Salut!

Yes, I know I have seriously neglected the five or six people who actually read this, but I have an excellent reason. Just kidding... I've been procrastinating. I figure that since it's been nearly a month since Christmas (and my trip to Spain) I should probably update, so here it goes. Excuse me if I leave some things out, since it has been a whole month and I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday afternoon ;).

I just now realized that last time I posted was about my trip to London... wow. 

Okay so I basically follow a routine during the week and relax on the weekends, but for Christmas we all went to Benalmadena. It is absolutely beautiful there. I spent four days away from rain and snow, enjoying the beach and reading and falling in love with Spain.

The three of us stayed with Barbara's aunt. We didn't bother going to any fancy tourist spots, but chose instead to relax and enjoy each other's company. I've been so fortunate to live with people that I genuinely like. 

After we got back from Spain, Dominique arrived! Barbara had been telling me for months that Dominique and I needed to meet, because she knew we would get along. Of course she was right. I made a new friend, and I'm happy to say that I get to go visit her in Germany in March! I cannot wait.

Also in the next few months, I'll be going snowboarding in the Alps and my mom is coming to visit.

The view from Barbara's aunt's house :)

Roosters everywhere...

I climb trees.

I cannot explain how fortunate I am :). I could not be happier.

It's been awhile.

 Okay so, to be completely honest, I have been avoiding doing this post simply because I knew it would take forever. Already it took 30 minutes to upload the pictures, so be very grateful I had the patience to wait.
  One thing I discovered while I was in London is I really hate take pictures of famous monuments, because they never turn out the wait I want them too. Instead, I prefer to take pictures of everyday objects and make them more interesting (so deep right?). Anyway, I took pictures of famous monuments just for you all to see and get an idea of where I went. I basically went everywhere. I must have walked 50 miles or more during my trip (not counting the time I spent on the underground).
  Here it goes:
  The first day, I flew in around noon, took the train to my hostel, checked in, then wandered around. I stumbled upon the Starbucks of London aka Pret a Manger (ironically that's French, it means "ready to eat"). They have more reasonable prices than Starbucks and most of their food is organic... I really wish they would open one in Switzerland.
  So I sat in Pret and stared at people for an hour or so, and I have to say that people in London must get dressed in the dark. Most of them don't understand what clashing is, or maybe they intend to look that way haha. My mom would have been appalled, and then understood where my older sister's sense of style came from since the way she chooses clothes has always escaped us. Also, on my first day I went grocery shopping for the week (which I spent eating sandwiches and fruit). Very exciting for you all to hear I'm sure...
  My second day I spent at the British Museum. I plan on moving in there. I could have spent all week just wandering and spending my time in each different section. They had some truly amazing stuff there, and I can't even begin to explain it to you. If any of you ever get a chance to go to London, I highly recommend devoting an entire day to exploring there like I did.
   On day three, I went to Piccadilly Circus which is not that great in my opinion; it's too crowded and too gray, plus it started pouring rain while I was there. I wandered there for a few hours, and up to Oxford Circus (too better understand I would recommend googling a map of the London underground). That night I went to a pub to watch some soccer and read, and ended up making friends with engineers in charge of construction on the British Museum and British Library. They told me several places in London I must see, and gave me their business cards in case I got lost (yes I know this sounds sketchy, but they also told me about about their kids who want to travel on their own). They were all around very nice men.
  That being said, I took their advice the next day and went down to St. Katherine's Docks, the Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge. It was a really cool area and beautiful. From there, I walked all the way to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (far too touristy for my taste) and to the Tate Modern (my home if the British Museum rejects me). The Tate Modern was amazing, they had a very interesting assortment of art; I was really disappointed, however, that the section with Rothko was closed since I was really looking forward to seeing his paintings in person. After the Tate, I walked across the Millennium Bridge (aka the bridge from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) to the underground and headed back to my hostel for an early night.
   My fourth day was spent on a free tour of Westminster. Our group had a really funny guide with an Irish accent that made it even better. He shared interesting facts and anecdotes with us that made staring at fancy buildings and monuments more entertaining. Unfortunately, there is a ton of construction in London right now because they are hosting the Olympics this summer. However, this day was where I got to see all of the famous stuff: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, etc. I didn't bother going on the London Eye, because everyone I've talked to has said it's definitely not worth the 20 GBP.
  Okay so now that I'm near the end I think I've been counting wrong... I must have skipped a day somewhere. Bear with me though, this was two weeks ago.
  Anyway, on my last day I attempted to go to all of the museums I wanted. There was an hour and a half line at the Natural History Museum unfortunately, so I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum which was really cool along with the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery.
  By 11 o'clock the next morning, I was back in Switzerland eating delicious crepes with Barbara and Tara.

Now the question is what did I leave out... since that was just the general itinerary.
  Well I made a lot of friends, especially with the girls in the hostels I stayed at. I met people from Germany, Australia, France, Brazil, and the Canary Islands (luckily they all spoke English). Every person I met had the most interesting story and reason for traveling. I was fortunate enough to meet the nicest people, and never have to worry about my safety.
  Oh, I also forgot to mention that I went to a concert on the Thursday I was there. I saw WU LYF which was incredible, along with Young Montana. On the underground there, I actually met "Young Montana" although I had no idea who he was at the time. He was really nice, and he had a really awesome set.

All in all I think my trip to London was a success :) I can't wait for Spain.

King's Cross Station

British Museum

Rain at Piccadilly Circus

Protesters

A cool graveyard somewhere in London, that I found during one of the many times when I got lost.

Flower Market

Memorial something or other across from the Tower of London.

Tower Bridge

Me

Tower Bridge, again.

Buckingham Palace

Monument at Trafalgar Square.

The clock tower outside of Big Ben (because Big Ben is the  bell inside)

Westminster Abbey

Houses of Parliament

The photos aren't that snazzy, because (as I previously mentioned) I hate taking pictures of famous monuments.

Have a good day everyone! :)

Londres

I know you, if there is anyone reading, are all probably anxious to hear about my trip to London. I'm sorry to say you will have to wait a week. I am taking my SAT2s this Saturday and want to get as much studying in as possible. I promise the wait will be worth it though! Have a happy halloween :)

The "Mechanical" Garden

Yesterday,  I went with Barbara to work in Geneva knowing that there was supposed to be a little bit of rain, but hoping that it wouldn't prevent me from visiting and taking photos. The weatherman, however, was very wrong with his report. Heavy rain all day, until about 4 o'clock. I didn't let it stop me though.

    I got up very early, had a small breakfast, then headed to Geneva with Barbara. I read for a little while and had some tea in her office, til I no longer considered it to be ridiculously early but just early enough. I said goodbye, then began my walk around a city I know absolutely nothing about. The Botanical Gardens, or as Barbara says the "Mechanical" Gardens, are about a mile walk from the ICRC office. Luckily, this was prior to the heavy rain. A light drizzle began around the time I reached the park, and 10 minutes later it was raining cats and dogs. With some resourcefulness on my part, I was able to keep my camera dry and get a lot of great shots of the park. The colors of the leaves are just starting to change and it looked incredible. After that I put my camera away because, as many of you know, I'm not a fan of big cities. Taking a picture of an office building with modern, boring architecture doesn't really appeal to me. Around 11, I began my trek back to ICRC to have lunch with Barbara and when I arrived I looked like I had taken a shower with my clothes on. I literally had to wring out my hair so it would stop dripping on the furniture. All I have to say is, thank goodness I had a rain coat on.

    After a nice lunch with Barbara and some other very interesting people, I decided to head downtown to try to find a suitable purse (one with a zipper, clasp, and flap) for London. Finding my way to downtown was a challenge. I took the bus, managed to purchase the wrong ticket which wasn't much of a problem, wandering around the train station until I saw exit signs, and promptly followed them. Eventually, I came to one of my favorite chocolate shops, so I had to buy some chocolate (framboise et chocolat blanc/white chocolate with raspberries). I found a purchase at Manor (a department store kinda) and it was reasonably priced, which is hard to come by in Suisse. After my errands, I got a chai latte at a Starbucks (I knowww I was excited too) and sat down for an hour and a half to read, eavesdrop, and listen to music.

   Around 5 Barbara let me know she was all done with her meetings, so whenever I found my way back we could head home. I made my way to the bus stop, with some help and a bit of French I bought my ticket, and made it back to the ICRC without incident.

    More things happened, but it's too much to type at the moment. Hope everyone has a good Thursday, I will post again when I return from London! :)

I know I know

     I'm sorry it's been so long since I lasted posted. I haven't had many photo-taking opportunities since the Monet exhibition from the weekend before this one didn't allow photography, and I didn't want to take my camera to a club, and I was too busy shopping to take photos at the market in Divonne, France.

But then again, you all didn't get to hear about these things.
     Last weekend I went with Tara and Barbara and Hachemi to a Monet exhibition in Morges. It was incredible (even though they wouldn't let me bring in my camera :( ). I cannot even describe how amazing the paintings were.  I saw some of the most well-known paintings in the world up-close. People probably thought I was weird because I spent about 5 minutes staring at each painting. I had a bad habit of standing very close, then backing up. "Look at that weird American, she must have a vision problem." Who cares though, because I saw true talent on canvas, and got myself a poster of course.
     Here is a fairly famous Monet painting, in case you have no idea who he is or are just confused perpetually.

     This weekend was the beginning of Tara's October break. I wish I had a two week break at the end of October when I was in school. Unfortunately, I'm all alone though because Hachemi took Tara to visit her grandmother in France starting on Saturday morning. So, to celebrate my first month here, Barbara and I went for a night out in Nyon and saw some awesome live music and had fun. We went to a local bar owned by a friend of her's, called La Parenthese. It was very cool and completely packed. One of those places that you would only be able to find if you knew it's location beforehand. I liked it a lot :).
     Then on Sunday, Barbara and I went to a market in Divonne. There was a wide selection of everything you could possibly think of: fruits, veggies, spices, clothes, cheese (of course), table clothes, furniture, you name it. I got a couple sweaters and some caramel covered almonds... so delicious. After the market, we had lunch with Luc at the restaurant where his paintings are all displayed. It was fun, and we were all acting so ridiculous that I'm surprised they didn't throw us out. Typical.
     Tomorrow I am going to Geneva to spend the day wandering and taking all the pictures I wanted to take last time I was there. I promise to post before I leave for London on Monday!
     Bye for now :) I have to go study for my French class tonight.

Nyon

     Hello everyone, just thought I'd take the time to post a quick photo of myself in Nyon. Tara has her piano lessons there on Tuesday, so I get to spend some time by Lake Geneva just relaxing before my french class. If any of my blog viewers have their own blogs, feel free to send me the URL :). Have a nice Wednesday.

Tchao

        Yes, I know it's been awhile. Yes, I know people usually spell it "ciao", but that is the correct French spelling. Yes, I think it's weird too.
        Anyway, I have been busy busy busy. I am finally getting into a routine here and time is going by quickly. Three weeks already! I'll be back home before I know it. Tomorrow I have my third French class, and here's hoping we learn something that will help me communicate with the many people who try to speak to me (in only French of course) on a daily basis. Personally, I don't think telling them what their nationality is or counting to twenty makes for good conversation.
        This weekend I planned my first trip, since I have a week off at the end of October. Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to London: where people speak good, old English. I'll be there from the 24th to the 29th, taking in as much as possible and hopefully going on a day trip to Brighton. Cross your fingers for beautiful weather, but I need to buy some wellies just in case :).

       Also, this past weekend I went with Barbara, Tara and a few of Barbara's friends to a British car show in Morges (about halfway between here and Lausanne). There were so many beautiful old cars, it was unfortunate my camera was having technical difficulties. Luckily, I managed to snag a few good pictures.
In the coming week and a half, I hope to have the motivation to post two more times... once with a photo-timeline of my normal activities, and another showing the Swiss alternatives to popular American locations (grocery store, restaurant, house, etc,).
      Anyway, here are the photos from the car show. Enjoy!

To reassure my mother and other worried family members, I am indeed alive and healthy. You all worry too much... seriously though.

Above, a song that's been stuck in my head. Sleep well everyone.