After finishing my morning class today and finding out my afternoon vocabulary class was cancelled, I had a long Tuesday full of free time ahead of me, and I certainly was not going to waste it. I went home and thought about reading some books or watching some French films, and then it hit me...I have a free Tuesday, and I am in France. So I got up off my bottom, threw on some comfy hiking clothes, and head out for the hiking trail that leads up the Chartreuse mountains up to La Bastille. It wasn't a difficult hike, in fact it was a wide trail that zigzagged up the mountain, and the locals here use it for jogging, not hiking. But for me, coming from the Great Flatland of Illinois, I consider it hiking. =) I went up and up the mountain, snapping pictures with my camera, throwing out a few "Bonjour"s to the joggers, and I finally reached a small clearing near the top. I stopped, sat down, and looked out over the city and the other mountain ranges in the distance, and the only sound I could hear was the wind gusting through the trees. It was so peaceful...and it was possibly the best alone "me time" I could ever ask for. While I looked out into the distance, I was able to just shut out the little bits and pieces of the world that just get in the way of life: School, what to wear for the day, balancing money, making sure there's enough bread for my Nutella at home or making sure there's enough Nutella for my bread...I was able to just shut up for a second and really think about me. Who am I? Why am I here? What am I learning? How can I take this knowledge and become a better person? And most of all, I had time to just sit and realize how lucky I am to be here and have this opportunity of a lifetime. It has really changed me for the better, and I could not be happier! =)
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