A teacher is one who makes himself
progressively unnecessary…Thomas Carruthers
As you've read earlier, I am now preparing to become a volunteer English teacher in Chile. I am leaving January 5th and could not be more excited! In order to prepare, I have to become TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). About a week ago, I began my certification courses and have been struggling with the student mindset since. It must sound ridiculous being that I only graduated in May, but to go from "hahaha everyone else is in school and has to study" to "hey wanna meet up and study together" was definitely a change that I was not excited about. Fortunately, I have quite a few friends who are still in college or studying for other things in their life that enjoy meeting up at Panera, Starbucks, or other various locations. Unfortunately, Simi Valley is not well equipped for students who do not posses the ability to study in their home. When I lived in San Diego, I was very content to walk to the nearest coffee shop which was outfitted with several comfy chairs and plenty of plugs for my computer. I'm now on a search to find out where students go for a quiet study session due to the fact that Panera and Starbucks are on constant chatter mode. And why shouldn't they be? People go there to have lunch too!
As I go through my courses for my certification, I am doing my best to absorb the information in order to return it in essay form at the end of each module. For those of you who don't know me well, essays are not my favorite. I wouldn't say that I am bad at them, I just really don't enjoy them. Thankfully, so far, the essays I have been writing are mostly about my ideas and thoughts about how I will be teaching certain topics or concepts. NO RESEARCH NECESSARY!! It's fantastic not having to quote at least 10 sources for each essay like I did in college. =D
What is my status now, you ask? Well I leave in exactly 57 days, I am 15% finished with my certification, and I'm thankful I don't need any shots/immunizations. My struggles at this point: being patient as my essays are graded so I can move to the next module and figuring out how on earth I'm going to pack!!
Great news!!! I have officially been accepted as a volunteer English
teacher for BridgeTEFL's English Opens Doors Program, 2011!!!!! I
received the email last night congratulating me and, to be completely
honest, I started crying because I got so excited. I began my day by
paying the remaining balance for the program (everyone's been asking how much I'm getting paid...I'm not, I'm paying them and I know it will be more than worth it!) As soon as I got off
work, I booked my flight for only $513 (all of the other flights I found were over $600)! (I'm so excited about how many
reward points I will be getting because of this trip!)
Depart Lima, Peru: 1/6/2011 @10:42am
Arrive Santiago, Chile: 1/6/2011 @ 4:17pm
Total Trip Time: Approximately 15.5 hours
I will arrive in Chile and be transported to the home I will stay in for
the duration of the orientation. This time will include 5 excursions
around Santiago ranging from English camps for kids to sight seeing.
Then, we will have 3 weeks of free time in which we can take Spanish
classes, tour more of Santiago, learn to dance, etc. I am hoping to find
a nice Chilean family to stay with during that time so I can save my
money. Although, I have been told that hostels only cost around $10 a
night! I will then be transported down to my designated school and new
host family to prepare for classes to begin in March!
I honestly cannot tell you how excited I am about this opportunity. Yes,
I will definitely miss my friends and family back here in the States,
but we will all have such wonderful times catching up when I get back!!
The trip is scheduled to end on July 29th; however I am working on plans
to travel for a month or so after in Argentina and maybe a few other
countries.
I find myself so very thankful for the opportunity to explore a part of the world that many do not get to experience. God has really shown me that He cares about the things I desire and when my heart's only concern is to pursue His will, then everything will work out to His glory.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. I can't tell you enough how much I love and appreciate you!
So I spent the last weekend in San Diego babysitting my friend's 5 year old, Joshua. I used to live with my friend and her little boy and babysat him pretty often. I was so excited to spend the weekend with just him and me. We dropped his momma off at the airport Thursday night and kept telling him how special and exciting this was and how he should feel so ecstatic. Well this lasted about half of the drive home before he started getting a little sad. What did I do? I gave him the gummy worms his mom had given me in case something like this should happen. Well that perked him up again!
I could tell you all of the details of the weekend, but I'll spare you. Needless to say, we had a fantastic time and did a lot of really fun stuff (i.e. 101 Dalmatians play that my cousin, Riley was in, go to church, build radical forts and secret hideouts in the living room, build ramps for his monster trucks, etc.). What I would like to say though is how much appreciation I gained for mothers/parents in the short 72 hours that I was a temporary mom!! I didn't realize how much freedom you give up when you become a mom. The only time I felt like I had any choice in what I did was after he went to bed, and by that point, I was so exhausted from building forts in the living room, drawing/coloring, watching silly youtube videos, and getting him fed that all I wanted to do was go to sleep (at 8:30pm that is). Now don't get me wrong, I had a blast with this kid and love him like a nephew, but I guess I just never realized how much work it is to be on 24 hour duty. When I lived with them, I got to be the fun playful aunt type family member. I didn't have to deal with discipline or setting down rules or enforcing onces already in place (you know, the trivial ones, like don't touch a pot I just made rice in or hit me with your karate stick), his mom always dealt with that. I also didn't have to worry about him waking up every morning at 6:30 am as though an alarm had gone off, his mom always dealt with that. Also, do you know how much you need to bring when you take off for a day out of town?? I couldn't believe how many things I thought about and knew I had to bring. Guess I have good role models for that.
So this blog is to send out a thank you to all parents out there who realized that the day that kid was born, your life was no longer your own. I send kudos to all of you. However, this weekend has made me appreciate my ability to spend as long as I'd like in bed in the morning, tattle to a kid's parent rather than disciplining, and not counting toys after leaving each destination on a trip. I love all you parents for what you do and I know some day I will be in the boat of having the 24/7/365 job that is beyond rewarding and exhilarating, yet more exhausting than anything else!!! And when that day comes, I will be so thankful for my own little bundle of joy!! (But that won't be for several years!!)
As many know, I've recently applied to a program through BridgeTEFL called English Opens Doors Chile. This is a program with which I am hoping to volunteer to teach English for 6 months. Originally, my hope was to go for a full year, but due to unforeseeable developments, the longest amount of time offered is 6 months. To be honest, I freaked out a little bit when I found out about the program being cut. I felt like, all of a sudden, I was not in control anymore. Then I remembered, I never was in control! See, from the beginning, this has been God's mission for me and I was just responding. Somewhere between graduation and finishing my application, I got it into my head that it was all my idea and MY trip. Boy am I glad He reminded me who is really in control. It took me a few conversations with people who knew my problem of being a bit of a control freak to be reminded where I really stand in my life and where I want to stand: always under the protecting wing of my Savior. You may wonder where I am at with it all now. Well, I have officially applied and sent in all of my documents. I am waiting to hear about a phone interview which will hopefully tell me when I'll be able to book my flight. After being accepted, I will begin my certification, which I imagine will be quite time consuming but very rewarding in the long run. Above all else, I am content in waiting on the Lord. I don't know what may happen at the end of the 6 months. Maybe things will have changed and I'll be asked to stay for another semester. Maybe I'll get connected with a missions group. Maybe I'll travel for a few months around South America. Maybe it will be time for me to come back to the States and begin God's next project for me here. The point is, there are an infinite amount of possibilities for my future, and I am so happy to leave the planning of my life's path in God's strong and capable arms.
I promise to keep everyone posted on my status of going to Chile and everything else as new developments come. Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and love!
Psalm 91:4-5 "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day."
Being home this past weekend for Mother's Day was absolutely amazing! It was also very interesting to hear different people's thoughts on my choices for post graduation. No one really seemed too surprised for me to make a choice such as moving away to South America to teach English for a year. I guess I've prepared people to expect the unexpected in my life. As I caught up with several family members and close friends this weekend, I felt slightly sad with the thought of leaving. 1) I have the most amazing family in the world. They are supportive, encouraging, hysterical, and loving people who can't wait to see what God has planned for my life after graduation. My cousins are all growing up and becoming young men and women which will be hard for me to miss out on for the year I'm gone. 2) I forgot how much I love my Simi friends! Sitting with Rachelle over breakfast and just talking about life, school, boys (or lack thereof), family, jobs, etc. made me excited to be home for a few months to enjoy such precious moments with people I hold so dear. 3) My parents are going to miss me. I know how conceited this may sound, but I don't mean it in that way. As I walked around the Aquarium of the Pacific with my parents, I realized how close of a bond I have with them and how much they value the relationships that we have. It will be hard to leave and not have the easy 3 hour drive to see them when I miss them too much.
With all of that said, I am also very excited about my upcoming trip. Many people I have spoken to about my plans have put in their two cents about which country I should (or should not) go to as well as ways to stay safe and what not. I have now narrowed it down to Chile and Argentina. The search is far from complete and will not truly begin until after I am certified, but I feel myself daily drawn to look at airline prices and job posting sites. It seems unreal that I may have this type of opportunity in my life. Never once have I asked for an ordinary life. I've never asked for safety or predictability either. Maybe this is why God has planned this out. As I've said many times before, I don't know what God has planned or why He has those plans, but I am so excited to live the life He has set before me!
Tonight was my last class of my college career. I will have two finals next week, a Dean's List ceremony, and graduation. Seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in The Best Little Hair House having my hair done by Geri who has been doing my hair since I was born, and we were talking about my upcoming move to San Diego and how exciting it was that I was going to break free and get the chance to design my own path. I have since come to realize that I want no part in the designing. I decide to leave that up to the Perfect Designer; however, I absolutely love living out the incredible opportunities He has set before me. Now, as I look graduation square in the face, I am again doing something that is different and unconventional.
I am going to bed now with one thought: No Regrets. I purpose to live my life with no regrets. No matter what life's path holds, no matter what persecution or trials come my way I will live my life in a way that I can look back and regret nothing. One thing my dad said while I was home was "Under promise, over perform". I want to be that person. I want to be there for the people I love and really make a difference in their lives. For those who are starved for good role models, I want to be a vessel through which they see the Ultimate Role Model and how to serve Him with everything. I want to show love in a way that points to the Cross and Christ's life-saving blood.
So my plan of keeping this blog updated while I was in Europe didn't pan out the way I had originally planned. However, I feel that now, as school is winding down and I am staring the future in the face in the center of life's cage match, writing something other than a research paper may be a good release. I finished my last project/presentation of my college career tonight in my Professional Communication class and walked out with an emotional ecstasy. I can'at believe that after 16 years (beginning in 1st grade since kindergarten was naps and recess) preparing to be a college graduate. Two and a half weeks until I will walk across that big stage with somewhere around 14 close friends and family watching as I step into the world of having a degree. It's quite surreal, really. The though of this feeling, the preparation to be in this moment used to scare me beyond all reason, but now that I am here, I don't feel afraid any more. This may be due to the fact that I am delaying my search for a career while I go and teach English in South America (this will be explained in further detail later). It also may be due to the fact that I realized my fears fell into categories in which I had no control. In other words, when I gave up trying to control and fully surrendered my life (past, present, and future) to God, I no longer found myself responsible for the outcome.Now, you may be wondering what I meant by teaching English in South America. Well, this past semester, I have spent numerous hours researching different jobs and internship opportunities. I applied with several companies in several positions, but it seemed as though every door shut firmly no matter how tightly I gripped on to it. I finally sat down and looked at the puzzle that is my life that God is building. In that, I remembered something very important: God already gave me the next piece of the puzzle. See, back when I was coming back from Europe this past summer, I felt God telling me to go to South America. I was very confused because I had a year left of school before I could even think about that kind of thing. I stuck that little puzzle piece in my back pocket and forgot about it until a few weeks ago while looking at my life puzzle. God reminded me about His plan for me in South America, and I began to pray consistently about the opportunity. For the few weeks after, God pressed it harder and harder on my heart. My pastor did a three week series on knowing the will of God and one thing He said is that "God gives us the desires of our hearts". This doesn't mean that God gives us what we want, but it means that God gave us passions and desires for a purpose...His purpose.Through my research, I rediscovered the idea of teaching English abroad and began to look at the options to do this in South America. I have since found a program to do the certification through. As soon as I finish with this, I will begin to apply for jobs in several countries in South America and wait to see where God leads. The school year begins in the beginning of March there so I plan to move no later than mid February (God willing!).I am so excited to see what God has in store for me, but I am learning to enjoy each step and each piece of my puzzle as it is revealed. I'm working on not missing out on the small things going on because I am too focused on the end goal. Through doing a few informational interviews this semester for a class, I was told by several respectable people: It is all about the journey to get to the goal...if you reach the goal, that is just icing on the cake. I'm going to grab life by the horns and welcome adversity. Nothing will stop me from leaving my mark on the world and making a difference!
I’ll start with the yesterday first. We got up in the morning and headed down for breakfast at 8am. What a large spread! I ate my fill (and some) and then filled up a few zip-locks with fresh fruit and croissants for later. This guy named Axel came and taught us about French culture and some of the many differences. It was very interesting to learn about the dinner etiquette. For example, there is one person at the table who plays “host”. The host is the contact person between everyone at the table and the waiter. If two people are on a date, the male would be the host, and if the woman was to address the waiter by asking for the check, she would not only offend her date but also her server because this is not her responsibility. Also, the reservation of a table is for the full evening and there is no rush for a turnover. In the States, waiters are taught to be quick and get people out the door as quickly as possible to get the next party sat; not in Paris at all! Everywhere we have eaten or even drank gives the “sit-down and stay-awhile feel”. Ah, what a nice change from the quick pace & go quickly pace of the US. One of the other important differences is the portions and doggy bags. The portions here are much person and meant for one person, which in turn obligates a person to eat everything on their plate and also completely erases the need for to-go boxes and doggy bags. Lastly, you very rarely see people walking and eating or drinking. On the metro (like the Bart in San Fran), no one walks around with Starbucks or munching on a snack, whereas in the US, I feel that at least one meal is eaten while walking/driving/going. They would much rather sit at a coffee shop and debate about politics or religion and enjoy their espresso. I feel like these are customs that I would much like to incorporate into my life more when I get home, and that my days are already much more meaningful when I live in the moment instead of being so preoccupied with the next thing I have to do.
**After classes, a few of us (Tiffany, Julie, Jen, Kathrine, Kaitlan) took the metro to a church on the hill that looks straight out of Aladdin called the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. It was such a beautiful and moving experience. I know that Catholic churches are almost always much more materialistically styled, but the detail and work that went into this church was astounding.From there we went down to a basement-type of room that held smaller versions of what we saw in the church. Then we travelled down a few streets to a street side café and sat outside in order to people watch. The waiter was enamored by our being Americans and he doted on us and did everything he could to make us laugh. He was the ideal Frenchman with his beret and flirty smile and accent. While sitting there I was drawn by an aspiring artist on a simple canvas. I decided to purchase the memento for half of what he asked…10 euro. There was a woman modeling with all of the equipment, and she was jumping around and frolicking in her playful flowy dress. It looked like so much fun!
**We did a bit more exploring in the area before catching the metro back to the hotel to get ready for the night. There was a huge fútbol game between Barcelona and Manchester, so a few of us girls (Tiffany, Julie, Jen, Kathrine, Kaitlan) decided to go to a sports pub near our hotel. The bar was packed full of men drinking and screaming at the TV. We pushed our way to the middle of it all and soaked it all in. We all stood there watching the intense last half of the game with the majority of the bar rooting for Barcelona (who ended up winning 2-0). After it ended, the bar quickly cleared while everyone went to smoke a cigarette. This was a nice change from what I have heard so much about everyone smoking inside. I began talking to a guy who lives on the outskirts of Paris but is Portuguese and speaks Spanish. We ended talking for a few hours in broken Spanglish, and exchanged stories about traveling and school and family and friends. We exchanged email address before he left and promised to help each other practice the other language. From there, we went to La Pechanga for salsa dancing. We danced for about 2 hours. I ended up talking to a guy from Madagascar and his mom was from Belguim. He was a 28 year old mathematics teacher. We talked for about 30 minutes and then made it to the dance floor for the last few songs. I’m really hoping to learn some more types of dances during this trip. After that, it was straight to bed for us!
**Now today was a very busy day. Woke up extremely tired and quickly got ready and headed to breakfast. Another delicious spread and I took another lunch with me in my bag. Classes were basically a review and hard to stay awake through. Then Julie, Tiff, and I took short naps and headed out for the day’s adventure. We took the metro to the Sainte-Chapelle which is known as the most beautiful church in all of Paris. The three story stained glass windows told the stories throughout the Bible and there were statues of the 12 apostles along the walls. It took my breath away. Oddly enough, the church is in the center of the very large court house with huge golden gates. Tiff ended up taking a picture with the guards later as we walked by.
**The next step in our plan was going to the top of Notre Dame, but that was foiled when we walked up as they cut off the line to get in. Instead, we bought crêpes and sat in front of the towers and people watched and enjoyed the fact that we were experiencing Paris and relaxed.
**We went from there to the Musée d’Orsay, but unfortunately, finding the museum wasn’t an easy feat. The search was well worth it though! The opportunity to enjoy art from some of the most well known artists the world has yet to see was an unforgettable and priceless experience. We saw the works of Monet, Redon, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Homer, Rodin, and so many others. It really hit me that this was the experience of a life time as I stood in front of Monet’s art, an experience that I would have never even dreamed before today. The sculptures dating back through the 1700’s were larger than life, yet so life like. I still can’t believe that I have been blessed with such an experience.
**After soaking up the art, we were very exhausted and looked for a metro to head home, but this again was not an easy task. After asking a few people on bridges and roads, we eventually found a metro station and made our way back home. I loved watching the people everywhere we went and just allowing myself to be quiet and learn. The best end to the day was taking a long bath in my room with the lights dim and no one else home. Ah, the time to recuperate from the week was much needed. I’m not complaining at all, but my feet were not well prepared for the walking. I expect that I will have very shapely legs by the time I make it home. =D
**Now don’t think that I am disregarding all school work…Tiff and I spent some time reading over our Oganizational and Nonverbal Communication books to prepare for class tomorrow. We’ve also been keeping good notes about what we observe in each culture for our reports and papers. But now it is 3am and we have to be up in 4 hours, so I’m going to sleep. Tomorrow, the plan is to go to the Louve, the top of the Notre Dame towers, Le Arch de Triumph, and hopefully go out to a nice dinner and go out for our last night in Paris (well not mine since I’m coming back =D)
Au revoir!
**5/29/09**
7pm
**What a day! I had the amazing pleasure of spending the majority of my day exploring the Louve with Dr. Andersen as well as sharing dinner and a glass of wine and some French pastries. Let me begin with another delicious full-spread breakfast and classes in which I love to participate and learn as much as possible. And between the two, I was able to hope on the internet and found out that I earned a well deserved 4.0 this semester! Classes ended a little early, and I quickly got ready to go and headed to the metro to explore the Louve. The plan was to spend about an hour there with Dr. Andersen, and then meet with Julie for another hour before doing several other things the rest of the day. When we went to meet her, however, she was nowhere to be found. Hence, I ended up spending over 4 hours discussing much of the works within the Louve. I have never thought of myself as being very equipped to appreciate art, but I found the truth to be quite to the contrary. I learned so many wonderful things about culture and history and my own heritage by spending that time with him and also by really spending quality time with the art and everything else in the Louve. Many times, I was almost brought to tears by the sheer acknowledgement of the importance of the things I was looking at. We talked about the difference in gender portrayal in the sculptures, and also the effect of these in modern day culture. I felt so lucky to attain such an experience as this with the one-on-one time with such an intelligent and well known person of my field.
**We began to feel the time on our feet and also our stomachs and headed out around 5:30 to find a place to eat. Dr. Andersen had experienced pretty bad French food, so he was happy with anything other than that, but I was sure that this experience could be attributed to the quality of the restaurants he was going to. We both agreed that it was time to spend a little more time and money and go to a much nicer authentic French restaurant called Café du Flore. We began with a glass of wine each, and mine was a white wine called Blanc de blanc Cŏte de Provence Clos Mireille. He told me that it was a very complex wine that I would be able to enjoy even due to my lack of acquiring the taste for alcohol. He was right; it was deliciously sweet. We then decided to split an appetizer that was nothing like anything I have ever eaten before called Feaugreaux (pronounced Fo-Gra, not sure of how to spell lol), a spread consisting of duck gizzards that deliciously melted in my mouth, as well as split a club sandwich. It was such a classy meal with amazing conversations about people watching as well as politics and such with an older Latin man sitting next to us. I was so surprised when Andersen said that the meal was his treat! I agreed that I would return the favor when we arrived in Munich and that I would share some big pancakes with him =D. We decided to walk a little while before finding a place to get desert. Quickly though, we came across Paul, a little French bakery where we shared 2 French pastries. The first was called Le Moelleux; it was a chocolat noir, beurrere, sucre, farine, oeufs, and cacao en poudre. The taste and consistency was that of the best brownies you could never get. Also, we split a pastry by which I can only explain as gram crackers with crème filling, but that description does not do the taste justice. A few grad students happened to walk by, so we all enjoyed a leisurely stroll back to the hotel from there. Tonight, a few of us are going dancing to enjoy the last night in Paris before we leave tomorrow on a night train for Barcelona…soon, I will be fluent in Spanish! Ha ha, I wish!
5/26/09
***9am***
Bonjour!
Good morning from Paris! I woke up this morning with fear that it was all a dream; then I looked out the window and saw the Eiffel Tower and realized that everything that I have been planning for for months has finally become my dream-like reality.
Yesterday, we flew from LAX to London Heathrow airport. Julia Jensen and I met up in the airport to spend a little bit of time getting to know one another before the long flight set before us. Turns out we get along splendidly! She’s a very sweet girl and we have many similar interests and personality traits. We grabbed some food before boarding our 11 hour flight, which began with a sleeping pill to assist us with avoiding jetlag. After we woke up, the last few hours of the flight seemed to whirl by. We met three boys from Germany in the row behind us, Sven, Yessen, and Felix. So sweet and excited to advize us in our travels. Julia and I gave them our emails so they could find us on facebook. Maybe we’ll be able to meet up with them in germany when we get there with the rest of our group. We had to figure out a slight glitch with Julia’s luggage, but British Airlines was so accomodating, and then we enjoyed the English culture in the airport before boarding the short 45 minute flight to Paris.
Arriving in Paris could not have gone any more smoothly. Julia and I got off of the plane and followed everyone to the baggage claim where our luggage came out simultaneously, and then we walked out to find Tiffany waiting for us. The three of us then awaited our van that would take us and 2 other couples to our destination. This is where we met Michael (our driver). He was so excited to tell us about all of the places we passed on our drive (e.g. The Louve, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, The Opera House, Le Compule, Alexander Free Bridge…just to name a few =D).
***11pm***
Ok, to continue from earlier, after arriving at Celine’s flat that she shares with her Grandma, we spent a few hours getting cleaned up and acquainted. Her grandma is pretty hard of hearing but very sweet…and quite fashionable as well. We enjoyed fish and rice with De Jon Mayo, bagettes, salad, and strawberries with crème and sugar; it was very delicious, but very filling! =D
From there we went out for a night tour around Paris. I couldn’t even tell you all of the places we saw!!! The boys are just as everyone said they would be-pushy and forward. They made animal noises at the four of us girls as we walked around tried to get our attention by speaking loudly. We didn’t go in anywhere, but saw all of the fun places to go dancing and meet tons of people. She continuously told us that Monday nights are not going out nights but luckily, since it was a holiday, there were still many people running around. However, at about midnight, the thunderstorm began. We were in the Louve, and watchted the lightening surround us. We toughed out the rain and sprinted with some boys that loudly joined us all the way back to the Metro.
Pretty exhausted, we got back to the flat and got ready for bed. At exactly 1am, We watched as the Eiffel Tower sparkled against the black sky for about ten minutes. Every ten minutes, the sparkle would be accompanied by the lightening striking behind the Tower and the thunder that shook the flat.
I slept very soundly all night long, and awoke to the beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower behind the red flowers on the balcony. Not the best weather I’ve seen, but it wasn’t terrible-cloudy and cold. Celine bought us crossoints for breakfast and she made us coffee with milk and sugar. What a way to begin our first full day in Paris!! Then we became “musculated” (Celine) by carrying our luggage around the Metro to get to our hotel. It began to rain as we walked out into the street, but a 2 minute sprint later and we arrived at Le Meridien Montparnasse, our beautiful French hotel! We began our tour on the bus and enjoyed our one hour bus tour around Paris; I am pretty sure I took over 200 pictures in that hour alone! We got off at the Eiffel Tower, or Les Tours de Eiffel and took the elevator to the second floor. This was the absolute most beautiful view I have ever seen! We could see all of Paris, including New Paris. It is called this because Paris only has one high rise and after it was built, it was ruled that no more would be built. New Paris is completely comprised of high rise buildings; it reminded me of the New York skyline.
It began to get very windy and very cold, so we took the stairs down to take some more pictures before our cruise on The Seine. The cruise allowed us to see many beautiful bridges and monuments and other places along the river, as well as giving us extensive history details about everything we saw.
Somehow, I heard wrong and thought we were supposed to meet where we were dropped off and so did about 9 other people, unfortunately, this was not the case. We booked it back to the river where were actually supposed to meet the bus just in time to hop on and be embarassed =/. Oh well…I was embarassed…IN PARIS!!!!
After riding the bus back to the hotel, 6 of us found a hole in the wall French restaurant. We all got differen things and shared amongst us. Tré bon!! (Very good!) Three course meal for only €8.50, that’s better than the States!
I am now sitting in the lobby of my hotel, and just got to talk to my parents on Skype…oh and they are in Seoul, Korea! Ha Ha! Well, now I need to get some sleep because tomorrow morning begins classes sharply at 9am, and I have to get breakfast before.
Au revoir!
With only a few hours left, 19 to be exact, I am all packed and ecstatic about my trip. I could have never imagined the way I feel at this very moment with the flight coming so quickly (a combination of anxiety & excitement & disbelief). Many people advised that I extend my stay in London, as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I have decided to take such advice and add an extra 6 days! Now I am coming back on July 4th! Another change to my itinerary is the cancellation of the Prague portions, but now I am going to Florence for those 5 free travel days.
If you have any suggestions for either London or Florence, please feel free to comment and let me know. I have several ideas already for London, but I'd love more!
My daily prayer is that God uses this trip to reveal more of His plan for my life and more of Himself to me. Next time I write will be from Paris, so be looking forward to pictures! <3 Au Revoir
Welcome to my new blog! I created this blog to tell everyone about my trip to Europe as I'm there because calling everyone daily is simply impractical.So, some basic details about my trip: I will be leaving on May 24th and visiting 6 (maybe 7) cities including Paris, Barcelona, Lauterbrunnen (Swiss Alps), Munich, Rome, and London. I will arrive back at LAX on June 28th. This trip is a study abroad trip with 29 other students in the Communication Major and 2 professors. We'll be studying Nonverbal and Organizational Communication in an international context.***10 things that I am very excited about: 1) skydiving on my 21st birthday (June 7) over the Swiss Alps 2) riding around Paris on a scooter 3) seeing the Vatican 4) trying out my Spanish in Barcelona 5) playing on European beaches 6) having coffee at an Italian cafe 7) taking pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower 8) Mike's Bike Ride in Munich 9) ridiculously long airplane flights (JK) 10) NEW FOOD!***I promise to post often and give you all of the juicy details and pictures I can! <3
A teacher is one who makes himself
progressively unnecessary…
Thomas Carruthers
