My Last Day In Ambialet, France

I cannot believe my semester is over!!!  This has been the trip of a lifetime!!  I have met some of the most amazing friends and I have seen so many things that not a lot of people can say that they have seen.  I've truly had the time of my life!!!!

Yesterday was our Anatomy final!  I'm soooooo happy that I am finished with Anatomy......for now that is.  I still have three more semesters left.  However, I feel as if I have accomplished so much by doing well in that class.  After the test I packed my stuff.  I need to thank Angela and Diamond for helping me.  I did not know I had accumulated so much stuff over the semester.  Unfortunately, I will be paying overweight charges on my luggage.  Sorry Dad.  Last night, Nadine had us down to the cafe and she made us apple pie and crepes.  It was nice to have a crepe one last time before leaving France.

As for today I watched the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  It will be interesting tomorrow getting through London airport security.  As for the afternoon, I finished packing all of my stuff.    I just have a couple of things left to put in the suitcases tomorrow morning.  Also, Alicia, Jen, and I gave Shaq and Jay-Z a bath.  The rest of the day was just a "chill out" day.  As for our last dinner in France, we had a delicious meal!!!  We even had dessert!  Gerry and his wife also joined us for dinner which was nice.  In addition, we each shared our favorite memory of our semester.  It was a bittersweet moment, because it then hit me that we are actually leaving a country that was considered our "home" for the last four months.

I'm soo excited to come home tomorrow.  We will be leaving Ambialet around 8:00am and drive to Toulouse International Airport.  I believe our flight to London leaves at 11:55am.  We will arrive in London 1:00pm London time and I think our plane bound for Washington D.C. leaves around 3:00.  We should hopefully be arriving in the USA around 6:00pm EST.  I absolutely cannot wait to see my mom, dad, sister, and uncle waiting for me at the airport.  (I'm also excited to be able to have my phone back.)

To end this blog, I would like to thank a person that has done so much for all of us on this trip.  John Roche, the program assistant here has been wonderful.  He has made countless trips to Geant for all of us and has constantly watched over us throughout the semester.  He has just done so much for all of us here, and he definitely deserves a very big "thank you".  So, thank you so very much John!!  Best of luck at your new job as a teacher in State College!!! 

As one of my favorite songs says "Another summer day has come and gone away in Paris and Rome, and I wanna go home."  Therefore, as for now, "au revoir" and I'll see you all when I return home!!!!!!!!

Notre Dame De La Dreche

Today was the last excursion we took in France.  First, we had French class at 9:00am.  Marie handed back our finals and we played a game for two hours.  Immediately after French, we departed for Notre Dame de la Dreche, a Franciscan community near Albi.  We were invited for lunch since Saint Francis University is also part of the Franciscan community.  Eric, our religious studies professor, joined us for lunch and for our tour of the church.  It was exciting to see Eric one last time before we depart for the USA.  For lunch we had: soup, veal, noodles, cheese, and a pie pastry.  Everything was absolutely delicious!!!!!  After lunch, we had a tour of the church.  Since Gerry was also with us and he knew I played the organ, he talked to the friars and they allowed me to play the organ in the church.  That was absolutely awesome.  I did not know any songs from memory, however, I remembered some of one of my favorite songs, "Ave Maria".  When I was done playing, Gerry told me that I officially made my "European debut".  After that, we were allowed to climb to the bell tower and play the bells.  That was also something very unique to do.  We then said our final goodbyes to Eric and we headed back to Ambialet.

Playing The Organ At Notre Dame De La Dreche

The Entire Group With Eric and Gerry

Lunch With Eric At Notre Dame De La Dreche

Jen And I Playing The Bells In The Bell Tower At Notre Dame De La Dreche

 Tomorrow is my Anatomy final!!!  I cannot wait until that test is over.  Only 3 more days until I'm "Home Sweet Home USA".

Joyeuses Pâques!!

Joyeuses Pâques Mes Amis!!!!  (Happy Easter My Friends!!!!) 

Easter Morning Before Church

It is sad not being home for Easter, however, people here in Ambialet and back home in the USA have tried to make us feel as if we are at home.  First off, yesterday, my family skyped me during Easter dinner.  It was so nice still being able to be there, even though I'm in France.  I think I was on skype with them for about two hours  Then this morning, outside our door, there were little Easter Baskets for everyone filled with some candy.  I believe that Maura, one of the students here, made them for everyone.  That was such a nice gesture and I know it definitely made my roommate's and my morning.  In addition, Tim made us all scrambled eggs for breakfast!!!  This was the first time we actually had breakfast here in France!  We were all pretty excited when John pounded on our doors saying that there were scrambled eggs down in the dining room.  I then attended 11:00am mass.  That was the last mass I will ever attend in Ambialet. Pere Jammes told us that it was wonderful having all of us here this semester and to have safe journeys home.  After church, lunch was set up in the stone room instead of the normal dining room.  Peter and Margret, the English couple that lives down the hill from us, came and decorated the table with candy and gave each of us chocolate Easter eggs in our cups.  It was so nice of them to think of us on this special holiday when we are away from our families.  Around 10:00am USA time, my family called me while my sister opened her Easter basket.  My mom and dad said that I will be able to open mine when I get home on Saturday.  I guess I'll be having two Easters this year.  

Only six more day until my return to the USA!!!!  I'm getting more and more excited as Saturday gets closer!!!!

Alban, Roquefort, and Millau

Hello all!!  I would have updated yesterday, but I fell asleep real early, and I did not type up a blog of our excursion yesterday.  We first had our last French class before our final.  We just basically did review for the final which is tomorrow.  After class, we had lunch and then got on the bus around 1:00.

Our first stop of the day was at a church in Alban.  This church is decorated entirely in iconography.  I found this church very interesting.  The icons followed first the old testament and then the new testament.  You were able to tell the two apart because the old testament was painted in a "black and white" color scheme and the new testament was painted in bright colors.  The icons went the whole way from Adam and Eve to the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.  In addition, there were icons of saints painted on the wall.  John said that he believes that these saints that were pictured were saints that were important to France history and culture.

The second stop of the day was in Roquefort.  This town is known for the cheese it produces.  We took a tour of the caves that the cheeses are fermented and produced in.  We were able to try the cheese after the tour, and personally, I did not like it at all.  After trying that cheese, I'm totally ready for some "American" cheese.

The last stop of the day was in Millau where we saw the largest suspension bridge in the world.  I must say that this was a pretty spectacular sight.

Today, was dedicated to studying for my anatomy practical and for my French final which is tomorrow.  In addition to studying, there was choir practice for Easter Sunday mass.  Going to this made me miss being home for Easter.  It does not even feel like it is Easter over here.  I love being home with my family for the holidays, and I'm so upset that I cannot be there.  However, my mom said that we will just have to celebrate Easter again when I get home next Saturday.

As of today only 9 more days until I'm home.  I truly cannot wait!!!!!!!!

Saturday In My French Hometown Of Ambialet

Saturday was probably one of the most fun days that I have had in France thus far.

Our morning started off by going canoeing on the Tarn River.  The ten of us who are left at the monastery, (nine other students went away for the free weekend), Dr. and Mrs. Powell, Tim, and his daughters Sophia and Olivia were taken about 15 miles from the monastery to start our journey.  Olivia and I shared a canoe.  I'm glad that she decided to come with me because I have never been canoeing before, and she has.  I must say that I think we worked pretty well as a team.  We made three stops along the 13 kilometer way back to Ambialet.  During these stops, we decided to swim in the Tarn River, I did not wear a swim suit, but a t-shirt and shorts work just fine.  The water actually was not too cold.  The ride down the river was a lot of work, I definitely had a good workout today, but it was tons of fun going through some of the small rapids that were along the way.

Angela and Diamond

Dinner At The Festival

After canoeing we attended a dinner/music festival down in the village of Ambialet. For dinner there was sausage or mussels and fries. Finally for dessert there was a strawberry pastry that was delicious.

However, Saturday night I got very sick. I just want to thank Alicia, Jen, and Zoe for being there with me part of Saturday night. But I really want to thank Alicia who spent two hours with me Sunday morning cleaning my room. Thank you so much Alicia!! I also want to thank Jen and Alicia for taking time and splitting up the 200 slide anatomy practical PowerPoint. I don't know what I would do without you two. They are both a definition of what it is to be a true friend.

Well this week will contain studying for my anatomy practical and getting ready for my final. We are going somewhere Wednesday, so I'll probably update then. Talk to you all later.

A Spectacular Sunday

Today was a pretty busy day!

We all went to 11:15am mass.  Fr. Gabe helped Pere Jammes celebrate the mass.  Alot of translating from English to French and French to English took place during that mass.  Nevertheless, it was a very nice mass to attend, especially since the SFU President was able to help celebrate.

With Father Gabe and Pere Jammes

Marie and I (My French Professor)

Stone Room All Set Up

After mass, there was a huge lunch!!!  About 50 people were here for lunch.  The mayor of Ambialet, the deputy mayor of Albi, the President of the University of Albi, and Marie, our French professor, were just some of the people who attended today's luncheon.  This lunch was basically a four course meal.  We started with a different type of salad that I did not like very much.  We were then served lamb and vegetables, which was delicious.  After the main course, different kinds of cheese and bread was served.  Finally, for dessert we were given a chocolate brownie and a piece of fruit pie.  After lunch, it took ALOT of work to clean up all of the dishes and ultimately the entire stone room.

After lunch, I studied some anatomy and ate dinner, which I was not very hungry for.  This week should be like any other regular week here in Ambialet.  I will be busy studying for the next upcoming Anatomy exam, so I probably will not post for a couple of days.

Good Night All!

More of SFU Comes To Ambialet

Bonjour!!!

Sorry I have not posted, but things have actually been busy around the monastery, especially with getting ready for Fr. Gabe and the other SFU personnel.

Tuesday, we had our third anatomy exam of the semester.  I did very well on it and received a 90% (and that's without the extra credit)!  I was very happy seeing that score on the computer screen when the exam was over.  Unfortunately, we have our fourth exam this upcoming Thursday, and then only two more exams total left for anatomy!

Yesterday, we went to Albi for French class and after class we visited the Toulouse-Lautrec museum.  He was a painter from Albi and over 100 of his works are located at this museum.  After the museum visit, Morgan, John, and I went to a cafe.  I had the best vanilla milkshake there.   When we came back to Ambialet we were informed that Fr. Gabe (the President of SFU), Dr. Powell (the provost) and his wife, and Erin McClosky (the director of admissions) and her husband arrived earlier in the day.

Today we were able to give these very important SFU personnel a presentation of our semester in France.  Our presentation told them exactly what we do over here and what our days consist of.  It was enjoyable telling these people all about of adventures and how we live for the semester.

Tomorrow, we are all going to 11:15am mass.  We are told that there will be a large crowd there sinece everyone in the village is curious about the SFU directors being here.  After mass, there is a big lunch scheduled and we are told that approximately 50 people will be here.

Ambialet has been exceptionally beautiful  the past few days, so here are a few pictures of springtime so far here in Ambialet.  I will probably update tomorrow since tomorrow will be an interesting day.

The Anatomy Students Pose For An Interesting Picture

It Was Elisabeth's Birthday, So Our French Classes Celebrated

Shaq and I

80 Degrees and Sunny Ambialet

Good Morning!!!

I hope everyday back in PA is enjoying the snowy and cold weather.  I'm sad to inform you that I'm not as lucky to experience such weather.  The weather here in Ambialet, France has been close to 80 degrees the past two days.  Therefore, since me and my anatomy book are joined together, we decided to go outside and study those days.  Well, I have a major sunburn/a little tan.  The sunburn in definitely more prominent though.  On Friday, some of us even went to the "beach" on the Tarn River.  I only put my feet in because the water was absolutely freezing!!!

Other than having such beautiful weather, not much has been going on at the monastery except for studying a lot of anatomy for the exam on Tuesday.  Father Gabe and a couple other SFU people will be visiting us.  I believe that they arrive in Ambialet on Saturday.

There are only 27 days until I am back home in the USA.  I came across this quote the other day; "Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more".  I thought that this quote was appropriate for the 3 1/2 months I have been spending over here.  I think I have a greater appreciation for being with my family and my friends, because it has definitely been hard being so far away from them.


Well, for today I have to go to church at 11:15am and I have another fun-filled day of studying anatomy!!


Have a good day everyone!!!

Home Sweet Ambialet

We are finally "home" in Ambialet after being gone for about 3 weeks!  It feels so nice to be back to the monastery for our last month in France.

Today Katie, Morgan, and I got up early and went to the Albi laundromat to do laundry so we would not have to do any when we got back.  We then got some lunch and headed to the train station where we were supposed to meet the bus at 2:00pm.  However, the bus never arrived and Taylor called Tim and he made sure a bus came and got us.  We then arrived back to Ambialet!!  The dogs, especially, were very very happy to see everyone!  We then went to our rooms and Katie, Rachel, and I unpacked our suitcases.  I am now realizing that I have A LOT of stuff to bring back to the USA.

Tomorrow we have a free day, so I'll be studying anatomy.  I may not be posting for a few days since we have an anatomy test next Tuesday and a lot of my time we be spent studying.  I think these last few week left in France are going to fly by!!!

Our Adventure to Albi

Well, we are one step closer to being "home".

Today Brady, Katie, Morgan. Jen, Alicia, and I got a taxi from our hotel at 12:30pm to go to the Toulouse train station.  When we got there, we were confused on how to get a ticket, and basically no one spoke English there.  Lets just say Brady spoke a lot of the "language of the world" as he calls it, in the train station.  We finally got a ticket for Albi only to find out that we had four minutes to get to the train.  We basically raced to the train, with all of our luggage only to find the train leaving.  Therefore, we were back to step number one.  Brady went back to the information desk and got us a new ticket to Albi on a 2:10pm train.  We did make that train!  The ride to Albi was about an hour long.  When we arrived in Albi, we got all of the luggage off of the train and then stood around outside the train station trying to figure out how we were going to get to our hotel.

We apparently looked confused because this very very nice french family came up to us.  The son tried to call for us a taxi, but they were all full.  The father said he could take our luggage in his car and his son could walk us to the hotel.  Brady went with our luggage and us girls walked with the son to our hotel.  We finally arrived at the hotel and Brady and our luggage met us there.  We were soooo thankful that this family helped us.  They were probably the nicest people I have met on this trip.

After getting settled at the hotel, we walked around Albi and got some dinner.  Tomorrow we return home to Ambialet.  We have to get the bus at 2:00pm.  I'm excited to be back "home".

Also, just so you all know from yesterday's post, my family safely made it to the USA.  I'm very thankful that they made it back to America after a bad airplane experience yesterday.  I miss them already!

Airports........

Well, I safely made it to Toulouse, France with my friends after dealing with a delay and a missed flight.

We left Sorrento Italy around 9:00am and we hit a lot of traffic to the airport!  We arrived at the airport around 10:30am.  We checked into the airport and when I first checked in, the lady told me I had a 20 minute flight delay.  After my parents checked in, the lady told them that there was an hour delay.  If the plane we on time, I would have had only 20 minutes to get to my connecting plane to Toulouse.  Well, once we got on the plane, my family and I already knew I missed my connecting flight since the flight from Naples to Paris was going to take two hours.  I was highly upset during the Naples to Paris that my parents were going to leave me alone since they would have only 20 minutes to get to their plane.  However, when we got close to Paris we were told that both my flight and my parents' flight will be gone by the time we arrive.  Let me just say, my parents were not happy that they missed their flight because of the inefficiency of Air France.

When the plane landed in Pairs it was 4:30pm.  My family and I proceeded to the Air France ticket desk.  My flight was changed to a 6:45 departure.  Unfortunately, my parents have to wait until tomorrow to get a flight back to the USA.  Therefore, Air France had to pay for their dinner, hotel, and breakfast.  I said "goodbye" to my parents and I left for my terminal in order to catch my new flight.  I safely made it to the terminal and made it on my plane to Toulouse.  However, it was one of the roughest flights I have ever been on.  There was a lot of turbulence and it was a pretty rough landing.

When my flight landed, I got my luggage (thank goodness it made it to Toulouse).  I then got a taxi and went to the hotel to meet Katie, Morgan, Jen, Brady, and Alicia.  I have never been soo happy to see them!

Tomorrow, we have to get back to Albi on a train.  I'm absolutely exhausted from today (I tried to get some sleep on my Toulouse flight but that did not happen)!  I hope my family has a very safe flight tomorrow morning!!  I love you guys and thank you for a wonderful spring break!

Good Night Everyone!

Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, Naples

Today was our last day of adventure in Italy.  I'm sad to see that spring break has ended and that my parents and sister will be heading back to America.  However, I'm happy that this means that I only have about a month left in France, until, I too, am back home in the USA and I can see my family again, my friends at SFU and from Johnstown, and especially my dog Cassie.

Our first stop of today was in the city of Pompeii.  Pompeii was the city that was destroyed by the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D.  The city was buried under 20 feet of hot volcanic ash.  Pompeii is the most well preserved roman architectural site in all of Italy.  By the way, this historical information was provided by Samantha, since she is very interested in Pompeii and Vesuvius.  We walked through some of the ruins, and it is easy to see that volcanic ash turns everything to rock and preserves things very well.  There were even some bodies and even a dog that was preserved in the ash.

The Dog Of Pompeii

The second stop was at Mt. Vesuvius.  This volcano stands about 6,000 feet above sea level.  Our driver took us most of the way to the top, however to get to the very top, one must climb.  Under my current circumstances with my knee, I was not physically able to climb to the top of the volcano.  However, my sister and my mom made the climb to the top.  When they got down to where my dad and I were, they said that it was spectacular at the top and that the volcano was "smoking".  However, my mom pulled a tendon in her foot on the way up and is now having a hard time walking.  I guess that makes two of us now.

The last stop of the day was at the city of Naples.  Naples is a very large city!  We got a piece of pizza there, since it is believed that pizza was "invented" in Naples.  We also did a little shopping.  We then headed back to our hotel.

Tonight, we are going out for our last dinner in Italy!  The rest of the night will be spent packing!  Tomorrow, I have a flight from Naples to Paris with my parents.  After that flight I have a flight to Toulouse, where I will meet Alicia, Jen, Brady, Morgan, and Katie at the hotel close to the airport.  My parents will then fly back to the USA after my flight leaves Paris.  I'll update you all tomorrow about how tomorrow goes.  I'm a little nervous about getting through the Toulouse airport by myself.  Ciao!

The Amalfi Coast

Today we visited the Amalfi Coast of Italy and we had an absolutely beautiful sunny 65 degrees day!

We had breakfast to start our day, and then our private driver came to the hotel to pick us up around 9:00am.  Our first stop of the day was at Positano.  The road to this city and all the other destinations on our tour was probably the curviest road in the world!  However, on this road was some of the most amazing views I have ever seen!  Positano is a city built into a hill.  It is also a very expensive city!  Most of the famous Italians have villas here.  While we were in Positano, we went down to the beach.  It was here that my sister and mom put their feet in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in their lives.  The water was very cold though, around 55 degrees Fahrenheit  After visiting the beach, we looked around in some of the shops, but they were all very exclusive and expensive.

The second stop of the day was at Ravello.  Here we had lunch at this amazing homemade restaurant.  The lady who was cooking kept giving us food that we did not order, and she did not make us pay for the extras!  The Tiramisu was very good!  I usually do not like Tiramisu but her's was delicious!  After lunch we walked around the very small town and got a couple of pictures.

After Ravello, we drove to the city of Amalfi.  In Amalfi we looked in a couple of the shops and got some gelato.  We also visited the beach there.  However, beaches here are not like beaches back in the USA.  These beaches are very rocky and there is no sand.  However, the water is more beautiful than the ocean water at the beaches back home.

After leaving Amalfi, we ended our tour back in Sorrento.  We then did some shopping in Sorrento and then headed back to our hotel.  Tomorrow we are visiting Naples, Mt. Vesuvius, and Pompeii.  Ciao!

Island Of Capri

Ciao!

Today we visited the Island of Capri!  It was absolutely beautiful!  To start the day, we had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel.  Let me explain this hotel to you.  It is not your normal hotel.  It is called the Villa Orliana and it only has seven rooms.  It is owned by a lady named Maria and she, each morning, makes a homemade breakfast.  This morning she made quiche, apple cake, and chocolate cake.  Also, there were fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, homemade bread and fruit on the buffet.  Every single person at this villa is so friendly, especially the one guy receptionist named Emilio.

 After breakfast Maria drove us down to the port where we met Paula, our tour guide for the day.  We then got on the ferry to get to the island.  When we arrived on the island it was pure sunshine with at least 65 degree weather.  For our first stop of the day we took a bus to Anacapri.  In Anacapri, there was this chair lift that took you about 1,800 feet above sea level.  At the top of this mountain was a spectacular view!  I've never seen anything like it before.  The view of the villages of Anacapri and Capri with the Mediterranean Sea was just beautiful!

After coming down off the mountain, we walked into the historical district of Anacapri.  Here we saw two different churches.  The most interesting church was the church of St. Michele.  The floor of this church was done completely in ceramic tile.  The tiles made the scene of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

After visiting the historical district, we took the bus to the village of Capri.  Once there, we walked to the gardens.  From there we had some more spectacular views of the island!

After seeing the gardens, we got some gelato and looked in some of the shops.  We then boarded the ferry back to Sorrento where we got a cab back to our hotel.  Around 7:00pm we went for probably our best meal in Italy so far.

Tomorrow we will visit the Amalfi Coast and surrounding areas!  I love this part of Italy!!!  Good Night!

Seaside Sorrento

Saluti da Sorrento!

On The Terrace Of The Hotel

The Mediterranean Sea with Mount Vesuvius In The Background

Today we traveled to Sorrento, Italy!  We left Rome around 11:00am and we have a private car transfer.  The trip took about three hours.  During the last hour of the trip, we were able to see the Mediterranean Sea!  It looks much prettier here than it did in Spain.  The driver took us to our hotel which is on top on a steep hill.  This means that we have a beautiful view of Sorrento and, most importantly, the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Naples.  Also, from our hotel balcony, we can see Mount Vesuvius, which Samantha is extremely excited about.

We then got a taxi and headed down to the main square of Sorrento, where we had dinner and looked in some of the numerous shops.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Island of Capri.  I heard that this island is very beautiful!  I'm pretty excited!  Good Night all!!