There's no place like home

Bonjour mes amis!  It has been a while since I've written, but I was off enjoying my time in America!  And what an enjoyable time it was - family, friends, delicious food, and fun times.  It was a great way to cap the end of a very busy first three months of the year, and it was a great peek into what life will soon be like back in the US!

813!

Lufthansa started flying a direct flight from Frankfurt to Tampa recently, so I decided to try it out for this trip.  Even though I absolutely despise the Frankfurt airport, a direct flight into America is hard to pass up!  Luckily, the flight itself was smooth sailing, and the TV and movie selection was pretty good!

I watched a documentary on baby pandas - I mean, how could you pass this up??

The main reason I came home this time was to see my dear friend Kim get married.  I went to Kim and Jay's engagement party last summer, so it was fun to finally get to the wedding!  They had a lovely ceremony at Kim's home church in Ruskin, followed by a fun reception in Tampa that night!

I have approximately five pictures from the reception, and of course one of them is a shot of the menu.  Hooray for Viet food!!!

The rest of the time in Tampa was spent hanging out with Nancy Lin and friends, and a random day spent at Busch Gardens.  I hadn't been in forever, but it was fun to hang out in the park and ride roller coasters for the day!!

 

Oh and I also FINALLY went to Mel's!!

I also got to spend a few days in New York - my future home!  I haven't been on a proper vacation in New York City in forever (side note - I just read my recap from my first home leave and had a nice little laugh at myself.. and then this follow up post is also hilarious to me), so it was great to be able to be back.  And it was great to be able to explore the city with the idea that I will live there soon - I am pumped.

Went to a restaurant called Taiwan Pork Chop House and got the fishball noodle soup, of course

Jack's Wife Freda is amazing you guys.  I went there two mornings in a row for breakfast.  This is the Breakfast Bowl - poached eggs, quinoa, spaghetti squash, kale, roasted tomatoes, and avocado.  YUM.

Tomorrow I am heading for my final European ski holiday while living here.  Ski club is going to Val Thorens!  I'm not convinced that the snow will be any good, nor am I convinced that my ankle is going to love skiing, but I'm going to give it my best shot to cap my second season as a ski bunny.  Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Coming soon

Hello all.  Thank you to everyone who reached out about Justin and Stephanie.  It is still crazy to me, but I am doing okay.  "Luckily", I've been incredibly busy at work this past week, so I haven't had much time to dwell on things.  And I am SO SO SO thankful that I already had a trip home planned.  I cannot wait to hug my people.  It could not come at a better time.

One more thing that I would like to share about this whole situation - our MAcc class has had an ongoing email chain about Justin and Stephanie ever since the bombing.  In the past few days, we added the dean of our program, and yesterday, he sent the email below:

"I met with current students and the MAcc team during Monday’s lunch hour.  To acknowledge the tragedy, grieve, and begin to consider how to honor Justin and Stephanie.  I did not anticipate the conversation turning so quickly and sincerely to concern for your class.  A testament to what I often describe as your class’s legacy – a genuine sense of community.

Frankly, we do not know how to help.  But know you are in our thoughts and prayers."

I get choked up every time I read it.  But it makes me so proud of what I was a part of.  I know that I am a foam-finger supporter of the Vanderbilt MAcc program, but honestly, I cannot overstate what an amazing experience it was for me.  And to lose two people that were a part of that is incredibly sad, no matter the circumstances, but in this specific situation, it is just awful.

My two year assignment in Geneva is coming to an end later this year, and I will be repatriating back to the US.  Although I have had an incredible four years overseas, I am ready to come home and be closer to all my loved ones.

For Justin and Steph - #GoDores 

Sadness

By now, many of you have probably heard the news that Justin and Stephanie were confirmed dead.  It is a hard thing to process.

I wasn't incredibly close with either one of them, but when you spend an entire year with only 23 other people, you naturally feel connected to all of them.  My year at Vanderbilt was one of the most formative years of my life - I often think of it as somewhat of a tipping point for me.  And they were there.  And now they are gone.

Shortly after I moved to Geneva, I had a quick work trip to Brussels.  I tried to meet up with Justin and Stephanie, but I think they both happened to be out of town, so we didn't manage to connect.  I loved my short stay in Belgium and vowed to go back.  I haven't.

Last year, some other MAcc friends came over to Europe for vacation and spent about a week on the continent, most of that time with Justin and Steph.  They reached out to try to coordinate some travel plans, but I had already booked some other things and didn't want to take more time off work.  So I didn't see them then either.

I know we all know this, but life is short.  I hope you guys will all keep Justin and Stephanie's families in your thoughts and prayers.  

On Brussels

I am sad. Two classmates of mine are missing. The world is a scary place these days. 

What's interesting / awful is that these days, if you hear news of an explosion in an airport, your mind immediately goes to terrorism. You never think "oh I wonder what happened?" Or "there must have been some sort of accident." Your mind instantly thinks it was terrorism. It's a scary response that we have been conditioned towards now. 

Hopefully we hear some good news about Justin and Stephanie soon. 

On blooming

Hi friends.  Two posts in a row!

This morning on my way to work, I read this post from one of my favorite bloggers.  Jen wrote about how the Spring Equinox made her pause and reflect on the different seasons of life, and it was something that really made me stop and think.  About seasons, about life, about change, and about possibility.

So far in 2016, there are some resolutions that I feel like I'm really sticking to (as I eat my kale salad that I cooked at home - inspired by this salad!), and some that I am completely failing at.  For example, so far in March I have only worked out three times - with my last recorded workout being on March 3rd.  Wahhh.

Winter is the busiest time of year for me at work, and this winter has been no exception.  On top of that, there are some things going on in life that I haven't blogged about that have taken up some of my (little) time and energy.  All good things - I'm a happy camper - but it has still been a bit of a struggle to balance everything.

As we move into spring, I'm going to try to refocus my attention on more of the things that I want to accomplish this year.  In less than two weeks, I will hit a big deadline at work, and that should hopefully help clear up some more free time and head space.  The warmer weather should hopefully help make it easier to motivate myself to get up and get out for some morning runs.  The end of ski season will mean that more friends will be in town, and there will be more opportunities to travel.

I have a lot to look forward to in the coming seasons.  I'm excited to see how it all unfolds :)

What the doctor ordered

Hi all and happy Sunday!  I've been in Geneva all weekend, doing lots of relaxing and getting some rest for both my mind and my ankle.  My ankle feels ok - still a bit tender, but I'm on the mend.  Since there was definitely no skiing on my agenda for the weekend, I enjoyed a great weekend with friends in Geneva including a game night, a big dinner out, time in the sunshine, and plenty of time cooking.  It was bliss :)

Scrambled eggs, turmeric latte, and fresh flowers to start the day :) 

Homemade ricotta gnocchi!  Honestly, I couldn't believe how easy this was!

Sunny Sunday by the lake

On Estonia

Hello all!  How is everyone?  I am currently sitting in my apartment with my feet propped up.  I'm not exactly relaxing... my right ankle is elevated because I fell skiing this weekend and injured it a bit :(  Just when I thought I was getting the hang of things!

So needless to say, my weekend was not the greatest, but aside from that, life has been pretty standard.  Just lots of work.  This past week, I made (what I hope is) my final trip to Tallinn this year! I went there just after International Women's Day, and I was surprised to see lots of cake and flowers in the office!  My colleagues told me that International Women's Day is quite the ordeal in Russian culture, which has had a heavy influence on Estonia.  Accordingly, all the guys in Estonia bring flowers and treats for the female colleagues on this day.

When I mentioned that this is not really a big deal in Geneva, my co-workers surprised me by buying me flowers and chocolates over lunch break!  How sweet :)

Ignore my tired face.  Seriously, I have at least three people a week tell me I look tired.  Yeah, I am tired.  What do you want me to do about it?!

After having been to Tallinn several times since I moved to Geneva 1.5 years ago, here are my thoughts:

They are just so nice.

I love the brown bread.

I love having smoked fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The idea of Asian food is super funny.

They can really drink a lot.

The women I work with are great examples of how to be stylish in the cold weather when you have to walk a lot.

Other random travel notes from the week -

I have confirmed my loathing of Frankfurt airport.  I used to think this was such a great airport, but honestly, it is just too damn big.  When I have to walk for 30 minutes in between gates, that is absurd.  And when I arrive at my gate to find that there is no lounge nearby, that is even more absurd.  #firstworldproblems

I have confirmed my love of the Brussels airport.  Even though I ended up accidentally knocking a bottle of water over into my laptop bag, I still love The Loft lounge at this airport.  Easy to get to, great food and drink selection, and plenty of outlets to charge electronics!

As you may have seen in my travel schedule, I have a trip to Tel Aviv planned in mid-May.  I am a little nervous.  I'll continue to monitor the situation, but to be fair, anything can happen anywhere, at any time.

The drive to Chamonix was particularly eventful this weekend.  Not only did we get stopped at the border, but I only had a photocopy of my passport as identification, and on top of that, the car details were not fully updated.  It is actually turning into quite the ordeal.  Sigh.

I have been nailing down all of my eating details for my upcoming trip to the US.  I am just so excited!  I'm planning on Bern's, Yummy House, Mexican food, and lots of other delicious favorites.  Hoping to also squeeze in some healthy eating and exercise too :)