Sweet Disposition

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année mes amis ! I hope I haven’t kept you all waiting too long for an update on things here in France ! I’m just going to jump right into things.

School is going fantastically well, and I am so surprised at how fast the first semester seems to have gone by. The classes themselves are going fine, and I am still progressing so much. It’s hard for me to figure out how much I’ve progressed, but I can just tell that listening is so much easier than before, and I speak with a lot more ease too. The teachers here are so great, and you can tell they genuinely care about the students. Whenever I see them, they will stop and have ten-minute conversations and are always curious about how we are doing. Last week, I participated in the soirée internationale a tour school, where foreign students do some kind of performance to display their culture a little. I decided to sing, and it was a really fun experience. I sang ‘Reflection’ from Mulan, and it was really fun. Some kids even sang along, and I met a lot of really nice people after performing who had only the nicest things to say. On the last day before break, we had a little lunch party with my class and everyone brought in something to share with the class. There was so much food, but it was a really great time with all of my friends before the break.

I celebrated Thanksgiving by having dinner with my friends Brandy and Marie. They came over to my house and we made potatoes, chicken, salad, and cookies. Not exactly a traditional Thanksgiving, but it was a really special meal. After dinner, we all decided to go out, and we met my friends Viviana, Lutpulla, and Kai at a bar to have a drink and just relax on our wonderful American holiday.

I went to the home of the Bouget family for the weekend before my birthday, and what a weekend it was. It started out wonderfully with Timon, the 5 year old, running to me and jumping into my arms all the while shouting ‘Lauren!’ On the Saturday, I went to Timon’s soccer practice and Laurane’s gymnastics practice, and then later on we went to a farm that is close by and I learned how to milk cows! It was amazing, and when I did it, my first instinct was to say ‘Oh my gosh!’ And of course everyone laughed. For dinner that night we had a raclette, which consists of cheese that you melt and then eat with meat and/or potatoes. After the kids went to bed, the parents, their friend Vincent, and I played wii bowling, and that was fun! Sunday morning, we made chocolate chip cookies, and that was such a great thing to do with the kids. For lunch we had oysters, escargots, and frog legs, all of which were pretty good. After this we went to the kid’s Christmas spectacular at their school, and it was so funny! It started with a show for the kids by a magician who ended up going on a voyage to the USA (because the children are learning about the American culture this year). After that all of the kids got up and sang Christmas songs they have been practicing. I left that weekend just feeling so incredibly blessed and filled with great joy.

My birthday was December 14, and I had such a lovely day. My friends gave me cards and gifts, all of which were really special and meant a lot to me. I got to take a translation test on my birthday, but I am feeling pretty good about my performance on it. That night I came home, and Béatrice and Yilan made dinner and a cake for me. There were even twenty candles on the cake! Everything about that day was so unexpected and so so magnificent. My first birthday that I spent without the people back home was a birthday that I will never forget, and I don’t want to ever forget either.

I went on a couple little excursions in the past month. I went to Paris for a day with my friend Lutpulla in the beginning of December, and that was a really fun day. We had to give one of his friends something, so we were only in Paris for perhaps six hours, but we trekked around an area called Chatelêt, and then made out way on the metro to Notre Dame. By the time we got there, it was dark, but it was incredible! The lighting was very soft and the cathedral had such a pristine appearance, and in front of it was a giant Christmas tree decorated with blue Christmas lights. Then that weekend, I went with a group of about 35 students from my school to Lyon for the fête des lumières. While in Lyon, we went to the marchés de Noel (Christmas markets), a couple interesting parks, a gallo-roman theater, and of course the festival of lights. It was a ton of fun, and I met some really awesome people on the trip. Also, I have a friend who lives in Lyon who I’d like to visit, so hopefully in the next month or two I’ll venture back down there.

A few nights ago, I went to Isabelle’s for a soirée that she was holding for her boyfriend who has been working abroad for a year and is now back in France. There were nine of us there, and it was so insanely fun. The night started with us just talking, and a couple French girls from the chorale I am in talked to me and were asking me a lot of questions about France and the States. We then ate dinner, which was a raclette (as I explained earlier), and it was a great time to socialize and try and absorb as much French as possible. After the raclette, we had ice cream, and then played a game where you had to do gestures with your hands that matched the cards as fast as you could. It was so much fun, and we were laughing so much. There were even a couple French boys there too who were quite amusing…haha. Overall, it was a good night, and I am so glad I went to the soirée.

And onto the inevitable topic of boys, I regret to inform all of you at home that I have not been swept off my feet by some charming and romantic French boy. The boys here are handsome and impeccably dressed, but that isn’t everything. Not that I’m mocking them by any means, but I think boys here are a little more forward and perhaps have a little more confidence in their flirtatiousness. And I am not about to compromise my standards and ideals for a romance in this love-crazed country.

December was a little hard for me for about a week. I realized that this is the first time in my life that I have spent my birthday and the holidays away from my family and friends, and I fell into this depressive funk that I couldn’t shake. Eventually I ended up talking to my mom about it, and then proceeded to cry to her on Skype. Since then, I have felt insanely better, and the fact that my birthday was so wonderful is a reassurance that Christmas will be just as wonderful! God has blessed me in so many ways, and all I can do is smile at how amazing He is.

Yesterday and today were really difficult emotionally though, for I said my farewells to some amazing friends that I have made here in France. My friends Marie, Brandy, Elizabeth, and Viviana are the ones that truly influenced my time here in Angers, and I can’t begin to imagine how things will be without them here. I tried my absolute hardest to refrain from crying, but it was inevitable. However, I know that I will see these wonderful girls again, and that there are new friendships to be made and more fun to be had.

As I am writing now, I am on the train headed to la petite ville de Caussade with my host mom, Béatrice. We are going for ten days to stay with her daughter and son-in-law and their baby boy. I am so excited to pass Christmas with them, and it is going to be great to see and experience a new part of France.

Songs I like right now: Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap, Vivre à en Crever from Mozart Opéra Rock, and Blessed by Elton John.

To continue with my journey through the Psalms, here are a few verses that I really liked.

--Psalm 40:5 “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.”

--Psalm 52:8-9 “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. “

--Psalm 63:7-8 “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

An Angel at Home

Hello friends! Time is flying like crazy, for it has been exactly two months since I have arrived in France! Two months! I figure it’s time that I write about my life as of the past month. Long entry here we come!

Let’s start with school. My classes are going well, and I they are a good balance of easy and difficult. We have already had tests in all of my classes, the hardest of which were in Histoire de la France and Traduction (translation). The history test consisted of three open-ended questions to respond to in 12-15 lines each, in French of course. And the translation test was to translate a passage from English into French that we had never seen before…we’ll see how that ended up. I have an exposé (presentation) today for my Langue class, and I decided to talk about the girl scouts, because I know than more than enough information to get me through a speech. It went well, thank goodness. As said before, I was worried my classes would be too easy, and the pace is indeed too slow in some of my classes and I should have been placed in a higher level, but the supplementary work I am receiving helps a lot, and I can tell my French is improving immensely.

Next, I have been getting together with my friend Isabelle every week to talk in French and English, and also to just have a good time. A couple of weeks ago, we did dictées, which is where someone reads a passage in the language you are trying to learn, and you have to write down what you hear. So, she read a page from Little House on the Prairie in French, and I wrote down everything she said. It’s more difficult than it sounds, but it works so well, because you listen and use logic at the same time. She also gave me tongue twisters with the letter “R” in them, because there are a lot of nuances with how the letter “r” is pronounced with different words. I’m continuing to help her with English, and other than that, we have gotten together for chocolat chauds (hot chocolates), and she invited me to a little soirée she is having with her friends and family in December, so I’m very excited.

I met with the Bouget family a couple of weeks ago again, which was great! Laurane, the daughter, had a gymnastics and dance gala, and I went with the family to watch her perform. It was really cool, and there are some talented girls in the group. I was also amused by the songs choices for the dance routines. They were typically American, and a little risqué considering most of the gymnasts/dancers are very young. The Bougets want me to spend a whole weekend at their house, which is such a blessing, so I am spending the weekend before my birthday with them.

Béatrice’s birthday was on Halloween, so Béatrice's friend Michelle, and us three housemates all had a wonderful lunch together. Béatrice made this meal inside a shell…I don’t know how you do that, but it was just about the coolest thing ever, and it was so delicious! Her cake was also amazing, and it would put any American cake to shame. Béatrice asked me if I would sing a song for them, because she said I have “a very lyrical voice,” and even though I hate singing when people ask me to, seeing that it was Béatrice’s birthday, I complied. Since then, I have been trying to break out of my little singing bubble, just in terms of comfort with singing in front of people without feeling insecure.

Next topic: Halloween does not exist in France. Apparently a few years ago they tried to do the American commercialized version, and it failed miserably. Instead, it’s very traditional, and the French celebrate La Toussaint and La Jour des Morts. La Toussaint commemorates all of the saints that are celebrated in France, and La Jour des Morts is a day to honor your loved ones who have passed away. For La Jour des Morts, people clean the tombstones, and flowers and plaques are placed on and around the grave. I went to two cemeteries that weekend, and it was so moving to read the little plaques and look at all the chrysanthemums.

I went to a Greek Orthodox Church with Béatrice for La Toussaint, and that was the most interesting religious service I have ever been to in my whole life. We walked in I was immediately stunned as the strong fragrances enveloped me and the music being sung was all in Latin. The temple was rather small, and the congregation not so large either, for there is not much of a Greek Orthodox following in France. I understood about half of the words when they were in French, but overall it was really different going from an upbeat Protestant church to an ultra-traditional Greek Orthodox Church. Altogether though, it felt wonderful to be in the presence of other Christians, and in talking with them and having lunch with them after the service, I felt welcomed and appreciated. It was great. I am still reading my Bible daily, and I tonight I have Psalm 40 to delve into. I also found a French pocket bible of the Psaumes et le Nouveau Testament. So wonderful.

We had a pont/vacation last week for l’Armistice (the end of the fighting in WWII), and I took a train down to Nimes to visit my friend Angelina. She is also from Grand Haven, but she is being an au pair here in France for the year. When we found out we were both in France, we knew we would have to get together to heal our homesickness. It was so so fantastic. Angelina took me to so many cool places; in Nimes we visited L’Arène , La Maison Carré, a park where Jules César used to hang out, we went to the Méditerranée a of couple times, and also to a city called Aigues-Mortes, which if I translated the name correctly, it means high-pitched or sharp death. Kind of morbid if you ask me. Angel and I talked a lot and it was so good to be able to reflect on Grand Haven and talk about people both of us know from back home. The family she is with is great too, and the kids are the cutest things when they want to be. I had such a pleasant time there.

Okay, so now I am going to talk about the alcohol and wine. Before coming to France, I had never had any wine or alcohol. But being in France, now I have had my fair share of different types of wine, and I prefer rose or white wines, the reds are a little too strong. And I have had alcohol now too. No, I am not a drunk, nor do I plan on becoming one, but I have gone out to the bars twice, and have tried alcohol both times. The first time I got a Sex on the Beach, and the second time I had a Cosmopolitan. Seeing that neither of those drinks is strong, and that someone bought me the drinks both times, I am pretty content.

As always, I have had a few realizations that really make my life amazing here. The first of which, is that being outside and just listening to the breeze does wonders for me. From time to time, I feel claustrophobic in my small apartment room, and I can go outside into the courtyard between the apartment buildings, and it is really soothing. And even better than that, my friend Lutpulla found out how much I miss Lake Michigan, and he brought me to le Lac du Maine, which is here in Angers! It is so calm, so peaceful, and the second I got there I just felt so at ease. It is a lake with a sandy shore that is surrounded by woods. There are some picnic tables and grills too, so we are going to go barbecuing there sometime soon.

Another realization that I have had is that I am indeed, in France. I was reading about the Edict of Nantes, and as I reflected on previous history classes, I thought to myself, ‘The Edict of Nantes, that was in France with Louis XIV and the Huguenots.’ Suddenly, I realized that I am living twenty minutes away from Nantes, and it was the coolest thing to re-realize how I am living in a country with so much history.

Lastly, I realized that I could call France ‘home.’ I returned to Angers from Nimes, and when I stepped out of the train station, all I could do was smile. As I headed of to my apartment in the cold rain, lugging my suitcase across town on the torn up roads for the incoming tramway, I said the word ‘home’ to myself, and I felt so at peace with life. Don’t worry, I am still coming home in June and am not planning on moving to France. But it is a really special thing when I can call this new place my home.

Heading into the holidays! Thanksgiving next week and my birthday and Christmas in December! Even though life is beautiful here, I miss you all like crazy, and I look so forward to being able to hug you all again!

Favorite thing someone said to me: In confusing ‘haven’ with ‘heaven,’ a boy said to me “If you’re from Grand Haven, does that make you an angel?” :)

Psalm 26:2-3 “Test me O Lord and try me, examine my heart and my mind, for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."

L'amour toujours l'amour

Salut mes amis!! Ca fait longtemps depuis j’ai écrit, it’s been a long time since I’ve written. So many things have happened in the last three weeks so this blog post is kind of long…

Let’s start with school. I am in level 323, which is really close to being in classes for superior level students (levels 324-326 are slightly more advanced, and then after that, it’s superior classes). Many of the other students in my classes took classes at UCO in the spring and in September, so it is pretty cool to know that I did well enough on my placement tests to be decently close to advanced. I however have been a little concerned that the classes are going to be a little easy compared to my standards. I talked with my teacher today, and she said I am good enough to go up to the next level, but because there is a space issue with levels above me, she and I can meet every week and she’ll give me additional work to do if I want. So, I’m excited to have extra work to augment my skills. My classes are pretty great though, and I love my teachers. Traduction (translation) is really particular, Histoire de la France (history of France) is so amazingly interesting, and my other classes are good too. My listening comprehension is insanely better already, and I have no problem keeping up with the teachers in school.

Next, I am learning how to cook more! It’s not that I was a bad cook before, I just never really cooked anything myself. Now that I am preparing my food for myself, I am really enjoying being creative with different sauces and vegetables, and I’m excited to learn some really good French recipes this year. I’m thinking for the holiday I’m going to learn how to make some desserts. Get ready everyone for when I come home, because we are going to have a grand feast!

I found a choir to join!!!! It is called “Les Aquar’elles” and it is a group of about 21 girls that are college-aged, and we sing music of the world. I went to a practice last Thursday, and they were thrilled to have me. I am the only girl who isn’t French who is in the choir, so it was cool to have a new nationality in the group. We are singing a Chinese song right now and also an English song, so the conductor had me read the words in English for the group. Then everyone repeated the words, and it was great with the French accents. The tone of the group is surprisingly really good, and I feel so good to have a place to sing again.

While I was at choir last week, I talked with a girl named Isabelle who wanted to know if I would be interested in linguistic exchanges. Essentially, we are getting together one or two times a week to hang out and to ameliorate our speaking skills in French and English. She’s really nice and I think it’s going to be really fun and beneficial to talk and go out on the town with her this year.

There is an organization affiliated with the school called AFIA that for only four euros (like 6 dollars), you can be partnered with a family in our region of France to experience the culture a bit more. I ended up being partnered with the Bouget family. There are the parents, Stéphanie and Loic, and then two kids, Laurane who is 8 years old, and Timon who is 5 ½ years old. Stéphanie and Loic both know English pretty much fluently, and so if I’m struggling to figure something out, we can typically figure it out. I was invited to their house on Sunday for lunch and a surprise. Before lunch, we had an aperitif, where we talked for like 45 minutes or so, and drank some wine. I had rose wine, which I liked more than red wine. It is still really strong, but it was better. The lunch was really good, and then after lunch, they took me and the kids to L’événement Haras nationaux Mondial du Lion (Essentially it’s a really big international equestrian competition). It was pretty interesting and we had a lot of fun. Laurane is learning about Americans in school this year, and she was really enthusiastic to meet me. She also showed me here workbook for learning English, and it was really cool. And then Timon has so much energy, and he and I played a couple rounds of Mario Kart on the Wii. When Timon found out that I was not staying at their house, he got really sad too, which was sweet. Stéphanie and Loic told me that whenever I want to spend a day or weekend with them to let them know and they would love to have me, so I just feel so blessed to have them as my “other family.” I also met the family of Stéphanie’s best friend (Michael and Laure, and their daughters, Lou, Lynn, and Neomie). They were also really fun to talk to, because their daughters are also learning English.

Saturday, I went with the school to Mont St. Michel and Saint Malo even though I have already been to both places before, and it was such a good choice! In both places, we were free to explore as we desired, and Yiran (my really good friend and classmate) and I spent a lot of time away from the group. In Saint Malo, we meandered through the downtown, but spent a bulk of our time walking around the shoreline to the ocean. I was smiling so much as I picked up the sand, and I felt like I was back at Lake Michigan. It was a great feeling. Yiran and I met some funny boys near the bathrooms that made us laugh a lot. They were probably between the ages of 8 and 12, and they were hilarious. After leaving Saint Malo, we went to Mont St. Michel, and it was also wonderful. The architecture was wonderful as I remembered, and the atmosphere was so quaint. We walked along the “shoreline” and marveled at the water. Mont St. Michel is in the middle of a river where the tide rises and falls very quickly, and the ground is essentially clay. I took a lot of pictures, and I was quite content at the end of the day.

I’ve also spent a lot of time making friends at school and trying to branch out more outside of school. My friends here are from all different countries, but my closest friends right now are from China and the USA. I do want to say though that I can’t imagine being here without talking to my friends and family. It has been such a release to talk to you guys from home. My family, I always love talking to you, especially now that we are so separated. And my friends, Sara, Kristyn, Brent and Nick especially, thank you so much for always talking to me. I love having you guys to talk to.

The last thing to report is that I have embarked on sort of biblical journey while I am here. I decided to read a Psalm a day, and it has actually been really fantastic how much some of these Psalms have hit home. Whether despairing or rejoicing, God is always at the forefront of each Psalm, and I love letting God lead me where I am meant to go. Some verses I’ve really connected with have been Psalm 1:2-3 and Psalm 8:3-4. That being said, I will leave you all with a quote. My history teacher was talking about the roots of Christianity, and she said last year she asked the students why Christianity thrived in France, and an Asian (non-Christian) student replied by saying “le Christianisme est la relgion de l’amour.” Indeed, Christianity is the religion of love. Rock on and Amen.