McDonalds in Europe and will probably be the last. We waited in line for a half hour and another ten for our food. I think because we were in an American establishment we expected speedy service etc. No dice.

After that mess of a meal, we walked towards the sea and saw this great big building to the left of us. We were pulled in and went and checked itout. We were right behind the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille. Walking towards the front the cathedral just kept getting bigger and bigger! We went inside and checked it out. Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille is a national monument and was built in the Byzantine-Roman style from 1852 to 1896. The interior was AMAZING. Enormous arches, beautiful colors and tourists (like me) taking pictures. As much as I'm going through a thing about god and church and beliefs, everytime I walk into a cathedral like this one, I get chills. They imagery is SO powerful. The structure is big that it makes you feel minute. It's still a cool feeling to get.

We walked outside and for the first time experienced the Mistral. The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind in France, coming from the north, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhone and the Durance Rivers to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea around in the Camargue region. It affects the northeast of the plain of Languedoc and Provence to the east of Toulon, where it is felt as a strong west wind. It has a strong influence all along the Mediterranean coast of France, and often causes sudden storms in the Mediterranean between Corsica and the Balearic Islands (wikipedia). We sat outside of the cathedral overlooking a port and the Mediterranean. It was simply breathtaking.

For the rest of the afternoon, Katherine and I walked around Marseille, sat by the Mediterranean, stole a bathroom, sang "colors of the wind", saw cute dogs (as anywhere in France) got lost in the streets and made our way back to Aix. Saturday night I was pooped too and didn't want to be pooped for Sunday's adventures of sailing, but because of the strong Mistral the trip was postponed. A total let down. Instead Katherine and I walked down the Cours Mirabeau and looked at the antiquers. We ran into some friends from IAU who were going to a movie. Katherine and I decided to go see Taking Woodstock or "Hotel Woodstock en Francais". It was a brilliant movie. It gave me chills in just thinking about Woodstock and how awesome it would've been to be there. It kind of reminded me of Bonnaroo and I've never been more excited to buy my ticket for this summer!! :)

Today I was woken up by the sweet sounds of facebook chat, thanks Gary :) just kidding. I ate some breakfast and went to IAU to get some studying done before I had to make up my quiz for French during a tutoring session. As much as I hate extra work, I really like my tutoring sessions for french because it gives me more time to work on my grammar and speaking...correctly. The prof who gives the lessons is very nice and is really about us speaking, which I love. (my french class we do very little speaking, bummer.) I did a pretty decent painting today too. I went after Mt. Ste. Victoire.

It's about bedtime for me.... I'm fall asleep here. Or as mom says "It's the bewitching hour".

A plus!

Bonniex to Burritos!

Well, it feels ages since I've upated! I've been keeping very, very busy with school. We started painting in the landscape near Mt. St. Victoire. Mt. St. Victoire? What's that?! Well, I'll tell you. It's just outside of Aix-en-Provence. Mt. St. Victoire is famous for the paintings done by Paul Cezanne, who lived and spent most of his life working in and around Aix-en-Provence. St. Victoire happens to be one of the most beautiful places to paint, in my opinion. I feel so lucky to be here! We went out to the "landscape", as John and Alan like to call it, 3 times last week. The first day I drew just to get a feel for what I was up against. I was so frustratedthe first day because I couldn't figure out what i should draw, where to start, where to end and relaying that all back on paper. It's such a vast area that it's really hard to narrow it down. (Especially, being the first time I was painting in a landscape area). I think I just got a little bit of stage fright the first day. The second day, I went after it. I found a nice spot after a little trek through the woods overlooking a house with these great burnt sienna hills swooping into the lush trees surrounding. I was slow getting started and didn't have enough time to finish what I was doing, so I will have to come back to that one! The third day I walked about 10 mins from our drop off point to a spot along a road overlooking the property where Les Marchutz were posted for painting. I found a great view but had difficulty because I became too concerned with little details whereas, I could've just kept an eye out and painted. It wasn't a tragedy, I just didn't get to finish anything I had started!

Friday was a WONDERFUL day. After a good french class, I walked to class with Charley to discuss our question for seminar. Each week for seminar we're given material to look over and respond to a question given by Alan or John. The only expection is the two students who will lead the discussion with a question based upon what we were doing in our field studies and what we were studying in text. Our text this week came from Flannery O'Connor, one of great American writers. It wasn't one of her short stories but actually, prose. From "Mystery and Manners" we studied "The Nature and Aim of Fiction". The discussion was based on our question, "The nature and aim of fiction is art. If painting is fiction, how can we put truth in it? What do we look for in reality to retell these truths, in painting or art?" The majority of our seminar focused on how we relay truth into the fiction we're creating. It was actually a very interesting day, as most friday's are because of seminar. Everyone becomes very animated, opinionated and stubborn with in the confines of our topic, but at the end of the day we still can leave the studio with a smile.

After Seminar, Kate, O'Neil, Nick, Katherine and I went to park and threw the disc around for 2.5 hours. It was exactly what I needed after a long Friday.

I came home had some dinner and finished my night with a little bit of wine and watched "I love you, man". I didn't go out because early saturday morning we were gearing up for our field trip to the Vaucluse.

The Vaucluse is situated in the southwest of France. Some of it's most important cities are Avignon, Apt, Orange and Cavaillon. Vaucluse is bordered by the Rhône to the west and the River Durance to the south. Mountain ranges occupy a large portion of the Vaucluse, with Mont Ventoux, also known as "the Giant of Provence". Other important mountain ranges include the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Monts de Vaucluse, and the Luberon, which is where we were situated for the majority of the day. Our first stop was a small town that i don't remember the name of. We didn't stay very long, but had enough time to get a few good pictures and use the toilet.

We were on our way to start a great day. We we're dropped off up in the Luberon on the side of the road where we were to walk from the drop off point to the city. Along the way John pointed out some very interesting trees, one in particular being the Green Oak. The Greek Oak is a tree that doesn't lose it's leaves and stays green all year round. It's really quite fascinating. We continued on our walk to a place that had a "do not enter" sign on the trees, but with disregard we made our way to the plateau where we had a the beginning portions of our day. John read passages from Christopher Alexander's "The Timeless Way of Building" as we overlooked the city of Bonniex nestled in the mountain. It was such an amazing experience hearing Alexander's words juxtaposed against the feeling we were getting by looking at this city. It was so simple, untouched and modest, that it literally brought me to tears. After, about an hour of talking and discussing our thoughts and the ideas from the text we made our way to the city.

We came to a the first big house where we noticed oval shaped windows called "the eye of the bull" as well as the many features this 12th century town had to give to us. We had about an hour to walk around the city, grab lunch and meet back at the bus at the base of the city. We walked up to the cathedral at the top of the hill getting a great view of the outer lying lands below. Descending to the lower parts of the city, we got some food and kept smelling this delicious food. John told us that we were right by one of the best restaurants in not only Provence, but in all of France, Le Fournil. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time, to stay and have a meal because we were on a tight schedule.

Making our way back to the bus, we all reconnected by a small Boulangerie. Our next stop was Lacoste. We arrived and walked through the forest a little bit and made picnick in a shady area. It was a great way to reengergize for the rest of our trip.

Our next stop brought us to a dirt road where we got off. The town of Gordes is known for it's Bories which we were about to find. John took us through the forest on a hike to see these Bories. Bories are huts made from stone. The dates are unclear when they were errected, but man, are they great. Some Bories have up to 5 or 6 rooms. They are incredible structures situated in the middle of no where. It was great hiking to find something as cool as those. We sat in one of the Bories for about 20 mins just taking it in. This particular one had 5 rooms in it. All of which were equipped with a small window. Great place for taking long exposure photos! :) I had a great time playing with my camera in the rooms. I got some pretty great pictures as well.

After our hike, we walked back to the bus to go Abbaye de Senenque, a cistertian monestary. Because John has been there so many times, he was able to take us on a tour instead of doing a normal tour. The first half hour of our tour through the different rooms and areas of the monestary was in complete silence, paying respect to the ground we were on. And it complete revolutionized the whole experience. The church itself had the craziest acoustics I've ever heard in my life. This monastry in particular was for Gregorian Chant, that's why the sound absorbed and reverberated what was sent. It is a muscians dream to have something like that. The monestary held many stories with in architecture and also, in history. We were more focused on the architecture which allowed us to see the simplicity that these monks, lived and still do today.

A long day closed on the bus ride home as we returned to Aix with the sounds of Gregorian Chant overhead. Once we arrived in Aix, we decided we should all grab some dinner and bring it over to Mary's apartment for some more quality Marchutz time. Martha had found a mexican place earlier in the week and we all started drooling at the sound. Let me tell you, I've been CRAVING mexican food since the last day I was in the US. When we got there I was never happier to be drinking a Desperado waiting for a burrito. Everyone recieved their food and we were off to Monoprix to get a few bottles of wine.

We had an amazing time conversing and just enjoying one anothers company. A few glasses of wine, some singing and interpretive dance by Nick, we headed out into the night. We went to the Cesar where we had a few glasses of beer + a Giraffe (which is this huge 3 lt tube full of beer). Our night ended at the Jazz Club where we danced for a while and parted ways around 2:30.

I woke up the next morning with a terrible headache...!

Let's jsut say I may never drink Port wine again.

Sunday I spend the day doing copies of master paintings at the studio. I finished the night by watching Olympique Marseille vs. Monaco. Marseille was defeat 2-1, but no big deal for me. I don't know much about them.

I didn't sleep very well because of a ridiculous migrane i had in the middle of the night. With little to no sleep, I did some of my better work in the landscape which was encouraging for me!

This Friday, I'll be going to Arles & St. Remy for our second field trip!

When you're a Marchutz, life is good!

Marchutz, Art, Cezanne/Picasso

So! The past week has been kind of nuts. After recovering from Oktoberfest, I came back to my senses and realized I had work to do. A LOT. At Marchutz, we started oil painting. Now I've painted a little bit in my time but never with oil. I consider myself more of a watercolor girl. It was really interesting to see the difference between the thickness, amount and all the other necessaries needed to paint with oil. Turpentine, poppy seed oil, LOTS of paint, a palette knife, brushed, rags, easel, prepared surfaces... the whole bit. I've used oils before while doing prints (monotype, block.. etc) but this was a whole new experience for me.

We were to choose a painting that spoke to us and of course all of the landscapes didn't interest me, so I chose Monet's last painting that he did in Venice called "Gondola in Venice". It's a very beautiful painting but has a lot of depth to it. It's filled with so many incredible colors that it was hard for me to distinguish a lot of them. I cranked out my first copy in the first session and it was too dark. The second I completed the second day with a 5 hour session but it still wasn't right. The third is still incomplete but you can definitely see the progress made from one to the other. I think that since I was using a new medium that I was getting used to what I was doing with it as opposed to seeing what I was actually doing. I kept getting stuck in certain areas of the painting worrying about the color moreso then the relationship that was on the canvas. So I have a bit of work ahead of me to finish that one. But by the end of the semester I'm bound to finish it.

Thursday night "Les Marchutz", hit the town. Unfortunately we were with out two because both Joy and Jamin we're really sick. We planned a whole evening together. Last week was the ending of the Picasso/Cezanne art exhibit at the Musee Granet in Aix. We decided that we'd go to the exhibit then have dinner at the school later on. Since Marchutz (the school) is so far away from town, Mary, a really awesome lady in our group offered her apartment up for the evening. So, we went to the exhibit.

My first impressions of the exhibit were that It was wonderful to see the works separately but I together it seemed kind of like a far stretch. Of course Picasso is a descendant of Cezanne but I think that the two are on different levels of work. There were some really hard comparisons to comprehend. It didn't seem like the exhibit was fully brought together. That was my personal opinion, but it wasn't all negative. My favorite room was probably the third as you went through the exhibit. A wall called "Les Fumees", was enthralling. Cezanne's painting of "L'homme avec une pipe" contrasted against Picasso's 2 abstract paintings of the maritime men with pipes made you really think about color pallete and how it's applied to the painting as a whole.

The upstairs portions of the exihibit was great. There was a lot more Picasso than Cezanne, I feel, but that wasn't the best part. I got to see some other artists that I'm quite fond of. Paul Klee, LOTS of Giacometti, which was impressive. I saw my first real Piet Mondrian that totally blew me away. There was also Ingres, David, Constantin, Granet and Rigaud. I feel that it was a great way to end my experience at the exhibit because i was taking in so much information about the latter two, it was nice to be able to just stand and be WOWed by some of France and the world's greatest artists. It was about time for me to return to meet up with the group. So i made my way back through the exhibit to find everyone.

Have you ever had the opportunity to look at a painting, hear a song in your head and be able to sing the whole thing through while navigating your way through the brush strokes? I had this experience after we regrouped with everyone. I spotted Picasso's "Woman with mandolin" and immediately in my head started "Little Motel" by modest mouse. I've never been so drawn in by a painting composed by the song in my head. It was absolutely insane to have this kind of moment. The way her face just held the power of the majority of the painting lead me to believe I have a connection somehow with this woman and her mandolin.

Alors, j'ai oublie finir ma rapport, donc, a plus tard!
(i forgot to finish this entry, so I will a little later)

More pictures from oktoberfest.

Probst!!!

This weekend was my first weekend away. Let's just say, WOW. I flew to Munich with two of my friends from the Marchutz program, Nick and O'Neil. We got to Munich about 830 and had to make our way to the city. None of us speaks german so that was kind of interesting trying to buy tickets for the train. But two very kind australian guys helped us out and we were on our way.

Once we got to the Haupbonhof, I parted ways with Nick and O'Neil to meet up wtih Monica and her friend Marcus. I decided to stay with Monica and her friends at this place called "the tent". It was much cheaper then the hostel I was staying at, but my forgetfulness made me pay for the hostel anyway. (Way to not cancel!) I was near the Haupbonhof when my minutes ran out on my phone so I was stuck using payphones, which are RIDICULOUSLY expensive, to try and get in contact with Monica. I had no idea where I was but she was pointing out certain land marks and said "The Erotic house"... in my view there wasn't one in sight.. so I walked a little ways to see if I was in the right place. BOOM, in front of me, "Erotic House". I knew I in the general vicinity so I walked back to the central station stop at the Haupbonhof and finally Monica and I connected!

We made our way back to "the tent" and went to sleep. The morning started verrryyyy early. We were up at 4:30 to shower and get ready for the day. Monica, Marcus and I all left around 6:00 to get to the Oktoberfest grounds. Their other friend, Tim, wouldn't wake up, so, he had to make this way over by himself later on. We got to the fairgrounds and so many Bavarians were dressed in their traditional lederhosen and dirndls. It was so early that the sun hadn't come up yet but once we exited the U-Bahn station it looked like we were in the tent because the sky was so cloud covered. It looked almost eerie, like we were entering another world.

Marcus' goal was the got to the Schottenhammel and be there on time to see the Mayor of Munich tap the first keg, kicking off the festivities. We waited in line for 4 hours and the tent had quickly filled and we were in a huge mosh of people. Finally, decided to just walk around. We saw the little parades of the keg floats coming in. It was kind of boring, but was cool to see. Some of Monica's group from Cologne found a table outside the Schottenhammel where we were earlier so we decided to make our way back and prepare ourselves for the craziest two days of our lives.

12:30 our first beers finally arrive. When i say, i mean, a HUGE fucking beer. (pardon my german). This was not a place for beginners. Spatel was the beer we were being served. These giant liter mugs for 8.80Eu a piece were absolutely WONDERFUL. The day continued to pass and so did the beers. By 2-3 o'clock, we were all getting kind of rowdy. I was happy to be with a group of people that were so cool and that we were able to connect. Momo always knows how to pick the good ones! :) So the frivolity ensued and so did the day.

The haze of the Spatel took effect but it was okay, we were at OKTOBERFEST!!! everywhere you went you could hear people alike singing "Auf Probst...Auf Probst" as loud as they could, to a final PROBST!!! then a drink of your beer. The Bavarian people were so much fun. I'm not sure where the hours of 5-8pm went but Monica's friend Tim and I got separated from everyone else. We decided to go on a ride because a fest isn't complete with out at least some rides! We picked the one that flipped us upside down, sprayed water, etc. (Good choice Tim). The ride completely rocked us. Not only were we drunk and on the ride but when we sat down, Tim's arm was still around me and the harnesses came to lock us in, with it still behind me. An uncomfortable way to spend 5 mins on a ride thats kicking the shit out of you. And shit kicked it did. The next morning I woke up with a huge bruise on my collar bone from where the harness had me positioned. Tim had similar features.

We continued to walk around the fair grounds for a good 3 hours trying to meet up with people. Everyone's phones were dead and we had no way of contacting them. We finally foundn Jaimin, another of Monica's friends. He was such a funny guy to be with at this point of the night. We decided it wasn't worth getting pissed that we coulnd't find anyone-- so we just went back to the Schottenhamel and had some more fun. I saw a reserved table with a few people sitting there and it looked pretty empty so I went over and asked these guys if it was okay if we sat with them. Good karma was with us because not only did we get to sit inside a tent, we got to sit at the reserved table. These people were so nice and loved hanging out with us for some reason. They tried so hard to get us to go to the club with them afterwards but Tim and I were overserved that point so we opted to just go back to the hostel.

On our way back to the hostel we took the 17, but got off at the wrong stop so instead of getting back on it, we thought it was a good idea to walk around and follow the tracks. This was another 3 hour adventure Tim and I had. We kind of dozed off waiting for the train and finally realized where we were and Tim led us back to the hostel. it was a brutal day, but it was serious fun.

In the morning we were happy to find Monica and Marcus curled up in their beds. and boy did we all have stories from the night before. Apparently EVERYONE was separted at some point and then ended up together on this big hill, where they watched all the drunks do stupid things. Man, I wish I could've seen that. Tim lost his wallet and his cell phone the previous night, either on the ride or somewhere inbetween. So we went back to the fair grounds to check it out. Hang overs were starting to set in, but for some reason we all still had the urge to drink. So drink we did.

We sat at a table with a bunch of Australians, who were so funny! Tim, Marcus, Monica and I all had a great time that afternoon. Singing songs, giving kisses, playing drinking games. Nothing but pure fun with some awesome people. On our way out, we hopped the wrong train to the Haupbonhof ended up in the wrong area and had to make our way there on a different route. We got the Haupbonhof, I said good bye to Monica and Tim walked me to the train because Monica ran to get a salami sandwich. I didn't have time to go back to the hostel to get my stuff, so, I left with Monica. Me, my purse and my waterbottle were on a train that didn't go directly TO the airport but around it. So, I missed my flight. I was so pissed that I cried almost the whole way to the airport.

There were these two nice Texan's who live in London and said that if my plane got rerouted there I could stay with them, which was nice, but in all reality I knew that I'd be sleeping in the airport. I got my plans and stuff changed, wasn't cheap, but had no other option. After i got that taken care of, I called Monica and they too missed their train back to Cologne. Kind of funny that it happened to the lot of us. I was hung over, tired, spelled like beer and pee (don't ask why), and all I wanted to do was get home and shower. I slept on some benches in the airport and made friends with the cleaning guy. My flight left for Marseille at 6:45 and i made it back to Aix with in hours.

Now i'm sitting here trying to upload photos from the weekend to facebook but it's not working. So i'm going to make a list of what I need to buy before I see monica again to get my stuff back....

Toothbrush, power adapter, hair brush... good thing I traveled light this trip!!!

More ridiculous stories to follow, I'm sure.

for now, PROBST and good night.

Dancing in the... daylight?

Yesterday was a very interesting drawing class. For the past 4 sessions we've been drawing models and the human figure, like it was our job. I think by the time that yesterday's class rolled along we were all kind of sick of doing the same thing. But little did we know a quater of the way into class that John and Allan had something planned for us.

When drawing you usually use your dominant hand, no? Okay, so we'd been doing that. We tested the waters of drawing with our non dominant hand... lets just say we've seen some better work. Also, when drawing you tend to use your wrist and move it along with your forearm and fingers. Well, John and Allan came up with a creative method to get us thinking and drawing in a different way.

Firstly, we were drawing only by moving from the elbow. A lot of the strokes were turning out rounded because we weren't told that we could move our wrists. The second was by isolating the shoulders and drawing only from the shoulders. By this meaning moving your upper body at the shoulders to create line and depth. Some of us fashioned a Britney Spears shimmy as our method while others used the push and pull from each to get through the exercise. The most noteable and third part of our experiment was attatching our arm at our side and moving from the hips to draw. (Sidenote: Along with drawing we had latin salsa music playing in the background to help get us going.) A guy in my class, O'Neil had the funniest way of drawing. He squatted down a little bit and just started going after it. This made the whole class burst into laughter which got the energy flowing through the room.

I think that it's safe to say that we were all a little bit airy and loosened up when it came to continue drawing regulary.

Good work guys, mission accomplished.

First week of classes, Nice is Nice.

My first week of classes wasn't too bad. I'm enrolled at the Art program with the Marchutz School of Art just outside Aix-en-Provence. I spend a great amount of time at Marchutz because I have painting or drawing four times a week and Fridays is seminar day. We have 10 people in our program, which makes it truly intimate and allows to bond as a group. We started with figure drawing last week. It was a very interesting experience getting back into drawing the figure, as I never had much training previous. I'm excited to continue at the school of vision.... a silly joke we say, but back in the day the Marchutz school was called Marchutz School of Vision, a school of seeing. And really it is. It may a sound like something out of the 60's or 70's paired with an acid trip, but in all reality, this school is teaching us to SEE the world, SEE what were drawing and become more aware of what we're creating through our vision. It's a very cool way to put it. My Professors are both wonderful guys. Alan seems a little far out sometimes but he's got his head on most of the time... and very good insight. John is really, REALLY, intellegent and expects a lot from us. I have a feeling that being in these classes at Marchutz, it's going to allow me to broaden my self and where I want to go in life. We were paired quite nicely. :)

My other two classes are International Relations and French. My international Relations professor is very cool. He's an American from New Hampshire and studied in Marseille and Aix. He's pretty young but has a great attitude about Political Science and I see that he's very passionate about it. We started discussing the introductions to International Relations, the who, what's, where's... so on and so forth. But it's good. We were told that we get to go to Geneva in Novemeber for a "field trip" to the United Nations. I'm so excited!! i've always wanted to go. This time I won't get suspended though, :P

French class is cool... It's just correcting my corrupt slang from being around very familiar people who don't mind speaking a little broken French. (by broken I mean familar french, not proper.) That's all I've got on French....

The weekend started Friday afternoon. After our seminar some of the Marchutz students walked back to town and got food. We bought a slice of pizza from Pizza Capri, the best pizza/sandwich place a emporter (take away). Around the corner from school is a little tabac shop and a bar where you just buy drinks but can bring your food... a BYO..F. Hung around for an hour or so then we parted ways and headed home for naps and dinner. We were all pretty beat from the week and had a huge weekend ahead of us.

My host family is friends with another family who is hosting an IAU student named Chris. He's from New Jersey and goes to F & M University. His host family invited mine and me over for dinner on Friday evening. We made the walk over to their house and past Cezanne's previous residence. Awesome. When we arrived at Jerome and Kathleens house, we saw a beautiful garden included were seating area for hors d'oerves and tea, a magnificent table under an umbrella of tree branches and this wonderful old French house. Their back yard was absolutely incredible. It went up three different stories. The first level was for the clothes line, just close by you can see a rock stair way heading up to the second where you would find a chicken's cage, and the third was a pool an tool shed. The hen was awesome, as well as the pool, wonderful textile work. They had a fig tree in their back yard and from my knowledge of what Chris told me... they eat figs with everything. I saw that to be true at dinner. Figs in the salad, figs with the chicken, a bowl of figs next to the cheese.... Kind of funny to see Chris talk about how sick he was of them.

The dinner lasted a good four hours. Wonderful conversation with some very interesting people. Chris and I left around midnight to go walk around the centre ville and just get out of the house a little bit. We walked around the whole ring road. (the ring road is the primary route around the centre ville that's very well known. ) He walked me home and I headed to bed to wake up early for our trip to Nice, France.

Nice, pronounced Nee-s, is absolutely wonderful. We arrived and had about 4 and half hours to just do whatever we wanted. Some friends from the Marchutz, Jahmin, Martha, Katherine and I walked around the markets before stopping for lunch. We found all sorts of beautifully crafted jewelry, purses, paintings, clothing, you name it. Earlier in the week walking from class past shops in Aix a large ceramic cicada caught my eye. Unfortunately it was 49EU, which I shouldn't be spending on decorum. I passed, but to my luck, I found a whole bunch of them in Nice. I thought it to be appropriate to buy a small one at first then work my way up in the family. As annoying as the cicadas can be, they represent the folklore of Provence and the Mediterranean. Also, they represent lovegevity and nonchalentness. (The latter being the very attitude of Provence.) It was kind of cool to learn that. I really enjoy looking at these creatures and love even more that even though their purpose is different, they're represented well here. After a little shopping we found a restaurant that was overpriced, and not worth the hassle but we had to eat. After eating and spending a little bit of time talking to an Italian couple who now lives in France, we headed to the beach.

The Beach. Omg. The smooth mediterranean rocks under your feet. The beautiful water ahead. The gorgeous scenery behind. It was perfect, absolutement parfait!!! Katherine, Martha Jamin and I just hung out on the beach for a few hours and drank in the pure beauty that we were experiencing. I went for a swim in the Mediterranean sea and was speechless. I've been before whilst visiting Spain years previous but it was nothing like this. I swam out and watched people from the water, very peaceful from the water. We spent the majority of our afternoon telling stories and getting to known one another just a bit more. We had to be back at our meeting point around 4 o'clock to meet our group and bus drivers to take us back near Nice where we would have dinner together as a program. After dinner we were all anxious to either go to bed or go out. I chose to go out with a few people.

Katherine and I met Chris to go to the "Pizza Place", a restaurant called Le Roi Rene where we have drinks before going out. Joy, Molly, Marcel, Stephen and Andrew met us there. Our first drink was called "Get 27". I was told there would be glowsticks involved with this drink, but my first experience was a bust. It was a minty drink that is a turquoise green color that truly resembles and tastes like mouthwash. Its pronounced "Jet" and was produced by Jean and Pierre Get in 1796. In all seriousness I felt the effects of this drink rather quickly. Who knows how often I'll be drinking that, probably not so. We left the Pizza Place to go to the Wohoo bar down the street form school that has some pretty good deals and has a great building for it. It was loud, crazy and only American music was played, again. Ugh. We left to go to IPN down the road but the guys had to pay so Stephen, Katherine and I opted to go to the bar next door. Shots were 3EU so Katherine and I decided to do one.. but we didn't really know what was in any of them, so we told the bar tender... "deux shots tres fort!" (two shots very strong) Ultimately it was a bad idea because we were given a shot of tabasco sauce, lemon, salt and vodka-- all the while it was set on fire. It didn't fare well with either of us so we got beers.

The bar closed shortly after so we walked around to find some food for Stephen. I bought a Kronenbourg for 2EU from the Kabab place and we headed into what would be one of the most memorable nights of my life. We walked around to the Rotonde. Stephen wanted to go sit on the public benchs and people watch but Katherine and my agenda included walking over by the fountains close to the rotonde with the many colored lights. We were stopped by a folle (crazy) young french girl asking us about ourselves etc. We parted ways with her and turned a corner and found a couple of guys playing guitar and a drum. This continued for hours with great conversation, dancing, drinking wine and ultimately having an amazing night. These people were so genuinly nice that they were rolling cigarettes for us, playing songs we might know and sharing their wine. We arrived at the place at 1 and didnt leave until 430, it was just an absolutely transforming night. Granted, we woke up this morning with a hang over and lack of sleep it didn't bring our spirits down for a minute.

Today, we journeyed to Cassis, a small fishing town on the coast. If you've been to Paris, you haven't seen anything yet. Cassis is known for it's awesomeness. (Great terminology, I know) We were driven up to the highest point in the mountains overlooking Cassis. It was just absolutely breathtaking. You could see everything from up top. The other islands in the distance, the houses, boats, beaches, cliffs and the most beautiful water. I fell in love from the mountain. On the other side opposite of Cassis was another small fishing town, La Ciotat, where the game Petanque was invented. In all reality petanque relative to Bocce Ball. Ciotat was gorgeous as well but it was a little more industrial than Cassis was. We took the bus down the mountainside and parked the buses and walked down a very step series of hills to get to the city. Katherine and I kind of trekked solo today and went to the petite casino, bought baugettes from the boulangerie and headed for the beach. The beach was wonderful and the scenery even more so. If I were ever to live near the coast in France, it would be in Cassis. It was a magical place. Plenty of culture, visitors, cute little french kids, boats, fishermen and the locals to create a perfect Sunday.

We returned. Katherine and I were walking home and found there was a little bazaar going on for all the different associations in Aix to promote their stuff. we found a 12 piece band being crazy playing French folk songs and across the street was a group of drummers banging in perfect unison with their different rhythms only to find that you can actuaaly take lessons. HOW COOL!! If it were 300eu for the semester, I'd be all over that. But u have to pass somethings up. I had the perfect day on the beach only to return home to Aix to find more amazingness that this country hides...

What's next?! OH YEAH, Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany. :D

.99 eu sangria

Went to a bar.... americans. American music. everything. frustrated.

Le joie de vivre d'aix

Le joie de vivre d'aix
I arrived in Aix on September 5th. My plane landed in Marseille around 930 and we were waiting for our bags, which took about 30mins-45mins. I was totally okay with this but there were other form my plane waiting around in much anticipation to get out of the airport. I, having traveled quite a bit in my life, was very patient with this process despite the fact I had a purse, three backpacks and a regular suitcase. (Kind of a pain in the ass).

After the luggage arrived, I walked out to find two women rambling in French with a sign that said, "Institute for American Universities". Surrounding her were some of my fellow classmates with looks of great, err, joy, to be waiting for the others to collect their things and then follow suit to where they were situated. The first thing I heard, "Bonjour, you look very tired"... nicely put, I looked like ASS from traveling... plus a few nights of little to no sleep. (I take after my mother. When I worry about something, I think about it all night long... it's not always so favorable.) We sat for a while and once a few others arrived our group was complete.

First curve ball thrown at a few of us starts here. A small group of about 7 of us had to get onto a bus to Aix because some of our families didn't have cars, or like mine, just opted to meet us at "Gare Routiere". Once we arrived just outside the center of Aix, a small Vietnamese lady came walking over carrying piece of paper with my name in capital letters and my school, "KATHERINE BARKO, MARCHUTZ SCHOOL". Kind of funny. I was the first to be picked up when in my head I was dreading being stuck at the Gare Routiere for a long time. I followed this small woman, who would be my host "mother" for the next few months, Jade, to find a man of equal size with an untamed head of hair. Jacob me parle, "Bonjour, Katherine. Bienevue!!" ::Bissous:: (Hello, Katherine. Welcome. ::Kisses both cheeks::). Their petite frames were well paired with their car. A small Peugot convertible with limited space. I felt as if I were a giant around the pair. We arrived at 32 cours de Trinite and go into their apartment building.

I walked up the stairs to find a young man, their son, Alexi, awaiting with a great big smile to help with my luggage. He then showed me to my room and Jade explained the obvious and I started to unpack. Jade made this WONDERFUL pot (when I say pot, I mean about the equivalent of one cup american) of Turkish coffee. Because it was a special occasion they broke out all of stops. Jade cook a very lovely lunch and I experienced the quirks and queries I'd always had about the French meals. SO MUCH CHEESE. Mom, you were right. Jacob explained to me that in all French paintings you will see a baguette and some Camembert. (Kind of like Brie). The two are some of what France is best known for.

Getting to know them a little better I found out that Jade is a college Professor hailing from Vietnam, but I've never heard someone speak such perfect French. She teaches at Le Universite de Provence. (Universite de Provence hosts students from all over the world who come to live in Marseille, Aix and other areas of Provence.) Jacob is the a-typical artist in France. He came from a very poor background but through his art and his expression has been able to make a life for himself and his family. Jade and Jacob are both very, very interesting people. I've come to like them very much from the short amount of time I've been here. I enjoy this genial side of the southern French. Their family welcomed me so nicely and I truly feel like I'm at home (not real home mom) but that it's a good "home" for my time here.

After I took a small nap on Saturday, Jade, Jacob and Alexi walked me through Aix. There is an old part of Aix and a new part. I kind of compared it a little bit to London. It would kind of be like if you were at Covent Garden market place vs. walking through Bluewater. it was cool to see the drastic differences. Apart of scenery I was in for a real treat. They took me to a "concourse" or competition for young international pianists. Being as jet lagged as I was, I tried to take it all in as much as I could but still I was absolutely wiped from what was going on. By the 5th performer I was about ready to pass out. The music was beautiful but was just not the appropriate time to listen to it. It was a nice gesture of them though. From what I hear from other students, I did a whole hell of a lot more then some through the weekend.

Sunday came around and I was able to sleep in a bit. Jade made me a great breakfast. I didn't realize how soon we would be going to their friends’ house for lunch so I ate a big breakfast like I normally would. Bad idea. We walked around for about 2 hours, saw my school and various other places of interest in Aix. (more getting to know the city, which for me is pretty easy to do, thankfully.) After walking for about two hours, we arrived at Chez Marienne et son Mari. A vast difference in the size of living between chez nous (our house) and chez leurs (theirs). The couple was wonderfully accepting of the fact that I speak very little French yet my comprehension is fairly good. Same with Jacob and Jade.

We had a delicious starting course with finely chopped olives, green and black(mind, I HATE olives), a roasted tomato salad, a chickpea salad, lupine beans, bread and champagne. everything was seriously delicious. The second course came about 40 mins later. Chicken, asparagus baked with eggs, salad and more bread. The final was the cheese course-- with plenty of different kinds. I had a very mild orange cheese that I really liked but can't remember the name. A funny thing that happened was they were named from which animal each cheese was made. They kept saying "Mutton, mutton" (mooton, mooton) I kept thinking 'mutton chops mutton chops... I can't remember what they are!" Thankfully Jades intelligence helped me out and she said lamb. I had the lame of excuse of being a vegetarian.

I was absolutely full by the time dessert rolled around. I had to be back at the school around 430 for an open house, but I didn't make it in time. So I stayed in the Place d'universite, just up the road from 2bis rue du bon pasteur, the aix center, and I watched young skateboarders film awesome lines. It was cool to see that the sport is over here too!! How I love the skateboarders... hahha, guilty as charged.

I went home a little later and ate dinner with Alexi and shortly following Jade and Jacob went to a friend’s house for dinner. I passed out pretty early, but woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm paying for it now!

This morning I woke up and got ready for school. Then went out and Jade prepared my breakfast... "Dis-moi, tu veux une oeuf? deux oeufs? Haricots vert? ou haricots simple?" (tell me do you want one egg, two eggs? green beans? or beans?) I chose two eggs and have no idea why she was offering me beans in the morning. She said something about "une petite dejeuner l'anglais" (english breakfast) but don't ever remember experiencing beans in the morning. She went into Alexi's room to do some work whilst Jacob slept because he, too, couldn't sleep the night before because of his brase-mal. (bad arm) I tried listening to NPR online but realized it wasn't anything new because it was the evening at home and didn't reboot until 9EST. So I opted to listen to BBC online. Around 830 I finished getting ready and walked to class.

I was very nervous about going because it was a totally different setting but once I got there I felt a little bit at ease. There were copious amounts of speakers, ideas, rules, papers, observations etc, so on and so forth. That part of the morning was kind of brutal. Lunch time I just walked around by myself because I still wasn't comfortable in walking up to a bunch of typical american girls, the kind I kind of wanted to get away from, and introduce myself. So I did my own thing, nothing new. Once we broke into smaller groups, the Marchutz students had a meeting with Allan, one of our two main professors. A really cool dude from North Carolina. We talked and socialized while getting stuff taken care of at the same time, the way a real art group should operate. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the school and some of the students better. I met some very nice ones from my class, which made me feel content with being there... put me a little more at ease.

We had a few more sessions, A-Z with Margaux and friends. It was really just Margaux's adorable son and friend who are "les jeuns aixois" (young people of aix) telling us more about the social aspects of the city. (movie, shopping, bars, excursions in Marseille, music et al). Our final program of the day was a tour of Aix. It was informative but everyone was very tired from all the travel and changes going around. We were dismissed and I headed to Monoprix, which is the place where you can get pretty much anything... the department store, if you will, in Aix. I got some soap, shampoo and razors. Just because I'm France doesn’t meant I can't shave my legs... it's actually starting to bug me that they're super hairy... Yeah, TMI. Sorry.

I went back home and talked to my dad via iChat which was awesome and then listened to some music and chilled out before dinner. Alexi had a friend here, Josef, who really, is his uncle. (Alexi's sister, is his Josef's mother, who is Jacob's daughter from a different mother). It was a bit confusing when I was trying to figure it out from French to english... but eventually got it. We had PASTA PESTO (it was a sign that Kelz, my roommate, should've been here bc I wrote a big long thing on her fb wall today) broccoli, salad, different vegetables, bread, cheese, water, and cauliflower. I love the variety on every table. I also love that they are so accepting of my eating habits and will cater to them. They're such a wonderful family and so far I'm enjoying my time so much.

Jacob returned home when I was finishing dinner and he sat down and we chatted a while. We got to talking about music. I asked if he liked any Jazz or Blues and he said he absolutely loved it. He showed me his Jazz collection and introduced me Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. We sat in the living room and just enjoyed the simple sounds coming from the speakers and he walked in with little cheri glasses and a green glazed bottle from Asia. He explained that it was a special liquor from Vietnam. After he poured me a small portion he kept saying 'friends' but with his thick French accent, it was hard for me to decipher but once I did, it was great moment. The "A-HA!" I've been waiting for. I belong here, with these people and in this group. To further this new bond, he saw that I, like him, find leaves and put them in my notebook. He then said "tu est ma soeur" (you are my sister). It was a great feeling to know that I have the connection with the people who have so graciously let me live in their home.

I have a feeling this adventure is just getting started.... More later!