I really am in the city of love

do you ever have moments in your life when you feel like you’re living a dream where you just never want to wake up.

I’m starting to believe that the best things in life really do happen when you least expect them. This past week has been one of the best of my life, and it’s all because of an unexpected occurrence. Let’s just say it started with a night of rain ruining our plans in St. Michel and us spontaneously deciding to travel to the northeast side of paris to Belushi’s for an international party that ended up getting cancelled. There we were three girls sitting at a bar, ordering drinks and preparing for a game of “ride the bus”. Apparently this isn’t an american game because so far I’ve had to teach it to all of my copaines americannes. THis game is NOT fun with 3 people so the social butterfly in me decided to go scope out the other bar hoppers. Obviously there was a guy that stood out, sitting alone with two beers. A couple things crossed my mind.

1. The beer belongs to his girlfriend so I don’t have a chance.
2. This guy can drink his beer.
3. He’s best friend is just upstairs changing his shirt and hes waiting patiently for him. (okay this obviously didn’t cross my mind but it happened to be the truth, thankfully).

After the two guys came to our table, I don’t want to be all cliche and say it was love at first sight.. but damn, there were defiantly some butterflies going on in my stomach and it wasn’t from the vodka either. After discovering that they weren’t models in Japan but really in the military we got notified that the international party downstairs had been cancelled. Already buzzing and ready for a good night out, we suggested Cafe Oz at Chatelet so off to the metro we went.

The best thing about this bar is that it accommodates to different crowds whether you want to sit down and watch sports, pick up babes at the bar, or dance the night away, its the place to be! I’m not sure exactly at what number drink I decided my confidence level was high enough to show this guy my intentions but before we knew it we were hand in hand. The night followed with countless blue pineapples, a name tag with IGOR, a 5 euro bet on a random from their hostel following us there and i’m pretty sure my heart had double in size towards this guy. I don’t even want to call him “this guy” because he’s so much more than that. Yes, I’ve known him now for almost a week but the happiness I get when I see him is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced before. The only thing I was unsure of was if the feelings I felt were mutual or if I was just dreaming of something that was out of reach.

Two days later we meet again (thankfully) and that day was the moment I knew that I had found something that I couldn’t let go. Unfortunately as the days pass I know that this feeling of complete happiness will eventually come to an end when the trip is over. I’ve learned to make the most of the time together because those are memories you will have forever and will never be taken away.

Tried Macaroons for first time! I swear, nothing beats a french macaroon.

Saw the beautiful Sacre-Coeur and finally went inside!

Yep, we did this and I couldn’t be happier with the decision. C’est la vie d’amour.

First time EVER having someone dedicate and sing to me, in front of a crowd at that. Honestly, how did I get this lucky.

We opted into Sumo Wrestling and of course he impressed his lady and won.

The french do not understand the rules of Beer Pong. Needless to say, we lost. C’est la vie.

My first time ever having Chipotle and it was AMAZING. Good thing it’s a 5 minute walk from my school!

FUN FACT: He searched all over Paris to find my favourite mustard for me (somehow he remembered me saying it when we were drunk). I have been here for a month and haven’t been able to find it and he’s here for a week with no map access and finds it? Yep, he’s a keeper.

 

 

 

 

Sibling Bonds

I grew up as an only child for the first 7 years of my life, and then in 2000 I became a sister to not one, but 3 siblings! My sister was born in February and my brothers in November that year. The excitement that I felt about finally having the responsibility of being the “big sister” was incredible and i wouldn’t change that for the world. There are times when the thought of what it would be like if I had of gone through life as an only child come up, and when they do I instantly feel ashamed. Who wouldn’t want three beautiful siblings in their life? 

As the years progressed and they became more independent the tension and fighting grew, as it does with many siblings I’m sure but it never changes the fact that we are a family with an ever growing bond. I have been able to watch them grow from every word they said up to now when they are entering high school. I thoroughly enjoy being their older sisters and having the responsibility of helping out whenever I can. 

Being the oldest has its benefits, but boy isn’t it aggravating seeing your younger siblings not having to embrace the strict rules that you had to. It seems so much easier for them to do the things that I was always told “No” or had to really work hard to convince my parents to let me do. I mean, I wasn’t even allowed to hold a guys hand at 15 where my sisters had a boyfriend at 10. I do realize that the times are changing and kids are experiencing things a lot earlier than I did when I was growing up.  

Positives (for the most part)  of being the oldest

1. You get to experience a lot of things that your siblings may not get to do. I was able to go on a grad trip with my mom, which I can’t see happening for my siblings where they will all be graduating within a year of each other. 

2. For 7 years I had one on one attention from both of my parents which I hate to admit it, but made me kind of spoiled. 

3. I am able to be a role model for the 3 of them. I work hard in school and have always been an competitive athlete with many different sports. I see them doing things that I once did which is gratifying to say the least. 

4. I’ve been able to experience a lot of things on my own which I have taught to my older siblings how to do themselves. 

Sisterly Love

I can honestly say that I love my sister to death, and reflecting on our relationship these past couple of years It saddens me that I haven’t taken the time to spend more time with her. Here I am leaving the country for at least a year, and I will miss out on so many things in her life.  If i’m in pain she’s the first person I go to in any situation, as I hope that when she hurts she knows that I am there for her. 

I’ve found that our age differences made it hard to bond while we were both younger but now she is 14 and we seem to have more in common than ever. She’s blossoming into a beautiful young woman and I couldn’t be more proud.

We fight as any sisters do, but no matter how many times we scream and yell we will always be sisters no matter where our lives takes us.