Rien que Spécial

[WARNING: My phone and my camera are dead and chargerl-ess, therefore this post will be *thee* most barren post ever. I am shuddering at the thought of this because I am such a visual person, but alas, next week I will have proof of all of my doings].

Allright, where to begin? Where has this month gone? And how far behind am I ... I am pretty sure I have literally forgotten about my blog for this month, or at least since the last time I have written here. Okay, so for the challenges I have to complete five this week, so far I've done a couple...

Jewelry making time ; I did in fact make something; but it still isn't finished. I have made a headband WITH my bedazzler, but I do NOT have enough jems, therefore I am utterly devastated and don't know if I will be able to finish said headband. Also, currently in the process making a necklace (candle at the other side of the table) with the little girl I am taking care of ! Fun times


Flag time; alllllright, I have narrowed it down to a state island that is considered to be part of Thailand. Can we say legit flag alert? The Name's Chang. Ko Chang. Yes, this state starts with a K. *high-five* .

This is all for now I think, I would rather post a little proving that I am alive then just cramming a bunch into one day. Until next time!

Five Bananas!

Okay, now it has been a couple of weeks since I have written here. It is because I have been uninspired for such a long time. I guess it could because I sort of, perhaps, miss people back in my hometown ( Cue: Hometown by Adele) , particularly my family.

But now I have had some time to get that out of my system and enjoy the beautiful landscape, the tree leaves starting to turn colors, the brisk and crisp air of the autumn; simply delightful.

Before I update you on my 52 weeks challenge thingy, I had an ah-ha moment this week and would like to share with you.

I realized that something seemed different about me, about my character/personality, and I didn't like it and couldn't put my finger on it. I could tell that deep down inside there was something saddened. But then I remembered back when I took every day and a mini adventure. I was excited for almost anything, and couldn't wait to see what ways God could provide the next hour and the day preceding. I was overwhelmed with happiness and peace because I knew and trusted that God WOULD provide.
Something happened, where I lost this excitement of adventure every day. I spent too much time thinking about things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things; such as what people think of me and what am I going to eat today... It is always a learning process. I always find that once I think I've "mastered" a test or something I've been praying about, it will more than likely come back to test me in a different way. I the moment it seems bizarre, but in the big picture, it makes perfect sense. To conclude, I will know be taking "the adventure" with me where ever I go.


With that being said, I did the last two challenges this week! On accident! hahaha

Okay, Go bananas, Well, this one is a no brainer, of course I 've gone crazy, and of course I made some banana bread. I ate almost the whole loaf... Is that bad?

High fives ? Well... here, you can't high five people, but people do like to stare... so I figured, they were high-fiving me with their eyes. I'd say I got about 100 high fives this week. And I didn't even know these people.

J'aimerias une glace. . .

Okay friends, hope all is well with YOU!
Good news, I am learning more French. Supposedly, I am impressing people with how much I have learned and how well I pronounce things. But I still have got a ways to go. . . I can only understand things in slow motion. That's how my brain feels at the moment because it takes me a while to hear the correct thing and then translate. C'est pas grave. I am starting to dream in French which seems like progress?? Eh?

Okay, This week's challenge was to find something odd at a store. Anywhere I looked there were weird/interesting things. Rabbit is now in season. To eat. Yep, but I managed to snap a picture with some random candies, right in front of someone passing through the isle. Pure awesomeness, because they looked at me like I was completely crazy! That was another one of my "assignments" of the week.

                                                                                               

Two kinds of Ketchup. Hot and regular. But not in French.

Me with the candies and my lunch. Salad, Apple juice,  Olive oil and Feta Chips, chocolate, and some fresh picked grapes

I'm way behind, even though I'm ahead of time.

Okay okay, I feel like dark rain clouds have descended upon me because I haven't updated my blog lately. Honestly, it's because I've had no time to sit down and write it all down. Also, if I haven't been busy, I have been busy being tired and sleeping. It's definitely a cycle. Sleep, work, eat, work, sleep, dream of sleeping, eat, work, etc.

Okay, so week three;
Create a drink. . . .Here it is. . .I am a very visual person, so the drink I made is in three parts (three pictures that is).

It's a pretty genius idea.

I shall explain; So first boil some water for the tea. . . Then once the water is boiled put the tea back simultaneously with the sirop. . . Once it cools, add the Fanta! Ta-Da!

Week four (try something you've never had before)
Also, I did try something I've never had before, unfortunately I didn't get to take a picture of it.
It was fresh fish right from the lake that I am living by! How yummy, and prepared right in front of my eyes. It was served with a traditional Swiss side dish, leeks, potatoes, and love. There were a couple of other ingredients I believe but am not sure. Also, had fresh lettuce right from the garden, fresh grapes from a vineyard, and raw meat. All so good.

My Name is Graven on His Hands, My Name is Written on His Heart

Mission 3;

Carve Your Initials on a tree. 

Accomplished. 

Oh, might I add, that I went on a walk in the forest, by myself of course, and walked around for an hour until finally choosing a tree. Everything was very wet, so it took me about 15 minutes to find a rock and actually carve said initials. Please ignore the cheesy, staged look on my face, totally thought I was looking AT the camera. . . Still jetlagged. what.

fever and ague

This week has been a roller coaster of events. When I say events, I mean sickness.
A great start to the week is passing out. Especially when you have children to look after. I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I'm sure in about two weeks, I will be laughing at how ridiculous this was. So after passing  out, I was feeling great! Then, after that I started to cough and feel a bit ill. . . I now had come down with a cold. Okay, just a cold, no big deal. Then came the fever and shakes. What the heck. I was getting worse by the moment. Lo and behold, I had gotten chicken pox. It's not as bad as I thought it would have been but alas, I thought I would have bypassed that but whatevs.


I decided to bake some goodies from pinterest. Yep. . . won't do that again. It was an easy recipe but not very tasty. Cinnamon poppers, or something like that. Oh well. You live and you learn. C'est la Vie.

Je suis grave pas toujours.

Okay, this will probably take a bit longer to type out seeing as it's only nine o' clock in the evening and I am totally falling asleep. I'm pretty sure I have a sixth sense, where I can actually be productive in my sleep. Blogging counts as being productive? 

Today marks the first week in the European lands ( plus one day to be exact, but who's counting). So far, it's quite fantastic. I have my own room, a friend has already purchased me a bilingual bible, gone on some bike rides, and eaten some of the best food I will ever eat. Double Creme is where it is at. Those of you that know, will agree. Those of you that don't know, if I described it, it would confuse you and then make you cry because it would sound too good to be true. Fact. 

The family has already found out I use the phrases, " And I was like" and " Right" a fair amount of times. Token American over here. 

Also, I have purchased this thing, okay it has a name but I don't know what it is. I mean I know what it is in French but it doesn't make sense in English. Basically I bought a year pass for the train and bus! The cool thing is that everything is either half price, or after 7pm I get to ride for free. In case you didn't know, a ticket the distance from Kenosha to Chicago ( normally costing around 16 papers round trip would cost you about 80 here) . If I ride the train around three I will have paid off the cost! Cray cray. 

Okay, so the real reason why I am blogging today is to inform anyone, that I have started a 52 weeks challenge with my sister and friend!

Week one, one sentence in ASL. 

 

Is This Real Life?

I never thought I would be saying this ever. I never thought that my plans in life could be so simple, yet so exciting. And.... I never would have thought I would be back in Switzerland . . . for a whole year! 

Exciting times have approached, and I thought, in order to keep every reader, which I am sure is only like five people, I thought I would do one of those "52 weeks project/challenge" things. So every week I will *have* to write about my adventures . . . and then my project thingy will add just a right amount of spice to my sweet life. 

I just arrived yesterday so I feel very cloudy. To me it is funny because it really is cloudy here in Switzerland. It was really sunny yesterday and then there was a huge thunderstorm. Talking about the weather is boring, so until next week! 

Sunscreen Actually Makes You Burn.

So I have come to the realization that as much as I talk, I am terrible at being articulate; just holding a conversation with people, I feel like I am horrible at. Maybe it's all in my head and I am crazy (I already know I am crazy, so that is besides the point), or maybe I do need to work on the art of conversing.
I admire my grandmother for this quality that she possess. Anyone she walks up to, she could start a conversation, completely out of nothing, making the "new acquaintance" feel at ease and welcome. I need to start taking notes when I am with her.

Or maybe it's because I have so much going through my mind lately that I have become speechless. This coming year is going to be quite the exciting one. And quite international at that too!

Post trip... take two?

There are so many things to be said. Too many thoughts to write down, or even explain. If I did, you and I both would go mad. It's the truth.

It is  really late at night, I just ate some English chocolate, though secretly craving some Swiss chocolate from Migros or *insert other Swiss supermarket*, and I am really wishing that my wisdom teeth were  removed from my gums before I get any weirder. Picture having little weights tied to your teeth that weigh a  thousand pounds. Boom. Thats what my teeth feel like, only the weights are pain. Woah.

Other than that, life is simply amazing. I recently hit a car whilst backing up, (I know I technically shouldn't admit to this but hey, there's a good ending) but miraculously did NOT have to pay anything. I  was on the phone with the insurance company and asked the lady over and over if I was hearing this correctly.

JUST REMEMBERED! I have a new found love for baking. Cupcakes that is. My friend, Sarah and I have been experimenting with different extracts, flavour combos, such as chocolate with mint, and cappuccino with creamcheese frosting. If you are interested in trying, more like buying some delicious cupcakes, just say the word!

One more thing.... When you finally have your own bank account, you can officially feel like  a responsible adult..At least that's how it is for me.

And my adventure doesn't end here. But this post will for now  ;)

Laughter is the Best Kind of Medicine.

Hey everyone- I have good news; I am alive! It has been awhile since I have written, but I haven't thought of anything cool or funny to write about... until now I guess. For starters, I have been going on walks daily. Here, the roads are very steep and the shortcuts to walk on are even steeper! I have found myself just walking down these paths sheerly for adventure. My goal is to walk up and down each "secret passage way" before I leave. That shouldn't be too hard, seeing as I walk at least once a day, if not twice or even thrice if I'm feeling crazy. These pictures don't really do justice what it looks like here, but it is better than nothing ehh?

Real Talk; I would like to call it Beauty

Maybe the best things in life are just simple, honest, real life things, such as stories/memories or spoken words. Maybe that is why it is so hard to concoct a masterpiece, when you've been apart of one- you just don't realize it. Take for instance life- Everything around you, even yourself. You are breathing whilst you read this and don't even have to monitor it. You simply are alive. Another instance is nature. The trees, birds, fresh crisp air, warmth of the sun, flowers ( I'm quite partial to flowers). All these, and countless others serve a purpose, for you and me. Trees keeps our air pure, animals, not all, give us nourishment, flowers gan give remedies, and so on and so fourth. Call it what you would like, but the simple things in life are those that bring a smile to your face and warm your heart even teach life lessons.

Okay, now about my trip!


Since I have last blogged I have been apart of some really cool things. Such as extreme sledding, visiting the "downtown area", having a friend come visit, and ya know, visiting Germany. Okay for the record, just a little disclaimer, I still do not know how to speak French fluently, or really that much. I have only been here for a couple of weeks and have the best host family/ translators that I almost never have to speak French. :) Also, my über Midwestern accent is a favourite among the teens in the area, so why not speak English?! ;)

So, I had the wonderful opportunity to have one of my very good friends come and join me on my adventure here, to see the alps, and to enjoy wonderful company. Before she came, the Alps were more so the Whelps. ( the awkward version of the mountains, where you mistake them for clouds because you can't see them). So, we had to opportunity to go sledding with some friends. Upon arriving, we saw this massive ski lift. I didn't really want to go and this giant ski lift did not help my cause. But it ended up being really awesome. We ended up going for free, and it was such a blast! Oh and can I just say that the cheese fondue here is amazing?! Seriously, so so so so good. I ate some right before we went sledding. Oh yeah, then the next day we went to the town square/ the downtown area and went through the shops. Its really cool because as we were walking towards the downtown area, we got closer to the view of the stunning Alps. We walked around for ages, and then suddenly I realized I was missing something- MY CAMERA! Luckily, I remembered where I had misplaced it and everything was as it should.

The following week I went to Germany. I visited some amazing people there, and tasted the best yoghurt ever. Don't even remember the name. But it was so cool going there and being at our friends new house. On the way back we went to Strambourg in France; because it's just "on the way home". I got to see one of the biggest churches back in the day. It was so intricately crafted; just pure talent there. Oh, and then I ate the best pizza ever! Like no lie. Thin crust, white cream sauce, onion, bacon. Boom.

One Man`s Trash is Another Man`s Treasure.

For those of you who are dying to hear about my trip so far, here it goes. I have settled into life now and had the most peculiar interaction at the local school... of French...

I walk up to the building, and as I open the doors, there`s these like industrial vinyl construction curtains.... Were they trying to throw me off here? Was I just supposed to casually walk through like everyone else presumable did... I was a bit intrigued as to what was in store next. And boy was I right. We walked up some stairs to the main desk.. Yet again my last name was spelled wrong, so it took thrice as long.. We are instructed to go up to the second floor into one of the "classrooms"... Class had already started, of course, so we walked into the middle of the lesson. Great. The teacher could speak very little English, and explained to me that their class had been running for Five Months. Yes, five. months. No pressure. Just join a class where everyone knows each other and stuff. No big deal. So I had the choice to leave right then and there, orrrr sit through a two hour class and "try it out". Of course the looks and gestures were "go for it" and " why don`t you just try", and " I don`t understand English". So I sat through the class. Evidentially, the class took a short break an hour into and my teacher proceeded to tell me I could leave if I so chose. Awkward. But I had no choice. I was getting picked up promptly in two hours. So I stayed, and apparently all of the au pàir`s, classmates, were like 23/24... hmm.. I am still pondering this mystery. My favourite parts of being in the classroom was the very pungent smell of who knows what... there were no males in the classroom so I was ever more confused. It was like a hint of cheese mixed with stale sweat. Another favourite part was when she actually called on me to pronounce words and sentences. Yep. All eyes staring at you, with a look of confusion and disgust. Doesn`t get more international that that. Actually, the class time went by really quickly. And as soon as I was done, I booked it. Well I have never walked, or thought I walked so fast in who knows how long- but in reality it was more of a saunter.

Moving to the Rhythm of the Wind

There are so many little sentences and observations I've had this week. So I think I will just make a list.

1. People in Switzerland are normal sized; With that being said- they also have a deep appreciation of food. I like that. A lot. So I have decided to eat 'til I am full; and enjoy it! 

2. I realized, if you have no expectations, you will always be pleasantly surprised. Life is an adventure. I think that's becoming my motto. As cliche and cheesy as it sounds, I think I know understand what people are meaning by "adventure". I am so excited for even just tomorrow. And of course for what happens in the years to come. I digress.

3. Double Rainbow All the Way.

I'm thinking of adding more to this because I really like the title of this post. Hmmm

Only the Beginning.

This is the first blog posting. There is so much that goes on in my head. Therefore, it is quite difficult to decide what to say and how to say it.

So basically, I am in Switzerland. It's awesome. God totally provided and I am still in awe of how I even got here. It started off as a joke, but then I realised it could happen. As soon as I found news of this possibility, it was like I started packing right after! Now, after a whirlwind in the travelling world, I made it; now being subjected to only hearing conversations in French and the occasional German or Portuguese. Yep. There are so many different cultures and languages in an area smaller than Wisconsin! Amazing. Even with the everyday changes and not understanding everyone, I am ever more aware of God's presence. I am accepted and loved by Him; proof that I am here! I just love it! ahh.


The End.