Paris Pick Pocketers

Walking out to see Dr. Nell was such a relief. Someone familiar to this foreign place was a relief. Taking the train here was a new experience. Dr. Nell said to hold on tight to our bags, but I'm used to keeping my bag close to me, I think that is anywhere you are in the world you should be aware of your bag. But in France it is much more serious. I saw a guy almost get pick pocketed. I saw the scene get set up. There were two boys, one acting like he was reading a map and the other was looking around as if he was very lost. One of the boys attempted to bump into this lady but she grabbed hold of her purse before they could get anything out of it. The boys continued on seeing that they were unsuccessful in their first pick pocketing attempt. The old lady scurried after them to warn the rest of the people in my group and in the group of people ahead of us that there were pick pocketers. At first I wasn't sure if she was helping them to distract us or if she was serious. The two boys carried  on with their plan to grab someones wallet. They tried to grab the wallet out of the back of this mans pocket but he caught their hand while it was digging in his pocket. Two unsuccessful attempts to steal and they failed. I would've never thought this was such a serious thing in Paris. I am always aware of my surroundings and my belongings  but I have to be especially careful in Paris.

Pre-Paris =/

Going through security is never something fun when traveling, especially when there is a possibility you will miss your boarding time while waiting on that long line. Security will make a person late, tired, and irritated by the time you actually get to your gate. By the time you get to your gate your exhausted and fed up with how long it took you to get to this point. Tired and irritated is exactly how I was feeling at Newark Airport. Irritated is not how I should've been feeling pre-Paris. Excited should've been my feelings for this great experience I was about to encounter, but it wasn't. Security took forever, because not only was there a long line but there was also this one lady who kept beeping when going through security. She forgot to take off her waist band, then she forgot to take off her jewelry, and then finally she remembered she had her cell phone in her bra. Again, like my previous post my patience was running on empty. It was 8:20 pm and I was just getting through security when I was supposed to be boarding at 8:35 pm. After sprinting, ditching and dodging through people who clearly had more time then me to be wandering around the airport looking at random shops that were going to charge them so much more money then any story outside of the airport, I finally made it to my gate. My gate filled with people, this was definitely the biggest group of people I had ever been on a plane with. This was also my first time traveling to Europe alone. I felt like one of those students straight out of college who back pack through Europe. So now that finally made it to my gate I felt a little more relaxed and at ease. 8:35 pm finally came and we didn't board as yet. 8:45pm came and I still wasn't on the plane, so now I'm saying to myself what could be taking them so long. While I waited I noticed a small child in his stroller next to me who also looked impatient and ready to get on the plane. He was a french child because he said "we, we" to his mother. I said to myself that it is so amazing that at such a young age he's getting to see America. 9:05 pm and they finally allowed us on the plane. A plane that was supposed to take off at 9:20pm took off at 9:45 pm. Oh how I hate waiting.

I was getting ready to be on the plane for 6 hours!!! My first overnight trip to Europe. The plane was huge, line with rows and rows of seats fairly close to one another. My seat, 24D was being occupied by a man holding the hands of this woman next to him. I asked him if he was in the correct seat and he said "Yes," when it actually wasn't his seat. Out of frustration he moved because being a bulky guy he preferred the  isle seat and his wife looked uncomfortable sitting by the window. I volunteered to move but neither of them too my offer. I actually would've preferred the window and she preferred the middle, but she seemed to think she was asking of too much. I decided to suck it up, read a book, eat the best meal I've ever had on a plane, which included chicken parm, pasta, and bread with a salad, go back to sleep, wake up, eat breakfast, which included more bread and fruit, go back to sleep and get off the plane. In that exact order is how I spent six hours on the plane, while having neck cramps, getting hit in the head by people walking by and the guy in the middle spilling over into my seat, it was a fairly successful ride to Paris. When the plane finally landed safely it was such a relief, I wasn't as yet excited because I began to got nervous about what they might ask me in customs. My mind went back to a time when I traveled to Jamaica and they asked me a bunch of questions like, why was I there, where I was staying, how long was I staying, who I was staying with, etc. For that trip I was prepared with a write-up of answers, for this trip my mind was empty. After following the crowd from my plane to baggage claim, I waited 30-40 minutes for my bad=NOT FUN! But while I waited I took a picture of this:

The bags finally started to peel out of the shoot and the one thing I kept thinking is "what if my bag didn't make it?" If my bag didn't make it to Paris I would be doomed. I tried to shake that thought that I tend to have every time I travel on a plane out of my head. 20 minutes later and a couple of "be patient" pep talks later my bag finally came and I walked toward the exit expecting to go through customs, but no one was there to check me so I continued to walk and there was Dr. Nell!

The Pizza that made Brooklyn Famous

Grimaldi's Pizzeria is one of Brooklyn's most famous Pizza places. A little place located on 19 Old Fulton Street right under the Brooklyn Bridge that does pizza like no other pizzeria. This place is no Papa John's or Dominoes, it a pizzeria with brick oven, thin crusted pizza with real cheese. The line for this place is always down the block because the place is small but popular amongst the residents and tourists. I usually hate coming to this place because I have no patience for the long wait. The wait usually ranges from 30-45 minutes depending on the night and the number of people in your group, which is too long for my likings. On this paticular night I had two other people with me, one who was a big fan of the pizzeria and the other who was trying it for the first time. As my patience wore off, we started to creep closer to the entrance and was finally seated. I ordered extra cheese pizza which is shown in the picture above and antipassto. Afer devouring the pizza which is by the way only sold in pies, no slices, I remembered why that wait is always worth it. Gri,aldis pizza is amazing. The freshness of the cheese and sauce is so delightful, it makes you never want to eat Papa Johns or Dominoes again.

My Very First Blog

My name is Janelle Joseph, and I will be a senior this coming fall and Loyola University Maryland. This blog will be a blog for me to make blog posts about my travels around the world, which include places as far as Paris, and as close as New York City. I am from Brooklyn, NY, was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Blogging for the first time should be an interesting experience because it gives me the opportunity to be free, write about the things I see and how I feel about the traveling I'm doing. The picture above is a picture from when I went to Jamaica this past January to do an Immersion Program with Loyola. Eery time i look at this picture it relaxes my mind because it reminds me of that week i spent in Jamaica doing service. I woke up with joy in my heart everyday, which helped me to realize how much I appreciate a place like Jamaica, because its much calmer. I was phoneless and computerless and it helped me find a better appreciation for life and just reflecting. The chaotic life I live in the states doesn't give me the opportunity to just sit and enjoy the breeze, look up at the sky or watch the sunset. My body is not used to relaxing and reflecting. The reason I chose to use this picture as a beginning to my blog is because I want this blog to be filled with post where I am able to share my experiences, and have moments to actually stop and reflect on what I'm doing. Reflecting on a task gives me a the opportunity to look at why I did something and whom for.