An Update in Three Parts

Part I

I went to Italy to see Alessandro graduate from the University of Milan and got a sneak-peek of Italian living--of both family life and college-student life. It was really fun to walk around Milan, pick up some Italian words, and meet some of Alessandro's family and friends. And eat! I had some great meals in Italy, as you do, but I didn't get to try nearly as much as I would have liked to, so, basically, I have to go back...

One of the classic moments from this trip was after we'd all gone out to celebrate Alessandro's graduation. We'd been drinking and it was fairly late, and I was hungry. I suggested stopping somewhere to get kebab or fries--some sort of drinking food. But Alessandro's friend was like, "Oh, I'll just whip up some pasta when we get home." And she did. So there's Italy for you.

Me, Cyril, and Alessandro in Milan

Lake of Como

Hotdog encased in Italian bread

Alé chillin' with his degree

Hurt feet from walking the streets of Milan

At the graduation party

Part II

When I studied abroad in Paris, I had the wonderful luck of meeting some of the world's greatest people. One of these amazing humans came all the way from Brest (basically draw a diagonal line across France from Nice, and that's where you'll find Brest) to see me. Emma! We had a lovely time together--from exploring Nice, to celebrating Emma's birthday with brunch, to hanging out with some random animals at Parc Phoenix, to eating good food, and to some great nights out. I'm really glad we got the chance to reconnect and create some new memories together!

Birthday Brunch

Oh, hey, mini Statue of Liberty!

Random wildlife in Nice...JK

Typical Niçoise fare at La Tapenade

with Kristen

Paris sisters at Pub Quiz

Part III

I went to Dublin. It was pretty cool. The pride that the Irish have for their history, stories, language, drink, and culture really stood out to me. I felt so welcome and so a part of the city while I was there--so much so that I definitely want to go back. I traveled with Jenny, Helena, and Caroline and we had a lovely time going on a Literature Pub Crawl, as well as going to the Whiskey Museum, the Viking Museum, and a suburban town outside of Dublin called Dún Laoghaire, where we visited the James Joyce museum. We also had a good taste of Irish night life, in addition to trying some wonderful Dublin restaurants. This was an amazing holiday.

Welcome to Ireland. It's green.

What up, Oscar Wilde?

Jenny, Caroline, and Helena

outside of The Duke on our Literature Pub Crawl

Drinking Guinness at O'Neill's

Dún Laoghaire in the sun

That's what I've been up to. Oh, I also moved to a new flat, and have proctored some exams, and said goodbye to some lectrices. This is a whirlwind transition moment as my job is ending, adventures are just beginning, and the great beyond is utterly impenetrable. Hurrah! 

Late to the Party

Hello! Usually I post on a Sunday, Monday, or even a Tuesday, but this week I am showing up late to the party. One of the reasons for my tardiness is that I have been socializing like an extrovert. A proper let's-spend-time-with-people-ALL-the-time person. And surprisingly, I feel OK. Traditionally I get really tired and moody and need to spend two or three days alone if I see people too much. I'm wondering if the crash is just around the corner, daunting and inevitable, or if my tolerance has gone up! Either way, I'm riding this tidal wave of friend-time for all it's worth.

Since I last wrote, we've had two new people move into the flat. It's all temporary, but really fun! We've been cooking together, having silly dance parties in the kitchen; we've gone bar hopping, and out for coffee. The kitchen is dirtier, but my fun-meter has sky-rocketed.

I also went on a ski weekend adventure with Natalie and Helena! We had an amazing time. There were ups and downs, but like any ski trip, it was definitely worth it. Natalie and I stayed at a terrace at Isola and went to a hot tub, made dinner, and played Agricola (one of my favorite board games). Helena joined us on Sunday. The slopes were sort of slushy, because it's the end of the season, but it was VERY sunny and now I have an amazing face tan.

Next week we have final exams at uni, and then that's sort of it. We have to stick around to proctor exams, and I teach night classes, which run through May. But summer is fast approaching and I have a lot to look forward to! Beach errrrr day. Plus, visitors! Including a visit by Emma, one of my Parisian besties, and Wilson, a childhood friend from Finland. And then the traveling will commence!

Oh, and I'm moving to a new flat at the end of the month. April is always so hectic! As is May! Last year at this time I was doing a video every day challenge on my YouTube channel and filming "Seniors" with Jenna. And maple sugaring. And getting ready to graduate. It's weird to think about that... my life is so different now, and there is no way I could have known that I'd end up where I am today.

Have some pictures!

Selfie at Isola.

L'équipe!

Taco night with the girls!

Throw back to this time last year at Poem & A Cookie Day, an English Honors Society event! Yeah..I think my hair has gotten better. 

Tomorrow Isn't April; Time is Stupid--Let's Throw Rocks At It.

A fortnight, because that's more or less the interval between each one of my blog posts*, seems like an eternity. So much has happened since I last wrote, and yet everything is more or less the same. So, maybe I'm the thing that's changed. Ew. Is that too cliché?

This semester has been challenging in many ways, but also super rewarding. I've gotten a lot done! Doing night classes--teaching beginners--has given me a sense of what teaching is actually like (and it's not that bad). Hopefully the students retain at least some of the information I assume I'm giving them.

I've been reading (+ listening) to at least three books at a time, which can feel overwhelming, but this sensation is something I really enjoy. The sensation that I'm accomplishing something. It may be a weak attempt at simulating a college reading pattern (without having to write the essays), but oh well.

I do miss school. But also the idea of applying to school is disgusting. Maybe this is because nothing seems to fit just right. I love English and Creative Writing, but I don't want to only study those things. I want to go to a liberal arts graduate school. Hartwick has ruined me.

"But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adam's supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him." (15.11 Frankenstein) 

I've also had my fill of excursions: skiing and other various day-trips. These can be draining physically, as well as socially (poor little introvert), but they are SO WORTH IT. Part of me wants to stay in Nice just so I can keep skiing.

Also, my camera broke. So that's fun.

Here's are some stolen photos from Helena's album:

We went to St. Marguerite, an island off the coast of Cannes and had a picnic.

Pretty soon, if all goes according to plan, I'll have a new flatmate during the month of April, I'll move into a new flat in May, and perhaps I'll travel to several places in Europe in June and July. On verra. 

*After publishing this post, I realized I was meant to write last week, which is why the interval between this post and the last seemed longer--because it has in fact been 21 days; not 14.

HOW IS IT ALREADY MARCH?

Alright, so this is going to be quick because for some reason I'm really busy. I have no idea how that happened. OH WAIT: I'm teaching more hours, have private tutoring, and have to do more prep than before. Also, life. (I'm going skiing again on Saturday!)

The past two weeks I did stuff.

First, I got very ill.

Then it was my birthday! I turned 23. This is me, still recovering from a violent cough and overall tiredness--must-stay-in-bed-and-do-nothingness. I got out of bed to say hi to friends. At 9 p.m. I went to sleep.

Vacation was pretty chill. Helena and I helped Kristen move to a new flat. I went to the Matisse museum with Helena and Peter. Then I made chili!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like always, it was really fun to prepare dinner for everyone. We had good conversation, too (mostly about the American agricultural system). Hooray!

Then on Saturday I went to a Dutch Pancake Party! Basically this guy, Robin, is a freelancer, and he hosts pancake parties every weekend around the world. (The pancakes are Dutch because Robin is from The Netherlands). I met and hung out with a bunch of different people!

It was crowded. 

This week, I'm participating in Read-O-Rama--a BookTube read-a-thon in which participants must read 7 books in 7 days and complete challenges. You can learn more about the event by watching my TBR (to be read) video below:

And you can follow my progress (or lack thereof) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angelicacofer

Have a great couple of weeks!

Skiing Sundays

Since I last wrote, I've been getting into the swing of a new schedule, started private tutoring, read another book for book club, been to two birthday celebrations for the same person, learned to play another board game (Eldritch Horror), and I fell back into love with skiing.

I was never hugely into skiing. It was just something I did on Tuesday afternoons growing up. Now that I'm an "adult," I am tremendously happy that I know how to ski, and that I learned it when I did. It's the type of thing that just comes back to you after one warm-up run.

Not to mention, skiing in the Alps is beautiful and amazing. Here are some photos:

Valberg

Isola

I hope to go on several more ski trips before I leave Nice. Who'd a thunk Nice was a good place for a skier??

Until next time!

Being Back and Around

Hello! I've been a busy bee since returning to Nice. I'm happy to report that my days have been filled with work, personal projects, and social time--whether it's relaxing or upbeat. The weekend following my return, Alessandro and I (and Raphaela, really, even though she doesn't live with us anymore) hosted a cheese and wine party, which was absolutely delightful. Raphaela invited many of her Erasmus friends, Alessandro invited his, and the lecteurs got an invitation from me. It was a melting pot of people, and I'm fairly certain the attendees had fun. I did, anyway.

On that Sunday, I went to Valberg, a nearby skiing village, with Alessandro and his crew. The drive to Valberg is a beautiful and curvy car ride through the mountains. Once we got there we found a nice place for lunch, and then went sledding! It was a treat to experience snow in France--the stuff that sticks, like I'm used to back home. I also got to listen to and speak French all day, although everyone spoke enough English that we could switch back and forth comfortably enough to enjoy one another's company.

The first week of classes ensued; in short, it has been chaotic setting up a definitive timetable for this semester. The lecteurs are responsible for additional hours in the Centre de Langues, which is sort of like The Writing Center at Hartwick, but for a bunch of languages. I'm going to be designing a night course twice a week, and I'll offer workshops on other campuses (e.g. the business or law school, etc.). It should be a good change of pace. Variety being the spice of life and all that.

This past weekend I got to see my dear friend, Casey, in Paris, as well as Mark Wolff and the Hartick J-term France class. It was freakin' awesome. Highlights include: a Bateaux Mouche ride at night, the Institut du Monde Arabe exposition, tea at la Mosquée de Paris, dinner at Nos Ancestres Les Gaulois, mass at Notre Dame, and seeing Olympia at Musée d'Orsay (finally).

This week has started off rainy and dreary, which adequately reflects my energy level. I must push through the tired to teach, and hopefully have another enjoyable weekend.

Friends at lunch in Valberg

The sledding scene at Valberg

Casey standing before the Institut du Monde Arabe

Casey and me at the Gaulois-themed (think French viking) restaurant, Nos Ancestres

Resolutions

Thanks to Lena Dunham's recent collection of essays, Not That Kind of Girl, and my insistence on "letting my body do its thing," I am awake at 5:28 in the morning. I'm not sure why it's called "jet lag." Jet jumps, or jet whenever-the-hell-my-body-feels-like-sleeping are more accurate terms. I'm not bothered--I feel wide awake and am enjoying the extra time I get to read and listen to Walk The Moon's Talking Is Hard album. (SPOTIFY IS AMAZING!) I'm sure I'll feel differently in a few hours.

I just wanted to touch base. Basically, I've decided to be better. To try harder. To say, "Yes, please!" enthusiastically with a wild grin slapped on my face. Because, if I'm being honest, I was a sourpuss last semester. I relied too heavily on embellished introversion--the idea that I have to spend time alone in order to find some magical equilibrium where I feel wholesome and healthy. I definitely need to crash after spending too much time around people, especially if I'm meeting people and have to stick to that get-to-know-ya banter. But I didn't have to be alone as much as I was during the fall.

It's easy to get stuck. To wind up in a place you didn't expect to be and have no idea how you got there. Or how to get the hell out. Sometimes you need your mother to yell at you to realize you're being stupid and stubborn and, frankly, a prick. She technically didn't yell at me. We didn't get in a fight or anything, but she was clearly frustrated with me for not taking advantage of my opportunity. For not being grateful. For not seizing life by the balls, etc.

There's a difference between knowing something conceptually and then living out that knowledge. So, all last fall I knew to get involved, to participate, say "yes" would be the best way to live up my experience in Nice. I'd already learned this shit. You can look back to my dramatic Traversing Paris blog posts. The whole dealing with homesickness and culture shock thing. It's all there.

But I stayed in my room one too many times. I missed home, okay? Also, I'd just graduated college. I'd had to shed a life I'd had for the past four years! Didn't anyone understand? And I still think this to a degree. I think the transition between college and adulthood is underrated.

Going home was the best thing I could've done. It reminded me that I won't change overnight--that I don't need to clutch at my past self like it's a ghost slipping through my fingers. It reminded me that everyone is going through the same shit as I am, regardless of where they are in their journey. Going back to Oneonta showed me that home isn't going to leave me behind--that I can always come back, and even if it looks different, that will be okay. I was reminded that some people love me, despite that partition known as the Atlantic Ocean, and that some people don't. Plus, I ate a bunch of terrible, delicious food, and watched approximately 5 seasons of The Office.

And of course, talking to my mom reminded me to take myself less seriously and have fun. To relax. Practice speaking French, for crying out loud! Yes, Mom.

I resolve to say, "YES!" more. (For more information on this topic, read Amy Poehler's Yes Please).