Oui.

Bonjour mes amis.

There is just TOO MUCH to say, I don't even know where to begin.

I have blisters on my feet from walking so much. I can't figure out how to wash my hair properly under the pathetically weak shower pressure. I'm almost out of underwear and I'm planning on washing them in the sink because I don't know where the Madame's washing machine is and she's never home to ask. I dress super chic every single day for fear I won't fit in and I think I'm still failing. I didn't have time to buy food until yesterday and I've been living off of random people's kindness and crackers I saved from the airplane. I started talking to myself because the only human interaction I have most of the time is making eye contact with people on the metro.

I started an internship with an organization that does something I believe in and I feel like my life is taking direction for once. The members of my Church welcomed me with open arms and showed me a perfect example of what it means to be a part of a worldwide community of people striving to be like Christ. I've found myself getting lost in the streets of Paris and discovering the most beautiful places I would never have known about. The weather here is a perfect "slightly chilly" sweater temperature. I now know how it feels to stroll along the Seine while listening to Edith Piaf, and it was just how I imagined it. I just bought a pair of green pants for 10 euros.


I caught my reflection in a window today. And for the first time in a long time, I looked radiant. Take that for what you will, vanity or egoism or what have you. But that is what is was. I was exuding a foreign confidence that made my eyes shine and my normally sour face look pleasant.

I think I am very happy.

[cue the obligatory backyard selfie]