Oops, I did it again...

(Day 80, Grenoble)

Sorry for being slow on the blogging! Sometimes I forget that this isn't my usual life and that I'm not going to be living in France forever and be a stone's throw away from the best food ever. I don't like that that's not the case either. I've got just under 2 months left, and I'm not going to think about this whole leaving thing. Moving on. While I've spoken about my assorted travels through Europe, I haven't spoken much about my travels through France. With my study abroad program, we go on the occasional excursion doing fun things around Grenoble and France.

Just in case you don't know where exactly I'm studying, or where any of these places are that I'm talking about, feel free to consult this hand map on which I have noted where I've been/am going. 

So Grenoble is down in Southwestern France, wicked close to Italy and Switzerland. In our first excursion we took a really quick bus ride (an hour and a half or two hours). Unfortunately, it was cold and snowy and we were given a very strange tour around the city that was over two hours long (everyone knows the best tour is an hour and a half and no longer) and included hitting up a million passageways from street to street and a medieval clothing store. We did see two of their cathedrals, and we got to eat some pretty good food (I don't remember exactly what it was but I remember liking it). Apparently Lyon is the gastronomical capital of France. Just a fun fact. We did have to walk up a rather steep hill/mountain whatever to get to their big cathedral while it was snowing, which put a damper on our day. Luckily, we live so close to Lyon that it could be a very quick day trip, should we choose.  So, pictures, I guess.

We also went to Dijon a few weekends ago. It was a much longer bus ride and we spent the night there. Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy region of France and was the home of the Dukes of Burgundy back in the day. It was a really cute city and definitely still has a bunch of its medieval architecture and that general feel about it. Honestly, that was the morning Erin left and I slept very well in Dijon! However the food there, is impeccable. Honestly, go for it (but I do say that about the entirety of France...). We also went to Beaune the next day to see the Hospice of Beaune, the first hospital in France, and we went to a wine tasting as well. It was a really cute, totally stereotypical French city. So pictures from both!

Look who I found in Dijon!!!

So that's where I've been so far! This weekend is Easter and I'm visiting family friends in Switzerland (woo traveling), and in a few weeks we're headed to Nice for 3 days. We're also in the process of planning our April vacation to Venice and Cinque Terre. While the Italian train system's website is not excited about the trip, we're definitely looking forward to it. I'm sorry that I don't have any hard hitting exposes on any hot topics! I'll work on it and find something that bothers me for next time!

Long time, no blog!

(Day 68, Grenoble)

Oh well hey there! It's been quite some time since I've updated this. In all honesty, I may have forgotten that I was doing this until my friend Erin complained I hadn't written about how amazing she is yet. That combined with the fact that it's Thursday and I have no classes comes out to a brand new blog post!

Last post I may have mentioned that I was going to Barcelona for my February break and then meeting up with a friend in Paris. (If I happened to have forgotten part of my itinerary last time, now you're all caught up.) We left Grenoble on Thursday February 21st and took the train to the Lyon airport where we then flew to Barcelona. Despite the trek across the airport from train station to the terminal for discount airlines, we made it there safe and sound. One thing we managed to not realize could be important was that neither myself, Claire, Nicole, nor Aubrey spoke any Spanish or Catalan. We walked out of the airport (no security or customs to go through which was disappointing for the 'fill the passport up with stamps' collection) and were trying to get into the city center to meet a friend of Aubrey's who is studying in Barcelona for the semester when we realized our French abilities were going to come into no use in Spain. We managed to take the Barcelona equivalent to the RER or the Commuter Rail into the city for dinner on La Rambla. Then we took another RER train to the mountain where our hostel was. That's right, I said mountain. We knew this when we booked the hostel, but the $10/night deal was just too good to pass up, we thought. The pleasant surprise: the 500 steps the hostel website had mentioned from the train station to the hostel was actually just 500 feet up a winding road. The ...interesting surprise: we were not the only species that planned on setting up residence there.

There were wild boar that lived on the mountain, as well as assorted wild cats and foxes. ... I was unaware that I would be reliving the assorted African safari's I went on daily during this trip. It wasn't bad, we only saw them a few times (once, one thought Claire and I smelled mighty tasty, but Texas arrived to save our souls), and the other animals didn't make that much of a fuss. Plus, we figured we'd be spending most of the time not at the hostel anyway. Unfortunately, Nicole and I are not the most raring to go people in the morning so it took us a while, and we were all living under the illusion that it was going to be like vacationing on the equator while we were there. Mother Nature had other plans, however, and on Day 2 we woke up to a beautiful snowy mountain.

(Photo credit: Nicole. Stole it, hope you don't mind!)

I legit thought I was back in the Alps. Why hadn't it occurred to any of us to look at the weather in Barcelona before traveling? I checked the weather in Paris!! Regardless of the ridiculous weather we had a bunch of fun. We went to the Picasso museum; found a favorite part of the city; Claire and Aubrey went to the FC Barcelona v. Seville game; we found an American diner which had delicious burgers and milkshakes where we watched the FCB v. Real Madrid game (sad); we saw, and put our feet in, the Mediterranean Sea; 

we saw everything by Gaudi in the city like his three Domas and the Park Guell;

and we saw the main cathedral of Barcelona.

The thing that really took the cake for best part of the trip, though, was the Sagrada Familia. This is another major church in Barcelona, but tends the be the one people identify with the city. While that's unfortunate for the city's actual cathedral, I totally understand why. This thing looks absolutely crazy from the outside.

It has spider legs and looks like it should be the cathedral of Atlantis. It his seashells and lizards, cubic statues of Jesus and other religious figures, brightly colored latin worlds written willy-nilly every where.  The major thing about the church is that's it's not even done yet! It's been under construction for over 100 years, been visited by 2 popes, and it's still missing major architectural pieces! Unlike Paris where you can buy one museum pass and get into every museum for a certain number of days, we had to pay to get in everywhere. Also unlike France, the churches were not free in Spain unless there was a mass going on, during which you couldn't access the majority of the church anyway. We used our student discount and after 16 euros (nearly $20) we were in and going up one of the towers. What you have to understand is how amazingly unique this church is. It has all of this crazy architecture on the outside, partially unfinished, partially under construction. And then you go inside...

 ...and your view on life changes. The entire interior of the church is white and every window (once it's done) is a beautiful rainbow of stained-glass. Churches shouldn't be built any other way. This is the perfect church. As crazy as you may be on the outside, God takes over on the inside and makes everything so beautiful. Throughout the day there is always sunlight streaming in from somewhere casting a rainbow onto the white of the church. I think the part that really got me was one of the confessionals.

With confession (as my Catholic education has taught me) you go in with a 'dirty' soul, confess to Christ via the priest, and then come out 'clean'. What could be cooler than coming out of the confessional with a clean soul and then this rainbow shining down on you as if God himself were there thanking you for confessing and wanting to be a better Christian. I stood there for a long time thinking about that, so don't mind me if none of this makes sense. I still can't imagine a better feeling than that. Oh man, my Catholic side is showing. 

That was pretty much all we did in Barcelona. We also ate tapas and paella, but the entire time I was craving French food (particularly les carafes d'eau which are free and beautiful as opposed to the water in Barcelona which you always have to pay for), which is why it was handy I was about to spend 5 days in Paris with my best friend from William & Mary!

On Friday March 1st, I left the hostel  at 7:00am, and hour and a half and 7€50 later I finally made it to the airport where I met a man from Chicago who was going to Paris for a vacation with his wife. I was spotted by my L.L. Bean backpack, très américain évidement. Then I waited in Charles de Gaulle for 3+ hours to see the wonderful, most amazing person in the world Erin! I love my friends here and my French life, and I'm totally not looking forward to leaving here, but I didn't realize how much I missed my ginger comerade until she walked through those automatic doors. We stayed in a hotel (an upgrade definitely needed after life with the boars) in the 11 arrondissement very close to where the Bastille was, which was perfect for us revolution lovers. Over the course of 5 days we saw EVERYTHING. On Friday, after a stroll and dinner along Boulevard Saint-Germain, we walked past both the Notre-Dame and the remains of the Bastille on our way back to our hotel. Day 2 was Notre-Dame for real, Sainte-Chapelle, Musée d'Orsay (where the hunt for Saint Sébastien began), and the Eiffel Tower. I also introduced Erin to Kinder chocolate that day which may or may not have been a very big mistake as I now may as well take some stock in the company as I'm bringing so much of it home for Erin. Day 3 we decided to do some furniture shopping for our future D.C. apartment at Versailles. We saw the palace, the gardens, the Grand Trianon, and the Petit Trianon before our legs gave out. We paused back at our hotel before hitting up the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. I just want to pause here so we can all compare the Arc de Triomphe with that of Barcelona. I'll let you figure out which is which.

All I have to say is "Vive la France". After dinner we also went to see Les Misérables (my 5th time seeing it, sorry I'm not sorry). It really improves the movie when you come out and walk the streets where the real story took place. Honestly, I have so much patriotism for France after that movie, I cannot express to you how weird and wonderful it is. Day 3 we set ourselves up at the Louvre and worked from ancient Egypt all the way to 19th century France. It also took us 5 hours, but we found my favorite ever painting ever (after some serious stalking of every painting by David in the Louvre), "La mort de Marat" or"Marat assassiné".

Now I know I posted other paintings by Jacques-Louis David from the last time I went to the Louvre, but I literally found every single painting of his in that museum and it took us 5 hours to find the painting that added to the fire that was the Terror. I had almost lost hope, thinking that maybe it was in another museum somewhere across the world when I walked down a small set of stairs which opened up into another room (room 54, I do believe), lifted my head, looked to the right, and there it was. I gasped, loud enough that people in other rooms paused their contemplation and glanced my way, and went to stand in front of that painting for a while. No, really.

(Photo credit: Erin)

You may or may not have guessed that I have a thing for the French revolution and this painting gets me every single time. I just, LOOK AT IT! David, what a rascal. Time to get back on track I suppose. Post Louvre, we walked through the underground mall attached to the Louvre and then jetted back to our hotel for another siesta. We decided to be extra American on our final night in Paris and go to the Hard Rock for dinner with a stop over at Laduree on the Champs-Élysée for macaroons (if they're still there when you get the chance to go to Paris, get the Marie Antoinette flavor. Trust me.) to add a smidge of France to our meal. On our last day we treked it to l'Hôtel des Invalides to see Napoleon and then up to Sacre-Coeur because why not.

Not as cool as Sagrada Familia, but I'll take it. We then parted from Paris that night on a train to Grenoble. While I did drag Erin to my History of Contemporary France class, we did go out and about in Grenoble too. We even took the famous bubbles up to the Bastille. The bubbles are the fancy cable cars that lead from Centre-Ville up to the Bastille itself. Much better than walking, in my opinion, although I know that not many others would agree. The walk is pretty cool. I also took some of my first pictures of Grenoble. Now here is my reasoning. For the past 2 months, it has been cold, rainy, occasionally snowy, and very cloudy. Once or twice it has been nice, but I don't carry my camera with me all the time. I did, however, this time, so take a minute to appreciate the city I'm living and studying in. (I'll even add pictures from my hike up the mountain.)

(Photo credit: Nicole)

(Photo credit: Nicole)

(Photo credit: Nicole)

(Proof I exercised!)

After our bubble rides, we went to the Musée de Grenoble which is actually a pretty cool museum. They even have a Saint Sébastien painting, a painting by David, and a piece from Andy Warhol.

They also had some stuff that Erin and I had a tough time accepting was art. This piece, for example.

Now it is entirely possible I just don't get it. I am not an art student by any means, but it kind of looks like they just forgot what they wanted to do on this canvas and gave it to a museum anyway. But I digress. Thursday we had a final French dinner for Erin with savory crêpes and crème brûlée, and then she left by a 7:20 train on Friday morning.

It was an absolutely crazy two weeks, but totally worth it. Barcelona is an amazing city, and I could get lost in the corners of Paris and still be loving it. It was so, ridiculously nice to spend time with Erin too. My friends even noticed it here when we all went out for Indian food and crêpes that I was significantly more cheerful than usual. But I guess that's what William & Mary gives you. I mean, one Tribe, one family, right TJ?

(Photo credit: Erin)

Barcelona!!!

(Day 46, Grenoble)

Hello there. One fabulous perk of this semester is that we revert to our pre-college days of a week off in February and a week off in April, which, like the good old days, occurs on my birthday. This next week we have off and some friends and I are going to Barcelona! We're leaving later today because we don't have classes on Thursday (school, what's that?). Next Friday I'm meeting up with my friend from William & Mary in Paris until the Tuesday, and then we're headed back to Grenoble. Pretty much, I'm not going to be anywhere where I'm able to write up my weekly blog post. Don't fret, or think that I've been taken. I'm just living la vida loca... or however you say that in Catalan.

Au ciné

(Day 42, Grenoble)

One of my absolute favorite things in life, regardless of my location, is watching movies. On my computer, on TV, at the theater, DVDs, VHS, BlueRay, I love movies. I'm no expert in the art of cinema or anything, I never feel as if I could personally take over for my history of French cinema professor should he take ill. My taste in movies isn't even all that great. I love superhero movies, Disney, and romantic comedies, but I love watching movies. When we were younger my friends and other family members used to make fun of the fact that my family went to the movies so often, and that's not something that has died down in France. I've gone to the theater quite often. While, unfortunately, only one of the movies I watched was in France, it's tons of fun. I saw Django Unchained (with French subtitles), Le monde de nemo (Finding Nemo, in French), The Master (with French subtitles), Happiness Therapy (Silver Linings Playbook, with French subtitles), and Les Misérables (with French subtitles). I also had French Disney movie night with my friends yesterday where we watched Les indestructibles (The Incredibles, in French with French subtitles). It was tons of fun, but it was ridiculous. Usually when we watch movies with French subtitles we read along and critique the inaccurate translations. Les indestructibles was unacceptable. At this point we know enough French to sort of figure it out, but the characters were saying different things than the subtitles which was driving us nuts. Given they were speaking fast and the subtitles were a solid summary of what was being said, but it was psycho. It was totally messing with my head which was awful. Eventually we were just quoting the movie in English ("I am your wife! I am the greatest good you will ever have!). I definitely am going to be watching more movies in French. It makes me feel wicked snooty when I can argue with the translations.

In other news,  my friends and I leave for Barcelona in 4 days! It better be as warm as the Inferno as well. I just want to thaw out, that's all. I'm not asking for too much, I think. I've missed feeling my toes. Also midterms are this week. They don't count for a grade and are just offered to American students to see where we are knowledge-wise, but it's going to be helpful. The only grade that counts for these classes is the final exams, so, for the first time, I want to take my midterms.

Don't tell anyone though.

EXERCISE!!

(Day 35, Grenoble)

Apologies for the silence. Not much has been happening over here. Yesterday my program went on an excursion to Lyon. It probably would have been wonderful had it not been cold and snowing, but it ended up just being a normal Saturday with a different backdrop. We took a bus from Grenoble to Lyon right into the center of the city to Place Bellecour. It's the center square of the city with a gigantic Ferris wheel and lots of shopping near by. We went on a tour of the city from there. Now maybe it's just my years of tour guiding experience, or maybe it was the awful weather, but it was a rather awful tour. We saw lots of small things and walked into allies and courtyards. At one point our guide brought us into a medieval store down an ally through a courtyard. It was the weirdest thing ever to see on a tour of the city. We ended up at the Cathédrale Saint-Jean in the city and then a few of us were dying of hunger and the need for  bathroom so we peaced out. Lyon is apparently the gastronomical capital of France, and the pizza I had for lunch absolutely backed that up. I was so full for the rest of the day that dinner ended up being applesauce! We then hiked up to the Basilica in Lyon. The Basilica itself was closed, but we were able to go into the crypts and see a mass being held and a few very cool chapels.

Wait, I just remembered some earth shattering stuff that happened this week. On Tuesday it was surprisingly warm, so after classes ended at 3:30 my friend Nicole and I decided (honestly, I was coerced) to go up to the Bastille in Grenoble. It's across the river from my apartment and up a gigantic mountain, but Richard directed us to a 'faster' path up to the Bastille that included four billion stairs. It was a ton of fun walking up there and it took us a while because we stopped at every little platform to go adventuring. We did finally get to the top and decided we deserved a crêpe for our hard work. We decided to go back down the path we had used to come up when two thirds of the way down we encountered a locked door. We ended up having to go back up to the top of the mountain and then down the significantly longer path that lead out to the other side of the mountain. At this point it was also starting to get dark and by the time we got back to the river it had started to slightly rain. Nicole made me run to the nearest tram stop and then we went our separate ways. The point of this story, though, is that I did physical activity! And not just a once in a lifetime thing either, because I then climbed up to the Basilica 4 days later. Look at me, being all sportive. You guys probably wouldn't recognize me at this point!

Well one week until midterms, 11 days until Barcelona, and 20 days until Erin comes to visit in Paris!! Looking forward to what's to come!

I now have holes in my body.

(Day 27, Grenoble)

Alright, so I have no big social commentary for today or crazy thought that has been eating at my insides for months on end. I'm sure I can pull one out if you'd prefer! The big thing that happened this week...

... I finally got my ears pierced! I know this may not be exciting for some of you, but it should be known that I'm rather terrified of needles and I have an unacceptably low threshold for pain (like, I see something drop on the floor and cry out in pain). This has been a multi-year process but very worth it. How many people do you know who can say they got their ears pierced in France? It was quite the experience, let me tell you. I went with a couple of my friends to a Claire's on la Grande Rue in Grenoble. I figured tons of small children get their ears pierced at Claire's stores in the US, it must be acceptable to get them pierced at one in France. (And it was either that or a rather sketchy Body Piercing place on some side street. Seemed safer.) 

So I'm sitting in the chair with my friends next to me trying to describe that it's fine and what will happen. NO. I need to never know what is going to happen to me. If it's a shot, surgery, or anything DON'T TELL ME. I'll just over think it, blow it up to unrealistically terrifying proportions, and die on the spot. While they're trying to 'calm me down', the very nice young woman is speaking to me in French while simultaneously training someone on how to do the ear piercing. I've pierced enough doll ears at work to know that trainees aren't always comfortable piercing. Now I'm adding the possibility that some unexperienced French woman is going to pierce my ears on to the pile of other things freaking me out. I sign my life away (in French) and then sit silently, simultaneously clutching the arm of the chair I'm sitting in and the Euro coins in my pocket. Honestly, the whole piercing thing wasn't so bad. It mostly just felt someone was stapling me. A beautiful wave of nausea kicked in immediately after however and didn't wear off until we were on the tram towards campus. Over all, everyone that knows how long this has taken is giving me nasty 'I told you so' looks through the computer, and everyone else should feel no regret skipping that whole paragraph. It was fine; it all happened in French; I'm still not 100% sure what I signed away to; and my ears are very sparkly.

I also haven't spoken much about the food here recently. From what I gather from my experiences, France loves food and gastronomy so much that they have a different food for each month. Januarys are for Galettes de Rois, these magical, beautiful pastries with this almond thing inside. I don't know, but it's great. There is a prize hidden inside and who ever gets the little token is the King and gets a precious gold crown. I won the one time we had one with my host family, which was wicked exciting!!

February, or at least February 6th is the month of crêpes, which is fine by me! Both of these foods are connected to assorted religious holidays: the galettes go with the Epiphany and the crêpes go with la Chandeleur/the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Therefore, I'm eating these foods for the rest of my life on religious grounds and so should everyone else. Even if it's not your religion, just eat the foods anyway. They are absolutely delicious!

Stereotypes

(Day 21, Grenoble)

I think it's safe to say that I have been very lucky in my life. Days before I left for France my parents were counting out all of the countries I've been to at the ripe old age of 20. (Including France, nine) Having taken my love of other cultures and traveling and focused it into an International Relations major, I'm think we can say that it's a fact that I love this big crazy world and figuring out how all of these puzzle pieces connect to make a global community. One thing that has bothered me for years, however, are the stereotypes that pop up everywhere.

I have never been one to believe stereotypes when it comes to other nations and cultures, I am the New England liberal that chose to go to school in the South. I firmly believe that everyone deserves to define themselves based on who they are, not on who they should be. So when I was leaving for France, all of my family members and friends were giving me their 'advice' on what I should 'watch out for', 'be wary of', and 'expect' once I got to France. This advice ranged from what types of toilets to expect to how to handle myself around French men to the inevitable fact that my French would be made fun of. Even before I left and have had a chance to spend time immersed in the French way, I was angry at people for believing and reporting these stereotypes to me. While advice is always appreciated, I wanted the opportunity to make up my own mind about what the French may or may not be like. I am also very aware of the American stereotype abroad and how not many in America are what the rest of the world thinks we are. Maybe it's the traveling or maybe it's the international students that I have gotten to share a living space with during my time at Montrose, but I had had enough of these stereotypes and I refuse to let them add a different lens to how I approach France and the French people.

First things first, I guess we should narrow down what stereotypes we are talking about. I've written enough papers and lab reports (I don't want to dwell on that last one for too long...) in my time to know that you  always want to define your terms first so that the audience is on the same page as the author. So French stereotypes, watch this video and we'll get on the same page with that one.

You better have watched the whole video, because it's ridiculously accurate. Every piece of advice someone gave me re:France, was based on this video. Also, a lot of the French people I have met have asked me about what stereotypes I have of French people, and they always describe everything in this video.

But there are stereotypes of Americans too. There are the obvious ones, such as we're all obese, loud, dumb, rude, and all we eat tons of hamburgers a day. Everyone in America drives American made trucks and SUVs, and everyone is extremely selfish. Despite being the home of crazy rednecks and celebrities alike, we are a very conservative nation that doesn't swear, is uncomfortable with nudity, and also gets squeamish when discussing anything sexual. Then there are some I didn't realize, such as you can 'spot an American student' by their Sperrys, North Face backpacks, and water bottles they will inevitably have with them. Also we all wear jeans and college t-shirts or sweatshirts everyday....

...To be fair, I've only worn this twice including today and it's because it's Skype Sunday. I don't leave the house so I don't feel the need to get all fancy and put on a nice shirt. Also, it's really cold, as I may have mentioned once or twice and my sweatshirt is warm. It also creates a wonderful topic of conversation. Every exchange student my family has hosted has also expressed their concern within the first week in America that they are worried about getting fat while there. I think by understanding how we as a people are perceived abroad really displays how silly stereotypes can be. 

I was part way through this post earlier today, when I stopped for lunch. It was Martine, Richard, Clémentine, myself, and a friend of Martine's. I don't remember how we got on the topic, but suddenly Martine was asking me to confirm her statement that America has a lot of obese people. I gave a very shaky head nod; I'm under no illusions that obesity is not present in the US, but 'a lot' is pushing it, in my un-researched opinion. This sent Martine off about a story of a woman she met in Boston (which I believe she went to Boston when she was a kid. She told me about how the water on the Cape is dangerous because once she was caught in a rip tide. My vocabulary nor want of dispute at the dinner table was up to the challenge of saying that I summered on the Cape for 12 years before my grandparents sold their house, and the first time I got caught in a rip-tide was when I was about 16 and on Nantucket. I have been in that water plenty enough to know that saying the water on the Cape is dangerous is not even close to an accurate statement. Although the sharks this past summer may wish to change my mind....) who was so obese it was sort of a monstrosity. That sincerely bothered me. I may not go around shoving my nationality down the international community's throats, but I am a proud American. To assume that we are all fat when you simultaneously complain that I never eat enough food is quite hypocritical of you. Just because you saw one very obese woman in America, or you encountered a French artist wearing a beret, or a Mexican wearing a poncho does not mean you can create a blanket statement for an entire community.

Sometimes, stereotypes are true. The French love eating their baguettes. I have been blatantly checked out here more times than you would ever see in the US. The French do discuss the finer qualities of cheeses and wine. They are significantly less embarrassed about the human body than Americans are (Martine often asks me questions as I'm walking from the sale de bain to ma chambre and am only wearing a towel). They also love their coffee and tea. Their showers are weird, and they conserve everything from water to electricity. However some stereotypes are very wrong. Not once has my family laughed at my French. Once or twice the occasional waiter or cashier will switch to very broken English after I say something in French, but, for the most part, they are happy to explain and are glad you are willing to try and speak their language. Most 'customer service centered' workers are very accommodating and are curious about where I'm from and what I'm doing in Grenoble. The young Frenchmen I have met are absolutely no different from American men except for the language they speak in and what they wear. Also, I have seen one beret while in French. I think it's quite similar to wearing a 'Newsies' type hat, and generally reserved for the older generation and steadily being phased out.

I guess the whole point of this post is just that I want people to stop relying on stereotypes as viable information. If you want to know what the French, the Spanish, the Indians, or the Russians are like, go there and find out. Don't rely on second hand information that isn't necessarily based on fact. Go learn about other cultures! Don't even take stereotypes on different parts of America as fact! Go see your own country, meet the people, eat their food, participate in their favorite past times and then figure it out. Mostly, I think what we need to remember most, is that everyone is different and one person does not define an entire community.

STOP RELYING ON STEREOTYPES!!!!