Easter in NY!

For Easter weekend, my Maman came up to DC and we took the bus to NY. The bus was much more luxurious and efficient than the greyhound in SC - and cheaper too! First I got to see my Maman relive her 20s with a friend she hadn't seen since she was in them. We also spent lots of time hanging out with my cousin who's doing an internship in NY. It's rare to have family from France on this side of the Atlantic so I really savored the moments. Fortunately he'll be here for a while still. We also had Easter brunch with a friend my mom made in Guatemala. We were both charmed by the city (as usual).

Maman & Anne - It was amazing to see how much happened in both of their lives since the last time they'd seen each other.

August: Osage County - an amazing play we went to see on Broadway

Paul & Maman in Times Square

Central Park

Maman at the MET

On display at the MET - Derek, this is why I'm scared about learning to scuba dive... my head is definitely smaller than that mouth!

This was much less scary!

St. Patrick's cathedral

Break dancers. These guys were incredible!

We didn't go ice skating here because right next door was a Brookstone where we could get our legs massaged for free!

Maman's friend Anna who she met in Guatemala

Bubble tea in Chinatown! I love this stuff.

Random stuff in Chinatown I don't think I'd love nearly as much as bubble tea.

The statue of liberty

Paul, me, and Maman in front of the Brooklyn bridge

The inside of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC. We saw a great exhibit of Paula Rego's works here that I highly recommend.

Maryland!

Aside from playing soccer on Saturday morning I spent most of last weekend with Sohail's family. Saturday was their 33rd wedding anniversary so we went out for an amazing dinner at a Persian restaurant to celebrate. I had fesanjoon (stew made with walnuts and pomegranate sauce). Then on Sunday they had a big brunch at their house and lots of family stopped by. Here are the pictures:

Sohail's sister was in town with her roommate and his cousin
Azalea and her husband came for brunch. Look at the spread!

Azalea got Sohail's parents and her parents these birds for Christmas and the yellow bird (Charlie) came to brunch as well so he could hang out with the gray one (Dudee). They were really funny together - fairly distrusting at first and then Dudee started chasing Charlie around.

Sometimes they perched on people's shoulders or even heads...

People enjoying breakfast

More spring break excitment

Here are some pictures of the last weekend of spring break that I spent with some of my closest friends from USC in Athens, Georgia. Why Georgia? Because Shirin's only two months away from having a "mini-me" so we all got together for her baby shower. Although the conversation of giving birth has deterred me for even thinking about getting pregnant for a few more decades, I hope someone else will do so soon so we can have a good excuse for another reunion.

Back in DC it was hard to get back into the swing of school.... so I didn't... yet... I'll have to do that soon but I've been having a great time catching up with friends from here who I didn't see in more than 7 days and my internship has been really fascinating. The other great thing is that the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom which means spring is finally here!

My dad graciously agreed to take me to the greyhound station where I started my trip to Athens and where we did some of the best people watching ever. Fortunately I only took the bus to Columbia, SC which took almost twice what it takes in a car but I wasn't bored for a second!

In Columbia with Sarah

I also got to see Sarah's boyfriend, Barney and Walker, another friend from USC

Shirin & Cyrus on their (possibly) first hike together by a really nice river near Shirin's house.

The baby shower girls (minus Shirin who took the picture)

Beth and Sarah's creations made from play dough actually intended for Cyrus... I'm not sure if stealing from unborn children is legal but I do some research and keep you posted.

Anahita and Sarah (and Gabriel in the background) at dinner Saturday.

Spring Break.... still!

Here's the continuation of what I've been up to over spring break. Aside from what's in the pictures I've been spending lots of time with family and friends and as much time as possible in the sun. I may have even gone from having skin as white as snow to skin as tan as milk! At least I wasn't cold...

On a walk at Charlestowne Landing with Maman and Max. I love the spanish moss and live oaks that are all over Charleston.

A peacock at Magnolia Plantation where I went with Joanne and Melissa.

Melissa feeding a goat. When my Bonne Maman came from France we went here and one of the goats ate her flowered skirt!!!

Another peacock - beautiful!
Me with bambi. The deer were really shy but they got less and less shy the more grain I had to feed them.
Joanne and Melissa at the plantation.

Yesterday I spend the day with my friend Terri and her daughter Emily who were in town for one last visit before they move to Hawaii.

Emily wasn't so sure abuot the water... but we thought it was funny when she put her hand in.

Lunch with Betsy, Terri, and Emily.

In Charleston with Alicia

Hello! I'm in Charleston for the last spring break of my life... until I decide it's time for more school. My friend Alicia also drove down from DC for the weekend to discover Charleston after hearing about it for the last 4 years from me. Luckily the weather was beautiful yesterday so we were able to go sailing in a race and then visit most of the city afterwards. Here's what we saw and did:

At the College of Charleston

There was a food and wine festival on Marion Square and as we walked through after it had ended a men blessed us with southern hospitality and called us over to help him finish off a bottle. He then told us stories about Charleston and it's heroes (John C. Calhoun, Francis Marion (aka the Swamp Fox), how "we" beat the Brits in the Revolutionary war, and how "we" won some battles in the civil war...). It was a great way for Alicia to discover the pride Charlestoneons have in their city and perfect timing for our (first) aperitif!
A bunch of salt and pepper shakers we saw at the southern restaurant where we had dinner. Benjamin, this picture is for you!

Yes, that is a Clemson spinnaker in the water ---- typical!

Maman on the main sail

Alicia at the helm!

Maman and Alicia at the Charleston market.

This is probably the only moment we weren't laughing!

Flamenco & President's Day

On Thursday Sohail and I went to an amazing flamenco performance by Eva Yerbabuena. I have rarely felt so disconnected from reality and entirely mesmerized in my life... particularly by music and dance. Because I know I can't do her performance justice through words, I would just encourage everyone to go see her if you ever have the chance.

Other than that, I've been enjoying the long weekend. Saturday morning I played soccer with a great group of friends (and lots of people I didn't know). It was only 38 degrees outside but I was so happy to be out in the sun and finally playing soccer again that I hardly noticed and that's coming from someone who really doesn't like the cold! Today it was in the 70s so a friend of mine (who also happens to be French & American) and I took advantage of the weather to have lunch outside. I felt almost like I was in Europe for a little while. Now it's back to my studies. Happy President's Day!

Super Week!

Given the Miller Light beads around our neck and the events that took place in the past week you may guess Alicia and I were at a Mardi Gras party or maybe even a Super Bowl party. But, in the words of one of my law professors... "you would be wrong!" In true DC style, we were at a Super Tuesday party! It turns out that watching election results on TV is pretty slow going (a lot like a football game actually...) but we were at a bar with lots of other enthusiastic voters and Alicia and I always have a lot to talk about so we had a great time.

I've finally taken the time to download the picture from the trip my Maman and I took to San Diego in December / January. So here they are!

Other than that I'm back in school even though I haven't fully realized it yet. I have the lightest semester I've had in law school and I'm certainly not complaining! The highlights so far have been my weekend negotiations class and my internship.

The class is by far one of the best classes I've ever taken. We negotiate all day long and after each negotiation the professor gives us a series of tips we should have learned. She was a family counselor before becoming a lawyer so she also works a lot of psychology into the class. Now I'm itching to use my new skills... does anyone want me to buy something for them (using your money and my skills - ps you get what you pay for...)?!

The internship is also great - very interesting work for interesting people. What more can I ask for?

Statute in front of the port in San Diego. It was enormous - taller than the tree behind it.

The nurse's shoes.

The San Diego railroad station

Inside the railroad station. The building was beautiful.

At the zoo!

We watched this baby monkey for a long time. (S)he kept trying to get food from his/her mother and the mother kept taking it away. It was very cute.

Grandma - I thought of you when I saw these ducks!
This is from the Wild Animal Park that is about an hour from San Diego. It houses only animals native to the African continent in a spectacular setting. In lots of areas you don't see the cages.

A lion. She kept pacing in front of where the tourists were and it was a bit disconcerting because she would rub her face right on the other side of the glass my face was against. The little boy next to me didn't seem phased but I was a bit worried about that look of hunger on her face.

See what I mean!

An Okapi. I really like how this animal looks and I grew up reading a children's magazine from France by the same name so now I always think of my grandmother (who sent us the magazines) when I see this picture.
Recently the Wild Animal Park rescued about 7 elephants from Swaziland (I think...) that the government was going to have to euthanize. And guess how they got the the States.... that's right - in a jumbo jet!

Even more recently several of the elephants had babies. They were so mischievous!

I guess because there's not much snow and maybe not many pine trees in southern California, lots of the Christmas trees around town were made up of poinsettias. Despite the 70 degree weather there was an ice skating rink in the city.
An old church in a historic part of town.

A scene from the town of Julian. This town boomed during the gold rush and seems to be a tourist attraction now. Maman and I happened upon it on our way to the desert.

This day we went for a hike in the desert.

The hike led us to an oasis! All of these trees were growing around a water source that dried up within 100 meters. It was incredible.

On our way to the oasis.

A beach near San Diego. I've forgotten the name but it's famous and beautiful.

These seals have recently discovered what is known as the "Children's Pool." It's a place that has very few waves which makes it a good place for kids for kids to learn to swim in the ocean. But since the seals discovered it, people can't go to the beach because it may scare them away. As a result, there is a big debate going on between the seal lovers and the kid lovers. I didn't see any kids cuter than this so I'm rooting for the

Last sunset of 2007!