It's New Years Eve and I'm ready for a nap

Getting over jet lag, getting over being sick and visiting my Dad in the hospital has been an exhausting week. Today we went and visited my Dad for a few hours and then went to my Aunts house to watch the ball drop. I do believe this is the first time I haven't had a single drink on New Year's Eve since I was 18. I was also in a glorified version of pajamas, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. This was perfect because I could curl up on the couch and took a nap! Around 9:30 my Mom was exhausted so we headed back home which was fine with me. I was in bed by 10pm and asleep well before midnight. Happy New Year to me! ;)

Where are you Christmas?

Merry Christmas All!

Happy Christmas Eve!

It was a rough Christmas Eve with Dad going into the hospital. It has reminded me to be thankful for the simple things. Merry Christmas!

It's been fun

What a great family vacation. I can't wait for the next one....now....let's Conga!

Fun Day at Sea!

After waking up this morning and having my Dad kindly remind me that I'm 30, we decided to stay in bed for awhile and watch movies. After having enough of being lazy, my Mom and I went to the cruise presentation and booked 2 vouchers for future cruises! We then picked up Dad and did some last minute exploring of the ship. It was a great final day on board.

In the evening we took Dad to see the Christmas show. Mom and I cried of course when the little kids were singing Christmas carols and the little ones were decorating the tree. After putting Dad to bed, we had our last night of karoke which was one of the most fun things we did all week.

Even though I was sick most of the week, I still had a great time. I am proud of my Dad for making it down the stairs to go to Catalina and I love my Mom for being so much fun. Well done us! Can't wait to do it again!

So I'm 30...now what?

I woke up this morning with the realization that a new chapter of my life is before me. But what is next? More world travel, marriage, children, a fantastic career...or none of these? Who knows, that's the exciting part ;)

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.

- Sir Winston Churchill

The last day of my 20s....sigh!

So here is what I have to say about the last decade of my life:

-I have learned a lot about how to be a better daughter and a better friend

-Life is for the living. Make the choices that will make you happy

-The status quo is not good enough, just say "to hell with it" and go for it

-There is nothing lonelier than being in the wrong relationship

-Loving yourself is the most important choice you can make so you can truly love others

-Beer before liquor, never been sicker, liquor before beer, you're in the clear

There are many other lessons that I have learned along the way and I have no regrets about the last 10 years. It is kind of exciting to think that 10 years from now I could be in a completely different place and experiencing things I never thought I would. I am so looking forward to the evolution I will experience in the coming decade.

Ah life, you are a like a jerky hot guy...you want to hate it sometimes but it is so enticing you find yourself doing it anyways ;)

Our first cruise!

What a fantastic day. Today my family and I sailed off on our first cruise! As soon as we got on board my Mom and I got a drink. I got a margarita of course and my Mom got a Corona (no surprise there!). We got my Dad settled into the cabin and got another round of drinks before heading to the orientation meeting. We learned all about how to make it around the ship and were well on are way to a full on party. I can already tell this is going to be a great trip. Ok, gotta run, maragarita number 3 is calling ;)

So many things to do and so little time

Due to all of my flight delays, I had to get everything done for the Cruise in one day and what a day it was. Nails in the morning, haircut,shopping and then the ever important wax appointment. I am so excited to go on our first family vacation in forever. It is going to be a great week spending time with my family and celebrating my birthday. I am so grateful to be home and I am ready for some Carnival Fun!

Murphy's Law

So after many hours and many delayed flights I have finally made it to Bakersfield. I am far too tired to recount the shenanigans of the day. Suffice it to say, I am up one shower, a cat and a taco bell grilled steak stuffed burrito. It took me a while but I'm finally home.

I'm coming home

Can't wait to see, my family... Cali, here I come!

Fondue for Two

It is the night before I leave for vacation and what a wonderful night it was. After finishing our econ final we all headed down to the bar for a drink. It was great to celebrate the completion of our first term together. After a guest speaker or two I headed to the Swiss Chalet for fondue. It was amazing but after awhile I hit a cheese wall. For any of you who have experienced fondue, you know what I am talking about. After dinner, I headed downtown to meet with some friends. We had some drinks and did some dancing at our neighborhood hot spot "The Lido". I think if I take an inventory, I have probably had close to two bottles of wine today, but maybe I shouldn't think about it. In other news, I almost made a new friend tonight but I had to quickly dismiss him due to his lack of fondness for beer and Harry Potter. These are crucial issues people. He does like hats, which gives him bonus points but I fear Harry Potter is a deal breaker. Oh well, onward and upward. By this time tomorrow I will be with my family...bliss...I will miss Switzerland while I am gone, mostly the fondue. I will just have to replace the wine and cheese with California Margaritas and tacos. I think I can manage ;)

I am a good girl

Tonight was the last night that the MHAs were at La Ferme....4 glasses of wine and 2 glasses of champagne later I can safely say that I am not quite ready to go to bed...but alas, Tourism Economics exam tomorrow. I think I will just daydream about being in California in a few days and returning to my crazy habits there. I can be a good girl, I promise...but just for tonight ;)

Please, celebrate me home

No matter how far away you go, your home is always in your heart. It is in the way you speak, how you treat others, the things that make you laugh. Who we are at the core is part of where we come from. When ever I miss my family or feel alone I remember that I am already home. The years of learning and love I have been lucky enough to receive from my family have given me the ability to make a home wherever I go. Now, when I go back to the States for Christmas I know I will be going home because I will be going toward the love that created that sense of home to begin with. Happy Holidays everyone :)

Oh You Fancy Huh ;)

Oh my gosh...I can't wait to get my hair did and my nails. I just made my appointments for that and some other accoutrements for when I get back to Cali. I am going to be so fly when I go on my cruise....Neeraj..drop me a beat.....;)

I miss my cat!

Very soon I will be home snuggling with my adorable Dagny. I miss a lot of things about my old life. My car, of course my parents, going to Walmart on a Sunday to get something I need at the last minute. But if I'm being honest I would have to say that late at night when I am drifting off to sleep, the thing I miss most is my cat softly purring next to me....only 5 more days!

Tall Chai Latte Chaud

Today I made the trip all the way downtown for the specific purpose of ordering a Starbucks drink. Sadly, I am so out of shape I am still sore from the lower body workout class so I got off two stops early so I could actually stroll downhill to Starbucks instead of taking the normal treacherous uphill route. Pathetic or genius? I think a little bit of both. Needless to say I met my friend at Starbucks and ordered my drink in perfect French, including the ridiculous special instructions. It was delicious and gingerbready! In order to continue our Christmas cheer we took a stroll around the Christmas market and imbibed a piping cup of vin chaud. We enjoyed the stunning view of the snow capped mountains, did some grocery shopping and then made our way back to campus. I then took a four hour nap followed by some serious movie watching. What a lovely and relaxing day. I should do this more often.

I have a goat cheese headache

Tonight we went to Le Nocturne and I ate one of the most delicious pizza's I have had to date in Switzerland. The only down side was that the amount of goat cheese they put on the pizza was astonishing. It was so delicious that I couldn't stop eating it which led to an overdose and eventual goat cheese headache. It's okay because it was definitely worth it. After dinner a group of us went for a drink and rounded out the night with some dancing at Punk. Just a typical Friday night. Dinner, drinks and dancing. I can't believe we have already made it half way!

An American in Paris and other reasons I love being friends with French People

Today was just as interesting as any other day in Lausanne. I made it through my usual 8 hours of class only to have my French friend, Charlotte suggest "eeuuuhhhh Jessica!, let's going to legs/butt/abs class!". Ok, I thought, I could use a good workout since I have been subsisting on a diet of chocolate and cheese for the past week. Oh was I so wrong. My attempts to do something good for myself ended in horrible pain. Everytime the French instructor would say "reste" I thought it met I could actually rest....nope, that means "hold it" or "stay"in French. So I'm pumping my legs up to the ceiling questioning why I am friends with Charlotte, but then the class ended and I realized I am really just out of shape and I shouldn't blame my adorable French friend.

We went back to our rooms and got ready for one of the funniest evenings I have had since I have been here. A group of us went to our usual hot spot, The Lido, and watched a comedy show called A New Yorker in Paris. It was so great. He managed to capture in one hour all of the things my friends and I have been laughing about for 5 months. When you go to an International school you learn a lot about yourself and the culture that you come from. Tonight was no exception. If you are ever in Paris or run into his show you should definitely go. What a great night. A lot of laughing with my French friends and good times.

Sometimes I just cry myself to sleep

There are days when I want to feel sorry for myself and eat a tube of ice cream and cry to Adele...but then I watch this skit and think "do I really look like that". The answer is yes...so I put down the ice cream and call my Mom ;)

Madame Secretary, Jessica White, Fellow American

Today was so amazing. I had the honor of going to the United Nations in Geneva to see Madame Secretary Hillary Clinton's historic speech on International LGBT rights. Charlotte said I had such a patriotic spirit that she could see the American flag spinning above my head. We were both so cheerful as we got on the train and took the tram to the United Nations. However, we almost didn't make it because the gate was closing at 4pm and we had only 10 minutes before it closed. We ran 500 meters and made it in the nick of time. You should have seen us. We looked like we were chasing the Beatles we were so excited.

When we got there we ran into our other classmates and got into the hall about 2 hours before she went on. We met two really interesting people. One person worked for the Human Rights organization and gave us the inside scoop on the topic of the speech. The other is a speaker who lectures on age and self esteem. As we were waiting I was so excited I felt like it was the night before going to Disneyland and I couldn't sleep. Hopefully, this wasn't a once in a lifetime opportunity because I think I could get used to being a citizen of the world.

Find the historic speech below and see if you can spot me. I'm sitting about 10 rows back on the left hand side!

French Faux Pas Part 1: We're off to see the Wizard...wait no?

This is the first of an ongoing series regarding my friendship with two fantastic French Ladies and how I am trying to slowly inundate them with my Americanism. Sometimes I wonder how they have existed for so long without some of the wonderful cultural gems of America. Through my overactive sense of Nationalism I plan to "share" my favorite things with them throughout the rest of our time together. After all, I don't see much of a difference between us, both of our flags are red, white and blue and like any overindulgent only child I expect them to like everything I do ;) Hey wait, that rhymed..haha

Charlotte and Jessica on the metro

Jessica: Oh look how cute that puppy is, he looks just like Toto

Charlotte: Toto?, what is a Toto?

Jessica: "You know, Toto from The Wizard of Oz, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, yellow brick road, munchkins, ruby slippers, the wicked witch of the west, there's no place like home, any of this ringing a bell?"

Charllote: "eeuuaahhh...no...I have not hear of this Oz who is a Wizard? And what bell?"

Jessica: pause for a rare moment of speechlessness, "It's ok Charlotte, I'll send you the link on youtube"

Alex and Chad...stop making me swoon!

Youtube has some great talent. I love the 21st century.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I love Christmas time and now I have even more ways to enjoy it. Today we went to the Christmas market in Montreux and I enjoyed delicious Vin Chaud, which apparently you can get everywhere in Europe. What a fantastic Christmas tradition that I plan on perpetuating when I get home. We toured all of the little booths which are all adorable wooden huts. We enjoyed Churros and then had a fondue dinner in a quintessential Swiss chalet. It was wonderful to get off campus, spend time with friends and enjoy the beginning of the holiday season. Besides the terrifying journey on the ferris wheel (thanks Charlotte), I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now I just hope it will snow so I can make a snow angel :) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy Birthday Britney

Today is Britney Spears' 30th birthday which means I only have 19 days until I make the big 3-0. It seems crazy how many famous people are my contemporaries:

• Paris Hilton
• Sienna Miller
• Nicole Richie
• Rachel Bilson
• Jessica Alba
• Hayden Christensen
• Natalie Portman
• Justin Timberlake
• Beyonce Knowles
• Julia Stiles
• Ivanka Trump
• Alicia Keys
• Elijah Wood
• Adriana Lima
• Jennifer Hudson
• Serena Williams
• Alexis Bledel
• Bryce Dallas Howard
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Christina Millian
• Josh Groban

I have bought their albums, watched their movies and televisions shows, and grown up with them. I don't feel old but it is strange seeing the world grow up around you. In 20 years my kids will say "OMG, have you seen the New Sean Spears movie" and I will say "Oh yeah, Britney's son"..."Who" my kids will remark. At that point I will feel old but hopefully by then botox will be over the counter ;)

Today I was a Pastry Chef

Today was our last day for our Kitchen Practical. Tonight I worked in the pastry department for the dinner at La Ferme. We had a great time trying to become inspired by our plate design and reinventing it for each table. I am glad it is over because I am so tired but it was still a great experience. Now I only have to make it for 2 more weeks before I come home.