Munich, Germany

I am not kidding. I had the most incredible weekend of my life, I went to Munich and met up with a new friend. It is sort of difficult for me to explain how sincerely this weekend touched my heart. Here are some pictures. Munich is in beautiful fall colors right now, absolutley beautiful, lots of walking, Dauchau concentration camp, the beer house, dancing,the English Gardens, a castle. Sincerely the best weekend of my entire life.

Recap of my birthday =)

Ok, so I woke up and immediately rolled over and opened birthday cards I have had from my family for about two weeks. Wonderful, magnificent! I went to a briefing at the International labor organization and learned about their work again child labor. Then, Julia and I went back home, and went to IKEA with my homestay mother and her friend, where we delighted in IKEA cafe...quite delicious. We came back, and she had bought me flowers =) So nice, and then she melted chocolate bars with a little milk and poured it over vanilla ice cream...mmmmm. That evening I decided I would go for a long run...I ran down to the lake and looked at my favorite little island (at night it is all lit up with orange and green spotlights and it is just trees....it is borderline spooky, oh I love it). Then as the night progressed, I, and a pair of scissors proceeded to the bathroom where wonder was worked on my hair. Yup =)

Ahh shucks, now that I am 22, I must say, because I am 22 and all, and 22 year olds...ok,
haha...

Gaela- Thanks for the birthday wishes =)

Mom- Love you, and thank you for being one of two amazing happy birthday singers (Amber later did). I love you, and any good that you see in my new hairstyle I attribute to you.

Amber: Thanks =) I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to have someone from back home speak a little French with this struggling French student, seriously. I love you, and the video worked perfectly!

Denise: Thanks for the text message and all the love =)

Love you all. Thanks for the constant love, it uplifts me =)

Why I cut my hair and other funny tales.

Please refer to exhibit A (With scarf), B(with flowers), and C(22 year old with bangs). So, you would think from exhibit A that I have nice hair days quite often, but it is false! Most days my hair looked like exhibit B! So, it was quite necessary that I took green scissors, went to my bathroom, and tried to tame the beast =) Hey, sometimes we secretly want bangs and our fingers sense it and suprise you with a single cut of the scissors. The end result...embrace what you are, and have become.

22 years old!

Yup...almost, I will probably have to post a picture of what a 22 year old looks like, just in case you don't know.

Other than that, I think I have really been forced to evaluate my life here. Sometimes I just expect things to be more apparent or easier, life lessons put on a set of fine china. Luckily that is not how it happens.

I went to church this mornin', been at the internet cafe all day, about to board a train home after grabbing some bread.

Gaela, you can take photos =) Also, please communicate to the man friend that I hope school is going well for him, and hope to hear back from him sometime via email :]

Good morning mom =) I am super excited to open birthday cards ;) I love you!

Update.

Ok. First, I feel like I identify with this sculpure from the D'Orsay museum. Analyze...umm, well she is naked, so she is exposed, but so happy, and I feel like she is really inviting in the way she lifts her hair...and she is beeeeautiful. I aspire to be more like what I feel she embodies.

So, I have been kinda down lately, and then I get all of this electronic love. Haha. Seriously, my family has been transmitting so much love and encouragement on the computer, and through the phone...oh and even via post. Thank you all very much. The video clip though...wow, my heart seriously began to float in my chest, detached from worries or anything else holding it hostage ;)

So, I am at an internet cafe right now, about to go to a french test in an hour and a half. There is a beautiful man sitting across from me...but I am sorta shy (for those of you who know me ;) So...I thought, perhaps I will ask him if I can take a picture of him to show you all, but well...that might be weird. Haha. So embarassed even to type it, because I honestly thought it. Alright, peace out all ;) Love you guys!

Sunday...

Ok, it is sunday, and ummm, here are some pics of me in Paris, my friend took them, I call the one "Kira super excited AKA crazy face." The other is an inside view from the louvre.

Ok, so I will be 22 this month, also, this is the last month of the program, and then next month we are working independently on our projects. I am going to Germany next month for a week, maybe meeting my great grandmother... As silly as it sounds all I think about lately is coming home and giving my mom a big kiss and hugging her until she tells me to let go that she has to go to work or something =) Its perhaps silly but I think that even though I love my life, I never really realized how blessed I am and how loved I actually am. Sheesh. =)

Momma: Thanks so much, haha...I wonder if anybody else you know calls you and just starts telling you about what is on their heart...I really appreciate how loving you are to me, I dont just type that. It is hard to express how rare it is, and how much I miss and love that of you.

Denise: I don't know if you got the stuff yet, I just wanted to send you something that was special to me in Paris, an amazing experience that I wanted to share with you...

Amber: I love you so much, and hope the chocolate is the best ever =)

Gaela: Thanks for the comments. It is crazy to be immersed in so much, and more than that, to feel welcome. People in general are phenomenal, I love them. Oh, I also love cows, and I think that cows would love us a whole bunch more back home if we treated them with so much love.

Oh, the cow festival, was the 30th of September

Ok, so every year the farmers bring their cows down from the mountains here to the cows respective canton and village. SO, if all the cows have a safe journey down, then they all get decked out...it is so amazing, and there were swiss germans from Bern yodeling, and cheese,and beer, and bells, and happppppy giving people. A big

sweet German man filled up mine and my friends cup with his wine, and the Bernese yodelers later returned and made my friend and I take pics in their jackets....it was so jolly and I was laughing so much all day. I will tell you...it was really cultural, and sooooo much fun!

Brussells....Paris+ Me = One Happy lady.

Ok, so we went on a trip to Belgium and to Paris, France for a week. Belgium= Goooood cherry beer, waffels mmmmm. In Paris I went to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Museum Maillol with an awesome exhibit of Marilyn Monroe, the Champs (errrr spelling error here I come) Elysee, The Arc of Triumphe, the Sacred Heart church, Moulin Rouge....The Orsay Museum....and I walked around in general, got around by metro. Wowzers, it was a really packed week. I had such an amazing time though and am so blessed to have seen those places...and Pshhhh whatever...the eiffel tower truly is romantic and I plan to spend many more hours of my life lying on the grass with wine and amazing french bread reflecting on life and love. ;) Love you all!