O Holy night.

Just wanted to let you know that I not only got one snuggie for Christmas.... but two. So genius those snuggie people.

what a whirl-wind!!!!

So euro-term is over now and i surprised my friends and brother by coming home early because im sneaky like that.. but I will talk about that a little later. I'm sorry it has been so long since I last updated but life has been crazy! I went to Bern and Luzern switzerland with scott krueger, kristin, gabby, rachel, and megan and we had a great time. Both cities were really beautiful and we got to explore and see a bunch of really cool things. Some went and played in the snow when we were in luzern and me and meg explored the city and it was really fun! The girls got to play a really great prank on scott and the weekend was just spent relaxing and enjoying eachother. The weekend after that was the last one before the end of our trip and me and scott lingner decided to go to munich which was really fun! We stayed in a place called the easy palace which is the closest hostel to the octoberfest field which was cool to see. We got to walk around the city and see cool Christmas decorations and watch people iceskate it was really cool! The next day we went to this huge park called the english gardens and we walked around and saw river surfing which is like an amazing man made surfing spot underneith a bridge powered by fast rapids and it was amazing! After the gardens we went to this really amazing contemporary art museum which basically had a piece from almost every pioneer of contemporary art and we spent a long time there! At nights we just relaxed and watched friends, house and movies and it was relaxing and really fun. The last week of Paris was spent finishing up school stuff which included writing papers, photo stuff, and soaking up every last min. of eachother. On Thanksgiving we had our last family dinner at a nice resteraunt and it was so great being together all dressed up on the Champs with Christmas decorations all around celebrating Thanksgiving and eachother! The weeked after was spent packing and saying goodbye and loving on eachother, not to mention scotts 21st birthday which was spent exploring Christmas festivals and friends! After saying goodbye to everyone gabby and I awoke early and headed back to Barcelona because gabby hadn't gone with us the first time. Everything was good and we were on our way but we had to make one stop on the train in Montpellier. Well, i'm just gunna skip all the details and say my backpack was stolen off the train in that city and in it was my two little cameras which contained unloaded pictures and my computer! I was devastated, but I realized that its just stuff and life will move on, but I was bummed and am still bummed to lose my pictures but hopefully I will get them back soon by stealing from friends! Me and gabby made it to barcelona and had a great time! We got to explore some amazing parks and architecture and got to eat some delicious mexican food. We walked an obscene amount and so we both were tired and got to relax and enjoy eachother at the end of our days. We met a sad man named sergio and I actually made a sheep noise at someone trying to explain in english something we needed to find. I love gabby and we had a ton of fun together! We went back to the fiap when we got back to Paris and it was so sad and depressing without everyone we loved there. The next morning I woke up so early and got on a plane and headed home! I got here and drove straight to Point Loma to Miguels to surprise my best friends and my brother. It couldnt have gone more perfectly! I love being home but i miss Europe and my friends a ton! I will update in a few days with reflections from my trip! One thing I know for sure and I have learned throughout the trip that God is faithful, and despight heartache, trouble, saddness, and dissapointment, there will be promises fufilled and joy restored in time and I am thankful for everything He has blessed me with in my life!

ps. im sorry there are no pictures and I hope everyone made it through this looooong post!

Love always and so glad to be home.

The last Few weeks of my life.

Studying abroad is a lot different than I expected it to be. I feel so blessed to be with such amazing people day in and day out and although I miss home like crazy and I cannot wait to go back. I know I am going to miss seeing these beautiful people everyday. My last post said I went to Aix and Marseille and indeed I did. Aix is like a fairy tale land complete with quite possibly the best looking people I have ever seen in my life. It is a city full of character and fountains that run from a natural hotspring so most of them are potable! so crazy. We got to go to cezanne's studio which has been such a cool parralell now seeing his work in Paris and seeing where it was created. Such inspiration.. The coolest part about Aix though i'd have to say is the fact that my wonderful big brother danny studied here a few summers ago and I got to catch a glimpse of some place that is so near and dear to his heart. We stayed in this amazing hotel/ appartment complete with kitchen so we cooked some tomatoe soup and grilled cheese which is enough to make anyone happy who has been living off FIAP caf food. So after a few wonderful days of exploring in Aix we head to Marseille which is only like 45 min away. Our plan was to spend the day there and catch a train back to Paris sunday night... Well, there were no trains left so we decided to sleep in the train station after a fun day mind you of boat rides and really good tasting french fast food. So as we are bunkering down in the train station for the night I text my mom and let her know what is going on just so someone knows where we are and she being the amazing mother she is refuses to let us sleep out in the cold and in the danger zone... haha so anyways, she gets us a hotel for the night and we woke up bright and ealry and caught the train to Paris then. The next few weeks after that in Paris have been full of exploring, painting, drawing, halloween, being sick, Heroes, Friends, and watching the leaves change colors! This past weekend megan condon, scott, rachel and I went to Barcelona and had a terrific time. We got to go to a wonderful Van Gogh Museum that literally takes you through every stage of his life as an artist. We saw some beautiful architecture and our hotel was right on Las Ramblas which is like the main busy street there. Also in Barcelona we went to the contemporary art museum which contained some really interesting works of Rauchenberg, Klein, Motherwell, and cage just to name a few. We did some shopping because everything there was way cheaper than Paris and we had 2 great dinners consisting of Hard Rock Cafe and MEXICAN FOOD. Yes you heard right, we did find delicious burritos in Europe! :) Anyways, thats the main gist of my life these days and I hope you enjoyed it! Love you and miss you all!

ps. Hopefully Pics from Barcelona will be up soon!!

short recap...more later!!

My past few weeks..
more later I promise!
Momma came to visit!!
I went to Aix and Marseille with gabby, anne, meg and scott!
I have been trying to acclimate to life in Paris which is hard but cool and exciting and new!

Rome,Vienna,Paris

Ok guys! Sorry I have not been able to bring myself to sitting down and compiling my thoughts and activities for the last couple of weeks. Rome was pretty fun. I am not going to lie the first couple days I was pretty homesick and I think it was largely attributed to feeling so at home in Italy and the last time I was there I was with my whole family so it was little hard but still fun! Some highlights from Rome included but were not limited to: Colesseum (night and day time!), Saint Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, reading Paul’s letter to the Romans in the roman forum, The Trevi fountain (at night and day! But especially at night! Sooo fun), watching movies at night and listening to the rain and thunder, good Asian food across the street, Papa Germano our hotel’s owner, GELATO, wonderful parks with grass! the Spanish steps, beautiful church’s and paintings, and singing to some sweet tunes being jammed on the guitar by some wonderful friends! Rome was great but I was so stoked on leaving to experience something new and fresh.. VIENNA. Apparently the place we were suppose to stay originally like months ago couldn’t take us so we got to stay in this beyond amazing place that was outside the main city next to this huge beautiful green park. Vienna was actually breezy and it felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the humidity and hotness of Italy. I think it may be my new favorite place besides Cinqueterre so far! We got to see the Venus of Willendorf, which is the first piece of art like ever! A bunch of us went to the amazing 8 story modern art museum and got to explore and absorb for hours and it was beautiful. Vienna also held long afternoons of writing and Frisbee and nights of good talks and music and friends marathons! Vienna was just such a nice change and things really seemed to calm down and relax a bit which was nice. Instead of traveling on our long weekend everyone just relaxed and did their own thing and it was perfect. So after a long overnight train we get to Paris and it has been really fun so far. We are staying in a place called FIAP Jean Monet and it has felt so good to be able to unpack and make myself at home a little bit. We have started painted and drawing with a lady named Cathy at her art studio and it has been amazing. Our first day of drawing we got to work with a nude model named Stephanie and work with gesture and contour. It was really interesting and effective in our quest to learn how to make beautiful forms. We have this amazing park down the street and I fully intend on using it quite often for walking and Frisbee and good talks and I am so excited! This past weekend we went to this all night art festival-like thing across Paris called Nuit Blanche. We got to see some amazing pieces and got to hang out and be immersed in Parisian culture until like 5:30am. It was pretty amazing but not everything I expected it to be. On Sunday we went to an English speaking church in this really nice part of town and got to eat dinner with and meet a whole bunch of amazing people. I am really excited to hang out with them again and build connections and relationships with people around the world. The next day we got our Lourve year passes (yes a whole year!) and we made another Canadian friend in Starbucks. People traveling are so friendly! At the FIAP we have been exploring and resting and everyone is getting sick! Hopefully the slower pace of classes and life now will allow all of us to sit back and get better. Hope everything is well back home or wherever you are and know I miss you and love you all!

Ciao Ciao

I will post pictures tomorrow I promise but I will leave you with just a couple to hold you over!



Oh my loyal followers! I am so sorry I have not been as attentive to my blog these past couple weeks, as I should have! It has been insane and I have not wanted to sit down at a computer and process everything I have done! But I guess I will just for you! :)
So after leaving London we hop on a train to Paris just for a day so we can drop off our heavy winter clothes in our art studio. (Which is so amazing by the way and our teacher is such a free spirit and I love her!) We stayed in this little hostel called "Aloha" hostel I believe and it was great. We got to explore a little bit and Eugene took us all out to dinner and I tried escargot (not for the first time surprisingly) and some other foreign dish. They both were delicious and I am really trying to expand my horizon. So after leaving Paris, feeling about a huge suitcase lighter we head to Venice, which was absolutely unbelievable. Everyday was like art overload and even on our day off me and a couple friends just went and consumed more art, along with sitting in a local square for a hour and watching people and just talking about life. A few highlights from Venice included listening to dueling orchestras in St. Marks square at night, The Biennale (all 3 full days we went), swimming and exploring at the Lido, Listening to some live music as some random rallies, endless amounts of gelato, Family dinners where we all cooked for each other to save money, girls night in which included dessert and a good movie, and my absolute favorite part was being led by our lit prof and his wife on our last night to a secluded dock overlooking the canal. Scott, john, and Aubrey and I played music there and met some interesting people and a couple of us just stayed playing music and talking until like 2 or 3. Venice is a really amazing place and I was so thankful and blessed to have shared it with the wonderful people I am with. So after a week in Venice we left and arrived in Florence (which may be one of my favorite places. just maybe). For such a small place it has been surprisingly hard to get around and remember where we live but it has been an adventure! We have been walking non-stop and it feels so good to rely on something other than cars. In Florence we have been to the Uffizi gallery, the Academia, and have seen countless beautiful churches and the ever-breathtaking Duemo. There is so much history everywhere you look here and it is absolutely breathtaking. Class this week has been in my room because we have the biggest one with 6 girls and it has been great to basically just sit in bed during it. :) I am learning to really appreciate poetry and literature and see the correlation between that and art. My favorite night in Florence thus far was last night where after walking up to a beautiful overlook called Shakesphere's hill I believe, a few friends stayed and watched the sunset on these massive steps and listened to some amazing music. Even after more left a few of us just stayed and watched the city light up and talk and just all grow together in life and love and friendship as cheesy as it sounds and it was pretty wonderful. Yesterday was kind of a weird day for me, so just being able to experience something so breathtaking and God inspired in my opinion really turned it around. After I got home we finalized plans for today, which was a day off. We decided to sleep in just a tad and then head to Pisa and Chinqueterra. Now I know you are probably saying what the heck is that?! I know, I know, I was too! But it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Located right on the Mediterranean or something of that nature is an Italian City called Chinqueterra. This consists of 5 different towns, which you can hike through. Me, gabby, Rachel, john, aubs, and scott decided to do one 2 hour hike which was pretty hard but incredibly worth it and it lead us to this breathtaking city with colorful buildings and crystal blue water. It was basically a fairy tale land. (I will try and post pictures tomorrow!) We went swimming and talked and relaxed and just enjoyed each other’s presence and it was pretty much the perfect day. A little later our friends Sean and Scott joined us and we had dinner at the beautiful restaurant right on the cliff (where almost all of us got something with pesto in it because they are famous for it) and we got gelato and started our long train adventure back to Florence. I gave you a very condensed version of my last two weeks but I hope it will suffice especially because will try and post a bunch of pictures tomorrow when I am not entirely exhausted! Tomorrow morning I will be attending church right outside the city, which my old babysitter and her husband started apparently. I am pretty stoked and I hope and pray that I will continue to open my heart and my mind to all the wonderful things God is revealing to me through this trip and these outstanding people I am with.

ps. If you have any questions about any of this please ask away! I would love to tell you about it!

pss. me and my friend scott are learning about a bizzillion songs on his guitar so maybe we will post some kind of video alluding to that soonish if you are lucky...


love always,
Dana beth

Hey!! I am in Florence!! I will update on my past week really soon! Love you all.

If you be my bodyguard, I could be your long lost pal.

So London London London.. what is there to say! I has been a very good week and i have seen and observed more beauty in art and people than most people could attest to. I cannot believe how much we have packed into this one short week here so far and I definitely cannot believe that this is only the beginning of our journey. The 2nd half of the week started out with some rain which I usually Love! But it put me in a really odd mood at first but got better as the day progressed. After class we went to the Saatchi Gallery which had some amazing contemporary art. Among my favorite pieces in this place was a room full of mechanical old men in wheelchairs. Now if you know me you already know that i have a slight obsession with old people so this just about made my day. It made me a little sad at first because their expressions were plastered with saddness and lack of hope but I found the overall piece to be really interesting. After the museum a few of us got lost and just roamed around the city and then that night almost all of us went out dancing for a few hours which was amazingly fun. It was great to see everyone in a good mood just enjoying each other's company and having fun. Thursday and friday were full of the Tate museum, the Wallace Collection, Les Miserables, and the Tate Modern. Each of the Tate's had some of my favorite artists and pieces that we have recently learned about in class and I was so excited to see them in person.The Wallace collection was this amazing mansion with art combing every wall and a amazing armor collection downstairs with some beautiful pieces. Les Mis was absolutely beautiful and I got to sit next to Eug and Kruegs which made it that much better! Friday night a few of us were just planing on being lazy and relaxing but we were convinced by a certain lady to come out with everyone and I am glad we did! We went to this amazing place called KOKO which had a mixture of live music and dancing music and again we were just all so silly and fun. Saturday was a girls day complete with farmers market, Observatory, starbucks, Pjs, parks, and a ton of pictures. We had a beautiful day in Greenwich and came back home to be hit with exhaustion so we spent our last saturday night in London relaxing. It has been a wonderful week and I can't wait to share more adventures with you all! I think I will be posting a link to my flickr account because i am taking way to many pictures for your own good.. :) Love you all.
Cheers,
Dana

ps. They played this song while we were dancing and it was probably the highlight of my night knowing every word to a song we danced too! haha It was also redone with a higher tempo so don't think im crazy. :)

London is so hip.

The First couple days in London have sure flown by, but I am having a blast! The plane ride was ok but I couldn't sleep very well which wasn't fun on a 12 hour night flight! O well though! :) I ended up doing some reading and watching a few movies and such. When we got to London me and 3 other girls I came with (Gabby, Rachel, and Megan) got on the tube ( London metro) and made our way down the cobblestone street to Lee Abbey. We are imediately captivated by the beauty of this place and we all embraced our friends and it was wonderful! So after we settle in we decide to explore the town and found this cool little live piano place. We sat there and enjoyed this guys renditions of some great songs! After we were all feeling pretty worn out from our travels so we came home and went to bed. The next day (Sunday) we wake up and go to the service at Westminster Abbey.. It was beyond beautiful and really interesting to see how services differ in various countries and places. If you are ever in London, even if your not religious I do recommend going to at least 1 service here to experience some amazing word, art, music, and fellowship. After Church a bunch of us decided to go to a London contemporary art museum where they had a exibit up about words. I am so blessed that I get to come and study here for art! ahh.. sorry little rant. anyways! So after we went to the museum it was time to get crackin on some studying for a quiz we had so me,gabby, sean, john, scott l., and meg c. go to a park armed with some cameras, our books, a guitar, and we have a grand old time just enjoying eachothers company and the surroundings. That night our teachers surprised us with standing tickets for Romeo and Juliet at the Old Globe! It was so amazing and it was their closing night so everyone was really on their A-game. :) Monday comes around and it is time for classes to start... I wake up really early and go to this sweet little devotional with the staff and eugene and then have class soon after. They tag-team tell us about what to expect and about what they expect of us and let me tell you, it is going to be an amazing semester! After class we head to The National Gallery where we got to see works by Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Da Vinci, Raphael.. just to name a few. We had a scavenger hunt with art pieces we had to find and the beauty was so overwhelming! After the museum we walked around and took some pictures and then headed back to the Abbey for dinner. This morning started off a little later than yesterday for sure because I was starting to feel the walking and over-brain-stimulation.. :) After class today me and gabby go on a little coffee date to the starbucks mecca and then make our way (successfully may I ad) to The Natural History Museum. There were some amazing pieces here including a whole room size devotion to the Acropolis. After the Museum Gabby, Scott Krueger, and I decide to take an adventure on a bus to Piccadilly Circus where we walked and laughed and talked and found some more amazing art and stores and tea and coffee! We come back to Lee Abbey and had dinner and then tonight was filled with uno and cards and poetry and pretty soon me and gabby are going to watch Ratatouille... Well, I bet that was more detailed and fact filled than anyone would ever want to read.. haha but I hope you enjoyed! I will be posting some more pictures tomorrow maybe but I hope these will hold you over.. :)
Love in Him,
Dana

doo wap doo wa

The last couple days have been full of errands and goodbyes ( I like to call them see ya laters..) and I feel like I have done so much and been non-stop. I can't even remember everything I have done but here is a list of things I remember..:
Bassam, Winning at poker, visiting kids already at Loma, Goodbye party, sushi, church, Doctors, errands, hugs,hugs,hugs, tears, laughter, sleep, top down in bella, polaroids, shopping, panera, slumber party, packing, music.. and thats just to name a few. I know that is very little detail but I think you get the gist. Something on sunday really stuck out to me. My dad's uncle gave the sermon at church and it was entitled, "why God why." When bad things happen a lot of the time that is the first thing we turn too. Begging an answer as to why, but as uncle bill pointed out, we will honestly never know. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD. - Isaiah 55:8. This is just so crazy and true to me because I guess when bad things happen we dont always look at the bigger picture. We are concentrating on the saddness and unfortunateness of a situation while God's thoughts are different. He has a greater plan for us in the end. We can't know what He is thinking and I feel like that is so frusterating and yet so beautiful. I personally can't wait to meet him and ask a bizillion questions. Anywho, the next couple days will be once again full of a lot of "See ya's" and packing and I am getting so excited to be with some amazing people who I love very much for a few months. :)
ps. Here are some pictures from my bon voyage! There were so many more I wanted to post but I refrained! :)
Love you all.
in Him,
Dana Beth.






ooo we can't forget John! Why is he so wonderful?? sigh.

7 days..

In 7 days I will be on my way to a new adventure. In 7 days I will be one step closer to finding that person God wants me to be. 7 days I will step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I am so anxious about these next 7 days... I have so much to do and so many people to see and it will be crazy. But I will also make the most out of these 7 days and love and laugh and hug as much as I can. Today I slept in ( quite an understatement if you knew HOW long..) :) and then a bit later it was time for my grandma Riley's birthday dinner. Happy birthday grandma! We went to Mimi's and had a delicious bread filled dinner which was so filling! After we came home and relaxed for a bit until around 9 when I went to this music and art thing with my best friend Tera. It was very chill and the music was pretty good. I came home straight after and just have been relaxing with mom and dad ever since. These nights keep getting later and I am hoping that it will help me in 7 days.. :)

I heard this song today and I just really enjoyed her sound and I thought the song was really cute so that is why I am sharing it!



Please note: Me and my brother danny are really excellent at making faces. Jealousy may occur.

..Unlimited Together we're unlimited..

So today's post is going to be explained in a series of pictures.. are you excited or WHAT! :)
Today was my last day of work and I am going to miss it a lot! I have been taking "artsy" pictures of the office this week and I thought I would share one... ooh a pin.. cool... but any who, they gave me a card signed by the office and it just brought me joy! Then Deborah gave me a bag of pounds and euros to start me off and then took me to get burritos. It was quite lovely as she would say and so thankful to have this job when I return!


So after work I drove to east county and met up with these lovely ladies who represent a bible study I co-lead in high school. During the summer and holidays we usually still get together (3 years later!!) and catch up on life. These are the type of girls that no matter how long its been after a few general catch up stories we pick up where we left off. I am so thankful to have these wonderful women in my life! I asked them to get together today so I would be able to properly say goodbye and unfortunately not all could make it but that's OK I still love them!



Dooooogs!


Tera is beautiful



My little Britt


miss jen



This is mean drinking a FROTHY latte.. (inside joke, don't worry about it.. :) )


tera and cori!


:)


oh yes.


joy.


So after I got together with the girls I went home to meet my mom and dad and aunt and uncle to ride together to WICKED! I have to admit I did not know what to expect, but I was without a doubt pleasantly surprised. If you ever have an opportunity to see it I would definitely take that offer! So anyways, we met like a bazillion other people we know there and sat in this cool part of the balcony that has like 2-3 seats per row.. I laughed, I cried, I loved it. It made me want to throw myself into singing again.. we shall see about that.. Any who, my mom and dad and everyone else we were with really liked it too!! Here are some pictures!

Momma and I with our program.. :)


I am so glad we got a picture with the poster!



Dad got so into it.


isn't he amusing?


OH, P-diddy.


Here is a song from wicked for your enjoyment! Kind of odd choice but All the videos were so weird. I loved all the music! Especially the "I'm not that girl" it just was beautiful and heart grabbing..




So anyways, its been a good week and I really plan on packing this weekend! We shall see how that goes...Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers as well.




God is Good.