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!!

Jim's 20th birthday!

Well Jim was lucky enough to spend his 20th birthday in Paris! We went to the Hard Rock Cafe to eat. And we went to a movie and saw the new James Bond movie! At the Hard Rock Cafe we told our waiter who was named "Home Boy" that it was Jim's birthday. He brought out the fellow workers and they all sang Happy Birthday.. they even got the whole Hard Rock Cafe to join in!! Here are a few pictures from Jim's birthday!

The Big 2-0!!

Albi. A night out with some girls :)

Well.. I'm a little late on updating you. But I wanted to tell you about our night on the town in Albi. A few nights before we left for Paris we meet up with a few of the girls we had met at the University. Some of these girls are studying English. Basically that is their major. They all speak English quite well.. especially compared to our French! haha. A few of the girls we had met before, there were also a couple new ones. They are all so so nice. We will have them over and show them what a real thankgiving is like! We went to a bar and had a drink. Then we went out for ice cream.. here are a few pictures of our night!!!

Weekend in Spain!

Here are some pictures from our weekend in Spain!! :)

The first place we went to was Girona. Before entering the city you must kiss the lioness' butt..
we literally 'kissed-ass!' haha

We visited a class of Spanish students learning French. This made for some interesting conversations.
We were only allowed to speak French! In the picture above we were mingling around and talking
to different students; some had paper & were actually interviewing us!

After getting to know each other a little, we gave a presentation about the United States, Pennsylvania, and Saint Francis. Universities in the states are completely opposite than universities over in Europe. Dorms, sports, and activities are all different. It was nice to show them us. And then we were able to see where they were from and their area. Only downfall...everything was in French!! AH! I couldn't understand much of what they were telling us about...but I got the gist of it all :)

Later in the afternoon we went...KAYAKING! WOO HOO! haha.
As you can see we were all dressed appropriately.
With the coats, life vests, and boots. We were ready to hit the water!
I got a nice little wetsuit to keep me warm! I must admit it worked out very nicely!

Me & Jim...hittin' the river! I was waving 'good-bye.' A little farther down, I mentioned to Jim.. "I feel like a duck." Jim's response was... "Lindsay, YOU LOOK LIKE A DUCK!!" haha. Thanks Jim, Thankssss.

BARCELONA!! We went to the top of a cathedral. This is a picture overlooking the city. Beautiful!

Next was off to a Cathedral that is still being built today! After over a hundred years from when they started it, they still are not finished. This is no ordinary Cathedral by any means. If you look closely, you will notice there are no straight lines or right angels. Gaudi was the designer of this Cathedral & boy is it different!!

Here is the picture of the ceiling. The walk ways were pretty neat too.
As I previously mentioned; not too many striaght lines!!

The stained glass windows were really pretty. They were a different color than ordinary ones.

Okay.. Time for an exlanation. There was this crane going up. And while we were there we watched it from beginning 'til the end. This same piece in this picture, ended up being around 200 meters in the air!! It was remarkable!

Here is a statue of Christopher Columbus in Barcelona. He is pointing in the direction he traveled.

On our way back... Here are the Perenez Mountains.
They border Spain & France. That's snow on the tops of them!!

Here we are with a picture of US in the background. These are the signs to aware drivers what departments (cities) they will be arriving to. We are "Valley du tarn" (vally of the tarn). The Tarn is a river. Although this picture is far away, you are able to see the river, the town of Ambialet & most imporantly.. our monastery!! :)
[ps. My hair is a mess because I had been sleeping in a car for 2 hours!]

Gorgeous day in France!

Back to home. I must admit after spending so much time here and getting use to this place.
I can say, it truly feels like this place is home.. :)

Well our travels are coming near an end. We have one more left.. Paris AGAIN! :] We are leaving this Sunday (November 16th) for another 9 days. I will be sure to keep you posted on all that is going on!

Off again...!

Well we can't get settled in and too comfortable! Sure enough tomorrow is Friday morning and we are off to Spain! AH! Tim, Gerry, Sandrine, John, Jim, Teddy, and I... in one car for 5 hours! haha this will be an exciting morning! Oh boy. We may be going kayaking for a day! As long as the weather permits and the water is well too. Today we made a presentation that the 4 of us will present to some on Sandrines students... but wait. There's a catch. We must do it in French. oh but wait wait wait a second! They don't speak English...at all! They are Spanish students who are at the levels we are in French! AH! haha this should be exciting! We will be gone Friday morning until Monday evening. I will update you guys next week before we leave for Paris!

Well there are a few things I want to update you on before we leave! We have a dog now, since we have been back from Paris and Rome. Her name is Brun. She is a chocolate lab and is too cute. She doesn't understand much English so we work on our French skills with her. :) Also, we have an oddly shaped back yard, which would require too much work to cut. So....instead of cutting the grass we have a goat!! Her name is Blanket... well in French you do not pronounce the t.. so no its not blanket haha. Gerry got a new car! It is very very nice. It is a van; with a DVD player, an adapter in which he can hook his phone up and can make calls, a navigation system. We'll be rollin' high class now! :) That's what I'm talking about haha. Also!! Best part... Gerry is moving to Albi!!!! He will no longer have his apartment in Paris. I'm so happy for him and Olga. This is an exciting time in there lives and will be so greatful for it as Daniel grows up. :)

Well I must be heading to bed now, it is late and it will be a busy busy weekend!

Take care and have a great weekend!! :) :) :)

I'll update you soon ;)

Continuing our Journey in Rome

Well! Let me explain to you all of my pictures... These were taken throughout our entire stay in Rome.. :]

Me & The boys.... Day 2. Waiting outside Saint Peter's to go and see the Pope's Mass!! :)

The Pope during Mass.

We were really this close!! This isn't even zoomed!!

After Mass there were probably near 45,000 people! Waiting to see the Pope come out of the window in his office.

There he is... came out at 12:00, for 10 minutes!

This is the Trevy Fountain. Theory has it if you throw 3 coins in, you will return to Rome... Let's see if it works! :)

Day 5 we were apart of the Pope's audience. Father John got us VIP tickets; we were pretty close!

After seeing the Pope we went and met the Princess of Rome! :) She was very, very nice!

After meeting the Princess, we got to tour the Palace! This hall we are in in the picture above was actually the last scene of the movie "A Roman Holiday." A few days before visiting, we watched this movie.
It's pretty good; it is black and white- but I highly recommend it!

Me & Father John. He is the priest who helped us with everything in Rome. :) THANK YOU!

Considering the fact we are from Saint Francis University; we thought it was a must to go see Assisi!! :) Here it is!

"San Francesco" is Italian for Saint Francis. GORGEOUS! :)

I think this picture is just breath taking. Whenever we went inside to eat; it started raining...right as we came out to start walking and continue our journey through Assisi, the sun started shining and this is what it looked like!

The famous Colosseum.

Here is a picture of the church at the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. We visited here on Halloween. The Catacombs were an underground place where all the tombs were stored. They had placed all of them outside of the city. However, the way the ground is, you cannot be inside the Catacombs for longer than 30 minutes in case in caves in.

Our last day in Rome, we visited a few places but saw so much.
Here is the holding cell "prison" of Peter and Paul.
The figure towards the left was where they were chained to.

Next we visited another church. Here Father John got us into an area only certain people are allowed.
If you look behind the figure of the Last Supper.
You can see the wood in the glass; this was the wood from the last supper table.

This and the next two pictures were all in one case. I wanted close ups and couldn't fit them in one picture. On the left is a nail that was used to hold Jesus to the cross. On the right is the original piece of wood that read "INRI."

In this cross are pieces of wood from the original cross that Jesus was hung on.

On the left is the doubting Thomas' finger. In the center is what was used to push the nails into Jesus.
Finally on the right are thorns that were in the Crown of Thorns.

To completely end our time in Rome, we had one lass mass over looking the Vatican at night... truly amazing.

I want to take a small section, and just say "thanks" to Father John who, without him, our trip would never have been so successful. Without him, we would have never experienced the opportunities we did, nor would we have learned all that we did.

I have many more pictures, if you are interested in seeing, let me know! I just found a few that I thought best showed our trip and journey through Rome.... hope you enjoyed looking at them.

God Bless.