Pictures I Forgot To Post

BALLOON MAN IN LUZERN. CAN YOU SAY CREEPY?

LAKESIDE GENEVA

LAKESIDE GENEVA FROM THE TRAIN RETURNING FROM LUZERN

AMéLIE WITH ELDER BERET... SHE LOVES HIM!

SOME OF THE ELDERS... WE HAVE LOTS MORE HERE!

SISTER HALLEMEYER- SHE LEFT YESTERDAY TO BORDEAUX, FRANCE! I'LL MISS HER!

ELDER LIVINGSTON. HE ALSO LEFT TO SOUTHERN FRANCE YESTERDAY AND WILL BE MISSED TOO! HIM AND ELDER BERET MADE REALLY AWESOME AND HILARIOUS COMPANIONS!

Inferno

Amélie started preschool today! So I am sitting here... bored as heck. I could probably clean the kitchen and try to fix the vacuum but... I am in a creative and procrastinating mood. And I work better when I procrastinate to the last minute. That way I stay focused, which is a skill that I lack. It's kind of a good thing for me though... cause I believe it makes life interesting. At least for me. It frustrates a lot of people, especially people I live with. I've had a lot of difficulties with roommates cause I'm so forgetful. Sometimes I'll eat a bowl of cereal and then remember out of the blue that I have to get something and then I run to get it and forget that I even had a bowl of cereal so it ends up sitting on the counter for a few hours til I notice it and put it away.... then my roommates get pissed off over that. But really I can't help it! I've tried techniques, putting an alarm on my phone, putting up notes, making lists, etc. but it just doesn't work. So. Whatever, right?? Why not just accept myself for who I am? It works for ME. It might not work for others... but I've learned that I am not happy when I change myself for others. It throws me off. It's kind of the selfish thing to do, but I have to ignore it when people get annoyed with how I am. I try to respect others though. Like I try really hard to keep my clutter in my room and to remember to be on time for stuff. And mind you, my forgetfulness and procrastination and clutter-ness drives me nuts sometimes too.

Sometimes I wonder if I drive this family crazy. Cause Yvonne told me that I had to clean my room the other day. I was so embarrassed!!! I knew it was really clutter-y cause Amélie had spent the day playing dress up with my clothes and sprawling my books everywhere and my make up area is a disaster cause right now I have nowhere to put my jewelry or makeup so it's just all in a messy pile on top of my dresser. Even when my room is "clean"-- it's only "clean" in my eyes. Other people would think it's a disaster. I'm not filthy. I just happen to have a lot of stuff and a lot of projects going on. That's how I see it. My mom once showed me a newspaper article that had a quote from a professional organizer talking about her clients and she said that "the people who are cluttered are some of the most creative and interesting people (she) has ever met." Then I remember after that my mom gave up on trying to force me to clean my room. I think she finally realized that I wasn't going to change haha. So... when I get frustrated with my clutter-ness, I just think of that newspaper article and my mom and it doesn't really matter anymore.

 Anywhoo! When Yvonne and I dropped Amélie off at school, she seemed to jump right in. I think she will be just fine. I was so excited for her! It will be so interesting to see what she learns over the weeks. She's been signing more and learning fast. Yvonne also is taking French Sign Language classes every monday and she said she would teach me what she learns while I teach her ASL. Speaking of French sign language... I ran into a deaf lady while heading home on the bus after dropping Amélie off at school. I was signing to Yvonne, after a while she got off the bus to head over to work. I stayed on for a few more stops to go back home. The lady was standing by me with her kid in a stroller and then she turns to me and signs, "You deaf?" I smiled and said, "Yeah!" She smiled back and signed, "I'm deaf too! My bébé is hearing." She signed bébé and hearing differently and I realized she was signing French, but I figured out what the signs meant because they were kind of obvious. It took a little guessing though but if we signed in sentences we could piece together the words and kind of figure out what the other was talking about. She told me that there is a big deaf community in Geneva and that we would probably run into each other again. I told Yvonne and we are both really excited about it and we're gonna look into the programs for the deaf and try to go to some activities and practice our French sign language!

Well, guess what. This Thursday, I'm going to Interlochen, Switzerland. It's a national park which is about 2.5 hours away by train and my friend told me it's probably the most beautiful places she has ever been so I'm pretty stoked. Then, in a couple weeks, I'm going to Paris for a few days! I'm so excited!!! In October, I'm planning on going to Rome, Italy for approximately a week while our bathroom is being remodeled. I have a few friends there so I am excited to see them! Or at least meet them. Haha. I actually only know them over Facebook. One of my old boyfriends went on a mission there and that's where I know them from. But they can show me the secret parts of Rome, their lifestyle, and the culture through a native's point of view. It should be pretty sweet! That's all the travels I have planned for now. So, I have a lot to look forward to!

That's all I have for today. There's probably a lot more to write about but I'm getting a headache and I want to play the piano and eat candy and stuff so yeah... have a great day and live it up!

What A Week!

Howdy.

Well let's just say it's been an eventful week. Last weekend I went on a spur of the moment trip to Luzern with Yvonne and Amélie. Luzern's been on my list of places I want to go to before I die. Especially Lake Lucern. I got to see the lake. Unfortunately, I didn't get to swim in it. But it was really beautiful there and before it gets cold I'm totally going back to just chill on a kayak in the middle of the lake! 

Ok so after I got back from Luzern things just went crappy. Monday I dropped Amélie off to school and had my chill-out time. Then I left on time to catch the bus and I saw "the" bus and figured I'd take the early one to Gardiol and just walk around until Amélie got out of school. Well. I sat on the bus reading a book since it's a good half an hour to get to the school. I looked up after twenty minutes and realized that I did not recognize the scenery around me. I was so confused... then I looked up at the screen in the bus and said that I was just a few minutes away from the Airport. $&*%. I took the wrong bus. And I was all the way at the airport and Amélie's school was gonna get out in 10 minutes. So I had to call Yvonne and tell her that I took the wrong bus and that she better hurry and pick up Amélie cause the school charges 10 CHF per minute. thats like, 12 bucks a minute that you're late. I was so freaking embarrassed!!! how the heck does something like that happen? I was just in a bad mood the rest of the day. It turned out to be a hot and damp week. Tuesday, I went swimming with Amélie and Antoine. Wednesday, I took Amélie to school. And I didn't take the wrong bus that time.

Well last night was Wednesday night. After I got off work, I showered and dressed up because there was a Young Single Adults ball in Lyon, France. I was so excited to go because, hello, a DANCE. Friends, boys, making more friends, and just letting loose. I was supposed to meet a friend in Bel-Air but apparently there are TWO Bel-Airs and I went to the wrong one all the way across Genéve. I stumbled on one bus after another, frantically trying to find my way to Bel-Air Ponte for nearly two hours. I ended up somewhere in the ghettos of Genéve in a park by a bridge and I was all alone in a fancy dress and heels. I was so freaking frustrated by all this... and we were going to miss the ball. I pathetically sat down on the ground and kicked off my heels and I just wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come. My friends were searching for me the entire two hours and told me they didn't want to give up. (I know, I found some pretty amazing friends here huh?) But I was so tired and frustrated and I just wanted to go home so I told them to just go on without me. It was pretty sucky. I walked all the way back to my apartment barefoot and just went to bed. So much for a party huh? Haha.

I decided to take advantage of this lonely day and just do whatever the heck I wanted to do. I had the day off of work. Everyone was gone working or at the grandparents. So, I slept in. 'Til 9:30 AM. Then I got up and watched the rest of Da Vinci code that I didn't finish a couple weeks ago. After a while, I got pretty restless and was bouncing all over the place. I had to get out of the apartment. It was the heat peak of the day, sunny, with sweltering heat and humidity. I wanted to send some letters to some of my friends on their missions, so I decided to try to find where the post office was. I looked up the address on Google maps and it seemed pretty simple, only 400 meters away from my apartment. So I wrote down the directions, packed my lightweight backpack, and went off on my mid-day run. I ran like I've never run before. I wore crappy Pumas that I've had for like, 5 years and I ran more comfortably in them than my $100 running shoes. I ran and ran and ran. But it was not for 400 meters. I ended up running to the lake with the famous "Flower Clock" and searching for the gosh dang post office. I ran up and down cobblestone streets, in alleyways, passing cafés and tourists, completely and hopelessly lost. Again. And not even twenty four hours after getting lost the night before. I ran for an hour and finally stumbled across a big, yellow sign displaying, "La Poste." I walked in the non-air conditioned post office, literally dripping in sweat. There were drops of salty sweat running down my arms and legs and my face. I was soaking wet. The post office was full and I noticed people stealing glances at me. "Who's that girl with the red face and why is she soaking wet and stinking to high heaven?" That's kind of how I felt in there. I waited for my number to be called, sent my letters off, ran back home, pigged out, and watched Little Rascals.

Well, I just got home from the café. I was feeling pretty lonely... and wishing I was in Lyon with my friends, so I do what I always do when I'm down. Go for ice cream. A good friend once told me, "Ice cream makes everything better." And ever since, I've taken that to heart. Café Remor, the restaurant that the family owns, has fantastic gelato. Simply divine. So I ran on over there with a book and asked for "moca and cannele glacé, sil vous plait." ("Coffee and cinnamon ice cream, please.") But my French is so unintelligible that I got moca and vanille (vanilla) instead. But it was still delish. As I was starting my ice cream, resuming a fantastic book, and finally relaxing, a skinny, mousy man with square tinted glasses came in and started speaking to me. I waved him off, used to perverts trying to hit on me. He wouldn't stop talking so I said, "Sorry no speakie Frahnkas." Turns out he knew English. Great. He gets two inches from my face and hisses, "I need one franc." I said bluntly, "Don't have money." He got closer, curling his thin lips over his yellow teeth, and his breath stinking like a dead vulture. "I NEED FRANCS. I need glacé. It ees so freysh. See, see. I have sore throat." Then he proceeds to cough on my ice cream. ON. MY. ICE. CREAM. Then he has the balls to hiss, "Give me glacé and francs." Any sympathy I had for him went out the door and I just started freaking out at him and told him to get the F out of my face and leave then he put his hands on me and I was like, DUDE. Oooh I remember I was really angry when he did that. He got closer to my face and his nasty yellow teeth and his foul breath... and started whispering rapidly about how he needs glacé and francs and his whispering got louder and shriller and higher and faster and he got closer and closer and closer to my face and completely scaring the chit out of me. I begged to the waiters with my eyes to help but they just stood watching this crazy man about to attack me and doing nothing about it. So I screamed, "FINE!" and grabbed my wallet and gave him two francs. He backed off and asked for my ice cream. I said no. He said he needs one more franc. I said, "Seriously. Get the H out of here, NOW." and finally, he left. So much for a relaxing night. And yes, I still ate my ice cream, even after he coughed on it.

When you give money here to beggars you have to be super careful. They have no pride whatsoever. They come up to you and nag you til you give them something. Then they ask for more. A couple Sundays ago, I was sitting at the tram station waiting for the 13:30 tram. There was this Romanian refugee, an old lady with her foot pathetically tied up in a bandana, feigning an injury. She called out in a loud, begging voice, pleading for money and lamenting over her condition. She sat next to me and rocked back and forth, holding a paper cup to my face and moaning relentlessly. Finally, I fished a few coins out of my purse and dropped them in her paper cup to make her go away. She saw my water bottle in my purse and asked for some water, holding up her empty bottle. I handed her my bottle and told her to keep it. She blessed me with the sign of the cross and sat on the other side of the bench. The next day, I saw her on that bench. She saw me, and came running up to me with the paper cup in her hand, moaning and pleading and begging. I was with Amélie and was hurrying to take her to school so I told the old lady no and kept on walking. She was there the rest of the day to beg me for money with her crinkled cup and dirty hands. The next day, she was there, in the same spot that I walk by four times a day to take Amélie to school and back home by myself, then to pick Amélie up and take her home.  She was there the day after that. And the next. And the next. And the next. Always searching for me, the girl that gave her money. I couldn't stand passing by her four times a day while pushing her aside and running away from her pitiful grasp. I finally had to take the "long" way to the bus stop after a few days. Then, a few days ago, she stopped coming to the tram station by my apartment. I haven't seen her all week. Thank the heavens.

Well, that's all the stories I can think of right now. I have to work this weekend while Yvonne is out of town for a course. I have Amélie all day Saturday and Sunday. I have no idea what to do on a Saturday with a three year old. Sunday, I'll probably take her to church. She LOVES my missionary friends, Elder Beret and Elder Livingston. Especially Elder Beret. Ok, there is one little story to go with this now. On Tuesday, which was the highlight of the week, I had a picnic with my friend Elisabeth and the sister missionaries. I wasn't expecting the Elders to come, but they decided to surprise us at the park and joined us for lunch. Everyone LOVED Amélie, especially Elder Livingston and Beret. But Amélie and Beret made quite a connection. Amélie was delighted with Beret's "magic" tricks (the separating thumb, etc.), and took a liking to him. After throwing sticks with Beret, she crossed the circle to go snuggle up to him and chat with him in French. It was THE cutest thing EVER. When we were leaving the park, she walked with the two missionaries and Beret gave her a chestnut that fell from one of the trees and tossed it back and forth for a little bit. She's kept that chestnut with her ever since. So, Sunday, I might take her to church and I'm sure she will be delighted to sit by Beret and Livingston.

Ok, it is so late right now! It's 23:00 and I have to get up pretty early tomorrow so I gotta get going to bed if I don't wanna hate myself in the morning.

Au Revoir!

Frustration and Fun

Bonjour!

This week marks my first month in Switzerland. 11 months to go. Not that I'm really counting down. I like it here... but time sure flies!

So, admittedly, the past couple weeks have been totally overwhelming. I've been slightly burnt out. Here, I work long hours, and I don't mind. I've worked 10-12 hours a day as a nanny in the USA, but it was easier to handle because I had my family to help out sometimes and keep me company. If I started to feel burnt out, I'd take the kids to my house and let them play with my old dollhouse and lego set that I played with as a child and hang out with my parents. But here, my parents aren't here to play "grandma" and "grandpa." I'm pretty much on my own the whole day. I knew the first two months would be the hardest and the most frustrating. But, I know it will get better.

The first two weeks here in Europe was so exciting! It still is, but the frustration of being a foreigner has set in. Adjusting to the transportation and the city is a little difficult. Geneva is a small city and everything is packed in together. But the streets aren't easy to navigate. It's not set in a grid pattern like Utah. The streets are all tangled together in diagonals and loops and it's extremely confusing. Sometimes I'm trying to go to a certain destination and I get lost and wander the city and after walking forever, I end up in the exact same spot that I started. So it's like I just walked in a loop, but it feels like I walked in a straight line. I have no idea if it makes sense, but that is how it feels to me. Confusing. But, I know it takes time to learn the layout of a new place.

Another frustration is the language barrier. At first, I was giddy about it. It was so cool to be the foreigner for once and have to play charades and say the simple words. But now, it's quite a task to go to the post office and fill out the forms (which are in French) and try to communicate with the cashier... to tell them that I want second class or first class postage. Or if I go to the store and can't find something, I'm basically on my own, unless I get lucky and can find a worker who speaks English well enough for me to understand. I still don't know any French. All I know is "Bonjour," "Du los, sil vous plait," "Merci," and "Oui." So, I need to start working on my French! Once I learn more than those four phrases, then the frustration will be eased a bit.

Despite the frustrations, I am still having an amazing time! Yes, I miss my family, very much. But I got to Skype with them yesterday! It was awesome! We decided that we're gonna Skype every Sunday. Meaning, that I have to stay up til midnight or later, but it's worth it. It was great to see my family, even on a computer screen. And I got to watch a little of TruTV. Yeah, they put the computer in front of the TV for like one minute. It was sweet. The family is still the same. My sister, Jessa, is still... well... Jessa. She's pretty hilarious. My dad still jokes around and it's always really nice to talk to my mom. My dog, Roo, was completely confused because he could hear my voice but for some reason he couldn't see me on the TV screen. So he started shaking and cowering... it was super cute. ;) I'm excited for Sundays now because it means I can talk to my family!

I've been having a lot of fun with the Young Single Adults group. We went to Bern on Saturday and saw the Latter Day Saints temple and ate at McDonalds. It was pretty awesome except for the van ride to and back. We rented this crappy old van that had no air conditioning. Switzerland decided for that day, the weather was going to be extremely hot and humid. Bern is about three hours away from Geneva and there was eight of us in the van. So yeah. Nuff said. After the Bern trip, a few of my friends and I got together and went to the Fete de Genéve. It's a huge festival they hold here by Lac Genéve (Lake Geneva,) and it's kind of like an American fair/amusement park. There were rides, events, food, game booths, drunk people, etc. I paid 15 CHF (almost 20 bucks) to go on a ride. But it was SO. WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. This ride was awesome. It looked like a huge crane, and it would swing back and forth until it reached the momentum to do a 360. The seats at the top of the "arm" would spin as well. So, while we were spinning on the "arm," the seats would spin even faster, if that makes sense. At around 11 PM, there was a huge firework display that lasted for one hour. It was insane! I talked to the missionaries at church yesterday, and they said they snuck out and stayed out until 1:30 AM because they really wanted to see the Fete de Genéve and the fireworks. I don't blame them cause they would have totally missed out if they didn't go! The only thing I didn't like was the crowd. Everyone was packed together. I don't like being touched by sweaty, smelly strangers. And it's really awkward when you're standing next to someone and your butts are touching but there is nothing you can do about it cause it's so crowded you can't move away. And practically everyone was drunk. While we were leaving, we almost ran into a drunk guy that was violently puking and being held up by two of his friends. The rest of the night I was totally paranoid that a drunk person was going to throw up all over me. That's like seriously my worst nightmare. So after that I was totally ready to just go home. I had a great time hanging out with friends though! Without my friends here, I would be completely miserable, so I'm way happy I ran into a couple of missionaries on the streets a few weeks ago, because without them, I would have never met my awesome friends!

Well, that is all. It's time for me to go pick Amélie up from play school. Until next time, my friends!

Thoughts Running Through My Head

Wow it's only almost 11 AM for me and I already have a headache! What a morning. I took Amélie to play school at 9 AM and took the long bus ride back to the apartment so I can finish my chores without Amélie getting in the way. So, I live in a 200+ year old apartment. The locks on our door are ridiculous. Its been three weeks and I still haven't been able to figure them out. The keys get stuck, the locks have to be turned in a certain way, and the door has to be pulled in while unlocking the door. So today was the first time I was on my own to unlock the door. I jammed the keys in the keyholes and turned and turned and jiggled and pulled and cussed under my breath. It lasted for a good half an hour. Finally, I was getting so frustrated that I felt like my head was going to completely EXPLODE. I just looked up to the heavens and said, "God, help me open this door... I promise I will read a chapter in the Book of Mormon if I can just get this door open!" And then I had the inspiration to pull in the door and turn the keys. The locks clicked and the door opened. Heck yeah I ran to my room and read the Book of Mormon haha. But now I have like 45 minutes before I have to get on the bus to pick up Amélie and take her to the café for lunch. I'm totally famished. And exhausted. So dead. I guess chores will have to wait.

So on the bus ride back from dropping Amélie off at school, I had lots of time to think. I kinda made a list of what I wanted to do in life. Especially before I get married. So pretty much everything I wanted to accomplish in the next three to five-ish years. I already have one of the things checked off my list.

1. Live in Europe. (Check.)
2. Study abroad in Italy for my Fine Arts degree. (Hopefully by spring 2013 if the world hasn't ended then. Ya know, the 2012 apocalypse thing everyone is freaking out about.)
3. Do volunteer service at the deaf orphanage in Ghana, Africa.
4. Visit Vietnam with my best friend who is gonna come home from her mission soon.
5. Graduate college.

Sound good? Sounds awesome to me. There have been some people that I've told these goals to... and they tell me it's unrealistic. Unrealistic, my butt. I dreamt a long time to live in Europe for a while and people told me that was stupid. Sure, I could go visit. But to live there? Ridiculous! I have to finish school first. I have to work.

But here I am. And I know I'm meant to be here. Sure, it took me years to be blessed with the opportunity to come to Switzerland. Even when everyone said it was impossible. And I'm here for a year. I get to learn French. I get to teach a family sign language. I met a 7 year old deaf girl that I can be an example to. I've already met people here that have changed my life. I get to travel all around Europe. This is a rare once in a lifetime opportunity. And it's exactly how I've dreamt it all along. Even better, actually.

I hope it doesn't sound like I like to brag about how I am here in Europe. I just want people to KNOW that their dreams can come true. It takes perseverance. It takes patience and hard work. You have to try and try and try. You have to want it bad enough. And for the right reasons too. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to save up my money so I could travel somewhere, anywhere. I've tried going to Australia, Italy, Japan, Hawaii, Jamaica, New Zealand, Tonga... but my money always got sucked dry. I had to pay for food, school, rent, gas, and other living costs. But when my bank account withered; giving up was the last thing on my mind. I'd just start over and try saving up again. Then finally, a miracle. I got an email from Rachel Coleman saying that a family from Switzerland saw Signing Time and asked if she knew anyone that was willing to come and teach ASL to their family. Rachel sent the email to me and I immediately contacted the family. We interviewed via email for a few days, then they decided to hire me. And that's how I got here. I never lost faith that somehow, someday, my dreams would come true. So those goals I've set up for myself, I know that I will achieve every one of them. And more. And you can too. Learn perseverance. Eliminate the words, "give up"from your vocabulary. It shouldn't mean a thing to you.

The movie Cool Runnings is one of my favorite movies ever. It is an amazing example of perseverance. It's basically about four Jamaican sprinters who want to go to the Olympics. Since they couldn't make the summer Olympics because of an accident during the 100 meter sprint, they decided to take up the winter sport of bobsledding. One of the sprinter's father competed in bobsled in the Olympics and inspired the son, Derice, to try. His dream was to make it to the Olympics. But there was a problem, other than the fact that there was no snow or ice to practice on, they were poor black people who lived on a tiny island. At the time, people were still nervous about the difference of race and skin color. They found the coach, Irv Blitzer, who coached Derice's father and convinced Irv to take them to the Olympic tryouts. They somehow managed to raise the money to take them to Canada. At first, they were terrible and people made fun of them and told them to go home. But because of their perseverance and pure determination, they made it through to the finals. Slowly, they made their way to the top, becoming one of the qualifiers to win the bronze, silver, or gold medal. On the final day of the Olympics, the most important day of all, one of the blades on their rickety bobsled (the only one they could afford,) came apart and they crashed just before the finish line. All four Jamaican bobsledders got out of their seats and proudly carried the 400 pound bobsled to the finish line. They wouldn't give up until they finished 100%. One of my favorite quotes from the movie is when they were trying to raise money but people would just laugh at them and tell them that their dream was ridiculous and impossible and wouldn't give them any money. Their coach, Irv, got frustrated and asked Derice, "Do the words, 'give up,' mean anything to you??" and Derice just smiles and says, "No, not a thing."

Theres one more quote that I LOVE that comes from a book that my young women leader gave to me when I graduated from high school. The book is called, "Be." by Kobi Yamada. It's a book filled with inspiring quotes from great people.

"There are some people who live in a dream world,
and there are some who face reality;
and then there are those who turn one into the other."
-Douglas Everett

22 Days in Europe!

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been 22 days living in Switzerland. That makes it  just slightly over three weeks. Time has sure flown by! So far, I'm not dealing too much with being homesick. Sometimes, I find myself wishing that I could just be sitting with my family telling them about my experiences in person, or maybe having one of my best friends shopping the streets of Geneva with me. But those feelings are just fleeting. I know I have my family and friends with me always. It helps because I talk to them all the time on Facebook and via e mail. I haven't Skyped anyone yet which is completely pathetic! But I get plenty of love from home through words and pictures, and plenty of love here in Geneva.

The family is wonderful here! They are intelligent people and love traveling. So far, in 22 days, I have been to France, twice. I've been to the Paélo Festival and saw Amy Winehouse's last performance. I went to the Nandez Festival in the Swiss Alps and tasted some Swiss wine, ate traditional Swiss food (which involves a lot of this weird paper thin beef jerky type of meat and apricots... definitely apricots. They are EVERYWHERE,) and saw people in traditional Swiss clothes playing Alphorns. I also just got back from Heersbrugg, which is right on the border of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. (It's the German speaking part of Switzerland.) On my way to Heersbrugg, I got to see St. Gallen and as we were returning, we stopped in Zurich and shopped around in the streets and ate at a Spanish restaurant in an alleyway. One of the many great things about working for this family is that whenever they travel, they always invite me to come with them and be a part of their family.

Europe is completely magical! It's even better than I imagined... and every day it's inconceivable that I get to see it with my own eyes. For years, I looked at pictures and day dreamt about traveling the world. But now, it is no longer merely a day dream. It's real life for me. And I get to experience it in its rawest form. The language, the culture, the people, the food. Everything. Right now, I'm trying to learn French, but it is completely frustrating and confusing to me! It is a difficult language... because the words are spoken so radically different than how they are written. Last night, I went to an institute activity and tried to practice the very few French I know with the missionaries there. I tried to say, "Water, please." (Du lous, sil vous plait.) and "Goodbye," (Au revoir,) and they just stared at me like I had just spoken complete gibberish to them. It was so embarrassing! But, it's only my third week here so... I still have time to learn! Plus, when Amélie starts school, I will be taking French classes while she's in school. So, hopefully... I can improve. I would love to come home next year speaking French... somewhat decently.

So, many people have been asking what the family and the little girl (Amélie) is like! Firstly, I have to say, they are awesome! I have been really lucky to be able to work for this family. They are really flexible about me going to hang out with friends, traveling, and taking me on their trips. They are very eco-conscious (which a lot of people here in Europe are,) and eat very, very healthy. Maybe too healthy for a native American like me. Before I came here, I NEVER, EVER ate vegetables. If there was something green in my food, like a pepper, I would pick it out and put it aside. I despised tomatoes, cauliflower, garden salads, cucumbers, and more. When I found out that this family was really big on eating vegetables (about 98 percent of the time, we have a vegetable dinner,) I about died. I had such a hard time at first. Just the texture and the taste of vegetables made me want to gag. But I didn't want to offend anyone so I forced it down. Then Antoine, the father, told me I had to eat my vegetables because I needed to be an example for Amélie. I hated dinnertime for the first ten days or so. But slowly, slowly, I am getting used to vegetables. I don't dread them as much anymore. I can eat them without making a face. Sometimes. It doesn't mean I like them yet. But at least I know I can eat them. Except for broccoli and fennel. And this weird celery/lettuce type vegetable that has a bright red stem and a dark green leaf. But I am allowed to not like some vegetables right? Some of the food here is very different. They eat a lot of apricots and prunes. Which I don't really like because of the texture. It's too mushy. Then theres that paper thin beef jerky. It tastes like beef jerky, obviously. And I stopped liking beef jerky after I ate half a pound while driving to Rexburg, Idaho to visit a friend and ended up getting the stomach flu and violently puking all night. And then theres fig. Fig tastes good but the texture is weird too. But there are some things I like a lot! The chocolate here is DIVINE. The cookies. The pastries. The food at the family's Cafe, which is absolutely gourmet (they own a cafe that has been around for three generations,)  and I tried duck which was actually really good. Oh man, and the ice cream here is like being in heaven. SO GOOD.

I've had to make a lot of adjustments living with the family. Eating vegetables is one. No television is another. No more America's Funniest Home Videos, World's Dumbest, COPS, Most Shocking, Community, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation... and Hulu doesn't work here so I can't catch up on the shows. It's hard! So I've started reading books. I've read three books so far. So that's like one book a week. I haven't willingly read a book since... the Twilight series...which I am ashamed to admit I actually read all the books. But reading isn't so bad. It helps to distract myself from missing TV. But the biggest thing I miss about TV is sitting with my dad and watching AFV and World's Dumbest and laughing our butts off. That is a memory I will definitely cherish all my life! Another adjustment is that I have been really clean lately. My room is surprisingly clean. And even more shocking, I actually have a desire to keep it clean. Of course, it's cluttered still. Clutter is a part of my life, and as my mom told me, shows my creativity! Oh and I actually make my bed sometimes.

Well, now about Amélie. She is absolutely darling! Amélie is three years old, but you'd never be able to guess. If you saw her without knowing her age, you would guess she is about four or five because she is so tall! And she runs everywhere. I don't think I have ever seen her walk normally. She always skips. Every day, I take her all around town, and she skips for hours. Amélie is super smart too. She speaks English, French, and is picking up ASL super fast. Sometimes her speech is difficult for people to understand, but I love her little French accent. She is also very good with her hands and usually signs very accurate. Amélie is completely a drama queen. She loves acting things out and pretending. She has an imaginary friend that is a lion. Amélie loves to laugh and has the biggest smile ever. She also has "the look" that she gives when she gets cranky. She is also very observant of people, and not afraid to scream it out in public. One time I was walking her to the park and she sees a little person riding a scooter, and she points to him and says, "WOW! Look at that little boy!!!" The little person completely glared at us and I was so embarrassed so I told her it's rude to point to people. But it doesn't stop her. We were sitting on the bus heading to summer activity school and she was staring at a black man for quite a while. Then she turned to me and her old aupair, Becky, and puffed her cheeks and patted them. Then while she was puffing her cheeks she pointed to the man. We both look over and notice that the man had EXTREMELY fat cheeks for such a scrawny body and we both whispered "Amélie, stop!!!" I started laughing uncontrollably because for some reason, I found it completely hilarious. She had studied the man for like five or ten minutes straight and then openly pointed out the feature she found most interesting. And she did a really good job at it. Sometimes, while sitting on the bus, she will stare down a person with "the look," and when I tell her to stop it, she will point at the person, without giving up "the look," and say loudly, "I don't like that person." Why she doesn't like that person, I don't know. She just decides at random whether she likes a stranger or not. She is really fiesty and extremely energetic. Her mom wasn't kidding when she told me that Amélie was quite a bundle of energy. She also loves music, art, and acting.

The parents are also learning sign language. The dad speaks French, and sometimes has a hard time remembering the signs because I don't know French, so he has to translate from sign language to English, to French. So basically, that's one reason why I'm trying to learn French, so he can learn better. The mom, Yvonne, has picked up so fast! Three weeks and she already speaks in sentences. Not in ASL form though, but word by word, practicing all she knows. She doesn't speak her sentences completely, but she signs what she knows and then I show her the words she doesn't know. The effort is amazing though. Because she puts so much effort into communicating in sign, she is picking up really fast. It's been kind of hard trying to get Amélie to sign to me. She understands wonderfully! But sometimes she just isn't in the mood to sign. Other times, she will sign at will, and does a very good job at it! All she knows are simple words, like "snack", "cookie", "ice cream", "candy", (noticing a pattern here...?), and other simple signs. Yvonne and I try to have her sign in phrases like, "May I have water, please?" She is starting to sign those phrases a little bit. However, I found out yesterday while I was playing with her, that she LOVES to sign along to music. I was blasting some music in the house and I decided to sign the words to her. She started laughing and copied everything I was signing. And she did an AMAZING job! So I might try to find some children's songs, like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and teach her the words. I'll also learn the lyrics to some of the Signing Time songs. Amélie loves Signing Time and the TV show is a major reason why the family is learning ASL and why I am here teaching them. It's amazing to see what an influence Signing Time is. Especially when I personally know the founders and the reason why they started encouraging ASL among children. This inspiration has traveled across the United States and Canada, and now, to a little family in Switzerland.

Life here is amazing. I don't really have many funny stories yet... except the cute ones of Amélie. Oh wait! There is one more. So, I met Amélie's grandparents last Thursday. They are the sweetest things ever and they speak English pretty well. So, a couple days ago, Antoine, Amélie, and I went to the grandparents house again. Antoine had to help his father clean the roof, so I had to watch Amélie. When we got there, we just hung around for a while. I went inside to grab something really quick and left the back door open. Then I heard an old man's voice shouting, "No, no! Close the door! Always keep the door closed!" I looked up and saw 75 year old George, Amélie's grandpa, wobbling down the stairs with a cup of coffee, wearing bright neon pink, orange, and yellow striped short shorts with watermelons and umbrellas printed on them. He ran up to me and said, "You always have to keep the doors closed! See..." Then he walked over to one of his lamps and pointed to the lampshade and exclaimed, "See. The Flies. They come in and they shit on my lamps!" The whole thing was just hilarious to me. The old man, the shorts, and his French accent telling me about the flies shitting on his lampshades. He is a super nice man though. He is a painter, and gave a bunch of his extra art supplies to me, since I didn't bring my paints or anything with me.

So, I have been attending the Geneva YSA institute. The people there are wonderful and super nice! I made a few friends and enjoy going to the activities. The missionaries are amazing too! A lot of them are from Utah, so there's some sort of connection between us. It's a small world, after all! I was invited by an older missionary couple to attend the first ward tomorrow. It's the English speaking ward, and apparently there is a deaf girl who is about 7 years old that has a cochlear implant. The older sister missionary wants me to meet her. So I am very excited to meet this little girl! I hope I can be an example to her and show her that deaf people can be successful! And I hope to learn something from her as well.

Well that is all I have to write now. There is much more to say... but not enough time to express it all! Thanks for reading. I hope everything is going amazing for everyone!

Also, here is the link to Rachel Coleman's blog. She is the founder of Signing Time and a great inspiration to the world! I promise reading her posts and knowing her story will change your life!

http://www.rachelcoleman.com/

And here is the link to Signing Time's website.

www.signingtime.com