The Zoo

"Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo. I do believe it, I do believe it's true."

I love Simon and Garfunkel. And I love the zoo.

I love sweating under the bamboo canopies, looking at elephants and pretending I'm really in Africa.

I love saying, Hey Mom, look at this! and seeing her cringe when she sees that I'm deviously pointing at a snake.

I love that I can get on my brother's nerves and boss him around all day and in the end he still loves me back.

I love that my dad only takes pictures of animals and flowers unless I do something stupid like get stuck on the back of a huge slippery bronze rhino. Then he takes a picture of me.

I love drifting from air vent to air vent in the aviary in an attempt to cool off while also blocking everyone's path.

And, did I mention I love the zoo?

The Rest

I'm not going to lie. As much fun as I had on vacation with my family, and as much as I love all the pictures (12,600!) and all the memories we've taken from it, I'm ready to move on. I'm doing other things now and have other stories to tell, but I feel like I can't because I'm a bit OCD about order and I can't post about now before I've posted about then. So, once again, I'm going to let pictures mostly speak for themselves and leave it at that.

Cassis: Cap Canaille. We also met up with my friend Camilla and did a boat tour of the calanques (inlets).

Marseille: Chateau d'If (think Count of Monte Cristo). I also took them around to places I go often, like school and my favorite cafes.

Aix-en-Provence: Great shopping and beautiful boulevards and fountains.

Arles: Ancient Roman ruins, like this colosseum.

Les Baux: Medieval walled village on a hill, complete with castle. Here we're watching a trebuchet demonstration.

Bandol: On this day we drove along the coast discovering towns like Le Castellet (another old walled town) and Bandol, a coastal resort area.

Bouillabaise: Special fish soup of Marseille and the surrounding area. We got ours in Cassis.

Pont du Gard: Ancient Roman aqueduct.

Roussillon: Cliffs of ochre.

Gordes: Perfect Provencial town. Featured in movies like A Good Year.

Carmargue: A marsh area where much of the rice and salt of France comes from. There is also a ton of interesting wildlife like pink flamingos, white horses, and black bulls.

So, that was our vacation in a really teeny nutshell. It was fantastic to spend so much time with my family and also to discover that all of these awesome places are so close to me right now.

I'm Still Here

Hello All,

Just an update to let you know that I'm still here and everything is going very, very well. My parents and brother have been here visiting with me for the past three weeks. (It was supposed to be only two but thanks to a certain volcano, they ended up getting to stay a bit longer.)

I haven't updated because 1: I've been hanging out with them, and 2: They have taken so many gigabytes of pictures that it will take me a week to sort through them all to pick the ones I want to show you. So, be prepared to be slightly overwhelmed with too much information in the days to come.

A bientot!

Home

I've been waiting for four months to use this title. 'Home'. It's got a good ring to it, don't you think?

As a result of the snow, I wasn't able to do everything that I was planning to do while I was in the states. I had wanted to go to church to play in the orchestra and see friends. That didn't happen. I'd also wanted to spend the night in Tennessee visiting college friends. That too did not happen.

But, everything else was perfect. I spent many days just relaxing with my family at home. We talked, ate Mom's food (the best in the world), ate a French meal that I made, played Wii Fit, laughed at my Dad playing Wii Fit (one of the funniest moments of my life), and watched movies. I got to wrap everyone's presents (which I love to do) and go sledding with Lyne Burke and our neighbor. I had actually boycotted the snow as a result of my annoyance with my flight but in the end I forgave it and enjoyed it.

I was also able to visit with old family and school friends and with newer college friends, if only for brief moments. I love how when you spend most of your life in one town, you have so many shared memories with the people around you.

My favorite times were, of course, visiting extended family. On Christmas Day, after waking up early to open presents, we first made our way to my mom's family's house and later to my dad's.

It was a little hard at my Grandma's house this year since my Granddad died this October. Fortunately though, everyone handled it well and it was a great chance to see everyone and catch up on each other's lives, and of course, eat so much incredible food.

Then we were able to spend three days with my dad's family. I got to go shopping with my cousin/best friend, go to church with her and my Papa, exchange stories and pictures with the whole family, eat too much of Grammie's yummy food, eat an elaborate log cake, and just have a marvelous time. I love family!

And then it was time to kiss my sweet dog goodbye and leave my family behind to cross back over the ocean. I was quite grouchy the day I left. I think I just didn't want to say goodbye. But once I was back on French soil, my spirits lifted. I love this place. I love the land, the people, my friends, the food, my school, and the language.

After realizing that home is still where I left it and that it will be mostly the same when I get back, I feel comforted and much more ready to embrace everything about my time here. I've been studying French on my own and planning exciting adventures with my friends. As much as I love my home, I am so happy to be back!