Keith Haring exhibition at Musee d’Art Moderne, and afterward the Caacombs with Jenny and Ellen

Jardin du Luxembourg to see the Chagall exhibition at Musee du Luxembourg with Lauren. It was really good, and afterwards we even went for Indonesian food at a restaurant nearby.

I just came home from seeing the Great Gatsby, a film that I have waited for for several months now. So worth the wait, it was great.

Lycee Le Corbusier outside of Paris in Aubervilliers, which, if you haven’t yet guessed it, was designed by Le Corbusier. Inside, the walls are red, blue and green with an open plan. The school is HUGE, but what would it be like going to school there?

Went to my host sister’s high school play, feel like a real part of the family.

Opera Garnier

Trying to learn how to knit. I think I get and then I don’t.

Today I saw the french romantic comedy Hotel Normandy. Such a good film, very french and very cute.

Institute du Monde Arabe is so cool.

I walked around in sunny Paris today, starting at Bastille and Maison Rouge, a contemporary art gallery/museum/space that had a rather bizarre exhibition called “Sous influence” (Under the influence, the influence being drugs). Whilst I didn’t like the exhibition, the space is amazing. Next, I took a walk through Jardin des Plantes which was amazing.

Finally, (well I did other stuff afterwards but anyway) I ended being a tourist at Institut du Monde Arabe. It’s an amazing space and taught me a lot about the various parts of the Arab world. That in itself is quite impressive, seeing as the Arab world is both a large geographic area and such a diverse group of people.

Friday night jam session. I was not playing or singing anything but took pictures of everyone else instead.

Played tourist by exploring Chateau de Vincennes with my lovely friends. Then we had a mini picnic and went to sit by the Seine. Lovely day.

The view from Cite de l’Architecture.

After a rather lazy, rainy morning, I went to Musee Monet Marmotten, Musee de la Marine and Musee de l’Architecture all in one day. Look at me now. But seriously, it turns out that I am not so interested in the navy, loved the Marmotten for its’ mix of Impressionist art, middle age manuscripts and beautiful furniture. The best part was that all of the museums were 10 minutes away from where I live. Rather cool.

Tuilleries. Went to Jeu du Paume today before my last class. Felt pretty good. 

I wonder what I will do with my life now that I am basically done with my classes. I bet you that I will find myself busy anyway. Who needs hobbies?

If there is something that I hate, it’s leaving. I hate goodbyes. I don’t say goodbye. I don’t want to feel that I am leaving someone or something behind. I won’t. I refuse. And yet, I say goodbye all the time and I leave continually. It kind of feels like my role to leave the lives and relationships that I built up. But  I don’t actually enjoy it. I just really want to go home and stay there.

Don’t get me wrong, I love living in new places and trying new things. I love the adventures, the new friends, the learning experiences. However, it takes a toll. Last year, I said goodbye to a friend who I will probably never see again and instead of saying goodbye or good luck, I said I’ll see you around soon enough. So when I leave, I pretend it’s not happening.

But you can never pretend that you have left somewhere when you arrive to the new place. And then I feel ill and sad. Today, I left my parents in Sweden to return to France. It really hit me that my year in France is almost over, but this means not only the end of living in France, it means the end of living in Europe until I graduate. This really upsets me. My trip in Sweden will probably be my last time at home, there, for about a year. Home is four places for me right now: England, Sweden, Paris and Boston. But you can’t have four homes at once, you will always be pulled between those places.  Especially when you have people you love in all of those places. The tug between the  places is breaking my heart and I don’t know how long I can deal with it anymore. So in many ways, I am very excited to graduate in a year’s time, even if it’s really looking far ahead of time. Finally then, I can come home and stay there (with some travelling during holidays of course). 

This is my dad. Yes, he’s bald. He doesn’t have eyebrows or eyelashes either. Weird huh?

New frames for the first time in seven years. Don’t worry, I made fun of myself in the absence of my brother.