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.