3 Weeks Later

I've learned a lot throughout my few weeks here in South France. More specifically, I've learned a lot about the culture here- all from somewhat uncomfortable first-hand experiences. The following list is just a few things you might want to know before emerging your American self in France.

1. When you are done eating at a restaurant, the waiter will NOT bring your check to you unless you ask for it. Otherwise, you will be sitting at that table all night. Yes, that happened to me the first night.
2. There is no such thing as "splitting a check." You will get one check with everyones food on it combined, and you will sit there for 20 minutes trying to find exact change.
3. The tip is already included in the price of the food. If you leave a tip, you will just be losing money.
4. The fruit goes badly faster than in the US. If you don't eat your strawberries when you buy them, they WILL be completely covered in green, fluffy mold the next morning.
5. French people don't idolize peanut butter like we do in the US. You will be lucky to find more than one option of peanut butter at the grocery.
6. You are expected to bring your own bags to the grocery store. If you forget your bags, you WILL struggle to carry armfuls of food/bottles of wine all the way home. This one took me a few tries to get used to.
7. You will struggle to learn French. But some words will stick with you. For me: poulet (chicken), oeuf (egg), fromage (cheese), emmental (some other kind of cheese), ail (garlic), salade (lettuce), tomate (tomato), merci (thank you).
8. The streets do not make sense. There are barely any street lights and it's impossible to know which way the streets are going. I would advise to not drive in France.
9. Cars will not stop for you when you are waiting at a crosswalk. If you aren't aggressive, you will never cross the street.
10. The ambulances have a different sound than the ones in the US, and it's a lot more calm.
11. People don't pregame. 
12. All of the clothing at boutique stores are either very colorful, sparkly, or have pom poms hanging off of them.
13. There are a lot of pigeons. Their heads can turn all the way around and they are not afraid of you.
14. Old ladies don't wear bathingsuit tops on the beach. And neither do young girls.
15. Everyone smokes cigarettes. Anywhere you go, you will encounter smoke in your face.
16. People don't actually say "meet me at sixteen o'clock," that's just how it's shown on a digital clock. 
17. If you ever need sunglasses, a selfie stick, or a bathingsuit cover up, there will always be a man selling them on the beach.
18. There is another man on the beach who rings a bell and then throws a nut at you. Some people eat the nut. This one still confuses me.

Saturday

There were half the amount of sessions today and half the amount of people. It was sad to see the festival come to an end. As Adweek said in one of their Instagram posts, today was all about shopping for souvenirs and waiting for the closing Gala.

As soon as I arrived in Cannes, I figured I should be productive and jumped into a lecture without really knowing what it was about. The lecture was called "How Risk-Taking Ads Helped Justin Trudeau Become Prime Minister." The person who spoke was David Rosenberg from the agency Bensimon Byrne. David and his agency were responsible for JT's campaign during his running for Prime Minister of Canada. He was able to create ads that took JT from 3rd place to 1st. His ads were based off of positive politics, so it's really cool that he ended up winning. I loved seeing how the agency took the competitors ads' against JT and spun them around to bring him back on top. This lecture was awesome and one of my favorite ones I went to. The speaker was very good and did a great job explaining the entire campaign process. If Trump becomes President, I am moving to Canada without a doubt. #JustinTrudeauForPrez #RealChange

I got my last street panini of the week and made my way into town for some shopping before the next lecture. Cannes has a lot of expensive stores and a lot of top designers. I tried to weave my way around those are find the hidden gems of Cannes. There was one store called Pull and Bear that was super cute and funky and super cheap. I got a couple things but would definitely go back and buy the entire store.

I made it back to the Palais in time for the last lecture of the festival, "The Cannes LionHeart Award Interview with Blake Mycoskie." Blake is the founder of the company TOMS, and it was exciting to get to hear him speak. He talked about how he started and where they are headed now. This is TOMS' 10th year of existence, and they keep doing bigger and better things.

I went home after to take a nap before coming back to Cannes for the closing Gala. I napped for about an hour, worked on some homework, and ate dinner. My dinner was made up of things I could find in my room: peanut butter, a cookie, and a Reese's. It was pretty nasty.

My friend and I made our way back to the train station all dressed up to see that the train station was CLOSED!! We were very confused and weren't sure why the doors were all locked up. Eventually, we found out that the side of the station was open and you could get to the train that way. We felt pretty dumb.

When we got to Cannes, I bought a banana from a street vendor person because I felt like I needed some kind of nutrients. We waited around for the Gala, and soon discovered that students weren't allowed in. So there went our plans for the night! So we wasted about 2 hours in Cannes but I got a banana so it felt kind of worth it.

We came back to JLP on the last train and went to a club that some friends told us about. I have been in JLP for 2 weeks and have never seen a club until now. Why was this kept a secret from me?? Anyway, clubbing is definitely not my thing. The place was dark and foggy and loud with super annoying lasers and strobes. There were a lot of creepy older men but also a lot of kids that looked like they were 16. It was pretty weird.

We all came back to the residence and hung out in a friend's room for a while and talked. Those are always the most fun of times. I ate some more chocolate before I went to bed because why not (I hate myself) and then passed out around 4am.

It's crazy that the festival has come and gone so quickly. But at the same time it feels like it lasted about a month. Cannes Lions is one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. Every person you come across or meet has an intriguing story and is at the festival for a reason. It's amazing to be surrounded by such creative and successful people. I hope I will be able to make it back to the festival another year!

Friday

I really let the weekend get to me. If I'm being honest here, I probably didn't do more than one productive thing today. But I've been workin' hard all week so I deserve a break right? Yeah sure.

Facebook beach closed today which was super disappointing. Walking somewhere and seeing nothing when expecting free mini foods/juices is not a feeling I would wish upon my worst enemy. I hope to find something again in my life that makes me as happy as FB beach does. I know it's out there.

I tried really hard to go to a lecture but I was so hungry that I had to go find some lunch. We found a restaurant named New York New York and it was such a great place with a dank menu. There were so many things I wanted to eat but only so much room in my small intestine! Ideally I would have gotten the salmon club sandwich but they couldn't make it without cream cheese so I settled for fajitas. They were super amazing though. I highly recommend! (blog or yelp?)

Then I went to YouTube beach which was thankfully still open. I brought a bathing suit so I tanned a little, burned a little, and swam a little. This was for sure the hottest day so far so being in the water was definitely the move. I sat and watched some beach volleyball for a little, and talked/networked with a bunch of people. I didn't write down anyones names so that's pretty unfortunate. But I did meet a guy who created individually packaged glasses of wine, which will totally be the next new thing.

After being at YouTube forever, I was on the prowl for some dinner. We found another cute place that also had amazing food. I finally got my salmon fix with a curry salmon penne pasta. It was super funky and amazing.

We all headed to the Terrace for the Entertainment Lions after party. It was probably the best terrace party yet. The DJ was horrible for the first hour or so and then started to play awesome songs. Everyone was dancing and I sweated so much that I probably lost 5 pounds. But don't worry, I'm eating cookies now to make up for the loss!

Today wasn't the most exciting of days, but it was a much needed day of "chillaxing" as the kids say.

Thursday

My feet do not look pretty after wearing wedges for 15 hours. They might have swelled 2 sizes bigger, but that's just the price you gotta pay to be a networking fashionista.

I started today by going to an interview with Mindy Kaling hosted by Hulu. Mindy mainly spoke about The Mindy Project, and how she reaches hard to find audiences. She spoke about her transition from Fox to Hulu. Hulu decided that her episodes should be put out once a week instead of a whole season at once to prevent "fomo" from non-binge watchers. What a profound thought.

While walking to my next session, I took a double-take as I strolled past a sight I could not ignore. There it was, in all it's natural beauty: a large box completely filled with croissants, resting gently on a chair, in the middle of the walkway. I was confused, I was nervous, I was intrigued. I slowly walked towards the croissants, looking around for anyone who might be the owner of such a box. I scanned the area for hidden cameras to make sure I wasn't about to make a fool of myself. And then, ever so quickly, I snagged the best looking chocolate croissant I could find. I walked away and never looked back.

The next session I attended was very enjoyable. I went to see "Kevin Plank and David Droga: From Underdogs to Game-Changers." This line for this interview was insanely long, and I understood why after the session. Kevin Plank is the founder of Under Armour, which, if you haven't noticed, is a huge player in the active-wear brands right now. Droga is the founder of Droga5, a very successful agency who worked with Under Armour to make the brand completely redefine itself and become more popularr than it ever has been before. Droga is an actual legend of a man. The two talked about how they worked together to make all of this happen. One of my favorite things was learning how Droga5 got it's name. Droga is the 5th son in his family, so his mom used to put labels in his clothes that said "Droga 5." I thought that was cute. My other favorite thing about this interview was the actual interviewer. She was so incredibly awkward and I was so incredibly entertained by it. 

I stayed in the theatre for the next interview. This one was called "Creativity is the Only Way to Survive" featuring Keagan-Michael Key (From Key and Peele), Rob Delaney, and Rashida Jones. I thought it would be funny but it was more serious than I expected. They talked about why diversity is important in a number of settings. It didn't relate to the title now that I think about it... but still a great topic!

With a very empty stomach, I speedily walked down to Facebook Beach. The tea of the day was aight. Instagram (part of FB beach) was doing this thing where they took a picture of you behind a fake waterfall... I didn't quite understand. But I did it, so I guess I'll understand when those pictures show up in my email. Right before I was about to leave, they started putting out more food. The more they put out, the more I realized it was a DONUT BAR! It was so cool. I put little chocolate sprinkles in mine which I soon found out were actually pop rocks. Pretty scary discovery.

As Danielle and I walked to our next lecture, we passed by these 2 guys standing at a table full of food: roasted chicken, potatoes, fries... it looked delicious. The sign said that the food was from Sri Lanka, and the guys at the table clearly were also from Sri Lanka. We walked up and Danielle asked what the table was for and asked if she could try the food. The guy responded by saying, "sorry, it's only allowed for Sri Lankans." There was a really awkward pause, and then he told us he was kidding and that he was actually filming for a prank video to win an award. They always get ya when you least expect it! So we allowed them to use the footage of us and signed some papers. As we walked away, one of the boys told me I was very beautiful. It was half nice/half creepy. Oh, and I found out that Nicki Minaj is in fact NOT from Sri Lanka, contrary to the lyric "bad bitch who came from Sri Lanka."

We then went to a session called "Unfiltered: Story Telling From the Frontline." A few photojournalists showed their photographs and explained them. Each told such amazing stories. The pictures were beautiful and emotional. I really enjoyed hearing what these journalists had to say and seeing their photography.

I headed over to the last day of the girls' lounge. One of the makeup artists mixed a lipstick shade for me which made me feel special. I waited around for an hour trying to get one of the last Kylie Jenner Lip Kits. Every person I asked said that they ran out, but I knew that they were all lying because they had just given some away to other people I knew. Ugh! Whatev.

I headed over to YouTube beach because it's the only place you can get a cocktail around here! I had a few million watermelon sangrias. One of the bartenders asked me to try a "special," so I did. It ended up being a spicy chile pepper alcohol and I wanted to projectile vomit. It was nasty. Why do I keep getting food pranked? After a while, this band came on who was actually comprised of beatboxers! They were so very talented. My mind was blown. They sounded like every instrument. I loved it.

Finally, I made it onto a yacht party. And it did not disappoint. I got free food including a mini hotdog, a mini burger that looked like a Pretty Patty, and a mini macaroon. And free drinks of course. I met a lot of people on the boat which was cool. I spoke with a young advertiser from Nigeria for a pretty long time. We compared our lives in our respective countries and it was really fun and interesting. They have a KFC in Nigeria if anyone was wondering. They also listen to Drake there. No worries. But then he told me I have pretty eyes so I ran away pretty quickly. 

I learned a new word today from all of the Brits I've been around. I kept hearing "Is this the que?" And I was like say what? And I found out they refer to lines as ques. So you're in a que when you're waiting for the bathroom. Pretty shocking stuff! 

Wednesday

Hump day in Cannes is the ultimate hump day.

I went to see the session "Creative Inspiration" featuring Anderson Cooper and Anthony Bourdain. I didn't know who Anthony was or why he was famous, but I liked him after this interview style conversation. Honestly, I don't think they gave very great creative inspiration, but they were super entertaining because they had really good chemistry with eachother. It was funny to me that Anthony is super into food and drinking, while Anderson never drinks alcohol and said he is perfectly fine eating Burger King every meal. He said that he likes to order off the kids' menu because he has the palette of a 5 year old. Anthony's advice was to not care if people like your ideas or not. I agree and also disagree with that advice. Not that Anthony cares. Lol.

Next I went to a session called "3 Seconds to Win" hosted by Facebook. The speakers talked about how an Ad should capture somebody's attention right away because they will decide in 3 seconds whether they want to continue to pay attention or not. They also spoke a little about the new Facebook Live thing, which I haven't tried out yet but would be an awesome tool for advertisers.

After I made my way to Facebook Beach (what's new?) to grab some free lunch. I had a couple mini wraps and some fruit. Today they had a ginger mint iced tea that was amazing. Yes, these are things that I find important enough to put in my blog. 

I made my way to the girls' lounge aka real life heaven for a couple talks they were hosting. The first one was a conversation about the styles of leadership and how to become a leader. I didn't catch the names of the speakers and I'm not sure where to find them but they seemed super important. One of them had to do with LinkedIn and the other might have created MTV so maybe I should figure out who they were. 

In between sessions I noticed a little old lady sitting a few rows in front of me who goes by the name of Martha Stewart. I lurked over for a little and finally built of the courage to say "Hi I'm Jenna" in a super friendly yet adorable voice. She looked at me and didn't say anything. A couple girls around me that I knew asked for a picture and I got in it. Afterwards I told her it was so nice to meet her (even though I'm not really sure what she does) and she still didn't say anything. She legit hated me and I was being really cute and also wearing a maxi dress - what's not to like?!

Anyway I had to pee super badly so I went to the restroom and guess who was waiting to go in when I was washing my hands... freaking MARTHA! 

I went back to the seating area for the next speaker: Channing Tatum! He was interviewed by Joanna Coles, Editor and Chief of Cosmo magazine! So naturally most of the questions were about sex because Channing & Cosmo. I learned that Channing has his own vodka brand that is gluten free because it's a potato vodka. That's pretty cool. Also Channing LOVES to use the word "rad." So that's rad.

Walking around after, we went into a tent where they showed us this HD video that wasn't that cool and made me really nauseous. But when we walked out, they asked if we could be interviewed for a promo video, so we acted like we liked it and talked it up a bunch. It was a whole camera crew with a fuzzy hanging microphone so it was pretty legit!

I went to the award ceremony tonight and it was a fun thing to be a part of. The categories tonight were innovation, cyber, creative data, mobile, and media. It was interesting to see the different creations that won for each category. There were winners from all over the world so that was cool to see. Some of my favorite winners (you can look these up if you want) were: the non-surgical male circumcision device, Dot: first Braille smart watch, the edible six pack rings, and the SMS Last Words project.

I have an exciting passion for trying food chains in France and comparing them to the US. So for dinner I went to Steak n Shake. It was really good! I got the classic double cheeseburger (hold the onions please) and fries. Both delicious. I haven't been recently in the ATL so I couldn't really compare, but it was actually pretty great so I'm assuming it was better here. 

There were a lot of private parties going on tonight so I tried to sneak in to some which didn't work out too well. A group of us tried to get on one of the yacht parties but we didn't RSVP for any. But we signed up for one tomorrow so hopefully that works out. 

We caught the last train which only went to Antibes, so we trained there and then Uber-ed home. Emmanuel was super nice.

Time to sleep bye.

Tuesday

I sort of revolved my day around famous people, but I don't regret it at all.

Will Smith was one of the first speakers of the day for an interview called "The Pursuit of Impact," hosted by Edelman. The event filled up super fast so I had to watch it from the live-stream room. I didn't know what to expect from Will Smith but I was blown away. He spoke so nicely and sincerely. He giggled and joked the whole time and he was hilarious. I was interested to hear him speak about Muhammad Ali's funeral, and how he had speakers from all faiths talk. This interview showed me how respectable Will is! What a guy.

Next I sprinted to Facebook Beach because I was starving. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of food they had today. I ate a super yummy mini bagel with some type of meat on it, and another mini dish with some noodles and chicken. Mini foods are so big at the festival. I'm telling you now, mini foods are the future!!

Next I went to another interview with the ladies of SNL: Aidy Bryant, Cecily Strong, and Vanessa Bayer. It was titled "Gender Equality is No Laughing Matter." I expected more from this session and thought that the girls would have more to say about gender equality in the film industry. They didn't answer any of the questions that well, but I still love them because they're hilarious. Also, I got to sit in the front row which was pretty sick.

I stayed in the front row of that theatre for the next session, "An Intimate Conversation with Usher." So you can see where this is going. Ryan Seacrest interviewed Usher, which was pretty cool because they're both extremely successful. I didn't pay attention for the entire first 30 minutes because all of the photographers were standing right in front of me and I couldn't see a thing. And I was not afraid to let them know how annoying I thought they were (mostly through aggressive eye contact.) Some of my friends didn't think Usher was that great but I actually thought he sounded very intelligent and eloquent. So who knows if my opinion is accurate or not! Also at the end some of us students in the front yelled Go Dawgs and Ryan replied with a Sic 'Em!

The next part of my day was the best of parts of my day. Me and 2 other students who are interested in being creatives were introduced by our Professor to Jason Kreher. Jason was a student at UGA Grady as well, and now works for an advertising agency in Portland. He works as a creative writer and was responsible for most of the Old Spice campaigns you can think of. He invited the 3 of us to get drinks with him so we went to a nice restaurant and somehow killed 3 bottles of rosé. We asked a lot of questions and he was such an intriguing person to talk to. He was also named one of the world's 100 most creative people! This was a great experience to sit and speak with him.

Next I walked over to a hotel where we were meeting with Oliver Stone to listen to him speak and ask questions. I don't think I've ever seen any of his movies but I could tell that he is a talented guy.

Afterwards, I was dinner bound. I was on my way to get a sandwich when I casually pass AMBER ROSE on the streets of Cannes! It was crazy. I didn't talk to her because I thought she was just a look-alike at first. Then I found out it was actually her. Pretty crazy!

We went to the terrace for some wine and some partying hosted by Shutterstock. I entered a contest of theirs and I will be so sad if I don't win. (The prize is a go-pro!) Then we went to this party hosted by "The Dog Side" which took forever to get into but wasn't that special.

Overall, today was cool because I got to see a bunch of famous people. Now, I'm taking in some me-time with a jar of peanut butter and my neck pillow.

Adios!

Monday

I really enjoyed my first interview I attended, featuring Brian Chesky, the CEO/founder of Airbnb. I learned so much about the company that I never knew. The idea the founders had failed many times. At the time, people thought their idea was crazy. Airbnb stands for air bed and breakfast. Originally, the founders allowed people to stay at their house on an air mattress, and they promised them breakfast. This is where the name of the company came from. I was inspired by the speaker, who had such a simple idea that many people disagreed with and said it could never work out. This talk was awesome to listen to, and made me feel like any of my simplest ideas could really go a long way.

The Cannes Lions festival is extremely over-the-top in a lot of ways. A couple of companies have beaches near the festival where they build themselves and host hangouts, parties, and lectures. I went to Facebook beach first which was so awesome. They had free food out the wazoo. I ate mini sandwiches and a mini pasta salad dish. They also had a giant area filled with chocolate bars, needless to say my entire purse was filled by the time I left there. On FB beach, a guy let us use his 360 camera and told me he would email me the video we took. What's a 360 camera you may ask? Well I have no clue. So we will find out when the video is sent to me.

Next we made our way to YouTube beach which was also great. I got a delicious free smoothie. We stayed there for a lecture about VR video and how YouTube wants to be THE platform for virtual reality.

We then went to a talk called "Marry Me? How Different Relationships Apply to Brand Creativity." The speakers in this session chatted through a webcam with people from all around the world, and asked them about the brands that they have a relationship with. This lecture got me thinking about brands I have a relationship with and will always lean on. For example, Neutrogena, Apple, Ray Ban, Kendra Scott, Free People. Victoria's Secret, OPI, Calvin Klein, Oikos, Patagonia, Quest Nutrition, Mizuno, and Smirnoff are all brands that will always have my back. (I could sit here and think of many other brands I am loyal to but I won't do that to you.)

Next I found my way to happy hour of course. I was getting sick of drinking dry wine every day (apparently moscato isn't a thing here!) so I left the terrace and went back to YouTube beach where I heard they were having cocktails. We hung out there for a little and watch a nice volleyball match. It was a great time.

Then I went to the girl's lounge at a hotel down the street for dinner and to meet other women in the industry. I loved being there and will probably go back every single day. I met some awesome people who I hope to stay in touch with. Also the DJ (who was SUPER cool and worked for Dior) COMPLEMENTED MY SHOES! Great moment.

After I went to the Young Lions after party. All of us UGA peeps stuck together and danced all night together. It was so fun and we were happy to show the other "young" peeps how it's done.

Health Lions Day Two

I want to warn you now that this blog post is probably not going to be my best work. If I end in the middle of a sentence it's because I fell asleep.

Today was a super eventful day full of wine and virtual reality. This morning we met with the Publicis Health CEO who was very friendly and told us about how he made it to where he is now. Other people from the agency also spoke and explained what they do on an average day. It was nice to hear people speak who were closer to my age and maybe doing something similar to what I would be doing in the future.

The first talk I went to was called "Your Brain on VR: Virtual Worlds, Real Results." In this talk, Howard Rose showed us how VR can help people in many ways. This included helping people with PTSD and phobias, but also showed how it can be an alternative to drugs. VR can reduce the pain signals in your brain by engaging the body and the senses. VR can be used to reduce pain in patients and is something crazy to think about for the future!

Next I went to a giant tent where people from Nokia were set up. I originally went because I heard they had free drinks and snacks, but then stayed because it was awesome! They had a bunch of VR headsets set up that you could use. I put on the goggles and took on all the adventures. One scene I was in was a camping trip where I almost got attacked by a bear. I went to this cool outdoor concert, and even was involved in a crime scene. Some of the scenes were so real and creepy they made me feel a real sense of fear. It's some trippy stuff.

The next talk I went to was called "Sex: the Final Frontier." The speakers were awesome and had hilarious yet amazing things to say. One of the speakers was extremely passionate about sex and how people need to communicate better about it. She thinks people are insecure about sex because they don't know how to talk about it. She thinks sexual values are important and that brands shouldn't be afraid to use sex in their campaigns, even if they think the public will respond badly. She wants to normalize the dialogue of sex. The speakers were awesome so I loved listening to this talk, even though I didn't fully understand the point.

I decided to face my fears and get in line for the VR roller coaster. This roller coaster was no joke. The seats moved and the scene was super realistic. I legit almost vomited. That would have been embarrassing. I closed my eyes most the time though because it was so scary.

The next talk I attended was "Men vs. Women: Exploring Marketing's Impact on Gender Bias." This talk was hosted by Kim Getty. She encouraged advertisers to show gender in a way that is relevant and not outdated. It was an interesting topic but wasn't the greatest thing to listen to. I stayed in the Forum for the next lecture, "The Madman Who Tried to be a Clown." He talked about the humor in advertising. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.

I made me way to Happy Hour ready to network! I really don't like the wine they serve at the Festival but hey, it's free. I talked to a lot of boys from the Netherlands who won tickets by winning a pitch competition. They were all really cool. I talked to one guy from Portugal for a very long time; he worked for a media agency which was pretty interesting.

Afterwards, another area opened up for more drinks and food. I was very excited to learn that I didn't have to go spend money on dinner! They also had a fabulous dessert table featuring macaroons! I talked to some Brazilian businessmen for a little bit. The night ended with a lot more wine and a lot of dancing with CEOs who were slurring their words. Tonight was a fun way to see successful people celebrate the hard work they've done. Whoever said that this festival was the Ad Man's spring break was very much correct.

Health Lions Day One

The Cannes Lions festival begins this year with two days of "Health Lions," which is completely dedicated to health, wellness, and pharma advertising. Today marked day one, and I think I fell in love. I have never been in a place where everything/everyone around me is so innovative and inspiring. I seriously felt like I was in the future. As I walked through the entrance and got my badge scanned for the first time, I looked around in complete awe. Everything was so big and beautiful and amazingly designed. I was surrounded by people I had never met but wanted to learn everything about. There were people from all over the world with one common appreciation for creativity. It was some kind of heaven.

Right when I got to the festival I went downstairs to retrieve my "swag bag." I haven't looked in it yet but I think it's full of books and tips for the week. I'm also pretty sure I saw one of those virtual reality cardboard goggle things- so I can't wait to explore the bag of swag.

The first lecture I went to was an interview hosted by Saatchi & Saatchi called "The Power to Change Lives is in All of Us." The interviewers spoke with a girl named Olivia Hallisey and Dr. Kent Brantly. Olivia is a girl who won the Google Science Fair for creating an easy and cheap device that tests for Ebola. It worked essentially like a pregnancy test. It was important because it was the first Ebola test to be made cheaply and didn't have to be kept in a refrigerator, making it easily accessible and affordable. She wanted to create something that would actually help people- and she did it. It was absolutely astonishing to hear her speak about this because she was so young (sophomore in high school) and such an inspiration to regular peeps like me. Dr. Kent Brantly sat beside her. Kent was a Doctor helping patients in west Africa with Ebola and actually ended up being diagnosed with it. He came back to the US as the first American to ever come back with the virus. He spoke about how horrible the disease was and was able to humanize with victims of it very nicely. Dr. Kent was actually Olivia's inspiration for her science fair, and this was the first time they had met. It was such a beautiful moment. They were both so great to listen to. Now, all I can think about is my high school science fair which involved testing the nutrients in bananas. Maybe one day my bananas will inspire others.

 I wondered around a little and came across a life changing experience: virtual reality finger painting. You put on headphones and a mask thing and you magically teleport into an art studio. I was then able to choose colors from a palette and paint with my fingers on a canvas. I did a self portrait. It was so fun. Also very nauseating!

Afterwards I walked around outside near the beach to find food. I bought a ginormous chicken sandwich and devoured it. Some lady handing out free drinks gave me a grapefruit green tea. It's my new fav.

The next lecture I went to was called "Zen and the Art of the Publicity Stunt" hosted by Taylor Herring. It was basically about how to advertise without using you brand name, and just doing things to get attention. I really enjoyed this lecture also. The guys presenting did some publicity stunts for Game of Thrones- one where they created a giant dragon skull and put it on the beach somewhere. Things like this cause people to talk and post on social media, and also wonder why/who was responsible. This was a super cool way to advertise to me, and a way to get free media attention. They also talked about how to beat the "adblocalypse" because most people have an automatic hatred for ads and will do anything to skip them or fast forward through them. I really liked this lecture!

While walking around upstairs, I met a man named Alex Berry with the company Sutrue. He 3D prints medical equipment that helps stitch up patients/the insides of patients. He told us all about how he had been working on this project for 10 years and showed us how the 3D printing works. We talked for a pretty long time. Although his product is still a prototype, he thinks it'll be used by doctors in maybe 6 years. Pretty cool! He also promised us that if we brought him an STL file of anything tomorrow he would print it for us for free. Pretty sweet!

I then went to a lecture about how Tinder was used by NHS to promote donating organs, because organ donors have to be the perfect match. This lecture sounded like it would be cool but wasn't my favorite.

I watched some dude achieve a Guinness World Record for doing the most 180 turns on a unicycle in one minute. He did 26. It was dope.

Later I went to an interview of David Copperfield. I didn't really listen because I just wanted him to do some magic. He ended up turning a piece of paper into a flower. And he made a duck teleport from box to box. It was really cool to see him perform.

Another cool thing about the festival is that there's a networking app that is basically Tinder and you swipe people depending on if you are interested in talking to them and if you match it's called a "handshake." It's kind of funny but also an awesome resource to meet some CEOs! 

Overall, today was really exciting. There are so many things I witnessed and experienced that are so hard to explain in just a blog. This next week is going to be super busy and I can't wait!

Monaco Adventures

My day started with a much needed workout before class. I ran down the French Riviera which was a beautiful sight with a 100% guarantee of leaping into some dog shit. But it was beautiful outside and what I needed to feel a little better about my crepe intake.

After class, a group of us decided to spend the day in Monaco. I braced myself for motion sickness on the 45 minute train ride, but it actually turned into my best train experience yet. The train was full of enthusiastic Swedish boys on their way to the Sweden v. Italy "football" game. The boys near me blasted music and it was really fun. Said music included "Waka Waka" by Shakira and "Waving Flag" by K'naan. It was actually a very amazing and special feeling listening to this worldly music while looking out the train onto the beautiful ocean and the cities we passed.

Once the Swedish boys got off, a cute/old Chinese couple got on near me. The Chinese man told us that he was a language professor on vacation and that he spoke 5 languages. He said a lot of things that intrigued me. I was surprised to learn that his favorite song was 500 Miles. An international classic!

Monaco was a pretty place with views of water and large hills with houses stacked up the sides. The area was super hilly and it was kind of different than what I had imagined it to be. We walked up to a palace with an overlook of the whole city. I am still unsure if there are actually real royal people who live in the palace but there was a guard with a gun standing outside so maybe likely!

After walking around we found a cute restaurant where I got my first crepe! (Not technically in France but still good.) I got the veggie crepe (hold the cheese) with avocado, tomato, and sprouts. I've been eating an absurd amount of tomatoes on this trip which makes me feel like I've matured into a real adult.

We got back to JLP a little after 8 and I found myself craving chocolate per usual. We went to my favorite restaurant so far where I ordered a nutella and banana waffle. I'm pretty sure they use 1 jar of nutella per waffle. It was disgustingly incredible. However, nutella and strawberry would have been a better combo in my humble opinion.

Tomorrow is the first day of the festival (Health Lions) and I'm excited to finally experience it! I haven't formed an opinion on health advertising yet so I'm eager to learn more about it and see if it's something that interests me.

WOO

Dreary Days

The past two days have been cloudy/rainy/kind of cold, leaving us with only one option: eat food at all times. Yesterday for lunch we found a little restaurant on our way back from class that we decided to try. This was one of the first times where our server knew no English so it took a lot of hand gesturing to order our meals. As a young woman looking for some daily protein intake, I wanted something that would be big and filling. I decided to order the Kebab, which came with a salad and fries. I tried asking what kind of meat it was, and all I could decipher was that there were multiple animals involved. However, it ended up being pretty tasty and my protein (and fat) levels were satisfied.

After hanging around inside waiting for the rain to pass, we went to dinner with a pretty big group. I was very hesitant to join because we were going to Mai Thai and I've never been an Asian-food-lover. But I went anyway because France is known for its Thai food right?? I ended up ordering just some marinated chicken (delicious) but it didn't come with rice (disappointing.) The guy who worked there was a funny yet scary man who told me "I kill you" when I asked for change.

We went out that night and the scene was full of excitement because France won the soccer game (aka football game.) One highlight from the night was when a French boy asked me my name (Jenna) and he thought I said Tuna.

Today after class we ventured into a cute bakery for lunch and I got a sandwich. Even though my sandwich was approximately a foot long, it's weird how much healthier it tasted than a sandwich back in the good old USA. The lady who worked at the place wouldn't let us eat in her bakery unless we promised to not drink our own water that we were carrying. It was kind of strange, but also a fun challenge!

Something exciting that I discovered recently at Casino (the grocery) are these cookies otherwise known as "biscuits avec tablette de chocolat noir." They're these thin cookie type things with a small slab of dark chocolate on top. So simple yet so incredible. If you spread a bit of peanut butter on them you're in heaven. Also the box was only 60 cents so pretty dangerous.

Another thing that I find interesting about this area of France are the boutique shops. Every item of clothing in the stores here has some variation of yarn or pom poms hanging off of them. Also, pom pom sandals are a big thing. Not sure if I'll conform to the trend, but I'll keep you posted!

Besides shopping around, I laid out on the beach for a little earlier today under the wonderful clouds, but not sure what to do the rest of the day. Hopefully the sun will come out soon!

JLP --> Cannes

Today I discovered that the train system in France ain't no MARTA. First of all, nobody warned me that the trains go very fast so that was startling. Also, you have to press a button for the doors to open to get on the train. Also, there are cute people wearing adorable train outfits that hang out at the train stops doing train things. But anyway, I ventured into Cannes today for the first time (which is 2 stops away from Juan Les Pins).

Cannes is a very pretty place (the views and the people) and is filled with a lot of shopping and restaurants. When we got there, we immediately went to check out the first gelato place we found. They ended up having vegan gelato so I got a cone! Chocolate, passion fruit, and lemon if you were wondering. It was good. They scoop it into a flower shape onto the cone which is super cute in theory, but ends up melting all over your hands.

We then headed towards this big hill that leads you up to the top of Cannes, where you can see the whole city. On my way up, I locked eyes with a beautiful man eating at a restaurant and accidentally said "woooooooow" outloud.

The top of the hill was beautiful- a spectacular view of the city and the ocean, filled with yachts that I will never step foot on. We made our way down walking through alleys and streets that had amazing flowers of all colors.

I was feeling a little thirsty so I bought a Powerade from a food stand. The Powerade tasted nothing like Powerade in America, and I think it's because Europe doesn't let its citizens consume super unhealthy ingredients (@highfructosecornsyrup).

Then, we decided to shop around and of course came across Zara. I wasn't going to get anything but obviously had to try some things on. Soon I realized there were 2 more floors and it was game over. But I only spent about 40 Euros, and they were all necessities!!

Eventually we took a train home. Danielle and I ate leftover food from our welcome dinner last night (couldn't buy dinner after the Zara guilt) and it was very tasty and very carb-y. Now, we're ready to take on the night.

And don't worry I've been going to class!!

First Day Across the Atlantic

Today has been one of the longest days of my life. But that's actually because it has been over 24 hours. I left the ATL for Nice, France with a layover in New York. The flight to New York wasn't too bad and was a nice practice run of nervousness for the 8 hour flight that followed. Landing in New York was definitely a relief... until they told us over the intercom that they couldn't get the door to connect to the gate. So that was my first time exiting an airplane from the back, which was pretty unique. S/o Delta!

The flight to Nice was pretty nice (LOL) minus the food provided by the plane. The flight was delayed so we ate dinner around 10pm. I chose chicken, the dude next to me chose pasta- he seemed to enjoy his meal more than I did. However, the packaged brownie for dessert was magnificent.

I watched Deadpool on the plane to waste some time and distract myself from the altitude. It made me chuckle a couple times. Afterwords, I tried to sleep for the rest of the flight so when I arrived I would be able to make it another day. I found it very difficult to fall asleep sitting up and the crying baby across the aisle wasn't the best lullaby. I debated most of the flight if it would be weird for me to rest my head on Pasta-Dude's shoulder. I decided against it. However, the neck pillow was a great item to have, and might be my new favorite accessory.

When we finally landed, we found our way to "control de passeport" where I got my passport stamped (holla!) and then found my luggage (hallelujah!) We took a bus from the airport to Juan Les Pins (one of the most nauseating bus rides ever) and some kind lady who kind of spoke English helped us find our apartment building.

I got my room assignment and went upstairs with intentions to unpack, but then found my neck pillow and immediately passed out on the couch.

I woke up to it being 2:30pm and me being extremely confused and disoriented. A little bit later Danielle (friend/roomie extraordinaire) arrived and we unpacked together and went to the Casino. (lol jk, the grocery store we went to was called Casino.) We got some things for the week while simultaneously making fools of ourselves at the checkout line. (Didn't know it was BYOBags, oops.) Also, the man behind me was losing his patience as I repeatedly kept scanning my card when I supposed to just leave it in the machine.

Danielle and I found some friends down the street and we all went to dinner together at a restaurant right on the beach. I wasn't very hungry so I got a delicious dinner of French fries with a side of ketchup.

Now, Danielle and I are back at our luxurious apartment where we both decided to document the day through the art of Blog. (I am still wearing my neck pillow, thinking about sleeping in it.)

Being in Europe is pretty crazy. I was surprised to learn how useful the concept of language is. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to not know any French, but I think I'll be able to handle it. Today I said "merci" a lot and probably sounded like an idiot.

And now I'm off to hopefully get a normal night of sleep.

(idk how to say bye in French. So bonjour!)

Pre-Cannes Thoughts

I can only help to think back on a specific moment in my memory. There I stood, 5 foot 3 in my purple J. Crew shorts. It was the middle of rush week and I was talking with some girl at a sorority house who led me to different picture boards around the room. "That's me!" she told me, pointing to some picture of herself standing arms-wide-open with an incredible, vegetated view behind her. I responded in awe, and curiously spoke to her the rest of the time about her study abroad experience in Australia and about how I desperately dreamed to study abroad at some point in my college career. The funny part was, the conversation was complete BS, and I didn't really care about going abroad or traveling at the time.

I sit here now with a pretty high level of anxiety trying to create a master packing list for myself. I leaves for Cannes, France in exactly 1 week and I need to acquire about 10 more pairs of socks if I'm gonna last 3 weeks there. The amount of excitement I feel right now is overwhelming (and inspired me to write my first blog post) even though I'm not sure what to expect from this journey.

I signed up for this study abroad opportunity the night before the application was due. It was a Thursday night (you know how those go in Athens) so I was preparing to go out, when I remembered that my friend Danielle had told me that today was the last day to turn in an application for the Cannes Lions Festival study abroad. It was a strange moment; something within me just forced me to whip out my computer, fill out some paperwork, write an essay, and submit my transcript all within a record time of 15 minutes. I texted my parents to let them know I had signed up, and once I was accepted, I let them know how serious I was about wanting to go. I had thought about it a ton- the more I thought, the clearer it became that this was the perfect program for my major and my creative endeavors.

Now, I am super thrilled to be going on this trip that is the perfect fit for me. I've never been to Europe and I'm excited to see what this France country is all about and to try a real french fry. I can now say that my conversation with that girl during rush was somewhat genuine (kinda?) and I'm so excited to be GOIN ABROAD!!