La vie en France

So I have written about this before, but I feel like every couple of days, especially with this semester being almost over, I remember that I am going to France next semester. Then I get excited all over again and want to know something new about Angers that I have yet to learn. Today was one of those days and I decided to do some research on what Angers as a city has available to do on any given day. Through my research, I found that Angers is just the town for me! A nice sized, yet laid back city with lots of nature incorporated (like Austin!) There are plenty of outdoor activities, music, museums, and restaurants. As well as some nice, trendy, yet inexpensive shopping. I found all the information below on the St. Edward's France website. Enjoy!

Life in Angers

Angers is located in the heart of Loire Valley, on the banks of the Maine River, and about 300 km southwest of Paris. It is both a cultural and agricultural hub in France. You can enjoy some of the best foods, visit several of France’s most famous chateaux, and wander through beautiful, meticulously landscaped parks. Angers has a vibrant nightlife of dining, sightseeing, music and other activities.

There are also numerous outdoor activities to participate in, such as rowing, running, kayaking, hiking, and swimming. And being just 90 minutes from Paris via the TGV, it’s easy to visit the capital city.
Here are some more details about what’s available to students in Angers.

Nature

• La Maine River (running, hiking, cycling, rowing)
• Lac de Maine (wind surfing, sailing, running, walking, cycling, swimming, sunbathing)
• Parc St. Nicolas (running and hiking)
• La Loire à Vélo (cycling along the Loire River)

Music & Film

• Le Quai Theater
• Chabada music venue
• 400 Coups Cinema
• Premiers Plans Film Festival
• Bars and clubs  (lively and condensed downtown)

Magasins (Shops)

• Charming boutiques
• Large chains (H&M, Zara, United Colors of Benetton)

over and out.

Whining.

Okay, so I am going to complain a little bit. I know, I know that I am supposed to be thankful for my education. And I am, I promise. But why, why must we cram the most important projects, essays, and tests of the entire semester into the last two weeks of class? My professors are all trying to do us a favor, giving us our finals before finals week, but the problem is that ALL of them are doing it. Therefore, instead of a lengthy two week finals period, its going to be crammed into two DAYs next week. Woohoo.

This Thursday: French Test
Next Tuesday: Business Speech final, Research policy paper, Art history quiz
Next Thursday: ANOTHER French Test, Art History project, Social Issues final

Sometime in the next week: French Oral, and Art History Final

I am sure that next Friday, I will be thankful to be done. But as of right now..... :(

I'll be needing this:

1 Peter 5:7

 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 

over and out.

A different kind of Easter service.

Tonight, Ethan and I joined our church for its Easter service. Instead of the traditional Easter church service, our church instead chose to have a huge grill out for all of Austin's homeless. We worshiped in the middle of downtown Austin in a parking lot and shared communion with the most diverse group of people I have ever been a part of.

 

Some of the incredible things I got to witness:

A homeless man in a wheel chair, standing up and raising his hands in worship

An extremely kind older homeless man prayed out loud, thanking God for all of the volunteers taking time out of their day to do this.

A homeless man giving his peers new shoes to replace their worn out ones.

I heard multiple people talking about how full they were.

I saw children of members of my church throwing a football, having fun, with a couple of guys from the streets.

This guy's name is Bruce Steen (maybe Stein), and he introduced himself as Bruce Springsteen. He is quite the character. He loved watermelon and ate a TON of it. He was one of the ones who received a new pair of shoes. We offered him a chair to sit in, and I have never seen anyone so genuinely excited for something so simple. One of his friends asked him when the last time he was so spoiled was, and he said he didn't know how long. He wanted his picture taken in the chair, and whenever I offered him a polaroid, he put in safely in his bag and told me how he was going to show it to all of his buddies. 

You guys, there are so many homeless in Austin. And so many of them are such sweet, awesome people who don't need much to feel loved on.  One lady told me I was a blessing because I found her a plastic bag to carry her stuff in. A plastic grocery bag, that I have tons of in my pantry. A couple of guys felt totally spoiled because they got to sit in lawn chairs. How many of you have foldable lawn chairs in your garages that you don't use? 

Jesus died and rose again for me, for you, and for every single person on this earth. He died and left us as Christians with the duty to extend Christ's love to those who are usually forgotten. But a funny thing happens when you do that. Sometimes you find yourself getting some love back :) This certainly is an Easter I won't forget.

James 1:26-27 (The Message)

 Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

 

over and out.

10,000 Eggs and a Really Long Day

This is probably going to be an all-over-the-place post because I am more exhausted than I have been in a really really really long time. I woke up this morning at 5:00 A.M., yes that's five A.M. on a Saturday morning to go help out with an easter egg hunt put on by Habitat for Humanity in east Austin. It was so much fun watching all the kids pack their baskets full of eggs, sometimes more than once! There were 10,000 eggs!

 

 Then Ethan and I grabbed breakfast at Juan in a Million. It's an Austin favorite for breakfast tacos, and has even been on Man vs. Food! 

 

 Then we went to a little music festival to support some friends who were playing, and I took a couple of pictures...

Kyle from Gatsby

Sophie from Gatsby

Greyson from Gatsby

Spencer of Dead Swagger

Go on facebook and support them by "liking" their pages!!! 

Gatsby 

Dead Swagger

over and out.

What can your soap do for the enviorment?

So I am still working on finishing up The Tangible Kingdom, but in the meantime, I thought it would be cool to show you guys the environmental policy of the store where I get all my beauty products (except makeup). The environment is something I find myself worrying more and more about lately. I am currently in a class called Dilemmas that is basically a pre-senior thesis class where you write 15-20 page paper throughout the semester on a social dilemma. We have to research the dilemma and what caused it and why it hasn't been solved, discuss the differing viewpoints and their arguments, and then present a policy based solution. My paper is over carbon offsets and through my research, I have found myself way more interested in where and how the products I use are being made. Now, I am far from using only animal and earth friendly products, but I think I am progressing in that direction well. If you read my blog, you know that I am recently obsessed with Lush. These products cleared up my skin, are all natural, AND they are taking the global intitative to be environmentally friendly as both a business and encouraging their consumers to be as well. Watch this!

over and out.

You Are More

I am currently in the middle of reading Tangible Kingdom. I got to meet the authors of the book and I blogged about that here, and now I am reading the book. I am loving it so much that it is taking forever to read due to all the notes I have been taking. I have this little rule with myself that whenever I am reading a book that I know I want to dedicate a nice, in depth blog post about, I won't blog until I finish reading it. (Kind of a personal accountability program) So instead, I thought I would share a song that I have been loving lately, not necessarily for its musical technique or song, but for its message. (But speaking of music, Arcade Fire, Explosions in the Sky, and Beirut are playing in Austin soon!) Anyways, this song never fails to make me feel uplifted, no matter how bad (or good) my day might be going.

You Are More by Tenth Avenue North

There's a girl in the corner

With tear stains on her eyes

From the places she's wandered

And the shame she can't hide

She says, "How did I get here?

I'm not who I once was.

And I'm crippled by the fear

That I've fallen too far to love"

But don't you know who you are,

What's been done for you?

Yeah don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.

Well she tries to believe it

That she's been given new life

But she can't shake the feeling

That it's not true tonight

She knows all the answers

And she's rehearsed all the lines

And so she'll try to do better

But then she's too weak to try

But don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.

'Cause this is not about what you've done,

But what's been done for you.

This is not about where you've been,

But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,

But what He felt to forgive you,

And what He felt to make you loved.

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade. 


What's your favorite inspiration song right now? Why?

over and out.

The Financial Tales of the Shopaholic:

Well, if you are a dedicated reader of my blog (hey mom!), then you know that I will be studying abroad in Angers, France next semester. I am beyond excited, but am definitely overwhelmed with preparing for the trip. Thankfully, I already have a passport from whenever I went to Italy in high school, but my to do list still freaks me out a little.

To do:
1. Pack up my apartment and move back to my parents.
2. Clean my apartment to avoid any extra costs.
3. Cancel my cable and internet services and drive the cable boxes and modem all the way to the Time Warner office (boo!)
4. Somehow survive my two remaining weeks of classes and finals.
5. Get rid of 75% percent of my stuff.
6. Apply for and obtain my student VISA.
7. Purchase airline tickets simultaneously with Ethan and my friend Izzy, who is also going.
8. Figure out a way to transport my essential belongings to Angers.
9. Start and finish my training in Quick Books so I can work more hours.
10. And last but not least, somehow save all the money I will be spending abroad.

Everything is definitely doable, but #10 really freaks me out and has been a huge stressor in my life since my decision to study abroad has been made. I am currently battling my addiction to shopping and at the same time, saving a large sum of money for the first time in my life.

I decided that the amount I will be aiming for is $2500. I came up with that number by averaging the amount a previous Angers student claimed they spent abroad, the amount I would be making if I kept the job I have now in the states, and also the monthly recommendation of money for studying abroad made by the government's student Visa website. Also, the fact that the ratio of euro to dollar does not weigh in my favor.

WOAH, I have never seen that much money in my bank account at one time (mostly because I spend it before I get anywhere close to that amount). But honestly, I think that since I do not have a choice but to save this money, I am being forced into cracking my addiciton while at the same time learning how to budget and save my money (something I am glad to be learning now, instead of later).

Current Budgeting Plan:
1. As soon as I get my weekly paycheck, I put all but $50 into my savings account. That $50 has to last me through the week: all of my meals, shopping, everything. (I am very thankful that Ethan's meal plan still has plenty of money in it and can support both of us during these last few weeks of school. I am also thankful that Ethan has been helping me save money by offering to pay for meals on dates and telling me that I don't need things when I want to buy them (haha). I am also so lucky that my parents cover my apartment and bills, and part of my pay for my work includes my gas. Thank you parents and boyfriend!)
2. If I have something I need to purchase that requires me to spend more than $50 in a week (key word: need), I can transfer it from my savings. The effectiveness of this strategy is that I can only do that six times a month, so I really have to think about it before I transfer it over.
3. So far, in about a month, I have hit the 1/7 of my goal mark!

Summer Plan:
1. Since I will be living with my parents and working more hours, I will have the opportunity to earn more and spend less. My weekly allotment will probably still be $50, but I have a feeling that I might not even spend all of it in any given week.
2. About a month before I leave (August), I will evaluate where how much I have saved and make a trip budget. I will be alloting my money in six basic categories: pre-trip essentials, travel means (train and bus) and expenses (hotels, hostels), food, groceries, entertainment, and weekly pocket money.

Dans le plan de la France:
1. I will have my credit card for emergencies only.
2. I will have my debit card, but mostly I will...
3. Use my budget to plan how much cash I need on a weekly basis and use an ATM to withdraw that money weekly. That way I will only carry small sums of cash and won't risk losing my debit and credit cards. (I would much rather lose a week of funds than have no money and have to go through canceling all my cards while abroad).
4. Potenially scope out a job in a local cafe or something for a few extra euros here and there.

I think that hardest thing about saving currently, is as the money in my savings account slowly grows to amounts of items that I have wanted to purchase but have yet to afford, its just a little weird. I feel broke based on the number in my checking account, but technically I have enough to buy a new IPhone 4, and pretty soon I will have enough for an IPad, and by the end, I will have enough for the new MacBook Pro I have been wanting for a while. But, as weird as it is, the learning process, as well as the experience of studying in a new culture is beyond worth the monetary value. Also, after accomplishing this, I will have learned and experienced the discipline needed to save up for things if I really need them.

I apologize for the boring budget post, but its all that has been on my mind and its nice to organize and type everything out. Also, if anyone has any advice, please send it my way!! Also, another book review should be coming up soon :)

over and out.