Vague de Chaleur

Le 23 mai 2009
One of my absolute favorite days in France. I woke up at 4:30 because I had to take a shower and get ready so that I could leave the house and be at "Gare du Nord" by 7:00. (an hour on the metro, 30 minutes walk to the metro, eating breakfast, + personal preparation) En tout cas, all of this was done so that I could go with my friends Fred and Emily to St. Quentin, a city in the very far North of France. We had to take a train from "Gare du Nord" for an hour and a half north, its really far away! We were going with Fred, because the professor required that he go with at least 2 others, to visit an old mission companion of his. Sounds boring huh? Well it wasn't.

His mission friend- Sam, and his mom picked us up at the train station and drove the 5 minute drive to their house. We were walking along this road and I had no idea that I was walking by a house because it was just square and looked the exact same as everything else on the street- oh but it is in no way the same as all the rest. So there is the rez de chausee (with the kitchen, family room, dining room, front room, parlor, laundry +), le premier etage (with all of the separate bedrooms (they have 5 kids), et un deuxieme etage (with a movie room and a large wood floored room that reminded me of a dance studio). But thats not it, they also had a sous-sol and a sous-terrain, basement and 2nd basement? I know how sous-terrain translates literally but I don't know the word for it in English. Anyways the sous-terrain in their house is lots of old dark wet muddy hallways that were used in world war II to get to and from the other houses surrounding theirs. It was absolutely incredible with multiple exits, stairs, ladders, and shrinking walkways (kind of like Willie Wonka). My camera as we all probably heard me say a thousand times in El Salvador (when it mysteriously stopped working) has no flash, so all the pictures that we took are not on my camera and I'll have to post them later. It was really incredible though!
Here are those pictures!
This is the ladder that started breaking as I was climbing it.. wooden ladders from world war II- bad idea. :P



Another reason why I loved the trip to St Quentin is because I got to speak in French A LOT, with natives, and they understood me! Every now and then one of the kids in the family would yell something across the room to me, and I'd be responding in French before I even thought about what I'd say. It is such a wonderful feeling to have French come somewhat naturally. :) During this trip I ate dinner with their family, played frisbee in the yard, played wee with two of the brothers and Fred, and visited the old Cathedral of St. Quentin (where they have his bones and hand on display. they also have his head but it is Not on display thankfully)
I took the train back to Paris and met up with all the study abroad girls that live in the Banlieue at La Defense, from there we went to the church building for the "bbq" aka potluck. There was nothing barbeque about it. Every single guy who walked in the room, went around the room and gave bisoux to each girl. I have never touched so many cheeks in my life! We played a game called singstar! Its basically rockband but only with a microphone. Its a competition against one other person to see who gets the most right notes. I got to sing a Dido song. One of the guys on my team gave me his shades to wear and my whole team cheered for me as I beat the other guy by over 7000 points. :)

We found out too late that the last bus that goes back to the station leaves at 8:20. So we decided to walk, only we had no idea where we were going. Jamie and I seem to have a pretty good sense of direction though so we started leading the girls, and one random YSA boy who had to go the same way. I found a map, found a "vous etes ici" sign and hurried off in the direction that I knew was correct. The group was following me, but decided to turn back and look at the map themselves. 4 girls followed me and we took the shorter way to the train station, beating the others there by a half hour or more. woot woot!
Le 24 mai 2009
So I taught my Sunday school lesson today! Crazy... It went pretty well but I must admit that I didn't get much time to teach it. Emily and I split it up in lots of different parts. I did the first part, than she did the second, then.... I said my testimony and closed (the majority of my lesson was supposed to be after hers). Anyways, it went pretty well! There was a guy in the class (who introduced himself to me before it started) who was just visiting. He came from Reins and just wanted to go to another ward? I still don't really understand why he came, but the whole time he was there he followed me around at church and asked me questions. We talked in French and English (he recently returned from a mission in England) and some people teased me about my tall skinny French boyfriend by the end of church. Oddly enough he gave me his contact information before leaving to go back home. Maybe if Rolf and I work out I CAN live in France forever? haha :)

Le 25 mai 2009
FHE Monday. First we went to the Louvre with our class and then we toured the flea markets. It was a little late in the day so most of them were already closed, but they were really interesting nonetheless. This day we had a "vague de chaleur" or heat wave. It was absolutely horrifically hot. We were all sweating as we toured the flea/antique marchets and ended up standing in the offshoots of a water fountain. It was so nice and humid. mmmmhmm. I miss Texas.
Flea Market Phone Booth (even hotter in there)

I decided to buy the batmo-ped haha :)

The fountain that refreshed us.

So for our activity for FHE we walked outside and took pictures as a big group in front of the eiffel tower. Some of the people in our study abroad group don't like games.. is that sad or what? Anyways I don't have the main group pic but I have one with Jamie! We've taken pictures by it, every one of the five times that we've been. haha
Yes I made this face on purpose. I'm starting to take the Eiffel Tower for granted.


Le 26 mai 2009
Maybe you've noticed from my accounts of early mornings and late nights, but I haven't been sleeping much! It doesn't help that twice in the last week I've had excruciating Charley horses (one was my night in Ghent and the other was last night). I've always been told that they come from lack of hydration, potassium, or too much stress- none of which seem to be relevant for me. I've become accustomed to getting them right before auditions so I know that the stress theory proves true, but I'm not stressed right now. Why is this do you think? Anyways, they are excruciatingly painful- does someone else in the family have these as often as I do? Gen do you remember when we were playing water basketball and my leg kept getting a cramp in it? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry... they are so weird! When it happened in Ghent I started awake and screamed at the first shoot of pain through my leg, my poor roommate thought I was having a heart attack or something. :(

Today I did 2 and a half promenades (its getting close to the end so I have to make sure that I do at least 14)! The promenades were named Place de La Concorde, Tour de Montparnasse (the 1/2 walk) and Time Travel Tricks and Treats around Saint Sulpice. Treats was my favorite part for sure! I got to taste 2 macaroons: Rose and Jasmine (Jasmine is better I think), plus I add a little apple tart from the best bread shop in France. It was SO good. Love French food... The macaroons! They look fancy huh? thats the bag they came in!
Thats right, the Frenchies love Obama!
Da Vinci Code, the Saint Sulpice gnomon. Do you guys remember this? It points to the rose line? Anyways... the church has actually put up signs saying "Go ahead and take a picture of the gnomon like all the other tourists (they told me to so I did), but please, don't go knocking around for hollow tiles hiding clues to the Holy Grail. It's hidden under the Louvre pyramid anyways remember?
The next walk of the day, I visited the 2 palais' all the embassy's, Concorde, and the tuilerie garden(s)? This is me in front of the American Embassy, which you are not allowed to take pictures in front of. It is the only embassy that is guarded by more than two guards- instead it has over 15 emergency protection vehicles parked in front of it, plus there are fences and guards everywhere that have fenced off BOTH sides of the road surrounding this building. The guards seem to do more "give me your camera so I can delete that picture" saying than actual protecting. Luckily I got away with a pic.
A couple in the Tuilerie Gardens, I just couldn't resist. Jamie called me a creeper...

I need to sleep..... We're leaving for Normandy tomorrow (written mai 27th) so I don't have time to put up pictures but I'll add them when I get back. Love you all! Lindy

PS did anyone watch the soccer game tonight? Manchester United v. Barcelona? Amazing! Barcelona totally deserved to win, so i'm glad they did! :)

There are 8% more antioxidants in the crust of bread. What do I get for eating the Cheese Rind?

Le 18 mai 2009
♫♪Monday Monday...♪
Sadly, I have absolutely no pictures for Monday. I spaced and left my camera at home, which turned out not to be so bad because it was even less eventful than usual. After class the professor decided to take us to a museum that is filled with replicas of other famous monuments from all centuries. We have been studying a lot of French architecture according to the century and style, so he used this opportunity to quiz us on what we've learned. It turned out to be quite difficult to differentiate between the end of the Romanesque era and the beginning of the Gothic. The professor walked us through, discussing all of the statues, altarpieces, and building parts for probably 2 hours+. Afterward Jamie and I went through once again to review and solidify what we had learned (he was giving us a test the next day). In the end, we didn't have enough time to do an actual promenade for class before FHE started so we did our "anti walk walk" which is the challenge that professor Marc Olivier gives to the Paris study abroad students- to "Get Lost". We wandered all around the streets finding little markets, papetries (I still haven't found a journal that quenches my Paris journal thirst), and happened upon a break dance/hip hop group. They were pretty good! And they dance to English music.. no surprise there.

At Family Home Evening, we learned about being "one" as a group, which I think was a very suitable topic for our group. We're not really clicky, we all seem to love each other, but I do worry about us having the same resolute desires (some Will not speak french and some are being left out I think). I was in charge of the activity and I decided to play the game with the water bottle lid? Two of the girls knew how to play already and they called it thimble! Good to know huh? All the students are trying to organize trips for the first weekend of June and so I waited for Jamie after FHE while she tried to figure out plans for London. We were late for dinner (no worries we called our family) and so we didn't get to eat dinner with them.. but she reused the salmon in a quiche for us! haha.. I will continue to pretend to like that.

Le 19 mai 2009
I didn't forget my camera today! But there was absolutely no need for it... The professor gave us our study guide and our take home test. It wasn't due till Thursday morning and it was closed book/notes so I wasn't about to take it before I was really ready. Worried about having time for preparation we (Kaylie Jamie and I) studied in Paris for 2/3 hours and then headed home for the last few hours of concentration before dinner.
Dinner was awesome- okay I'm being ridiculously nice here. Remember the salmon quiche from yesterday? Well we had it again, except she put a few eggs cooked sunny side up on top of them. can you see the excitement in my typing. I figured it was worth it to eat gross food if I got to discuss a few of the conversation class requirements with Madame, but she quickly told us about her horrid headache and left us to eat alone again. Quelle Chance? I ate as much as I could stomache and returned to my room to study. Tuesday wasn't exactly my favorite day in Paris.
Le 20 mai 2009 Joyeux Anniversaire Maman!
Wednesday was the day for Chartres. We met up at the SNCF Montparnesse train station and took an hour+ train ride to Chartres, throughout this ride everyone in 361 (History of France) was studying. Our first stop in Chartres was the stain glass museum. We watched a movie that showed how to make them, but it was so intricate and they showed so many different ways with different vocabulary each time that I ended up watching more for process then technique or instruction. I wish I had understood better, because when the movie had ended I went down the stairs to find a gallery of modern stain glass art- they were INCROYABLE! I thought they were so beautiful and expressive and I had series of daydreams about having stain glass windows in my house or bedroom. There were some that were part medal with holes in it to let the light shine through the blue glass behind it, which portrayed the sand on the beach with puddles of water. Another stain glass creation had many pieces of glass that had colored shards wedged between them. The colored shards normally made some sort of picture.
There was one piece in particular that fascinated me. I have no idea how it was made or why I liked it so much but I did. It might have also had to do with the caption that I read below it. It said "Let there be peace and let it begin with me"
I took this picture with my reflection in it thinking of letting the peace begin with me, my attempt to be artsy

I went upstairs and searched the gift shop looking for detailed instructional books on how to make these even though I don't see stain glass making, close in my future. I absolutely loved the place! As I was walking out the door of the museum I saw an open door with glass pieces all inside and a lady cleaning up. Susan and I asked permission to come in and wandered around this stain glass art room where she explained how the different colors were painted on the glass, how they were sealed, and how the ovens worked for them. It was just what I needed to hear, I was so grateful to get a special tour of the classroom. She had glass for sale and if I had spoken better French I would have requested a lesson and tried to make one myself, but time was pressing and she would have quickly become frustrated with my lack of glass vocabulary :).

We had left early that morning for Chartres and for the first time in about a week I had forgotten to make a lunch. Almost everyone else had brought theirs and I decided to flaner off on my own to find a boulangerie or something of the sort. I ended up at Chartres looking over the paysage wondering how I got to such a beautiful place.

It took me about 45 minutes to settle down at a boulangerie (most of them in the area were sit down restaurants which take 3x as long as in the US). The one that I discovered was extremely cheap! I bought a Jambon des feuilles. A sandwich with ham and leaves, in this case leaves of delectable croissant bread material. Have I mentioned that I love France? Also there was a delightful creamy sauce mixed in! It slightly reminded me of the twisted cooked sandwiches that my mom makes for me!

I went and met up with the group at the church for an hour long guided tour of Chartres. Our guide was British, obsessed with the church, and funny in a way that only an old British man could get away with. We were listening to his descriptive story of one of the stain glass windows when 6 or 7 Asian people started sprinting down the aisle of the nave towards the exit. He looked at them in slight frustration and overcame it by turning to us and saying, "the Japanese have to be in Madrid by this afternoon". It was so random and cute with his accent, but I'm still frustrated with his joke.. I think they were Chinese :)
When the tour was over we all climbed the millions of stairs to the tower/overlooking section of Chartres. I have never climbed so many steps in my life. The group stopped for a break midway but the anticipation was too great so I ran up by myself, which I'm really glad I did. I had the whole thing to myself for 5 minutes or so!


(This green skirt is another million stories all in itself! I had been wanting to wear it for awhile but kept chickening out because its so cold and shaving doesn't really work but I decided I would do it anyways. This skirt is the "traveling skirt" for Dana (who is now married), Salamander (Amanda), Nikki Martino (who just got her mission call to Argentina), Camilla Pendleton (who is currently serving in Rochester, NY) and me! They generously invited me to take it to Paris and I accepted. This is the absolute most comfortable skirt plus its reversible with a darker green on the other side! This is the brightest article of clothing that I brought with me.. French people don't really do bright. I learned the hard way. Walking through the metro station in bright green while everyone is in black and earth tones really gets you some funny looks. I had a woman actually stop in front of me with her jaw dropped. My roommate felt awkward and didn't like to stand too close to me, almost like I smelled bad that day haha At first I felt uncomfortable and then I realized how absolutely funny it was. I could never look them in the eye, speak perfect French, and I'd still get ridiculous looks from all the French people because I wore some bright green skirt. I plan on doing it again very soon because it made me feel so cool haha)

The bus ride home consisted of more studying (its Wednesday so I HAVE to take my test before thursday morning), except this time a few of us girls invited the professor to study with us- aka answer all of our test questions. It was really quite helpful! Wisest study plan ever. Note to self: find someway to have a sit down chat with all professors before tests and completely change the topic to the controversial or confusing test topics!

Instead of going straight home Susan, Jamie, Kaylie and I went to the pizza restaurant sandwiched right in between our houses. The pizza was so good! I got the four cheese pizza (most of the pizzas have fish on them) and thought it was glorious. I'm not sure what kinds were all on there, but I know that rochefort was in there and I actually really liked it! It gave the pizza the perfect kick. Oh and for dessert I had creme brulee! woah.. they make creme brulee really well here.

I stayed up late finishing studying and then I started my test at 11:30 or so. Which is not the smartest thing to do because you don't think as rationally late at night, but its hard to avoid when the professor takes you to Chartres until 7 or so. It was all for the best, I felt really good about the test. The essay was a bit concerning because I can't express myself or my theories as well as I would like in French, but I felt like it went really well nonetheless.

Le 21 mai 2009
So obviously I stayed up way too late for this test of mine, which made getting to the professors by 8 am really hard. We had to leave for the metro by 6:45 which means I woke up to take a shower at... you don't want to know.
Why were we meeting at the professors you ask? Well to get on the bus of course! Why were we getting on the bus? To go to BELGIUM! Our first stop was in a town called Bruge. Everything was so perfectly picturesque! There is a lot less smoking in Belgium, the people speak a different language, less stuff smells like urine, more people speak English, and the Fried, Waffles, and chocolate are all undeniably better! We (Fred, Emily, and I) wandered around the city comparing their architecture to that of Paris! Bruge is known for being stuck in the 15th century so everything there looked very different, in a spectacular way. Bruge

We found a man playing the bagpipe after being in Bruge for probably 5 minutes max.
Emily and I with bagpipe man!

The main reason for visiting Bruge was to see a processional that the whole town put on. Professor Hurlbut is a specialist in the history and theories of Bruge and the origins of Brussels. In the processional they have a clear gold vial that supposedly holds in it the blood of Christ. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the vial as they marched by with it. This processional was nothing like a parade in the US, they really went all out. Think hundreds of sheep with real shepherds- the sheep really obeyed the shepherds! Think of all the old testament characters portrayed and marching around the city and millions of children dressed up to represent different characters, a color guard, 50 plus people dressed up on horseback, jokers that were scarier than Heath Ledger as joker (didn't think that was possible did you?), a lady playing a manual organ while men carried her float on their backs, and most of all people playing instruments and singing. I wish I had understood everything!
One of the groups in the processional that passed

We then remounted the bus and drove to a city called Gent. Here we dropped off our bags and ran down the canal to our reserved restaurant.
The Canal
Beautiful Gent

After dinner we wandered around the town till late. No worries! We were in big groups and we had already been told exactly where we would be safe in the town. At one point one of the girls in our group whipped out her Mac laptop and we had a 10 person dance party in the square by our hotel. It was amazing! Who thinks of doing such things in Gent, Belgium? Some of the other kids in the group looked on either in mockery, amusement, or disgust.. it was hard to decipher the looks we were getting but I must admit that it kind of disappointed me. In France we have to wear this "I'm French" look 24/7, but here where they speak Flemish? there was no fooling anyone, plus we were alone in this square in a beautiful town. I don't know it just seemed like a great memory to make and I wish that everyone could have enjoyed it?


This is (L to R) the girl band picture for Rachel, Rachel and me. Yes they are both Rachels haha

Le 22 mai 2009
Not only did we stay in a B-U-tiful hotel for the night, but they had a buffet. It has been quite sometime since I Really ate breakfast. I few pieces of toast aren't really that fulfilling when you need so much energy! There were all sorts of pastries, breads, jams, nutella, juices, meats, eggs, sausage, yogurts, and more. Yay for Belgium! They didn't follow the tiny food trend!

Literally next to our hotel, was the church that holds the Annunciation by Jan Van Eyck! I couldn't take any pictures of the actual thing, but the imitation in the outside chapel looks quite similar?
Sorry I forgot to turn it!

We got to wander the city of Gent a little bit more before running off to Brussels. Brussesl was the shortest stop yet! We got there at 13:06 and we had to be back on the bus by 15:00 but the center of the city was already a 15 minute walk! We were extremely pressed for time... but we didn't realize it quite yet.

My Varm Vaffle

So we got Varm Vaffles, Chocolate, and Greek food. While eating the Greek food we (Hannah, Fred, Emily, and I) realized that we had 15 minutes to get to the bus and we had wandered probably 30 minutes in the opposite direction. We started running with all that greasy greek stuff in our stomach but quickly realized that we had no idea where we were. We don't speak Flemish/Dutch, we didn't have a map, we quickly found out that our phones didn't work in Brussels between the students and that the Professor was not answering his phone. I tried to ask one of the bus drivers where all of the buses were parked outside of the city, but he looked at me with confusion when I tried French and English! What to do? We had worked up a sweat running who knows where and we were 15 minutes late for a bus that was told to leave at 3:00 pile (on the hour) and would wait for no one. Finally the professor called us back, he asked us where we were and our hearts lightened at the thought that they hadn't left us! We tried to describe where we were and the professor said.. hold up, I see you! How could he have seen us we had to be on the other side of town from the bus by now? We WERE, but so was the professor. The girls gave our group funny looks when we got on the bus so late but I didn't let it get to me. Brussels cannot be seen and eaten in 1 hour and a half.. even the professor got lost!

I'm now in Paris. Safe and sound! Is it pathetic of me to say that I miss Belgium!?

Paris.. the place where you can never possibly be on top of everything.

Le 15 mai 2009

First day of Castles (other than Versailles of course)! We took buses to and from them. The first day we went and walked around Pierrefonds and Chantilly. But I personally think they're much better on the outside. Really though, all of them are better when you just wander through the grounds and look at the outside architecture..

Pierrefonds through a rainy bus window
Chantilly
Chantilly room
Chantilly gallery with Rachel (the other rachel). She is coming to Barcelona with me in the beginning of June! (sorry some of these are sideways! I forgot to turn them.

Le 16 mai 2009

Today we saw Fontainebleau and then Vaux le Vicomte. I'm kind of castled out for a bit I think..
Fontainebleau
This peacock kept coming straight at me!

Vaux le Vicomte
In the rain at Vaux le Vicomte
After getting soaked in mud on a golf cart with crazy driver-rain. Its kind of hard to see here. I should have turned more.


Le 17 mai 2009
Sunday the day of rest, also known as the day where I spend the most time on the metro. I woke up to find a curious little 7 year-old walking aimlessly around the house. I started talking to him and we talked for a long time. He was so cute, and it was really fun to get to know a little french boy. His name is Constantin- he asked for my number so he could call me in the US? :) He also ate a lot of my favorite french candy, stole my crayon a pencil (mechanical pencil, dropped my camera and tried to use his lacking Karate skills on me. Then we got in a heated debeat over whether dragons or airplanes are cooler. (I'm reading Eragon in French and he is reading a book on airplanes) All in all, I was glad to have more interaction with the French people.

Oh and exciting news! I was in Sunday school class and the teacher asked anyone if they would teach next weeks lesson bc they don't have anyone called for the position currently. He asked everyone one by one if they would teach, he also asked Emily S. She initially said no, but then turned to me feeling guilty and said that she'd do it if we taught together.. so I'm teaching sunday school next week in the Versailles ward in Paris, France- In French. Its "etablissez... une maison de Dieu" so basically it is about the temples (establish a house of god). Any quotes you think I should say? any thing? I would love all the help I could get with this one.
Constantin et moi.

Versailles +

Le 13 mai 2009
so Versailles was absolutely incredible! I spent 7 hours there yesterday! I ate in front of the castle and then I spent 2 hours going through, then I walked through the gardens for a couple hours, and then biked through for an hour after that. It was the absolute perfect day.. the weather, oh my. It was indescribable really. After taking art history with Professor Magleby at BYU (which my far was my favorite class thus far) I thought I would go crazy when I got there, with all of the things that I learned flashing back to me. Turns out that the castle wasn't all that cool on the inside.. the hall of mirrors was great but a lot of the other things didn't meet my expectations. PLUS the mirrors in the hall of mirrors are really old and fuzzy so they didn't reflect light all that well.
One of the ceilings in the Versailles Castle (this is impressive!)
Me in the Hall of Mirrors

The garden, oh the garden is where you should spend your time. Biking was absolutely incredible and totally worth the pay.

The "doing the baha" path that I biked down at Versailles (one of the many I should say
Sad thing- the Trianon costs extra so I didn't get to see either of the Trianons.. but I'm planning on going back. Its okay. :) (I go to church like 8 minutes from Versailles)

Baby Swans at Versailles
Versailles from the back of the castle

Before I went to Versailles yesterday I did a walk all through the latin quarter of Paris. The Latin quarter is so cute.. tons of restaurants, tiny little streets, monuments and more. So I was crossing the street towards the statue of Saint Michel. The little green walking man popped up and I looked both ways to make sure traffic had stopped. The closest car to me was a huge tour bus and the bus driver gestured to let me know that it was safe for me to cross. I saw the car next to him had stopped and continued walking just as a moped whizzed between the two cars. My life literally flashed before my eyes. I was mid walking so I was only able to hop back a bit.. the moped guy slammed on his brakes and I tried to move out of his way as much as possible. When all was said and done, I was standing over the wheel of his moped after being given a slight nudge. I feel really really blessed, cause I shouldn't have been walking after crossing that guys path. Cool story though eh? Crazy mopeders. Most French people would have started yelling at him, but I gasped, looked at him in horror and quickly finished crossing the street. Watching all the peoples' eyes in their cars follow me to see how badly hurt I was, was pretty funny.

This is a crazy video of us girls biking. Today my group was Hannah, me (the first 2 in the video), Jamie, then Rachel (a different Rachel) and then Natalie. We were going to be late so we were hurrying back, Hannah runs into a tree at the end. Take note :) Oh but she didn't get hurt, it was just funny haha

Le 14 mai 2009
So the professor is out of town, I guess I forgot to tell you that. He was out of town today and yesterday, hence the long trip to Versailles. He got invited to give a talk at some convention in Belgium on a book he wrote or something.. I forget. Anyways so class was canceled yesterday (we were all told to go to Versailles) and then he left homework that we had to do in the Louvre. Jamie and I might up with our friend Fred at 11:00 and didn't leave till six. My feet get more blistered and callused everyday. Poor feet... The whole time that we were in there, we were doing research, deep discussion, taking pictures, and notes so our heads and feet were exploding by the time that they announced that the Louvre would be closing in 15 minutes. So we didn't mind leaving, plus we had recently finished. The pictures I have from it.. are pretty boring because they are all of small artifacts but I do have a picture of one person from the day!
This is Fred. He likes to stand in Front of the things I like to take pictures of. What a goof.
Oh and tonight I saw my first Paris sunset. I'm not sure how I've missed it every other day.. but today I saw out the metro window coming home.. I'm lucky we got off while it was still there, but I wasn't in a good place to take pictures sadly.
The sunset (sorry about all the nasty surroundings..)

Mon Oeil!!

Le 10 mai 2009
Getting to church on Sunday was SO much better than last week, but still it was really time consuming. I left my apartment at 7:30 and I got to church two minutes before it started at 9:30. Thus in essence we travel 4 hours for 3 hours of church. Crazy huh? Was it this bad for you (Katy, Genny, Val)? Don't get me wrong, I think the trip is beautiful and it doesn't feel that long, but the professor did give me permission to visit the Paris ward if I like.

Some things I want to remember: The vielle dame who I sat next to in church gave me fake flowers after we talked for a bit. The old ladies are SO incredibly sweet, why are the current adults so much colder?
I don't think that the Versaille ward has a primary (une primaire), because there were 6 children in relief society with us on Sunday. One of these children is SO loud. Actually its the little girl that I took a picture with last week? She has this sweet shrieky voice but some times it becomes a low growl when she is playing with her toys, and I think its absolutely adorable (my roommate thinks its creepy).

In Sacrament meeting they encouraged all the kids EFY age to go to EFY. They had them stand up and they asked their parents to help them have this experience just once, and they informed them when sign ups would happen.

Also, the mission President had all 5 of his blond californian daughters in town (they really stuck out), none of which speak french. So they all had headphones on and the missionaries sat right next to me, translating in English.. which really hurt my head because I was trying to listen to the french.

Le 11 mai 2009
Today our whole class went to Saint Denis. I guess I didn't realize that they don't actually know which tomb is his.. pretty disappointing. Personally I think its okay to open them and see which skeleton has a head attached, but I guess that's just me.

Saint Denis
Marie Antoinette
One of these graves is Saint Denis

Afterward Jamie and I found a bench under the trees to sit on, despite the fact that it was raining. We finished preparing and writing our FHE lesson and then we headed out to the Professors. I was really nervous for the lesson, I wanted it to go really well but I knew that I would mess up my french all over the place. I'm not used to speaking in French about religious things. Its hard to get my point across, but I think it went pretty well. I used the Mormon ad that mom gave me. It has a picture of a little chick pecking out of its shell and on the top it says "Adversite peut-etre un source de force". Thus I told stories about helping dad with the little chicks and seeing how even though we could get them out of the shell faster, they have to do it on, and that it strengthens them. I hope it went well. I know for a fact that I messed up a sentence but I think that that was the only one. *fingers crossed*


Le 12 mai 2009

In class today we studied the lineage of the French kings. There are a million of them! I can't believe that we complained about learning all the Presidents! Here in France the power is constantly switching back and forth between rulers, families, and countries because of marriages, deaths, and wars verse us, where we switch in between parties. We probably seem so boring to other countries.

We weren't very hungry after class so Jamie and I bought a pastry to share. Its called a millefois frais and it was absolutely amazing.

After class we did a promenade the "Marais Walk". The professor who wrote it didn't do very well with it, in fact some of the directions were just all together wrong, but we didn't give up. In this walk we (Jamie, Me, Maren, and Richelle)visited the Hotel de Sens, Lycee Charlemagne, l'Eglise de Saint Paul, l'Hotel Sully, la Place des Vosges, le Musee Carnavalet, et le Jardin Georges Cain.
Saint Paul
L'Hotel Sully
Jamie and I
They have defibrillators in their museums. Talk about major safety precautions!
I'm a gryffindor!
This is Richelle. She was sitting on a chair, but it doesn't look like it. Cool huh? I told you, everything is smaller in France. Even the chairs.

We had dinner with the Madame tonight. It was less stressful for some reason.. odd because we were both tired and didn't want to be there at all. She fed us salmon, and rice like stuff (I forget what its called in English), plus grapefruit, and then a vanilla bean ice cream with syrup on it. I was kind of concerned that there might have been rum in our ice cream tonight. I don't know how to ask if there was alcohol in it, but she knows that we can't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol so I assumed the best. After dinner Jamie and I snuck back into the kitchen to find the bottle of syrupy stuff that she had put on our ice cream. Jamie had watched her making it and knew which bottle it was. We found the bottle right away with the name "Crème de Cassis" on it. It had no list of ingredients so we remembered the name and ran upstairs to check it out. Wikipedia says "Crème de Cassis is a blood-red, sweet, black currant-flavored liqueur, and is an ingredient of kir, an apéritif." We're pretty freaked out about it. I can now say that I know what alcohol tastes like... its disgusting. I guess the deed is done: anyways I don't feel unusual at all so that's a good sign. Have you guys ever had close calls or slip ups with that?

Time to do lots of reading homework. I hope I can concentrate.
Jumping on a teeter totter :)