"Not All Who Wander Are Lost"

I'm back, but let me fill you in....

2008-08-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow Bloggers.

Yes, I know. My dedication to these updates has waned. Sorry about that. In case anyone was worried, I am not still in England or wandering around Europe unable to get home. I arrived in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave on the 24th of July, after a rather exhausting trail of events.

But I’ll back up.

Ok, so my last days in England passed by very quickly (hence the lack of blogging). The Elliotts left for holiday (very sad), but not before a goodbye dinner and lots of hugs and promises to write.

The quiet that followed their departure was strange to the point of being unsettling, but happily, it did not last long.
Soon after the Elliotts left, I found out that Marynn, one of my good friends from William and Mary, was going to be in London for the day. She is studying in Cambridge for the summer, and so merely had to catch one of the many buses running into the city. I met her at one of the most confusing bus terminals known to man, but somehow, we found each other and began to explore the city.
One good thing I can say about the terminal, is that right outside of it stands a large theatre, a massive green billboard happily glittering above it—that’s right. Wicked was playing. This 60 foot emerald advertisement being hard to miss, we walked by and were immediately captivated.

Wicked being one of Marynn’s favorites (and me always game for a good musical) we headed to the box office to see if any tickets were available. Long story short, they were, we flipped out, we bought the cheap seats, we flipped out again—high pitched girly squeals were much involved in this scene as box office agents looked on with bemused and slightly impatient expressions.

Anyhoo, so we got the tickets and then continued our so far short-sighted exploration. We hit all the major sights—Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben—and also walked along the river and talked on one of the many bridges for probably hours.

After a quick dinner and more high pitched squeals, we settled into our seats at the theatre and waited expectantly for the show.
It was amazing. No really, I know I’m a musical geek and not too hard to please, but for real—it was amazing.
On a musical high (I’m pretty sure neither of us could wipe a grin from our faces), we made our way back to the bus terminal from hell and I bide farewell to Marynn. I then caught my train back to Gerrards Cross and collapsed into bed at around 1:30. Ah living outside the city.

Ok, so for all of you who hear the word “show” and give a little smirk, or “musical” and think: “I’d rather get a crown replaced on my molar”…..turn back now. No really. You will not be able to handle this.

The next few days were a flurry of musical bliss. See, I have a problem--this intrinsic, gooey, weak spot somewhere inside me reserved especially for broadway shows. I don’t know how this happened, I’m guessing my parents have something to do with it, and possibly the whole growing up around plays and hearing Les Mis blasting as my mom cleaned the house. Whatever psychological analysis you want to perform on me, it does not change the fact that something within me leaps skyhigh when I hear the word broadway, and this thing was released my last week in London.
The night after Marynn came, I went to meet my German friend, Kai, in the city. A few days before he had called me (I had told him I was determined to see a show while I was here and he offered to get tickets when he was in the city), and said he had gotten us tickets for a show. I asked which one and he replied “Les Miserables”. I think I swallowed my tongue I gasped so loud—it’s my favorite show probably ever.

Ok, so anyway, we saw Les Mis (I cried), and the next day Emily came in to visit from Paris, and while she was here we saw King Lear at the Globe theatre (um, I have no words—we were “groundlings” and so saw every little detail, though I must say, standing for three hours can take a bit of your enthusiasm away),

Stomp (SO COOL—these people are ridiculously talented), and finally, Phantom of the Opera (cue hallelujah chorus). *Sigh* Never again in my life will I experience such a show-filled week. It was glorious.

Anyway, it was very cool having Emily there with me. We explored the city too, which was great (we also saw the European Premiere of The Dark Knight going on in Leicester Square and caught a glimpse of Christian Bale—craziness).

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to Kai, and then to England. And the next morning I left bright and early to catch a train back to Paris.

That’s right, I had one more day in my wonderful city. It was amazing—I had all day to wander around, lingering in all my favorite spots and bidding the city of light farewell.
I got my hair chopped (I figured when else was I going to have the chance to do something impulsive in Paris, right?) and of course went to Shakespeare and Company, the Notre Dame, and my favorite park, Buttes Chaumont.

I then made my way to the Champs de Mars and lay under the Eiffel tower for hours, staring up at its magnificent height as the sky’s brilliance slowly faded, until at last it was dark enough for the twinkling lights of the tower to burst into life. Emily met me there (she had caught a late train back) and we said goodbye to the emblematic tower and made our way to the apartment to pack.

After a solid two hours of sleep, I began my grueling day of travel. I had prepared myself mentally and emotionally for the worst. I was exhausted and carrying at least 80 pounds of luggage by myself: my rolling suitcase, huge backpack, and laptop bag, and I knew getting up and down the stairs of the metro was going to be hell. God was definitely present, however, sending me lots of kind people who offered to help, and a very sweet man who helped me to the train station, carrying my suitcase all the way. God bless him. It was still quite a journey, however, and by the time I got to the airport, through security, and to my gate, I walked on to the plane I was running so late. Scary. But—I made it. A seven hour flight followed, and we landed in Newark around noon. I then waited for about ½ an hour for my luggage, and when it arrived walked it about 30 feet to another station where I checked it right back on again. Ah customs. It seemed absolutely pointless to me, and (not gonna lie) had me fuming as I ran with my backpack in tow to my next gate and AGAIN walked right onto the plane. It ended up not mattering that I was late, however, because—although we made it to the runway, we never made it to the air.
It was announced that we had to go back to the gate, and after awhile of waiting, finally announced that we had to disembark as well. People were just a bit unhappy. Not having a clue what to do, we all stumbled off the plane praying we wouldn’t need to spend the night in Newark. One guy in particular was screaming obscenities so that the entire airport could hear, claiming he’d rather die in a crash than deal with this incompetence. I’m pretty sure most of the staff, and not a few of his fellow flyers, were quite ready to let him.
Anyway, after a confusing hour and a half (in which I sat emotionally numbed with exhaustion, staring at a wall and nursing a Venti frappaccino), we finally made it on a flight, but not before I had pulled my shoulder slinging Big Bertha (my backpack) a little too forcefully over my right side. Rats.
So I made it home after all—although the mix up caused me to arrive without a single friendly face to greet me, as they had come and then left again, having been told I was arriving later (I understood, but man, after 16 hours of traveling you just want some arms to fall into at the other side of that gate).
But anyhoo—I’m back Stateside, safe and sound.

Soo, this has been a nice little novel for you all to read—sorry about that. I’m still debating whether I’m going to keep this thing up or not. I’m thinking life will not sound quite as exciting with no Alps or hostels or Eiffel Towers to report on. It does give me a way to keep up with a lot of people though, so we shall see.

If not, Au revoir et merci, Ciao e grazie, Cheers and thank you !!

Jess (:

A Soggy Day in Londontown

2008-07-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hello to all—

Well, since the week is out, I guess I am due for an update.
I’ll take you through the events of the week:

Thursday I went with Deborah to Milton’s cottage in Buckinghamshire. His only remaining house, it is now set up as a museum, and is tucked neatly and inconspicuously in the tiny village. In fact I may have walked right past it had I not known of it’s existence there already. It is small and humble—a few rooms dedicated to the priceless first and second editions of Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, as well as some of his more political works with whom I am less familiar (and to be frank, less interested in).

It’s a strange and somehow uncomfortable feeling to stand in the room where one of the world’s most gifted and renowned authors penned their masterpiece. One can’t really grasp it actually. You keep repeating silently: these are the floorboards he paced as his mind concocted such fiery lines as: “The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven”—where in his sleepless nights, Milton bound in linguistic chain the infernal hero of this epic poem: taking all the vain conceit and powerlust of man, in order to form a figure worthy of that hateful title; filling his mouth with the speech in which he addresses his host of demons: “Here we may reign secure; and in my choice/To reign is worth ambition, though in hell:/Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.”
Yep. Doesn’t register does it?

Well I’m glad I’m not alone in that. I think the gravity of it settles on you more in retrospect anyway. Plus it’s cool to say you’ve been there.

Moving along…
Friday was cooking day in the Elliott household—a well-thought out day in which the women of the household (well, me, Deborah, and Brenda—their cleaner) take the afternoon to make about five different dinners, all big enough to feed a party of about 20, and then freeze it for emergency use in the future. I am so adopting this plan when I have my own household. On top of that, Deborah was pledged (or rather volunteered) to make cakes for every single teacher, assistant, and other employee of Laurence’s school for the end of term. We were a flurry of carrot chopping, flour-spilling, and meat grinding for the whole of the afternoon. It actually was quite fun, however, and by the end of the day I had in my mind at least 4 new recipes, one of which was for Carrot and Orange soup—which despite its odd combination and unconventional color, is in fact very yummy. (:
That night, Granny Elliott arrived by train, and the next morning we were all up bright and early to attend Laurence’s speech day at school. Now, as many of you know, I am not exactly one to pop out of bed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at some ungodly hour of the morning (“ungodly” = < 9 am), but I armed myself with enormous amounts of caffeine and a good solid book and made it though the 4 hours of presentations and speeches with only 3 aspirins and minor bouts of depression at my own failings as a nine year old and as a person. Let me explain: if 80 nine year olds receiving prizes for subjects you’ve never even picked up in your life wasn’t enough (were you fluent in Spanish at the age of nine, having also received high commendations for Tennis and Rugby and honorable mention for Drama—ok good, glad I’m not the only failure here)….as I said, if that wasn’t enough, the conclusion of the meeting was done by the guest speaker, what’s-his-name:the youngest man to have climbed the tallest peaks on all seven continents. Oh yeah, and he’s 23. Now, before you let yourself sink into the same thoughts I did of: “I’ve never even heard of Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America, and I didn’t climb Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of 15 (He did) and holy moly I’ve not even thought about climbing Mount Everest much less traveling to Antartica to find whatever mass of ice they’re calling a mountain!”—let us pause and I will comfort you with the same thought I had that let me breathe a sigh of relief: you are a normal human being. Ok good. Moving on:
Sunday was the surprise 80th birthday party of Antony’s mother’s cousin. And if you think all afternoon with a group of 70 and 80 year olds is anything short of entertaining, think again. In fact it had it’s downright hilarious moments. But let me sweep over this day, and suffice it to say, that when the day was done, and the cakes and sandwiches and champagne were gone, Auntie Brenda’s face was aglow and she had exclaimed more than once that she couldn’t remember the last time she had had a party. And so we all were satisfied (:
Right, so let’s fast-forward to Tuesday: my day out in Stratford with Deborah. Contrary to Milton’s home-sweet-home, you couldn’t miss this as Shakespeare’s old dwelling if you tried. Signs from miles away announce “Shakespeare’s Stratford”, and the first things you see as you enter the village are the various puns atop the shop doors: “Much Ado About Toys”, “The Food of Love Café”, etc…

We made our way to Shakespeare’s birthplace where that same uncomfortable feeling sat on me as we perused the rooms of Father Shakespeare and his glovery workshop (the old man was probably not too pleased when little Will decided he didn’t want to take up the prospering business, but wanted to write stories instead). Moving on from here, we had a wonderful lunch, talking for hours and using the light rain as an excuse to chat some more over another cup of coffee.

After this we made our way to the church where Shakespeare is buried, and then to the highlight of our day: a show at the Courtyard Theatre. I had been looking forward to the production all day, and the players did not disappoint.

The show was The Merchant of Venice—one which I was not too familiar with, but which was done with such brilliance and enthusiasm by the famous Royal Shakespeare Company that I enjoyed it immensely. Shylock was played with a perfect sense of gravity and cruel revenge as he demanded Antonio's "pound of flesh", not exaggerating his Jewish heritage. Portia was quick-witted and believable, engaging the entire audience in her comedic timing. In short, it was one of the best plays I have had the good fortune to see—and to watch players who truly understood Shakepeare’s language, bringing to life all his nuances and double-entendres, was amazing to see. Ok, I’ll stop gushing now.
Despite these busy days, I have had quite a lot of free time as well, enabling me to enjoy the soggy English weather, curled contentedly by the dripping window, Gone With the Wind in my lap. There is something charming about a soggy afternoon, despite its habit of banishing all life indoors. So, though the week has been a particularly wet one—and perhaps is the reason I have spent so much of my time with a book in hand, drinking my own weight in tea—it has still been pleasant, and on the whole, rather busy. We shall see what this next week brings to pass (:
I’ll update again soon. For now, I must see how Scarlet O’Hara will scandalize herself next…

"Bits and Bobs"

2008-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

'Allo Chaps--

Quick update on my life the past couple of days. I think I left off in the weekend of boy-scout activities and nine-year-old mobs...Since then it has quieted down a bit, but still been very busy.
Saturday I went with Laurence and Antony (his dad) to Laurence's ballet lessons (yes, there are more. He as 3 different teachers!!! Can you believe it??) It was nice to see him dance (He's actually quite good) and also, one of his classes took place in a huge mansion built by Sir Christopher Wren. Not bad!!

Sunday I went with Antony and some of his friend's to see "The Life of Christ", a play in a nearby village. I thought this would be comparable to "A Man Called Jesus", which it was a bit, but it was actually done on a much grander scale.
The play was all done outdoors on this huge estate. It was very beautiful, with loads of hills and a lake and so on....It lasted all day and the audience actually moved around a couple times, following the action.

I think my favorite part was on the way to the crucifixion. It was very cool and yet very jarring. The whole audience mixed in with the actors as we made our way up the hill to "Golgotha"...Jesus was literally right beside us, bloodied and nearly fainting as screams echoed around us, egging on his suffering.

It really put the whole scene in perspective--suddenly I was there, I was the compeller and witness of his death. The death he suffered for me and all of mankind. Very powerful moment.

On a very different note...

When I got home, I got a call from my friend Kai--he's my German friend who I met in Paris and who is now doing an internship in London. That night I went into the city to meet him at a German Beerhouse where we watched the final of the European Championship. It was so fun... It was Spain vs. Germany and you do not know what team spirit is until you have been in a German Beerhouse, cheering on a German team, with who knows how many faces painted and flags a-waving. Everyone was talking and shouting in German, and well...um...."Deutschland" was pretty much all I got out of any conversation. Haha. It was great though. We lost (yes "we"...), but it was still very fun.
The next day I went into the city and got to explore the Tower of London. It was so cool and very interesting.

They gave a free tour with the ticket I bought which was really interesting, and I got to see the crown jewels as well. (Is it wrong that I entered this world-famous jewelrybox and in typical girl fashion immediately thought--"Ooh, sparkly....I want one" =P )

I then wandered around for a bit, pacing along beside the river. I of course walked along London Bridge, humming the tune in my mind, and I of course took countless photos--all of which look identical--of the iconic Tower Bridge.

Eventually, like a moth to the flame, I ended up at Shakespeare's Globe, where I purchased tickets for a show (King Lear on the 19th!!!! SOO Excited!!) and then wandered around in literati-ecstasy through the giftshop, where phrases engraved upon my mind were celebrated and sold in t-shirt form for a mere 15 pounds apiece. "Out damned spot!" was made a handbag, while "I will not be mad!" was a hoodie. Baseball caps declaring one to be a Montague or a Capulet adorned the shelves and "poor Yorrick" was stamped onto anything that held still. And dont even get me started on the vast selection of plays, in all forms and editions. While one would think I would be befuddled, or even indignant of this sort of cheapening of the Shakespeare appreciation, I strangely was sucked into it as well, even considering a Midsummer night's Dream t-shirt for awhile, although I eventually resisted the temptation and contented myself with a postcard. Ah, consumerism.

Annnyway, moving along with my week....

Today I got to go visit Oxford, which was very cool. This guy named Chris from the Elliot's church, who Deborah introduced me to (bless her heart, she's practically hunting down anyone my age and then forcing them to talk to me) goes to Pembroke in Oxford and he offered to show me around. It was very cool--much more spread out than I had imagined, but beautiful nonetheless. We ate lunch at the "Eagle and Child"--a pub frequented in the past by Lewis and Tolkien (I had a "proper" fish-n-chips). I also got to see a memorial to Percy Shelley and the door through which Alice traipsed into Wonderland. Very cool. We also went into Christ's Church, which for all you Harry Potter fans is where much of the filming for the movies have taken place. Not exactly what I came to Oxford to see, haha, but still very cool.

Anyway. Just wanted to give you all a quick update on my life and report a few "bits and bobs", to use a phrase frequently said by Deborah (:
Hope you all are doing well!

Cheers!
Jess

I've hardly started and it's almost done!

2008-06-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!

I can’t believe an entire week has gone by since I've arrived!!!I will try to go through the week to give you a taste of my life thus far in England....

On Monday, as Laurence was in school and there wasn’t much to do around the house, Deborah took me to Windsor. I got to see Eton college (learning about the curriculum of this very prestigious school that both prince William and Harry went to made me feel very ignorant indeed) and then she dropped me at Windsor castle to explore.

It was beautiful and huge and a bit hard to wrap my mind around the fact that someone on this earth actually lives in such places. Craziness.

Tuesday was rather uneventful. Most of my day was spent doing things around the house and then constructing full on Viking armor, including helmet, shield and sword, for Laurence’s school activity day.
The whole week is actually activity day—which means on Wednesday I got to accompany him and his classmates to a school trip to the woods to do orienteering, leaf-collecting, shelter building, and other supervised activities. It was actually very fun, although exhausting.
Today was another activity day—I went to the national gallery of London. As sophisticated and elegant as you may be imagining this, let me pop another picture in your head: A two hour drive (its not far, but traffic is awful) in a bus with 60 nine-year-olds. Not quite the same is it?

Despite the stress small spaces with lots of noise and energy can produce, it was a good day. I got to see lots, which was wonderful, and also, thanks to the totally unmerited love and affection nine year olds are so ready to give, seemed to be the most popular “grown-up” of the day. I am decided that nine years old is the best age. (:

After the museum I watched two hours of ballet—one of Laurence’s lessons and one of his friend’s, and then made supper and painted the already constructed armor.

Soooo…I know this is probably not the exciting update some of you all might have imagined, but I guess it’s a pretty good slice of my life right now. I cant believe what a short amount of time I have left here!!!
Although it may sound a bit mundane, it’s actually been incredible to be in a family setting again. As much as I do like sometimes being independent and city-saavy, it’s so nice to be with a family again, sharing meals and talking and doing simple chores. Its been great getting to know Deborah and she has been so sweet to me! It’s also really nice knowing that I’m helping them out and that they like having me here. I was so afraid they wouldn’t like me!!
In the future, there is lots of talk of shows and places to visit, etc, so I’m sure Ill have more updates soon. I also found out that Kai, my German friend I met in Paris, has an internship in London, so hopefully I’ll get to meet up with him soon and properly explore the city, and hang out with some grownups instead of a mass of nine year olds, haha. (:

Here are some pictures of England so far (including the house and my room and Laurence--he's the blondewith the dimples). Hope you enjoy them!

Still catching up

2008-06-25T13:49:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!
So here are some pictures from this month's trip (in reverse order--sorry about that). There are tons I know, but it's so hard to sum it all up! I will write soon about my England adventure so far, but for now I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

A month is hard to summarize....

2008-06-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone who still reads this.
Please forgive how sporadic these entries have been.
This last month has been wonderfully insane. I can’t really describe it actually, and I hope that I will be able to tell many of you all my adventures and memories face to face….however, just to give you a taste, let me share some highlights from each location:

Florence (take 1)
-So much fun—went with Emily and Lara and her friend Leah and explored the city with their local friends, which was a totally different perspective. Gelato was very much involved throughout this location (and all of Italy actually).

Sardinia
-AMAZING. Ok, so we (same foursome) got there and it was rainy and gross and we all got a little bit scared. But the next day it cleared up and the next few days were incredible. The water was some of the bluest and clearest I’ve ever seen, and much saltier than I expected (you could float effortlessly). One of my favorite days was when we hiked all day just along the coast, climbing over rocks and fields and who knows where else, with no clue where we were going. Good times.
-I also almost crashed a moto and got yelled at and probably insulted in Italian, but we don’t need to talk about that part.
-Also, GOT TAN. Yay! That’s gone now, but hey, it was nice while it lasted. Oh, and they’re not kidding about naked people on the beaches in Italy. A curse upon he who invented the Speedo.

Florence (take 2)
-So we were here for a total of about 8 hours, in which we said goodbye to Leah and got a few coveted hours of sleep, but hey, it was nice.

Rome
-Rome was great—definitely not what I expected but a lot of good memories came out of this city.
-Our hostel was insane. No really. I’m pretty sure the manager could have been locked up (but he was hilarious). Also there were about 40 people there. Also the three of us were the only girls in a room containing 11 people. It was interesting.
-The monuments and everything were so cool. Didn’t get to see everything because of limited time, but it was amazing to walk around and see the timeless city.
-So Lara has great connections. She had a friend who worked at one of the nicest hotels in the cities who was probably one of the nicest people ever. He was an amazing guide and also gave us a tour of the city by car: we got to see the city from the highest of the “7 hills of Rome” and also got to see the Vatican and the Coliseum at night. Awesome.

Florence (take 3)
-this is where we lost Lara (boo), but we had a great time sending her off. We actually met up with some friends we had met in Rome and did her favorite things in the city for her last day.
-Lara had to get up super early the next early, so early there seemed to be no point in her going to bed. So…being the devoted friends that we are we all stayed up the night with her. We got to watch the sunrise over the Ponte Veccio. Good memories (:

Cinque Terre
-Wonderful weirdness: Emily and I ran into my mom and Clara on the train to Cinque Terre. What are the odds? It was nice getting settled in Manarola and having our own apartment rather than a hostel.
-This place was beautiful, very small and the weather was nice. After a couple of days we moved to Vernazza, another beautiful city (there are 5)….it was fun swimming in the Mediterranean and also taking the hike between the cities.

Paris
-had a little less than a week at a condo near Paris. Honestly I didn’t go into the city too much. The condo was so nice and it was great to have a rest after so much moving around (and there was a pool). It was nice to be back in my city though—it’s weird how familiar it is (:

Switzerland
-In a way, my favorite place. We met up with Madeleine and Francois, the family my mom lived with when she was here for a summer when she was 17. These are the nicest people ever. No really. I want to be a part of this family.
-I can’t even sum up what we did here, basically we made up a list of things we wanted to do and they bent over backwards to make it happen. I will try to share some highlights of the highlights…..
drove through the alps and had an amazing picnic in the mountains, picked strawberries and learned how to make jam out of them, made bread and tarts and watched all 25 loaves be baked in a huge stone oven the family owns, went on a motorcycle ride through Suisse countryside, watched cows being milked, rode horses, explored caves, visited chateaus dating back to the 15th century, went hiking along a waterfall, ate fondu with the whole family in the alps.
-ok, so those were the biggest things, but keep in mind this does not capture the generosity, kindness, and sweet nature of this family. It was like a dream. Oh, and also I practiced French since they don’t speak English. ; D

Ok, I’m sorry for the length of this post, but a month like the one I have is hard to describe at all, much less in a few paragraphs…

So where am I now? You may ask. Well, I have just arrived in England, actually.
I left Paris this morning ( I had a day there and then my mom and Clara flew home and I caught a train). I had absolutely no idea where I was going as communication has been a bit of a struggle these last few weeks. This is a strange and uncomfortable sensation—traveling by yourself with no clue as to your destination. Prayer is a staple to this experience.
Anyway, by some miracle of God, plus a credit card and phone booth, I got a hold of my family when I arrived in London and was told to get to another station to take a train to their suburb. I was in the glorious city for about ½ an hour, where I caught my first cab—an experience which would have made me feel very independent and sophisticated had I not been carrying 80 pounds of luggage and been so windblown and travel-worn that I resembled a dandelion puff more than a sleek world traveler. Such is life.
I took the cab to the station, took a train to “Gerrard’s Cross”, and then was picked up by the family’s cleaning woman. The family was at a “pre-Wimbeldon” party, so I unpacked and got settled—I have my own room and bathroom, very cozy. The house is fairly large and beautiful.
The family arrived around dinnertime—Antony and Deborah, and then Holly (17) and Laurence (9), who is to be my main charge. They are all very sweet and I can tell I’m going to like it already. It’s so strange though to be the “foreigner”…after dinner Holly grilled me about American culture and music and, you guessed it, politics (oh dear, my least favorite subject). It’s very cool though to see how different things are from how you perceive them. There were so many American clichés that Holly had in her mind, and I’m sure I have many ideas about the British that aren’t at all right too. Haha. But we’ll see…
So here I am, in the Motherland, where they say things like “Cheers” and “Lovely” and you are immediately charmed, where they could be cussing you out and it would still sound polite because of that darn accent, where the Pound makes the weighty Euro seem downright friendly…I’m excited to see what comes next!!

I will do my best to be more faithful to write, if anyone is still reading. Miss you all!!!
--Jess

I am still alive...

2008-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!

Wow, life goes by fast!! I can't believe it's already mid-May!!

I have finished my last final and tomorrow Emily and I leave for Italy!! I can't believe it!!

Also, I have gotten a job for the summer! I will be working in Gerrard's Cross, England as an au pair for a christian family there. God is so good. I have been praying for a summer job for awhile now, but as soon as I released it to God and let him take care of it, something came through. It will be strange to be away from home for so long, but I know it will go by fast (it already has!!)

Here is my itinerary for the next month or so:

May 17th-May 19th Florence, Italy (with Emily, Lara and Leah)

May 19th-May24th Sardinia, Italy (Emily, Lara, Leah)

May 24th-May 28th Rome, Italy (Emily, Lara, Leah)

May 28th-June 2nd Cinque Terre, Italy (meet up with mom and Clara)

June 2nd-June 8th Paris, France (condo with Wright girls)

June 8th-June 15th Lausanne, Switzerland (Meet up with family mom lived with when she lived there)

June 15th-June 18th Mont St. Michel (with the Wright girls)

June 18th-July 24th Gerrards Cross, England (1/2 an hour outside London—au pair job)

July 24th HOME!

I won't have a computer for awhile, but I'll hopefully be able to check in once in awhile. I miss all of you all! Thanks to everyone who's kept in touch!! (:

Mi Dispiache, Ma No Parlo Italiano

2008-05-03T10:42:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures from beautiful Florence!! Got to spend a long weekend with my friend Lara and we had a blast! Italy is amazing...so much color and life!

To market, to market....

2008-04-25T10:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the huge open market we went to before Versailles. It was so colorful!!

Versailles

2008-04-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends,

I know it has been forever since I last wrote. It has been extremely busy. As most of you know, my sister arrived last week. We had a blast exploring the city and just wandering around. She's since moved into a little room in a house in the suburbs (she's staying until June), but she stayed with me for a couple of days and got beter acquainted with the city.

Last Sunday she went with me on my orientation trip to Versailles. We didn't get to see the actual chateau (the teacher claimed he wanted to give us incentive to retun), but the gardens were absolutely beautiful. We also got to see the summer home of the royal family and the little farm Marie Antoinette made for herself when she got bored. It was very picturesque.

We also explored the latin quarter, marais, and parc buttes chaumont--some of my favorite places.

I've been in Florence this week--which I will write about soon, but for now, here are some more pictures! A bientot!

April Showers, and also a boat....

2008-04-12T03:06:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Here are some more pictures from various tours and sitings. For class we took a Luxembourg walk, so there are a lot of images from the gardens. I also got to go with my friends from church on "Bateaux Mouches" (which I guess means flying boat)--the boat tour of the city on the Seine, so that was really cool.

Emily arrived yesterday, which is really exciting. I'm sure we'll have lots of adventures to tell you about. Talk to you soon.

"Time is the reef upon which all our frail mystic ships are wrecked"

2008-04-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

Somehow, it is already April.

The things that have passed between these weeks cannot be spoken--the sort of things that are written forever on our hearts while we do yet understand them.

The week I had in Ohio was the hardest of my life--and also the greatest honor. Thank you all so much for your care for me and my family, as well as your prayers and letters. They have meant so much.
I miss my grandpa already, although I must admit it seems as if it were all a dream--especially being here, away from everything familiar and especially away from him. But I know the grief will hit in waves--waves which I am unprepared for but will hopefully be filtered through the reef of God's gracious truth of redemption. Praise God that Papa is before his throne right now.

Somehow even through this, Time ambles on in her steady trek. Unabashed by her callousness, she drags us on along with her. And now it is April.

It's snowing here in Paris. A fact I can hardly come to grips with, as it was 65 degrees not two days ago. But such is the fickle wind of this fair city. It is actually somehow comforting, as I sit with the my cup of English Breakfast Tea (not very patriotic to the French, I know) and listen to the clicking of the keys under my fingertips. There's a calmness that comes in this night's fluttering veil.

But these moments are few and far between I'm afraid--Time does always carry her sachel: brimming with meetings, papers, jobs and work. It has been a maelstrom of activity since my return. Catching up on work missed has been a chore, but nothing compared to the final projects and presentations which came running at my heels soon after my return. Mainly, a research paper which (surprise!) demands a first draft by this week still lacks form--and research--as of tonight. There are also two presentation for this week which I have not yet prepared. It's going to be a long night.

There are also the blessed yet ill-timed jobs I have recently received--One is an all day, once a week job for a French/American family outside of the city. Their six year old son is bilingual, but they want him to improve his English--I am to think of fun activities for us to do together on Wednesdays (parks, museums, the zoo, etc) and then take him to the American library for story-time in English, to impove his vocabulary.
The second is a babysitting job for an English woman--this one will be much less time, and mainly consists of picking up her adorable 4 year old from school, taking him home, and playing with him for a bit until his mother gets home from work. Both these jobs, as I said, are a true blessing, but also have the uncanny ability to wittle away drastically at my time.

So, that is an update on my life--at least for now. I know I have been terribly negligent of this for awhile now, but it seems to be more difficult as time passes.

Hope to write soon.

There's a Glory Somewhere Further

2008-03-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Hold my hands, my broken child,
I won’t let you slip away,
When the trees all dance in anger
And the night swallows the day.
Hide your face against my shoulder;
Let your fear dissolve to sleep
And I promise I will never leave you,
But sing you comforts sweet.
There’s a glory somewhere further
You can’t see it, but I know.
And someday when you’re older
To its splendor we will go.
So sleep within your innocence,
Though your nightmares cause you fear,
For there’s hope within the morning, child,
And I am always here.

"Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning"

2008-03-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone--

Just wanted to give you all a quick update. Yesterday I found out my grandpa is still really not doing well, and it looks like this may be his last couple of days. I have decided to fly to Cincinatti tomorrow to be with him and with my family. I'll be staying a week there. Can't really describe all the emotions right now, but I am feeling more at peace and relieved to see my family. Please be praying for us.

Love, Jess

"Not all who wander are lost..."

2008-03-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Spring Break is upon us at A.B.S....thank goodness. I must confess it's been nice to have a weekend with absolutely nothing to do.
I've taken advantage of the free time by getting to know the city some more. This has to be one of the greatest places in the world to simply wander around.

I love just walking around in the gardens here, and this week I've been able to faire une promenade in such places as the beautiful Luxembourg gardens, and a park near my apartment called le Parc de Butte Chaumont. This mean "bald hill"--so named for a massive rock face in the center of the park.

It is about a ten minute walk from my house, and I can't believe I hadn't discovered it until now--there are about 4 different levels of pathways wandering all down a hill to the center of the park, where there is a large pond. Or, you can go above, on the top of the rock face to look over the streets of the city. It's quite a large park, with man-made waterfalls and buckets of flowers strewn along the pathways.

One of the best afternoons I've spent here yet was spent wandering up and down the winding paths--it was sprinkling, making the air around you smell like Spring; an intoxicating mist of moist earth and sunlight.

I also got to visit the Musee Rodin with a friend who was visiting. It was so cool to be able to see so many of the works I had read about and seen. He had such an interesting method of work, and it was cool to see the many versions and reproductions he has done.

I am actually going to Lyon later this week, so hopefully will have another post about that soon. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for my grandfather; I really do appreciate it.

A bientot

What Firm a Foundation

2008-03-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

At times I feel as if I am leading a double life. There has been such a whirl of joy and sorrow these past weeks I feel my head spinning. At times it feels as if it is more than I can handle. Still, I know God's timing is perfect, and he has set each event in place exactly as it should go.

As most of you probably know, my grandpa took a turn for the worst this last week. As I was talking to my sister on skype and hearing the update, I heard my parents in the background trying to get a flight out to Cincinnati to see him. I later found out that, after having not found anything, they jumped in a car and started driving up to Ohio, despite the snow storms looming over that area. I can't describe to you what turmoil that night presented.

Since then, they have arrived, and said that there is still hope, though there seemed none only the day before. We continue to pray fervently for our Papa, and ask you to do the same. We know God can still heal his fragile body.

It is so surreal to be here right now. I am surrounded by such beauty in a place I've always dreamed of coming to--and yet I am here at a time when nothing seems more important than to simply be with my family. And yet, again, being isolated from friends, family, support, and sometimes it seems, hope, I have been able to find comfort only in God and his word. Perhaps he knew I could bear it no other way. If nothing else, I have been encouraged through scripture of the goodness and kindness of our God. We serve a faithful king, and no matter what happens, his name is to be praised.

I still ask for your prayers for my dear Papa, as well as for our family. Thank you all so much. I love you all.

Lara's Visit! (Prepare yourself for pictures)

2008-03-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

Ok...it seems like it has been forever since I last posted, and I have a lot to tell. My friend Lara got to come visit me this weekend (she's from WM and is studying abroad in Florence this semester) and we had such a blast!! We did so much!
The first night she was here we went out with some friends; the next day we went to Sacre Coeur and walked around a bit in the Monmartre area. After that we went and met my friend Kai (who's from Germany) and his sister Jana who was also visiting at the Eiffel tower. We climbed up to the second level (668 steps!!!) and just enjoyed the beautiful view. It was an amazing day...such beautiful blue skies!!!

After that we went to Hotel de Invalides, where Napoleon is buried. Unfortunately it was closed, but we still walked around for a bit, and then headed to the latin quarter where we all got crepes, and then Lara and I got dinner. We crashed after that, we were soooo tired!! Haha.

Next day we woke up and went to Notre Dame. On our way we stopped by this really cool bird market--they had a ton of all different kinds of birds, plus some bunnies we got to hold, haha (:

We were going to go up into the bell towers of the Notre Dame, but it was a really long line, so instead we went back home and then met Kai at the Arc de Triomphe. We all went to the top (more steps, haha) and enjoyed the view/took pictures, and then Lara and I decided to go to the Louvre.

We walked all the way down the Champ D'Elysee and through the Tuillieries Garden and then went in the Louvre for just a little while--just long enough for Lara to snap a picture of the Mona Lisa (she had been there before and so didn't want to stay too long).

From there we headed to church, and after that we met some more of my friends at this little blues bar in the Latin quarter. It was so fun!
Monday morning we woke up early and went and bought tickets for the opera. The rest of the day we went window shopping and just walked around, and then came back to my apartment and tried to plan some for our trip in the summer.

That night we got all dressed up and went to an Opera in the Opera Garnier. The Opera itself was a little strange (it was a more modern one), but it was just so amazing to be there! The singing was, of course, fantastic, and the opera house is so amazing--so ornate and beautiful. I'm really glad we got to go.

She left the next morning, and now I'm back to the routine of school. Feeling a bit under the weather since she left, but I'm hoping that will pass. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Haha...believe it or not I don't think I put even half of them up!

Talk to you all again soon!

La Vie en Rose

2008-02-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Bonjour!

Just thought I'd write a quick update of my life....This week has been fairy uneventful, although Monday was my roomie's birthday, so we got to go out for a bit for that (I got to salsa dance some!! Yay!!)

Other than that, just a normal school week. Had my first in-class essay for history/civ class, but nothing too bad. Also, I somehow managed to write 6 pages for a paper that was supposed to be three (we had to re-write the fairy tale Puss in Boots--I got a little excited).

This weekend my friend Lara comes to visit from Florence! I'm so excited. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures from the weekend. Also, I booked my tickets today to go visit her in April...a little more expensive than I wanted, but c'est la vie. When else am I going to get to go to Florence for a weekend, right?

Further news:
-I am in love with camembert cheese, especially when melted on a fresh baguette.
-Notre Dame continues to be one of my favorite places here, and I really want to go to a mass there even though I'm not Catholic, just cuz I think it'll be cool
-it has become a goal of mine to taste every pastry here and decide on a favorite; this is a monumental task I know, but i shall bear the burden bravely (;
-it's getting warmer here, which I am soooo excited about..hopefully soon I can go to all of the famous gardens here and just sit and read. I still have not been to the Luxembourg gardens, much to my shame, but I'm sure I will go soon.

Ok, I will stop the random tidbits from my life here (:
Hope you all are having fabulous weeks.
Please continue to keep my grandpa in your prayers--I really appreciate it.

A bientot!

Disneyland

2008-02-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hello to all,

I hope you all have had good weeks. I had a great weekend (I have lots of homework still to do, but that's the advantage of no class on Mondays!). Friday I went to the Louvre again with some friends, and then Saturday, I got to go to Disneyland! One of my friends had a pass, and apparently there was some promotion that she could invite 10 friends to come for 10 Euros each.

It was lots of fun. I met a lot of new people--they are all from school, and I met them through my friend Kai, who's from Germany. Most of them are from Mexico, studying here for a semester. It was so fun hanging out with them, and they are all so nice! It's great to find another group of friends here.

Well, sorry there's not much to say, I will write again son. Miss you all (:

The more I learn, the more ignorant I feel

2008-02-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

I have been overwhelmed today by a feeling of insignificance. There is so much I want to do and see, so much I want to learn, and the more I do see and learn, the more I realize how much more is out there! I'm sure many of you can empathize with this. I keep meeting people who speak three or four languages and realize how painfully lacking my french is after 4 years of training. Or people who have been all over the world and think how I have only seen about 5 percent of it. It makes one feel so small.

At the same time, I am so grateful for how much I have lived. The things that God has given me; the people he's sent into my path...I can't even think of it without smiling.

Speaking of which, I wanted to write a quick note about my grandpa. Many of you know how scary last week was for all of us, and I am happy beyond words to report that he is doing much better (although please keep him and all of us in your prayers). But this week has also snapped into focus the gift that this man has been in my life. Papa, if you are reading this, please know that I could never ever write enough to honor you sufficiently for all you have done for me (the same goes to you Mimi). You have both been so wonderful. The many memories of gifts of dried sweet fruits, playing airplane on your knees, building our treehouse (as we all "helped"), you chasing us with your electric razor early in the morning to get us out of bed; trips to disneyland and Colorado, precious bible stories read in soothing voice, ham and cheese omlets early christmas morning, piggy back rides, tractor rides, and sled rides as we all tackled you in the snow; these and so many other memories are so precious to me. You are more to me than what I can say. I can't wait to see you both again and give you a giant hug (:

This is just one precious exmaple of the people and memories that God has enriched my life with. You are all so precious to me.

I think I have moved beyond my excitement stage.
They talked about this in orientation--that there was the initial "honeymoon" stage of the transition which would be short-lived. I didn't really believe it (how could Paris be anything other than completely wonderful?), but I think I see what they're saying now. Once you have sunk into your routine, the glimmer of the city begins to fade. The Eiffel tower still stands, the Sacre Couer remains hovering over the city...but the lens has changed. there is no longer the romantic haze of the dream; you begin to see Paris for what it really is--and this is when you can tell whether your love is true or not.

All that
I no longer feel the need to view the wonders of this place through the lens of a camera. (Oh don't worry, plenty of pictures will still be taken), but to snap a photo everytime you see the "picturesque Paris street" or amazing view of the Siene or the Eiffel tower, you'd never put your camera down.

All that to say, I think I'm learning how to simply live here. To soak up the wonder of a moment; to simply breathe in and out. To come out of the Concorde metro station when the sun is setting and the beaty knocks the wind out of you and to simply be able to mumble "Thank you God for your creation"

I'm sorry this is such a sporadic post...I should probably title it "the random midnight thoughts of Jessisca Wright" Haha...but hopefully there's something in here that makes at least a little sense...
Talk to you all soon.
All my love!

A hidden history discovered

2008-02-16T13:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I didn't actually discover any hidden history of the city (my title may be just the tiniest bit deceiving), but as far as my life and knowledge of this place goes, something unknown was unearthed today.

As most of you know, I am taking a Paris history/culture class here. To my great enjoyment, this course includes a series of excursions in which we explore the city. (We all get to feel extra touristy as our mob migrates from site to site with cameras the size of small children around our necks...but hey, it's worth it!).

So anyway, this afternoon was our excursion to "Roman Paris" and "Medieval Paris" on our tour wonderfully titled "Crypte and Cluny". We met at the statue of Charlemagne in front of the Notre Dame, and from there continued to the "crypte archeologique" underlying the city's streets. This amazing crypt contained the ruins and remains of Roman Paris--the city's walls and cloisters, stones, bricks, and passageways as they stood so long ago. Of course most of this part of the city is destroyed, but some of it still stands, interestingly enough, beneath the city itself! Who knew?

From here we continued on to the Cluny museum, which housed remains of the Roman baths, as well as many tapestries, sculptures, and knick knacks dating from that time. One of the coolest things we got to see were the famous Unicorn Tapestries. They are so elaborate and so beautiful!

We also stopped by an Abbey on the way through the city (the name of which I have forgotten), as well as a reconstruction of the Roman Arena.

All in all the tour took about three hours, but we saw so much!!! It was incredible. It was good for me to walk around the city again too. It's far too easy to fall into a routine here with schoolwork and everything, and to think of yourself just as living in a city, rather than one of the most beautiful and enriching places in the world!

I hope to do some more exploring and adventures tomorrow, and hope to write again soon!

A bientot!(:

The sublime and the infernal (all in one day)

2008-02-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got to, once again, play the tourist. It still amazes me that I can wake up one morning and think to myself "I think I'll go to the Notre Dame today"...

Instead, I decided to visit the Saint-Chapelle--one of the oldest chapels in the city. It was built under the order of Louis IX, and was originally the refuge of many famous relics, most noteably, Christ's crown of thorns.

It is most well-known for its amazing stained glass windows; they certainly live up to their fame. I was fortunate enough to visit on one of Paris' few sunny days--the chapel was dancing with light.

There are two levels, the lower, which was for the servants, and the upper chapel, which was meant for the king and other nobles. Stained glass windows line both sides of the upper chapel, creating a sort of menagerie of lights and colors. One pamphlet said that this effect had become so well known that it has inspired such sayings as "wine the color of Sainte-Chapelle's windows" (:

The detail of everything here always baffles me, and these windows are no exception; each of the massive pieces are interlaid with plate after plate of scenes from the bible. Apparently these are supposed to be read left to right, bottom to top, but they are all so condensed I could barely make out what they were.

The chapel itself is actually quite small, especially when compared to the massive Notre Dame, which is practically its neighbor. It is nestled within the gates of the Palais de Justice, which is also connected to the Conciergerie, which was my next stop.
This change in location inflicted quite a change in mood, as well.

As many of you probably know, this famous prison was the last asylum of many tragic children of the French Revolution--including Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday (who killed Marat in his bathtub) and finally, Robespierre--one of the greatest leaders of the Terror, who was killed by his own precious gulliotine.

The prison is quite eerie, especially as they have set up scenes within the cells depicting the possible living conditions of the prisoners. These scenes include dummies set up in the rooms dressed in traditional garb, or props which would have been typical of the time. One room held a basket filled with fake hair, depicting the sort of reception they would have received in their final moments--their hair being shorn in preparation for the blade.
Of course most of the prision is a reconstruction, and Marie Antoinette's cell has been completely destroyed and redone into a sort of chapel, but they still have set up a scene of the situation in which she lived.

It is hard to imagine how many innocent people spent their last moments within these walls.

A.B.S.

2008-02-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I realized that while I have updated you all on my adventures (which have been wonderful) I have not told you much about the banalities of my school schedule.
This, of course, is not exactly thrilling, but some of you might like to know...

I am taking five classes here: two marketing classes, a french language, a french culture/history and an English class on fairy tales and folklore. All of my classes are in English except for (of course) my French language.

Classes have been going well, although there are still things here I am trying to adjust to. I've told some of you, one of the weirdest things that I've found here is the paradox of the system's disorganized yet strict manner. Let me explain....one example of this is the way that the classroom schedule works. A.B.S. (American Business School, not abs, haha) shares its campus with about 5 other french schools. As a result, we switch classrooms every week (I still don't really understand this). Now, as a foreign student who is just a bit discombobulated by this whole transitioning into another country, culture, and way of life thing, you'd think there'd be a little extra help, someone to hold your hand, a guide, if you will, for these sort of adjustments and oddities. Nope. And that's a big nope. If french students can do it, than so can you. And you better be on time...I don't care if you were wandering around the neighborhood for an hour looking for the class. (The campus has three main buildings around the neighborhood). Oh, and that's another thing: you are allowed two absences in each class before you fail. No excuses. And being late counts as half an absence.
*Gulp*
This is especially nerve-wracking for me since I have a class about half an hour outside of the city every week (oh yeah--there's another campus they use outside of the city)--at 8:30 am. The first week was interesting...I think I left my apartment at about 6:30 in order to take the metro to the train station and try to figure out, in my wonderfully limited french, which train would take me to where I needed to go.

This has definitely been a trip which has helped me to "spread my wings". If American mothers are said to give their kids a little shove out of the nest when the time comes, French moms must fling their children halfway down the tree. "You hit a couple branches on the way down? then learn how to fly so you can avoid them, you idiot"

No really, it's not that bad....but it definitely has been an adventure.

It's also been a challenge adjusting to the new schedule. I have only one or two classes a day here, which is really nice, but they are mostly evening classes (except for the cursed 8:30 class I've already mentioned). Also, my shortest class here is an hour and twenty minutes, while most of them are two and a half or three hours with fifteen minute breaks. I am definitely ready to come home by the time they're done!!!

They have been interesting, however. I think my favorite will be my french history/culture class. My professor is a very eccentric little man with a beret (which he informs us is very NOT french); and although he is originally American likes to consider himself french because of the amount of time he has lived here. There's a lot of reading for the class, but it also has some really fun parts. For example, last week for part of our homework we had to find a marche (the outdoor street markets) and buy and eat any kind of pate. (It wasn't half bad actually). And this week we have to go to the frommagerie (cheese shop) and buy a kind of cheese we've never heard of before (:
Also, we will be getting to go on a lot of excursions with our groups, such as the wall of Paris and the catacombs of the city....I'm pretty excited.

Well, there you go. My wonderful adventures with the french educational system. not quite as exciting as excursions in the city, I know, but there it is. (:

Un excellent week-end!! (:

2008-02-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Tout le Monde,

I had the most wonderful weekend I wanted to tell you all about. I have made a couple friends at the church I've been going to (St. Michael's--a British church in the middle of the city), and got to hang out with them these last couple of days.

Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to one of my first friends here, Jordan, who was heading back to Australia. We had so much fun in our last excursions though!!! On Saturday we had a wonderful dinner at a little italian restaurant and then went out to celebrate!

On Sunday we went ice skating at the Hotel de Ville, right near the Notre Dame. It was so fun! Later we went to a cafe and patisserie and then to church. So fun!!!

I feel so blessed to have made such wonderful friends here already!!

Here are a few of the pictures!

Bonne nuit!

The Louvre (at least, the first visit..)

2008-02-04T01:47:00.001-08:00

Finally got to visit the Louvre!! It is free for students on Friday night, so this Friday my roommate, our friend Allison and I all went. I think it may become our weekly excursion (: There is so much to see!! I think we saw a good portion of one wing in about 2 hours...but there are so many wings!! Haha.

Some of the things we saw are "Winged Victory" (which was absolutely amazing), "Venus de Milo", and, of course, the Mona Lisa...

It's so cool. My mind couldn't really register that these were the real things. That the pictures and posters and everything else were reproductions of this amazing thing you are standing in front of.

The Mona Lisa is especially cool. It is small, and one would think that, out of all the amzing (and sometimes gigantic) works surrounding it, it's nothing too special. At the same time, staring at that engimatic smile, you feel the same curiousity of its origin that has enamored generations of painters, critics, poets, and general passer-bys. The expression in her eyes is one that draws you; an enveloping sort of sigh or nod which speaks volumes and yet nothing at all. It is this most revealing mystery which has endured history's wars, passions, and woes. It is this which makes her famous.

Haha...the whole time I was looking at her, the Nat King cole "Mona Lisa" was in my head..."Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa? Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?...Are you warm? Are you real, Mona Lisa? Or just a cold, lonely, lovely work of art?"

The room of sculpture was one of my favorites. Out of all the mediums one could use, it baffles me that anyone could make a human figure out of pieces of marble or bronze.

Some of them are fluid, giving a sense of motion to its figures. Others actually emote a sense of longing or anger or pain. I don't understand how this is possible. One of my favorite was a figure of a woman with a veil pulled over her face.

I literally have no idea how this is physically done. It is completely mind-boggling, which perhaps makes it even more beautiful.

Also, I would like to say with pride that I recognized many of the figures from afar. Haha...unfortunately I am not talking about the artists and sculptures themselves, probably much to my mother's dismay...but, thanks to my Greek Mythology class,
I could spot an Athena from across the room because of her helmet, aegeis and an owl; or a Hercules because of his club or lion's skin. Lol. There is something very satisfactory in those moments when you realize you have gained something from your education!!

There were students everywhere sketching the magnifiscent works...I hope to be one of them soon! It seems to me that it's been ages since I've been able to draw, and I can't wait to return here and do so!

The Notre Dame

2008-01-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

The other day I finally had the opportunity to return to the beautiful Notre Dame. The cathedral again took my breath away as I turned the corner.
Walking around inside was even more overwhelming. Operatic music was playing as I entered; to call the symphony angelic is a bit of a cliche, but seems to fit none the less. The ethereal soprano drifts through the glorious domes and arches; it is the kind of music which enters you entirely, seeping into you until it lifts your very soul with it in its ascent to the heavens. You involuntarily inhale as you enter.

This symphony sets the scene for the feeling of insignificance which is suddenly set upon you.

You are no longer standing in your present generation--you are reeling through the centuries, your mind flooded with each scene which has passed here. Kings and nobles, peasants and bishops are all around you, more real than the reality you left at the gate. As the music reaches a cresendo you exhale; voices surround you.

"Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" cries the criminal who throws himself upon the stones of the grand hall. Perhaps you read that somewhere. Here history and fiction are blended into a medley of things past and present, imagined, dreampt, and hoped for. It doesn't seem to matter. You are the negligible spectator to all.

As I wander further down the corridor, the vastness of the cathdral settles upon my shoulders. It is the haven of inspiration and longing, commanding such a mixture of elation and fear within you that you know you are experiencing joy. As C.S. Lewis said in his novel, Til We Have Faces , "It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from." This Cathedral inspires such a longing.

As I move throughout the aisles, all time seems suspended. I am an intruder upon the sacred and the forgotten. Plates of candles line the walls, each flame signifying a prayer of the people for a loved one. Saints are everywhere, frozen in time in scenes of prayer and supplication.

To exit this place is to enter another existence, hopefully with a different perspective. Your life has been snapped into focus, at least for a moment.

Oh how great is our God who is over all generations! Who cares for me even throughout history. I hope I will be able to keep this mindset while I am here. Praise God for creating and inspiring such beauty and for allowing us all to experience it ! (:

Simple Pleasures.....

2008-01-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Tout le Monde,

So one of the things that I've been thinking of today is that, even here in Paris, being surrounded by some of the greatest buildings and monuments in the world, I find some of the greatest joys in the simple things of life.
Now, here I must warn you, if you continue to read on you may be surprised by my sentimentality. On the outside I may appear to be a fairly rational, level-headed girl, but I am actually a hopeless romantic...an aspect of my personality that is hard to stifle in a city such as this. For those of you who are rolling your eyes now, you may want to turn back, I wax a bit poetic (some have said melodramatic, but I dont approve of that word) at times... (;

So today I discovered what I believe will become one of my haunts here, if the owners allow it. It is one of the countless little bookstores around the city, and one which, I believe, has actually won some renown--apparently it was a favorite refuge of such literary geniuses as Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Stein. It is called Shakespeare and Company (some of you, doubtless, have heard of it), and I am absolutely in love with it. As many of you know, you could count on my approval of such a nooke simply on its function of safegaurding the treasures that I love (many of you have seen how hopelessly lost I become in the smallest of bookstores); however, this one already seems to have a higher claim on my affections. Its a well-stocked store, of course...but its true merit lies above the heads of many of its patrons.

The second story of the bookstore (in my eyes) is nothing short of magical. All of the books found here are not for sale, which perhaps is a blessing, for then you would be required to choose one from the overwhelming mass. The smell of time-worn pages greets you like an old friend as you ascend the steps; there are three or four rooms, each containing wall-to wall shelves piled high and overflowing to neat stacks on the floor and tables. There are countless volumes of Dickens, Tolstoy, Balzac, Browning, Moliere....each one stamped with a distinct personality and appearance: the once-periwinkle blue cover of Kidnapped or the dilapidated face of a stained Ben Hur. And then the rows of philosophy works which tower over the rooms, perched on the very top of the rows of shelves. If books had faces, I believe these would be the wizened old men of the group; perhaps smoking a cigar and hemming and hawwing as they rebuke me on my ignorance of their contents with a disapproving glare. Each one of them has an effect on me--some are unknown, many are faded memories of forgotten friends, others are stories forever etched onto my heart; yet each seems to be a citadel to another existence entirely.

To add to all this book-infused reverie, in the corner there sits a student in a sort of mini-cubicle built into the wall. His surrounding walls are plastered with scraps of poetry and prose; he is writing. The whirring hum of the old-fashioned typewriter follows me about the room as I wander, snapping away insistently. Soon it stops, giving way to a different lullaby as the faceless poet begins to recite his recent lines back to himself. In the next room, to my right, I see an ill-made bed abutting one of the wall-to-wall bookshelves. Here abides one of the starving artists of Paris. (:
I admit I almost envy him his abode--to sleep amongst such a collection is a privilege it seems, and then to click away all day long in such a place! But perhaps here, I may even admit, I'm getting a bit carried away...

A posted sign says that others are welcome to browse and read here, since the books are not available to purchase ( I wouldn't sell a collection like that either!!) and so I'm hoping I can return often and read and study here, providing the owners dont get tired of my visits. I admit I didn't want to ever leave. Haha. It's so wonderful.

This city can be intoxicating. Living in the residential part of the city, it's easy to get caught up in my schedule, what I'm doing, etc...or to become just the tourist, snapping pictures of each famous monument. But occasionally, walking around, I catch a glimpse of the Paris I love so well...the haunt of poets, artists, romantics (:
The history comes to life. The stones I'm walking on are suddenly the same that Hemingway used to tread upon. The Notre Dame is the same which Hugo looked upon as he dreamt up Quasimodo. The street vendors sell works of art just as Picasso did in his youth. The timeless city which has nurtured such young hearts and dreams as mine since its creation lies at my feet and life seems to freeze for that one moment. These moments are priceless.

Okay, I feel I have gotten all my romantacism out of my for the day. I am now eating a fresh fruit tart and drinking a coffee as I listen to Norah Jones...more simple pleasures that you just can't buy.

Miss you all. Forgive my poet's eye if its a bit more than you're used to. Haha. Good night to all! (:

C'est la vie.....

2008-01-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Salut! Here are pictures both from Orientation and today...with the group, we all got to go up in the Eiffel tower which was cool. The view of the city was beautiful!! Then today my roommate and I went up to Monmartre and walked around (mostly to see Sacre Coeur...this beautiful white cathedral). It was breathtaking.

This cathedral is so cool...we actually couldn't take pictures inside, but it was amazing....candles everywhere and the dome is gorgeous. I wish I could show you all...

Okay, so next culture observation of the day...So, I've notice that almost everyone has a dog here. Most of them are tiny, and they're all super well-behaved. It's hilarious though because you find them everywhere...cafes, stores, the metro...it's just totally normal for them to be all over! They all just sit at their master's feet though. So cute!!

Another thing you see all the time in the metro is musicians. They're everywhere. It's so interesting though; there's such a modge-podge of people and talents...artists, musicians, street vendors. The other day I saw a guy walking around with a fishbowl balanced on his head collecting coins. Haha.

This city is so beautiful...it's hard to be walking around and not get distracted by the sites all around. for some reason I'm in love with the rooftops here (: They are all so charming.

Here are also pictures of when we went up in the Eiffel tower (:

Ok, well, sorry for all the pictures, I know I have a lot!!! I'll update you again soon! (especially about the classes and everything...ahh! I'm nervous!) Talk to you soon!!! (:

Un promenade dans la cite

2008-01-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hello again my dear friends! Orientation has been going on since Tuesday--a lot of long days, but I've seen a lot more of the city! Yesterday we took a tour of "Medieval Paris" and saw parts of the city that date back to the 17th and 18th century. It was all so beautiful. The more I see of the city the more I love it!
Most of the time I feel like I've traveled back in time, all the architecture is just so amazing.

These are just a few of the highlights from our "promenade" around the city...(:

Most of these are from our trip to L'Opera Garnier or the "galleries" and "passages" along the streets...

Some observations, and praises, for the day....

2008-01-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Bonjour tout le monde,
Je suis tre content. Je suis alle a un cafe aujourd'hui, et j'ai mange un petit patisserie et un espress. Il etait tres bien!!
Ok, sorry...so last night I got to go to the night service at Saint Michaels, a little British Church near the Champ D'Elysee. They are all very nice--the service was good and there was a very good message on worship, where I was reminded that "my purpose is praise" (: It was good to be in Christian fellowship again. Afterwards there was a dinner for the 18-30 yr old group, and they served pizza and quiche (oh my goodness you have NOT had dquiche until you've had it in Europe, it was completely oozing cheese and was SO yummy!). P.s. Goat's cheese is like my new favorite thing ever. (;

Ok, so exciting news...I have a roomie!! She arrived this morning and she is very sweet. Her name is Holly and she's from Idaho. We get along great already and I'm so glad to have someone here! Thank you for all of you who have been praying for me to find someone! I feel so blessed (:

So, if any of you understood the french I wrote up top, I got to have a relaxing afternoon--I got my first pastry and snuggled up in a cafe with an espresso and wrote in my journal for a bit. I have no idea what the pastry was actually, I ordered the wrong one, haha...but it was good...some kind of custard with an apricot middle. Yum!
So I've decided to try to record some of my observances during my trip (I'd like to become a more aware person through all of this--especially observing the culture differences and everything!!)

First of all, I'm not sure if this is a culture difference, as I've never tried it in the States, but still I think it's hilarious....the metros in the morning are INSANE. It's absolutely ridiculous. Think as many people that can possible fit onto the train, plus 10. Haha...people just keep pushing there way in!! You kinda just have to shrug your shoulders and elbow your way through with everyone else..it's survival of the fittest. You get real up close and personal with people. And then, when you get to your stop you just have to yell "PARDONNE!" as loud as you can and hope that people move in time. Haha, it's great.

Another thing I've seen are these little carts everyone seems to have for their groceries. It's great--like a stroller for your bags..they take them empty to the store and then put all the bags in for the walk home so they don't have to carry them.

Haha...most of you are probably thinking...no duh Jessica, everyone knows that....but it's new to me! (:

Well, I'll stop boring you now with me silly stories. Orientation starts tomorrow, so I'll have something to do! (:

Bon Nuit mon amies!!! Au revoir!

More pictures (:

2008-01-21T09:32:00.001-08:00

Ok, so here are a few more pictures...In the last one I think I put up my favorites of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc De Triomphe (yes, I was standing in the middle of the street for that one), the bridge over the Seine, and some of the architechture. Here is the opera house, the view of the "Basin de la Villette" right down from my apartment, some more architecture from the bridge and my metro stop (:

2008-01-20T14:47:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few of my photos so far... I am still trying to figure out how to do this so bear with me!!!

Starting to get settled (maybe?)

2008-01-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you're probably already getting tired of these, but they won't be quite so often in coming once I get busy so I may as well write now (;

Today I had the wonderful adventure of changing my money into Euros. By adventure I mean nightmare. First of all, I found an ATM that would give me Euros frommy bank account, but it only let me get so much and then started rejecting my card. I'm not sure why...but anyway, it wasn't enough for the rent I had to pay tonight, so then I had to find an actual bank. That was fine, and they were very helpful, but there is nothing more depressing than converting dollars to euros. It is almost literally cut in half. I felt completely ripped off. But, that's the exchange rate, so there's not much you can do.

On the upside, I got to see the beautiful Paris Opera house on my way to the bank. I am absolutely determined to see something there before I go (:

I then went to a welcome session at the school where I met with about 12 other exchnage students. They were all very nice, and it was cool to see how many different places we were coming from. there are actually 3 other people from WM here, only one of whom I've met before. I hope to get to know all of them better. The session was really just about meeting each other and going over some legistical stuff...afterwards we celebrated this french tradition where we all got a piece of cake and whoever got a little figurine in their piece was the "king" or the "queen". Haha. I didn't get it...oh well =P

After the session was over I went to a cafe with two of the students I had met and had my first real espresso. (I'm already hooked, it was wonderful). We just talked for awhile and then I headed back home to pay my landlord. I did get a little lost on the way back (although I was right next to my street)...I've got to learn this neighborhood better.

A bientot!

A bit of exploring....

2008-01-17T14:39:00.001-08:00

Well, I guess I'll recount the triumphs and embarassments of the day. I found the school, which is good. The people there were very nice. They were probably wondering why I was there so early asking these random questions, but they were very kind and helpful.

The biggest mistake I made today was in the metro. I caught on pretty fast and (miraculously) didn't get on the wrong train or anything. However....the first time I rode it I noticed that it is a little different from the metros I've been on in the city as you have to push a button on the door if you want to get off of the train. The first time I got off I was so concentrated on getting off at the right stop and pushing the button (looking confident, of course), that I didn't realize that I was trying to exit on the wrong side! Had the door let me (which it didn't--I just looked like an idiot), I would have stepped out onto the tracks of the other train. Good job Jessica.
Oh well...learning experience I guess.

Later this evening I took the metro to the Concorde station to meet a girl from the St. Michaels English church. I had been talking to her online and she had said she would meet me at the station. Unfortunately, she failed to mention that there are about 5 stops in the area. I had to wander around for quite awhile looking for her.

It was worth it however, because I got my first sights of the city. The architechture is absolutely gorgeous, but on top of that, as soon as I came out of the metro there was the Tour D'Eiffel and the giant Ferris Wheel right in front of me. Also, I didn't know this then, but apparently they have started to illuminate the Eiffel Tower at the top of every hour. I was walking around looking for Liz and all of a sudden it was sparkling like it was set ablaze with fireworks. It was so beautiful. When I finally met Liz she said it was one of her favorite things to see in the city.

She then took me to the church where they were having a social. Everyone was very nice--there were about ten people there, from Germany, England, Australia, and the UK. We just sat and drank wine and ate sandwiches and talked. They were really nice and afterwards a few of them walked me back to the metro. I'm so glad to have people I can talk to (in English) here!

Je suis arrivee!

2008-01-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Tout les monde,

Well, I have arrived. Isn't that insane? I can't tell you how exhausted I am.
Traveling was an adventure. First of all, I left an exacto-knife in my backback with my art supplies and was pulled aside by security. I swear I thought they were going to frisk me and tell me I couldn't go...but they just took the knife.

I then took a quick flight to New York, waited around for 3 hours and then boarded the plane for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. It was about a 6 and 1/2 hour flight, but seemed like ages longer. They did serve dinner, however, plus breakfast right before we arrived. I scrunched onto the two seats beside me and tried to sleep for at least a couple hours.

When I arrived I had to go through the little station and get my passport stamped (yay!), and then came the adventure of finding my shuttle. I was informed that I would have to go upstairs to a certain exit, which I was not too happy about, since I had my two 50-pound bags, my huge backback and a laptop bag. The escalator was interesting. I actually ended up going up and down twice because I got lost and had to call the agency who was sending the shuttle to make sure I hadn't missed it. I thought I was going to pass out.

but anyhow, I got here and was greeted by the landlord. I sat outside the address for about 10 minutes just praying that he would show up on time. It's the most helpless, strange feeling to have absolutely no way to contact anyone. There I was, standing on the sidewalk surrounded by my bags hoping and praying someone would come.

The landlord ended up being upstairs and spotted me through the window. He helped me with my bags and showed me the apartment. It's small, but actaully bigger than I expected, and the landlord is very sweet. It's interesting since he speaks only broken English and I speak only broken French...but somehow we communicated. He then walked around with me, showing me the nearest metro stops and stores. I am right next to the Canal St. Martin. It's not the greatest part of the city, but it's not bad either. Tomorrow I get to explore some more and try to find the school.

Sorry this is so rambling, I don't hink I've quite recovered form the jet lag...and I think it's time for bed for now.

I love you all and hope to talk to you soon!!!