TWO MONTHS WHAT

HOLYMACANDCHEESEIVEBEENINFRANCEFORTWOMONTHS how is this even possible????? your guess is as good as mine. Really, it is. LET'S SEE what's new, what can I tell you guys....

WELL I guess a huge thing is I decided to run a marathon in April. Am I crazy? Yes, for sure. I'm pretty sure France has made me crazier than before. Like, remember way back in August 2011 when the cross country season started without me (obviously because I was going to college) and I couldn't handle it so I legit went insane?? (Nikki, Simone, Dana, and Lydia had to hang out with me that day. so sorry again guys) ANYWAYS I think this is worse. I'm really excited, because it's a huge goal/hopefully accomplishment, but HAHA 26.2 miles is a really long way to run. Woof. Like I ran a half marathon this summer and thought I was going to DIE so why did I sign up for a marathon?? I have no idea. All I know is I WILL train more than I did for that half (which won't be hard, seeing as I didn't train at all). The exact date is April 6th, so yknow if you're in the area or something, come cheer your crazy girl on!!!

OH and last week was my french woman's birthday! And she told me she loved American cookies so I decided to make her some because I love baking and love giving good presents so this was the best of both worlds. So the biggest problem I had is brown sugar--you know, that delightfully sticky stuff that comes in bags, is completely different here/also impossible to find so to make cookies, I had to make my own brown sugar. In theory, it's really easy: just mix normal white sugar with molasses. HOWEVER in practice, that took like 40 minutes of my time and all my arm strength I have. And then on top of that, KitchenMaid mixers/electric beaters in general are also unheard of here so I had a lot of butter to mix using the arm I just killed making brown sugar. At least I got a semi workout in? The cookies turned out pretty yummy if I do say so myself but I could tell something was off--the flour? the butter? the vanilla? Idk but I know I'll be baking again to figure out the problem.

twenty minutes in and I was certain failure was in my future

BUT IT WASNT YALL HOMEMADE BROWN SUGAR 

I did not eat any of this nope

obv presented in a cheesehead...where do you think I'm from?

Uhhhhh other than that, I dunno. I'm off to Finland in a less than a week!!! And I'll be in Paris before then so come back when I get back for a blog post full of nordic adventures (IT MIGHT SNOW WHEN I'M THERE!!!! I know you're all groaning at my excitement over this but honestly it's been 70 degrees for far too long and I'm tired of being hot. Okay princess rant over you're right) So you'll all hear from me soon enough. Which is also next month. WHAT HOW IS IT ALMOST NOVEMBER.

BYE!!!

A crazy Sarah

The original crazy Sarah, now gone global

ROMA ROMA ROOOOOOMAAAA

YOU GUYS I'M OFFICIALLY A SUPER INTERNATIONAL TRAVELER!!!!!!! I made it to Rome and back in one piece, with nothing stolen or broken!!! I'm pretty proud of this fact. And Rome was awesome because I GOT TO PRETEND I WAS LIZZIE MCGUIRE FOR LIKE 72 HOURS which is every girl alive in 2003's dream, let's be real here.

So Sunday was my first full day in da city and I decided just to walk and see where my feet ended up. I knew I wanted to go to the Vatican (because remember, I have to get to seventeen countries somehow!!), so I decided to walk there just to see what was up. There were a million people around but I didn't think to much of that--in Rome, there's a million tourists and so many walking tours. These people seemed to be waiting for something, so I asked a guy what was going on. He looks at me like I'm stupid and proceeds to tell me that pope is out. OH OKAY, SUPER CAUSAL. THE POPE IS CHILLIN OUT WHEN I'M THERE. There were so many old people around me who started crying when he drove by and I just stood there, pretty dumbstruck. I wouldn't call myself religious by any means, but a) I was raised Catholic so it does resonate with me and b) this pope is a total badass so I appreciate that.

PAPA FRANCESO ay ya sew catholic (he is in there, I swear)

The best part about just walking through Rome is that you actually stumble upon old ruins basically everywhere, and always completely on accident. There's a ruin that I found on the way to dinner with my friend Sidney and there was this sign:

hahahah wtf Rome

CATZ BABY CATZ

So basically stray cats just come and hang out there so that's pretty random/cool. Wandering is also how I found the Trevi Fountain!!! I had a guidebook my french couple lent me, but I didn't want to have my nose in a book so I basically would just read it when I was eating for something to occupy myself with so people wouldn't harass me. Dude, the thing is huge. I don't know what I was expecting really, but shit. So intricate!!! Obv threw a coin in!!! Sadly, no Italian pop star came up to me because I was the twin of his singing partner, but a street vendor told me I looked beautiful so that's basically the same thing, right???

~*I could almost kiss the stars for shining so bright*~

There's only two things I didn't do that I probably should've: the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. I actually forgot that the Sistine Chapel was in Rome/the Vatican until dinner I had with friends from my hostel so that was pretty embarrassing. And I tried to go to the Colosseum, but it was so crowded and so many people and I just was not in the mood, you know? But it IS gorgeous lit up at night, and there a million less people around to bother you. Now I just have an excuse to go back to Rome in the spring!!! Not complaining, I for sure have way more I wish I could've done. My friend Sidney was at a bar AND SAW JORDAN TAYLOR. LIKE HE'S LIVING IN ROME. So naturally I have to come back to try and find him, as well as continue to grow intellectually or whatever.

proof I did see this beauty 

So that's a tiny lil glimpse of my time in Roma, the Eternal City!!!! I'm busy planning more trips because omg traveling is so fun and addicting and there's so many people to meet and to talk to!!! eee sorry. but I think I'll go to London in December and live my dream of Love Actually in real life, as well as something else! You guys will just have to wait and find out boom!!!

Until my next adventure!!

Sarah

I was unimpressed by the Spanish steps oops

I need to go on a rant

Can we talk about street harassment for a second? Because Jesus, it's gotten a tad bit out of control. Let's journey through my history of being harassed on da streetz.

So in high school, I was a runner (as you all know by now) and when it was hot out, I was allergic to shirts. NOT because I thought I had a rockin bod or because I was trying to seduce adolescent boys with my shirtless body (I didn't have many people I actually wanted to seduce anyways), but because running with a shirt on when it's 90 degrees and humid is straight up uncomfortable. Have you tried it? No thank you. It clings to you in all the wrong places and hurts your armpits and NO ONE likes it. This led to me and my friends getting honked at quite often on our runs--I still don't know what people try to accomplish with that. Yes, it's little, but still there.

Then I went to college and my love for heels and dresses flourished. Yes, I wear heels with dresses and skirts like most other college students. Sure, I'm tall. My natural height is not going to stop me from strapping on a pair of heels. As they say on Pinterest, if you men can't handle me at my tallest, then you for sure don't deserve to handle me at my shortest (that is what they say, right?). My love for heels, however, has drawn nasty comments from people as I have walked, with my friends (not alone so don't start that), from randoms on the street. One guy once told me that his "dick was as long as my legs" and that I would love the feeling of him in between my legs. ARE YOU SERIOUS? NO I WOULD NOT. GROSS. I do not dress for you, creepy men on the street, I dress for me. I like wearing heels and I like wearing dresses. Get over it. 

Now, I find myself in France. French men are known for being very fore-coming with what they want, which I guess is better than some of the mind games we've all been a part of in America. However, this has led to some also interesting situations here, as I've gotten chased down the street more than once by men who reallllllllly want to ask me to coffee. One guy went as far as running after me after I got away once, followed by him grabbing my phone to call himself so he could make sure he got my real number. (Don't worry, I blocked his number. We're not ever going to talk again). Yesterday, my friend Alexis and I were taking a mid-night snack of falafels and we decided to sit on a bench on the Cours Mirabeau to eat before continuing onto the next club. I'm not kidding you when I say we were legitimately swarmed by French boys. They all kept calling their friends over to look at us like we were zoo animals. Like I'm just trying to eat my falafel in peace here boys, go shave your crustaches plz for all of humanity's sake. 

Yes, all of these situations are frustrating for me. But what frustrates me even more is the reactions people have when I tell them. The year after I graduated my high school banned running without a shirt on. I can't remember what the official reason was, but to me, and my former teammates, it came off as "if anything happens to us, it's our fault for not wearing a shirt" which can easily be linked to victim blaming, which is a huge problem. After getting harassed in Madison, people would tell me to maybe not wear heels and a skirt. Well what if I want to? Why do I have to live in a world where I get harassed for wearing what I want? Why is that okay? And everyone in France tells me to be very careful because I'm a tall, blue-eyed blonde American and men will chase me down the street (which they have). But it's not like I'm doing anything out of the ordinary when I get chased down. The time the guy snatched my phone, I was literally eating a crepe and walking to class. Nothing weird. I wasn't wearing heels, a skirt, or even makeup. Just pants and a shirt like EVERYONE ELSE. Like I can be as careful as possible and I don't think much will change. SERIOUSLY how is that okay?!!!!

OKAY sorry that was longer than usual/super ranty but sometimes you just gotta get things off your chest you know? And isn't that why God invented blogs anyways? ANYWAYS I'm going to Rome next week so come back then--It's probable that I'll be mistaken as an Italian pop star and I'll have to perform in the Coliseum!! And that's gonna be good. Maybe me and my bff Gordo will also share our first kiss on the roof!1!!1!!! Idk I don't wanna jinx anything tho. Just talk to me in a week!!!

yup

au revoir guyzzz! until next week!!!!!!

Sarah

it's super obvious why i get harassed when I look like this