Here's a Thought...

So I have decided to write in this cute little font I found on here. :) Well, I have now been here for 51 days. Some of these days have been ups, and some have been downs...to be honest I cannot figure out whether or not if it is homesickness. Well, of course there are days that I know for sure are homesickness. I also know that some of these days are from the culture shock that I am still experiencing. However, I am hitting a personal struggle being here. When I was in Utah, I finally started to think that I was knowing who I am as a person...well being here really has forced me to a whole new level of getting to know myself. I am, in fact, far from knowing myself. Of course we are always learning about ourselves throughout life, but as far as the level that I want to be at in my life, I now know there is so much more to learn.


Instead of focusing on what I want to learn, or that I have so much MORE to learn, I would like to focus on what I have learned so far.

1. I have learned how important it is important to represent my religion in the right ways and for the right reasons. Before I came here to Switzerland, I really struggled with my beliefs, in God, in religion, etc, and wasnt the best example of my church. As you know, I lived in Utah where people of my religion are at vast numbers. In a way, it is a blessing, and also a downfall. I can tell you why I believe this. While I think it is great to have numerous people around you sharing the same beliefs, it is easy to forget that it is important to stand strong and be an example of your religion. After all, everyone is assumed to be lds, therefore values slip, and some try to prove to others how 'obedient' they are to the prophet, when its for the wrong reason. ( Dont get me wrong, it is IMPORTANT to follow our prophet.)So let me get to my point. Some follow the prophet ONLY to show others AROUND them how great they are instead of wanting to show the LORD how great they are. Its a shallow sense of obedience. Well, being here I now realize that I am the only one in my village who is LDS and one of a few who might even know who Christ or Heavenly Father is! Being here, I am a light among men, and an example to others. A major representative of this church. Also, having to sacrifice more time to get to church (at least 30 min each way) and knowing how small my ward is compared to most branches in the U.S. it makes you appreciate those around you with the same values.
2. You CANNOT rush children!!! I have learned to work better with my time (still a work in progress) but after wanting to scream and pull my hair out at how none of the kids knew what 'hurry' really meant, I finally came to the conclusion that you simply have to make time for THEM, not YOU. Children really do put their trust in us as examples and helping them get organized means you yourself must be first!
3. Ether was was right, after the TRIAL of your faith things will be revealed unto you. I have had to rely on faith in so many situations and everytime I have given myself completely to faith, I have had help.
   
   

TO BE CONTINUED.........

Here's a Thought...

So I have decided to write in this cute little font I found on here. :) Well, I have now been here for 51 days. Some of these days have been ups, and some have been downs...to be honest I cannot figure out whether or not if it is homesickness. Well, of course there are days that I know for sure are homesickness. I also know that some of these days are from the culture shock that I am still experiencing. However, I am hitting a personal struggle being here. When I was in Utah, I finally started to think that I was knowing who I am as a person...well being here really has forced me to a whole new level of getting to know myself. I am, in fact, far from knowing myself. Of course we are always learning about ourselves throughout life, but as far as the level that I want to be at in my life, I now know there is so much more to learn.


Instead of focusing on what I want to learn, or that I have so much MORE to learn, I would like to focus on what I have learned so far.

1. I have learned how important it is important to represent my religion in the right ways and for the right reasons. Before I came here to Switzerland, I really struggled with my beliefs, in God, in religion, etc, and wasnt the best example of my church. As you know, I lived in Utah where people of my religion are at vast numbers. In a way, it is a blessing, and also a downfall. I can tell you why I believe this. While I think it is great to have numerous people around you sharing the same beliefs, it is easy to forget that it is important to stand strong and be an example of your religion. After all, everyone is assumed to be lds, therefore values slip, and some try to prove to others how 'obedient' they are to the prophet, when its for the wrong reason. ( Dont get me wrong, it is IMPORTANT to follow our prophet.)So let me get to my point. Some follow the prophet ONLY to show others AROUND them how great they are instead of wanting to show the LORD how great they are. Its a shallow sense of obedience. Well, being here I now realize that I am the only one in my village who is LDS and one of a few who might even know who Christ or Heavenly Father is! Being here, I am a light among men, and an example to others. A major representative of this church. Also, having to sacrifice more time to get to church (at least 30 min each way) and knowing how small my ward is compared to most branches in the U.S. it makes you appreciate those around you with the same values.
2. You CANNOT rush children!!! I have learned to work better with my time (still a work in progress) but after wanting to scream and pull my hair out at how none of the kids knew what 'hurry' really meant, I finally came to the conclusion that you simply have to make time for THEM, not YOU. Children really do put their trust in us as examples and helping them get organized means you yourself must be first!
3. Ether was was right, after the TRIAL of your faith things will be revealed unto you. I have had to rely on faith in so many situations and everytime I have given myself completely to faith, I have had help.
   
   

TO BE CONTINUED.........

Some Paris Pictures

Notre Dame

The LOUVRE PYRAMID

OPERA HOUSE (phantom of the opera..)

THIS PICTURE SUMS UP MY WHOLE TRIP

VIEW FROM TOP OF EIFFEL TOWER

ME ON TOP OF EIFFEL TOWER

Some Paris Pictures

Notre Dame

The LOUVRE PYRAMID

OPERA HOUSE (phantom of the opera..)

THIS PICTURE SUMS UP MY WHOLE TRIP

VIEW FROM TOP OF EIFFEL TOWER

ME ON TOP OF EIFFEL TOWER

My Amazing Trip to Paris...*cough, cough*... (PART 3)

Ok, so I am riding around on this tour bus all around. It was amazing. :D no doubt. The architecture in Paris is amazing. (not to mention that the plethera of amazing eye candy (boys)..) just sayin'...
Anyway its about time for me to head back to my hostel. I ask the bus driver where the nearest metro station is. He doesnt know english so well because he said yeah and pointed to the next stop. SO I got off to discover that it wasnt a metro, it was a parking garage. GREAT....here we go again, its getting dark and I am CLEAR across from where I need to be. JEEZ. lucky for me the traffic on that street the bus was going down happends to be the street leading to the Arc de Triomphe...so traffic is a nightmare there and goes really slow. I was able to walk/ run to the next stop and get BACK on the bus. lol you can imagine the bus drivers face when I got back on. It was a little confused. Anyway, I make it back to my stop and get to the hostel. At this point, I am starving, but cant go anywhere for dinner because its dark and I am alone and have little money. Well, I decide to just go to bed because I can just sleep the hunger off so I can get the free breakfast in the morning. SO I got upstairs and get into the room that has 3 sets of bunkbeds in them. A guy answers the door. GREAT. I hate being in a strange room with a guy i dont know. Well I get the top bunk so thats a good thing. I climb up with my day clothes on (no sheets or anything mind you because you have to pay a billion euros just for sheets...didnt have it and didnt know I had to bring my own stuff like that...never been to a hostel..anyway so I sleep on a nasty bunk bed as people keep coming in....GUESS WHAT?? I am the only FREAKIN girl in that room out of 6 beds...and the didnt care I was there. they stripped down to practically nothing and got into bed. Well as you can imagine I couldnt sleep so well and now as if I tried to sleep FYI MEN SNORE SOOOOO LOUD...especially one guy. He kept other people up even. Well the morning hit, and I am starving beyond belief as I didnt sleep so well that night and I am really looking forward to breakfast!! I want to eat as much as I can so I am full for most of the day. well they served us one piece of bread. SWEET!!! ok, so I got on the computer and decided I didnt want to stay. I ended up catching a friend online from Karlsruhe germany and told him what was up. He told me to come to his place instead if I really wanted to get out of Paris so bad. Well I decided to go on the next day tour package that I paid for first so then I would decide.. I really didnt want to sleep in a place like that again (especially because someone told me that there were reports of bed bugs in that place. I didnt get any but still.....Thats GROSS. well I went out on tour and decided that the rest of the tour was stuff I had no clue about. None of the stuff was the main stuff and was random business stuff so after the one tour I decided enough was enough. I went back to the hostel, tried to get my money back for the last 2 nights I paid for (denied) and bought a ticket for 128 francs (120 dollars) and booked it to Karlsruhe.
I lost out on my hostel money, my original train ticket back (no refunds...well 5 euro...and i took advantage of that..and got that back...lol) but didnt care. I was in Karlsruhe that night.
I am SO thankful for my friend and his family. They were like angels for me...they picked me up, took me to McDonalds SWEET!! comfort food..and then just took care of me basically until I left to come home on sunday.
Well yeah....its great. so....now for pictures. I will post those on the side. :)


THE END..

My Amazing Trip to Paris...*cough, cough*... (PART 3)

Ok, so I am riding around on this tour bus all around. It was amazing. :D no doubt. The architecture in Paris is amazing. (not to mention that the plethera of amazing eye candy (boys)..) just sayin'...
Anyway its about time for me to head back to my hostel. I ask the bus driver where the nearest metro station is. He doesnt know english so well because he said yeah and pointed to the next stop. SO I got off to discover that it wasnt a metro, it was a parking garage. GREAT....here we go again, its getting dark and I am CLEAR across from where I need to be. JEEZ. lucky for me the traffic on that street the bus was going down happends to be the street leading to the Arc de Triomphe...so traffic is a nightmare there and goes really slow. I was able to walk/ run to the next stop and get BACK on the bus. lol you can imagine the bus drivers face when I got back on. It was a little confused. Anyway, I make it back to my stop and get to the hostel. At this point, I am starving, but cant go anywhere for dinner because its dark and I am alone and have little money. Well, I decide to just go to bed because I can just sleep the hunger off so I can get the free breakfast in the morning. SO I got upstairs and get into the room that has 3 sets of bunkbeds in them. A guy answers the door. GREAT. I hate being in a strange room with a guy i dont know. Well I get the top bunk so thats a good thing. I climb up with my day clothes on (no sheets or anything mind you because you have to pay a billion euros just for sheets...didnt have it and didnt know I had to bring my own stuff like that...never been to a hostel..anyway so I sleep on a nasty bunk bed as people keep coming in....GUESS WHAT?? I am the only FREAKIN girl in that room out of 6 beds...and the didnt care I was there. they stripped down to practically nothing and got into bed. Well as you can imagine I couldnt sleep so well and now as if I tried to sleep FYI MEN SNORE SOOOOO LOUD...especially one guy. He kept other people up even. Well the morning hit, and I am starving beyond belief as I didnt sleep so well that night and I am really looking forward to breakfast!! I want to eat as much as I can so I am full for most of the day. well they served us one piece of bread. SWEET!!! ok, so I got on the computer and decided I didnt want to stay. I ended up catching a friend online from Karlsruhe germany and told him what was up. He told me to come to his place instead if I really wanted to get out of Paris so bad. Well I decided to go on the next day tour package that I paid for first so then I would decide.. I really didnt want to sleep in a place like that again (especially because someone told me that there were reports of bed bugs in that place. I didnt get any but still.....Thats GROSS. well I went out on tour and decided that the rest of the tour was stuff I had no clue about. None of the stuff was the main stuff and was random business stuff so after the one tour I decided enough was enough. I went back to the hostel, tried to get my money back for the last 2 nights I paid for (denied) and bought a ticket for 128 francs (120 dollars) and booked it to Karlsruhe.
I lost out on my hostel money, my original train ticket back (no refunds...well 5 euro...and i took advantage of that..and got that back...lol) but didnt care. I was in Karlsruhe that night.
I am SO thankful for my friend and his family. They were like angels for me...they picked me up, took me to McDonalds SWEET!! comfort food..and then just took care of me basically until I left to come home on sunday.
Well yeah....its great. so....now for pictures. I will post those on the side. :)


THE END..

My Amazing Trip to Paris...*cough, cough*... (PART 2)

SO I am at the Eiffel Tower, and immediately see a hotel right off the metro station exit. I decide to check it out. Its nice, and only 90 euro a night instead of 250 euro. (SWEET, go MOM!! thanks for the help!!) well I decide to walk around just a little more just in case there is something that is cheaper. Already, I found a few other hotels that were even cheaper, 74 euro a night, and then 67 euro a night, etc. Unfortunately, everything is FILLED....great. So I decide to wander a little more when I decide to pray. I am scared, lost, and alone. ( I have had my faith tested SO much here in Europe...its UNBELIEVABLE...) anyway, I pray, and I KID YOU NOT the next hotel I happen to spot is the cheapest by far and has only ONE more spot available. It is for 64 euro. SO I stumble in, and explain my situation. It was sort of funny because these french people were super nice, AND the one lady was like 'Are you sure you dont mind that the bathrooms are right next to your room and the shower is on the 5th floor?' and I said, at this point, I dont give a CRAP. As long as I have a place to stay.' lol I really said it almost like that. Anyway, so I book the room and unfortunately, they only have availability for one night. Well its better than on the street right? (oh and in case any of you were already wondering....I wanted to use the internet real bad because I had some useful info on there I could have, for instance a friends brothers phone number who lives in Paris that I forgot to write down before I left Switz. or lists of hostels in the area, etc. BUT I COULDNT FIND AN INTERNET CAFE...after walking ALL that much..)
OK.. so I book the room...get in, and crash on the bed. I am super tired, smelly from walking everywhere, and just tired. but its a room just within walking distance (haha..) from the eiffel tower. (PS. Did I mention I hadnt had anything to eat yet....all day? der....I left super early and I was too caught up in fear to even think of food.)
SO by this time its almost 5pm, and I feel like after I changed, etc that I could do a quick walk to the eiffel tower. So I get ready to go and decide to take my umbrella out of my bag and some other stuff thinking it was just weighing me down....(again..haha..)
As I am walking to the eiffel tower, I am making mental notes of certain landmarks so I can find my way back. One was a hotel, and the other a cafe with a red roof. It is starting to get better...I think....so I am walking through a small park that leads straight to the eiffel tower. (ps. sorry for those of you who are easily offended...just skip down to the second paragraph. I just have to make an observation about the french..thank you.) SO as I am walking in this park, I see a small group of french ladies with their dogs. The dogs are playing, and super nice when all of a sudden the one dog jumps on top of the other one and starts to hump the other dog!!! SO this is nature and all..big deal, but I have heard how sex and french people are just a bad combination because its like water or soap..(well soap might be a bad example..) for them. Its necessary. So what do I hear? Instead of where in America we would try to put a stop to it right away they are like 'Ooo La La!!! haahahahahahaha...' GROSS....weirdos...

OK so now that that is overwith I just had to make that observation. As I am walking through this park (still the first time walking through...I have said it like 3 times huh?) I happened to make eye contact with a guy walking past me for 0.02 seconds when he pulls a 180 degree turn and starts to walk right next to me and try to talk to me, (in french....I dont understand a WORD. not even the numbers..) and he doesnt understand english. I think, GOOD he is just going to go away because we dont understand each other. WRONG....the french people have a rep for just trying to get with any girl...well I found this out the hard way. 3 times in paris. The first was REALLY bad...I didnt mention it in the previous section but as I was looking for a hotel some weirdo guy started to talk me and being a nice american I talked back to him. BAD MISTAKE. He gave me a hug and started to kiss my cheek then there was tounge getting involved GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!!! I cant tell you how disturbing and gross and dirty it was and how I still feel about that. SO back to my story in the park..this guy keeps following me and trying to take pictures, etc. I let him take one picture of me and then kept trying to say Au Revior like a million times until he got the picture that I wanted him to LEAVE. So finally he leaves and i decide that since there is no line, I am going to walk up the eiffel tower. WHY NOT?? I mean, I only walked a million miles already on no food, DER ME....so I hiked up the eiffel tower, where I got amazing views of paris and bought an awesome souvenier. :D well its starting to sprinkle so I head back for my hotel. HAHA jokes on me...I find the first landmark that I memorized, or so i thought...until I realize that every freakin cafe in FRANCE looks the same. because then I dont recognize anything else. I start to walk around the area up and down the same street and in and out other streets just off of that one trying to find something I recognize. NOTHING. only the way I came from the eiffel tower. SO I even go back that way. NOTHING....partly because I am SUPER tired, and starving. Bad combination. (by the way I do realize that from this point is TOTALLY my own fault..)
It starts to RAIN now. Oh yeah.............i left my freakin umbrella in the hotel with all my other stuff. so its starting to get DARK and raining and I am alone on the streets of paris not knowing WHERE the freak my hotel is. I was seriously walking around for an hour when I decide to cry..haha but not super cry, only a little. nobody would notice. I dont remember the name of my hotel (again my bad...a BIG my bad..) or even the street name. So even if I went to the police, what do I tell them. And if I could at least find a policeman it would be nice. Finally, again..I stop and offer a VERY sincere prayer, asking for guidance and direction to my hotel. Well....after searching for a while later, something told me to keep walking in a certain direction. I didnt remember anything around me but still felt a strong feeling to keep walking. Well after a while later..I spoted what looked like the hotel landmark that I had memorized when I first walked out of my hotel. THANK THE LORD ALMIGHTY for helping me get there. It was dark, I was alone and wet, but I found it from a prayer, I swear it up and down.
SO when I get to my hotel, I call the american family again that I was given the number to earlier and get ahold of the guy. they offered to help me out the next morning to find a hostel, etc. So the next morning I meet up with the wife and they give me breakfast and found a hostel not too far away from the eiffel tower. SWEET...so we went there, and it seemed pretty cool. Only thing is they wouldnt let us go up to the rooms because it was locked so people stuff wouldnt get stolen. Ok, so by the looks of the bottom floor, it seemed pretty legit. SO I booked for the rest of the week. I had 3 more nights to go and it was 74 euro (100 dollars or so). didnt seem too bad. Once I had that booked, I headed out to the eiffel tower again where I saw open top tour buses and wanted to get a pass. It seemed like a way good deal. 2 days for 32 euro and they take you around ALL of paris. Well, I booked it and started to travel around all the major sights. It was really really cool. I will post pictures on here next. Anyway, I couldnt really afford to go in anywhere so I mostly took pictures from the outside. After paying that what eventually ended up being 74 euro after the phone calls to the american family I didnt have much left.

ONE LAST TO BE CONTINUED...............................

My Amazing Trip to Paris...*cough, cough*... (PART 2)

SO I am at the Eiffel Tower, and immediately see a hotel right off the metro station exit. I decide to check it out. Its nice, and only 90 euro a night instead of 250 euro. (SWEET, go MOM!! thanks for the help!!) well I decide to walk around just a little more just in case there is something that is cheaper. Already, I found a few other hotels that were even cheaper, 74 euro a night, and then 67 euro a night, etc. Unfortunately, everything is FILLED....great. So I decide to wander a little more when I decide to pray. I am scared, lost, and alone. ( I have had my faith tested SO much here in Europe...its UNBELIEVABLE...) anyway, I pray, and I KID YOU NOT the next hotel I happen to spot is the cheapest by far and has only ONE more spot available. It is for 64 euro. SO I stumble in, and explain my situation. It was sort of funny because these french people were super nice, AND the one lady was like 'Are you sure you dont mind that the bathrooms are right next to your room and the shower is on the 5th floor?' and I said, at this point, I dont give a CRAP. As long as I have a place to stay.' lol I really said it almost like that. Anyway, so I book the room and unfortunately, they only have availability for one night. Well its better than on the street right? (oh and in case any of you were already wondering....I wanted to use the internet real bad because I had some useful info on there I could have, for instance a friends brothers phone number who lives in Paris that I forgot to write down before I left Switz. or lists of hostels in the area, etc. BUT I COULDNT FIND AN INTERNET CAFE...after walking ALL that much..)
OK.. so I book the room...get in, and crash on the bed. I am super tired, smelly from walking everywhere, and just tired. but its a room just within walking distance (haha..) from the eiffel tower. (PS. Did I mention I hadnt had anything to eat yet....all day? der....I left super early and I was too caught up in fear to even think of food.)
SO by this time its almost 5pm, and I feel like after I changed, etc that I could do a quick walk to the eiffel tower. So I get ready to go and decide to take my umbrella out of my bag and some other stuff thinking it was just weighing me down....(again..haha..)
As I am walking to the eiffel tower, I am making mental notes of certain landmarks so I can find my way back. One was a hotel, and the other a cafe with a red roof. It is starting to get better...I think....so I am walking through a small park that leads straight to the eiffel tower. (ps. sorry for those of you who are easily offended...just skip down to the second paragraph. I just have to make an observation about the french..thank you.) SO as I am walking in this park, I see a small group of french ladies with their dogs. The dogs are playing, and super nice when all of a sudden the one dog jumps on top of the other one and starts to hump the other dog!!! SO this is nature and all..big deal, but I have heard how sex and french people are just a bad combination because its like water or soap..(well soap might be a bad example..) for them. Its necessary. So what do I hear? Instead of where in America we would try to put a stop to it right away they are like 'Ooo La La!!! haahahahahahaha...' GROSS....weirdos...

OK so now that that is overwith I just had to make that observation. As I am walking through this park (still the first time walking through...I have said it like 3 times huh?) I happened to make eye contact with a guy walking past me for 0.02 seconds when he pulls a 180 degree turn and starts to walk right next to me and try to talk to me, (in french....I dont understand a WORD. not even the numbers..) and he doesnt understand english. I think, GOOD he is just going to go away because we dont understand each other. WRONG....the french people have a rep for just trying to get with any girl...well I found this out the hard way. 3 times in paris. The first was REALLY bad...I didnt mention it in the previous section but as I was looking for a hotel some weirdo guy started to talk me and being a nice american I talked back to him. BAD MISTAKE. He gave me a hug and started to kiss my cheek then there was tounge getting involved GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!!! I cant tell you how disturbing and gross and dirty it was and how I still feel about that. SO back to my story in the park..this guy keeps following me and trying to take pictures, etc. I let him take one picture of me and then kept trying to say Au Revior like a million times until he got the picture that I wanted him to LEAVE. So finally he leaves and i decide that since there is no line, I am going to walk up the eiffel tower. WHY NOT?? I mean, I only walked a million miles already on no food, DER ME....so I hiked up the eiffel tower, where I got amazing views of paris and bought an awesome souvenier. :D well its starting to sprinkle so I head back for my hotel. HAHA jokes on me...I find the first landmark that I memorized, or so i thought...until I realize that every freakin cafe in FRANCE looks the same. because then I dont recognize anything else. I start to walk around the area up and down the same street and in and out other streets just off of that one trying to find something I recognize. NOTHING. only the way I came from the eiffel tower. SO I even go back that way. NOTHING....partly because I am SUPER tired, and starving. Bad combination. (by the way I do realize that from this point is TOTALLY my own fault..)
It starts to RAIN now. Oh yeah.............i left my freakin umbrella in the hotel with all my other stuff. so its starting to get DARK and raining and I am alone on the streets of paris not knowing WHERE the freak my hotel is. I was seriously walking around for an hour when I decide to cry..haha but not super cry, only a little. nobody would notice. I dont remember the name of my hotel (again my bad...a BIG my bad..) or even the street name. So even if I went to the police, what do I tell them. And if I could at least find a policeman it would be nice. Finally, again..I stop and offer a VERY sincere prayer, asking for guidance and direction to my hotel. Well....after searching for a while later, something told me to keep walking in a certain direction. I didnt remember anything around me but still felt a strong feeling to keep walking. Well after a while later..I spoted what looked like the hotel landmark that I had memorized when I first walked out of my hotel. THANK THE LORD ALMIGHTY for helping me get there. It was dark, I was alone and wet, but I found it from a prayer, I swear it up and down.
SO when I get to my hotel, I call the american family again that I was given the number to earlier and get ahold of the guy. they offered to help me out the next morning to find a hostel, etc. So the next morning I meet up with the wife and they give me breakfast and found a hostel not too far away from the eiffel tower. SWEET...so we went there, and it seemed pretty cool. Only thing is they wouldnt let us go up to the rooms because it was locked so people stuff wouldnt get stolen. Ok, so by the looks of the bottom floor, it seemed pretty legit. SO I booked for the rest of the week. I had 3 more nights to go and it was 74 euro (100 dollars or so). didnt seem too bad. Once I had that booked, I headed out to the eiffel tower again where I saw open top tour buses and wanted to get a pass. It seemed like a way good deal. 2 days for 32 euro and they take you around ALL of paris. Well, I booked it and started to travel around all the major sights. It was really really cool. I will post pictures on here next. Anyway, I couldnt really afford to go in anywhere so I mostly took pictures from the outside. After paying that what eventually ended up being 74 euro after the phone calls to the american family I didnt have much left.

ONE LAST TO BE CONTINUED...............................

My Amazing Trip to Paris...*cough, cough*...oh excuse me, must be coming down with something...homesickness? (PART 1)

Hello one and all.
I am really bad at writing on here, partly because I work most of the day and by the time the night comes I dont want to put much thought into anything.
Anyway, I would like to write this blog on my trip to Paris I had this last week. It all starts 4 weeks ago, just barely a week into my starting here in Switzerland, was I notified of my family going on a vacation for a week. Naturally, I would be invited to go with the family, and I was, however was strongly urged to take a trip elsewhere as they would be hanging out in a cabin up in the mountains. It was a paid vacation, and these dont come along too often.
At first, when I originally looked up trips everything was WAY expensive (partly due to short notice), so I decided NOT to go anywhere. As time went by in these last few weeks, I have gained some good friends from church, particularly a family in a village just 15 min away who are LDS as well. (more about them comes later...really nice family btw..) SO naturally I was hanging out at their house one day, when the mother told me there is a special going on with the trains to Paris and back. This peaked my curiosity and so when I arrived at home I looked up these deals online. Sure enough, I could get to Paris and back for only 90 francs!! (85 dollars!!) (60 euro for those who are from europe.. i say that like switzerland isnt part of europe. well it sorta isnt because we are super isolated from the rest thats going on..) OK so moving on...thats a great deal!!
SO.....after checking out hostels, etc I decided to book it. Afterall, I wouldnt want to hang out at home alone, nor would I like to go to a cabin and be with the kids all week straight after taking care of them day after day. Not that its a bad thing, we all like our vacations away from kids now and then. GOOD. everything was settled. I found a hostel online (through google) for only 18 euro a night which would put me at 74 euro total for the days I decided to go. (breakfast included!!) :D
As the next week grew, things at home (for me at least) felt like tension was growing. thats for another blog, but you can imagine how thankful I was for the day to finally arrive that I was to leave for Paris and away from Anwil for a while. Whoo hoo, finally a vacation, and to freaking paris!! This is alot of peoples dreams in America, and I was doing it! Everything went smoothly, I was on the right trains all the way to Paris.
With anticipation jolting inside me I arrived and was so excited to settle in my bed and breakfast and go tour paris! ( I arrived early, like around 12pm.) Well, before I left I printed out maps, of how to get to my bed and breakfast, tour companies, etc. Oh, how I love google maps...they are sweet!
GET READY FOR THE GOOD STUFF FOLKS....BECAUSE HERE IT IS!!
First thing I noticed when walking towards my bed and breakfast was how I was the only white girl on the street......thats strange I was pretty sure I was in Paris and thats in Europe which is majority white right? (thats not a predjudice thing...its fact.) Well, as if that wasnt strange enough, I was walking for a WHILE. It felt like forever, only because everyone was staring at me like I'm some kind of alien that walked off the mothership. Finally, I find my 'bed and breakfast'. ** please take note that when I say 'bed and breakfast' that I am being somewhat sarcastic..because it was hardly a place I would want to sleep, let alone EAT there as well. I found the door, pushed it open which led me to an area with really obscene graffiti (had to look up how to spell that...sad.) and everything was MAJORLY dirty and it smelled like pee and somethin else...so I went up to the door that had the bed and breakfast sign hanging off and rang the doorbell. NOTHING. well ok, so maybe I am early but someone should be there...then some french guy told me that I should come back around 2pm. Ok so thats an hour from when I was there. What to do??? so I walked over to starbucks and hung out for an hour. When I went back, again NO ANSWER. I waited and waited and waited until finally something told me to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Well I know some of you reading this dont exactly share the same view points on the spirit or religion, but for me being here I have had AMAZING things happen which definetly lead me to believe 100% but that comes later...so as the spirit has been right EVERY time I have had a problem, I decided to listen to it. So I left. GREAT. so now what??
Well, I decided that since that was randomly on the street that if I walk further into a better area that maybe I will find another bed and breakfast or hostel nearby. So I walk, and walk..and walk..and then walked a little more, until finally it really seems that there is not going to be a hostel anywhere or anytime soon. Well, I decided that I should try to find the tourist office and maybe see if they can help me. SO...I get my paper out and try to find it....Well if any of you have been to paris its FREAKING HUGE and complicated. None of the streets are really straight. They zigzag all over and the names of the streets are REALLY similar. Great, so after walking for another....2 or 3 hours I still cant find this stupid tourist office. I know I am in the right area, but its not there..(dont you hate it when that happends???...I do..and I did..) SO I stopped into a best western (yeah, they have those in france...but much MUCH nicer and much MUCH more expensive..) I asked the lady if she could help me and her face went from WAY friendly to OH GREAT....an american.....stone cold. She said she could only offer me a room for 250 euro (which is probably about 350 or more dollars) a NIGHT!! psh....yeah RIGHT, I aint gonna pay no 250 euro a night...** do not worry, I did not say it like that.
I asked if she could point me in a direction or tell me whats in the area and she just said she couldnt help me, and to just walk down the street and try to find something. Oh joy, how much more FREAKIN FRENCH could she get?? they are so helpful, and did I mention friendly?? oh and did I mention I was in PARIS?? yeah they hate americans, actually they hate almost everyone in the world...
SO without further a do...i kept walking. At this point its getting to be 4:30 pm. Its a race against time and darkness. I am standing in the middle of a VERY crowded area, alone, as a woman, with my suitcase, and nowhere to sleep tonight. Panic starts to hit me as I realize this. SO what do I do? what does anyone do when they are scared out of their MIND?!? I called my mom. lol of COURSE I call her. She is probably one of the last people I would want to call in a situation like that because for one, it would scare the CRAP out of her, and two she cant do anything about it. so I called her up to pretty much give her a heartattack?!? haha no but I called her anyway. Along with other people as well. (please keep in mind people that it is SUPER expensive to call ANYWHERE in Europe, at anytime.) so I called the US twice, well actually ended up being WAY more than that.. Switzerland to my friend who happened to know a guy who served his mission in paris, so she gave him my number so he called me and gave me more numbers to call so I called the missionaries, and an american guy and his wife who are LDS.
Guess what??? NO ANSWER. psh....at this point, well I sort of expected it, since everything else was going SO great. Finally as I am still walking around, my mom calls and says that a friend of a friend also served his mission there and he mentioned that by the eiffel tower there were some lower cost hotels and such. SO I booked it to the eiffel tower, which was by metro. I got on the wrong train (going in the wrong direction) then turned around and went the right way.
Finally I am at the eiffel tower.
OK SO THIS STORY IS SUPER LONG....I am going to have to say


TO BE CONTINUED.........................

My Amazing Trip to Paris...*cough, cough*...oh excuse me, must be coming down with something...homesickness? (PART 1)

Hello one and all.
I am really bad at writing on here, partly because I work most of the day and by the time the night comes I dont want to put much thought into anything.
Anyway, I would like to write this blog on my trip to Paris I had this last week. It all starts 4 weeks ago, just barely a week into my starting here in Switzerland, was I notified of my family going on a vacation for a week. Naturally, I would be invited to go with the family, and I was, however was strongly urged to take a trip elsewhere as they would be hanging out in a cabin up in the mountains. It was a paid vacation, and these dont come along too often.
At first, when I originally looked up trips everything was WAY expensive (partly due to short notice), so I decided NOT to go anywhere. As time went by in these last few weeks, I have gained some good friends from church, particularly a family in a village just 15 min away who are LDS as well. (more about them comes later...really nice family btw..) SO naturally I was hanging out at their house one day, when the mother told me there is a special going on with the trains to Paris and back. This peaked my curiosity and so when I arrived at home I looked up these deals online. Sure enough, I could get to Paris and back for only 90 francs!! (85 dollars!!) (60 euro for those who are from europe.. i say that like switzerland isnt part of europe. well it sorta isnt because we are super isolated from the rest thats going on..) OK so moving on...thats a great deal!!
SO.....after checking out hostels, etc I decided to book it. Afterall, I wouldnt want to hang out at home alone, nor would I like to go to a cabin and be with the kids all week straight after taking care of them day after day. Not that its a bad thing, we all like our vacations away from kids now and then. GOOD. everything was settled. I found a hostel online (through google) for only 18 euro a night which would put me at 74 euro total for the days I decided to go. (breakfast included!!) :D
As the next week grew, things at home (for me at least) felt like tension was growing. thats for another blog, but you can imagine how thankful I was for the day to finally arrive that I was to leave for Paris and away from Anwil for a while. Whoo hoo, finally a vacation, and to freaking paris!! This is alot of peoples dreams in America, and I was doing it! Everything went smoothly, I was on the right trains all the way to Paris.
With anticipation jolting inside me I arrived and was so excited to settle in my bed and breakfast and go tour paris! ( I arrived early, like around 12pm.) Well, before I left I printed out maps, of how to get to my bed and breakfast, tour companies, etc. Oh, how I love google maps...they are sweet!
GET READY FOR THE GOOD STUFF FOLKS....BECAUSE HERE IT IS!!
First thing I noticed when walking towards my bed and breakfast was how I was the only white girl on the street......thats strange I was pretty sure I was in Paris and thats in Europe which is majority white right? (thats not a predjudice thing...its fact.) Well, as if that wasnt strange enough, I was walking for a WHILE. It felt like forever, only because everyone was staring at me like I'm some kind of alien that walked off the mothership. Finally, I find my 'bed and breakfast'. ** please take note that when I say 'bed and breakfast' that I am being somewhat sarcastic..because it was hardly a place I would want to sleep, let alone EAT there as well. I found the door, pushed it open which led me to an area with really obscene graffiti (had to look up how to spell that...sad.) and everything was MAJORLY dirty and it smelled like pee and somethin else...so I went up to the door that had the bed and breakfast sign hanging off and rang the doorbell. NOTHING. well ok, so maybe I am early but someone should be there...then some french guy told me that I should come back around 2pm. Ok so thats an hour from when I was there. What to do??? so I walked over to starbucks and hung out for an hour. When I went back, again NO ANSWER. I waited and waited and waited until finally something told me to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Well I know some of you reading this dont exactly share the same view points on the spirit or religion, but for me being here I have had AMAZING things happen which definetly lead me to believe 100% but that comes later...so as the spirit has been right EVERY time I have had a problem, I decided to listen to it. So I left. GREAT. so now what??
Well, I decided that since that was randomly on the street that if I walk further into a better area that maybe I will find another bed and breakfast or hostel nearby. So I walk, and walk..and walk..and then walked a little more, until finally it really seems that there is not going to be a hostel anywhere or anytime soon. Well, I decided that I should try to find the tourist office and maybe see if they can help me. SO...I get my paper out and try to find it....Well if any of you have been to paris its FREAKING HUGE and complicated. None of the streets are really straight. They zigzag all over and the names of the streets are REALLY similar. Great, so after walking for another....2 or 3 hours I still cant find this stupid tourist office. I know I am in the right area, but its not there..(dont you hate it when that happends???...I do..and I did..) SO I stopped into a best western (yeah, they have those in france...but much MUCH nicer and much MUCH more expensive..) I asked the lady if she could help me and her face went from WAY friendly to OH GREAT....an american.....stone cold. She said she could only offer me a room for 250 euro (which is probably about 350 or more dollars) a NIGHT!! psh....yeah RIGHT, I aint gonna pay no 250 euro a night...** do not worry, I did not say it like that.
I asked if she could point me in a direction or tell me whats in the area and she just said she couldnt help me, and to just walk down the street and try to find something. Oh joy, how much more FREAKIN FRENCH could she get?? they are so helpful, and did I mention friendly?? oh and did I mention I was in PARIS?? yeah they hate americans, actually they hate almost everyone in the world...
SO without further a do...i kept walking. At this point its getting to be 4:30 pm. Its a race against time and darkness. I am standing in the middle of a VERY crowded area, alone, as a woman, with my suitcase, and nowhere to sleep tonight. Panic starts to hit me as I realize this. SO what do I do? what does anyone do when they are scared out of their MIND?!? I called my mom. lol of COURSE I call her. She is probably one of the last people I would want to call in a situation like that because for one, it would scare the CRAP out of her, and two she cant do anything about it. so I called her up to pretty much give her a heartattack?!? haha no but I called her anyway. Along with other people as well. (please keep in mind people that it is SUPER expensive to call ANYWHERE in Europe, at anytime.) so I called the US twice, well actually ended up being WAY more than that.. Switzerland to my friend who happened to know a guy who served his mission in paris, so she gave him my number so he called me and gave me more numbers to call so I called the missionaries, and an american guy and his wife who are LDS.
Guess what??? NO ANSWER. psh....at this point, well I sort of expected it, since everything else was going SO great. Finally as I am still walking around, my mom calls and says that a friend of a friend also served his mission there and he mentioned that by the eiffel tower there were some lower cost hotels and such. SO I booked it to the eiffel tower, which was by metro. I got on the wrong train (going in the wrong direction) then turned around and went the right way.
Finally I am at the eiffel tower.
OK SO THIS STORY IS SUPER LONG....I am going to have to say


TO BE CONTINUED.........................

A Month Already..

Hey everyone.

So its been a while since I wrote because I wanted to write in a month and give a recap of the first month. If I had to sum it down to a few words it would be: hard, homesick, new, exciting.

I am now able to say I am used to the rail system, which is amazing, but expensive. Just going to Zürich which is only 50 min away it cost me 14.50 francs EACH way. It is true, Switzerland is a really expensive country to live in. As for other things, I am also used to driving on the roads. I went into a big city and drove. well not big city but bigger than most I have been driving in.

As for friends, things are getting better in that area. In a couple towns over, there is an LDS family that has 5 kids. 2 are closest to my age, so I hang out with them when I can. Hanging out with friends here is soooo different than the U.S. Everyone lives at least 15 to 30 min away, and since it is expensive to travel here, people only hang out once or twice a week!! When I say expensive, I mean taking a bus for 5 dollars for a 15 min ride...so as you can imagine, it can get a little lonely from time to time. I have hung out with some people from time to time, and they are really nice. (and cute..) lol but they have alot of ysa activities here so I am usually going to one once a week. :) church is about 30 min away. and the ward is really nice. small but nice. I have someone translate into english for me for now, but find myself catching on to alot of different things.

As for my family I work for. well its going ok. I am still getting used to the culture difference. It is true that german people are VERY clean, and so everything is sort of organized around cleanliness and such. But it is going well. At first the 7 year old (Halina) hated me. But after I put the law down and sent her to her room a few times, she has been better. At first the 2 year old (Isabelle) loved me, and now....its still ok, just I think she is sort of going through an independent streak right now. Both are very active children. Halina goes to school everyday and then has swimming and sports, and then Isabelle and I go on daily walks around the countryside. I will show pictures here at the end.

As for anything else, my german is still not so good, but is getting better in listening to others talk. I am taking a german class in Basel which is about 30 min away, but I got a pass for the train which was also expensive because I still have to pay for the train each time, only half price now..

Next week I am going to Paris, so that should be interesting. I still need find a place to stay. Other than that...it should be really fun. I am planning on going to the Louvre and Notre Dame, etc. I will be there for 5 days, so expect some pictures soon :)
Well, as for other things, there was a moment that I just wanted to go home. Well I had a blessing and there will be alot of missionary work happening, I can say that for sure.

Ok, so here are some pictures. :) enjoy!

Zürich

Zürich Bahnhof

Castle in Karlsruhe, Germany / Me

The Villiage I live In

Bridge over the Rhein River in Basel

A Month Already..

Hey everyone.

So its been a while since I wrote because I wanted to write in a month and give a recap of the first month. If I had to sum it down to a few words it would be: hard, homesick, new, exciting.

I am now able to say I am used to the rail system, which is amazing, but expensive. Just going to Zürich which is only 50 min away it cost me 14.50 francs EACH way. It is true, Switzerland is a really expensive country to live in. As for other things, I am also used to driving on the roads. I went into a big city and drove. well not big city but bigger than most I have been driving in.

As for friends, things are getting better in that area. In a couple towns over, there is an LDS family that has 5 kids. 2 are closest to my age, so I hang out with them when I can. Hanging out with friends here is soooo different than the U.S. Everyone lives at least 15 to 30 min away, and since it is expensive to travel here, people only hang out once or twice a week!! When I say expensive, I mean taking a bus for 5 dollars for a 15 min ride...so as you can imagine, it can get a little lonely from time to time. I have hung out with some people from time to time, and they are really nice. (and cute..) lol but they have alot of ysa activities here so I am usually going to one once a week. :) church is about 30 min away. and the ward is really nice. small but nice. I have someone translate into english for me for now, but find myself catching on to alot of different things.

As for my family I work for. well its going ok. I am still getting used to the culture difference. It is true that german people are VERY clean, and so everything is sort of organized around cleanliness and such. But it is going well. At first the 7 year old (Halina) hated me. But after I put the law down and sent her to her room a few times, she has been better. At first the 2 year old (Isabelle) loved me, and now....its still ok, just I think she is sort of going through an independent streak right now. Both are very active children. Halina goes to school everyday and then has swimming and sports, and then Isabelle and I go on daily walks around the countryside. I will show pictures here at the end.

As for anything else, my german is still not so good, but is getting better in listening to others talk. I am taking a german class in Basel which is about 30 min away, but I got a pass for the train which was also expensive because I still have to pay for the train each time, only half price now..

Next week I am going to Paris, so that should be interesting. I still need find a place to stay. Other than that...it should be really fun. I am planning on going to the Louvre and Notre Dame, etc. I will be there for 5 days, so expect some pictures soon :)
Well, as for other things, there was a moment that I just wanted to go home. Well I had a blessing and there will be alot of missionary work happening, I can say that for sure.

Ok, so here are some pictures. :) enjoy!

Zürich

Zürich Bahnhof

Castle in Karlsruhe, Germany / Me

The Villiage I live In

Bridge over the Rhein River in Basel