Avignon

Time is flying by quicker than ever! Weekend outings have become routine, school days blend into the next, and vacations come and go. And while I've fit so much into this year, I just can't wrap my head around how time keeps accelerating. I counted the days today, and here it is: only 28 more days of school (!) and 95 more days in France. It honestly felt like last week when I last counted the days and had 115 left to go. The numbers are becoming more and more realistic, and I wish I could just put a pause on it all and yell "STOP! Lets just slow things down a little bit more, and I'll figure this all out." Unfortunately, yelling "stop" does nothing so I guess I'll just have to learn to pick up the pace myself.

In addition, I've had more energy this past week than I think I've ever had in my whole life. I'm supposed to be hearing back from colleges any day now and I hate waiting. So much. (I'm kind of a huge hypocrite for saying this, but I just wish this week would fly by already so I can get my decisions.) I've still got Boston College, and I'll be happy to go there if my other schools say no, but I really really want to get in to Brown / Pomona / Pitzer or a combination of the three. I'm trying to gear up for rejection, but there's still that little voice in the back of my head that tells me: "Hayley Chwazik-Gee is amazingly amazing and why would they ever say no?" Well, in response to that, I'm sure my math teacher would say, "well your 2 on the AP Calc isn't helping you out so much, and neither is your boringly average SAT score," but come on, other than that, I am a catch. So anyway, if the Universe is out there reading my blog, I just want to say that I'm sending you good vibes, and I hope you you send me something (hopefully in the form of an acceptance letter) in return.

Back to all the energy boost this has been giving me, I have been trying to put it all to good use. I've started going on hour long runs in the forest after school, and yeah...that's about it. (I suppose that was anti-climatic.) Anyway, they help, but it's still super duper annoying because I have to lie in my bed for about an hour with random thoughts and images and visions racing through my brain at the speed of light before I can semi-fall asleep every night. I mean, whatever happened to the good old days when one could just hit the sack and call it a day?

Other than all that, I suppose I can tell you about my weekend in Avignon. My host parents took me there yesterday, and it was a very nice, relaxing day. The weather was gorgeous and sunny, and I even enjoyed just staring out the window for the hour and a half car ride south to the beautiful Provençal city.

The main attraction in Avignon is the Palais des Papes, or the Popes' Palace. During the Catholic Schism, the popes relocated from Rome to the city of Avignon and 9 popes lived there during the course of about a century. I went around with an audio guide, but I didn't understand too much. Usually, I have no idea what the narrator is saying in English, and since I listened in French this time, I was just flat-out lost. However, you really don't need a guide at all to be impressed. Just standing there in the huge, ginormous rooms will leave you speechless at first. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous castle, and I plan on going there again in April with my mom and sister!

Avignon is a very old city that dates back to hundreds of years before Jesus, so there is plenty of history and culture to see. Roman ruins, pope things, a medieval wall around the city, the bridge of Avignon, churches....you get the picture. And if that's not for you, each summer there is a really well-known festival at Avignon with tons of shows in every nook and cranny of the city. They have everything from Shakespearean plays to modern plays that are held in schools, in the castle, on the streets; literally everywhere. Sadly, I will be home before that all takes place, but it'll just give me another reason to come back and visit!

That's all for now. I have another entry coming soon, but I need to get the pictures from my host brother because it isn't worth writing if there aren't pictures. (Trust me, they are the best part.) Anyway, it will be a pretty exciting post in my opinion, so you'll just have to tune in and wait!