"Every man has two countries- his own and France" -Thomas Jefferson

I didn't know if I was going to write this blog or not, but my awesome friend Kayla(lala) told me that I should. So, for once in my life, I'm going to take someone else's advice and just bite the bullet.

Being in France was a great experience, and though I miss it so, I will be hanging on to my American citizenship (at least for a while longer!) One of the biggest things that I realized was that I missed school- quelle surprise! I've always been one of those people who refuse to call school "home" even though I'm there 8 to 9 months out of the year, I live on campus, and some of my closest circles of friends are there. I'm stubborn- you might have noticed. But while I was abroad, I found myself wanting to see my parents, to see my friends, to sit out on the lawns or go to Rites of Spring... Please, allow me to clarify, I LOVED Aix and France, but I guess old habits die hard.

I think the thing I miss the most is just being able to speak in French!!! If I knew Spanish, I'd have someone to talk to anywhere, anytime. French people, il faut que vous déménagiez aux E.U.!!! I did, however, meet a guy and his wife and they were both from Haute Normandie. They lived in a small town close to Rouen which is where I had my exchange in high school. That meant that we had a little to talk about, and it was great to speak in French with someone. I miss it so. It's strange- in France I missed English and in America I miss French... Maybe I should just move to Canada and have the best of both worlds... That would mean learning Québécois, and I'm not sure I'm up for the challenge- hahaha! We'll have to see...

I've also been working on this post for about five weeks now- talk about a procrastinator. I blame that darned European idea of "taking your time" and "enjoying life"... blah, blah, BLAH!!! Things have to be done; we need to get on the ball, people!!! I've also decided that this will be the first of my random rants, so that I can keep this blog going for senior year... I might have to create another, Vandy-themed, blog- that would be a lot better, I believe.

So, the first thing I want to talk about is the economy. It's crap, yes, we've all heard, but the thing that gets me is that Congress is thinking about lowering lending standards again to try to get us out of the situation. Well, I'm not poli sci major or political commentator, but here's my theory. We're in this mess because people on both sides of the isle don't know what they're doing. Not to be disrespectful, but they're politicians not economists. If my memory serves me well- and it does- Mr. Clinton lowered lending standards a few years ago, and that's why we had people obtaining loans that they could not pay back. Of course, this is a bipartisan quagmire, because then Good ole W came in a relaxed regulations... and by 'relaxed' I mean all but ended. So, let's add this up, shall we? We have banks that are encouraged to give loans to people that shouldn't have then, and then we lose the ability to oversee this process and stop the banks before they go too far. And it seems that we might be about to start the cycle all over again. Hmm... Now, I'm no genius, but I'm rather smart (or so I'd like to believe), and this just doesn't seem to be the answer to our problems- not to me, any way.

Of course, it would be nice to just blame the banks, but let's not forget that this is America, we are a capitalist society, and- for better or for worse- we are all about making top dollar. Our stockholders want to see returns on their investments. Can you blame a CEO for doing his job? Sure. Should you? Probably not. Now, I'm not defending big-business either; I'm just trying to get a little perspective on the situation. We'll need a lot of reforms- maybe a new way of thinking about society- to solve this problem. Giving a loan to the guy who can't pay his electric bill is not going to cut it.

I also joined a gym, and I GO!!! Ha! I decided that I need to get back into shape before I left to go back to school. Needless to say, I did not workout the way I should've while I was in France, and now it has come back to bite me in my chunky butt! It's okay, though, because I've also started doing yoga, and I can't figure out for the life of me why I didn't do it sooner. It's fun, relaxing, and energizing at the same time. I can already feel some of the results... I stretch a lot farther than before. I'm sure that come in handy for something... wink wink. :) I've also found a few people to play racquetball with- I love racquetball. This is a big deal for me, because usually I have to go the summer without any partners, and now I've found, like, three. We go play, workout, and then grab something to eat if we have the time. It's good manly bonding time!

All in all, I'm really glad to be home, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get back to France. Luckily, I was home for the Harry Potter release!!! I even convinced my parents to come out to the midnight release with me!!! It was awesome! If you haven't seen the movie yet, you should go... now... like, stop reading this, grab you keys and go to your nearest movie theater. Seriously. If you have seen it, cheers to you! Now, go take a friend!

The least you need to know:

1. I miss France, but America will always be home.
2. Ladies and gentlemen of Congress, it might be time to burn the midnight oil... I'm just saying.
3. Gym+Racquetball+meals with new friends= a not so empty social calendar (i.e. happiness).
4. Oh, and I'm moving to Memphis, TN... the verdict's still out, but I'm an optimist.