ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

hey, guess what??

okay i'm sure you have already guessed.

I'M HOME.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

i wish you could see my excitement :):)

oh wait, you can!

today has been quite eventful.

#1. i am home. well. for two days. before i have to go off to girls camp all the way in Narnia.

#2. my dad was called to be the Bishop of my ward. (i'm a mormon. for those of you who don't know already. i love my church with all my heart and soul.)

#3. i love having my phone and facebook back. let's be honest here. i would probably not survive without either.

that is all for now. i know you want all the "deets". but. it's the middle of the night for me. i'm going to sleep.

Viva la Vida vs. the Sun King.

VIVA LA VIDA.

-Coldplay

You all know the song. You've heard it a thousand times. You know you love it.

But do you really understand what they are talking about?

*disclaimer. this is MY INTERPRETATION. not from internet. just from what i learned from 4 years of taking French and going to France more than once and hearing the history there.

Behind this song is an entire history; one that really happened.

It's called a little man named...

KING LOUIS XIV. (The Sun King.)

He built for himself and reigned from a little teeeny tiiiiny palace called..

VERSAILLES.

yeah no. try 15,000 acres. originally. now a bit smaller.

yet still. that is 24 SQUARE MILES.

enormous.

here's a little history of King Louis XIV.

He was called the Sun King for a few reasons. Number one. Everything had to revolve around HIM. Number two. He liked to be SEEN by the people. Number three. The sun symbolizes power, which he was.

He is an extremely HUGE person in French history. I will not bore you with an entire personal history on him.

"Now what does this have to do with Viva la Vida??!"

I'm getting there.

First verse: Talks about someone ruling the world; in command of everything, under his word.

Historical connection: Louis XIV was the most important ruler of all of Europe; he controlled every other empire. Louis XIV and the French empire could NOT BE BEATEN AT THIS TIME. They really did rule the world; all under one king.

Second verse: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

Historical connection: This is actually a phrase used by the French when a king would pass away. It symbolized that even though the past king has died, a new one is already in place through inheritance, and so the reign of France can continue onward in a never digressing fashion.

Third verse: Things take a turn for the worse; he realizes that not everything is going the way he plans.

Historical connection: The people were becoming very upset with Louis XIV, and they wanted him out. Versailles was built from the taxpayers money and they were soon sick of paying the King for his own personal pleasures.

Later in the song it talks about him denying the church because he was king, and needed to please himself. And then his downfall of his corruption. It talks about the Revolutionaries waiting for his head on a silver plate, which literally was what happened. The French Revolutionaries killed King Louis XIV and overthrew his later successors. Everything he did lead to the Revolution.

This is just a small portion of the whole song. But, I have no time to type the rest out as I am leaving to the airport in a few minutes.

What I find so interesting about this, though, is the fact that it is from Louis XIV perspective, or what it may have been.

I realized the importance of this connection while I was walking around the beautiful palace of Versailles, and saw in front of my eyes only what I had learned about in a French History class.

It was inspiring. Maybe that is where Coldplay got their inspiration as well.

This is my last post. I leave for Africa in a half hour.

10,000 miles away from home.

No posts for two weeks. For reals.

So, farewell, my friends!

homesick.

my entirety is stretching.

body in one place.

mind and soul in another.

i miss home like none other.

being with my family eases the yearning,

but it's just as if its a little teaser;

playing with me, taking me one way or another.

sometimes it hurts.

it hurts every day.

to see and hear what all my friends are doing at home.

the memories they have together.

all the good times.

i miss that more than anything.

you know something, yes i do get to do all these big things and have all these big things sometimes,

but i would almost rather have the smaller things.

i want to get my license. yes, i am 16 and passed my test with a 98%.

i want to have a tan and not be embarrassingly white when school starts.

i want to be with my friends, and have no worries.

i want to sleep in every day, and read.

i want to go to movie premiers. or actually see them when they come out.

i want to be able to text and call my friends.

i want to be able to walk over to my best friend/next door neighbor's house and eat Oreo's with her.

please, don't take what you have for granted. i value these things so high and would trade them for anything.

quickie quickie.

oh my heavens.

i love internet, people.

so after some thought (and a few kind words from dad), i decided i am done talking about my summer. well. bragging wise. because i totally was. and...... i hope you will all forgive me.

because, i have much more important things to write about, don't you think?

anywho, Rome is great. That's all i'm going to say.

and one the dirtiest city you will ever go to.

dirtier than NYC.

here's a few lessons that i've learned:

- family is more important than you think. you rely on them more than you would believe.

- bring more than one pair of shoes for a month's wearing. you may have to buy another pair.

- if you do buy another pair of shoes, make sure you have the correct pair of socks to wear with them.

- if you don't, you will have blisters.

- if you walk around an entire city, be sure you bring WATER.

- water is good for survival.

- it's always nice to have clean underwear. (don't you think otherwise)

- don't think that just because you are in a different country that no one speaks english around you (ahem. mom.)

- it feels good to shave your legs after a few weeks. (grosssss. i know.)

and that will be all.

I'm off to Paris again tomorrow. Maybe internet in the hotel? who knows.

I'll let you know. Sunday is Africa. that means no internet for sure.

anywho. hope you are all doing well :) ta ta for now.

the gameplan. and EVERYTHING left to say.

Alright kiddos:

Tomorrow is the last day in France. Well. Kinda.

Tomorrow is the day that I SEE MY FAMILY.

I have been waiting for this day since the very day I got here.
That was a month ago.
I can't believe it's finally here. I am so grateful it is though!
But, this means i need to go pack... uh oh. BIG mess.

So anyway, here is the gameplan of the next MONTH. in one post. with almost no detail.

Tomorrow, Sunday, July 10.

Hopefully make it to church? Who knows, it's almost impossible for me to. Then at about 2, MY FAMILY COMES. Heck to the yes. Then we get together with the French fam, have a big dinner, yahhda yahhda yahhda. The whole welcoming drill. Then I leave to go sleep with my family at the hotel.

Monday, July 11.

Spend the day doing the same things I did with my cousins and grandparents; so see my great grandpa's WWII story things. Then that night, go to a show for France's Independence Day (which isnt until the 14 but its that night).

Tuesday, July 12.

Leave for Normandy. Normandy is where Mont Saint-Michel is. I PROMISE you, if you could see a picture, YOU WOULD know what it is. It's the most famous château in the world. It's a castle on an island.
Then in Normandy we will do more WWII things. Go to a couple beaches (where Utah Beach is, ps.) And that will commence the whole first half of the day. Then that afternoon we will drive to Paris, and FLY TO ROME. Yes, Rome. I leave for Rome, Italy that day.

Wednesday-Friday

In Rome. Doing who knows what. Eating gelato and pizza and pasta.

Friday

Fly back to Paris.

Spend a couple more days in Paris. Do some shopping, eating, sightseeing, etc.

Then fly to Africa. Kenya, to be exact.

Please, go watch this (if you want the short version)
and/or this (if you want the whole thing. i recommend this one.)

WARNING.

before you watch, be prepared for MATURE MATERIAL. This isn't "funny" stuff that we talk about. It's mature and that you need to have an open mind about, and it concerns the lives of millions of people in 3rd world countries everywhere.

This is the reason why my mom and I go to Africa.


The reason why I'm telling you all this now, is because I WILL NOT HAVE COMPUTER ACCESS UNTIL I AM HOME FROM AFRICA. Yes, it is going to be a very long time. Until August 1, to be exact. I am terribly sorry for this. But, what can I do about it?

I promise you all that I will have PICTURES when I get back!! From France, Italy, and Africa.

Oh, and the day after I get back from Africa, I go to Girl's Camp. Cool. Another week without blogging. It's okay though, I promise again to have pictures :)

So, this is one of my last posts for a whole entire month! Please take it seriously, go watch the videos I posted! They are extremely intruiging, important, and exciting if you would like to get involved :)

So, besides that, I think I have everything covered. Oh crap. Besides what I even did today, which was a fantastic day.

Okay so for today!

Went to the largest aquarium in Brittany. It was pretty cool. Definitely enjoyed it. It was far out though, in St. Malo.

This, my friends, is the city of lovers.
One day, I WILL take my lover here. It is absolutely perfect, in my eyes. Too bad google images does it no justice.

Still, everyone, just please go look it up. It's one of the oldest cities in Brittany. It is surrounded by a protective wall, and all the streets are buried in between huge, tall, houses. It's absolutely beautiful. It's a tourist's dream city to be in. Full of little shops for clothes, accessories, crêpes, restaurants, ice cream, etc. Not to mention absolutely STUNNING views of the ocean, an amazing beach, and full of history. LOVE IT. It also happens to be where several explorers came from, including Jaques Cartier (who founed Quebec, Canada.)

Then, the second city we went to was over to Dinan. Again, another very old city in Brittany. I put it second best to St. Malo. Same sort of thing.

Then, we got home late, and now I'm ready for tomorrow to come :)

I know I won't sleep. I guess that's fine with me.

Sorry everyone.

I just have the constant desire to change EVERYTHING about my blog.

I don't have the patience to get it perfect; just close enough.

This feels a little cluttered to me, but it looks a little cleaner.

Not boring. But, clean.

But be expecting a change in about... one month.

for the Brittany girls.

Alright, all your girls out there named BRITTANY, listen up!

Here's some background on what you were named after.
Because yes, no matter what you say you were named after,
the place came first. I can PROMISE you that.
It's been called Brittany since Pangea.
Now, let the facts commence.

*In French, it is spelled Bretagne. It sounds beautiful with the accent.

*Bretagne was originally independent from France; its own country.

*They had their own culture, and their own language, very different from French; called Bretonne.

*500 years ago, Bretagne was forced by France to become part of their country. They unwillingly consented.

*100 years ago, French government forbade the language of Bretonne to be spoken, and completely forbade its existance. They changed every city and town name from Bretonne to French, translated every NAME from Bretonne to French, got rid of the language completely, or at least tried to. It was so looked down upon. Natives of Bretagne who lived during this time period had a very hard time telling the younger generations of families about this experience because it was so incredibly hurtful. They liken it to Hitler's Nazism. (Straight out of the mouths of the Bretagne natives themselves. Primary source. No wikipedia or internet was used in gathering this information.)

*But, the good news is that the culture of old Bretagne was kept alive, and is still preserved today (which I have gotten to experience). They have plenty of song, dance, food, etc. still around. Although the language is close to dead, the culture is still preserved.

*Because of this former independence, the region of Bretagne has a very strong nationalistic group of people. They love their region, and would almost put it before France. Everywhere in Bretagne you see their flag; they bear it proudly. They also have a regional symbol. I have yet to ask what it stands for, but I bought a little silver ring that has the symbol on it, so I will always remember Bretagne.

You girls who live with this name, show it proudly! You have an amazing history behind your name, please live up to it! Learn more about it, too. Discover where your name came from, and soak up the knowledge :)

Some of you may have already done so, and may have some words of disagreement on what I have said! I don't know where you got your information on your name, but hey, it would be safe to say that none of you got it from a native of the land themselves.. let's be honest.
You can't always trust Wikipedia.

Oh, and you're welcome.
That will be all! Have any questions or comments, please let me know. I would love to hear :)
Also if you want me to ask the natives questions about Bretagne/Brittany, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I only have a few more days here!