home again

I've been home a week now and it's great to be home. Mom picked me up at the airport and I drove home for the first time in six months! My trip home was long, but I had no problems. During my layover in Frankfurt, I went into the city center and since it was late and everything was pretty much closed down, I went to the movie theater to watch a movie and kill time outside the airport. Lame movie, but a good change of scenery.
Dad spent the holidays with my grandma in upstate NY, so needless to say, Christmas wasn't the same...but I'm glad I got to see him just a few weeks before in France. Mom and I drove up the 24th to spend time with her family. I had a great time with them, as I usually do. The 25th we drove back to meet up with my brothers and their families. After a gift exchange, we spent the evening playing with Dave's new Wii. The most fun was watching Mom drive along. I'm adding a picture of me with my little nephew. Carson is adorable!

a great ending

I can't believe how quickly the end has come! Today was definitely a wonderful way to end the semester in France.
This morning I got to sleep-in since everyone in the house was off to work or the last day of school. After some packing, I went into town to meet up with some friends for lunch, some last minute shopping and one last hike up the Bastille. The weather was gorgeous! Perfect for a lovely hike! It was a great activity before our sad good-byes. I'm going to miss my friends, but I'm thankful for technology that allows me to stay close to people all over!
While I was heading home, I stopped to say good-bye to my neighbors who invited me to a little "aperitif." It was so nice of them to have me in on the spot!
Once I got home, I quickly prepared a Tex-Mex meal for my host-family of Taco Salad. We ate with the light of candles...ambiance and everything! I was soooo nervous that they wouldn't like it or that something would go wrong, but they loved it. My host-sister, Violain, who never takes seconds, did and she kept complementing me on it. My host-mom was excited to not have to cook and she was very pleased with the results. My host-dad was a bit skeptical, and in the end, I don't know how he felt about it...but Laure seemed to be pleasantly surprised.
We had a little gift exchange. I got a bath towel with my name stitched on it in French (by my host-mom), a Christmas ornament (made of chocolate!) and some lavender soap. That was very special and unexpected!
Well, I'm off to bed before I start my two-day trip home. Ready or not, here I come!

j'ai fini!

Today was the last of my final exams. It feels good to not have to come home to hit the books again. I'm so glad to be over and done with them. It's so weird to think that I'm leaving so soon. I think it's going to be hard to say good-bye to some of my new friends here. It helps to know that I'm going home to family, friends and the Christmas holidays, among other things (my bed, my car, Mexican food, my pup, etc.) That will help me be excited about the long journey home. I think I'll do plenty of sleeping along the way. I am so exhausted! First night on vacation, and I think I'm going to bed early. All these late nights studied have drained me! Well, good news is I get to sleep-in tomorrow.
It snowed again yesterday! Everything is pretty and white...boy, am I in for a change going back to winter in TX!
Well, it's off to start packing and then to bed for me!

each new day a new joy

The snow is melting, Christmas trees are coming up, Nativity scenes are being set up, Christmas Carols playing everyday on my playlist. As I count down the days until I am home in Texas again (6 days), God is faithful to show me the little (and big) rays of sunlight that remind me how blessed I am to be here. I'm enjoying every last moment of my semester here. Last week I was so excited to see about six inches of snow. It has stayed around, and I may see some of it again before I leave.
After babysitting Thursday and having a great time with the girls, I went to our end of the program dinner and shared a delicious French meal with the friends I've met and gotten to know this semester. I'm very blessed to have been put in this group.
Also, this weekend we had such beautiful weather, I went on a little hike with Alice and Megan. Just high enough to see the sun hitting on the white mountains and white Grenoble...BEAUTIFUL. I'm going to miss those afternoon hikes.
Saturday after four and a half hours of testing, and after the wonderful hike, my "host-grand-parents" had me and my host-family over for a traditional "aperitif" (pre-dinner drink) as a way to say good-bye. I enjoyed the time with them, and I wish I could take my "host-grandma" home with me. She is so cute. When we came home for dinner, I impersonated her at the dinner table and we were all laughing pretty hard.
I've had some pretty good family time with my host-family. We're all enjoying each other enough to have a good laugh more frequently.
Sunday, after a wonderful church service (with Christmas carols and the children's special and everything), my host-dad's brother and his family were over for lunch. Yet another enjoyable time with them.
Today I had my literature final, and I think it went well. Tomorrow I have my Translation final...can't really prepare for that one. Wednesday is History, Thursday is Art History, and then I'm done! Wow...I guess I need to get packing. That will probably get done when I'm supposed to be studying.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!

walking in a winter wonderland

This morning I woke up to a white outdoors. Everything was covered with a couple of inches of snow and it continued snowing all day. By the time I got home again from school, there were probably about 3 inches or more. I'm staying warm, but enjoying the snow!!!
The pictures are from my house and my walk to the bus stop.

Gearing up for finals. I have my last class on Friday morning and my first final on Saturday from 8-1pm. Four finals next week and I'm starting my journey home on the 20th. I have a long lay-over in Frankfurt (13 hrs), so I may have to do some more sight-seeing before I finish my travels.

my worlds collide

This week has been wonderful having Mom and Dad here. They've seemed to enjoy Grenoble quite a bit. I've had to continue to go to classes, but I've met up with them after class. They've done quite a bit of discovering on their own, but we've also gotten to see things that are still new to me. It's cool to see all the Christmas decorations finally lit up!!! Everything is so pretty. They've also opened up the Christmas market. It's been a little bizarre to have them see my life and friends here, but it's cool. I'm glad that now when I talk about things here, they have an image they can picture. Saturday, we took a train up to Lyon and spent the day there for the "Fete de Lumieres" (Festival of Lights). It originated from an improvised celebration, thanking Mary for protecting the City from the devastation of the plague (cholera) in 1832. From then on, the Catholics of Lyon celebrate the Virgin Mary and thank her with a huge festival that attracts people from all over the country and different parts of Europe.
Today, my host-parents and grandparents had us over for a delicious meal and wonderful cultural exchange. My brain's a bit drained from the interpreting, but I think we all had a good time. After dinner, my host-dad took us up near the house to an old monastery and we had an excellent view of the sun setting on Grenoble and the surrounding mountains.
Tomorrow Mom and Dad head to Paris. Tuesday they fly back to Texas. It's exciting to think that in less than two weeks I'll be home again!!! YAY!
Pray for my finals, good-byes and travels.
I'm off to bed...my brain is dead and I have class at 8.30am before I take my parents to the "gare" (train station).

holiday season in france

Mom and Dad made it safely into Paris last Wednesday. I met up with them at the hotel and began our Tour de France. We spent two nights in Paris, before taking a train to Strasbourg (near the German border). This weekend was the beginning mark of the Christmas season, and Strasbourg is known for their extravagant "Marche de Noel" (Christmas market) and lights throughout the town. It was all so beautiful. Definitely did the job for getting me in the mood for the season.
Today, it was kind of hard to go back to school after being with my parentals. I felt like I had been at home or somewhere on vacation...However, it's weird to think that I only have 3 weeks of school left, and then I go home. CRAZY!
Mixed feelings, but mostly excitement.
Pictures: I don't have the Paris ones, Mom does. But the ones I'm adding are from Strasbourg....beautiful!

it's winter here

The past few days here have been really good. I don't know what specifically has made them enjoyable, but I'm glad I'm still enjoying my time here!
I've had a good past couple of days spending time with my host-family and with Megan too. Friday I made banana bread for my host-family (who insisted in calling it "cake"). After dinner, I went to Megan's to spend the night. Saturday I was productive and got caught up on homework. It was cool working at my desk looking out at the snow falling outside. This weekend is the first time it's snowed out my window here. Nothing major, but the first snow below the mountains. In the evening I went the a concert at a church downtown with my host-fam. I enjoyed the pieces, particularly the ones in French.
Sunday after church and after lunch, I went into town to the "Salon du Chocolat," where chocolate makers set up tables selling their goodies and there were a few chocolate sculptures as well...I thought I had died and gone to heaven. :)
This week I'm gearing up for my parents' visit. They get in on Wednesday, so after my morning class, I'm taking the next train to Paris and staying with them there for a few nights before we meet up with the group in Strasbourg (~4hrs East of Paris). It's so unreal to think they are coming! I haven't seen them in about 6 months!!! I'm pretty excited!

I had meant to post before, but last weekend I got to go to Barcelona and ABSOLUTELY loved it! I had a wonderful time in a Spanish-speaking country again. It was so beautiful. The weather was lovely. Everything was excellent. I would TOTALLY be up for going back one day, although I'd like to take my family, particularly Mom.

la bella italia

So maybe I'm due two posts about now. I'll work on the first one now and hopefully before the end of the week I'll get the second one up.
Friday, the 7th, I went on a cool visit to the "Caves de la Chartreuse," where we had a tour and learned about the production of the Grande-Chartreuse liquor made in the monastery that I visited a while back with my host-family. After the tour, I quickly rushed to the train station to catch my train to Milan, Italy. I spent four days there and had a wonderful time! So many people I knew, had heard of, or shared mutual friends with. It was very weird to go to a brand new place, and feel like so much was familiar. I stayed with a girl that my parents hosted over the summer in TX. I had met her brother before when he stayed with us about 3 years ago. Anyway, it was nice to get to visit the church and the ministry that Grace Bible Church (back home) has been a part of for years. I also got to tour around Milan some and see things like Il Duomo, the Galleria, the ruins throughout the city, etc.
I think the coolest thing was seeing the people and fitting in so well, so soon. I felt very comfortable there. It was a good break from the "properness" of France.
For those of you who are from Grace and might find this interesting, here are some people that I got to see while there: Serena, Luca Macchiaolo, Daniel Roberts and his wife (not my brother, Robby Roberts' son), Bruno Perossa, Gabriele and Melissa, the Lukers, Stefan and his wife (can't remember her name), and a several others. I also met someone that went to LeTourneau University with my brother...small world!
Other random news from this side of the world. Last week, when I got back from my trip, I payed a visit to the doctor for an allergy that I've had for some time. Usually in the evenings I break out in hives, and I've figured it is because of a reaction to French dairy products. I'm glad to have medicine that prevents the skin irritation, and I don't have to cut out milk and cheeses of my diet (especially in France, the cheese kingom!) It's been interesting doing the research and learning about it on my own. All the doctor really helped me with was give me a good medicine... :) Things are back to normal again. Anyway, it's late...as you can probably tell from this post. I need to get to bed since I have class at 8.30am tomorrow.

weekend in genève

Well, Geneva, Switzerland was soooo much fun! I had a blast! Honestly, I don't think it would have been so amazing had I just stayed one night. There was so much to do, and for not planning ahead, we made good use of our time there and did much!
Friday, I left after class with a “copine” (classmate), Molly, and met up with an “amie” (friend), Arielle, in town to buy stuff for lunch on the way. When we got to the train station, we realized that we weren't actually going to be taking a train there but a bus...haha! it was quite comical being a little crammed there for about 2.5hrs....and we couldn't even eat our lunch on the bus.
So when we got to the hostel, we ate lunch and rested a little. After our naps/resting, we walked around town, looking for the “Maison de Tourisme” and checking out the city. Once we found it, it was dark out, so we decided to go to the lakefront and we saw the awesome Jet d'Eau at night (or water-jet, one of the largest fountains in the world. Five-hundred litres (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres (459 feet) a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph))....it was so beautiful. Later, we took a tram to the old side of the city and went to a comedie piece called, “Le jeu de l’amour et du hazard” (The Game of Love and Chance). It was sooooo much fun! I really enjoyed the show...and understood it too! We came back and went to bed.
The next morning, after breakfast, we walked to the “Palais des Nations” (the UN office at Geneva and the second-biggest of the four major office sites…second to New York), then walked some more and went to the Red Cross Museum. That was incredibly interesting to me! Then we walked along the Lake Leman again and bought tickets for a boat tour (which wasn't until later, so we went to grab lunch). After the tour (sooooo cold b/c it was pretty windy out on the water, but it was really pretty), we went back to the hostel to shower and freshen/warm up. We went out again for a walk at night along the lake and then grabbed dinner (I had delicious food from Latin America!! A tamal and an empanada…it’d been a while, and I didn’t know when I’d get that chance again!)
Sunday, after breakfast, we walked along the other side of the lake and saw the pretty rose gardens. We walked down the pier to the jet d'eau (I got probably about 15-20 ft away and soaked too!). We continued on into the old town to the “Cathedral de St. Pierre” (home church of John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation). Soon, we headed back to the hostel and then took the gorgeous 2hr train-ride back and that was our weekend!

les photos

These are the pictures from last weekend:
"La creche" (the nativity scene) [1 and 2]
"Le Palais du Pape" (Pope's Palace) [2 and 3]
Me at the Pont d'Avignon [4]
Chateauneuf [5 and 6]