the dawning of a new decade.

i ended my teenage years yesterday.

and am officially starting the third decade of my life.

i'm pretty excited about it.

the not having a teen at the end of my age anymore thing, i mean.

sometimes when you live in romania, you only get really homesick every once in awhile.

but when it's your birthday, you get extra homesick, especially when you first wake up.

luckily everyone here was super nice, and i soon realized it was an excellent day for a foreign birthday.

and good prep for the fact that i won't always get to be at home on my birthday for the rest of my life.

while i did miss a family dinner, a cake, and pyro time from my brothers that comes on birthdays,

as well as hearing the cheesy line, 'thanks for being born so we can celebrate!'

i still got fresh flowers. a chocolate cake. and family dinner with my romania family.

and turns out, it's not so bad when you're in a foreign country on your birthday.

turns out, it kind of makes life fun. and leaves stories to tell your grandchildren.

how many people can say they turned 20 in romania?

exactly. there's my claim to cool.

all's well on the [romanian] front.

creați blog.

ok, let's be real. i probably won't post on here very often anymore.

occasionally, maybe. but not often. it's way too much work.

you should just know. romania and i are very happy together. obviously.

to hear about it, see here. :)

pure romanian smiles.

as you read this, dear reader,

i, emily janette nevers, am in the sky.

ok, so that might be a lie.

i am probably just sitting in some airport going crazy.

(salt lake? denver? frankfurt? bucharest? look at the options! ha.)

but that's halfway there, i'd say.

so this post is simply to tell you this.

you might not even care,

but i feel obligated to tell, just in case.

while in romania, there are many things we are asked to do.

one of them being, keeping a daily journal.

and while i will have a handy dandy paper journal,

i will also have a blog to keep my family at ease.

you know. mostly so they know i'm still alive.

and have a sliver of a peek into my life in europe,

a three month adventure in romania.

something you've heard about for so long from me, is at last a reality.

i'll understand if you don't care.

honestly, i don't know that i would.

[ha. just kidding. i'm queen of blogstalking.

i probably would stalk just to stalk.]

but in case you'd like to read along,

the key to the city, is this:

http://soundingsmiles.blogspot.com/

and yes, there is a page of explanation on the side.

because i know there are many who constantly are asking,

what on earth am i doing on the other side of the world?

namely, in a country no one knows anything about.

welp, this will tell you.

oh, and in case you were wondering,

i won't really arrive until monday night (the evening of the 9th).

romanian time, that is.

our flight lands around 11 am utah time. 

whatevs.

so until then. wish me luck.

and hope i don't go insane from excitement in my suuuuper long traveling time.

actually, you should probably just feel sorry for
whoever is in the seat next to me on any plane.

yeah. another fun fact?

heavy rains are expected the day after i arrive.

never fear, i'll for sure let you know what romanian rain is like.

and i'll be dancing in it too. naturally.

oh, and never fear. i'll still post on this blog too.

but not as much about romania anymore.

(don't all jump at once in excitement. i know you're probably definitely sick of it.) 

not that anyone cares. but whatevs.

point?

i'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places.

in three months!

la revedere, prietenii mei. și bună românia!

no need to say goodbye.

they say goodbyes are never easy.

you can say that again. i'm for sure not a fan.

but it does help knowing it's for a good cause.

and that it will be more than worth it.

nonetheless, they're not easy.

buutttt. at least at this point in my life, this trip is only 3 months.

three measly little months.

well, not measly months. a lot happens in 3 months.

especially when they're spent living in a place like romania.

that's a given.

but i'll be back.

changed? without a doubt. i'd be disappointed if i haven't changed to some extent while there. but a good change, i hope. a kind of change that comes only as the fruit of experience.

but it'll still be me. i'll always be me.

"just because everything's changing, doesn't mean it's never been this way before.

all you can do is try to know who your friends are as you head off to the war.

pick a star on the dark horizon, and follow the light.

[i'll] come back when it's over. no need to say goodbye."

regina spektor, the call.

well put, ms.regina. well put.

there's no need to really say goodbye. i'm just off to follow my star. and then i'll be back before you know it.

if it's any consolation prize, i'll be missing america and all the people i love that are inside it's borders an awful lot.

naturally.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i prefer to say goodbye with a bit of flair.

so here are a few goodbyes from this week. mostly in chronological order of when the photo was taken.

(please don't judge me for the fact that i'm wearing the same thing in almost every picture.

my options were highly limited thanks to packing. haaa. obviously.)

[disclaimer: this is obviously not a complete list. just a few of those seen this past week.

there are many other people i love and will miss. and didn't necessarily specifically mention in my goodbye.

never fear. you're still on my list.]

bye, byu stairs. i won't miss you.

good thing i didn't take a picture of the hill.

i really won't miss it either.

bye, byu tulips.

you were awfully pretty for me all around campus.

bye, stevie wonder.

i will miss our lunches. and you.

i hope your emails are as funny as they were during finals week last december.

no pressure, though.

bye, alice and laursy's car.

i will miss you both.

bye, laursy. number one.

bye, momma.

sorry to be leaving you on mother's day. it had to be done, i suppose.

i'll most definitely be missing you.

and the ability to call you wayyy more often than you probably like.

baaaahahaa.

bye, bubba.

thanks for the warm farewell. haaa.

bye, beautiful utah mountains and scenery.

you're probably in my top 10 of things most missed.

sound pathetic? probably. it's fine.

bye, awkwardly hilarious photos with laursy.

(this is embarrassing. don't judge. i couldn't help it. too funny.)

don't even worry about it. i really just don't have an explanation for this. really.

bye, american food.

yeah. i went there.

bye, pappy.

i'll miss you lots.

and don't worry. i got the memo. beware of the romanian gypsies.

picture fail on this one. it's just a picture of you, not me with you. oh well.

bye, temple square and your flowers.

i love them. i'll miss them.

i love spring and summer in utah.

bye, adorable deborah ann.

i'll miss you too. and by extension, all my extended family.

bye, lavar and arnett.

you're the cutest couple i know.

keep on keeping on.

bye, laursy. for reals this time.

need i really say more? we all know how i feel about this one.

kind of like this:

remind me again why you're planning your wedding and not going to school the summer i'll be gone?

right.

bye, dougy.

good thing you won't even be home 24 hours when i leave.

obviously the photo with sherry looking completely ecstatic is completely appropriate.

bye, april.

for 18 months. i'm glad i got to see you before we both left.

seriously.

welcome to the real world.

it's about to begin.

la revedere, america!

bună, românia!

st-em, closing of the first act.

brudder and i have had our last date for awhile.

due to the fact that i'll be in romania, obviously.

and he will be in provo. and then peru. and then provo again.

all before i return.

i think maybe i'll be gone a long time.

which is starting to sink in. like, a lot.

so we might have had a few in a row this week.

you know, storing up. or something like that.

and here are the ones i have pictures of.

ready: record.
am i about to put this all in the same post? you betcha.
prepare yourself.

last month:

sarah's vegetable pizza, and then modern family and burgers.

i obviously look weird from this angle.

but it was mostly to show modern family. and fbook stalking?

haaa. that's embarrassing.

last week:

we were going to try kneader's, because we've heard their french toast is the bomb.com.

buuuttt it was the saturday morning after women's conference. so that ship got abandoned real' fast.

thanks to kenzie's suggestion, we went to magleby's fresh!

when we went there for our first breakfast date, we might have missed breakfast.

ok, so we did. soooo we tried again. so good. just sayin.

killaaaa.

annnddd, as aforementioned, kenzie joined us.

warning: pretend i don't look like a loon in these pictures.

ok, pretend steve doesn't either.

ok, so you should probably just look at kenzie.

you'll save your eyes that way.

 his version of opposing the hardcore snowstorm on april the 30th? a sunkist tshirt. it's completely logical, obviously.

i'm totally wearing the same shirt right now. cool.

steve was being artsy. obviously.

i'll spare you more from where that came from.

a few days ago:

a special sort of breakfast.

special and its definition and reasoning for use are under debates. and under lock and key.

bagels and juice for the sicky. (steven william.)

nice and simple.

 we might have gone back for more. me for more apple juice, he for more bagel.

 welp. at least stevie looks normal.

 i look silly? usual.

obviously we're getting really good at taking pictures together.

haaaa. psyche. we failed. major fail.

a couple days ago:

closing the act, for a slight intermission.

we had our last time together until august.

sad, huh?

he's in st.g this weekend to be a medical volunteer at the ironman,

so i'll be leaving on a jet plane before he returns.

obviously we knew this was special.

anndddd my last opportunity to be in provo for THREE MONTHS.

so we went to jdawgs.

a provo classic. it needed to be done.

neat picture, huh? i know you're loving it.
and definitely an appropriate ending to the year's tradition.

until august it is, n'est-ce pas? c'est la vie.
tu me manqueras, frère stevie. et nos repas.
à bientôt!

everyone gets what they want too fast these days.

thanks to me being a complete idiot, and procrastinator, and anatomy having taken over my life once school started, i ended up with some extra time (more than expected) in provo after the end of winter semester. so naturally i stayed at my grandmama's house.

it was probably one of the best ideas i've ever had. while i did completely hate my life having to finish up that silly french class, i completely adored all the extra time i got to spend with my grandparents. especially because most of it was either one-on-one, or with sherry and/or steve occasionally. they have such good stories to tell. grandpa ray could compete with the best of them with all the stories he's compiled from his life. and they're all completely true experiences! he has a way with storytelling like it's nobody's business. and my grandma is the sweetest lady in all the world. i love them. and i hope that when i'm a grandma, i have the wisdom from experience that they've acquired. and just downright plain and simple wisdom.

and honestly? i kind of just love hearing stories about their lives. especially about old memories, particularly the tender ones.

there's nothing quite like grandma's house, is there? nor will there ever be a place quite like grandma's.

a one of a kind special.

 i obviously have a thing for porch swings. and the view from here? pristine.

as ray boasted, there's no better view of utah valley (and especially utah lake) than from their kitchen window.

and i must say, i do agree.

i don't think i'll ever get over that view. i could stare for hours.

you could say i have a thing for my grandparents. maybe? yeah.

maybe it's the name sharing with grandma janette that makes me so attached?

yep. maybe that's it.

or maybe they're just the best grandparents a girl could ask for.

yep. that's probably definitely it.

i'm an awfully lucky girl.

and i think i'll forever treasure all the moments i get to spend with them.

happiness is grandparents that know what life's all about.

a life of pearls.

my grandparents are the best. serious.
more on that later.
my grandpa nevs sent me my birthday card early, seeing as i'll be on the other side of the globe when it's my actual birthday. and it was probably the best card i've ever received in my life. hallmark special on aisle five, ladies and gentlemen. beautiful.
in brackets are the additions made by gramps.

[special] granddaughter,

as i think of you today,

i wish you more than a happy birthday,

more even than a happy life.

i wish you a beautiful life.

a life rich in all the things that matter.

and i want to share a little something i've learned

down through my years of living...

having a beautiful life isn't so much

about getting that one big thing

or reaching that one great goal.

having a beautiful life is more about

seeing the wonder in the little things,

the everyday things that life washes onto your shore.

gathering them like pearls,

stringing them together,

and realizing what a treasure

you've collected.

do that, and you cannot help

but have a beautiful life...

the one you are meant to live[!!]

[HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAVE FUN IN EUROPE

LOVE ALWAYS,

GRANDPA]

a beautiful life. gathered together like pearls. i love that. la vie est belle. c'est tout.

je n'ai pas grande chose à te dire.

i've packed so much french in me in the last week or so, i think i practically am french. and all that french gave me the attitude to prove it. ha ha. french people are the best. on the bright side, it is finished! (presque. sauf l'examen final, naturellement. mais, j'ai déjà fait tout le travail.)

i've a few thoughts to record at some point before i go. now that french is done, hopefully i can do so. which might possibly mean a flooding of posts at some point. maybe. we'll see what happens.

i'm getting nervous. times a trillion but excited. times a kajillion. (kajillion>trillion. obviously.) i just want to go! but am not looking forward to the action of packing my suitcase. about that. i hate packing.

mr. potus did not choose a very nice time to spice things up abroad, as far as international travel is concerned. in addition to the fact that i am american and traveling internationally. just sayin.


speaking of. i'm quite disappointed in the general american reaction to osama bin laden's death. quite meaning extremely. i realize that this man was no angel, and he did do some very bad things, but should one ever celebrate the loss of any human life, regardless of how that life was spent? even the darkest of things have their light, for darkness is only the absence of light. meaning, there must have been some light at some point, in order for the darkness to even exist. i love the way it was said in this post. there is no equal justice. while the events of that september morning are, and forever will be, tragic, there is no method of ever finding a justice to match that grief. there will never be anything to fill the hole in the hearts of those who lost loved ones. never a way to fill their spot at the kitchen table. a person cannot be replaced. ever. every individual is just that: an individual. and with any death, comes the loss of an individual on this earth, for better or for worse. what makes us think we've the right to be the judge of that soul's actions, thoughts, or deeds? celebrating a death is supporting the very attitude and mindset that we claim to detest. just a thought. this article is also more eloquent than i.

anyways. serious moment over.

à bientôt, mes chers amis.

it doesn't take one penny to be polite.

this is an awfully good reminder.