I absolutely adore summer in Angers. Granted, I still have a week of classes followed by a week of exams, the weather clearly shows that it is summertime! The last two weekends have been long weekends, so I have spent a lot of time outside, which has been such a blessing. My allergies have finally stopped giving me grief and I have been able to enjoy the lovely weather by having picnics with my friends at the lake here in Angers, exploring various parks around the city, and strolling along the lakeside with Béatrice, her daughter and grandson, and Yilan. I had to buy sunscreen because I have already gotten a little sunburned, which makes me so excited for the next few weeks of sun!!!
The highest priority for me right now is exams, sadly enough. Starting tomorrow, I will be plunging into studying for my exams that start on Saturday. No, I am not procrastinating, and yes, my first exam is on Saturday! The teachers are absolutely crazy in my opinion to sacrifice a Saturday to give an exam, but c’est la vie en France! I have at least one really easy exam, français familier (my slang French class), but all of my other classes are going to require some serious review. I have a lot of notes and a lot of rereading, but this semester will be an incredibly good test of my progress. And I can’t forget to mention that on Tuesday, May 18th, I completed and turned in a twenty-page dossier, all in French, about the modernization of the church in France. I can’t describe the huge weight that was lifted from my shoulders the second I handed it to the secretary at my school. I do not yet know how well I did on my dossier, but I am so incredibly thrilled to have that project done!
As a side note, while I was intensely devoting my life to my dossier and other papers and stories for school, I discovered the most amazing music ever!! Well, maybe it’s not the most amazing, but I can’t seem to get enough of it. It is called the Mozart l’Opéra Rock, and it is the soundtrack of a musical/show about Mozart finishing his tour in Paris and returning to his hometown of Salzburg, Austria where everything has changed. The songs vary in style, from lullabies to love songs to vindictive declarations, and they are all in French. Even if you don’t know French, I highly encourage everyone to go onto YouTube and search for the songs and check out a few. A few of them are kind of scandalous, but it’s the country and language of love and passion, so what can you really expect? My personal favorites: Le bien qui fait mal, Je dors sur des roses, Dors mon ange, l’Assasymphonie, Tatoue-moi, and Vivre à en crever.
This coming Wednesday, I will be singing at the soirée internationale for the second time this year. If you don’t recall or didn’t read the blog post in which I mentioned this occasion in December, it is a chance for all of the international students to share a part of their culture with the other students at our university. It is kind of like a talent show, because the majority of people do some sort of performance that represents their culture. I am going to be singing a blues/jazz song and I have a friend who will be accompanying me on piano, so it should be a fun and exciting night :)
Once I finished my dossier on Tuesday, I realized that I had virtually nothing to do after school and in the evenings, so I have done quite a lot this week. I saw Robin des Bois (Robin Hood), and though it was a decent movie, I didn’t think it was anything amazing. However, it did make me incredibly eager to get back to Grand Haven to watch BBC’s Robin Hood with miss Sara Luckey!! My friend Rémi had a concert in Angers and he asked me on a whim to sing with him. Since I only knew a couple of songs on the list, I sang “I’m yours” with him, and having not practiced at all together, I think we did pretty well. I had the most amazing soufflés EVER on Friday evening! One was a soufflé nordique and it had salmon in it, and then for dessert I had a soufflé chocolat. They were so delicious, I felt like I was on cloud nine for that entire meal. One of my favorite times this week though, was when my friends and I went out for someone’s birthday and Donald, my friend Heidi, and I all started doing random Star Wars voices such as Princess Leia, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, R2D2, Chewbacca, Jar Jar Binks, and the Ewoks. Oh yeah, we had a riot!
Today, I had the chance to go with Béatrice, my host mom, to an orthodox church that is about an hour outside the city. Since she doesn’t go very often, the last time I went with her was back in October, just before All-Saints Day. This time, we were there for La Pentecôte, or Pentecost. I am so glad that I chose to go with her, because I felt so connected at this service. After writing my dossier, I have a much better understanding of the Orthodox Church, and since I have been here much longer I also was able to understand so much more of what was sung (words and prayers are rarely said, they are sung. I was able to take communion at the Orthodox Church because I have been baptized, and after I received it, I sat down and was surprised when tears started falling down my face. Today, I can say that taking communion was more than just a ritual to celebrate having Christ with you. It was a movement that I am making back in the direction of strengthening my spiritual life again. Honestly, this year has been a huge challenge in exploring what my standards are and keeping my relationship with God alive. God has been a driving force throughout everything I have done here in France, but my faith has suffered a lot because I have not had very much fellowship with other Christians. I have done a few bible studies recently with my friends Mark and Heidi, and it has been such a comfort to have Christian friends with me to pray, read the bible, and hold each other accountable in areas where we may be struggling. And as far as my standards and ideals go, I had another interesting thought during the church service today. Throughout the entire orthodox service, you hold a candle that is lit in the beginning of the service. While I was sitting there with my candle, I watched the flame flicker as a breeze came in through the door, as people walked past me, and as I breathed toward the flame. Depending on how strong the force was against the flame, it would fade into almost nothing, and then return to its bright and shining state. This is what I feel like I have been doing with my standards throughout the entire year. I arrived in France with many ideas about different issues, and being in France without my family and friends has given me the chance to determine my standards and limits without outside influences. I have not done anything shameful by any means, but I have definitely been able to explore and test my limits, just as I observed with the candle. After this year, I have figured out that the standards I arrived in France with are pretty much the same as those I am leaving with, and I am really at ease with that.
Tomorrow I will have 19 days before I leave what has become my home. I left Grand Haven as a relatively naïve and sheltered girl, and am returning with a completely different worldview and sense of self. I love the lifestyle I’ve developed here: I walk everywhere, I make my food myself, I am constantly working to improve my French, and I don’t have to prove myself to anybody, which frankly is something I have been doing for the last ten years of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Grand Haven and it is my home, but France has also become home to me. The next three weeks are going to be challenging with exams, but also so much fun. Tomorrow I am having a picnic with my friends Kai and Yilan, and after that Yilan and I are going on a photo shoot around town! I’ll be going to the lake a couple more times I am sure, and I have no doubt that I will be surrounding myself with those who I am close to whenever I am not studying. 35 weeks down, 3 weeks left!! A très bienôt mes amis et ma famille aux Etats-Unis! Je vous aime!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete