CALIFORNIA!!

Well, here I am sitting in my new bedroom in San Jose, California, with the world at my feet, just waiting to be explored. At least, that's how I feel. Today is huge! It's my first day on the job (well, sort of... more like "on the internship"... but that doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well) at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. I couldn't be more excited, which is a good thing (obviously), simply because over the past three days I've been going back and forth on being nervous or excited for this day. It's been such a long time coming, it's hard to believe it's finally here!

I left Saturday morning to drive across one and two halves states to get here. Jordan was so kind as to drive with me, making the trip much less tiring and boring and much more fun and enjoyable than it would have been had I driven in on my own. We drove pretty much straight through, stopping only for lunch and to fill up once (which was an experience in and of itself- apparently I have to relearn how to use the gas pumps over here in California).

We arrived and booked a hotel for me to stay in for the night (Jord stayed with our friends interning in Palo Alto) and even had time for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was absolutely delicious! The next morning we took a self-guided tour of Stanford, making sure to visit the Graduate School of Business. Standford is such a beautiful campus! If I were looking to do more schooling (which I'm currently not) I would seriously consider Standford. What a dream!

I'm living with a darling middle-aged couple who have already made me feel like one of their own. We spent hours yesterday just talking and catching up on each other's lives, as well as watching the US Open! I have no doubt this is going to be one of the best summers of my life to date, if only for the opportunity to meet them. I love watching them interact- just by watching them it's obvious they are simply best friends who have a lifetime of experiences together, and they love it and love each other. More about them to come.

Well, I'm starting to feel like I'm just journaling now, rather than writing anything good, so I'll stop. Either way, the good news is I'm back to blogging. I'll write more later.

Weddings! Weddings!

This week two of my very best friends got married! Congratulations to you both! The best part? Being able to spend so much time with so many of my lifelong best friends. I love you all!

12 June 2010

Becky & Jarom Gunderson

{Cami, Heather, Becky, Lauren, Liz, Melissa}

16 June 2010

Jocelyn and Ronnie Matheson

{Rachel, Ronnie, Jocie, Lauren, Cami}

Passport Pandemonium, Part 2

So it turns out the passport confusion wasn't over before I left for Europe. In fact, remember the lady I talked to at Border Control? The one who was so confident my passport wasn't invalid? Well, she was wrong. Yes folks, it's true. I travelled throughout Europe for a month on an invalid passport. Here's the story.

We arrived in the US yesterday evening, in Fort Worth Texas. With only an hour to catch our connecting flight to Utah, we raced over to customs. Having already passed through multiple security stations in Spain we didn't anticipate any problems. I was the last of our group of now four to face the Border Control Security Guard. This is about how our conversation went:

Guard: How are you doing?

Me: Great! I'm just happy to be speaking English again! (as I hand over the passport in question)

Guard: Oh really? Well then... [insert rambling Spanish phrases here]

Me: Oh no! (joking) Well, since I don't understand I might as well go back to Spain! (shared laughter)

Guard: (laughter stops) Have you ever reported your passport as lost or stolen? (after he just swiped my passport)

Me: Yes, right before I left, but then I found it. (I didn't take the time to explain everything- like how I didn't think I actually had ever reported it as such. In hindsight, would it have been better to deny ever having reported it? I'm not sure. In fact, it probably wouldn't have made a difference.)

Guard: Come with me.

Me: Ok??

I then followed him to a room in the far end of the airport where a surly looking woman stood guarding the room. At this point I had no idea what was going on or what they were going to do to me or have me do. I could only manage a "Is there something wrong?" before he walked away. He replied with, "Your passport is invalid" before he scared my customs form with a big red X and scurried off to resume his post, reviewing the passports of other weary travelers.

So... ya. There I sat in a room in the airport. No passport, no idea what was happening or how long it would take, wanting nothing more than to go home (by this point I'd been en route for over 12 hours, and had spent the previous night in the airport, trying to sleep, switching off between the cement floor and the plastic benched with armrests between each seat.) My group had no idea where I was or why it was taking so long, and when I asked the woman if I could just peek around the corner to tell them, she barked something at me like I was a prisoner attempting to escape or something, which resulted in me cowering back to my seat. Needless to say I refrained from talking to her anymore. That left me with only a sweet Indian family of four for company. Sadly we couldn't not communicate either. They just stared at me sympathetically. By they way they looked at me, I must have been a pretty sorry sight. I appreciate the consideration.

I've never wondered what it feels like to not be able to enter a country. As US citizens we found ourselves passing border control in every country with more ease than any other ethnicity with whom we stood in line. We were never questioned or stopped anywhere. But there I sat, trying to get into my own country, in the room where people sit who can't enter.

Finally a different guard came out of his office made of bomb-proof plastic windows with my passport in hand, asking for another form of ID. I gave it to him and after he asked more questions (this time I tried to explain more, and even mentioned the lady from his own department who had led me astray), he finally told me he was going to have to confiscate my passport and send it back (where to, I'm not sure. I'm only sure that I will never see it again- all of those beloved stamps! gone!). Although it was nice to be informed, it still didn't answer my biggest worry: entering the country. After having joked about it only half an hour before, was I actually going to be sent back to Spain? Or now, without a passport to my name, was I country-less? He assured me I could go home, I would just need to apply for another passport. Hallelujah! I've never been so relieved in my life.

Out in the hallway Ben and Steve were waiting for me. I've never been so happy to see them in my life. It was so incredibly considerate of them to wait for me, knowing we had such little time to make it to our flight. We definitely had to run... and this airport is one of those with a subway system in it to take you between portals... it's huge! Nevermind that our flight ended up being delayed for two hours. We still would have made it on time. But, that is another story for another post. Moral of this story however: hmm... there are a number of things I've taken from this experience. I'll leave it to you to take what you will.

Spain

Spain was an absolute blast and the perfect way to end our time together. By this time we all knew each other well and felt comfortable around each other. We also knew that the pace of Spain would be a bit different than the rest of the trip, due to the nature of our agenda and such. Below is a brief overview of our activities in this beautiful country.

Barcelona:

*flew in early Monday morning (3:30 am taxi! We were there super early... somewhat gunshy from our Chunnel experience arriving in London)

*Arc de Triomf, yes again. Apparently every major city in Europe (at least the ones we visited) has one

*walked around Barcelona by way of the train station (on the completely other side of town)

*Olympic Park

*Beautiful art museum/government building (not sure of the function)- same location as the Magic Fountains. Put us high enough so as to be able to see all of Barcelona- walked along south side of the city just in awe of it's beauty

*walked Las Rambas (main street) full of street vendors and artists and magicians, etc.

*ate Paiella (sp?) for dinner, along with $7 sodas (supposedly the waiter realized we didn't drink and didn't want to lose any revenue- the price for soft drinks wasn't printed on the menu)

*danced the Polka with Dave in front of fountains at the top of Las Rambas

*La Sagrada Famillia (Goudy)- absolutely exquisite building- been under constructions for hundreds of years, simply because of the intricacy of the design

*more Goudy buildings

*Picasso Museum- the largest in the world

*chilled by the Mediterranean beach

*ate a banana

*overnight train to Madrid

Madrid:

*retrieved Jordan's lost books

*stayed at the hostel on Temple Square- all Portuguese roommates

*baptisms

*saw Elder Middleton

*Grand Palace

*Grand Cathedral

*Prado Museum

*Financial District

*Hymns sing-along in the chapel

*quiet, personal time on the grass of the temple

Granada:

*6 hour bus to Granada

*member (Susanna) met us at the bus station to show us around the city

*lunch at Burger King... becoming one of our more frequented restaurants in Spain

*cutest square of street vendors- purchased Mom's birthday gift (green and brown hand made plate)

*town was all decorated for the festival that weekend

*ward party! Youth fundraiser for EFY- dinner and dance (I think they were expecting us the be more of the life of the party than we ended up being... did anyone tell them they invited a group of accountants??) Dancing was hilarious.

*Birthday party at member's house- I'll have to write more about this one- this was definitely the highlight of our Spain experience. Cultural experience to the max.

*slept at member's house- all three of us girls on a mattress smaller than a twin... just part of the experience!

*toured La Alhambra- comparable to the grandeur of the Egyptian Temples in Luxor

*gelato

*Church- thanks to our three Spanish speakers for the translations

*bus to Malaga

*Holiday Inn Express abandoned- funny story- maybe I'll write more about this one too

*played on the beach for our last night

*spent the night in the airport- cards (Scum) till late, then tried to sleep. Ultra uncomfortable.

*early flight home!

*passport confiscated in Texas. Details to come :)

There's Spain for you!

Mind the Gap!

As you look over the following list of our adventures in London and you start to scroll faster and faster wondering when you're going to reach the end, remember that we spent twice as much time here as anywhere else. Be patient. I'm only listing this for fear I'll receive threats of being kicked out of the family (like I did having not reported France) again if I don't. I'll write specific experience in detail as time permits, later on, probably once I get home. I'm categorizing these, rather than listing them chronologically as I did before, for clarity's sake.

Shows seen:

Les Mis

Phantom of the Opera

Oliver

Lion King

MacBeth (at the Globe)

39 Steps

Fantasticks

Wicked

Meetings attended (the "Study Abroad" part of this experience):

Conoco Phillips

KPMG

Deloitte

IASB

ICAEW

ACCA

Places eaten at:

Chando's (our favorite)

Pizza Hut (our other favorite)

Wagamama's

Pizza Express

Dutch Panacake

Horrible Italien Place

McDonalds

Sights Seen:

London Tower (Crown Jewels)

Changing of the Guard

Downing Street

Stonehenge

Windsor Castle

Bath (Jane Austin's house and the ancient Roman Baths)

Cambridge (went punting!)

Canterbury

Dover

Harrod's

Primark

National Gallery

British Museum

Hyde Park

Speaker's Corner

Trafalgar Square

St. Peter's

St. Paul's

Millenium Bridge

Globe Theatre

Tate Modern (gotta love the free museum policy in London)

That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more and pictures later.

France Update

Whoa! I miss out on a lot when I don't check my blog for a week! Thanks to all of you for your interest in my life :) Due to unforeseen internet complications (and frustrations) as well as my ipod freezing all the time for some reason, I haven't been able to access the internet frequently and even when I have, the time has had to be spent on doing stuff for PwC (love the firm, hate the red tape). Anyway...

Where to start? Well, I just feel like it's going to be so inadequate to try to tell you all about Paris because I can't possibly recreate my experience. I'll just say I had a phenominal experience in Paris. I absolutely loved it and fell in love with the city (nothing like Robyn's experience, for those of you who follow her blog too). Only by popular demand will I give a list of the majority of things we did in Paris (sadly there won't be any pictures).

*Walked the Champs Elysees
*Arc De Triumph- climbed up top
*The Louvre- Mona Lisa of course
*Musee L'Orangerie (my favorite museum- Monet's water lillies... rooms and rooms of them!)
*Musee D'Orsay (just for you Dad, because you said you love it so much. Saw a couple of original Van Goghs there, which was cool. I just loved seening the building though- it is a train station converted into a museum)
*The Tulleries Gardens (my ABSOLUTE favorite place in Paris)
*walking by the Seine- street painters, entertainers
*Notre Dame- mass on Sunday, fed the birds outside (or at least tried to), bread from the bread festival outside
*Crepes! Lots of crepes. We found the BEST crepe place on about the third day we were there and from that point on only ate there, no matter where in the city we were. They wer huge and so amazingly delicious. They didn't even compare to any of the other crepes in the city
*Versailles (unfortunately biking didn't work out Cam)- beautiful. I loved Marie Antoinette's village at the back- I could totally picture myself playing there with my sisters when we were little... or now :)
*Eiffel Tower- went to the top one night, and had a picnic below it the last night (cheese, bread, chocolate, sparkling cider)- it was the favorite experience for all of us
*Read in the park
*Attended the French ward
*Paris Opera House- beautiful... I want to see an Opera there someday
*Sacre Coure- also beautiful and also just for you Dad
*Saint Chappell- (stained glass windows of the entire Bible) half of it was under construction, but the rest was great
*Van Gogh's house
*Moulin Rouge
*Pantheon crypt- saw the resting place of Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, Dumas, Louis Braille
*Shakespeare Bookstore (oldest bookstore in the world... supposedly)- I purchased The Hunchback of Notre Dame - thought that was fitting :)
*rode the Chunnel to London- half our group missed it... that was exciting

That's all I can think of... I hope that satisfies and that I can stay part of the family!! I love you all!

Longing for blogging

Hello there. It's been a while. As you know I've been traveling the world for the past two weeks (ish) and haven't had a computer... well, haven't had a computer for most of that time. I'll confess, I've had Robyn's computer for the past three days and have yet to blog until now. I think there's something to be said for the mindset of the blogger, and without blogging for all that time, I started to lose my mindset as such, and thus am only now blogging again.

Part of me is afraid to write anything. You see, I know I cannot capture everything, not even a smidge, really, of everything I've experienced in the past 11 days (is that really how long it's been?). Sometimes it seems as though I was home only yesterday and the time has flown by, but more often than not it seems as though a lifetime has past, with a lifetime's worth of lessons learned in the process. So I've decided that completely relating my experience is not my intent. I will strive to capture merely a couple of my thoughts in my posts, rather than try (and undoubtably fail) to relate my experience here.

It's somewhat mind-boggling to look back on all that has happened during the past 11 days. That Wednesday morning that I left, I had doubts, not even sure if I wanted to embark on this seemingly crazy adventure with a bunch of people whom (for the most part) I didn't even know, leaving family and friends behind. Standing here now, looking back, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have 18 new best friends, five of whom I know I will stay in touch with for the rest of my life. If only for that one blessing, my trip to Europe has been the trip of a lifetime. As was the toast on the lawn at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on our last night in Paris, "to good memories, good food, and good friends!" I'd like to add also, "to good conversation," which, with all of the bus-riding and walking we do, is a very prevalent and pleasant pastime of ours.

{Dave, Ben, Katie, Jordan, Lauren, Addi}

We started in Paris, five wonderful days in Paris, during which time we absolutely fell in love with the city, preferring to walk the streets as much as possible, simply to soak in as much of the "Paris experience" as possible. We've moved now to London, and with most of our time to date having been spent in meetings, have yet to fall in love with London like we did Paris, but have not given up hope that that will happen as we have more time to spend in the city this upcoming week. Meeting up with Robyn and touring her flat is probably the highlight of my time in London thus far. She is so happy here and it makes me so happy to see her that way. She showed me all around her town the first day, making for a perfect introduction to a beautiful, bustling city.

Well, I'm afraid I must call it a night for now, as my roommates are trying to sleep and are only being so kind as to ignore the clicking of my computer keys. Until tomorrow then. Cheerio!