FINALLY!

Hello everyone!! Right now I am typing this - free of charge - at my first camp destination called Tour de Buis in Cour et Buis, France. Getting here proved to be much more difficult than expected! Before I get into that, let me first explain about my time in Geneva...

After I wrote on Thursday, I walked around the streets of the Latin Quarter, a section of Paris where there are many students and, personally, my favorite part. It is near the Notre Dame, so I strolled over to the famous church and spent a little time inside praying and admiring the gorgeous architechture. It is sad how people come to see Notre Dame for its fame instead of its real meaning.

It was raining at this time, so I didn't feel like going outside, but I put my hood on and weathered the storm anyways - literally. Finally, after walking around, I made my way back to my hotel (but there were some technical difficulties with the metro going my way, so it took me an hour instead of 15 minutes) and slept. I was absolutely exhausted. Suddenly, still in a deep sleep, I heard a knock on my door - it was my "friend" Mustapha from that morning! Not really realizing it, he had called twice while I was asleep and I had answered both times. Weird.

We decided to get a drink, so we walked around the area and stopped at a bar he knew. He bought me and himself a drink - I had jus d'ananas (pinapple juice) and he had some other weird French drink that I tasted and thought was really good. Then, he escorted me back to my hotel room where I took a shower and went to sleep excited to see the Bossy family after being really homesick for the first time on this trip.

I woke up the next morning at 6:45am to pack up and take the metro to one of the 5 (I think) train stations in Paris. This experience was wonderful - the "underground" of Paris was alive and swelling with masses of people going to work and school and other normal places, I presume. The differences between people are so obviously evident while abroad that it is refreshing and sometimes, I think, a bit startling to think of all the similarities as well. These people go about their daily chores in exactly the same way as we do, just in a different language, time zone, and city.

So, I trudged through the Paris metro and finally made it to the train station, not before getting a little help with my luggage 3 more times. In addition, I was aided by an EXTREMELY attractive French man with whom I really just would have made out. Oh la la, so hot! The men here are much cuter than I remembered and have excellent style (as much as I love gangsta style, I guess I have a formerly unknown weakness for tight pants).

I was really early for the train (just as I wanted), so I ate the pain au chocolate (fresh bread with a bit of chocolate in the middle that French people eat for breakfast) that I had bought earlier and waited. After an hour, I boarded the TGV (the name for the fast train in Europe) and made myself comfortable next to an adorable middle-aged woman whose cell phone ring sounded like a cow mooing. The ride lasted 3.5 hours in which I journaled, read some Harry Potter (book 2), slept, and watched the beautiful French countryside whisk by. The villages are just as you see in the movies, nestled in the hilltops beneath trees and among gardens of fresh vegatables and flowers.

To preface my stay in Switzerland, I just would like to note that no words can properly describe what a remarkable time I had with Susanne, Manu, and Gabe. It was easily one of the top ten best days of my life.

I arrived in Geneva (pronounced jeh-ne-veh in French with emphasis on the middle syllable) at noon and deboarded the train very nervous that, somehow, I would not find Manu and Chantal. As luck would have it (and boy, has luck been with me so far), they were waiting for me near the exit! C'était parfait! (It was perfect!) I hugged Manu, met Chantal, and the three of us went to buy some sandwiches to eat near Lake Geneva.

I will continue my story in the next blog; this one is too long already and I have lots more to say now that my internet time is free! You must wait for a few hours, though, because I am going to catch some rays while the sun is up - I slept until 1pm today!

Before I go, a few questions...who is reading this? I know Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Sara Smjeckal are, but as for the rest of you, you're a mystery. Please post so I can know my, I guess, "audience" and reference you in here! If you don't know how to post, it's easy. Click on the number of comments at the bottom of each entry and you'll see everyone's comments. Then, click on the bottom of the blank space to write so you can register as a user. (You must register to post.) Then enter a user name, display name (what everyone will see) and a password. Voilà! Now, you can post a comment! Please do this; I wanna know who I'm talking to!

Also, did Bay Port baseball win at state?

Love from camp...

Kelly