That's PARIS outside my window!

Wow, I didn’t even realize that I had forgotten just how magical and wonderful Paris really is. There is no city like it. I landed at eleven, got to the hotel at noon.

Oh wait, I am forgetting some crucial detail. I was running late off very little sleep and a long night the night before with friends and half way to the metro when I realized I didn’t know which of the four terminals in the Madrid airport I had to go to. This is a big deal because they’re different stops on the metro and you can’t simply walk between them. Anyways, I was reading my ticket when I read the sentence, “passengers must provide special documentation for this flight” and I think, “yeah, duh, my passpo… oh no…” and I had a mental image spring to mind of my passport on my bookshelf. I knew I didn’t have it, I didn’t have MY PASSPORT. I didn’t even do a panicked search. I have to get off the metro, ride the metro back to my stop and was literally RUNNING with my Vera Bradley bag until I found a taxi to take me the other four blocks, wait for me to get it and then he drove me to the airport. I told him, “I AM IN A SERIOUSLY HUGE HURRY!” and even the doorman for the apartment looked at me shocked since he had seen me LEAVE for the airport 45 minutes before, when I told him I forgot my passport, he was like, “oh no!!” wishing me good luck and trying to soothe my frantic state. By the time I got to the airport and sat at the gate for 30 minutes before take-off, I felt a little stupid for having such a huge panic attack, but SERIOUSLY, how was I so stupid?? ROOKIE MISTAKE. I have never been so happy to hear the words, “Hello and welcome to Iberia flight 2342 to Paris Orly” because I really did not think I was going to make it for about an hour. That’s what I get for not drinking coffee before I left.

I’ll provide you with the itinerary of my three day trip to Paris. I think I deserve a pat on the back for all my energy and let me tell you, my feet STILL hurt from walking all OVER the place. It really was amazing though. So, so amazing.

With a few pictures. The rest to follow on Facebook!

Thursday: got to the hotel, Dad came over from the convention center.

            -We headed to Musee Rodin, the famous sculptor who did the Thinker and one of my favorite artists of all time.

           -Next was Musee Orsay, the world’s best collection of impressionism, my  favorite genre of art and Dad’s too.        

           We grabbed lunch and a coffee  there and made our way to all our favorite artists. Infamous canvases  you can’t even really believe you are actually standing 2 feet away from filled my mind and are still swirling in my dreams.

I wasn’t suppose to take any of those pictures, and even a random woman looked at me judgingly and said, “you know you’re not suppose to take photos right?” and I was like, “uh, you don’t work here and I am sneaky. You wish you were this sneaky.” It bothered me the rest of the day. I have AWESOME photos so it was worth it. One kid CHUCKED his pacifier at a Rodin statue. I wonder what Mrs.Twisted-Panties would have said to that kid's parents. This is the foggy view of the Eiffel Tower on our way to the hotel.

          -Dad had a meeting, I shopped around then joined Dad in his next meeting.
          -Dad, two guys Dad is doing business with and I headed to Dad’s favorite  restaurant in Paris by the Bastille for amazing seafood and typical Parisian style. We said what we were thankful for and had a nice time.   

          -I got a banana-nutela crepe after dinner. The crepe is worth the cost of any flight to Paris. There IS nothing     better in the world than that. Seriously.

           

Friday: Dad woke me up for a kiss goodbye. We were together I think like 15 hours,  but it was amazing just to see him and to be together on Thanksgiving. In Paris, much less.
I let myself sleep in until 9:15. I have been going non-stop and needed 7 hours of sleep. I checked out of the hotel, went over to the convention  for about an hour, had a cappuccino and found a hotel close to the                                     Eiffel Tower to stay in that night. Went to that hotel, checked in and headed out for my jam-packed day.

1.     Musee Mormattan- Monet: fabulous collection of Monet, including his palette and some letters he wrote to friends asking for money when he was super poor. I stayed here in awe for hours. There was also a Cross exhibition, my new favorite neo-impressionist.

2.     Musee L’Orangerie: Monet’s infamous Lillies are installed here. The most impressive art I have ever seen. This room of paintings sucked the air out of my breathe and totally blew me away. I was enthralled. Monet is my favorite artist of all time and it was wonderful to see these works in real life.

3.     Exploring of the gardens and Plaza Concorde. Had a beignet for lunch just because I could.

4.   Sainte- Chappelle: the stunning cathedral that tells the Bible story from Genesis until the Apocalypse in stained glass, 6, 500 square feet to be exact with 1,100 different scenes. So incredible.

 5.   Notre Dame- I was trying to find my way there, just walking around and sort of guessing about the direction. I turned the corner and there it was. After it had already took my breathe away by its proud glory, I walked toward the huge cathedral and saw this sign pointing literally straight at it. I was like, "wow, so helpful. thanks, sign." The Christmas tree at Point Zero- literally the center of France and where everything got started, was a really nice touch and made me excited for everything December has to offer.  The stained glass there isn't too shabby either...

6.    Shopping- this was a MUST. It was Black Friday after all. I got my first Christmas gifts this trip! Whoo! 

7.     THE LOUVRE I had to push myself to do this. My feet hurt and all I wanted was a nice relaxing dinner with a glass of Bourdeaux and a bed. Realizing I HAD to c'set la vie, I grabbed a hot hot and cheese sandwhich, very yummy and typical from a nice little cart and pressed onto the ridiculous collection of the most famous painting in the world.

8.     Beyond exhausted, a little rest at my hotel then I climbed the Eiffel Tower.  I was standing in front of a really great family who made the lines go by faster and the entire experience much more enjoyable since I had been alone all day long.

Saturday: Armed with six hours of sleep, I got up, had about 4 croissants because they’re so amazing and a drop of coffee (not nearly enough) I headed to take a tour of the Versailles Palace.

Because it was the best weather yet, I braved the 289 steps of the Arc de Triomphe and got some great pictures some Chinese/Korean people wanted pictures with me, I think they thought I was a celebrity or             something. Anyways, it was definitely worth the calf burning. I wish it had been a clearer day, but it was the best weather by far so no complaining came out of my mouth!

Determined to have a less busy day, to relax and enjoy Paris, I walked along the Champs-Elysees and shopped, then enjoyed a wonderful meal.
There's so much I didn't get a chance to do, but I feel like I got quite a bit accomplished with the time I had. I think I deserve a pat on the back. 

I went over to the convention to help with taking down the booth and somehow Pedro, Werner and I got stranded in the basement of the convention center with all the loading people and I really thought we might get murdered down there. Over an hour later, we finally figured out where we needed to go, loaded the van. Leaving Werner to finish up on his own, Pedro and I jetted to the airport for our flight.

I caught myself feeling ready to come HOME. One the way to the airport, I was thinking, “I can’t wait to be home.” That’s why there is the quote above and the title of the blog from that same song. Atlanta is home, LA feels like home, Tuscaloosa is home, York is home and now, Madrid is home.

And it really does feel good to be home. 

Like Barack Obama said, 'Yeah, It's time for a change"

It was a whirlwind of a weekend. I ate and drank great Hungarian food but didn’t get a chance to really see the city during the day or do anything touristy so I simply must return. I liked Budapest from what I saw, but I prefer Vienna. I didn’t like how there was no one on the streets after about 5:30 pm and that it got dark so early. I imagine it would be odd for me to live in a large city without the liveliness of nightlife filling the streets. It was wonderful to be with great family friends and to get out of Madrid for a few days.

Melania and I nailed down our plans for our break from school the first week of December- we are going to Portugal! I am SO excited. We will fly into Port and fly home from Lisbon, so we will really have an awesome time. I cannot wait already.

Of course, I am missing Dad and really upset I am not in NYC like I usually am this time of year. Especially since we didn’t go for Thanksgiving last year, it seems like it’s been forever since I had a traditional according to the Brown’s thanksgiving. BUT I have super exciting news! Dad is in Europe and I will get to see him on Thursday! Again, I asked off for work (I am the worst part-time employee ever) and was told it was fine so I will fly to Paris on Thursday and have Thanksgiving dinner with my Daddy. I. Am. So. Excited. I have been thinking for about two weeks now that I wouldn’t be able to go, so this is truly spectacular news and I am thrilled.

The first change is the melancholic/weird feeling is gone! I think it was getting out of Madrid for some fresh Hungarian air, reminding myself that I don’t need to be stressed because God is in control of this law school ordeal and knowing that I will see Dad in just a few days. There are other HUGE plans and really, really exciting things to look forward to. Paris. 4 days in PORTUGAL. Susan is coming. I am going home! Alabama football. #ROADTO14 thennn Ansley is coming in February! I was starting to second guess a few tough decisions I had made these last weeks and those doubts have totally gone, which is awesome.

When I landed, braved the rain in Madrid and made it up to my apartment door, I put in the key and it wouldn’t go in all the way. Super confused and feeling crazy, I had to ring the doorbell to get a roommate to let me in. This guy, one of the two new people from Panama that just moved in last week, informed me that over the weekend the locks were changed and the Italian that I really hated was KICKED OUT. I heard the rest of the story from the new guy and shared with him all the reasons why I disliked him and my excitement over this news. Totally overjoyed, I texted Cande (the Argentinian that I love) and our old roommate who moved out because he disliked the Italian so much. I am more happy than ever that I decided to stay here and stick it out. I have a WONDERFUL sofa, a new bookshelf and my ideal room (minus a white board, coffee table and art on the walls but hey, I am making progress!). I am seriously SO EXCITED that he is gone.

Yesterday, I came home to a NEW roommate in the Italian’s old room. A guy from France who is working here for a software company or something. He seems pretty cool. We will all be here til July so I hope that as I get to know him and the other two Panama people better, I like them more and continue to feel actually at home and safe here.

I am finally use to my crazy schedule and most importantly, the levels these kids are at. I can tell that my lessons are almost at the exact right level- there are words/phrases students don’t know, but there are also enough words that they do know for them to understand the reading or worksheet.

THIS IS PROGRESS, my friends!

For you readers over the age of 25 or for those who didn’t catch it, the title is from “Lolli, Lolli,” a rap song I listened to this morning walking to school.

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date

Determined to catch up on blogging, expect several long posts to come. First of all, about my weekend. I took off Thursday from work and went with Melania to Budapest, Hungary to help with a conference for Biolase. We were running super late on the way to the airport and totally relieved when we got there and checked in with no problems. So relieved actually, that we overestimated how long we had to grab something to eat and again ended up running toward the gate as the plane was already boarding. Running late was a theme of the entire weekend as you are about to read. Melania blames it on being Italian, I blame it on my mother who was never on time anywhere. We ended up getting on one of those moving sidewalks and having to run in the opposite direction to catch the flight. It was quite a sight.

On the plane, I was fortunate enough to sit dead center in a group of about 30 Spainards going to Hungary for a ballroom dancing competition. It was like a scene out of Home Alone. They wanted to be my best friends and share their life story and I was dying to catch some ZzZ’s. Obviously, that didn’t happen at all. They switched seats, talked, told stories, laughed, made fun of each other and screamed while I journaled with my ipod on loud yet still learning Spanish. What a flight.

            Thursday night, we checked into the hotel and Melania took me to one of her favorite restaurants with traditional Hungarian food. Wow, it was delicious. The red wine we had was very distinct and really great. We met up with some of Melania’s friends from when she studied in Budapest for two years. There was a blur of Italian, Hungarian, English and Spanish, which was really incredible. The girls were awesome and we had a really good time. We were the last people to leave the bar and by the time we said goodbye, I thought they were my long-lost friends too. It was a really nice night and the first time since I have been here I really relaxed and enjoyed myself.

            Going off very little sleep, it was time to get up and get to the University where the congress was being held. At breakfast, I found friends from Biolase and we headed off to get everything set up. Once the banner, lasers, registration table etc organized, people started appearing to register. Registration went pretty smoothly, mostly because Melania speaks Hungarian and also because the four hands doing it really helped quite a bit. The first speaker was a good family friend from Rome, so we sat in on his presentation and the next course also.

Next thing we knew, it was time to break for dinner. There was a gala that night and my boots had broken earlier in the day. Deciding that we had just enough time to run to the mall to buy me new boots and to get a necklace for Melania’s dress, we sprinted to the mall. Because I cannot read my watch, we ended up thinking that we were a complete hour ahead. As we are about to pull up to the hotel thinking we have 15 minutes to change and get to the gala at the hotel, Pedro calls wondering where we are. We were a complete hour late!!! HORRIBLE. We made up for it though by being the last people to leave. As we finally decided to go to bed around 4 am, they were setting the room up for breakfast.

Again, the next morning came way too soon. Weary and exhausted, we had another full day of laser courses ahead. The day flew by though. Interesting courses, wonderful speakers, awesome snacks and coffee for survival on breaks. With our break after the certification presentation and cleaning up, we went to get a suitcase and some other things that Melania left with a friend two years ago. Opening that thing up was like finding some hidden treasure! Again, barely making it in time to the hotel in time to change and head to dinner, we were rushed and running late. But we did it. All the speakers, several of the attendees and all the staff headed to another recommendation by Melania to have a traditional Hungarian meal. The food was wonderful and the company even better. We had a great time and weren’t yet willing to say goodbye. More drinks at the attendee’s hotel and a nice night stroll across the river to see the infamous bridges and city skyline. Walking through the city watching our breath in front of our faces, we were reflecting on what a greet weekend it had been. Melania said she’s like the rabbit from Alice And Wonderland. Exactly how rushed the whole weekend was! Just 6 hours after getting back to the hotel, we headed back to Madrid. 

if there was such a disease as dish-washing disease, i would have it

hello long lost friends. I knew it was time to blog when people were contacting me telling me they missed it. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, so here it is, a new post. i haven't blogged not just because i have barely left room in my schedule to breathe, but also because i don't feel like i have much exciting to say. but here is the full update more or less.
This week has been so ridiculously insanely busy. I am thinking to myself that I have really done it this time. I have this horrible, horrible habit of tasting the slightest hint of free time in my schedule, then seeking something to fill it. Generally what happens is, I find more than one or two things to fill that free time and all the sudden, I no longer have free time and instead of being content and happy, I am slammed into "overwhelmed" mode with all the things I have freshly committed to. Well ladies and gentlemen, old habits die hard and that's precisely what has occurred again. I will give you updates according to whats on my plate, how incredibly stressed, blessed, excited, overwhelmed and ridiculously crazy I am. Did I mention that I am thrilled to have these opportunities? Because I am. I am just at that point where I am wondering, "all this might not have been the best idea you've ever had, Steph..." So here it goes: my plate.
            The meat- SCHOOL/WORK. Working at the two high schools 16 hours a week. I accepted a second job at a private English academy in the same town as the high schools. I will be working there 8 hours a week basically from 3:30-5:30 everyday. This is exciting because its a lot of extra cash and a really cool working environment. I will also be helping the owner do some administrative stuff, getting organized and hopefully further developing the educational program of the school. Opportunities to learn galore and potentially expanding my hours in a few weeks. There are several other teachers that he has recently hired. Three boys my age from California that in the same Auxiliares program as me and two others that I haven't met yet. Anyways, if you factor in the 32 hours a week I am actually working plus time to grade and plan, that alone is most of my day and week.
             The first side- vegetables- because I know they're good for me, but the rewards are unseen and so far away- Law school applications. These puppies are due in two days in theory. Problem with that is, I am still waiting on some recommenders to get in their letters required to submit my applications. This is a double-edged sword, I feel like I can be a little lazy on my side since I can't even submit them without the letters, but at the same time, I should have everything done. I have been working furiously for hours and I've been so pleased with my progress. Like any huge task, anytime I start to feel like I am making substantial progress, I realize how much more I really have to do. Please be praying for energy on my side, speediness on the side of my recommenders and for a miracle on the side of the admissions boards. That would be one stacked prayer, but incredible when answered!
             The second side- fruit- because it tastes sweet and looks pretty- travels. I am headed to Hungary this weekend and I am so excited! I was planning to go to Paris for Thanksgiving to meet Dad, but it seems like he will not be able to come to Europe until December. Regardless, I have a few days off in December that I need to plan asap. I also got the super exciting news that my dear friend Ansley booked her flight to come see me in February and I could not be happier than a clam! I am so excited. In just a few weeks, my friend Susan will be here also. I am totally thrilled that I am going to have visitors. I'm looking forward to nailing down some of these upcoming travel plans so that we can do everything we want to do when they're here. Dad and I also have to figure out what we are doing when and where we are going for the two weeks I will be home. It's looking like my best option is to ask off of work for the second week of January so that I can celebrate his birthday with him and friends in Alabama and also we can do some law school visits. I also need to book my plane ticket from ATL-Madrid in January and decide if I will come home in April or stay here.
            The carbs- what I enjoy the most but shouldn't indulge in- I am attempting to maintain this blog, my other blog, emails, FB, my journal, my photo journal, spend time with friends here and go out. Not to mention, I really want to spend several hours everyday studying Spanish because my night classes and homework isn't enough. November is suppose to be all about working my tail off and improving my Spanish, but I haven't impressed myself just yet. Got to get better about seeking opportunities to practice and I must stop using English. I must. I also made the mistake of starting on Modern Family, which I am madly in love with and want to watch every episode produced to date.
           The icing on the cake- a few of the obnoxious things that are going on that I really wish would figure themselves out or disappear or both. With the prospect of visitors, I finally made the decision to buy a sofa-bed i had been eying from Ikea for 100 euro. I went last week with a friend to Ikea, picked out our items, pushed them to the cashier, paid the ridiculously large sum for everything and then pushed the purchases to the Transporte counter to have it all delivered. On the metro on the way home, I studied the receipt just to realize that I bought the exact same sofa, except it was the regular sofa version and not the sofa-bed version. Long story and four phone calls with friends to speak Spanish for me later, I went back to Ikea on Saturday to get the right couch. They claim they will call me tomorrow for my bank account information to refund the money. We will see if that actually occurs. In the meantime, my room does feel like home and I am really looking forward to the Ikea purchases as new additions to cleanse my zen and make for organization and a more efficient use of the space. I cant wait to have an area to lounge when I don't need to be sitting upright in my plastic desk chair.
           Also in this category, we have my living situation. I made a bold decision last week to stick it out and settle in here (part of that decision was purchasing the sofa and bookshelf to make this room feel even more like home). Well, the two empty rooms in this apartment have been sold to two Panamanians. They move in on Wednesday, so hopefully they will be cool and we will all live in peace and harmony. Also, there has been some hushed chit-chat among the Italian (this is the roommate I don't like, don't trust and realllllly want to move out like he is claiming he will in December) and our landlord about money so maybe he will be evicted or something soon. That would be GREAT.
            Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the Ministry of Education about my temporary residence card. Then I have another meeting on Tuesday with the police. Hopefully after these two meetings, my legal status in this extremely unorganized country with no regard for customer service will be finalized and I will be a legal alien AND more importantly, that this legal alien will be able to return to work here in January. It will be AWESOME to get that finalized for good.
            Thursday night I came down with the flu, but I think I am over the worst of it now. I was basically in bed for three straight days, totally useless and couldnt even lift my head. Terrible. Hope to be fully restored to healthy very soon.

So it turns out, I don't really just have a lot on my plate, I actually have the entire food pyramid. but you know what, if it's all stuff I am excited about, then all the stress is good stress, right?! Just gotta get over this flu, keep a steady IV of caffeine and power through!
I am convinced that with the 30 minutes a day or so I have to spend washing my dishes, i could really have a better handle on everything I have going on! It's amazing really how much I miss little things like a dishwasher.

distance schmistance

For the last year or so I have been enamored by this word: distance. A dear friend's quote under her Facebook profile picture (when that was the layout way back when) was "laughter is the closest distance between to people." I do not think of distance in terms of meters or miles or feet but instead in something else. Perhaps I measure distance by effort. Or willingness. Or ability to demonstrate love.
   For the last week or so, I have been struggling with the idea of how exactly to put these feelings into words. I do not want to have a depressing post, but I also want to express something that's really been heavy on my heart, especially these last two weeks. I spoke on the phone with an ATT representative who gave me some really great news. She told me that any incoming text messages are included in my unlimited text plan. THAT MEANS YOU CAN TEXT ME FOR FREE (to my US number). I have 50 texts to send back all month for a measly $10. But if you have something you want to say or tell me and you're afraid you'll forget, you can shoot me a text right then and there!


Other ways to get in touch with me include:
-Both of my email accounts come directly to my Spain phone. Though, it seems that stephaniebrown.ua@gmail.com is more reliable. My phone buzzes when an email comes in like it does for a text or anything. I do my best to reply within that same day and am usually pretty good about providing you with an actual response as if we had just had a phone conversation.
-If I am at home, I am on skype. You can quickly download skype and create an account at www.skype.com. Even if you do not have a webcam, Skype chat is more efficient that FB chat and with less potential people chatting with you that you do not want to be chatting with. To set up a specific time to skype, just email me and we will coordinate. My skype name is stephanieebr.
-If I am at home, I am also usually on Facebook chat. FB is also on my phone so if you write on my wall, I receive it immediately. I am trying my hardest to weed out stupid messages from groups, etc and pay close attention to my messages inbox, so if you send me a message there, I will get it and reply like with email.
-My Spain phone has a Twitter application so if you @reply to me, I will get it immediately.
-You CAN call me, like normal, if you ever need ANYTHING, just like any other day.
-You can download one of the following and text with me for free back and forth from my Spain phone. The apps are called: WhatsApp and LiveProfile. If you download these apps, I will tell you my number/pin so that you can search and find me.

Maybe this list seems excessive. It demonstrates that I am not really necessarily thousands of miles away. The biggest barrier between me and you is the time difference. 9 hours for California, 7 hours for Central time zone and 6 hours for the Eastern time zone (starting when you guys turn your clocks back, until then it's one hour less since we turned our clocks back last week). I post these ways for us to communicate because I am frustrated with feeling like I am making efforts to remain close with the people that I care about and love so dearly and I don't quite feel like I am being met half way. I am not even sure who subscribes to this blog so I hope that no one feels targeted by what I am about to say. That is not the point of this post. The point was to make some clarifications and to continue to post about my everyday life here. Clearly, things that are heavy on my heart (and this is) are part of my life here. These last few weeks have been incredibly, incredibly stressful. I know I haven't blogged or posted about these things, but they are things I would LOVE to be telling my friends.
      Just a few words of encouragement from an email or a funny story from Tuscaloosa does quite a bit to alleviate that stress. I opened a bank account on Friday. After a lengthy battle with the laborious and ridiculous process for filing for temporary residence (necessary to prevent me being kicked out of the country when my visa expires in 60 days and also necessary for getting paid by the government, who is my employer), I finally got the paperwork started on the process. Though this is still quite an ordeal and there is no estimate of when I will have the identity card and number, I have done all I can do at this point and that feels really great. One of my trips in November is planned but the other one still needs to be planned. I got my LSAT score back and am now knee deep in applications. I am hard-pressed to decide which is more stressful. In case you have some odd notion that I am just frolicking around Spain, carefree and living easy. Between the madness of work, Spanish classes at night, law school every second I can force myself to work on it, and the other 123 I am always juggling, I've got a bunch going on (by choice, I should add). It's not that I don't understand that you guys aren't crazy busy too, because I know that. I know that things are happening with you and stressing you out and that things are crazy in your life too. That's why I feel this hole, totally clueless and uniformed and not for lack of trying. I'm not angry or trying to bore you with complaints, I'm just a little hurt.
Not that I am not doing well here or not making friends. They're just not y'all.
 I still need y'all is what I am trying to say.
I cannot put into words how much I have enjoyed sending novels back and forth with friends. Some of the conversations I've had on Skype these last few weeks have been some of my favorite conversations I've had in years of friendship.
Just because I am in Europe does not mean I am far away.