Mon Amour, Paris

I officially have two weeks under my belt in this beautiful country. This week I only had two days of class because on wednesday we hopped on a train to Paris! We had reservations on the fast train, so we were there by 19:30 or for all you American folk 7:30pm. We didn't have anything planned for our evening, so after getting to our hotel some of us decided to walk to get pizza. We really did not know where we were going exactly, just a general direction, but eventually we did find a place. I didn't go inside to order, but apparently they didn't know any English, so I am sure that that was an interesting experience for those who did order. Our first night there was pretty laid back. We just hung out in the boys' rooms and enjoyed our french pizza :)

However, the next day was a whirlwind because we saw all of Paris in 13 hours. It was the never-ending day of a lifetime. We started off by going to see Sacre Coeur which is right by the artist's district. We had to be careful because there were men at the bottom who would try and grab your wrists to put a bracelet on you, so that you would have to buy it. It was not bad, but there were a few times I had to say very firmly "Nohn Merci." Yeah, that's right I spoke French to them, and they backed off! I mean that's really all I know besides please, but I am not even gonna try and spell that because I will probably butcher it. Anyways, here is a picture of the beautiful cathedral:

Yes, that is Ty photo bombing us in the top corner. He's a silly fellow. We climbed all those stairs to the top, and the view was even better from up there. My favorite part was the shops and artist's farther up the hill. People were painting, and there were lots of little shops to go into. We didn't have very much time there, but I did buy two small paintings, which I LOVE them, and I cannot wait to have my own place where I can put them up :) After that we took the metro back so that we could get on this huge red, double decker bus that tours the city. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Musee Orsay, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Invalides, Arc de Triomphe, and so many other things. It was incredible. Here are some pics of the fun we had:

It's ok to be jealous. I mean if I wasn't here and someone else was I know I would be of them! However, those places were cool, but my absolute two most favorite places in all of Paris were two places that fit my personality perfect. The first is the Opera Garnier. This is the opera house that Phantom of the Opera was based off of, which I absolutely love that movie, so this was like a dream come true. It was gorgeous, and I could have spent my whole day in there. There was the grand staircase, and the mosaic tiled floors, and the beautiful costumes, and the wonderful library, but the best part of all was seeing the auditorium. I was disappointed at first because it was closed for practice, but then they let a few people at a time go into one of the boxes and watch. I think I about died when I walked in because I got to watch these amazingly talented people practice, and it was incredible. The dancing was superb, and I am not gonna lie it was so beautiful it may have brought tears to my eyes. This place was so up my alley it's not even funny. I didn't want to stop watching. I was hooked, and I probably stayed there for a good 10 minutes just mesmerized. Eventually, I decided I should probably let others to the front to watch, but it was hard to leave. Enjoy these fantastic photos!

 

The pictures here do not even do this place justice. It seriously was my favorite part. I liked the opera house better than the Eiffel Tower, and anything else I saw that day. I could not take pictures or record the dancers to share that with all of you, but I so wish that I could have.

My next favorite spot was the famous bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. I could have lived in this place. It was filled with books upstairs and down. Every single wall from the ground to the ceiling filled with old books and new books, and it was the best smell in all the world. It was glorious, and I never wanted to leave. I did buy a book because I had to. I mean I LOVE to read, so I would be a joke if I didn't. I bought the Brönte sisters, and on top of that the book looked so pretty! I could not resist :)

It was glorious, and I had the opportunity to go twice in one night :) The other really cool thing was on our way to dinner we passed this bridge that was covered in locks, and I mean COVERED. 

Point in case.

Anyway, the point is that couples come to the bridge and put a lock on it, and then they throw the key into the river, so their love is there to stay. It's seriously the cutest thing ever, and I want to do that when I get married, whenever God decides to put that man in my life. Because the two of us will be traveling. We will find a way to make it work. The other cool thing about this bridge is that Randy and Lorie (my professors) used to live in Paris and Randy found their lock!

Now, that is just precious.

Our grand finale for the evening was seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. It. Was. FANTASTIC. Seriously, one of the prettiest things I have ever seen in my life. And it even sparkled for us too! It was pretty great, and so surreal that I was standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. Crazy. I have a video of it sparkling on Facebook, but it's not wanting to upload on here, so go stalk my page to find it :) For now, just soak up the gloriousness of this beautiful monument using my photos!

The last one I just had to have a little fun with it. I mean I have been doing so well smiling in all my photos for my mother, but let's get real. That picture is me because I am pretty sure that's my go to goofy face :) Well one of them at least. All in all, I LOVED Paris. One day was not enough to enjoy the gloriousness of this dirty, yet beautiful city. I mean it was my second time there, but still. It was a great trip, and I can't wait to go on many more! Sorry it was so long, but I hope whoever actually reads my posts enjoyed it! Au revoir.  Til Next Time. 

Laundry Woes

So now that I am living in German, everything that was once a simple task in America is now made harder because of the language barrier. For example, buying things in the grocery store. Sometimes you can look at the product and figure out what it is, but sometimes those German words just cause my head to spin. All the signs are in German minus one every 7 or so, and of course everyone speaks German here. I do not know German. I am learning, but my skills are very rough. I laugh at my own attempts because I sound ridiculous. But I still try all the same. Maybe by the end of my three months I will be able to actually hold a conversation or at least get my point across when I am shopping or using the bus. All of this is said to bring me to my main point: laundry.

What was once a very simple, easy task back home is now a horrifyingly, confusing process here in this little town of Busingen. First of all, the washers are the smallest I have ever seen. Second, there are only two washers for 13 people. Third, everything is written in German, so I have no idea what I am doing. I mean there are directions for us, but so far every time that I have followed them something has gone wrong. For example, tonight was my night to do laundry so around 8ish I put my only load in. Which speaking of my one load means I have to combine all my clothes into one because I don't have enough clothes to divide them into different loads. Which makes me anxious because my mom taught me to always separate my clothes, but here I don't really get choice. Anyway, I go back to check on my clothes at around 10pm, and much to my surprise I find them sitting in a pile of water and soap. Needless to say I was frustrated because I was expecting them to be done. On top of that the door to the washer would not open, and then there was lights flashing. I was getting testier by the minute, and I don't speak German so I have no idea what's going on. Finally, about 20 minutes later with the help of some others I got my laundry restarted and on the right track. It was pretty ridiculous, and it makes me hate doing laundry here already. I have only been here two weeks! It's gonna be a long semester. I miss American washer and dryers. America: 1, Germany: 0. Thankfully, I can say at 12:10am, my laundry is FINALLY done.

Here is a picture of the tricky devil:

 On the other hand, my homework has successfully not been completed, but I got some quality bonding time in with some friends. All in all, I would call my evening not a complete waste. I mean I did get to watch the season 3 premiere of Downton Abbey. That made my whole night and I received a letter from my nephew that was just precious. And let's be honest I am still in Switzerland/Germany which is just fantastic, AND I am going to Paris this week. Success. Guess I can probably survive a little laundry turmoil :) Til Next Time.

Week One Down.

I have officially been out of the country for one week and approximately two days. Honestly, it seems WAY longer than that. I am not ready to go home yet by any means, if anything I am ready to experience more and see new places! I don't know what it is about traveling, but I have most definitely been bit by the travel bug because I cannot get enough. It's in my blood, and I always want more.

So, Monday was our first day of classes, which was a drag because school is not exactly something I look forward to, especially in a place like Busingen where everywhere you go there is something beautiful to see! My professor, Randy Beckum, is actually a very good teacher. I have enjoyed this week with him and his teaching. It's more or less the homework part that I do not like. His class is Global Communications/Intercultural Experience, so it's very applicable to the situation that all of us here are in. My other class is European History which is only on Wednesdays. That class is going to be interesting I believe if I can get my attention span to last longer than it normally does. Antony does a very good job teaching, and he knows what he is talking about, but I believe that's going to be a class that I am definitely going to learn how to retain things better. I have a lot more reading here than I ever did back at MNU, so I need to work out a system to ensure that I can get all of that done. My other class that I have right now is Fine Arts, but that is all online, so I am not too worried about that by any means. But no one really cares what I am doing in school, so now to the best part of my week!


This is the Glockenspiel in Munich, Germany. Left is day, and right is night. Obviously. It is my favorite place in Munich, and I saw it for the first time about 4 years ago. It's basically like a huge cuckoo clock, and when it goes off there are people (not real) that come out and dance around and its a big deal. I saw it go off the last time I was here, but this time we didn't get to the square early enough to watch it. Sad day. Anyway, as you can guess these past two days I have been in Munich. We left on Thursday and took the train, which was my first time, and I have to say it's much roomier than an airplane. It felt way long, but still enjoyable. There was not much planned for when we got there, but all did enjoy a nice meal together. I got some pasta in German (I have no idea how to spell or pronounce it) it was some Penne something or other. It was very good, but WAY spicier than I was expecting it to be! On our walk back to the hotel we saw some street performers, and they were phenomenal! The guy that was singing had an amazing voice! Needless to say they were not just some street performers. I mean they had a baby grand and everything on the street. I love that everything is within walking distance. It makes it easier to soak up all the beautiful sights. And everything is lit up at night which is even more fun! Our hotel was actually nicer than I was expecting it to be, and we attempted to watch some German televisions, but it was all way over our heads. However, we were surprised to find that all their entertainment TV was about American actors and actresses. No wonder so many people think of Hollywood and rich people when they think of America because that's all they see on TV! We were all in bed by 11pm, which I am pretty sure is the earliest I have been to sleep since being here. I got some much needed rest though.

Our last day in Munich was to be spent at Dachau, which was one of the first concentration camps to be opened in Germany. I had the opportunity to visit Dachau four years ago when I came to Europe then. This time when I walked in to the camp for the second time, it helped that I was four years older and that I already had the pictures that I wanted. It still felt surreal being there and thinking about the thousands of lives that were so mercilessly taken. Walking on the gravel, I could not help but think of how many men and women had walked the same path that I was now only 80 years later. Most of the structures are not the originals, just replicas, but the prison behind the main building and one of the crematoriums are the original foundations, and that kind of makes it all real. I would say it is an experience that everyone should had because it's one thing to learn about it in a classroom, but it's completely different learning about it while standing in the same place as those who suffered did. I think it was easier for me to process and it didn't hit me as hard the second time around, but it was very emotionally draining. I honestly do not know if I could have survived in a place like that. I would hope that I would have enough faith in God to believe that He would see me through whether on to death or life, but I have no idea how these people did it. I have such a growing respect for them, and this country.

After Dachau, we ate lunch in the cafeteria there, and then headed back to the train station to catch our ride home. I think after that experience we were all pretty worn out, and the train ride back seemed to stretch on. A few of us got a little slap happy, and I have plenty of pictures to prove that statement true. So on a lighter note I will share a few with you :)

All in all, it was great trip! I loved being able to go back to Munich, and see many of the places I had seen before. Week one is down, and I cannot wait to see what else God has in store for me while I am here. Today, I am going to learn to make pizza with a real Italian woman, so that is going to be 

D-E-licious! Til next time.

New Home

So, I have officially been in the beautiful city of Busingen, Switzerland/Germany for 4 days now, and I absolutely love everything about it. The town itself is not very big, but everything is so green and all the houses are so adorable with their bay windows and flowers. In just that short amount of time I feel like I have already seen so much, but I know that there is even more to be seen and experienced. Today I actually swam in the Rhein River which was actually super fun, but also kinda cold. Katie, Cherith, and I definitely almost got attacked by a swan which was hissing at us, but it was no big deal. We survived. So far I have seen a church that was built in 1075 which was absolutely incredible because that church has been there since way before America was even established. That's a concept that is hard to wrap my brain around. We have visited the lovely city of Shaffhausen, and the view from the top of the Munot was incredible. I will share a picture with you all, so you can halfway enjoy it as well :)

That was just one side of the view, and there was obviously plenty more to see all around us. It was a phenomenal view of the city, and I was in such awe of the beauty. Surrounding this fortress there used to be a moat which now houses a family of deer. They were all congregated together, and it was pretty cute. We went into town after eating our sack lunches on the roof, and I was able to see so many of the colorful buildings that fill Schaffhausen. So many of the buildings are hundreds of years old, and the amount of history that is here is amazing. I can't wait to continue to learn more about it.

In town I purchased my first item which was a croissant with chocolate, and it was beyond delicious. Needless to say I didn't take the time to slowly savor it. I savored every bite that I took, but it didn't last long at all! Afterwards we just walked around and looked into some of the shops. I have tried to put myself on a pretty tight budget, so I didn't buy anything else. I mean I have about 92ish days left, so I have plenty of time to buy things and travel to new places :) I tried Katie's gelato which honestly I was not a huge fan of, but that may have been because the flavor was hazelnut. Cherith's chocolate, however, was delicious! We also visited some other churches, and the intricacy of them all was so much fun to look at. All the pulpits are to the side which I found interesting because so many in the states are in the middle. However, the reason they are to the side is so that the Lord's table can be in the center on it's own. Much like how Christ should be the center of our own lives. I like the idea of having the pulpit to the side. It definitely makes more sense.

Yesterday, we had a free day which I gladly took, and I slept in. It was glorious to catch up on some more sleep and continue to get adjusted to the time switch here. Some girls and I went in to another town to visit a salvation army. We also went to a dollar store where I made another purchase that I am very proud of. Cherith and I most definitely have matching mugs which I will always remember we bought them from Germany. They are what we call man mugs, and we love them! We also looked into another little shop which was similar to a Marshall's just smaller. It was a chill night on campus after we got back, and we all gathered to watch Life is Beautiful which is an Italian movie about the Holocaust. It's a wonderful movie, just extremely depressing. Afterwards, most everyone hung around in the lounge just talking and getting to know each other. I am really excited about this semester because I think that we have a really great group, and we all get along so well. We start school tomorrow, which no one is looking forward to, but I am excited to see what all is in store for us, and what God has to show me and the rest of the group for the rest of the semester! Tschuss! Til next time.