Today we're watching Fear Fest on AMC, cooking chili, carving a pumpkin, handing out treats... all in all a pretty perfect Halloween and a nice Saturday. Hope you enjoy your day as much as I plan too.
Just a few pictures from the almost 200 that I took over three days in Paris. The fall palate made taking photos like a tourist too hard to resist. I had so much fun despite the rain. Really felt like a birthday present to myself. And I have to say that it never occurred to me when I was younger that this kinda of trip might coincide with my 26th birthday. I used a day-by-day guide to the city and crammed my days with the sights I missed on my first visit to Paris... 
La Marais, 
Montmartra and Sacra Coeur, 
Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, 
Shakespeare and Company, and a boat tour down the Seine. I feel like I've now experienced the city in full... at least until the next time I find myself passing through. If anyone was wondering my high school French was barely passable. Could read some signs, but not speak a word. So apart from breakfast in the hostel, most of my day was spent in silence. [smile]
The days are getting shorter already. It seems like just yesterday it was light until 10PM. I love experiencing the changing of the seasons in England.
I feel overwhelmed by emotions today... a not so unusual feeling these days. I write this not really to complain or seek companions with whom to commiserate. In fact, I actually feel blessed by the opportunity and capacity to feel and experience emotion. And when my eyes do begin to tear its more a catharsis than annoyance. I'm not sure I can articulate why I am so capable of weeping these days... stress from my tight deadline looming, joy at completing another year of study, excitement at the possibility of being home in Georgia in a month and four days, anticipation of my parents arrival in Bristol in just two weeks, uncertainty of where my journey will next take me, rapture at the natural changing of seasons, sadness at having to say goodbye to the place that has become my home and to friends.
I emerged from my writing cocoon for a quick afternoon jaunt around the neighborhood to pick up a few fresh ingredients for my dinner (tomato, pesto, and mozzarella sandwich and baked breaded zucchini sticks... in case you were wondering). And I was overwhelmed by the feeling of September. Sounds odd, I guess. Buts it like how something can taste or smell pink. The day with its late afternoon sunshine and slight breeze just felt September. But what really took me off guard was it wasn't a feeling of just British September, but of Georgia September too. The day reminded me of those first few days of each college year when the anticipation of the opportunities that might present themselves are somehow tangible or the excitement of the first high school football game of the season and I could almost smell the gloriously fried delights of the state fair.
Over the last month I've discovered that if you gather enough international students together and a cultural exchange of ideas, food, entertainment, etc. spontaneously occurs. Since joining the MIH house I've shared international food, international movie nights, and late night discussions about random cultural differences or traditions (most recently about marriage rituals in India and Sri Lanka). I have to say that I love it! These are the exact reasons that I wanted to live in an international setting. All this peace and goodwill... recognizing the humanity in persons who might normally in our home countries be considered "the other"... there has to be some way to translate this on a global scale... that's the start of another post that will have to wait for another day. Until this weekend my most significant contributions (besides listening and asking lots of questions) to this most natural cultural exchange has been through numerous explanations of the US election. (Its the international topic of conversation these days, well that and the economy or exchange rates for international students [smile].) But on Saturday I had the chance to share some real US culture-- the tradition of carving pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. I always just assumed that this was a tradition that was inherited by the US from one of our immigrant cultures, but now I have it on good authority that this is definitely an all-American activity. I had the most fun teaching my new friends from Sri Lanka, Spain, Italy, Taiwan, and Greece to carve their very first pumpkins. That afternoon has to be one of my favorite experiences since I've been here. During the afternoon I told them all that in their countries next year they had to carve a pumpkin to spread the "pumpkin love." Enjoy these photos of our pumpkin fun.
