Grace

Date/ Entry Title	Entry
2/1/2007 12:53 PM	So first of all let me apologize for this email being a day late...I kept on putting it off, thinking I would have time later...and then I didn't. But now I do! Anyway things are going pretty well in Switzerland. I changed host families at the beginning of this month which was a lot harder than I expected, but I made it. My new host brother loves me. He always wants to play cards or watch movies with me and when I talk about him I am not allowed to refer to him as my HOST brother, just my brother. Things at school are also pretty good. I have really lost a lot of motivation about going lately though. Everyone just studies all the time and I pretty much read Harry Potter in french. Which I could do in bed and not at 8 o'clock in the morning. But the last couple of days have been good (but extremely tiring) because we have just been doing sports all day. I've been relatively impressed with my french lately. I have helped LOCALS buy bus tickets. I was pretty proud of that. People still talk a little fast for me sometimes and love to make fun of my accent...but I've gotten pretty used to that. January went kinda slow for me, but I still can't believe its already february! Tomorrow night I am going snow shoeing at one AM under a full moon with my old host family, and Saturday I am going to a welcome meeting for the new exchange students...I also can't believe I am already an "oldie". I am a little dissapointed because I was wanting to go to London when the 7th and last Harry Potter book came out on 07-07-07 to meet JK Rowling...but now its coming out on 07-21-07 and I will already be home. Alas. I hope things at home are going well! See ya in 5 months!
12/5/2006 9:16 AM	Bonjour tout le monde! (hello everyone!) I hope all is well in the states (and singapore). Things are great in Switzerland. Last weekend was my first skiing adventure in the alps (and marked the 1/3 of the way through the year point) and it was INCREDIBLE. The mountains were so gorgeous, I will figure out my picture site today because I am skipping school for the second day in a row (i am so incredibly sore from skiing AND i have a fever...kinda...so its okay). But anyways, skiing this weekend was probably the most physically challenging thing I have ever done. The slopes were about 7 times as long as the ones I am used to in Colorado and you could not see but ten feet ahead of you because of the snow AND the powder was so thick...oh my gosh. It was so hard but it was so much fun. I made a lot of new friends (many of these new relationships began with someone making fun of me for saying "y'all") and got closer with the ones I already had so I am really glad about that. So in a little over a week I will be headed to London and then after that its Christmas and then Eric and Drew are coming to visit and we are going to have quite a trip...I am going to send Mr. Gaddy the finest swiss chocolate I can find today. And then i will practically be home! But I am really starting to get settled in here and my french is coming much more naturally (FINALLY) so I know already that it will be hard to go. But I am still missing you all like I can't even explain. So that means write me back! I hope to hear from you all soon! GROS BISOUS! (big kisses because I am European now) Grace
11/23/2006 11:42 AM Happy Thanksgiving	Right now, after having chopped up the first egg I ever boiled, I am sitting in the host family's kitchen waiting for my casserol to be ready to take from the oven. I am sitting beside the actual pumpkin I just cooked to make some pumpkin cake thing, they don't have canned pumpkin here apparently...in fact they like to make everything from scratch...and they use the metric system and french. So it has been an interesting first day of cooking for me. I think I am going to give up on the pumpkin cake though because I just do not think I can make dunkin hines classic yellow cake. So that will be my thanksgiving meal! I have been a little more homesick now that it is officially the holiday season and everything, but I am still trying to keep busy and what not. This weekend I have a meeting with a climbing club that some friends have gotten me into, they are "anxious to have an american climb with them"...not really sure what that means! And then saturday night I am going out with some swiss people. And then monday is the Zibelemarit (onion festival) in Bern which consists of onion traders from all over the world taking over the town and people running around "bopping" other people on the head and throwing confetti at them. So that should be pretty weird. All in all things are going pretty good, the other day I was awoken by a full fledged marching band playing outside my window at 5 am, all the mountains are snow capped, my french is alright...could be better...but I am getting used to things and my up and down-yness isn't quite as bad. BUT I think it's time for the casserole to come out so I have to say ciao! I would really like to hear from you all soon!
9/11/2006 4:08 PM	I have had a really good time in Switzerland so far and I really appreciate the opportunity! I have been having some homesickness though, especially now that school has started and I'm not as busy.
8/14/2006 3:01 PM	I have made it to Switzerland. I would have put an exclamation point there but I cant find it on this keyboard. Talk to you all soon. A Biéntot Grace

Grace Fayetteville to Switzerland

Grace
Fayetteville to Switzerland