brand new me

dear readers, this would be a very late post. because i have actually arrived in Jakarta a month ago. but because i was absent from college for 2 weeks, i have to catch up with everything. moreover, i am currently got involved as AIESEC bandung staff and still being part of Bluradiojtr.com . this month has been too hectic with pressure. the 5 kilos weight that i gained in Europe has gone gradually. that's something positive though. being home feels fine....i thought i would be overjoyed. but i guess Europe has enchanted me more than i anticipated

after get rid of my 5 weeks AIESEC volunteer in Poland, i flew to Dortmund, Germany. it was a very early morning flight, and i was late for the luggage check in. i am so panic i couldn't even breath but my hostfam took care so that i could get in the airplane with my big luggage. they opened it up and threw away all my liquid stuff and i had to pay extra. i felt suffocated. and if i forgot to tell you, when i first arrived in Poland, my baggage was overweight and i had to open it up and put out some stuff to my cabin bag unless i want to pay for 30 dollar. so really....i have a bad experience about luggage. back to my journey, my friend Mikhail picked me up at dortmund and we took the 6 hours train to Kuthen (the city where he stays). in Kuthen, i was welcomed by my bestfriend, my chairmate in 12th grade, Ayyu. I miss her like crazy. along the way we walked from the train station to her house, we didnt stop talking, like we had never been separated for a minute.
The next day we went to Berlin with train, the three of us laughed too much, they were idiots. they told me their experience as a student there. and i was jealous. it was more 'adventurous' that i ever daydream about. when they were teaching me Deutch words, there's a man in the train who looked at us and helped me pronounce the word rightly. we then talked with English, he was a young doctor. i guess people here are more friendly than Polish. there are 2 big airports in Berlin. that day we went to Venice from Berlin Tegel Airport. the 1 hour 30 minutes trip is full of excitement. we arrived there at around 6 pm and we have to took boat to the city center. that's the only transportation they don't have car or motorcycle at all at the island. the city is full of lovers. we stopped by to eat pasta. and then we spend an hour to find our hotel because people keep giving different directions and venice has so many alleys. it was worth it because at the hotel we, out of nothing, won the upgrade from normal room to suite room. hell yeah! it was spacious, the toilet is fabulous, and the balcony has its venice view. i slept well!

the next day we had breakfast at the hotel (for 5 euro) and we wandered around the city with the famous gondola. it cost 80 euro for 30 minutes! but it was worth it because our boat driver was so friendly, he sang and guided us about the Venice. and the best part was Canal Grande. it is the main river and many films (like The Tourist starring angeline jolie and jhonny depp) took place there. the blue water river is truly breathtaking. though it was winter but it was sunny enough for me to enjoy the day. next, we walked to Piaza San Marco. it took an hour because we were lost, again. i was very awful at reading map. that place is holly beautiful. the old buildings, the seaside with many beautiful boats, people wearing mask, and the birds. wonderful combination. we went to buy souvenirs and mikhail bought me a very beautiful mask. thank you! before went to the hotel we tried this restaurant, i forgot the name :( i'm sad because i ate the best seafood pizza ever. it has scallops as the topping. it's beyond delicious i would comeback if ever i remembered the name. and of course i ate ice cream because hey i'm in Italy! we caught our flight to Marco Polo Airpot and when we arrived we realized that we were in the wrong airport because our flight was in Treviso Airport. and it took another 30 minutes to get there. so we officially missed our plane. that was depressing. really. however we bought another tickets and continued our journey to Paris.

we arrived in Paris Beauvais airport at night. we took bus to the nearest train station. soon we were all confused about the metro. they have so many directions. we asked people and actually it is not that hard to find people who understand English. the metro color is turquoise! so happy :p but the train is kinda old and i could hear the machine when it's moving. our hotel is in Bastille area, it's near the famous Champs Elysees. of course we strolled for another hour because we were lost again. the next morning, we bought one day ticket to all over Paris with metro, it costs 10 euro if i'm not mistaken. there are many beggars in Paris especially in the subway because it would be too cold for them to sit on the street. once there was an old lady asking us money in French.
by the way, our first destination is Louvre museum. The pyramid-look-like building is fascinating! but sadly they are closed every Tuesday so we couldn't came in. sadly, i have free entry with my student card:( afterward, we walked to the Ponts de Art or Love Bridge. people put padlocks with names of their loved ones all over the fence as the myth said it would made your love last forever. and i also wrote the names of my bestfriends there. another of my dreams has came true. next we passed by the famous Laduree bakery, the decoration is so chick! i brought home a bunch of delicious macaroons. after lunch, we aimed to the Arc de Triomphe, we sat and made stupid videos. we did not go upstairs because we have to meet friend of my friends who study there. we stopped by at a coffee shop in the main street of paris and i was introduced to Isye. she told her experience of being part-time tour guide for Indonesian tourist. so challenging and exhilarating, i am jealous of the experience. even one of the tourist paid for her ticket to swiss. just her luck! our last destination that day is Eiffel Tower. i was speechless. i can't believe i have seen that love tower with my own eyes. i thought it would be like when i'm old and have my own money. but i was there and the blue yellow light twinkled so perfectly. we walked closer and mikhail bought me a big pink cotton candy. when i saw a carousel near the tower, i got onto it immediately. i feel like dreaming. that moment i wish my life stopped. i wish i could just sit on the carousel, eat cotton candy, and look at eiffel for the rest of my life. that moment was infinite. we went home and the big smile is on my face. because this childish girl has lived in fairytale for a moment.

this post is of course too long and i have Prose assignment deadline tomorrow. let me finish my story on the next post. ciao! au revoir!