Saturday, November 21, 2009

Bangladesh

This summer I will be traveling as a missionary to Bangladesh.
I am co-leading a team with Justin Blomgren. We have finished interviewing 25 potential team members and are in the final steps of putting together what we hope is God's ideal team for this summer. Justin is a Resident Director in the male dorm, Smith Hall at Azusa Pacific University. He is from Folsom, graduated from Cap Baptist and working on his masters in College Counseling and Student Development. He is amazing and I am so glad we are co-leaders together.


We will be working with two different organizations. One is called Tiny Hands International. They are a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to orphans, street-children, and the victims of the self-trafficking industry. We will be helping combat against child trafficking. Please check out the organizations website: TinyHandsInt.

The other organization is Mother Teresa Homes in Dhaka. We will be serving/loving the physically and mentally disabled. There is The Home of Compassion, an orphanage, and other homes. Unfortunately, not until Christmas break will I speak with the contact in person and have a greater understanding to pass on to you.

My trip will take place mid-May throughout most of June for a total of 6 weeks.

The Office of World Missions at APU requires that we 'Friend Raise', translating into having 50 friends who have promised to be in prayer for our team. If you would be interested please email me (chpaget89@aol.com) with your information and I will make sure you are on my mailing list. I will also be using this blog as a status update to share more and more as I learn and get closer to my trip. Please post any questions that you have, especially the hard ones. I would love to face those before so I am better prepared when I go.

The cost of the trip is roughly $3500 + a 10% tithe. My first installment is due December 7th. The following in January, and so forth. If you feel called to support me in such a way please contact me. 530-949-8836. My mailing address is:
Corinne Paget
Azusa Pacific University
PO Box 9521-7409
Azusa, CA 91702

I think the key to this mission will be love & showing Christ in all that we do. In a later post I will go enter greater detail on the country itself and the great need that is there.

To God be all the glory!

November 2009

Hi :)

Here is a bit of an update on my life:
  • I’m currently a senior accounting major at Azusa Pacific University.
  • I’ll be graduating May 2010.
  • I am a Resident Advisor, meaning that I am responsible for building community and supporting 55 upperclassman that live in my building.
  • I work at University Relations as the Business Intern.
  • 18 units including Schools for Business Achievement which puts together speaker series, meet & greets, and events for the School of Business.
  • I’m playing intramurals volleyball that is so much fun as well as a Discipleship group.
  • I’m looking forward to the Holidays and being home with my family.
Big updates:
  • Graduating May 2010.
  • I was offered a position at Mayer Hoffman McCann in Irvine. I accepted and my start date in July 19th. I am extremely excited, but my summer will fly by.
  • I was asked to lead a missions team to Bangladesh this summer. I accepted :)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

My Summer Continued

Hello!
I thought I would write a little update since arriving home :]

I ended up taking 5 flights over a 31 hour period to finally reach Redding: Prague -> Frankfurt -> London -> LA -> San Fran -> Redding. Exhausting!
The week following my homecoming I fell asleep between 8and9pm -pretty much no matter what I was doing- and waking up at 5am. I enjoyed that schedule very much actually; I was able to conquer a lot in the mornings and I always woke up refreshed and ready to go.

My sister and I are taking tap classes and I am also returning to my ballerina roots. A lot of my time has been spent by the pool- I have been reading like crazy!- and at the gym. I have enjoyed every moment of my time spent at Little Country Church, whether that be Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings/evenings. I have met up with a lot of my friends that live in Redding and whom I have missed very much. I have seen several movies in theaters with my family members. I highly recommend UP in 3d & The Proposal :]

My sister and I just returned home from Healdsburg where we visited my aunt and uncle. We helped my Aunt Paula sell my grandmother's fruit at a couple different farmer's markets and we greatly enjoyed it. We were able to have lunch with my cousin Carrie, which we rarely get to see, but love very much. She invited us to visit her in San Fran, hopefully we will be able to put something together. I adore walking around the plaza and spending time with my aunt and uncle so of course my sister and I had a fabulous time.

In just a couple days my family is traveling down to Laguna Beach for our annual trip with my grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins on my dads side. I can't wait, I love going down there. I hope to be able to meet up with my best friend Cayla & maybe catch Harry Potter with Bre & Megan!!! It would be amazing to see those girls, I love and miss them all so much.

I must go load the dishes! I'll write sometime soon I'm sure :] Thanks for reading & having interest in my life!


and I do miss Europe and all my travel buddies very very very much

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

June 21st. Last day. How I love Prague!

Our last day in Prague! Depressing. I have come to adore this city and can only hope to return in the future. We were allowed to wander and enjoy our last day. After packing, Amelia, Mary, and myself dressed up and shared crazy, crazy laughter. A dinner cruise was a grand finale for all to enjoy. Delicious food, entertaining company, and millions of camera flashes made up most of those hours. Afterwards a group of us went to John Lennon’s Wall, which was tagged and written all over. I wrote my own little piece. The wall was bright, colorful, and shared lots of individual’s revelations, many of which contradicted with others on the wall. Our group strolled late into the evening striving to soak in every moment. I didn’t want to go to sleep because the following morning I would be at the airport –which I had to leave for at 4am. I was scheduled for a different flight because my ticket was booked separately from the group. Individual goodbyes were really sweet and I was nervous to be away from everyone who I had been with day & night for the past 6 weeks. After preparing for my early morning and full day and a half of flights I fell asleep around 1 for a few hours.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

June 20th. Praha!

Today we went on a tour with our guide Freddy. We started on top of a hill with a beautiful view of the city. We went inside a church/library that was really really old. There were a lot of hand written books. Many about religion, which is odd that the people of Praha are currently mostly Atheist. It started to rain, but we went on our way and cowered under a overhang. Then it started to pour cats and dogs, but we had to keep going. After about 5 minutes we were all soaked through and Underwood and the guide allowed us to get on the train-sorta-thing that goes throughout the whole city and we reached our hotel so that we could change before we went to lunch. It had cleared up by the time we got outside but it was still chilly. Lunch was good, but heavy! O boy, I had all my soup, but only a tiny bit of the main dish and then all of the delicious dessert. We were allowed to go our own way after so I headed off with Mary, Terrell, and Amelia. We walked a long ways to a mall with over 200 stores. It was a huge mall. We wandered and window-shopped for a long time; I was able to get coffee at Starbucks. After a few hours we headed back to the hotel so that Mary could email her Czech friends that she was going to meet up with. After a time on the internet Dr Underwood invited Mary and myself to join her for coffee down the street at a fabulous café. We talked and shared desserts; it was a lot of fun. We came back around 6:30 and a group headed out for dinner, but I was not in the least bit hungry so I stayed behind. Around 9 they hadn’t gotten back so I wandered to see who was here. Dave, Tyler Martin, Zach, and Emily were and planned on going out. So I joined them, I wanted to get out of the hotel! We went to the Hilton sky 9 café and bar. It was so much fun, after taking a mirror elevator way high we danced through a long hallway with mirrors, lights, and music and then sat on plush couches. We also were able to sit outside a while; it was a great time. Afterwards we met up with Jon, Amelia, Grant, Ana, Amber, and her sister Tiffany. We stayed out late, danced, and laughed a lot. It was a great second to last night. I’m sad that it will soon be coming to a close. Most everyone is ready though.

Friday, June 19, 2009

June 19. "Auf wiedersehen" to Austria and "den dobry" to Praha!

Today we left early to begin on our way to Prague on a bus driven by Czechs, who do not speak English. I slept the first few hours. We stopped around 11:00 at a gas station. We then stopped at 1ish for lunch, which was definitely in Czech and not my most favorite meal. Ick, I wish we hadn’t even stopped. We made it to Praha (Prague) around 5:30 and got ready for dinner. I am rooming with Amelia & Mary, which I love! My family minus Terrell :] lol, inside joke. After getting out of our bus clothes we walked to dinner around 7ish. It was a cute restaurant and the group had it’s own room, which is the best way to go with my group. We are loud and noisy Americans to be sure. Soup, delicious. Mushroom turkey with rice, reminded me of a dish my momma makes :] and banana with chocolate rum sauce, love fruit for dessert! Love fruit all the time. After dinner I wandered Praha with Mary, Terrell, and Amelia, ahhh family. Mouer caught up with us somehow, drat :] kidding. We had a wonderful time exploring & Mary has been here a few times so she knew where things were, which was really nice. Delicious ice cream sundaes and a beautiful firework display :] I have really enjoyed myself immensely in Prague so far!

June 17th. Sleep & Weinersnetzel

We were given the option to sleep in, which I took full advantage of. I was exhausted from Italy and the trip as a whole. I loved every second of it, its just go-go-go with the same group of people. I’ll miss it a lot when it’s over, sad to think about, but I know my summer month at home will be wonderful; it’ll be so weird to be away from this group though, to be by myself. Last summer when I came back from my mission work in Australia and split up from the group I was with it was devastating, moments of distress and depression and I was still able to see those people. The one’s on this trip do not live near me, but they will be there next year at APU. Anyways, I spent most of the day resting, working on a puzzle, and doing homework. I did take a trip into town with Underwood making stops at the bank, post office, and grocery store – it was nice to get out for a little while, felt like I accomplished something, lol. At 5 a group of us learned how to make weinersnetzel from Hans, the cook at the Schloss. It was fun, not difficult, similar to chicken my mom makes. Dinner was delicious. We watched a movie, which I fell asleep to :]

Thursday, June 18, 2009

June 18th. Swarovski & Bon Fire

We left early in the morning to go to a corporate visit at Swarovski. Before arriving we dropped off Chris Brown at the airport, he had to leave early, sad. We toured the house of Marie Swarovski, which showed the history of its crystal industry, their great success, and the different ways they use crystals; pretty awesome. We then went to a museum and a gift shop. The museum was extremely weird, making you greatly question the state of mind those who put it together were in. After an enjoyable morning we traveled to the city of Hall and had a delectable lunch. Tasty soup and trout with vegetables, finally a healthy American style meal :] I then wandered the city with Mary, it was a charming historic town. After an hour or so we gathered onto the bus and drove back to the castle. It was a long drive back, but we arrived in time for dinner. At 8pm we had a sizeable bonfire outside. We threw around the football, frisbee, played games, and had a blissful time. After s’mores and lots of pictures Mary, Amelia, and I played on a swing set and stared off into the amazing views about us. Afterwards I worked to finish a puzzle before we left, Tyler Mouer helped and we were shockingly able to finish, yes! I then showered, packed, and fell asleep late.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

June 15, 2009. Venice, hello dream -beautiful boys included.

Breakfast was at 8, and we left the hotel by 8:30. We drove to an area near Venice and arrived at our hotel, which was in view of the Mediterranean! I was with Kristen again, YES, hilarious times. We had lunch right away, which was like 3 courses, Italians eat A LOT it seems, majority of which are carbs. Carbs are everywhere in Europe, yet Europeans, particularly Italians are SKINNY, how is this? Anyways, after lunch we took a boat taxi to an island I forget the name of and learned about glass blowing. It was a lot of fun; a master made a glass horse just a few feet from my face, amazing! A little bit later we water taxied it on over to Venice and wandered all over the place. I heard and saw Americans everywhere, it was too touristy for me, but a check off my lifetime list of places to see :] At the beginning I was with Travis, Ana, and Kasuandra, an ideal group in my eyes and we enjoyed ourselves. By the way, the entire time I was in Italy I was ecstatic and in the best mood possible, constantly smiling with joyous laughter in my eyes. Anyways, the shops began to look the same, everyone sold the same pieces made of glass and masks, like opera masks, and all the same touristy items, kinda annoying. We then met up with a larger group and separated off, girls & boys. I had another girl’s dinner, this time with Kasaundra, Ana, Kristen, Alyssa, all my favorite girls in their own way. They all make me feel loved. Dinner lasted hours and it was the perfect time. We walked the city center, I forget the name of it, but it’s famous I guess :] lol. Travis, Zach, Chris, Alyssa, Ana, Kasaundra, and myself –once again, another great group- looked at more shops and found famous Italian spots and then stopped by a bar to sit. Men’s soccer was on, USA vs Italy, that was fun, lol. But, o my goodness, the toilets in Italy, WT? How in the world? I have no idea. A couple I came across were holes in the ground, Great…. And others were low and didn’t include toilet seats, great. IDK, I simply didn’t know what to do. Lol. After a full afternoon/evening in Venice we took the water taxi back to the hotel around 10pm. Travis was my buddy, we did a funny video together that I’ll try putting up once I get back to the states. Once back I headed straight to the beach, fabulous, I had to. Jon, Travis, Zach, Lisa, and Mckenzie joined me for a night swim in the Mediterranean! I cannot believe I just said that and actually did it. It was one of my most fun life experiences. I laughed and splashed and played the entire time, I couldn’t get enough, I was in a state of complete bliss. And that was my day, perfect and long. I slept great that night!

June 14, 2009. Ciao Bella

6:30 was breakfast and then we all got on the bus to go to Verona & Venice. It was a smaller bus then the other 2 we have used. I ended up in the back with Mary, Mouer, and Jon. How that happened, I really have no idea. However, the back of the bus is huge with lots of leg room and a table, therefore it was more comfortable for sure than everyone else’s seating arrangements. I was able to cuddle up on 2 seats (only 3 empty on the whole bus!), turn on my tunes, and fall asleep. We stopped for coffee, then gas. Work laws are weird here; people work a lot less than in America. At the gas stop Dr Underwood picked us all up some sandwiches, not the greatest meal in Europe, lol, but that’s okay. After a long drive, and Grant joining us in the back we made it to Verona, Italy around 1:00ish and checked into our hotel. I roomed with Kristen, who is a doll, I love her. We then were given somewhat of a city tour; we saw something similar to the coliseum with a full on Roman man dressed for the occasion and the terrace where Juliet called the Romeo or something like that. :] I then went shopping and wandering with Mary and Amber. It was fabulous, relaxing, and I completely enjoyed my day. We made a few purchases and had a delicious dinner, which included pizza of course and gelato. Mmmmm, yum. I went to bed at 9:30, AMAZING, lovely day.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

June 16th. Began on the beaches of Italy and ended in the snowy Alps of Austria.

We were given the option of sleeping in and I took advantage of it! I made my way down to breakfast at 9:30 and Kristen and I fell back asleep after getting ready for the beach and packing our stuff. We dumped our stuff in the bus at 11 and headed to the beach. Hot, perfect day with a breeze. 4 boys (Tyler Martin, Chris, Grant, Jon) and 4 girls (myself, Kristen, Alyssa, McKenzie) rented paddleboats and enjoyed our hour for $10 immensely. After laying out, pictures, and lots of fun we ate lunch at a spot by the beach. I have had enough pizza to last the rest of the year for sure. That goes for ice cream too. Lot of ice tea as well. At 2 we said peace out to Venice and headed north back to Austria. We stopped at Edelweiss for dinner, more pizza, and it started raining which was fun. We went from perfect beach to perfect mountain weather. After reaching the Schloss I showered and relaxed.

June 13, 2009. Case Study & Gardens

Today was a “free day.” I skipped out on breakfast and was able to sleep in a bit. I started my morning writing a case study for International Business, which is writing intensive. I wrote on Disneyland Resort Paris, which was 2 billion in debt as of 2007. It was really interesting and I had just done a report on Disney as a whole last semester in my finance course. I worked really hard all morning and afternoon taking a break only for lunch, which was delicious. Most of the other students in the group had gone to town or sailing so I knew lunch would be good, that’s how it always works, right? :] I was finished on my case study in time for dinner. Afterwards, Mary and I played in the garden and told each other stories; it was a fabulous time. The castle is the perfect spot for engagement/wedding photos. The garden is amazing; I love it. We then worked on a puzzle and explored the castle with Terrell when it got dark. Outside was a beautiful starry night. Late into the night I started packing for Italy!! It was a good day, I wish that I had left the Schloss grounds, but it’s okay. I’m excited the next part of our trip :]

June 12, 2009

Today we had breakfast at 6:30 and left for the airport in Munich 10 till 7am. It was a long drive and I was able to finish a large homework assignment tracking all my purchases during the first 3 weeks while in Europe. Therefore, I started of the day on a very positive foot. At the airport we dropped of Ilja, Grandma, my prof Carl Armerding and his wife Betsey, We then continued to our visit to the American Consulate in Germany. We had to go through heavy security and climb several flights of stairs, but the meeting was fabulous. They were so excited to have us and informed us of amazing job and internship opportunities that I am going to look in to working for the U.S. state government in foreign affairs. I cannot wait to check out the website. Many of the other students with me felt the same way. The presenters took pictures of us all together, it was precious. A bit surprising was that the two portraits hanging right when you walk in were President Obama (not unexpected) and Senator Hilary Clinton, really? Really? Okay, these are the people we have representing our country? We’ll see how it goes. Anyways, it was a great visit and I am glad that we drove all the way back to Munich to experience it. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch and starbucks. After an hour we drove to another city that is famous for skiing or something, lol. I hung out with Mary and enjoyed her company. We left for the Shloss at 5 to make it home for dinner.

Friday, June 12, 2009

June 11, 2009

Today was the last day of I&II Samuel. It certainly went fast, but we have a huge take home final. After class was lunch and I then worked on homework. I was invited to join a group watching a Bourne movie, Matt Damon? Yes please :] lol. They had set up the fireplace room all cute and cozy with a projector screen and lots of snacks. People had brought it a lot of snuggly blankets and we had a wonderful afternoon. Afterwards we put on 10 Things I Hate About You, one of my favorites & Heath Ledger? Yes please :] lol. –once again- Lots of laughs and love was passed around. Dinner was after, leftovers… again. I then worked on my homework for a couple hours. I joined Mary, Lisa, Amelia, and Terrell working on a horrible puzzle once again. I was able to make it to bed at a reasonable time, especially since we had to get up early for a trip to Munich.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

June 10th Wednesday 5th Full day at Schloss

Class 8:45-12:00. Lunch 12:00-12:45. Wrote an essay on 2 Samuel 22, David’s psalm that parallels the books of 1st&2nd Samuel. Around 2:00, I walked down to town with Mary, Lisa, McKenzie, Amber, Jon, and Terrell. It is a steep stroll down the mountain and it was misty/rainy, therefore it was slippery! Lots of falls, brown knees and dirty palms :] lol, but no serious injury so it was fun. On the way to the market we saw Travis and Zach outside chillin. They joined us and after the best ice cream I have ever had we split once again, but I went with the two boys. We went fishing :] and told stories; it was a lot of fun. Both Zach and Travis will grow into very successful people, they are very smart, hardworking, and understand how people work better than most of the other students with us –the straight A students-. I enjoyed great conversation and hearing their perspectives was enlightening. After a couple hours and meeting a few Austrians that didn’t speak much English we headed back up the Alp to our castle. It was steeper than I remember. I got a very good leg workout in! :] I showered when I got back to my room, worked more on my essay, and went to dinner at 6. After dinner we had a short devo and prayer.

Dr Underwood then proceeded to discuss with us what may happen to our luggage for the couple days we are in Italy and we leave some of our stuff here. She explained different options and then left the room open for discussion. It was absolutely absurd. We could leave our stuff in our room and be charged for the rooms, move everything into one room and be charged for only that room, or move everything to a storage room and be charged for that. Those who like to talk and speak their minds went on very unorderly shouting their thoughts. I could not believe what I was watching or hearing. No conclusions were being formed, we were wasting time, and everyone was growing more annoying by the second. After 20 minutes or so I stood up, explained we were getting nowhere, and said we would do whatever is cheaper based upon the figures Dr Underwood received from the hotel. I said this in less than 20 seconds and we were done and I was able to go get tea and finish my essay.

My evening was enjoyable. I was able to talk to my baby sister and brother, which was lovely. I talked to Mr Prior online and that was much needed and fabulous. I talked with Ana, worked on a puzzle –which is ridiculous and won’t even end up looking cool-, listened to Grant tell stories, and enjoyed the company of many different individuals. Travis is hilarious, telling us stories of when he was young and girls would pick on him or his father would blow up on another father in a protective fashion. Girls were working on their life time lines (what we think the rest of our lives will look like) and crying (I already did mine and freaked out in Amsterdam about it) because some didn’t want to be “old moms” or have to wait for a long time to be married or have to wait till their 65 to retire or think about when they’d die. I have no idea why we have to do this for Consumer Behavior, I think it was eye-opening and such, but I don’t know what it really had to do with the class and ended up freaking us out a bit. Anyways, it was a great night and fun day!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

June 9th. I found God a lot today :]

Once again class from 8:45-12:00. Earlier that afternoon groups of students drove over to a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful area in the Alps with waterfalls, a lake, and cows. The last group –the Samuel students- left at 12:15 to meet up with everyone. I think 12 of us piled in a little van; it was bonding time :] lol The area took my breath away. It had the most spectacular natural beauty I have ever seen. I believe Austria may be one of the top most stunning countries in the world. I wandered around the area with Mary and McKenzie, later Ana, Kasaundra, and Amber joined us. We played with cows, danced, sang, and stood in awe of the land about us. After an hour or so we joined the larger group for a picnic and picture taking. Groups of people started driving back, I was in the last group and we were able to fit 14 people in the van. Little unsure of it though, because the van stalled on the way there and it was windy, up&down hills. Upon arriving back to the Mittersill Schloss I began my critical essay on David’s life. Dinner was at 6 and then we had a corporate meeting with a man from Siemens. I thought it was very interesting, I was able to stay focused, and it was relaxed. I felt that he was truly trying to help us and gave us advice. We then had fabulous desserts, apple strudel & raspberry ice cream. I finished my paper, checked emails, and watched The Notebook with Ana, Kasaundra, Travis, and Grant. I fell asleep to it.

Monday, June 8, 2009

June 8th.

Class was from 8:45-12:00. We then had lunch, fish and veggies! After lunch I went straight to writing my essay on Paul’s life in I Samuel in the tea room. Briefly I went up stairs where people were hanging out and there were several people who didn’t have class and were bored and that was a bit irritating because of what they were saying. I was able to finish in time for dinner, which was a mess of leftovers. After dinner we had a little bit of down time where I laid down to escape from most everyone else. At 7:30 we all met up again for presentations, devos, and smores. I enjoyed meeting as a group (Kristin, Ana, Zach, Terrell, myself) with Dr. Underwood. Are team is a bit all-starish, therefore we are easy going and have a great time together…. And laugh at other teams struggles, like having 2 hour long meetings to work out what’s going on. I laughed a lot today, but I also felt disheartened a lot as well. I need a break, but I am in Austria, which is amazing & beautiful & I love. I am so thankful for the room I am in though: Kasaundra & Ana are fabulous, very different than the rest of the group and it is nice to just sit and talk with them. After meeting with Underwood I relaxed in the fireplace room with a great group of people. I really enjoy the company of Kristen, Tyler Martin, Terrell, Mary, and Zach. I was able to go to sleep a little earlier than normal, which was fabulous.

June 7. Saltzburg

We began our travels to Saltzburg at 7am; I have no idea why we left that early. We toured a salts mine, which was pretty cool. It included a little trainish type ride, slides, boat rides, and movies all under ground. It was a lot of fun. We were given special clothes to wear and we all looked funny.

Following the tour we visited an area where part of the Sound of Music was filmed. It was beautiful, but it was not as cool as the hype that had been built up surrounding it. We were only there for a half hour, I view this adventure as a bit of a waste of time. Mary & I did climb a steep mountain very quickly (as in running) so that we weren’t late to the bus. It was a beautiful view from the top and an excellent work out.

Afterwards we wandered the city of Saltzburg, which was absolutely fabulous. Jon recommended a restaurant, therefore Mary, Terrell, Jon, Tyler Martin, David, Zach, and myself headed off. Well, it ended up being a very long walk to find the restaurant closed. We ended up hiking another humungous mountain and finding a 5 star hotel, which was spectacular. We then split up and Mary, Terrell, Jon, and I found a cute café. I had the best burger of my life and the owner was very friendly. We then continued walking about, window-shopping, buying ice cream, and looking out over the river that runs through the center of the city. It was a fabulous afternoon and I loved it. I bought some painting and a couple other things.

We left to make sure we made it back to the Schloss in time for dinner. We ended up being early so I took a shower and continued reading a book for an assignment I had due. The book was about hearing God’s voice –which I am very interested in; therefore, it was an easy read. I accidentally missed dinner time, but showed up an hour late to find there was still food sitting out, so that was a pleasant surprise. After dinner I got to work writing my paper on Listening to God and relating this to God speaking to Samuel in I Samuel 3. Bedtime at 12:30, late!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

June 6. First full day at the Schloss.

Today was the first full day at the Mittersill Schloss. I had I & II Samuel class in the morning with Carl Armerding. I would title him a sage; he is full of wisdom. He has worked on translations of the Bible, his name appears in Mary’s Bible. He has worked all over the world teaching, writing books, and building relationships with many prestigious scholars. After class was delicious lunch. It was a rainy day and many of us relaxed upstairs on our laptops. After dinner we watched the Sound of Music, which we all sang along to –even the boys-. It was a fabulous relaxing evening. I cannot begin to say how beautiful Austria is. I love it.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Castles and the Alps

We left Munich early this morning and drove by bus to Sleeping Beauty's Castle, which was amazing to see. The city and the land around in breath taking. We had a lot of fun exploring an area around the castle that overlooked it. When it came to the castle tour itself the tour guide flipped out on us and kicked us out almost immediately. We were unaware of any way we may have offended her. I do understand that our group is loud and many are not aware of the way they present themselves, especially in Europe. I was embarrassed but we were able to talk her into a second chance. The tour had beautiful paintings everywhere of stories such as Tristan & Isolde. Afterwards we were able to wander down the side of the castle. I walked and chatted with Ilja, an APU student that met up with us who lives in Germany when he is not at school.

After the castle we continued on our long drive. We stopped at McDonalds -the nicest one I have ever seen- and arrived at the Schloss in Mittersill around 6:00. It's a beautiful beautiful castle with lots of rich history. It's 1,000+ years old. I am staying in a room with Kasaundra and Ana. It's very comfortable here and we do not feel the least bit judged like we have everywhere else we have been. We will be here for the next 2 weeks and I am very excited about that. After putting our suitcases in our room we had dinner all together which was delicious! Fabulous, I love this place. We hung out in the auditorium in the evening and had bonding time. There are other people staying here, some family groups, some writing books, and it's great to have friendly people around, many from the states.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

June 4. JDPower

This morning we had to wake up for breakfast at 8 which frustrated several because we did not have anything until 2:45. After breakfast we had group presentations and such. We then had free time until we had to leave for JD Power. They have a small office here in Munich, therefore we took a tour of the University of Munich and then met in one of their classrooms. The presenters were very monotone but they were beautiful men so we were able to keep our eyes open :] lol

Afterwards, we went to dinner that evening. Real German food which is not my favorite to say the least and then I got into a state of homesickness, therefore Mary and I went shopping and got ice cream. lol.

That was pretty much our day.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Allianz, Siemens, and a Beer garden & hall minus the beer please.

June 3, 2009 Wednesday
2nd day in Munich
7:15 breakfast and left to get Iliah from the airport. He is a freshman at APU who is from Europe, speaks German, plays tennis, and wants to be our tour guide :]. Cute. We had a 9:30am appointment at the Allianz Arena, European football, American soccer. The walk through and explanation was a lot of fun and I greatly enjoyed our tour. We were able to see every level, the infrastructure was amazing. We saw the VIP areas, locker room, the players entrance to the stadium and to the field. The group took a lot of photos and ate lunch there: yummy hot dogs and cola. The stadium holds 70,000 people. The base pay per player is 1.5 million and they get an Audi upon signing. After lunch we headed to a corporate visit at Siemens.

We had to wear our suits and it was the first time we felt correctly dressed. At Coty and other places we felt very overdressed in our suits, but it fit perfectly at Siemens. The visit lasted 2.5 hours. We learned about the history, the current issues, the future actions, financial situation, and given advice about entering the work place. Once again multi-lingual was the first suggestion, or rather must. I sat next to Mary and Grant. Most people were having a hard time keeping there eyes open, embarrassing, I kept taping people. At 4:00 we returned to the hostel to change for dinner which was at a beer garden. Minus the beer for our group but the dinner was delish! Half a chicken, some of the best chicken I’ve ever had :] David was my dinner date, cute, lol.

The group then headed to explore the city and I had a great night out with everyone, particularly Mary & Kasaundra. Ice cream for a dollar! Yes please.

Mary & I are now back at the hostel chillaxin.

Munich day 1 Hello Fabulous

June 2, 2009, Tuesday
1st day in Munich

I knew and told myself that today would be a great day. The train stopped in Munich at 7:30 am. Starbucks was the first shop we saw in the station. We had mapped Amsterdam to find not a single one. There had been one in Paris and now there was one to welcome us to Germany. Our new bus driver Harry picked us up from the airport. His English is okay, but his character overshadows it all. He has been kind and great so far. Friendlier than our last driver, that is for sure. We have all associated busses with sleep at this point. We drove to a corporate visit with Audi, which was sick. The layout and design of the whole property was spectacular to the eye. We toured the process of production. We saw the creation of a car from beginning to end; it is amazing. There were lots of robots as well as a lot of people and it was incredibly high tech –at least to me-. We toured the museum and ate lunch at their fabulous restaurant. I now was an Audi.

Afterwards we headed to Dachau, a WWII concentration camp, one of the first. I was expecting it to be super emotional, heart breaking, devastating. It wasn’t at all what I prepared myself for. We were allowed to wander by ourselves, which I did. Signs were sad to read and pictures took your breath away, however I found the Holocaust Museum in New York to be more devastating. I did almost get sick to my stomach when I saw the cremation buildings. It was so disturbing. I was struck by how beautiful the land around the area was, beautiful property and there were churches built after liberation out skirting the property, which I was very surprised about. There were pictures from the time if liberation –by the U.S. which makes me incredibly proud to be an American- that were wonderful to see. Something I found shocking was that they had special cells for ‘religious prisoners’ where they were allowed to pray and par take in certain customs. How the Nazis would allow God while practicing such brutality and torture makes next to no sense to me.

Following that we went to dinner. The majority had sausage sorta things which they did not enjoy but were recommended by our driver. I had pasta, which was bomb –lots of people on this trip say this, it cracks me up-. Terrell and the instructors were the only others to order something besides the sausages, except for a group who skipped out for McDonalds. Our bread was pretzelish and was yummy for sure.

We then drove to the hostel, which we will be staying for the duration of our time in Munich. I am rooming with the same group as I did on the train. To me the hostel is sketch and I haven’t been one to share such thoughts on the trip so far. A group: Jon, Terrell, Grant, Tyler, Mary, Lisa, McKenzie, and myself took the metro took the city center and explored. Germany has been a lot of fun, however the people I have come across aren’t smiley friendly, but it’s okay. We got back to the hostel around 11:30 and I showered & slept.

Peace out Amsterdam

June 1, 2009, Monday
Last day in Amsterdam & night train to Munich

7:30. I woke up early to be fully awake for our Org & Admin test at 9:00am. I washed my laundry and ate breakfast. It was a pleasant morning for the most part. The exam was estimated to take an hour, but it took a large majority and myself 3 hours, fabulous :] The questions were not impossible, they just took 30 minutes + to answer. Following the exam I packed a little bit, hung out, painted my nails, watched the hills, it was an easygoing day. We did make an outing to an ATM and a group of girls –Kristen, Alyssa, McKenzie and myself- had a delicious lunch. The ice tea here is sparkling and it’s fabulous, I hope I can find it back in the states. We left for the train station around 4:30. Mile & a half walk with our luggage, but the sites were pretty. A couple of the girls had difficulty because their bags are broken; mines still staying together thank goodness! Our train wasn’t scheduled to leave until after 8. I understand arriving an hour early for a train, but not 3 hours. The times on this trip have been kinda ridiculous, but at least we’re never late. The train station was pretty dirty but it was a really great experience and I am more confident using trains in the future. Mary, Terrell, and I decided to wander around the city a bit, grab dinner, and just enjoy the last couple hours in Amsterdam outside. Time filled with laughter and godliness when I am with those two.

The train was super squished. I was expecting small, but not this small. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being a sardine for a bit. At least everyone in the compartment was someone I knew. After lots of conversation I was exhausted and dropping hints that I wanted sleep, but I don’t think many others cared. I thought about just announcing that I was going to change into PJs in hopes that the boys would leave, but I withheld that comment. I acted annoyed, didn’t really do much considering people find it entertaining to see me irritated or frustrated. I went to get water and after a half hour excursion I came back to find them gone :] Prayer time with the girls and crazy moments before sleep. Like adjusting my blankets when Amelia dropped her passport resulting in it flying against the opposite wall and me trying to retrieve it without glasses, screaming, and boys coming to the rescue because of my yell. It was precious of them and very funny. Each car at 6 bunks: Mary, then Amelia, then me & Alyssa, then Chris, then Emily. I slept like a rock and woke up very happy. The sites from the train were beautiful and Germany is the greenest place I have ever been/seen.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Shout Out from Amsterdam

Today was Sunday. We were scheduled to work with YWAM today, but that got canceled once again. @ 10 we got together and discussed our views and opinions about Noah's Ark and the Anne Frank House. It was great to hear everyones perspectives.
Noah's Ark: I appreciated that they compared Evolution and Creationism side by side and showed straight up evidence supporting Creationism and I thought it was interesting how over 150 flood stories/legends throughout the world have been passed down from generation to generation.
Anne Frank: I shared how I think it is difficult to see God in WWII. Like, hello, God! These are your people and they are dieing by the millions, where are you, why did this happen? But, I know that my brain is small and the Lord is enormous and I cannot begin to comprehend the big picture of the story God had in mind. Then I shared how I was greatest impacted by Anne's father Otto being the sole survivor to return to the house. I could not have returned. I would have been furious with God, how could he do such a thing to me -take away my family and make me the sole survivor-, I would rather die. Anne died a month before freedom came because she had lost hope, she didn't know any of her family was still alive. Her father was and he did return home and he did publish Anne's diary. Anne's diary has been read by school children and adults across the globe and has impacted millions. In this story you can see God's hand. It all worked for the greater good.

After our discussion some of us went to church. I sat with Terrell and Mary and even though the worship was in another language my heart was the happiest it's been in a long time. I wrote down several notes from the message. I'll try to include these later because they were awesome. After the service we went through a prayer and oil line sorta thing. IT WAS AMAZING, hello Holy Spirit!! Astounding prophetic words and encouragement. Afterwards I was so filled I didn't know what to do with myself. So the three of us sat in a room talking to Jesus for a long time until a fire alarm went off throughout the building.

Kristen, Mary, Terrell, Jon, and I then made our way to a supermarket. The one closest was closed and then the one we walked to was closed too so we went a gas station and then walked along one of the canals. Mary and I then walked to pizza and sat talking for hours. I then skyped with my family :] and wrote post cards and now I'm sitting with Ana and Travis having a wonderful time talking. Chris made me a turkey out of a balloon, lol.

Notes about Europe:
- The people here are physically healthy looking.
- Everyone rides there bikes. I have seen bicycles with 4 people at a time on them. Literally there are probably millions in Amsterdam alone.
- Water isn't free.
- Toilets are not free. 40-50 cents.
- Ice is never included.
- Waiters give you what you want and leave you alone.
- Very little driving takes place.
- No such things as snacks.
- Dinners at 9pmish.
- Everyone smokes.
- It's vital to speak several languages.
- People have become discensored.
- Water comes in shot glasses.

While writing this post:

Saturday, May 30, 2009

30th OMG VAN GOGH

Today we went to the Rike’s Museum, which contained a lot of famous and spectacular artwork. We were not allowed to take photographs, sad. After Rike’s we stopped for lunch, yummy & cheap pizza and milkshakes that are not like U.S. milkshakes –much more milky, not thick-. Then we had the option between diamonds and Van Gogh and I with 3 others chose once in a lifetime art and it was fantastic. Starry night, sunflowers and countless others that simply took my breath away. We then had a few free hours before touring Anne Frank’s house. The weather was so nice that I chilled in the park a while and then watched Terrell play basketball with the locals, and finished the time with Mary sipping on sparkling ice tea and red bull. It was crazy to be in Anne Frank’s secret hideaway house. I read her diary while in school and to actually see where she lived and hear the story was mind blowing. Lots of rich history/culture in a day! The museums were all top notch, particularly the last 2. Italian for dinner & a taxi home saved me an hours walk!! I love taxis :] First ride in a car since my daddy took me to the airport weeks ago, seems like months ago. I am tired! Tomorrow we are serving YWAM, hope it goes well :]

29th :] Hello Akmaar!

We traveled to Akmaar to witness a cheese market. Cheese? I don't even like cheese, lol, but I love the city of Akmaar. I wandered around with Mary and McKenzie through a lot of shopping and fabulous cafes.

Me, McKenzie, Mary

Ballet Studio :] LOVE IT
We didn't care to stick around and watch the little cheese auction. After a morning adventure we found anne & max's restaurant which was 5 star in my book. Friendly, inviting, English speaking, kind waitors, fabulous decor, and good food, iced teas, and desserts!

Max & Anne's


I would love to have been able to stay longer in the town, I would recommend making a stop there on your trip to the Netherlands. After Akmaar we went to see Noah's Ark replica in Sneek. We made a little stop onlong the way at a man made dyke with salt water on one side & fresh on the other, it was pretty cool. I'm a water type girl :]



Noah's Ark in Sneek:




It was a fun experience, the tour personnel spoke a lot about Creationism vs Evolutionism. Fascinating, definitely still fully support the Creationism idea! There was bible stories throughout part of the tour and the Prince of Egypt movie was definitely playing. APU college kids in the Nethlands squatting on Noah's Ark watching the PofE :] love it. The tour guide shared his testimony - breath of fresh air. After our final ride on our mercedes-benz tour guide bus we had dinner at the Hard Rock in Amsterdam. 2 for 3 cities so far! It was delicious and we had a wonderful waitress from Canada.
Tour Bus while in Amsterdam


Walk to YWAM after dinner
* There are so many bicycles here. I see more in 1 day than all prior times of my life combined
&& we have walked so much. I would love to know the mileage I've been going at while in Europe, particularly Amsterdam~




That evening some of us went out and we ran into people from Glendora that Travis -one of the students on the trip with myself- went to high school with. How crazy is that?! lol. It was a great day all the way around :]

Friday, May 29, 2009

Amsterdam on the 28th of May

5:45 knock at the door making sure we were getting ready to leave. We visited and toured the flower auction that Holland has. It was amazing, so many beautiful flowers. The number of flowers sold was unbelievable and it takes place every day. The smell of the job site was perfect. After that we went to see how clogs were made. I really wanted to buy a pair and had to ask several individuals to talk me out of it. Sad. We had incredibly sweet (sugar wise) pancakes that I loved because I have a sweet tooth. After hanging out for a bit and taking photos in a giant wooden shoe (with Asian tourists, lol, funny times) we went to see the process of cheese production. I am not a big cheese fan so it was nice that it did not go to long. I did buy a really cute mug though and played with sheep. Holland is beautiful and I love it. I hope to return to Holland several times over. We returned to the base and I took a two hour nap :] and then it was dinner time. I helped clean up the kitchen afterwards and we had group time. I was able to complete more homework and hang out and call it an early night! Tomorrow we are going to a cheese auction. Great. Lol :] Amsterdam is growing on me but I definitely choose Holland.





May 27th. Amsterdam

Today was a free day and it was wonderful. I slept in till 11:30, AMAZING. I woke up in the best mood. I was able to finish reading a book and write an essay on it, completely & in total, which is awesome to be done with. We made a quick outing to the super market. I volunteered to help set up for dinner which is at 5:30, but set up is at 3:30. McKenzie and I made salad while Mary helped with the meat I believe and Jon set the tables. After dinner we had group time. Devos, presentations, and clarification. I was able to make it to the worship/speaker service at the base at 7:30, which was fabulous. I needed stand up and scream your lungs out worship and God gave it to me. Thank you Jesus for meeting my needs. I was the only individual from my group of 20 students to go, you could say I was sad about that, but pushed it from my mind. One of our instructors was there, but it was fun meeting people. It went until 9:15ish and then I was able to hang out and chill for a bit while doing more schoolwork, but I ended up doing a lot and not going to bed till late.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Amsterdam day 2

26th

6:45am we were out the door for a corporate visit at Shell Oil. It went very well. Shelly, an APU alumni, gave us a history and an overview of the company and a panel discussion followed which was very interesting. So far every corporate visit has stressed the need to by multi-lingual. After that visit we had a tour of a seaport, one of the largest in the world and then visited the Church where Calvinism was born. We had a Greek dinner, which was delicious and now we have been resting and doing school work back at the YWAM base. It was a very full day and the weather was rainy and cold, sharp contrast from previous hot hot days. I slept a lot on the bus, but it’s not real sleep. We get to sleep in tomorrow; I’m excited :]




Arrival to Amsterdam

The 25th

We left for the bus in the morning and drove to the city of Antwerp in Belgium, which was once the diamond capital of the world. We wandered through the city center and stopped in at a lot of little shops as well as a cute deli for lunch. I was in a small group including Mary, Terrell, Lisa, and McKenzie. After 2 hours we continued on our way to Amsterdam. I slept a lot of the bus throughout the day. Upon arrival we had a tour of the city and made our way to the YWAM base, which ended up being completely different than I was expecting. It’s a bit run down and there are very very few people here. We each have rooms down one hallway, many have there own rooms and a few doubled up. I am sharing a room with McKenzie, I didn’t want to be by myself and it just worked out that way. We had dinner with the base at 5:30 and then headed over to a man named Wilfred’s house, which is in the center of the read light district. In Perth I housed in the red light district, but it was nothing like Amsterdam’s. We took a bit of a “tour”, which made me sick to my stomach, impossible to breath, and every part of me cried out to run. I repeatedly reminded myself “Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.” Thank God a million times over for Terrell’s presence and constant source of strength and for the ability to pray.

Everything is legal here (prostitution, drugs, everything) and everyone seems to have been desensitized and accepting. It is horrifying. I cried praying before even entering the area. I could go on and on, but I will not.

After our outing there was a giant storm filled with lightning and thunder. Great is the Lord; His faithfulness reaches to the heavens and His loves endures throughout all. God is here, there is hope, freedom can come to Amsterdam. After playing in the rain I sat with Mary for hours talking about everything and I love her and God is so good. He has blessed me greatly with her friendship. My evening went late.








Sunday, May 24, 2009

Brussels is my new love

Bonjour! and hello in German and Dutch :] Three main languages of Brussels!

Night of the 22nd
After arriving home from Euro Disney I was invited to tag along on an evening adventure. It was the last day in Paris and I was not one who wanted to sleep or sit at out hotel room like so many others. I met up with Jon, Terrell, and Lisa and we took the metro quite a ways. We found the Statue of Liberty, French style and had a lot of fun experimenting with flashlights and cameras :] We continued our walk to other monuments and cool bridge spots all in view of the Eiffel Tower. I had forgotten to eat dinner and continuously complained about my hunger pains; therefore we stopped in at a cute restaurant for pizza and dessert. The food was great, but snobby waiters, just like most everywhere else we had come across in France. We finished after the metro had made it’s last stops so we walked back to our hotel which was very much a ways away, but it was our last night in Paris, it was with fabulous people, and it was an adventure and I loved that evening.


The 23rd
We were up-and-at-em early for breakfast and devotions. Then we were off on a walk to the train station to leave for Brussels. A suitcase broke, problematic. We took a bullet train and sat in first class and had great food and a WONDERFUL view of the French and Belgium countryside. It took half the time we were expecting, which was sad because I was getting so much reading in for homework. I was filled with joy upon arriving in Brussels. The city is amazing; people are friendly, its easy going, comfortable, cheaper, and much cleaner then Paris. It is a huge contrast and I would choose Brussels over Paris any day, any time. The view from our hotel room is AMAZING. I am rooming with Kasaundra and Lisa for the time here. Right outside is an open air market which is a lot of fun.

We had a corporate visit at a chocolate shop; the best visit so far and then we went to mass at a beautiful cathedral. I was one of the few who showed respect throughout the time there. The service was in another language, but it gave me the opportunity to spend time with the Lord and pray, which I was so grateful for. Pita for lunch. I wandered around the city with Terrell and had chocolate strawberries and good conversation. Belgium waffle with caramel ice cream and strawberries for dessert with Ana, whom I love. It was all so good and inexpensive compared to Paris. The evening was so much fun and Brussels is now my favorite city, my happy place :]




Today, the 24th
Breakfast at 9 and then I went back to sleep until I was woken by a knock and an invite to chocolate strawberries and a walk to the park –both were fabulous. Did a little shopping at the market and had a corporate visit and then we all went to dinner. It was another wonderful day. I love Brussels. Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam, which I’m nervous about. It will be amazing, but I’m expecting a lot of stretching and growth –I pray for this- I feel the urgency to prepare myself and to spend time just me and the Lord.



Friday, May 22, 2009

Euro Disney = 5 Stars :]

21st continued!

Kristen & Ana went to lunch. We began by sitting at a cute French restaurant but ended up eating at the Hard Rock Café :] lol, which was full of Americans. Right after paying the bill we dashed out of the restaurant to find a bus that was apart of our 2 day pass and hoped on, not realizing there were multiple colored buss' with different routes, woops! Anyways, we managed to find our way through the metro system and reached the Louvre around 3:30. We wandered around gawking at art that we had seen in every history textbook that we have come across through out our lives. Definitely saw the Mona Lisa and the Code of Hammurabi although I was more amazed by other sculptures and pieces of art work that aren’t as popular.


We stayed at the Louvre until closing at 6:00. We headed back to the hotel and worked on home work and tried resting a bit.

22 de Mai

Euro Disney! Oh my goodness, it was SO MUCH FUN. Similar to Disneyland in California, but lots of different rides and the park is not as spread out; it’s also newer and cleaner. It was a holiday so it was a little crowded, but whatevs, I loved it! We spent most of the day there and I got to know my newish friend Mary Brooks a lot more, which was fabulous. Anyways, Euro Disney had a lot of characters out and constant entertainment other than just rides which was really cool :]



This is Mary and Amelia


Some of the boys: Tyler, Travis, Grant, Terrell, Jon



Thursday, May 21, 2009

bonjour, oui oui, s'il vous plaît, vous remercier, au revoir

Woke up for breakfast which was at 8:00, I slept like a rock and felt much better but I could have slept another 4 hours solid. After breakfast we had devotions. Kristen led them and spoke about servant leadership. I get to do it tomorrow. After devos we had a ‘class’ session with Underwood for org & admin. It turned into a clarification hour that brought tension and stress instead of relieving it. There has been a drastic lack of organization and communication, which is the cause of most every problem I have come up against throughout my life. At the hotel there is not a business room or anything where we can meet so we end up in the lobby or the small dining area. This leads me to feel we are an inconvenience and an annoyance to the rest of the guest, which is difficult to me. After ‘class’ we had an assistant manager of the Hilton hotel come and speak with us. It went an hour & a half longer than planned with a lot of extras we were not expecting. We now have the rest of the day ‘free’ so a couple of us are planning on heading to the Louve and Versailles, hopefully a coffee shop and a couple other destinations along the way. We have a lot of homework and group work to do. I am in the purple group with Kristen and Analise (who are my current roommates at the hotel in Paris) and Terrell and Zach. We shall see how the day unfolds :] hopefully lots of art!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Oui s'il vous plaît

Le bon soir messieurs et mesdames,

It's late in the evening and I have had a headache all day. I love my trip so far, so please ignore any negatives you might pick up on :]

I'll finish where I left off the other afternoon. The group arrived safe except for a minor mishap of a lost passport... great. Anyways, everyone was shown their rooms and then we left for the dinner by the metro. We ended up being very late (half hour), embarrassing! However, they held our table and it was a wonderful meal. Just a side note: Medium-Well = Medium-rare, so please be aware! :]
The restaurant was near a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and we were able to see it lite up; this year is it's 120 anniversary.

After dinner we had to quickly hop back on to the metro because it stops running soon after 12. Back to the hotel to work on studies, we were exhausted.

This morning we were at breakfast by 8am -in the hotel-. We had to stick around for devotions and a presentation. Then Kristen, Ana, and I tried to sleep or at least rest a bit before we had to leave for our corporate visit at 12, noon. Dressed up in suits and heals we headed off on foot. We made it outside of Coty within 15-20 minutes only to find that we were early so we could find out own lunch and the corporate visit was at 2:00, plenty of time. We wandered around, walked a lot -which ended up killing most of the girls' feet- and I wasn't too hungry, but managed to find a place similar to Jamba Juice -lol- but much smaller amounts and healthier -straight juice-. I sat and talked with Grant and Travis, it was fun getting to know them better and I look forward to hearing more stories.

We waited outside Coty for 10-15 minutues and then waited inside the conference room another 20 minutes to come to find they were expecting us at 3, not 2. Great! -I felt like we had wasted a couple hours, and that was really hard to take because we are IN PARIS and we are TIRED- The corporate visit included 4 speakers. The first 2 put us all practically to sleep -everyone's eyes grew to blood shot and we all felt the same way- the 3rd was a bit more entertaining, and the last was a woman who gave us fragrance tests to see if we new what any smells were. One was the one my mom wears :] that I have bought for her before and one I recognized from a friend who's on the trip with me -Amelia. That was the only fun part about the visit even though Coty is a huge, successful company that I greatly admire and would love to work for.

After the visit we walked all the way back to the hotel, which was horrible because of my feet, they felt like they were on fire and I couldn't stand still at stop lights that were red. We were given 15 minutes to change and meet back at the lobby, but we were all exhausted. We walked more -yay! lol- to this bus stop but there was great miss communication and confusion and we all just sat waiting for direction for at least an hour (an hour + we could have spent sleeping or exploring!) and finally we got onto a bus tour which was fun because of the group of people, but we couldn't get off because it was the last trip around -we are going tomorrow if we want- all of the buildings started to look the same, but the Seine was very exciting to me -lol-.


We were let off at the Eiffel Tower where a group of us explored and traveled to the top which was SO AMAZING and so much fun. We were able to watch the sunset from it :] Afterwards, I still had my headache from yesterday morning and I was hungry, tired, dillusional, lol. We started off for food/metro -hadn't really made up our minds yet- and decided on the metro (11pm). We then split up and some grabbed food to go (Kristen, Tyler Mouer, and myself) and other's went for pizza.

I left out a lot of details, but I'm going to bed. I have to get up early, another day with lots of activities planned!