Back to the Fatherland!

I only say it because of the extreme Polishiness of my dad's side of the family. I've decided I'm going and this afternoon I'm going to head out into Die Mitte (middle area of Berlin) to go look for a bookstore so I have something to read. I finished the entire book series that I brought with me on Sunday night. I'll go absolutely mad if I don't have something to read.

I expect that it is going to be harder to get internet in Poland that it was in the Czech Republic, but you never know. If that turns out to be the case, I will post again when I return. We leave tonight at 9:47pm on a nachtzug (night train) to Krakow and will return by Sunday morning. I think I have ridden more trains this summer than I have in my entire life and I've reconfirmed to myself how much I really like this method of transportation.

So, I leave you now with a story about Prague that I forgot to mention yesterday. I actually sat on a fence about sharing this one because it toes the line between acting safely and stupidity. I don't care though, I was furious and it was worth it.
We, Jessica, Adj and I, left the dance club around 1:50am and headed back together through Old Town to walk back to our hostel. One of the darker aspects about Prague is that there are a LOT of beggars. If you're me, your heart breaks when you see them and you wish there was something you could do, but you don't give your money. Too often it will be spent on alcohol and then you are only an enabler.
Walking through the narrow streets we turned a corner and further on down the street we turned on to I could see a man in the middle of the pedestrian street with a camera. On the sidewalk there was a man who had been begging all day long, down on his knees, head to the ground, with his hands outstretched. He didn't realize he was being photographed until the flash came and upon raising his head he began to protest loudly. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but the meaning was clear. The man with the camera paid no mind, took another picture and moved towards where Jessica, Adj and I were coming up the street. There was another beggar in the same kneeling position as the first a little closer to us and the photographer stood across from him and began focusing his camera. The original begger shouted some kind of warning to the second guy and he jerked upright, raising his hands in front of his face, shouting a pleading protest. It was at this point that I became level with the photographer and where I lost control of my temper.
"If you're going to be an ASS and take pictures, at least give him some MONEY for it!" I shouted in his face. Adj had ahold of my arm and dragged me past while the man, startled at first by my outburst responded with an oh so creative "Feck you!"
Adj told me later he thought the guy was going to hit me. I told him that I wish the man had tried, he's lucky I didn't smash his camera, I was so furious. You don't exploit people's desperate circumstances in life for your own enjoyment, I do not put up with that in the slightest. It took me a good ten minutes to calm down. I hope that the two beggars understood my intentions if not my words, and know that I was yelling on their behalf. I think I got in the way of one of the guy's pictures too. Good.

I know, not exactly the safest thing to do, but if I had the chance, I'd do it all over again. Stuff like that makes my blood boil.

Anyways... Poland!

Love to all at home,
*Miranda

Ich bin Krank. Grrr.

Translation: I am sick. I did however, find a doctor to go and see today, and am absurdly proud of myself for getting through an entire doctor's appointment in German. My mom didn't seem to think it was that big a deal when I told her, but I don't care. I'm really proud. *pats self on back*

My parents are in Florida right now with my sister and her family visiting the Mouse and every other cartoon/disney charecter ever created. The weather there has been a bit screwy for them, so I hope that clears up soon.

Prague was an incredible city. The old town portion of it is so incredibly beautiful. The buildings are tall and all different colors. They are faintly remniniscent of all of the identical-but-not apartment buildings in Berlin. They are all about the same height and format, but with a wide variance of facade set ups and colors. Charles Bridge was something to see, its an extremely old bridge with huge statues every ten meters or so on the sides of it. I got some great postcards of it to bring home to my parents and to send out to some people back home. I also bought some good presents. I can't tell you whom for or what the presents are because I know for a fact that two of the three people I purchased things for read this blog (N, M and T. for a hint).

In the Old Town Square there is a gorgeous astronomical clock that works like the Glockespiele in München (Munich) on a much smaller scale. Almost all of the streets in Old Town are fußgangerplatzt (pedestrian zones) which I really like. It always gives a city a certain feel to it.

Tomorrow my program leaves for Poland, and I'm not sure as of yet if I am going with them. It depends upon how I'm feeling. I've already started on the antibiotics I was perscribed, but I'm not feeling even 50% better yet. I'm going to try and get a lot of sleep tonight and see how I feel in the morning. I'll be sad if I miss the Poland trip, and so will my dad's side of the family.

I still have a lot on my mind, but things are becoming clearer. I also have a midterm on Monday. Whooo............

If I go to Krakow, I may not update for a while!

Love to all at home,
*Miranda

Sleeeeep.

That's what I need. I'm getting sick, unfortunatly and since we leave for Poland in two days, sick is not an option. We were expressly ordered "DO NOT get sick in Poland!" I think I'm going to try and go see a doctor tomorrow and get some amoxicillian. My body will not be happy without an antibiotic in it. I should however, pat my immune system on the back that it has managed to make it this far with out losing a battle to something. All those nights spent in rooms reeking of marijuana/cigarrette smoke shared with ten other people of doubtful cleanliness and sobriety... I guess I should be grateful.

Life has been hard the past week or so, but I'm still enjoying my time here in Europe. I've been a lot more introspective the past eight days, thinking a lot about life, or something like it. I've had a lot on my mind, and still do... but I'm a little clearer on things than I used to be, .

I complained to Piccell about my stupid broken phone, and they are sending me a new one! I hopefully will get it in a week or so, that would mean that I could send out text messages again, and actually see the actions I'm doing on the screen. Yay for not having to memorize the key combinations anymore.

Speaking of broken things, my camera lense is broken and I am so upset. It was safe in it's case, and it turns out there was some sand from Venice still in the case, and the sand got in the lense. GRRR. I might just send it back to my parents in the states.

In travel news, I am trying to move my airline ticket from the 23rd to the 21st, will keep you all posted on how that goes.
Other travel news: Prague was amazing this weekend, I went to my first dance club and showed up the Europeans. Whooo! Poland in two days. More detailed posts later when I am feeling better. I also have a post that I've been meaning to put up for about three weeks now.

Tomorrow, I will have been away from home for a month. I miss you all more than I can say.

Love to all at home,
*Miranda



*4:30am*

A short one, for 'tis late

As the title says, it is late here in Berlin, and this internet cafe will be closing soon so this post will have to be short.

It's been a rough week this week in about every way possible and I'm feeling really drained. Well, apart of that drained feeling could quite possibly have to do with the really long run I just went on through Berlin (Yes. Running. Me.). It's rainy outside but the run felt really nice,m I was trying to clear my head, and running is one of those things that can numb your mind for a little while. It's like swimming with it's thoughtless repetition that almost creates a void in your head. I guess what I'm saying is it was a good run.

Classes have been tough and I've been super busy with them. One of my professors expects insane amounts of reading out of us, and stupid Amazon.com hasn't even delivered my books yet so I've resorted to mooching off other classmates. I had to write a three page paper the night we got back from Venice and I think we were assigned about 350 pages of reading in 3 days. As the girl in my Lit class said today 'Ich bin nach Berlin zur Berlin sehen angekommen, nicht über Berlin lesen!' (I came to Berlin to see Berlin! Not to read about it!)

I'm leaving for Prague tomorrow, and will be back Sunday night. 'till then....

Love to all at home,
*Miranda

Arrivadecci, my fair city.

This post is probably going to sound absurdly sentimental to those of you who are sensitive to 'cheesy' things. If that sounds like you, feel free to skip this entry, you've been forewarned!

I'm sitting today under cloudy skies and sporadic drizzle in Berlin. I'm in an overall good mood, but this weather is suitably fitting for my own sporadic bouts of melancholia that I get when I think back on this past weekend. I suppose it's a little like falling in love with someone you can't have. You cherish the memories you had together, but it is always a little sad to look back on. I guess before I continue down that line of thought, I will tell you about Venice.

Venecia is unlike any place I have ever been before, and some would argue that it is unique to anywhere else in the world. Jessica, Adriano (Adj) and I flew into the Marco Polo airport on the mainland sometime around midafternoon on Friday. When you land in Venice, at least on the airline that we took, they send buses out to pick you up from the tarmac and bring you to the terminal. Getting through the airport didn't take long at all because none of us checked any baggage. After a slight hiccup with transportation, we boarded a water bus that would take us to the island of Lido, a narrow island that our hotel for the first night was on. The cruise to Lido took us along the Grand Canal and to some of the other islands, the views were absolutely stunning. Lido is about a ten minute water bus ride from the main island of Venecia and it has a beautiful beach and several shops and restaurants. If you're going to Venecia and you can't find anything on the main island, I highly recommend Lido.

After Adriano checked into the hotel and brought our stuff up to the room we decided, in spite of the possible storm approaching to go over to the main island and look around. We alighted at the stop for Piazza San Marco and walked around to take in the sights. The Piazza is incredibly beautiful. Some of you might recognize from the opening scenes of the movie The Italian Job.

We made our way into the city and wandered the streets. The streets in Venecia are more like passageways. There are no automobiles in the city, so some are no more than three feet wide. It is very easy to lose yourself among those twisting narrow paths and piazzas. There is literally a surprise around every corner.

The beauty of this city is in its graceful aging. There is no attempt, no desperate scramble to cover up the fact that these buildings are old, that this city is practically ancient. There is instead an air of patient upkeep, of maintenance, but never drastic change. The canals make their way through the city in the same stately progress, and the citizens adapt to the way the water flows. No attempts to divert or change, except in extreme circumstances.

After we wandered the streets in aimless directions, Adriano, Jessica and I decided to make our way back so we could travel back to Lido for dinner, in hopes of avoiding the approaching storm. By the time we made it back to P. San Marco, however, the storm seemed to have passed us by, and there was even a hint of blue sky amid all the cloud cover. We stood in San Marco for a few minutes, admiring the architectural beauty, and taking it all in.

That night we had dinner on Lido, and a bottle of wine that we brought back to the hotel. We were all really tired and called it an early night, looking forward to Saturday and what it might bring.

We left our hotel the next morning bright and early, and due to a rather amusing misfortune, had to take all of our stuff with us and our room for the next night was canceled (aka: we were kicked out of the hotel. Apparently they were not pleased with us sleeping three in one room.) So, our first order of business was to find a room for the night. I had brought my book of hostels with me (ha! Jessica and Adriano made fun of me for that! Be prepared my friends, be prepared!) so we landed by San Marco again and began our trek with our stuff across the entire island to search for the hostels that were in my book.

This extrememly long walk turned out to actually be quite amazing, as it took us right through the heart of Venice. We got to see the Rialto Bridge and almost shops from almost every designer imaginable. We walked over small canals and watch gondolas float by, squeezed through the narrow streets and looked over the wares at all of the different food shops and little standes along the way. After our search for the hostel lead us to the end of a pier on the Grand Canal, I gave up looking and just called them from my mobile, and ended up book us a three bed (whoo! our own beds!) private room with bathroom, for 35€ a person a night! That, is an incredible deal. So, we dropped our stuff off, changed into our swimsuits and decided to head back to Lido and go to the beach.

Lido Beach was so beautiful we found a nice spot on the sand and spread out our towels, and then Jessica and I ran down to jump into the green-blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It's technically, I guess, the Adriatic, but that's all a part of the Mediterranean. The water was incredibly salty, and Adriano and I guessed that the salt must be what gives the water around Venice it's peculiar green-aqua color. We must have laid out at the beach for about three hours, alternating between tanning ourselves brown and jumping into the waves to cool off. Jessica and I had to allude the Italian men who were insisting on being overly friendly. Ah.... the hardships of attractive American girls. (I'm kidding! You know me better than that!)

Once we started to burn we went back to Venecia and all took showers and changed into new clothes for dinner. We went to a nice restaurant on the Grand Canal and had authentic Italian pizza for dinner. Our waiter was a little old man who took pleasure in making as much fun of me as was possible, much to the enjoyment of Adriano and Jessica. When I in typically American fashion asked for ice with my drink, he brought me out an entire bucket complete with serving spoon. We, also in American fashion, left him a large tip.

The three of us decided to make our way back through the maze of the island to P. San Marco so that we could see it at night. Stopping once for gelato and once to get lost, we made it to the piazza just as all of the light left the sky. P. San Marco is light up along all sides at night by hundreds of light bulbs, and there are four different bands set up at the different outdoor seating areas for the restaurants. Adriano sat down on the steps to take in the evening and Jessica and I kicked off our shoes to go and dance to the music coming from one set of munitions. In my mind I knew that there was no better place to be in the world, than in that spot at that exact moment.

The thing that happened next is my favorite memory of the entire weekend. The musicians near us struck up a tango, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a young couple move into each other's arms, and begin the most romantic dance I have ever seen. It was very clearly a practiced routine, as they moved through every motion, every position change with eyes closed and cheek pressed to cheek. It was incredibly complex, but they moved with absolute confidence, never pausing or stopping until the music ended. The greeted the applause of the gather crowed with embarrassed smiles, attempting to direct the applause back toward the musicians. Grabbing their bags they had left forgotten on the ground and clasping hands, they disappeared back into the crowd, leaving me feeling lucky to have witnessed such a private and beautiful moment.

I never meant to fall in love with Venecia; I specifically did not allow myself to be immediately swept away. I waited to be convinced. Venecia it seems was up to the task. Somewhere in the twisting narrow paths, somewhere in the winding watery passages, in the architecture, the street vendors, the food, somewhere in the water, this beautiful city claimed me for its own.

As we boarded the bus to Marco Polo I was overtake by a desire to get off, get off and return to those streets, those canals. Say good bye to my friends and thank them for visiting, and to please come again....
This is why when we left I didn't allow myself to look back.

I wonder how long it would take to learn Italian.

Love to all at home,
*Miranda

PS. I didn't have time to upload all the pictures I wanted to..... more later, promise.

Pictures in Leu of Anything Substatial

Well my intentions were to write a blog with some of my pictures from today, but unfortunatly, the computer drive at this internet cafe is not cooperating.

I leave for Venice, Italy tomorrow, and have some incredible plans for the weekends that are coming up. I will post something more substantial once I am back from Venice, but I wanted to put some pictures up that I did have so you all could put some names with faces.

These are my two greatest friends here from my program,Jessica and Adj. I have a much better picture of the two of them, but the computer wouldn't let me upload it. Next time maybe.

And this would be how much fun we all have.
this is Chris, Jessica again, Me and Sophia (it's her birthday here!)

And finally, one of my favorite pictures thus

far:

Jess and I! Being the hot ladies we can be. (I know I know. I CAN clean up sometimes. Shush you all.)

More updates when I return from Italy!

Love to all at home,

*Miranda

Was?! Die Zug ist nicht laufen?!

Oh Berlin :)

What an incredible city. I have seen most of the important sights briefly, what with Adj, Jessica's and my wanderings and our bus tour yesterday. I've also explored the ins and outs of Berlin public transportation - which is far superior to Chicago's, I must add.

Right now, I am living in East Berlin (the old soviet side) in Pankow, a northern neighbourhood of die Mitte, the old city centre. I live on 29 Florapromenade, on the third floor. It's a nice area with a really nice pool, as Adj and Jessica and I found out on Saturday. Berlin is hotter than blazes and I have already located every public pool in the city limits. Some of them might even have diving boards!

My classes start today, and I'm feeling a little apprehensive about it. My Jewish History was cancelled so that leaves just the Berlin Lit today, and it will be taught in all German. If my almost week here in the city has taught me anything, it's just how poor my German skills really are. I am hoping for drastic improvements.

Some notable things that I have seen are: The Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, The TV Tower (w00t, buddy!) the Memorial for the Murdered Jews and Fredrick the Great's old palace in Charlottenbug. Oh, and I'm going to be visiting the Kennedy Museum on Pariser Plazt. Yes, those Kennedy's. I'm so excited and my dad would love it; I wish he was here to see it with me.

I don't have much time write, as my new friend Adj has asked me to accompany him to the bank to open a German bank account. Damn him and his dual citizenship, I'm jealous. Unfortunately the third musketeer of our little band has class, so Jessica will not be joining us. I have stories to tell and MANY pictures to post, but please understand, my internet access is very restricted.

So, until later,

Love to all at home,
*Miranda

Oh yeah. Did I mention I'm going to Venice on Friday? Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Mein Deutsches Haus!

Well, today is my real orientation at the IES facility. I'm actually there right now, we have our meeting at 11 but I got up early so I could come and update my blog and check my email. I met my host family yesterday and they are really nice. Around 16:40 Gudrun Knöppel came to pick me up at the IES center. She looks to be in her late-thirties, mid-fourties perhaps, sandy blonde hair, slender. She had brown pack with her with a loaf of French bread sticking out. When she walked into the center I remember thinking, "she looks nice, I hope she's here for me". And lo and behold, she was! She helped me carry my bags and we left the center for the S-Bahn to take it to her apartment in Pankow, a neighborhood of Berlin. Gudrun doesn't speak very much english at all, so it was a little awkward, me fumbling through my decrepit vocabulary and her constantly repeating herself. I'm a little dissapointed in the state of my German speaking and understanding. Oh UIC, how I dislike some of your class structuring....

We arrived at Gudrun's apartment on Florapromanade in Pankow and thank goodness it had an elevator - very uncommon in Berlin! Gudrun lives with her ten year old son on the third floor. she brought me inside and gave me a tour. The apartment is really nice, all the rooms are big and the cealings very high. My room is amazing, I'll post some pictures so you all can check it out!

There is also a place for me to hang up my clothes, it is on the left side of the room, in front of that shelving unit. It's a freestanding clothes rod with hangers and a little hanging canvas shelving unit that is from Ikea.

BothGundrun and Leonidas, her son, are really nice. We spent about an hour last night watching Deutschland v. Slovaki in soccer (fußball!). Time for my meeting, so I will write more later!

Love to all at home,

Miranda

Personal to Lillian: I will be writing you an email soon, it's been hectic!

Oh, Cathi, this is what I see when I get of the S-Bahn every day:

Back to Berlin!

It felt really good in a strange sort of way to be back in 'familier' surroundings today. My night train or 'Nachtzug' from Paris was a really nice train. I DID have a bed, and that made me immensily happy. After I boarded I went and wrote for a while in the dining car, having some bread and rolls with honey and butter and a glass of red wine to help me sleep. I eventually went and laid down, sleeping poorly until I was woken up probably around midnight to the arrival of more passengers into the couchette compartment. One of the women said that I was in her bed, but ended up just taking the bed below mine. I eventually fell back into my restless sleep again and woke up when the condunctor knocked on my door to give me my Eurail pass back and to tell me that we were 30 minutes from Berlin.

Once off the train, I headed to the Gepack Centrum (Luggage center) to retrieve my large pack and all the luggage I had left here in Berlin. Once I had that, I loaded everything on to a cart, and decided that it was time to relax for a few. I grabbed a coffe from Starbucks and sat on a bench to read my book for a while. It was nice to just sit and not have to be anywhere or really worry about anything. While Paris was amazing, I was pretty high-strung the whole time I was there, just worrying about one thing or another. I also bought myself two bottles of water, because I knew I was dehydrated, and that with a couple of tylenol did my headache in.

I then spent twenty minutes rearranging everything in my packs to re-consolodate. I have SO MUCH stuff and it's really bulky. Then, I had to figure out how to get to my hostel, which was surprisingly painless. I had to take the S-Bahn to Alexanderplatz and then transfer to the U-Bahn and take it to Rosenthalerplatz. I think it ended up being only five stops total.

I got to my hostel and I think it's going to be the best one I've stayed in. It's really professional and they have a cafe, bar, luggage storage and hang out areas. I'm really only interested in a shower and a good nights sleep, but this looks like the place to be doing it.

Alright, well I'm getting tired and hungry and it's time to check into my hostel so I will post more, maybe later.

Love to all at home,
-Miranda

City of Lights....

Paris is incredible. I love this town, I love the attractions and the sights. I love that there are no skyscrapers in the central part of town. I love the history that is alive in this city, and all of the reminders that lie around every corner whispering of what once was. This town has an air about it that is all it's own - it doesn't care about whether you like it or not, it will still be here. It is a city with people that follow the policy of, "a little revoloution now and then, is a healthy thing", a city so enchanting that one of Hitler's own generals double crossed der Furher to save it, it's a city that gets under your skin.

My time in Paris has been so amazing mostly because of the people that I have been hanign out with. I met Jason first, 28 year old oil field worker from Canada. He and I have been hanging out and seeing the sights together for the past three days. Whitney, 22 and Ashley, 20 sorority girls from Michigan were also residents of room 18, and we all went out both nights in a group with various other people added in.

I have so many stories from this city, just from the past three days, but I'm going to cut it down to one for right now. I wish I had the pictures to go along, those will have to come later.

Last night, Whitney, Ashley, Jason, two other guys and I went down to a small cafe down the street from our hostel and grabbed three bottles of wine and got on the Metro around 11:30pm and headed to the Eiffel Tower. We decided we were going to sit on the grass in front of the Eiffel and drink wine and take in the scene. Our Metro was slow and we had to change trains so by the time we came above ground near Bir Harakin it was midnight. Perfect timing as we found out. I was looking out the other door but I heard Ashley gasp and turned around. The sight I saw made me jump out of my seat and stare openmouthed out the window in the Metro door. The Tour Eiffel had come into view, but it wasn't lit up in the way we expected. It was sparkling. There were thousands of bright white lights flashing at high speeds all over the entire Tower. It looked like a fireworks show on a structure. I remember walking with jaw dropped toward the window and not only could I see the Tower, but the image of my own astonishment was reflected back at me in the glass. I will never forget the look that was on my face as I stared out at that amazing sight.

We ended up sitting in the park with our bottles of wine, exclaiming at the beauty of our surrondings as only tourists can, squeezing close together to keep warm. The tower's sparkling lasts for only ten minutes at the top of every hour until two in the morning, one on Sundays. So, we got to see it one more time from beginning to end.

I leave tonight for Berlin, but a part of this city will always stay with me. I still have more I want to do, but that will have to wait until I return.

Until then, at the risk of sounding cliche, I'll always have Paris.

Love to all at home,
-M

Cheerio! Pip pip! and all that Jazz

I woke up today with a MASSIVE blister that covered the entire left side of the ball of my right foot, compliments of my trekking around the city yesterday. I opened it up and stuck a band aid on it for today. Not getting me down, I've got sights to see!

Today I went around and did the things that interested me most yesterday. I went inside the Tower of London, and that pretty cool - I took a Beefeaters tour (yes, Bruch, it was really good) and saw the crown jewels along with the torture exhibit. I rode the London Eye and took about 100 pictures during the flight, the views were so incredible. (yes, yes, Bruch and Jenna, you were right!) I meet two really nice older ladies in line for the Eye, and we were in the same capsule. We chatted about politics and traveling and the one from London (the other was a visiting cousin from New Zealand) pointed out a lot of buildings and things during the flight. I also went inside Westminster Abbey, which blew me away. There are so many tombs and crypts in there, it's crazy. I saw some of the more famous ones, Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, Innocents Corner, all the ones in Poets Corner (including Tennyson, Chaucer, Keats and the memorial to Shakespeare) I saw Sir Issac Newton's tomb and also where he used to live in the Tower of London. The interior was so ornate and beautiful and so incredibly big.

I also went down to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard, which was really neat to see. I'm a little sad that I won't be in London one more day because tomorrow they are having the full dress rehearsal for the Queen's birthday parade, including the trooping of the color, which means all of the guards will be out and marching. That would be something to see.

After the Tower of London I headed back here to South Kensington on the Metro. I was sooo tired, I almost fell asleep between every stop. I made it, however, to my stop and got off and headed to the little convenience store for dinner. I've been eating a lot less over here than I would normally in the states, mainly because it cost money to eat and I'm overly anxious about what I spend and where. Today for breakfast I had a blueberry muffin and a cheese twist from the aforementioned convenience store. Lunch was an extra long brat with fried onions that I had for lunch yesterday as well, and dinner was a chicken and bacon sandwich and a cheese twist. I've developed an affinity for those cheese twists, as you can see. There isn't usually any snacking in between, though tomorrow I've budgeted in a Starbucks coffee to treat myself before I leave for Waterloo Station for my trip across the Channel to Paris.

That's right, another city tomorrow! To prepare for it, I went to a Laundrette and did all of my laundry tonight. It was outrageously expensive, but I desperately needed it. I didn't bring a lot of clothes with me on this portion, most of my stuff is still in Berlin with my large pack, waiting for me to come back to it. I also purchased some Febreze here in London, finally. They apparently "don't make it in Holland anymore" to quote the lady at the store where I tried to purchase some in Amsterdam, unfortunately I really needed it there, so I bought some Oust air freshener and was lightly spraying everything I owned with that. Gotta take what you can get sometimes I guess. Haha.

I've been talking to a few people from my hostel, and even one of my roommates a little bit. Turns out she's Greek, not French as I assumed. The great majority of people that I have met there are all using Curazon House as a place to actually live for a while, which is strange to me, but I guess it must be cheaper than an apartment.

I don't know if I will have reliable internet access while in Paris, so this might be my last post for a while. I'm staying three days, two nights in Paris. The last night I leave on a sleeper train for Berlin. I think *fingers crossed* that I get a couchette, or a bed compartment, on this train. That would be Really cool.

Love to all at home,
*Miranda

Oh, and a huge thank you to all who have been leaving comments, it really does brighten my day when I read them. I am very grateful.