Paris

I have made it very clear to all my friends and family that I had a wonderful time in Paris last weekend and that I love it. The question is, why? Why do I like it so much? I think Paris revives that romantic side of me that I so often try to avoid or push aside. When I say romantic, I do not mean the damsel in distress waiting for her prince romantic (kissing frogs was never my thing). I mean the inevitable acknowledgement that life is beautiful.

As we walked the Latin Quarter, where we stayed, the afternoon sun lit the streets full of cafés and boulangeries. The first place we went to was Notre Dame, which for our surprise was having Mass at the same time. The choir sang as we paced around the colorful and detailed stained glass.

Then we headed to the Louvre, which is free after 6:00 on Fridays. The huge glass pyramid looked beautiful as the sun set. Yet the beauty outside of the Louvre is only a preview of all the wonders inside. I still need 3 more days in the Louvre tho. There is basically a masterpiece in every corner!

After dinner, we didn't go out. Instead, we walked around La Seine and called it an early night. There was a lot to see the next day.

On Saturday, our group divided between those who wanted to take a bus tour and those who would walk and take the metro. Personally, I have no particular problem with bus tours but it

was not how I wanted to spend my day in Paris. I wanted to walk and soak up what Paris had to offer in a more genuine way which didn't scream I'm a tourist! I wanted to practice my french asking for directions or while buying some coffee and a pastry.

We were going on our way to the Catacombs, when all of the sudden my friend Andrea, suggested we stopped by The Pantheon. It wasn't really on our plans to go but we went inside and it was only 5 euro for students. Why not? I think Voltaire is buried here. So we went in the first floor. The Pantheon was ordered by King Louis XV as a Catholic Church but was taken over by civilians during the French Revolution and is now a Secularized Temple (sounds like a paradox to me). The ground floor has beautiful Neo-Classic sculptures and artwork. Then when you go downstairs, the mood completely changes. It is very modest and simple. Here I saw the tombs of Voltaire, Rousseau, Zola, Marie and Pierre Curie, Monet etc. It truly is the epitome of a secularized temple.

After an hour line wait, we got to the Catacombs.

I'm not going to lie they are kind of creepy. Seeing bones of dead people is not exactly my ideal Saturday morning. Yet, it makes you think of how ephemeral life is. There are about 6 Million people buried in the Catacombs I visited. Those are a lot of stories, laughs, tears... that are now merely stacked. Freaky, huh? It is when you face death straight in the eye that you realize the need to live your life.

Then we hopped on the metro to the Museum of Orsay, which was closed because of a protest. Typical Paris. But as my mom always says, you need a reason to come back. So we walked through the Champs-Élysées all the way to L'Arch de Triomphe. By this time we were hungry and all me and my roommate Alyson wanted was an onion soup. We looked and looked but couldn't find any restaurants on our way from the Arc to La Tour Eiffel. We found something different, maybe even better- a take away place full of baguettes, salads, sandwiches and so on. A picnic under the Eiffel Tower definitely beats an onion soup.

And so we sat on benches and ate under The Eiffel Tower until the night conquered the skies, and the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle back.

That night we went out because it was Steve's birthday. Good night, I'd say.

The next morning we went to Sacre Coeur before it was time to leave. We didn't really have time to go inside. We just marbled at its beauty and saw the view of Paris from the hill it's on. As we were walking downstairs back to the metro station a man was playing La Vie en Rose on the harp . That would happen.

Everyone who truly knows me, knows I'm a romantic. After I graduated high school and went to college I thought I lost that about me though. I couldn't write poems like I use to. I couldn't express myself the same way. I thought it was part of growing up and not having the fresh emotions you do when you are a teenager. Yet, I go to Paris and I get some of it back. That inspiration, that love of love, that love of life.

politika

Never in my life have I ever talked so much about politics. In Leuven I work for a supranational organization, I am surrounded by 18 other PoliSci/IR majors and take all politics related classes. Normally, I would be disgusted at the thought that I talk politics at the dinner table almost every night. We even talk politics at the bars! You'd think that's crossing the line, right? But our politic talks are not debates of close-minded ideals. We all listen to each other, see what we have to say, and think of ways to ameliorate the issues. (I can't tell you how many times we have solved the economic crisis)

At the end we always end up frustrated at the current government and the generation running it. I guess this is typical young adult thought but we do believe our age group will make a difference. See, the baby boomers grew up in a time of prosperity, where their parents tried to alienate them from the past troubles. We are growing up in a time of economic deficit, therefore, if we ever want any benefits we need to figure out how to improve the situation.

I realize that socially we are like the Baby Boomers. We are a liberal generation that is seeing a lot of social changes. Yet, economically we need to think in the lines of reconstruction periods. The question is then, who is going to be the next FDR?

some words for Steve

It looked so new. So small. So convenient.

In 2001 the way we heard music was changed for ever. The Ipod had a sense of modernity that no

other mp3 out there had. It was more than an mp3, I mean, you could have 1,000 songs in one cool looking devise.

I remember getting my first IPod, I was about 13 years old and was soo excited to finally have my own white box of music. The first song I listed to was U2's Vertigo, which was the song for the advertising campaign at the moment. I danced alone in my house, rocking out to U2. Classic moment in my life. I still have that first IPod (looks retro now).

I can't say I was completely surprised to hear Steve Jobs died, but I was kind of sad. As a music fan I am most fond of the IPod because it changed the music industry. Steve Jobs revolutionized the way we see technology today.

"He helped change computers from geeky hobbyist's obsession to a necessity of modern life at work and home, and in process he upended not just personal technology but the cellphone and music industries." I read this in an article titled, Steve Jobs told us what we wanted before we knew. (If you're interested about Steve Jobs I recommend it btw) It makes sense to me. Every product he came up with was completely unexpected and an immediate hit. After all, who doesn't want an IPhone?

I would argue that in reality no one dies completely. You can affect other people's life a lot easier than you think. Our words never die. What we say affects people and they pass it on. In Steve Jobs' case it's definitely more obvious than for most people. If you use MAC, ITunes, IPod, Iphone etc. there is a little bit of Jobs there. A weird thought at times but one that gives ease.

RIP Steve Jobs

making things fancier

Soo in order to get a sense of what people think I added reactions to my posts. I realized after I did them that they were in Spanish and I don't want to change them because I like the little flavor it adds. I will however explain what they mean.

dime más - "tell me more" If you want to know more about something I wrote or want to continue hearing about it click it

me gusta- even if you haven't taken a Spanish class I'm sure you know this means I like it.

que viaje cami - literally means "what a trip cami". This is more for humorist purposes

Well I got some Glee episodes to see (somethings never change) but expect another post soon :)

So, what do you do? Why are you here?

Sometimes simple questions can be the most confusing. When Livia asked me So what do you do? Why are you here? this morning I had a million answers.

Well, I am a student at Saint Joseph's University. My major is English and I minor in International Relations and Communications. I was a news writer for an Online Newspaper (loved it.), I interned in an advertising agency (not for me.), and now I want to see if instead of writing about problems I would like to solve them. The internship seemed like a good opportunity and I really wanted to study abroad.

Those may not have been the exact words, but these are my thoughts when I think of what I do and why I was there.

What I do? What a strange question... I'm doing something all the time. I guess. Why am I here? Why wouldn't I be here.

Livia was also an English major in undergraduate. She started to ask me about my experiences and I was surprised when she addressed me as a journalist. You're a journalist, you might be interested to write about the Roma in Brussels. I never think of myself as a journalist. Yet, I have been writing about social issues after I worked in the Newspaper. Livia made me realize that a journalist, is always a journalist. Wherever and whenever there is something to show the world, he or she can report it. Notice that I use show because it is not only writing about it, but showing what happens with pictures or video.

She also made me feel like I can be more than a journalist. This is what I do now: I see, I research, I write, I study... but I'm just starting to do something, and there are things I can do besides journalism. Can I write about education in Puerto Rico and try to make it better at the same time? It might be hard, but I'll never know if I don't try.

It's almost a month since I've been abroad and I'm surprised of how my perspective has changed. I see myself as a very lucky person. A minimum amount of people go to college, and less get to go abroad. So when I sit in my Comparative Politics class, I wonder how I can make it better back home. I don't really know if I wanna go as much as getting into politics. The liberal in me says maybe some intergovernmental institution can work. Then the realist in me thinks that intergovernmentalism doesn't work and I get confused. There needs to be an answer out there, if not I'll make one.

I don't know what I want to do. I'll probably have a completely new answer tomorrow.

But I know what I do and why I am here Livia.