Keep On Keeping On

As promised, here is the post-Geneva, Switzerland post! Before I go any further however, there is some bad news. I managed to misplace my camera between when we woke up to catch our 6:45 am flight home and getting into the taxi. So I want to apologize because I promised many great photos! I can't believe I misplaced it and am so incredibly distressed without it. If it happens to pop up in someone's bag by some miracle however you will be some of the first to know! However, before I begin, the photo/s that you will see on this post are thanks to my wonderful traveling company: Trevor Adams, Anna Patterson, and Lynn Ryan. Thanks guys for a great weekend!

My three friends don't have class on Friday's so they left in the morning and began their adventure before I did. As I suffered through class and soccer practice I couldn't keep the adventure off of my mind. Finally the time came for me to fly into Geneva pretty late. Thanks to some research before leaving, I landed safely and took a city bus to just outside of where we were staying! Easy! We were all exhausted by then however so we called it a night so we could get started early on Saturday.

Saturday started off differently than we planned: we lost Trevor. Little communication and a short 30 seconds got us separated for almost the whole day. Ideally I wish we were all together but its a learning experience right? Both parties ended up seeing quite a bit on Saturday. My group saw the Notre Dame Basilica, the Broken Chair, the United Nations building, the botanical gardens, Lake Geneva, the Central Perk from FRIENDS, and the the Patek Philippe Museum (watches)! After a lot of walking and mastering of the metro system, we met Trevor back at our place and then went to an Italian restaurant for dinner that was very scrumptious.

Sunday was definitely my favorite day for a variety of reasons: mass in the Notre Dame Basilica, Saint Pierre's Cathedral, Russian roots, the fountain in Lake Geneva, a legitimate Swiss meal, and making new friends. Mass was in French which made things difficult to understand but I followed along and really enjoyed being where I was with the people I was with. We followed mass with an indescribable experience. No picture could accurately describe my many feelings as I walked around, in, and to the top of Saint Pierre's Cathedral. I spent upwards of 20 minutes just quietly amazed at what I was experiencing and remembering to be eternally grateful for the opportunity. I can't thank God, my family, and my friends enough for all the support and love that got me to that point. Close to the Cathedral was a Russian church that made me feel just a little bit closer to my roots. My friends and I also got soaked by the huge fountain in the middle of Lake Geneva, had surprisingly good traditional fondue, and met some other SLU students studying in Geneva.

Again I can't help but feel extremely blessed and grateful for this opportunity. As my first official trip while abroad, I couldn't have asked for a better experience or better company. I will finish this post with a saying I always keep in mind but that has a different meaning in this context: "Keep on keeping on." Though it seems like something to get one through tough times, I see it fitting as a "enjoy every single experience" kind of saying. So bonsoir (it happens to be almost 2 am here as I write this!) and Keep On Keeping On your own adventure wherever it may take you.