Faithful...

Last week was hard.

These first few weeks I have so much free time that I don't have any idea what to do with myself.
Anyone who knows me knows that, somehow, my schedule at home ends up being packed with enough tasks per day to comfortably fill three days! I never quite know how it happens but, I start each semester with work and school (which fill up A LOT of time, unfortunately) and continue to add things for accomplishing tasks, for pleasure, and for entertainment. Then the homework starts to pile on so the entertainment leaves the lists. Then about 2/3 of the way through the semester, I'm asking myself and the friends around me, "How on earth do I ALWAYS make myself so busy??" Part of it is that I do well when I have tons of things to get done. There is a point of insanity that I reach every once in a while when I can't handle it but, be busy is addictive. It has been habit for so long that when I have the opportunity and given time, my agenda is packed to the limit.
Then I arrive in Grenoble. From the very beginning, I was really looking forward to not working while I'm here!! I have always been jealous of some of my friends and fellow students who can dedicate their college years solely to school. This semester will be the one window in my college career when I'm not working. If I wanted, I couldn't work anyway! The visa/employment situation is very confusing here and part time work for students is a lot less common here.
In addition to not working, the class schedule here is very different and strange than my home university. For various reasons, I have only had class one or two days a week.
The first week I was able to travel a little bit which was a lot of fun! However, in total, this situation has led to more free time than I have had in years!!!!!
I know that it is a good thing. This is a nice opportunity for me to relax and enjoy not having an insane schedule. I know that I will jealously look back on this time of leisure. The only thing is, when my schedule was so packed back home, it was filled with so many wonderful people. Having this free time, left me thinking about all of the wonderful people in my life and how far away you all are!! It was pretty lonely.

However, (now this is very important!) God is faithful!! Friday was the hardest day and during it I remember praying and talking with God about my situation. I wondered if the whole five months was going to be this lonely and if it was, I wasn't sure that I could handle it!! I have met some people here but new friends are always hard for a while. Plus, a lot of people here have really been getting to know one another through partying and that is just not my preference. I know that I will get to know people through classes and other activities it was just frustrating because it seems to be the long way of getting to know people.
During last week, I also had a couple of conversations with friends back home about meeting people through church here. I had attended service for a couple of Sundays but hadn't met anyone yet. It's a much larger church than mine in Omaha and for one of the weeks, I wasn't able to stay around for long. Still, I was really hoping to meet some people with my similar lifestyle and focuses.
As I mentioned above, God is faithful!! Classes will start to pick up after next week. I met a WONDERFUL french family on Sunday at church as well as some other young people (even a few americans!). I have also realized that even though I have lots of unstructured time, I can still be productive (which is good for the to-do list part of me!). I really know that God is with me through all of this. I know that He is walking with me as I stroll around town, as I'm meeting new people, and as I terribly miss the people back home.
For you cultural junkies, I had lunch yesterday with Madison at a cute little creperie near my house. It was delicious, so french, and so fun!!
I apologize for the large gap of time between posts!! (That is now on the to-do list and so will hopefully get accomplished more often!) Hopefully the length of this one will make up for it!

I love you guys and, as I mentioned above, miss you all!! Stay in touch!

Your Grenobloise,
Ashlie

P.S. Tomorrow starts February! I have been here for four weeks already! Some days those for weeks feel like an eternity and others like it has been a blink of an eye. It's crazy...

Last week's class schedule provided some time for traveling! Wednesday I spent the day in Geneva, Switzerland and Saturday afternoon we explored Annecy. They made great day trips. It was fun to go explore these towns. Below is a link to some pictures:

Click Here

Enjoy!!

I love and miss you all!

Ashlie

After one week...

Saturday marked the one week point for my time in Grenoble!!

It has gone very well so far. I apologize for not writing often enough. :~) The first few days were a little bit shaky as I worked out kinks in communicating with people back home, got settled with my host family, and adjusted to being in a city in which there is very little english! Though it was overwhelming at times, I also felt myself really enjoying my new city and the new experiences that I was having.

One day, I sat in a boulangerie (bakery/bread-maker shop) and had coffee with a girl from school. There was another night after going out with a few people that my friend and I stopped at a restaurant and had ice cream, cider, and hot chocolate. The restaurantier was very sweet and your picture-esque french restaurant owner. The food looked amazing so we made a goal to return there for a meal sometime. Another day, I walked around the part of downtown in which I live and looked at what business were nearby and took pictures of the gorgeous mountains against the cityscape. I have really enjoyed living in the mountains! They take my breath away at unexpected moments. Saturday, we took a visit to a nearby, beautiful chateau which is home to a museum about the French Revolution (which began in Grenoble and at this chateau). Yesterday, I attended church at a French Evangelical church and really enjoyed worshipping our God together in a language that is still new to me (mind you, I did not understand much about what was going on besides worship and communion but it was still good and God was still there!).

Today, classes started. I was excited to get them under way and to discover what they would be like. So far, they are not too bad. This school, however, has the strangest scheduling that I have ever seen!! My class schedule changes every week and is often pretty drastic. The classes meet in hour and 1/2 blocks and often one class will have two sessions in one day but only meet once a week. This week, for example, I only have 3 of my six classes and only have class all day Monday (just finished those), late Tuesday morning, and Friday afternoon.

Because of the strange scheduling this week, its allowing me to travel a little bit! My friend Madison and I are headed to Geneva, Switzerland for the day on Wednesday! It is pretty economical to get there and hopefully won't cost too much while we're there!

Well, that is about the extent of my excitment for the week! Below are a few pictures of Grenoble and check the facebook album for a few more updates as well! I miss you all at home a lot!! I hope that you are all doing well. Keep me informed about what is going on in your life as well!

In Christ,

Ashlie

Photo Album I

Hello!!

I posted a whole photo album on facebook because it is logistically a lot easier! Here's the link so that everyone can see them!!

Click Here!

I love you guys!!

Ashlie

maybe a new post :) ...

Well I'm going to try & make a new post but I have to use the lab's computers at school which all have French keyboards!! They are very strange. It's like learning to type all over again!

The past few days have been okay. I travelled to Grenoble, met my family, & UNPACKED my suitcases! (That was definately a highlight!). Having to listen to & speak French all day yesterday, exhausted me!! (In Paris I was with other americane students & there is enough tourism in Paris that you still heard English quite often.) Yesterday I slept in until 1, took a nap from 6-7pm & went to bed arround 11. I think it's just from too many new things all arround me.

I'll post more soon but I have to go to a meeting!

Chiao!

Ashlie

Photos d'aujourd'hui

Here are some more pictures from today! Today we went to the Chateaux de Versailles (a palace built by Louis XIV), La Tour Eiffel, and the Catacombes. It was another good day. I'm kind of getting tired of sightseeing but am so excited for the opportunity to see everything.

I'm really looking forward to meeting my host family tomorrow! It'll be so nice to have some space to myself and to move out to my suitcases!!

I hope that everyone is doing well! I miss you all!!

Love Always,
Ashlie

Un peu de photos!

Here are a few pictures from my full but amazing sight-seeing day!

Notre Dame
beautiful and so intricate!

The Rose Window
famous stained glass

The view of Paris from the top of Notre Dame
my first view of the Eiffel Tower!

The Louvre
Home of the Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Le Tour Eiffel
at night

Mon premier jour en France…

It took a long while for the reality to settle in that I am in Paris. Perhaps it was due to the very long hours of traveling and the very little sleep. In fact, there is little doubt as to that being the case.

My arrival went fairly smoothly into the Paris airport. All of my bags arrived on the same flight on which I arrived, which is more to say than a couple of my fellow students (more on that to come). I got off the plane, stopped by the border police (who glanced at my passport and visa but didn’t even stamp it … that’s the whole point of going somewhere with your passport!), picked up my luggage, caught a shuttle bus to the other terminal where we were meeting, and eventually met up with the resident director. There was a slight mix up on the meeting place but, I was resourceful and figured it out shortly. Soon enough, we were in a taxi headed for the hotel.

By this point, all that I wanted to do was to take a shower and catch a short nap! I had to wait about an hour in the hotel lobby before my room was ready but I met the other students who are traveling with me. There are a total of 5 of us who arrived today and will be going to my business school. We all had a variety of experiences getting to Paris. One lucky student got randomly upgraded to business class and, in turn, was served champagne, had a fully reclining seat with leg rest, and more cushion than the rest of us combined! (We were quite jealous!) To the other extreme, one student, who knows very little French, got delayed, missed a connection, and now his luggage is lost! I felt really bad for them.

After meeting everyone, I got the long awaited shower and nap, and then we met up for a short meeting and then walked to dinner. Originally, the plan was to take a boat ride on the Seine and then head to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Because of a wrong turn, we walked up to boat dock as it’s pulling away! So, we postponed the boat ride until tomorrow night. Needless to say, the streets here are crazy!!! We shall see how well I fare at navigating them in my free time the next couple of days.

As we were walking down to the Seine and then to dinner, the reality hit me that I really am in Paris. Actually, I think the exact moment was as we came around the bend and I realized that I was walking next to Notre Dame! The architecture is amazing and to just be walking next to century-old buildings was so profound. Dinner at the restaurant was fantastic. It was a little rocky figuring out how to order and what proper etiquette was and still not trying to look like a blatant tourist.

Overall, it was a great day! The Paris airport is huge but ended up not being as intimidating as I feared. Yes, of course, everyone is speaking French around me and I can’t understand it all but, it’s more exciting and challenging than frightening. I’ve even had the chance to practice it a few times!

Now it’s time to go to sleep! My eyes are really heavy and I have a slight headache because I’m tired. It’s been a long but good day! Tomorrow holds going to Notre Dame, the Louvre, some time to explore, and then the boast ride. ….Notre Dame and The Louvre!! So crazy… Goodnight everyone, know that I’m thinking of you all and wishing that you could be experiencing France with me.

It's HERE!!!!

Well, I'm sitting in O'Hare aiport on my way to France. This morning was hard as I said goodbye to my family and to Eric as well as battling nerves. For a while this morning, I told a couple of people that it will be amazing if I don't loose my breakfast because of the knots in my stomach!! :) Suprisingly, and thankfully, after I said goodbye and was sitting at my gate, the nerves did relax a lot and then I was really hungry!! ... you just can't win... We'll see how the nerves handle things when I land in Paris.

Sunday in church, Cheri prayed over me and had a word of encouragement that the grace of God would carry myself and my family through these couple of days as things change and adjust. I really believe that that is true. I believe that He is the strength that is carrying me to France and that He is with me every step of the way, be it familiar or foreign. He gave me this dream and it is He who is making it happen.

I'll try to post again tomorrow and tell you my first reactions to being in "The City of Lights!"

I love you all!