AH! So much to say!

OK, I have been just horrible and now I have to pay for it ! I returned to school this week after nearly 7 weeks of vacation and havent written about nearly any of it. Not only is that seven weeks to catch up on but they were possibly the most adventurous and crazy seven weeks of my life ! I have travelled to seven different countries since I returned from the south, all completely different and beautiful in their own way. So I think the best way to catch up is one post at a time..

But before my traveling even began I was blessed by a visit from Caroline, one of my best friends from back home. After a veeery long journey to Paris (several flight changes, cancellations, reroutes and lost baggage !) we had only a few hours to shop and prepare before going out to bring in the New Year correctly. Though we had plans to meet up with friends at several different locations throughout the night, all plans were abandoned and we had an outrageous night at a little establishment juste à côté to the Champs Elysée. After a lost scarf, a new scarf, many international encounters and several prom poses, the wee hours of morning came and told us it was time to make it to our beds. After not enough sleep, we woke up and had lunch with my host family. As they can not really speak english and Caroline isnt exactly proficient in French, I got to play translator ! So much fun ! I think it is a lot easier translating someone elses thoughts rather than your own, interestingly enough.

The week passed so quickly,, each day filled with sites and lots and lots of laughter. We definitely did not sleep a healthy amount, but that isnt too suprising- we didnt want to sleep away our week together !

There were several interesting realisations I had that week, the first being that there is actually less english spoken here than I realized. I feel like I meet english speakers everywhere all the time ! I cant tell you how many people we met that week that could barely utter a phrase in english. Athough I enjoyed playing translator, it isnt quite as fun to have to have a translator. Caroline was a real trooper though. Ive spoken my fair share of « franglais » since september, but I realised if I didn’t have a little french to put into that mix I wouldn’t have gotten so far. I feel like I have so far to go before I am efficient in this second language, but it also made me realize that I have been underestimating what I do know.

The other realisation is that my love for learning other cultures isnt necessarily normal, but more so a great passion. I know, kind of ridiculous that this just came to me but I am usually surrounded by people- especially here- that are sometimes even more passionate than I am about learning cultures other than our own. So in « my world » it is normal. But this funny little realisation kind of stirred in me some new dreams. I think my love for cultures is truly something God has placed inside me and will always be a big part of my life and how I bring glory to him.