Monastery of the Visitation

Bonjour!

What a week this has been! It began with a train to Paris, and from Paris, I took the Eurostar to England! England is such a lovely country-- it's beautiful, and the people are just so darn charming. If I ever move back to Europe, I've got my eye on the UK.

The reason I traveled to England was that I wanted to live with nuns for a few days! So, once in Ashford, I rented a car and head towards the Monastery of the Visitation, a nunnery that invites women to retreat with them. I'm not sure I needed a "retreat" in the traditional sense of the word, but it absolutely turned out to be a time of rejuvenation and relaxation for me-- more on that later.

So, once in Ashford, I rented a car and took off! The monastery was nestled deep in the woods of East Sussex. The countryside was absolutely beautiful (what I saw of it at least). I'm sure I might have seen and enjoyed more of the scenery had I had the peace of mind to take my eyes from the road on the way there. I was such a nervous wreck. For the first time in my life, my hands were at 10 and 2 for the entire drive.

And it wasn't even driving on the left side that was hard-- I adjusted to that fairly quickly. It was driving a stick shift that got me. Like, how on earth do you start moving again when you're stopped on an incline?! (I can roll backwards just fine, but accelerating forwards...) I never did figure out how to do it gracefully. I had to restart the car more times than I'd like to admit. And what really got me was knowing that the people sitting in their cars behind me were probably thinking how terrible women drivers are and I'm there putting along, proving them right! Honestly, I need so much more practice with a manual car.

Thankfully, the monastery was out in the country, so I was able to stick to the back roads where traffic probably wouldn't have been backed up had I not been there to do the backing. These people were flying down these narrow roads where side mirrors skimmed by with millimeters to spare. I was terrified every time a car approached me.

It was a struggle. I almost wish I had spent the extra money to get an automatic (but then I wouldn't have anything to brag about, so where's the fun in that?). Although, it surely would have saved me tons of stress.

When I finally arrived, I was about ready to convert to Catholicism just so I wouldn't have to take the car back!

As soon as I got there, a sister was there to take me in. I had interrupted their supper, but they were gracious about it. I was happy to sit and eat, although it was strange to be thrown right into the middle of it so suddenly. I learn then that there is a method to everything the sisters do. At the table, every place is set neatly and every person has a place.

After supper, I went to my room to unpack, then a little while later, I was invited to join the sisters for Compline. This turned out to be my favorite time of day. This service was held in the candle light, and there was more singing than at the other services. I followed along as best I could and sang with them. One of the sisters was kind enough to find my place for me in the books before every service. Turns out, I'm quite helpless when it comes to The Divine Office.

After Compline, the sisters went upstairs to bed and I returned to my room. After I'd unpacked everything, I made myself some tea at the tea point and sat down to browse the books on their shelves. After tea, I went to bed and fell asleep quickly because the room was warm, the bed was comfy, and I was so relieved to have made it all in one piece!

The next day began with the sun streaming through my window. Friday was the most beautiful spring day. I went to breakfast and then one of the sisters showed me around before she let me go explore the place. Between breakfast and Mass I had about an hour and a half, so I walked the grounds and just enjoyed the outdoors.

Mass was an interesting experience. I've been to a few French Masses, and an Italian Mass, but I don't remember ever going to one in English. It was nice. The priest was very welcoming and had a deep, calming voice as he read the scriptures and offered communion.

After Mass, I had another hour and a half before the Office of Readings. I took a book from the library and found a bench in the sun and spent my time there. At noon, I went with the sisters to Office, then we had lunch, and then a second Office. The afternoon is left mostly free except for tea time at 3:30. I took a short nap before tea, then headed outside once more.

The grounds around the monastery are beautiful. There are fields of yellow flowers and trees everywhere. As it is spring, the ground was very wet, so I couldn't go some places, but I made my way around.

Recently, the sisters moved from their old monastery into a new building. The old building sits a short walk from their current building. The grounds are extensive there and were incredible. I walked through the gardens several times.

One thing that really surprised me was how quickly the time passed when I was enjoying myself and not worrying about the time at all. At afternoon tea, the sisters come and go with their tea and snack. I was given a small snack and tea, and was allowed to sit in silence and fully appreciate the act of eating and drinking. I ate at a normal pace. I looked out the windows and watched leaves rustle in the breeze and had a lovely time there in the silence with my tea.

When I stood to leave, I glanced at my watch and couldn't believe that nearly a half hour had already passed! That doesn't seem like a long time, but I hadn't even noticed it passing.

After tea, I sat with my book again until Vespers before dinner. I particularly enjoyed this time as well. During this one, the sisters would pray aloud their own prayers after reading through the written prayers. This time seemed most sincere to me, as I could see the heart of the sisters and what they loved and cared about.

At dinner, we listened to classical music, which didn't bother me a bit (actually, I really liked it!). The food was always delicious, and I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to thank the sister who prepared it everyday. Again, except for the music, we ate in silence, and until you do that, you can't imagine how wonderful it is.

I ended the night with Compline and tea. (When I got back to Poitiers, I promptly went to the grocery store to buy tea. Lovely.)

The next day was much the same as the first in that I went to all the services, except that it was dreary and overcast outside (rainy days are my favorite days). It didn't stop me from wandering the grounds again. How often do I get to spend two days in the English countryside with nothing to do and nowhere to be, surrounded by flowery fields and tree covered hills? You better believe I was spending time outside.

When I was inside, I was happy to sit in the comfy chairs to finish my book and get some more writing done. I took my Bible and spent some time with it, and also spent a good chunk of time reading through the Catholic Encyclopedia (hey, I don't know much about it and I'm a curious person).

It's a nice lifestyle. It isn't entirely silent all the time, but it is very quiet all the time. The chapel is filled with singing when the sisters are there, but the rest of the place is often undisturbed with noise. Before I went, when I would tell people what I was doing, they joked about it being easy for me to be quiet because I'm already such a quiet person, and it wasn't really difficult to not talk, except that I could have asked the sisters a million questions about their lives.

Another thing about the silence is that it's so very non-threatening. I felt completely at ease among the sisters. For the first time (maybe ever), I didn't feel like I had to have everything together in case someone was watching me. And even if someone was watching me, I felt that they would accept me as I am, which is a complete mess. That was probably the best part of the whole weekend.

In all honesty, I'm attracted to what the sisters do. To live in a place where I can wake up to the woods every morning would be glorious. I like how structured everything is. I like the routine of it all. That's not to say I'll be joining them anytime soon (because I know there is so much more to what they do that I didn't experience), but I felt a definite lack of something in my own life that I found at the monastery.

In recent years, it's been a trend to 'be present' wherever you are, and with all the distractions of today, that is often difficult to do. I try to be present when I'm with people; I try to give them my full attention, but sometimes I fail. I realized this week that there's a flip side to being present-- It's not only for when I'm with other people, I need to be present with myself too. I often pass time distracting myself. I watch Netflix while I'm eating and have music constantly playing in my apartment.

As I was enveloped in the silence at the monastery, I was taken aback by how nice it was to just be. I left my phone in my room all day. I didn't watch tv. It was awesome. (I realize that it's not always necessary to be present, and distractions aren't all bad. I'll still be watching copious amounts of Netflix.) I'm at a loss for how to describe just how great the whole experience was.

I wish I could have stayed a day or two more, but I had homework due Sunday night, and I'll be real with you-- going without Google was really driving me mad. (I started a list of things to google when I got home... sometimes I have an unhealthy need to know things.)

I will absolutely do this again if I ever have the chance, and I really cannot recommend it enough. The sisters were wonderful-- genuine and entirely welcoming. Once my mind quieted down, I began to realized things about myself and it helped me get back to a place I want to be mentally and emotionally. It was a healthy exercise for me.

When I returned to Poitiers Sunday afternoon, I promptly got my homework finished and turned in, then spent the rest of the evening and the next day doing nothing. I was really counting on volleyball Monday night, but they canceled it. Then Tuesday, I packed and went to French class.

Today, me and the other two are traveling to Amsterdam! I'm quite excited about this trip. This is the last big trip I have before I have to go back to class. (Did you remember that I'm actually here to go to school?? Me either.)

Anywho, 2 months until I go home. That's 57 days. May 29. (Just in case you forgot.)

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah

Here are the pictures I took around the monastery. Enjoy!

Trip to Texas!

Bonjour!

Maybe you realized that last week I didn't write anything (or maybe you didn't), but either way, I'm here to write today, and make up for last week.

I actually had some stuff written and ready to post, but my Wednesday didn't exactly go as planned and I never made it to a computer to get it up here. (There was a rant about old airplanes and uncomfortable seats, but I'll save it.)

I left Poitiers last Tuesday evening on the train to Paris to stay near the airport for my flight Wednesday morning. It ended up being delayed, but I was going to still make my connection at DFW. Then that flight was delayed, then there was a bomb threat, so we were rerouted to Lubbock. When I finally made it to Amarillo, I was exhausted and I wasn't about to drive to Dalhart. Thankfully, I have family that let me stay with them for the night.

So, I didn't make it like I planned, but it ended up working out. I drove to Dalhart the next morning and got to have breakfast at my favorite restaurant. (Even in Utah and Idaho, I have not found a restaurant that makes me as happy as Hodies.)

The reason I was going to Texas in the first place was to be in my best friend's wedding...only, she didn't know I was coming. So Thursday morning, I got to surprise her! It was the best thing ever. Her mom had ordered me a dress and everything so it was all prepared.

As the surprise, her mom wrapped my bridesmaid dress and gave it to Jonna as an 'early wedding present' at breakfast. When she opened it, I came out of the kitchen and surprised her. She's so funny-- she had the dress on over her head and was showing off to all of her family that was gathered around. When she finally saw me, she threw the dress off, and started squealing and crying and we hugged for a long time.

I had been planning on coming since November, so it had taken so much not to tell her about it in advance. Do you know how hard that was?! I was so excited to be there!

It was an awesome surprise. I'm so glad Sheila planned it that way.

That was Thursday, and I spent a lot of that day with Jonna. That evening, I got to see my cousins at their house and spend some time with the family. (Although, because of the time difference, I was pretty exhausted by evening.)

Friday, I got to eat at my other favorite restaurant, La Espanola. It's just the perfect kind of Tex-Mex. In all of the mexican food places I've eaten, I've never had rice as good as La Espanola's rice. (Yes, I do plan every trip to Dalhart with the intention of eating my favorite foods. I've never been back and not eaten there!) Zane, my cousin Bailey, and I had lunch there, then Zane and I drove around town a bit.

I met Bailey again for coffee that afternoon before I had to go to the rehearsal dinner. That night, we had a game night with the cousins. That's one thing about my family that I love-- game nights. Sometimes they get a little crazy, but they're always fun.

Saturday was wedding day! All of the ladies in the wedding met for breakfast and spent the morning together just hanging out. Around noon, we started getting everyone ready, then we went for pictures. I only knew two of the other girls, but I think we were an awesome group. The three that that I didn't know were fun, and I know that if Jonna picked them, they must also be great people.

After pictures, we went to the church to wait for the wedding to start. When people started showing up, we were all getting pretty nervous. Jonna was absolutely stunning. Her dress was beautiful and everything looked so perfect.

Finally, we got the signal that we were about to start. We all walked out and stood, waiting for the bride. She walked behind a curtain until she was at the center aisle, then it was pulled open and she walked out.

As I had already seen her all day, I watched Coury as he saw her for the first time. The look on his face was so touching. I'm so, so happy that Jonna found someone who loves her like Coury so obviously does.

It took everything in me to not cry as Jonna's dad kissed her cheek and gave her away to Coury. Actually, I was holding back tears the entire ceremony. Everything about it was beautiful. The pastor told us the story of how Coury and Jonna met and how they had God at the center of their relationship.

I may be biased, but it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen.

After Coury kissed his bride, we all danced down the aisle, and everyone made their way to the reception. I've never really been one to stay for long at wedding receptions, but for Jonna's I stayed until they closed the place down.

I got to see to many people I hadn't seen in a while, and I even got to hang out with some old high school friends. It was especially good to see them and to know that they are all doing well in their lives.

(Molly, Me, Sadye, Jonna, Sarah, Hannah, Leah)

Sunday I set aside to spend with my mom's side of the family, so that morning, I packed up my siblings and we headed to Amarillo. We spent the day on the back patio, cooked out, and just had a good time catching up with everyone. We didn't do anything particularly exciting, but I was just happy to be around my favorite people.

That night, as we were leaving Amarillo, Gracie told me, 'We have the best family.' And I had to agree. I really believe we do, on both sides. I love when I get to spend time with my family. They truly are my favorite people to be around, and I can't imagine my life without them.

Monday, I went to the airport to make my way back to Poitiers. When I finally got to my apartment Tuesday afternoon, I was exhausted. My internal clock was all screwed up and all I wanted to do was sleep. However, I really needed to get back on schedule because Thursday I'm leaving again and don't really have time to be on a messed up sleep schedule. So, I sat at my desk and caught up on YouTube videos until I made the (bad) decision to move to the bed.

Once I was laying down, I was out. I probably napped for about 2 hours before I forced myself to get back up. I watched two movies before I decided I could go to bed. And I was out real quick, until my dad called at midnight because I had forgotten to check in when I got home. I only vaguely remember talking to him. I couldn't figure out the time (because my iPhone clock hadn't updated) and I was really confused as to where I was, but I guess I talked to him, then went back to sleep.

I woke up this morning at 6 am. The sun was streaming through my window and I thought I had slept way too long, but it turned out I could stay in bed for another hour or two.

I'm feeling pretty good today. I have to do a quick load of laundry and make a stop at the grocery store, then pack my bags again to leave tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to my next trip, except that I'm not ready to sit for long periods of time again. (My butt is really sore.)

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. I'm anxious to get back and tell you about what I've done this coming week!

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah

I didn't take many pictures this week, but here's one that I absolutely love.

One of my favorite things about the Texas Panhandle is the horizon. I love the mountains in Utah and Idaho, and I love the city here in Poitiers, but there's something about those wide open spaces that feels like home to me.

Paris au Printemps

Bonjour!

As promised, this week's blog will be filled with much more interesting things than the last few.

I left early Friday morning on a train to Paris all by my lonesome. All I had with me was my purse and I was off to the big city! The ride was nice. It was a gorgeous day outside as I watched the endless fields pass by. It made me really miss Idaho. I can't wait to get back and get out to the farm.

Once I arrived in Paris, I went straight to Le Bon Marché. It's a great big department store. There were several floors, but I went straight to the one that had the bookstore and stationery area. I love wandering through the pens and notebooks and cards. After a fair amount of time spent there, I quickly walked through the other floors then exited to go to the other Bon Marché building around the corner.

This one was housewares and groceries. I think it may have been the most beautiful grocery store I've ever walked through. Maybe that's weird to say, but it was so enjoyable to walk through the different sections and see all of the offerings. I love the bakery, butcher, creamery, cheese, and pastry counters offering their fresh products. It's all so pretty and oh my goodness, it smells SO good.

I ended up buying a few different things for lunch, then took them to the park across the street to eat. The weather was magnificent. It was sunny, and warm, but not hot. There was no wind and the flowers were blooming. I should eat in parks way more often. I got to watch people walk by and just enjoy the beautiful day.

After lunch, I went to Le Marché aux Fleurs. I read online that it was beautiful and they were right. It's so fun to walk among the flowers. The place was strangely empty, so I hope I just caught it at a low point. I'd hate to think that the vendors aren't doing well for themselves there.

The flower market is on the Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine River. Also on the Île is Notre Dame and a few other landmarks. Since I've seen most of them, I just wandered the streets to see what I could find. I came across a Shakespeare and Company bookstore and spent a nice little bit in there.

From the Île, I visited the Passage Verdeau and Passage du Grand Cerf. These are covered shopping streets hidden among buildings. The first was quite extensive with many shops offering many different things, while the second was shorter and more antique/artsy. I enjoyed wandering the passages and hope to visit a few more when I return to Paris.

I wandered the streets around both passages and just observed the Parisian culture. It's fun to go back in the not-so-touristy areas and feel how different it is from areas around the famous landmarks. It's quite a nice lifestyle from what I've seen.

Around this time, the sun was starting to set, so I decided to find my hotel. It was in an area I had never been to, so once I checked in, I went back onto the streets to explore the neighborhood. I found a nice place to have dinner and sat facing the street so I could watch the people as they passed. It always amazes me that with as many people as there are, we each have our own stories. We all have things going on in our lives. I often wander about what they're going through and what motivates them and why they are where they are.

The next morning, I headed for Galeries Lafayette and Printemps to spend the day. My first order of business was to visit the Starbucks for my breakfast, then take it up to the Terrace. I was there around 10 am and the terrace was almost empty. The morning was cool, but not cold and the skies were clear. It reminded me of sitting on my Mimi and Papa's porch drinking coffee in the summer. In Paris, I was looking out over the city, and at Mimi and Papa's I was looking out over the mountains. Either way, those are my favorite kind of mornings. There is nothing better than sitting in a place with a view with coffee-in-hand in the brisk morning air.

See the Eiffel Tower in the distance?

I made my way through the women's building of the Galeries, then went over to the Home building. There was another grocery store on the ground floor, then housewares on the other floors. They had everything from fine china to bedspreads to lighting and furniture. I spent some time in the Cave à Vin (where the wine is kept) and it was beautiful. I saw a wine from 1899 that was selling for $20,000!

The dishware floor felt like a museum. There were so many exquisite (extremely expensive) pieces. I walked with my purse clutched to my chest so it wouldn't bump into anything. (If you ask my family, they'll tell you I'm an accident waiting to happen.) It made me giggle a bit that at some counters, the crystalware is sold right along side fine jewelry. This is serious stuff!

After a while I was tired and hungry, so I went to find lunch, then returned to explore Printemps. Again, beautiful, but again, I enjoyed the housewares building more than the fashion building. Although, in the fashion building there was an entire floor dedicated to luxury jewelry and fine watches, so I did really like that. (No surprise there.)

I went into a few other smaller stores in the area then realized that I was absolutely exhausted from all the walking I'd been doing. I had about three hours until my train departed, so I picked up a book at Galeries, and went to the train station to pass the time.

I returned home tired, but happy with the time I spent in Paris. I didn't really buy much, just some stationery stuff and a few shirts, but I had a nice time just being by myself.

Sunday was the most beautiful spring day I've seen yet. I walked to the park that morning and there were people out enjoying the sunshine like I was. I didn't even need a jacket over my sweater. It was glorious. I sat down in the park with my book and enjoyed the weather. The birds were chirping and there was a whisper of people around.

After a while I got hungry, so I went home to eat and finish my homework that was due that night, then I went back to the park because it was just so darn gorgeous outside. This time, there were more families out with their kids, enjoying the park, but I still found a spot to sit and take it all in.

This week I actually had to go to class. (About time, I know.) And boy, was it a rough going back. Tuesday, we had an early morning meeting with an advisor about a project that all international students have to do. Then straight from that meeting we launched into our 8 hour class day. To make it all worse, it was a Tuesday and on Tuesdays, we have French class until 7:00pm. In all we were at the school from 8:30 in the morning until 7:00 at night.

(At the first meeting, we were scolded for complaining about the long day ahead and our advisor told us she didn't want to hear it and welcome to 'real life.'  Of course she meant that when we enter the workforce, hours like that aren't uncommon. I understand that, I do, but I just don't appreciate the way she said it. Also, advisor, when was the last time you had to sit in awful, wooden, straight-back chairs with no leg room for 10 hours? You would be complaining too.) End rant.

So Tuesday was awful, but today was a little better. We finished the class with a test and got to leave early!

Right now, I'm in the middle of trying to plan things for the next few weeks. I haven't decided where I'm going yet, so that's my first order of business. Once I get that down, I'll let you know what I'll be up to.

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah

Here are the few pictures I took of Paris.

I Can't Think of a Good Title

Bonjour!

How have you been lately? Good, I hope.

Things here have been moving along slowly. This week I have had next to nothing planned. I met with a group for a project twice, went to French class, and went to volleyball practice. Really, that's all I've been up to.

Thankfully, I have plans for this weekend! I'm getting a little stir crazy being in Poitiers for this long with nothing to do. I'm going to Paris to do a little shopping. (By myself this time!) I've gone to Paris twice now by myself, both times to pick up family members from the airport, so I've never actually spent time in Paris alone.

I'm looking forward to it. I've never been in a big city all by myself and I'm anxious to see how it goes. Pray it all goes well!

I've been doing a lot of reading the last few days. Sometimes I just get caught up in the Internet vortex and forget that I actually really enjoy sitting to read a good book. Seriously though, I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting back home and spending time at Barnes and Noble. I do not like looking for new books on my Kindle. I do not like the format of the Amazon store. It's not at all conducive to the kind of browsing I want to do.

So right now, I have three or four samples to go through and decide what I want to read next. There are just so many options out there and I get stuck between the questions, Do I want to read something that will teach me something, or Do I want something mindlessly entertaining? It's a struggle.

I've also been doing quite a bit of writing and it's an interesting combination. When I read what other people have written, I look for ways to improve my own writing. Maybe I'm learning something new!

Sorry this update is so short and boring. I honestly don't have much interesting to say this week! In the coming weeks, I've got trips planned and things going on, so it'll pick up again.

Also, last week we passed the 6 month mark! Only 3 to go! Crazy.

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah

Oh! Last week, I forgot to add the London album to the bottom of the post, so those are here if you're interested, and also at the bottom of the last post.

London

Bonjour!

London was absolutely lovely. Maybe it was my excitement at being able to converse with the person across the counter or the sheer delight of being in England, but I had a brilliant time in London.

The weather wasn't too horrid while we were there; it only rained the first day. The rest of the time, it was fairly overcast and chilly, but never wet again.

We left Wednesday afternoon and arrived at our hostel around 10:00pm. It had been a long day for us, so we settled in and crashed soon after we arrived. The three of us became very spoiled from staying in hotels instead of hostels the past few trips. It was kind of a shock to have to share an itty bitty room with 10 other people and only two electric outlets.

Our first morning in London, we went straight to 221b Baker Street, home of Sherlock. Lizette is a big fan, so this was on her list of things to do. I browsed through the store briefly, then walked down the street to the Beatles store. They had all kinds of Beatles themed everything, so I had a good time. (If my family is not listening to Queen in the car, chances are we've got Yellow Submarine or Hey Jude playing.)

When Lizette and Joe were finished down the street, they came to get me and we took the Underground to King's Cross station (where Harry Potter was filmed). The other two wanted to get their picture at Platform 9 3/4. While they stood in line for that, I went into a book store, then found a seat and got in some quality people-watching.

Next, we carried on to the British Museum. This place is really pretty cool. There's quite a bit to see. I spent a good amount of time in the clocks exhibit. There were only two rooms, but I easily spent 45min to an hour reading about them and waiting for them to ring their bells.

Many of the clocks were many years old, but were still working. I love when the gears are visible on their faces. I like to watch them tick. There was a clock that was run by a marble that rolled from one side to the other. It took 30 seconds to travel to the other side. It wasn't entirely accurate every time, but it was fun to watch. (I wouldn't mind having one in my house someday.)

After the clocks, I visited Africa, Egypt, Korea, Mexico, the Americas, and Greece in the form of their exhibits. The place was packed with kids because they were all on a school break. (Also, with Night at the Museum 3 recently out, people want to see where the movie was.)

We spent a few hours there, then decided to move on. We stopped by Leadenhall Market (Diagon Alley) and spent some time in the stores, then made our way back to the hostel to get ready for the evening. We had tickets to Phantom of the Opera so we got dressed up, then went to Picadilly Circus to Her Majesty's Theatre.

Phantom was fabulous. It opens very quiet and soberly with an auctioneer and bidders. The auctioneer announces the opening bid on the chandelier in pieces, then the place goes dark, the chandelier flickers, and begins to rise to the ceiling and that beautiful Overture begins to play. It's such a powerful piece of music. The organ begins and the other instruments follow. Someone bangs the drums and the full orchestra joins in... You can feel every note deep in your soul. It reverberates through the whole theatre. It's exciting and breathtaking. I sat with tears in my eyes at the passion that is conveyed in the music.

Every cast member had beautiful voices. Phantom's was magical and Christine's was piercing as it should be. The whole experience was incredible.

The next day, we began at Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We walked around the Houses of Parliament and Westminster. We didn't go inside the Abbey but admired the outside. Then we walked a few streets over to Churchill's War Rooms.

The War Bunker Museum was very interesting. It's much bigger than we anticipated. We saw the room where Churchill ran the war. We saw the telephone rooms and map rooms and this whole complex that was dedicated to strategy and communications during WWII. There was an exhibit about Churchill's life in the middle of it and it was so incredibly interesting to be in such a historic place. Many of the things on the tables and desks in the rooms were original because the place had been left untouched for so many years. It was a lot to take in, but I'm glad we did it. I think it's always good to see another side of history.

From the Bunker, we walked towards Buckingham Palace and got a few pictures then headed to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. I really wanted to take of tour of the place since we couldn't see a show while we were there. (Since it's an open air theatre, the season doesn't start until April.) On the way there, we stumbled into a market place completely on accident. We were getting lost somewhere near London Bridge and took a path that led us to a market under an overpass. It was a decent size market with meat and cheese vendors, fruit and vegetable vendors, and all kinds of other offerings.

We spent some time walking around down there. I bought a glass of Rosé Prosecco and enjoyed the atmosphere. America could use more markets like these in Europe.

After we'd seen it all, we continued on to Globe Theatre. We made it just in time for the last tour of the day. It was really cool to go inside the theatre and hear the history of it all. One day, I'll make it back to see an actual play in the Globe.

Our third day in London began at the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We walked around the Tower, then stopped at Starbucks before we attempted to walk across the bridge. It was particularly cold that day so with venti Hot Chocolate in hand, we braved the wind and walked out onto the bridge. It's not hard to see why it's such a famous bridge. It really is a beautifully structure. I love the vibrant blues that cover it.

Next on our agenda was the London Dungeons. It was right next to the London Eye, so we walked along the river and watched the Eye slowly turn. We came across some performers who were dancing and contorting their bodies for the audience. We watched the entire show; they did a good job of capturing the audience.

When retrieved our tickets at the London Dungeon then got a quick lunch before we went in. The London Dungeons is a thriller/amusement establishment. There are actors inside and it's dark and creepy and they tell the darker (real and fictional) stories of London's past. We visited the alley where Jack the Ripper killed Mary Jane Kelly and sat in Sweeney Todd's barber shop. We helped Guy Fawkes with his assassination attempt. It was fun and the right amount of scary.

We were in a group of maybe 20 people and we traveled through history together. The actors at each stop were incredibly talented and did a wonderful job of interacting with the audience every chance they had. You never knew when you might be singled out to be picked on by a cast member. At the beginning, an actor told me that I best not flash anyone anymore because it's a punishable offense and later, I was locked in a cage while the actor explained the many means of torture he could use on me and two other audience members.

There was one lady in our group, LeAnn, who was picked on at almost every turn. The actors at each station would pick at random and she was chosen nearly every time. The last time she was picked, our entire group just burst with laughter and the actors were a bit confused at what was going on. (They played it off well and said, "Yes, LeAnn, what a funny name, laugh at her, Boo her!!")

The whole time we were called "Traitors" and were being led to our death. At the end, we were all strapped into a ride and the room went dark and an announcer said that we were to be hanged for our crimes. In front of us, there were nooses and silhouettes of bodies being hanged, then the floor fell out from under us and we dropped! (A quick drop and a sudden stop, it was!) They "hanged" us a few more times for the fun of it, then we got off and exited to the gift shop.

It was really fun for everyone. I was a bit on edge the whole time, but it was all exciting. It was also surprisingly informative while being funny and scary. They did a swell job of entertaining us for an hour and a half.

We walked a bit more around the London Eye, then found another Starbucks and sat for a while. One thing about London is that there's a Starbucks on nearly every corner-- even more reason to love the city!

We hadn't done any souvenir shopping, so we went back to Piccadilly Circus and shopped at the big souvenir shop there. (I remembered this place from the last time I was there.) That night we decided to find a restaurant for our last dinner in England.

We found a little pub not far from our hostel and went inside. They were having live music that night, so we got a table a few rows back from the performer and enjoyed our dinner while listening to this guy play the oldies. I'm a sucker for stuff like that, so I quite enjoyed myself during this. We sat for a while after we had finished eating and ordered a slice of cake to share. We were there for a bit more than 2 hours, which is good for us. It was a lovely end to a great trip.

We caught our bus on time and made it to the airport and back to France without any problems. we made it back to Poitiers around 5:00pm then went our separate ways.

I spent that evening with my laptop and HIMYM on Netflix. I rained all night and little on Monday.
I went to volleyball again and since then I've just been doing some writing and taking care of things that need to be done.

I don't want to brag or anything, but in a strange turn of events, I came across Blue's Clues on YouTube and nearly watched an entire episode. (I still know the words to the songs.) Such a cute show. And probably the most exciting thing that's happened today.

Anyway, I hope your day is going well!
Talk to you next week.

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah

Also, here's the rest of the pictures!

A Little List

Bonjour!

Today is a wonderful day because, as of today, I have 100 days left in France. That seems like such a small number compared to the 278 days I started with.

I thought it would be fun to share with you a list of all the things I'm looking forward to when I get back to America. Let's begin!

-English (of course.)
-Family
-Cedar family
-Friends
-My kids
-Book stores with English books
-Journals in book stores
-Pedicures
-Miracle Whip
-Baking (in a kitchen I'm comfortable in.)
-Jimmy John's
-Driving (Oh My Goodness, yesss.)
-Hair appointments (I can't wait to color my hair again!)
-Coffee Creamer (Although I'm getting used to black coffee.)
-Shoe shopping
-Reese's (I'm dying. Thank you Zane, Mom, and Vanessa for getting me through this.)
-Dr. Pepper
-Mountains
-Road trips (See: Driving.)
-Magazines (in English.)
-Grocery store baggers
-Stores open on Sundays (Seriously.)
-A normal school schedule
-Sharpies
-Dollars
-Front yards
-Gym membership
-Church on Sunday (and my kids.)
-Spicy food (Jalapeños!)
-Milk (Normal, refrigerated milk.)
-Jamba Juice
-Panda Express

I realize that many of these things are food related and maybe that says something about me, but food is necessary for life and life is better when you can eat the food you love.

As for the others, they are just little things that I realize that I have missed about America. Not really anything big, just small things that I took for granted about the US. Not every country operates the way we do and that's ok (although I think our way is the better way).

In other news, we are on our way to London today. I went to the UK while in high school, but I'm definitely a different person now than I was then. It'll be fun to experience it again. We've got a few exciting things planned, but I'll tell you all about it next week.

I think what I'm most excited for is being in a place were I can finally understand what everyone is saying and not having to ask them to repeat things in English. It will be absolutely refreshing and I'm afraid that I'm not going to want to go back to Poitiers! (Seriously, my countdown is keeping me sane right now.)

This week I got to play in a volleyball tournament with a few other kids from my school. We got fourth place (and I'm not going to say how many teams were there!). We actually played together really well by the end of the night. It was so much fun to compete. Thank you Coach Satty for always encouraging us to talk because here in France, it is so silent on the court except for me (who is yelling everything in English in a gym full of French speakers). It drives me nuts.

Today Joe, Lizette, and I were invited to present our university to the French students at FBS. They are all required to do some sort of study abroad, and I think SUU is a wonderful place for them to go. So hopefully we represented our school well enough to get an foreign student or two.

I know I started the blog with excitement at the prospect of coming home soon, but every time I look at "100 days" I almost sigh. It's been such a great year so far, and I'm not sure I'm ready to leave Europe behind. Thankfully, I've still got time left here, and thankfully I get to go home soon. (So many mixed feelings!)

Here's to the next 100 days.

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah

Oops.

Bonjour!

This morning around 1 am, when I was lying in bed unable to sleep, I remembered that yesterday was Wednesday and I hadn't written a single word on the blog. Oops!

How could I have forgotten two weeks in a row? Yesterday I wasn't feeling that great, so I'm just going to blame it on that.

I woke up with my tummy hurting, but I figured it was just because I had a presentation to give yesterday and I always get an uneasy stomach when I'm nervous. So I went to class all morning, came home for lunch, and went back to class for the afternoon. My group gave our presentation and I came home again.

I usually feel so much better after the presentation is over, but not yesterday. I decided to lay in bed and watch House on Netflix for the rest of the day.

I'm feeling much better this morning. I don't know what it was yesterday. I didn't actually feel sick or anything, just a little off-kilter. It was certainly strange.

On the bright side, I have now finished 2 courses. That's definitely one of the advantages to how school works at this university, but it's one of the only ones. I am so ready to get back to a normal schedule. (Ask me again in September and I'll be longing for my 3 week vacations.)

I don't have class again until March 10, excluding a few French classes in the evenings. We've got a trip to London coming up, but that'll be a relatively short trip so I want to plan at least one other trip for myself.

I don't think I have anything else to say, things around here have been quiet. I was busy with the class I finished yesterday, but now that that's over, I've got nothing.

Maybe I'll venture to the mall today to do some shopping.

I hope your day is going well!

Je t'embrasse,
Sarah