The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger...it was hard seeing him totally transformed into this twisted character. He became the Joker; I believed every second of his performance. It was more than acting...and I can't get that out of my mind. There was something in that dark laugh that was real...something in his voice that was truly meant...and that's how he's going to be remembered. What a way to close the drapes.

Falling Over the End of the Universe

Funny that one of the reasons as to why I decided to apply to study abroad in France was because of how far away it is from California and now that is the exact reason for my lack of excitement about going. Maybe I'll grow from the whole process, but then again maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just be a sad puppy wishing I were home. I'm already homesick and I haven't even left.

I've been living with my boyfriend of 5 months for a month now...and in the next month I'll be going on an adventure that was meant to explore the world and myself along the way. But that's ironically already happened, I've already found my place in the world and that's here. I never imagined falling in love at 22...but it happened...and now I have to go away. I feel like I'm falling over the end of the universe.

QUI SUI/S-JE?

SUI/S-JE VR/A/I OU SUI/S-JE UN PER/SON/NAG/E, UNE PEI/NTU/RE, OU UN ACT/EUR?

HAB/ITE-JE PRE/S DE /L/A M/E/R, DAN/S LE CEN/TRE-VIL/LE, OU DAN/S UN LIEU QUI NE VA JAM/AIS EXI/STE/R?

SUI/S-JE UN OUR/S VOY/AGE/ANT, UN BAT/EAU PER/DU DAN/S UNE FOR/ET, OU UNE STA/TUE VIV/ANT/E?

PUI/S-JE PAR/LER, PUI/S-JE ECO/UTE/R, PUI/S-JE VOI/R QUE LA TRI/STE/SSE ET LE BON/HEU/R DIR/IGE/NT LA VIE?

VEU/X/-JE MEM/ORI/SER LE NEA\NT OU OUB/LIE/R L'IN\FIN\I?

Des bonnes nouvelles

Bon Dieu...Je viens de lire que Bordeaux est une des moins chères métropoles françaises! Le coût de la vie à Paris est plus cher d'un 18%. Aussi, Bordeaux offre un meilleur rapport qualité/prix que Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille et Lyon. En plus, dans une comparaison internationale, Frankfurt, Barcelone, et Manchester sont plus chères. Par contre, Porto, Portugal et Nantes, France sont moins chères que Bordeaux.

Dans 5 semaines je laisserai la Californie du Sud pour 4 mois pour étudier à l'Université de Michel Montaigne Bordeaux 3. Tout le monde me rappelle que je retournera de l'Europe sans argent...mais le loyer moyen à San Diego pour un studio est environ 665 Euros par mois. Pour un studio à Bordeaux, c'est 448 Euros. Alors, on peut conclure que Bordeaux est une ville faite pour les étudiants!

Malgré ces bonnes nouvelles, avec chaque jour qui passe je deviens plus et plus attristé de devoir laisser tous ici pour si longtemps. J'ai peur de l'isolation...je suis comme un enfant avec des parents très rigides qui vont m'envoyer dans un internat parce que j'ai dit un mensonge qui a créé plus de dommage que je ne pouvais pas imaginer. :(

Les sources pour le coût de vie à Bordeaux:
http://www.vivre-bordeaux.com/bra/cout_vie.asp
http://www.vivre-bordeaux.com/bra/logement_habiter_ville.asp

Russian Ark

West Hollywood is home to many Russians...so the public library here has loads of Russian DVDs to check out (the public library is located across the street from the Pacific Design Center photographed here). I just watched the "Russian Ark," the only modern film to have been shot in one single take. It was filmed at the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg. It's about Russia's history and its relationship with Europe. I didn't know what to expect from the movie but as soon as it began I knew that this was an extraordinary film.

The screen is black and a ghostly voice mentions that there was some sort of accident but that he's not sure what's happened to him. We soon find out that he's invisible...then he notices a man wandering around the palace. The narrator represents Russia and on the other hand, this man he encounters with disheveled hair and black clothes symbolizes France, or Western Europe in general. The Frenchman confusingly asks, "which language are we speaking in?" in perfect Russian. That's when we find out that he's an outsider. The Frenchman is dead as well, but unlike the Russian, he's not invisible. He roams about freely and says what he pleases about Russia...essentially capturing the notion that many Western Europeans (or any Westerner for that matter) have that Russians can't think for themselves. The movie is very true to Russia's history...there's even a spy following the Frenchman around, who's hardly even noticeable...but in the end, I was convinced that Russia, or at least St. Petersburg, is a fascinating place and that it will remain so.

My favorite scene is the one in which the narrator follows Catherine the Great (who bought many of the masterpieces on dispaly at the Hermitage) out into the freezing snowed up courtyard...they're running as fast as possible, almost as if they knew that a ghost were following them.