some roads aren't meant to be travelled alone.

I am excited to go home, I really am. I can't wait to see my family. People have been asking me, "Marie, what is your plan for when you go home." I say, "First of all, I am going to hug my Mom. Then, I am going to come up with a plan". Last night I a group of friends came over to my house for a special dinner. Carrie from Canada, Joanna from Poland, Marios from Greece, Reshmi from Britain, Fabio from Italy, Marc from France and Sally from the Philippines. I was so pleased to have all of them in my house. To be able to cook for them and just enjoy the company that I know is almost coming to an end. I did my best to make a meal that was tasty and satisfying and thought upon this quote as I cooked "Cooking isn't about impressing people, it is about making them feel comfortable". That is exactly what I wanted to do. To have my "Mon Amies" over for the evening so that they would know a bit of how grateful I am for their role in this blessed experience. It was really sweet.



This morning, Marios, Reshmi and I, had breakfast together, and then met up with Joanna to go to the top of Mount Saleve. I have been wanting to do this since I've been here, but procrastinated. I have spent most of my time jogging along the base of it, imagining how fun it would be to hike up at some point. But alas, I had to resort the ol' cable car which turned out to be just as well.

When we reached the top of Saleve, there was a crystal clear, bird's eye view of Geneva and the lake. I could look down and see where I lived (or at least the general area) and we saw the Jet d'eau whiched looked like nothing but a sprinkler. We walked a bit, trying to find a better view of the alps and had no luck. We did however, come upon para-sailors who were preparing to make the flight off of the mountain. I have watched these para-sailors from my bedroom window. On sunny days like today, there are clusters of them on La Saleve, these bright dots of color, like pollen in the sun. To see them up close, the count down, the whistle of air through the inflated parachute was so beautiful!







Just before leaving, we found a children's play ground, complete of course- with a slide. If I could not para-sail, this I thought, would be the next best thing.