Okay.....long and funny maybe?

Okay, just got to macdo (McDonalds). I have a headache, popped 2 aspirin, freaked out when a cute little girl asked me for money (never happened before) because my friend Corey (ballet dancer form NY) said some cute little boy stole his phone as maccas a while ago! Ahhhh! Alert! Grab your bag and zip it frantically and check that this urchin hasn’t stolen your phone already! I think I am eating off yogurt...a little to bitter for me today. The weather is gray and rainy but surprisingly not freezing...there is a strange lack of crisp ice on the wind. It doesn't feel like the wind had just blown off of a glacier. I spent this morning hanging my clothes out the windows because I went to Ayers Rock last night at Place de Terreaux. Go the Aussies! This in fact the reason why the French like Australians! It was my first time visiting the Aussie pub, a favourite in Lyon that everyone keeps telling me I have to go to. Basically at'Airers' (as the French say ) Tuesday nights are good, Thursdays, Weekends…oh every night! I danced....a lot! Haven't danced that much in ages! Ran into Kate (US) and Rita (Aust) too although not surprising as they are definetly regulars- they know the names of the barmen, bouncers and other patrons. My clothes stank so severely when I got home it was actually slightly concerning! (I thought of incinerating them but then came to my senses and remembered if I had an incinerator it wouldnt be freezing in my house!) When the French smoke they do so with dedication! And what’s worse/more amazing is that I went with a group from the Franco-American soiree (some I knew from uni) and after arriving my friend David decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to check his bag, complete with 15 passports in it so back we went to mine (everyone had just walked from mine- after the soiree the local bars were full and went to mine for champagne and chocolate-yum!), dropped it off, I changed my shirt to something cooler (felt like Australian summer) and admittedly skimpier. And the first shirt I wore into the bar for literally 2 mins (we walked in walked out!) still stinks today!

The after going to bed at approx 3:30 I got up at 8am (Ben didn't wake me as I asked...he wrote a note but I didn't understand the reason behind not waking me...something about fear? lol, I swear I am not a vicious animal in the mornings…I hardly ever see him in the mornings with our different schedules). I rode to uni surprised at how un-cold it is and felt compelled to remove my gloves. I went to Internat. Office and hoped for a fax or email from my uni (I asked them to send me the letter that I wrote when I applied to come on exchange). Instead they sent nothing, slack buggers and when I called the other day the woman who works there had the nerve to ask me in a tone with far too much exasperation ‘Why I was not happy? Hadn’t I gotten approvals for my subject in France and if not what are the approvals you have been forwarding me'. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t happy because she had no idea how to do her job but thought better of it in the end. Her comments only prove my theory that she has no idea what is going on here! She lost that attitude when I told her that I had NO approval at a specific year level (therefore no approval) and she was supposed to be following that up! Remember? So anyway, no fax this morning (guess she thought she’d do it on Monday or maybe she was putting in some time and effort figuring out how to do her job!) means I have to write a whole new letter for my French friend Alexandra who is applying for Melbourne University for July 2006. Melb Uni are snobs and they won't take her unless her letter is 'kick ass' good. That happens to be the expression I used upon reading the letter I spent 2 hours writing for her this morning....I quite liked it, both the expression and the letter! I should have been studying for my FLE test (doesn’t count by anyway) instead of letter writing but I agreed to do it and also if it tok me 2 hours how long ould it have taken her! And even more time for us to correct it together! Also, I have this big dream/fantasy of driving to Melbourne Airport to pick up Alexandra and her boyfriend Nathan in June/July! YAY! I cannot think of anything I'd rather do!

So yeah, I spend the morning sneaking around uni with my computer trying to find unoccupied rooms. I was late for my FLE class...only by an hour…eeek! because I was letter writing and then had to do a test on the 'condition'. Who knows what that is and hence me thinks I won’t be doing very well! Then I photocopied the corrections I missed (how studious!) in class at the international office. I often take advantage of their mass disorganisation in this way. Because they have no idea what is going on they can’t possibly tell that things are being photocopying!

So right now I am going to go do research on Portugal and the European Union because I have a presentation on Monday and have to hand in a dissertation (I don't know if that word is French or English....my brain is often confused in this way)! I am trying to pick a night next week for a soiree Japonaise/ Japanese evening with my Japanese friends. I need to write a CV and send it to Italy for the winter job in Italy that I applying for at the Irish Igloo (I already sent an email with heaps of info but the man wants more! And since I have so much time/desperately want the job I said ‘Sure, I’d love to write you another…just like that…sugary sweet!). I need to pick a date and theme and make and give out invitations for my birthday party (Dec 10^th-Eevryone is invited). Still need to send notes to Marton in England and Claire’s family in province thanking them for their hospitality. I got back from the post office yesterday (it took the time of 1 song to walk there and another 5 waiting in line! I swear they employ the dead, deceased or dying only) very happy to cross that off my list of things to do (which by the way just keeps growing) to have Ben give me a new slip and say ‘guess you’ll be going back then’ (said in such classic Ben style!) Oh, la poste! Try tomorrow! I bought a ‘pass de culture’ which allows me go see 7 events in Lyon….haven’t even touched it yet and have to go book things for it. I also need to be transport to Austria ASAP before it is full and/or expensive. (If you have actually read this far please incorperate the words “pink elephants” in your comment…’cos you will of course comment!) I need to summarise my French classes and get on top of them because there is quite a lot to remember and unfortunately I love languages but do not have a natural affinity for learning them. Maybe accents are not so bad for me to try and mimic because mine changes on a regular basis. I need to study for my European Integration exam next week. I also have to start thinking about advertising my things (bike, computer, apartment) so I don’t get stuck with them before I leave! I must change my flights sometime and decide how long I am staying in Thailand (I am going Mum...sorry...but if it makes you feel better keep suggesting alternatives)…and all I did the whole day yesterday was fix the flat tyre on my bike!

Have you ever changed a bike tyre? I know I certainly haven’t and had no clue…however hence fourth and forver I shall be known as ‘Cara bike tyre changing expert’. Please address me in this manner! It shall now be my formal title. Someone send me a change of name form quickly...before I come to my senses! (You need a spoon for all those crying out 'How did she do it?' and I cannot take all the credit for the fab tyre changing). However, the question did come to mind ‘How many exchange students does it take to change a bicycle tyre’ as I was going to inlist the 4^th exchange student, Carston (USA) on my bicycle tyre chaning mission. I needed him to figure out how to work his own ‘modern’ style bike pump (modern is another word for needlessly complicated and probably cheaply made both in plastic and in China) while Andy and Sebastian (UK) wrestled with the upside down bike in the laundry of their building! The problem is that is you gave Carston a can of corn and said ‘Carston, you’re life depends on it, make corn’ he might die! Even with a can opener! But he probably would manage to form a sentence including the conjunction y'all. So then comes the question ‘How many exchange students does it take to use a bike pump and it must be more then four or that was my response anyway as my bike and I strolled to the gas/petrol station to use the ‘air up there’! Okay well I am going to go eat my off or not yogurt (it is 12 little pots for 1 Euro hence I eat that almost non stop!). And at this point, bringing my own cheap yogurt lunch and eating it in McDonalds whilst using their internet is the least of my worries! =)