Day 42

Well it's going to be a short one because nothing really happens on Tuesdays either. If any of you have been watching the news, I guess they are saying that all of the strikes and riots are getting really big in Paris. That is true, however it has yet to effect my life to much. I have never felt unsafe or been in a situation that seemed like things were any different than how they are normally run. I try to stay out of areas where there are events going on and we are trying to be back home early in the evening to avoid being out after dark when things seem to get riled up. Just so no one is worried about my safety...I thought i would give the report. However, I would appreciate it if you could keep my safety and the safety of our group in your prayers. There is potential for Paris to become an unsafe place very quickly.

The woman who is in charge of the Kennedy center is visiting our program for the week and she talked to us today about a few things. At first I had some hard feelings because I felt like she was part of all the problems we have been having. As she started talking to us I realized that she has a good heart and her heart is in each and everyone of the programs that she manages. I was surprised to learn all that was/is sacrificed for us to be here. I appreciated so much that she just told it to us straight and let us know what goes on behind the scene. I am grateful to be able to be in Paris on this study abroad with this director, this university, and this group of students. Even though all of them drive me nuts a lot of the time, I am still grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I went to the Apple store today and they informed me that my hand-me-down computer from this guy I really don't like, now has a faulty hard drive. I have weighted out the options of what tom do with the help of my Dad and I am thinking that I am just going to have the hard drive replaced here and it should last me through the rest of the trip and hopefully until I graduate(cross your fingers).

I am trying to find a way to pull all of my pictures that I have taken while here Europe onto an external hard drive. It was really really dumb of me not to be backing them up, but i guess we learn from our mistakes. I seem to be good at that and this is not the biggest mistake I have made, so I'm pretty much over it, but I'm hoping for the best.

Happy in Paris...good night!