Paris...Je T'aime?

Hello to the few who actually would read this!
And greetings from Paris :)

Overall, I believe Chrystalle and I had a balanced experience of the city.
We were able to do the major sight-seeing of the Eiffel Tower (mindblowingly gorgeous, fantastic views, but crazy line - about 1-2 hrs of waiting in line), The Louvre (totally exhausting! It should be against international law to house that much art, especially by such famous artists, in one place), and Notre Dame (also a long wait, but like the Eiffel Tower, definitely worth it), but also do more low key things like sit in the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Parc André-Citroen, the Jardin des Tuileries outside of the Louvre, and wander the streets of Montmartre.

The film,Paris, Je T'aime had a huge influence on my ideal itinerary for the city, as well as the classic, Amélie. I even chose our hostel based on the incomparable district of Montmartre, which was featured widely in Amelie.

We visited le Cimitière de Père Lachaise where I kissed the tombstone of Oscar Wilde (and kept an eye out for him as well); I ordered profiteroles, just like the husband who subconsciously ordered them for his wife while he questioned if he really wanted it to begin with; We wandered around the Quartier Latin and ate dinner at an outdoor cafe (I can't remember the specific short film that was featured in, but it's a famous area); and we saw the light show of the Eiffel Tower, like the mime couple. (I'm sure there are other things, I'm just blanking on them in relation to the movie).

And Amélie --- what can I say, our whole temporary neighborhood reminded me of the movie, and the cafe she worked at in the movie was right by our hostel (I didn't even realize it until our roommates told us on the 3rd day). I think the métro nearby our 2nd Parisien hostel is also featured in the movie.

During and after our time at the Eiffel Tower (especially the ridiculously gorgeous Jardin du Trocadero with all the lovely fountains and couples canoodling around), and the Louvre, I really fell head over heels for Paris. I was infatuated with the whole culture and lifestyle and the architecture of the city is amazing and well kept.....but, just like with all infatuations, the reality sinks in pretty fast. Yesterday (or maybe starting Sunday), I already started to get jaded with the city. I'm not quite sure why exactly, but since it's such a huge city filled with so many people, maybe I felt isolated or something...especially with the language barrier. What's even sadder is the fact that I've been studying French for six years, but kind of slacked off for most of it so I can get by and speak basic sentences and phrases, but still...I'm nowhere near fluent, nor was I raised in this culture, so there's just a lot of isolation in that sense. Plus, Parisiens don't exactly have the best reputation for friendliness. We actually had some outstanding waiters, and came across some friendly faces in the travel industry...there were also some impatient ones who didn't give us the time of day, but I shouldn't judge them all by a few people.

At any rate, I felt resuscitated from the jaded ness, and today we wandered our new location still in Montmartre, and it was also a day of rest so it was very healing for me. Even though I no longer want to live in Paris (I always dreamed of living here, if only for a short period of time), I still would love to study abroad in the small town of Annecy, France (close to Switzerland).

I already typed a lot, and would love to type more, but I must get to bed soon. Gotta catch an early train to Madrid!

Twitter?

I'm still not sure which medium I'll be using to update statuses/blog-type things online, but I may actually give in to Twitter. Definitely Facebook as well, but I'm not sure how much time I'll actually have on this blog to update too regularly while abroad.

Just in case you check Twitter, here's the link.
https://twitter.com/jacquelineeo
>It may be blocked, so let me know if there are any problems!

Planning for the "Trip of a Lifetime"

Yes, the "trip of a lifetime" - as in, the cliche trek to Europe that thousands of other citizens of the world have taken. I hate the term "backpacking" - we won't even be bringing backpacks anyway. In any case, I will be going in 11 days and staying for 5 weeks.

...I do hate that it's seen as cliche. I mean, people react when you say you're going to Europe for five weeks. Either they're worried for me and get grossed out at the idea of staying at different hostels for that long (old people), or they're excited for me (young people). So most people haven't been too snobbish about my choice of trip. But lately, I've been realizing how cliche it is (although maybe not for people from Hawaii, like myself). So many people have done this before me - it's not original at all, is it?

Well, it is. It's original because I've never done it before, and I have goals and I'm more interested in the local spots than the touristy ones (although I'll be going to so many - still a great thing!). This whole process of planning has been way more challenging than I could have imagined. There are so many details to plan, and things to synchronize that it's amazing we've made it this far - and it's becoming a reality. I can only thank God for granting me this opportunity to go on this journey that's so exotic for me, being from an island clear across the globe from that continent.

Speaking of God...one of my most significant goals for this trip is to get right with God. Aside from a few small travel books, I'm going to be bringing my Bible, journal, and C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity. I want this trip to be a time of exploration, not only of other cultures, lifestyles, geographical beauty, but also of my relationship with Him. It's not a mission trip, but I will have a mission. Without Him helping me through every decision and being with me for every moment, I won't make it through. Thankfully, He is faithful, He is gracious, and He's staying with me. I'm going to have to rely on Him for so many uncertain things.
[Please excuse my obnoxious cliches]

We have the majority of our lodging already taken care of (just not Italy).
There are some last minute things to do, get, figure out. For instance, I just found out today my bank charges 2% for every purchase I make internationally with my Check card :/ And! If I withdraw money from an international ATM, it's $5 each time. Boo! I guess I'll have to work with what I got. Hopefully the euro will go down soon (sorry Europeans!).

Please keep me and Chrystalle in your prayers.
thanks for reading!