hello france

Hello everyone! I am finally in Cannes and it's more beautiful than I ever expected. So I will just update you on the journey so far.

My flight: Flying alone to Europe by yourself is one of the scariest things I've done. I checked into MSP airport around 1:30pm. Saying goodbye to my parents was very hard and the sight if my mom bawling didn't make it any easier. I only had 30 mins until I boarded. The 8 hour plane ride to Paris was decent because I had movies and stuff but sleeping was not happening for me and one of the most frustrating things. In Paris, I felt so lost and I went to wait for my luggage but little did I know they had sent it straight to Nice. So with my extra hour and a half I shopped around in the Paris airport. An hour later, I was at baggage claim in Nice waiting for my luggage. Funny story is that it wasn't there ( the aiport did send it to the college after they found it). So luggage-less, I got on a bus the college sent and shared stories with my roommates, Bridget and Shannon.

Thursday afternoon: We arrived at the college and were brought to our rooms. Decent size, amazing view. Chuck, our program director, took the those who arrived into town. We are literally a 10 min walk from great restaurants, bars, shops, etc and a less than 5 min walk to the sea. I am in slushie heaven here because they are slushie shops where there are literally 10 different flavors of slushies. When we got back to the college, jet-lag hit me HARD and I knocked out until dark. (Picture is the view from our room)

Thursday evening: In the evening, half of our group had arrived and we all met in the courtyard. After talking about everyone's flights and pre-travel stories we decided LGW. So we got ready and went into town looking for a liqour store but everything was closed besides this broke down conveience store with less than what my mom has in our kitchen. It had to be a cover store. We bought wine and beers and headed to the beach and hung out. After we walked to an Irish pub and had more. Kayla and I managed to speak some french to some locals sitting next to us. There's no shame in trying to speak a foreign language when you're intoxicated. After, Bridge, Shan, Eric, and I went to another bar (no one knows the name) and enjoyed the d.j and drinks. After we were starving and I managed to ask a rando where the Mcdonald's was and then we somehow found it. I tried ordering chicken nuggets buts instead they gave me three McChickens. I wanted to fix my order when the security guard told us we were being to loud so we went outside and sat with some London guys and decided to go for a swim. It's weird but we couldn't stop talking in British accents around them and it came so naturally. Finally, we ended the night back at the college and I slept like a baby.

Sorry this is a long post, but there's so much to do and so many great stories I don't want to forget them all! Pictures will be up later but they probably won't do it any justice. I'll be back with more stories! Until then. xoxo.

time for takeoff!

After a long process of applying, shopping, and packing it is finally time to leave America and head off to Europe! I've had an amazing summer relaxing, traveling (Madison, WI, Nebraska, Chicago), working, and visiting St. Joe as much as possible. My plane takes off at 3:55pm, stop in Paris, and arrive in Nice. Rough, I know. I'm hoping it's not to hectic at the airport and easy to find other people from school. And not to mention my luggage makes it with me.

Packing is the biggest buzzkill in the world. I tried to drag it out as long as possible but I figured the day before is the latest I could. Packing for four months in one suitcase and a carry on was almost impossible. It took a lot of rearranging, taking things out, weighing, and bickering with my mom to get it to the weigh the right about. I'm still nervous for the baggage check though. I swear I'm not smart enough to make a bomb out of my contact solution and hairspray so please don't take them from me. On a side-note, those giant packing compression bags that suction air out are AMAZING for packing and thanks again Katherine for the gift :)

SOO Europe here I come! I just wanted to thank everyone for an awesome summer and I will be truly missing you all. I am so blessed to have an amazing family who keeps me on track, friends to support me, and God for giving me both family and friends and this amazing opportunity. Feel free to skype me, e-mail me, or follow my blog for updates on this wonderful journey. Thank you so much for your good lucks, be safes, and have funs. I won't let you down ;) xo

sitting, waiting, wishing

Photo credit: Jeroen Mul
Time goes by ridiculously slow when waiting to be in Europe for the next 4 months! My roommates, Bridget and Shannon are already there, traveling in London and making their way down to Nice to meet the rest of our study abroad group. I've got less than a week until takeoff (the 24th) and I'm feeling very anxious and excited, not to mention blessed to even have this opportunity. It hasn't hit me yet (partly because I still have yet to pack) but I sure hope I am ready. Continue to follow my blog and look at pictures as I attend Collège International de Cannes and travel! Many things too look forward, such as my golden 21st birthday, the twins' 21st, our friends visiting, and excursions to Provence, Paris, Amsterdam, Monaco, Prague, Germany and MORE!