1 Week until PARIS

In exactly a week from today, I will be on the ground in the French Capital, one of the most famous cities in the world. It's pretty surreal and I'm sure it won't hit me until I get there, maybe even a few days after. It's especially crazy considering today I enjoyed one of America's favorite pass times, college football (Hail to Pitt), and soon football will have a completely different meaning from how I traditionally think of it. I'm so glad I went to the game because it is one of the best things about my school. (Here's the best part, Sweet Caroline) Coming from a small high school I really like the huge athletic life here at pitt from the sports to the gym options. I will be very interested to see the variances in sports across the globe and how different people and countries experience athletic activities. Yesterday, we had a meeting about Beijing and some of the things we can expect while studying there. It was reassuring as I have never been to China, or any asian country for that matter. The group will be getting our visas as well as our passports back from the Chinese embassy sometime this week. I'm anxious to get my passport back because not only is it possibly the most important thing I will be bringing with me, but I've grown attached to it and the memories I draw from it. This diagram, Passport Power, shows how valuable various passports from around the world are; I couldn't be more grateful to own an american passport.

foot·ball

noun\ˈfu̇t-ˌbȯl\

1

:  any of several games played between two teams on a usually rectangular field having goalposts or goals at each end and whose object is to get the ball over a goal line, into a goal, or between goalposts by running, passing, or kicking: as

a British :  soccer

b British :  rugby

c :  an American game played between two teams of 11 players each in which the ball is in possession of one side at a time and is advanced by running or passing

2

a :  an inflated oval ball used in the game of football

3

:  something treated roughly especially as the subject of a prolonged dispute <the issue became a political football in Congress>

足球, Le Football, كرة القدم