Dani Dépaysée: And the Travel Backpack Returns

Faithful followers (aka mom and dad), I am so sorry it has been almost two whole weeks since my last blog post!! I really haven't had that much to write about, unless you consider hours of lectures on private French law and Louis the Eighteenth extraordinarily noteworthy.

HOWEVER!!!! *dramatic finger raise to the sky*

Now that I don't have classes for an entire week thanks to les vacances de la Toussaint, I am happy to report that tomorrow, I return once more to the boot-shaped land of pasta, leather, and rich coffee, and to its neighbor, the land of lederhosen and awesome beer!

In non-stereotypical terms, that translates roughly to Italy and Germany.

Me:

Because vacation is awesome.

I will be travelling with my wonderful American friend Kevin from Paris to Bologna. From Bologna, we will take a day trip to see my BEAUTIFUL FABULOUS CRAZY SMART BEST FRIEND Jessica at her study abroad university in Ferrara; then, we will go to Rome, catch a flight to Dusseldorf, Germany, and celebrate Halloween as it should be celebrated: partying with a bunch of Germans.

Random throwback to the Outlandish August Adventures of J and D:

On the steps of some ancient building in Venice in August. Yes, we are beautiful. And tiramisu is delicious.

The activities I have planned for Kevin and I while travelling are numerous, such as: eating pasta. Eating pretzels. Eating pizza. Eating bratwurst. Eating gelato. And, last but not least, eating sauerkraut. Because sauerkraut is my favorite.

Besides my most recent travel plans, the other most exciting thing that has happened to me was my recent election as the International Student representative in the Sciences Po Rennes Initiative!! (as the only candidate for the position, you can imagine how much of a nail-biter the election was...) Basically a student counsel, we are a group of nine students that collaborate with faculty and professors to make Sciences Po better and better, but my job is to focus specifically on meeting the desires and needs of the international students at my university. I am incredibly excited for this opportunity to be involved on campus, so the elections were definitely a highlight of my week!

The other most exciting thing that happened would probably be my attempt to join the gym in town.

I walked all the way to the gym facility, took a tour, and got a quote for the membership cost: 296 euros for 8 months.

....I decided to treat myself to a three-day weekend trip to Strasbourg in December instead.