Mission and Me.

Hey everyone! I know I just wrote a blog a couple weeks ago but I would like to share a couple things that have been on my mind lately. :)

First things first: I will not be serving an LDS mission any time soon. I have had  actually quite a few people ask me if I have thought about serving a mission in the last year. If you are one of those people who have asked me, I still love you, this post is nothing against you. I understand you are just wanting to know and that is completely fine. :) When President Monson announced the age change for the missionaries in October 2012, the first thing I thought and felt was, "oh my word I want to serve a mission!" And I thought about it. I even went and talked with my bishop about it. I prayed and prayed my little heart out wondering if I should be serving a mission. The answer I received was very clear and I didn't doubt it for a minute. I was not to be serving a mission at this time. Then over the course of the next year, I found myself on a "mission" of my own. I came to Germany and discovered why I was not supposed to be called on a mission. The Lord sent me where He needed me and I couldn't be happier. 

Just because I will not be going on a mission doesn't mean that I don't love the gospel and the Lord more than anything, because I do. The gospel, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are my rock. I would NEVER be in Germany on this amazing adventure if they weren't. Being able to go to church each week is part of the reason I was able to stay here. If I didn't have that little piece of home with me, I probably would have never survived. My ward has become my family. They were so accepting and loving to me the first week I went to church and even more and more each week. It is going to be hard to say goodbye to a lot of them. 

Heavenly Father has become my best friend. I have cried more tears then I thought I could cry to Him in this last year. I have vented and ranted about everything to Him. And He is ALWAYS there. After I talk to Him, I feel SO much better. It is like He just wraps me in His arms and everything feels like it will be okay. I know He is there and I KNOW that He will always be there. And I am so thankful for that. 

There have also been moments that I have been able to truly use the Atonement. It is absolutely incredible to feel like the things you did are so wrong and they drag you down and down. And then you let Him in and you take the Atonement and allow it to heal you. Or even when you feel sad, disappointed, frustrated, stressed, heartbroken, etc. The list goes on and on. You can just use the power of the Atonement and it is all somehow okay. It is so nice to know that someone has felt EXACTLY how I feel at times. I love having the Atonement in my life. And I am so unbelievably grateful and overwhelmed that Christ did that for me. I love Him more and more everyday. 

The next subject is more of a super happy moment and I am just so grateful!!! I have NO doubt in my mind that I was supposed to come to Germany this year. Everything before I came just wasn't working out and I felt like something was missing. And then I felt I was supposed to come to Germany and I knew that if I did that, I would be blessed for following the Lord.... and I have been. Immensely. Everything is working out! I get to go back to school in a month today. I am so excited for that. I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to work at the elementary school when I get back. I not only really wanted to, because I LOVED it, but I had worked out my entire school schedule to work at the elementary school. It would also look great on my future resume. :) And I found out this last week that I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOOO excited!!!! I really cannot get over how much the Lord is blessing me!!!! So in a few weeks I will be Miss Hammer again and I am just so excited. :D 

I also REALLY need a haircut. Hah. :)
LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Guys, follow the Lord. He REALLY does have a plan for each and everyone of us. He loves us so much and He will never, ever leave us alone. I know that times can seem hard and that you will get frustrated, but remember to keep your head held high. 

Love-

Kasey :)

Woah.

It is almost December.... my time here is almost over... and I am literally shocked at how fast it has gone. I just realized the other day that I haven't written a blog update in over a month... whoops! So here we are now! Not that much has happened over the course of the last month. Halloween was on the 31st. That was actually pretty fun. My family came with me to my ward's Halloween party. I think they had a good time, I sure did!

Nevena and I went to a ballet on the 24th of October. That was SO much fun! It was my first ballet that I have ever been to and I LOVED it!!! It was in the Munich Opera House and inside the building was stunning. But then having the live orchestra and watching the ballet in the building, it was amazing. There are no words. I loved every second of it. The performers were amazing and they just did a fantastic job. The piano player was incredible as well! He played the entire time and it was so cool! I love ballets. :)

I was also able to take a weekend trip to Frankfurt to go to the Frankfurt temple to do baptisms. That was the best weekend ever. It was a super fast trip there and back but it was completely worth it. Being able to accomplish the top goal on my list of things to do over here felt great. And I was also able to do baptisms for my family. That made it even more personal. I love that there are temples all over the world and that the gospel is literally everywhere. I am so grateful to be a part of it. I don't know where I would be without it. :)

Nothing really spectacular happened since then. Except this last weekend, Nevena, Maria and I went to Salzburg! Nevena had a work conference and so I had to go along to help out with Maria. But it was absolutely wonderful! Friday when we got there, we went and walked around the city center for a few minutes then went to lunch and then Nevena had to get to her workshop. So I strapped Maria into the baby carrier and we headed up to the fortress. There was a tram that was supposed to take us to the top, but it wasn't working that day so I walked. It took about 20-30 minutes to get to the top and it was uphill the entire way so I was exhausted! Haha. Especially with baby girl. But she was slept the whole time so that was nice. She is seriously the easiest baby ever. I love her. Once we got to the top, there were a couple of rooms that we could go through and look at. Those were pretty interesting to see. They had a Marionette Museum and so we went through that. It was funny because Maria thought the dolls were hilarious and she kept talking to them and laughing at them.That was fun. After we went through the tiny museum, we just walked around a little bit more. The view was absolutely incredible.

After we came down from the fortress, we went and just chilled in the hotel for awhile until Nevena got back. When she came back we went and walked around Salzburg! It was so pretty at night time! The Christmas Markets were set up and they were just so cool! I loved it!

The next day, Saturday, Nevena left early and Maria and I hung out for a bit in the hotel. After we left, we went on a walk around the city. It was fun to just watch the people walking around. We found a couple more Christmas markets and went and walked through those. Around noon we went and met up with Nevena. Then we went on a hop on hop off bus tour of the city! I listened to the Sound of Music history. It was fun to see where the movie was filmed! I really enjoyed it. We took a stop at the place where they have the original gazebo that was used in the Sound of Music. At this stop we also were able to see the most famous Christmas market in Salburg. I loved that one. :)

We also were able to see the Von Trapp house. We weren't able to get any closer because it isn't open for the public. (In the back left)

After we got back to the hotel, we headed back to Munich. It was a fast trip but totally worth it. I loved it so much. :)

I am absolutely blown away that my time here is almost over. I am SO excited to get home! My school has all worked out how I wanted it to and I will most likely be getting the job that I want. Everything is just all coming together. It makes me realize even more that I was obviously supposed to come here because it is all working out how I wanted it to, and how Heavenly Father wants it to. He just wanted me to take a little detour first. :) Don't get me wrong, I am going to miss this family and Germany like CRAZY but it is time to get home. I miss my family and I am so excited to be back with them.

Never forget that He is there for you. Always. No matter what you are going through. He loves you more than you can ever imagine and He is ready for you when you are ready for Him. Open up and let Him in your life. You will never regret it. Take an adventure. Follow the path that He has planned for you. You never know what opportunities you will be blessed to have. When life is easy or hard never forget to keep your head held high. :)

Love-
Kasey :)

Neuschwanstein and Conference!

On September 27th I finally was able to go to Neuschwanstein Castle! It was so beautiful!!! My day started pretty early as I had a tour that I was going to go on. I was supposed to meet my tour guide at the central train station at 9am which meant I needed to leave my house around 8 to get to the train. I was a little early which gave me time to get some breakfast and wait for my tour group. Well when the tour guide finally came he informed us that he was doing the Spanish group and that our English tour guide got sick and there wasn't a replacement. So we were given the option to go with the Spanish group just not to have the tour. I decided that would be best for me as I didn't know when I would be able to go again and it would be cheaper to go without a guide so that was a bonus! The train ride there would take 2 hours and so I had brought a couple of books and things to do while I was on the train. Turns out I didn't even need them because I ended up making friends and talking to them the whole time! It was so fun. I met this girl and her dad who were from Canada. The girl's name was Robin. She had been a nanny in Spain for a couple of months and then they moved to Ireland. She was there for a few more months and then she started traveling. She has been everywhere and will continue to travel for the rest of the year. She was so funny, I really liked getting to know her. Once we got to the end of the train ride we were at the bottom of the hill where the castle was. The Spanish tour guide told us to meet him back there at 4 as we were to take the train home. And we were released. The Hohenschwangau castle was just opposite of the Neuschwanstein castle and I went there first. It was comparably smaller and less elegant and extravagant as Neuschwanstein, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I was only able to walk around it because I didn't have a ticket inside. It was still amazing.

And then I walked the way up to the Neuschwanstein castle. The walk up was so pretty. A pathway through the trees and it was so sunny and just beautiful. Once I got up to the castle I just walked around and looked at everything. My ticket into the castle was 20 minutes later. Luckily, Robin and her dad had the same entry time so we went together. The inside was dark, but still beautiful. King Ludwig was insane in my opinion... there were swans on everything. And just the way he had things decorated it was strange but amazing. There was a random man made cave in the middle of our tour. I loved it though. After the tour I wanted to go to the famous bridge. So I walked over. That was my favorite part of the whole day. I could have stayed on that bridge the entire day. It was so pretty. Having a perfect view of the castle and the valley behind. It was just breathtaking. After I stayed on the bridge for awhile, I realized the time and had to hurry down to catch the bus back. Once I got on the bus I sat with Robin and her dad again. The two hours went by in no time and before I knew it I was telling them bye. It was such a nice day but by the time I got home I was exhausted. It was completely worth it though. :)

A week later October 4th was the weekend I had been waiting for since April. GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! I was so excited to hear from the beloved prophet and all the other leaders who would speak to us. As I do every conference, I had a couple of questions I wanted answered and I had been praying about it. I have no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father is there and He listens and answers our prayers. My questions were answered in the very first hour and kept being confirmed throughout all of conference. It was amazing. I felt that this conference was for me. And it was just the best feeling. I love listening to my prophet.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I love it. I KNOW without a doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father is there for me and for you. He will answer our prayers in His own time. It may not be when we want them answered, but He will answer them. He loves us so much. I love Him so much. In this time that I have been in Germany, I have become more close to Him than I ever thought possible. My testimony has been strengthened and keeps being strengthened everyday. Coming to Germany has been the most trying thing of my life so far but it has prepared me for my future in so many ways. I am so thankful for the chance to be here. :)

Life is good. I am enjoying everything even when it is difficult. I try everyday, especially through the hard days to keep my Head Held High and I encourage you to do the same!!!

Love always-
Kasey :)

Overload!!!

Hey everyone!!! WOW I have not written in almost two months! Things have been so busy crazy! But here we go! Time for an overload of updates!!!

Since the last time I wrote, I have been to Montenegro! It was super fun, exhausting and completely not what I was expecting but I LOVED it! The mom left with the kids on August 7th and I had the next week to go explore Munich! That was fun. I went into the city almost every single day. I got all of my souvenir shopping done which is nice to get to check off my list of things to do. I went on a free city walking tour and saw all of the main sites. I loved that. One of my favorite things was going into the Frauenkirche and seeing the Devil's footprint. (Look up that story online, it's pretty interesting.) I also was able to go to the Deutches Museum and Dachau. I had been to the Deutches Museum before with the mom and kids, but it is HUGE and so I went again to see more.

(Deutches Museum)

Dachau was absolutely morbid. I had a feeling of utter disturbance the entire time I was there. I was moved to tears more than once, but most of the time I couldn't even cry because I felt numb. I could not get over the horrible things I was seeing and hearing. I can't and never will be able to understand how someone could enjoy causing pain to another human. It was awful. But at the same time, I felt a sense of peace (which is weird to say about Dachau) because I know without a doubt those souls are Home. And there isn't a better place they could be. So that was Dachau.

Dachau

And then on Friday the 15th, Zeljko and I left for Montenegro at 11pm. I fell asleep after an hour of driving. I actually don't even think it took that long. Haha. And I slept pretty well for being in a car. I woke up around 8am and we still had so long to go, but we made it. We talked and the ride was actually pretty enjoyable. We were able to go on a ferry across the river with the car. That was super fun for some reason. I loved it. And we stopped and went on the sea side for an hour. Then we were finally there! We stayed the first night at Zeljko's mom's house and then the next day we went to the Coast house and met Nevena and the kids there! :) We stayed there all day and went swimming and just played in the sun. That afternoon we went back to Podgorica and we were there for the next couple of days. And then we went HIKING! It was so beautiful. We met this amazing family who were the sweetest people ever. We saw some amazing sights and I just loved it.

The next week we were at the coast! The Adriatic Sea is beautiful. I really enjoyed being on the coast. I had so much fun... and Kasey learned how to swim!!!! WHAT?! I am still pretty shocked about it it. It took not as long as I thought it would. It was scary, and I almost talked myself out of it. But I did it. And I am so happy I did. The boys were and are so proud of themselves because they helped me the most. So that was the greatest experience of the three weeks.

The last week we were in Podgorica everyday. The family spent a lot of time visiting friends and family but it was okay. I had fun exploring Podgorica a little bit. I went shopping and spent way too much money and I had a really fun time. The whole Montenegro experience was super fun, exhausting and sometimes stressful, but I would do it again. And then the drive back was fun. Zeljko and I had a great time together. We now have many inside jokes and fun memories together. I really am glad that Zeljko and I had that time together. It was nice to get to know him a little more. :)

After we got back from Montenegro we have been pretty busy! The boys started school on my birthday... I am now a 21 year old. They were so cute on my birthday. They made me a carrot cake which is my favorite cake. They got me flowers and a super cute picture book. Oh and Nevena and I are going to a ballet in the opera house in the middle of October! I am SUPER excited for that! And we went to KFC for dinner. Haha... something American for my big day. It was just a great day overall. I loved when Doro would tell me "Happy Birthday Kasey" because it was adorable. One of the best birthday presents I got was finishing the Book of Mormon again! I love that book so much. I honestly have no idea where I would be without it and without the gospel. I am proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My life wouldn't be complete without it. I am so thankful that no matter where I go in the world, the gospel is still the same. It gives me a sense of home. I love going to church and as soon as I walk in those doors I feel home.

My niece was born on the 18th. So I am now Aunt Kasey!!!! I am going to spoil that little girl like crazy when I get home. Favorite aunt status. :) She is perfect in every way and I can't wait to meet her in 3 months.

I cannot believe I leave in 3 months. I feel like I was just saying that I had only been here for 3 months. It has gone so fast. I have grown SO much since I got here. I love the person I have grown into. I have a lot more to learn and to grow up even more, but I like where I am headed. :)

This last weekend Nevena, Maria and I went to Bonn for Nevena's work conference. It was super ironic that we went there because Bonn is where I was going to go very first with a different family. It was funny to me going there because after they told me they decided on someone else, I never thought I would see Bonn... but I was there this last weekend! It is a super cute city. It has a lot of history to it. I really enjoyed walking around it for a couple hours. It was also nice to have a girls weekend. Even thought Nevena was at work things, I still enjoyed it. :)

Well... I will be better over the course of the next three months with my last German adventures. I cannot believe it is almost over. I am looking forward to going home for so many different reasons: my family, my niece, I get to go to school again, being in an LDS community, my ward, my neighborhood, work, a boy, my friends, and just being home. But I am also really looking forward to the rest of my time here: being in Germany during fall, Oktoberfest, Neushwanstein castle, spending as much time with my family here, Christmas in Germany, the ballet, my ward, going to the Frankfurt temple and many other things! I will be busy, it will go fast and I am sure I will be having all sorts of crazy emotions so I have to keep my head held high! :)

I hope all of this all made sense. Just little snippets of things that have happened! Thanks for reading! I love you all!

Love-
Kasey :)

Things Are FINALLY Coming Together!!!!!! :)

Oh my goodness. I am just so enthusiastic right now that I have to blog about it!!!! I don't remember if I ever put the reason why I came to Germany on my blog, other than that Heavenly Father obviously wanted me here. So here is the short version of the story, because it will help make my enthusiasm more clear. :)

After I graduated high school in 2012, I went to college in the fall. While I was there it was a really hard year. Even though I made life long friends who I love to pieces, it was just hard being away from my family. (Which now seems hilarious because I am 8000 miles away from home!!! Haha.) So that school year was rough and it was really stressful having to worry about paying for school. I have never had to worry about paying for everything on my own and I didn't have a job to help pay for things. That was extremely hard. I ended up deciding to transfer to a school right near my home so that I could live at home and not have to worry about paying for extra things. About 3 weeks before I was to begin school in 2013, I found out that my FAFSA had been selected for verification. There was a TON of paperwork that I had to fill out, and plus all of my transfer things I had to do, my financial aid did not go through in time for school. And so I had to take that year off of school to work and earn money. So the school year 2013-2014 I was just going to work at the elementary school.

Then, I think in September, I started to have the feeling that I should get another job so I could earn more money. I began looking but nothing was really hiring, and I did NOT want to work in a fast food/restaurant type of a job again. I was talking with one of the moms that I babysat for and she mentioned a website she used to find a nanny job. So I thought maybe that would be a good idea. Stay home, find a family close by to nanny and still work at the elementary school. I signed up for this website and almost immediately started getting emails from families all over the world... none of which were in Utah. I turned down most of them right away. And then I got a few from Utah but none of them felt right. That is when a family in Germany contacted me. We started talking and I really liked them, but long story short, they went with another girl and I was devastated. Then I found another family in Germany and here I am!

So the whole reason that I even thought of being a nanny was because my school didn't go through and it was the most frustrating thing ever. This year while I have been in Germany I had to obviously get things figured out for school while I am here. Which I am finding out was WAY more frustrating than getting it figured out at home. But a couple of weeks ago I found out that I was selected for verification again. I was SO worried that it wasn't going to go through again and that I would have to wait another year before going to school. I had to turn in some paperwork and thankfully my mom is amazing and helped me out with it. And I just found out a few minutes ago that...........

I GET TO GO TO SCHOOL IN THE SPRING AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My financial aid went through without a glitch at all. I almost started screaming with excitement!!! I called my mom and basically screamed it at her. Haha. I have NEVER thought that I would be so excited to go to school in my entire life. Things are finally coming together for when I get home. There is nothing greater in my life right now than my desire to become a teacher. Obviously I want a family, and if that comes a long before hand than I will be more than happy, but right now as a single women, I just want to teach!!!! And now that I know I get to go to school when I get back in the Spring, I am one step closer!!!!!

I am so grateful that Heavenly Father is there watching out for me and that He cares about what I care about. I love Him so much!!!

Sorry if this was confusing at all, I wrote it really fast because I am just filled with excitement! Haha!

Thanks for reading, and even if things get frustrating, or you are worried about something, keep your head held high! It will all be okay.

Love-
Kasey :)

Realizations.

What is the world. How is it already July!?  I do not understand how the time is passing so fast. I may cry. Either from excitement or from sadness I haven't decided which yet. Probably both. I cannot believe I will be home in less than six months. It feels like I just got here! As Luka says... "I think you have only been here for a week! Not six MONTHS!" I love that boy.

As the title says I had some realizations this week. Number one) I have less than six months left. I honestly can't believe it. Number 2) Our family is going to Montenegro in a month. And I am SO excited! I get to have two weeks to go explore Munich while the mom and kids go for the first two weeks of August. And then the dad and I are going to be driving there in the middle of August. It will take 15 HOURS. Longest period of time that I will be in a vehicle at once. But at least it is with Zeljko. He usually makes things fun. Haha. Number 3) I have to start worrying about being a grown up again.... I have school to look forward to and actual work. Although if I get a job at the elementary school again it won't seem like work. So I am hoping that happens! Number 4) My little brother and best friend leaves on his mission in a week!!! I am slightly freaking out because I don't want him to go but I am so excited for him and so proud of him!!! Number 5) I love the gospel more and more everyday. And number 6) I need a haircut.

Now to expound on each item. I really feel like I should not be saying that I only have six months left. It makes me sad, happy, nervous and way excited. I am sad because I love this family as much as my family and having to leave another family behind, this time I don't know how long for, is going to kill me. I am already planning on visiting them as much as I possibly can. Which probably won't be that often because it is too expensive to come over here all the time. So I am going to start saving! Hah. This family has done so much for me in just the short time we have been together. I have learned and grown so much in these last six months and I can't wait to see what else happens in the next six months. I love each and everyone of them for their own reasons. Zeljko reminds me so much of my own father that it makes me laugh. He is always doing random things like my dad and he likes the same things that my dad likes. It is funny. The mom is amazing. She is such a great example to me. The things that she does for this family and for her work are incredible. She is the greatest friend that I have over here. We talk about everything and I feel so comfortable around her. It is nice to have someone away from my own mother to talk to.

The boys. They are hilarious. There is no other way to describe them. They are just the best kids and I feel so blessed to be here with them. It makes me sad knowing that I won't be with them for very much longer but it just makes me want to be the best I can be and to have the most experiences I can with them before I have to leave them.

And the girls. I spend the most time with those two and I just love them. I feel as though they are my little sisters I never had. :) I love listening to Doro as she tries speaking to me in English. And I am in love with little Maria. She has started rolling over ALL the time and she is constantly just scooting herself in circles. Haha. I love her so much. I gave her a bath the other day and it was a lot of fun. We love going on walks. I just love them. It makes me sad knowing that Maria won't remember our time together but she will know who I am as I will keep in contact with them always. She can think of me as her aunt I have decided. Hahah. They all can.

I am SO excited for Montenegro. It will be so fun to go on vacation with the family. I am also really excited for the two weeks I will have to go exploring around. It will be fun to get out and see Munich and just have a bit of time for myself. I am not really looking forward to the drive to Montenegro but it should go well as I love Zeljko and it will give us time to get to know each other REALLY well. Ha. It will be fun.... hopefully.

I am already having to start worrying about school. How to pay for it, what classes I need to sign up for, and a whole bunch of other things have come up because I have taken time off. But it will all be okay. I know that I was supposed to come here and because I was supposed to come, I know that He will make everything okay. I am actually SO excited to get back to school. I want to get my degree as soon as I possibly can so I can finally start teaching and have my own classroom! I am so excited for my mom as she got a teaching job finally and will start teaching fifth grade in August. She is so very excited and nervous as she will be doing everything herself. She is going to be an awesome teacher. :) I am hoping that when I get back that I will be able to get a job at the elementary school again. I loved working there, it didn't seem like work because I loved it so much. And it gives me great experience for my future jobs! So keep your fingers crossed for me that I can work there again!

I am so nervous for my brother to leave. I know that he will be in the Lord's hands and that everything that happens is for a reason. He is going to be an amazing missionary. I can't believe my little brother is going on a mission already. It will be super hard for me as we won't see each other for two and a half years, but it will go fast. I love him so much and I am so grateful he is my best friend. Madagascar is lucky to get him. It will be the best experience for him and I can't wait for all of his stories!

I LOVE the gospel! I was finally able to go back to church this last Sunday. I have been travelling and my way there is all messed up so it has been awhile since I have been but it was SO amazing to go back. I almost started crying as I got there because I felt so home and complete. It was the weirdest feeling and I can't explain it to you but just know that I know without a doubt that it is true. I am so proud and happy to be a part of the gospel. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for me, as I am here in Germany... haha. And I know He has a plan for everyone of you! He will never leave us alone. He loves us too much. My faith in Him has grown so much since I have been here. There isn't a day that goes by where I am not grateful for my love for the gospel and for being a part of it. Nothing in this world will ever change the way I feel about my love for Him and the gospel. :)

And last but not least... I need a haircut so badly. Haha. In case you all wanted to know.

Well I love you all so much! I can't believe how fast time is going! I hope you are all having a wonderful summer vacation and getting things done! I hope you are keeping your head held high at all times. It makes things go faster! :)

Love always
-Kasey :)

Prague and Paris!!!

WOW!!! Sorry it has been so long since I last updated this thing! I kept telling myself that I needed to write another blog post but I just got SO busy that I didn’t realize how fast time was flying by! I have been having a wonderful time though! And I will tell you all about it!

At the beginning of May, I went to Prague! It was so beautiful! I went with a youth group from my family’s church. It was super great. They were all really nice and I was so grateful that I had the chance to go with them. I made some new friends and it was really awesome. We went Saturday and Sunday. The bus ride there took about 5 hours which wasn’t that bad at all. I slept the whole time as we left at 6 in the morning… and the night before I only got like 4 hours of sleep so I was really tired. When we got there we all tried to check into our hotel but the rooms weren’t ready for us so we had to wait. We just left our luggage with them and then we went to explore Prague. They left it up to us with what we wanted to do, but the four people that had organized the trip were kind of group leaders which was really nice. I stayed with a girl named Shirley. She was absolutely wonderful. I really liked her. We went to the Prague castle and we climbed up the tower which was super hard. It was nothing compared to what I did in Paris a couple of weeks later, but it was definitely harder than Paris. Which is weird. We also went to the mini Eiffel Tower that they have. That was about 400 steps up. It was really pretty at the top. We had real authentic Czech food that night for dinner and it was super yummy. I had honey chicken. We went on the really famous bridge, which we don’t know why it was famous… still don’t. It was pretty cold on Saturday but Sunday was a lot warmer. Which was nice. We basically just walked around and saw Prague. It is a really beautiful city. I would definitely recommend going for a visit. =) So that was my trip to Prague. Short and simple but worth it.

After Prague I had to switch my mindset over to Paris. Before I went to Paris it really just felt like I was just saying that I was going but that it wasn’t ever really going to happen. And then it happened, and it was AMAZING. You should ALL go to Paris once in your lifetime. It was absolutely worth it. I went Wednesday through Sunday. Wednesday morning my plane was leaving at 7:15 in the morning. I was worried about how late I was getting to the airport. It is recommended that you get there 2 hours early in case of delays and what not. But I was taking the train and the earliest train was leaving at 5:10am. And it takes about an hour to get to the airport on the train. So I was really worried about not getting there in time. But I had nothing to worry about. Everything went really smoothly. My train got there at 6:15 and because I had checked in online the night before, I just had to figure out where my plane was leaving from. So I just asked one of the nice ladies at the information desk and they told me where to go. I got to my gate 45 minutes before and just relaxed. It worked out perfectly. And then the next thing I knew I was in Paris! I called the couple that I was meeting up with and they were just getting their luggage and then they would meet me at my gate. So it worked out perfectly. Once we met up, we went to their hotel first and checked them in. And then we went to my hotel and checked in but I couldn’t take my stuff to my room yet as it wasn’t ready. So I just left my luggage with them. We went to St. Michel’s church very first. That was absolutely beautiful. It was full of stained glass windows. I loved it. Then we went to a castle type thing. Don’t really know what it was. But it was super pretty! And then we went to the Louvre!!! And as soon as we got inside we went directly to the Mona Lisa! That was super cool to see. It was a lot smaller than I was thinking it would be. But it was awesome none the less! So now I can see that I have seen the Mona Lisa. Woohoo! After we saw the Mona Lisa we went to some other exhibits in the Louvre. And then we went to dinner and headed to bed because the couple I was with were so tired as they had flown over from Washington. So they went to sleep and I went and people watched off my balcony. I had the most beautiful view. I loved it.

And now we are on day 2!!! We were planning on going to Versailles and we got to the train station to buy our tickets and they told us that they were on strike. Haha so we went to the EIFFEL TOWER!!!! And took tons of pictures. That was WONDERFUL!!!! I LOVED being there. It was so sunny and just beautiful! And then we went and looked around the Army Museum. That was cool too. After the Army Museum we went and just walked around some other museums. And then we went and met up with Daniel’s parents. They were nice. I really liked them a lot. We went to Notre Dame after we ate some lunch. We didn’t go inside but we got pictures all around the outside. It was absolutely stunning. After Notre Dame we just walked around and found this random church and went inside. Then we went to dinner. Super yummy food. It was funny though because every place we ate at had almost the exact same things on the menu. So we were eating and we were taking our time because we wanted to go see the Eiffel Tower when it got dark. But let me just warn you all… it doesn’t get dark until like 10:30pm!!! It was dark by the time we got there. And it was SO PRETTY!!!! I loved it! We tried taking pictures but it was too dark to see your face so we just got some good pictures of the Tower. Gorgeous.

And then another adventure began… We left the tower around midnight. And we went to get on the train to take us to our hotels and we saw that it was closed. So then we looked to see if the Metro was open and online it said it closed at 11:30. Great. So we started our journey walking to our hotels. We were all so exhausted from walking all day and we were just completely worn out. But it was still fun. It was interesting to see Paris at night time. By the time we were about 7 minutes away from my hotel we ran into a Metro station stop and… we heard it going! We were all kind of REALLY angry. Because it took us 45 MINUTES to walk back to our hotels from the Tower. But to be honest I just thought it was funny. I think it was because it was 1 in the morning and I was so exhausted. I just thought it was hilarious.

Day 3 was even more exciting! We made the plan to meet really early, 7:45am so that we could get to Versailles. It was so, so amazing! I loved it! The line to go inside was HUGE so we decided to hit the gardens first. The gardens are so big. It is crazy how big they are. We didn’t even see a fourth of it, maybe even an eighth. It was insane. But we decided that we were really exhausted from walking so we rented a golf cart and went around the gardens for an hour on that. It was a lot of fun. And then we went and waited in line for an hour to get inside. And boy I was so glad that I waited! Inside is incredible. My favorite room was the ‘Hall of Mirrors’. Absolutely stunning. There were these great big crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. And on the walls there were mirrors and then the other wall were windows. So the sun shone in through the windows, hit the chandeliers and the mirrors and it was just beautiful. I loved it.

 Hall of Mirrors. <3

After Versailles we went and met up with Daniel’s step sister and her husband. So we had Carla and Daniel’s dad, Leslie, John, Daniel, Deon and me…. The odd non family member tag along.  And then came one of my favorite things. We climbed the 720 stairs up the Eiffel Tower! You are only allowed to go up to the second level on the stairs and then you have to take the elevator to the top. And that is what we did. And even though it was challenging, especially since I am slightly really scared of heights, I am so glad I did it. It was amazing.

 First level up!

 Second level!!!

Wheels that control the elevators!

Elevator window looking up to show how far we have left.

TOP OF THE TOWER!!!!!

And now we are onto day 4. Daniel, Deon and I got up early so that we could go into Notre Dame. Man oh man that was amazing!!! The stained glass in there is absolutely incredible. I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was. It was kind of dark inside though but it was still beautiful. After we went inside we met up with the rest of the group and we headed to the CATACOMBS!!!!! I was really nervous about going in because I was thinking it was going to be SUPER dark and scary. But when we got down it wasn’t as bad as I was thinking it would be. It was really cool to see but at the same time I am still slightly grossed out because all of those 6 million bones that are down there were real humans. And that kind of creeped me out. But now I can say that I have been in the Catacombs of Paris! This is crazy to think about as well… the mile long part that we went in was only 1/800^th of all the tunnels underneath France. So insane. After we came back up into the sun, we went back over to the Eiffel Tower to get more pictures and then we went to Arc de Triomphe. I was kind of bummed because they were doing construction on the top and we weren’t allowed to go up. But at least we were able to go over by it. And by the time we got there they were doing the ceremony for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. So we were able to watch that a little.

After we went there, we all split up into our separate groups and did our own things. Daniel, Deon and I went souvenir shopping for me… haha and then we went and headed to our hotel at the airport because our planes were leaving really early. And we had another adventure!

By the time we got onto the train to the airport it was around I think 9:30. And we started going and all of a sudden the train driver came on the intercom and said a bunch of things in French and then stopped the train and a whole bunch of people got off. But we didn’t know what he said we just stayed on. He kept going but then he said more things in French that we didn’t understand. Thankfully there was a guy on the train with us that spoke French and a little English so he told us that we were going to stop for a while and wait for another train that would take us to the airport. So we were just chilling in the train. There was another couple and we started talking to them. We found out that they are from Utah and that they were here because the woman was on a business trip. So that was fun to talk to them. And then while we were talking all of a sudden the Police get on the train and tell everyone to get off. We were very confused. So we all got off and asked what was going on. But they told us that we needed to go outside of the train station and wait there for about 15 minutes while they did their thing. So we went outside with everyone else and waited. There we found out that there were some kids who were messing around and decided to go on the tracks. And so since they did that the police came, arrested them, stopped the entire train system and had to check for who knows what. So annoying. (So this should be a lesson to all of you… BE TRAIN SMART!!!!)

After about 20 minutes we finally got back on the train and about 45 minutes later we were at the airport. By now it is around 11:30pm. So then we wanted to see if we could check in right then but everything was closed. So we went to find the shuttle to our hotel. After calling our hotel we found out that the shuttle came around every 30 minutes. So we found where it would come and sat down to wait….. 50 minutes later the shuttle came. We were SO tired. We got on and we finally arrived at our hotel at about 12:45am. We check in and make a plan to meet at 5:40 in the morning and that we would get a taxi. So that was the plan. I went and set my alarm, talked to my mom for a few minutes and fell asleep. The next thing I know my hotel phone is ringing. I answer it and am so confused. The hotel man is telling me that it is 5:43am but my phone says that it is 5:10am. CONFUSION to the max. Especially that early in the morning… so I jump out of bed, throw my clothes on and throw my stuff in my suit case. I go out and was literally just so confused. And then our taxi driver tries to make us pay 20 more Euros than what it really was. But we eventually got into the airport and I made it home safely.

So all in all, Paris was FULL of adventures but I loved every second of it. Even though it exhausted me to the max. I am so grateful that I was invited to go with this couple. They were so great the whole time and I loved meeting their family. I can’t believe that my 5 month mark is almost here. That is absolutely crazy. My dad bought my plane ticket home the other day so I officially have my date home and it is just so weird to think that it is in 7 months. My time is going to fast here, I am enjoying it as much as I can and I know that I am going to miss it like crazy when I leave. I love you all and sorry this post is so long!!!! Haha. I know you all just wanted to know every detail about my trip! =P

Keep being amazing and keeping your head held high!

I love you all!!!

Kasey J