That One Time I Missed My Flight...

Yeah, you read that right.

I can't believe it happened but it did. I was ready, so ready in fact that I cleaned and vacuumed this morning before leaving. I arrived at the airport only to find that I was far too late and it was the only flight out that day to my destination. I honestly still can't believe that I missed it. I wasn't even running, or speeding down the streets, or there wasn't an accident - I am just stupid.

I was just like

and

Then I tried to get myself together and catch a different flight. After I spoke with Iberian Air, they informed me that there were no flights today or tomorrow. After waiting on the phone to speak with someone from some unknown agency, I came to the conclusion that no flying was happening anytime soon.

Thank God, Joana was with me. I was crying that my mom was going to kill me for missing my flight and that I didn't have money to buy another. She was so sweet to me. She told me we can figure something out and if I have to wait for a cheaper ticket I can stay with her for free.

I felt a little at ease in the car ride back to Bordeaux, but I looked up prices only to find the same one-way flight for $3,000 this week. The panic set it. Not only do I have to tell my parents I missed my flight, but I also have to tell them I need a new 3k ticket. Today, my friends, was not my day.

I waiting so many agonizing hours until the travel agency opened. It was only then I would be able to find a solution. I called mummy and she was so sympathetic and kind about the whole situation. That made me feel better.

My friend Alex dragged me out of the house. He told me I couldn't just lay around and be depressed. We went to a café at Gambetta and after we went to the Basilica of Saint-Seurin and its crypt 

The crypt dates back to the 4th century while the church dates back to the 6th century. It is an UNESCO world heritage site.

I returned home to finally call the agency. Let me tell you, those people at STA student travel are the business. After calling back and forth and looking through all the possibilities home chick hooked it up. The fee was less than 200 bucks, which is a steal considering I thought I had to pay $3,000 I am still waiting for the final paperwork as I type this, but I think I come home Wednesday, if all goes as planned. The travel agent told me to be there 3 hours in advance.

I was like

Lisbon

Lisbon

Marina and I met my friend from uc Davis at the airport in Madrid. We took the short flight and bus to our hostel. We were greeted by five friends who were already there since the day before. Then my bestie from Davis flew in from London where she has been interning this semester.

The gang of nine set out for some authentic Portuguese dinner. We we recommended a restaurant within a few blocks. The menu was small but everyone liked what they ordered. After dinner we went for drinks.

Isabel enjoying her first steak in years.

There was a street lined with bars and people socializing in the street.

The next day we went to the beach the next day. It took a while to get such a large group together and ready, but we finally made it out of the hostel around 1pm. Our English friend Rebecca flew in that morning so we got enough sandwiches, snacks, and of course Portuguese wine for the day trip.

We had a blast. Swimming and sunbathing with friends on a beach in Lisbon... Who could complain?

We hopped the bus as the sun was setting. After a clean shower we had a chorizo and wine dinner. We sampled different chorizos barbecued on a small tabletop ceramic grill, while eating cheese and bread and washing it down with red wine.

Two hours later (bellies full of spicy meat and wine) we left the chorizo table and took a bottle of wine to the river. We relaxed for a bit then headed to bed.

The next day our group split into smaller groups. I went to see the castle on top of the city. The walk was a climb but well worth it. We stopped at a church and various little shops on the way. It was amazing and the view was beautiful.

After the castle, we had lunch, then we lost our friends. After a hopeless search we gave up and Marina, Rebecca and I visited Belém which is about 20 minutes by tram.

(Pictures to come - Sorry!)


We sampled some world famous pastries. The place could probably fit 250 people but it was still packed with a line out the door. However, it was well worth it.

For our last night with everyone we hit the bars one last time. But first we pre-gamed at our awesome hostel.

We met two girls from Bordeaux that came out with us and were really fun. In our drunken stupors I haggled 1 euro for a light up tiara and Aidan haggled 4 euro for a watch.

We ended the night with McDonald's (something I would regret the next day of course.)

Most of our friends left at four that morning. Marina, Isabel and I spent the next day sightseeing around our hostel.

The next morning we piled into a taxi. Marina and I said our goodbyes to our Madrid UC Davis friends and boarded our appropriate planes.

More Photos Here :)

Crazy Guillaume

Let me preface this story with a little background of French relationships in the eyes of a Californian...

French relationships move fast. There really isn't a dating period. It's friends or.. dating. "I love you" that is the slut phrase of France. It has been with everyone and anyone. It doesn't take it's time, it is just passed around like, well, a slut.

For me these crazy fast dating stipulations have been the hardest things to understand. At first it was kind of cute, but then after some time, I realized I will never understand French relationships. They are weird. Call me too American, I don't care. This is me. Take it or leave it. Je m'en fou.

So on with the latest and craziest escapade

I met this guy about a month ago. We will call him Guillaume. Ok ok, I know this name is overly French, but I thought it fit perfectly to give you the true nature of his French roots.

So anyways, Guillaume and I hung out a couple times after we met. I told him I just wanted to be friends and I am leaving to California soon. He said he understood, but he didn't. He pushed the relationship further. But of course, it takes two to tango, so I gave in. Mistake #1. We were casually seeing each other. Due to past incidents with French guys, I clearly explained (several times I might add) that I did not want a relationship and that he was not my boyfriend, etc. etc.

We went out a few times with friends and he got extremely jealous when I even talked to people of the opposite sex. I should have cut it off right then and there. Which brings us to mistake #2. I told him he couldn't act like that and he apologized. 

Then, I had a horrible day. There were problems back home and I felt guilty for being thousands of miles away and useless. Meanwhile, my friends were going out for drinks at this bar that I really, really don't like. The atmosphere, the people, it's just not for me. However, it was a couple of my dear friends' last night out on the town, and I felt obligated. I had already invited Guillaume and I told him why I didn't want to go out. He said he understood but I should come out for just a drink and then we could leave. Doesn't sounds so bad, right?

Wrong. He brought a girlfriend (which would have been fine if they really were just friends) who he flirted with all night. I'm not talking mild, innocent flirting. I am talking about holding hands, playing footsie (btw who plays footsie at this age?? -- mistake #3), he played with her hair, and they stole each other's phones. I was laughing inside at his utter lack of comprehension of the female brain. Did he honestly think I was going to be jealous and demand that we be exclusive? So much for my bad day.. it more turned into a nightmare evening. 

So, he and his girlfriend left to a party, leaving me at this not-so-amazing pub. It was really a superb night, to say the least. 

But wait, there's more!

When I ignored his phone calls and texts he messaged me saying I need to break up with him face to face and we need to talk about what happened, and of course he was so so sorry. I was like.....

When I ignored Guillaume's texts he got even crazier. He insisted on coming to my friend's birthday party, when they obviously only knew each other through me. When I told him he I was uninviting him, he threw yet another skype/text/facebook bitch fit claiming he wasn't going for me, but to support my friend. Basically, I found a winner, man (mistake #500 in the book of The Ridiculous Mistakes of Sara : A Compilation. Volume 2).

Now..

Now I am walking around the city on eggshells hoping not to run into Guillaume - now properly nicknamed "crazy guy."

To be continued...

French University

Wednesday

I had the WORST day. Actually, it was all due to my extra special professor that I recently talked about. One of the downsides to public education in France is it seems that once you have your job, it's pretty difficult to lose it.

After putting up with a semester of bullshit, whereas other classes were actually learning, we turned in our papers last week. I am not quite sure what a professor who puts in little effort expects from our papers. He bitched to us for over an hour about the bullshit we turned in. He even went as far to call certain students assholes and uneducated. I should have walked out this time, really.

I finally got my paper back which was the equivalent to an American D. I was astonished. After class I asked him why, because I did exceedingly well on my previous papers. He said I couldn't speak French and that my level of French was nowhere near sufficient to talk about the subject I had chosen. He went on to say he wasn't a supermarket where you can haggle grades.

I shouldn't have let this get to me because I wrote a DAMN good paper, yeah that's right, an excellent paper. Yes, my paper did go against what his arguments in previous classes, but I justified my arguments. So, he gave me a bad grade for that. As for my level of French? He handed it back with one word circled for being misspelled. I had a French literature major, who happens to be a great friend, correct it for me. So, I know it wasn't a shit paper.

After this incident, I went to our program directors who said he can be somewhat of a crazy teacher but I should just try harder on the next paper. I assume they don't want to cause any problems because I am just here until the end of the semester, whereas they are there year in and year out. Is one student really worth causing a controversy? In France, no. So he gets away with this behavior.

I was pissed, but last night I decided that there are people like this in the world. It sucks. They make life that much harder for everyone. He can continue living life acting like he is God, but I know he's just an incompetent professor past his prime who is so consumed by S&M and his beliefs that he is not willing to see or hear anything else. Pathetic, really.

Thursday

After studying all night to "try harder" on my next paper, which was an in class paper today, I arrived to class only to find he was quizzing us on nothing relevant to the text. Of course. I should have known reading those two extremely difficult books was going to be a waste. I literally laughed out loud when I read the prompt. It just solidified my opinions of his insanity.

I left class feeling lighter and freer. My comrades weren't as happy as I was about failing a test, but to each his own right? It was 75 degrees today so I took my lunch to the grassy area of campus. I studied for my Art History class. Guess what? The things we discussed in class were actually on the test! I came home to a package from my mom.

It was a great day.