Lift me off the ground:.

Nearly two months after my arrival in Grenoble, things finally seem to be settling =). I got payed, I have a new home, and most of all, paperwork is no longer the main concern in my life!!.

But not everything is perfect, along the way I lost some good friends. First, my hard disk, and then my loyal Macbook white =(. Anyway, now more than ever I realize that it's not a good idea to have dinner in the same table where you work, specially if you mix beer, milk, and sodas...

In the early days I used to walk all around the city to go from my home to the university, just like in the old times, and though I still managed to do it, I got very tired by the end of the week, maybe the time has passed for me to do that on a daily basis.

My new home wouldn't be complete without a proper chair, and that's basically what I was looking for the last couple of days. It's important to know that many years ago, when I was starting college I was in a similar situation, I needed a good chair where I could perform magic =). And so I bought a particular model that up to this day is still in my bedroom back in Mexico city. Anyway, when I moved to Barcelona I decided to look for the exact same model, eventually I found it and it served me good for a couple of years. This time I was going to do same, but there were some logistic problems and there was no way I could bring it back home without losing my arms, which by the way almost happen when I bought the chair in Spain (but I'll leave that story for another time). Today, I found a very similar one in another store, and I can finally say that, for now, I feel like home =).

The leaves, they fall to my feet,
at home, they mean nothing to me.

Waiting for a ride in the dark:.

I'd like to share some thoughts and impressions from my first week in Grenoble. First of all, I think this will be a prolific experience and I'm really looking forward to learn and share all that I can during my stay here.

Ok, I really don't know where to start, because there are plenty on things I do like and obviously some other that I don't. So, let's begin with the positive things, among them, the mountains!!. It's a fact that everywhere you look you see a mountain, and that's great, it gives you a sense of nature-awareness that I think will be even more impressing once the snow starts coming. From what I've seen, people here really love their mountains, and do all kind of stuff like trekking, bicycling and are now getting prepared for snowboarding, skiing and that sort of things for when the snow finally comes. I'll definitely have to try some of those activities out =):.

I also like the fact that's relatively safe to be here, you can walk yourself home at night, or wander around the city early in the morning, and you don't feel particularly threatened or anything. To be honest, there's always someone running by your side in the street, so you're not really alone at anytime. Anyway, a little precaution is ok.

I don't like the way traffic lights work here!. There's always a moment when both pedestrians and cars have the red light, and you don't know what to do!. I mean, it's not like for a couple of seconds, it's a long time in which no one is allowed to continue their way. And if you just stay there, you see how other people just come and pass to the other side of the road, leaving you wondering if you're just been naive or fool for following what the traffic light says.

Like in any country I've been, having to do paperwork and deal with bureaucrats is simple the worst thing humanity has to offer!!. Ok, I'm not being totally fair here. I must admit that my level of French is not very good yet, so it's a little bit difficult to communicate in a mixture of spanish-english-french with the people around me, specially when you have to deal with these bureaucratic affairs. Some of the school personnel has actually been very helpful and understanding, so yes, paperwork is a nightmare but people can be kind when you're in need =). Having said that, I do think that for a top-level international institution, you can ask for basic english communication skills in the administration personnel...anyway, this is something you must live as part of the whole international experience, it can be difficult, maddenning but in the end it's also interesting and you actually end up learning and practicing your communication skills =)..

This post is pretty long now, I'll continue my experiences in another one. Au revoir!:.

Following the neon signs,
waiting for a roar!.

Lucky:.

A few days ago I was having dinner with some good friends, when it suddenly hit me, it's been 10 years since I finished high school!. At that time, I had to leave Texcoco to come live with my grandparents in Mexico city, so I could study at the university. It was a great change in my life, and I'll never thank enough my grandparents for their support, not only then but through all the time I've been here.

Once I finished school, they let me stayed with them during the year or so that I worked in Mexico, and when the time came for me to work abroad, they wished me luck and reminded me that I could always come back...and I did =).

Once more I'm in a similar situation, I'll be leaving home for a long time. However, there's a big difference this time, my grandparents' health is not as good as it used to be. But that's a subject for another post, today I'll enjoy my last sleep here, my second-home, and tomorrow we'll enjoy breakfast. I'll also take the opportunity to thank them again for all their valuable help, time and patience =):.

Lucky

La vie est I'art le plus authentique:.

La semaine dernière j'ai reçu de bonnes nouvelles, ma long séjour visa a enfin été approuvée et maintenant je suis en train d'aller à Grenoble, en France!. J'ai déjà acheté mon billet d'avion et un camarade m'a réservé un studio pour mon arrivée la semaine prochaine.

Ce n'est pas la première fois que je vais être loin de mon pays pour un longtemps. Il y a quelques années, je suis allée à l'étranger pour plus de deux ans pour travailler à Barcelone. C'était une bonne expérience, mais aussi plein de beaucoup d'erreurs. Cette fois será différente!!.

Maintenant je sais que c'est une mauvaise idée de vivre comme des sans-abri, sans laver bien votre vêtements, manger malbouffe toutes les week-ends et sans nettoyer votre chambre. Semble logique, mais quand vous êtes seule c'est facile d'oublier tout et de vivre comme des animaux =):.

Pleine ou vide, c'est toi qui diriges ta propre vie,
aime-la, jouie-la, danse-la,
mais fait d'elle le meilleur film qu'il soit!.

Something that we don't determine:.

Hace ya bastante tiempo conocí a un cuate en Barcelona y durante las primeras conversaciones clásicas sobre qué nos gustaba y demás salió el tema de la cerveza. Yo le dije la verdad, no me gustaba mucho su sabor y él estuvo de acuerdo conmigo, el sabor de la cerveza no era algo que fuera mucho de su agrado. Unos días después coincidimos para una fiesta de la ciudad y durante las horas que estuvimos juntos lo vi tomarse dos o tres cuagamas de la cerveza local =). Al final de la noche me hizo una confesión que hasta el día de hoy no se me ha olvidado, me dijo: sé muy bien lo que te dije hace unos días y también sé que pensarás que soy un mentiroso, pero la verdad es que no me gusta el sabor de la cerveza, lo que me encanta es su efecto!!:.

Menciono esta pequeña anécdota porque es verdad que con la cerveza, y con algunos otros placeres de esta vida, se suele tener una relación un poco complicada, al menos yo la he tenido. Al inicio su sabor no es agradable, durante mi adolescencia y parte de mi juventud su sabor me resultaba bastante desagradable. Es cierto que algunas veces disfrute de sus efectos, pero no era ni por asomo ese gran elixir que algunos, como los míticos Homero Simpson y Bender Bending Rodríguez, decían. Llegué incluso a cometer el sacrilegio de dejar una Guinness a medio acabar en la St. James's Gate Brewery, porque su sabor me resultó demasiado amargo....en retrospectiva me atrevo a decir: pero qué tontería!!.

Con el tiempo, vas descubriendo las bondades de los diferentes tipos de cerveza, que si clara u obscura, que si con mezcla de no sé qué ingredientes o que si con denominación de tal o cual región, y muchas veces todo se reduce a la esencia de la confesión de alguien que ha probado las delicias, no sólo de la cerveza sino de muchos placeres en la vida: muchas veces lo importante no es el sabor o la presentación de las cosas, sino lo que llega a provocar en tí =):.

I love you so
but why I love you, I'll never know.

Turn on the bright lights:.

Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais aujourd'hui je me sens libre =):.

I had seven faces,
thought I knew which one to wear,
but I'm sick of spending these lonely nights,
training myself not to care.

Some say we walk alone:.

I wish The Dark Lord would have won!, there, I just said it!. He was the best of his kind, master of all worth mastering, he even reinvented his soul, his very nature!. His actions were portrayed as evil, but that's only because they were told by someone who couldn't understand them.

Let's get another thing straight, he was not defeated by some prophecy-powerless-unskillful boy, how could it be, it's not as if faith or prophecies have anything to do with what we can or cannot do, just our actions!. No, he was finally defeated by another great mind, the only one who could ever had the chance to be his equal, Dumbledore. The elegance and simplicity of his plan, well, breathtaking!. A true master of his craft, the way he acted and made others act, the way he made them think they were acting on free will.

In a sense, he was just like The Dark Lord, they knew there wasn't such thing as good or evil, in the end all that really matters is what you want!. Unlike everybody else, they didn't need justifications, no one to tell them what to do or think next, they just accepted the greatest truth of all: I'm free to do whatever the hell I want to do!.

=):.

So say I walk alone,
barefoot on wicked stone tonight,
will you leap to follow?
will you turn and go?.