Archive for January, 2012

La Chaleur de la France

“Thank you for taking our son in as a guest,” my dad said over skype. “For us he is not a guest,” responded my host parents, “he is part of the family.” My host parents (in French, actually, welcome parents) are incredibly warm and welcoming, and have done a wonderful job of orienting me, making […]

La Cuisine

According to Jesus, man cannot live on bread alone.  I reject this statement for two reasons.  First, it ignores half of the human population.  Second, this man can.  I have always been a bread addict, and I always knew how much I would love the breads here in France.  However, the artistry of French cuisine […]

Chocolates, Watches, and Knives, OH MY!

Hello to friends, family, and everyone else reading this! I’m currently sitting on my bed, in my host family’s flat, in Geneva, Switzerland. Actually, I’m in Nyon, a suburb-like town of Geneva. I’ll explain more about my living situation later (so stick around, because it’s pretty unique).  I arrived in Geneva on January 18th after […]

Finishing up in Istanbul

Today was one of those days that I didn’t want to start because I didn’t want it to end.  The experience we have shared as a group in Istanbul has been incredible. Since we had all day free to do whatever we chose.  I chose to go to the Grand Bazaar one last time to […]

Our Road Trip to an Ancient City

January 23rd was one of the more memorable days of our Turkish excursion.  We started the day by throwing off our inadequate bed sheets and stumbling down the darkened stairwell to the Palm Hotel lobby.  Despite Lei’s best efforts the hotel refused to turn on those lights so I took to carrying my insurance card […]

Return to Istanbul!

We have finally returned to our home away from home in Istanbul! As nice as Ephesus and Izmir were, not getting back to our hotel until 1 am definitely took the energy out of us. The bus ride from the airport to the hotel may have involved some tears and laughs of exhaustion…….or delirium….that matter […]

Finally Made It!

Yesterday, we finally experienced Machu  Picchu, a place many only dream of going.  From Cusco, we first took a two hour bus ride through the Andes which was a little bumpy to say the least.  The redeeming factor was the stunning scenery.  Next we hopped on a train following the Vilcanota otherwise known as the Urubamba […]

We Really Love Surprises…January 21st

Today was a fairly relaxed day that started off with a morning recap session. With about half the group (including me) being so sick the last few days, we had to rearrange plans a bit to include more time to rest. So today after the recap session we had most of the day to do […]

The Gang Leaves Istanbul

This morning we departed at 5:30 for Izmir[Iz-meer].  For some of us, that meant a scramble out of bed at 5:16 and hurried packing, exhausting all of the energy those 4-5 hours of sleep had provided.  After the world’s shortest flight, around 350 miles, we arrived.  Upon greeting our tour guide, we entered what we […]

Le français

It’s an incredible feat that anyone is able to speak this ridiculous language fluently.  For so long, I thought I was beginning to attain some kind of grasp on French.  I’ve taken classes for 6 years, I’ve been to France once before, and, for good measure, my ancestors spoke it.  No doubt, I should have […]