Part 2 Begins

     Though back in April of last year, it was a MAJOR hassle and I was running all over Belmont's campus and filling out what seemed like endless applications, the choice to participate in two completely separate programs for each semester has been absolutely worth it! One of the best perks has definitely been my two month vacation... That's right. Two months of vacay hanging out in Paris. And in fact, I have not yet started my classes. Still have one more week before the work really begins! 

     People always ask "so what on earth have you been doing in that time??". Well, let me tell you! My lovely family came to visit over Christmas break for two weeks, and that was a ton of fun. We spent one week in Paris and one week in Rome. Coolest Christmas break ever. I still babysit Nadjet twice a week as well. I've been doing a lot of salsa dancing as well, shout out to my girls Marie, Dani, and Abbey who I dragged with me to a possibly slightly sketchy salsa club back in Nashville one time before leaving. Don't worry, I'll take you to my favorite salsa clubs here :) I went to a few art museums, played guitar and piano, read 5 books, and drank a lot coffee. I think there were only 2 days that I never left the house.

     My second program just started four days ago, so I just moved into a new host family. And yet again, God has seriously blessed me and I know this semester is going to be wonderful with my new living arrangements. The second I got the email with the information about my host family, I knew it was all going to be ok, and I didn't need to worry. Last semester I lived with a woman named Dominique who had 2 kids and 2 grandkids (that don't live at home). This semester I'm living with a woman named Dominique Gory who has 3 kids and some grandkids (that don't live at home). Like what!? Probably the most important thing that I should share with you (whoever 'you' may be) is that I actually live on the the top floor of a middle school now...  Madame Gory is the directrice of a middle school and lives on the top floor of the school, a very common thing here in Paris. The apartment is quite large, I have my own room and bathroom and I have an automatic alarm clock set for 8am every morning! It's still a little comical to think about it but so far, I absolutely love it. On top of that, I also live in a really great neighborhood in Paris called The Marais. I am surrounded by a bunch of cute restaurants, cafes, bistros, and of course boulangeries. The Marais is actually known for having some great boulangeries. Ya'll, I have seriously been blessed!! Can't believe I get to call the third arrondissement home for the next 4 months. I'm just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Seine and the majestic Notre Dame is just a five minute walk away.

     No update on classes yet, because like I said, I still haven't started those yet :) I have my french placement exam coming up on Wednesday and after that I'll know how much my french improved since arriving here in August.

His love never fails. 

One Semester Down

So I've clearly struggled with this whole 'blog' thing… seeing as it's been two and a half months since I last posted something. After I got back from morocco, time seemed to speed away from me quite quickly, as I knew it would. Starting with morocco, I was out of town 6 weeks in a row. While it was incredible and I'm thankful for every place I got to go, I won't lie- it was little stressful, and very time consuming. I was not in paris as much as I wanted to be, and when I was, I was unpacking, catching up on school work, doing laundry, and then re-packing. Maybe if school hadn't been in there it wouldn't have been as stressful :)  Every single trip was incredible and I've already put some of the pictures up on Facebook so I'll save you from an endless list of pictures from each one!

First, I want to say how grateful I am for all the friends that I made this semester. I feel like every which way I turned, God continually walked ahead of me and put awesome people in my life. Whether that was at school, at my semester program office, at church, or at work.

As you may know, this semester I've been babysitting a precious little girl, Nadjet twice a week. Going into the first meeting with her and her mother was pretty nerve-wracking- having no clue what the family was going to be like, if they spoke english, if I would be able to understand their french, and so on. And deciding to babysit was once of the best decisions I could have made. Nadjet is absolutely wonderful, her mother is so great as well, and it's allowed me to really practice my french and meet new people (mainly other nannies at the park). I have learned so so much from Nadjet and I am so thankful that I get a whole 'nother five months with her!

All in all, this semester has been so much more than I could have ever imagined. It was definitely a struggle at times, getting frustrated with not completely knowing the language, or frustrated at mean french waiters... or unhelpful teachers, or too much school work, etc, but each day was a blessing. The biggest thing I will take away from this semester truly is the people I've met. Whether they've been French, American, British, Australian, New Zealanders (?), Irish, Italian, or German. (Yes.. I really have met at least one person of each nationality!) I have learned so much from them and have loved soaking in as much as possible.

Next semester definitely has a lot to live up to! And it presents a whole new set of challenges- a new host family, a new school, new friends, new almost everything! While I'm am sad to let go of what I had this past semester, because it was so wonderful, I know that it can only mean I have even more things to learn and people to meet. If it crosses your mind, it would mean the world to me if you remembered me in your prayers. That I will be a light and example of the love and joy I have in Christ. That as I continue to explore Paris and meet new people and learn new things that I will know what remains constant no matter what. This semester has been a dream come true and I can't believe I'm blessed enough to have it continue another five months.

His love never fails.