Absence makes the heart

Guys! Been missing me, have you? Sorry to be so lazy with this thing but I've been having trouble adapting back to France, with all those enraged French people everywhere, it's a bit scary, you know... Seriously, it's a jungle out there! People would kill to have the last croissant at the boulangerie! When I was abroad I tried to promote a good image of French people, but now I truly can say that we really are rude. So you'll have to excuse me if I wasn't always nice to you, because I'm pretty sure I was totally oblivious of my good manners. That's what Frenchness does to you: cover with a blanket of neglect any acknowledgement that the people you interact with are human beings too.

This is very real. For instance, when I see people I haven't seen in a while, at some point someone will always ask "Go ahead, say a few words in English!" like I'm some circus freak. Of course, I never feel like obliging them. First because well, DUH; and secondly because speaking English in France doesn't quite have the same vibe. It's as if the language were angry at being unleashed in an unfamiliar and unwelcoming place and decided to get revenge by altering itself into a state of half-awesomeness.

That's why I'm really glad to write in English here again: apart from the people I left in the US (yes, that means you!), English is the thing I truly miss the most here. Granted, French is a very cool language and I love it, but it's just not the same. Life in English has more taste. I think I was born with an English-speaking soul.

This year went by in the blink of an eye, it is amazing and frightening at the same time. I met so many people and I did so many things. I wish I could have lived more, done more and been more adventurous. But that's just how I am: by the time we know each other enough for you to like me, we have to part ways. Which makes things easier if you actually do not like me--in which case I generally don't like you either, so I don't care. See? There is some order in this world.

Anyway, I miss America and I miss everyone. A lot. Building a time machine as we speak. And even if I could I wouldn't change a thing. Okay, maybe one: I would have eaten string cheese way sooner.

I know... How can I be so cynical sometimes and yet write posts so corny? It's called spirit of contradiction and it's one of my main features--along with impulsiveness, a gift for lame puns, and an irresistible attraction to bad boys with a dark past and/or tattoos. I promise I'll try to not be fooled by my marshmallow-y side next time. Which might be six months from now, given the frequency of my posting here. Be prepared.

'Cause I'm a moon-walking cowboy, dusty riding and I don't know what's in store

Wow, it's been a while. I barely begun this blog and then left it unattended for a month. See, you're already learning so much about me: I love to initiate exciting (at least for me) things, but to keep them going, that's another matter. But I think I'll try harder this time --if not, my narcisstic urge to talk about myself will do the work for me.

But I have some good excuse for not having posted for this long. You want to know what I've been up to? No? I'm going to tell you anyway!

I survived finals thanks to huge amounts of caffeine and nicotine forcefully put into my body, I watched a sick amount of season finales (most of which were terrible), I took a road trip and fell in love with Memphis, I ate so much junk food I will never eat a burger again, I started running everyday while listening to angry rock songs, I had my first American picnic, I tried to address some of my issues and then decided that it would be better to leave them where they are, I went
to the top of the Arch, I've been listening non stop to Blitzen Trapper and "Season of Love" by Shiny Toy Guns (the latter has corny lyrics, but what can I say), I watched Freddy vs Jason and wished Freddy had won, I got tanned and bitten by crazy mosquitoes, I discovered this awesome blog way too late (which you can see by the url only, http://presidentgeorgebush.blogspot.com ), and I realized that bad timing was the story of my life. More on that later (see how I manage to efficiently build suspense? I'm so talented sometimes.)

Now, you want to know why I got caught up in such a whirlwind of activities? If the answer is no, well, you haven't learned much since you started reading this, have you?

This high level of agitation is due to the fact that (and this is when the violins start playing) I am leaving America in exactly 18 days--yep, thats eighteen! And so I am losing a little bit of my heart everyday that goes by. America, you had me at hello.

I don't know what will happen next, or what I will do. What am I supposed to do in a country where people understand my name? Where no one asks me where I'm from? How will I survive without students wearing flip-flops in January? Without frisbee? Without Jon Stewart? Without coffee shops? Without Target?

But most of all, what will I do without you guys? Discuss in 5 pages, font 12, double-spaced.

PS: the title of this post is borrowed from Blitzen Trapper's "Not Your Lover", and if you want me to really like you, you should listen to this band immediately.