The Lows and Highs of France

Here is the story of my 5-day weekend. Sorry... this is a long one. Hopefully the pictures make it enjoyable! :)

DAY ONE

I arrived in FRANCE!!! I was so excited to be in a country where I actually spoke the language!!! (though I was also reminded of how rusty my spoken french is) But I was also terrified, because I was on a journey by myself, yet I was excited for the adventure. I arrived in Colmar, which was a beautiful little town, with typical French cobblestone streets that barely seemed wide enough for one car, and beautifully colourful houses. There was also a little section of the town called "Petite Venise" that was basically a Venice-like waterway running through Colmar, with boats and all. It was very pretty.

I took a bus from Colmar to Xonrupt where my camping site was. My bus driver was absolutely CRAZY honking at people, yelling, and going the wrong-way around round-a-bouts. Typical crazy French driver I guess. All along the highway there were caravans and campers already set up ready to watch the Tour go by the next day. Upon arrival in Xonrupt, I had about an hour walk to my campsite, so I walked and walked with my heavy bag. Finally, I arrived and it was such a beautiful location, right at the end of a the lake, with really nice and helpful people running the place. After setting up tent, I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and go for a swim, and then dry off while walking around the lake. Going to bed that night I was very proud of myself for having successfully completed the first day of my solo journey. :)

Enjoying the sun by Lake Longemer on my first day.

DAY TWO

The second day started early. Way too early. I awoke around 4am to hear a storm billowing around me. Pelting rain, ferocious wind and an intense thunderstorm. As the thunder clashed and the lightening lit up my little tent, I wondered if my 28 CHF purchase would withstand this storm. After about 2 hours, the storm seemed to have passed, but the rain didn't give up. I wasn't discouraged though. I ate my breakfast and packed ready to hike up the mountain to watch the Tour. The walk up was very pleasant, as the rain had slowed and the Tour atmosphere was very encouraging. I spoke to many people along the side of the road, happy that I could communicate in French with them. Proudly wearing my Canadian flag on my back, most asked if I was from Quebec, which I took as a compliment that my French wasn't that terrible. :)

After 3 hours of walking I finally made it to the top of the 10km climb. There were tons of people, tons of cars and just a crazy atmosphere! I didn't want to stay at the top for the passing of the riders, so I headed back down the mountain. I found a nice spot to sit on the side of the road and stopped to have lunch. Upon stopping walking, I realized how absolutely freezing it was; with the rain, the altitude and the wind I could barely control my shivering. It would still be 2 hours before the riders past, and I knew I wouldn't make it that long, so although I wanted to be near the top, I had to keep walking. Thus I walked about another hour down before settling again. I realized that I enjoy traveling by myself. It is a peaceful and exhilarating experience. What I don't enjoy is being miserable by myself. Misery in company isn't too bad. Misery by yourself sucks. So I sat there on the side of the road, lonely, cold and miserable, wondering why the weather gods spited me so much.

And then came the CARAVAN!! About an hour or so before the riders, the caravan, basically a parade, comes through and they throw you free stuff. Hats, candy, chips, key chains, and random other miscellaneous things! I must have looked really pathetic, standing by myself at the side of the road, soaking wet because they threw me SO MUCH stuff!! Some of them would throw a handful of goodies to me! Plus I was waving my Canadian flag, so many of them commented on that. Definitely lifted my spirits.

One of the many Caravan vehicles.

Finally, the riders came. FWOOSH. And were gone. Honestly, seeing the bikers go by wasn't the most exciting part of the Tour for me on this day. It was more the atmosphere of being there amongst so many other fans that made it enjoyable for me. As I headed back down to my campsite, soaking wet in the rain, I wondered how my little tent was doing. Unfortunately I arrived to see that it had started leaking at the seams. So the inside was wet. I was so miserable and didn't want to sit in a cold, wet tent by myself, so instead I went to the camp bar and bought myself a beer. A very nice UK man sat with me and we chatted for over an hour. Again, a little bit happier and dryer, now I was ready for bed. As I was falling asleep, all I could hope for was no rain in the morning. I had to pack up at about 6:30 and walk the hour to Xonrupt to catch the bus. So as I laid there in my leaky tent (at this point the walls were oversaturated with water and had begun leaking as well), I just repeated over and over again that please please please let the rain be done in the morning. Pretty please with a cherry on top.





Me with a blurry passing peloton.

DAY THREE

Of course, it was still raining come morning. So I grudgingly got up and started packing. All my clothes were wet, which made them very cold. Even the inside of my rain jacket was damp and did nothing to keep me warm. But I trekked on. Packed up my bag, packed up my very wet tent and walked to Xonrupt, where I caught the bus back to Colmar. The tour wasn't as exciting this day because I was at the start town, but the atmosphere was even more crazy. Basically a huge party!! I walked to just outside the town to see the riders go by. I was standing on the shoulder of the road, taking pictures when I realized the peloton was heading right towards me and I had to jump out of the way!

Miserable start to Day three...

Just before I had to jump out of the way of the oncoming peloton!

Not wanting to stay in rainy Colmar, I headed to Bern (back in Switzerland) right away to get to my campsite there. I had picked my campsite in Bern just for the fact that it was close to the train station, and was a only stopover town for the evening. However, upon arrival I found out there was a festival happening in Bern that evening, meaning that the campsite was very crowded with drunken fesitval-ers. Oh whoopie. On the one night I was hoping to actually be able to get some good sleep, instead I would be disturbed all night long by loud music and loud drunken people. I was really worried about someone breaking into my tent and puking all over me or something so I tied the zippers shut to hopefully confuse any drunk person enough that they would walk away. Luckily, only a couple of my tent pegs got kicked throughout the evening, and I remained safe.

DAY FOUR
Again, while packing up in the morning it was raining. Really? Did the sky hate me that much? But today was going to be a good day. Because today I was meeting up with my friend Nadia, and we were heading to Verbier to watch the Tour go by and then go to see Evgeny Kissin in concert (a famous pianist).

Nadia and I, with Valais mountains and a Tour sign in the background.

After meeting up with Nadia on the train, we finally made it to Verbier (via a free cable car ride since we had concert tickets). The weather was just absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't be happier!! After 3 days of cold and miserable weather, the sun was shining brighter than ever!! We walked down from Verbier about 2 km to set up in position for the Tour, and we were in a great spot where it wasn't too crowded (thus we could collect more caravan goodies). And today, since we were 6 km up along a difficult climb, when the riders came by it wasn't a 2 second swoosh. In fact we got to watch riders go by for probably a full 10 minutes!!!! I even saw Lance Armstrong directly.... he passed right by me!! It was funny though because when the peloton went by, the leading rider was sipping on this can, which I realized after he had gone by was a beer!! A good way to finish the race I guess! One of the organisers of some sort was walking up and he had a water bottle that one of the riders had thrown aside, and he asked if we wanted it. Of course we did, so I got a Tour de France water bottle (from the Milram team)!! :):)

Lance Armstrong!! (the second guy standing up)

I had honestly never heard of Evgeny Kissin until Nadia asked me if I wanted to go along with her. So boy was I in for a shock. Firstly, our tickets were only 40 CHF, but the concert hall was not full so when the lights first dimmed, there was a migration and everyone moved forward to the empty seats. So we ended up sitting in row 25 for only 40 francs (which would have cost us 160 CHF originally)!! And then the concert itself, WOW. Just wow. This guy was spectacular, his fingers moved so fast I don't even know how it was possible. Even for the parts which were more soft and emotional, his fingers were still flying on the keys. He was just spectacular. And his HAIR!! While he played the piano his hair bounced around so much and it was quite amusing to watch!!

Evgeny Kissin, with his crazy hair!

After being blown away by Kissin (including 2 encore performances) Nadia and I went to find a camping spot. We hadn't planned this one out fully - while alone I paid for an actual spot on a camping ground just for safety purposes. However, Nadia and I decided to do the camping in a park thing. Luckily, since the Tour had just passed through, we weren't the only ones. So we found a nice little park where there were a bunch of other tents sent up, and we made ourselves comfortable, for what would be my best night sleep yet. :)

Nadia and I huddled up in our tent

DAY FIVE
The fifth and final day of my trip to France and the French part of Switzerland. Nadia and I woke up very lazy and not really wanting to exert ourselves too much. However, somehow we ended up climbing a mountain! We were in Verbier, in the Valais area of Switzerland which is one of the most beautiful places of the Alps. So on such a gorgeous day we couldn't just sit there. Thus with our heavy backpacks (I was carrying a tent with me), we hiked up 800m in elevation. But as usual, it was worth it. The 360 degree view was just absolutely spectacular!

We watched a couple more free music festival events (some young musicians, mostly piano and violin) and then headed back home. Completely EXHAUSTED from my 5 days of trekking and sleeping on the ground I was ready for bed. But after a few days of miserable weather, I was very happy that I was able to end the weekend on a high note. :)

Nadia and I at our highest point - 2354m

Congrats to everyone who was able to make it to the end of that very very long post!! Missing you all!! :):)

Epic Moutain Hut

So this last weekend, a group of 11 of us went on an epic hike in the mountains. The description of the hike in the book said it was "medium" ... however, all 11 of us found it quite difficult. Of course, being cheap students we opted out of the cable car ride you could take at the beginning, and instead did a steep 3 hour hike, which may have contributed to our exhaustion...

We began in the town of Altdorf, at an elevation of 447 m. We then started walking, and quickly we knew we were heading up a mountain. Taking breaks often and struggling, we hiked for 4 hours before stopping for lunch. And then we kept on trucking, along a few ridges, up steep inclines and even through some snow. Then finally we reached our maximum elevation of 2291 m. We climbed pure UP of just under 2 km!!! Something to definitely be proud of!!

(at Surenenpass, the highest point we reached)

Unfortunately it was cloudy so we weren't able to see the vast mountains around us, but it still made for some really neat pictures :)

One of the neatest things about this hike was the sound of cow bells never ceased. We had been hiking for over 6 hours, were on the top of a mountain, in the middle of nowhere, yet still there were cows and sheep all around us. It's incredible how the Swiss use EVERY piece of land they can!! Though even in high altitudes, there are still lucious green fields everywhere, which is deifnitely the major difference between the Alps and the Rockies.

(a cow outside the Alpine hut we stayed at)

After reaching the peak, we had a 1 hour decent down to the Alpehutte Blackenalp, where we would be staying that night. Upon arrival, we found out that the very nice lady that ran the hut didn't speak a word of English. And between the 11 of us, none of us spoke German. So it made for interesting communication, which we don't often have to deal with in Switzerland since most people here speak English.

But we managed, and got across that we wanted dinner and breakfast and what time they would be served. Both of which were ABSOLUTELY delicious!! For breakfast though, it was funny because she served us "Cafe Milch," which was hot milk and instant looking coffee. But no glasses or mugs of any sort. Yet we had these bowls sitting in front of us. Eventually she took the hot milk and started pooring it into people's bowls. Aparently they drink their breakfast coffee from a bowl here!! :)

(drinking delicious warm Milch from a bowl)

That was my adventure last weekend. And now I head off on another this weekend. I am going to be going to Southern France and Western Switzerland to watch the tour de France!!! Always having loved watching it on TV, I am very excited to get to see it in person (though, I know it will only be about 2 minutes of excitement as the bikers rush past me in a blurry). I have not yet got a paycheck though, so I am beyond poor, thus I will be camping in evenings! So everyone wish for good weather in Southern France! And if you follow the tour, you can keep an eye out for me and my Canadian flag at:

Stage 13: Xonrupt
Stage 14: Colmar (start town)
Stage 15: Verbier (end town)

Things are still a little quiet and "lonely" here in Winterthur, but I am starting to meet some people, and hopefully I will start feeling comfortable here soon. Missing you all in Canada.

Settling In

So finally I really feel like I am living in Switzerland. And it's quite the shock to be settling down. My last 2 months have included the craziness of wedding planning in Vancouver, an exciting and friend-filled 2 weeks in Calgary, and then an adventure-filled 2 weeks in Baden, touring around Switzerland. And then 5 days ago I moved into my place in Winterthur. A University residence which is basically empty since most students are currently on summer vacation. So my first night here, was incredible lonely. Not lonely in the sad way, but more lonely just for the fact that it was empty of people, empty of opportunities for socialization. It was just different.

(me and some friends celebrating Canada Day by the campfire)

My residence room is really nice though. I have a private bedroom and sink, and then I have a shared bathroom, shower, living room and kitchen. Everything is decently large enough such that I don't think it will get crowded, even once the building is full again. I am living on the 3rd floor (which in Canadian terms is the 4th floor because they have "Level Zero" here) so I get some exercise taking the stairs everyday. Otherwise, I have a gym right within my building that I can also use. There is even a common porch off the 2nd floor with a propane barbecue and all. On top of that, my place is about a 5 minute walk to work, a 5 minute walk to the grocery store and about 10 minutes to the train station. So overall, I am very pleased with my accommodations.

(my room in Winterthur - not quite done unpacking yet!)

I have also started work. I have only been working for 3 days, so I'm still not sure exactly what I am going to be doing, but I think I am really going to enjoy my job. I am working on engines that go in very large ships, mostly doing cost analysis stuff. So, when the engineers in the research and development area have designed a part of the engine, they will bring me the engineering drawing and ask me to figure out how much it will cost relative to the old design or to the competitors' designs. Beyond that, I think a lot of my work will be "intern work," where I get to do the menial tasks that don't involve a lot of thought. But I am perfectly fine with that. And it's been really neat learning about how engines work, since prior to this job I had very minimal knowledge. I also found out that the cruise I took with my family over Christmas 2007, our ship actually had a Wärtsilä engine in it!! Very neat. My boss is nice, and the hours are flexible. I am even allowed to work longer days, bank up time, and then take more days off to go and explore Europe. :)

That is about all in my life right now. This past weekend, me and 7 other Canadians took a trip down to Zug (about an hour south of Zürich). We hiked about 4 hours from Zug to the lake Ägerisee and went for a nice swim. It was an adventureful trip where we got lost about 5 times, but we still had lots of fun! Plus while lost we stumbled upon a beautiful waterfall, some ruins in the forest and a quaint little town in the beautiful rolling hills of Switzerland. So although we took the long way due to poor sense of direction, in my opinion it's more about the trip there than it is about the final desitnation! :)

(me with the waterfall in the background)

(a group shot at the ruins we found along the hiking trail)

ps. Happy Birthday to me! What a better way to spend my 21st birthday than in Europe!! :)

Flying over waterfalls and climbing mountains

So my last weekend before I start work was quite the adventure. The IAESTE organization had a trip to Interlaken planned, including one day of white water rafting and one day of hiking. So I decided, why not give it a go... and boy am I glad I did.

Interlaken is basically known as the outdoor adventure sports capital of Switzerland, and we got to experience it first hand. On Saturday, our group of 40 tried out white water rafting on the Black Lutschine near Interlaken. I assumed the basic - we would be rafting down a white water river. I guess I didn't really think too much into it, but it was MUCH more intense than I expected! As we're in the bus in our very attractive neoprene suits and yellow helmuts, I'm watching out the window at the river. With the fast flowing water and many deadly-looking rocks jutting out everywhere. We were going to be going down that? I was a competitive swimmer for 12 years, so the water didn't scare me. It was the jutting rocks that made me feel quite nervous.

As we're practicing, our leader was teaching us what to do in many scenarios. Like if the boat looks like it's going to flip to the left, he'll yell at us to all go right. Wait, what? The boat is going to be flipping and dumping us into that rock infested river?!?! But I gathered some courage, and I got into the boat. Of course our leader also tells us the first section is a fairly difficult section, so there's no time to practice anything in the water and we all better be ready. So off we went, plumiting down the river. And it was SO MUCH FUN! Though, I was definitely a scardey cat.... hovering more to the centre of the boat than the outside where we were supposed to be. But I survived.

These next two pictures were from the "Double Fucker" portion of the river, where we went over a huge waterfall, followed by of some more challenging parts.

They definitely make sure we all had fun though. Telling us "Paddle hard! Harder!!" and then suddenly yelling "Hold on get down" and we look up and realize they just told us to paddle hard directly into a rock. SMASH! The best one was when we were approaching this rock/waterfall thing and he had us all pile into the back of the boat and paddle right over the rock. Three of us ended up getting catipulted out of the boat on this one... including myself! Quite fun though! I think if I did rafting again I would be a lot less of a scaredy cat from the beginning, so perhaps (once I get a paycheck) I'll try it again.

On the second day, we went on a hike in the Alps! Of course one of my favourite activities!! When we were at the bottom of the mountain, there was this nice grassy slope to the left, and a vertical rockface infront of us. I assumed we'd be taking a path through the grassy slope. But nope, we headed straight up the rockface. It was crazy! There were ropes along the way that we could hold onto, but it was still pretty intense, since we were basically rock climbing without being tied on!! But as usual, the view at the top was worth the effort to get up there. :)

And now, tomorrow I start work, I move into my place, and it all becomes real. These last 2 weeks have felt more like a vacation than anything. But with work and an apartment, I think it's all hitting me. I'm living in Europe. For an entire year. In a country where I don't even speak the language. Crazy. And exciting. So the vacation is over (except for weekends), and now I am really getting ready to live in Europe!! :)

Arrival and Austria

I am here!! In Switzerland! I still don't think it's clicked in that I'm in EUROPE!

My arrival wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be. I didn't have a window seat on the plane so I couldn't see the Swiss countryside upon arrival, they lost one of my pieces of luggage, and I felt idiotic not having any clue what anyone was saying. I think that's the hardest part of moving to a country where you don't speak the language, and they speak your language. It's like you're a guest in a country and you expect them to be able to speak your language. I feel that's unfair and rude, and thus I'm going to try really hard to learn German.

I've learned a few key phrases so far. Well, really only "Do you speak English or French?" and "I don't speak German." But people often think when I say those two phrases that I know some basic German so they try to talk to me slower and louder, but I still really have no idea what they are saying. It's interesting though, how often it's possible to interact with others without communicating with language. Generally, human interactions are the same so I can typically guess what someone is saying. "Would you like a bag for your groceries?"... "Do you want your receipt?"... "Can I see your train ticket please?"... "Are you waiting in this line?" ... So often I've been able to get by without people knowing that I haven't a clue what they are asking me. But then sometimes they go on and say another sentence. That's when my clueless face turns on, and they realize, "Englisch?"

When I first arrived in Baden, I had rough instructions on how to get to the apartment I am staying at temporarily, but as far as I could tell no one was home from work yet. So I waited outside on the front step. This old lady came out with a glass of water for me, I was very appreciative, but she spoke very little English or French, and I spoke no German. She invited me up into her apartment while I waited. It was surprising how much conversation we were able to have considering that we didn't speak each other's language. I learned that her daughter is studying to be a doctor (she told me this by relating it to Obama's candidacy...I was very confused at first). And she learned that my brother just got married at 22 (we had to pull out some paper for this one to write the age). All of that was shared just using guestures and relations to other things.

Last weekend I went on my first trip... to Salzburg, Austria with Stacey!! Even though we had rain basically all weekend, it was incredibly fun!! On the first day we headed up to a lake near Salzburg and walked around some of the smaller towns. We ended up running into a traditional Austrian wedding, with cannon fire, leiderhousen, broomsticks for the newlyweds to walk under, and an Austrian music group (including an acordian player)!! Talk about lucky timing! We stalked the wedding for a while, following them around and taking lots of pictures. It was quite fun, and I really really wanted to give the bride a Canadian pin. They had already gone in for the reception, so we quickly looked up how to say "Bride" in german. I went up to the door and told the man standing there "Für die braut." He gave me a odd look, but the guy standing behind him understood my terrible german accent and nodded, took the pin from me to give to the bride. It would have been nice to have given it to her myself, but at least she got it!! I was proud. :)

I have the rest of this week off, while most people I know here are working so I'm hoping just to go exploring around Switzerland. Generally I would like to see the main sites around Europe, and go to as many countries as possible. But overall I really just want to tour around Switzerland. While living in Switzerland it would make sense to get to know the country itself, so I hope to do lots of touring around here (especially while I'm poor). Maybe I'll venture over to the French side so I don't feel like such a tourist....

ps. Comments are always appreciated! via the blog or an e-mail!! :)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

So now, it's just about 13 hours until I depart. Exhilarating, terrifying, exciting and nerve wracking all in one. I'm am about to head off on the adventure of a lifetime. One year from now, who knows where I will be, who knows what I will have experienced or the kind of people I will have met. But that doesn't matter too much. As I leave, I have no expectations, other than to experience as much as possible. To work at an engineering company, to explore Europe and to not be afraid. So am I ready? Yes. I have myself and my passport. Anything else I may have forgotten will not prevent me from traveling and enjoying myself.

But what about these last two weeks in Calgary. They have been amazing and so much fun, and have reminded me of why I love life so much. The people here are amazing, and together we make such a wonderful and caring family.

Within the last two weeks I have hiked up mountains and seen the beautiful landscape from 2000 feet up; I have conquered my fear of heights while I climbed vertical rock faces; I have been dragged about half a kilometer down a flowing river by a canoe; I have learned about love, and the fact that it never has synchronous timing; I have cried out of happiness, out of sadness, out of guilt and due to a long awaited understanding. And all of this I have done with friends. Friends that I have known a mere 3 years, or less.

So it scares me to leave. With my dad in the military I have moved around countless times, always making new friends and adjusting to new environments. But never before have I felt as happy as I feel here. I am lucky to have gotten to know the people I have, that share the same love of the outdoors, that share the same general values and that appreciate my friendship as much as I appreciate theirs. I hope to meet just as amazing people in Europe.

So although it's scary to leave this place where I feel happy and comfortable, I know it will be awaiting my return. So farewell Calgary, and here I come Winterthur!!!

Wedding Shenanigans

(Photo Credit: Carla and Katie)

For the past week I have been in Maple Ridge, BC helping my brother and sister-in-law plan their wedding. Let's just say, it was a lot different and crazier than expected.

Firstly, none of us had really been to a wedding before. Thus, planning was stressful because no one really knew exactly what was supposed to be happening. On top of that, since Jason and Caitlin live in Ottawa and were having their wedding in BC, basically 80% of the planning was left for the last week.

But, crazy thing - all these reasons to be stressed out, yet the two of them were the calmest people around!! So why was I stressing about their wedding more than they were!?! I guess that's just me though, I tend to worry about unnecessary things. But after a few breakdowns (from me, not the bride) and with lots of help from family and friends the wedding came together. And it was beautiful.

I was running around helping out with random things when I was called into the change room to help Caitlin tie her dress. I walked in, and oh my goodness. She was just so beautiful. The dress was perfect on her, and she just had a glow about her that made her look happy. Nervous, and happy. As the minutes were counting down, Laura and I pulled and pulled on her dress to ensure it was as tight as could be. Finally, finished getting her dress on (which took almost an hour), we both stripped and changed in 5 minutes. Funny how that works. And then, we were ready.

I walk out into the hall and her dad is waiting there, and you can just see his face light up when he sees Caitlin. He shares the awe of her incredible beauty. And I dunno, there is just something different about a bride's beauty. You look at magazines, models with their perfect bodies and perfect faces. But Caitlin was different. She was radiating beauty through her smile, and the dress/hair/makeup just made it all that much more real.

I walk to the front arm and arm with Jay (my brother's other groomsman) as the audience awaits Caitlin. The minute she starts walking down that aisle I start crying! I can't even contain myself, and I'm trying to smile, but my mouth is shaking uncontrollably. After having gotten to know Caitlin over the last week, and knowing my brother, I was just so happy for them. Happy that through all the worry, stress and anxiety of the prior week, none of it mattered anymore. Because they were here, they were together, and they were so happy. Caitlin herself could barely hold it together. She was also crying, and shaking so badly she could barely stay balanced. The ceremony was beautiful. The weather was perfect. Their vows were incredible (who knew my brother was so thoughtful).

The rest of the evening went on and just kept getting better. We took some beautiful pictures. We had a wonderful dinner. Parents shared embarrassing stories. Parents shared how proud they were of their children. Everyone was happy to just be together, and to be there to witness two people in love, unified.

I helped out a lot with the planning, and I was running around on Sunday looking like I was in charge. Thus, people kept coming up to me and thanking me for putting together such a beautiful wedding. And I felt a little uncomfortable accepting these thanks, but I just smiled and nodded and said I had fun doing it. I wish I had stepped up and spoken to everyone. Said something along the lines of: "I keep getting thanked for this wedding, but there are many people that put a lot of hours into planning today. Yes, I was there with Caitlin and Jason all week keeping them on track, but I couldn't have done it without your assistance. So, I appreciate your thanks very much and I have greatly enjoyed myself. But please, stop thanking me and start thanking yourselves for helping out, and just for being here today to celebrate this wonderful union."

This last week I have learned a lot. I have learned a little bit about love, and how strong it can be. But mostly, I have learned a lot about family. That no matter the differences, no matter the disputes, when two families are brought together through marriage none of that matters. Everyone gets along, and everyone is happy. I love my family, and I think one aspect of myself that I am not proud of is that I am not good at keeping in touch with them. But family is the most important thing. Friends come and go, but family will always be there. So I guess I am lucky for the family that I have. Because even when I haven't spoken to a relative for a long while, they love me just the same. And as my trip to Europe approaches, this odd connection that family has will come in handy for me. My grandpa has given me a list of contacts in Europe. These are people I have never met, never even spoken to. Yet just the fact that they are family means their doors are open to me. It really is quite amazing. And now my family, through Caitlin, has expanded greatly.

The next thing about this last week is it made me think a lot about my own wedding. I was never the type of girl that dreamed about weddings, or even really ever thought about it at all. And I now know two things about myself when it comes to my wedding. Firstly, I am going to be a bridezilla. I think even this last week I was more of a bridezilla than Caitlin was!! And secondly, I am not going to be able to hold it together on my wedding day. Seriously, I teared up so many times on Sunday, and it will be even worse for my own. But I guess before I start thinking about it, I have to find a guy first. Ah well, sigh.

Lastly, I just want to say congrats to Caitlin and Jason! I am very happy for you, and I wish you all the best in the future. :)

(Photo Credit: Marty Paul)