So not ready to leave....

Well, I am off to Paris tomorrow evening. Now that I am in crunch time to pack/prepare, it is easy to see that only two weeks between the end of school and the start of my study abroad program was not nearlyy enough time. Especially considering the fact that it took me almost four days to combine my home and school rooms and do a huge spring cleaning. C'est la vie I suppose...

Luckily, I am a huge fan of to-do lists. I have probably eight running lists at this point of pre-Paris things that need to be done or packed. In order to pack most efficiently, I am basically planning general outfits instead of just grabbing a certain number of dresses, tops, etc. Still, I'm not entirely sure about how all of my stuff (I'm such an American hah) is going to fit into only 1.5 suitcases. Laid lout, my clothing alone takes up the entire top of my sister's bed. Eek! I'm also trying to under-pack as an excuse to buy beautiful Parisian clothing - hopefully at least some of it will fit in my exploding suitcase. Wish me luck!

Hunting

Ah I’ve been the worst about blogging!! I promise to improve though. So… a few updates:

Yesterday was the amazing! My dad and I went turkey hunting up at Ten Mile River Preserve in Dover, NY. We woke up super early and went with our guide to a beautiful ridge and watched the sun rise, waiting for turkeys. Unfortunately we didn’t get any, but we saw three hens, a tom (that was too far away to shoot), a coyote, pheasants, deer, etc. It was so great just being outdoors.  Almost took a picture with a decoy and pretended we had shot it hah

Even though we didn’t leave with a turkey, we did bring home a new gun!! Well, this gun was a long time coming… it was technically an 18^th birthday gift. Since I am left-handed though, it was hard to get the gun I wanted with the right stock, in the right length etc. But at long last it arrived! It is absolutely gorgeous – a Beretta Silver Pigeon V, 20 gauge, break action.

Now, don’t be alarmed… I am not some crazy animal killer. In fact, I rarely hunt, almost never, and I don’t even eat meat! I am a vegetarian hah. I really love to shoot sporting clays though and trap & skeet. I was actually the president of the trap & skeet club at Deerfield (fun fact*). If you’re not familiar with shooting, we shoot orange clay disks.

I cannot wait to practice with the gun soon. It may have to wait until after Paris though sadly. I can’t believe I am leaving so soon! So much to do beforehand….

I actually just got back from Deerfield now because today is my sister Louisa’s birthday! (Happy 18th birthday Louisa!!!) My older sister Susy (who just graduated from UVA) didn’t go to Deerfield, but the rest of us have. Louisa is about to be a senior and Annette will be a junior.. it’s awesome because I have an excuse to visit my favorite place!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog! This is my first time blogging so please bear with me... 


To tell you a bit about myself: 
My name is Elizabeth and I am a sophomore in Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. I love to cook (to bake, specifically), to read (everything! reading The Beautiful and Damned right now), and to travel. Through my major, Regional & Comparative Studies, I am studying the role of regional political/economic institutions in East Asia and Western Europe, and their effects on state development and relations. I study Mandarin, French, and I have been learning Greek in my free time. I have three amazing sisters, and live in Connecticut but spend a lot of time in Maine. 
Hmm I'm not quite sure what else to say... I guess I'll try to drop some gems as I write and stop boring you with cookie-cutter facts. 


As I said, I am definitely NOT a blogger by nature (or a tweeter for that matter - is that even a word???) I used to do a lot of writing in high school, and dabbled with the Hoya last fall, but I guess I have always considered myself not interesting or worthy enough to share what I am doing with a potentially unlimited pool of readers online. I finally decided to bite the bullet and try blogging for two reasons:


First of all, I will be studying abroad this summer in Paris and this fall in Shanghai. This is a perfect excuse to 1. Not forget English - apparently those language pledges are taken seriously! 2. Not have to send 100 emails about what I am doing, and make my friends and family feel obliged to reply 3. Not forget what I am doing down the road.


Secondly, I am working with a few amazing girls to start a site called AdviseHer. AdviseHer is a personal mentorship platform that connects ambitious high school and college girls. My blog will link to the AdviseHer website (adviseher.com) so girls who use the website can also see what I am doing and get to know me! I will definitely write about the startup, and hopefully inspire others to take their ideas and make them happen.
Actually that goal is pretty much what I live by... I want to be an entrepreneur. I am always thinking of ideas, solutions to problems, and crazy inventions. My life plan is to take these ideas and actually turn them into something. So.. check out AdviseHer and follow me as I travel, study, and work!