Things have been great on the French Riviera! I have been seeing more towns in the area and having lots of fun! I went to Grasse, a city nearby known for their perfume- making factory and museum. I visited there and randomly met two girls from China and spent the day exploring with them! Thank the Lord for random friends! My friends and I had an international dinner since we’re all from different places, and  my friend from Morroco made these great things! it’s called pastelli (or something like that). hah.  Some other friends and I visited a church in Monaco and we found the Ferrari place. This is my car! hah!  I went to a retreat in Montpellier with about 30 other French University students who do Bible study groups in Universities in the area. I am helping to start up a group at my school and its lots of fun! Please be praying for that and all that God is doing! It was a great weekend and all the lectures were in French! It was interesting, but I understood a lot.   I’m planning a trip to the Netherlands in a few weeks to visit some of my Up with People friends! I am very excited to visit a new country and see them! 

Yet another week of excitement on the French Riviera! Last weekend I went with a friend to visit Cannes. This is the city along the coast where they hold the Cannes film festival every year in May!They had celebrity handprints like in Hollywood… I don’t know who this was. I went to visit the city of Vintimillia, Italy this weekend!This is the graffiti at the train station in the town I live- Antibes, otherwise known as A-town. hah. Ventimillia was a lot of fun and there was a great open market of clothes and purses.   My friends and I had lots of fun shopping, but it was even more fun taking pictures on a gorgeous beach!God is also doing awesome things here! It’s been really encouraging to attend the Calvary Chapel church here in Nice, and I’m meeting a lot of wonderful people! I am also getting connected with other christians in the Area that I live who do Home churches, and have a vision for The French Riviera! I will be getting involved with some campus ministry soon, so please be praying for that! It’s excited to be a part of what God is doing here!Love and miss you all!   

I’m enjoying my time here on the French Riviera! I just finished my 3rd week of school! The school weeks go by very fast because I’m only at school 2 days a week! I went to the open market again, as I will every week. They have everything! Wine, cheese, olives, meat, veggies, and fruit! Here’s some French cheeeeeeese…Last weekend I went with some friends to St. Tropez. It’s a city down the coast with a beautiful port and cute french streets and shops along the harbor.There are beautiful paintings by local artists on the sidewalk by all the yachts and  sailboats. There was a fort that was used to look out for the Spanish. We walked around it and the view was absolutely amazing! The streets were so beautiful! We had an awesome time in St. Tropez.  It’s fun learning about the french culture and learning the language. I feel like there’s not enough time to take it all in! But I still have a few months… hah. Bissous! 

Bonjour!I finished my first week here in France and have been enjoying all sorts of fun! It’s a wonderful place. I can’t believe I live here!I went to orientation for school last week and met a lot of great people. The school assigns a local french person to each new foreign student to invite them places and show them around. My roommate got an e-mail from her french person saying, “Hello! I’m your godmother!”. We were a little confused until my “godmother” met me and told me that this word is the only translation they know for the person who is the buddy for the international students. So I have a godmother in france! Hah!My first day of school! I started classes today and I think they will be good! I only have classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I’ll have lots of time to explore more of France and visit friends in other countries!I went to the city of Nice this weekend! It is a hot tourist location and full of beautiful beaches and fun things. I went to Calvary Chapel Nice for the first time on Sunday and I’m very excited to continue going there! It seems like it will be a great connection out here! I’m also enjoying the pool that is on my roof. It overlooks mountains, the harbor full of yachts, and  the Mediterranean Sea! You just can’t beat this. God is so good!This is one pool on the ground…    Yes, It’s real. The main strip in Nice, France! We explored after church on Sunday.   All you need here… a map, sunscreen, and a bus pass. (and a beautiful beach with no sand) I’m excited to see the great things God will continue to do!    

Bonjour!!! 

I’m in my new home now! Antibes, France. It’s about 20 minutes from Nice on the French Riviera on the Côté d’azur (the blue coast of the Mediterranean Sea).

I arrived in Nice on Monday afternoon (France time) and moved into my studio apartment! It is absolutely gorgeous here and I am walking distance from anything I need in the town. I have to take the bus to go to school or church, but for the most part everything is very close!

My first full day here, my roommate and I went to explore “Le Vielle Antibes”, which is the old part of the city that is beautiful. All the buildings are old stone architecture and parts of the city are enclosed by a stone wall. I went to the open market and just explored the whole town. There is a harbor I walk by to get to la plage (the beach!!!), which is only a 10 minute walk from my studio!

Orientation was on Wednesday! I only have classes Tuesdays and Wednesdays so the rest of the week I can explore the area. There are a lot of great people who are also in the international exchange program here from all over the world and the US. I met a lot of them and think we’ll have fun together. The school is very welcoming and helpful.

The weather and area remind me so much of home in Hawaii. It feels like it could be a great home for the semester… just without the wonderful people I have in Hawaii.  I miss everyone! Keep me updated on life at home! 

Well, Good bye Hawaii! I miss it already! And now the journey begins… First, my mom and I went to San Francisco so I could get my Visa for France. Silly we had to go all the way there for one little piece of paper. But we made the most of it and saw the city!   After San Fran, we went shopping a little in Houston, Texas. Finally, we went for a few days to Iowa, Louisiana (where my parents were raised and I was born) to visit some family. It was so much fun being back in the place I was born and learning the culture all over again (it really is a different culture!) Super small town, not much changes, and everyone knows everyone! We ate lots of amazing Cajun food, which by the way, I am convinced is the best in the whole world! At one of the restaurants I found a friend…The best part, by far, was being able to see some of my family- not everyone, but a few. I hadn’t visited in about 6 years, so it was much needed.  I wish I had more time to see everyone! These are my Hanai Grandparents (for Hawaii people to understand) This is my grandma on my mom’s side (Maw-Maw)Grandpa on my mom’s side  And Grandma on my dad’s side (Granny)Maw-Maw, mom, mom’s older brother, me, mom’s younger brother   So now I’m off to France! I leave on Sunday afternoon from Houston, TX. It’s almost unbelievable that I’m actually going. But then I look at my two suitcases that are bursting at the seems, and remember that Im actually going to be in my appartment in France on Monday! That’s crazy! Au Revoir!    

Wow. I haven’t written a post in quite some time. But jaleekate.com is back in business now that I’m leaving the country again!After coming home from my 6-month adventure through 6 countries last fall (Up with People!), and the Christmas trip to India with my mom and sister, I came home and jumped back into school at Hawaii Pacific University! I really enjoyed school this semester and officially became an International Relations major with certification in Teaching English as a Second Language. Loved the classes!This semester and summer was great! Plan A Youth group continued the annual tradition of going to the home school prom. Hah. That’s always fun…Hiked stairway to heaven! Ruth and many other high schoolers graduated! Probably the busiest graduation year.We also had a Christmas in July Party which was awesome. yes it was a Christmas party in July! :) And cave diving has become my new hobby… This fall semester I will be living in Nice, France (in the south on the Mediterranean Sea), going to school and learning the wonderful French language! I’ll be there from September 1-December 22, then spending Christmas with the Jones family (Silke and Salome) in Germany!  Then I return to Hawaii a few hours before the new year. I’m excited for this next step that God has directed me to take. I know God has lead me to go to France and I can’t wait to see what He does there! If you have any contacts in southeastern France, please let me know! If you’re interested in what I’m doing, I’ll be updating this with France stuff every once in a while. If not, I’ll be on Facebook and Myspace if you want to contact me that way! Thanks for all your prayers! Aloha!   

After we left the orphanage in Visakapatnum, we went to the northwestern state of Raghistan… 

We flew to New Delhi on Christmas Eve and caught a train extremely early on Christmas morning. It was cool to experience the India trains, and honestly, we expected it to be worse. But it was a good ride and we arrived in the afternoon into Jaipur- pronounced “j-eye-pur”

on the train…

Jaipur was the first city on our tour of Raghistan and one of our favorites. It is called the “Pink City” because almost all of the buildings are a pink clay color.

Here we met our driver, Raj, who was our personal driver the rest of the time. At first we were strangers, but as you will see in the pictures to come, he became a great friend.

We were there for a few days and did some shopping. We also rode elephants!!! Janee’ and I rode on one, and my mom rode one by herself because they only allow 2 per elephant. Now if you don’t know my mom, you should understand that this is a big deal for her to ride the elephant by herself! We were proud. I think she got on the fastest one though because even though ours started first, she finished first. Hah. Needless to say, that was marked as a highlight and we enjoyed it a lot.

all of us on an elephant! 

Jaipur was a great start to our tour and after a few days, we headed for Pushkar!

So I left Up with People, and life went back to normal….. yeah right!As if Up with People wasn’t the adventure of a lifetime, I hopped on a plane to LA where I met my mom and sister. We went to India for a month and it was awesome!The perfect trip at the perfect time!Air India- (don’t fly that airline if you ever head off to India). We had quite the detour into the country. Instead of landing in New Delhi, he landed in Bombay because of fog. There was utter confusion and people who didn’t know what was going on, but we had a great time during the adventure and eventually got to our destination! Our first stop was Visakapatnum (try saying that 10 times fast- or even saying it at all!). It’s in the easter part in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We went to an orphanage/school/ hospital ministry and stayed nearby at the home of the missionaries who run it. The dad is Indian, the mom is Canadian, and they have two kids. Janee’ went there on a short term missions trip a few years back and has been wanting to return since, so this was actually the reason for our trip. Janee’ with the missionary’s daughter and grandchildren.   We had the chance to see many things there, including a nearby village, the ministry’s hostpital, school, Bible college, disable persons program, orphanage, and churches. We helped with a pre school class, I served meals at the orphanage, we went to their services, and enjoyed the company of the family we were staying with.Janee’ teaching the kids “I” as in Ice cream. Janee’ and I at the nearby village  my mom, Janee’, and I  Since our visit was until Christmas Eve, we had the privilege of attending quite a few Christmas services at the different churches in the area that are associated with the ministry.  Every night was a different place.Janee’ signing while I was singing at a Christmas service.   We also got to visit the Bay of Bengal while was very close to where we stayed.Janee’ and I had the chance to ride about 6 hours into the middle of nowhere to a village for their Christmas celebration service. The kids did songs, skits, and dances. We both really enjoyed the chance to go and see this very remote place with people who love Jesus so much!  In the village with some of the kids We spent nearly 2 weeks there and it was a wonderful experience. I am so thankful we got to spend time there.   Please pray for the people of India! 

Good Byes…

Are never easy. Especially after you’ve been through everything for 6 HARD months with 70 people whom you don’t know what you ever did without.

We all knew it was coming and had preparation for “re-entry” but can you really prepare for it? Not really. I did my generous share of bawling  my eyes out, but when I was in a clear mind, it made me so joyful to leave because now I can go home with 70 new genuine friends from 18 different countries. We’ve all built strong relationships through the whole journey and now it’s time to bring home what we learned and saw, knowing that someone in the world is thinking about you.

So Sunday night, the 9^th of December, we had our final banquet. It was beautiful and fun. We were each given awards about something funny, we wrote on Christmas ornaments for each other, took lots of pictures, our cast manager read Dr. Suess’s “ Oh the places you’ll go”, we laughed a lot, cried, and made some good memories, again.

We left Maine at 1 in the morning for the Boston Airport and said goodbye to everyone when we got there at around 6 am.

I felt like a complete basket case as I said goodbye to the last person and got on my plane ride to LA alone.

Denver, Colorado; Gallup, New Mexico; Tucson, Arizona; San Diego, California; Phuket, Thailand; Nampong, Thailand; Espoo, Finland; Sodertayle, Sweden (still don’t know how to spell it); Vimmerby, Sweden; Uelzen, Germany; Erfurt, Germany; Hasselt, Belguim; Gwinnett County, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Hartford, Connecticut; Suffern, New York; Bernerdsville, New Jersey; Bangor, Maine.!

What a wonderful semester it has been!

Home now? Not yet! Off to India with my mom and Janee’, my sister! Another month of traveling!