thank the sweet lord i can move back to the states in may!

so i would have written wednesday morning but my computer crashed and i haven't had access to the internet. it's a total bummer because i have SO much to say!

on to the important story: i was in paris 4 years ago when bush was reelected. i voted. i was not passionate at all about either candidate however and only voted to get bush out of the white house. unfortunately, that didn't happen and it was hugely anticlimatic here in france. no one understood and i was asked over and over why my country would choose the path it did. at that point i think i was disillusioned and skeptical of the authenticity of democracy in our country. i felt like i didn't make a difference or that it didn't matter even if i did because the results never changed.

well, this election has changed me in terms of how i view politics and the united states. there is racism and there is bigotry. there is prejudice and fear. it's everywhere - not just in the states. if you are muslim or north african in france, you are judged. if you are jewish, you are judged. if you are a female, you are judged. i believe that france is much more accepting in a lot of ways but less accepting in others. living here has made me realize what a global eppidemic racism really is.

but i also feel that our country is making strides, as little or as big as they may be. tuesday night we elected a black president and i was alive to witness it - to VOTE for it. my generation is so passionate and excited about our future. i know it sounds trite, but on facebook, there are huge groups of people supporting obama and supporting an overturn on prop 8. i've never seen people my age so united over so many causes. i am personally very passionate about gay rights and of course i am disappointed in the results. i believe every human being has the right to choose their own path. love is one of the most beautiful things we have as living creatures and to judge that love is cruel. it's demeaning an inherent bond. we should be thankful that this love exists at all. how dare anyone claim the power to question its form?

tuesday night at around 9pm my friends and i all showed up at an american bar to watch the results roll in. we brought apples to apples (if you don't know what this game is...you have NOT lived) and played for 3 straight hours. we went through the ENTIRE set of cards...which is epic! i was surrounded by my friends - brittish, french, american - and everyone was equally excited and nervous about the outcome. every time they announced barack's victory in a state, the entire bar cheered. i don't imagine the bar made very much money that night because no one was really drinking. we were all too focused on the tv screen.

when they announced obama as the projected president elect, the entire bar screamed for at least 5 minutes. even though the metro had opened 20 minutes before (at 6am folks...that's right we found out at 6am) everyone stayed to watch mccain and obama speak. you could have heard a pin drop. people were crying and hugging...it was such an awesome feeling. i will never forget that night. it truly restored my faith in my generation and in my country to get off their asses and do something.

part of me wishes i was home for the results but i know i would have been sitting on my couch watching alone. i'm so glad i got to share it with my friends and with another country. they are celebrating here just as much as they are in the us. it's a beautiful thing.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

- Barack Obama