Hi everybody! This is my first blog entry (and considering that I’ve never even READ a blog in my whole life, this should be interesting …)
I suppose I should begin by introducing myself a little bit … hmm … My name is Vanessa and I am from Frederick County, MD (GO FREDNECKS!). I’m a senior here at UMBC and after a lot of switching around, have wound up majoring in American Studies and French with a minor in History. I’m hoping to go to Graduate School next year to get my Master’s and PhD in American Studies/ Film Studies. I live in an apartment on campus (yay!) and I’ve just gotten back from a semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence (the south of France to the rest of you) … That’s me, hiking Mount Saint Victoire (only 10 minutes away from Aix and made famous by Paul Cezanne) in the photo at the top of the page.
My semester abroad was awesome! A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I traveled to a bunch of different places (Ireland, England, Denmark, Monaco, Italy, etc ….) but this is still one of my favorite pictures from the entire semester. I am cursed when it comes to hiking in Europe (this picture was obviously taken before the curse set in, lol).
Basically, near the end of our hike, I twisted my foot. My friends and I decided that I would wait at a nearby bench and they would hike around for another half hour and come back for me, giving my foot time to feel better and then more time to see the area. Let’s just say they didn’t come back for me … however …. the following video might say it better …
Well, as much fun as bad-luck hiking trips were (and trust me, they make the BEST stories), I am back now and getting back into the swing of things here at UMBC. Reverse culture shock was rough at first, trying to fit back into the life I’d left behind and finding that the things I wished were different had stayed the same and the things I wished were the same had changed forever. Still, whenever I get lonely for my life in France, I remember the struggles I had learning how to cook with a hotplate and a toaster oven and then think about my lovely kitchen in my current apartment … HOORAY FOR MODERN APPLIANCES!!! Flipping the sign from “Dirty” to “Clean” on our dishwasher makes me really appreciate being back! I’m serious!
Soooo …. that’s who I am and that’s where I’ve been and I can’t wait to see what’ll happen next! A bientot!
