Sunday in the Versailles Ward

I’m back home in Lille which I can’t believe feels normal after only a few weeks. I had a wonderful time for the rest of my stay in Paris. I spent a lot of time with the Juliennes simply talking, cooking, etc… I went back into Paris a second time and reminisced in many of the spots I used to go. I walked through the parvis of Notre Dame, across the island into the Latin Quarter, I ate a Greek pita next to the Seine, took the metro 1 line to the end to see what was there: I was pleasantly surprised to find that the stop “Chateau de Vincennes” really is a castle! I was sad to leave the next morning; Veronique got up early to say goodbye. I adore their family and will always feel like I’m a little bit a part of it. Sunday morning I made the hour + trek out to the Versailles ward and it was well worth it to see my old friends. A few of them had emailed saying they’d be there and look for me. I walked in and instantly saw my sweet friend Maria Babin in the hall. Then in Sunday School two of my close friends from the institute, Thomas Fournier and Adelaide Cunche came in and surrounded me chatting from both sides. They were so welcoming last time I was here and remembered so much of what I’m doing. In sacrament I sat near Valentine and Emilee Causée and caught up with them. It was so much fun to be around so many familiar faces! After church, Maria Babin and her family took me home with them for a delicious lunch and then took me out into the countryside past the city of Versailles. It was a gorgeous drive and we stopped first at the remains of a castle on the hill called the chateau de la Madeleine of Chevreuse. The view was great both from the castle and then also from across the valley when we continued on. We passed an old abbey and several other quaint chateaux that people often rent out for weddings. I had such a nice time with Maria, Samuel and their cute kids!
Now it's monday and I'm back to work. Today I had a second interview with one of the students Elyse who is studying hard for graduate school. Her interviews are June 12th so we have two more appointments scheduled to give her more practice. Today I gave her a more difficult text that talked about the consumer debt in Britain. She said it was hard to understand but when I told her to summarize it for me she got the main points. The students make significantly fewer mistakes when they calm down. I was pleased to see that she didn’t confuse “who” and “which” today but there were other problems that we worked on. I am really enjoying working with the students. The grand majority of them take their studies seriously and realize that their parents are paying a lot of money for a top private university so it’s neat to see them in the process of applying for their next year or a new program. The French have to reapply each year in order to move on. Well, I’m absolutely exhausted…bonne nuit xo

Home again in Croissy-Sur-Seine, Paris

I feel so at home being back with the Juliennes in Croissy-sur-Seine, Paris. I arrived Thursday afternoon and had time to kill before going to their home so I did one of my favorite things; I went to the enormous park that overlooks Paris in the outskirt town Saint Germain en Laye. My dear friend Allie is the one who first suggested that I find it and once I did, I was hooked. It is enormous and next to the chateau where Louis the 14th was born. I love to go there to watch the couples, families, and skyline. Unfortunately my eyes are closed in the picture. After that I got my weekend metro pass and went under the tracks at the Croissy station where I used to go to this Tunisian shack to get sandwiches. There was a really nice Muslim girl there named Chédia last year, but when I went in this time, they said she’d gone back to Tunisia because she was accepted to an esthetician school which I remember she’d really wanted to do. However, her uncle, with whom I also spoke several times, drove up right as I ordered. I was shocked that when I looked at him he remembered my face! He said, “wow! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you here.” I said I couldn’t believe he remembered me. He said he remembers I was the smiling American who lived somewhere near Los Angeles. Haha (To some, anything far from New York must be near Los Angeles). Khared (picture right) is his name and he sat down with me while I ate and we had a fun time talking for an hour or so. Well, at about 9 the Julienne’s got home and I walked back on my old route. I was so excited to see them and they seemed just as thrilled to see me again! Lidwine ran out and jumped at me and Veronique and Patrick both kissed both my cheeks and everyone talked at once. I talked as quickly as I could and they were so glad to see that I haven’t lost my French. We talked until Veronique demanded that I set my things down and that we move out of the doorway. She had prepared a special dinner for me and it was just like old times! She made a type of wrap with filo dough filled with salmon pieces, goat cheese, and herbs. It was delicious! There was a salad, some sort of legume mixture, and “poire belle helene” for dessert – a yummy pear desert. We stayed at the table until well after midnight then I crashed instantly. The next morning, I got up early and ran next to the Seine like I used to. I’ve never been a very avid runner, I’m more of a scenic runner: run for a minute, stop to pick poppies, run for a minute, stop to look at the mistletoe clumps that grow in the trees, etc…It was a gorgeous morning! When I came back I ate breakfast with Patrick and Veronique and told them all about my wedding plans. They told me about their wedding 27 years ago and of the traditional things. I milled around Croissy for awhile then watched/helped Veronique prepare a barbeque. Watching her is like having my own personal French cooking show; my very own French Paula Dean. She doesn’t measure anything and does everything from scr

atch. She doesn’t believe in microwaves because they take away nutrients. With her, and with most good French cooks, cooking is an art. Presentation is a huge part of the end result. After lunch I hopped on the metro t

o hit the city and boy was Paris busy! I wanted to retrace my steps so hopped off at Chatelet and set out on foot past the Pompidou center, past the modern art fountains, past the place where I pierced my ears, past the institute (saw the missionaries) past Hotel de Ville…Then I went to an exposition that Veronique had suggested called “Valadon and Utrillo” at the Pinacothèque. It was something I had never done before which was what I wanted. Maurice Utrillo and Suzanne Valadon are both artists and interestingly enough, mother and son. Their works are strongly connected and are shown together. A quick review of the show said, “A strong-willed woman, Suzanne Valadon succeeded in finding herself a place in an art world dominated by men. An occasional model, she posed for Puvis de Chavannes, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas, the latter giving her a great deal of encouragement to pursue her artistic vocation. A mother at 18, Valadon passed on her passion to her illegitimate son, Maurice Utrillo. They shared a love for painting…” When I got home I cooked with Veronique again; I made a tomato and goat cheese tart and she made stingray! She also recommended a book to me called La Vague or The Wave in English. It’s actually about an American man who started to run his class as a dictatorship to help them better understand Hitler’s influence over the Nazi regimes. However, his “game” gets out of hand when some of the students take his teachings literally.

Soiree with Stephanie Lecocq

It has been a marvelous week thus far; Stephanie Lecocq invited me out for an evening with her and to spend the night at her house. We started out by walking through Old Lille and let me just say, it makes such a difference when you have a native pointing things out. I had walked through before and thought it was beautiful but in reality, had missed half of the neat things! She took me to Lille’s oldest bakery Meert and told me that this is the only place General de Gaulle would buy his bread and pastries from. Today, the tea room and bakery have not been changed and they sell the specialties of Lille. Stephanie bought me a gauffre, what Meert is most known for; it’s like a waffle pressed very thin with ground up vanilla beans and cream in the middle. As we walked on there were gorgeous stores that sold everything imaginable! She started chattering on about how since I don’t drink alcohol she had come up with the perfect place to take an ‘apperatif’ (before dinner drink). So we continued on to a little café/bar called the Voltaire. She must be a frequent visitor because the three old men there and the bartender all stood up to greet her and kiss her cheeks and were all very kind to me as well! I had a grapefruit drink and we sat and chatted. I realized I didn’t know much about her and that she’s had some rough things happen in her life. Last year, her husband of 15 years decided he preferred men to women and it has been an expensive divorce and her best friend died in March from Celiac disease. She is a great mother of two kids, Roméo and Jeanne, and loves them dearly. She has her doctorate degree and works very hard. We had a good talk then kept walking around town while she showed me the Artisan Parfumeur, a perfume shop that creates some of the purest perfumes in the north. I got a sample and should have bought a bottle, it smells great. She showed me where Louis the 14th made his mark: every time he visited a city he would construct a sun symbol in the center of it. He was known as the Sun King because he thought that daily life in France depended on him rising each morning. Yes, a pompous man he was. There was a fabulous guitar player in the square while we crossed it, I’ll try to upload a video to give a sample of it, I hope it works. We passed a unique wedding dress shop where the styles do not conform to the norms; black lace gowns and short frilly frocks are all the rage for the eccentric modern bride who shops here. Around 9 we got hungry and Stephanie treated me to an exotic Korean place where they bring out marinated raw meats and vegetables and you cook them yourself right at your table! We had a fun time talking and cooking; the fish was one I didn’t know the translation for and had never had but tasted great and so did the sauces. Though we ate Asian food we still ate in lengthy French style; we left the restaurant at nearly 11 pm. The drive to Stephanie’s home in Villeneuve d’Asque was nice and she showed me the British music she likes. She asked me if the words were good and I told her they were actually kind of stupid, the song we were listening to was called “if I was a hobo.” Haha, we both crashed into bed when we arrived and when I woke up in the morning she had walked to the bakery to get me breakfast. Also, she got me a loaf of yummy grain bread to take with me back to Lille. She was such a sweet hostess. She has vertebrae problems in her neck so she always wears scarves to keep the muscles warm. The picture of her and me is taken across the street from her house and the building in the background is the town castle. We both looked a little tired from little sleep but we zoomed off to work early anyway.
Work itself went well yesterday; I had my first interview with a student. Elyse was her name and she was quite nervous in the beginning. I gave her 20 minutes to listen to an English text and prepare a synthesis and commentary and then for 40 minutes she talked to me and I asked her questions while noting her mistakes and making suggestions. Once she calmed down she improved significantly. We worked on the ‘th’ sound which seems to be a problem for most French people just like their R sound is for us. We went over some grammar rules and scheduled another interview for next week. Last night after work I went to an orchestra/choir concert that took place in the theology chapel of our university. There were so many people there I had to sit on a table because the chairs were filled. I cannot describe how the sound resonated off the stone walls and ceilings; it was inspiring, to say the least.
I have been so preoccupied I haven’t even taken pictures in my apartment yet so I’ll start doing that. I live on rue de la bassée and the mural is one that one of the students did and hung in the building. He actually did several; this one is just my favorite since I pass it every day. Finally, the library is the only modern building at the university so it sticks out quite a bit :) I snapped a picture while running in yesterday.
Well, my train for Paris leaves in a couple hours so I’d better finish throwing my things together. I feel like I am going home in a way :), it’s funny. A bientôt xo

Soiree familiale..

I wasn’t going to update anything but since this is like my journal, I will wonder why there is a gap if I don’t keep record. Today I gave the lesson at family home evening. I shared 2nd Timothy 1:7-8 and talked about the blessing it is here in France to have so many opportunities to be an example, answer questions about the church, and plant seeds for the gospel here. The verse says we should not be ashamed of our testimonies and God does not give us fear, but rather force and a sound mind. I also shared the analogy of the orange juice which tells about the master of a house who invites the Lord and several friends to dinner. The Lord asks the man why he only pours juice for himself and doesn’t offer it to the others and the man replies that he was afraid the others might not like the juice. This symbolizes spreading the gospel and though it’s true that some may not care for what we have to say, it is important to share bits when we have the chance because we know the eternal value that’s at stake. Tomorrow I’m spending the evening with an eccentric colleague from work, Stephanie Lecocque. She is excited to show me around a little bit more and take me to one of her favorite restaurants, and Asian barbeque place and then see a movie called Je l’aimais, based on a book. I’ll be spending the night at her house and am thrilled once again to have an invitation. I am continually amazed at the welcoming nature of the Northerners. Bonne nuit...

Tournai, Belgium & a sweet Sunday

What a day! Church was nice this morning at the Lille ward; there was a new member from Bulgaria who also speaks Russian so…a sister missionary who is still working on French had her husband translate from French to English in her ear and she then translated from English to Russian in the member’s ear. She understood everything. Another proof that the gospel is true.
I had a very unexpected opportunity to share a little of the gospel today. Cédric picked Kami and me up from church and he asked how it went and if the ceremony is the same every week, so I explained that there are three parts: the sacrament, Sunday school, and Relief society, and told him what they were. Then he started asking a ton of questions: do you believe in Christ? Do you believe in the Trinity? Do you believe in the resurrection? Why are you different than Catholics? I answered him the best I could then Kami tried to read the first Article of Faith but since he was driving and wanted to look at it he said he’d look at it later. One of the previous interns had given him a Book of Mormon and he asked if that was our Bible. I explained that it was another book testifying of Jesus Christ that we read

along with the Bible and that reading them together makes a lot more sense. The French don’t like to discuss religion so I was surprised it hadn’t gotten weird for about fifteen minutes but then it did and he changed the subject. But at least I got to tell him that my favorite part about what we believe is that we believe after this life we can be with our families for eternity. He mulled that over and said it was “un grand mystère” a huge mystery to the Catholics as to what happened after this life and who would be saved. Gavin reminded me that in the priesthood blessing my dad gave me before I left he promised me that I would have missionary opportunities. And though they aren’t coming in the same way that those in Paris did, I still feel like I’m planting seeds in little moments like this one.
Well, upon arriving at the Lepoutre home I must say the countryside where they live is situated 20 minutes from Lille and in the middle of beautiful wheat fields. Their house is unlike any I have ever seen. Over a hundred and fifty years old, it used to be a house for sheep, and after that it was a small candy factory. It is not shaped in a square; there are five parts and they all branch out in different direction and in the middle there is a veranda with glass walls and roof. Véronique Lepoutre greeted us-two kisses on the cheeks-and then we met their three daughters: Manon, Camille, and Pia-14, 11, and 5 respectively. They are adorable girls and led us to the living room where we sat down and had juice and nuts before eating. There were thick wood beams traversing the living room and the walls were a deep red brick—argyle. I love the terra cotta floors that are so common in France. After chatting for awhile we went to the veranda for dinner. The ambiance of this outdoor-indoor room was lovely. For the first course Véronique had made tomates farcées, tomatoes stuffed with a baby shrimp mixture. I quite liked it. The second course was a courgette soufflé, a squash, egg, and goat cheese dish that was absolutely delicious. Next she had made her own sorbet with strawberries and crème fraiche which was my favorite part. We had a relaxed meal and then walked around their garden.
Later in the afternoon Cédric, Véronique, Pia, Kami and I set out to spend the rest of the day in Tournai, Belgium. This village dates back to 1100 but ruins were recently discovered underneath the cathedral which suggest even earlier. Belgium has a slightly different feel than France does. We first went through the Tournai Cathedral which is the biggest cathedral in Europe. It is enormous: unbelievably high ceilings and arches. Unfortunately they are restoring a lot of it so I didn’t get pictures of the inside. However, Cédric paid for us to get into the treasury and it was a fascinating room. There were bones of Catholic saints preserved in relics, old robes of bishops from centuries past, enormous tapestries depicting the lives of saints, etc… Next we wandered around the belfry and into the village square where there was a small symphonic band playing and a ferris wheel. Cédric claimed that the view would be better from the top of the wheel so we rode it up and he was certainly right! The cathedral spires at eyelevel and the red roofed houses were breathtaking. After only four times I was sad to see it end but we then went on to taste the specialty of Belgium: waffles. We each carried a waffle around, which by the way are tasty, while we walked through another church and down the streets. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Véronique; she is a classy French woman though she looks older than she really is.
All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant day; the Lepoutre family was so lovely. Tomorrow begins another week and I can’t wait to see what it will bring.

Saturday in Roubaix

What a splendid Saturday I had today! I moseyed through museums all day! First, I headed out to a suburb of Lille called Roubaix (Roo-bay) where I had never been before. The train station itself was an enormous stone sight. The town is less crowded than Lille but has a similar style: multicolored houses squished all together, cobblestone sidewalks, etc… Before setting out, I researched the first museum I went to, The Piscine de Roubaix, and looked at the most renowned works. However, a colleague of mine, Stephanie Lodieu, had told me that the traveling exposition there this month was spectacular. Upon arriving, I was pleasantly surprised to know that students entered all museums free that day and they stayed upon through the night! This particular museum has a neat history; in the early nineteen hundreds it was constructed as a public pool and stayed that way until 1985 when it closed down and was changed to house these special collections. Everything the Piscine dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. The neat thing is that the current displays are set up around the pool.
I began by walking through the special exhibition though, which was a showcase by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. She decided to make dozens of dresses out of everyday items and though none of the dresses are meant to actually be worn, they are fascinating to look at. She used all sorts of materials from grass, flowers, and ribbons, to birdcages, rags, and Styrofoam. I copied a few of the pictures onto here but there are so many unique ones. The ones I posted are made out of white and red roses, beanbag inner tubes, plastic, etc… Next, I toured through the permanent collection of the museum and loved nearly everything I saw! I must admit, the plaster statues blow me away; I don’t understand how so much detail can come from such raw, hard, rough, material. There was an enormous full-bodied statue of Handel, and one of Lully, a friend of Moliere’s who wrote ballet interludes for his plays. Since I love Rodin, I was determined to find the one original statue of his that they had. I finally did, and it was called A bust of Dalou whoever that is. I imagine it was someone important, but should look it up to see what the background is. It could very well have been Rodin’s chimneysweep for all I know. The bronze was very detailed and sculpted thinly; I wonder if he had to heat it to work it. Along with Rodin’s sculptures, there were two by Camille Claudel, who was a student of his. She had promising talent from the very beginning and eventually she and Rodin married. Though, with two passionate artists’ personalities, they were in constant rage with each other and quickly divorced. However, one of her best sculptures is of Auguste himself. In the collection of paintings, I learned that most of the works came from an era called Art Deco. This is when artists started using blunt geometric shapes and stopped toning down their colors so much. I thoroughly these. I could go on and on but I’ll never finish if I keep this pace. After a couple hours here, I went to another exhibit called the Marché des Modes. They had everything from leather leg warmers, to sparkling jewels, to enormous purses, and so on. I loved the lamp table-there were so many creative ones. Picture lamps, hat lamps, phone lamps, short lamps, you name it. It started to rain, but I could not be stopped. I saw a beautiful stone wonder at the end of the street and I just had to see what it was. I trekked closer and found it was the city hall; an enormous chateau is more like it. I wish my photo could capture the detail, but on the top, there are characters who appear to be mill workers. This makes sense seeing as Lille was a strictly industrial region until the late 20th century. Well, it got quite late and my stomach was rumbling so I made my way back to Lille and once in my neighborhood, chose a restaurant at random to eat at. It was a little French provincial place, dimly lit with red velvet chairs and nice music. I sat down and was instantly greeted by an older man named Laurent. He was fascinated with my being American and thus continued to pelt me with questions about where I was from (the state of the Jazz, he said right off). He was about to sit down and eat his dinner with me when the evening rush bega

n and he had to help wait tables. However, he chose me an absolutely delicious meal and stopped every time he passed to chat for a moment. He even brought me an “appetizer”-a piece of a pizza he had just made for his granddaughter. At the end, he brought my check, along with a short-stemmed wine glass. He joyfully said that I could not fully appreciate Lille without tasting the regional Cognac. Long story short, after several insists and several of my refusals and thank-you’s, he disappointedly left. However, before leaving he did say he hoped to see the American mademoiselle come in again often.
Tomorrow, Cédric Lepoutre, the dean’s assistant, is coming to get Kami and me from church and taking us to his home for the day. He hopes that it will be good weather and we can head to a village in Belgium called Tournée; apparently there is a neat cathedral there. I must learn to get to bed earlier! Bonne nuit…

Thank heavens for the weekends! I’m exhausted! But I finally loaded a few pictures on to put them on here. The first is of the Dean’s family; they are absolutely darling. Marie, his wife, is a fabulous artist and her paintings are everywhere in sight so I snapped a shot of one of the corners. Next, while walking home from “English and Beer Night” as it’s called, I passed the Opera house. I had a good time there speaking with several friends of one of my colleagues Amélie Montaigne. She invited me and said most of her friends had visited the states or the UK and wanted to practice their English so each week they met at the bar L’Olibruis and spoke together. I enjoyed meeting new people and hearing their stories. The last picture is just of me while walking back to the Metro in downtown Lille. Oh, I got the written portion of my test back from the university, and surprisingly, I did very well! I took a picture I was so excited. (First page shown below). Thursday was my first night at institute. The teacher is fabulous and he gave a great lesson on eternal marriage. There are about a dozen young adults who come and they have all been so welcoming and inclusive toward me. Last night we all got together for dinner and ironically, of all things, watched High School Musical 3 dubbed in French. :) It was fun though, and both the investigators and members there had a good time. Today is Saturday and I’m exhausted and glad to have a slower pace. However, I’m hoping to go see some museums today since today is the day they call the “white night of the museums.” Basically it means that they all stay open throughout the whole night and they’re free for students! Until later…

Wednesday 5-13-09

Last night Dean Van Peteghem and his wife Marie had Kami and me over for dinner. The French eat late so we began around seven o’clock and finished around eleven. Their home was lovely; Marie is an artist and unbelievable creative. Her paintings are on the walls, in the corners, behind couches, everywhere! She mixes acrylics and oils and gathers all sorts of objects and makes collages and paintings that are so creative. She thought the university’s walls were rather drab a few years ago and now they are entirely covered in her work. She apologized for dinner being simple; however, I thought it was great. She made two tarts: one with tomatoes and goat cheese and the other with zucchini and another cheese I’d never tasted. I had the latter and it was delicious. She also had a salad with avocados, corn, grapefruit juice, and cucumbers. For dessert there were homemade éclairs with strawberries. We sat and talked for hours; Didier and Marie are both well informed people and they were very interested in America’s current events. They are a sweet family with good values; and like most of the French, Catholic but not practicing. They don’t own a television because the channels can be filthy, which I think is a very smart thing to do. The two children are sweet; the girl Agathe (Agatha) is 11 and the boy Charles is 14. Didier is in his second term as dean and has traveled all over the world. It was fun to spend the evening with a new French family in their home.
Continuing on, today was a productive day. It felt a little long but I got a lot done. I think the highlight of the day came this afternoon though. There were a bunch of students taking a French grammar final this afternoon and I ate lunch with the professor who was administering it. She mentioned how this class had a particularly hard time with French grammar and how they complained endlessly, and how she hoped there would be better results than last year’s exam. I laughed and agreed that the grammar is tough but that it isn’t as confusing as English is. Well, then Professor Iagre said, “well, why don’t you take the exam with the students? Then we can compare their progress with someone who studies it as a second language.” I laughed and agreed to do it so at 13h, feeling unsteady with the true ink pen (no ballpoints for the French) I listened. Prof. Iagre dictated a text while we frantically wrote. There were a few words I had never heard before so I just had to invent my own spelling and move on. Then came the multiple choice section: harder, but understandable for the most part. Well, I walked out not really having any idea whether I’d bombed it or passed, but by that point, everyone in the office was interested to know how it went so they all snuck in to take a peek. Monsieur Lepoutre and Madame Blondeau came back looking slightly annoyed wondering how an American intern can score higher than her students that have been studying grammar their entire lives. I asked if they corrected mine and they said not yet, but that at a glance I remembered all the –aient endings when most kept them –ait, and that overall my copy did not look bad at all. Several of the women came up giggling saying bravo and now I’m dying of curiosity to see if I actually got close to the average score. It made me feel really good and brightened my whole afternoon.

Monday Monday..

The days here keep getting better and better. Work went quickly and well today! I had my first student come in to ask about setting up an appointment to have an English interview with me. I’m learning the ropes fairly quickly and I thoroughly enjoy talking with the professors and employees! They are all very intelligent and kind, I am constantly impressed. Most seem to like having me around, a few I’m still trying to have a good attitude about.
Today I saw a girl with those arm crutches, I’m not sure of their technical name, and it made me so grateful I am here with no health problems like Kami is. I have no food allergies, I can walk for miles, I have no anxiety problems, change doesn’t bother me and I adjust well…I am so lucky.
The subject of religion came up today, which it rarely does seeing as people don’t feel comfortable discussing it. But, during lunch I heard one of the professors whisper, “Is she a Mormon like last year’s intern?” Following that, Angelique and I were walking down the hall on a break and she asked me if our cult (in French “cult” isn’t pejorative, but that had to be cleared up J) practiced polygamy because she’d seen a television series about it. I said I was glad she asked since that was a totally distorted representation of our church. I told her it was created by ex-members and anti-Mormons and there many falsities in it. Also, I explained that at one point the church did practice it, but that time is long gone, and those who still do are not part of our church. She wondered how long they practiced it and I was so bugged with myself for not knowing. I’m sure that was something I learned in seminary. Then she asked if our priests are married and I said yes and she said that she thought that was a good idea, then they understand how life really is. Though she herself doesn’t believe in marriage. I told her my dad had been a bishop and she thought it was a good idea that they gave marital advice and things. She had gotten the idea that only parents pay tithing so I clarified that anyone who earns money pays it. Even as kids we pay it on allowance and babysitting money. She thought that was ingenious to instill it in us as children. :) She asked if we believe in divorce and I thought that was a funny question; I said we don’t like it but it yes, that it sometimes happens. However, I added that the rate is much lower in the church than in the US in general (I hope that statistic is still true! :) Well, we chatted a little more and then there was an awkward pause and I told her that BYU instructs us to be careful while discussing religion because our purpose there is not to preach. We can answer questions, but they have had problems in the past with students offending others and coming on too strong with religion. So, I said that I was happy to talk about it but didn’t want to offend her so if I said anything that upset her, to please let me know. She said that there were others that wouldn’t like to discuss religion but that she doesn’t mind. So after the long and the short of it, I hope the subject comes up again and we’re able to talk more concerning my church. Angelique said that Garrett, the intern from last year, rarely spoke about religion so she wondered if we are all equally practicing or if some are more than others, like the Catholics. Haha, that was a hard one to answer, I told her he was probably being careful like we’re instructed to do.
On a totally different note, I have had some good news, that my good friend Scott is engaged! Off I go to family home evening with the ward! What a wonderful thing that the church is everywhere…

First Sunday..

A plate of crusty bread, stinky cheese, and juicy pears on my lap, does it get better? Let alone the fact that I am in the most beautiful country in the world.
This morning I set off to church and though I’d been given directions from an old missionary here, they weren’t correct. I ended up asking a bus driver for help and thankfully he had heard of our church and gave me great directions from the next metro stop. When Kami and I finally arrived, a half an hour late, there was a group of people standing outside the church. A couple missionary greeted us and we found out right away that they were Americans! They are in charge of all the young adults in the stake, which comprises everyone under age 30 whether you’re married or not. They said that we had arrived just on time because every three months, there is a stake-wide conference and today was that day. They invited us to come along so we hopped in the missionaries’ car, there names are Elder and Sister Ahretz. We drove through the gorgeous northern countryside for about 45 minutes until we arrived to a city called Arras. There, we rejoined about 30 young adults who welcomed us with big smiles and lots of conversation! Relief Society was wonderful though due to the extra people we had to sit on primary chairs. The lesson was given by a sweet girl Natacha and afterward I discovered a lot of connections. Aurélie Coppens, the girl I sat next to, is the cousin of Melanie Babin and Valentine Caussé! Two of my friends from Paris! She also lived in my roommate Lydia’s homeward in Bordeaux. Then, we discovered that I knew several of her friends that have gone to BYU. I really enjoyed meeting these northern French girls; we then went to sacrament meeting and listened to a wonderful program! Two recent converts bore their testimonies which were touching, and then there were several short talks and a beautiful musical number. After church, the stake prepared a lovely meal of tuna and cucumber crudités with radishes, then a salad course, and thirdly a course of mushroom meat over wild rice. I ate with a few of the girls I’d met earlier and had a fabulous time talking with them. I discovered that Aurélie actually lives on the same street as I do! Only I’m number 10 and she’s number 125, so technically we’re ten minutes apart. They invited me to institute, family home evening, Friday night get-togethers, everything! It was such a good feeling to be around members; I can’t believe how much I’d missed it! At 4pm we watched Elder Bednar’s broadcast that America got last week. It was a fabulous talk on keeping our minds and bodies pure. One of the ya’s commented that since I had to concentrate to listen, I was the only one that didn’t fall asleep during it. Haha, I think he didn’t believe me when I said I really enjoyed it. Well, the end of a great weekend has come and it’s back to work tomorrow. I guess I have to earn my stay somehow :) À bientôt xo

The beautiful things in life...

What a day! Where to begin? This morning Kami and I set out to fill our Saturday with the sights of Lille. We began at the tourist office to get maps and set out on foot. First, we headed to “Vieux Lille” or “Old Lille”. The little roads and houses date back centuries and some are even marked. One house I passed had 1604 carved above the door! There was an accordion player in the street, which set the mood for our old French outing. What shocked us was that each time we turned a corner we ran into a massive cathedral or an ancient structure. Example number one, we stopped at a corner to get our cameras out and at the end of the street stood Notre Dame de Treille! It is technically considered as basilica, not a cathedral. However the strange part is that three of the facades are dark, ancient, stone (see picture) and the front side has been restored in modern fashion! It’s an absolutely hideous gray plastic-looking front with modern writing. (Compare picture) The inside was closed for restoration, but the cellars were open and inside them, a religious affiliation keeps a shop where they sell products made by the nuns and monks themselves! The nuns knit aprons, dip candles, and the monks paint dishes and carve crucifixes; then they sell them right there in the basement of the basilica to help support their monasteries and convents. I could tell each item was made with delicate care. Next, we found the “Wall Street” of Lille-the old stock exchange is there, along with several very old buildings that have now turned into expensive shops and businesses. The street is called “Rue de la Monnaie” and is in the background of the picture I’m in. Next to that, I posted a picture of Kami since I keep mentioning her and because we have been doing our sightseeing together. Well, we continued wandering around until we became lost and I had to ask someone for directions which somewhat peeves me to do when I feel like an independent explorer haha.
Moving along we turned a corner and bam! The most beautiful white building stood at the end of the street. I just had to see what it was so we walked toward it; it was so clean it shone. The name of it was Sainte Marie Madeleine and as we walked in the door, we stood in awe at what was in front of us. Expecting to find a dark chapel with candles and an alter at the front, we instead stood in a round chapel with three walls filled from floor to ceiling with metal trash! Confused, I asked the man next to the door what it was, and he laughed and said this was here for the Europe XXL exhibition. Most of the Eastern block countries have brought something to the exposition, and he continued to explain that this was one of Russia’s contributions. The artist, Subodh Gupta, welded metal buckets, spoons, plates, anything silver he could find, together to create these mountains. It was so bizarre I couldn’t help but just stare. Other portions of the exhibit included things like an entire village made of aluminum foil, and replicas of birthing houses, which for centuries were used in Russia to deliver babies of women who were unmarried and ashamed of their pregnancies. Finally, the last thing I did today was visit the Palais des Beaux Arts, the museum of fine arts, which is housed in the Lille Palace. I must admit that this was my very favorite thing I have done or seen since I arrived! The museum is absolutely incredible and oh how I love art of all eras, styles, and artists! This morning I got online and researched out what works are housed in this museum and which are the most worth seeing and I found some very famous artists including Monet, Manet, and Rodin. However, many more originals are kept there than I could have imagined! But first, upon entering the museum, there is an enormous colored glass chandelier! Then, in the first room there are several sculptures, and the first is a portrayal of Adam by Auguste Rodin. I visited his museum in Paris, only having heard of The Thinker, and found that he had many others that were absolutely incredible. This looks like several of his others and is just as impressive. Adam’s head is tilted strangely but the details in his tendons and muscles in his feet and hands are quite lifelike. Rodin etched his name into Adam’s foot. The next statue I’d wanted to see is called The Kiss by Gustav Crauk. It portrays a mother and her little boy and his arms are wrapped around her while he kisses her cheek. It’s a tender pose and his little angel wings poke out through the back while she sits gracefully. It was such a sweet statue, it’s no wonder it’s one of the favorites of visitors to the museum. I then came to a statue of a young boy who reminded me of Peter Pan or one of the lost boys from Neverland. He had a fairylike figure and wings; his stance looked like he’d just stubbed his toe. I read the plaque and the title was “L’amour piqué” “Stung by Love”. The little arrow in his foot represents love and he has just been shot. I loved nearly every piece, but a few more of my favorites included a statue of the Pharaoh’s daughter reaching into the Nile to grab Moses’ basket cradle, a painting by Monet of the London parliament buildings at sunrise, and the Rubens paintings. I had studied Rubens in art classes before and learned he was reputed for his “undulating” and fleshy women and men, often painted on a diagonal. So to see the figures in real life, on canvases well over twelve feet wide was remarkable.
One of the paintings said its medium was oil on wood so I looked at it from a side view and due to the fact that it was painted in the 1500’s over 500 years of wear certainly showed. The wood was warped and the back was worn thin in places it appeared to have been propped up before.
In the final display gallery of religious art I found a couple of paintings that impressed me. One, titled La Nativité or The Nativity painted by Phillipe de Champaigne depicted the manger scene with an elderly Joseph and a beautiful Mary. In the upper foreground there

are about a dozen curly headed little angels peeking down from the heavens. I had to smile upon seeing that the Christ child was wrapped so tightly, “swaddling clothes” doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was a truly touching portrait and I’d be interested to see more of Champaigne’s works.
Well, I don’t think words can adequately express how I love art and how curious I am to know about the depth of its beauty. I always wonder if every painting has a story, if the artist’s life is represented in some way in what he paints, if there are things hidden that we with our modern eyes may miss?
It’s getting late so I’d better hit the hay…tomorrow will be my first day in the Lille ward and I’m really excited to get to know the members! Bonne nuit…