Sorry everyone, for taking so long to let you know about my trip to Dijon and Geneva and also the past couple weeks. The trip was really great – Hollie and I stayed with Doug and Amy in Dijon for a few days and toured the city with them. We went to the “musee des beaux arts” in Dijon – which was really wonderful; I was really impressed by their collection and also the layout of the museum and the building it was in. If you ever have the chance to visit Dijon, do go to this museum! We then went on to Geneva, where we found our hotel which turned out to be really quite nice with a little kitchen and BBC (aaahh, Judi Dench!) and the lake is really amazing. We went to the famous cathedral in Geneva where the reformation of the church happened and we saw Calvin’s chair (pretty cool) – we climbed to the top and just enjoyed the beauty of the city, the mountains, and the lake. We also went to a couple of parks in Geneva, saw the monument to the reformers and the place where Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born. We took a train ride through Switzerland back to Strasbourg, and the weather and scenery were really gorgeous.
It was a bit difficult getting back into the groove of things as far as classes go, etc. but I’m just trying to do my best, study and read, and keep up with all my classes! I have to give a presentation this week, but it’s about something that really interests me – so I’m hoping it will go pretty well. (Keep your fingers crossed!) 
So yesterday was my birthday. I had a really lovely day – thanks to everyone for messages and e-mails, etc. Hollie, Neelam and Rebecca planned a party for me last night at Rebecca’s after we had gone to a mexican restaurant for dinner. They somehow convinced me that I really needed to sit down and wait where I was and all of a sudden the lights went out and they had a cake for me with candles. And then I realized that it was an oreo cake like my mom makes for me every year on my birthday – Hollie had searched through my phone for my home phone number and then called my mom to find out what kind if cake she could make for my birthday! And then Neelam had ordered a collage of photos through England saying “Strasbourg 2007-2008, lots of love from Neelam Becca and Hollie.” I just love my friends – I’m really going to miss these girls and their crazy accents (banana!) when I go home. Well, the party lasted until about 2:30 or 3 and it was a really great evening – so I just feel really blesssed to have been able to celebrate my 21st birthday with wonderful international friends!
Posted by jennaelise 