GLORIEUX!

GLORIOUS! Today was absolutely glorious! I woke up and had breakfast (baguette with Nutella™ like always) and went to my very boring writing class. Once that was over I had a grammar class that turned out to be very interesting. I don’t usually like grammar, but today I learned a whole lot! Everywhere I went the walking indicator was always green for me to cross the street, the trams were always present at the tram stops, and I was never late to anything!

After class I had lunch with my friend Marie again as well as another American, my two Chinese friends Min and Yi Win, and a Norwegian girl that I met the first week of school. Today we spoke English because Min is preparing to take the GMAT (test for business schools) and has to be able to pass the English section of the test; therefore, she wanted to practice. After lunch I went to the gym and then for coffee at my favorite coffee shop in Caen. It’s called Le 101 Café. There people there are very nice and already know what I order every time I come in the door! C’est génial! I had coffee with Rachel, Linden, Jonathan, and (wait for it…) two French girls! It was great! I spoke French the entire time and learned SO much! I finally have French friends! But wait! It gets better!

After coffee, I went home and had a quick dinner with the family before I went to the Baptist church. We all had to eat quickly because I had to be somewhere and Benedict had a cello audition. She was very nervous! When Hélène took her, Yves-Marie and I wished her good luck as we waved off of the side of the balcony. After that Yves-Marie explained to me the conversions between miles and kilometers.

Once I finally left the house for church, I began to become pessimistic as I started thinking about how I would never find it and that I would just wonder around Caen all night alone. This was not the case. As soon as I got on the tram and made my way to my stop, I walked down the street to the exact street where the church is located, and found the church right away. When I walked in the door, there was a small group on the other side of the auditorium waiting to start. I thought I was late, but we didn’t end up starting until thirty minutes after 20h00 (8pm). By the time we were in full swing, there were more or less than ten to fifteen students. It was amazing to see that many French Christians in one place! We sang songs (IN FRENCH) and prayed (IN FRENCH) and studied the Bible (IN FRENCH)! It was a dream come true! At church in the United States, I always like to translate songs into French as I sing them. Here they were already translated and everyone was singing the same words as I was! The group was very welcoming and made me feel right at home. Some of them thought it was funny that I am from Texas as they asked me if I brought my cowboy hat (not quite;)).

After the small group, we all went down stairs for some fellowship and coffee. It was very nice as many people were very interested in speaking with me (IN FRENCH). After that, I was offered a ride home from one of the ladies that works with the group. She took me, two Jamaicans, and an English girl in her English car (steering wheel on the right) into Centre Ville where we all decided to go to a bar where my other American friends from Baylor were meeting. When I got to the Bar, Rachel and Linden were very happy to hear that I had a wonderful time and decided that they too would like to go to the same church this Sunday. They joined me and my new friends as we had a two hour discussion (IN FRENCH). There was only one French person at the table, but we spoke French anyway; with the exception of Rachel as she spilled her guts to the Jamaicans who were very obliged to speaking English. After that, the French lady, whose name is Megril, took Linden and I home. She was very pleased to have met us and is looking forward to seeing us again this Sunday at 9h00 for service and coffee afterwards! PRAISE THE LORD!


When I was in Paris I said that it felt like I was supposed to be here in France. For the first couple of weeks here in Caen I didn’t fully understand why, but now I am starting to see a light at the end of a dark tunnel!