Countdown

Sorry to whomever asked for the translation in the previous blog post:
"Pardon?" I asked.
"Pardon (me)?"

"Est-ce que c'est moi qui vous cherchez?"
"Is it me that you're looking for?"

"Pardon?"
"Pardon (me)?" (still not understanding)

"Est-ce que c'est moi qui vous cherchez?"
"Is it me that you're looking for?"

I giggled, "Oh, non, desole, c'est ne pas vous aujourd'hui - autre fois peut-etre."
"Oh, no, sorry, it's not you today - another time maybe."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

So...
Major project presented. Major meeting now over copyright ownership between the program and us students. (Yes, the film is THAT good!)

One memo left - working on now. Everything turned in on Friday. And I'm done!

I'll leave Sunday to Toulouse for a couple of days with friends from back home in Madison, WI. Then, Barcelona for a couple of days. Then, Geneva for several days. Back for graduation on the 18th. My sister and her fiance come to town that day. We stay in Paris until the 23rd, head to Cinque Terre Italy, then off to some yet TBD destination, and then Amsterdam for several days. Wooo whirlwind!

Paris? Well, she's doing well. A two-day heat wave and now it's back to chilly cold. Strange weather, indeed. Anything outside of that and I'm clueless. Nose in the books right now.

What a great 2008

A good paper
Innovation party
Lunds visit
New Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Bangalore
Anders & Cory visit
Wilfried & Sarah dinners
Tapes & Tapes
Papers
Edinburgh
Compassionate Care for Rape Victims becomes law
March for Sex Workers' Rights
Meghan & Mike visit
Papers
Cizor's haircuts
Laurent and the server
Sarnowskis visit
Madeleine the MPA baby
Accepted to the UN
Papers
Matt G visit
Bridget visit
Paul, Melissa, Jennie visit
Brittany & Normandy trip
Italy with Erin
Moving to Geneve
Meeting friends for life
Dasha bike trips
Deirdre dinners
Italy with Dasha
Bicycle accident
Goth night with Gerrit & Agathe & Caroline
Carte de sejour
Boulangerie sandwiches
March for Transsexual Rights
New fridge
Daylight savings time
Obama!
Papers
Global Public Policy Network Student Conference
London with Caroline, Anne, Patricia
Bahrain
Amanda & Leo visit
Capstone awesomeness
Thanksgiving expat style
Dasha visit
Drinks with Anand
Gotan Project
Christmas dinner expat style
Phone calls with Josh
Friends getting married
Friends having babies
Friends' birthdays
New friends, old friends

...All of this because of my wonderfully supportive family.

Wishing you a New Year that exceeds what you deserve and is better than you imagined!!!

A bientôt 2009!

Success, relaxation, and hundreds of camels

I'm back to school this AM. The conference was a resounding success, although we still have the feedback evaluations to go through, which will tell the honest truth. Enjoyed some humbling sunrises over the course of those four early-morning days down on rue Jacob.

Last Monday I took the Eurostar over to London (or, under to London - as it goes under the Channel and all). Slept all days long at my friend’s LSE dorm. During the day I went out for a massage in some danky hair salon, lunch, brief shopping, and email-checks at the local cafe. Stayed up late enough to close the pubs down (a very strict 2am) and gained like 6 pounds drinking beer and eating fish & chips.

Thursday I left for Bahrain on British Airways, which offered free beverages including Blood Marys and wine. Flew over burning oil fields and felt solemn over Iraq. I hear that Saudi Air flies around Israel, as the final snub to their not acknowledging the country's existence. Bahrain was a fine-dust desert with tall glass buildings instead of cacti, the sounds of call to prayer and banging construction, an ex-pat party, being one woman in the souk of a hundred Indian and Pakistani men, driving through the oil fields, trying to find the Tree of Life, taking some sun on the roof with the pool, wonderful Middle Eastern food, and fascinating trips through the malls.

Leaving on a jet plane

Well, rather, on a fast train.

Bought my ticket to Paris on Monday. Leaving on 9/11. Seems appropriate since I left the USA for Paris on the same date - after all, tickets are cheaper then. It's my reinvention of a bad day into something good, some change.

Cinque Terre was great. It wasn't the pilgrimage I thought it would be, but it brought me closer to my good friend. It was a lot drier this time around so we weren't slipping on rocks the whole hike. The pasta was excellent, the seafood fresh, the sun boiling, the exercise cathartic.

Since I got back to Geneve, have been working on photos, working on the conference I'm planning for the students of my school and 4 other schools that will happen in November. (How oh how did I rope myself into this one?) Also, caught all the DNC and RNC action online. Interesting differences. I'm scared, I'm hopeful, I have no idea what's going on. It feels strange not to be participating in another one of the most important historic events of my country. Strange, but relieving. I don't envy my past co-workers who are working so hard for this election. I'm slightly disillusioned, but yet inspired still by Obama. I can't imagine what the campaign trail does to a person, but I hope everyone is taking their vitamins. (Especially after the news clips of Hilary talking about eating pizza all the time.)

.....
9/11/08

It's always strange to see an empty room without the hope and excitement of filling it. I can't wait to arrive in Paris, although I'm not looking forward to the miles of up/down stairs with my backpack and suitcase. They need to invent elevators. Seriously, I still wonder what physically-challenged people do to get around. And, then, I'll have the long climb of 101 stairs to my apartment. I'll go up, unload the backpack, go down, separate out the suitcase and go up with both. Then, I will pass out. No, then, I will make the bed, check the apartment, get food, get wine, and slowly unpack to fill an empty room with future.

Last night, the flatmate and I had a wonderful meal, drank really great wine, and read tarot cards again. It's quite interesting this pagan ritual. Interpretation can play a major part, but I never, not once, picked up the "fool" card. In fact, it seemed as if my fingers were blessed to pick out only cards with strength, communication, warmth, internal power, and victory. I'm excited about this next year of school, and I can't wait to see what happens afterwards.

Well, see you all back in Paris! Oui, oui, Paris.

Ciao, Geneve!

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose

(Janis Joplin)

I've enjoyed my bike immensely. Last Saturday, Dasha (who pointed out that her name is not spelled the German way with a C) and I took the train to Lausanne and then biked to Montreux with a couple of stops in Clarens, and a difficult, uphill, brief detour through some vineyards. Here's the bike path we did (22.65 miles, 36.5 km).

They call it the Swiss Riviera and it's listed on UNESCO's most beautiful places in the world. But it's no Cinque Terre, let me tell you. Far too many cars and not enough wild. Regardless, it was a great GREAT bike ride.

We stopped in Vevey and considered going to the photo museum there (since we're both photographers) but the day was too nice to hide inside. We had gigantic pizzas instead and pushed on to Clarens to pilgrimage to Vladimir Nabokov's grave. Some old lady, who thought she was being nice and knew a thing or two, told us (after we had climbed a steep hill to get to the cemetery) that he was actually buried in Vevey and wasn't it funny how so many people made this confusion, driving up here in their cars and driving back. Ha. Ha. Not funny.

We biked down the hill and off to Montreux, which someone likened to Florida and I'd agree. Lots of palm trees, old people, and slow walkers. It's a south-facing city and so it's sunny hot and really steamy hot in the afternoon. The tourist office informed us that Nabokov was indeed buried back in Clarens, along with 22 other famous people. I cursed that old lady with my fist in the air. Curses!!! We stopped by monument to Freddy Mercury and paid tribute to him, as well as a weird mime dressed in a glittery gold sheet. (I've never understood the fascination with them.)

Then, we had a coffee across the street from the casino (which sold Lagerfeld men's suits - to give you context versus the casinos on reservations in Wisconsin) and, since we weren't going to bike the extra miles to the Chateau de Chillon, I read Byron's "The Prisoner of Chillon" to her there, in the middle of hot boiling sun and weird bar music in the background.

We biked back to Clarens, and up that damn hill to the cemetery. Crept inside the church, which was decked out in strange pastel-colored stained glass, and found no guide to find Nabokov. We started walking and passed the newer graves heading to a building in the center of the cemetery, thinking it might have maps. As we were walking, I thought, this is just like the moment when my sister and I were driving into Modena, Italy, and couldn't find the damn hotel, driving in circles around the city. And just when my sister and I were entering the old town and were frantically looking for street signs amid busy pedestrians, she spotted the street name and led us to the hotel. And, then, just like that, Dasha spotted Vladimir and Vera's grave. Huzzah.

I had a bit of mental connection and for the first time in my life, watered someone's grave.

We cruised down the hill from the cemetery and turned to the train station and trained it back to Geneva.

It was a great day.

(Photos forthcoming)

I think I can, I think I can

map

idea


We'll see if I can get a ride.


(for you, mom and dad)

finished, fini, finito, f grad school

Did anyone else want to cry pounds of saltwater out of their tear ducts when they did the last spell check on the last paper that felt like the last ounce of energy in their body?

Well, there's no time to stop now.

My sister comes to town tomorrow at 8am (I desperately need 1 day to sleep all day!!!). We hug and then run down to my school so I can print the final copy and email the final to the prof. I pay the landlord rent - if he's lucky. We find me my own guide book to Northern Italy. We buy a few needed items since I've had no time to run errands. We drink at least 2 bottles of cheap French wine in celebration of me finishing my first year of grad school without tearing out all of my hair -- although I have noticed I'm shedding more than I ever did before in my life. We cruise the Venice Marco Polo rental car agencies online, pick one (she's such a smart girl and got the international driving license before she left the US - me? I was thinking I could just walk in and show them my badass driving skills.... seriously, I was neck-deep in the Fed).

Then, Tuesday we hop an Easy Jet to Venice, get a car and head for the west. It's so unplanned right now and I'm not freaking out at all about that. In fact, I could care less what happens to us over there. If we could just find a little room in a little town with a bunch of good olives and good wine and cute Italian people, I'll be happy. I'm revisiting college days and only packing a small bag. I am hoping for a Sofia Loren moment in a sundress and handbag overlooking some nice windy, tiny town where small boys chase balls in the street and the men lean out windows to whistle. .. Or, again, just a room and some wine.

I totally think I bombed the last two papers I wrote and frankly, senioritis has me so bad right now that I can't care too badly. But then I remember my high standards of late and think maybe it's not so bad. And that really each paper I write could turn into a PhD if given enough time. I reviewed my Ethiopia-Eritrea paper with the prof, which almost sent me into fits. He highlighted like every other line and was really way too interested in my paper than I thought it warranted. He asked for a few clarifications that made me panic. I mean, frankly, I write a paper, turn it in and forget it just to move on to the next thing. How am I supposed to remember what I meant by the negotiations already being biased based on the fact that the Ethiopians were requested to move back to their territory prior to the 1987 conflict? (Hmmm I guess I do remember - it meant that the unmarked border was in essence falling to the benefit of the Ethiopians as the border wasn't theirs to determine necessarily. Having international orgs determine this line inflamed Eritrea and cast a shadow of favoritism over the whole negotiation. ... hmm.. Yeah, I did love that paper.)

Anyway. Other than that paper, I'm clueless on any grades and I don't care. Grad school isn't really about grades. It's more about effort and comprehension. And I like that. And I also like that it's over for now.

So, sister and I and Italy. Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, back to Paris. We'll have a half-day here and then the graduation of the 2nd years - my last real time to see them and see a bunch of my own cohorts. So bizarre the ending to this year. There wasn't a single event of closure at all. No big bang. No big fiesta or fete or frankenweiner. All of a sudden, we were all in a panic to finish papers in the last 3 weeks and then people just kind of peeled off. I happened to be there at the time when one of my friends was leaving to go finish packing to return to Canada the next day and then go off to LSE or Columbia for the next year. Kind of suffering separation anxiety, and kind of totally excited to know I have some amazing friends all over the world again.

Bittersweet this.

On another front, I'm kind of seeing someone. Man, I haven't even told my in-person friends about this really. But I guess I can tell the whole anonymous world (I'm pretending my family doesn't read this right now). He's French, and kind of very French. He's a bit more romantic than my pragmatic American senses, but there's mutual respect for these differences. Last night he had me over for an apertif to meet a ton of his friends and then to this super kickass monthly event at Telebocal. An independent TV/film production group. It seemed very punk rock, DIY, hippie, original. The gist is that they film events, do on-street interviews and then have a showing of their work monthly. A lot of interns from local universities and young people. I laughed so hard - and actually laughed at the right places and actually understood a lot of the low-brow humor. Got to meet more new French friends. And then got to dance my booty off! The end band was this amazing alternative, mod, punk rock precussion ensemble with a room full of drum sets and musicians in sunglasses playing plastic kid's toys. It was fantastic. So, yes, while I'm moaning about the work load, I am getting out and enjoying the sunlight and night events.

So, one of the interesting things about last night was the amount of times I got up from the couch. Right, sounds like nothing unusual. But literally, every person who comes in greets every person already there. So, every time someone arrived we'd get up from the deep-seated couch and kiss right-left cheek and sneak in our name as intro and then "enchante," which I love because it's so fairy-tale. But, man, what a ritual. I remember Argentina having the right-cheek kiss at intros, but did they have it at departures? And was it so formal that at a party everyone would get up and do the rounds? And who invented cheek-kissing anyway? And who determines how many in which country? Santa? The Queen?

Yes. Well. So there's Paris, then Italy, then Paris for about a week during which I scrub and pack and lock-down and prepare for the Brit subletters and take off to Geneva. Then, there's like, dude, real working. Or, fake real working - I think the motto will be make the most of it and make your own adventure. I don't think I'll be fetching coffee, but since all the interns were in relaxed gear, I'm doubtful I'll be entrusted with the secret documents about the new statistics out from Russia on the growth of their economy. (Not that that's a secret anyway.) I know the point is more to network and meet other interesting people at other interesting organizations in hopes of making some lasting impression so I get a job in the future and pay off my family loans and the Chinese.

But yes, as AA says, one day at a time. And for now, it's 3 minutes into the day my sister arrives and I should go get some sleep. Yeah.. in college when I finished a year it was all about the party, now it's grad school and all about the sleep. Heh.

Bisous.

What have I done and who do I thank

1) Thank the Chinese.
Global Imbalance:
My dad wrote, "Is this at all good news???" First, it's strange, delightful, and very cool that my dad is asking me questions. He's always known more than me - and he will always know more about all things scientific or mathematical, and probably financial - so for him to ask me about something makes me very proud. (Not that he's never asked, mind you. I'm also very lucky to have parents who teach me and simultaneously acknowledge that they've learned from me.) Anyway. After a month of reading and many, many, many group meetings I think I have some substantial input on this question. Granted, if I wanted to have real input I'd have to go for a PhD in econ.

Here's what I wrote back:
"Good and bad. ... you're 1 day late on this link though - I gave my presentation y'day. ;) We've got a shared docs folder for each of our class presentations so I've saved this article there. Thanks for sharing!

It's a very long explanation which I'm going to attempt to write about on the blog. Essentially the USD needs to depreciate because of the drastic global imbalance between US and several other surplus countries (esp China - hence our push that they appreciate the Yuan and have better, more flexible money market), but this depreciation will hurt us adn the world because of a catch 22: USD is world currency and the most invested market. So, our $ goes down, our exports go up (we make money for our "store" called USA), our consumption goes down (we can't buy as much with our weak dollar), China's imports to us go down, we shrink our deficit, they shrink their surplus. But this also means that stocks, Treasury bills (that the chinese purchase with money from selling their exports to us) lose value which means their investment starts to mean less, which means people will move their money to another market - Euro? This means, we lose jobs in the US, lose production, lose the reign of world currency. And that's only a small portion of it. A lot of our deficit is owed to oil imports because it's an inelastic good - the price might go up but our consumption remains the same. Also, China's culture of saving (leftover from the Asian crisis & history of instability) means they won't consume our products as much = they aren't spending down their huge surplus. Also, our culture of spending/consuming since the Great Depression. We were starting to save as a country between 40s-80's but then hit the tech boom/production boom/investment boom and started spending more than saving, relying on credit more (I factor in here!). Who's carrying our credit addiction? The Chinese, the Asians, the oil barrons. And the great fear is that at some point our market is going to tank from partying hard for so long. When that happens it could be disastrous to the world who has invested in our markets - domino effect. So, we need to devalue the dollar a bit, we need to save more (yes yes what you've been saying ALL my life; Addendum: "You Can't Take It With You"), the gov't needs to tax us more, it needs to stop spending so much (twin deficits = foreign trade & budget!), we need to tighten our belts. And those countries who've been gluttonous in saving need to go on a shopping spree a bit.

So... i can write that now after about a month of reading and group meetings. i'm going to tally up my hours spent on this subject because it's insane how much i read just to understand global imbalance, current account balances in general and then to understand the US's position on how to address it. Man! the group meetings were interesting, too. 2 Indians, 1 Iranian, 1 USA, 1 China. Very interesting interactions, dynamics and learning."

[No additional editing has been done to the above. I'm sure it needs some but I've moved on from global imbalances. If you have questions, please feel free to direct them to me.]

1a) My memo to Shell in 1995 concerning their options in addressing a possible crisis in Nigeria.

1b) In our Scenario Planning class, we look at the future of Cuba. You can view our slide presentation here. (Guess who did the layout? Photos are from a million people/places all over the 'net. Hope I don't get sued. If you have the Mambo Kings album, the sound might work for you, as well. Or, just imagine "Guantanamera" for the first 4 slides. "Yo soy un hombre sincero / De donde crecen las palmas / Yo soy un hombre sincero / De donde crecen las palmas / Y antes de morirme quiero / Echar mis versos del alma / Chorus: Guantanamera / Guajira Guantanamera)

1c) An interesting article on the Sciences Po MPA in Le Monde (French) here. Quoted are two of my classmates, Sean who is West Point grad and retired early after being in Iraq for a while, and Preeti who is a lawyer from India.

2) My trip to Geneva was awesome. Ditched out of class a bit early to make it to Gare de Lyon. Of course, the metro all of a sudden had problems at Concorde, which sent a bit of panic through me. But thanks to my years of second-hand military training, I had given myself enough time in case of emergency. Luckily, the problem was fixed and we carried on to the station. At GDL I got my e-ticket from the machine and eying the long line at the Info booth, asked a woman if she knew where I'd get the TGV schedule to Geneva. Another testimony to the incorrect assumption that French are rude or unhelpful, she pointed out the big board in front of my face (without ridicule) and said that 20 minutes before departure, the gate would be available but that they either left from this large platform or another one across the way. Twenty minutes is not a lot of time between realization and finding one's seat, ahem. Thankfully, my train left from the main platform.

Sat next to a guy reading "Sur la Route." Yes, exactly, "On the Road" by Kerouac. Very good sign for me. I started to do some reading in preparation for the up-coming group presentation on Global Imbalances (see above, or see this PPT here; appendix is here). But then, the guy sitting next to me asked if I worked in Geneva and we began a really nice conversation. He works in GIS mapping and spoke s much English as I do of French. I learned that what I thought was mustard between London and Paris on the Eurostar is actually colza (used as an oil or biodiesel).

The older woman sitting across the aisle from us also chatted me up after my seat companion debarked. She's the wife of a retired career UN guy, with an apartment a few blocks away from me in Montmartre. She gave me her number in case I ever needed anything in Geneva. Totally nice.

Got to town. Bought a croissant in the train station just to absorb everything. I had time and it was still daylight and was drizzling a bit. Located the automatic bus fare machines and found #5 easily to head off to Home Saint Pierre, the Lutheran hostel for girls and women. (Normally I don't gravitate to sex-separation for my activities or accommodations, but this was the cheapest and most available at 28chf, which is roughly $1=1chf.) I thought Paris was pretty international - although I tend to hear more French, English, Russian, German, and then other Nordic languages and then other EU languages - but Geneva, of course, in its internationalism, I hear more of everything and then more of languages I've never heard before. I felt at home in this soupy mix.

I got off the bus at Place Neuve where men were playing giant chess in the drizzle. This is the old town of Geneva, all the way up the hill. Cobblestones like Paris. Old walls, old façades. I got a bit lost and asked a Latino-looking guy if he knew where the church St Pierre would be. He didn't, but answered me very nicely in French. I called the hostel and the very German sounding woman told me how to get there. I took a left and down stairs instead of a straight and right. Anyway. Found the place, checked in (her warmth left a little to be desired but I'm not young, nor am I afraid of new places), and went over to the dormitory for my bed. It feels a bit more lonely to have just a bed, like it's barracks or something. But I chatted up the young women there and discovered that one of them was from Paris, Sciences Po doing research for her thesis.

Went off to look for dinner possibilities and ran into the Latino (Peruvian) guy from before. He and I exchanged emails and he pointed me to a nearby Italian restaurant, at which I was served yummy pizza and Swiss wine (not as yummy) by a Portuguese server who spoke Spanish, English, French, and Portugal Portuguese (she slightly scoffed clarification when I asked if it was Brazil or Portugal). Got to bed rather early and got up rather early. After all, I was going to the HOLY %&$# United Nations!!!!

Check-out was at 10am so I packed everything and took the 7chf breakfast at the hostel, left the luggage, hiked down the hill, found the same #5 bus, passed the train station, passed UN Concil on Human Rights (wow), stopped at the official Palais des Nations entrance (where the photos of all the flags lined up are taken), hiked quickly up the hill to the other entrance. Through x-ray check and to security to check-in. Some kind of delay with checking and emails and if they knew before and had he sent the notice. Meanwhile, this nice woman who kind of helped me know I was in the right line at the right entrance was rolling her eyes and being a bit too overly critical and impatient of the process for my liking. But my future boss came down to meet me, I got the ugly photo pass (worse than a driver's license), and he walked me over to the UNECE and our floor.

He gave me the grand tour and by that I mean I got to meet the woman with whom I'd be working quite a bit, as well as the chief of the department. I'm walking a fine line in my blog between what I can/should share and what I know would be inappropriate. So, nah nah boo boo you don't get all the insider scoop on the UN. Suffice it to say the building still reflects the time period when it was built and offices are rather bare, bland, and unlively. Of course, consider also the amount of official business that is conducted in each and I guess one can't have a big dart board next to one's desk.

I met with the intern coordinator, who happens to be from Minnesota and graduate of University of Wisconsin. And then met all the interns who were around at the time. Very nice folks all of them. Very comfortable and very funny. Me, dressed in my nice suit pants, kitten heels, blue blouse, and pearls all thinking, oo the UN better dress nicely. The interns, all dressed in jeans and tee-shirt or definitely summer wear. They told me it usually took an intern an average of a week to ditch the business wear for the casuals. I think I'd like to keep a step up on the jeans wear though - just because of my age, my interests in future jobs, and to be kind of in the 'real world' despite my laziness and love of everything comfortable and easy.

The interns are, of course, from all over the world but most seem to be hailing from Europe and then more concentrated in the Eastern block. The unique thing about the UNECE is its focus on Russia and the Eastern countries to I guess that's why the predominance of interns from those regions - translation is a big activity for them. Interns from all departments are located in this area on the Stats Division floor since I guess they have the most empty offices. I sat with and talked to a young woman from Germany who works in the Environmental Policy division. Just so happened she mentioned that she had a great roommate in the old part of town and that she'd be ending her internship in May and leaving and maybe I'd be interested in talking to her roommate about the flat. She warned me that the place wasn't new and had a 5th floor walk up (ha! mine in Paris is 6) and the roommate is creative and so is the place. It sounded perfect to me as she described it. Just so happened the roommate was free at 3pm to meet me.

Next, I sat with the social coordinator intern, from Latvia. She'd been at the UNECE for a while and was coordinating outings, happy hours, etc for all the interns to bond.

I went back to my future boss as it was noon, and we headed to the cafeteria of the world.


..... it's bedtime for me now.. I'll finish this tomorrow. School's kind of winding down. May means 3 papers, a French exam, an Econ exam and then also visits from friends all over the world. The weather has been amazing here lately, with highs in the upper 70s and a lovely breeze. The metro is starting to feel heavy in air so I'm preferring the bus. Pants are folded for shorts and skirts. Skin can breathe again. Parisians seem happier. I'm super excited for this month but also a bit wary of how to balance it all. C'est la vie.

Oh, and if you're interested in hopping on the export/import train, my birthday's the 13th. There are two links upper right side that point to fun things on Amazon that I like. I'd be happy to ship you anything you request from Europe.

March comes in like a lion

Weather:
I thought the roof of my building was going to fly off the other night. That fear was followed by wondering if the sheets of speedy rain were going to break the skylight and drown me as if I were in a fishbowl. Luckily, neither happened.

I guess winter has come and gone. I certainly didn't notice it very much. I might very well take my 4 pairs of long-john pants and 6 long-john tops down to the railroad tracks and burn them in a long overdue thank you to the gods. If you know anyone of medium womanly build who might like some cuddle duds, let me know, as we're starting to have 39F-53F degree days now. Gone are are the 30F-43F, with only one half-hour of rina that looked like snow and sleet. I hear there are flowers blooming in the countryside under the grey skies. With spring break next week I'm tempted to take a jaunt out of town just to see.

.....


India:
in other news: I've started adding the India photos. I've got 2000 in total so it's a slow process. Slightly impatient, I decided to do the editing and uploading while forgoing the titling. That will have to come later - or in stages. So, if you're so inclined to see some of New Delhi, it is slowly showing itself at 616 photos.

.....

Back home:
I/We made a law. I've never made a law before. I hope it's worthy of being on the books and that forty years from now, children aren't reading about the policy failure of Compassionate Care for Rape Victims. Although, I do hope they're reading about "back in the day when this kind of legislation was necessary.."

I wasn't able to be there for the Governor's signing of it into law, but I could feel it over here. A huge sigh of relief. An excitement for future women seeking equality and justice. And, hopefully, just the right amount of pat-on-the-back to help my colleagues to keep fighting the good fight.

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

I am so lucky to have been able to work and live with some amazing people during the CCRV effort.

news article
video of signing (Highlights: Rep. Musser - Republican, says "Don't tell my caucus." and gets a laugh. Survivors: Linda, Amanda. Being able to see all my colleagues through the lens - Sara's LONG hair. And Governor Doyle, who even though he can't pronounce "contraception" very well is still a total champion for women's rights.)

......

School:
I'm going to try to write 3,000 words this weekend. Not randomly, but perhaps stringed together under the frame of privatization or perhaps independent regulatory agencies. Yesterday, our professor for international economics told us we have a lighter workload than our colleagues at other schools and that during his first year of school he lost 15 kilos and his mom told him he wasn't going back (he's Italian and damn good looking, so I imagine he lost a bunch of pasta weight). His comment was kind of harsh and a little uncalled for, but I do love his course. It's just that 3 problem sets (the first of which took me 10 hours total), 1 midterm, 1 group presentation, 4 weekly bibliographies (complementing our course pack readings) seems a bit excessive when considering the totality of the work load. I don't mean to complain or whine, and it's not that I don't want to be challenged. I just want to have the opportunity to do my work well and not half-assed-hoping.

I've heard that the first year of grad school is the worst. But there are only two of them! I'd rather like to have a few more after this one just to balance things out.

Maybe I'm not up to par. I often feel like I'm falling behind, struggling to hear and internalize every word, treading water, barely getting it at all. And then when it comes time to regurgitate or reformulate, I hope I can discover something new. But I gave that up last semester when I realized I'm not in the research field, I will not be discovering new ideas, I will not be publishing right now. So, I am content to try to understand and demonstrate my comprehension. Bor-ing. But oh well.

So, I'm looking at Spring Break next week Thursday for 6 days. It would be a delight to go somewhere for a few days. If I get this 3,000 word paper out, I will let myself leave the city and be alone. Now, to think of a short 2.5 day trip. Please feel free to send your suggestions!

the different meanings of life insurance

Walking in downtown Mumbai, India. Life flashing before my eyes with the fast-moving, closely crowded traffic. Viewing the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly, Victoria Terminus). Some kids gravitated to us and were fascinated when I flipped my digicam's viewing window toward them as I flimed. We don't give money to them. It doesn't solve the problem.




I'm still processing the trip to India. On one level I was seeing India for the first time, a truly unique country with the most people on the planet living there. "Don't try to understand India. Experience India." (Lonely Planet quoted by the HR Director of Infosys) Then, on another level we were 35 of us together for 10 days. Social dynamics. Interactions. Conflicts and rejoicing.

But we have already started second semester classes (check my schedule and the Sciences Po website to see what I'm taking if you're interested - so far I love "Scenario Planning" and am auditing the interesting "Interest Groups" course). I heard back from the UNECE about an internship. It's in Geneva and I know very little about Geneva. It's an incredible opportunity since getting in to the UN of anything is near impossible on the internship level. I'd be assisting the Statistics department with educational marketing of their services and assisting in the implementation of some new applications. It's not a highly managerial position or a strictly public policy position. But it's the UN!! And, I'd have the opportunity to attend joint meetings (with UNFPA, OECD - just a couple of this spring's meetings) and network. So with all of this, my processing of the trip goes in spurts when I find time to reflect.

I was most happy to be back in Paris. It smells like roses, the driving is like a river flowing, and I am happy.

I hope everyone in Wisconsin has voted. I know they got mine.

India

January 28:

Is starting to heat up in my mind. We're going in 9 days. We had to pick roommates tonight and I - am - loved! It's nice when you ask someone to be your roommate and they say "I would LOVE to. YAY!" Anne W and I are going to have so much fun. As I reported our roommate status to our class rep "Lauren & Anne with the candlestick in the billiard room. Or maybe with the bathing suits in the pool. Or MAYBE with the booze in the mini fridge."

But really, I hear that the trip is pretty intensely packed with some fascinatingly amazing meetings with some cutting edge agencies, firms, NGOs, and a wide array of issues to push us and test our concepts of the world. For instance, we'll meet with an NGO that focuses on making child labor "better" which is a huge challenge to my own image of things. The US went through it's own industrial revolution and led its own child labor laws. Is it just for us to impose our Western views or what we have accomplished in our own society on other countries? It would be better if other countries could develop without some of the negative drawbacks that we overcame, but sometimes the right answer isn't the best one. I hear that India instituted a ban on child labor under 17 years old and this left thousands of girls ages 15-17 on the streets to do what? Prostitution mostly. Is working in a factory better or worse? Is it better or worse to eliminate these opportunities and how? Or, is it better to improve the situation while taking steps to eliminate it? I don't have these answers yet. We'll see what we learn.

February 5:

India tomorrow. I still haven't had time to really sit and absorb or prepare. My friend BH says "I am especially curious to find out how the Delhi metro turned out. They were working on it while I was there in 2003-2004. I am obsessed with trains esp. subways/metros. I dream about them all of the time. I have a paris metro map that i love dearly. I think that it seems like an almost impossible feat for delhi to actually have a metro. well maybe not impossible but 'surface life' sure is a different cup of tea... i love the friday mosque 'jama masjid' by the red fort. all kinds of folks are collected in front of it and tons of markets and dripping goats heads and that's where i saw the man without eyeballs and the body without limbs... the smells... moments frozen in time. i checked out the ymca to see if i wanted to stay in it, but with the variety of SUPER CHEAP places i chose not to. nice ymca though. i think my rickshaw broke down on the way there. o the hanuman temple is a sight... o and i ate at subway once just to save my life cuz i was never so sick in my life and b/c it reminds me of my high school days but not the delhi version with their chutneys and fake meats - india is the vegetarians paradise and they call it vege (pronounced vej) and right next store the folks dining at pizza hut were five starred out - they pulled out the chair for them and handed them menus and politely asked if they'd like anything to drink... while the cows walked past the seikh drivers for the super upper class suv cell fone talking ladies on their way to somewhere important
i love india"

I have heard "a living hell in heaven on earth." I have heard there is no pinpointing her or generalizing her. I know there are those news stock photos that try to convey the massive population and the immensity in transportation. I'll just try to absorb her as best I can and capture her in my own way.

It's 21h45 here and I'm doing the traditional last-minute packing that has been acquired from either/or/both my parents genes. Trying outfits on and off and thinking of packing enough but not too much - I'd like to leave room for saris and jewelry and jellys and jams - oh, wait, I'm not allowed to import food am I? Or am I? Or will I anyway? Just kidding... I have to be careful what I post here - someday I might want to run for President! Ha!!!! I did buy about 8G of photo cards and a few cheap but summery skirts (thank god some stores are now thinking spring!). Some of my attire is even FROM the places I'll be going to! ... sigh.... and good! Globalization is a complex matrix which I hope to learn more about. Let the market be, control the market - I'm not sure I fall in either camp.

What I do know is that in these summery skirts and 86F weather I will not be wearing tights or 'pantyhose' or stockings and instead, I'll be blindingly white like glue. At least I know I can seek refuge in the group of 30+ other pasty white kids. ... Speaking of refuge. We've all been warned not to give hand-outs to beggars, children or not. I'd like to imaginge I've been prepared a bit better for this shock as back in the day my mum learned a different approach as we cruised the insane streets of Buenos Aires. She'd carry apples in the glove box. I'm not sure if it's condescending to think we know better about giving out money to poor people (the complex gangs with warlords and fake babies-for-a-day schemes, drug or alcohol addiction), but I like to think that some of those kids were happy to have something to put in their bellies and were able to find a way to escape their Fagins to do so. So, of course, I think I'm mentally prepared to see this world (again, but times 100 million), and prepared not to immediately want to give them money, my jewelry, my personal effects and a good scrubbing.

But who knows? I might just crumble under the reality of it all. Or... maybe it's a bit too strong and I'm not entering into the movie "Gandhi." Frankly, my own fault, I've been so damn busy wrapping up school and such that I haven't done the appropriate investigation and research. I've printed a bunch of readings for the long flight so I plan to get in a few good hours of that before medicating myself for sleep. ... but oh the adventure! And it will be good to get out of Paris for a substantial amount of time. I need to re-appreciate her.

Well, this is over and out for now. I've got more packing to do. (The fashion show part is done, now the rolling and stuffing - - thank you, parents, for passing on this extremely useful skill!)

I'm not bringing the laptop but will check emails from the road. I won't be uploading the images as I go unless direly needed and available. But thanks for the well wishes.

See you in a few days!

The season

Well, Sarkozy is off kissing the Pope's hand. I didn't think twice-divorced people could do that. I guess even the Pope can be flexible.

Bush is denying denying denying.

The Middle East is exploding.

Former Guantanamo 'prisoners' are freed after 4 years (oh, the stories they'll tell to the world, I hope I hope I hope).

Elizabeth II outlasts the other ones and Victoria. (Cheers to health care!)

New Orleans is coming down, but not without protest.

Candidates are jabbing and smearing.


.....

I hope to pull some time tonight to post a bunch of photos I've taken over the past month. You'll be able to see Paris - the real city of lights - at the holiday season. While some neighbors have coma-inducing lights blinking up and down the street and major shopping thoroughfares have tightropes of Santa faces or miniature trees, there's no snow to make me really think it's winter or Christmas. I am not complaining - PERIOD. But I don't feel any nostalgia or wistfulness or emptiness like I would have thought. Christmas is such a family-focused holiday for me. Snow rolls in around late Oct / early Nov, the temperature drops, the TV turns up its bombardment of commercialism, lights lights up everywhere, the capitol showcases the tallest tree in the world, I feel the pressure of time to come up with the most perfect gift for friends and family and Secret Non-Secular Santa at the office, mom sends a chocolate advent calendar, I pick my days off from work, I rent the car, I agonize about the drive up to the parents because I know blizzards and ice, I drive white-knuckled up the highway with all the distracted laissez-faire drivers, mom jokes about dragging the Christmas tree out (but I know she secretly likes challenging her Martha Stewart sensibilities), dad tells us the schedule for visiting grandma and the other relatives out at the farm, my sister and I have wine and tell stories about our lives lately to catch everyone up, we still get 1 present on Christmas Eve, mom still pretends Santa drops off our stocking gifts on our section of the couches, she also still pretends we can't see them for the bed sheets she lays over them (surprise is key!), someone wakes me up in the morning because I'm lazy now, they make fun of me being grumpy before my coffee, they make me crawl to the tree and hand out the first round of gifts because I'm still the youngest, we each take turns opening and "ooooh" and "aaaah"ing over things we had on our list, we use dad's Swiss Army knife for opening the tightly taped, we toss the gift wrap into recycling, dad asks if we'd like another cup of coffee, mom asks if we want some kind of toasted fruit bread with jam, we finally finish the glutonous high of indulgence, take naps or play with our new toys, dress, head out to the farm, hugs and kisses for all the family there, wistful thoughts for those who couldn't make it, grandma gets smaller and more frail every year and her hugs are tiny and bony but man is she still alive and twinkling, we mingle in the various rooms with the various extended family, the ladies keep the food cooking (it's a matriarchy, trust me), we serve ourselves, we sit at our randomly assigned seats at the long family table (although secretly this is planned out very well by one of the younger cousins in accordance with who they want sitting next to them and then down the line), we give the Norweigen blessing, we toast with the German white wine my dad brings or someone else's wine, we eat and laugh and laugh and debate and discuss and get seconds and hug and feel full in our bellies and full in our hearts and stronger in our minds, and then we dissapate slowly with some going home or some staying (or some cousins bucking all trends and finding a downtown bar to have coctails - or maybe that's Xmas Eve only), hugs and kisses and remembering schedules as to when we'll come back out to the farm for lunch or sledding down the hill or board games or future rendezvous in other cities for those who have to leave right away.

It's sunny outside my apartment. Sunny and 39F. Not a trace of snow to inspire me to feel seasonal, although I do - now - feel a bit wistful.

Well. I've got a paper to send off to the professor today. Once we've turned it in, I'll send out the link to it on google docs. It's a group project for our Managing Innovation in the Globalising Learning Economy: "Investment in Social Capital and Cultural Industry - An Argument for Advancing Policy to Enhance Economies of Metropoles." Sounds big, feels big, but really is just a 3-part paper to look at how better petri dishes attract better bacteria to make better colonies. IE, better cities -> creative people -> stronger economy. I'm in charge of theory - UGH! - the two boys did case studies on their respective cities (Berlin, Seoul) and we 3 sent out a survey to MPA students (and you all, thank you, although you won't be taken into consideration until next semester - we're continuing with the project beyond the class even!). We were hoping to run a regression on the data we had from the survey but frankly we're just not advanced in stats enough yet to be able to set up our own data set to run it. Maybe next semester. Yeah, so I have to finish my section and do the editing on the whole thing. Hm, English as a First Language = disadvantage here.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Madrid through the 26th to hang out with a friend there. I haven't been in 10 years so I'm psyched to see how the city has changed. I don't think there will be time to sneak down to Toledo (where I studied in undergraduate) but that's okay for now. I have no idea what to expect with this trip or this holiday. It's an adventure. Fun! Of course this means I will be nose to the grind when I get back - and NOW.

So, off I go.

A very happy merry few days to you and yours. I love my friends and family. I hope you all got your gifts - my small contribution to capitalism and my very small token to show you how much you are loved and thought about abroad. To new friends, cheers and fond thoughts in your direction!

See you when I get back - before the New Year no doubt.

Berlin on my mind, Paris in my heart

I just finished uploading 125 photos to the Berlin folder on Flickr. It's only Day 2 of the stay there of 6 so please be patient. Most of it is my walk from the wonderful apartment on Kanzowstraße to the Hertie School of Governance, my flatmates, the school, and a bit leading into our first real night there (girls on bikes). The hostess for our flat was actually at the "big kids" Global Public Policy Network conference in Singapore (along with 2 of our Sciences Po students) where they focused mainly on learning new pedagogic techniques and standards for accreditation. Our "little kids" student conference was the one in Berlin, the 2nd of its kind as London School of Economics hosted the first one this past March.

So, while the hostess was gone, we got to crash at her place. So very kind of her to offer it up. I ended up seeing a few interiors of flats while in Berlin. There's definitely a cookie-cutter aspect to some. Two of the ones I saw were identical - I mean identical - on the inside and about 10 blocks apart from each other. Shanaz was my flatmate and bedmate - suprising to the both of us. She's from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and this was her first sight of autumn - I could only imagine the shock to her body and senses. In the guest room stayed Lu, also from the same school but originally from China so the seasonal change wasn't so foreign. Man, let me tell you the amazing discussions we had and how utterly patient they were with me. I mean, I was there for the conference primarily but also to socialize. And there was only one key for the whole flat. So imagine. I still think, embarrassingly, back on the lunch I had with colleagues in the US when my dad treated us and explained the biological effect of living in Buenos Aires on my constitution: I'm perpetually late to things and definitely a night owl. The truth can turn cheeks red!

The three of us ended up leaving the flat together every morning for 4 days, grabbing breakfast (coffee and a strudel treat for me, water and sandwiches for them) at the corner bakery (semi-chain sort of bakery/shop), waiting a bit for the tram (aka street car), and taking the 25 minute ride to Alexanderplatz and then walking to Schloßplatz in Mitte (map here for you map-philes). Yu and I had some very interesting discussions about the one-child policy of China and my family planning organizing background.

Once there, every day was nicely packed with speakers, panels, coffee breaks (proven to be the best starter for networking and ultimately power-brokering with the next Secretariats of the World), lunch in their totally Aramark-catered fantastic lunch room (the building is shared with ESMT - it's no wonder).

After a while I started to seriously consider applying to the dual-degree program and doing my 2nd year there. The academic program seemed spot-on, the facilities were futuristic compared to Sciences Po, the people seemed intelligent and warm, the weather familiar, the shopping so so so cheap, the food various and vegetarian, the beer wonderfully tall, the men more easy on the eyes, the night life more cutting edge, the English flowing in any situation, the horizon and time for Berlin very cutting edge and about to explode. All of these wonderful aspects and I looked at Sciences Po and Paris in my mind's eye and felt like I was attending an orphanage while visiting a palace. I felt a little like I should be defending my school and trying to remember why I loved it. But frankly, I've only been living here for 2 months and 1 day and attending actual classes for a month and half. I don't feel school spirit yet and at the price I'm paying (no help with the depreciation of the dollar, thank you) I feel like I need some serious vitamin shot of love!

But then I started seeing a bit of the reality. Sure, I was in a palace, but a palace with rigid, boxy structures and timeliness that hurt my soul. The cleanliness was too much (expect that I'd like to argue that the Germans let their dogs poo more on the sidewalks than the French do, thank you). The aim of the academics seemed wonderful (it was one of the programs I applied to but I had made my decision on Paris before I heard confirmation or rejection), but not quite as roomy as my program.

I realized I missed the stink of Paris. The chaos. The strikes (more coming this week). The overwhelming density of the city. I feel empowered here to fight for mine - a feeling I'm not so used to having been raised Scandinavian, Lutheran, and passive-aggressive Minnesotan to a degree. It's almost as if the lyrics "if I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere" apply more to Paris than NYC. The city of lights. The city of love. The city of distrust. The city of old ladies peering through the slats of their shutters down at the street, down at you. The city of two-hour walks to work. The city of perfected wine, perfect nose snubs, perfectly earthy cheese, perfectly unique skies. Things in disarray appeal to me and while I love the disjointed, free struggle of Berlin I'm much more in love with the wild, half-drunk off a bottle of wine, riotous and rambling, slurring and sexy, frightful and fenced off Paris.

Man, this is gonna totally hurt me financially. And I might very well change my mind in a month when the application procedure opens to dual-degree programs. But for now I'm not ready to give up on this city or the program or myself. I know in time I'll feel stronger and more proud.

Anyway. Go check out how Berlin is changing and meet some of my wonderful colleagues and new friends.

[PS. Oh, and I somehow ended up as the co-chair of the 2008 GPPN Student Conference in Paris. Don't ask, please. No really. Please.]


highlights:

on the train, during the Berlin strike










autumn out the apartment window









flatmates in Berlin








Henry addresses the conference, Hertie











Television Tower in stereo

Fastest Update in the EU

I'm working on editing the Berlin photos right now. I tossed up a bunch of the Greve ones without labelling them because there were over 100+ and I just didn't have the time. There's day 1 of Berlin up but it's us kids in the airport - not interesting at all. Unless you dig Schoenefeld.

I'm off to go do groceries which requires planning and lists because, unlike the French, I like efficiency.

I'm definitely sure I made the right decision for school and for school in Paris. It's hard and wonderful at the same time, every day, all the time. Some days I feel like I've been thrown back into high school and feel drastically insecure about myself when I shouldn't since I'm a wonderfully mature and successful woman. Some days I feel frustrated by my lack of prior knowledge but I'm getting the big picture and seeing it all add up. Events outside of school are reinforcing the language I'm learning and the concepts and I feel like by the time I leave I will be on the cutting edge of leadership and policy, world change. That's exciting and comforting. Meanwhile, personally, I have some challenges. It's harder to get along with the younger students and it's harder to get along with French friends due to lack of time. I'm proud of myself that I've really taken to the bus routes (dude, RATP rules - on the upper left hand side is an interactive map of all bus lines, their timetables open in PDF and their routes are clearly outlined, same with metro, RER, and everything else). It's a great way to see Paris outside of my apartment and the school -- which end up seeing me most.

I loved visiting Berlin to see its dramatic changes between my last visit in 2002 and now. Thanks to Paul for the recommendation of Globetrotter Hostel!

So, we went to the World Bank the other day. You can see us here and watch the 2 hour lecture on "Research to Policy" here (opens into a Real Player video which I can't seem to save - must be locked).

Weather's turning colder here but no snow yet which makes me tremendously happy. There are anticipated strikes next week but I can't confirm things yet. I finally got a Navigo card (like 50E/month for all transport - it's a steal since I ride the bus/metro at least 2/day @ 1.50E/ea = 84E/month). I don't get the student discount because I'm old. Age discrimination is incredible in Europe. They don't comprehend why anyone would return to school for some reason. .. well, I know the reason, I just don't have time to expand on it here.

I promise more lengthly reports this weekend between reading reading reading and living.

Don't forget - plan your Europe vacation now and get free accommodations with me! I've already got my pals, the Lunds, visiting in January. Sooo excited to see them here and catch up -- J. Lund was 1 of the main recommenders for all my grad school apps, super cool guy/professor.

Ok, over n out.
BisouBisou

I remember the purpose now

All the inadequate feelings of late were just a reflection, perhaps, of being with so much 'vacation' time and a feel of no purpose. Even Henry Miller needed to write in order to live here.

My first day was intense and encouraging. We walked through introductions to overviews of courses to details of legalities to stay in France. Our study trip is to India for 10 days which just thrills me to no end. I'm completely prepared to eat with the right and wipe with the left. [wait, is it the other way around?!] Also, there's an opportunity to represent our class at a conference in Berlin or Singapore. It's a difficult decision. I've been to Berlin so I know how much fun it can be, almost all who apply will be accepted. I've never been to Singapore but only 2 will be accepted. And, they're roughly the same time period.

I'm slightly ahead of the game as far as legal issues and procedures. I guess it pays to be anal about details [aka a planner] and take initiative.

One note I'm considering from today is whether my mood was lifted because of the purpose, the language, the first day of the next two years of my life - or all of it. Either way, I'm in a lot better mood and feel more confident to settle into enjoying and risking more in Paris. ... Like, maybe I'll go wander into the nearby brasserie and join in the Ireland v. France rugby watching. Just for kicks.

How to go to graduate school in Paris

Subtitle: Especially if you're attending a new program - or maybe that's irrelevant and we can just call it Over-Planning USA Girl versus French System and Culture.

Sub-subtitle: How to go to the Master of Public Affairs program at Sciences Po.
(*A new program, based in English, having just graduated its first class in June 2007. I like to think of it as a young, vital alumni network. No jokes though, the grads were pretty damn lucky: "The MPA was proud to host His Highness the Aga Khan, key note speaker for the Graduation Ceremony in honor of the Class of 2007..")

So...
Where to start? Which foot first? Forward? Backward? Side-step? Two-step?

Put your left foot in and shake it all around.



Over-Planner Girl decided to lay it all out on paper. I come from modest means, worked for a non-profit for 6 years, and have no trust fund. I do have my wits, my health, a great family, fabulous lovers, wonderful friends and colleagues (whom I consider friends), and a few plants that I know love me despite my sporadic watering.

My list became such (a living document that floats between me and my financial adviser, my father, about once a week - we title each revision with a new "v.6" or whatever):

Sciences Po, Paris, France – Master of Public Affairs (it's good to title things)
Curriculum
Student Guide 2007-2008

The Curriculum link is there to let it sink in exactly what the hell you'll be studying.
The Student Guide: it may very well take a lot of searching to find this link - remember to bookmark links like crazy. They call the web a rabbit hole and you fall down just like Alice. But some websites are like ant farms - weaving down around up and about. You might try to return to where you originally started, but damn it all if you lost that original home page and none of the others have the same layout so you forget what you were even looking for in the beginning. All I'm saying is use your "open window in new tab" function a lot or bookmark like crazy. Anyway, the student guide has good information - in French, yet very helpful.

(Yeah, that reminds me. I am not fluent in French. I will be. But I'm not now. I spent three of my formative years in Buenos Aires and learned Castellano pretty well. During that time, in about 9th grade, I took a year of French from Madame Bousquet - god bless her. The boys considered her a MILF. The girls could have cared less about French. But somehow she drilled it into us in a very friendly, fashionably black way. When I visited Paris, I used what little I could remember - ou est l'toilet? s'il vous plaît - est-ce que - il y a - etc... And I have to say that I did not sense any disrespect or shunning or snobbery from anyone that I ran in to during those three days. Yes, granted, three days. But I really do think they take into consideration your effort. I also thank Mme B for the amazing accent she gave us. I recall distinctly when she explained that her accent, and the French we would learn, would be from central Paris. I wondered how many other places there were in the world that spoke French. My French does not suck. It has a long way to go, but I can at least read the Student Guide. And, um, you might want to get a grasp, too.)

Euro deposit for placement in program √
7000+ students at Sciences Po, 2300 are international

(Checkmarks are helpful - as is the strikethrough script. It's also fine to reaffirm and comfort yourself as you go through the list of things you need to do or know.)

The application fee is a non-refundable processing fee for submission of your dossier.
The deposit is the first payment of your tuition and will be deducted from the first installment you must pay when you register in September.

The study trip (there is only one study trip in the first year): All the airfares, accommodation and transportation relating to the visits are covered by your tuition (as are breakfast and one or two dinners). Other meals will be at your expense. All students will go on the study trip, they are not application-based.

2007-2008 Cost estimates (insert your own denominations here - one column for Euros one for USD)
First year tuition
Application fee
Accommodation (700/month x 12)
Utilities (50/month x 12)
Food (500/month x 12)
Culture / Leisure
Transportation (50/month x 12)
Health services/insurance
Books
Storage (USA)
Travel
Personal expenses
International flights (1 round trip or 1 one-way?)
MacBook laptop and all the buttons and whistles

Total - in Euros and USD

How to afford this:
Stafford unsubsidized
Stafford subsidized
Personal loan


Repeat for 2008-2009


Calendar
June-September: apartment hunting and securing
June-July: secure Stafford subsidized loan
July: One-way plane ticket, Mac computer, secure personal loan, find original birth certificate, 14 passport-sized photos (2: visa, 4: Carte de séjour, 4: school, 4: anything else),
August: U-haul moving trailer (Sun 8/12 10am – Mon 8/13 10am), U-Haul storage 8/01/07-08/01/09, health insurance, phone?, workplace health insurance for 8/1 – 8/31, Visa in Chicago 8/6, check Stafford Loan paperwork with ASA, secure health insurance, phone?, workplace IRA rollover?, life insurance?

Payments to Sciences Po:
TUITION DATES. The dates for tuition payment for 2007-2008 are the following :
--One payment by international transfer before October 31st 2007
OR
--4 installments
1) 25% at the time of registration (along with social security and complementary health insurance payment as required). This can be made by cheque or credit card payment at the Student Administration office.
2) 25% December 3rd
3) 25% February 11th
4) 25% April 21st
June-Sept ‘08: Internship [return to USA? FR? Other?]; travel expenses; housing

Stay tuned to our next episodes as we discuss:

The major headers / issues for the calendar and plotting the rest of your life include:

Financial Aid - the Stafford Loan, financial entities that give loans and aren't corrupt, the Loan Police, and realizing that there is good debt and investment debt and stop sweating you're not having a heart attack it's okay to owe a bit here and there.

Housing - the ins and outs of Craigslist and other websites, to colocate (roommates) or not, where to look, what are the agency fees and what are the charges, an attic room made for a 16 century maid or a 2-bedroom, the CAF, a picture tells a thousand words or how to trust your intuition, wire transfers, and reminders that USA is big and Europe is more condense.

Visa - the elaborate system to get the sticker with my ugly photo on it (thanks, Walgreens), the paperwork, the registration, the paperwork, the copies, the originals, the notorizing, the drive, the wait, the approval by some totally cute boy behind glass wearing such a great tie and pants combo.

Medical insurance - Europe is ageist, get coverage, get covered.

Travel - a round-trip ticket requires that you return within 365 days, get a one-way and make people visit YOU for the holidays.

Moving/Storage - getting from here to there and still keeping those things you acquired while you were a grown-up.

Phone - we think we're so free in the USA - get a phone in Europe.

Computer - I switched to a MacBook and went all out on it.

Transport in Paris - following the links on the right I found out about Velib, add annual membership to Velib into budget but are there other costs? Metro, buy a bike, taxi, bus, mule, ride a Remy?

Banking in Paris - which bank, how bank, patience bank.

As you can see, some of these items I have yet to really find out about. So, stick around to see how it all pans out.





So, yeah, on a totally personal note, I haven't really cried too much yet. I've lived here for 6 years and have made some amazing friends and have loved my job - I'm quitting to further my career not because I want to escape it.

It hasn't felt too hard to leave, but leaving feels hard. I've been tempering my excitement and have rather blushed when telling folks around here that I was going to Paris for grad school. I say that it's a departure for me - knowing full well that I've traveled all my life except for spending the longest amount of consecutive time here. I say that, knowing full well that my supervisor always reminds me of the time when we were interviewing her - about 2 years into my job - and I informed her that I wouldn't be here much longer and that I was going to go to grad school. I guess there's something to be said for incubation.

It's kind of odd though. Once you tell people you're leaving there's a window of time for your welcome and spotlight. After about a month people tire of hearing about you leaving and after 2 good-bye parties they're ready to see you to the door. For the movers-on it's a bit harder. Although it's always been said that it's more difficult for the left-behind. While it seems that everyone around me has moved on and keeps trucking, I feel a little stagnant - packing, seeing the same walls day after day, wondering what they're doing, spying through the secret left-over passcode entry email. And I know what it's like to be left. You gotta pick up and move on, continue on, feel the sting of the pain of sadness and then keep going. If the sting keeps reappearing over and over it makes the separation harder. I got new glasses and showed my ex-boyfriend (now good friend). I went from thick rimmed glasses to no rims. "What's different about them? I can't remember what you wore before." The after-work drinks I was going to get a week after I quit suddenly disapated into one person going on early vacation, another having her parents in town, and suddenly you slip off the calendar because life continues.

I don't expect to be noticed or remembered. I just wasn't ready to be forgotten so soon.

I've been looking forward for a long time though. I think that's why I haven't cried much yet. I will feel that homesickness when I get there. I will want to look back and thank god for online photo albums so I can cry over this and that back then.

But there are these odd little things that make me tear up:
I didn't wash the towel my last lover used and when I packed it I felt sad. In cleaning and packing I found a few things my ex might want. It's almost like break-up all over: these should be your things. The last Friday in town when the sun is setting so perfectly rosy over the buildings and lakes. The sound of the buzzing cicadas on fire. The slow yellow glow added to the green leaves as a sign of autumn. The last dive weekend where each block hosts a pile of used couches, clothes, desks, cookery, tvs, more clothes, books. The last time I visit my local liquor store.

I did my tarot cards last night. No, I'm not a hippie but I got it as a gift and tried it once and it was dead on. So, every now and then, I tap in. It confirmed only good things in the future, only good lessons in the past.

We shall see. Nous verrons.