Au Canada!

Note how I did that: Au Revoir...Oh Canada. I combined them to say Au Canada. Pretty sneaky :P

So this is a super quick blog. Just to inform all that I am returning tomorrow! Words do not describe...
After a wonderful trip to Italy with Rachel (we visited Rome, Sorrento, Florence, Naples, Milan, and the Cinque Terre) I returned to France to get my bags.
Instead of staying with the Genots I decided it would just be easier if I took all my stuff and slept at Hannah's for 2 nights. She picked me up from the airport after Italy and is driving me tonight...at 3am. It's gonna be a long travel day. Thank goodness for movies.
Random thing: I prebooked my seat 3 weeks ago for the 8 hour flight and checked online yesterday. But when I looked online today MY SEAT WAS GONE. So I got stuck with a crappier seat which makes me mad. But my friend reminded me that it doesn't matter where I sit because I'M COMING HOME!
Then about 3 days later I'm off to the cottage for 2 weeks.

God is continually good and faithful. I plan on posting one last blog about France and my thoughts/memories, but it won't be for a while as life will be busy or I will have no internet.

I took a picture like this the day before I left to France so I wanted to take one the day before I leave.

love.

This and That

I walked to the post office to mail a letter. Along the way I realized these two sentences:
"I'm up for that."
"I'm down for that."
THEY MEAN THE SAME THING. So in this scenario, up and down are technically the SAME thing. Complete opposites mean the same thing. WHOA.
And then I got thinking about the French word "encore." And out of all the French words, this one annoys me the most because
Encore = yet/again/still
It just bothers me. One word shouldn't be the same as three very different words in another language. I know it's common to happen but it bothers me.

Instead of organizing my things and getting things done like I've been meaning to for the past week, I'm writing this blog. And just before writing this blog, I read an article on "How to organize yourself and get things done." Clearly it was not very effective.

I have 4 complete days left here, then I sleep, then I'm off to Italy! However, I must ask everyone for their prayers because Rachel sprained her ankle. Which is weird because ever since I knew I was going to Italy, I've had this feeling about sprained ankles; I KNEW something would happen and i took my ankle brace. I've mentioned this feeling to multiple people. It's bizarre. But please pray for speedy healing of Rachel's ankle/body in general.

I'm just keeping busy procrastinating. Saving screen shots like this:

why i love my siblings

and saving pictures on my computer like this:

So I think I'll stop procrastinating (hopefully) and clean my room and update my scrapbook. For the next few days, I'm just meeting up with people to say my last goodbyes. Kinda sad, but exciting at the same time!

love.

1 - 2 = Home

1 month - 2 days = I WILL BE HOME IN CANADA.

But to make it even less, I only have 8 days left here in France...then ITALY! YAYYY! Truly, I'm more excited to see my sister Rachel than Italy at the moment :P

So a general and quick update:
I've been going out almost every night to Toulouse which is good and keeping me distracted. However, I have nothing to do in the mornings and just sleep till 11ish. I know it sounds bad but this way I'm not thinking about the fact that I'm doing nothing. And I've been blessed with having time like that so I'm going to make the best out of my "do-nothing-at-all" time.
As always, the weather. They haven't had such a cold and wet spring/summer in over 200 years. So I feel like I have a legitimate reason to complain. But oh well. I'll be in Italy soon where I'm sure I'll scorch to death.
I just bought new deodorant in case anyone cares (which nobody does).
I'm going to the Young Adults BBQ tonight which will be fun...super excited about it!
Today is the last of my French classes meaning I just take an exam. Which will give me a useless piece of paper. But hey! It's an official looking piece of paper! I am so happy to be done these courses...I did skip half of them because they were terrible. But I learned to NOT spend my money so rapidly on things like that.
I realize everyday how blessed I am to have such amazing friends and family.
I paid for my university last week making it OFFICIAL: I am going to school for Nursing in September!
The days feel soooo long because I want them to be over so I can be in Italy with Rachel already.
God always provides. And there must be a consistent effort to make time for Him. 

And just one random truth about life:

And just one thing to make you laugh:

love.

Nothing's Happening

Saturday night I went to a reggae concert called Rio Loco in Toulouse with two friends from church. The weather was gorgeous and I was just wearing shorts and a tanktop. Such a fun night!

me, brad, katie

crazy lights and it was still light at 1015!

But then yesterday...we had a HUGE storm and it's 15 degrees night. The wind brought down branches. Lison and I watched for 10 minutes before as the storm approached; it was neat just seeing the lightning flashing and the sky get darker and darker. And then we had half-inch balls of hail fall. So the weather is absolute garbage.

it got seriously dark

BUT ON BETTER NEWS! I (well, my parents) HAVE PAID FOR UNIVERSITY! WHICH MAKES IT OFFICIAL THAT I AM GOING TO BE GOING TO SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER! YAYYY!

it's raining again. boo. boo.

AND IN LITERALLY 2 WEEKS RIGHT NOW I WILL BE WITH RACHEL IN ITALY! So no matter what, I've got a reason to smile. But I can't get over how stupid this weather is.

Lison took her first flight today. As in took, I mean she flew a little plane with an instructor all by herself. So proud. And last weekend she was in Aix-en-Provence for the national synchronized swimming competition in France. Her partner had broken her arm a while back so she couldn't compete in the duo. However, I found a video that pretty much sums up what she and her partner would've have done.

Click here for the link: Synchronized Swimming

I have actually come to the point right now that there is absolutely NOTHING for me to do. I'm researching for Italy, but besides that, there is nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. The weather is so bad we can't go for a walk or even go to Toulouse. But I'm going Friday because it's National Music day here in France. That should be fun!!!!

So, in general, stuff has happened, but right now nothing's happening. Life is kinda really boring. I feel tired all the time. I lack motivation. But it's all good.

Bordeaux and Bergerac

Firstly, the weather forecast:

Looks great right??? I mean, I'm not one to complain, but FINALLY. There should've been this weather a month and a half ago. They haven't had such miserable weather in over 40 years. But it's good now. It's spitting outside right now, but I got a sunburn on my stomach from laying in the sun yesterday.

I went to Bordeaux last weekend with Hannah. We stayed with a fellow au pair named Alana (a fellow Canadian from Vancouver) who just so happens to be the au pair who I replaced due to unhappy circumstances with the family. It was truly a fun weekend!
Whenever Hannah and I go somewhere, it rains. And in Bordeaux, it didn't just rain, it POURED. Quite horrible. And there really wasn't anything to do. Yes, it's beautiful, but if you want to do things other than shopping, you're kinda in a jam.

We drove back to Alana's and made an amazing English breakfast the next morning: toast, fried mushrooms, eggs, beans and sausages, bacon, and of course we ate Speculoos off a spoon :D

After that we decided to head to Bergerac, a small old French town which was, and is, really beautiful. As usual, it rained...but it eventually cleared up as you can see in the pictures. We kinda just walked around and did whatever. There wasn't much to do (again). But we bought delicious ice cream (I know I'm allergic to milk, but I haven't had it in over a year and wanted to treat myself. Mind you my stomach wasn't happy). After that, Alana and I rode a mechanical bull! Woot woot! And I bought some cotton candy.

All in all, it was a very fun weekend and I enjoyed myself immensely. So blessed to be here. And yet...3 weeks till I'm in Italy! TOOOOO EXCITED!

Lastly, if you want to see more photos of Bordeaux and Bergerac, here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151416418506277.1073741828.626916276&type=1&l=21ada2a126

love.

Birthday

I am now 19. And when Ontarians (?) think of 19, they think of legal drinking age. Or well, at least I do. So for my birthday I baked brownies and literally ate them all. 

That night Hannah and Jenny (both au pairs), Rorie (Hannah's British friend), and I went to Toulouse. I found a burger place--because I've been craving them--and ate the burgers on the steps of the museum with some beer. After we headed off to see 'The Great Gatsby.' A pretty good birthday. Although it was the first birthday I had where I didn't blow out candles :(

Deliciousness in a box.

Yesterday I went site-seeing to Toulouse. It's strange how complacent I've become. I forget to look around me and see how beautiful the city where I'm living is. Toulouse is, after all, the 3rd biggest city in France. And absolutely stunning. I do plan to put an album together, but not yet. Here are some pictures from yesterday though.

Just off to a random side-street

One of the churches

Inside the church. They have a mirror on the floor. (Me, Hannah, Rorie)

THE town-centre. Aka. Capitole

Had to stop at a French patisserie. Bought a "religieuse." Deliciouse.

After we stopped at the supermarket and LITERALLY bought the cheapest white wine we could because....well, we could! And we're cheap. So, one bottle was 1.10Euro. the other two bottles were 2.50 euro. Cheaper than water! One of them wasn't even that bad!

We had dinner at Hannah's house. We drank, talked in French/English, and played UNO cards until 1 in the morning. It was such an enjoyable night. Hannah really is blessed with such a special family. I loved it.

Today, I stayed after church to help fill envelopes with brochures for vacation bible school. We had a bring-you-own-sandwich-lunch. But I just made mine there with supplies that people bought. It was a fabulous time. I love this church. You are such a family. Everyone knows eachother's name and is truly interested in the people. I talk to people who are 50 years older than me like they're my dear friends. We laugh, eat ice cream, crack jokes. This church is one thing that I'm going to miss so much.

Lastly, ONE MONTH LEFT. ONE MONTH LEFT UNTIL ITALY! It's June 2nd and I leave July 3rd for Italy. Words do not describe how excited I am.

love.

Speculoos

I have discovered something. Something that may have changed my whole view in life. Something that is too good to be described in words yet I will try.
It's like an explosion of goodness. You just savour it. It makes you happy. You want more. You need more. It's just so flipping delicious.

FLIPPING AWESOME. I mean really?!?! Speculoos spread. SPECULOOS SPREAD! Yes, I"m writing a blog on this because it's so good. I went grocery shopping and saw it. I mean, I've seen it before and thought, "Naw...I don't feel like it." But that was dumb. I've been missing out on life.
It's just so fatteningly good. Taking this stuff home with me.

On another note, I just came home from a BBQ on a beautiful day. It's been raining and hailing for the past week. And it's going to be like that again for the coming week. But today and tomorrow are breaks from crappy weather. The BBQ was delicious with HAMBURGERS. I haven't had a homemade hamburger in months and have been desperately craving one. I had a really good time with a whole bunch of young people from church. I seriously am so blessed.
After, driving home, I got HOPELESSLY lost and drove on empty for about 40min. I prayed to God I would make it to the gas station...and I think I cut it to the last fumes in the tank.

5 weeks left in France, 3 weeks in Italy, and then home! PLUS it's my last week being 18! whoa.

Salut

Salut tous!

So this is a general update. Nothing super exciting, but just letting you know what’s happening in my Frenchish life.

This has nothing to do with my update. I just love this picture of Lison and I.

.

Philippe and Muriel (host parents) have gone away to Berlin for the weekend so Muriel’s grandparents are here. The grandma has been cooking nonstop and I must say, it’s some of the most delicious food ever: the French really know how to cook.

I went to Hannah’s and had a baking day on Friday. I feel like I haven’t baked in so long. So we made brownies, carrot cake, and apple oatmeal muffins. Clearly a fattening and productive day. I brought the carrot cake home and we had it for dessert; it was really funny because everyone thought it was absolutely so wrong and bizzare to put carrot in a cake—yet they LOVED it. The other grandparents came over today and loved it as well. It actually became a dinner conversation: carrots in a cake.

I do not want to sound whiny or whatnot, but it has been extremely hard here lately. I miss having Christian people around me so much it hurts. Being surrounded by people who have a COMPLETELY different world-view is definitely a test on one’s faith. And to have been surrounded by them for over 2 months makes you question things. I find myself wondering about limits and where I stand with things...which I’ve never had before. I don’t want to be a social recluse yet I just find it easier sometimes to be one. The thing is, I know that when I come home things won’t really be that much different: I’ll be going to university and having to deal with that all over again. So God is just prepping me up. And he’s really taught me to trust him more. 

Tomorrow I decided to go to the Beaux-Art museum in Toulouse and invited Hannah, so that should be fun.

Prayers mean the world to me so thank you to whoever is giving them.

For pictures from my trip to Montpellier click here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151383670961277.1073741827.626916276&type=1&l=4edb2642ec

Love.

The Finnish

When I first came here in March, Lison had just returned from a 2 week exchange program in Finland. Now there's a Finnish girl living at our house for the next few days. Yesterday they had all the girls over (the French and Finnish ones). I had no idea what nationality anyone was: I've only met like 4 of Lison's friends.
Anywho. Those Finnish girls are TALL. It was weird because pretty much, for the first time in my life, I felt really average. Here in France I'm still tall, even the guys are pretty short. But after seeing the girls yesterday I said, "Whoa. You Finnish girls are really tall. You're almost around my height. And you're only 14ish and 15ish. You're still gonna grow." They responded that yes, Finnish girls are quite tall. And then we babbled on about French people and their customs (they're not used to kissing on both cheeks either; handshakes all the way).
And you know what else? You'll never guess. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS YOUNGER THAN I WAS. THIS IS INSANITY. WHAT IS HAPPENING?
No really, it was cool. People always assume I'm older because of what I'm doing and my height. But they thought I was younger. Mind you, my hair was in a French braid which makes me look like I'm 10. Still though, pretty cool. 

Moral of the story: I'm moving to Finland to find a man :P

Facts about Finland that I randomly know (no internet):
-it's in the top 10 for happiest countries in the world
-capitol: Helsinki
-lots of white people live there

love.

Also, here are some photos from my Albi trip I took over a month ago:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151373187776277.1073741826.626916276&type=1&l=98468ba600

Weekend Things

Firstly, happy mothers day! Love you mumsy <3

 Secondly, here are some photos from my Albi trip I took over a month ago:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151373187776277.1073741826.626916276&type=1&l=98468ba600

This weekend was quite insane. Friday night I was completely home alone so I invited Hannah over. We ate spicy fajitas (that gave us serious stomach problems the next morning) and watch a movie. Then we went into the pool at 1130 at night with some drinks we mixed together. We made it to bed at 130ish in the morning.
We woke up at 10 Saturday morning and watched two more movies (we were debating on a 3rd one but decided no). Then Hannah went home.
A couple hours later we met up again and headed off to another au pair's house. We did get quite lost and it took us about an hour to get there. But man we had such a blast there! Just hanging out and chilling with a couple other au pairs. We stayed the night and got back to my place at 10 Sunday (today). Seriously though, I felt like it was 4 in the afternoon. So we decided to watch another movie. Then Hannah went home and I took a long walk.

So yes, I do not remember ever watching movies like this and doing pretty much nothing. I need to enjoy the fact that I am blessed with this time of relaxation now; I have 4 years of university ahead of me and plenty of time to work then.

Also, I have 7 weeks left here till I meet up in Rome with Rachel! So excited. I miss family and friends too much. I am so blessed that I only have to stay here for 4 months. I realized this week that there was absolutely no way I would've made it through the normal 9 months of an au pair stay.

love.

Paris in a Nutshell

Before I write anything else: I'm halfway done in France! Then I'm off to Italy with Rachel!

Eiffel tower at night!

Hall of Mirrors in Versailles = Dream come true/ Bucket list check

Now, I did so much in Paris that I cannot write in detail about everything. I will say my favourite things were the Opera and Versailles though.

Here is what I did in the five days I was there:

THURSDAY
-arrived
-saw Pantheon
-saw Notre Dame
-went to my hostel
-met up with Michelle (my friend from Quebec)
-went to the  Eiffel Tower and had dinner beside it
-met a girl named Golf
FRIDAY
-went to Versailles with Golf and Gina
-showered at Michelle's hotel (the hostel's shower was disgusting)
-went to Arc de Triomphe (so much larger than I had thought!)
-walked down Champs Elysees and saw the Swarovski Crystal stairs (on my bucket list)
-went to McDonald's at 12 in the morning
SATURDAY
-went to La Louvre for 5 hours
-walked down Jardin de Tuileries
-walked to place de la Concorde
-went into the Madeleine
-went to St. Augustine chapel
-went to Sacre Coeur (church) and ate my first Nutella crepe
SUNDAY
-went to the catacombs of Paris
-walked through the cemetery
-went to Saint Chapelle (church)
-sat in a park for a few hours
-met some people at the hostel and went to the pub
MONDAY
-went to the Opera...Palais Garnier
-entered Notre Dame (church)
-walked to Hotel Des Invalides (where Napoleon is buried)
-got to the airport, lost my phone, found my phone, lost my boarding pass, got a new boarding pass
-arrived in Toulouse!

So I will update eventually with photos. But I have to go through them first though because I took about 600. Yes. It disgusts me even thinking about it.
HONESTLY THOUGH. HOW INSANE IS IT THAT I JUST SPENT 5 DAYS IN PARIS ALONE AT THE AGE OF 18. so cool! Yes. I'm alive. I did some random things I never would've done. I met cool people. I ate food. I'm so blessed. Even though it seems like I've seen everything in Paris, I am looking at the guidebook and keep on saying, "Darn! I missed this, and this, and this."

Ah Paris. So beautiful.

From a Friend

For my devotions today, I decided to do something a little different and read my best friend's blog.
CLICK HERE --> Elvanee Veeramaly's Blog: Clothed In Strength & Dignity
This girl has been my best friend for a few years now even though we only see each other about five or so times a year. To counteract that, we Skype every week. Having her in my life is such a blessing because she is the person who understands every part of me: physical, emotional, social, mental, and (most importantly) spiritual. Having a friend who understands the core aspect of your being is probably the greatest gift God can ever give you.
I've been there and heard about the past two years of her life, but it just was truly amazing to read her sharing her personal testimony to the world. And I've seen her grow into such an incredible person in so many different aspects. What was really neat was how her words really describe my spiritual growth as well.
Though I'm not in university, I've had to make a choice of not going for a year. I always had plans of exactly how I would spend my year....and chopping fruits and veggies in a backroom wasn't one of them. I tried to find places to go to France multiple times and they all failed. I broke down and couldn't handle the disappointment of it all. But finally, after meeting up with a friend in February, I said, "You know what? It doesn't matter if I don't go to France anymore. I have a whole life ahead of me. Maybe God just wants me to be here and minister to my coworkers. God's got it covered in my life. There's nothing I can do." I was tired of trying to drive my life-path myself.
A few days after saying that I received my visa to go to France. I let go and let God.

And here I am sitting in my own room in France. About to leave for Paris tomorrow! There's no way on earth that I could've done this myself--but there is a way in heaven.
I've learned so much here, not only about myself, but about the needs of others and how to serve them. I have to treat each person as if they were Jesus. Yes, it's really hard not having any Christian friends to be with, but I'm just supposed to be a witness to those around me. I have to constantly have on the full armour of God because the people that I am with sometimes, they have the ways of the world working in them and shooting towards me. But prayer has kept me going and I've seen God's constant faithfulness.

I'm off on a long walk with Hannah right now. And then, in less than 24 hours, I will be in Paris! Please keep me in your prayers as they mean more to me than gold.

-hetty.

Paris and Plane Tickets

I was stupid. I tend to be that sometimes. I wanted to go to Paris from Thursday morning until Monday night (May 2-6). I somehow managed to book plane $160 non-refundable plane tickets from Thursday night till Monday morning where I'd have to be at the airport at 5am. That was really stupid.
Even though they're non-refundable tickets, I decided to try to get a refund. Less than 24 hours after I booked the tickets, I sent out emails. In total, over a 2 week period, I probably sent out 10 emails and called over 5 times. And then my mom probably did the same thing for me.
In the end, I was told I couldn't do anything. Boo life. But I tried to be positive and look at the fact that I had 3 days in Paris!
Yesterday I bought a plane ticket for Monday evening from Paris to Toulouse--this way it wouldn't be terrible getting to the airport. I would just lose my other ticket.
I came home today and found an email from Air France saying they refunded my tickets and I got $40 back. But in the 2nd email they said that because I did it within 24 hours they would give me back $144 instead! Praise God! After almost a month it all worked out!
But then I realized that I only had a plane ticket from Paris and no way there to begin with. Hence I just bought my fourth plane ticket for Paris. LOL.
In the end, 2 days before my trip, I finally have what I wanted. God is good. He really is.

Come Along on a Walk with Me

I've had a bad bout of homesickness. It lasted for a couple hours. But God has been really good to me and helps me get over it really quickly.
Last night I went over to the Van G's house and we made mini homemade pizzas which we ate in front of the TV watching Britain's Got Talent and The Voice (UK version). Really a nice family-orientated night. I love how I can just chill there: no pressure, no French.

Today, after church, I went on an hour and a half walk (the average time for my walks). Spring really is in full bloom here: the poppies growing wildly on the sides of the road, the pink blossoms on the trees, and the lilacs (my favourite flower!) are out.

I turned my iPod on and just walked to music. Sometimes it's podcasts, but today it was music. I also decided to take a camera with me so that people could see where I walk.
However, I could only upload 1 photo -_- but here it is anyways.

Commencing my journey

Along the way

They literally came running to stare at me

Wild poppies!

If only the colours would show more vividly :(

The Raclette

So I'm back from an absolutely AMAZING time in Montpellier. It was my first time at the Mediterranean Sea (to those back home, it's quite warm here: Canadian beach weather).
Never before have I been so happy.

At the Mediterranean Sea for the first time!

 Only about 200 photos later did I come home. But more on Montpellier for the next time. I have to tell you about dinner tonight!

It's called a raclette. I looked it up online and apparently it has Swedish backgrounds, but to me, it felt really French. You have plates of cheese and meat. On the side you can have tiny pickles, salad, tiny pieces of corn, tiny onions, etc. And you have potatoes.
In the center there's this weird contraption that you heat up and then you pull these little trays from the middle of it. In the trays you put cheese, put it back in the contraption, and after it all melts, you scrape it out with a mini spatula and eat it on the potatoes or whatnot.
Due to the fact that I can't eat cheese (boo life) I just ate two potatoes. But they never eat potatoes here so I felt that it was such a treat just the same! I love me 'em potatoes!
Yes, that was dinner. pretty cool.

Going to Montpellier!

While talking to my sister Rachel on Skype Wednesday night, I told her that I have 5 days off--from Sunday to Thursday--because Lison was gone. I said I didn't know what to do with all this free time. She told me to use my time and go somewhere! Go to Montpellier or something! If I could just buy a train ticket for 80 euro and then couchsurf, it would be so great and not cost a lot.
Therefore, I decided that she is brilliant and I would do just that! I sent out couchsurfing requests and looked into booking a ticket.
The next day, after school, I ran into another German au pair and we talked (in French, the common language we share). I told her I wanted to go to Montpellier and she said, "Oh! I'm going there from Tuesday to Thursday! I'm driving there and staying with some German friends!"
I asked her if I could drive with her and split the costs. "Yes! That would be fine! And if you want I could ask my friends if you could stay with us."
"HECK YES!" I replied.
Long story short, I am driving to Montpellier with her and staying with her friends. Such a blessing! God totally provides. Odds are they will speak in German the entire time, but I'm hoping that I will just go off and sitesee by myself.

p.s. please keep my in your prayers as I really miss friends and family right now.

McDo's and Salsa

Yesterday night Hannah and I decided to splurge: we went to McDonald's (called McDo here). In America, McDo's is a place you go when you are cheap and don't want to spend a lot of money. Here, it's more of a luxury.
They don't have normal coffee here. It's all espresso. For me, it was always a coffee and a muffin, but here it's a croissant and an espresso. Instead of fries, you can also get potato wedges (amazing!).
They also have machines with the entire menu that you can scan through. Then you pay for it, it prints out a ticket number, and you go to the counter and just pick everything up.

SALSA DANCING. I signed myself up, as well as another Czech au pair--Adelka--to take a 3 hour beginner course in salsa dancing! It was so fun! I definitely do not have a natural talent for dancing, but I can get by! Plus, it may have been easier if the directions were in English, but it wasn't...it was in French, so oh well.
There were about 20 guys and 25 girls. So we just routinely switched dancing with others. Oh my word though: the clammy hands of people. I washed my hands for 5 minutes after. But it was really fun just dancing in partners and trying to dance to the rhythm. Definitely something I would take a course in once a week just for fun!
After the course, Adelka and I sat in the parking lot, ate lunch, and talked for an hour and a half. It was a good Saturday. Productive, but not too productive <3

Bedroom window view today. Love the clouds here.

A Day to Dream About

The past 3 days have been beyond wonderful. Words cannot describe how blessed I am to be living the life I am right now. I could start with Saturday, but since that's already passed, it can wait longer.
As I type here, the sun is shining, I have a sunburn on my face, the door is open, it's 25 degrees out, the grass is so green, banana bread is baking in the oven, and Lison is beside me. It's truly amazing.

Today was truly the day of an au pair. I drove Lison to school and then went downtown Toulouse with Hannah (another au pair who lives nearby). We shopped and did whatever we wanted. Then we drove to a large shopping centre and shopped some more. Mind you, I only bought what I needed: socks, a small wallet, and mentos :P
Then I came home, sat outside, called my parents and informed them that I am still ALIVE (and living the dream) and we had a wonderful talk. I love my parents <3
Lison came home and we lay in the grass, told stories, braided each others hair, and took pictures. After we decided to go grocery shopping where we bought some food to prepare dinner for Muriel tonight. Today was her first official flight in an Airbus plane! We are all so proud of her.

To put it in short: I am so blessed. God has brought me to a place of true happiness here.

So beautiful in our fur coats.

Telling me a story about a flower

Lison and I chilling in the grass

Sisters doing each other's hair

A Poem

I was driving Lison this morning and couldn't help but notice how dark and foreboding the sky was. Yet, in spite of it all, the sun was trying to burn away the clouds.

This really reminded me of the Christian walk. We are in a storm and God is constantly trying to help us and reach us. It reminded me of the prodigal son a lot too. So, right when I got home, I wrote out a poem.

You shine through the clouds
Dark in the sky
As rain pours down on us
You hear our broken cry

We stand drench in misery
The wind pushing us away
But you silence the storm
And drive it away

You rays of glory shine on us
Touching our ears, arms, and fingertips
You dry up our cloths
And cool our fevered lips

You run to us with open arms
Shouting for joy as we fall into your embrace
You kiss as as long-lost family
Your eyes filled with mercy, compassion, and grace

You listen to us tell our stories
Crying in our failures in pain
Laughing in our joys and triumphs
"My child," He says, "Welcome home again."

-hettyvh

The Genot Family

I haven't even told you about the family I am staying with!
Well, adjusting into a family in another culture is definitely difficult. Things are different and I guess I just found it really frustrating. But now, on week 6, I really do feel like part of the family.
Philippe, aka the dad, is a pilot who flies jets. Whoa. When he works he's gone for a couple days straight and then comes home for a couple days. He likes everything to be organized and is VERY talented with spices when it comes to cooking. I knoww that if I could understand French I would be able to laugh at his jokes more. But I can't. So I'm kinda clueless.
Muriel, aka the mom, is a peach. She works hard and studies even harder. I'm so proud of her though: she's the second female pilot in the Airbus company! Woot! Muriel has a beautiful smile and I love having conversations with her (in French!). I feel like there is always something to talk about with her. And she's a great cook as well.
Lucas is my age, 18, and comes home every weekend from (to make it simple) university. He speaks French so quickly I never understand what he says. But he's nice.
Lison, 14, has become my little sister. She is full of energy and always quick to smile. However, we do not have THAT much time to spend just hanging out because she is extremely busy: school from 830-5 and then swimming 4x a week for 2-3 hours. And when I say swimming, I mean she does SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING! HOW COOL IS THAT! I don't understand how she can stand up because I would be dead tired!
So this is a quick introduction to ma famille francaise. I definitely have grown to love them and appreciate all the little French parts about them.

I was sitting outside on a beautiful day and then both Lison and Muriel came and sat beside me. Bonding moment :)

The Time I Lost My Passport

Don't panic though! I have it now. I just thought you would like to hear about this story. It's a good one.

It's of my journey to France and I am copying it out of my journal:
I sat by the window beside a 23 year old named Nick who speaks French, English, and Flemish. He's a total entrepreneur. I got through customs in Belgium quickly, found my place where I was supposed to wait for the flight to Toulouse, and sat down feeling pretty good with myself. Everything was going as planned and I didn't even have a mental breakdown :)
I sat in a chair and decided to look through my bag and just make sure I had everything. I open it up and rummage through it...and rummage through it some more. WHERE WAS MY PASSPORT?!?!?!? NO FREAKING JOKE. WHERE WAS MY PASSPORT. PLEASE TELL ME I DIDN'T LOSE IT. And not only my passport, but all my money. And my boarding pass.
The only thing I said was, "God. God. Please God. No." Then along came a disgusting feeling in the pit of my stomach. I HAD LOST MY PASSPORT. EVERYTHING. GONE. WHERE WAS IT?
I was having a heart attack. So I jumped up and ran to this old couple sitting near me. "Do you speak English? Can you please watch my stuff?" And before they could barely reply I just dropped my knapsack (with my laptop) beside them and ran like a bat out of hell. I ran to the bathroom which was like 5 minutes away. I had no other idea where it would've been.
I got there and there was a sign saying, "FERMEZ." The bathrooms were closed. But I didn't care. Nope. I just barged in and went to the stall. Nothing was there. Zip. The cleaning lady was staring at me. And then I went to the counter. Nothing. OH FLIP. I HAD NO IDEA WHERE ELSE IT WOULD BE IF IT WASN'T IN THE BATHROOM! In a completely insane and panicked voice I asked the lady, "Have you seen anything. Black. Anything. I lost...."
And...and...and...she pointed to my folder. My life-line. Everything was in it. It was amazing. PRAISE THE LORD. WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE MY EMOTIONS. I literally just went up to the lady and gave her a huge hug. I didn't care.
Can you imagine what would've happened if I had lost it? I don't even know where to begin! The insanity and craziness of it all. oh my word. it would happen to me.
I returned to the old couple and they were quite relieved for me. He told me that he had almost lost his passport once in China. That would've been horrible.
But yes. Clearly I made it to France. And God really watched over me.

I hope I got a smile out of you and you have a wonderful day. xox

Skiing in the Pyrenees Mountains

I WENT SKIING IN THE PYRENEES MOUNTAINS! When they asked me I was shocked, but I just had to wait a minute and be told that it was the last week for skiing, and then I said YES! Why on earth WOULDN'T I go. I had nothing else to do. So I drove to the Van G's house and arrived there at 9:15. We, Bas, Boris the 10 year old boy, and I, left at 10 after packing/prepping food and whatnot.

The ride there was incredible.Like a natural tourist, I randomly rolled my window down and stuck my camera out the window to take pictures.

 loved the clouds

i wish photos could actually show how big the mountains were :(

view driving up the mountain

So upon arriving there, it's kinda raining. But Boris and I suit up in our gear (I borrowed everything from the Genots--my host family) and rent the snow boots and skis. Bas spent the day sitting in his easy chair reading a book...clearly an avid skier :P

For the first hour Boris had a private lesson which I followed and learned some tips. After that we were free to go! We took a 10 minute cable ride up to the top. But this was only halfway up the mountain. After a couple long ski rides down I dropped Boris off for hot chocolate and I went all the way to the top of the mountain...over 2200m high. 

Do you remember how I said it was raining? Well, my jacket, mitts, and snowpants were sopping wet. And when you get to that altitude, it's no longer raining. It's freezing. Snowing. My fingers became like frozen carrots, my jacket was a cardboard box, and my scarf was a plastic binder around my face. It was horrible. And the wind! I couldn't see a thing! But I went down; and going down I kept on questioning whether I should go back to the top. And you know what? Every time I said yes. I wasn't going to let frostbite stop me from living the dream. 

By the way, my hands were sooooo cold I couldn't even take a picture. And when Bas texted me asking if all was well, I responded, "Al wel." Texting two L's would've given me frostbite.

Everything was so beautiful though. And utterly silent except for the snow falling. Amazing.

more photos are on my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151304661441277.1073741825.626916276&type=1&l=2e04ebe007

I slept on the car ride home. I was exhausted. 

I ate at the Van G's house and before leaving asked them how much I owed them. Now, I had brought money and my visa to pay for everything, but Bas just paid for everything all together. They said "Don't worry about it." Well, that's very kind and all, but I really wanted to pay them back. It was too nice of them. So I insisted and insisted (I'm very stubborn) and they agreed that instead of paying them back I would just babysit for them once in a while and come over to dinner. So how cool is that? God is so good to me!