Haleigh Marie

The Past Five Intense Months...

2011-05-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I didn’t find time to blog once during winter semester, it’s high time that I catch up on the momentous happenings of the past four months. To begin, this past semester was the hardest of any I’ve ever been through. My course load was pure insanity, I had study groups multiple times each week for the MA Exam, I was called to be the first counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, my sister got married the week after finals, and then of course there are those other frivolous things like sleeping and laundry that seem to barge their way into the precious 24 hours of the day. So, since this is my only hope for keeping a record of my life, I’ll give a brief overview of my feelings on a few of these topics. Thus, if your eyes glaze over while reading through this, feel free to stop.
First: The MA Exam. I PASSED with NO reservations! For those who aren’t aware of the gravity of this statement, let me explain. At BYU, this is how the French Master’s Program works: The first year, students take full course loads while reading one or more French novels each week and discussing them each Monday with the department chair, Dr. Cropper. Between September and April, we covered 40 books ranging from the earliest oral texts of the middle ages (La Chanson de Roland 1040), through the classics like Madame Bovary (Flaubert) and Le Rouge et le Noir (Stendall) 19th century, all the way up to modern existentialist writers like Sartre (Les Mains Sales) and Camus (L’étranger). Some were dark and tragic (Emile Zola’s Germinal) whereas others were inspiring and rewarding (L'élégance du hérisson). Some dealt with subjects I’d rather never think about, such as incest (Chateaubriand’s René). Others dealt with problems that were common to most who experience the human condition (Montaigne’s Essais, Montesquieu’s Les Lettres Persanes, and Maupassant’s Boule de Suif). Needless to say, finishing this list in combination with other lectures, research papers, homework, teaching, family matters, etc…was a true feat. Then, this spring I began to prepare for the MA Exam. What this is, is an enormous affair that involves three parts. First, you have all day to take a written essay exam and the questions can come from any of the 40 books that we read, and there is no study guide. You have to know these works inside and out. When you hand in your essay responses, you are given a poem and then have two days in which you must create an in-depth analysis and detailed interpretation of it. Finally, you sit with a panel of three doctoral professors and present your interpretation to them, answer any questions they have about it, and then, you are required to orally answer any question they ask of you. These questions can come from the books or from your answers to the essay questions. I’ll explain how the exam went in my case.
For months before the exam, another MA student and I studied extensively together and tried to pull out the most important themes, quotes, dates, and events from the works. We created a google doc for each book and combined our class notes to ensure we hadn’t forgotten anything important. Additionally, we each studied on our own (I made so many flashcards it almost killed me to throw them away afterward). I spent many late nights in the library and every free second reviewing. I pretty much banned myself from TV, Facebook, and extra activities, even on most weekends. Then, the dreaded week came. I arrived Monday morning April 18th, and found that there was a pool of seven questions and I had to answer three and one essay had to be in French. I spent over four hours on those three questions and then went back over them again and again to check my facts. The questions I answered were:
1. Demonstrate the connection between war and religion in two different texts. Show how the texts differ in their representations of this connection and suggest reasons for these differences.
2. Discutez la/les voix narratives dans les textes de Gabrielle Roy et Muriel Barbery. (Discuss the narrative voice(s) in Gabrielle Roy and Muriel Barbery’s texts)
3. Pourquoi Tartuffe occupe-t-elle une place à part dans l’œuvre de Molière ? Quelle est son originalité ? (Why does Tartuffe occupy a « place apart » in Moliere’s works? What gives it its originality?)
Then, I was given a poem from the 1500’s by Maurice Scève and had to prepare an analysis to present for Thursday’s oral portion. Those next few days were horrifying. I studied my brains out and when Thursday morning came, I was shaking like a leaf. I arrived early hoping to find out who my panel was, but alas, they had not yet arrived. I stood anxiously in the conference room trying to decide where to sit when Dr. Hurlbut came in and said, “You’re not wringing your hands are you?” I smiled and said, “Of course not,” as I continued to fidget them. I was relieved to see him on my committee seeing as he is so kind. Then, Dr. Lebras walked in and I still felt fairly comfortable, seeing as I’ve had classes from him and his French is pure and almost always comprehensible. Finally, my heart sunk as I saw Dr. Lee walk through the door. It’s not that I don’t like him as a person-I do. He’s brilliant, to say the least. He got his doctorate from Yale, the best French program in the country. I feel so insignificant when I talk to him and even when it’s in English he uses words I’ve never heard.
So, entirely terrified, I sat on one side of the table and these three daunting intellectuals sat on the other side. I began with my analysis of the poem which talked about how a mythological character gets shot by Cupid’s arrow and falls hopelessly into love. In my interpretation, I explained how due to the language that was used, one could also read this poem as an allegory of Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. The protagonist is described very much like Adam was initially: innocent, his eye no expert of sorrow, etc… Then, afterward, he is described as having succumbed and there are several contrasts used in the last lines such as “life and death” and “liberty and enslavement.” After about fifteen minutes, the panel said that they really enjoyed my interpretation and we discussed specific words, phrases and other ideas hidden in the text.
Then, for the next hour and a half, they grilled me. They asked specific questions about my essays, specific questions about most of the books, characters, time periods, literary movements, etc… Some that I can remember are, “Define realism and romanticism and give us a few examples from different texts that show these two ideas.” Or, “Discuss two political ideals from two different centuries.” Or, “How does the role of the woman differ from 1200 to the present? Give us specific examples of women who exemplify these differences.” Or even more specific questions such as, “How did Descartes’ philosophy differ from that of Pascal’s?” Or, “Why could Germinal be considered a naturalist text? Or, “What are Proust’s main themes?” Or, “What social institutions is Montesquieu trying to criticize in Les Lettres Persanes?” I wish I remembered more, but it’s been a few weeks now and I’ve forgotten.
Dr. Lee asked twice as many questions as the other two did combined. I truly believed I had some divine help from heaven being propelled my way because there were a couple moments where I didn’t even know how to begin to answer what they had asked but somehow I managed to pull together some ideas that impressed them. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, they asked me to wait in the hall. They then discussed and deliberated. I tried to listen through the door but the air conditioning came on and it was too loud for me to hear anything. Despite that everyone had said, “I’m sure you’ll do great!” I, myself, was not so certain. I know a fellow student personally who didn’t pass last year and it’s not uncommon for them to give “Pass with reservation” scores, which entails working all summer to retake certain portions. So, after a few minutes they invited me back in and informed me that I passed! With No Reservations! I involuntarily let out a little squeal / scream and they laughed and said, “Are you surprised?” I said, “Yes..I mean..No..I mean..I’ve studied SO hard for this! But it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done! I’m so thrilled!” The department office in the next room heard my excitement and congratulated me on the way out. I was on CLOUD NINE! Truly, it was one of the proudest moments of my life, if not THE proudest. I tried to control my excitement until I got out of the building, but I spent the rest of the day running around like I was just released from prison. Gavin was so excited for me (I had quite frankly been acting like a nightmarish monster for weeks prior to the dreaded day). He surprised me with a new cookbook from The Roof, a restaurant where we have had some special dates and in the building where we had our wedding dinner. It was so sweet! Then, he took me up to The Paris Bistro in Sugarhouse – my all-time favorite place – for a delicious banana and nutella crepe. Success was never so sweet.
Since that glorious day, it’s been somewhat of an exciting whirlwind. I found out I got all A’s in my classes, so I still have a 4.0! The following week, my little sister Hillary was married to Joel Shepherd in the Draper temple and they had a beautiful reception down at The Manor in The Riverwoods. The entire day was beautiful and I’ll post some pictures when they come since words don’t do the décor justice. The temple sealing was sweet and it was so neat to have so many family members and friends there to support. Once we exited the temple, it was cold and windy so we took some pictures and hurried off to the wedding luncheon. It took place at the South Mountain Golf Club in Draper. We all enjoyed hearing stories told on both sides of the family and Gavin and I were able to sing a song called You are the New Day with Joel’s siblings and their spouses. Then, there was time for toasts so I shared a poem I had quickly written the night before:

Hillary’s Wedding Toast
April 29, 2011

Good morning friends and family; a toast I’d like to share;
To the newly married couple who make a lovely pair

Last year, amid the aromas of Brick Oven’s delights,
A waiter and a waitress fell in love at first sight.

Sparks flew quickly and soon they both knew,
That the love they shared was undoubtedly true.

Now on this gusty spring morning of April two-thousand-eleven,
This happy couple’s faces show their hearts are in seventh Heaven

For those who don’t know Hilly well, let me share some words of praise
The dynamic she brought to our family, both energized and enlivened our days.

Luckily for Joel, Hillary is as loyal as a person can be.
She’ll stick by your side and feel what you feel with true sincerity.

She forgives in an instant and hates to hurt a soul,
She’ll be sensitive to the needs of her new sweet husband Joel.

Hillary has a way with children and loves them like no other,
It is evident that one day she will be a playful and caring mother.

Since Joel has entered the scene, I’ve seen some quality traits, it’s true;
He is always patient and supportive and stands by Hilly through and through.

He’s sweet and knows how to be calming when her worries begin to rise,
And there’s no doubt that he adores her, for the proof is in his eyes.

A new adventure awaits you as the future Mr. and Mrs.
Make sure you give each other endless love and time and kisses.

Today as my dear sister was sealed in a holy temple setting,
She glowed from head to toe as a sweet spirit filled the wedding.

Your earthly and heavenly families who have known you both from birth
Are here to wish you luck as you begin this new life on earth.

On this joyous occasion filled with bliss for Hillary and Joel
We are thrilled to see that these two halves will make a beautiful whole.

That evening, their reception was as lovely as any I’ve seen. So many people came to support and it was wonderful to be able to see so many loving and friendly faces. The pictures were beautiful: mom blew up a dozen of Hilly’s bridals at Costco and mom, Betsy Sykes, I glued them back onto foam boards (mom had glued them on with repositional glue dots the day before) and Phil and my dad hung them from cream ribbon all around the rooms. Everyone enjoyed looking at them; they were stunning. Hilly’s videographer also made a darling clip from some of her bridals-I tried to post it here but it doesn’t seem to be working. Hilly had the idea of a “skit” she wanted to do to one of her and Joel’s favorite songs about a month before the wedding and if you watch the clip, you’ll see it turned out adorably well. (If you’re friends with her on Facebook, check it out there).
Fast-forwarding another week, my family flew out to Saint Louis, Missouri to attend Hillary and Joel’s open house in his hometown of O’fallon, Illinois. The Shepherd family hosted us and treated us like royalty! Heidi, Joel’s mom, cooked many delicious meals for us, Larry took work off to give us a native’s tour of Saint Louis, and we enjoyed every moment in their home. On Friday, Larry had found us tickets to a Cardinals game near the front row. We almost witnessed a perfect game until some bad luck in the 8th inning. It was a blast to be at Busch Stadium and I have to say, those Cardinal fans are die-hard. The next day, we attended a session in the Saint Louis temple. It was beautiful and so fun to see Hilly go through a second time. Then, that evening, their Open House took place at a charming nature center not far from Joel’s home. It was a modern log cabin set in a pretty field. The ladies from the ward put on a nice spread of foods and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of the Shepherd’s friends, neighbors, and ward members.
Sunday we enjoyed Mothers’ Day at Joel’s home ward and Heidi prepared a nice meal of roast chicken and dressing. The meal was followed by an amusing game of bocce ball, which I discovered is not something I have talent for. However, I found it to be quite fun! That evening, Larry showed us a video on how the Saint Louis arch was made and it really is an engineering miracle. It was fascinating to see how the builders worked from so high, without any safety harnesses, in intense heat and cold, and without the modern technology we have now. The next morning we took a tour of the arch and were able to ride the elevator to the top. The view is spectacular! If I remember right, it’s 630 feet at the top. Dad managed to make it just fine despite his distaste for heights. Then, we toured Forest Park which is similar to Central Park, but bigger. We visited the science museum there, the exterior of the art museum because it was closed, and finally, we spent the rest of the day at the zoo. The nice thing is the city makes all of these things free to the public. The zoo was the best I’ve seen! That evening, Joel took us to his favorite restaurant of all time: LotaWata Creek. The portions are enormous, but the food is quite good. I ordered the most delicious meat: It was called three cheese Greek steak and it was small beef tenderloins breaded in an Italian mixture then cooked. Then, they melted feta cheese, Romano cheese and a third cheese called Provol cheese and topped it with a white marsala wine sauce. It was so delicious I’m still dreaming about it. The funny part came at the end when the waitress accidentally spilled sauce all over me. I couldn’t stop laughing – she was horrified. Poor thing. Larry also took us to the famous Route 66 stop Ted Drewes where we sampled some of the most delicious custard on earth!
The next day, we drove out to Nauvoo and on our way we stopped at Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith was killed. I was touched by the remnants of that horrific day. There are still visible bullet holes in the door, the furniture is placed as it was then, and the way the missionary recounts the incident gives clearer meaning to the actual event. I’m so glad I’ll now have this picture in my mind each time I hear that story. We spent two days in Nauvoo with my parents and Hilly and Joel came up for one of those. The best part was that all six of us were able to go through the Nauvoo temple together. It was incredibly beautiful both inside and out. Even the lockers are made with dark wood. In the lobby, they have some neat artifacts like Joseph Smith’s sword from the Nauvoo Legion, old temple aprons, and old keys to the temple. It was a neat experience to be there together.
We toured most of the historic sites and recreated sites on the Nauvoo grounds. The missionaries do a great job at helping visitors understand what life would have been like in Old Nauvoo. In the evening, all the older missionaries got together and put on a musical production that depicted a few of the settlers’ stories. They were quite comical as a few forgot their lines and most trembled while they sang, but they were sweet and it was obvious that they’d worked very hard to prepare. Nauvoo also has a neat family history center in which you can input one of your ancestor’s names, and then the computer brings up a map of where their property was if they lived in Nauvoo. We also enjoyed playing games together with our new 6th addition. It’s nice to have even teams now.
Well, before our vacation ended, Gavin and I had the chance to meet up with his family in Kirksville, Missouri where his sister Katie and her husband Drew graduated from medical school at A.T. Still. They showed us around the town, where they met, where he proposed, their favorite restaurants, etc…and we enjoyed seeing them take this exciting step. They will now go on to their respective residencies: Katie has a three year residency in pediatrics and Drew has a seven year residency in internal medicine. They have bought a home in Iowa and are anxious to begin this new adventure in a few weeks.
If I don't post at least this much now, I'll never catch up. So, there's much left unsaid, but here are some of the major events that took place this year. I'll try to be better about posting this summer. Signing off, -Haleigh

December 2010 Quick Update

2010-12-21T22:59:00.000-08:00

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if I wait until I have time to completely catch up on recording life events on the blog, it will never happen. Thus, I will once again leave a random post--better than nothing I suppose. Gavie did an excellent job decorating our tree; it includes a mix of ornaments from my childhood. (The rest are on my mom’s tree and I doubt she will ever relinquish them to me :)) I absolutely love the glow of Christmas lights at night; it makes the room feel so homey. Furthermore, the tree was one of two beautiful things left to me by my grandma Heaps. The other is shown in the second picture: a lovely Willow-Tree nativity. What a treasure; I can’t believe I get to have it.

Grandma Heaps passed away November 6, 2010. Her obituary can be found here. We spent several days with her in the hospital as she left this life and it was incredible how she was optimistic and sweet right until the end. She didn’t even complain once as all her organs were shutting down. We all sobbed and sobbed but she was so brave! She was even joking with the nurses in the very last hours.

For example, as they turned her over she joked that one nurse had it easier than the other because one side of her body was lighter than the other. The nurses looked confused, but we all giggled knowing that she only had one leg. My throat tightens up even thinking about those last days with her, so I won’t go into too much more detail, but I sure miss her. She was always the very first one to call on my birthday mornings so it seemed strange not to hear from her this year.We also had our very first Heaps family Christmas party without her; those parties made her so happy. She talked about them all year long. However, her aunt passed away this week and before passing she said, “Ila’s coming to get me!”

When her daughter asked her what she was seeing, she said that grandma was running around! What a comfort to know that she’s pain-free and running around up there.Grandma’s funeral was beautiful; the church was packed with many people who adored her. One nurse drove three hours to see her in the hospital before she passed. The talks given by my dad, uncle, and Aunt Kathy were touching and the grandkids sang two nice songs. She would have loved it; I hope she was listening.

Another sad occurrence took place not long after: we lost Gavin’s grandma Nancy “Nannie” Burgon. Her obituary can be found here. She is the woman I took care of this summer as she recovered from a fall. She has been struggling for awhile with various health problems and had one very-near-death experience in the hospital six weeks prior to her death. It was so sad for us all, especially for Papa (Grant). She too had visitors who came to bring her up to heaven. Her funeral was lovely and filled with nice memories. She too will be greatly missed. Sunday dinners simply won’t be the same without her funny and spunky comments.

Well, what a relief it is to finally have this semester over. My mom is doing much better and is working very hard in her physical therapy to regain the use of her knee. She has had a rough few months. I'll try and update more soon on both this blog and my baking blog. If you haven't checked it out yet, the address is: bakingwiththeburgons.blogspot.com. Merry Christmas!

Post Wedding Bliss

2010-06-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

I’m finally getting time to update petit à petit and though this may seem like a smorgasbord of pictures with very little explanation, I suppose it’s better than nothing. Sorry for the formatting-I can't get the pictures to stay where I want them to in the text, but oh well. The beginning photos were taken on our honeymoon in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. We spent a few days there since I had meetings in Provo shortly after. We enjoyed the beautiful mountain surroundings and one evening got fancy with our grub & grilled skewers, pineapple, and corn outside. We had a great time. A few random other things we’ve done on weekend outings include: a trip down to Las Vegas to see BYU play UNLV-the kissing picture was taken outside the Brio-a fabulous restaurant that Stephanie and Norm treated us to while we were there. They introduced us to Calamari, which is chewy squid, yet pretty yummy. Last fall we also took a jaunt out to Gardeners’ Village during the Annual Witch Festival. Next, I included a picture from Lydia’s wedding-technically it was two weeks before mine but I had to get it in here. She was a beautiful bride and her reception was perfect for her. The ballroom dance team came and performed and her father sang the well known piece from Puccini’s “Turandot” which, in my opinion, has to be one of the most romantic songs ever created. If you’re reading this and haven’t heard it, listen to this rendition by Pavarotti: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr5vpHtJIlg . Now if that doesn’t move you, I don’t know what will. Anyway, back on track, Lydia and Andrew ran through an aisle of sparklers and lived happily ever after, or so it appears :). I had to include a picture of the moment when I finally succeeded at making Madame Julienne’s Mousse au chocolat. Believe me, it wasn’t for lack of trying that my first two attempts went awry. I started over twice so my birthday guests could get a taste, and uncle Kenny was nice enough to say it was good. However, it was a disaster. But, I studied up the tricks (the temperature of the bowl, the temperature of the eggs, the perfect separation of whites and yolks, the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate, etc.) and on my third attempt, succeeded. It was rich and divine and I had my family all take a scoop after I took this photo to send to Mme. Julienne. Before I get too much further, I realized I hadn’t uploaded my last few pictures from Lille because of the rush of the wedding. So, this one I included was taken during my last week, the day that Dr. Lebras came to evaluate me and meet my colleagues. I already described this in more detail in my “home sweet home” blog post, but this picture was taken after my farewell luncheon. I will never forget the restaurant – we walked in and I only saw two small tables; then, the waiter led us down several stairs into a neat cave with dim lights on the rock walls and tapestries hung from iron rods. Besides the unique atmosphere, most of us ordered the special which was a fabulous cut of ham with teeny tiny button mushrooms in a béchamel type sauce. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe how good it was. Well, we came back for my evaluation with the Dean’s secretary, Cédric (far right) which went tremendously well, and before we went in, a few of us snapped this shot. To the left of me is Stephanie Lecocq, above me is Dr. Lebras, and to my right are: Rosalie Gambino, Bénédicte Lentier, Angélique Derôme, and Cédric Lepoutre. I think back on my time spent in Lille as well as my semester in Paris without fail, every single day. Those six months are so dear to me. Oh dear, now I’m getting long winded. Continuing, I gave Gavin a pair of snowshoes for his birthday which he enjoyed and immediately tried out. We were in Yellowstone over Christmas break so we tromped right out the front door out into the woods and had a blast treading on the powder and jumping around. Now, I don’t mean to skim over the next semester entirely, it was very eventful with my second French class and finishing up my coursework, but I don’t have a whole lot of photos to document it. So, I’ll skip up to graduation which was such an exciting time! I finished my Bachelors of French Studies with an English Minor. Then, all of my family and even some of Gavin’s joined me for a fabulous luncheon my mom put together down at Joe Vera’s, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and I was overjoyed to have all my loved ones happily surrounding me. The day before, my mom and I had made and painted cute little graduation treat boxes to put on the tables. Finally, a few weeks ago my family went hiking to donut falls and laughed as we played games on the trail. Oh and I almost forgot! I finally found a job in an unexpected way. Gavin’s grandmother had a fall a month ago and had to have her shoulder replaced, so, this summer I am taking care of her husband Grant. I cook, clean, and keep him company and he is a sweet little old man. I just adore taking care of him; he’s always so grateful for anything I do and is also very easy to please. If I ever find the pictures I took with my classes both semesters I’ll put them on, but for now, here’s a pretty good update on what has been going on in my life post wedding. I hope to be more consistent with my posts in the future. Signing off for tonight, -Haleigh.

Snippets of our Wedding Dinner Celebration

2010-05-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

First, I’ll admit it – I was never one of those “have a line/throw a bouquet/reception kind of girls. As a teenager, I absolutely dreaded going to receptions and standing in line to shake six+ hands, of whom only one I was familiar with. The poor bride always looked ornery from standing still for three hours and bored from saying the same, monotone, “thank you for coming,” over and over. So, when it came time to plan a celebration for Gavin and me, I had big dreams in mind. My poor mother.
I had been offered an internship in Lille, France for the summer so this meant that my mom and I would have to do as much planning as possible before I left and then she would be on her own once I was gone. I must say, she did a spectacular job. We had our dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in the Empire Room. The second we walked in there we knew it was the perfect setting. It was in true European style: dark wood, ornate paintings on the walls and ceilings, beautiful molding. This was it. Once I’d chosen my colors-eggplant, moss green, and orange-they showed us options for flowers, decorations, etc. The color scheme was amazing and I’m glad that for once, one of my ideas came out stunningly. I fell in love with the eggplant calla lilies in the sample book and from there, my mom helped me pick bright orange roses and fun greenery to match. Then, I told her I didn’t want a traditional cake, I wanted a croquembouche/pièce montée – a French cream puff tower. This is common at French weddings and often they build a base of ice cream and then use a crème brulée torch to attach each puff. However, they did a perfect imitation with mine and used a praline sauce and chocolate to hold it together as well as adding flowers to dress it up. On a funny note however, when our photographers asked us to feed each other a cream puff for a picture, Gavin bit into his and the cream squirted out all over his tux! He laughed it off though and it made for a good picture.
We had a social hour before our actual program began and there was a beautiful array of shrimp, vegetable torte, and fruit. Then, the program started with introductions by my dad. Both he and Jim shared kind remarks, as well as Dallin and Hillary sharing some of their favorite memories. Then, Gavin and I sang “You’re Still the One,” by Shania Twain, and Phil Sykes sang a song he wrote called, “On Your Wedding Day.” It was a beautiful presentation! Being able to go around and visit the family members and friends that I love was wonderful. No line, no bouquet toss, and everything just as I hoped it would be. Again, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves since there are several. Enjoy! I hope to eventually catch up on the previous eight great months since we’ve been married. :) Ciao for now-

Wedding Video!

2010-04-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

I had asked our videographer if she could convert our video into a file that would play on the computer and she finally did it. I'm so excited to have a copy of it on my blog. There are four songs: one with our bridal/groomal pictures, one with the temple pictures, and two with the dinner pictures. Voila!

I'm going there someday...

2010-03-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

As a little girl, one of our family’s favorite movies was Father of the Bride. We would sing along with the background music as it said, “Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married!” Later, we replaced the word “chapel” with temple and still sang along. Finally, the momentous day came, August 22, 2009, when I, Haleigh Marie Heaps Burgon would go to the Provo, Utah temple to be married for eternity. The man who sealed us is named Jae Ballif and he performed a beautiful ceremony. Every minute of it was ideal; we’re talking dream perfect. The room was filled with our family members and close friends. Afterward,

despite the insane heat (nearly 100 degrees) all of our family members and friends gathered for pictures. I’ll post several of the various group shots along with some that the Shumways took of us. Up top Gavin and I are just exiting the doors of the temple (slightly embarrassed by the eruption of applause). Next we have a picture of my friends who were present at our temple sealing. From left to right we have: Cassi and Drew Barber, Meghan and Collin Barker, Allie Rhae Pixton, Ashley Rogers, Hillary Heaps, and Andrew and Lydia Nelson! Then we've got a big thumbs up from both of our dads, followed by Hilly who was the first one to run up and greet us as we came out of the temple. She enthusiastically welcomed Gavin into the family and congratulated us. Next, we've got the whole group-family and friends! It was so neat to be surrounded by our loved ones. They were all saints to stand out there in the blazing heat - it was hot hot hot! I also included a closer picture of our parents and grandparents, and then of course, the traditional couple and parents' kissing picture. I've got a few more with my darling sister, my absolutely fabulous friends, and my dream groom; so, I'll let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves. More pictures to come including several from our dinner celebration.

Bridal Photos

2010-02-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

I’m slowly but surely catching up on updating my blog and now have come to my bridal pictures. Naturally I wanted Gavin to be there for them; he’s the handsome man in the tux. The pictures are pretty much self-explanatory so I won’t add much commentary. Blake and Catherine Shumway from Imagery Experts were our photographers and they did an excellent job at making us look as happy as we really were.

2009-12-21T22:06:00.000-08:00

It’s been months since I’ve had a chance to update and I’m so behind, I’m not quite sure where to start, so, since I can’t catch up on everything I suppose I’ll try to highlight as many moments as I can. So let’s see, after my last post, I was fortunate enough to have a few more bridal showers. They were given by the Koller family, the Neeley aunts, and Gavin’s home ward. At the Koller shower, several of our family members and family friends were able to come. My aunts ordered pains au chocolat and madelines

for a French themed party. At the next, the Neeley aunts planned a bunch of fun

games and we enjoyed the company of many girls at Joanne’s house in Huntsville. Finally, Karen Robison planned a ward shower at her house with lots of yummy food and nice ladies. I am flattered that I was thrown so many showers and Gavin and I were thrilled to find that we'd been given nearly everything to set up our new apartment.

Home Sweet Home!! !! !!

2009-08-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

I am back home in Utah! Actually, I left Lille a little earlier than planned in order to surprise Gavin and boy oh boy, was he shocked! My sister Hillary called him around midnight saying she was scared and home alone so he ran over and when he rushed in the house, I grabbed him from behind! He was speechless for a good minute and then it took an hour or so to sink in. He couldn’t believe his eyes! Once it sank in he was thrilled and pretty much hasn’t left my side since! It is so nice to be back with my family! We are in the midst of lots of wedding plans, but having a good time too! Right after I got home, Kaye Hart planned an amazing bridal shower for me! She had the BEST decorations and planned with a French theme. She did an awesome job making everything authentic and beautiful! Jenny Agle helped with the great food and decorations. It was the most beautiful party! I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with all the ward ladies and reveling in the Frenchy atmosphere!
Quickly, so I don’t miss anything, my last week in Lille was quite eventful. My colleagues were so kind and planned a farewell luncheon for me in a restaurant that is located in a cave underground. It was one of the most delicious meals I ate. That same day, my internship professor Dr. Yvon Lebras came to visit and spent a few hours with my team. It was the most rewarding experience to hear them praise the work I had done and express their gratitude and admiration for me and my efforts. Truly, this was better than receiving a salary. The dean’s assistant Cédric then did my debriefing and I was so pleased that I had accomplished what he’d hoped. This was a life impacting internship and a summer I will never forget. Upon leaving, I knew it was time, but it was still hard. I had made such good friends and gotten so comfortable with my life in Lille. Angelique and Rosalie drove me to the train station and waited with me until I passed through inspections and they waved until I was out of sight. I have much more to say but not much time, so I’ll quit for now and hope to catch up later. 17 more days until Gavin and I get married! Plus, I just found out that my dear Allie will be able to be here for the wedding! Life is beautiful…

Bruxelles! Brussels!

2009-07-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent an awesome day in Brussels, Belgium! I can’t believe it’s only a 30 minute train ride and this is the first time I’ve been up there. Once I arrived, I found the metro and took it to a beautiful street called Avenue Louise. The first shop in front of me when I came up the elevator was Tiffany and Co. which proves the street is classy. I met up with five American interns there and toured around the city with them all day. We started at the Notre Dame de la Chapelle, a beautiful cathedral in the center of town. We then headed to get a chocolate while walking through the outdoor flea market. Next, we stopped in the “Grand Place” which is considered to be the most beautiful town square in Europe. I must agree; it was stunning! The town hall was a very ornate building and has a tragic past: In this era, the mark of a great building was symmetry. After construction was finished on this structure, the architect was horrified to find that one end was much longer than the other so he climbed up the bell tower and jumped to his death. Next we ate a delicious Belgian waffle; definitely not overrated! The picture of me and another girl Stephanie is us touching a famous tomb; if you rub her tomb and make a wish it’s sure to come true! I would have loved to tour through the royal palace – but unfortunately I only had time to stand outside it. Well, I have much more to say but am too tired…haha

yikes!

2009-07-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of insanity at work! Everyone in the department left for a daytrip and conference in the countryside and I was instructed to man the front desk and hold down the fort! Easy right? Wrong. In the previous eight hours I have answered 63 phone calls and helped even more people coming into the office! I have been able to help many but there were some who had questions I didn’t have the answers to and one or two people who became ‘’frustrated with my incompetence.’’ Oh please Madame, like it isn’t hard enough to remember the dates, instructions and answers to the most frequently asked questions in this business department in my second language! Truly though, in general I feel really good about how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned and I’m flattered that the dean felt he could trust me to watch the department for an entire day.

Wednesday/Thursday this week

2009-07-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a busy day at work-I worked on an editing project for Professor Vaillant; the topic was on the commercial statistics of cigar consumption-not really my specialty but it was fun to read through and edit it. After work I went to Justine’s home again where her family, Marie, and I had an English lesson for a couple of hours! They were great pupils and spoke as much as they dared. I taught them the song Amazing Grace in harmony and they were so thrilled they wanted to sing it over and over! We must have done it at least a dozen times! I made a little video-I wish I hadn’t been singing though so you could hear more of them rather than me, but it was fun! They concentrated so hard on the words! We then went over lots of sentences with ‘th’ words in them since it’s a hard sound for the French to pronounce. Example: Theodore’s thigh hurts for the third time this week. We played a few games and learned a lot of vocabulary; I was pleased with how things turned out. Last night I was invited to dine with Marie Laure Bourg, a professor here, and her husband Rémi. They made a typically Alsatian meal (Alsace is a French town near Germany and in the Strasbourg region I believe, and they speak a language that is neither French nor German). I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Marie Laure and her husband and in typical French style, we stayed 3 hours at the table. She remembered my interest in the French culinary art and kindly offered me a set of dishtowels for my new apartment!

°°14th of July°°Vive la France!°°

2009-07-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

Once again I’m painfully behind but I’ll go back to some highlights : Tuesday the 14th of July was France’s national holiday and I was invited to go see the fireworks with Angelique Derome and her family. Seeing as it’s been 20 years since the fall of the Berlin wall, the announcer recounted much of the history, mentioning several countries that contributed to the efforts and during this there were the national anthems of each country and a spectacular display of fireworks. Earlier that day I had another experience which came as quite a shock. I was walking through the city on my way to Angelique’s home when a very old homeless man approached me and asked for either a cigarette or money; I responded that I had neither and he started to tell me his life story. He has been homeless here in Lille for 15 years and was born in a nearby village. After him asking all about me and what Utah is like he looked at me and said, ‘’Could I ask you a favor?’’ I responded yes and he said, ‘’Would you please help me change my urinary sack?’’ I was in such shock I stuttered out something about not knowing how etc… and he then asked, ‘’Could you at least hold my blanket up in front of me by the bushes so that I can do it without anyone seeing?’’ How could I refuse this man with no legs and who had absolutely nothing to his name? I took a deep breath and helped him as he kindly kept talking to me. I will never forget the nauseating stench; certainly his blanket hadn’t been washed in 15 years. I don’t know how I was able to do it but I couldn’t push the thought out of my head that he was Heavenly Father’s child just as much as I was, and how disappointed He would be if I turned away from this man in need. That was an experience I’m sure I’ll never forget.

Fab fab weekend

2009-07-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, this week did a u-turn and ended on a marvelous note! I met my friend Justine after work at Les Pres metro station and she and I drove out of Lille and through Roubaix toward her home. She lives in a charming cottage style house that used to be a café many years ago. She gave me a tour of the home and we chatted with her mother Blandine for awhile. She is so kind and lively, just like Justine; I’d met her once before at the Van Peteghem’s home. Seeing as we were having crêpes for dinner, Justine and I went to work on the batter. They have a neat machine that sits in the middle of the table and cooks six crêpes at once; it’s so much more convivial this way rather than having the cook stand by the oven. We had a fun dinner and stayed at the table for hours laughing, finally calming down with an herbal tea around 11pm. I decided to take a little movie clip of everyone at the table and attached it to the blog. Blandine refused to let me go home without taking a jar of her apricot jam, a box of the tilleul-menthe herbal tea I love, and a plate of crepes, very sweet and motherly of her. She also asked if I would come and give her and Marie an English lesson on Wednesday evening and have dinner with them.
I also had the chance to look at Justine’s photos from her recent trips to India and Mali and they really made me want to visit there someday. She too wants to travel and is visiting the states for the first time in August. We both talked about where we hoped to go someday; because of the fascinating African literature class I took last semester, I am determined to visit Senegal someday. She would like to see Thailand. Her room is full of African and Indian artifacts, Buddhas, lamps, pictures-she even gave me an Indian robe to sleep in. We slept in and then this morning her cousin Vincent came to pick us up to go into downtown Lille for lunch at an Indian Restaurant. The food was delicious and the spices made our noses run. We spent the rest of the day walking around old Lille through the shops and chatting. It was a great day and I’m all worn out. À bientôt…

a crummy end to a crummy few days.

2009-07-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

No need to see the world the rose colored glasses every day; better to be honest. It has been a downer week for the most part. I was really looking forward to today but unfortunately it didn’t turn out how I’d imagined. My friend Marie invited me to have lunch with one of her colleagues who is an English teacher and had loads of questions about Mormonism. At the moment, she (Helène) doesn’t believe in anything except that there is a little bit of good in everyone. Well, I was really excited to get to answer her questions and in the beginning it went well. I cleared up her mistaken ideas about polygamy, the prophet, and the temple. However, I soon found out that she has actually visited Salt Lake City and she had a terrible experience. She said that despite the fact that we have our own Mormon Vatican, (I’m assuming she meant Temple Square), she didn’t feel at all welcome there and got a bad impression of the members. Well, apologizing for whatever sort of experience she had, I explained that gospel is perfect, but the members aren’t. After answering some more questions, I offered her the French copy of the conference issue Ensign that I’d brought for her, but she refused it. Things ended quite awkwardly and I went back for the rest of a hectic day at work. I guess I should look for the light in the dark and mention that my friend Marie saw that on the cover of the other Ensign I’d brought one of the titles was “How to talk to your parents” and she thought she’d take the article to read to her son. This week has been an eventful week but I’ll write about it when I’m in a better mood. I figure having one out of 80 posts be a negative one is about fair.

Fausta

2009-07-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

The movie I saw tonight with Didier, Marie, and Jacqueline (Didier’s mother) was a Peruvian production called Fausta -- in Spanish with French subtitles. It definitely wasn't a comedy-- the tragic lifestyle in Peru is hard to watch; however, I am glad I saw it. The main character, Fausta, is in search for a way to bury her mother but she cannot afford a casket. She takes on extra work but then is later cheated out of her pay. She lives in constant fear, as her mother did, due to the violent way the women are treated in the villages outside Lima. There is the most beautiful piano song called Cyrene that I wish I could find but it is nowhere on the internet. The principal actress played her role well as a virtually silent, scarred, tender and beautiful young woman. This film won the Golden Bear prize in Berlin this year which is a big deal. The title in English is The Milk of Sorrow.

French Film Festival

2009-07-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

This week is the French Film Festival and a big percentage of the population flocks to the theaters. Didier and Marie have taken me to see two of the premiering movies: a comedy “Tellement Proches” (A little like “With Six You Get Eggroll”) which was absolutely hilarious! Secondly, “Fais-moi Plaisir” a romantic comedy which was quite fun too. We saw one Wednesday and the other Friday. They were sweet to let me tag along with them when their kids are out of town. We also went to dinner Friday night in the square in front of Notre Dame de la Treille and it was delicious! I had a pepper tart and salad and took a picture to prove how pretty the presentation was. Marie and Didier are truly two of the kindest people I have ever met. Marie is an artist and I had previously asked her if I could buy one of her paintings that she could bear to part with and when she had me over for dinner last Thursday she had me choose one and then gave it to me as a wedding gift! It is an orange abstract canvas and I’m so pleased to have it. I just got a nice surprise-In the English lesson notes that one of the girls gave back to me from Wednesday, each of the girls wrote me a little message! One says, “Very Tank-you Haleigh. I like you” How darling! Things are going superbly here besides the heat and humidity which is barely bearable. I cannot believe I only have one month left!

A plethera of invites by the Van Peteghems

2009-07-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was a so joyful because…my family came! My Grandma Koller, Aunt Kathie, and sister Hillary came to visit for two days on their way home from Spain! I had awaited this weekend the whole trip and it was wonderful to be with them! Unfortunately there were train mixups so they didn’t arrive until late Friday night but we still had time to go to my favorite little student restaurant. The next day I took them to the university to meet Dean Van Peteghem and show them around. Then I took them through Old Lille to Notre Dame de la Treille and the little monastic artisan shop that’s in the basement. We made a quick stop at one of the modern Russian exhibits for Lille XXL. Next we took a bus tour that gave us a good dose of history. Then, to hold up tradition of always getting our hair done while on vacation, we went to a startling modern salon called “Nouvel Hair.” The décor there was eclectic – things hanging from the ceilings and walls, crushed mirrors pieced together, etc… We came out looking lovely! We then strolled back through Saint Maurice’s Cathedral and admired the stained glass and paintings. That night I took them to one of my favorite restaurants called Tramonata and to my delight everyone thought it was delicious. The next day we went to church and I translated for Grandma while a missionary translated for Hilly and Kathie. Then, we took a boat tour down the Deûle river. Suffice it to say that the boat was not simple to navigate, but once we got the hang of it we enjoyed looking at the ducks, homes on the bank, and even a stork! Following that, we spent three hours in the Palais des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) which is the second biggest in France next to the Louvre. A kind man offered us tickets for free and we had a nice chat with him afterward. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Rodin sculptures, Rubens paintings, and other lesser known Flemish artwork. That evening, we all went to Les Compagnons de la Grappe, a restaurant on a hidden terrace tucked back away from cars and noise. We thoroughly enjoyed eating “la langue du chat” literally “Cat’s tongue” but is really a great cut of beef. The next morning when they left to fly home I was sad to see them part without me. I’m so glad we could spend the weekend together! I’ll have to get Hilly’s pictures to upload on here since we mostly used her camera.
Continuing on, this week has been a fabulous one full of invitations and interesting outings! Tuesday night I went to the end-of-year cocktail for all the professors and employees and the president of the university, Therèse Lebrun, spoke. I had the chance to shake her hand afterward; the dean introduced me to her, and it was slightly ironic because I said, “Je suis ravie d’être ici parmi vous à la catho,” and she replied, “We are thrilled to have you interning here and hope you feel welcome.” Haha…we were both trying to accommodate for the other. It was neat to see all the colleges unite together since all the departments aren’t situated on a campus like ours are. After the speech there were the most beautiful hors d’oeuvres and champagne (or apricot juice for the pregnant women and oh yeah, for me :)) Later that night I walked with Didier to a museum where we met his wife and kids and toured through what is called the “Gare Saint Sauveur” – They have taken an old train station and created a time traveling hotel where each room is from a different decade. It was fun to see the 60’s-70’s rooms all decked out in orange, lime green, waterbeds, fake wood, shag carpet, old radios, etc… They had typical shows of the eras playing on the room’s TV’s and pictures of celebrities of the time period hanging on the walls. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any pictures so the picture is just one off the internet. Then we went for a drink and a snack in the lobby of the classiest hotel in Lille called the Hospice Gantois.
The next day Marie Van Peteghem and I had agreed to exchange an English lesson from me for a little sightseeing. So, I had three eleven year old pupils: Agathe Van Peteghem, Camille Lepoutre, and Alix Dilly. They were as cute as can be; for two hours we spoke half English half French and played guessing games, learned “Row Row Row Your Boat” etc…Then, I went with their mothers to visit the Bouvines Cathedral. This church is where the Battle of Bouvines took place which I learned is the battle which ended the twelve year war between France and England. It then led to King John of England being forced to sign the Magna Carta. Inside I learned that this is the only church in France where the stained glass windows are of war scenes, not religious depictions. The inscription picture is Latin for "Catholic University" and the statue is the matron saint of the University I believe, & I thought both were pretty as I was walking to work one day. I’ll call it quits for now and finish updating later xo à bientôt

A continual warm welcome...

2009-07-04T13:06:00.001-07:00

Still catching up: last week Stephanie Lecocq said she figured that with Kami being gone I might be lonely so she invited me to spend the night with her kids. Their names are Jeanne (Like Joan of Arc: Jeanne d’Arc) and Romeo. They are as sweet as can be – Stephanie was so embarrassed that when we got home her house was in a whirlwind and she didn’t have any food except fish sticks but I assured her I was just thrilled to be with a family and none of that mattered. So we made the best of dinner and then Jeanne asked if I would color with her. She then made me a giraffe bracelet with her new birthday bead kit, a very sweet gesture seeing as there is only one giraffe bead. She tied it so tight hoping I would never take it off :), and honestly, it took an entire day of tugging periodically to get it loose.

Guernica

2009-07-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

These have been a busy couple of weeks but that’s how I like it. Last Monday I had the opportunity to sit in on one of Dr. Aliocha Lasowski’s lectures and I must say that it was an absolutely enthralling two hours. He hardly used his notes, and he began by mentioning all the reasons and justifications for war. He moved into several specific wars and battles and dissected what led to their successes and failures. Finally, he brought in Picasso’s Guernica paintings. They are a series of depictions that Picasso claims were not symbolism, but realism; he felt this portrayed the horror of the effects of war. The painting I posted is the most well known. I remember reading about the Guernica series in Chaim Potok’s book My Name is Asher Lev, but didn’t realize that they were such influential works. Dr. Lasowski went over the efficacy of various communist regimes, the war on terrorism, and France’s “Battle of Bouvines.” I was slightly embarrassed when he asked for my input in the middle of the lecture. As soon as the students heard my accent they turned around and stared and the girls behind me started to whisper. Later they asked where I was from and they had heard about the Utah “desert”. I believe this lecture was comparable to something one would hear in a history class at Cambridge or Yale.

LDS-Fest 2009

2009-06-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

I have so much to catch up on and not enough time so I’ll just type like a madwoman and hope to hit the main points. A few weeks ago our ward hosted an activity called LDS-Fest for all the young adults in the North. I sang a few songs with one of the bands called “Talking to Annalisa” and had a great time! The band is partly members partly nonmembers but on the whole, everyone really enjoyed the activity! While there, I had volunteered to man one of the food stands and the craziest thing happened! I was handing out fruit salads as fast as I could and when I looked up at one of the people and our eyes met we both gasped and started talking at the same time! It turned out that Dennis, a friend I met at BYU a couple years ago has since moved to Belgium, had a day off work and randomly decided to come down to Lille for the music night. (See picture) When he was doing his exchange semester in Provo we hiked the Y and he had dinner with my family and I learned a lot about him. His dad is a diplomat in the Congo and it was too dangerous for him to live there so after joining the church he and his sisters moved to France. He is having a lot of success in his job and occasionally gets to speak English. Next is the picture with me and the three young brothers: They joined the church in January and have made a lot of life changes since. The two on either side of me are handicapped and all three are very sweet. Before the festivities started we took a big group picture of everyone who helped pull this night off: a lot of work went into the decorations. This weekend was also the same time that Kami finished her internship and left to travel around Europe with her mom. She thought I needed a souvenir picture of me working in my office, haha (I think I looked really tired that day). It sure seems weird without her here; the only time I speak English is if I get to talk to my family or Gavin. Work is getting busier but still going very well! I’ll close this post for now xo

Working alongside Aliocha Wald Lasowski!

2009-06-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Un grand bonjour. It has been an eventful week this week-Wednesday I went to Paris since I had been given tickets to Euro Disney. I had a blast but I wouldn’t really consider that worthy of my blog so I’ll move on. Earlier this week, a professor here in Lille that I’ve gotten to know, approached me. His name is Aliocha Wald Lasowski and is a very well respected author and philosopher, among other things. (See photo, however he looks older in reality) He had recently had an interview with Julie Butler, a professor from Berkeley, and to be kind had told her to answer his questions in the language she felt most comfortable in; thus, she chose to respond to the majority in English. Aliocha has read her books and wishes to include her thoughts in his own upcoming publication however he had a hard time understanding her so we set to work dissecting the interview. I must admit, this woman is obviously an intellectual and speaks with a vocabulary to be praised. To make matters worse there was a lot of background noise in the recording. Aliocha and I must have spent at least eight hours this week listening, rewinding, listening, notating, and listening again to what Ms Butler said, and today we finally came up with a final product that he will now attempt to reduce and incorporate into his work. Aliocha is such a well respected intellectual and philosophical professor in France that I consider it an honor to assist him in his work. I learned a lot by simply listening to him. As a gesture of thanks today, he brought me a copy of his most recently published book Commente l’enfance d’un chef de Jean-Paul Sartre with a kind note written inside.

Not a typical Monday...

2009-06-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today was so much better than the typical Monday! There was a lot to do at work; primarily, the vice-dean, Céline Blondeau, is speaking at a conference tomorrow in Berlin and since she doesn’t speak German, she will be giving her PowerPoint in English. She is one of the few people in the department who speaks well yet she doesn’t feel confident. I went through her PowerPoint and corrected her grammar and helped her clarify things and I think she will present herself quite well. She is an incredibly accomplished woman with so much to offer, it’s a shame she’s never had the chance to get married. Later today, Stephanie Lecocq, a colleague offered Kami and me two tickets to Disneyland-Paris saying she wouldn’t be able to use them! They expire on Wednesday so we got online, got train tickets, and we leave in 48 hours! Haha… This evening I met Marie Van Peteghem at her office and we picked up her kids and went to Cédric and Véronique Lepoutre’s home. They had asked me if I would give a small English lesson to their two oldest children, Mannon and Charles, both 14 (see photo-no one was quite ready when it was taken). We spoke for two hours or so and I enjoyed it but I am absolutely exhausted! It’s unbelievable the amount of brain power it takes to translate every sentence you say twice. I would say, “First I would like you to present yourselves.” “D’abord, je veux que vous vous presentiez.” (Repeat the sentence in both languages) … “Describe your dream vacation to me: where, when, with whom?” “Décrivez les vacances de vos rêves: où, quand, et avec qui?” (Repeat again) I frantically copied down the words that were unfamiliar to them and their translations. It became easier to tell when they didn’t understand me: they would look at each other and start whispering in French and I would have them try and ask at least the part of the question they could. Charles spoke quickly but without enunciation and intonation so he will need to work on reading aloud to become more understandable, however, he did quite well for only a third year student. Manon understood well but needs to learn to put aside her perfectionist personality, dare make mistakes and learn more vocabulary, but she too did quite well for her level. They were very polite though I could tell when they were tired of trying. Luckily, we soon after sat down for dinner and it was delicious! Véronique had prepared a salad with apples and a type of bean that I didn’t recognize but tasted similar to a kidney bean. For the main course she made a ratatouille tart and a quiche tart. I am still in awe at how approachable the dean, Didier, is. He has a great presence and is so knowledgeable yet so genuine. Now that I know him I no longer feel intimidated by him and the same goes for Cédric. These two influential men and their wives kindly take as much interest in me as if I was an old family friend. It is flattering and I thoroughly enjoy their company! I’m absolutely exhausted…Bonne nuit xo

Mines of the North

2009-06-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today was an excellent Sunday! This morning it rained the whole way to church, but luckily it let up by the time we finished. The meetings were so inspired today; a man with Parkinson’s disease spoke for a few minutes and though he was hard to understand, his testimony was strong. Following that, I had a humbling experience. I was jotting down some notes during a talk and the boy next to me, who is slightly mentally handicapped and was just baptized a couple of months ago, asked what I was doing. I told him I understand better if I write down the points that are being given. A few minutes later I noticed him whack his brother to get him to pay attention and my mind started wandering. He looked at me and said, “Hey, why aren’t you writing anymore? He’s saying something important!” I hurriedly got my mind back in gear: what a reminder by someone who is fascinated by every word of the gospel that’s spoken--the way it should be. After church, Bénédicte and Hubert, a colleague from work and her husband, picked Kami and I up and took us to their home for lunch. From the outside, the home looked ancient and ordinary; but when we went inside it was stunning! They bought the house from someone who restored it in 1930, but they have restored it themselves little by little and with a mix of “Art Deco” style and some modern touches. Their windows are done in stained glass and the back wall opens up entirely to the backyard. Her favorite color is blue and it seems to be the theme throughout her home. Her dishes are an azure blue print that reminds me of an old colonial print my mom loves. The French take pride in the fact that each piece of furniture or decoration has a story behind it. For example, in an obscure corner there was a little nightstand and the funny thing was that the books on the shelf are actually an illusion. It’s really just a painted board that opens up to a compartment where the bedpan was stored back in olden times before there were toilets in homes. After gawking at her home and sitting down for the aperitif, we began lunch. The first course was a green salad with grapefruit and little pieces of crab. The second course was rice and spinach cooked together. The third course was some sort of fish I had never had but was absolutely delicious! Bénédicte was so excited to have us taste cheeses we had never tried so she had gone out that morning and bought some of the lesser known types. They included a black pepper creamy cheese, one type with so many chunks of green mold I had to close my eyes to eat it--oddly enough, it tasted great--, a hard cheese with a bite, and then camembert to give us something familiar. Desert was crushed up meringue and raspberries with ice-cream. Everything was delicious! It was fun to once again see both husband and wife do the meal together, from start to finish. It’s a good thing that the French eat small portions or we wouldn’t have been able to try everything. After lunch we hit the road and after about 60 kilometers arrived at one of the oldest mines in the North. For many years the majority of the wealth was based on the carbon mines of northern France. The last one closed down in 2004, however there is still one that is open to visit on Sundays. It is located in a town called Lewarde and the tours are given by an old man who mined his entire life. He was a true “Chti” – which is what they call the northerners that have the strongest accents. They’re usually among the older generation and from the small country towns. Their pronunciation is incredibly difficult to understand and almost comical to listen to. Touring the mine through his stories was absolutely fascinating. We began where the miners came to check in each day and change their clothes. To conserve space, they hung their clothes from pulleys on the ceiling and showered underneath them. The next room was where lamps were distributed-we saw how the lamps evolved from a simple candle to oil lamps to the modern head lamps. Each morning when a miner took his lamp he would also take a token with a number. At the end of the day, if the women collecting them noticed that there were numbers missing it meant that there were still men stuck underground. Next we went to the room where the carbon was deposited and sorted through. This task was always done by the children, beginning at age 13. They sorted the pure carbon by hand from what they called “sterile” rocks. I found this interesting because next to the freeway, I have often seen enormous mounds of earth that I learned are deposits of unusable carbon from the mines. These heaps are called “terriles”, so I asked the guide if that was because they were filled with the “sterile” carbon and he said yes! and no one had ever made that observation before. The next part was the neatest as we descended underground to the mine in one of the cages. Once we got down there I learned that before electricity, horses were kept underground to pull the wagons. The shocking part though, is that they would leave the horses down there for 10-12 years or until they died; inhumane in my mind. They discovered that when they brought the horses back above ground they immediately lost their eyesight so, in the 1900’s, they began to wrap bands around the horses’ eyes and once above ground, they would take off one layer at a time to let them adjust. The old Chti miner explained a lot of the processes and how they evolved. He showed us some of the machinery and turned it on for a minute to show how loud it was. One woman asked if the miners eventually lost their hearing. He laughed and said, “Yes, when we went home and our wives asked us to clear up the dinner dishes.” Haha. Many of the warning signs were written in Arabic and when asked why, the miner replied that after the first generation of workers died of suffocation from “black lung,” they decided that they would hire more immigrant workers and several Arabs came to enlist. In 1906 there was a disastrous explosion that caused over 1000 deaths, most of which were unidentifiable. In the beginning, entire families were forced to work in the mines yet it was only the father who was paid. 62 percent of their income went to food for survival. However, there was beautiful art touching poetry that evolved from this time period as well. I learned so much from this fascinating visit and am thrilled I had the chance to visit somewhere so typically northern. Bonne nuit…

Saturday Sunshine in Lille

2009-06-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

“A beautiful day in the neighborhood” as Mr. Rogers would say. I soaked in the sunshine all day long! Kami and I profited from finally having a weekend at home and walked to several of the places we hadn’t yet seen. On our way down the stairwell we realized that we’ve become quite endeared to the graffiti we pass, hence, the picture. We then walked to the City Hall in hopes to climb the belfry but discovered you must have a group reservation. We kept on our way and decided not to take any metros since the weather was so nice. Good thing-because we walked right into a strike! To the French, strikes are everyday annoyances, but to me they’re still exciting! Hundreds of workers were protesting having to work on Saturdays, to which I respond that I understand and support their fight against injustice ;). haha. Sooo kidding. The French complain about their 35 hour work weeks and measly 6 weeks of paid vacation each year and I have no sympathy. While continuing up what I’ve decided is my favorite street in Old Lille, “Rue Esquermoise,” the strangest thing happened. All of a sudden Kami and I were surrounded by a dozen young men with cameras while one, dressed ridiculously, asked if he could take our picture. I was shell-shocked for a minute and trying not to giggle seeing as he was wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants along with a hardhat and clown shoes. I’m sure I looked confused because he finally gave an explanation saying it was his “enterrement de la vie de jeune garçon aujourd’hui.” Literally, his “burial of his young-boy life,” more commonly known to Americans as his bachelor party. Once I understood that this was tradition for the groom-to-be to dress up and perform preset dares that his friends chose, it made a lot more sense. Apparently these parties often take place on Saturdays downtown and sure enough, we saw two more groups later this afternoon. I also passed a bride in a pink wedding dress looking like a melting pink cupcake and tired from the heat. Next, Kami and I crossed the city and headed into the Citadel, an enormous park that used to hold 28 fortressed towns and now is home to a zoo, a stadium, and lots of open forest area. I had to laugh when I saw a sign in the canal that lined the edges of the park: it said “Peche Interdite” “Fishing Forbidden.” I thought that seeing and smelling this water would be warning enough, but apparently the park authorities don’t think so. We walked around until our feet hurt and then headed for home.

June 12, 2009

2009-06-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

A day of days! This morning grades went out to all the students and were posted and I saw everything from tears to skipping down the halls. The majority of the students did well but there was a handful of strugglers. I had a fourth interview with a student named Célestine who has her real interviews with her choice schools today. I hope she does well and can’t wait to hear how it went next week. I took a picture of her while she was preparing her summary and analysis for me. The second picture I posted is of a building I pass every day. Each time I walk past I say I’m going to take a picture and this time I finally stopped and did: I love everything about this house: the doors, the iron patterns, the color, the Flemish style, everything. After work I went to help paint decorations for our big ward activity next weekend. It will be called LDS-Fest and there will be bands playing and a picnic dinner. Before coming home and crashing in bed, Kami and I walked to Bankwok, a current favorite of mine. The food is all raw and you put everything you want in one bowl and then the chef cooks it in a wok with noodles and a really good sauce right in front of you. I asked the chef if he minded if I took his picture and he was thrilled, though the picture turned out a little more blue than the restaurant actually is. Kami and I ate in the park and then went home and crashed. (Next day) This morning I went for a little run around the streets near my neighborhood. It is a beautiful day so I’m headed out to explore more of the city…Bisous xo

Magnificent weekend with Angelique Derome

2009-06-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

I spent a fabulous weekend with Angelique Derome and her family at their home in Old Lille! We walked home from work together and went to pick up her two kids from school. They are both bright little redheads and adorable. The oldest is named Léa and the younger, Sacha, 11 and 5 respectively. They both had fun personalities though Sacha warmed up more quickly to me. He told me detailed stories of his favorite parts of Harry Potter and it was so adorable, I couldn’t resist snatching a little video of it. Unfortunately I can’t rotate the clip but I thought I’d include it anyway. The first evening Angelique made a fancy meal starting with a tuna puff aperitif. Her husband was slightly disappointed when she said I didn’t drink, seeing as he had already splurged on nice champagne. The meal was delicious and it was delightful to hear about how they live and also about their interests. The cheese course contained four new types that I’d never tasted and three of which I loved. Maroilles is the typical cheese of Lille, very strong, and those who like it are true northerners. It grew on me after a few days however the cheese with the grey line down the middle had a strange and bitter taste. That evening we watched “Il était une fois…” – Enchanted – translated into French; even the songs! This was a treat for the children because they are rarely allowed to watch tv in the evenings. I slept on the very top floor of their beautiful two hundred year old home. In the morning I explored the house more and was fascinated by the many unique objects and antiques. Every painting in their home is an original; my favorite is one of a little cherub. They also own a wooden statue of a similar angel posed on a rod and stone. Both Angelique and her husband Cédric enjoy going to “braderies” and hunting for the treasures amidst the piles of junk being sold. They have some priceless objects which they never intend to sell such as a silver lamp that at one point was an ancient brass relic in a cathedral. When Cédric bought it, a silversmith offered to dip it in silver for him. He did so and then attached wires to turn it into a lamp and now it stands stunningly in their living room. Another of my favorite objects was a golden table with beautiful figures carved into the edges. Since they met twenty years ago, Angelique and Cédric have bought eleven apartments and houses, one at a time, and fixed them up to sell them for a profit. They finally saved enough to buy this home in a charming neighborhood on the Rue Royale in Old Lille, a dream for many Lillois. Saturday afternoon, they spoiled me and took me up to Bruges, Belgium. Though I’d been once before it was raining cats and dogs so this time it was splendid to be able to actually see the city! Upon entering we saw a flock of swans and several babies sitting near their mother. We made our way up and down the tiny streets, of course stopping for the world famous Belgian chocolate and hot chocolate (worthy of its title). The city of Bruges was in fact destroyed during the Second World War but while being rebuilt, it was decided to reconstruct it in its historic style. Thus, we still see the Flemish colors and architecture and stair-stepped roofs. (However, those, I learned, were actually brought with the Spanish influence when they came to conquer the North.) There are several artists who paint in the streets in hopes to sell their work. Finally, I admit that undoubtedly my favorite part of Bruges was our visit to Notre Dame de Bruges. The Cathedral holds Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child statue, a marvel to behold. Speaking is not allowed in this area and the sacredness of the theme of Mary and baby Jesus was moving. The statue was made of marble in 1504 and I was interested to learn that Michelangelo’s depiction of this scene differs significantly from earlier representations of the same subject, which, as I read, “tended to feature a pious Virgin smiling down on an infant held in her arms.” Here, instead, Jesus stands upright, almost unsupported, “only loosely restrained by Mary's left hand, and appears to be about to step away from his mother and into the world. Meanwhile, Mary does not cling to her son or even look at him, but gazes down and away, as if she knows already what is to be her son's fate.” An interesting commentary I thought.
At the end of a fabulous day we drove back to Lille and ate a delicious meal featuring escargots. I don’t know if I will ever crave these slimy snails drowning in garlic, however I managed to stomach three of them and have the shells and a picture to prove it. Sunday was Mother’s Day in France and the primary sang an adorable medley. After church we walked around Old Lille and through the Hospice Comtesse, an old hospital that was stopped in 1721 and turned into a museum. My favorite piece was a striking old globe painted with both geographical and artistic images. I would put it in my house in a heartbeat. All in all it was an exciting weekend full of discoveries! A bientot…

4/6/09 or 6/4/09 depending on the country :)

2009-06-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Bonjour. I’m getting more and more behind on my blog as the days go on. I wish I could keep track of every experience but it just isn’t possible. I’ve been asked what my internship is exactly and where I am so I’ll give a brief overview. I am at the Université Catholique de Lille, a private Catholic university in the North of France in a city called Lille. It is said that Lille is the fifth biggest city in France but that is only if they include the dozens of suburb towns. Lille itself is a student town and the population increases exponentially when the semesters begin. More specifically, I am interning in the FLSEG which literally translates as the “school of liberal economic sciences and management.” In this department I have two responsibilities; first and foremost: to prepare the graduating students for their English interviews that they will have to enter graduate schools and masters programs. I love doing this because it gives me a chance to meet students from everywhere and help them build their confidence as we have several practice interviews and they progress. For example, one of my students, Elyse, just came for her fourth interview and she is starting to understand the texts we discuss so much better, as well as me when I ask her questions. We’ve been working on the “th” sound so she can say “this and these” instead of “zis and zeese” and she’s coming right along. Some have a better level than others and I interview them accordingly. My second mission is to help as an administrative assistant to Dean Van Peteghem and his two vice deans. This is also fun but in a much more challenging way; I am overloaded with new information every day and sometimes feel like I will never understand how this business school works. However, I am getting to the point now where I can answer some of the phone calls and help about half of the students who come in with questions. Besides this I’ve been asked to start helping translate the university’s website into English. The programs here range from three year degrees in economic-finance, management, or accounting and auditing to masters degrees in all three, as well as what is called “prepa-commerce”- basically an accelerated bachelor’s degree that prepares the student for graduate studies simultaneously. All students are required to do a 1-2 month internship in the summer so it’s been fun for me to see where the students are going when they come to get the dean’s approval. I feel privileged to have this internship seeing as this is one of the top business schools in France and one of the best private universities on the whole.
Yesterday, there was a “Colloque Juridique” conference where donors to the university were invited and I was asked to help guide the guests. The woman in charge said it was a good idea to have me speaking with the donors to show the diversity of their program. She was right; they asked where my accent came from and what I was doing here and were interested. Funnily though, I was speaking with one of the men who donates a lot each year and she purposefully came up and said, “Oh I see you’re practicing your English?” and he responded, “Oh no, your intern speaks wonderfully. We were just talking about what a neat exchange this is for her to work here.” Haha, I hope I didn’t look confused as she set him up for that compliment. I am so thrilled that I’ve finally got a handle on things now. Too tired to finish my thoughts, I'll wrap up tomorrow. Bonne nuit.. xo

Hardelot Cape

2009-06-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! This weekend I went with Dean Didier Van Peteghem, his wife Marie, and their family to Hardelot, a beach town at the tip of France. I had such a great time it was hard to come back! We left Saturday afternoon and the drive took about two hours but the scenery was so gorgeous I didn’t get any reading in. When we arrived we instantly put on our hiking shoes and went up the coast of what is called “Cap gris-nez” literally the grey-nosed cape. The cliffs dropped so far that no one with vertigo should walk here. We passed a lighthouse as well as several ruins of German war barracks buried deep in the hills so they could catch anyone trying to escape from the coast. On a clear day you can see the coast of England, but that also means bad whether is coming. I also learned that we say “Okay.” because during the war the American soldiers would wire back and give the number of fatalities – 0 Killed – thus O.K. I included a little video to show the windy coast of “la manche” – the body of water between England and France. Didier and Marie in the video were telling me that this passage is the highest trafficked waterway in the world and there are very distinct lanes and times that boats can cross perpendicular to the steam liners sailing through. Marie also told me that there are people who train to swim from Calais, France (near here) to Dover, England and several actually succeed.
After a couple hours we came back to the villa and set things up. When the Germans occupied France during the Second World War they cleared everything out of their way so they could see the coast so this home was razed. Since it was reconstructed a few generations ago it looks a little more modern than the others but there was so much room for all of us. The next morning I woke up early to go with Marie to town to get baguettes and had a fun time talking with her. A little while later she took me to what the French call a “braderie” and the closest thing I can think to compare it to would be a city-wide yard sale, only a little more glamorous. All sorts of antiques are sold and the street is crowded. I bought a used French best-hits CD and a tiny bottle of trésor perfume since I could smell it when I passed and it instantly reminded me of when my mom wore it when I was little. Marie bought a card game called Indice for us to play that night. While walking, I saw a pair of identical twin ladies linking arms and they were a hoot! They wore matching skirt-suits and matching white shoes, same hairdo and lipstick. I tried to be discreet while I took a picture. When we came back, we did something I never dreamed I’d ever do: we went fishing for shrimp! Marie put her wetsuit on and drug the shore and she’d bring the net back every few minutes so we could “trilller” – which means to sort the good shrimp from the crabs etc… The shrimp jumped around in my hand and it tickled so I helped for a few minutes and then started taking pictures. At one point I picked up a little bubble looking thing and asked what it was; Didier told me it was a jellyfish egg! Sure enough, when I looked closely I could see the tiny form inside. When we went back they showed me how to cook the shrimp after rinsing them. We put them immediately into boiling water and when they pass out and die they turn pink and float to the top of the pan so I skimmed them off the top and into a bowl. Then when we sat down to eat, it was certainly a new and unusual experience for me to take off the heads, tails, and outer hard skin but once I accomplished several they were delicious! Unforgettable. I enjoyed seeing Didier in a different setting other than the dean's office; he's much more relaxed when he's away from work. He, like most French men, likes to cook and spent nearly as much time in the kitchen as Marie. Later that day we went to the sand dunes and played some games including Pétanque: the most popular outdoor game in France. I think in the US we call it :botchi ball” but the point is to hit a little ball and whoever lands closest with their metal pétanque ball wins. Needless to say I have no concept of distance and my team lost :) however we had a good laugh! On Monday we went to visit a baroque style castle which are much rarer then the castles from the middle ages. By the 17th century people stopped building the traditionally fortress-structured chateaus. They just finished restoration and cleaning so the walls were white and the roof was in good condition- I really liked the silhouette of the roof spires and it was too bad we couldn’t visit the inside since they close fairly early. The funniest thing happened-when we pulled into the parking lot of the castle, apparently we crossed one of the earth's longitudinal lines because the time changed to England's time zone! Sure enough, when we drove out again, it switched right back. Funny little moment.. I did spend some more time on the beach; the first picture is of me and a girl named Ester. She was born in Equatorial Guinea but has lived in Valencia, Spain most of her life. When she arrived in Lille on "Irasmus" (a type of year-long exchange program) her housing had fallen through so Didier's mother welcomed her into her home. It has turned out to be a nice experience for both of them now, seeing that Madame Van Peteghem is no longer lonely and Ester speaks French quite well! Ester and I had a fun time talking on the beach; she had never heard of Mormons and had heard Marie talking to me and wondered what they were. I told her I was Mormon and gave her a few quick points of what we believe. I have learned that I have to approach discussing religion very carefully otherwise some people become uncomfortable. Luckily this time though Ester was so curious; she apologized for asking so many questions about what we believe(little does she know we love to share the answers!) I asked if she wanted to read our 13 main points and she was interested in the Articles of Faith and asked tons of questions. The phrase “laying on of hands” didn’t make sense to her so I tried to explain the confirmation and then she said the 2nd Article of Faith was totally opposite from Catholicism and she thought our version was right; how could we be punished for Adam and Eve’s choices? The next day she must still have been thinking about it because she said, “Haleigh I just remembered something – I once learned that a child develops all his or her habits, mindsets, and lifestyle patterns between birth and age 7 so it makes so much sense that your church baptizes at age 8!” haha, I agreed that it made a lot of sense :). I asked her if she would like me to get her her own copy of the Book of Mormon to satisfy her curiosity and she thought for a minute and said “Why not?” So Sunday I’m going to get one and mark it up for her, I’m really excited! I hardly ever get to share this much without it turning awkward…I hope she continues to be interested. She is a neat girl with a lot of potential. Well, I haven’t covered everything but these were the highlights of the trip and I’m so thrilled I could spend the weekend in Hardelot. Until later…

Sunday in the Versailles Ward

2009-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-23T03:21:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

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..

2009-05-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

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…

2009-05-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

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..

2009-05-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

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..

2009-05-10T23:06:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-05-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

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…

Bring on the sights!

2009-05-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

Bonjour! Today was a full day of sightseeing in the center of Lille! It is a holiday devoted to the ending of World Ward II. I mistakenly thought it was Ascension Day, but that’s in two weeks. Anyhow, many sights were closed, but enough were open to fill the day. Kami and I ventured around together and ran into several unfamiliar sights! The first, being a modern art statue of some brightly colored flowers. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s entry that on our way out of the cinema, a young woman followed us past a church shouting “Girls! Are you happy? Do you love life?” then continued on to preach a little sermon about God’s love. We should’ve told her we loved life and were already Christian, but she was obviously drunk so we nervously scuttled away. There is an exposition lasting three months here in Lille called Europe XXL. Thus, each day there are activities going on and booths set up. Today they were celebrating organic foods and tents were set up selling soy products. Kami and I tried some of them and the apricot soy yogurt wasn’t half bad. We walked through the Galleries Lafayette and stared at the sparkling luxurious shops. Then we headed down through H&M and the shops more in our price range to uncover the secrets of French fashion. I bought a fabulous mustard colored scarf for six Euro and before leaving, the saleswoman said if I wore it the way I’d tied it, I would give off the impression that I was uptight. (Little does she know I sort of am an uptight person :)) Anyway, she came around the counter and proceeded to knot both ends of the scarf and wrap it twice around me. It looked neat afterward, I’ll have to learn to replicate it.
Architecturally, Lille is very different from Paris; due to the Flemish-Dutch & German influence the buildings have much more color and are built with a sense of movement. No two sectors of a compound look the same and their steeples and windows aren’t meant to match. I tried to capture that in the picture in the town square. Finally, the last picture is of the Grand Palace, also known as the Palais des Beaux Arts. It is the Louvre of Lille as I may have already mentioned in previous entries; I am going to visit it tomorrow and cannot wait to see the works of Monet, Seurat, and especially Camille Claudel-whose exposition was in Paris while I was there but was not able to visit. Oh how I love the art of Europe.
For one of my internship classes, I have to write a ten page paper on Lille itself so I’m anxious to see more of it and pinpoint exactly what I’ll write about. But for tonight, I brought several books with me so I’d better get to reading them. It’s amazing to think that I have now been here in Lille one week!

2009-05-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

What a day full-to-the-brim with excitement! The EGL power company went on strike today for nearly three hours! They hold the monopoly on electricity so there really isn’t much that can be done about it and they have systematically each week for the past few months been shutting off power in various parts of Lille. Today it was our sector and oh boy did it ever throw a wrench in things. No power point for staff meeting, no computer system to answer students’ questions, no accessible records, nothing. Everyone was furious and at the same time, student demonstrations started taking place right outside the university library. Gunshots, screaming, colorful outfits…To my surprise (and luckily) they weren’t protesting the power outage, they were rallying for a new student body leader!
Dean Van Peteghem spoke with Kami and me today after the staff meeting and told us that he and his family would be pleased if we’d join them for a weekend to their beach home in a few weeks. We were thrilled to hear that and we’re glad to have each other seeing as we’re the only Americans and Mormons around. She will only be here another month, but at least I’ll have a friend for awhile.
Tonight, Kami and I went to the train station and went through the ringer to get a monthly metro pass. First they denied us because we didn’t have a passport size ID photo to give them, then, after we’d gone to a booth and brought back a picture like they said, they told us they’d already shut down their computers so to come back on Saturday. What a pain :) – Oh well, all part of the adventure. This evening Kami and I explored a busy part of Lille we hadn’t yet seen and then decided to see the movie Coco Avant Chanel that seems to be all the rage here. It was fabulous! Audrey Tautou does an excellent job playing the feisty Coco and the storyline closely following her life was moving and beautiful. I’ve seen an English version with mom and this was fairly similar and just as good.
Lastly, there is a two month-long exposition going on in Lille this summer called Europe-XXL and as part of it, some of the eastern European countries have brought in several modern statues and placed them downtown. Most of them feature babies in the forms of dragons and strange things like that. I tried to take a picture so hopefully it’s clear enough to see. --I love the feeling at the end of the day of aching feet and tired eyes, which means I’ve explored to the max and had a full day. Until the next time…xo

A full full day, but no photos to prove it :)

2009-05-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

Oh la la, I feel like I don’t have any time to journal since it’s so busy here. I like the pace and complexity of the business world though. This evening, I hopped on the metro for the first time to see what was further into Lille. I found a bigger store called a carrfour, thank heavens. Tomorrow I’m going to take my passport and buy a monthly metro pass. Friday is a holiday devoted to the end of WWII so the university shuts down, which means I sightsee! I’m anxious to see “Old Lille” and the Palais des Beaux Arts, which is considered the Louvre of the North. Also, a new movie called Coco avant Chanel (Coco before Chanel) is all the rage in Lille and it stars Audrey Tautou, one of my favorite French actresses, so I’m dying to see it. Today was a hectic day in the office, however, I’ve made progress, I sent my first two documents by email in French out to the staff this afternoon. The French keyboard is drastically different than the American one so getting them typed and grammatically correct and clear was quite the chore. :) Tomorrow I’ve been asked to cover the front desk of the department for an hour during a staff meeting and am quite nervous to do it. Sunday will be my first day at church in the Lille ward and I can’t wait to see a Mormon in this town! I thought I’d run into missionaries perhaps but haven’t yet. Cedric, the vice-dean repeated a quote that I had heard in a French comedy on the plane here called Bienvenue chez les Chti’s. It goes, “when a person comes to Lille they cry twice: once when they arrive, and once when they leave.” The North has a bad reputation for being cold and gloomy, but the people are so kind, I am sure I too will become attached and sad to leave when my time comes. Well, I’m off to do my pilates before I crash. Bonne soirée xo

My lovely little abode in Lille

2009-05-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

I’m starting to feel so much more at ease now that I’ve moved in, organized my cute little yellow abode, and found my way around town better. Life in Lille is Lovely!

Second day on the job!

2009-05-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Bonjour ! Today went considerably well! I’m starting to grasp more of what goes on here in the FLSEG -Faculté libre de sciences economiques et de gestion- (The department of economic sciences and management) It’s quite complicated how the different programs are woven together but I’m learning a lot. Today I went through several of the applications and got them ready to send onto the dean. There are 40 or so applications received each day and only 30 students are accepted per semester! I saw these flowers as I was leaving my apartment, pretty huh? Well, during my layover in London on Sunday I had 4 hours free so I checked my luggage in and ran to the British Museum. I had been anxious to see the Rosetta Stone in real life, and it was just as neat as I’d imagined. My picture has a glare, but I suppose I should still put it up.
I also saw some of Michelangelo’s sketches that he did before painting his major works; absolutely incredible. Lastly, the British Museum holds a big piece of the beard of the Great Sphinx in Egypt-quite cool! While walking out of the catho today, I looked out the window of the stairwell and what do I see? Gargoyles. These are the simple European things that just tickle me. I’m really starting to get in the Lilloise spirit! Well, I’m getting hungry so I’m off to discover more of the city before everything shuts down. The adventures and work will continue, so until tomorrow…A bientot..

First Day..

2009-05-04T10:25:00.001-07:00

First day on the job! It was excellent and I’d say overall a success. The amount of information was slightly overwhelming, but I think with time I will catch on. Everyone has been very kind to me, though I think many of them find me peculiar. Cedric Lepoutre, the dean’s assistant, took me around to all the professors and administrators to introduce me, and then showed me around. He is a nice man, and luckily will bring me some bedding, dishes, and utensils from his home. One added benefit is that I have my own office. It has a nice view of the medical school and even better, has the internet, which my apartment doesn’t. However, I am very pleased with the room I’ve been given. It is situated 10 minutes from the university and is a cute yellow room with a bed, desk, small table, fridge, and sink. It’s nice to have a place of my own to feel somewhat at home. Getting around has been rocky and there have been some small problems, but I’m trying to stay positive and work hard. Absolutely no one can pronounce my name; it’s comical. So I answer to many versions of “ay-leee”. While walking in today, I took this picture. I work on the second floor on the right side. It’s an absolutely beautiful building! I am anxious to learn and explore more. Until tomorrow…a la prochaine xo

Lille, France : Operation Internship

2009-04-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

A year has flown by since I begrudgingly got on the return flight from Paris to Salt Lake. I decided right then and there that no matter what, I would get back to France if it was the last thing I did. Then, as if by fate, in December I was offered a fabulous internship at the Université Catholique de Lille, the largest private university in France. Monsieur Yvon Lebras and Cédric Lepoutre have been coordinating the logistics with me but here is the gist of what I will be doing: In the department of economic sciences and business management at the university there are several students who wish to work in international business, however their English skills are lacking and when it comes to interviews, they’ll need some practice. So, I’m going to spend half of my time working with them, and the other half as the administrative assistant for the dean, Monsieur Didier Van Peteghem. They will be paying for my housing and I will live ten minutes away in an international residence. Lille, being the fifth largest city in France and the cultural capital of Europe, has much to offer. I am very anxious to visit as much as I can and soak in the enchanting French life once again. In response to several inquiries, yes, I will miss Gavin very much. I can only hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder. But even though being far from him will be an adjustment, we both know what an amazing opportunity this is. Twelve days until takeoff! Bon voyage!

Monday, Monday, so good to us.

2008-08-29T15:39:00.001-07:00

All set for another day! On the 1 line, there are often bands that play in the metro stations. This one was exceptionally good! They had an upbeat Spanish sound and harmonized fabulously together. Mom was slightly horrified to see that I had been wearing tennis shoes with my skirts for a few weeks. She insisted that I buy a new pair of black shoes before we went anywhere else, haha. Next, I took her to the Musée du Moyen Age – Middle Ages Museum – to see the Unicorn Tapestry Series, the oldest intact series in the world. It portrays the five senses and a lot of symbolism with a princess, unicorn, and monkey. It’s quite beautiful. The funny thing is, that when we were at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake a few months after getting back, I looked at the wall as we sat down and gasped as I saw a replica of one of the unicorn tapestries! Imagine that! In our very own Salt Lake City.
Well, after that, I took mom to the Sorbonne campus and begged the guards to let mom just step in for a look, but for security reasons they don’t allow anyone but students, so we walked the perimeter of the school. The buildings are gorgeous and just across the street, is the Collège de France campus. The picture to the right is the Law School building of La Sorbonne. I was hoping to take mom to this student café that I loved eating at-it was just off campus and in a basement decorated with eclectic black and white photos. I saw students from all over the world eat there; the best part is they had 5 Euro yummy lunches. Well, they happened to be closed so I couldn’t show mom, however, she picked the café we ate at and it turned out to be absolutely delicious, as we sat on the heated sidewalk patio. Next we headed up the street toward the Pantheon and the City Hall for the 5th arrondissement.
The building to the right is an Epicerie: a shop where spices are made. Still moving full steam ahead, we hopped on metro line 8 and headed toward the neighborhood of Saint Sulpice. We saw a quaint little house with a neat door and flowers in bloom so I hopped inside for a picture. Next, I took mom to one of the fanciest and best patisserie shops in Paris called Pierre Hermès. They are well known for their chocolate and macaroons and though it’s a little pricey, one could still spend more by crossing the street and shoping at Yves Saint Laurent. We ate by the fountain then walked to the Saint Sulpice Church. Unfortunately their famous organist wasn’t playing, but we did see the rose line that’s described in The Da Vinci Code. The church is currently under restoration but is beautiful despite the scaffolding. Before heading back, I took mom through the Gardens of Luxembourg where the French Senate building is surrounded by gorgeous flowers, statues, ponds, and orange trees. There is also a grotto with a beautiful grey sculpture of a Greek God. There are some fun things to keep your eyes peeled for while walking through: we spotted a mini statue of liberty, several people doing martial arts, kids pushing sailboats with sticks across the pond, and several Parisian couples. As we were on the metro headed back to Croissy, I had mom and I hop off at the GeorgeV stop and run up the stairs to get a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe by night! We asked a man to take a picture but he must have been a little tipsy in every sense of the word. We were exhausted by the end of the day!

Third day in Paris

2008-08-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

Evidently, mom’s first day in Paris was an absolute success! The next day was Sunday so I woke her up and took her on my Sunday routine: 1 train stop, 3 metro stops, and then a 20 minute walk from there to my ward in Versailles City. It was such a pleasure for me to have my mom be able to meet a few of the ward members I had become friends with: my dear friend Maria Babin, the Brother, Sister, Valentine and Emilée Caussé, Sister Salinas, Sister Jones, Mathieu, and others. Luckily, the mission president’s wife was there so my mom had an English speaking friend to discuss the lesson with. Everyone treated her so kindly and she came with me to Sunday School.
After church, I decided to take mom up to Montmartre to see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart – Sacre Coeur. We took the metro to Pigalle then hopped on a bus going up the hill. We hopped out and carefully avoided the salesmen who try to grab your wrist and tie a bracelet to it to force you to buy it. We followed the path up to the basilica and wandered up the stairs and inside. We enjoyed walking around while the mass was going on and looking at the Christian paintings. Then mom suggested we climb the dome to see the view from the hill, so up we went the flights of stone stairs! She kept trying to convince me that it was safe to lean out the window..ha..anything for a good picture. Though the day was cloudy, the view was nice an

d clear. We then moseyed down the darling streets of Montmartre and to one of my favorite places: the artist square. Dozens of independent artists paint on canvases set up in a courtyard and you can watch them paint or sit in for a portrait. Mom and I both are kicking ourselves for not purchasing one of the small oil paintings. We picked a random restaurant and had spectacular luck! We both had delicious French onion soup, I had lamb and mom had then we shared crème brulé and mousse au chocolat for dessert. I blushed crimson when the waiter complimented me sweetly on my French and mom was so pleased she left a bigger tip. As we started back down the hill, we stopped a cute little French family to see if they would take a picture of us, and as we walked away, the little boy chased after mom and handed her his piece of candy with a big smile. It was adorable-mom said ‘merci’ and the little boy laughed and ran back to his family. All in all, another great day for the Americans in Paris!

Mom's first day in France

2008-08-27T11:01:00.001-07:00

First morning in Paris: I showed mom around the Julienne’s house then couldn’t wait to take her through the neighborhood and through Croissy-Sur-Seine, my town. I showed her all the features that make my neighborhood so neat. Houses’ worth isn’t measured by size, the age and amount of restoration is what makes a home remarkable. Lilacs were in bloom everywhere on my street, Avenue des Tilleuls. Croissy only has one central street of shops and holds the old French tradition of separating: a butcher for the meat, a market for the fruit, a bakery for the bread, etc…I took mom to the bakery to taste her first French tart and we sat in the town square while I told her where I shopped. We hopped on the metro and I had mom take a picture of me here since I’ve probably hopped on at this station over a hundred times. Mom saw the musicians who play for money and how the French don’t talk on the trains; however, I couldn’t help myself-I just wanted to tell her everything! We got off near the Eiffel Tower and walked up the Champs de Mars (Fields of March) toward the tower, passing the ‘peace’ war monument with ‘peace’ written in all of the world’s languages. Next, I took mom through the Tuileries Gardens and on to Angelina’s-the best place in Paris to drink hot chocolate. It’s very expensive, but entirely worth it. I’ve never tasted anything like it. Mom decided we should treat ourselves to one fancy meal each day so we started there. The food was good, but I think our favorite was at La Durée, which we’ll get to toward the end of our trip. We spent the rest of the day exploring the city, and since I had always been alone in Paris before, I hadn’t spent much time at night in the city, so it was fun to see everything lit up with mom. We passed L’Hotel de Ville, the city hall, the Pompidou museum and the modern art fountains shown in the movie Sabrina, then onto the institute, and finished by eating another Greek sandwich next to the river with our shoes off. It is so true that Paris is perfect when you have someone to share it with.

Finally Mom Arrives!

2008-08-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

At last! One more day and after months of telling mom about Paris the day was almost here when I could SHOW it all to her! I spent my last day alone in Paris wandering around to find a dress I could wear to pick mom up and I found a cute black one with a bow and matching shoes in Chatelet Les Halles. I went to institute that night and spent time with the young adults. Late that night I got a note at my hotel from my dad’s secretary saying my mom’s plane had been delayed a few hours. The next morning I woke up super early to get ready and help a friend to the airport and waited what seemed like days for mom’s plane to arrive. Finally at long last she came out the doors and I yelled ‘Mommy!’ (Very un-Parisian like to yell in public) I ran over to her and we hugged very tightly, both tearing up and laughing! We were ecstatic to see each other! We sat down on the nearest bench and I proceeded to talk a million miles an hour. A dream-come-true to be able to have mom here in my Parisian world. From minute one I was so thrilled I couldn’t stop smiling. Though mom hadn’t slept in 24 hours she was not about to rest yet. We hopped on the metro and headed for the outskirts to take her luggage out to the Julienne's home, but on the transfer at Chatelet station we had quite a mishap. A woman had a heart attack on the RER line A train at the next stop and trains weren’t pulling out for hours. I knew the metro so I knew we had one other possibility: to take the Metro 1 line out and go around the problem. I should have realized I wouldn’t be the only one to try this backup plan. In less than a minute Chatelet became Grand Central Station at rush hour on Christmas Eve..times ten! Shoulder-to-shoulder doesn’t even come close to how this felt. Squashed from all sides and moving without our feet on the ground is more like it. I felt awful that this was mom’s first experience in Paris but when I looked up ahead of me, she was laughing! She was not panicking, just laughing! After a few hours of madness we decided to stay in Paris until our arranged dinner with my dear friend Elizabeth and her mother. We hopped out of the metro at Saint Michel station in the Latin Quarter to meet our friends and as soon as mom saw the fountain, she said “I love Paris!” I laughed and dragged her across the street so she could see the view and she awed when she saw the Seine, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the view from the right bank. We took this picture with her luggage and despite the rain, were still on cloud nine to be together! I took mom to my favorite Greek stand squished between the shops in the Latin Quarter. We got a lamb kebab with cucumber sauce and herbs de Provence. I was so glad that mom loved it like I did, despite the sketchy way it’s cooked on a spit right on the side of the road. Though the rain never let up, we happily stayed outside with Elizabeth and Amy. After awhile I took mom back to the Julienne’s home on the train. She loved the neighborhood and I couldn’t wait to show it to her in the daytime! Once we arrived, looking like drowned rats, Mom met the Juliennes and gave them dozens of gifts from America-they said it felt like Christmas! We hopped in bed and mom crashed in T minus 3 seconds.

Aix en Provence

2008-08-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

My next day in the south was spent in Cannes, where the Film Festival is held each year. Tons of celebrities own a home here, which explains the ridiculous prices for absolutely everything. A normal person could never afford to live in Cannes. I did enjoy seeing the red carpet walk though and spending the day at the beach.
After Cannes, the next stop was the Pont du Gard. Currently I don’t have any pictures of it because I kayaked down the river and couldn’t bring my camera. It is the oldest aqueduct bridge in the world and rowing down was an awesome way to see the sight.
Ensuite, Arles. Arles is an ancient Roman city with an arena that once housed lions and there were bullfights and all sorts of entertainment. I walked through the underground passages and climbed the bell tower with my friend Sarah Georges from Lyon, France.
Since we were staying in Aix en Provence, I got the chance to do a little sight seeing around the city with my friend Susie. She and I even ran into two LDS missionaries while gallivanting around and one was from Sandy, Utah no less! The city is historic with a different feel than Paris, though I will always prefer Paris to the South. The region of Provence is known for its herbs, lavender, and various crafts. Market day is every Wednesday and that was an experience I’ll never forget-wandering through the rows of bustling southerners, hearing prices being shouted and my senses on overload from the countless colors, smells, and sounds. I found a darling pottery stand where a man had hand painted all sorts of homemade ceramic kitchenware and couldn’t resist buying my mom and me each a painted provincial spoon rest.
Over the weekend I got the chance to go on splits with the area’s sister missionaries. We taught a man named Pascal with his friend. It was such a touching experience. When I sat through Pascal’s interview for baptism on Sunday, he was so excited. His favorite him was ‘je sais qu’il vit mon rédempteur’ I know that my Redeemer lives-and he wanted to sing it for the opening and closing hymns at his baptism. Sunday Brother Welch gave a fireside to the Aix stake after we attended their ward. One man was specifically touched by the presentation and resolved to start attending church again. My last day in the south was quite enjoyable and in the evening our group went out for a farewell to France dinner at a really nice and authentic provincial restaurant called Le Bistroquet. We girls were thrilled to get dressed up nicely and had actually found a round brush and blow-dryer to make ourselves presentable. The menu was incredible! The first course was a cold gelatin-like purée of olives, oils, herbs, and quite honestly, I’m not sure what else. Initially it has a bitter taste, but amazingly, the longer it sits on your tongue, the sweeter it tasted! The next course was a roast cooked in a red provincial wine. Yummmm..it was so tender. The bread was traditional and the dessert was a raspberry mousse with a raspberry rum sauce. I left the restaurant so full and determined I would rather starve than go back to eating American food. I love the way the French consider mealtime a drawn out, relaxed, and classy experience.

Saint Paul de Vence..Hidden Paradise

2008-08-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Continuing our stay in the south, we spent half a day in a village on a hill that was once a fortress. Today, it’s called St. Paul de Vence. I wished terribly we could have spent more time here; it was a quaint provincial French village with tiny cobblestone streets, church bells chiming on the hill, and foliage growing everywhere. The shops were built like cellars and when I stepped down, there were incredible works of art, or walls filled with herbs, or blown glass and pressed flowers…St. Paul de Vence is the ultimate secret of the south.
While exploring these shops, I found an independent artist’s workshop- his name was Jean Francois Gaulthier and his paintings were scenes of dancers. Next I stumbled onto an entire shop dedicated to Gustav Klimt, my favorite artist! There were enormous vases with his paintings painted on them, floor coverings and tapestries of his art..It’s a good thing I didn’t have enough money or I would have bought the shop on the spot.

Leaving Geneva..Headed South

2008-08-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

As I walked back through Geneva I passed this park where the Swiss were playing chess with unique technique. Then before hopping on the bullet train again, we stopped at the University for lunch in the cafeteria. It was quite ironic to be eating Chinese food in the cafeteria surrounded by students of all nationalities and walks of life. Kilometer by kilometer the sun got brighter and the air got warmer. Pulling into the port of Marseilles I was excited to see what the Riviera had to offer. The shores were filled with sail boats and the streets lines with shops and the tanned skins of the southerners. Their accents were fabulously confusing! Pain “paan” came out sounding like “payyyn”. We rushed off onto a boat ride whizzing by the Chateau D’If - domain of the Count of Monte Cristo. Though the story is fictional, they’ve even unearthed a hole as evidence of where the Count dug out. There are several little islands near the shore and then five inlets where the water is a clear turquoise blue color. This is actually the spot where the rock was taken for the base of the Statue of Liberty when France gave it to us.

Bienvenue a Geneve..

2008-08-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is somewhat embarrassing that I’m blogging my last month in France after the fact, but oh well. The night after I left the Julienne’s home, I hopped on a train headed for Geneva, Switzerland. While pulling into the station and hearing “Bienvenue à Genève” and seeing the hills of the Swiss countryside, I knew I was going to love Switzerland from the second I stepped off the train.
The first impression I got upon stepping out into Geneva is how clean it was! The buildings, though old, were sparkling, and ironically, when I looked into the gutter, I saw a piece of chocolate, where normally one would see a cigarette, hahaha. I had to laugh when I saw the metro map—coming from Paris where I had learned to work the 14 metro lines and 4 RER lines, I was shocked to see two metro lines here: one going North to South, and the other from East to West. I stayed in an “auberge de jeunesse,” a nice youth hostel, right on the shore of Geneva Lake. I could see the United Nations building across from me and vineyards on the hills surrounding me. The first evening, Brother Welch gave a fireside to the youth of the Geneva stake and he had me present for five minutes on the ancient seals that I’d been researching in the Louvre during the previous weeks. It was absolutely terrifying, but I think the youth enjoyed hearing the connections I made between the worth of the kings’ seal and how binding those ties were, both figuratively and literally. My friend Michel Gaginni, from the French house, grew up in Geneva, so after the fireside, I met his brother and sister and they took me to dinner and for a drive around the city. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Early the following day, the Welch’s and a few girls went to visit the Saint Pierre Cathedral. This part of Geneva is bursting with history from the days of the Protestant reformation. John Calvin considered it his ‘home ward’ I guess we could say. The remains from the 8th century on were amazing; I even saw a baptismal font in the underground portion. (Photo Right)
Finally, my favorite part of Geneva: the Bodmer Museum. I can honestly say, outside of Paris, this is the neatest museum I have ever seen. It’s located in a village called Cologny and is the private collection of Martin Bodmer. There are over 160,000 documents in 80 languages including a rare copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the oldest manuscripts of St. John’s Gospel, Greek coins, Plato's manuscripts, and fossils dating back hundreds of thousands of years. M. Bodmer didn’t want these pieces of history to be scattered with his death so he created this foundation. There was also a room devoted entirely to letters: collected from queens, thieves, celebrities, poets, authors—among these were letters from Marie Antoinette and Moliere. The letter to the right was written as an image. I hope to visit this astounding museum again in my life.

Mes Juliennes..

2008-04-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day living with the Julienne’s…what a sad sad thought. For dinner, Madame made my favorite things; tarte au poivron et tomate, salade des endives, and mousse au chocolat…mmm.. and then she gave me a little present called “fraises tagadas,” a strawberry candy that I’d always heard of but never actually tried. Then we took family pictures, and she took us for a ride around Paris at night! It was gorgeous…To see it all lit up was amazing! When I got home, Lidwine had put a little note in my bed that said “gros bisous et tu me manqueras, a bientôt,” (big kisses & I’ll miss you, see you soon.” The sweet thing is that she left it with one of her chocolate Easter eggs that I know she loves…I’m really going to miss these sweet Juliennes, I’m glad I get one more week with them when I come back. Night…

Conference Weekend..

2008-04-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

General Conference was absolutely incredible; especially the last session. Definitely worth staying up until midnight for! The French saints are so thrilled that Elder Causée will be the first French member of the quorum of the 70. I originally thought Charles Didier was, but in fact, he was Belgian. Elder Causée is in my ward here at Versailles and such a good man. He’s originally from Bordeaux and has been working very hard to further progress on the temple here in Paris. I had to giggle because Charles Didier’s wife is secretly hoping they’ll be called to be the temple presidents so that she can shop her heart out! My religion teacher here translated for part of conference. This week is insanely busy! Today we had play recitations and a test review since we’re panicking about Brother Welch’s final tomorrow. A plus…

An unlikely trio..

2008-04-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

As I went into the little shop under the train tracks in Croissy to get lunch, I sat down and began to talk with the Tunisian woman working named Chédia and the only other customer, a man from Cameroon named Dominique. Chédia took her lunch break and sat down with us to eat. We laughed as we realized that we were quite an unlikely trio: A Muslim Tunisian, a Catholic Cameroonian, and a Mormon American; eating and joking together. Three very different accents, backgrounds, and situations, I think we all enjoyed the perspective. Neither of them had ever heard of a Mormon, much less met one. Chédia told us of the struggle it is to be a practicing Muslim, which she technically isn’t fully or she’d not be allowed to work and would be veiled. She lives with her uncle and is not allowed to date or wear make up, and she said she’s told she’s lucky: most Muslim girls our age go straight from their parents’ home into their spouse’s home without ever having a say in the matter or any life experiences first. Dominique was set up in an arranged marriage with a second cousin, but neither loved the other, so they are married in writing, but live separately as friends. For all three of us French is our second language. Arabic, a tribal dialect, and English being respectively our first. Experiences like this open my eyes wider each time to how diverse the human race is.

Sights, Smells and Tastes

2008-04-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

These past few days have been very eventful: Sunday, there was said to be “an act of aggression” on the metro so there were absolutely no trains going into Paris in the early afternoon. Of course I was in Versailles trying to get from church to a conference in the heart of Paris. Unfortunately, I missed it-the Nobel Peace Prize winner of ’06, Mohammad Yunus was speaking. I’m jumping ahead of myself: Last weekend we visited the chateau Vaux le Vicomte – where Fouquet lived and hosted the party of the century! Moliere performed a play before dinner, there were fireworks, the take-home gift was a diamond tiara for the women and a stallion for the men – anyone who was anyone was invited. Well, King Louis 14th attended and became do insanely jealous that he decided he must outdo Fouquet, so he built Versailles as we know it today. Vaux le Vicomte was beautiful; we toured it golf-cart style. Saturday I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a play at L’académie Française. Le Misanthrope was the piece we saw since we just finished reading it, and unfortunately it was the most tragic of Moliere’s works, but the acting was the best I have ever witnessed. That is to be expected at L’Académie Française of course, but I was still quite stunned. Grimaces, pleas, and expressions of love were so intense; I for one felt a little emotionally spent after the three hour performance. The theater was historically and beautifully decorated in red velvet, dark wood, and old lights. Yesterday I ventured over to the Madeleine, which is deceivingly ornate. The outside looks so austere, but the inside is full of frescos, gold leaf décor and a statue of Mary’s ascension. Today, I coughed up the 6 euros to try Paris’ famous Angelina’s hot chocolate, and now can be a witness that it is the best out there. I also bought a copy of Notre Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). I am looking so forward to reading it! Well, tomorrow is a day entirely crammed with things to do, so I’d better get some shut eye…

Le Misanthrope at La Comedie Francaise!

2008-03-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Scurrying around this morning, a bustling Saturday, I first stopped at a wedding exposition with my friend Elizabeth, who is getting married this summer. She tried on one wedding dress, then we decided the shop was getting too busy, so we went to the Bastille to walk down by the Saint Martin canal, little did we know there was rioting going on in the square. It was some sort of “speaking out against aids and poverty” movement...thank heavens for free speech I suppose is what I should say. Then, the best part of the week, we were able to attend Le Misanthrope at La Comédie Française! The most well known theater in France, and where the very greatest playwrights and actors performed. The acting was unlike any other: I’ve never seen such passion in the pleading, grimacing, protesting, and even just the regular dialogue. Three hours of intensity, it was truly professional. This is said to be the very best of Moliere’s plays, according to himself and critics, yet I still prefer L’école des Femmes. It could be due to the fact that this is his only tragedy, the rest are comedies. Anyhow, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Luckily, there was one extra ticket, so Madame Welch allowed my friend Orélly from the ward to join us. I then visited the Arc du Triomphe along with every other weekend tourist or couple :) haha. Still neat to look at though, maybe I should have coughed up the five euros to go to the top, who knows. Well, since by that point I can’t remember the last time I had real protein, I stopped at an Algerian restaurant in my town to get…honestly, I won’t even try to guess..It was some sort of wrap concoction with about 12 things mixed in, and delicious. My books are sending me guilty vibes so I’d better get to them. A demain..

Bend it like Beckham...s'il vous plait..3.26.08

2008-03-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

Bend it like Beckham! Last night a bunch of the girls and I went to the France vs. England soccer game! It’s a big deal seeing as they’re both top ten teams here. Beckham played for England, which was awesome to see, but of course I was rooting for France. They won, no contest, but it was a blast to watch! #22 for France, Henri Ribery was so great; he moved his feet faster than I though humanly possible! One of the French newscasters passed away the night before, so there was a moment of silence dedicated to him at the game. 49, heart attack, and three kids..tragic. On a happier note, today Brother Welch invited me to a conference on Mormonism with him and we did some major networking! The leaders of the CES in France were there along with leaders of other faiths. It was great to get out there and it was also fun having Brother Welch, who is so well known say, “Now have you met my student Haleigh?” I have learned more from him in one semester than I’ve ever learned in a religion class. Tomorrow I’ll write more about what he taught us in class today, it was incredible. A demain..

weekend merveilleux avec jeunes adultes à Nogent!

2008-03-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

I had a marvelous weekend at the young single adults’ conference which was held in Nogent. People came from absolutely everywhere! We started out playing a speed-dating type game getting to know everyone and I met people from Marseilles, Toulouse, Alsace, Strasbourg, Geneva, Neuchatel, etc... I was excited to meet Lydia’s best friend Claire, from Bordeaux. We had a fantastic fireside given by Brother Welch in English while Frère Euvrard translated. It was touching to once again, go over the significance of the Savior’s role as the Good Samaritan in the parable. Then, the funniest thing happened! I was talking to a girl from Geneva and asked her if she knew the Gaggini family, explaining that Michel Gaggini was one of my close friends: she said, yes, but I should go talk to two boys across the room; it just so happened that one of them was Pascal Gaggini, Mitch’s brother! Ha-ha…It was an absolute pleasure to meet him, already having heard much about their family. Having the chance to sing in the Young Adult choir that the missionary couple put together to go along with the Good Samaritan fireside was neat. While talking with a new friend, Elliot, I learned that missionary work is really progressing in certain areas in France quite quickly. There was a baptism yesterday and two more scheduled. Yesterday being Easter morning, there were more French than usual on the metros, many dressed up for mass and for most, the only day of church each year. This morning, we rejoined together and did a treasure hunt all over Paris ending at the Eiffel Tower. It snowed, luckily only for a moment. I’d better get studying! A bientôt!

A Good Friday on Good Friday..

2008-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day…though I must say, the weather here in Paris is just plain moody. This morning, being Good Friday, was the revealing of the crown of thorns at Notre Dame. Personally, I don’t believe that it could be the original, and maybe I’m too cynical: they claim it was acquired by Saint Louis, King of France, from Baudouin de Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople, in the 13th century, and before being entrusted to the cathedral after the Revolution, was kept in secret in Sainte Chapelle. I suppose it’s the symbolism that’s important though. Well, I arrived early to be sure to get a good look, and was ushered to the line toward the priests, and upon viewing the crown, it was customary, no, expected, to bend and kiss it! I watched the woman in front of me and followed suit of course, but what an experience! It is enclosed in plastic tubing and sanitized after each person but it truly was fascinating to see the devotion of the French, considering that this is one of only two occasions each year they attend religious gatherings. I thoroughly enjoyed the gothic organ music though so stayed listening to it while reading my Book of Mormon sections. Continuing on a somber note, I visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery, the biggest in France and full of many historically prominent men and women. Naturally I stopped to pay homage to Moliere: studying his plays this semester has been so enjoyable and I have grown to realize what a genius he was. He and Fontaine, two of France’s greatest pens besides Victor Hugo, are buried next to each other. Chopin was next on the list, and ironically, Jim Morrison followed. The French joke that there’s no need for a map to find his grave; so many people commemorate his memory by smoking weed, one must simply follow the scent. The cemetery is over 100 acres and not somewhere I’d ever like to be after sundown! I laughed remembering when Rob, Cody and I snuck into Provo cemetery and getting the willies when a bat flew overhead; yet, it holds quite a different significance with some of France’s most renowned murderers and patriots underfoot, I’d never dare trespass here. Next I decided to venture into the Jewish Quarter of Paris. I passed several Orthodox men in their garb and many Jewish shops and houses with stars of David over the threshold. Well, I thought I’d be daring and try the local grub; was that ever an adventure! I think every time I bit into the pita I found a new color or ingredient; some recognizable, some not. There was some sort of unidentifiable meat under rice and some tasteless brown moist vegetables, chickpeas, several vegetables, a sauce with bright purple something-or-others, haha. It was gushing everywhere so I was leaning over a garbage can-receiving strange looks from passersby. Well, it wasn’t until I was relaying this to Eurah, my roommate, that I realized, the Parisians probably thought I took the sandwich from out of that garbage can and was eating it! :D The demolished state it was in must have looked like remains…oh dear. C’est la vie. Tomorrow is the first day of the enormous Young Single Adults conference at Nogent-sur-Seine. There should be several great speakers, a really fun dance and activities. A bientôt!

An Unforgettable Excursion...

2008-03-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

What a week & where to begin! Tuesday morning I left for an excursion with my class. I arrived first at Omaha beach in Normandy. I had no idea Hugh Nibley was here on D-Day and was a correspondent-he spoke perfect German. The museum was touching portraying the great degree of destruction and loss. This is the first battle where we went in from behind enemy lines using parachutes. Dwight Eisenhower was the commander in chief at the time. I then walked down to Utah Beach-it has been left untouched so the terrain is marred with crater-like scars from the bombings. Ensuite, I saw the Bayeux Tapestry. It was full of symbolism and enormous!-Longer than a football field and depicting the life of William the Conqueror. I spent the rest of the day at Saint Malo, a quaint sea port village. The village is walled, so I walked the perimeter. There were also some old war bunkers on the shore, so I explored those and the cathedral with my friend Elizabeth. That evening, eleven girls and myself decided we should try the renowned seafood in the region and walked to a beautiful restaurant. We all felt gutsy enough to try escargot-and I’m thrilled to say, the taste of a snail is much better than the thought of eating one! There is so much garlic that there’s no image of it crawling down the sidewalk. ..Wednesday, I had an unexpected and incredible spiritual experience. We arrived at Mont Saint Michel in the morning for a tour, with a guide who spoke several languages, named Catarina. I walked next to her and the Welch’s and she asked after the first few rooms, “Why are you so different? Your group is so different?” In the next room, the acoustics were beautiful and it was too early for many tourists, so someone suggested we sing a hymn. Catarina gave us permission, so we began; within moments this composed French woman’s eyes were tearing up, and by the last verse, all the tourists passing through stopped and watched. When we finished, she and a few others said, “Chantez encore, s’il vous plaît…” The only other French hymn we knew how to harmonize was Je suis enfant de Dieu-I am a child of God, and that one was received just as well. Obviously Mont Saint Michel is a holy place, but I never expected to feel the spirit. We had to continue, but she was trying to figure out what was so different about us. I told her, “We believe that our hymns are, in fact, prayers to God.” She said, “Yes, I know. I can feel that.” Madame Welch told her, “Just because we’re not Catholic Catarina, we are still believers.” She asked us to sing twice more during our visit. When we finished, she treated us to cookies in the town and Brother Welch suggested I offer her something to remember us by, I asked if he had an extra French hymnal, he ‘just so happened’ to have one, and a Book of Mormon. By this point I was terrified because the first time I gave a Book of Mormon away was six years ago in Rouen, France and the woman was offended and returned it. But, taking a deep breath, Diane and I took Catarina aside and I said, “We’d like to leave you with a gift-our songs and our beliefs.” She replied, “I can’t read the notes, but I love the words…and this (she gripped the Book of Mormon)...I am very interested in this and seeing what makes you so different.” I thought I was going to faint and was squeezing Diane’s hand so tightly…I now understand why missionaries in France often have a hard time-to penetrate the shell of the French is difficult, but when it happens, it’s incredible. The great news is that there are missionaries in Cannes who are going to seek her out as soon as possible.
..Thursday, we started our visits to the castles of the Loire Valley; what an entirely different perspective than Paris! The history behind all six that we saw was so fun. I came to France thinking I would fill some sort of void of knowledge yet in fact, have just initiated the desire to learn more and more! I have become such an enthusiast of Jeanne D’Arc-Joan of Arc. What a woman-I’m dying to read Mark Twain’s biography of her. Even President Faust believed her to be inspired. I passed the wall she jumped over when preparing her troops for battle. My favorite historic chateau was probably Chenonceau. It is considered the women’s castle because of the notorious Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitier who reigned there. Picturesquely speaking, Chambord was impressive. It would be a dream to wander the grounds all day either on horse of by foot.
Friday..We spent the night in the Convent Bon Pasteur. It was so neat to eat, talk, and stay with the nuns. Some wore their habits, some didn’t. They are wonderful women from all over who dedicate their lives to prayer and service. The one I spoke with was Sri Lankan. We visited the Tapestry of the Apocalypse later that day. Waking up early, we went to Leonardo de Vinci’s home which was a fun experience! Many people don’t get past his art to see his inventions, sketches, and philosophy. His home was filled with his quotes, and all the inventions he’d sketched out, a modern man built and they're displayed! Of the citations, my favorite was, “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Saturday..Our last day was packed full, but my favorite part was visiting Chartres cathedral and hearing Brother Welch discuss the Good Samaritan window. I was fascinated to learn that the parable is actually an allegory of the plan of salvation! I had no idea. It is one of the few that we have an explanation for. I’d always thought that the Priest and Levite who pass the fallen man (Adam, who represents all of us) ignored him insensitively, when in fact it was that they couldn’t help him. The circumstance necessitated a Savior, the Savior to come. I wish I knew the stories behind every foot of the 25,000 square feet of stained glass.

Bordeaux: Amis, Arias, Amazing

2008-03-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

3.9.08...Bonjour! I spent a superb weekend in Bordeaux! Arriving Thursday evening, I wanted to jump off the tram at every neat sight on the route to the Defranchi home. It was a pleasure to finally meet them! Marina and Sylvia treated me just like a sister and Alexis and Catherine couldn’t have been more hospitable! Friday morning Sylvia gave me the grand tour of Bordeaux! The cathedral Pay Berland, the Rue Saint Catherine, the best shops and treats, we even stopped at the town fair and rode one free fall attraction. Inevitably, I took a picture on the ‘tourist tortoise.’ We ate an Arab kebab in the center of town. Ensuite, the evening was an absolute delight-Alexis asked permission of the director of the opera for me to watch the dress rehearsal of the Faust opera that begins next week! It is rare that the public is allowed, but I was privileged to see the first half with the full orchestra…there are not words enough to describe! It was unbelievable! The voices were more powerful than any I’d ever heard; intense enough to bring tears to the toughest of souls. It was so moving, I was sad to leave. But, the next morning, Alexis sang the aria Turandot by Puccini for me! Saturday afternoon, my friend Romy invited me over, and cooked me a yummy fish lunch. We then waltzed all through the streets of Bordeaux. The shops ranged from Chinese knockoffs to Hermes there is a fee just to enter the store! I especially loved the dress shops and ‘habitat’ - the Pottery Barn of France. She had me taste cannelé a specialty cinnamon tasting bread of Bordeaux. En plus, gave me a darling pair of earrings to remind me of the city. The trip passed quickly but was well worth it! I am now back in Paris and this week will be traveling to Normandy and the Loire Valley. Bonsoir…

March forth..or fourth..haha

2008-03-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

3.4.2008…In Frère Euvrard’s class we talked about the Church’s growth in France. In the area, they’re advising members to use all church facilities to maximum capacity because at the cost of 1 church in Europe, 47 can be built in Africa. Staggering. He also mentioned that though we consider the LDS church ‘international,’ we really won’t have achieved that until the natives are presiding internationally, not Americans leading the congregations. Once membership strength and activity increases enough to have the locals govern themselves, then we’ll really have achieved something.
I discussed Brother Welch’s opinion on the war chapters since I’ve always had a hard time understanding their importance. He said that for one thing, I must remember how important war was in the ancient world. It was literally a matter of life and death for whole civilizations. Also to consider that in the ancient world, "war" was seen as a manifestation of God's will: when you won, it was God who gave you the victory. When you lost, it was because God was unhappy with you. With those keys, the war chapters become much more revealing as manifestations of God's will. From a modern ethical point of view, the best and the worst of human character comes out under the stress of war, so the war chapters can also be seen as clear lenses through which to view humanity and human nature. Quite enlightening I thought…A demain…

The World's Largest Flea Market..

2008-03-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

It has been a culturally enriching weekend thus far! Last night a few of us girls caught a movie: La fille et les loups (The girl & the wolves). Due to the fact that true theater is so popular, the movie theaters are tiny-as in 4 rows. The premise was that she aimed to be the first female veterinarian but in reality, she had a certain understanding with the wolves. The cinematography was quite enthralling and it ended well, but nothing like the American romances I’m used to. This morning I ventured out into the world’s largest flea market, in the outer region of Paris. Let’s just say, there’s a reason there are parts one shouldn’t carry valuables. Yet, the upscale parts sold gorgeous chandeliers and antique furniture for a pretty penny. I got a kick out of this pair of shoes-it took my idea of “platforms” to a whole new level. I decided today that I shouldn’t let my lack of artistic talent get in the way of me trying my hand at it and learning. After all, I am surrounded by the works of the masters. For my first attempt, I chose a stained glass window and sketched the outline and plan to color it later. A bientôt!

D.D.= Divine Day! :)

2008-02-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

Another Divine Day…My Molière class is so much fun, I could stay much longer than required! We are finishing up Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and it’s absolutely hysterical. Then, Elizabeth and I visited the Musée D’Orsay in which I recognized much more than I’d realized I might! Some of Van Gogh’s best known works like his sunflowers and self portrait are there, along with several Monet, Manet, and Cezanne originals. The picture to the left isn’t famous, per say, but it reminds me of the kind of paintings my mom had around when I was little. I spent the majority of the day there and hope to go back at least once more before I leave. This weekend should be full of fascinating discoveries: Tomorrow I’m going to see what is believed to be the crown of thorns; it’s presented at Notre Dame every Friday during lent. Honestly, I don’t buy it, but I’ve heard if you’re lucky you get to kiss it to pay respect, and I imagine that would be memorable. A bientôt !

School & Sights

2008-02-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

2.27.08...I’m slacking on taking pictures because I don’t feel like a tourist, I feel like a local. But I’m going to regret it if I don’t document things, so today I tried to step it up. This morning I did the walk to the Pantheon and Arènes de Lutèce. The pillars are enormous on the Pantheon (Left). The great men of France are interred there including Voltaire, Hugo, Zola, Rousseau, even Marie Curie. Passing the College of France and various fine arts schools, I still think that the Sorbonne has the most stunning structure and campus (Photo), which just add to its reputation. In the quartier (Right), there were some apartments I’d move into without hesitation. (Left Below). Next I walked to the Arenas of Lutetia which were uncovered in the 1800s but were originally build in 200 AD to hold Human-Vs-Animal Combats for audiences of about 15,000. I could still see the cages underneath where they kept the lions, but now they’re filled with folding chairs. By about 1:00 I decided I hadn’t had quite enough of the city, so I decided it was the perfect time to hike up the Eiffel Tower. 650 stairs or so later, here was the view (Photo). I admit with hesitation though, as iconic as this monument is, I think I preferred the view from the bell tower of Notre Dame de Paris. My neighbors seem to be warming up to me a little bit; the gardeners and regular dog walkers are beginning to give me acknowledging nods and occasionally even small smiles. It means more when it’s so rare. They say in France that it takes a long time to make a true friend but once one does, he or she is a friend for life. A demain…

'Les Soeurs Calmady'-Sir Thomas Lawrence

2008-02-27T00:29:00.000-08:00

Le 27 février 08…Bonjour! Yesterday I made a great discovery! There is so much art to be had here, but I finally found one that I fell in love with! The artist is named Sir Thomas Lawrence and here’s a picture of it. Of course it’s more beautiful in real life. I didn’t love the time period of the other paintings in this museum, but this one just jumped out at me. The littlest girl’s lips are perfect and the other girl’s profile is graceful with flawless white skin. I’m off to have an adventure! A plus…

One Month!

2008-02-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's official, I've been here for a month! I don't know where all the time went!..I'd better stop sleeping-it's a waste of time. :) One piece of exciting news is that I bought a ticket to go to Bordeaux today! I found a decent fare on the TGV and called Lydia's family to take them up on their invite, so next Thursday through Saturday I'll get to see what the other side of the country is like! I cannot wait; wine country is supposed to be gorgeous. Vineyards, small towns, streets too small for cars.. In my French religion class today we saw statistics of how quickly the church is spreading in France. There are now 7 stakes and a temple coming soon. Mmm..I'm still hooked on these paprika nuts I found. I'm still in complete awe that every French woman wears heels all the time...how is it womanly possible! I'd better get studying if I plan to pass Brother Welch's midterm tomorrow!

Alone But Not Lonely...

2008-02-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

What an excellent Sunday…I realized today, that I don’t really understand why, but I feel closer to the Lord here than I think I ever have. Perhaps it’s because I rely on heavenly help a lot more, or because I have to sacrifice more to take part in the gospel, or because I’ve spent time with Saints who give their whole hearts to the gospel, or because I’m taking two great religion classes, or because it takes so much more effort to read the Book of Mormon in French than in English, or…perhaps it’s all of this combined. Either way, I feel blessed beyond explanation to be here on my own, but not be alone.
Last night Frère Gaston gave a neat fireside on perseverance. This week looks like a big one, so I’d better gear up! A toute à l’heure…

Montmartre..Magnifique!

2008-02-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

I rejoined five girls this morning to go to Montmartre. What a neat area-there is so much more than the Sacré Coeur Basilica to be seen, though it was impressive. I cannot get enough of the street musicians and artists! Place du Tertre is a little square I passed through with dozens of Bohemian artists showing their work…I was so tempted to buy a small painting…Perhaps before I leave I’ll indulge that temptation. I stopped in a church called St. Pierre that has been a parish since 1147! The streets were all cobblestone; the bus ride to the Sacré Coeur was up and down bumpy hills…a wild ride to say the least! Then we headed down to see the Moulin Gallette and Moulin Rouge-passing dozens of flower shops and bakeries. I more than wish I could capture every thought and feeling of every moment I spend here!

Odeon Theatre de l'Europe!

2008-02-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

Reality kicked in a little today as I took my first midterm. I feel really great about it though, so that’s a plus. Last night goes down in history as one of the best evenings out ever! I was fortunate enough to go to L’école des femmes, Moliere’s play, at the Odeon Theater of Europe with Daniel Auteuil playing the lead role! And what’s more, I was on the front row!!! It was an unforgettable experience. Daniel Auteuil is the actor that plays the handicapped man in Manon of the Spring and Jean de Florette-he’s fantastic! Tickets were given at random to our group, I don’t know how I got so lucky to get so close! Ahh-to memorize that much in Alexandrine rhyme! I had a hard enough time with my twenty lines last week! I think the play is called The School for Wives in English, if you want to look at it. I left the theater in complete awe…No play will ever compare. The picture was taken just before we walked to the theater. This evening I gave my presentation at institute about the Bible and its canonistic qualities. I feel like it went really well! Though I truly believe sleep is overrated in this country, I cannot seem to get by without it. So until next time…Au Revoir

The Bible as a Canon..Fascinating..

2008-02-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

2.19.08...At institute last week, I volunteered to do the thought on how the Bible is canonistic-Well, Brother Welch told me he had some ideas for my presentation and stayed after class with me for about 45 minutes explaining to me the canonistic version of our Bible. I'm sure you already understand it, but I didn't; so he started from the basics: Canon literally means measuring rod or official decree. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the book of Isaiah is 55 feet long! And there were many many books, so the question began to be, which of these were authoritative and should religion be based off of? Each group of people had a different idea of the answer; Hellenistic Jews had one set, the scribes had another (they didn’t like the psalms or the words of the prophets), the Pharisees had another-theirs was expansive with proverbs, psalms, etc…
When Christianity came along, there began to be three criteria doctrine would be measured against: 1. Did Jesus Christ quote it? (Psalms, for example). 2. Did the gospel writers quote it? And 3. Is there prophesying of Christ’s coming or his teachings? Well, in the 3rd century, Papias, a well-known historian, compiled a work. It was added to and taken from until the 7th century, where the New Testament in the form we know it starts to appear. Though it’s a complicated situation, we as Latter Day Saints are blessed to have the Prophet’s words as our “measuring stick” against all writings.
Brother Welch told me his personal opinion on something, which in my eyes is worth a lot: 60 years after Christ died, there was a work written called the Shepherd of Hermas which spoke of a time every x-amount of days where people would fast and then give the money they would’ve used to the poor. Revelation for fast-offerings wasn’t received for our day until much later. In the book, there is the stipulation that the receiver of the gift must in turn pray for the giver and give gratitude unto God. Brother Welch thinks that should be added into the scriptures :). Anyway, it seems that the principles are revealed again to us as we are ready for them.
My apologies for the length of today’s entry, I am just bursting to share things I’m learning. Tomorrow should be a fantastic day-I will visit the Rodin museum in the morning, start my research project in the Louvre, and attend the play L’école des femmes in the evening with a group. Ecstatic and enthused, goodnight…

Je t'aime plus qu'hier, et moins que demain!

2008-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

2.17.08..Je t'aime plus qu'hier, et moins que demain! That is my preferred phrase of the week: It means, “I love you more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.” Fitting that I learned it on Valentine’s day. Last night’s single adult fireside and ball was fantastique, as well as church today. I joined the ward choir and we’ll be singing a couple hymns next week. The talks given today were so touching; many of the members here are converts and never cease to impress me with their testimonies. The little girl in my family here, Lidwene, loves to tell me everything she knows about America. She brought home a friend for me to meet who had been born in America…But she just stared blankly when I spoke to her in English…hehe. This week is full of plans; I’d better rehearse my lines for my Molière presentation tomorrow! To all who read, have a wonderful Sabbath and week! Much love from here to there…

I could have danced all night...

2008-02-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

2.15.08..Franki Valli said it best, "Oh what a night!" It was a GREAT night! I went to the Versailles ward activity-one of the families tried to make Mexican food! It was interesting..edible at best, haha. It was Valentine's theme and the decor was amazing! Red and white everywhere, pictures taken at the door, music including a lot of techno and American stuff. Everyone danced! Old, young, singles, married. It was the most exciting ward dance I think I've ever attended! There were, of course those agile few who burned up the dance floor! I wish I could dance like that.. I am proud to say though, that I danced two waltzes and one salsa without too much of a disaster happening! There is a huge dance tonight in Paris with all the YSA's from all of Paris and Versailles. It should be great! A demain..

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s…2.14.08…Happy Love Day! I figured everyone needed to feel a little of the amour de Paris, hence the picture by Hotel de Ville. Quite the romantic city today…couples everywhere to be seen. Every flower shop and chocolaterie were bustling with men. In class today, we’ve been bugging Brother Welch for awhile to tell us how he discovered chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, so here’s the story: He was on his mission in Germany, and at the time, Chiasmus had been discovered in the Bible in 1829, but only one page in one British record was published about it, followed by a small article in 1850, so it was quite unheard of, but one day, he passed a Catholic cathedral, and they were having a class on it. Well, it was his P Day, so he and his companion decided to go. The man teaching the class had just published a book with a section on it, so later that day, Brother Welch went and bought the book to learn a little more. He said he found it very interesting but didn't have time to dwell on it. Then, a few nights later, he woke up at four a.m., because he heard a loud voice say, "If it's evidence of the Hebrew style in the Bible, then it’s evidence of the Hebrew style in the Book of Mormon." He was sure it was his companion, but he was asleep. Well, he was officially awake, so thought to himself, "Well, if it's here, then where??" He said he got the idea that he should just keep reading where he had left off that night. Within two minutes he had stumbled upon Mosiah 5:10-12. King Benjamin's speech is full of examples. Upon finding Mosiah 3:18-19, this one made quite an impression. When the scriptures were in scroll form, this one would have been dead center of the scroll: 2315 lines before it, 2315 lines after it. To this day, it is the most frequently cited scripture of the Book of Mormon ever in General Conference. It makes sense that it would be the first thing one would see as the scroll was unrolled. He was so excited, the first thing he did when he got home from his mission, was tell his good friend Hugh Nibley. He agreed then and there to be his mentor for his thesis on it. :) Well, he then went back to the man that wrote the book and showed him. He has now published several articles, books, and given numerous discourses on it. I'm so amazed I have him as my teacher!

Mardi Magnifique..

2008-02-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

2.13.08..Today Brother Welch’s class was held in the Near Eastern Artifacts wing of the Louvre. We began at the Code of Hammurabi tablet. I learned much about it I had never heard before! King Hammurabi was king of Babylon just before Lehi’s time. This was his record listing all the legal rights of the people. There are 282 sections, each beginning with the phrase “If a man.” Each part has a cause and effect statement. Looking at the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” verse in the bible; it is almost certain that this is where it originates from. Yet the phrase “a free man” is not used in the Bible since God does not make class distinctions. All men are his children. One of the codes says, “if a man accuses another of a capitol offense, he has put at risk another man’s life. Therefore, he will be put to death himself if unable to prove his case.” The Code was truly fascinating. Enormous, as shown in the picture. I had a lot of questions as Brother Welch was teaching us about it: Where was it, since it was considered common knowledge to the people? Were all the people actually literate at that time?
Next, a girl Serena and I went on a walk to Luxembourg Garden. It was huge: not even possible to see one side from another. There were many French stereotypes to be seen: groups of old men playing boules, or checkers, couples on nearly every bench, marionette shows, etc…I look forward to going back in the springtime when it is in full bloom! All in all, it was a magnificent day!

Monday Monday..

2008-02-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

2.12.08..Salut tout le monde...Classes today were fantastic. Brother Welch is a never-ending spring of knowledge. He says that when one has a testimony, the black-and-white facts just make the Book of Mormon that much neater. For example, today we discussed the multiple authorship and writing styles in the Book of Mormon. He told us that the word "omnipotent" is used only five times in the entire book. King Benjamin is the only one who uses that term, and it makes sense that he would, because he, being a king, would refer to God as King. Just as Alma, being a judge, refers to God as the great Judge. Nephi refers to Him as "the Son" and "the begotten Son" as he too is a son following his father's model of righteousness. Our homework is to find two artifacts in the Louvre from the near East that shed light on beliefs, symbols, practices etc..in the Book of Mormon then write a detailed analysis of them and memorized two of the verses in French! I am really looking forward to finding my two tomorrow! I'm also reading the last act of L'école des femmes tonight, and next Wednesday we get to see it performed at a big theatre in Paris! Valentine's Day is Thursday and I can't wait to see how the most romantic city in the world celebrates it! Well, school is getting busier, but I'll try to keep updating as often as possible! Bisous et Au Revoir...Mademoiselle Haleigh

Playing Hooky in the Latin Quarter..

2008-02-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today I met up with two other girls to buzz around the Latin Quarter. It got its name from the earliest students at the Sorbonne who spoke Latin, not French. But who could really study with so many tempting distractions? First, I stopped by the Saint-Michel fountain, the onto the Theatre de la Huchette: it started out as an experimental theater, but after showing La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano) it was a bigger hit than anyone could've imagined..even bigger than Les Miserables! So big, that it's still running, fifty years later. I took a picture (left) in front of the door.
Next, I went through the narrowest street in Paris (Rue du Chat-qui-Peche) to find the Church of Saint Severin and onto the famous cafe Procope, the oldest cafe in the city. It was built in 1686, and was known for revolutionaries and actors. I then passed the ecole des beaux-arts, the most prestigious fine arts school in France. It sits fairly close to L'academie française-where the fine French linguists do their careful policing of the French language. Finishing my walk, I ended up on the Pont Neuf, and on Saturdays seems to be the 'hangout' for starving artists and musicians.
To finish off this great day, I climbed the tower of Notre Dame. A breathtaking view and all for free with my international student card! Ha-ha, I'm all for that..I hope to do it many times; the view is as good as anyone could ask for! I understand completely why Quasimodo stayed up there as often as he did. On my way back, I stumbled into a park with the oldest tree in Paris! It was planted in 1605! Ciao for now!..

Phantom of the Opera...

2008-02-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

2.8.08..Lalala..Yes, I've been singing the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack all day. I visited the Opera House today, which is exquisite beyond reason! The grand staircases and chandeliers are so elegant. The theater is completely covered in red velvet wherever there is fabric and all the wood is dark. Nowadays, they hold mostly ballets, but many many famous operas and musicals have taken place on that stage. In the guide I read as I was exploring, it said there is even a little lake underneath the Opera House, just like there is in the movie! Unfortunately, that part wasn't open to just the average zoobie student. I guess I'll have to wait until I make my millions before I get access to it.

Before coming home, I passed the square dedicated to Jeanne d'arc (Joan of Arc). There is a right winged political party who uses her as their icon, and most of their protests take place in this square. I took a detour past the Ritz Hotel where Princess Diana had left shortly before her death. The sun shone the whole day; I was lucky for the very pleasant weather!

This morning, I spent the morning in a little town called Saint Germain en Laye. It is definitely a place I could settle down for life in. There is an enormous park that overlooks most of Paris, beautiful churches standing on the corners, and dozens of little shops, all unique in styles. It is a town I hope to revisit several times during my stay here!

Belgique..Brugges..Binche..Bruxelles..By Golly!

2008-02-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

2.6.08..Bonjour! I'm back from Belgium to real French life again..I was quite surprised by how diverse it was. I actually heard and saw more Flemish speakers than French. Apparently the influence shifts between the two depending on the royalty. Belgium is the center of the European Union because it was the first ground in Europe where men of different homelands fought together. Well, for Mardi Gras I spent the afternoon in Binches, a city famous for its celebrations! And do they ever know how to party! There are men dressed up called "Gilles" who aren't allowed to go anywhere without a drummer leading them. As soon as I stepped onto the street, one old gille grabbed my face and kissed both cheeks welcoming me to Mardi Gras and Binche! haha, I was shocked, and the other girls were dying that they didn't have their cameras out! The tradition is that the different traditional characters promenade through the street and everyone throws oranges! There were thousands and thousands of oranges being thrown absolutely everywhere! All the streets smelled citrus-y after just a couple of hours.
The next day we went down to Ghent to see the altarpiece in the cathedral there. First I looked at a replica so I could get up close and find all the details I was to look for; then I went to see the original. Spectacular doesn't even begin to describe it. It was so full of symbolism, I’m sure one could spend days just finding parallels and connections. Personally, I found the panels depicting the annunciation of Mary by the angel Gabriel the neatest. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take a picture.
My favorite detour of all though, was the last place I stopped before returning home: Chantilly. It was first home to the royal Montmorency family in the 1400’s. Yet over the years became known for events including: Molière’s plays being performed and Louis XIV staying for a visit. My choice work of art inside was a Roman mosaic from 100 A.D. which depicts Zeus in the myth when he turns himself into a bull in order to rescue the beautiful Europa. He then leaves her on an island and after time this becomes the land we know as Europe.

Souviens-toi..

2008-02-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

2.3.2008...Bonjour! What a wonderful sabbath it has been! I attended my ward, the Versailles ward, for the first time. It is full of fidel and fantastic members. I am really thrilled to be a part of it. Most things are the same, namely the spirit felt. We sung a hymn today that I just love Souviens-Toi. It's not in the English book but really should be. Elder Caussée from one of the 70's quorums spoke before testimonies..he'd had a few neat personal experiences with President Hinckley. I hope everyone was able to see the recording yesterday of his services. Yesterday, I did another walk through Paris, this time stopping at Notre Dame, the Crypts underneath Paris' streets, and the Latin Quarter. The clouds were moving especially quickly as I looked at Notre Dame from below..quite a phenomenal view. Then, I stopped in a place called Stalingrad: During Louis IX's reign I believe, he was pressured into putting up a wall all around Paris and four round tax stop-gates on each corner so no one could escape without paying their dues..Only one of the four still remains and the wall is completely gone The last picture, is while I was walking to the station this morning. The sunrise was intensely beautiful..

Une semaine..one week

2008-02-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Bonsoir..Today it rained cats and dogs! I'm not even going to try translating that one with my family here. :D But by noon, I decided I wasn't going to let it stop me. I took another visit to Saint Sulpice..the inside was so ornate. Though before the DaVinci Code it wasn't a tourist destination, it ought to be, gives Notre Dame a run for its money in my eyes. Down the road, I came to Abbaye Saint-Germain. In the 6th century, King Childebert I founded they abbey in the fields just outside of Paris (hence, the près-or fields-in the name Saint-Germain-des-Près). It was simply staggering to stand on the corner of the Rue de Rennes and look at the 1970's Montparnasse Office Tower then turn 180 degrees, and see the walls of a building 1,000 years older! I also came across my first mime today, which was rather enjoyable. He was very convincing as a music box! Voila my petite francaise Lidwene and I..she should have been doing her homework, but she thinks taking pictures and learning english words with an American is more fun than her english workbook :) haha, until tomorrow...

Rainy day..

2008-01-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

Maybe it was the rain that put a damper on today..it was full of catastrophes. I started off on literally the 'wrong foot' after I fell down half a flight of the institute's stairs..ouch. Then I had all sorts of money trouble with the exchangers and my debit card..uh.."C'est la vie"-no better cliché. But, I was able to attend institute tonight, which was great! There are a lot of diverse young adults here. Well, i'll let pictures speak today: First, I took a picture of my home this morning. This doesn't do it justice, i'll have to capture the inside..it's gorgeous. Below, Hotel de Ville at night! Then the last one, was just at a dress shop I passed on my walk. Again, more elegant in real life, but a great design! More Euros than a car would cost though..yikes..I think I'd take the smartcar. Well, time to hit the hay, which i'm sure cannot be translated into French, so Bon Nuit & Au Revoir...hay

Unlimited Louvre Access..

2008-01-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

1.30.08. Bonjour. Today we got our Student Art Louvre Cards which give us unlimited access to the Louvre until September! Wow. So, I spent a couple hours today in complete awe. Some of the paintings are enormous..absolutely amazing. To be this close to artifacts dating back so far..I couldn't help but feel like I was reaching back into time..Hence, the photo on the right. I know it's cliché, but the Venus de Milo is one breathtaking statue. (Left) The Mona Lisa on the other hand, is nothing to write home to mom about. I will never realize its comparable greatness after viewing so many other praise deserving works. I cannot wait to spend many many more hours in there. I read somewhere that if one spent 30 seconds on each work in the museum, with no breaks, it would take over nine months to see the whole thing. I believe that. Well, I'm at the point of crash and burn, so bon nuit...hay

Oui Madame,

2008-01-29T13:43:00.001-08:00

Bonjour! This picture is the view as I step out of the Metro station! Not bad huh? It's L'Hotel de Ville (In short, where the Mayor of Paris works now). What a day!- if every day is as eventful as these past four have, I'm going to be like one of the missionaries who never stops telling mission stories. Today was terrific; my roommate Eurah had to stay home today, so I was on my own..which was adventurous! I took the metro to Chatelet and walked the rest of the way to school. My Moliere class was great! We got roles today and acted out parts of the first play we're studying: Le Farce du Cuvier. It's hysterical. Then I had Brother Welch's religion class, which was so great! He is so smart, he can't stay on one topic because he knows so much, his tangents go everywhere! After that, some girls and I went over to the institute and visited with the older sister missionaries because they invited us over for cake. They're so sweet! Then, all the girls wanted to go shopping, but they wanted to hit American stores like H&M and Guess, and there is NO way i'm going there when I can go to La Gallerie Lafayette etc.. So, I went to BHV (Bazaar Hotel de Ville) and bought one classy, on sale, outfit :D On my walk home from the Metro, A neighbor asked if I would like a ride..She was so sweet, I agreed, and we got talking, and she asked if she could hire me to give her daughter a few English lessons! What's better, is she is a Professor of literature at Sorbonne and agreed to show me around the department! Oh La La La! A toute à l'heure..Madamoiselle Haleigh

I'm living my dream life...

2008-01-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

Stop. Imagine a city that’s small enough, it’s still called a village. You walk fifty meters from the front door and you are standing on the bank of the Seine, probably right in the middle of one of Monet, Matisse, or others’ paintings. You live in an unbelievable three story, 18th century, home. The family, the neighbors, the boardwalk, the castle, the two chapels, the atmosphere, all more charming than you could have ever imagined. And this is the part where I try to stop imagining and realize that this is me! Croissy Sur Seine has a population of 9000 people, and is enchanting comme rien que je n’ai jamais vu. (unlike anything i’ve ever seen). Ah ! I’ll try and step out of my dream for a second and describe. The Juliennes are as enchanting as they could be! I already adore them. Very, very French..Proper..but so kind. Monsieur and Madame Julienne grew up near here, and Audree, Lourenne, Ludvine, Tristan, and Tiphine are their children. Oh, the picture was taken before my Religion class-it's in the courtyard of the George Popidou Modern Art Museum. A Plus..

Finally Here! Ici Finalement!

2008-01-27T13:05:00.001-08:00

Finally Finally Here! Bonjour! The flight over was unreal - A quick overview: We were nearly over Ottowa and our plane's radar broke! The pilot said weather conditions were good enough to get us to Chicago airport..the setback? The plane was loaded with too much fuel to land. So, in order to lighten the plane we had to fly around burning fuel for an extra hour. Well, after quite a bit of hoopla, we got to Paris..seeing as we were over 6 hours later than expected, we missed the shuttle I had reserved, so..I took a deep breath, rehearsed some lines, and went to the nicest looking Parisienne I could see. I'm not sure if it was my accent or my worried face, but she giggled and offered to call and get me another shuttle. Phew! All who warned me that Parisians speak fast were dead right..but, all who told me that it becomes easier quickly, were also dead right :). Today was Church - it was magnifique! We doubled the size of the ward, but the Saints here in Saint Mendé (area of the city, like Edgemont=Provo) are so strong. It is evident that they sacrifice a lot to live the gospel. One woman moved here 5 weeks ago because her husband was promoted to a great job, and she's only ever taken high school French, yet beleive it or not, just last week they called her to the Relief Society, she spoke in Sacrament Meeting, and sings in the ward choir. These members dive into the work with all their effort. They've already recruited us for enrichment service projects next Saturday! :D As touristy as this sounds, I went to the Champs de Mars tonight to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle, and it is NOT an exaggerated phenomenon..it's breathtaking. There are billions of blinking lights that shimmer for a few minutes each dusk. I hope this wasn't too boring-Until next time, Au Revoir!

16 hours!...

2008-01-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

Oh la la! Last night, I was blown away (understatement) when I opened the door to my apartment and the whole French house and more were there to wish me bon voyage! Everyone yelled and hugged and it was beautifully decorated! From the 'we'll miss you' cake, streamers, balloons, Chinese lanterns, ah! It was amazing! I am so blessed to have such amazing friends..wow..wow..

School's Out & 33 Days Left!

2007-12-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

12.22.2007 Finals are finally through and not too much longer! I met the girl I'll room with, Eurah, and know that we will live up our time in France to the max! She is from Toronto. Sunday we had our last meeting with the Welch's and as we left, they said, "See you in Paris!" Then it hit...I'm ReAlLy gOinG! I'm vowing to try to be the most Parisian I possibly can: brunette, well mannered, French speaking, and classy!

50 Days & Counting...

2007-12-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

12/6/2007 Bonjour! I am starting this blog to document my time spent in France this winter. Just a couple more months and 'bon voyage'! In my orientation class each Thursday we have been studying the culture, the places we'll visit, and the American 'faux-pas' that give us a bad image. I, Haleigh Heaps, am determined to be convincingly Parisian.