Ahhh February: non-stop adventure (Southern France, Greece, Turkey)

Ahh February, how many places can we squeeze into a month? That is the question. February is always such a great month. Birthdays, Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, I mean, whats not to like about February? February is always a good time; but Feb 2k10 was a February I will surely never forget. Our good friend Lucy arrived on February 6th and before we even gave her time to rest, we were on the slopes. Next on the agenda: south, to the French Riviera and Italian border. Soon after her arrival, we said goodbye to the Alps and hello to the sea. We hopped on an easyjet flight (which is a European budget airline) and flew to Nice. It was such a nice change. The weather was warm and sunny......well, until it snowed. [Of course it would snow the most it has snowed in twenty years while we were there!] But before that happened, we took advantage of the sunshine and rode mopeds all along the coast to the red rocks of St. Raphael. It was so much fun and we looked just like Dumb and Dumber as we zoomed along the coast on our one-seater scooters (mind you, Lucy and I shared a one-seater...). We did lunch in Italy the next day and of course made the obligatory stops in Monaco and Menton to see the Lemon Festival. Of course we weren't about to miss the Chocolate Festival in Antibes either. I would say that eating was the theme of our adventures in Southern France. Of course in a land where olive trees, Provençal herbs, and fresh veggies outnumber its inhabitants, how can one resist talking incessantly about food? C'est impossible!

After a week in Southern France we decided it was time to meet Blake back in Geneva. So, we scooped him up and off we were to Greece. Ohh Greece....

Where do I begin? Do I talk about the people first? The graffiti? The deserted island and coastland? The food... particularly those infamous Greek salads and the omnipresent lamb dish? I still haven't really figured out the Greeks. I just know that if there is any people group who know how to relax, the Greeks win the prize by a long shot. In fact, we coined the phrase "Greekin' it" which would be to simply relax at a cafe, or perhaps on a park bench, or really anywhere.....for hours. While Americans spend there days slaving away at their jobs (some of us), 90% of the Greek population is drinking some sort of beverage with family and friends at some local cafe. But back to our Greek adventure:

We spent about 3 days in Athens. Athens is one of those cities that you really appreciate after you leave. I mean, we walked where Paul preached, where civilization began, and where greek gods made love to greek goddesses! These are things most people only learn about in their high school Greek mythology classes! We got to experience these sights firsthand...although I must admit, we expected to see more natural beauty. Thus, we took off to the islands in search of this natural beauty we had heard about.

And so we landed on the island of Mykonos. This place is like no other place I've ever been. We were the only tourists to be sure. We rented a car ( yep, I learned how to drive a manual on the cliffs of a Greek Island...normal, right?) and explored the entire island. The landscape was incredible. Sheep, windmills, and little white churches spotted the hills. The coastline was also a dramatic site and the "grimping" or climbing was noteworthy. Mykonos was full of characters which meant the people-watching was definitely first class. When we weren't risking our lives in the rental car, we spent most of our time, well just Greekin' it at a beach side cafe, watching people and time pass us by.

The week went by way too fast and before we knew it, it was time for Lucy and Blake to head home. I still had a week left of vacation so Lauren and I decided that no Greece is complete without some Turkey mixed in with it. So, we hopped a plane to Istanbul where we would spend the majority of our time. Now, if the Greeks win the gold medal for knowing how to relax, the Turks when the prize for being the most friendly and hospitable people I have ever met. We were offered Turksih tea and red wine time after time. It's completely normal for curious bystanders to come up to us and begin to ask us questions and strike up a conversation. Istanbul is a fascinating place. It's definitely a crossroads where East meets West...as it has always been throughout history. It is a muslim country with a progessive attitude. As you talk to most Turks you quickly learn that they are proud people and could care less about joining the European Union. They however, are becoming more and more westernized and no one can deny that.

Istanbul is the 2010 culture capital. And deservingly so. I was blown away by all the history and culture that is there. You could spend 3 months in Istanbul and still not see all there is to see. There's the massive Blue Mosque, the Aya Sophia, The Byzantine (yea, you heard me byzantine...like from the byzantive era....we're talking ancient!!) Cisterns, Topakia Castle, the Spice Bazaar, and our favorite, the Grand Bazaar. And these sights are just part of the Old time. You could spend days exploring the exciting new town too!!! But we knew we only had a week in Turkey so we had to part ways and explore a new and different land.

So we chose to head southeast, to the land of Cappadocia. A little bit about Cappadocia:

The name was traditionally used in Christian sources throughout history and is still widely used concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage.

Cappadocia contains several underground cities largely used by early Christians as hiding places before they became an accepted religion. The Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th century were integral to much of early Christian philosophy.

The Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and deposits erupted from ancient volcanoes. The rocks of Cappadocia near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillar forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form houses, churches and monasteries. Göreme, where we stayed, became a monastic center between 300—1200 AD.

Paul encouraged the first believers who would worship in the underground churches in Cappadocia. We spent 3 days here and explored the incredibly dreamy/bizarre landscape and underground cities. This place was surreal. The land, the history, it still boggles my mind. This is truly a place that everyone must see in this lifetime. You're missing out if you never make it to Cappadocia.

"Il faut profiter"

The number one expression I hear in France: "Il faut profiter"! Translation: "One must take advantage of". Everytime a holiday is around the corner, I am told to "profiter". And so, I do. But I don't just "profiter" during the breaks, I try to take advantage of every single day here in France. And I'm so blessed to experience life here with my best friend/sister.

I realize that I probably won't ever live in the Alps again, and so I ski as often as I can. Lauren and I have "profitied" from living close to the mountains. Every weekend since we've been back, we've gone skiing with friends and with the ski club. I've had several surreal moments as I gaze over at the jagged mountains and crystal clear lakes. Skiing in the alps is quite an experience and when you live an hour away from them, how can one not "profiter".

It's good to be back

I arrived back to Geneva on Thursday after spending about three weeks at home in Louisiana. I had such a wonderful time at home with my family and friends. I had some good quality time with the people I love and enjoyed some good louisiana sunshine and food. It is good to be back though and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. I've been busy enjoying the wintry weather and catching up with friends. Friday I went for a run in the snow and met up with a good friend in Geneva and then had dinner at a teacher's house in a little village about 30 minutes from St. Julien. Her and her husband had cooked some curry and invited some teachers to her house. It was great fun and we got into some good discussion. I got home at 2am, fell asleep at 4:30am (jetlag!!!) and woke up at 7 to go skiing with some friends. I felt terrible all day but had a great time with my friends on the mountain. We went to ski resort called Semoens about an hour from here. At one point, we were above the clouds and we were surrounded by a sea of clouds and beautiful jagged mountain peaks. I have never seen anything like that! Incredibly beautiful.
Today I went to church and had lunch with a group of friends at a little cafe right on Lake Geneva, near the Turkish baths in Pacquis. It was so wonderful seeing my friends and hearing about their travels during the holidays. After lunch I headed to the airport with a friend to pick Lauren up from the airport. She flew from Houston to London, London to Geneva. She was supposed to get here on Friday and JUST got here today, Sunday! The weather has been snowy all over Europe and the airports have been everso hectic. But finally she made it, unpacked her bags, and we are both resting up and catching up on sleep...although I have the worse case of jet lag I've ever experienced!

It's almost time to go home for the holidays!

The bags are packed and the swiss chocolate and french goodies have been carefully placed into the carry-on. We're going home for Christmas! And we leave this week. I am excited and I'm looking forward to some family, friends, and good ol' America! We are of course most excited about spending time with the people we love but some other things we are really ready for are as such:

-driving "smokey" and "gray baybay" our cars back home [and not relying on public transport]

-stores staying open 7 days a week (in France, stores are closed on Sundays and some on Mondays too and they are closed from 12:30-2:30 for lunch and they generally close pretty early at night)

-a washing machine

-hearing people say "yall" and "cha" on a regular basis (although, our international friends are pickin' up on the southern twang, yall!)

-not paying $8 for a SMALL latte

-momma's homecooking

-taking a bath

-going to the gym

-playing with Leeroy, my brother's yellow lab

-cooking with proper cooking utensils

-free refills, ice, and SONIC drinks

-people not asking me where I'm from and what I'm doing here

I'm sure there are other things we're looking forward to but those are just a few that come to mind. Of course we will miss some aspects of European living while we are home, but we are looking so forward to the joys of being home and well, a little instant gratification neva hurt nobody right?!

This past week has been really great and has flown by. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we took advantage quite well of the sunshine and blue skies. On Tuesday, I had my English/American club at the high school and I insisted that we all sit outside and play games. Every Monday and Tuesday Chris, the English assistant and I do an English/American club where we basically play games or just hang out with the high school students that come. It's a good opportunity for students to have fun practicing their English. I always look forward to club days and last week was particularly fun hanging out with the students outside in the sunshine.

Apart from school, Lauren and I have visited some really great Christmas markets. There is the international market in Geneva which isn't that huge but has booths from all over the world selling goodies. There is also a nice market in Carouge, my favorite genevois neighborhood.

My favorite thing about shopping at the markets is talking to the vendors. They are always so passionate about what they are selling and they usually are full of good stories and jokes. I always try and strike up a conversation with the vendors selling the most interesting items. That's what makes a market special.

In addition to discovering the marches de noel, Lauren and I discovered a real jewel in Geneva: the Manor department store. Normally, I'm not a fan of department stores but this place is amazing! It's 4 stories high and on the top floor is a Whole Foods style restaurant with a view overlooking all of Geneva. We spent hours there, and can't wait to go back.

This weekend was also full of holiday shopping and exploring. My roommate Raquel and I spent Friday in a town called La Roche-sur-Foron and in beautiful Annecy. La Roche-sur-Foron is a medieval town surrounded by white capped mountains, about 30 minutes from here. Its a great town to stroll on your way to Annecy. We wanted to go to Annecy to see it all lit up and to check out the Christmas market. We drank some mulled wine, shared roasted chestnuts with some locals we had met, and talked to all the vendors that would talk back to us.

On Saturday, some of our friends rented a bright orange Panda Fiat car and we drove around Lake Geneva in search of the world renowned Montreux Christmas Market. We got some funny looks as we zoomed through mideval villages and lakefront towns in the mandarin Panda, but we eventually made it to Montreux with smiles on our faces. The market there was incredible and the scenery couldn't have been more picturesque (imagine little wooden christmas booths lined up along the shore of Lake Geneva with the Alps serving as the backdrop, all the while your nose being entertained by the smell of mulled wine, fresh sausages, melted cheese, and swiss chocolate). It was truly a pleasure to the senses- we listen to the sounds of people speaking many different languages, vendors shouting , and live christmas music blaring from afar; the hair on our bodies stood as we shivered in the cold and tried to keep warm; and finally, our bellies were full from all the samples of various spice cakes, macaroons, meringues, chesnuts, chocolates, and vin chaud. (that probably wins the world's longest run-on sentence contest) It was truly a memorable celebration of Christmastime in the Alps and good times with friends in the mandarin Panda.

Today was the Fete de L'Escalade! For those who are not familiar with this great Geneva tradition, on December 11, 1602 - the longest night of the year, the forces of the Duke of Savoy launched an attack on Geneva. The Geneva citizens defeated the men by preventing them from scaling the wall ("escalade"means climb).

According to tradition, the wife of Pierre Royaume, ("Mère Royaume"), a mother of 14 children, seized a large cauldron of hot soup and poured it on the attackers. The Genevois populace fought alongside their soldiers, and the duke's 2000+ mercenaries were beaten to a Savoyard pulp. This was an important turning point in the survival of the fragile Reformation... and the Genevois have long memories of this event and they celebrate it every year with parades, cannons, music, and other festivities in the Old Town. Even though we were freezing our bums off, it was a fun geneva experience.

Oh and I musn't forget to mention that it snowed for the first time in St. Julien this morning! St. Juju looks so pretty and white!

Turn on the Lights! It's Christmas time!

And so it twas the day after Thanksgiving and Europe said, "let there be light" and the Christmas lights came to life! I love Europe at Christmas time. There are Christmas markets going on all over France and Geneva especially looks beautiful right now with all of its lights and markets. The streets and shops are full of people and music is blaring on the loudspeakers throughout the neighborhoods. As if Europe wasn't already romantic enough, the Christmas spirit and cheer make it all the more so!

In addition to the Christmas lights, things look very different around here for another reason: SNOW on the mountains! Yes, yes, yes! It started last week and you know what that means: SKI SEASON has begun!! We went today with the Ski Club here in town. We woke up at 6:30am, met everyone on the bus and headed to Courchevel (a ski resort in the Savoie about 2.5 hours away). There are resorts much closer to town but we had to go somewhere with a really high elevation so that there'd be enough snow since it's so early in the season. Lauren and I are ski junkies and had a huge smile on our faces all day long. We met the group back at the bus at 4:30pm and fell asleep within 5 minutes of our departure.

We came home exhausted tonight! Not only from skiing though! From what, you ask?! Well, yesterday we ran in the 2009 Geneva Escalade Race along with 30,000 other people. Yep, that's right friend. 30,000 runners. [sidenote: we're raising money to build a well so check out

justgiving.com/escalade2009. ] Anywho, we showed up at 11, walked around, cheered on the runners and then got our game faces on for our race at 1pm. We started at the Parc des Bastions and ran 5 kilometers all throughout the Old Town of Geneva. It was a beautiful run and a gorgeous day! There were bands and people lined up all along the course pumping us up and spurring us on. Afterwards, we were given two souvenir glasses and some free food and hot tea.

After walking around for a bit, we headed to a friend's apartment located right on Lake Geneva. We had some lunch and watched the clouds roll away to give us a majestic view of Mont Blanc (the highest mountain in Europe) glistening in the background of Lake Geneva. A surreal moment in the company of great friends. Ahh, I love this place.

Last night, we went to another friend's apartment and introduced everyone to the deliciousness of a thang called Gumbo! We have been telling them bits and pieces about Louisiana culture but they were particularly interested in the food aspect (and rightly so). So Lauren and my cooking skills were put to the test yet again as we cooked a huge pot of chicken and sausage gumbo and made a potato salad to go along with it. Today was one of our good friend's birthday so we celebrated last night by eating a yummy pot of gumbo and all the fixins and then surprised her with a lemon birthday cake! Our friends, who are from South Africa, Senegal, Spain, Austria, Germany, and the US, had their first gumbo experience and are already asking for more. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Gobble Gobble!

The past two and a half weeks or so have been quite eventful. About two weekends ago, we were invited to watch the Paris vs. Marseille football match at a pub on the Lake in Annecy. We met a teacher from the high school there for dinner and then watched the game at the pub. I love going to pubs and watching football (soccer) matches on TV because it's always such a great cultural experience and although I know nothing about soccer, the energy from the crowd gets me so pumped up.

Last week was full of Thanksgiving festivities. Tuesday night we went with our roomate and neighbor to a Thanksgiving dinner that was held at a beautiful house in a village down the road. The Fiores, a couple from church, cook Thanksgiving dinner every year and invite all of the young people from church. This year they cooked for 65 people! It was delicious and really unbelievable that they cooked for that many people!

Wednesday, Lauren and I spent all day in the kitchen preparing for our Thanksgiving party that we had at our apartment. Now, if you knew how little we had in our apartment, you would be utterly amazed that we pulled of a Thanksgiving Feast for twenty people. It was only by the grace of God that we pulled it off. No, seriously. We had barely enough silverware and thanks to our friends who donated pots and pans and chairs, we were able to make it happen. We ordered a twenty pound turkey and made stuffing, rice dressing, salad, sweet potato casserole, corn bread, green bean casserole, corn, cranberry sauce, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie. Just about everyone that we invited had never experienced a Thanksgiving dinner before. I explained the story of thanksgiving, we said a prayer, and then we GRUBBED! The food was pretty delicious (thanks to mom who brought some necessary ingredients and thanks to the American Market in Geneva) and the company was awesome. Gobble gobble!

Other than Thanksgiving, things have remained pretty busy. We both have started doing some babysitting and Lauren is now volunteering for World Vision International http://www.wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf . She does research for the accountability division and is currently doing research on the role of spiritually in development. She basically researches other faith-based humanitarian organizations to see what role christian values play in their relief efforts among impoverished countries. She has really enjoyed getting to know the people there and she is finding the research really fascinating.

We are still playing volleyball and have joined the ski club here in town. We are supposed to be going skiing this weekend, if the snow keeps on falling! Today, although it was rainy in St. Julien, a good amount of snow fell on the mountains and its really starting to feel and look like winter!

Speaking of winter, the christmas lights are up and they are on! Geneva is so beautifully decorated! I love it! And I can't wait to go caroling with some of my friends in a few weeks in the Old Town of Geneva! Joy to the World! :)

This weekend we will be running in the Course de L'Escalade and we are so excited. There are 30,000 people signed up! It's the biggest Fete of the year and it is sure to be a good time. After the run, Lauren and I will be cooking a big pot of gumbo and some jambalaya at a friends apartment. I don't know if I'm more excited about that or about the race...

Well, it's getting late here. The undefeated New Orleans Saints play tonight and how badly I wish I could watch the game. Who dat!!!!!!

So, I'm a TERRIBLE BLOGGER!

I knew I'd be bad at this whole blogging thing and now I'm wondering why I told all those people I'd keep a blog. I'm terrible at it. I just don't have the blogger personality. But I said I'd do it and I need to keep my word. So here goes...

So, I guess it's been about a month since I've last blogged and SO much has happened since then so I'll not try and recap everything but rather give a brief synopsis of all that has been going on.

Tonight was a great night so, I'll start there. So, lately we have really been having a great desire to get involved with the community here. I really want to get to know the locals here in town and well, I've been dying to play some volleyball and meet some sporty frenchies in town. So today at school I ran into a teacher who invited me to go to aerobics with her! It was such a blast and while we were there, the volleyball club just so happened to be practicing at the gym as well!!! Who knew!! So what do I do? I start sprinting towards the court, find the coach and as him if we can join in. We practiced with them until 10:30 tonight and will play with them every Monday and Wednesday night. I'm ecstatic about this! And what topped the night off was the fact that there was a climbing wall as well at the gym! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Aerobics, volleyball, and climbing all in one place! What a great night!!!

Although we miss our friends and family back home, we are really starting to feel at home here. We've found a great church in Geneva and a wonderful group of friends there who come from all over the world. It's been so neat living in such an international place. Everyone we meet is so interesting and they all have the most fascinating jobs. A few weeks ago, we had a particularly eventful weekend and met some interesting folks as well:

First off, on Saturday we went to the Red Cross Museum, and passed by the United Nations and a statue of Ghandi on the way. Pretty cool. We had met a group of friends at the museum and spent a couple hours learning all about the history and evolution of the Red Cross. It was so interesting and I have such a great respect for the organization and all that they do is really incredible. All of the NGO's and philantrophical organizations here are so inspiring. I have a new appreciation and respect for the good in humanity and want to find a way to get involved with one or several of these organizations.

Anyway, after that, we headed to town and met up with a close family friend who was doing some banking business in Geneva. We met up with him and some of his collegues at a pub and watched England get beat by Australia in a game of rugby. After the pub, Lauren and our friend and I hopped on the tram and headed to dinner at a typical Swiss restaurant in a cute part of town where we cooked our meat on a hot plate and had a delicious bottle of Bordeaux wine and indulged in some Tolberone mousse au chocolat. Yummy!

Sunday was especially eventful. We woke up and headed to old town to go to church. Church is really great and we really feel at home there. After church, a big group of us grabbed sandwiches from a local bakery and then had a picnic outside. We then went to the museum of Art and History all together. We met a girl who works for an organization called "World Vision" , which is a relief, advocate, and development organization that helps countries all over the world to overcome poverty and hunger, ect. We got her contact information and hope to get involved and are very excited about the opportunity.

After the museum, we then we met our running group that afternoon. We are training for a race that is going to be on the 5th of December (its the biggest event of the year in Geneva)! Every Sunday we meet in the Parc des Bastions and run through Old Town and around the lake some. It's great fun and I can't wait for the actual race. It's supposed to be a blast.

We then left our running group and met up with two guys my age who go to school in Lyon and were in Geneva for the weekend. One of the guys was supposed to be an assistant in Annemasse but then decided last minute to do the program in Lyon. The program they are in specializes in humanitarian work logistics and training. As soon as we met up with them, we all went to the "Doctors without Borders" office and had a private tour of the office and met one of the doctors that works there. It was so fasinating!!!!! The doctor that showed us around was actually one of the guys dad and they are from Lithuania and the dad went to University of Alabama at Birmingham to study. He was such a humble guy and was very interesting to talk with. We ended the night by going to a pub and watched some american football and talking about political theory and genocide in rwanda....and the fact that he was there in 1994. Crazy huh!?

I am overwhelmed by all of the wonderful people we have had the priviliiege to meet here in Geneva and am really falling in love with this special place. I know that God has put me here for a very specific reason and already I have learned so much and have been challenged in so many ways. I can't wait to see what else unfolds but everyday has been an adventure and it seems like we are constantly meeting someone new and facinating.

We have also had the opportunity to do some travelling and we are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of Europe. Over the fall break, my mom got to come visit for two weeks! We rented a car and drove to Annecy, Chamonix, and all over Switzerland. We had amazing weather and the fall colors were really incredible. Switzerland is an incredibly beautiful country. We did tons of hiking and saw some amazing scenery. We really loved the Lauterbrunnen valley and the Lavaux vineyards. We were there at the perfect time too. Not too many tourists, and great weather. We had such a blast.

Since fall break, the weather lately hasn't been the greatest but yet it hasn't been too cold which has surprised me. Despite the clouds and fog, we manage do go running everyday on our beautiful route through vineyards and along the Arve river to a village called Thairy.

Ski season will start up soon and I can't wait! Lauren and I bought a pair of used skis at a thing called "bourse aux ski" where people and ski stations bring their used skis to sell. We will join the ski club in town and our first outing will probably be in about a month.

As far as teaching is going, I am really enjoying working with the middle school kids. I never would have thought that I would have liked teaching the little ones but I'm really loving it. They are so enthusiastic and so cute! I love the awkwardness of the age. It's great fun.

Alright well this post is getting too long and my a.d.d. (and if anyone is reading this, I'm sure probably way past a.d.d.) is kicking in. I will do a better job of blogging, promise. A la prochaine!