THE LAST LECTURE

It was our last couple of days together and we all could not believe how quick these past six weeks has gone! We would all be together for our last weekend and we were looking forward to enjoying Paris one last time!

Thursday night we went back to the nightclub, Duplex. We were all ready to have a good time and we knew this place wouldn’t fail us. On the walk in I saw a Parisian girl wearing the same dress as me but in white, how rude! We have been describing the club as a “time warp.” One minute we are walking in at midnight and next thing we know we are catching the metro at 5 a.m. to be accompanied by the sun and Parisians headed to work. Everyone had a great night and it was a successful last all-nighter.

Despite having a great time the night before, the morning was not so pleasant. We had to be up for an inspection of our rooms by the housing coordinator for our program. Little did we know this inspection consisted of a walk into the hall of our apartment and the woman confirming it was okay with a glance that wouldn’t have even been able to spot a single thing! I was livid to say the least.

I was so exhausted and barely functioning without sleep (so dramatic but seriously). A group of us were catching a train to Givernet to see Monet’s house and garden. The train ride was not very long at all but some of the characters as well as animals were quite a sight. We spent a couple of hours going inside the house and walking around the garden, it was so beautiful! And how ideal that I wore a floral top that was perfect for the occasion!

We all went to nap when we got home and intended on having a relaxing night. Almost all of us headed to the Seine and we had an even better view this time in my perspective! In addition to some new surroundings, we had a front row seat to some clown who could not handle his alcohol and definitely had too much to drink. We began to scope out the situation and it gradually became worse as time went on. Many people were going over and trying to help and after awhile an ambulance finally arrived. It was really scary but we decided it was best not to get involved even though I was dying to know details.

Saturday morning we were able to sleep in and we definitely took advantage! Plus we needed our sleep for the bar tour that we would be having later in the day! We all purchased Paris shirts that we decorated and cut. We were some of our favorite bars during our time in Paris as well as a few new ones.

The first stop was “The Fifth Bar.” We were the only people in the bar during our time spent there and it was perfect! The bartender, Byron, was playing American music for us as well as making all of our favorite drinks. Byron, the pyro, would light the bar on fire during jager bombs that quickly became the group’s desired drink. Is lighting my counter on fire next year in my apartment safe? Byron was thrilled with the sales coming in so early in the day and awarded us all with a free drink. Thanks baby boy!
Next we were headed to “The Frog.” We stopped there for dinner and some drinks. We received dirty looks everywhere we went and by this time we were more than accustomed to this. Following “The Frog” was a bar called “Pop In.” We really took the name seriously and only popped in for a short while. Our final destination would be “Café Oz” that we had enjoyed going to our first weekend in Paris. The bar tour was so much fun and a great way to wrap up our weekend!

Sunday was dedicated to procrastination and preparation. We had our art final the following day. The more I looked at the material the more I didn’t know and had vague recollection of visiting some of the museums. Nevertheless, we took the final Monday morning with some doing better than others. My answers are never that detailed or correct for that matter but I think the professor got me. However, I will spend money on an international call depending if I need to persuade her to change my grade. We went souvenir shopping and picked up some last minute gifts on Monday.

As for the night, we headed back to “The Fifth Bar” to celebrate the Fourth of July! The bar was not the same scene as our previous time. It was extremely packed but Byron was looking out for his loyal customers. We all had a fun night despite spending this day celebrating in the United States.

Tuesday was our last class with Professor Ettington. She was such a sweetheart and we all enjoyed her. Tuesday night we were being taken out to a seafood restaurant by the program. We had a three-course meal that was interesting. I ordered shrimp for the starter and was a bit perturbed when I saw the head was still kickin’. I am not a huge fan of seafood and had never peeled a shrimp. In my head I was thinking, “Doll, where you at?” It went okay but I did not particularly like all the effort just to get to the shrimp! For the main dish I ordered the vegetarian plate and it was actually pretty good. The dessert I choose was a pear crepe that had alcohol inside. The alcohol was a bit too potent for my liking and I wasn’t trying to get wild off my dessert. Yet, I wish I had taken advantage of my crepe because I was unknowingly making a speech at the end of the dinner. I love to talk but for some reason I was at a loss of words, weird I know! I searched my brain for some sentimental words but I couldn’t find them or any jokes. Epic fail. We all spent time together after dinner and enjoyed our last night together in Paris.

Gabi, Jen, and I left for the airport this morning and everything went very smoothly for the most part. There was some confusion when an airport worker was checking me in and asked, “Where did I come from?” I was thinking, “Roseann Noonan, Broomall, Pennsylvania, The Citadines in the 14th district, America, Paris, what was the right answer?” The next question was, “Who packed your bag?” What is with this country?

The next debacle was doing the tax return for some purchases I made. Of course I am behind this woman who says, “Do you speak English?” Next thing I know we are engaged in a twenty minute conversation about her daughter, her travels, cooking lessons, Europe, expenses, literally the whole nine-yards. I couldn’t help but stare and wonder, “Why do you have cotton balls in your ears?” She thought I was on business. Take a look at me lady; I look like I am 11. I was thrilled to hear we were on the same flight to Philadelphia and she reassured me that, “I will see on the flight!” Sorry Gabi, I am no longer able to sit with you because my new middle-aged friend and me need to talk about recipes and life lessons for the next 8.5 hours. I am convinced there is a post-it on my forehead proclaiming, “Yes I will listen to you and would love to hear everything about your life!”

Currently I am on the plan with about an hour and a half left to go. This is so crazy I am on my way home!

If I could redo my speech it would go a little something like this:
Paris Fam,
I cannot thank you enough for an experience and memory that I will carry with me forever. It is amazing that we didn’t know each other yet we were ready to travel around together and create new friendships. As I said, we may all have different personalities but I think the diversity helped each of us to grow as a person and respect people for who they are, how they see things, and who they choose to be. I have learned so much from each one of you and my time spent in Paris would not be the same without you. Most of us will probably not have the opportunity to do something similar to this and I think we all took advantage of our time in Paris. I am happy you have all become my good friends and I look forward to seeing you at Penn State! Thanks for a great six weeks. We did it! Bonjour, baguette, fromage, merci!
Love,
Regina (your future PR girl for your marketing, accounting, management, finance firms or whatever major you clowns are in)