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!

One month...1/4 way finished!

Whoa! It's already been a month! Well, not already: too be honest, it definitely feels like it's been a month. And a somewhat long month at that. But only 12 weeks to go until I visit Rome with Rachel! Notice how 12 weeks sounds WAAAYYYY shorter than 3 months.

I have a lot to write about, but I will save that for other days. Instead I'll just tell you what happened on Easter.

GOOD FRIDAY:
For the first time in my life, I had to make Good Friday special by myself; I didn't have a holiday or parents who made me go to church. Instead I was alone and had to drive Lison to her swimming lessons and wait for 2 1/2 hours. So I decided to go to my first Catholic mass...in French. I walked in feeling pretty good. Here I was in France, in a beautiful old chapel, at my first mass. Cool right? NO.
They sang in monotone for over 40 minutes (in French remember? So I couldn't understand a word). I kept on asking what time it was to the girl beside me because I thought for SURE 2 hours had passed and I needed to pick up Lison. But it was only 40 minutes. The service went on and people sang, kissed the crucifixes, sang more monotone, and finally I gave up. It was so cold I could see my breath and my nose was frozen, I was bored as a marshmallow, and I couldn't understand a word. So after an 1 hour and 20 minutes, I left. Just got up and walked to the back doors of the church. As much as I wanted to try to stay for the entire service, I just couldn't.


EASTER SUNDAY:
I go to an absolutely ah-may-zing church here. It's 25minutes away and and English (BONUS!). After a wonderful service, I went to a family's house for an Easter meal. Laura is British, married to Bastien who is Dutch and both are in their early 40s. They have a girl named Lu who is 9 and a boy, Boris, who is 10.
Upon arriving, I sat in the kitchen and talked to them for an hour while they prepared a delicious lunch of fish, potatoes, rice, and sausages. They asked me to say grace which I felt was a large honour considering they didn't even know me. For dessert we had chocolate cake with chocolate whipping cream covered in chocolate eggs. Note the picture. Only there were way more chocolate eggs.

After we watched the legendary British race between Oxford and Cambridge on the TV. Following that we went for an hour walk around the lake and just talked and talked and talked. So wonderful.
Finally I had to leave. But before I left, they invited me to go SKIING!!! I was so taken aback! I didn't know what to say. Skiing required a few days mental preparation for me. So I told them I would think about it.
A minute later I said "YES! I WOULD LOVE TO GO SKIING!" I mean, why not? I have nothing else to do? When else am I going to go skiing in the French mountains? So I went skiing. Which is a whole different story for another day.

In conclusion: I have met a wonderful wonderful family who has agreed to be my extra family while in France. Laura and Bas have said they are my parents while I am here. I am beyond blessed.