Bittersweetness

So, as you know by now, (if you don't then i dont know you) my beloved Mavericks lost in the first round of the NBA finals. It's kinda bittersweet for dirk, because not only did he have the worst post season, but he had the best season of his life along with winning the MVP. My life is also bittersweet right now. I am living in this amazing and magical city, while at the same time, I'm trying to prepare myself to leave it and re-enter America-a familiar yet very foreign place to me right now. Although I'm ecstatic to come home, I am at the same time so sad about leaving what has been my home for the past five months--bittersweetness. All that being said, I wouldn't count on there being many more postings, if any, due to my mixture of emotions and lack of want to email, post, or anything of that sort. I will, however, inform you of my past week and what I have been up to. Last weekend, a couple of friends and I ventured down to the south of France where we stayed in an incredible house in Les Arcs, thanks to James and Cinne. It was marvelous and relaxing. We also got a taste of Nice while we were in the south, which I must say is not so nice....but that is a story for another time. Upon my arrival back in Paris, I had two french exams, which I think went well, and I turned in a Research paper. This last weekend, we celebrated another friend's birthday, and then hung out on the champ de mars for the rest of the weekend (that is by the eiffel tower fyi...) I'm also trying to get all of the things done that I need to do before I leave like going to random museums and exhibits and french movies..in french...random adventures comme ca. I'm also training for a half marathon, so if anyone is interested in joining me and running one with me back in the states this summer, just let me know! Also a little side note: Usually Europe is a little bit slower in getting things than the States, BUT I'm pretty sure that the third PIRATES of the CARIBBEAN comes out 2 DAYS EARLIER in Paris!!!! woo woo!!! That's right, I get to see it on the 23rd while all of you have to wait until the 25th! Ok just thought you should know. A bientot

Grand Adventures of SWISS LAND!!

Pictures of the amazing adventures skiing in Zermatt-Matterhorn in the background without fail
If you don't already know, I CLAIRE CLIFT, will be moving to SWITZERLAND after I graduate to become an extreme sports practitioner. There I will live for an unmarked amount of time. Please make your plans accordingly!
Ok so the second half of our amazing spring break adventures is about to unravel!! And of course I must give KATY all the credit as she has told the story o so cleverly.
LA, Caitlin, Katy and I made our first stop in Switzerland in Zermatt and we checked into our hostel, ate a quick dinner, and went straight to bed so we could wake up early for our skiing adventures ahead. The next morning, after renting skis and buying electronic ski passes (for each lift was manned not by people, but turnstalls that only let valid ski passes through), we rode two gondolas to the middle of one of the many many mountains. Zermatt is situated on the border of Switzerland and Italy and thus both countries were skiable for us!! So after skiing Switzerland for the first half of the day, we ate a quick lunch atop the Swiss/Italian boarder and then decided to try out the Italian slopes...

The rest of the day was filled with fun adventures of some of us getting stuck atop the mountain, skiing, and working on our sunglass tans. After a quick (and interesting) pizza dinner we discovered that Zermatt cemetary is full of graves from the brave and daring adventurers who have attempted to climb the Matterhorn mountain, Zermatt's most famous peak.
Day two of skiing started by taking a train and two gondolas to the top of what looked like a pretty good run to us. HOWEVER, Upon entering the second gondola the we realized that we were the only girls heading to what was labelled a "downhill run". After getting off the gondola, we found ourselves at 13,000 vertical feet and with skiiers who seem to be attaching their skis to their backpacks and/or stepping into special combination bindings. So of course, we picked up our skis, and followed a group of 5 Italians who seemed to know where they're going. After walking along a ridge which dropped into nothing on either side for about thirty minutes, we ran into our Italian leaders (all the while coming to terms that, much like our Matterhorn companions, our gravestones will say, "at least they died doing what they loved..."). At this moment two Italian/Swiss jets go screaming past our heads - we all looked at each other and took a deep breath.....Nevertheless two hours later we made our way to the first avalible T-bar - newly aquainted with the term, "glacier skiing". Katy and I decided to take the first T up the hill followed by LA; now mind you, this particular TBar is the scariest, most intense lift I have ever encountered. 1/2 up the lift something happened to katy and my skis and we were eventually sprawled across the snowy terrain. Sore from the descent LA continues up the TBar to meet Caitlin for lunch WHILE Katy and I attempted to make our way through some moguls to try the TBar AGAIN. This time the we decided to take seperate T's but naturally this didnt really matter for a clumsy person whose name will remain unmentioned at this time. Upon nearing the stop of fall no.1 Katy heard her name being screamed like bloody murder behind her. I, yes ME, was pole-less, skis dragging, being pulled up the slope, yet holding on for dearlife. To make a longstory short - we finally made it down to ANOTHER lift (pretty sure we have both banned T-bars for life) - finally make it to Caitlin/LA for lunch, and we skied the rest of the day uneventfully. Zermatt ended with a nice train ride to Interlaken for the continuation of the adventure.

Wednesday morning the we awoke in the infamous Balmer's hostel. Upon waking we found a rafting outfitter who took us canyoning. Although unsure of exactly what canyoning is, we knew we wanted to do it and upon meeting two of the coolest swiss people ever we put on layers and layers of tight, protective wet suits, traversed the swiss backcountry, and arrived at the "canyon". For the next three hours we did everything from swim, to float, to walk, to rappel, to hike, ooo AND jump off waterfalls through this swiss canyon. After a wonderful four hour birthday dinner for Caitlin the week continued.
On Friday Katy and I adventured over to Lucerne where Mt. Pilatus sits and we climbed to the top and had a lovely lunch atop the mountain.
Thus ends the incredible adventures of my Spring Break 2K7. I am so glad you could join for the rest of my stories. And please tune in quite soon for the LAST month of my time in magical and unforgettable PARIS.

AND MORE PICTURES!!!
#1: Cinque Terre Town
#2: A little italian boy took our picture-did a pretty good job!
#3: another view of the town
#4: the last town of Cinque Terre, called Manarossa...it had a beach!
#5: look at all the terrain I've covered! I was pretty joyous of our accomplishments

A Story Book Spring Break

Picture 1: me in Sorrento with the beautiful clear water behind me
Picture 2: the blue grotto cave in Capri
Picture 3: Us at the top of the island of Capri
Picture 4: beach at Capri
Picutre 5: Cinque Terre-view of the second of the 5 towns
I just arrived home from my two week spring break, and I really don't even know how to describe it. My words can never explain clearly enough how amazing the past two weeks of my life have been. But just to give you a hint of what I experienced, there really wasnt anything that I DIDNT experience. I did everything from being on a beach, to seeing islands, hiking mountains, boating, skiing, canyoning down waterfalls, climbing, repelling, ziplining, chair lifting, falling....you name it, I did it.
Although my words will never suffice for my experiences, I will attempt to retell the fairytale life that I led for the past two weeks.
LA, my roommate, and I began our marvelous adventures in Sorrento, which is in the south of Italy. From there, we toured the ruins in Pompeii, toured around the beautiful and spectacular island of Capri, and ate some really delicious pizza! The island of Capri was my favorite of our activiities in south Italy, not only because it was so beautiful with all the flowers, but the views from the island are incredible, and the boat tour that we did was so fascinating. We got to see this cave called the Blue Grotto, where the sun reflects on the water and it turns it this shiny turquoise blue color-so beautiful.
After two days in south Italy, we took a train up to Florence, where we met up with UGA friends and hung out with them for a couple of days. When we arrived, it was our friend, Neeley's birthday, so we went to this amazing italian dinner at a really nice restaurant, and then danced the night away. I really enjoyed just getting to relax and hang out with friends from home! Must note that the gelato in Florence is REALLLY good!! especially at this disco type gelateria...soo many flavors, mmm good. While visiting Florence, we learned that the trains in Italy were going on strike, so sadly LA and I had to leave early early Friday morning so that we could ensure ourselves transportation in getting to our next destination: Cinque Terre. This place is DEFINATELY my favorite place in all of Italy. Cinque Terre is off the coast of the Italian Riviera on the western coast, and it consists of five different towns along the coast of the Mediterranean that span across seven miles. Each town is so unique in its own way and each so very cute!!! LA and stayed in the first town called Riomaggiore. I really liked the first town because there weren't as many tourists staying in that town, so we didn't feel like we were surrounded by tourists. While in Cinque Terre, we hiked from the first town to the fifth town (seven miles of intense mountainous hiking!!!!), laid out and relaxed on the beach, and then hiked the seven miles back to Riomaggiorre. All along the hike, there are lemon vineyards, and orange vineyards and beautiful gardens of all the locals who live in the towns. It was such an amazing view during our entire hike. It was hard to stay focused on how tired you were because the Mediterranean was on your left and then these amazing vineyards and gardens would be to your right, and above you and you really couldnt think about the pain your body was going through. Another pirk that I love about Cinque Terre is that it is the place where foccacia bread and pesto originated!! So naturally those two items of food are quite popular there, and naturally, I was in heaven!! If you havent ever been to Cinque Terre before, I highly recommend going there at least once in your life, because it is so incredible and serene and beautiful. It's a great vacations spot. After our lovely traveling of Italy, we left for Switzerland early Sunday morning, where we met up with our friends, Caitlin and Katy for some hardcore extreme sporting activities. Let me just point out that I want to live the rest of my life in Switzerland, ideally, but somewhere else with lots of mountains and nature would suffice I guess. I will give you the juicy details of good ole Switzerland tomorrow, as I have run out of time for today....until next time....stay posted!!

Picture 1: beautiful flowers
Picture 2: famous bridge in Monet's garden
Picture 3: VanGogh's Tomb
Picture 4: Annie and I in the gardens
Picture 5: Monet's pretty pink house, and more gardens!!!
This place is UNBELIEVABLE!!!

1 week till spring break!!

I can't believe its already APRIL 1st!!!! It makes me so happy though that spring has finally decided to show up in Paris. I thought Athens had pretty sporadic weather, but Paris is even worse!! One day it is magnifique and the next, it's 38 degrees and raining outside.
This past week was not too eventful for me. However, on Tuesday evening, I attended an amazing concert, with an orchestra who played pieces by Beethoven and Mozart. It was so wonderful despite the awful seats that we had. It amazes me how talented Beethoven was even though he was deaf! On Wednesday, Madame Richer, my homestay mother, planned a little surprise birthday party for LA, and invited all her grandkids over. We all played in the apartment for a while, and then had cake and ice cream, followed by piggy-back rides to the park to play there for a little while. I had so much fun playing with the little children and conversing with them in French and they conversing with me in english. I absolutely love our homestay family as well and I really could not have asked for a better situation.
This past weekend was my roommate, LA's 21st birthday!! So for a celebration, we went with some friends to our favorite little mexican food restaurant and had margaritas!! It was quite fun.
On top of the fact that it was April 1st today, two other things made my day exquisite as well: the beautiful weather, AND going to Giverny!! We went on a group trip first to see where Vincent Van Gogh spent his last year painting before he killed himself-which was a neat, small city in the countryside right outside Paris. Then we went to Giverny and ate a little lunch, hung out in the Monet's amazing gardens, and saw his beautiful pink house. I absolutely LOVE Giverny and the gardens. It might be one of my favorite places on earth. The flowers are so beautiful and the pond-the pond with the lilie pads!!!-is so peaceful and serene. I just wanted to stay there forever!!! I can only imagine how nice it would have been for Monet to live there and be able to paint with such peace and quiet.
So there is only one week left until I adventure into Italy and Switzerland for Spring Break. I'm so excited to finally be exploring Europe on my own a little without a tour guide and without any schedule. I'm pretty pumped!

Pictures!

PIc 1:This is a Paris sunset from the Seine River (picture by billy)
Pic 2: Sometimes traffic can get a little chaotic!! This was taken from the Arc de Triomphe
Pic 3: Billy and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower
Pic 4: This is why I love this place! I live in a city that sparkles with diamonds!! What more could you ask for

Everyone SHOULD have a pair of Nose Clippers, just in case!

As I was waiting for the metro today, I realized how many different people I see in just a matter of seconds!! Men wearing fur, men weaing pointed toed boots with heels, men with long hair, women with buzzed hair, women with too much makeup, dreadlocks, hats, braces, glasses, tattoos, piercings in eyebrows, noses, lips, and chins, homeless people, fat people (although not too many), skinny people, nuns, incredibly tall people, people with lots of nose hair (i've never seen anything like what I saw today. it was really disgusting), people who havent washed their hair in days or maybe even weeks, dozens of nationalities, I could go on for hours just about the types of people that I see over the course of one day. And it's so incredible to me how I sometimes go an entire day without noticing any of them or anything else around me. Usually I dont try to talk to anyone while on the metro, but the past couple days, I have been noticing all the different kinds of people that I come in contact with, and I have this urge to want to know about them and their story. So, my mission for these next couple weeks before my spring break is to try and talk to as many people as I can while on the metro-whether we speak english or french! We'll see what happens!
So I realized that it has almost been a MONTH since I last updated my blog, and I'm so very sorry. However, many many important people have been visiting me, so I wanted to give them as much of my time as possible, so the blogging sort of took a back seat. BUT, like I said, for the past couple of weeks, I have been having visitors. First, Billy came to visit me and I got to take him to most of my favorite places in Paris like Montmartre where the Sacre Coeur is, Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, Bercy Village, and of course beautiful Monceau park by where I live. I also got to take him to our favorite restaurants as well. Then, last week, on Monday, I started out the week with a very dear friend, Julie, (roommate from freshman year) who was in Paris for the Killers concert. We hung out all day Monday and had a good time catching up. On Tuesday of last week, my family arrived!! The sisters and parents were all here, and we GREATLY missed our best factor in the family, Chasy!! I'm so sad that I didn't get to see him. Charlotte came to Paris with a list of all the things she wanted to see, so we used that as a guide for scheduling each day. On top of all the many museums and sites that we got to see, we also got to try out some pretty phenominal french restaurants!! One night, we ventured up to the top of the Centre Pompidou where there is a restaurant called Georges. We got there just as the sun was setting, and saw a pretty spectacular view of the city and the eiffel tower, and the sunset in the background. The restaurant itself was quite upscale and snoody, but such a fun experience. AND, their dark chocolate ice cream was to die for!! (the little taste that i had at least). Another hilight of their trip was getting to go on a bike tour around Paris. I enjoyed getting to see all the major Paris sites while on a bike! And it gives you a little bit of a rush to get mixed in with Paris traffic!! All in all, I've had an amazing past two weeks thanks to all those who visited. It has been much quieter in these past two days, and I don't quite know what to do with myself! However, I guess that March is just my month for visitors, because tomorrow, SUSANNAH is coming for the weekend!! This week is the marking of ten weeks since I have been abroad, and I can honestly say that it has felt like 4, maybe 5. And I only have a little more than 2 months left in this beautiful city, so I want to make the most of it! Do let me know if you have any suggestions of things for me to do in my last months here, not that I don't have a lot to do, but I dont want to miss out on anything!

These are all pictures of Amsterdam. The first two are shots of the houses and the canals in Amsterdam. The next one is at the Fromagerie that we went to. Those were some dutch cut outs that we stepped into. And the last Picture was taken dedication to my father...WHO told me to get some FRITES MET Mayonnaise? they were very gross. :) Below the pics is a glimpse of a day in my Parisien life!

A day in the life...

Today I'm going to tell you a little bit about my daily activities and exactly what I do here.
8:00 Time to wake up!! LA (my roomie) and I usually get up around the same time, and go into the kitchen where we make some tea and eat breakfast. Tea is very big here, and I think the French drink it more than coffee. Something everyone needs to know before coming to Paris!!! IS that the coffee portions are VERY different from the US. Of course, like everything else, France does things a little bit smaller than America. Therefore, if you ask for "un cafe" you will get a tiny looking coffee mug with a shot of espresso. It's really not that bad once you get used to it. But you can also ask for "un cafe americain" and they will give you coffee. Moving on: For breakfast, one usually eats bread and jam, but LA and I cannot afford to have just that, so we have yogurt and cereal pretty much every morning. We usually visit with Madame Richer (the woman who we live with) every morning and see what she will be doing for the day.
8:30 Better get moving!! I try to make it to the metro by this time so I won't be late for class!
9:00 Once a week, I have a french society at 9a.m. which lasts for almost 3 hours. In this class, there are about 8 other American students, and we have a French professor who teaches us all about France and their activities, jobs, history, politics, etc. All of my classes are held in French. This class is held in a building across from the Notre Dame.
11:45 Time to board the metro again!!
12:00 At this time every day, I have a french grammar class that lasts for about two hours. In this class, there are about 20-25 students from around the world who have come to Paris to learn and perfect French. There are three other Americans in my class, and others are Portuguese, Suisse, Russian, Mexican, Brazilian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. It is especially difficult to understand Asian French accents, as everyone has learned how to speak very different french. My teacher, Madame Bourseau is a French woman. The french notebooks are a little bit differnt from American ones, and instead of having lined paper, all they have is graphed paper! You can imagine the frustration of trying to write and read your handwriting on graph paper! (I feel like such an engineer-DAD). ALSO, there is no bell or anything to let the teachers know that classes are done, so a lot of times our teacher will just carry on with whatever we are doing and not pay attention to what time it is. The French rarely know the time and they don't ever feel rushed or pressed for time-something very different from our American culture. This class is held at International School, and the building is sandwiched inbetween some other apartment complexes. There are 6 floors, and I have to climb all the way to the top everyday!! (quite a workout). There are no fountains or courtyards or anything, just floors and floors of classrooms, and then a bathroom on the bottom floor. O yes, and there is absolutely NO recess, or breaks during class, AND you cannot go to the bathroom during class!! It's quite a struggle.
2:00 Time for Lunch! yum. Sometimes I will meet friends for lunch, depending on what day it is. Sometimes I eat at a small cafe and wait for my afternoon class to start, but usually I will go home and make something to eat. Lunch usually consists of a sandwich of some sort, whether it is a panini, or a bagel sandwich, or just a regular PB & J. The couple who we live with has a house in Normandy where they garden and grow fresh fruits, so every week we get FRESH HOMEMADE jam!! And it is soo very delicious.
3:30 On Thursdays, I have a French civilization class, where we are learning about France's history. It is held in the same classroom as my Tuesday class, but a different professor teaches it. This class also consists of all American students from my program.
On days that I do not have this class, I usually walk around Paris, going into bookstores, or just sit outside and read or do homework. Today I am going running around the park near our apartment. I also like to have a cup of tea in the afternoon, and read emails and such.
6:00 Get on the metro yet again!! I ride the metro home, and either quickly dress myself for the evening activities, or relax and make something at home for dinner. For dinner, we eat a lot of pasta with vegetables or pizza. I know that it doesn't sound very french, but I cannot afford to have a full fledged french dinner every night. Usually though, a full meal consists of the main course, followed by some salad, and after, having some cheese, followed by a delicious dessert!!
In the evenings, LA and I like to go out with friends and grab dinner, or see a movie. Before lent, we always seemed to end the night with a desset crepe from the street vendors:) Last night, we got to go to the ballet "Don Quixotte," which was very well done. The costumes were amazing!
12:00 Sleep time
So now you have a little taste of my daily life here in Paris! Such a fun life.

The rain can't stop us

Goodness gracious, I don’t even know how to begin!! This past weekend was such an exciting adventure. Two of my friends and I traveled up to Amsterdam for the weekend. We traveled Friday night, and arrived on Saturday morning, where we were taken to our hotel….which was actually a BOTEL!! a boat hotel! It was pretty funny. After we checked in, we found a cute café where we grabbed some breakfast before heading over to the Anne Frank House. I still cannot believe that I saw where Anne and her family hid for 2 years during WWII. They have left so much of the house in its original form and it was so cool to see Anne’s bedroom, and all the original pictures that she had put on the walls to cheer herself up. They also had Anne’s original diary. Museums are always nice to visit, but going to the actual place where history took place is so unforgettable and incredible.
After visiting the house, we ventured over to the Heineken “Experience.” We did realize that it was only noon when we arrived, but we wanted to beat the crowds of tourists. The Heineken Experience is more like a theme park. There is so much going on and it’s so entertaining! We got to see how the beer came about and how it is made, and then we went on a little “ride” that showed us what it was like to be a Heineken beer bottle. Then they have an area where you can make a music video and send it to whomever you want, and you can also send video messages to people as well. In another room, you get to see what it’s like to be a DJ. After that, there is a room where you can watch all the commercials and advertisements that Heineken has ever made. And then one of the last things that we did was ride on a carriage and see what it was like to deliver Heineken boxes. (virtual of course, but still so much fun!!) At the end they give you a free Heineken and a free bottle opener! It was a pretty great deal.
On Sunday, we woke up and went on an excursion to a Fromagerie where we got to see how the Dutch make cheese AND how they make clogs! It was the coolest thing ever! And we got to taste all the cheeses too! I myself could not resist and bought a pair of clogs and they are quite comfortable believe it or not. After the Fromagerie and a little souvernir stop shop in Holland, we returned to Amsterdam and went to the Torture Museum. This place has all the ways the people were executed in history. All of them looked so very painful. If you have the chance and the access, you should take a look at my photos on Facebook. They have some good examples of what I mean.
I absolutely loved Amsterdam and all of the museums that it has! I wish we could have been there longer and gotten to see the Van Gogh museum and some of the others, but the trip was well worth it, and I think that everyone should visit atleast once in their lifetime if for nothing else to see Anne Frank’s hideout.

Lots of exciting things have been taking place, actually I guess I've just been going to some exciting places, but nothing REALLY exciting has happened. On Friday, after class, our group took a bus up to Chartres, which is about an hour north, where we had a tour of this amazing cathedral. We had this really knowledgeable tour guide who showed us around, and told us about all the stories in each pane of the stained glass windows. It was so interesting to hear about what certain things symbolized, that you would never catch in just looking in the cathedral on your own. For example, on the wall outside the cathedral, there are statues of biblical characters, and if you study the statue of Abraham holding his son Isaac closely enough, you will notice that he is standing on a lamb. It symbolizes God providing the lamb for his sacrifice instead of sacrificing his son. All the statues had something interesting on which they stood and it was so cool to hear the stories and the symbolism behind it.
After arriving back in Paris from our half day excursion, a group of friends and I found yet another mexican food restaurant. Yes, I do eat that atleast once a week here, but I have to get my fill! This particular restaurant was quite delicious, and its guacomole has been the best so far.
Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day in Paris, so we walked up to Montmartre, which is a hill in Paris where you can see a beautiful view of the city. There is also a square in the center of the area, where artists sit and paint and sell their work. It is so cool to see artwork in the process of being made. While we were up on the hill, we also visited the Sacre Coeur (meaning sacred heart) which is a beautiful white cathedral that was built solely from donations by the community. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful church in Paris.
The past three days in Paris have been completely sunny and atleast 50 degrees. I think that is a record for the most sunny days in a row for Paris :) But it has been nice to sit outside and just enjoy the weather!
Today I bought a ticket to travel to Amsterdam this weekend, so I'm very much looking forward to that trip!
If anyone who does not have my email is interested in updating me with what is going on in their lives, please feel free to write me at claire21@uga.edu. I love emails and hearing about updates in your lives!!

God is in Control!!

Something that I have notices that is very apparent in french society is that things are very inconsistant. Very rarely can you count on things here. For example, one day, a store will be open, and then another day, at the exact same time, it will be closed, just because they had something else to do or something came up...it's a little frustrating when you are trying to get things done. However, today, amidst some toil that I have been facing through trying switch classes, I was gently reminded that there is absolutely nothing that I myself can take control of. I am not in control of my life! No matter how much I try to be, I will never be, and I just need to rest in the fact that God IS in control, and that he WILL work things out for the better, even if it takes a little longer than usual. I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 46: "Be still and know that I am God." He will always be there for me and He will always be a couple steps ahead, so I need only to be still and let God take control of my life! When you think about it, it is so much more comforting to know that someone else is there to guide you through your life and that you don't have to do it on your own! I just wanted to share with you what God has been teaching me in the past few days.
SO, Yesterday, as we all know was Valentine's Day. However, one wouldnt know it from the weather in Paris. It was one of the ugliest days I have ever seen. It rained on and off all day. BUT don't think that bad weather would stop me from celebrating! Last night, my friend, Katy, and I went to an ice cream store where we split hot chocolate fondue with fruits and ice cream to dip!! It was soo amazing! Then we met up with more friends and explored the streets of Paris. We found ourselves at the Louvre, where we sat and drank some wine and ate somemore chocolate!! It was a perfect way to celebrate a day that promotes the eating of chocolate!! By the end of the night, I had made three new french friends! They are learning english at the Sorbonne, and we are learning french-obviously, so we decided that we would meet up with them and help them with their english, and they would help us with our french! I'm so excited! I hope that it will greatly help in my acceleration of learning french!

So i'm hearing a bit of complaining that I haven't blogged enough....Please, if you are unhappy about the number of times that I blog, then maybe YOU (mom) should write me some letters or, ya know, comments on the blog is very much appreciated!! But I do apologize for my skipping days of blogs here and there, and I will try and keep you as up to date as possible! Do let me know about your blogs so I can be caught up with your lives??!! :)
Anywyays, not much has happened from the last time that I blogged, but I will say this. On my way from whichever way I was going today on the metro (I really do lose track of where I'm goin because I ride that thing 24/7, and sometimes forget to get off because I'm just so used to sitting on it: we'll put it this way-if i had a job here, Metro Rider would be my title), just as I hopped on a very crowded car, all at once, I saw throw up smeared across the window, (made me throw up in my mouth) and two people heavily making out on the metro-but not in a corner or anything. They were in the middle of the metro standing amongst the rest of us, so we were pretty much forced to watch them make out for about 2 minutes. O the things you see on the metro....
This evening, I wil be joining the rest of my group in a FONDUE soiree, where we will sit and chat and eat lots and lots of cheese!! I'm pretty excited.

Blown Down

Salut! This weekend was packed with fun, adventure, sightseeing, and yes, crazy weather. Our group took an excursion up to Normandy to check out the DDay beaches and the German bunkers that the Germans had used while at war with America and Great Britain in World War II. It was pretty incredible to see. We also went to the American cemetary where over 9000 American soldiers are buried. It is mind blowing to think about how many people died during that period in time. It was very overcast, cold, and rainy the whole day, so it set the mood for what we were seeing.
After our day in Normandy, we traveled to a small town in Northern France called St. Malo, where we spent the night. St. Malo was built with a wall around the city, so it is very enclosed, and when we pulled up, there was a carnival going on outside the walls. It looked like it was their "state fair" or something, but a very sad attempt. Some of my friends went on the rides and were very suprised when they lasted for about 7 minutes instead of just the regular 1-2 minute rides back in the States. The carnival looked very out of place, next to the old, historic St. Malo. But everything is a little off in France.
On Sunday morning, a couple of friends and I awakened very early in the morning so that we could walk around the ramparts of the St. Malo. It was a beautiful sight, despite the tremendous wind and sleet that we undertook. There are two islands next to St. Malo, which are quite accessible when the tide is low and the weather isn’t bad. One of the islands that had this massive castle on it, was pretty close, and the tide didn’t seem to high, so we decided to adventure out there. But of course, once we finally managed to make it out, the tide began come in, and so we had to get back to land pretty quickly before we got stranded. There were tons of rocks and seaweed everywhere, which made it quite difficult to walk briskly. And just as we were making it back to St. Malo, I took a spill on one of the rocks. Luckily my hands caught me, or it would have been bad news for my face. In all honesty, I don’t think that our trip would have been complete if I hadn’t fallen.
We left St. Malo around noon, and drove up to this even smaller city called, Mont St. Michel, which is a town that looks like one huge castle with quicksand all around it, so there is only one way to get in and out. Two people on average die a year because of being sucked into the quicksand that surrounds the town. To give you a better picture, just imagine the set of Lord of the Rings, because that is where I felt like I was. Mont St. Michel is known for the beautiful abbey that makes up most of the town. It is such a large and tall abbey, that it takes about 15 minutes just to get from bottom to top. My calves were in much pain the next morning from all the stairs that I had walked up!!
We arrived back in Paris late Sunday night, and went straight to bed. Yesterday, after class, I went to a café that Emily Broocks recommended to me. It was a little café in the bastille area called, Café de l’industrie. And it was quite cute and had some really delicious food. Please let me know if there are any places that you know of that are good or that you want me to visit, because I will definitely go explore it!!

Snowing at one minute, sunshine the next...

I thought that I had seen the most beautiful things that Paris had to offer, but then it starts to snow, and I see the city in an entire new light! Yes, yesterday it snowed!! And while it didnt stick, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. And then an hour later, it was back to being sunny and warm...just like that.
I had my first official parisian class yesterday, called "societe Francais", and it was quite interesting. I really dont know how to describe in words how it was, but I will just say that native french teachers just have a different aura about them that is very different from american teachers.
After class, I decided to take the metro and get off at the Tuileries stop, and see where it led me. And of course, I found one of my favorite areas of Paris: Le Jardin des Tuileries!! I walked around the park/garden and tried to take in as much as I could. I went and sat in a cafe called "cafe very," situated in the center of the park, where I people watched and read my french version of "Pride and Prejudice." And I must say that reading a novel in another language is quite a challenge. I'm sure it's comical though for the french who were sitting around me to see this girl reading a book, with an english/french dictionary close at hand.
After a little while, I walked around the Tuileries area and browsed the shops, and I soon found myself very near the Louvre, and soon after, right next to Notre Dame (and the centre de pompidou-which I have yet to tackle). It is so weird how close things are in this city. I'm just so used to taking the metro everywhere, that I don't really get a feel for the layout of the city. So it was nice to find my bearings yesterday. After a long day of exploration, I met some friends for a bite to eat, and then we grabbed a crepe on our way home, and despite my love for nutella, I was very disappointed in my nutella crepe. I don't think I'll be getting another one for a while...atleast I won't be eating the crepe part, that is. :)
Today was a long day of class for me, so this morning I woke up early to get a short run in, and as I was running, I just happened to run by the Arc de Triomphe. It is about a half mile from our apartment, so it's quite conveniant. I still feel like it is weird for me to say that I see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe on a regular basis. I sort of feel like I'm telling a lie or that it really isn't true, But it is!! I promise!! Come visit and you too will see!
This weekend we are going to Normandy to see the D-Day Beaches and Mont St. Michel, so I will have much to blog about when I return home on Sunday!
A bientot!

So much to see, so little time!!

I know that I have not been writing lately, but I have just been so busy with adventuring around the city, and figuring out the metro, ya know, important stuff. But, this past week we had a round of tests and interviews in order to figure out our classes and everything. On top of all that we went to Versailles, the Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame.
Versailles was beautiful, breathtaking in fact! I cannot believe that someone once lived there, nor can I comprehend how much people worshipped royalty! It was really interesting, I cannot wait to go back there in the spring when the weather is nicer and flowers are in full blooms in the Gardens. So then, on
Friday night, some girls and I went to check out some of the exhibits at the Louvre. It too, was incredible and really cool at night. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the first half of the Italian Renaissance artwork. After the Louvre, we went and had some Mexican food! Yes, I admit, I have already succumbed to my tex mex cravings. We found this little “hole in the wall” restaurant in the Latin Quartier! Honestly, everything in France just tastes so much better. I have decided too, that crepes are my favorite thing…especially the nutella ones ☺. Sunday morning, I attended a church service at the Notre Dame, and it was so cool! It was nice to not actually be a tourist and be sitting through the service. Yesterday, we attended hot yoga, which we have been doing in hopes to improve our French until classes start up. It has been working out quite nicely, because it is such an intense workout. Then I went and explored the area around the Centre Pompidou-and it is another one of my favorit areas, along with the Latin Quarter and the St. Germaine area. I know that I say this pretty much every time I blog, but each day really does get better and better and I discover new, great things about this city!! It is just so fun and exciting! Last night, we got to see the Eiffel Tower with the lights going off, and it was so surreal looking. Classes begin tomorrow, so I will have an actual schedule to follow, but thank you all so much for all of your thoughts and prayers, and seriously if anyone would want to come visit, all you do is fly over!! A bientot!

The days keep flying by

I have been in Paris now for almost a week, and it feels like I have been here for two days!! Last night was quite a fun experience. We found this cute village in south eastern Paris and went to this amazing restaurant called "Chai 33." I felt very chic eating there. Then we headed over to the movie theater where we saw Blood Diamond!! To everyone who hasn't seen it, I strongly recommend it. It was fun getting to see the french subtitles at the bottom and how they translated some of our english phrases.
This morning, I got to enjoy some Starbucks, and we shopped all day, just going into cute little shops and browsing. We went into this bookstore, and it was so neat to see all these french books everywhere. Obviously, the french probably don't think twice about their bookstores, but for some reason I was quite fascinated. This afternoon, friends and I did another hot yoga class, but this time we decided we would do it in english, just to make sure that we got everything right. After almost dying in the 110 degree class, we recovered by hittin up some Mickey D's. Let me just make a little side not here: At the Paris McDonalds, the meal portions are much smaller, which answers the question why europeans aren't as fat as us americans! I mean if America had the same portion sizes as the fast food restaurants over here, then we wouldn't be soo obese!
Ok moving, on, tomorrow we are going to visit Versailles, one of my favorite things in all of France!! Although it wont be as pretty in the winter, I am still so excited!! So until I write again, Bonne Journee!!

I live in Paris

So these past couple of days have been busy because we are having school orientations, and picking up paper work and what not. But I have still managed to sightsee and keep up my eating with nutella. You had better come visit before I finish all that there is in this city!!
Yesterday, Lauren Anne and I walked down the Champs-Elysees in hopes of finding a sporting goods store, and I was taken back to good ole memories of the USA. We walked into this store called Decathlon, and I felt like I was walking in to a Walmart. People were literally everywhere, and there was clothing thrown everywhere. I was so confused as to why people would be in a mad rush to buy Sporting clothes.
Today we took our placement test for the french class that we will be put into for the next four months. We'll get our results tomorrow. This afternoon, I went on a run around this cute park right by our apartment, and it was beautiful. The parks around here are not only great for walking/running/sitting, but there is SO much to look at as well! This park had so many amazing statues, and a pond with ducks swimming, and a beautiful garden with dozens of different kinds of flowers. It's neat to be able to take a step back from all of the busyness and excitement, and just enjoy God's presence through his magnificent creation. Please let me know if there are any good restaurants that you know of in Paris, because we eat out a lot and would love some yummy suggestions!!

Le premier jour a Paris

Today was our first official day in Paris! And it was amazing. We woke up and had breakfast with our family, and we had this wonderful special K that is much bettter than in the states. AND we had toast with NUTELLA (my fav!!) and more toast with some homemade jam that came straight from our family's garden in Normandie-yes they have a house in Normandie! We basically live with the coolest family in Paris. So after our lovely breakfast, we toured our area of the city a little bit with Madame Richer, LA and I's "house mother." And then we took the METRO down to the American Church of Paris, where we attended a worship service. We met up with some friends as well; it was nice to see familiar faces in such a big city! After a yummy lunch of pizza, we walked around the city and finally found the Eiffel Tower!! And of course we took some pictures. It is so pretty and SO tall. I constantly have to pinch myself to make sure all of this is real, and that I'm not in a dream.
We departed from our friends in the afternoon, and LA and I went to a french "hot yoga" class. Going to an exercise class that was taught completely in french was such a great experience, it forced me to learn new words and new phrases. It was definitely a good way to implement even more french into my day. I'm hoping to be fluent in no time! (fingers crossed)
To end our day, as LA were walking home this evening, we were ecstatic when none other than STARBUCKS popped into our path! I have never tasted such a delicious latte in my life!! And I think for the very first time in my life, the drink did its job of warming my body in extremely cold weather!
Tomorrow we will take a grand tour of the city with our group, so that should be fun. Each day will be even better than the last, and I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers for me.

Je suis arrivee a Paris!!

Hooray for Paris!
Today has been such a surreal day! This morning, Lauren Anne and I woke up, packed our bags, and ate a huge, and I mean HUGE brunch in the cafeteria at our school in Cannes. Brunch at the school is the only good meal that they serve and it consists of Pain au chocolat (croissants with chocolate in the middle), omelettes, crepes, sausage, ham, fruit, yogurt, and fromage with bread-basically all the breakfast food that you can think of. Brunch was a nice way for the school to send us on our way with a positive memory of Cannes-despite what our attitudes had been in the days prior. Anyway, It was sad to leave the life that we had known for the past two weeks, but it was also very exciting to finally be departing for Paris!!!! Our permanent destination! We took the TG, (the train) from Cannes to Paris, which was about a 5 hour ride. it wasn't bad at all though, and we got to see beautiful mountains, the sea, and snow!! all throughout our way to Paris. When we arrived around 5pm, we were given a "white envelope" (it was an exciting and scary moment all at the same time because that white envelope held the key to our happiness in Paris) that said our address and our family's name that we would be living with. LA and I got into the taxi and found that the apartment we are living in greatly exceeded our expectations!! We are in the 17th district of the city, and we're quite close to everything!! The Eiffel Tower is about 2-3 miles away, and the Champs-Elysees is only 2 miles away!! We are living with an elderly couple, Madame and Monsieur Richer, and they are so sweet and kind, and so laid back! We ate an amazing dinner with them this evening, and LA and spoke as much french as we could-they were very patient with us!! But the Lord has been so good to us and I am so thankful for where we are, and I'm so excited for what is ahead on this awesome adventure! More to come after I explore the many wonders of the beautiful and romantic city of Paris!! A bientot!!

To catch you up on my life

So just in case you didn't know, I am living in France for the spring semester! And so far, it has been so amazing...(I say that as I put a crepe with nutella on it my mouth!) I have recently noticed that the majority of my time in Cannes has been spent enjoying delicious crepes avec nutella and nutella paninis. We decided today at lunch, that if someone were to ask me what my body was made of, I would respond by saying "nutella and olive oil" mmm scrumptious.
In these past couple of days, our group has travelled over to Monaco, Monte Carlo, Eze, and Saint Paul de Vince, all small neighboring cities to Cannes. Yesterday we explored Saint Paul de Vince, and toured a very cool museum that contained mostly sculptures and abstract art. it was cool because they told us that all the artists worked right at the museum that we were visiting. The city of Saint Paul was so beautiful as well. it took us about ten minutes to walk around the city, so when we finished, we found a cafe to sit in and order some coffee and cheese. Of course the waitress ripped us off-as we are stupide americains! But all in all, it was a wonderful little excursion. I will be sad to leave the coast because everything down here is so beautiful, but I am very excited about getting to Paris! We leave for the city Saturday morning, and that is when reality will set in..maybe!