La Montagne Russe! AH!

Up and down. Up and down. This has been my life for the past several days! One minute I’m excited and love France. The next minute I’m down and want to run home. In French the word for this is montagne russe. In English the word is rollercoaster.

Today I woke up a bit later than usual because it is Saturday. When I woke up and realized that I had missed breakfast and that the family was already about to eat lunch, I became a bit depressed. I told mama Grousier the night before that I wouldn’t be eating lunch on Saturdays, so she of course wasn’t planning on me eating. I actually had plans to eat with my friends in town, so this wasn’t a problem. The issue arose when I discovered that I felt more like I was living in a bed and breakfast than with my family in the USA. I guess I decided that when coming to France that living with a family meant that I would do everything the family does. This isn’t the case and it’s not the family’s fault. It’s actually the fault of the exchange between Baylor and Caen. Every month I have to give my family so much money to live here. As I spoke with my other American friends about this situation, we decided that this has to be the worst set-up ever! It is so awkward having to talk about how much you owe someone one minute and the next minute talk about your personal lives! Needless to say, it has made me a bit upset just thinking about it.

I have also been on a few downs every time I go out and hear French but can’t understand it. When I speak with the Grousiers or with my friends in French I have no problems. However, when I try to listen to other’s conversations (not to be nosey), I can’t understand them because they speak too quickly! At times I’ve felt like my French has gotten worse! This makes me sad! Tonight after dinner, Yves came and sat at the table to have a cup of tea. Mama Grousier offered me some tea as well, so I took the opportunity to speak with someone my own age. Yves assured me that my French was very good and that I can manage very well. He also said something that tickled me pink. He wants to study abroad at Baylor when he goes to college! SIC’EM BEARS! Maybe I should work for admissions! Anyway, Yves reminds me a lot of my friends in the resident halls when I was a Community Leader for freshmen these past three semesters. For some reason I have a passion for interacting with younger college-aged students. They seem to me to be in the best situation in life! They are starting on a journey through discovering who and what they want to be for the rest of their lives; much like me at this very moment! For me, interacting with Yves and speaking French with someone that is so interested in life is an up on this rollercoaster.

Today as I journeyed through town and saw some amazing sites, I didn’t enjoy them because I was in the middle of a down spot on this rollercoaster. But now that I have had time to think about what is going on, and have had the opportunity to have a full conversation with a Frenchman my own age, I realize that walking through France with Americans while speaking English is not my passion. In the USA I am able to speak English all of the time; therefore, please continue to pray that I will meet some amazing French people that will take me in and allow me to explore the passion God has given me for this nation.