Sorry for the absence, I've been in Counselor Mode. Here are some beautiful pictures and a life update to make up for it.

Dear friends,

It's been a long while since I've posted anything, mainly because there hasn't been enough time in the days to think about anything more than camp. This year I returned to American Village in the role of Head Language Counselor (technically Assistant Director, but since I don't have the French Diplome I can't be called that). I was sent back to Saut du Loup for a month, and have since transferred to Aurabelle, a beautiful site in Provence. I'll give you a small recap of my last seven weeks, and then a big update on what's coming up next for me.

Being back at Saut du Loup was almost surreal, as when I had left the place last August I was certain I would never see it again. But, as luck would have it, I was assigned there to help the new team get used to the site and activities. It was a lot of fun- we had many counselors who were working at AmVil for the first time, so it was an exciting process to introduce them to the crazy culture of being a camp counselor.

I was moved to Aurabelle at the beginning of August for the rest of the summer, but during the few short days of Intersession I stopped in Prayssac, a small village north of Toulouse, to stay with a friend of my mother, who she has not seen since she was living in San Francisco in the 1980s. Anna, who is Swedish, and her husband Fred, who is French, live in Fred's ancestral farmhome outside of Prayssac.

They welcomed me with open arms and treated me like a daughter. It was great to spend time with people I had never met before but instantly connected with. We cooked together, relaxed together, and spent a lot of time visiting Vides Greniers, which translate to Empty Attics- the French version of a garage sale. Anna and Fred are both collectors, so I helped Anna look for blue and white tiles, and Fred antique corkscrews.

After a month of less-than-stellar camp food, it was great to stay with Anna and Fred for a weekend. They strive to eat locally and seasonally, so we enjoyed a lot of salads with produce straight from the market, and ate plenty of melon and local ice cream. They introduced me to Petit Suisse, a type of dessert or afternoon snack that has been made by the same company for decades-Fred remarked that it still tastes exactly the same as when he was a little kid. It's a small cylinder of dense mild cheese. We ate it with honey and sesame seeds. Yum.

After saying au revoir to Anna and Fred, who I plan to visit again next month, I took three trains to get to Manosque, the closest station to Aurabelle. My train from Toulouse to Marseille was over two hours late, so I took the opportunity to wander around Toulouse for several hours.

 After arriving at the site, and after working at Saut du Loup for one and a half summers, I was in for a severe culture shock. Instead of bunking in tents with eight others, I was offered my own room with a sink and a shower (!!!). We eat fresh salads at every meal, and the chef does his best to cater to vegetarians. Being in Provence, there are wild thyme, rosemary, and mint bushes everywhere. We're very close to the Verdon river, which residents swim in on hot days. Actually, this morning, on our day off, three of the dudes I work with and I ran a mile towards the a spot on the river where there's a 14-foot drop off into the water. We proceeded to jump off, swim to shore, and run back. How about that for Adventure Camp?

The camp itself is a small site located in a valley. There aren't any other camps around, so the staff is very attentive. The counselors are mostly veterans and many have been to Aurabelle before. It's been different but awesome to work with so many AmVil vets, and our programming has been stellar since we've had so many different ideas. We've also had the chance to visit a beautiful lake nearby, Lac du St. Croix, with the kids last weekend. Today, between sessions, we went to another lake to relax. I still can't believe how naturally beautiful it is here.

Overall, I'm very happy here, and am looking forward to the next two weeks before I move on.

So, this begs the question- What's next?

As it turns out, I only have about a month and a half left in Europe before heading back to the states. After I leave camp, I'll be spending another week and a half in Paris, hanging out with my sister, who has been au pairing in France, and then I'll head down to Spain. I've got plans to hit up Madrid before meeting my partner Scott in Barcelona, where we'll spend a couple of days before flying to Ukraine for 10 days. This will be both our first times in Barcelona and Ukraine, so I'm looking forward to sharing part of my adventure with him and once again taking on the unique challenge of traveling with another person for an extended period of time.

After Ukraine, I'm flying to New York City on October 3rd, where I'll be hanging out for a couple of days before flying to my parents' in Kansas City and to catch the tail end of an old friend's wedding. From there, it's five days in Denver, Colorado, visiting Jason, a friend I made in Zadar, Croatia in April. After that, a road trip out to Washington D.C. through Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia; passing back through Ohio along the way. I'm stopping to see good friends I haven't seen in a while, since I'm not sure I'll get the chance to do much traveling once I resettle in Minneapolis. Am I in your path? Let me know- would love to stop by for a chat!

I'll wrap up my road trip at the beginning of November, enjoy my parents' home cooking a little bit longer, and then make it back up to Minneapolis by my 26th birthday, on November 19th.

I can't say I'm prepared to be home just yet, but I think by the time October rolls around I'll be ready for a new adventure- reintegration back into the United States. I'm excited for the next couple of months as I wrap up my time as a camp counselor and backpacker in Europe. I can't wait to see new and old friends, and I look forward to seeing the Minneapolis skyline from I-35W after I drive up north from Kansas.

It's been a whirlwind adventure, and when I look back sometimes I don't believe how much I've accomplished in the last 13 months. I wasn't earning money (except at camp), but I was making priceless friends and memories that I can't wait to take with me into the next phase of my adult life. Applying to graduate school is looming, and I need to get my applications in order. I haven't started thinking about job opportunities for when I get back to the Twin Cities in the fall, and I'm hoping that won't stress me out too much in the future. In an ideal world, the ambiguity and challenges of the last 13 and a half months will have prepared me for anything I'll face in the future!