The Missoura Madness

View of Saint Louis

Went to the zoo and saw some penguins

Saint Louis Art Museum (Statue of Saint Louis)

The spider we named Frank that hung out with us for an evening.

A very eclectic bar, covered in everything you could imagine.

Went for a hike and found this little dude, who apparently had too much fun.

Jake, Adam and Jeremy admiring the shapes in the sky.

The famous St Louis Riplets. 

They were so good I brought a bag to France with me.

The FBC ride. (F'n Bike Club)

Every full moon bikers gather together and ride around the city. 

It was quite the experience.

Hanging out with friends after the Bug Chaser show

The Bug Chaser's (My friends very talented band)

Bug Chaser music

Saint Louis. The city with a small town mentality. Everyone seems to know everyone and even if they don't, they'll treat you like they do. I've never before met so many friendly people that instantly welcomed me into their community and made me feel like I belonged. People who I had just met were offering me a stay on their couch if needed. You don't find that kind of hospitality everywhere, believe me.

The music scene seems to be bursting all over the city. Coffee houses are littered with artsy flyer's for all the up and coming shows. Everyone is involved in one way or another. Whether it be rapping with the King Kong Magnetics gang or helping to put out tapes for Bug Chaser. It's a passion for music so contagious and inspiring that you can't help but want to catch it.

The city offers plenty of things to do. If there isn't a music show you want to catch, chances are you can find some poetry reading, pub quizzes or if it's a Monday night you can watch some cult classics down on Cherokee Street. Which also happens to be a great area for good/cheap Mexican food. 

(Note: Don't ever get a Chicken salad no matter how much you're craving it. You'll be sadly disappointed. I know I was.)

So while at first glance Saint Louis may not seem like the most charming of cities, you quickly learn that the charm is in the people. It's the kind of place that I can see myself moving to because I fell in love with everyone I met.

Oh how I love going to the doctor in France

Somewhere around 8 months ago, I noticed a small bump on the back of my head. It's tender to touch, mobile and hasn't gotten any bigger. I did my fair share of googling and decided it must be a cyst, or in other words, not serious. Given that I love going to the doctor so much, I figured I didn't need to bother anyone about my bump.   But, as parents tend to do, they put the fear in me and told me that I should get it checked out because what if it was cancer?

I was dreading the appointment not only because it's the doctor, but because I get the added bonus of trying to speak to him in French. I looked up the word for cyst, kyste, gave myself a small pep talk, then headed out on the ten minute walk to the office. When I sat down in the waiting room, I took note of the three other people who were waiting so I could know who was before me. Unlike the states where we have a check-in of sorts, here you just go in when you know it's your turn. I pulled out the book I'm currently reading The Alphabet Versus the Goddess (would highly recommend it) and attempted to read while I wondered what the other people had and hoped I wouldn't get it. 

Finally it was my turn to follow the doctor back to his office. We sat down and I began saying, "Je suis jeune fille.." when he interrupted me with, "je sais, je sais..." My host-mom had spoken with him earlier and told him that I would be coming. I then tried to explain that I thought I had a cyst on the back of my head and he took me into the other room to sit on the table so he could look at it. After about 30 seconds of rubbing the bump and feeling around my scalp he said, "Ce n'est pas un kyste." Then he touched the rook piercing in my ear and asked how long I'd had it. Over two years. He seemed surprised then asked if I've had any irritation or infection from it, to which I responded, "Non, pas des problemes." We went back into his office and sat at his desk and he told me that the bump was caused by the piercing and that maybe if I took it out, it'd go away. This didn't make me very happy. I don't understand how I can have a piercing for so long and NEVER have any problems with it and yet it somehow forms a bump on the back of my head. I tried to explain this to him but he just shrugged his shoulders at me. He gave me a prescription to get my blood tested, charged me 23 euro for the 8 minute visit and sent me on my way.