Pictures I edited :]

Ahh. A picture of the fields, on a beautiful day in France.

Our Animals :) Well... The dog is here to stay. She was Tim's daughter's in Lyon.
But, she was living in an apartment and the monastery has so much more room for her to run! Speedy. hehe.
Well, he is somewhere! He was a nice pet for 10 minutes :)
Blanket is our goat that eats the grass so we don't have to cut it!! :) She's finally doing her job.

This feels like it was soooo long ago!! It was our first day here!!

We're going to be friends forever guys, so get use to it now!

Just some silly pictures of us throughout our time here :)

This was in the Princess' house. Just sitting on a couch. It was cool there
because although everything had the same historic story to it that all museums have;
it wasn't a museum so we could actually touch things and sit down! Kinda cool!

This was while we were waiting to go see the Pope!

This was all at the Princess' Palace in Rome.
THANK YOU FATHER JOHN!!!

This was a few nights ago.. Our way back from Lourdes we stopped and ate at Peter and Margret's house.
They are seriously the nicest British couple that you will EVER meet!!

haha, this was a night in Paris at the Metro Station.

... just over the months :]

GIRLS!!! :) :)

What a group you guys are. I'll miss you all <3
Calins et Bisous!

This is Lucie. She's probably one of those girls I'll keep in touch with...FOREVER!! She's soo soo sooo nice!!! I think she was one of the ones I got along with the most. I'm praying she gets to make her way to the States, soon. :D
If not... I'll be back here to visit her for suureee :D

This is Duygu (pronounce: Do-You-Go....real, fast!) She's from Turkey and is also studying in France but for a full year. She lived in MA and has family in NJ. She's coming this summer!! ROADD TRIPPP!! :D

Haha, This is Christiane. Again, she is one of the ones I clicked with the most. The first night we went out... (the first time I ever met her), she was the most welcoming and really made me feel...comfortable. I needed money, and never meeting her before, she put her coat on and took me to the ATM. :) Then. We were discussing what we liked to drink. Neither of us like beer, but the bar had a sweet beer. She liked it, so she got it and let me have a sip to see if I wanted it or not. In the meantime, she is ordering in for me and helping me since I didn't speak French. I'm really going to miss her <3 But she is planning on doing a year or so in the U.S. She'll be kinda like a nanny for a family with children. Let's pray she comes to Pennsylvania! :D

This is Laurence. She has a big test on December 20th.. then, she'll know if she is coming to SAINT FRANCIS!! NEXT FALL!! WOO HOO!! GOOD GOOD GOOD LUCKK!!! <3

GROS BISOUS (big kisses) from Christiane and Lucie!! :)

haha. I'm going to miss these girls tooo much <3
They learned a 'goofy-face' pretty well!

Friends Forever :)

Almost Time...

Well, it is 10:20 pm here, Sunday December 14th. Sure enough we will be leaving in a matter of hours. We plan to hit the road by 4:30am, Monday December 15th. 6 short hours. Then, begins another journey of our trip back home. Sitting in the airport with Jim and Teddy, with the same feelings of sadness and excitement...but this time, we will be going the opposite way. Teddy left today for Paris. We will meet up with him in the Paris airport for our flight overseas. I cannot believe our time here is coming to an end. Looking back on everything we've done and how much we have grown..

I want to say 'thank you.' Thank you to all of you for supporting me through these four months of my life. Thank you to all the new people I have met and have welcomed me into their country. Thank you to Tim for being understanding that I am the only girl, for always giving us a good laugh, and for being so open to us and making us feel at home. Thank you to Gerry for always putting a smile on our faces and really making us feel as though we were apart of your family. I want to thank my parents for being the biggest supporters of all... and a biiigg thank you to my boyfriend who has stuck beside me through everything.

It's been a blessing. I really don't know how else to describe it to you. I can't put into words all of the things I have done. I am looking forward to showing you pictures and telling you about different places and of different stories... But over all, the biggest blessing is this journey has allowed me to become the woman I have grown to be.

I must be going now... I will let you know about our travels back to the U.S.
Can't wait to see you all soon <3 <3

God Bless.

Our journey is coming to an end...

Yesterday was a busy day for all of us. The packing has begun. This morning ta 4:30.. Jim, Teddy, and myself woke up to say our final good-bye to John. Sure enough, he is on his way to the States. He should have left Paris by now and be in the air.

This trip has truly been one of the biggest blessings in my life. I cannot express to you how grateful I am to have had this experience. As our time is coming to an end, we are all a little sad but cannot be more excited to reunite with family and friends.

Tomorrow Teddy is leaving Le Prieure around 12pm. Jim and I will go to church in the morning, Teddy will join us to say his final good byes to our friends we've made there. He will stay in Paris for the evening and join back up with us on Monday. Jim and I are leaving Le Prieure around 5am Monday morning... It's coming fast.

For the most part, we are all packed and getting ready for our departure. My suitcases and carry-on's are heavy! Our checked luggage is allowed to be 23kg. Right now I have one suitcase at 21 and one at 18. The only problem, is the one at 18kg can't fit anything else! I literally had to sit ontop of it to close it!! haha. I still have a few more things that need packed. Fortunetly, for me, Jim has a few pounds to spare (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU). I will place a few articles of clothing on the top of his bag and be able to take it out at the Pittsburgh airport and home with me... It was extremely nice of him to consider me and help me out.

Well, this is all for now... Gerry and Olga are in Albi. So today is literally me Jim and Teddy. We've spent the past hour and a half down stairs talking. It has been a nice day so far.. There isn't too much else going on. Well I'm going to go enjoy a nice hot shower (I'll tell ya...I'm really going to miss this shower!) I think I've mentioned before, my shower itself is the size of some small bathrooms at home! My shower is in one of the towers! It's pretty cool and I'm going to miss it! haha.

Well I hope you have a great day and a wonderful week... guess what!
I'LL SEE YOU SOON : )

It's never 'good-bye.' It's always 'see you later.'

Well...simply put "it is never goodbye, it is always see you later." And I cannot be more sure that I will see these friends later on in life. Although it took so long to meet them and finally make plans. The best nights we had were always with them. The girls here (and the guys) have been soo welcoming and so nice to hang out with us on some evenings. Saying bye at tex mex was hard. It is this little bar that is right across the university of Albi (where all of these pictures were taken). It was a great evening. Kisses and hugs were everything this night. I couldn't help but start crying. These girls have truly made our study abroad trip wonderful. We couldn't have found a better group of students our age to get to know. Some plan to come to the United States within the next few years. I can only hope they are near Pennsylvania... the road trip would be so worth it! I am positive, in the near future I will be back to this part of France. I would love to come see what this program has become in 3 or 4 years. And see France all over again. I know...that when I return, I will be visiting these girls. Thank God for facebook...we will be able to keep in touch regularly.. Here are some photos of our last night with them (December 10, 2008) .... <3

Lourdes & dinner :)

So we made our last trip as a group together. It was a 3 hour car ride but so worth it. Gerry took us to Lourdes today. Boy was it amazing!! You could just feel the energy when you reached the town. The city itself was beautiful. Along with the basilicas. John, Teddy, Gerry, and myself got a 'bath' there. Where you are cleansed with the holy way from the Spring of which the Virgin Mary appeared. There were two lines: girls & guys. Of course, the girls like was 3 times as long as the boys! From the time I got in line, I was there for at least 3 hours from the beginning until after my bath. They say miracles occur by, doing what Bernadette did whenever the Virgin Mary appeared and drinking the water and splashing your face. Another step is the bath in which we had. It was a great experience! Here are some pictures of the town. I do not know how much you know about Lourdes; but I recommend looking up the story :)

Here are two basilicas that are literally placed on top of each other!

Here are people (one the left) gathered to see the Shrine and where the spring began..
Further ahead is where the bathhouses were.

Where the Virgin Mary appeared, multiple times.

and the spring that began because of her appearance..

Finally, here is a picture of Peter, Margaret. We had dinner with them this evening after we arrived
back into Ambialet. They are truly, the nicest couple I've ever met.
God Bless Them Always. Thank you so much for everything :)

ah... less than two weeks! already

So. I cannot believe how fast our time here is going!

We had our presentations last night which went great!! They were all very interesting topics and a lot of information! After words, we sat around with Tim enjoying the last night here with him. We drank champagne and reminisced of our journeys from Paris to Spain. It has been quite an adventure. Through all the laughs and arguments. It was fun to sit down and talk about them..

As 2:00 approached this afternoon, it was time for Tim to leave. Our last hugs, and good byes with him. Although we have not sat in a classroom with him for hours on end, he has truly taught us all so much information that we will forever carry with us. We all wish him a safe trip back to the United States and a wonderful holiday. So, Tim....as the French would say.. "Bon voyage!" :) :)

Tomorrow we will help Gerry get settled into his new house. We will have dinner in Albi and met up with our friends, again! :) I will keep you posted throughout these next few days :) Take care!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEXI!

Okay Okay, so I know this is suppose to be about France. But this is my little sister's first birthday that I have missed. And she is turning 10!! AHH!!! So.. I wanted to dedicated a post just for her.. telling her
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I love you Lexi, so so so much!!

100 days in!

Well here we are.. Day 100! Do you know what that means?! There are only 15 days left! Wow. Where has the time gone? Looking back over the last 3 months. I can't believe the things we have done, the places we have seen, and the people we have met. This journey in my life has truly been one of the largest blessings.

As the days go by, I am realizing how these strangers, turned to friends; and these friends, turned to family. We say our first 'good-bye' on Tuesday. Tim is departing and heading back to the States. It'll be hard.. and weird in a way. We've said by to him a few times.. it'll take a few days to realize he won't be coming back while we are here..

These next two week will be full of emotions... between all the excitement of going home and see my family and boyfriend ... to saying bye to people who mean so much.

I guess tonight it is starting to click on how fast these next 15 days are going to go.. I started packing a suitcase the other day... wow.

It feels like just yesterday I was coming home from work (the Phone Program at SFU) and telling my dad "I think I'm going to France." Never thought I would really do it.. I think it started out more as a joke. But...sure enough here I am.. and almost time to go home..

I'll keep you guys posted on our last few days here. Lately we have been working on an Economic project for Tim. We will present our power points tomorrow at 3:00! Wish us all luck! :) :)

Well, I'm going to head to bed now..
good night :)

Thanksgiving 2008. :)

Okay... So Thanksgiving this year was a little different... for all of us. Although we were not able to spend it with our friends and family back home; we were able to spend it with new friends, neighbors, and people who turned into family. It was truly a Thanksgiving I will always remember. The day began around 3pm and we didn't get to bed until near 4am! What a day.. Let me take you through it with some pictures & details.. Hope your Thanksgiving was truly as great as ours :)

First it all began when students from a near-by town (Gaillac) came. They attend a school of wine. They will be in the wine business, one day. Most of them were our age. They gave a presentation on wine and we ended up having a wine tasting! It was a lot of fun. We, also, gave a presentation on the wine exports and imports in the U.S. and in Pennsylvania.

Here is a picture of all the wine students & us American students :)

The two guys are professors from Giallac and that's Sandrine in the middle, one of our professors :)

White Wine Vs. Red Wine!

Here is the table!!!

Everyone gathered around as Gerry gave a speech.

We had around 40 people here. As you can see, everyone is going to get food! We had 3 turkeys. Unfortunately, I did not partake on the turkey :( haha. But Tim did find me some meatballs! THANK YOU!! :) :) It was set up buffet style so everyone could help themselves. It really worked out perfectly!

Here are some of our neighbors and friends that we have met throughout the past 3 months.

Here are the Wine Students!

Our friends from Albi! We were so glad they could make it!! We had such a GREAT time!!
For some of them, this was their first Thanksgiving!

Ohhh me & Gerry :) We matched that night, yano! haha

Teddy A.K.A. the new James Blunt. He practiced all week preparing for this.. You did GREAT TEDDY!!!! :) :) :)

Nadine & the Mayor. He really enjoys playing that guitar. She basically had to force him to go home! He likes to play George Straight (famous country singer back home). Teddy knows all the words so they make a good pair! haha. When the Mayor sings, you would think he can speak English very well, but believe it or not...he doesn't! Nadine will speak a little English with us, but she likes to test us on our French when we go to her cafe and eat :)

Here, John, Peter, and Margret are singing Christmas carols. We explained to many of the French that right after Thanksgiving everyone starts to prepare for Christmas. The girls from Albi couldn't believe that! Some of the carols sounded familiar to them; but they have never heard them in English. It made for a good time and great conversation learning about both cultures :)

The Mayor playing..again! :) hehe. Along with Tim singing! :)

Two of the girls from Albi and a history student from Albi, as well, were singing some comman French songs.
All of you have great voices!!

hahaha. Jim carved a pumpkin and thought it would be fun to make it...his face!

They pick up on the "goofy face" pretty well ;) This is Sandra and Christiane. You girls are too much fun!

Here is a good one of me and all the girls. They stayed later...well, til 2:30am! We had a blast singing and just being silly! Here it is me, Christiane is on the floor. Marjolaine (spelling??) is beside me in the black shirt. Lucie is in the wayy back. Sandy is in the white shirt. And Sandra is on the far right. They are such a fun group of girls to hang out with! Sometimes they will start speaking French.. and when I don't understand I go "wait wait wait.. what did you say?" and they will translate everything for me :)

Me, the girls, Jim and John, and two boys who are studying history at the University of Albi
(which is the same school the girls go to).

This Thanksgiving has been one that will be remembered forever. It was such a great night of eating, laughing, singing, and being silly. Thank you all for attending and making it such a great day!!! :) :) Hope yours was just as great!

God Bless.. see you all soon!!