KAITLYN

Kaitlyn being here has been the best thing in the world.  I am super touched that she spent all the money and time it takes to get from Copenhagen to Grenoble just to see me.  I’ve missed her so much.  We could literally not stop talking and we would never be able to catch up on everything. 

Plus she is exactly what I needed.  I know things could have been much worse with my surgery, but my host family really doesn’t think it’s a big deal at all.  They are sympathetic and understanding and will help me if I ask for it; but I have been freaked out by this whole ordeal.  Having Kaitlyn here to baby me is exactly what I needed.  It would have been a rough transition to go from 24/7 hospital care to having zero help here.  Since they are elderly, I also don’t feel comfortable asking them to help me out with basic needs such as a hand to get out of bed or help filling my backpack.  These things are much more painful without Kaitlyn’s assistance.

She got here Saturday afternoon.  After getting out of the hospital and responding to some of my messages on fb/email, I went with my host dad to pick her up at the train station.  Seeing her in my new homeland was literally the best thing in the world.  I was so happy.  I pointed out the sights on the way home.  I felt pretty pro.  She also is extremely jealous of the mountains that surround the city.  I knew she would be! 

We went for a walk to the park behind my house in the afternoon and then had a delicious dinner with my dad.  For the evening and then the next day we’ve basically been just hanging out, watching movies, and relaxing (love flight of the concords!!).  We may or may not have had a 4 hour nap yesterday.  Haha, whoops.  We explored downtown Echirolles yesterday and went to a classic European café with France’s baby sized coffees. We had a delicious dinner by chef Nicole and had some fun awkward English/French translation sessions at the dinner table with Robert, Nicole, and their random family that visits.  It’s pretty cool to see how much more comfortable I am with French and to see how similar Kaitlyn is to me when I first started.  I thought two of the kids at the table were talking slower than they had the first week when they visited, because I understood so much more.  But the first thing Kaitlyn said after we left the table is, “Holy crap, they talk fast.”  Improvement on my end.  Score.  I was impressed since Kaitlyn did a good job holding her own with French! So proud!

Today, we’re going to take a big step and take the half hourish commute to Grenoble to meet up with Molly.  Hopefully everything goes well.  Everything with my stomach has been pretty good as long as I am aware of what’s happening and take breaks when I need them.  This is my first “big” trip so I’m excited to see how it goes.  And once again, THANK GOD FOR KAITLYN!