Day Twenty four...

Day twenty four
1/17/07
So this time I was even three minutes late! And I made the bus to the train to the bus.

Whew.
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1150am
Just got in (to geneve) a bit ago... Bought a soda, sandwich and the little prince (a b00k) en francais.

As I was walking (correction, am walking) people have been noticing and smiling at hetti, some even snicker to themselves.

One guy said "salut!" and then asked me in french where I'm going or were my travels have been.
1155am
1205pm
I'll continue that thought in a second... So I can head to near lourdes tommorrow afternoon by bus which means i'd arrive around 2am on the 19th to a city that I'd have to find a train from which would cost a bit of cash... About as much as taking a train today and getting there either tonight or tommorrow morning. Or I could just go to paris and checkout that city... Tonight.
Hmmm when does my flight leave?
Hmmm
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301pm
Two things I've noticed about geneva... A lot of ameicans and the city is really not very beautiful
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So I was going to send a few postcards from geneve... Which by the way was a huge ordeal to decide upon as there are no good postcards for geneve as there really aren't any worthwhile sights, but in the end knowing that they do take credit and I would like people to know that I am thinking about them enough to find a postoffice, speak french, take time to actually handwrite something and spend some money (i.e., that I do care very much for them) I finally decided to do it. Much to my chagrin they don't take credit for postcards, and though they did take euro, all I had was coins when all they accepted was bills (swiss use the swiss franc)... So no postcards from a second rate city... And you will have to guess those who were going to get a card.
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So I'm on the train to Paris... I decided that due to finances the way they're going and the fact that I anticipate being back in europe (and possibly living here) in the near future, I don't need to get all expensive and drastic. It is just next door!
Anyhow, there are numerous things I want to check out in Paris anyhow... amongst them are the Rue de Bac, a few communities, and my friends :-)

Today in Geneve, Switzerland, I ran around with my full pack on... I always forget how heavy that thing is until I actually carry it for 6 hours on my back... the bad thing is that I don't anticipate it getting any lighter any time soon... probably heavier. The good thing is that I anticipate carrying the full thing only for about four more days of my trip (counting the 23rd twice, since it really does count as two days for me... one day in italy [or possibly paris] and one in NYC)

So back to my earlier story, the guy asked me something in French, and my response was "Je vais a le Gare" or "le Gare" or something of that sort... to which his immediate reply was "so do you speak english?" My guess is that my response was horribly confused and quite likely wrong.

But he's a Kiwi (aka. New Zelander) who's grandmother luckily for him is Swiss, and mother is French, so he can work pretty much anywhere in Europe and was in fact working a construction site in Geneve that I passed by... He offered to let me crash (sleep for the non-native english speakers) with him at the construction site (there's a room with a heater and a stove where he can crash for free and which had a great view of the city according to him). But as I decided later in the day to head to Paris as I have limited days left, I had to bypass that offer. (One thing you notice while travelling is that fellow travellers will quite often go out of their way to help you, especially if they're from your home country or a related country).

So yeah, I'm currently on the TGV again, but to Paris, possibly for the rest of my trip. To meet with friends, practice french and gather my thoughts for the upcoming semester... oh right... THAT. I keep postponing any real thoughts of it... mostly as all that I need to do can be done when I get back there. I'm rethinking my choice of not living in hostels this coming semester... I hope that I can get into the dorms (DEFINITELY BEST option) but if not, I just might live in the hostels or possibly do that for a few months and then house sit for one of my friends for a few months (a possibility). Who knows... we'll see what happens.

I definitely hope I have a spring break (preferably around easter so I can head to Israel with some friends, but if not, I'll just head back to France).

So enough thinking about the coming semester, I'm still on break! I've met some amazing people on my trip, and I expect I still will. I've deepened relationships and seen my friends in their natural habitats. I've learned a little about myself and learned that I can survive "just going" without a plan. That sometimes that leads to things much more fortunate than I could have dreamed. And that I'm almost always perfectly on time (have I missed a bus or train yet?!) even when I don't expect I'll be. I've also learned that people across the world remember me for some reason I don't really understand... Theo put it in some way like this (when talking about the girl in Lille that knew me but not him): "Of course she remembered you! You're Ed! Everyone remembers you." I've been meaning to ask him why people remember me...

I've also learned that people across the world think I'm nicer, more put together, holier, and more trusting in God than I really am. "One day when you know my sins, you'll understand," I think to myself whenever someone smiles at me or comments on some aspect they admire about me. It's funny how many things that are hidden can change a person's view of another, to some, my sins would make me more human, to others more demonic, yet others would laugh at me and say "that's it?"

I can't compare my darkness and selfishness to another, all I can do is look at myself and realise how depraved a human I am at times.

I wonder.
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