Shoes & Books Included

Well, today marked the first time leaving has hit me. I was [finally] packing, well more like choosing what I might take when I realized this is what I've got from home for a year! My mum was at work all day and Rachel was at school so it was me and Harry Potter, he's been getting me through these last few days of chaos. It was a normal day - I got up, went for a run around the park, got my new glasses, cleaned the house a bit. It was a pretty productive day. When it came time to pack, I realized it was both simple and difficult to pack "lightly" for a year. One forgets about all of the toiletries and seasons that take up different amounts of space, random things like swiss army knives and climbing gear that MUST COME TO FRANCE [also known as the origin of mountaineering] and so much more. But, everything has been successfully consolidated into one duffle bag, one small carry-on suitcase, and a hiking backpack. Shoes & Books included. 

Daniel Radcliffe was coaching me on the whole long-term packing thing. 

And I got some new specs! 

Now, finishing up some good old Harry Potter [en Français] and to spend the rest of the evening with Pi Patel and Richard Parker in Life of Pi. It's definitely a 117% recommendation.

Yogurt

A weekend in Flagstaff was just what I needed: lighter air, better friends, and more coffee then my body should be able to handle. It was incredible getting to spend time with the people I've grown closest to this last year and it's going to be difficult to leave them - that much was apparent this time up the mountain. Spending time with my close friend Tori before her new roommates (one of whom is my old roommate and good friend) arrived was a blast. We were very innovative as we figured out how to eat our yogurt sans spoons. 

Tori decided to use her tube of toothpaste. 

I used my student ID. We are brilliant. We also utilised the box of strawberries I had just bought. It was a lovely breakfast in her new abode.  Tay Tay, my roommate from last year and very close friend, is rooming with Tori and one other girl this year and it was both very happy and very sad to see them get settled. Excitement hung over our heads as everything found its special place in their new home and the boundaries of their new world expanded. However, it's a strange phenomenon to come home but not have a permanent place in it besides the hearts of those you love [and hopefully who love you back]. Maybe that is part of my wandering, loving and appreciating the people in my past and in my present and welcoming those in my future with open arms and an open mind. 

Rogane

This is my baby sister, Rachel. I've had the pleasure of spending a lot of down time with her these last few days and have noticed that as we've gotten older, we've grown to appreciate one another more than our past would like to say. One favorite memory I do not recall but many recall for me [so I suppose it's more of a story] is an ancient road trip. I was sitting next to my sister and we were about 9 and 5. My cousin Hannah asks me if I would like an apple, my response: "I hate apples!" so naturally, turning to Rachel... "Rachel! I hate you!" And thus begins the sibling smack-down. These next few clips are a series I like to call, 'packerobics' in which Rachel shows the proper ways to stretch and perform aerobic excercises whilst [jan]sporting a backpack (filled with every textbook she could fit into it). We've come a long way since 9 and 5. 

This last clip is a picture from a year ago, a little throwback one might say, to a sissy date Rachel and I took. She's grown so much from the pip-squeak she used to be and now she's both taller than me and maturing faster than an x-cubed graph. Leaving her will be hard but coming back to see how much she has changed will be a gift unique of its quality and special because she will always be my beloved Rogane. 

Quebeqoi?

Wide-eyed and red faced I looked at Noemie, taken aback as she quickly spoke at me in French this evening. For the last 3 months my mother has gushed about a woman she works with who is from Quebec and at work has gushed about my soon-to-be-abroadness. Naturally, it happened that Noemie wanted to meet me before I left so we could talk French at eachother so I made my way out to Phoenix, absolutely thrilled to get to speak French again after a summer talking about lefse and bars in the land of bland. It took a couple of minutes to adjust to listening and responding in French before my face returned to its normal color but we babbled for a solid twenty minutes after that. Finally work beckoned her away again but goodness did it feel good to awaken a few slumbering vocal chords with such vigor!

I've always marveled at the idea of language and that we can connect to one another through a string of sounds and that these melodies and disonances somehow attribute meaning to each miniscule aspect of life. This summer I often asked campers what language they think is spoken in Heaven and in which language God hears our prayers. I am excited to see God's people transcending language to meet in mutual praise as I continue my adventures. 

Exodus

Technology and I, we do not agree. Why it took me 4 days to create this blog astounds me and after a summer sans tech I've decided that a year without a phone will serve me better abroad (sorry mom).

As this happens to be the first, most monumental of all posts to grace the wall of my highly pretentious blog, I need to talk about stuff. Specifically the placement and quantity of 'stuff' that I have encountered in the last four days. I just got home from a summer in Wisconsin, #shorttermhoarding. Not only bringing too much 'stuff' but accumilating things along the way. Clothing, books, crafting supplies. But, God had a plan for me. He didn't want me to have to pay for overweight bags when flying home, so he sent rain. Lots of rain. All the rain to soak my bags who had found a home in the bed of Clyde, my humble pick-up. This way, I would have to throw out all of my envelopes [now ruined], my staff binder [also in shambles], and countless other paper products that had found their way to the bottom of my bags [and managed to soak up all the rain]. Whoops... Well, I was on one side of Wisconsin and my flight was leaving at 6 am on the other side of the state in two days with my soaking (yet not overweight) bags. Technology decides to cheat at hide and seek whilst at camp leaving us a bit quiet on the ringer front. Lo and behold, my grandpa and cousin show up to commandeer the pick-up. Belongings and all, stranding me in the valley. Around 11.30 the next morning as we are preparing lunch, my uncle shows up to take me to town and then on to Madison, the middle of the state, at which I would take a bus to Milwaukee for the evening with my cousin. That morning we rose at the ripe hour of 4.00 to leave by 4.30. After waiting to check my [not overweight] bags I  proceeded through security just to almost miss my plane. Then, a twenty minute layover proved interesting, running through the terminal to find desk attendants looking at their nails and the other passengers not yet boarding. I finally made it home around 9 am Wednesday morning. Thus ends my exodus from Wisconsin to Arizona. 

Thus begins my exodus from Arizona to Los Angeles. The day after I got home I flew to LA with my mother, Nancy. Bless her heart for jumping through all these hoops with me. The study abroad office says "It'll cost the same as studying on campus!" WRONG. Hidden expenses. Hidden expenses. Hidden expenses. A flight here, a visa there, chocolate everywhere. Oopah! 
1. We fly into LA, drive in LA, find Le Consulat Général de France.
2. Mom gets kicked out of the consulate.
3. Katie thinks her visa is being denied, hasn't signed up for classes or housing in Flagstaff, flight leaves on the 29th. Katie isn't going to have a visa. Katie isn't going to France. Katie isn't going to college anymore. Katie has not future. Tears. 
4. Woman at the consulate makes it happen. KATIE GETS A VISA!
5. I'M GOIN TO FRANCE YA'LL!