The third week of living in France has come to an end. It’s official: I have stayed in France longer than I have on my vacations. The whole concept of not being a tourist is finally sinking in for me. I live in Paris (eek!). With classes having started last week, my daily routine is beginning to slowly come together. Of course though, I’ve left parts of my days unscheduled to roam about Paris. I’ve really begun to enjoy walking around the streets of Paris with my friends throughout the day.

So the Fortezza Medicea is towards the north of Siena and was built in the 16th century. After getting back from Firenze on Friday, Juliette and I decided to go for a run and explore the Fortezza a little bit. On top of the Fortezza are walking paths where people exercise or just take in the breathtaking views. After our run, we decided to come back that evening to watch the sunset. Sunday I went to the birthday party of my host family’s nephew. The party was "Carnivale" themed and all the kids were dressed up.

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Well, with classes in swing, and our first full week of school almost over, everyone's starting to get into the swing of things!  Orientation week came and went, and we all feel like a pretty united group of kids over on this hemisphere.  The RAs planned some great excursions into the city to explore, "Mystery Beijing" set us out in groups trying to get as many pictures as possible in a scavenger hunt all around Beijing!

As I am among my half-packed suitcase, lingering parents, and judgmental cat, I cannot help but repeatedly curl up into a half criss-crossed- child's-pose position. Basically, I am contemplating my decision to leave home for the next four months in the most awkward and unintentional yoga pose. I have been packing, unpacking, and repacking for the past two weeks. Should I pack some snacks for the journey? Probably. How about those mini shampoo bottles? Preferably. My sloth calendar from the natural foods store? Most definitely.