No posts, no cry...

Hey everyone. I am back, but not in full force. I know I did not post for a really long time, I probably do not even have any readers left. But, I have a good excuse. Firstly, I was in Cannes at the beach for a long time ---that is good enough by itself --- secondly, I am back in Atlanta, and have felt no desire to do writing, reading, or anything at all for that matter. AMERICA SUCKS! Anyway... I am going to give you a quick (relatively) update of the past two months. Get ready for some smiles, some tears, and sorrow; this is one heck of an ending.

Some months earlier in a place far far away...

Paris in June for the study abroad student (exchange, ERASMUS, whatever, you get the point) is one of the most saddening times of one's life. Believe me when I say I am not alone in this feeling. I feel confident when I say that all of my friends were really sad to see their new best mates departing for their homelands. Maybe they are not going to miss me in particular, but their friends overall ;) . When you spend a year with a group of people in a foreign country, you undergo deep bonding. We dealt with everything together, as a team. Whether it be "de service français," or the hell of trying to rent an apartment in Paris (particulier particulier anyone?). We did it and had to withstand the pain and suffering, yes suffering. On a more lighthearted note, we also spent the best times of our lives together: Picnics, Seine parties, drinks on weekdays, metro shannanigans, and meeting truly amazing people. We did it all, good and bad, all together. It is these people that you bond with so closely that you have to watch dissappear, possibly forever. It wrenches your heart and twists it and punches you in the face (that all made sense, believe it).

So, this was June, plus finals. Sciences-Po was almost over, which was totally not depressing. That may have been one of the most liberating parts, hehe. At the same time, I thought I would be a bit more excited about summer. That is, until I found out my friends were all going home a bit earlier than expected. I was supposed to stay in Paris until the end of July but I made an executive decision to leave earlier. Why? My birthday is on the 26th of July (yes, I am officially of age) and I really wanted to spend it at home with friends than alone in Paris. So, after the hell of trying to change a ticket I finally had planned to return the 16th of July. Note: changing a ticket is friggin' impossible. Try it, I dare you! At this point, everything was planned and we were all just waiting for it to end. I said bye to my best friends. We had our last hoorahs and that was pretty much it. We did not have many sobbing goodbyes because we knew we would never forget eachother. I think we did down a couple pints at "l'Inevitable", though. The good times.

And then...

At the end of June, the 28th to be exact, I had a nice little trip to Cannes. How long was I there? 16 days. I know what you are thinking, little rich boy goes to Cannes for 16 days, what a snob! But wait! Hold your horses, totally was not the case. I was the beneficiary of having a wonderful, beautiful French girlfriend, Lexi (now ex-girlfriend unfortunately). Her parents had a place in Cannes and she was headed down there to do a really cool internship with the Majestic, the hotel where all the celebrities stay during festivals. But regardless, that is where I went for my summer vacation...

Since many of you readers are probably of the American blood, you might not have any idea what or where Cannes is. To sum it up, it is basically just a little slice of paradise. No, but really, it is a wonderful small city in the south of France, Provence. Provence is the home of lavander, rose wine, fancy parfums, and of course, the Cannes Film Festival. The festival is one of the biggest in the world and draws the best of the best. Fortunately, I missed the crowds as I went after the festival was over. I did, however, have a blast(sorry, I am a habitual comma splicer. I like to take lots of breaths). I did so many things. Most days, Lexi worked while I would walk around the city, hang out on the beach and just drink rose wine. The beaches in Cannes are really unique. Compared to the rest of the provencial area, the beaches are quite sandy. Typically, the beaches are rocky cliffs of pebble stone beaches, like Nice, France. There were paid and unpaid beaches, but you end up opting for the city owned paid. They are clean, but not overly expensive. After Lexi got off work we would usually go home and hang out for a bit. Then it was dinner time. Oh did I love dinner time. Up on the hill in le Canet (small 'subsidiary' of Cannes), was the most beautiful old Italian courtyard. It was lined by about 8 small restaurants with seating only outside. You could see trees and churches and the entire skyline and ocean. There was constantly live music, my favorite of which was a Norah Jones cover band (love Norah Jones). The food and wine was spectacular, everything just fit right into place. At one point, my old amazing roommate Jeremie came to visit with one of Lexi's friends. We all hung out together and reminiced. At this point you could just really tell things were coming to an end.

Right before I left Cannes, Lexi took Jeremie and I to a concert in Nice, France. JUSTIN NOZUKA. You have no idea what this meant to me. I should have told her more. For your "411" (can't believe I just typed that), I have only been to one concert in my life. Like one REAL concert. It was Butch Walker, during the summer of 2005. Obviously it has been a while. Plus, JZ (not the rapper), is one of my favorite artists. He is so unique in his style, without it being too far out. Anyway, we went, and it was the time of my life. Nice, which you probably do not know much about either, is a fairly large Italian city in the South of France. The architecture is beautiful and the town just has this relaxed, laid back feeling to it no matter the time of day. Both Nice and Cannes are both also very rich. The only cars you see driving the streets are Ferraris, Lambos, Astons, Bentleys, and Maseratis. They all park along the "croisette" at the casinos to show of their wads (wads would be wads of money, just to clarify). Leaving the rich stuck up people was the only positive aspect of leaving. But other than that, everything was again quite depressing. I now miss it so much and especially the time with my friends and with Lexi.

Back to my homeland (Paris hehe)...

I got back to Paris on the 14th and had to leave on the 16th. This did not give me much time. I had to pick up my bags from my fathers, and now my friends place. We had a lot of good imes over the year so i was good to see him before I left. Then, the 14th is a holiday in France. It is called Bastille Day from all the protestors that started the revolution and gathered at the BAstille, or something like that. To be honest, the story of thier independence is a bit complicated and I think most citizens, though they celebrate it have no idea what it is about...Sound familiar (easter, thanksgiving, christmas, chaunukah, etc.)? I slept at my buddy Yovans place. Yovan, if you dont know, is an awesome human being. He is currently studing abroad in D.C., usually studies in Paris, and is originally from Paradise, formerly known as Mauritius. Anyway, stayed at his place for two days while he stayed at another friends. What a pal! Did not really do much for those days, just felt lazy.

Time passed quickly and next thing I knew I was on RER B heading for Charles de Gaulle Airport with all my luggage and my brain ticking away; Will I see those people again? What will America be like? Will I be happy to be home? Will I come back? Will I live here? I am going to hate being home! I don't want to leave! PARIS, PARIS, PARIS......

Back in Atlanta.

Things are different. I am not excited about things here that used to excite me. Life is mellow and a bit boring. Because of class schedule confusing, the elatedness of graduation prospects, though coming, have diminished significantly. I feel like a prisonor in a holding cell. Things are not horrible: I have food, I have sleep, I talk to friends, I am not dying. At the same time, I am not living. I do not feel alive right now. So what am I going to do about it? I am not sure yet. I am looking at job perspectives in Europe and am considering a big move after graduation. For now, just taking it easy and trying to finish school.

Goodbyes and commands: Goodbye my friends. Thats it. And commands, don't lose touch. I am coming back to the motherland of Europe in full force. Be prepared, be very prepared!

From American, with Love,

Guillaume