49 Days and counting

The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) in Springtime

So I figured before jumping headlong into everything that I should introduce myself to those of you who I maybe don't know personally. I'm assuming that most of the people reading this will be friends and family...but you never know. I'm new to this whole blog thing so forgive me if it is not very eloquent to start with, but I promise I will get better. I am a sophomore at Brigham Young University, which means I am...yes you guessed it, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka a Mormon). I'm really enjoying my second year here and am currently hoping to major in Public Relations with a minor in French studies. I've been taking French since about 8th grade and absolutely love the people, the language, and the culture! :) I will be leaving on April 30th and returning on June 15th. Besides having the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Paris I am also going to be visiting my Dad's oldest brother Loren and his family in Austria before the program begins. I am so excited about this because not only will I get to see family that I don't often get to see but I will also be exposed to an environment where I am not familiar with the culture or language at all, which I'm sure will be a bit of a challenge but also tons of fun!  Then on May 5th the program begins! Some excursions during the trip include: Normandy, Belgium (Bruges and Brussels), Mt St Michelle, the South of France and more! Though I have been to Paris once before (for 6 days my junior year of high school) I cannot wait to be able to explore Paris on a deeper level as well as live with a native host family.  With this blog I am hoping to keep everyone updating on my preparations for the trip as well as update it with pictures and stories while I am abroad. Here's to an exciting journey to come!!!! :)