I got soul but I'm not a soldier....

The past couple of weeks has been filled with excited things. I went to a soccer game at the French stadium (France vs. Austria). France won 3-1!!!

I also went to several museums including the Louvre, and Musee d'Orsay. Apparently if you spent 3 minutes on each piece of art work in the Louvre, it take you several months to get through everything. Needless to say, I did not get through everything. Not even close. However, what I did see was very impressive. Actually, the least impressive thing I saw may have been the Mona Lisa. You can only get as close as 15 feet away, and when you do, there is so much glass around it that you can't really get a good look at the painting. Bummer.

I do have good news though! I solved the Da Vinci Code...I looked at his paintings and realized that Tom Hanks was right. Da Vinci was trying to tell us something, the figures in his art were pointing me in the direction to solve the mystery of life. I followed the clues and ended up in....drum roll please......the womens restroom. I was confused too but at least I solved the mystery.

This weekend was the Nike+ Human Race 10k!!!!!! I woke up early on saturday and journeyed all the way across Paris to the Jardin d'Acclimatation and the Bois de Boulogne to run 10 kilometers. It was a tough run but I managed to get 3rd place! I know, I know, 3rd place is not that exciting and many of you might even consider 3rd place to be the second loser. Nevertheless, as I write this I am looking at the finish line banner which they let me take home as a souvenir. It says "arrivee" which, at the time of race meant, "Alex when you reach me you can lie down and eat this free apple sauce they are going to give you." So I kept on running and finished about 8 seconds behind 1st place.

That night me and my 2 friends Matt and Laura, who were visiting for the weekend from Limerick and Rome, respectively, went to Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is a beautiful church that overlooks the city. Many people go there to hang out or drink wine. There are always people playing music there and it's a great place to get a good view of Paris. Today I went for a run and decided to run toward the Sacre-Coeur to get a look at  it during the day for a change. After running up the 300 hundred or however many stairs there are, I wanted nothing more than to lie down in the grass and look out over my new city. Unfortunately my legs had other plans and I almost collapsed while walking toward the grass that I had chosen. Instead I enjoyed the view and the music from a concrete ledge by the church. Still not half bad.

I just can't wait to be king...

Ooook I haven't been able to update this as much as I wanted to but oh well.

The weekend before last I went to Brussels, Belgium with a friend from school. As soon as I arrived I realized that my goal of not eating anymore waffles would have to be postponed. They are too delicious.

We arrived in Brussels Thursday night and met up with Jan, a guy from couch surfing who said we could stay with him for a night. He took us to a place called the Kulture Kafe on a college campus. It was neat because they had a live band playing. Afterward, we dropped off our bags at Jan's apartment and went to a club near the campus. It was an abandoned warehouse really, but the drinks were only 1 euro! My friend Wade and I met a bunch of Jan's friends and danced the night away.
The next day we said our goodbyes to Jan and gave ourselves a tour of the city. We stumbled upon a fantastic waffle house and enjoyed our first taste of belgian chocolate. We also stumbled upon the Grand Place, which we learned was basically the most famous place in Belgium, le Mannekan Pis, Le Palais Royal, Mini-Europe and the Atomium, and a miniature version of Oktoberfest that Brussels hosts every 2 years for one weekend. Yes I know, we got lucky.

We stayed in hostels the other 2 nights and met a wide variety of people. One girl named Lavinia, mentioned an amazing cafe/bar called Delirium Cafe, and another guy named Geoffrey took us there! The cafe has over 400 different kinds of beer and a great atmosphere.

For some reason on Saturday we decided it would be a good idea to get haircuts. After failing miserably to communicate what kind of haircut I wanted to the barber, I pointed to a picture of Barack Obama I saw in a magazine. The barber became very excited as if he had been given the mission of a life time. When he was done he yanked off my blanket, flicked it in the air and yelled "VOILA! Obama!"

The last day of our trip we gave 2 guys a tour of Brussels (because we knew it so well), and somehow we missed our train. There actually is a reason but I won't get into it now. We had to pay 17 euros to get a different train though :(

So basically what I'm trying to tell is:
If you love chocolate, if you love waffles, if you love cool looking buildings with lots of history, and most definitely if you love beer, go to Brussles. Now.

Some days I wake up Laughing...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Everything is going by so quickly and it feels like I updated this yesterday.

Last weekend I went to a concert, it was amazing. A few weekends ago I did community service through that program I told you about, Orange Rockcorps, and this weekend it paid off! I got to see David Guetta, Akon, Kelly Rowland, Busta Rhymes, and 2 french artists, Razor Light, and Sefyu. The concert was at the Zenith center in northeast Paris. I went with Jamal and my host brother and had a great time!

The next day, saturday, was Nuit Blanche. I mentioned this in another post but just to remind you. Nuit Blanche translates to "white night," and for us americans it means an all-nighter. This time however everyone in Paris had a nuit blanche (www.nuitblanche2009.com). All the museums were open all night to accompany the multiple events taking place all around the city. My friend Wade and I went to the Gardens of Luxembourg where we found the biggest disco ball in the world. It was the size of a small mansion and suspended over a lake by a crane. There was a substantial line just to get into the gardens but Wade and I somehow found a way in.....anyway the gardens were full of dancing people wondering how they made Pluto look like a disco ball.

I got home at 8 in the morning and slept until my host family woke me up for lunch.

I know it's not New Years yet, but on Sunday I made 3 different resolutions.
1. No more nutella covered waffles. They are deliciously delicious but each one comes with about 5, 000 calories and I don't have the money or the metabolism to sustain my eating habits of the past few weeks for much longer.

2. I will run everyday to get back in shape for the Nike+ Human Race 10k...

3. Study! I need to study and get ahead so that I can continue travel around and enjoy myself without worrying about my world crashing down when my plane touches down in the States at the end of January.

Now then, today is Wednesday! I've run everyday so far, I have been studying and reading ahead....but I've also eaten a waffle every day this week...and one had caramel on it too....amazing. I think I'm going to find a support group to help me with this addiction. Waffle Addicts Anonymous anyone?? With the internet as my witness, starting now I will be waffle sober! So long as the powdered sugar was actually powdered sugar and not some other highly addictive powdery substance...I should be able to quit cold turkey without waking up in the middle of the night in a sweat...

Also, FYI, I have booked trips to Brussels, Belgium and Stockholm, Sweden...kind of random I know, it was a spur of the moment thing. But 20 euros roundtrip from Paris to Sweden? Who would pass that up? Not this guy.

On that note I must go study and run before dinner. I bid you adieu!

Heid is so a schena Dog - lalalalala

SO I'm still alive. I went to Munich with no money and no guaranteed place to stay. When I arrived I went to an internet cafe and praise the lord my couch surfing request had been accepted.

(www.couchsurfing.com) its a social networking site for travelers who prefer to not spend any money on a hotel or hostel. You type your destination and a list of people who live there pops up. It's great for students and young professionals.

Anyway, I had 6 hours to kill before I met my host for the weekend Markus. I went to a festival sponsored by and Irish pub and enjoyed a delicious lunch that consisted of a Nutella filled crepe, and a pint of beer. The combination wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. After that I explored the area around Ostbahnhof station which is where the train dropped me off. After sitting on the train for 6 hours it was nice to stretch my legs.

I met Markus around 6:30 and he gave me a quick tour of the city. Munich is beautiful. There are so many gardens and cathedrals. It was a shame that I didn't have more time to absorb everything. Markus took me to a very nice restaurant for some authentic Bavarian food, it was just in time too because I was starving. The only weird thing about the meal was the potato shaped like a baseball. The consistency was very gooey and soft, but it was delicious and I licked my plate clean.

We then went to his apartment so I could clean up a little bit and drop my stuff off before going to the WIESN! (Oktoberfest). In case you don't know, Oktoberfest looks like a carnival when you first walk up. Throughout the carnival are several large tents which are where all of the partying occurs. When the tents get too full they security guards stop letting people in, yet somehow Markus and I managed to sneak in. Within the first 5 minutes I saw 3 people get thrown out of the tent, a woman slip off of a table and plant her face firmly on the floor, and several other bewildering things that I can't quite describe. I knew it was going to be a fun weekend.

This post would be very long if I described everything so if there is something you're curious about just email me and I will happily explain more. I spent the whole weekend with Markus and his friends who are all great people. It was one long, giant party that ended for me at 9:45 on sunday night, an hour before my train left for Paris.   Luckily, I managed to force my self out of the tent in time to catch my train. You can imagine the state I was in when I left...long story short I tripped over my shoelace trying to catch a tram and almost killed myself. Picture a baseball player sliding into home base on his stomach, and can get an idea of what happened to me. Except I was on pavement in the middle of an intersection. You might be able to watch it on Munich's funniest home videos, or Discovery Channel's "Destroyed in Seconds." Somehow I made it to the train station just in time for the worst 14 hours of my life. The train had no food, no water, and it broke down halfway through the journey. I missed both of my classes that I had today.

As I limped toward the door of my school 2 hours late, struggling to hold onto my bag with my now skinless hand, I ran into a friend who asked me how my weekend was. I lifted up my aching head and gave him a big smile, "one of the best in my life" I responded.

As people are watchin' me, I never miss a beat...

OK! Sorry there is no picture this time. This could be the last time you hear from me as I could easily die at any point between now and monday morning.

After class today I'm dropping my backpack off at the train station and going to a breakdance class. After that I will be going to the Eiffel Tower to enjoy a very nice 2 euro bottle of wine with my friends (the bottle is from 2008, good year!). There is what's called an erasmus party at club Mix tonight. On thursdays every student over 18 goes to this club, it's amazing. LUCKILY the club just happens to be right next to Gare Montparnasse, the train station from which I will be departing at 7am friday morning. After I leave the club I will just walk across the street, pick up my bag and head to Munich for Oktoberfest!
In Paris there is what's called a nuit blanche, or white night. In america we call it an all-nighter but I think nuit blanche sound cooler.

Anyway, I would like to ask anyone reading this for a couple of favors which I think you owe me because as of yet I have received no Chipotle burritos in the mail....
1. campaign, campaign, campaign for frank-walter steinmeier. Al Qaeda has threatened to blow up Oktobefest if steinmeier does not win the election. Fantastic timing for me. Honestly, I do not know a lot about german politics, but I do know a lot about not exploding and I kind of like it.

2. I will not have a whole lot of time to do my global marketing homework this weekend :( SO if anyone happens to have a market research survey for Lunchables in France it would be spectacular if you could email it to me :) ajragland89@gmail.com

3. If Chancelor Angela Merkel happens to win the election, there is a good chance that I will be blown to smithereens. I would like the Black Eyed Peas and Flipsyde to play at my funeral...and I want Chipotle and Corner Bakery to cater. There will be an area for Salsa (Hector I want you to spearhead this), and an area for a techno dance party (Matt [vanilla bear] you take the lead on this one). Lastly, before you close the casket, I want everyone to give me a high-five (cinq).

Ooook wish me luck everyone..I'll put pictures up when I get back. Hopefully.

Trading the world for money, stars, and power, living my life at 100 miles an hour...

So today's my birthday. I'm no longer a teenager which means I have to be a little bit more responsible...maybe. This weekend has been amazing. Friday I went to the University of Paris and played soccer with some friends and french students who are way better than I could ever hope to be. Yesterday I woke up early and did some community service with my host brother Maxence. I say community service, but really it was a dance party where people happened to also be picking up leaves and trash. They provided music, lunch, and drinks and I got to meet lots of people! The people I went with with, Max and his friends are in the picture above. The program is called Orange Rockcorps and it's great. After only 4 hours of community service they gave me a free concert ticket! So October 2nd I'm going to see David Guetta, Busta Rhymes, Sefyu and Razorlight. I don't know who the last two are but I'm excited!
The guy in the other picture was hilarious. He kept getting up to dance, he wasn't bad actually.

After that we went to a techno parade. I want to express how crazy it was but I don't know how....ok, we went to a TECHNO PARADE! Me and about 500, 000 other people danced in the streets around giant buses with speakers larger than my house. No exaggeration....well maybe a little. Seriously though, it was a blast. Everyone was drinking and dancing for about 5 hours straight...I can't talk about it anymore because I get too excited so just look at these pictures.

Today I ran and played soccer with my host brother Tristen which was a lot of fun. Afterward our family had a picnic with shrimp and hot dogs and ice cream! Delicieux!!! Anyway it's time to go to the Eiffel tower to finish my homework.  Au revoir!

I feel like they didn't even have to put words on this sign...it's kind of self explanatory right?

I'm the reason they made the dress code, they figure I wouldn't wild when I'm in my french clothes...

Bonjour everybody!

I started my classes this week finally. It looks like I have a fun semester ahead of me, but I already have a decent amount of homework. Luckily my weekend starts on Thursday! That's right, no classes on Fridays...I love Paris. However, for some reason I was under the impression that my books were already payed for...or that they would be super cheap. Neither one of these fantastic scenarios is the reality. The reality is...on Monday, the day after my birthday mind you*, I get to watch all of my Oktoberfest money go down the drain. And by down the drain, I mean toward my education....(that was joke, my education is PRICELESS like Mastercard).

Nike and 7,300 tons of metal...what more could you want?

This is a picture of me on the top of the Fortress of Verdun, where the Battle of Verdun (1916) took place!

Yesterday this cool french guy named Tony Taz taught me how to break dance. I think I tore my left tricep but it was worth it! Now I must bid you all adieu, I'm going to play soccer.

* Born september 20, 1989. Send all presents (money, cookies, Chipotle burritos) to:

Alex Ragland
c/o IES BIA Center
27 bis, Rue Deparcieux
Paris 75014
France