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!

Current Things

A little sneak peak at my week with my mom!

I've seen these lists lately and thought it would be fun. It gives you a little bit of a glimpse into my everyday life. Happy Wednesday, friends!!

+ eating: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. and thoroughly enjoying it. #merica
+ drinking: water. always.
+ practicing: the italian language
+ mastering: how to dress for freezing cold weather
+ learning: french
+ playing: bubble shooter (fun fact: if i watch something on my laptop, i always play bubble shooter at the same time. i can't sit still while watching tv.)
+ finishing: editing a physics lecture. my host dad here works for cern and is paying me to edit his lesson. while i don't understand anything i'm reading, it's been nice to edit. i actually love doing that!
+ reading: the book of deuteronomy. my small group leader (hi mrs. susan!) and i are doing a study together. so thankful for the technology that keeps us connected!
+ enjoying: the time i spent with my mama last week. so good.
+ listening: oceans by hillsong united
+ needing: a large glass of sweet tea. with lots of ice.
+ wearing: an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants. plus thigh-high wool socks because it's absolutely freezing here
+ wondering: how much chick-fil-a i can eat in one month when i go home
+ working: on how to teach english. not as easy as it sounds
+ liking: my day off. it's been spent entirely in bed :)
+ traveling: to rome for my birthday in exactly two weeks!!
+ planning: my trip back to america!!
+ wanting: the sun and warm weather
+ loving: the new friendships i've made
+ wishing: i had cookie dough and brownie mix. i can't wait to get back to america and bake to my heart's content
+ marveling: at the greatness of deuteronomy. who knew it was so applicable to life?!
+ smelling: nothing...i'm getting sick :(
+ hoping: these next 26 days will fly by so i can get home and hug my family
+ feeling: so blessed by this adventurous time in my life

Milano Highlights

Today is the day!! My mom is officially on her way to Geneva. In less than six hours, we will be reunited!! It's been 167 days since I've seen her in person and I am just so excited! Je suis très contente!

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from my quick weekend in Milano!

Highlights: Duomo and Teatro alla Scala

Sunset

The weather here has been gorgeous lately. Perfect fall temperatures, sunny days, and awesome sunsets. Here are some unedited pictures from two nights ago. I was using my 55-250 mm lens (which basically means it zooms in farther than normal). I haven't used it very often...hence the subpar photos. I really need to practice more! But my bad camera skills don't take away from the unreal colors. God is such an artist!

Travel

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." – Miriam Beard

“Every place I have ever visited changed my life in some way, either spiritually, emotionally or intellectually. Isn’t that the point of travel?” - Anonymous

I love these quotes. I never realized how much traveling would change me. When you are forced to live in a strange place with people you have never met, you learn a lot. About yourself, about the world around you, and about the people around you. It's a never-ending journey. And I love it. I'm constantly learning new things and having new experiences. Life sure would be boring if I did the same thing every day. Wherever you are, I hope you do something different today, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Here's to new adventures! 

Balance

As an au pair, I feel like I always have to have on my happy face. If I'm not smiling, the family asks if I'm okay. If I want to go to bed early, they ask if I am sick. If I spend a Saturday alone in my room reading or watching Gilmore Girls, they ask if something is wrong. It's like I am never allowed to just be me and have real emotions. I can't be anti-social or tired or sick of the weather.

It's a little overwhelming sometimes. I am generally a happy, optimistic, glass-half-full kind of gal. But sometimes, it's refreshing to be alone. Or to get mad at the constant rain. Or go to bed at 8 PM. I'm only human.

This life is a balancing act. I'm trying to navigate my way through this one day at a time. Somedays it's easy. Others, not so much. Living with a new family, and getting paid by them, is a challenge. I am here to do a job. But I am still a person with feelings.

This post really doesn't have a point. I'm just airing out my thoughts. Life in a foreign country is not always so glamorous. It's still life. It still has its ups and downs. And no matter where you are, you still have to find the balance.

Life Update

Hello friends!! It's been a while! Sometimes life just happens and then you realize you haven't blogged in two weeks. Oops! But I think it's better to live life than to get caught up documenting every detail. So that's the excuse I'm going with. To make up for my absence, here is an update on what's been going on lately:

Life has been pretty normal here. Lot of picking up the girls from school, teaching English, playing games, doing puzzles, etc. Filomena (the oldest; she's 10) and I have formed such a precious friendship and I really enjoy being with her. Her English is improving and my Italian is as well.

I've made some new friends: one from California and one from Italy. It's been fun hanging out with new people and experiencing new things together. And if you know me, you know I love Italians. So it's a win-win situation!

I've been going to French classes for a few weeks now and I'm slowly getting better. My teacher actually lived in Atlanta for five years. How random is that?! The language is difficult for me because it's so different from Spanish and Italian. There are so many silent letters! And pronouncing the letter r?? Forget it. I do it on accident but I can't do it when I try. (For those of you who don't know, it's a sound that comes from the back of your throat. It's totally different from the way we pronounce it in English and totally different from the rolling sound in Spanish or Italian.)

I'm understanding more and more Italian. I'm exposed to it every day (which I love!) so it's getting easier. Speaking it is a different story. I know a lot of words but I'm working on making them into sentences. Daniele, my Italian friend, is helping me. We practiced conjugating a few verbs on the way home from French class today and I'm pretty sure I butchered them. At least I'm assuming that's why he was laughing...

I'm learning how to drive a stick-shift. I'm getting better but I still have problems starting on hills. I avoid them at all costs. I also avoid stopping if I can. I have definitely rolled through some stop signs just so I don't have to put it in first gear. But everybody here does it so I'm not too worried. There aren't any police in this tiny town. Let me just say, though, that I miss my automatic car. A lot.

My best friend, Melissa, is currently living in Bangladesh. She's blogging about her adventures here. It's been really cool to be abroad at the same time. It's been great to share what God's doing in each of our situations. She is super entertaining so check it out!

And in 21 short days...my mom will be here!!!! I'm so so so so so excited to see her in person and hug the heck out of her. We're starting to plan what we want to do in each city. We're going to Modena (to visit my Italian family!!), Firenze, Luss (a little town outside of Glasgow), and Paris. And Geneva, of course. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!