Doing 23 the Right Way

In three short days, I will be turning 23!! It's pretty exciting to think I will turn 23 in Europe. But you know what's even better? The fact that I will be turning 23 in Italy. I don't know what it is exactly, but I just love that country.

We are leaving this afternoon to head to Italy. We will be in Benevento, my host dad's hometown for a few days. Then we are driving to Rome for my birthday. I'm so excited to visit this city that I've heard so much about. My Italian host family from last year has been telling me to go for a long time. And my Italian friend here is actually from Rome. So obviously he thinks I should go. I'm more than happy to oblige.

While I'm gone, here are some unedited pictures of the first snow!

I took the little one outside to play. The snow was almost all gone, but we had a lot of fun making snow balls. She also wanted to carry her "peeg" around in her jacket. So cute.

Annecy, France

I really lucked out with the family I work for. After talking with other au pairs, I just feel so blessed. This family includes me in everything. While it's sometimes a bit much, I really have had a wonderful experience.

One of the things I love is that they take me to new cities. One of my favorites by far was Annecy. It's like the Venice of France, but much smaller. The day we went was beautiful. People were eating outside, playing at the park, and rowing boats on the lake. We visited the castle, ate lunch in a typical French restaurant, strolled around town, and stopped to blow bubbles in the park. Such a relaxing day.

Lake Geneva

One of my favorite things about Geneva is the lake in the center of the city. I love looking at all the boats and seeing the fountain. So many photo ops!!

Feeding Ducks

I have met a lot of really great people while I've been abroad. One of them is Rosalie. Even though we've only known each other for a very short time, I feel like it's been forever. I'm so so thankful for her friendship. We are both au pairs and have a lot in common. Plus it's always good when you can connect with someone on things like One Direction :)

We've spent a couple of days in Geneva together. One of those days involved feeding ducks. We felt like little children and it was wonderful.

From Fall to Winter

Fall did not last very long here. It felt like we went from summer, to a week of fall, straight into the dead of winter. Of course, I'm extremely cold natured so I could be exaggerating a little bit. But either way, I thoroughly enjoyed fall while it lasted.

PS It's snowed yesterday! And last night. And this morning. Safe to say it's officially winter.

Central Perk

There is an actual coffee shop named Central Perk right here in Geneva. I was so excited because who knew a real one existed?! I went with a friend this past weekend to check it out. Being the big FRIENDS fans that we are, we were in heaven. The coffee wasn't that great, but the atmosphere more than made up for it. There were red couches everywhere, signs with references to the show, and they even had a TV playing episodes from season six. There were all kinds of people hanging out; it felt just how I imagine the real Central Perk would be. The only things missing were Phoebe playing the guitar, Rachel serving our coffee, and the rest of the gang hanging out.

After we got coffee here, we went to Starbucks and got more coffee. I definitely think I had my caffeine fill for the week.

And for your viewing pleasure:

In unrelated news: I go home three weeks from today!! Just 21 more days. I can do it.

A Few Things I'm Learning Lately + An Announcement!

Life. It has a way of teaching you things you never expected. At least that's been the case for me these past six months. I have been stretched in ways I never thought possible. Maybe someday I'll be able to put it into words so I can share with you. For now, I'm still working through a lot of it. God is doing a great work on my heart and in my life. It's an exciting time to be alive!!

But there are some things that I can share with you. For one, I am absolutely loving the song Oceans by Hillsong UNITED. Melissa shared this song with me a couple of days ago and it has been on replay since then. "Spirit, take me where my trust is without borders. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior." Amen. I've said it before, but I'm so grateful for her friendship. We are going through very similar situations: living abroad, alone, in a season of unknowns. This song perfectly describes our hope for this time.

I mentioned yesterday that I am doing a study on Deuteronomy with my small group leader (Side note: she will always be my leader...even if we aren't technically in a real small group anymore...she can't get rid of me). I never realized the importance and the relevance of this book! What I once thought was just a book of laws, is actually a book about the freedom God has given us. I really recommend Beth Moore's study Law of Love if you want to learn more. It's just full of goodness. The main point of the study is "He brought us out to bring us in." God has taken us from our bondage to bring us into our Promised Land. This quote was from the session I did yesterday:

"Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart. Audacious longings, burning songs, daring thoughts, an impulse overwhelming the heart, usurping the mind - these are all a drive towards serving Him who rings our hearts like a bell." Abraham Joshua Herschel

On a rather different note, I've discovered how much I am used to being alone. I noticed this when my mom came to visit. I absolutely loved having her here. But that was the most human contact I've had consistently since Rachel left me in June. It was strange! I know my time in America is going to be full of social activities so I hope I can adjust quickly!

Which brings me to my announcement: I am officially coming back to Europe after Christmas! This has been a possibility since June but I didn't know for sure what I wanted to do. Well, I've made up my mind. It was just too good of an offer to pass up. So I will be coming back at the end of January to the same family. I will continue to teach this little girl English in the hopes that she can pass an English exam in April. It's a lot of pressure, but I'm just praying she will pass with flying colors!