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It's A Small, Small World

From left to right: Lisa, Zuleika (pronounced Zoo-lake-a), me, and Tammy. You ready for this? Tammy and I taught English together in Taiwan last year and became prettymuch inseparable. Zuleika is from Rome, and I served in her ward on my mission. Then, almost a year later, she got her mission call to Ohio and was in my classroom at the MTC for nine weeks. When I went to visit Zuleika back in April, we discovered that we both had friends coming to visit in July. We decided that it would be way fun if the four of us traveled together. Tammy and I arrived in Rome about a month ago, and started asking Zuleika about this friend who would be traveling with the three of us. "Her name is Lisa. We were mission companions in Ohio. Oh, and she's from Logan." Tammy is from Logan, and it just so happens that Tammy is friends with Lisa, but they hadn't seen each other in a while. And little did they know that they would get to catch up while traveling together through Venice, Cinque Terre, and Florence, Italy. Zuleika decided she would have some fun with this and not say a word to Lisa. When Lisa arrived in Rome, she was asking Zuleika all these questions about "Whitney's friend." Zuleika pretended like she didn't know anything, not even her name. :) When the four of us met up at the airport in Venice the following week, Lisa nearly had a heart attack. The look on her face was priceless. And the four of us had a blast traveling together in Italia.

Meet Brian. Brian is from Missoula, MT, about an hour from Hamilton, MT (where my family lives). He decided to teach English in France, and was assigned to a city an hour and a half away from Grenoble, where I lived and taught. We just happened to have our appointments at the French consulate in San Francisco on the exact same morning. A few weeks ago, my friends and I were in Piazza San Marco in Venice when I heard "Whitney!" Yup, it was Brian. We just happened to be in the same square, in the same city, in the same country, on the same day, at the same time, and he just happened to see me (it's a huge square). As fate would have it, we ran into each other again the next day on the island of Murano. It is a small world.

When Tammy and I went to Sassari (on the island of Sardegna) a few weeks ago (I served in that city on my mission), I went to church and guess who I saw? Sorella Watson. When I was serving in Sassari a few years ago, another Sorella Watson (her older sister), was also serving on the island of Sardegna. I had heard that her sister had gotten her call to the Rome mission, and it was so much fun to run into her at church.

When Tammy and I checked into our hostel in Rome, I did a double take when I saw the receptionist. "Wait a second...aren't you Rosario's son?" I asked him. I taught Rosario's sister on my mission when I was serving in Rome, and had heard all about her son, Jeffrey, who was also on a mission in Milan. I met him back in April when I visited Rome. And he just happened to be the receptionist in our hostel. Out of all the hostels in Rome... :)

When Tammy and I were in Rome, we went to Institute with Zuleika. We walked into the chapel, and an elder looked at me and said, "Hey, did you serve in this mission a couple of years ago? And do you have a sister who sings?" Quite surprised, I answered affirmatively to both questions and asked how on earth he knew those things. "Oh, I was serving in Sassari a few months ago, and my companion and I were eating dinner at Angelo's house, and he asked us to help him vote for your sister. And you look a lot like her."

This is my friend Denise. Our lives are pretty intertwined. She was in my sister's freshman ward. Then they both decided to do Study Abroad in Paris back in Fall 2005. When I got home from my mission, I signed up to live in the FLSR (Foreign Language Student Residence) for the summer. Denise and I just happened to be roommates, and had a blast together. So last year, I applied to teach English in France. And Denise decided to go on a mission. She got her call to the Switzerland, Geneva mission. And Grenoble, France (where I was assigned to teach English) happens to be part of that mission. Back in May, she was transferred to Grenoble! Needless to say, I was a very happy girl.

Tammy and I were in Paris taking part of our luggage to my friend Jérome's house (so that we didn't have to lug it around Italy). And guess who was there? Soeur Amouriaux, one of Denise's former mission companions, who finished her mission in April and is now living with Jérome's family. I had heard about how wonderful she is. And she just happened to be at my friend's house. It's so much fun to meet amazing people you've heard lots about, and be able to say, "Hey, I know who you are!"

It's a small world after all. :)

There's No Place Like Home

Brian is my favorite in this picture. :)My adorable "little" brothers aren't so little anymore...Strike a pose.

Honey I'm Home!

You may have noticed I haven't blogged for a little bit. My teaching contract went until the end of June (the end of the school year in France). One of my best friends, Tammy, came over, and we were busy doing a little exploring on that glorious continent we call Europe. We saw dear, old friends and made some fabulous new ones. :) I'll be updating you on the adventures we like to call "Europe Extravaganza" in the near future.

I flew into SLC early Friday morning, putting an end to 48 hours of traveling. (I began in Paris, spent the night in the Dublin airport, flew to JFK in NYC, had an eight hr. layover there, and finally boarded a flight to SLC.) Arriving in Salt Lake, my plane was 40 minutes late. You see, they had to shut JFK down so that Mr. Obama could take off. So I saw Air Force One lift off out of my airplane window. A dream come true. Not so much... :)

Nicole and I road-tripped it up to Montana later that day, and had a blast doing so. She had class Friday morning, we had to dine at Café Rio, and then we stopped at my friend Tammy's (in Logan) to pick up a suitcase and exchange pictures, as well as return trip stories. So let's just say that if all had gone well, my sister and I would have pulled into the driveway at 2 AM. However, at about 1, the car died on us. If your car has to die, Nicole's picked a pretty decent spot to do so (there were two lanes at this point in the road). We stood out in that fresh Montana air, surrounded by dense forest, under the millions of stars that are only visible in such a place, and we prayed and we prayed and we prayed. There was no reception, so the only call we could make was heavenbound. It was a sacred experience to stand in the thick darkness, far from any sort of civilization, and to feel such peace, knowing that Heavenly Father was aware of Nicole and me and our situation at that very moment, and that our prayers would be answered. There was some sort of electrical failure on the car, and therefore we didn't have warning lights, or any sort of light, for that matter. We prayed to our Heavenly Father for protection and help. After a half hour or 45 minutes, we saw some headlights approching. So we took our flashlights and began waving them around like crazy so that this car could see us as it came around the curve. A kind lady pulled over and tried to help. The most help she was really capable of giving was to take our parents' number and call them as soon as she found a phone. Nicole's car was still in the road, and we couldn't leave it there...we had no lights, and someone could have easily come around the curve and run into it at full-speed. This kind woman went on her way, promising she would call our parents as soon as possible. Nicole and I continued to pray for help. Probably another 30 minutes later, we heard another car approaching. We waved our flashlights around frantically, and another angel pulled over. This angel knew a little more about cars, and was able to move the car over to the side of the road. He lives pretty close to us, and offered to give us a lift. We connected instantly...you see, he is a former redhead. :) This kind man entertained us with interesting stories on the way home, with sporadic, hilarious little interjections from his cute 100 year old father. So the journey home was an adventure, to say the least. But Someone was watching over us, protecting us from danger, making sure we made it home safely. And now I'm home with my family. There is nothing more wonderful in this world than home.

Manon Bout

Introducing…one of the coolest French ladies I know: Manon Bout. She lives in a little town about 40 minutes from Grenoble…one of those quaint little French towns that you think only exist in the movies. Not so. Manon is the perhaps the spunkiest, liveliest silver-haired woman I know. Yet she is without question a lady; as all French (and Italian) grandmas, she is never without her high heels. I’m telling you, if I had to choose just a few words to describe the French, classy would definitely be one of them. (I think that’s one reason why I enjoy people-watching so much in France.)

During World War II, Manon was a teenager, and she participated in the French Resistance. (During the Second World War, Germany occupied France- it was an awful thing to have your country taken over, as you can imagine. And so people had the choice to either collaborate with the Germans, which was definitely the easier choice, but likely went against what they really stood for…the other option was to resist against the Germans, which was obviously a very dangerous decision, one that could cost you your life.) Manon walked long distances to deliver letters that contained information about the Germans. She only did this a couple of times before her fiancé insisted she stop because it was too dangerous. (Although they still took part in the Resistance, he thought a teenage girl shouldn’t be put in such a dangerous position.)

Manon has one of the best “how we met” stories I’ve ever heard. She met her hubby-to-be on the slopes. She loved to ski (her dream town is surrounded by the Alps); however, there was one little problem. She didn’t know how to stop. One day, she was swooshing down the bottom of the mountain when she saw a big group of people in front of her. “Get out of the way!!” she screamed. But no one moved an inch. So she crashed smack dab into this group of people…and guess who was swept off his feet, both literally and figuratively? Her future husband. You could say she was a knock-out. ☺

Manon is my French grandma. She gives me a big kiss on each cheek each time she sees me. You may know that that’s how the French usually greet each other…but her kisses are grandma kisses- every one is bursting with love. She also happens to be a fabulous cook. When you sit down at her table, you feel like royalty. Manon lived in Cameroon with her husband for a few years for his work, and they had several guests over for dinner practically every day. So she is an expert when it comes to entertaining!

Manon has so much faith. She says the most touching prayers; they are so sincere and full of gratitude. When she prays, her understanding of who Heavenly Father is is so evident, and you can't help but know Him better as a result. I love meeting people with such different, interesting stories, who also inspire you and give you a stronger desire to be better…like Manon Bout.

Bayonne & Bordeaux

This weekend, I spent a fabulous couple of days in Bayonne (in SW
France, close to Spain), visiting a couple of missionaries I taught
in the MTC: Michaël Récio (left), and Charles Seube (right). It was really
cool experience to see them again and meet their family and
friends. I even got to meet Charles' beautiful fiancée. :)

For those of you who may know the purple socks story,
the purple ones aren't Charles' only cool pair. :)

This is Charles' dad, sporting his beret! Really, you don't see
that many berets around. He told me guys from from
Strasbourg (where's he from) wear them more frequently.

St. Michel (Bordeaux)
On Monday, I took advantage of seeing the beautiful city of Bordeaux
(the 5th largest city in France), where I would take my flight later that night.

I explored this fun little market.

Pont de Pierre, over the Garonne River.

Porte de Bourgogne

A beautiful view next to Place de la bourse.

Place de la bourse

Place de la bourse

Place de la bourse

On the river bank.

After Marseille, Bordeaux is the oldest trading port in
France. It has been a major port since pre-Roman times.

Love this.

Esplanade des quinconces

I was fortunate enough to discover Grand parc (my guidebook
didn't really talk about it). And one of the coolest things was this photography
exposition. I know that Americans appreciate art. But after my experiences in
Europe, I would say they have a greater appreciation for the arts in
general. And I think that's a wonderful thing.

For example, Sunday was the fête de la musiqe (music holiday/
celebration). Anyone who wants to play music, whether amateur or expert,
can go play music in their city for others to hear. And then everyone else
gets to go around and listen. It's a huge deal. This is an event that the French
started back in the early 80's, and it has since become widespread
in all of Europe. That's awesome.

Inside the park.

Lots of people were relaxing in the park during their lunch break.

I love European parks.

Trucks are a rare sight in Europe. :)

Grand Théâtre

Eglise Notre-Dame

(I wish I had a better camera, so I could get
the church all in one shot. One day...)

St Pierre

I went on a treasure hunt in search of a canelé, a
pastry Bordeaux is famous for. And I found one! :)

St. André

Vive la France! :) How I'm going to miss it...

Sorry for all the pictures. I'm usually not for long blog posts,
but I just couldn't pick and choose between all the beautiful sights
I saw in Bordeaux...I wanted to share them all with you!