Hello everyone!

Here is the first blog to all about my travels abroad. The time so far here has been awesome, I have a really neat homestay family, and have loved Switzerland so far! The first couple of days our group stayed in Geneva at a downtown hostel. Our hostel was super nice, but super crowded ( 6 girls in one room! ) Lets just say we bonded. :) We had orientation, explored the town, ate out, received our schedules and syllabus, and had our French placement test. We also had tour of the UN (I called it my future work place ;) ) and Old Geneva. The water here is so crystal clear! Its also VERY expensive in Geneva. I went to McDonald's the other day to reunite with my favorite fries and to spend less, but one hamburger in the "dollar menu" was 3 francs (3 US $). So, that didn't work out. Thankfully now that I am in a homestay I will be eating out less. Not at all in fact lol.

The diversity in Geneva is wonderful. There seems to be every ethnicity group here, and although the main language is French, one can hear more than language in the air. Yesss. There are also alot of really good looking men here! ;) oh LA LA. Anywho, back to purer ground, I've met two girls in my group who I get along with really well, and have definitely become kindred spirits. We've quite a few laughs exploring the city, and practicing our "French." My favorite times have definitely been at night going to the cafes, restaurants, and just exploring. I've met so many people (Europeans are so posh!). My homestay is amazing. My homestay mother is super sweet, and I'm in living in this huge house with 4 dogs, 7 cats, and two birds. There are 4 other people that live here as well, 2 french Swiss students, and two other Americans; one a student my age interning at Global Union, and another younger lady working at Global Union. The meals here have been simple but filling. (My homestay mother can not believe how much I eat!) Bread, cheese, soup, and milk. Between these meals and all of the walking I'll be/have been doing, I'll have amazing calves and abs by the time I arrive back home. ;)

I really like it here so far, it's a little overwhelming, I miss my family and Bella, but know that I only have 5 more weeks to really immerse myself in the language and culture. One of my main goals while here is to learn French. The locals have been really friendly and encouraging in this area. I think they appreciate when we try. I've found Rue Chaponniere which was awesome. There are bunch of trails behind my house in Nyon, and the mountains surround the city, and its soo pretty. On Friday my host mother took me and Mariann out to eat and gave me a tour of the surrounding cities by car. France is literally 20 mins. away from Nyon. Today Virginia and I (the other American who lives here) took the train to Lausanne, France, and it was beautiful. They also have the best ice cream here.

Well I will try to keep up on keeping up, I miss you all, and hope to have more exciting things to write about. :)

Salut!