London/Birthday/...Loving the UK.... :)

Ok, so I feel like I am just BURSTING with fun stories about my adventures, so I actually want to tell all of them. For that reason (though it may make things a bit confusing time-line wise) I am going to tell you all of my crazy goings on in bits. This bit will cover my general England experience... but not my Irish or Scottish one. Ok? Sweet. Here goes!
On the 10th of April I landed in East Midlands airport where Katie was going to pick me up. I had had a bit of trouble leaving France so I was really hoping that the British border was not going to give me any trouble.... No such luck. Leaving France was not too hard; they just didn't seem to be able to connect The facts: that I am American, I am allowed to be studying in France, and even though I am doing that I don't speak French well, and then I also have a few weeks of break, so I am going to England to chill! I didn't quite get how they didn't get it, but oh well. They let me through in the end, and I was sure that since I spoke the same language that the English border would be easier.
In this I was wrong, but only 'cause I didn't have the address where I was staying! Note to travelers: if you are staying with someone, write down their address! I didn't have Katie's, and because of that I had a fun 8 minutes of the border officer yelling at me. Fun stuff, right? Well, he eventually let me through, after I explained all the same info I had to the French guy! It is amusing in hind-sight, but while it was happening I was NOT a happy camper.

That night I went to the local pub with Katie, her mom, and two of her friends. It looked like in a movie! I know, I shouldn't be so stereotypical as to only see something as truly English if I have seen something like it in an Agatha Christie movie, but I cant help it! It was SUCH an English pub! I almost wanted to find someone to tell me the history of it, since the likely hood that it has been established since before there were cars is pretty good. But I didn't. Too much history can ruin a good night out :)

On the 11th I went to Cambridge where Katie has family. It was such a cute family experience. Katie's niece and nephew are wonderfully adorable and made me miss my little nieces and nephews! We took the bus into the city center (more like, large town) and had a great time talking to the bus driver. We were waiting for another bus to come (that was going to switch drivers or something) and a sweet little sports car (I forget what kind, but Abby should be proud, 'cause I DID know what it was at the time...) and I made the correct noise of being impressed as it passed. He scoffed at that and started to explain how that was not the best, but this one was... and the conversation lasted maybe 20 minutes! All about cars. Abby, Malcolm.... I will get you back one day! Cambridge was beautiful! And very English. Katie and I wandered around the town for a few hours, looking at the buildings and the little shops. It was very fun and a great introduction to England.

The 12th was Easter Sunday. Katie and I woke up with chocolate bunnies on our stomachs, which were quickly gone :) We never really did chocolate and candy on Easter when I was little, which always made me a little jealous of the other kids. But this time it made it better. This Easter was made all the more special by the fact that chocolate is such a treat :)

The 13th was the day that we left for Belfast, Ireland.
We came back on the 15th

Friday the 17th Katie and I went into London. It was SOOO cool! One of the cities of the world that I have always wanted to go to.. and I was finally there! We wandered around, not doing a particularly touristy route, but making sure to see the big stuff. I should confess that I couldn't help but put particular movie characters here and there... I mean, can you really look at Big Ben and not think of Peter Pan!?! I cant :) Katie and I had also just seen a rather amusing horror movie "An American Werewolf in London", meaning that every time we went onto the "tube" we would be looking down the tunnel to see if we could freak the other one out. It was so funny. The sad part about my adventure to London is that the bag that I had all of my little souvenirs in (plus some other stuff that I had already and put in the bag for convenience) was stolen! I had put it down and forgot about it for maybe... 10 minutes. And when I turned back to get it... it was gone! I was SO sad. It was all of my spending money for the day and I had bought presents for my siblings and everything! But it was gone, and there was no getting it back. So Katie bought me a hot chocolate and we took more pictures. So that is what I bring back from London: pictures! :)








































So, then the 18th was my birthday :)
That night we went out. We had gotten some nice black dresses and neon jewelry and had planned to meet up with some of Katie's friends at a pub and then go to an 80's club. Unfortunately we went to another club, but Kate and I still fit in. I also was brilliant and checked my purse at the door, meaning the whole night I didn't have my camera! That was too bad, but here is a pic of Katie and I at the pub before.

We went to Inverness, Scotland on the 20th.
We came back on the 22nd.

We had not been able to see any real castles up close yet, so Katie took me to her local castle. I love that fact that she could just say that... "you want to walk down to the castle?" It was too perfect.





After seeing the castle I told Katie that I would tell everyone that it was crazy well kept and we ran around like medieval princesses :) Its a joke. The castle was once excavated, but they didn't feel like keeping it that way, so the earth has taken the castle back. The mounds that you see are actually walls, but the dirt and grass fool everyone.
Ok, so we didn't run round the halls, but I have walked around a castle now!! :)

I was to leave the 26th, so on the 25th we decided we needed to do one more thing. We walked along the canal near Long Buckby (the village where Katie lives). It was SUCH a pretty day. And the canal was so calm. We ended up helping an older couple get their boat through the lock, which was just really cool, since I have never personally done anything like that before. It was so pretty and warm... I loved it :)

So that was it. I left early on the 26th to come back to France. I was really sad to leave. I loved hanging out with Katie and her mom. I am so glad to have gone there and hope that some day I can go back.
But that is all of my adventures in England! Keep posted for Inverness and pics added to Belfast :)

Kiss Me, I'm Irish....

Well, the truth is, there is not kissing, but I am in Ireland!!
Hello from the little island :)
We arrived here this morning at about 7:30am after an hour and a half flight from East Midlands. Katie and I had already booked a hostel here, so we dropped off our bags and wandered the city until lunch time. It was so weird! The town seemed deserted, with all the shops closed and hardly any cars on the road. Every 5 minutes I had to remind myself that it was only 'cause it is Easter Monday, not that the town is ACTUALLY deserted :)
We had fun being very touristy, taking lots of pics and shopping in all the cute little shops, picking up a few useful souvenirs. We even saw a little marching bad with the whole city council following behind. I was shy to march along with them, but Katie was not, so we ended up falling in beside them and enjoying the beat.
After having wandered around for a few hours, and only having had a few hours of sleep we were both very tired, so came back to the hostel and took a nap. Its a very nice hostel, with an ensuite bathroom! Cheap and nice.... my favorite combination ;)
The funniest thing happened after we had a nap! We decided that we needed to be doing more than just sleeping while in Ireland (duh!) and so we went for another walk. On our way back we were trying to figure out the best road to take. We must have looked very foreign or something, 'cause just as we passed, a little man holding a bicycle leaned over and said to us 'it may be, or it may not be!' and then he ran away! It was so funny :)
Well, that is all that has happened so far. We are going to get dressed up to go out and see what the nightlife is like here, and then in the morning hopefully we will go out to the country side a bit.
Love you all and keep you up to date as much as I can :)

Hello all!

I thought I would just drop a little note keeping you all up to date.

Today I leave for England. I fly into East Midlands (though I don't know exactly where that is :) ) and I will be picked up at the airport by Kate Coyle, who has been my good friend from last year at Bryn Athyn.

I am SO excited to be going. I have break from school until the 28th, so I will be staying with Katie until the 26th.

During my stay we are going to be going to London, Belfast Ireland, and Inverness Scotland. How exciting is that?! We have looked everything up and we are really going have a great time.

I am also going to be having my 20th birthday there, which just adds the excitement of the trip. Katie has been trying to get her family together to maybe have a family birthday party for me, so I know I won't be alone :)

Well, I know its short, but I think thats about it! I am taking my computer with me so I expect it will not be TOO hard to get back on and keep you all up to wonderful date :)

Love you all! 

Until next time,

Geneva

Going To The Beach With The Fam

Today I went to the Arcachon beach with a classmate of mine, Amina, and her family. Yesterday I had gone to her house to help her daughter with English homework, and we had started to talk about the area around Bordeaux. When it was discovered that none of us (except Amina's husband) had seen the Dune de Pyle, it was offered that we go today.
It was amazing! My pictures do not do it justice, but the dune is HUGE! There were times when I honestly was afraid I would fall down the side of it and just roll all the way down and hit a tree. Seriously, terrifying. The only thing that made it safe was the fact that it was sand. I mean, there were real cliffs! But, if fell of the side, then you would just roll on the sand, which is pretty forgiving. The danger then, is to fall into the sea, or hit a tree :) See? Safe. Right. But it was really cool. I am so glad that we went.
It is very fun to hang out the them. The daughter, Siham, is learning English, but she is about as good at English as I am at French, so we have a fun time trying to talk. The husband, Jeephed (I don't know how to actually spell his name, but that is how it sounds) can also somewhat speak English, and tries very hard. He would really like to learn English, so though I have been asked to speak to Siham, Jeephed talks to me more. Its really cool, 'cause while I am helping with their English, I am learning more French and gaining confidence! So, its a win wins situation, and I get some fun family time.
It is weird how much Amina reminds me of Mama. I went shopping with her the other night, and she would do just as Mama would do, and seem to just grab things off the shelf, without explaining why she needed it or anything. Jeephed had to keep on asking her WHY. It was so funny. But its also hard to be around her. In a way, because she reminds me of mama, I want to talk to her more, but we speak such different languages that it makes it very difficult. Amina does not speak English at all, so French is our only option, and while I am getting better, I am still far from being able to just HAVE a conversation. Hopefully it will get better though, and I am excited for more times of hanging out with that family.
Now, to explain the pictures a bit: We went to the dune, and we also went to the beach. They are not quite the same place, so we had to drive to each. At the beach we had crepes and tea! So yummy :) Amina has three kids: Siham is the oldest, Elah (or something like that) is the little boy, and then Ziheph (or however you spell it) is the little girl. She is the cutest thing ever and has now warmed up to me to let me hold her and play with her. They are a wonderful and cute family and have been very generous to me.

Well, thats about it. Hope you all are having great days and I will post again when I have something fun!

A Day In The Sun

Yesterday we went to the beach. It was gorgeous! I don't know what I was expecting when I thought about beaches in France, but I was pretty surprised to find them pretty much the same as beaches I have been to in the states. There were no palm trees, but the sand was just as clean and fine as in Florida, and the bushes and sun felt like any beach on the east coast. Don't get me wrong, it was not disappointing at all! It was just so familiar, that I forgot for a while that we were even in France.
Marie had her family's car for the day, so we were able to relax into our own schedule. We got there soon after noon, and we didn't leave until about 6pm. It was a lovely day.
The boys found a small football in a tourist shop near the boardwalk. It was a funny little football. Rubber, blue, and the letters USA apparently written on the wrong side of the ball. I don't know anything about the correct placement of words on a football, but it was bugging the boys so much they could not stop talking about it. Apparently, if you held it the correct way, it made it look like a strange VSN, and the boys would not let that fact go. I found it amuzing, but the boys took some offence to it and so made sure we all knew how annoying it was to have it written on the wrong side. Oh well :)
It was too cold to swim, but the sum was warm enough to tan. Soon we were all building stuff in the sand. The boys made a 3D face, with the tongue sticking out and the eyes bulging. My camera ran out of batteries just as we got there, so I don't have any other pictures of it, but it was a very funny face.
Other than building in the sand, the boys played with their ball and Marie and I sat and read. It was nice to just be hanging with her. I have not really talked to a girl since Abby and Malcolm left, so I enjoyed the feminin chatting that Marie and I had. We don't talk a ton, but when we hang out we usulaly end up talking.
I don't know when we will be able to go back , but for that one day, I loved it.
Well, that is about it :) I hope you all get a chance to go to a beach soon.... its totally worth it!