Twenty Three

Tomorrow I turn 23. I recently read a blog post my new friend and colleague wrote about turning 25 and I thought I might as well document the beginning of this new year in my life too. She said a lot of smart things about how life is nowhere near what she had imagined it would be and I can honestly say the same.

Twenty three (or is is twenty-three? when do you use dashes in numbers? it remains a mystery to me) is a strange age. You don't have the Taylor Swift song anymore. Speaking of, I should be playing that nonstop today. You have that blink-182 song, but I'm not sure that it's the most inspiring song. The early 20s just feel incredibly unstable and not as glamorous as I once thought they would be. At the beginning of college even, I saw the seniors and was like, "They have it all together. Someday I'll be like them" Why I need to learn the lesson over and over again that no one has it together, I don't know. In this day and age, that strange rollercoaster of emotions and jobs and life choices are what the 20s are about for those of us privileged enough to grow up in the U.S. Figuring out what you're doing. Failing miserably. Succeeding with the rawest sort of joy.

As a woman 50 years ago, things would have been different. I would have perhaps been married, maybe with kids, or I would have been waiting for that fateful (and very near) day when a man would come and carry me off into the sunset. Now in 2016, at 23, I am not going to lie and say that I don't wish sometimes that that mysterious man would come. Most 20-something women (I won't say all because I'm sure someone will disagree) would say that they wished that wasn't a desire of theirs but it is. Somehow we have started to feel like it's a weakness to want a partner in life. Which I am just as guilty of as anyone else. This mystery man could carry me off into the sunset, if he could carry me; I don't have the greatest track record with finding guys who can physically carry me. That being said, I don't want my personal life to end the minute I'm married, like it may have 50 years ago. I want both of our lives and desires to matter. And yet,  I don't want the individuals in my family, myself included, to be driven first and foremost by a desire for personal fulfillment. I know that we are taught to "do what makes us happy" first and think later. But I want my family to love each other first and then love themselves second. I want to be someone who loves others more than I love myself. Something I'm still working on, and something impossible certainly on my willpower alone. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13. I'm not sure why this is on my mind tonight, but it is so why not write about it.

Anyways, now this post does not past the Bechtel test (where are my Jane the Virgin fans out there?) but alas, I don't really care. Who knows, maybe only men are reading this blog, which means it doesn't past the test anyways. (In other news, I do think that's a pretty interesting test and I'm all for it.)

So, I am about to turn 23. I am about to move to France again and I get to do a LOT of cool things. I get to speak French everyday. I get to meet new people and learn about them. I get to share myself with others. I get to share what I know to be true about God with others. I get to serve the community. I get to visit dear friends. I get to live a life that I never ever imagined. I can honestly tell you all that I NEVER imagined I would be going to France so often or in such a capacity when I was a little girl or even a few years ago. I am grateful for all that I have gotten to experience and all that I will get to. As hard as this next year will be and as much as I will miss my family and friends (read: A LOT), I am so grateful.

Thank you to those of you who have played a role in this, you know who you are. And happy 23rd birthday to meeeee!

April Travels: Lausanne and Montreux, Switzerland

Our last stop before returning back to Toulon was Switzerland, one of the most beautiful and most expensive countries that I know!!

We took a Blablacar to Geneva (crossing the border with no checkpoints, I guess that's what it means to have open borders!), wandered around a little, hopped on the train to Lausanne, and found our way to our couchsurfing house. Our host, Blaz, welcomed us into his house with so much hospitality. I felt like we were staying with an old friend rather than someone we had just met. After getting ourselves settled, we wandered out with Ara, our tour guide because he had done a language school there years before.


I'll just post pictures and you can follow along in the captions!

Friends in Geneva with the flower clock behind us

Lac Léman (aka Lake Geneva for the politically incorrect)

stunning!

 We made it to Lausanne and then got settled in at Blaz's house and finally set out to see a bit of the city!

We've made it to Lausanne: view from above!

Cathedral in Lausanne

Cute trash can "Feed the garbage cans"

Can you believe those Alps!

Inside the cathedral

Another gorgeous view of Lac Léman

Emma looking cute in front of the buildings

Say hello to people with whom you cross paths

Cool fountain

Lausanne held in Olympics!

France is behind me!

The port and castle next to the port

Ara in action

Very strange swan!

Flower children <3

Punk rocker hill

Day One finished with entirely too expensive crepes (because fondue was just obscene) and a night out at a local bar, the Giraffe, with our host, Blaz. We had a really fun time, learning some Swiss slang and getting into a strange conversation with the bar owner about the French eating frog legs. We all ubered back to Blaz's and the next day we made brunch for him, all three of us. Emma left that afternoon and Ara and I went out again for the afternoon, coming back to eat dinner with Blaz and his friend. Again, feeling so welcomed it was like we were old friends. Only this time we spoke in French instead of English most of the time which was when I realized that there really is a Swiss accent and I have no idea how to describe it. It's softer than French French and it threw me for a loop and made it harder to follow for some reason. But it was very cool to be exposed to it!

Whatta poem: "A song in the shower, the beginning of a happy day, it's wet everywhere"

The museums in Lausanne

Tapestry exhibit

Museum of Natural History

Our original plan was to leave Lausanne for Bern or Lucerne in the German-speaking part of Switzerland but we ended up having to go back to Toulon and Blaz, the gracious host he was, let us stay another night unexpectedly! So Day Three=a trip to Montreux and the Château de Chillon <3 

Montreux

Get ready for a lot of flower pictures

France is behind me! 

Freddie Mercury!

We walked from Montreux to the Château on this flower-lined walk!

the castle where Byron was imprisoned!

There's his name!!!

We trained back and then just relaxed the rest of the day and watched a movie back at Blaz's. Because the next day we were headed back through Lyon to spend a night with our new friend, Tristan! 

Our experience both in Lausanne with Blaz and with the boys in Lyon was super eye-opening. I saw people I didn't know being so generous and open with their homes and their lives and it was really cool. I decided it was my new favorite way to travel, as long as I have a buddy. As an American, it can feel dangerous or risky but what I have learned is that in Europe, it isn't that way. I've stayed in people's houses and taken rides with people I didn't know and I have never once had a problem. (All through websites that are monitored and safe! not just off the side of the road). That is not to say that problems don't happen but I think we think they happen with more frequency than they really do in the U.S. and that there are more kind, good people than we realize. So I would say that was a good lesson to learn.