Girls Week!

I have not written in a few days as we've been going going going here at Champfleuri. We are in the middle of a transition time as we switch from Champfleuri run and organized summer camps to end of summer college retreats not through champfleuri. With these new types of camps we dont actually have to clean, cook, or anything for the camp! It's amazing, they are paying half price so they do everything! Yet we still had to get the camp completly ready for their arrival. When they are here we will begin to do some of the bigger jobs around camp that havent been done in months, such as dusting and ironing and other random jobs that someone must do!

This past week has been filled with cleaning all of the camp and then a few days off! On Wednesday Kaja, Kristin and I took a day trip into Grenoble. We had to get up super early...for an emily...so that we could hike down the hill to champ-pres-froges and catch the bus for Grenoble. For only 2 euros we took an hr bus ride through some awesome little villages and ended up in the middle of the city. From there we began to shop for the things on our list...yes we actually made a list! We got some stamps, postcards, shoes, sunglasses, a fresh baguette, some books in french to practice with, a hairdryer for the camp, and a bunch of other random supplies. Since we have been here this was our first trip into town, so it was nice to finally get some of the stuff we had been missing from home. It was sooo nice to walk around and people watch. I love the way the europeans dress and the architecture in downtown Grenoble. We took sooo many pictures and shopped for sooo long! It was really nice to just shop because it seemed so much like something the girls would do back home...a much needed connection after a month and a half in another country. One other thing I love about Grenoble is the little cafe's and fountains that litter the streets. They are everywhere in town and tons of people sit and eat outside so as you pass you get to see some amazing looking food. Sadly we didnt actually eat at a cafe, we decided to buy bread and make our own picnics in a little park nearby. It was actually really nice because we were surrounded by soo many other picnicers and it was such a beautiful day to eat outside and relax after walking around for so long. It was also such a good day to go to Grenoble because summer is ending and fall beginning so there are tons of sales...which us poor american teens love! Then we caught the bus back home, took the longest hike up the hill to champfleuri, and made some friends (they where sheep and sooo cute).

Yesterday was equally as exciting, if not more. We got up hoping that the weather would be beautiful and it was such an amazing day instead of the rain we where supposed to have! So Lorraine, Kaja, Kristin, and I piled into the car and headed to the venacular. This is a track set into the mountain with a little train like car that takes you to the top of Chartruesse mountain. It was such a good view and we had such a nice time taking tons of pictures as we rode. At the top we didnt have that much time as we had an appointment at 1 with the hang gliding company! Literally it was one of the easiest things I've ever done. We walked in, confirmed our appointment and then had our picnics. Afterwards we loaded a truck and headed to a take off spot a little bit from the town. It was one of the fields that we see everyday from champfleuri and when we got there we could see about 10 other people taking off and many others setting up for their flights. We literally got out of the car, put on helmets, had a 2 second explanation of how to take off, hooked ourselves into the parachute with our friendly little drivers (thomas et julienne) and then Kristin took off. The trick is you walk down the valley and at first it looks like a cliff, but its really only a drop and then a steep hill that you then begin to run down as your parachute climbs into the sky behind you. When it gets all the way into the air it lifts you off the ground and your flying! I actually didnt realize for a second or two that I was up in the air and thomas got a really good laugh as i tried to keep running! The only thing thats a bit creepy is as you leave the grass and go over the cliff and you take your first look down into the valley below. We were only in the air for about 25 minutes, but we got to see a waterfall, experience some air pockets, see sheep, little villages, record a video, take a ton of pictures, and some of ur even learned how to steer. It was sooo exciting and out of all the extreme sports really not as extreme as I anticipated. I would definitly do it again and recommend it to anyone. The view is incredible, unlike anything I have ever seen. I could see the entire belledonne chain and the chartreusse and Grenoble and the valley. It was amazing! I actually starting to sing praise songs and poor thomas just thought i was losing it! But I could hardly help myself, here we are dangling by a parachute in the sky and you are just struck by how huge everything is and how grand and beautiful. God really is good. Thomas was soo funny and taught me a whole bunch about flying. He also told me that this is his summer job and he flies about 8 times a day, but in the winter he is a ski instructor...lucky guy right? To land its sooo fun. Thomas spins us in circles lower and lower to our destination and it makes you super dizzy, but its soooo fast! The actual landing is pretty simple too, all you do is stand up and your done! Kristin and I then walked back to the venacular to wait for Kaja to fly down and Lorraine to come back down on the train. I still can't believe that Kaja could talk Kristin and I into jumping and that we actually did it and loved it! We both want to do it again, mabey if our siblings come to visit we'll take them flying for the day :) That's basically the entire story of our flying adventure. It was incredible and everyone should try it because its not in the least scary! O and for our families and friends back home, we're still in one piece and nothing is broken or injured.

Today is the last day of girls week as Kaja leaves in the evening. So much for all the evenings of chick flicks, learning to cook, making jam, ballroom dancing, and going on random adventures planned by kaja. It has been such a good past couple of days and its been really nice to relax and not have to really do much work at all! It's going to pick up again here soon, but for these past days we've gotten to finally stop and explore the place we're going to be living in a little! Gosh are we excited about the coming couple of months, there are so many neat things to do here and so much to see that we will never run out of adventures!