Cole en France

elle est où ma mère? (rêve)

2011-09-17T18:11:00.005+02:00

Je reçois un coup de fil. C’est ma mère. Elle vient d’arriver à la station de métro en bas. Elle mangeait dans la rame et quand elle a avalé la nourriture s’est coincée dans son œsophage. Ça m’arrive souvent donc je lui dis d’attendre et de ne pas bouger avant que j’arrive pour l’aider. Je veux lui dire qu’il faut qu’elle vomisse au lieu de boire de l’eau. Si elle boit de l’eau, la nourriture ne va pas descendre et elle s’étouffera sur l’eau. J’ai peur ! Je veux juste qu’elle m’attende !

Je suis à table avec Magali dans un café je crois. On est à l’extérieur. Je dois appeler ma mère ! Elle a besoin de moi ! Je ne connais pas le numéro ! Elle est dans le métro, donc je vais appeler le métro. Je compose le mot métro dans mon téléphone. Ça marche !

-Allo maman ?

-Oui Cole ?

-Allo maman ? Maman ? Allo ?

Elle est où ma mère ? Je cherche partout ! Je n’aime pas cette université ! Elle est froide ! Il y a des toilettes pour les mecs et les filles ensemble ! La France est bizarre ! Les gens qui sont avec moi m’aident à trouver ma mère, mais je n’ai pas l’impression qu’ils sont pressés comme moi ! Ils connaissent les toilettes ensemble. Ils sont habitués à ça. Je cherche dans les toilettes. Le carrelage et bleu ciel. Il n’y a qu’une cuvette de toilette et un lavabo. Il n’y a pas de fenêtre. La lumière est très sombre. Elle est où ma mère ? Il faut que je l’aide ! J’ouvre la porte des toilettes. Il y a un couloir qui est long avec des fenêtres sur les deux murs. C’est l’après-midi. Je vois les gens qui parlent ensemble au lieu de m’aider à trouver ma mère. Ils ne savent pas que ma mère pourrait mourir ! En fait, ça fait tellement longtemps que je la cherche, je me demande si elle est toujours en vie !

Je suis dans un restaurant à Amarillo au Texas (ma ville de naissance). C’est Calico County, un de mes restaurants préféré d’Amarillo. Je pars ! Ma mère a besoin de moi !

Je suis dans une voiture avec un groupe de l’église qui m’amène à la maison de mes parents. Je suis assis derrière avec Ben. Tout le monde est calme, mais il faut se dépêcher parce que je dois aider ma mère ! Je ne sais pas s’ils savent, mais elle pourrait mourir ! Peut-être ils peuvent me déposer en premier parce que c’est urgent ! Je veux pleurer !

Je me réveille.

Une Voiture Bélier

2009-10-17T01:13:00.002+02:00

SO WEDNEDAY rolled around the other day! Oh Wednesday! How I loathed thee! I woke up at Laruiane’s house, made some coffee, and then went to Nanterre to sign the papers for my new second job! By the way, I got a second job as an Education Assistant (i.e. hall monitor) at Magali’s school. The job will give me 18 extra hours a week and will fill my schedule so that I work from Monday all the way through Friday.

Anyway, back to Wednesday! OH Wednesday! How I despised thee! After leaving Nanterre, I went to my future neighborhood to deal with the people at my current (unfortunately) bank. I had gone to the bank the day before (Tuesday) upon request that I arrive to sign the insurance papers for my housing insurance. Little did I know that they were the same papers I had signed last Saturday! In other words, I was called in for nothing! Oh well, I went ahead and took advantage of Tuesday by making sure that my account had been transferred (it hadn’t!) and by asking them if I could make a withdraw to pay my rent without fees even though the account hadn’t been transferred. I was told to go ahead, but when arriving at the teller, I saw that it had been closed early (FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER!). This meant that I needed to return for WEDNESDAY’s incidents!

When I got to the bank on Wednesday to make the withdraw, the teller told me that I would need to take out a cashier’s check instead. He spoke with the woman in charge of my account (Mme Medjaouri) and she needed me to come back in an hour. Whatever! I obliged! An hour later I returned and sat down at Mme Medjaouri’s desk to take out a cashier’s check. She then noticed in my notebook that I had the bank account information of my landlord and recommended that we do a direct transfer instead. Unfortunately my account had still not been transferred from Caen, so Caen had to do the transfer and send a fax to confirm. Mme Medjaouri told me that she would make sure that this happened within the day and that she would call me when the fax arrived. I then left the bank again and wondered around Paris for three hours before deciding that she wasn’t going to call and that I had better return to make her do her job. When I arrived, sure enough, she had not contacted Caen to make sure that things were being expedited. A bit frustrated for some reason or another, Mme Medjaouri made the call to Caen and griped them out. She then hung up and gave me attitude. I thus informed her that I was sorry to bother her, but that I was getting a bit cold waiting on her outside. To that she responded, “You should have gone home!” to which I responded, “I am currently living with someone who lives very far from here and was afraid that if I go back, you would call me and I would simply have to turn back around. She then felt very bad and politely asked me to wait in the lobby while Caen sent the fax.

As I sat in the lobby, all I could think about was how much I didn’t want to be in the lobby and how much I really just wanted to go home to the United States. I was SICK AND TIRED of this horribly run administration! How on earth do they operate on a daily basis without…

CRASH!

What was that? Did someone drop something?

screaming…yelling…panicking…

“CLOSE THE BANK!” one woman yells.

Another woman then instructs me to get up and go up stairs immediately. I’m a bit confused, but soon understand as I see the street just outside windows is filled with smoke. When I arrive upstairs, I find myself hiding on the floor next to Mme Medjaouri. Another woman is crying and explaining that she saw the car just before it crashed into the bank. We are then instructed to go to the basement. We are then instructed to go into a small court yard. We are then informed by one of the bank directors that if we (clients) suffer from any post traumatic stress, the bank will be more than willing to pay for our treatment. HOW ABOUT YOU JUST GIVE ME A FAX AND MY DAMNED DEBIT CARD!

It seems that just as I was waiting for the bank to get their butts in gear, four individuals pushed a car into the ATM machines in order to break them open and steal the money. Realizing that they weren’t successful, they tried to break into the teller’s room and take the cash behind the counter. They were again not successful and all four escaped on scooters. HAPPY WEDNESDAY COLE!

Nobody was hurt in this incident, but I did become closer friends with the people at the bank as I went back today (Friday) to discover that my account was finally transferred! I still don’t have a debit card, but maybe a semi will try to break into the ATM machines soon and get the idiots at LCL to move even quicker! I won’t hold my breath!

Follow the link to see a video of the car on fire outside of the bank: http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/encore-une-banque-braquee-a-la-voiture-belier-a-paris-15-10-2009-674993.php

C'est une Vidéo!

2009-10-12T01:52:00.002+02:00

This is a video blog! Click on the two videos to see what has been going on over the past week! You might notice a red spot on my head. DON'T WORRY! I just shaved my unibrow!

Il Faut Qu'on Fasse des Efforts!

2009-10-02T02:00:00.005+02:00

By clicking on the title of this post, you will be taken to a blog on which is posted a video in which I am featured!

I’m going to warn you that I am LE TIRED, so if this blog at certain points makes no sense, please post your complaints in the comment box below. Your comment will be treated with strenuous care and great attention!

TODAY! Today was the day for me to start the big ole’ job in Evry, France! Every year, for as long as I have been alive, I have had a new adventure upon which to embark. Be it my first day of preschool, promotion Sunday at church, or simply the transition from my sophomore year at Baylor to my junior year at Baylor, each new adventure has had one common ingredient: the diarrhea! If you will walk with me a bit; I’m in the process of descending into the Métro at 7h00 when all of the sudden, WHAT!?!? This can’t be happening! I’m truly going to have to go home and miss my first day of work because of a sleepless night, too much anticipation, and (of course!) too much Nutella™! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING TO ME? Thank goodness for me, but sad for those of you who find pleasure in reading about the painful suffering of others, today was NOT a runny day! Oops! I meant to say RAINY day! That’s it! Today was NOT a rainy day!

Contrary to the past, as I left Laruiane’s apartment this morning, I felt nothing. No fear, no anticipation, no reason for descending the train at Gare du Nord in order to pay 1€ to use the “clean” potty taunted me as I opened the gate of the apartment complex and looked for the shadow of the Eiffel Tower that had been unlit for over six hours. I tried to make myself realize that I was about to start the first day of the rest of my life, but the only thought that came to me was, “How am I going to manage to purchase a baguette this morning and still make it to Evry on time?” The question of being on time was certainly on the mind, but not a concern. I knew that if I ran into any problems in the Métro or couldn’t find the location of our meeting, I would manage and the French wouldn’t be surprised by my late arrival (considering the fact that even if late, I run the risk of being at least an hour early). I did have a little trouble finding the exact train because I had never made the trip to Evry from Laruiane’s apartment, but I did arrive with time to spare (9h05, 5 minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start, and still had to wait to begin for at least 30 minutes). As I sat and listened to the other assistants talk amongst themselves, I made began to make snide remarks under my breath about the fact that they were all speaking English in various international accents. I even texted Rachel to ask her to kill me.

If you read my blog while I lived in Caen, you remember that it itched me som’in ferce (bothered me) when the Anglophones insisted on speaking English and not taking advantage of the fact that they lived in France. Needless to say, this morning brought back many memories of my days in Cow Town, France (Caen). Nonetheless, I tried to seem as if I were a loner so that nobody would speak to me. Unfortunately/fortunately, the sweetest American girl from Rhode Island took her place to my left (the place to my right was occupied by my fancy new Baylor satchel). She didn’t say much except for a few French words here there. I thought that I might fool her into thinking that I was a language assistant from another country who didn’t know how to speak English by hiding everything with me that might suggest that I am American. Obviously, this didn’t work. She eventually discovered the truth and my cover was blown; thus began the English! And oh how magnificently and beautifully did it flow from the lips of my mouth! It was like Cactus juice in the Mojave Desert.

Disappointed in myself for having spoken English when I should have insisted that one practice French, I soon was dealt a blow!

As I spoke with this kind hearted American who calls herself Martha, I was quickly taken back to my first three weeks in Caen. If you have been a long time follower of cole-en-france, you know that the beginning was far from easy and rarely conducted in French! Martha, bless her little heart, spoke to me in French, discovered I was American, held a conversation with me in English, but quickly reverted back to French! I felt like a yoyo being thrown to the ground, only to be returned to the right hand. This young lady had been in France once before in a similar program as I, but unfortunately was not as successful with her friends in convincing them that French should be spoken as much as possible. Needless to say, she was a bit disconcerted and felt the need to return to France for a second round. I explained to her that I had been in the same situation, but discovered that in order to learn, you must make as many efforts as possible until successful. I didn’t tell her that I managed to piss off several people in the mean time, but simply tried to encourage her to expect the best from herself.

After having signed several documents and listening to some “very interesting” people give us some “very interesting details”, we were released for lunch. Naturally, I ate with Martha and spoke French all through lunch. She explained to me how she felt weird because she is all alone in France and still looking for an apartment and friends at the same time. I wanted to hug her and let her know that she would overcome and CONQUER la France, but I figured that might be awkward after only having met someone three hours before. She even mentioned that she had assisted one of these sappy reunions that the other assistants had planned in order that we might all come in contact and, OH MY GOD! SHARE OUR AMAZING WONDERFUL LIVES IN PARIS TOGETHER! As soon as she said that, I almost cried! Let me explain to you why:

First of all, all summer I had ignored every email arriving from any other English assistant. I knew that once I began relationships with these people that they would never go away. They would be to me the English speaking leaches thriving off of my freshly bathed skin. Therefore, I leaned heavily upon my contacts in France and landed on my feet with Francophones lined up to kiss my cheeks (face cheeks). Martha; however, has no such contacts in France and had to stoop so low as to going out with the other assistants! Ok, let’s stop here for a moment. Please note that I am fully aware of the amount of snobbery flowing from this post thus far! Also note that I am fully convicted of this snobbery! Shall we continue? I wanted to cry because all at once, I realized that I was looking at myself (only in the form of a girl from Rhode Island). There she was trying to make the necessary effort and taking anything she could just as I did one year ago. (flashback) Click on the following link: Il Faut Faire un Effort!

After enjoying lunch with Martha, we met back up with the other assistants to walk to a nearby school to see how things are run. WHAT A DINGER! It just so happens that we went to the school in which I will be teaching where the woman had no clue what to do with me when I visited her a month ago. Upon entering, the head of the school recognized me and immediately asked me to leave my information with her. She had tried to obtain it from the lady in charge of my file, but apparently they couldn’t decipher my handwriting well enough to write me an email to the correct address. Oh well!

During the afternoon session, a lady named Nathalie gave us a mock lesson in Russian just to show us how our students might feel when we begin to teach them English. It was very interesting and informative! I can see Nathalie’s passion for the students and hope to obtain the same level of consideration when teaching my students! I noticed that while introducing ourselves earlier in the morning, when asked why we wanted to become assistants, not one of us mentioned the children. It was all about our needs and how we could improve our lives with this experience. When this thought came to mind, I immediately realized that making an effort is so much more than watching out for you!

After our afternoon session, I rejoined the lady in charge of my school (I still can’t remember her name) and gave her my information. I also spoke with a girl from Canada who is distraught over the fact that she is all alone in this country and still has no place to live. She is currently living in a youth hostel, as is Martha’s situation as well. I tried to encourage this young Canadian (whose name I never knew) that although things are difficult in France, it is necessary to make an effort in order to succeed. There is little help from our employers concerning our daily lives; therefore, knowing how to make the necessary first steps is crucial! I have been bless with people like Magali, Lauriane, Abel, Charlotte, Stéphane, Rachel, etc…, but this is most certainly not the case for these other assistants. I have a broken heart for them, but don’t know what I can truly do for them other than be encouraging. I could offer to be best friends with them, but at the end of the day, I would not be able to give them the cultural experience that they need and disserve while living in France. They have friends with whom they speak English in their home countries, but I know from personal experience that the best thing for them would be to submerge themselves in the French culture and meet as many French people as possible! This isn’t an easy task, but as is with all necessary tasks, IL FAUT FAIRE UN EFFORT! (YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT!)

J'Aime Les Œufs Sur Le Plat!

2009-09-28T03:32:00.004+02:00

And we’re back!

I do apologize for the recent interruption! The past few days have been full of adventures! Ok, so maybe spending all day Friday working on my budget isn’t much of adventure, but hey, you should see what I created! I have an excel spreadsheet to kill, complete with charts and all the necessary bells and whistles! I am SO cool! And when I get bored with that, I just turn the television on and watch the TF1 (French Television channel 1) special about the 60 year old naturist who lives in a minivan on the beach! FIND THE BROCHURES OF THAT HOT VACATION SPOT AND SIGN ME UP! (PUKE)

[interruption] I’m not kidding you, I just saw on TV the fattest French person I’ve ever seen! And no sir, she was NOT wearing clothing! I don’t know who makes the laws in the country, but he or she needs to quit striking and make some new rules concerning what can and cannot be seen on TF1!

This week I did have the opportunity to eat with Laruiane and Charlotte at Lauriane’s house. I was under the impression that Lauriane’s cousin would be there; however, I was the only one invited. The two girls made dinner just for me! How nice! We had the traditional long 5 course French meal and shared hours of conversation! Before leaving, we made plans to meet up for brunch on Sunday.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to meet up with another Baylor student who just arrived in Paris to do the same work as me. His name is Aaron Reynolds and he is stressfully in the process of searching for an apartment. He reserved a hotel room for 10 days while he waits to find something, but as of late, his hopes have been pretty low. I invited him over for dinner and later on we met up with Abel (one of my international roommates at Baylor this last year in the Global Community) and Stéphane (another international student who was at Baylor this last semester). Abel and Stéphane wanted to go out, but Aaron was too tired after only having arrived the day before; therefore, he went back to his hotel while I enjoyed the company of Abel and Stéphane. I also invited my current roommate Hara to go with us because I knew that she had been longing to spend some time with people outside of the apartment.

On our way to find a place to eat, we were in the Métro when a hoodlum decided to spit by the door. Some girl saw him and gave him a dirty look. He was drunk, so as he exited the Métro, he also spat on her. She held her ground by simply yelling, “FILS D’UNE PUTE! FILS D’UNE PUTE!” I won’t translate that for you. We ate at a fastfood restaurant called Quick™ and then went to an Enlish pub. It was the 250 birthday of Guinness ™ (beer), so the bar passed around Guinness™ shot glasses filled with Guinness™. Hara recommended that we keep the shot glasses, so I helped her wrap them up and put them in her purse. We later on did shots of coffee at the apartment! After the pub we went to the Discotheque where Rachel and I had gone with Abel and some other students the first night that we arrived in Paris. Our friend Charles had given me several free passes, so it was FREE99! Stéphane was too tired to join us, so it was just Abel, Hara, and I. We danced until dancing was no longer an option because the club had gotten so stinking hot! At that point Hara and I separated with Abel and went back to the apartment.

On Saturday I woke up to a message from Aaron informing me that he was SO VERY stressed with having to find an apartment. I invited him to meet me for coffee and then we walked to Les Bois de Vincennes (a big park down the road). After walking around for a while, we decided to return back to my place, but got lost. I kept wanting to go in the opposite direction of my apartment for some reason, but luckily Aaron has a better since of European direction that I. It might have something to do with the fact that both of his parents are English. WHO KNOWS! When we finally got back to my place we had dinner and then I took him to the Champs Elysées so that he could see L’Arc de Triomphe. We decided that we wanted to go to Hillsong Paris for church in the morning, so we agreed to look at the time and address of the church on the internet when I got back to my apartment and he got back to his hotel then call each other on Skype™ to plan on a meeting place.

This morning I went to meet Aaron at the Métro Station Olypiades, but he had accidentally gone to Odéon. I called him and we straightened things out. We were a bit late to church, but honestly, not to disappointed. When we got there it was exactly as I had expected. Everyone spoke English and a translator was needed throughout the entire service for those three French people that were there. If you don’t already know this, Hillsong is a church based out of Australia but who has a church in London that operates a branch in Paris. That connection may not completely make sense, so let me put it this way: English – English – English – Frenglish. What’s worse than anything was the fact that the girl that spoke this morning was from Texas. I know that all you cowboys reading this now are hootin’ and hollerin’, but before you get too excited, know that she was a Tech graduate and tried to speak French with a HORRIBLE accent. She kept saying, “JUH TAM! JUH TAM!”, which I think is her version of the French phrase, “Je t’aime!” meaning I love you. At one point she tried to speak completely in French and the translator was translating her “sentences” into English. It was alright until she tried to explain that she went with her family to the top of the Tooer Ighfell (Eiffel Tower). What she was saying was so incomprehensible that the translator (unknowingly) translated her broken French into real French rather than into English. It was hysterical! She then introduced her mom and some other friends that were with her and had them stand up. I kid you not; these women looked like clowns they were wearing so much makeup! Their hair was all fake blond and frizzed from head to shoulders and the expressions on their faces made me want to roll on the ground laughing! I know that I’m not being very kind, especially considering the fact that I am talking about church, but if you were me and in another culture trying to fit in only to realize that your compatriots were making you look like a fool, you too would be ruthless! Unless you like overly made up women with fake hair, in which case you might feel at home. Needless to say, we weren’t too sad to leave!

This afternoon I invited Aaron to have brunch with Laruiane, Charlotte, and I. This time her cousin did come and so did her brother and her cousin’s friend. We ate at a Canadian restaurant where I had steak and eggs. We then walked in the Luxembourg Gardens and listened to a group of 50 – 60 elderly people play in a band under a gazebo. It was somewhat surreal as I began to understand that I was standing in the middle of Paris with French people enjoying a Sunday afternoon of music in the park! TROP COOL! The unfortunate side of things is the fact that I am currently sick with allergies. This happens EVERY time I move to a new place! C’est la vie! Needless to say, I went home for a Sunday nap (3 hours). I still have a terrible headache, so I’m going to the Pharmacy in the morning to get some decongestant. OH LA LA! I ALSO HAVE TO GO BUY A NEW CELL PHONE BECAUSE MINE JUST SHUT OFF AND WON’T COME BACK ON! ZUT!

On Wednesday I have to move out of this apartment, but I will be staying with Laruiane in her apartment for the time between then and the move in date of my new apartment. I’m also going to Lyon this weekend for the confirmation of Lauriane’s brother! I’ll be staying with Rachel and because of the numerous amount of family at Laruiane’s house, so will Lauriane! WE’RE GOING TO IKEA ON SATURDAY! DID YOU HEAR THAT JOHN AND AMBER! I’M GOING TO IKEA! WOO HOO! CINNAMON ROLL AND COFFEENESS!

En Ecoute

2009-09-24T03:40:00.004+02:00

POST SUPPRIME

JE M'EXCUSE!

Appartager les Bons Temps!

2009-09-20T23:48:00.005+02:00

I’m going to go ahead and warn you that this post may be one of the most interesting posts since the one entitled “Chinoise”. If you read this blog while I was in Caen a year ago, you’ll remember a post about certain bathroom incident with a girl from China. If you have never read this post, I encourage you to type in “Chinoise” in the search bar on the right.

I am going to go ahead and warn you that this post may mess with some of your sensitivities; therefore, please note that you have been forewarned!

I am currently sitting comfortably in my room after having taken a Sunday afternoon nap and eaten a nice dinner of chicken and pesto. I write this piece of boring information so that my Grandma doesn’t worry about me too much after having read this post. Hi Grandma!

Yesterday, I had a meeting scheduled with another random person about being my roommate in the apartment. I woke up, had a small amount of baguette with Nutella™ and did some shopping before the meeting (out of toilet paper!). Unlike my last meeting, this person actually showed up! The meeting was scheduled for 14h30 in front of the apartment building, so at 14h32, I headed downstairs to welcome an engineer student by the name of Arnaud. Arnaud has a very particular face and is very tall, so after waiting only one minute for him to arrive, I immediately recognized him as he exited the métro. I walked up to him to greet him and offered that we take a seat at the café in front of the apartment to chat. He wanted to see the apartment right away, but since I don’t currently live there, I couldn’t offer him instant gratification. Instead I just walked him into the building and showed where the apartment is located. He seemed interested, so we descended into the street and took a spot at the café to chat. He explained to me his current situation and how he is in his last year of engineering school after having taken a year to do internships in India and in other places around the globe. I also explained my situation and how I recently graduated from Baylor with a degree in French and Religion and that I am an English teaching assistant in Evry. We hit if off really well and had a lot of things in common, so when he asked me when I would be making my decision about a roommate, I told him that as far as I am concerned, he is it, should he so chose to accept the offer. He smiled and informed me that he was very interested. IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! HA HA HA!

I then invited him up to my current apartment to call the owners of the apartment to see when would be a good time to show it to Arnaud. She told me that we could come by later in the day and we agreed on 18h00. She said that she would contact the family currently living there to make sure that everything was alright with them. She said that she would call back us on Arnaud’s phone. I then invited Arnaud into the kitchen for some coffee or tea while we waited. We then talked some more and after an hour had passed, he recommended that we call back the owner. I did, and upon doing so, learned that she had yet to call the family. No big deal, I told her that we would come by around 18h00 anyway so that she and her husband could at least meet Arnaud.

As it was only 16h00, we had two hours to kill before going to the apartment. Arnaud then suggested that we go to the center of Paris to check out the Techno Parade. Welcome to Europe! Techno is ALL THE RAGE! He asked me if I had heard of the Techno Parade before and then tried to tell me that it was like a pride parade in the United States. I don’t know if he knows what a pride parade is, because the Techno Parade was just a large sum of people gathered in Paris to dance to loud music while going down the street. Arnaud wanted to meet some friends there, but he couldn’t find them. He said that it wasn’t that big of a deal, so instead we just walked around and laughed at the funny people. As 18h00 started to approach, we headed back to the apartment. Upon reached the owner’s (The Londners) door, we were greeted by M. and Mme Londner and the aunt of M. Londner. Mme Londner offered us some coffee and then went to make sure that it would be alright for us to visit the apartment. When she returned, she informed us that everything was a go! We then ascended the stairs and showed Arnaud the apartment.

Upon entering, Arnaud seemed interested, but as he realized just how small the place is, his facial expressions began to change. I could tell that it was smaller than he wanted and began to stress that things weren’t going to work out. He told Mme. Londner that he would reflect and give us a decision soon. We then exited the apartment, said thank you to the Londners, and left the building. I asked him what he thought; knowing very well what he thought, and listed to his concerns. As he explained to me that he wasn’t 100% certain, he said that he would think about it and get back to me. I told him that I would be going to Orange™ to buy a cell phone and that as soon as I had the number, I would send it to him. He then thanked me for taking the time to meet him and mentioned that we would keep in touch even if he didn’t decide to live in the apartment. I agreed; however, I knew better.

Arnaud descended into the métro and I began my walk to Orange™. I cannot express to you how stressed I was! I wasn’t sad, but just EXTREMELY disappointed! I wanted to lie down on the ground in front of me and fall asleep! Sleeping is my coping mechanism for fighting stress. I continued to walk and went into Orange™ to buy a pay as you go phone to use while I wait for the bank mess to clear. The lady that helped me was very nice and efficient and gave me exactly what I needed. Magali had already given me a phone to use; I just had to buy the card to put in it. This means that I NOW HAVE A NUMBER! It’s +33.06.48.62.16.90! Call me anytime! After leaving the store I still felt like lying down, but didn’t want to go back to the apartment and shut myself in my room. I therefore decided to take the Métro to the Eiffel Tower and lay in the Champs de Mars (it’s a park) while the sun set beneath the tower. It was a very nice atmosphere in which to be stressed, but the feelings that were overtaking me made me feel like I was going to vomit! I describe the feeling like this: it feels exactly like the first decline of a rollercoaster. I’ve used the rollercoaster illustration several times to describe my feelings, but this time it was absolutely true! It’s the feeling of being terrified to death, but not being able to do a thing about it! You must descend! The Tower was beautiful, but all I could think about was failing at finding a roommate. I know this sounds stupid, but I was distraught! I just kept praying over and over and over! I said, “Lord! Please take these feelings away from me! Calm me! Calm me please! I am SO stressed!” I figured that I would watch the tower light up and then head back to the apartment to have dinner. I began to enter some numbers into my phone when all of the sudden I received a text. It was Arnaud! WHAT!?!? He wanted me to join him and his friends at a bar near St. Paul! Was I reading this correctly? The same dude that just stressed me out to the max wants me to have a drink with him? I thought that when he said we would keep in touch that he was just being polite! NO! He wants to be friends with me! HOW ON EARTH!

As the tower shone before my eyes while the sun set beneath, I grabbed my things, turned my back from the glorious display in front of me, and got my butt to the Métro ASAP! As I walked with a purpose to the Métro, I couldn’t help but think that God was watching over me. As I sat in sorrow all alone, the Lord heard my cries and calmed the storm in me! I remember thinking that I was absolutely in the presence of God! I began to sing out loud, « Combien Dieu est grand! Chantez avec moi! Combien Dieu est grand! Le monde chantera combien, combien, Dieu est grand! » (How great is our God! Sing with me! How great is our God! The world will sing how great, how great is our God!). Some of you may know this song, so it might mean more to you, but just understand that I was elated by the fact that something so unthinkable just happened to me!

Upon arriving at the bar, Arnaud introduced me to his friends as his possible future roommate. I could see that he still hadn’t made up his mind, but that at least I knew that he was seriously interested. I took a seat, ordered a beer, and began to chat with everyone. One of his friends began to speak to me in English when Arnaud scolded him and insisted that he speak French to me. I wanted to HUG him! After laughing and enjoying our time at this bar, Judith (Arnaud’s friend) and some of the others suggested that we head out and find a night club.

John 8:7 But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

You’ll understand why I have chosen to reference this verse in a moment!

We walked towards Place de la Bastille to find a good place to hangout. Along the way, Arnaud suggested that he and I duck into a store to grab some beer and chips. Like a little duckling following his mother, I followed Frenchie! We took our items and descended with the others into the Métro. Arnaud then handed me my beer and I proposed a toast to Baylor and the football game that was about to ensue. I thought that we would just enjoy the beer and enjoy the company; however, Arnaud informed me that I needed to have finished the beer before we arrive at our stop. As any other cool American would do, I beat him to the punch. I thought,”I won’t be drunk off of two beers, just a little more at ease! Besides, it helps to have a little bit of alcohol in the system when speaking a foreign language!” We exited the Métro and went into another bar. Everyone was ordering drinks, so I thought, “Why not!” and ordered a Guinness (dark beer). I began to feel a little happy, but not drunk. We chatted some and then went to meet with one of Judith’s friends who wanted us to join him at a night club. We met with him and he offered to take the girls to the club in his car while Arnaud and I took the Métro. Upon arriving at our stop, Arnaud said that we needed to go into another store and get two more beers. Oh là là! By this point I had no inhibitions and was truly following Frenchie! We took our beers into the street and he suggested that we finish them before arriving at the club. CUL SEC! BOTTOMS UP! When we got to the club, the man wouldn’t let us in because we weren’t dressed nice enough. I was obviously gone by this point, so I tried to persuade him that my jeans were special because they were American! It didn’t work. After some discussion, he let us in and we joined the girls. We danced and I literally almost knocked Judith’s friends tooth out by hitting his beer bottle with my elbow! OOPS! We didn’t drink anything in that club, so I thought that things would even out soon. Upon leaving, I discovered that we were headed to another club. At this club we all had another beer. Needless to say, I danced! I kept insisting that we pay attention to our things because I didn’t want them to be stolen. At one point Judith went outside to have a cigarette and I insisted that someone go with her. Arnaud told me to go ahead, so I followed her. She told me that I didn’t have to wait with her, but I told her, “My mother always said never to leave a girl alone in the street!” I don’t know that my mother has actually ever said that, but it is something that she WOULD say! Later on, Arnaud began to talk with this older woman and she asked for his number. I, in front of the woman, insisted that he NOT give his number to her. He didn’t care. He thought that is was funny.

We finally left the club, but it was 3h00, so the Métro was closed. We ended up having to take a bus called the Noctillian. I was afraid that I wouldn’t know how to get home, so Arnaud told me that I could stay with him at his friend’s house. His friend was gone, so it was just he and I. He made a palate for me on the floor and he slept in the bed. When we woke up the next morning, he looked up, saw me, and said, “OH! Bonjour!” He had forgotten for a moment that I was still there. He then made us some coffee and then I returned home. I was hoping that by staying with him he would give me an answer about the apartment, but I’m still answerless!

Although this story is a bit out of my character, it is absolutely true. I don’t plan on spending several nights on the town as I did last night, but I don’t regret having spent time with new people and possibly making some really good friends! I know this may sound crazy, but I do think that my prayers were answered as I lied stressed in front of the Eiffel Tower! I pray that the Baptist General Convention of Texas doesn’t read this and make me pay back all of the money they gave me while I was at Baylor, but I do believe that although I was under the influence, I don’t feel like I committed so terrible and unforgivable sin. As a matter of fact, I am pretty certain that it was the Lord’s will for me to spend the night with these people and enjoy myself! Please don’t call me to tell me that I’m a bad person or that I should be more careful! Also, if you are a bit older than me and a bit shocked, try to remember your early 20s! If you never did anything like me, you get a gold star! If you did, you know how it feels!

QUE DIEU M’A BENIS ET QU’IL EST GRAND!

J'suis Ouf!

2009-09-18T04:23:00.003+02:00

I wasn’t going to write a blog tonight, but I thought that I’d go ahead and say something small since the last post was a bit loaded with upcoming events and because I never explained what happened with Rachel!

We’ll start with Rachel. After having called the French Embassy in the United States, she received another email from Madame MEAN. The email was very political and the mean lady attempted to reword the mean things that she had said. This time instead of insisting that Rachel accept the mean lady’s conditions she just encouraged Rachel to consider the difficulties she might face should she chose to live two hours away. In other words the nice lady at the Embassy contacted someone who gave the mean lady in St. Etienne a spanking! PRAISE JESUS!

As far as meeting with the random guy to see if he would be a good roommate, nothing happened. He couldn’t meet for some reason, so instead of rescheduling, he just ran away. Oh well! At least it wasn’t me having to run away this time!

As far as having dinner with Lauriane and her friend, IT WAS AWESOME! We started with a drink at a café near Montparnasse and then ate dinner at the greatest Crêperie in the world! No lies, this place rocked! It was Laruiane’s suggestion, so I am now and forever open to her advice on restaurants in France! She’s also the one that recommended the ice-cream shop in Lyon that has the greatest Ice-cream in the world! Needless to say, I plan on being friends with her!

Now for the story that made me write this post tonight. As I’m having dinner with Lauriane and her friend Charolotte, I am asked to share with them some of the stereotypes that Americans have concerning French people. I just shouldn’t have! Next time someone asks me this question, I plea the 5th! I of course had to mention that Americans don’t think that French women shave their armpits. This probably wasn’t the nicest thing to tell two French girls, but they weren’t offended and in all actuality, I just wanted to make sure that the stereotype is not true. They laughed and explained that Germany is where the women don’t shave and that all French women DO INDEED shave their armpits! PLEASE UNDERSTAND! FRENCH WOMEN SHAVE THEIR ARMPITS! IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED SO STOP ASKING ME THIS QUESTION! It wasn’t this stereotype that got me in trouble, but the next one that I felt the urge to mention. I told them that Americans think that French people stink. Now, it wasn’t the stereotype itself that killed me, but the explanation that I shared shortly thereafter. I told them, and I quote, “Oh it’s probably because Americans take showers once or even twice a day whereas the French usually only take showers every third day.” PLEASE TRY TO ENVISION THIS IN YOUR HEAD! These girls had eyes the size of half dollars! They could not believe, not only what I was saying, but that I actually thought it was true. After letting the shock pass, they began to laugh uncontrollably while simultaneously explaining to me that French people bathe every day. The idea of bathing once in three days was appalling to these two very clean ladies sitting in front of me. Charlotte even cared to mention that she bathes at night and Lauriane in the morning. I then apologized deeply and told them that it was something that I had learned in highschool. I’m sorry Mme. Frederiksen if you are reading this; I did tell them that I learned this in your class. I must have seriously misunderstood what you were telling us on that day! Oh là là!

Things are still going very well! I’m meeting Magali today to get things settled with the bank and then I’m off to get a cell phone! YAY! Laisser les bons temps rouler!

Je Regarde TV3!

2009-09-16T01:39:00.003+02:00

Well howdy!

I’m sorry for not having updated you sooner, but let me just say; although some cool things have occurred, not a lot has been going on every day!

I got back from Lyon on Saturday and had dinner with Magali! It was super! We chatted and laughed and enjoyed a nice evening. She is the one who is helping be get situated with all the necessary things (like a bank account). As I was talking with her about opening an account, she mentioned going back to the bank at which I had my last account in Caen and seeing if they still have my information. I’m SO stupid! Why didn’t I think of that? I went there today, and just as I thought, my account was still open! I just need to change the agency from Caen to Paris by having Magali fill out a few papers saying that I live with her for the moment. Oh là là!

On Sunday I went to a Pentecostal church. It was nice, but I’m not quite sure that I’m quite ready for the speaking in tongues. It’s ok if others wish to do it, but I don’t quite feel at home. I’m therefore still on the lookout for a church. Sunday night I went to see the apartment! It was super! Although it is small, it feels very open and inviting. The building is wonderful and everything in the apartment was updated. There is a kitchenette, a very nice bathroom with a bath/shower combo, and two rooms (one of which serves as a living room/bedroom. It may be the wrong place to live with a roommate if private space is absolutely necessary, but for someone who has lived on a college campus for the past four years, I think having a roommate would be great! I placed an announcement on http://www.apparager.com/ (the site at which I found my current apartment) and have already received over 80 responses! That’s how high the demand is in this neighborhood! I’m not kidding when I say that it is one of the most perfect places to live in Paris! The buildings are historic and the view from the apartment looks out over the street below and the trains in the distance. The minute I opened the curtains and saw the trains, I told the owner that my dad would be in heaven if he saw this! Click on the photo to see a plan of the apartment. Salle de Séjour means living room and Chambre à Coucher means bed room. Salle de Bain is the bathroom.

Last night, I met up with Abel to have a drink! It was SUPER! I told him about the apartment and told him that I would love to have him as a roommate, but he won’t be looking for a place to live until December. Too bad! He paid for my drink and we shared a very nice conversation. I will be meeting up with him again very soon.

Tonight I met up with Collin and Candice Bullard, two people from Baylor who are now living in Cambridge, England. They brought a friend with them and we had a night on the town. We went to a very nice crêpe restaurant near Montparnasse and had some of the best food I’ve had so far. I showed them around and we laughed about several things. I will find there blog and you can see a video that we made in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was HYPER COOL to see some familiar American faces in Paris!

Tomorrow I am meeting up with a guy interested in the apartment. I’m a bit weirded out by the idea of randomly meeting someone that I met on a website to see if they would be a good roommate, but hey, it’s better than Baylor just assigning me a random person! At least if I don’t like him, I can always ask to be excused from our meeting and run away screaming! Please take a moment to picture that!

On Thursday I will be having dinner with Lauriane (the girl with whom Rachel and I had dinner at her house) and a friend. We’re going to have crêpes too! I’m excited! Lauriane also mentioned the fact that maybe her friend would be interested in the apartment. Who knows! All I can say is that there are some potential stories in the near future! Stay tuned!

Que La Justice Soit!

2009-09-10T17:28:00.005+02:00

Pour le francophones, cliquez sur la photo pour lire la band désiné!

Coming to France and encountering no problem whatsoever would be a dream, but not a reality! Today Rachel and I walked to the church to access the internet and check our e-mails. I had some junk mail to read for entertainment while Rachel; however, had some more interesting news to keep her amused. As I’ve already mentioned, Rachel lives pretty far from her English teaching job, which means that she must execute a two hour commute every day before and after work. Although this isn’t the most desirable fact of life for Rachel at the moment, it is certainly the spilled milk over which it isn’t necessary crying! On the contrary, there is already a sad pathetic little woman sitting at her desk in St. Etienne with milk ALL OVER her freshly pressed t-shirt decorated with English phrases like “Healthy Beautiful”, and “Mom will be so happy!”, and “I like to think I’m cool because I wear a shirt with English words on it that make absolutely no sense!” As it turns out, Rachel sent her address to the people in her Académie and a woman by the name of Mme Maléchet responded with:

You cannot live in Lyon and work in St. Etienne. I thought that I was very clear concerning this subject matter. Every year we have numerous problems concerning your long-stay card and of course your tardiness, absences…

I ask you one last time to accept our conditions either you live in St. Etienne or you quit.

Cordially
H. Maléchet

Needless to say, this woman is a loser! I understand her concern for Rachel being late to work, but in all seriousness, she DOES NOT have to right to tell her where she may live! That is an issue that concerns Rachel and Rachel alone! At least this is what Rachel, the Pastor of the church in Lyon, the nice lady at the Embassy of France in the United States, and I think!

After Rachel called her parents, we immediately contacted our new friend Carolyn Collins in Washington D.C. who is in charge of our program. She was just as shocked as we were to hear what had occurred. She assured Rachel that she would contact the necessary authority and send Rachel an e-mail as soon as possible. JUSTICE SHALL BE SERVED! If the académie still doesn’t budge, Rachel’s church will find an address for her in St. Etienne because,

THERE’S NO USE CRYING OVER SPILLED MILK MME MALÉCHET, SO PUT IT ON A T-SHIRT AND CRY TO YO MAMA!

Rachel was SO MAD, so we found as many individuals as possible to share her anger. It was a good moment for the soul.

I just told Rachel last night that I’ve finally decided that this time around, the French no longer scare me. The last time that I lived in France, every time something went down administratively that made me feel stupid, I blamed myself; this time I blame the administration itself. For example, I went to the bank in Paris last Tuesday to talk to someone about opening an account. When Rachel and I entered the breezeway and tried to access the front door, the woman refused to let us in. I rang the door bell as she was staring at me and she responded with, “ONLY ONE PERSON AT A TIME MAY ENTER!” I thought to myself, “HOW RUDE!” and dramatically insisted that Rachel leave the breezeway. As Rachel exited, the woman opened the door for me while scolding me for not reading the door. I literally rolled my eyes at her as she finally let Rachel in the door. Upon her entrance, I loudly and dramatically scolded Rachel for not being able to read the door. The woman just looked at us and then directly said to Rachel, “And normally you’re not supposed to enter with a hat either (Rachel was wearing a stylish bonnet of some sort)” I then ripped the bonnet off of Rachel’s head and exclaimed, “SHAME ON YOU!” The woman knew I was mocking her, and I personally didn’t care! I told Rachel that I was going to moon her as we left, but Rachel talked me out of it. If it weren’t for the other nice lady who works in the back that helped me obtain information about opening an account, I might have ignored Rachel and given to the mean lady at the front desk what was justly hers!

All in all, Rachel and I are learning how to manage the bad administration, but for the time being, we can’t help but feel frustrated. Pray that Rachel’s situation is solved and that all the mean people in France leave their apartment tomorrow morning and become victims of a drive-by baguetting.

Cordially,
C. Casper

Sans Abri, C'est Moi!

2009-09-09T16:23:00.008+02:00

This is a photo taken at that long dinner that Rachel and I sat through the other night.

Currently, I am in Lyon, France where I came with Rachel to help her with her bags and to help her find things around town. She is living in a house provided by a church for which she will be working during her séjour in France. It’s a very nice home, but quite far from where she will be working in St. Étienne. She says that she will have a two hour commute both ways every day that she has to go to work. On the flip side, she doesn’t have to pay for rent, and the church is providing her with the finances necessary to use the public transport system. In the house there is another gentleman by the name of Alain-Georges. He is from Cameroun and also a VERY nice individual! He made dinner for us last night when we arrived! He also sat and talked with us for over two hours. All in all, Rachel’s situation is ideal (minus the long commute!).

I went back to Évry and finally spoke with someone who knows what is going on (well, sort of). I met a lady by the name of Catherine Hernandez who is in charge of my schedule and the minor details of the job. I had some questions for her about opening a bank account, but she didn’t know the answers. She went to make a phone call to someone who might know, but there were already two people in the office using the phone. That’s right, in a professional office like the National Inspector of the Department of Essonne for the Académie of Versailles, there are only two lines! Welcome to France. We waited a few minutes, but once one of the lines was free and Mme Hernandez had the opportunity to call someone, nobody answered. She then took my e-mail address and said that when she hears something, she will send me a message. I’ve still received nothing! No surprise!

Before leaving Paris yesterday, Rachel and I were in the hall of my current apartment building when an elderly lady by the name of Anique Pirrat who lives on the 6th floor asked us to carry a couple of small grocery sacks up the stairs for her. She told us that we could leave them at my door on the 5th floor and that when she made it up the stairs that far she would take them from there. Of course we insisted on taking them all the way up to her door. We also waited for her to pass my door so that we could get a chance to talk with her. It was perfect! As soon as she saw that we had left the door open, she was ready to chat! We asked her how she was doing and she asked us about our current situations in France. I informed her that I was looking for an apartment to stay for the next nine months and the wheels began to turn. She began to think of people that might be looking for roommates and of apartments that would suit me. After thinking for a bit, she remembered that there would be an apartment available on the 6th floor of the building just in front of the one in which I currently live. The building has an elevator, so I wouldn’t have to climb all of those stairs everyday if I didn’t feel like it. She informed me that the apartment was smaller than the one I am currently occupying, but that there are two rooms, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. The rent is €750 per month, but with a roommate, it would only be €375. That’s €25 below my budget! She told me that she would call the owner to ask about the place and that we could call her later on that evening once we’ve arrived in Lyon.

Once arriving in Lyon, we were picked up at the train station by the pastor of the church at which Rachel will be living and working. Once we arrived on site, we found an internet connection so that I could call Mme Pirrat. The call was successful as Mme Pirrat informed me that she had spoken with Mme Londner (the wife of owner of the apartment) and that I could call her for more information. She gave me Mme Londner’s number and I called right away. When she answered, I asked a few simple questions about the apartment and then asked if it would be possible for me to have a roommate. She wasn’t sure, so she told me that she would ask her husband and that I could call back at 13h the next day. I did! It was her husband that answered this time who informed me that having a roommate would be no problem. The only problem is that the apartment isn’t available until the middle of October; therefore, I’d have to stay with someone in the mean time. This won’t be a problem because as I have already mentioned, I’ve been blessed in Paris to have friends already who told me to let them know if I’m ever an SDF (Sans (Without) Domicile (Home) Fixe (Permanent)) and that they would help me!

I’ve not yet seen the apartment; therefore, I might be excited about nothing; however, it is in the same place as my current apartment which means that the door of the building opens to a metro station; there is a bakery and two cafés on the first floor, a Monoprix (A place like Target) across the street, and WONDERFUL views! Please pray that this works!

I’m still trying to open a bank account and get a cell phone, but other than that, Things are coming along just well!

Le Mot Pour Enamel Est Émail

2009-09-07T00:14:00.002+02:00

Bonjour ya'll!

I am indeed alive! The internet here has been hit or miss (as is the French tradition); therefore, I’ve not been able to update like I’ve wanted. I have; however, the internet for the moment, so I will let you know what’s been going on.

I met Rachel in Charlotte, NC after leaving my family in the High Plains of Texas. We had one last American meal at Chili’s Too and a glass of wine before taking the plunge over the pond. As is normal, we didn’t sleep that well, so when arriving in Paris, we were a little tired.

We went through customs with no problem and received all of our bags, which we soon drug through the Parisian Metro system (OH LA LA!) to our friend Magali’s house in Nanterre (just north of Paris). After asking three different people for directions, we finally found the tower in which she lives. Of course when we got there she wasn’t home, so we followed someone in the front door and put all of our bags in the lobby. We then decided that I needed to go back to the train station to see if Magali had gone to look for us. While I was gone, Magali found Rachel in the lobby and when I returned, Rachel found me and told me that Magali had come by. Rachel was also standing in the lobby with the man who had come to fix Magali’s gas line. We let him in the apartment and he began to ask us several questions. We didn’t quite understand what he was saying, not because he was speaking French, but because we don’t know anything about fixing a gas line. So we laughed as the man insisted that we know what has been going on. When he left, we feel asleep on the couch for 5 hours (bad idea because we didn’t quite sleep that night!). When Magali came home, I realized that I needed to go to Paris to meet with the girl from whom I am renting an apartment for the month. I was supposed to call her earlier on in the day, but because of my nap, I put her in a bit of a panic. Oh well! She’s fine! I met her that evening and she gave me the tour of the apartment and the keys. It’s a NICE place! I wish I could stay here, but I’m afraid that it’s a bit above my budget and quite unavailable. I am; therefore, still on the prowl.

Later on that evening Rachel and I met up with her friend Lauriana that she met from Lyon who now lives in Paris and took her to meet up with our friends Charles, Able, and Stephane who were foreign exchange students at Baylor this past semester. It was a GREAT night! We met them at a bar and then Charles took us to a techno night club. It was quite funny, but we surely enjoyed watching the French try to dance (not that we Americans were any better!). We had to return to the metro before 1am so that we could take the train back to Magali’s house, so we walked with Abel and Laurianne to the metro station and said goodbye for the evening. Tomorrow we will be having dinner with Laurianne at her house!

On Friday Rachel went with me to see the school at which I will be teaching at talk with someone. When we got there, the director was a bit confused. She told me that I should have gone to some other place to receive instruction, so I informed her that my assignment said to come to her. She saw my sheet of paper and said, “This is the first time that I’ve ever seen anything like this!” She then took Rachel and I into her office and called someone. When the person answered the phone, the director said, “Well, I have an assistant sitting in front of me. What do I do with him?” I felt a bit insulted, but not surprised at the disarray of the French administration. The director then said, “It says that he starts on the 1^st of October, so he can’t start today!” WHAT?!?! TODAY?!?! Needless to say, this woman was clueless. She told me to come back Monday and go to some other place where I can meet with the pedagogy instructor. I’ll be going back in the morning!

Yesterday we tried to get a cell phone for me, but in order to do that you have to have a bank account first; therefore, we just walked through Paris, went back to my apartment to take a nap, and did some grocery shopping before meeting Magali and her friends for dinner. We were 30 minutes late to meeting Magali at a metro stop, but for the French we were on time. We then walked with her and her other friends to the restaurant where we waited for an hour for more of their friends to arrive. We finally ordered drinks and yet another hour passed before the others arrived and we had the chance to order our food. By the time we ate and chatted for a while, we had been in this restaurant for over four hours! I’m not kidding you, this is normal for the French! They don’t eat out very often, so when they do, it’s a BIG deal! Needless to say, I was ready to leave!

Today we went to find a church and stumbled upon a protestant reformed church. It was boring, so I won’t go back. After that we joined our friend Andrew who is studying at the Cordon Bleu and had lunch with him. We then went back to my place, took another nap, and had Andrew over for dinner. We had pasta and enjoyed throwing things out of the window just for fun. There is a skylight under the window in the kitchen, so of course we had to have a contest to see who could hit it with something. I won because not only did I hit it, my piece of bread stuck to it. It’s still there! Now I sit in one room of this apartment and write this blog to you! YAY! I hope you are all doing well! I miss you!

Le Nouveau Chemin!

2009-09-02T08:22:00.002+02:00

OH LA LA! That’s all I can really say that accurately describes this feeling! I leave for the airport in three hours! By the time you read this, I may already be in the air or in France. As I spoke with Bradley Speer last night over one last cup of Roasters Coffee, I explained to him that leaving for France is like riding a roller coaster for the very first time. You know that it’s going to be fun, but as you climb that first hill, you fear for your life. Questions like: “Can I get off?” or “What if this thing breaks?” and “When will it be over?” begin to circulate in your head.

I wanted to share with you one last post before I leave the United States simply because there is no better time to express feelings than now! I’ve had one last dinner with the family, one last afternoon with mom, one last breakfast with a friend, and ever last hug I can get. I am mixed between wanting to laugh, wanting to cry, wanting to jump for joy, and wanting to scream! These feelings come from not wanting to leave my dear family, but looking forward to what waits for me in France.

As I have already mentioned to several people, I am not scared about going to France because I have never been there and don’t know what to expect, but rather because no matter what happens in life, change is scary! I know the language and the people; I just don’t know exactly what will happen! Will I be happy? Will I meet life time friends? Will I be anxious to come home? Will I never want to leave? WHO KNOWS?!?!

By this point in the post, you might be able to tell that I am sleep deprived and discombobulated like I have never been before! Please pray that things go well and that this journey allows me to go and bless others because I have been so blessed! I love every one of my family and friends and can’t express that enough!

Numéro 100!

2009-08-30T09:31:00.011+02:00

THIS IS THE 100th POST ON cole-en-france!

So today is my birthday! YAY! I am officially 23! OH LA LA! Big deal right? I am 23 on the 30 and I have 3 days before I leave for France (whose country code is 33)! I don’t know if the number 3 means anything today, but in any case, I am glad that I found joy in something so small! I will also be attending my Baptist church soon to worship and learn about the trinity! What a coincidence!

In other more pertinent news, I shall give you an update on life in the recent days that precede the plunge. Plunge may sound like a funny word to describe my future venture, but it accurately describes how I feel! I’ve said goodbye to my friends, experienced my last night at American Eagle™, started packing my bags, and will soon leave home to discover a new life in another land. If that doesn’t sound like a plunge to you, I don’t know what else does! Allow me to further this thought by offering you the following:

It has been my experience that when encountering new experiences I freak out. This means that during the first few weeks of a recent transition (usually 3 LOL!), I begin to think irrationally. I often ask myself questions like, “COLE! What are you doing?!?!?”, or “COLE! Why did you leave the most comfortable place on earth to you?!?!”, or “COLE! Don’t you think that you should just spit on the ground and go home?!?!” The answers to these questions are usually found in a nice little chat with friends or family to help me understand that I am overreacting that that I must calm myself; however, when these thoughts begin to crowed my mind, I often feel helpless and strange. It is for this reason that I currently feel like I am about to take a plunge. I know that the next few weeks are going to be hard, but I’m never sure how hard things are going to be until I get there. Most of the time I feel lost because I am alone; however, I am trying to think positively in the fact that I will soon be living with a new person and that I will eventually find a permanent residence with some people who will keep me company. But one never knows! This, my friends, is called: THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN! AH AH AH AH!

Now that I have mentioned it, allow me to explain to you my living situation. For the month of September, I have reserved a room of an apartment that is being sub-rented for one month only. I found this place at http://www.appartager.com/ from a girl named Agnès. Agnès will not be in her home for the month, so she will be renting it to two people, a girl from Greece named Hara and myself. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I will be living for one month with a Greek girl. I do apologize if you are of the southern influence and find this to be horribly offensive; however, please understand that when you’re on a budget, beggars cannot be choosers! During the month of September, I will be making the necessary arrangements of finding a cell phone, a bank account, a metro pass, and of course, permanent housing. I know that I might be able to find something from the United States just as I did when I found Agnès’ apartment; however, I would much rather be available to visit places and meet people before I randomly end up with weirdoes for nine months! Hara may be strange and Agnès’ place may stink (or vice versa), but at the end of September I can always say “CIAO!” and hit the road running!

When I arrive in Paris on September 3rd, I will meet Agnès at 18h30 to receive the key and tour the apartment. Cross your fingers!

Que le monde change!

2009-08-19T10:56:00.005+02:00

All humans who love must understand the necessity of change! Unfortunately, the human brain has not the capacity to embrace a concept so enormously complex and frequently ruthless.

You may have already giggled at the sight of me in pink shorts upon discovering this post. I have posted this photo to highlight the gay spirit (LOL) which greeted me as I arrived at my three month layover in Amarillo. You may already be familiar with the events of this summer and understand how blessed I feel to have been here with family and friends before leaving for France; however, in an effort to “drive the point home” I would like to share the following:

As I said goodbye to Chase and Nicole tonight, I realized that this life, in its many moments of change, never allows for vain moments of idleness. If one admits that there have been times which have taught us nothing, one fails miserably to recognize that every moment of every day is to be lived with intent and purpose. Before I arrived in Amarillo, I expected to learn nothing that I hadn’t already known; instead, I became a master at the art of cubing (solving a Rubik’s Cube), a jean expert, a good friend in three relationships, and a believer in providence. These things all because of the love and support I have received from this West Texas community. So as Chase and Nicole return to Rochester, New York in the morning while David becomes more habituated with his life as an Okie, I will embrace my final two weeks in the High Plains of Texas by (as Amber commented on my last post) “…drink[ing] some shiner, eat[ing] some steak, sip[ing] some iced tea, kick[ing] back in the AC, listen[ing] to the crazy thunderstorms, enjoy[ing] the 24 hour convenience of walmart, drive[ing] ruby (my car), say[ing] y'all, and notic[ing] the touchability of the toilet to the tub.... for soon they shall all be gone!” In addition to this, I will also endear the last moments I spend with my family. Although I am sad to see this American life leave me, I have never felt more right about something as I do about moving to France! This summer has given me the much needed confidence to leave American Eagle™, board American Eagle™ and fly away.

This past Saturday as I unenthusiastically folded jeans only to have the takers (customers) pull them out of the wall once again, I encountered a family looking for a pair of Bootcut – Light Bleach Repair Wash jeans for their son. Without speaking, I saw what the family needed and escorted them to a wardrober where the jeans were hanging. When I asked what size the son needed, I heard the mother trying to interpret what I was saying into French. WHAT?!?!?! SHE’S NOT SPEAKING SPANISH?!?!?! I politely asked, “Parlez-vous français?” to which she bewilderingly answered, “OUI!” It turns out that the family was on vacation and in the process of touring the Southern United States when they got the “hankerin’“ for some good ole’ west Texas mall shoppin’. How fortunate that our paths crossed!

This past Sunday as I exited the men’s locker room at the Town Club to begin my workout, I open the door to a father standing in the hallway saying to his children, “Là c’est pour les filles et là c’est pour les garçons.” He was instructing them, IN FRENCH, where to go in order to change after having enjoyed an afternoon at the pool. I then reacted by asking, “Parlez-vous français?” to which the father bewilderingly answered, “OUI! Parlez-vous français?” to which I enthusiastically answered, “OUI!” It turns out that the family was from Cameroun and now lives in Amarillo where they often get the “hankerin’” for some good ole’ west Texas dives in the local watering hole. How fortunate that our paths crossed!

Today, when I asked a man in our store if he was looking for jeans, I received this response in English, “Do you speak French?” to which I enthusiastically answered, “OUI!” The man was floored at receiving the response he had never in a million years expected to receive in Amarillo, Texas. It turns out that he and his wife were on vacation from their home in Belgium with their daughter who just graduated from a university in Montreal when they too got the “hankerin’” for some good ole’ west Texas mall shoppin’. How fortunate that our paths crossed!

The odds of finding people who speak French in Amarillo are extremely slim! The odds of people who speak French as their native language randomly finding that one Amarilloan who happens to be bilingual in English and French are even slimmer! Not only are these stories true, they further enforce the previously made statement about me being a strong believer in providence. I feel drawn to France, but even more importantly, I feel France being drawn to me. I don’t know what is in store for me in two weeks, but as Rachel Biel has noted time and time again, “Dieu a des projets pour toi en France!” God has plans for me in France! The change which lies ahead is enormously complex and so ruthless towards the relationships I cherish with my friends and family; however, it is indeed necessary and magnificently intended!

By the way, I found an apartment for the month of September! I will share more with you as the details develop!

Exprimez-vous!

2009-08-14T11:16:00.010+02:00

I just had to share this photo of Oliver with you! I'm going to miss him!

So here’s the low-down, I’M GOING TO FRANCE! In 19 days, I WILL BE IN FRANCE! Just the other day, I was thinking to myself, “Self, in less than a month, YOU WILL BE ON THE PARISIAN METRO!”

“Now don’t get too excited! There is still much left to do!” said I to myself! I am currently in the process of finding an apartment for at least the month of September. I figure that once I arrive in Paris and have a place to stay, I will be able to find a more suitable and permanent home for myself and I.

In the mean time, I finish my work at American Eagle and bid farewell to my summer crew as they leave before we do (that is, myself and I). This summer has been great and has truly given me time to relax, make some money, enjoy friends and family, and absorb as much of Texas as I can before I hop onto that metal bird and sore across that blue pond!

Yesterday I placed as my facebook status, “Cole a besoin d’un appartement à Paris”, which means “Cole needs an apartment in Paris!” I didn’t expect many people to respond, but much to my surprise, I received 8 comments, 3 of which were from French people, 1 from a girl that I met in France who is from Jamaica (who wrote her message in French), 3 from Americans writing in English, and 1 from an American writing in French! They had things to say like,

“Yeah man, je t'acceuilles a bras ouvert :)” –Stéphane Tsang

(I welcome you with open arms)

...and...

“Hey cole, tu arrives quand?? C'est vraiment cool que tu reviennes après ton année de vacances aux USA ! LOL! Bon fais moi signe des que tu es la! Biz” -Eugénie Fradin

(Hey Cole, when are you arriving?? It’s so cool that you’re coming back after your year of vacation in the United States! LOL! Well, let me know when you’re here! Kisses”)

Needless to say, these messages remind me that I am going to a place where I need to be and that won’t be unfamiliar! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!

In other news, the visa process was a walk in the park! I went down to Houston with John a week ago Tuesday, handed them my information and passport; they kept my passport (new procedure) and mailed it back to me by Friday! Considering that I arrived back in Amarillo on Thursday after having spent some final time with my Baylor family, I only had to wait one day for my passport to return with my newly adhesively applied visa! GLORIOUS!

I will keep you posted as more news arrives. As of late, I am waiting to hear from someone in France who might have an apartment for me for the month of September! Keep your fingers crossed!

FRANCOT EST ARRIVE!

2009-07-26T09:45:00.008+02:00

WHO KNOWS WHAT THIS IS?!?!?!?! Don't be shy... raise your hands... both of them... now pretend like you're taking the first dive on the coolest roller coaster in the world... are you screaming yet?

IT'S MY LETTER FROM FRANCE! I can now venture to Houston to obtain my VISA! Francot has arrived!

Since I just posted yesterday, there isn't much to add to this post; therefore, I will simply leave you with this exciting bit of information with which you may do as you please.

l'Aigle Américain

2009-07-25T07:45:00.005+02:00

I am writing you with much joy in my heart! It is 00h46 in the morning and I just got off of work about one hour ago. In most people’s hearts, there would be anger and fatigue after having to work so late; however I just had the time of my life!

As you now know, I work for American Eagle at good ole’ Westgate Mall here in Amarillo, TX. At the beginning of this job, I anticipated that I would be bored to tears; ON THE CONTRARY! If you read my last post, you know that my job in retail has been anything but boring! Today was a blast! I got to help this young man look for jeans while his grandma told me about this computer hunting game that she plays where, “…if you walk around with a net, the scorpions will attack you and you die! But it’s ok, because you just end up back at your house all alive again!” Now isn’t that SOMTHIN’? I thought so anyway! I also helped a few disgruntled women find jeans for their husbands who are too lazy to go shopping for themselves. AND, the nicest man from Austin came in today to find some jeans for his 20 year reunion at Amarillo High School. His name was Greg and he’s the pastor of a new church by the name of Ecclesia Austin. All in all, I was given a 12 pair of jeans goal and sold 30! On Sunday I will be trained as a Denim Expert! I get a t-shirt and all the fixins’ INCLUDING, but not limited to, a tricked out nametag! But in all seriousness, the people who work with me at American Eagle are some of the greatest most down-to-earth people with whom I could have ever had the blessing of working this summer! I’ve been blessed!

In other news, I recently discovered that I will be teaching in a town just sixteen miles south of Paris by the name of Évry. I’ve started a rigorous apartment and church search. Today I stumbled across a church by the name of l’Eglise Baptiste de Ris-Orangis. I e-mailed the pastor and he returned my e-mail right away! I’m SO excited! I asked him in the e-mail if he knew of any young adults looking for a roommate and he told me that he would ask his congregation. Cross your fingers!

Last week Elizabeth and John from Baylor came to visit me. I gave them the grand tour of Amarillo and we had a blast! I truly miss them and the rest of the Baylor crew, but I know that France is where God’s will lies. I’m just closing my eyes, taking a deep breath, and taking a leap! We’ll see how things go…

C'est de la µ€®Ð€!

2009-07-14T11:58:00.015+02:00

Oh how things have changed! I have waited a long time before writing another post. This is because I understand that the recent events in my life have had little to do with France and that this post would just be me rambling about my ordinary life. On the other hand, I am exuberantly pleased to update those who chose to read this post by informing you that things are going very well for little ole me.

As was reported in my last post, finding a short-term job is not an easy task, but after much patience, I received a call three weeks ago from American Eagle™ and have been adventurously working there ever since. I say adventurously because things have been anything but dull in my new retail endeavor. Allow me to paint a picture for you by recounting one small but pivotal event that occurred just last Saturday. Please note that this story is not for those with weak stomachs nor extremely vivid visual imaginations!

Context: I’m in the process of welcoming customers into our store while assisting a man and his ten or eleven year old son look for a pair of jeans. I make my recommendations and wait while the son tries on his selections in one of our fancy fitting rooms. I briefly move on to other customers and begin to help a woman find a specific jean size. Realizing that I would need to venture to the back room to find said woman’s requested size, I am approached by the son’s father who informs me that his son has had an accident in front of register number one. The father then moves horizontally away from the scene of the crime to continue his shopping, thus revealing to me the freshly laid pile of human fecal matter. (If you are extremely sensitive or easily offended, please do not read this next sentence!) The pile is not of habitual substance one would expect in the middle of a retail venue, but more like the substance one would expect in the middle of the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat at Baylor University. I kid you not, my first thought is thus, “Where do we keep our shovel!” Not knowing if this occurrence is normal for American Eagle™, and obviously not knowing the protocol, I approach my assistant manager Kendra to inform her of the incident. With a pair of jeans in my hand, I attempt to discretely explain to Kendra the situation; however, with the father watching me attentively, the only words able to escape from my mouth are, “Uh… He uh… That kid uh… I’m going to the back to check on a size for someone!” Kendra asks me if something is wrong, to which I respond, “Uh… well… uh… follow me!” She follows me to the back and I inform her of the situation:

ME: “THAT KID JUST HAD AN ACCIDENT!”
KENDRA: “What sort of accident? Did he wet himself?”

ME: “NO! HE POOPED IN THE FLOOR!”

KENDRA: “OH MY GOD! SHUT UP!”
ME: “REALLY! GO TAKE A LOOK!”
KENDRA: walks away to observe the festering pile and returns to say, “OH – MY –GOD! I’M QUEEZY! ARE YOU OK? ARE YOU GOING TO BE SICK?”
ME: “No, I’m fine. I worked in the hospitals in high school. I’m used to such things.”
KENDRA: “OH GOOD! Do you mind cleaning it up?”
ME: “Uh… not at all! Do we have anything with which to clean it?”
KENDRA: “Just go and find anything you can from the back!”

ME: “Ok…”

I then go to the back and find two bags and a pair of rubber gloves. When I reenter the main part of the store, Kendra comes over our walkie-talkies to say, “Here comes Cole in the hazmat suit!” The rest is history. Although this event may sound traumatizing, It makes the rest of the day at work so much fun as we laugh and joked about our store being the new squat and shop in Westgate Mall.

Apart from my new job, I’ve also been spending much time with my friends David, Chase (my best friend in elementary school), and Nicole (Chase’s girlfriend). We used to just see one another in Roasters, our favorite coffee shop in town, but eventually decided that we have much in common and enjoy being with one another. We have therefore spent every night for the past month doing things like watching Harry Potter, playing tennis, roasting marshmallows, cooking dinners, going out to eat, and exploring downtown Amarillo (which happens to be a great place to spend Friday nights!) It also doesn’t hurt that Nicole also happens to be an American Eagle™ associate like me! It just so happens that I was covering one of her shifts when the pooper attacked!

All in all, Amarillo has turned out to be a great place to spend the summer while waiting for my departure to France! For the past week and for the rest of this week, my best friend from middle school and high school Sarah Stanford is in town and has been spending time with my Amarillo posy. In addition to this glorious group of individuals, my best friends from Baylor John Kitch and Elizabeth Lattier will be coming to town this Friday to pay me a visit! Oh how the tables have turned! Life is good!

En Attendant Godot

2009-06-22T22:53:00.007+02:00

Waiting for Goddy is the name of this post. It is the title of a book written by Samuel Beckett about the absurdity of the human condition. This is to say, that humans often find themselves in absurd circumstanced in which they realize that they are waiting for something to happen in their lives but rarely are willing to take the necessary responsibility to bring this “something” to fruition. The name Godot can be related to other names in the French language such as Charlot or Jacquot. In English, the name Goddy can be related to other names such as Charley or Bobby. In other words, Godot and Goddy are nicknames for God. With that said, this title paints for us a picture of a person who insists upon the intervention of his or her good ole’ friend God. “Oh just pray and God will make it happen!”, “Don’t worry; it’s all in God’s hands!”, and “Just put your trust in God!” are some of the many phrases fed to individuals as they face the many carrefours (intersections) of life. While these phrases bring about hope and remind us that we are not the sole contributors in our lives, they often persuade a person to think that no action is necessary upon his or her part. Unfortunately, those who wait often find themselves with nothing; whereas, those who take the necessary responsibility to make things happen often find themselves in positions of success.

Over fourteen job applications and one month later, I am still a jobless Amarilloan waiting for a letter from Versailles, France to inform me of my new school in which I will eventually be teaching French students how to speak the language I have been exclusively speaking for the entire month of June. Don’t place prepositions at the ends of sentences; don’t use words like fast and good as adverbs; they is not third person singular… These are the rules that will be taught by me to the French, but rules rarely followed by my American friends and family. As I sleep for fourteen hours every day only to wake up and search the mail box for a letter from France, I also wait to hear from my friends at Express, American Eagle, Buffalo Wild Wings, Marriott, Starbucks, Roasters, Durry Inn, etc… Am I waiting for Godot?

With the fear of not taking responsibility for my actions blazon on my brain at the beginning of the summer, I submitted my application at several locations around town. There were days during which I would simply wait by the phone for a call, but for the most part, the search has been fairly consistent. Today, I was promised by Express that I would receive a call at around 15h. I waited until 16h15 before I finally placed the call myself. As it turns out, something came up and nothing was able to be discussed between the many organized managers running the show over at West Gate Mall. What am I to do? Beckett never laid out a plan of action in the scenario that one has seemingly taken the responsibility but nothing happens.

The same issue has arisen with my letter from Versailles. I can do NOTHING about my move to France until I have that letter. I can’t obtain a Visa, I can’t find housing until I know where I will be teaching, and I can’t purchase a plane ticket until I for sure have a place to live. I AM WAITING ON FRANCOT!

I now find myself writing this blog while watching Property Virgins on HGTV™ while my mom insists that I explain to her in detail why I “…DIDN’T EAT ALL OF THE MEAT!” Oh “…for the love!” as my dear friend Sharia Brock would say…

Adieu!

2009-05-27T09:54:00.005+02:00

I once heard an actor in a sitcom say, "If you love someone, you have to let them go!" It was a sitcom; therefore, there had to be a comical line to follow: "I love you...GO!" I believe that when I first heard this "put down" I was in elementary school and thought it would be a fun line to use on my friends. They didn't think it was as funny as I did. Oh well! I eventually got over it and found a few funnier and more insulting lines from my primetime nick-at-nite™ friends. Nonetheless, this idea of letting someone go was a concept that never left my mind.

As I flushed my last campus commode (in the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat), I realized that it was really happening. As soon as I wash my hands and walk out of the door, I will be saying goodbye to people and Baylor indefinitely. No promises to be made about future appearances and no expectations to be held of such appearances. I had graduated and would be saying goodbye. Naturally, as I waved to my friends John and Reese, I said the ritual, "See you later!" It was a promise in which no definite hopes should be placed. I understand that I am never promised to see a person again when I say "See you later!", but it's a phrase that allows me to sleep at night. Before saying "See you later!" for the last time, Reese asked me "Will you ever see us again?" to which I replied, "Every day in my head!" It was a bit of a movie moment during which John escaped before it became too real. I watched John drive away in his "I Support the Troops" red truck and tried not to be too emotionally overtaken. I said my parting words to Reese as I hopped in my vehicle and eventually shut the door. I made a special effort to drive past Pat Neff Hall and as soon as I did, the tears began to flow.

There is something about Pat Neff Hall that seems to embody the spirit of what Baylor means to me. In our school song, one of the lines reads, "We'll fling our Green and Gold afar to light the ways of time". These two colors are always represented by the snow white tower capped with a golden bourret that lights the Waco night sky. Even in the seasons when a Baylor loss in football or basketball must be bared with the white lights that hide the victorious Green shone upon the tower, the tip of the tower can never hide her true colors. These two colors are the colors of the blood that flows through the heart of the campus and into the hands and feet of the many Baylor Bears that trod upon the four corners of the earth. The tower sings throughout the day to remind us of the angelic music that calms all hearts when times of hardship must be faced. This music brings tears to our eyes because we understand that there is someone greater than us who will never leave our sides nor to whom we will ever have to say "See you later!" for the last time. Pat Neff Hall is not the oldest building on campus, but like all Baylor Bears, she joined the Baylor family in the middle of Baylor history, only to become a landmark.

As I looked upon this tower one last time, the song Chariot by Gavin Degraw plays from a CD given to me by my friend Amber. It's a bitter sweet moment. I reach the last set of columns that represent the Baylor Heritage in Independence, TX and begin to cry with an unbearable feeling of sadness. It was one of those feelings that remind you that there is nothing you can do to change this. I decided to send a message to Dub Oliver to say goodbye. He responded with a heartfelt message that didn't help to remedy the flow of tears. I-35N would be my route and Amarillo would be my destiny (for the next three months that is).

I now sit here in Amarillo waiting for a summer job to support me until my time comes to once again fling my Green and Gold afar in the land that is so dear to my heart - La France!

Je Retourne!

2009-04-11T07:30:00.002+02:00

As many of you may already know, I applied for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to France and was awarded a non-Fulbright French Government Teaching Assistantship. This means that in the fall of 2009, I will start my job as an English Teaching Assistant in FRANCE!

I recently received an e-mail from the French Embassy in Washington D.C.:

Dear Future Teaching Assistant,

Congratulations! We are very pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the French Teaching Assistantship Program for the 2009-2010 academic year, sponsored by the French Ministry of Education.

You have been placed in the Académie of Versailles. You will be assigned to one or more schools in the region, however please note that your school(s) will not necessarily be located in the city of “Versailles." You can find out more information about your particular Académie d’affectation at the following website: http://www.ac-versailles.fr/

In June, you will receive a letter directly from your Académie containing your “Arrêté de Nomination.” This document will provide essential information, including the name(s) and address(es) of the school(s) where you will teach, the length of your contract, level of instruction, and your contact person’s information. Please note that I do not know yet where you will be assigned within the Académie, nor can I change your placement.

Please confirm by e-mail whether you will accept the offered position as a Teaching Assistant in France. If your plans have changed and you are no longer able to participate in this year’s program, we ask that you let us know immediately so that we can offer the post to another candidate on the waiting list. Should you resign from this year’s program, we cannot guarantee your future acceptance into the program as deferment is not an option.

We look forward to hearing from you and félicitations!

Court!

2008-05-20T22:53:00.002+02:00

It’s finals week! No big deal! These tests are very easy! It’s been no thang but a chicken wing! I have nine finals and they all aren’t going to be so easy. I hope anyway! Today I have posted some more updates from the two week vacation. Enjoy!

This is a picture of the tram next to the university.

Part II, II, et IV!

2008-05-20T22:45:00.004+02:00

The next day we went to a German Lutheran Church. It was interesting! I couldn’t understand a word that was being said, so I was a bit board; however, It was a very cultural experience! After that we found a little flee market where I bought a pin that says “Deutschland” for my backpack. We then toured the town of Hanover a bit and saw the high points. C’était vachement génial ! After walking through town we ate at a very nice and cheep restaurant near Sarah and Sean’s apartment. Laura and Sean tried to teach me some German words, but I wasn’t quite picking it up. Oh well. I thought that maybe French would be useful in Germany, but I was extremely wrong! Everybody in Germany speaks English. Even bums speak English. It’s crazy! If I had wanted to study German, I would have probably cried without ceasing! I’m a blessed that most French people don’t speak fluent English! That won’t be the case in just a few years, but for now ça va!

The next day Sarah and I took a stroll through the town while are friends wrote essays. They had to take an online class back at their home campus in San Angelo and they had to do homework while we were there – HOW RUDE! Sarah and I walked through the town together and found a really cool park. We took some pictures next to some old gazebo and some random German lady walked by and said something. I had no clue what she was saying, so I just said, “JA!” which is German for yes. After that we met back up with our friends and went to dinner. Sara and Sean took us to this really nice but cheap restaurant. They gave you a free bottle of wine if you buy two meals off of the same menu! Seeing as how I have become temporarily French, I was very happy! Don’t worry Sharia; I will become American again before I come back to Baylor! I’ve never been drunk in my life, but the bottle of wine that Sarah and I shared did make us both very happy to be alive!

The next day Sarah and I departed for Hamburg where we would be taking our flight to Paris. When we got off of the train, some young guy asked me for money and I went ahead and gave him a little bit. Later on, Sarah and I were trying to figure out how we were going to pay for the lockers for our luggage considering that we had no coins. That’s when I saw the same guy walk by and approached him to ask for change (I KNEW HE HAD SOME!). When I asked him he started to tell me his story again. I just stoped him by saying, “Yeah, I already know… remember…I gave you some money…do you have change for a five?” He did and he gave it to me! After that we wondered around town for a while and waited for our friends to arrive in Hamburg to say goodbye. While we waited we went into a café and I ordered coffee for us using four of the nineteen German words I know! I was very proud! When they finally got there we took some pictures and said farewell. Sarah and I then tried to navigate the Hamburg Airport. It wasn’t that hard. As a matter of fact, we were so early that we ended up being some of the first ones at our gate. Sarah was getting sick in the process and really not excited that her first time in Paris would be remembered as a sick time.

Ca RE-Recommence!

2008-05-13T22:59:00.003+02:00

For those of you still keeping up with this blog despite my lack of faithfulness, bless you! Today you will find three blog posts. The first one is the one you are currently reading, the second is Part I of my two week voyage, and the third one is about my trip to Versailles. Each day I post there will be another part of the two week voyage, so there should be quite a bit to read in the near future. There will also be a future post about my trip to Tours in the Loire Valley. Lord willing, I will have all of my trips archived BEFORE I return to the USA. We’ll see how that goes!

As of today there are 25 days left for me in France. I am sad and happy at the same time. I know that once I get home to Amarillo that France will be missing from me like crazy! I will probably also start to use certain French terms like the one you just read. What I meant to say was that I will miss France; however, in France I would say that France will be missing from me. It’s ok; I often speak French using English terms. C’est la vie!

This is my last week of classes and then I will be starting finals. If you think about it, please pray that things go well! Be looking for updates!

Vacances Part I!

2008-05-13T21:28:00.002+02:00

Vacation : Finally! I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to write this blog! Cole has been lazy. Instead of going through a day by day replay of what went on, I’ll do like I’ve done before and recount the good stories.

Deutschland (Germany):
As you know, I started off in Germany. In order to get to Germany I took a train from Caen and then caught a connection in Paris to Hanover. I took a sleeper train. It was a fun experience. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but I definitely was happy to do something I’ve never done before!

When I got to the train station in Hanover I couldn’t wait to see my friends! I was almost running through the station! When I got down to the ground floor I looked to my right and there they were! Sarah Stanford was walking towards me with that Sarah look and her Old Navy™ Performance Fleece™ rainbow colored beanie! We walked back to the apartment of our friends from Amarillo Sarah Meyers and Sean. It was still very early in the morning so we all just went back to sleep. After a night on a train, I was definitely still tired! We all slept in the same room on a giant cot that was made out of two mattresses from Sarah’s and Sean’s beds. It was one big happy family! Sara Meyer’s friend Laura was there too. She is also studying in Germany.

When we all woke up we went to the Hanover City Museum. It was a nice museum full of German and WWII history. It was a bit depressing, but nice at the same time. Sara, Sean, and Laura’s friend Maurice caught up with us and hung out with us for the remainder of our time in Germany. After the museum we went to eat at a Kebab restaurant near Sara and Sean’s apartment. We then went back to the apartment and hung out all night.

Versailles!

2008-05-13T21:24:00.002+02:00

Today was such so much fun! It is Thursday and we had the day off for some reason so my friend Marie asked me to go to Versailles Palace with her. We left this morning for Paris at 11:49 and got to Versailles (right outside of Paris) at around 16:00. It was my second time to ever be at Versailles, but the last time was over five years ago and I really wanted to see it again!

While at Versailles we got to see the inside of the Palace and take some cool photos. I also got in trouble three times. The first time I was looking out of a window and the little kid inside of me said “OPEN IT!” So as I’m in the process of opening this window a woman’s voice says, “NON S’il vous plaît monsieur !” (NO please sir!) The next time was as I saw a sign that said do not enter. I didn’t understand why the sign said do not enter because I saw several people in that room. I therefore entered. I didn’t get very far before a woman signaled me to the entrance. Oh well. The third time was when I saw that a barrier had been slightly moved and followed some other “naughty” people into a forbidden area. Marie came with me and we took some photos of the “forbidden” rooms. Right as we got to the end of the “forbidden” tour a man approached me and asked if I had moved the barrier. I told him that it was already moved and then he kicked us out of the “forbidden”. I wanted to go back into the other parts of the palace and say, “We saw something you didn’t see! Na na na na boo boo!”

After we walked through the palace we went out into the gardens and walked around. It was a beautiful day! We walked for a while before we got too tired and then decided to find a boulangerie and get some baguette. We found our boulangerie and baguette and then walked back to the train station to see if we could exchange our ticket for a later ticket back to Caen. When we looked at the time tables and talked to the lady behind the counter, we discovered that we already had the latest ticket back. We then had to hurry to get back into Paris and to our train. As we were waiting for the train to take us back to Paris we ran into a very nice old lady that insisted that we sit with her on the train. She was SO nice! She talked with us for a while and asked us all sorts of questions. As we got off at the station in Paris she decided to walk us to metro to show us how to get to our train for Caen. As we were walking she decided that we needed to hurry so that we wouldn’t miss our train. She started walking so fast and weaving in and out of people that Marie and I almost lost her. When we got to the Metro she kissed us goodbye (the French always kiss on the cheeks when they say goodbye) and wished us a bon voyage.

We made it to our train on time and enjoyed a nice relaxing ride back to Caen. I was so happy to have gotten to spend the day with Marie and enjoy Versailles! Tomorrow I’m going to the Loire Valley to meet up with my friends from Baylor and see the Châteaux (castles).

2008-05-12T23:05:00.001+02:00

For some reason or another this internet is not letting me post photos. I have a lot of things to share with you, but I can't do it right now. PLEASE stay tuned!

La vie en Rose!

2008-05-02T15:50:00.001+02:00

You must forgive me! As usual, there is an excuse and it’s always the same one: I haven’t had internet in a while! The last time I came to the café, Microsoft™ Word™ wouldn’t work and I wouldn’t write the blog post. I don’t have a whole lot of time today to recount everything that went on in the past two weeks, but I would like to give you an actual update!

This past week was great! I started back my classes this Monday. Last weekend I was very much ready for the semester to be over and come back to the United States after spending time with my parents in Paris (BE READY FOR THAT STORY)! I started to count the number of weeks that rest before I come home. However, when I went back to class on Monday, I started to realize how much I am going to miss France! It’s strange! I don’t want to stay, but I don’t want to leave! It’s very bitter sweet! The day before yesterday, (Wednesday), I went to the gym and didn’t even workout! En fait, I worked out a little bit, but for the most part I stood around talking with my gym friends. We stood around and talked for about thirty minutes! It was awesome! After that I went back to the house and expected to have dinner with the Grousiers with little miss Benedict in her teenager mood as usual! That wasn’t the case at all! After dinner, I started to ask Benedict some questions and she and I talked for over thirty minutes! It was the first real conversation I’ve ever had with her! I don’t think she hates me as much as I thought! After dinner I got the opportunity to hang out with Rachel, Linden, Jonathan, and our French friends! We stayed and hung out with them until four in the morning! IT WAS GREAT! After that I went home and slept, only to wake up the next day and spend the entire Thursday with them! We didn’t have class on Thursday because May 1st is Labor Day. I even had dinner with them at a nearby “Texas” restaurant! We stayed out until midnight thirty! I LOVE FRANCE! I LOVE TEXAS TOO! Oh how I’m torn! One of these days I’m going to move my entire family and all of Baylor to France! I might even bring Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio along as well! That would be “La vie en Rose!”

Today I went to class and then out for lunch with Linden, Rachel, and Jonathan. We had Kebabs! Now I’m here in this café alone listening to Country music! Ironically, I’m listening to a song about a girl who’s parents sent her more money ;)!

CHINOISE!

2008-04-07T23:33:00.002+02:00

Here’s a little story I forgot to tell you last night: Last Friday, I was in my grammar class when we decided to take a break to go to the bath room and get a drink. The bathrooms in this particular part of the university are coed. That means that there are girl’s toilets in the same room as the urinals. I was using the men’s portion of the room when a lovely little Chinese girl from our class came in the restroom. When she entered she said, I kid you not, “Cole, can I see?” WHAT? I about lost it! My American friend Sarah was in the restroom at the same time and she couldn’t believe it either. When I was finished doing my business I went to wash my hands while my lovely little Chinese friend was using the toilet. I went to dry my hands right as she was coming out of the toilet closet. As she made her way to the sink, she passed by my Greek-like body and stuck her hand up my shirt. She was probably highly offended when I about jumped back two feet and up another ten! The only thing I could think to say was, “Well, looks like more grammar!” and then I left the restroom! Later on that day I saw her at the tram stop and she grabbed my arm saying, “Ooo! You have a little bit of muscle!” I’m never wearing that t-shirt again around her!

Today, Monday, was good. I’m feeling better and just randomly decided to go to Germany Thursday!!!!!!! I’m going there to meet my childhood friend Sarah Stanford from Texas and then fly with her from Germany to Paris where I will show her and her friends around! YAY! I’m SO excited! After she leaves Paris, my parents are coming! MOMMY! DADDY! The next two weeks are going to be a riot!

Other than that, I went to class this morning where we talked about if we would ever marry a person from another culture. I told the professor that I would, but that my mom wouldn’t like it very much. She only wants me to marry someone from Amarillo. Oh well! When it came time for my lovely little Chinese friend to tell the professor who she would marry, she told the class that she was looking for either a German or an Italian. All of my American friends that knew the story were saying under their breaths, “OR AN AMERICAN!”

After class I went to the gym and then home for dinner. Now I’m here again, talking to you instead of doing my homework! See you soon!

Le Monde!

2008-04-06T17:15:00.001+02:00

Because of my lack of internet access and my perpetual sickness, I have obviously been absent from the internet for a few days. That means that instead of writing this blog in accordance with days I will write it in accordance with events. Here we go:

Hélène: First and foremost, I finally decided to talk to Hélène about the un-invitation into the family room. Last Tuesday I went downstairs before dinner and had the following conversation: (keep in mind that the conversation is being translated from French to english)
Moi (me)- “Hélène, I just had a quick question about something that happened last Saturday.”
Elle (her)- “Yes Cole!”
Moi- “I was a bit confused when you told me that I couldn’t be in the family room. I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to go in there!”
Elle- “Oh yeah, you understand that we use that room almost as an extension of our bedroom. When Louis-Henri comes to visit he sleeps in there and when Benedict practices the cello she doesn’t like anyone to be in there including her brothers.”
Moi- “I understand, but I have to admit that I was a bit shocked! I had no idea that I wasn’t supposed to be in there! Nobody ever said anything!”
Elle- “Did I not tell you when you first came?”
Moi- “No, you didn’t.”
Elle- “Oh, I am so sorry! That’s my fault!”
Moi- “Like I said, I was a bit shocked… ok, I was very shocked and that’s why I went to my room for the rest of the day.”
Elle- “Oh no! I wondered why you were so quiet! I just thought you were tired!”
Moi- “No, I was shocked!”
Elle- “That’s why you didn’t come down when the company arrived! You usually run down stairs any time friends come over!”
Moi- “No, I was hiding.”
Elle- “I am so sorry!”
Moi- “The reason I went into the family room to begin with was because I saw that you were busy getting ready for the company and I wanted to get out of your way. I could have gone to my room, but you understand that there isn’t really anything in there for me to do. There’s neither internet nor television!”
(I figured she’d tell me to read a book!)
Elle- “That is a shame that the internet doesn’t work anymore! Any time you want to watch T.V, just let me know and we can set aside some time for you! I just have to make sure that the kids have a place to work and that I have a place to work when I’m getting ready for my classes.”
(I’m thinking, “Whatever!” by this point.)
Moi- “Ok, thank you very much!”
Elle- “Is there anything else Cole?”
Moi- “No, that was all!”
Elle- “Ok, we’ll eat in about five minutes!”

After that I felt better, but still think it’s a bit ridiculous that I can’t use the family room. I recently received an e-mail telling me that when she asked if I wanted to watch a movie, I should’ve said “oui” and then sat down at the entrance to the family room in the doorway. This same person also encouraged me to clog the commode out of revenge! You know who you are and I am very proud of you Adam!

Cussing Professor: The other day my professor was trying to explain to our class something that the President of France said in public that was highly looked down upon. In order to explain it to the fullest, he said, “It’s like if President Bush said, ‘F*** YOU!’” I just about fell out of my chair! He saw the expression on my face and said in english, “Sorry!”

Weekend: This weekend Louis-Henri came back into town. Last night Linden came and ate with the family and I and then the three of us; Louis-Henri, Linden, and I, went to La Foire. It’s a local carnival that comes for one month every year. When we got there we rode an attraction that made Linden almost wet her pants with excitement and Louis-Henri almost wet his pants with fear. I thought the poor kid was going to puke! Linden and I then got on this huge arm that goes in circles really high into the sky. It was fun and we had a great view of Caen! Today, Sunday, I went to church and when I left it was SNOWING! WHAT’S THE DEAL!?!? The past few days were beautiful, but today it snowed. I don’t get it!

Sick: I am still sick! I think it’s a virus! If I’m not better in the morning I’ll go back to the doctor. C’est la vie! I have to make sure that I’m better before my parents come to visit! I’m so excited to see them again!

Malade!

2008-04-01T22:30:00.003+02:00

I’m sick again! AHHHH! I went to the doctor yesterday because I had to get him to sign something for my insurance. I had to wait for an hour and a half! While I was waiting I must have picked up some sort of disease from the others sitting in the waiting room! If I don’t get better soon I’ll have to go back and wait for another hour and a half! AHHHH!

Yesterday, other than going to the doctor, I ran some errands in town. I had to go to the bank, go to the insurance company (twice) and to the doctor as mentioned before. I didn’t have much time at the gym, but I went anyway. The speaker in the dressing room still doesn’t work! HA HA HA! When I came home Hélène asked me if I wanted to watch a movie with her and Yves-Marie. I WAS INVITED INTO THE FAMILY ROOM! Alert the media! I politely accepted the invitation. I don’t think that I’m going to talk to her about the “family room” issue. Like I said before, I don’t think she knows that she was rude. She was stressed and her daughter was trying to play the cello (it sounds like a dying cow). I’ll just have to get over it and go on with life. I never went in there that much anyway.

We watched a movie that took place in Québec (which means that everyone spoke French with an accent from Québec). I couldn’t understand a word. I just sat there getting sicker and sicker. When the movie finished I asked Hélène if she had anything for pain. She was very sweet. She gave me a pain pill (like Tylenol™) and some sort of liquid called Acti Soufre™ (it tastes like sun screen). I then went to bed and woke up wanted to shoot myself!

Today I went to class and the professor couldn’t talk because his voice was so hoarse! Something is going around and I do not like it! After class I studied for a test that I had in the next class. I wanted to fall asleep on the ground in front of God and everybody! I took the test without any problems and then I had lunch. I ate with my French friends that I went out with the other night! It wasn’t easy to talk to them because I couldn’t hear anything because of the junk in my ears! It wasn’t just French that I couldn’t understand. My friend Marie said something to me in english and I didn’t understand a word she was saying!

After my final class of the day I went home and slept for two hours. I then had dinner with Yves and Benedict because Hélène and Yves-Marie were in town for Yves-Marie’s birthday. Now I’m at the café with Rachel who has brought me some cold medicine! Thank you Rachel!

Je = I

2008-03-30T19:32:00.001+02:00

Sunday: I went to church this morning with the family for Benedict’s confirmation. It was extremetly boring! Yves was sitting next to me and he fell asleep. He wasn’t in a good mood because we lost an hour of sleep do to time change. You’ll just have to get over it little Yves! Life happens! If I can’t go in the family room, you can stand to lose an hour of sleep! I’m a bit bitter if you haven’t noticed.

After church we went home and had lunch. We ate rabbit. It (honestly) tastes like chicken! I know mom, why didn’t we just eat chicken!?!? Oh well, the guests were very nice to me and we easy for me to understand. Either they spoke very well or I’m just able to understand French a lot better than I could before. After lunch I said goodbye to everyone and congratulations to Benedict before I came here to the café.

Moi, le Pauvre

2008-03-30T19:28:00.002+02:00

Saturday : Saturday was an awkward day. I spent most of the day in my room in front of a computer with no internet. What joy!

When I went downstairs in the morning to eat breakfast Hélène was running around getting ready for her parents to come for Benedict’s confirmation at church on Sunday. She must have been in a bad mood because she said something that wasn’t all that nice. Here’s the story:

Keep in mind that not all families are the same and that just because my mother is the best mother in the world doesn’t mean that all of the mothers in the world are exactly the same! After I ate my breakfast, I went into the family room to watch television. As I was watching, Benedict came into the room to practice the cello. She started to take the cello out of the room so that I could watch the T.V., but I insisted that she stay and asked if I could use the internet (in the same room) instead. She started to set up her cello while I was logging on to the family computer to check my e-mail. For some reason the girl decided that she couldn’t practice with me in the room, so she took her cello into the living room. I thought, “whatever! I can’t do anything about it, so why try!” While Benedict was setting up in the living room Hélène came in and asked me if I could be done with the computer in about 5 minutes because the floor in the living room was too slick for the cello. That was fine, I had a thousand of other things I could have been doing in this busy life of mine here in France! I told her ok and finished reading my e-mails. She then came in again and said that I need not hurry because Benedict found a place where she could practice. She then followed that by saying, “You understand; this is why we like to keep this room for the family only. Louis-Henri sleeps in here when he visits and the kids do their homework in here. That’s why we keep the doors shut.” I was done. That’s all she needed to say. It was very clear! I may try to seem like a hard nose from time to time, but the truth is that it doesn’t take much to upset me. I went upstairs and waited for the upset feeling to pass and then I went into town.

I know that Hélène wasn’t trying to be rude. I understand that she wants to make sure that her family is taken care of at all times, so when Benedict didn’t have a place to practice, she probably felt like I was in the way. I have to understand that just because my mom treats all guests as if they are a part of the family, I shouldn’t always expect the same thing. However, I’m still going to have a conversation with her just to let her know that what she said wasn’t exactly taken with a grain of salt. One day she’s going to say that to a future exchange student and they’re going to hang themselves and she’ll be held responsible.

When I went to town I found the Lion King the Musical CD at FNAC for €10! This made me a bit happier. I then went home at 18h00 and waited for dinner. WE DIDN’T EAT UNTIL 21H00! I waited for 3 hours to eat when I could have been at the Café using the internet! I was just a bit frustrated. Eventually Hélène came up to my room to ask me to come down and join the other guests that had come into town for Benedict’s confirmation at church. She said that she didn’t even know that I was upstairs because I was so quite. Yeah Hélène! After you told me that I wasn’t allowed in the family room, I pretty much didn’t feel like I was invited to join the family downstairs! Oh well. Like I said, we’ll have a nice little conversation. She is usually VERY nice to me, but that one thing is really bothering me!

When I was finally called to come downstairs to have aperitifs with the guests I got to be a part of a very lively (sarcastically speaking) group of people. We sat and stared at each other while we waited for Yves-Marie, Benedict, and Yves come back from wherever they were. We then finally ate (vegetables). Oh, c’est la vie!

Ben Oui!

2008-03-30T19:25:00.001+02:00

Friday: For some reason I love my small grammar class! I have two grammar classes. The first one is a lecture and the second one is a small class with a very nice professor! She makes me love grammar! Thank you Mme. Lévitoux ! After class I went to the boulangerie again and grabbed lunch to eat at the house. While I had lunch I called my dear friend and renewed Chef Sharia Hays! I was recently informed that I will be working in Brooks Flats at Baylor next semester with some AMAZING people! I AM SO HAPPY! I had to call Sharia to say YAY! I tried to call Meredith too, but I ran out of minutes and the phone card wouldn’t let me use my last €0,40! ZUT! If any of you are bored and want to give me a call, dial +33(0)6.42.35.55.74. The 0 is in parenthesis because it is sometimes not needed. 33 is the country code for France and the rest of the numbers are as written. If you have any problems dialing the number, just give me a call and I’ll tell you what to do.

After talking to Sharia I went to the gym where one of the mumblers taught me a new exercise. I felt sort of like a little kid, but he made me feel better when he saw me doing another exercise and asked me how to do it. I then felt like a big kid again! After the gym I went home to eat and then to church. For some reason I just wasn’t feeling it at church. People were getting into it and Rachel was crying while a girl from the Netherlands and I were sitting in the corner cracking jokes about the old foggie song we were singing. Oh well. That happens from time to time! They didn’t kick me out, but there’s always next week! Now I sit here typing and listening to Le Roi Lion (The Lion King)! Hakuna Matata! Ces mots signifient que tu vives ta vie sans aucun souci philosophie !

Le Roi Lion!

2008-03-30T19:22:00.001+02:00

Thursday: I enjoyed my life on Thursday! I went to class in the morning (that wasn’t too fun) and then I bought a sandwich and went home to enjoy my lunch while listening to music at the dining room table. I then went up to my room and took a little nap before I went to the gym. After the gym I joined Rachel at a place here in town called Le Vertigo! We met up with some of our French friends that we met about a month ago! IT WAS AMAZING!

The entire evening things kept getting louder and louder, but I was able to understand almost everything that was said to me! The people that we were with are vachement chouette! Ils sont vraiment géniaux! I spent most of the evening talking with two girls and a guy. The girls’ names are Mandy and Maude and the guy’s name I forgot, so we’ll just call him Jacques. We talked all night about different things about France and the United States. They love the United States (like most French students)! They take classes at the university about American history. Go figure! They asked me if I knew certain things about French history and if I could sing La Marseilles (French National Anthem). They were shocked that I could sing it word for word. I thought they were going to cry. We then sang a few Disney songs in French! It was very amusing to think that all of my time waited sitting in front of the computer learning Hakuna Matata in French actually paid off! Hakuna Matata! Mais quelle phrase magnifique! Hakuna Matata quelle chante fantastique! After a while (after they became a bit tipsy from too much alcohol) we went to McDonald’s™. Gag me with a spoon! I bought a salad because the last time I ate a hamburger at McDonald’s™ I thought my insides were going to fall out when I went to the…

After MacDo we went to the beautiful university to my friend Bastian’s room. We hung out there for a while and talked some more. This time we talked about religion. Mandy asked me all sorts of questions because French students don’t have a lot of connaissance (←French word: sorry I can’t think of an english word!) concerning things religious. It was very interesting to say the least.

Afterwards I walked Rachel home and went home myself. I then received a call from my mom at 01h00 in the morning FRENCH TIME! Thanks mom! It wasn’t bad. I was still awake and very happy to hear from her. She told me that she would call me today; however… It’s not quite 01h00 yet, so maybe I’ll have to wait and see!

Lavazza!

2008-03-30T19:16:00.002+02:00

Today I went to my Simulation Globale class and we wrote a fake petition for our fictitious lives. At the end of class the professor told us that our homework was to get as many (real) signatures from French people as possible! CRAZY! My friend Helena said that she would just go into random bars and tell people to sign it without asking questions. Tonight at dinner I had Yves-Marie sign it and he wrote, “Mohamed Sidi Ben Basculante” Ben Basculante is a place to put things in your car. He had Benedict write Begzouille la Eripouille. That doesn’t mean anything. After my class I had lunch with friends and had another class. I then worked out at the gym (safely) and came home for dinner.

Before dinner Hélène told me that she had bad news (she was grinning) she announced to me that Louis-Henri would be coming back the week-end after this week-end! I almost tinkled in my pants! LOUIS-HENRI! That’s going to be AMAZING! During dinner Benedict was looking at a horse magazine because she LOVES horses! Yves-Marie jokingly asked Benedict if she preferred riding donkeys or horses. That’s when Yves decided to make the comment, “Who cares? They’re both good for eating!” I thought Benedict was going to cry! Through the rest of the meal he made random comments about eating horses. That’s when Hélène said, “You know Cole; in France French people eat horses!” Thank you Hélène for confirming that stereotype! If I come home and smell something awkward cooking and Benedict has gone so mad that she’s decided to chew on the sofa, I’ll know to eat at McDonalds! For the rest of the evening I listed to Disney songs in French. I need a life!

La Vie Depuis le Dernière Café

2008-03-30T19:13:00.002+02:00

Hello again! I’m writing you from home about what happened today because the café closed. It is now midnight plus one minute. I still haven’t done my homework. Oh well. It’ll get'er done! I promise mom! Today I woke up and said goodbye to my dear friend Louis-Henri. He gave me his e-mail address so that I can meet up with him in April. It’s going to be AMAZING! After saying goodbye and crying a little bit on the inside I went to school. Today I had a test in my sociology of the French language class. It was boring! I sound like my brother Carter now! Everything about school is boring! After class I faced my fears and went back to the gym! It was tough, but I made it! I didn’t fall and hurt myself this time!

After the gym I went home and had dinner with the famille. It was sad not to have Louis-Henri there anymore, but I guess Yves and Benedict will have to do! I’m just kidding! You guys know I love you too! Hélène and Yves-Marie had a prayer meeting to go to, so when dinner was over Hélène was rushing to get me my café (I have a café at the end of every meal! Did you hear that mom?). And a banana with yogurt and a cheese tray! I know mom, I “mies’well go spit in tha wind!” I’ll get right on that! After dinner I went to the café to send you more posts. I hope you enjoyed them! If you have nothing better to do, I would recommend printing them off and using them as toilet reading material! OR, if you have a laptop… Anyway, I’m currently two weeks away from a two week break and from seeing my parents in Europe! MY DAD IS COMING TO EUROPE! Please don’t bring your toy trains! Mom, I thought of you today as I passed by a shop called “Aux Ongles d’Elyse” That means “Elyse’s nail salon”. If you have the passion to have your nails done in France, I know a place!

Super Fou!

2008-03-25T23:29:00.001+01:00

Saturday: Louis-Henri came back into town to see the family for Easter! He’s my new French buddy! We all had lunch together and then I went to the gym.

I hope you sitting down mom when you read this! When I got to the gym it was leg day so I went to work out my calve muscles. I found two weights and an aerobic step so that I could hold the weights and stand on the edge of the step to do calve raises. When I went to step up on the step it wasn’t as sturdy as I thought it would be. Needless to say, it went flying under me (breaking in the process) and I fell flat on my face letting the weights hit the ground with MUCH force and noise! I felt like an idiot! My new friend from the day before was there to enjoy this little escapade. As soon as I bit the dust, the lady from the front desk ran to the stairs to say “IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT UP THERE?!?!” I wanted to hide under a rock! I even told everyone in the gym that I wanted to hide under a rock! I was SO embarrassed! Imagine falling on your face and then having to explain, in a foreign, to the lady at the front desk why you broke the aerobic step! She was very nice! She told me that she was more concerned that I was alright! God bless her! Her name is Véronique. She is very kind!

After my nice little adventure I went home for dinner and then out with Rachel and Lyse! YAY! We went to a café and then to another café and then tried to go to a Reggae concert. The concert had been moved to a place far away from Centre Ville, so we went to a night club instead. It was hot and loud, but we ordered some Coca-Cola™ and danced a bit. It was fun. Lyse was very nice. After our soirée we all walked Rachel home and then I walked Lyse home. She lives nearby, so it wasn’t that long for me to have to walk.

Sunday: GREAT DAY! This was one of the greatest Easters ever! I went to church with Rachel and Linden and then to church with Yves-Marie, Yves, and Louis-Henri. When we got home there were a bunch of family members waiting in the living room! It was SO exciting! We all had lunch together and chatted! That night I went to the movies with all of the cousins. One of the cousins, Arthur, was very enthralled with the fact that I am American. He asked me if we really had ceiling fans like in the movies. When I said yes, I thought he was going to faint! It was hilarious!

Monday: Sorry, I have to write quickly because the café is closing! I spent all day talking with Louis-Henri and watching movies! This April when I have some free time I’m going to go visit him in Bordeaux! If I will devote a future post entirely to Louis-Henri, but now I have to hurry! Good-bye for now!

C'est Fou Aussi!

2008-03-25T23:27:00.001+01:00

Ironic! It’s the same word in French (except that in French it is spelled with a “que” and not “c”). I say ironic because what you are reading is in english, but you know that I don’t want to speak nor write in english. That’s why you don’t receive these posts when they happen. Each night when I go home I recount my stories in French and then go to the Lounge Café later on to translate them. Crazy? Not really. I want to practice my French writing and I can practice my translating skills at the same time. It works very well that way!

Thursday: Carnaval! Religious holiday? Maybe in your county, but in France that is hardly the case! I started my day with my literature class and then I went home to take a nap. After the nap I went to the university for my civilization course that was supposed to start at 16h00; however, when I arrived there was only my friends Amanda, Sarah, and me. We waited for a few minutes for the professor, but he never came. Finally I said, “Well, because we are the only ones here, if we leave before he comes in late there will be no class and we can go to Carnaval with the other students!” That wasn’t quite the case. We left and went to Carnaval, but there was class. Apparently the professor was on the ground floor while we were waiting for him on the 4th floor. Our class is always on the 4th floor; therefore, I don’t understand why he was on the ground floor. He found two other Chinese students from our class and decided to have class in another building. I don’t know why! Oh well! I went to Carnaval with my friends and the other students from the university and it turned out to be much more cultural than a civilization course!

At Carnaval there was a huge parade! It wasn’t like Baylor’s Homecoming parade! It was thousands of students dressed up walking in through the streets of Caen. Everyone was drunk and everyone smoked. There was a guy that approached me and asked (in english) if I was looking for pot. I used the universal word “NO!” To help you imagine this a little better, please understand that I was actually in the parade! I was walking with the other drunken students while they were smoking. It was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen in my life! I was sad that I had left my camera at home! Qu’est qu’on va faire?

After Carnaval I went to the gym and then went out with Rachel. While trying to decide where we wanted to go, I sent a text message to our new friend Guillaume that works at the Lounge Café to ask him if he wanted to go out with us. After I sent the text message I received a call. It was him and he wanted us to meet him in a café next to the university where he was working. I was VERY happy! When we got there a band was playing very loudly. Guillaume was very happy to see us and gave us free drinks! He said “It’s a gift!” Thanks Guillaume! He also said that one night he wanted to invite us to his place for a soirée that would make us remember France (I don’t know what that means, but I guess we’ll have to see!)

Friday : I went to the university as usual and then went home to do laundry. I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR! OUI! After that I went to the gym where I met a man that I see there all of the time. When he saw me he said, “You’re American right?” “Yes” I responded. Then he asked me from where in the United States I was from and when I said Texas someone else said, “San Antonio Spurs!”. We then had a conversation about American sports and Texas teams. The guys knew all of the teams of Texas! How? That is a great question !

After the gym I went home to eat with Yves-Marie. The others had things to do for the evening and I had to eat early because of church. After I ate I went to church where I had a great time! Rachel and I were invited to go to the apartment of one of our French friends (Romain) after church, but when we got to the tram stop the tram was VERY late and we had to walk. Rachel sent Romain a text message and then called him. He was very nice and insisted that we come to see him anyway. When we got to his apartment he was very welcoming. He offered us something to drink and spoke with us for an hour and a half. He then took us home in his car.

C'est Fou!

2008-03-25T23:25:00.001+01:00

Bonjour! I am in my favorite café again listening to French music! Mais Oui! I am very tired so please forgive me if you can’t understand what I am writing. Today I had my favorite class in the world; Simulation Globale! The professor is very nice and the class is very fun! It’s the class where I do a role play for the entire semester.

class I had lunch with Marie, Amanda, Helena, and Julia. I spoke in French like usual and everyone did the same. There were a few times when someone would say something in english and I would say, “excuse-me? I don’t understand. I don’t speak english!” Maybe that wasn’t very nice, but if I want to speak French, I have to make an effort! After lunch I went to my media class for a test. During the test someone pulled the fire alarm. Everyone had to leave the classroom for fifteen minutes. During the pause I saw Rachel and we saw one of our friends from Church (Pascal; I have spoken a bit about her before). After the pause I finished my test and went to the gym. After the gym I went home for dinner. We had crêpes with beef and crêpes with Nutella™! Ok, I was the only one that ate crêpes with Nutella™.

Before I leave this café I have to tell you a story that I forgot to post yesterday. It makes me cry a little bit. RACHEL! The girl that Rachel and I met last week wanted to go for café with Rachel last Monday. Rachel sent her a text message to see if I would be able to join them. The girl thought that Rachel asked her if she (the girl) was coming with any friends and responded by saying, “no, I and coming alone, but you can bring a friend if you would like.” I don’t know why, but Rachel thought that meant that she wasn’t allowed to bring me along. After the café Rachel called me and I asked her to read the text message to me. When she read it to me I said, “RACHEL! She didn’t say that you couldn’t bring anyone, but that she was coming alone and that you were welcomed to bring anyone you would like!” I’m going to kill her! Oh well! It’s not the pain of death. We’re going to go out with this girl (Lyse) Saturday night.

Je Peux Épeler Pâtisserie!

2008-03-19T22:58:00.002+01:00

When I started to write this post I was very happy. Now, that is not the case. After I was finished writing this post for the first time, I changed the keyboard into French for some random reason and I accidentally closed the document without saving it. STUPID! I want to punch myself in the nose! What I wanted to say was that I was very happy. I was thinking God for the fact that I can speak French and for the fact that I am in France etc… I promise, it was much more poetic the first time! Now, you are stuck with me being all frustrated! I will try to be nicer.

Today I started my day with a baguette and a croissant; both were full of Nutella™! I only wanted to baguette, but Benedict approached me in the dining room and asked if I wanted a croissant as well. You know me! I never say no when it comes to food! When I got to school I had a bit of a stomach ache. Ben, qu’est qu’on va faire ?

After my class I met the mother and the grandfather of Phil Cristensten at the train station. Rachel was there as well. Before they arrived Rachel and I were speaking in French. When they arrived I had a bit of a hard time speaking in english. It wasn’t that big of a deal. After a few minutes I was an American again. It was a great day! We showed them le château de Guillaume le Conquérant and our beautiful university (the university is next to the château unfortunately)! After that we had lunch in a pâtisserie called Paul. It was a true French meal! After lunch we showed them the route back to their hotel and Rachel and I walked back to centre ville for some café.

At the café the waiter spoke with us and asked us for our names. Rachel was very happy because she was saying beforehand that she wanted to know his name. We see him all of the time! After a bit of conversation we exchanged phone numbers and he had to leave. Rachel, full of caffeine, decided that one day we will be good friends with the waiter and one night after the café is closed, we will dance on the tables while listening to music. I don’t know what the waiter put in her coffee, but I know that for some reason she was super excited!

After the café I went to the gym (the music in the locker room still isn’t working!) and then back home to get my laptop and return to the café to use the internet. I translated all of my posts from French to english and checked my e-mail. I am sorry; I didn’t have time for facebook. When I was finished with my blog I hurried home because I was late for dinner. I called Hélène to apologize. It wasn’t that big of a deal luckily! After dinner I watched a couple of shows with Hélène and Yves-Marie. That made me very happy because I could understand everything they were saying on the TV! My French is getting better with each day! One of these days I will be completely fluent!

Oo la la Désolé!

2008-03-18T20:27:00.001+01:00

Français ! Français ! Français ! The last four days have been completely in French! That means that for four days I haven’t spoken a word of english! Of course, there have been a few words, but not one complete sentence and especially not one conversation! That makes me VERY happy!

Last night I went home to eat with my family. Louis-Henri was still there; therefore, I had to pay close attention to what he was saying! That isn’t easy at all! After dinner I watch “the Pursuit of Happiness” again because Yves wanted to watch it and I wanted to watch to improve my French. While watching the film, I didn’t my homework for Monday morning. After the film I went to bed early for the second time in several weeks! However, when I woke up this morning, I was still tired. Qu’est qu’on va faire ?

Today I had my writing course. Usually this is very boring, but for some sort of reason it wasn’t that bad. I sat next to my friend Sarah from Pennsylvania. I spoke French with here and she responded in French! When she started to say a few things in english, I told her that it was necessary that I speak French. She understood and agreed with me that if I want to truly speak French, I must make an effort! Those are the words of my life here in France! “IL FAUT FAIRE UN EFFORT !” After our writing class, Sarah walked with me while speaking French to our second class of the day. When we got there, our friend Marie was there, but she was very sick. She was suffering from allergies. La pauvre! She wasn’t in our first class, but she was there for the second one because we were supposed to have a test; however, the professor decided to do it tomorrow. I’m sorry Marie! After the second class, I ate with my friends Amanda and Helen (Amanda – USA and Helena – Finland).

At lunch Amanda was speaking english, but when I started to speak French, the girls did the same. It was the first day in several days that I had lunch completely in French! Merci Dieu ! After lunch we went to our third hour of writing. While walking I thanked Amanda and Helena for speaking French with me during Lunch. Like Sarah, they agreed with me that if I want to truly speak French, I must make an effort! Words of life!

After class I went to the gym where I saw a friend from Wisconsin. As usual, she started to speak english with me; however, I spoke back in French. She decided that that was a good idea and did the same. She was also in agreement with me that if I truly want to speak French, I must make an effort! She is SO right! After I worked out, I went into the locker room where there was American music playing on the radio. Nobody but me was in the room, so I found the speakers and unplugged them. It was so liberating!

After the gym I went home and watched TV. Yves came home soon after and I gave him a hard time as usual. He has really become like a little brother because he teases me all of the time! While we were eating I spilled my glass of water and never heard the end of it! Yves was full of jokes! I responded to him by saying, “and you’re perfect?” « SURE ! » he said. Then he went to his room and brought down a book called, « Mister Perfect ». In your dreams Yves !

Tomorrow I will meet the mother of my friend Phil Christensen at the train station ! Phil is the Community Leader that replaced me this semester and his mother is coming to Caen with her father to see the Château de Guillaume le Conquérant. That means that I will speaking english for a little while; however, after that, FRANÇAIS! I promise!

Oo la la!

2008-03-18T20:22:00.001+01:00

Friday night I was invited to eat with two friends from church, Jérôme and Kemmuel. We ate at the university. The food wasn’t very good, but the conversations were all in French! Rachel and Linden were invited as well. While eating, Rachel saw a French guy eating alone next to us. She asked Jérôme if it was acceptable to speak to strangers. He told her no; however, she did it anyway. While Rachel was speaking with her new friend, Jérôme said to me, “Tell her that it’s normal to ask for a telephone number after you meet someone new!” I didn’t say anything because this guy interested her very much. I didn’t want to interrupt her. Go Rachel! Go Rachel ! Go Rachel ! It was extremely funny ! After dinner, we went to church for the réunion of students. There was a guy there with a guitar and a lot of students (for France)! We were about ten or fifteen!

After church, I went home to sleep and sleep in! When I got up, I went downstairs to have breakfast (it was already noon). When I got downstairs, Hélène reminded me that her son Louis-Henri would be coming today and she invited me to have lunch with them. I said “OUI” like usual and she thanked me for saying yes before she even told me what we would be eating. I didn’t care! I’ll eat anything (except for fish; but she already knows that)! When Louis-Henri arrived he spoke VERY fast! TOO fast! I could comprehend about every other word.
After lunch I went with Hélène, Benedict, and Louis-Henri to take Benedict to church and pick up Yves. After that, I ran around the hippodrome by the house and watched a rugby match on TV with Yves. After that, we ate. During dinner, Louis-Henri spoke very fast again and Yves was mad for some random reason. After dinner, Louis-Henri, Yves-Marie, Benedict, and I watched the film, “the Pursuit of Happiness”. It’s funny to hear Will Smith with French a voice-over!

Pfft!

2008-03-14T15:30:00.003+01:00

Bienvenue chez McDo! If you can imagine this, I am sitting in the middle of a beautiful French downtown in a three story McDonalds™! The internet is free, so I came here today with my friends Julia and Marie. John Kitch, I just got through eating a BigMac™! I think I’m going to throw up!

Good news, the internet at the Lounge Café stopped working! STORY OF MY LIFE! I went there last Tuesday night with Rachel only to discover that the patron hadn’t paid the bill. When I went to pull up the Baylor homepage, I received a message giving me the option to pay the bill. I told the waitress and she got her boss to come and look at it. When he went to get his computer, the option to pay the bill did not come up for him. He therefore had to take my computer and pay the bill with his credit card. I now have all of his information and have to e-mail it to him. C’est la vie!

Before the adventure at the café I had another little pleasant adventure in the rain. Hélène told me that there would be a group of prayer and praise for college and career students at a local Catholic church at 20h45 Tuesday night. So, after dinner, I grabbed my coat and umbrella and walked from the apartment to Abbaye aux Hommes. On my way there, the wind almost knocked me over several times. It was crazy! When I finally saw the towers of the Abbaye I got very happy; however, when I actually got to the Abbaye, the lights were off and the doors were locked. I just laughed. I looked around the back to see if they had met somewhere else, but all of the lights were off. I called home to see if Hélène knew of any other place they might be, but I was unfortunately out of luck. I went ahead and walked to Saint Pierre to see if there might possibly be something going on there, but it was the same situation. No lights and all the doors were sealed. I’m sure there were cameras watching me walk all over the city in the rain like an idiot. I decided to go home and get my laptop to go to the Lounge Café to do some homework and that’s when I realized that their internet wasn’t working any longer. When I left the café I got all the way home (almost an entire mile away) and realized that I had left my laptop adapter at the café. I therefore walked all the way back to the café in the rain and luckily got my adapter right before they closed. I got quite a bit of exercise that day!

Earlier that night at dinner I got the opportunity to make fun of Yves as he grabbed an apple and asked his mother to peal it for him. I about died! I asked him how old he was just to verify and Hélène just laughed as she took the apple and PEELED IT! I told them that if I had asked my mother to peel an apple for me that she would have said, “the maid died!” I now make fun of Yves every time I think about the time he asked him mother to peel him an apple.

Wednesday night dinner was served at almost 21h00! It seems that Yves tried to call his dad to tell him that he would be getting another ride home from Rugby practice, but Yves-Marie did not have his cell phone. Yves came home, but Yves-Marie was still at the Rugby club waiting for him. They tried to call Yves-Marie to tell him that Yves was already at the house, but he still didn’t have his cell phone. We waited and waited, but the time just kept getting later and later. Hélène finally brought me some peanuts to keep me until we ate. Hélène finally decided that we were just going to have to eat without Yves-Marie. Benedict and Yves wanted to wait, but Hélène was too hungry. Finally Yves-Marie showed up, but was surprisingly not mad. Dad, you would have killed me! Before dinner, Hélène had given me a tin of cookies to apologize for the fact that I had to wonder all over town looking for a group that didn’t exist. It was funny.

Last night (Thursday) Linden and Rachel came over to the house for dinner again. Hélène invited them. Anne Caroline (the girl that ate with us this week) was there too. It was very fun and funny at the same time. There were times when things were said that only the family and I understood and then there were things said that only Linden, Rachel, and I understood. Linden just finally turned and spoke with Hélène for about an hour. Yves-Marie was getting very tired. We finally all decided to leave and said goodnight to the Groussiers.

We had been invited by some of the people in Andrew’s class to hang out with them for the night. We went and enjoyed their company for all of five minutes before they all started speaking english with us. (I’m sorry Grandma, I refuse to capitalize the word english any more!) Rachel and I were livid! We spoke French amongst the two of us even though everyone was speaking english. After a while everyone decided to go to some dance place, so we went along just to see. Two friends from Baylor came in to visit Andrew, so they got to experience a real French outing. Rachel and I were sitting around the table with the others at the dance place and all we heard were French accents speaking the english language. Finally Rachel just said, let’s go dance. We did, and we enjoyed ourselves (IN FRENCH!) When we were leaving, we said goodbye to all of the French people and one guy translated everything I was saying in French into english. If he only knew! If you are in the USA right now and you speak another language, I am very proud of you, but please DO NOT speak that language with any foreign people trying to learn english! It’s RUDE! I went ahead and walked Rachel to her house nearby and we spoke French the entire time! When we got to her house, we talked for at least another thirty minutes in French about how much we hate it when French people speak english with us. It was very ironic. We then talked about how were afraid that we would go back home and forget everything.
Last night I had another dream that I was back in the USA speaking english again. This morning I woke up in France! It must have been a nightmare! When I did wake up I was thinking things in French! I therefore decided that I would not be speaking english all day. It has worked so far. People are speaking english to me, but I’ve not responded in that language. As a matter of fact, I’m going to have to leave McDonalds™ soon because my friends are only speaking in english. I don’t think they understand that I want to throw things at them when they do that. I’m going to go to the gym! I hope I get the opportunity to write again soon! We’ll have to see! For now, I’ve had enough english.

Deux Jours!

2008-03-11T14:36:00.004+01:00

I am writing to you from the beautiful Université de Caen! Oh how the cigarette butts contrast with the beige concrete buildings and graffiti! I’m on my lunch break, so I just found a plug and popped a squat in a building named, “Vissol”. It’s where most of my classes are held.

Sunday evening, I went to the cinema with Rachel and a friend of her French family named Xavier (za-vee-ay). Xavier is a high school senior that tutors the son of Rachel’s French family. We saw the film Paris (pair-ee with a French ‘r’). It was a very French film. What do I mean by that? It didn’t make a whole lot of since, and the end was left to the imagination. American films usually have some sort of happy ending or big moral, but French films are always ended with a bit of mystery. I actually like it. It takes some getting used to, but I like it.

Monday (yesterday) started off with a wonderful two hours of expressive writing. IT’S MY FAVORITE CLASS! Think again! After that class I had an hour of oral expression and then lunch. At lunch I got to eat with two of my French friends. One of them looks exactly like my hall director last semester in Penland (Hey Peter!). As a matter of fact, I walked into the cafeteria, looked across the room to see these two students, and though it was Peter. I almost ran to give him a hug and then remembered that I was in France. C’est la vie! After lunch I had another hour of expressive writing and then went to the gym. There I met a guy who always wears cloths with something about California. I’ve seen him in there several times and have always wanted to ask him about his California clothing. This time I finally just said, “Toujours Californie!” (Always California!) He laughed and then took a seat next to me to tell me about the time he studied at UCLA. I then said, “J’imagine que tu peux parler anglais!” (I imagine that you can speak English!) He told me that he could, but that I probably wouldn’t understand him. He also said that he wouldn’t speak English to me because he knows what it’s like to learn another language with people only speak your native language with you. It’s very frustrating!

After the gym I went home for dinner and saw that we had a guest. Some girl who is a friend of the Groussiers is visiting Caen and will be eating dinner with us every night this week. She’s studying to be a pharmacist here in France. She was very soft spoken, but very nice all the same. After dinner she joined the family and I in front of the television to watch a series called “Père et Maire” (Priest and Mayor). It was a good show and a good way for me to learn French! After the show it was bed time.

Every once in a while I walk by Yves room to go to the bathroom and I hear American praise and worship music playing. I burned him a CD of some Christian songs that he wanted and now it seems like the only music he listens to. He was very excited when I gave him the CD and now he wants more. They don’t have any good modern Christian music in France, so it’s very nice for him to hear Christian music that isn’t Gregorian chant or a hymnal.

Tonight after dinner I will be going to a prayer and worship group at one of the local Catholic churches. Hélène told me about it, so I figured I go and see what it’s like. Maybe I’ll meet some nice French Catholics! You never know!

PS: Some of you were asking what my address is here in Caen. I have been so bad about responding to messages and e-mails because of my internet issue, so here it is:

Chez M. Mme Groussier
24 Rue PAUL TOUTAIN
14000 Caen, FRANCE

La Reine!

2008-03-09T18:14:00.002+01:00

Saturday. Happy day. HIGH SCHOOL DAY! ALERT THE MEDIA! As you may know, I am forced to go to a French café every day to use the internet! It’s horrible! I’m just kidding; forcing me into a French café is like trying to feed a Twinkie™ to a group of kids at a fat camp. It’s just not that hard! Today: pfft…(That’s the noise the French make when something isn’t worth discussing). Rachel and I met up at Saint Pierre for lunch and café. We landed in the same internet café, but this time it was plein (full) of high school students. If you’re a high school student, please know that the Lord loves you, but please understand that I would prefer that you stay home when I’m trying to enjoy my life in a French café! As we were enjoying our time in this café, a mob moved in to take up all of the places next to the outlets. The computer was dying and Rachel was crying over the amount of people present. We had to speak very loudly to hear one another, so they all knew that we were crazy Americans. At one point I said, “The prom queen will be coming through that door any minute now!” Five minutes later… (Insert the song “Dancing Queen”) the prom queen and her court arrived (flowers in hand)! I kid you not; a girl walked in with three friends all holding bouquets of flowers! I thought Rachel was going to throw a spoon at her head! She withheld her anger. Ok, maybe I was angrier than she was, but nonetheless, WE LEFT!

We went to Rachel’s house to use the internet, but for some reason my blog wouldn’t come up! That’s why today you get to read two blog posts! YAY! I then went home for dinner and then back out again with Rachel to make another effort. That makes number 1,234,354,987,368,21 and 1! Maybe I’ve exaggerated, but it feels like more than that even! We walked around and even sat down in a few cafés and bars before we decided on the right one. We ended up in the same café where we first met our old French friends who abandoned us the next night. We found a place in the middle of the room and waited! At one point an older couple sat in the empty chairs next to us. We were SO mad! We prayed that they would get a hot passion for one another and leave the room! THEY DID! YAY! But, then a group of smelly guys took their place. It was like beating a dead horse! Oh well! We left and went home for the night.

This morning (Sunday) Rachel was supposed to go on a trip to Honfleur, but missed the bus. I got a call at 9h35 saying, “Cole, I’ll see you at church.” I was happy to hear that I wouldn’t be there alone. Linden never goes and Jonathan went to Paris. I met Rachel at the tram stop and also ran into my English friend Carley and a French girl that we had met the other night at church. Her name is Pascal. We all walked to church together and enjoyed a VERY good sermon! After that, Rachel and I went to town to eat with Carley and our friend Magali. We then ended up back in the internet café where the Lord spoke!

After Magali and Carley left the café, two blond French girls walked in and took a seat. I told Rachel that she needed to potty and stop for a casual conversation. She’s such a good friend! I sat at my computer while Rachel went to town! I wasn’t exactly sure what they were talking about, but I do know that on their way out, they handed Rachel a phone number and told her to call them for a soirée! SCORE! Too be continued…! (PRAY THAT THIS SEQUAL ISN’T AS BAD AS THE LAST ONE!)

C’était en Français!

2008-03-09T15:19:00.001+01:00

Right now I’m writing in French. You’re thinking, “What? This isn’t French, it’s English; I can read it!” But you’re wrong! Now, I am writing in French! Maybe by the time you read this I will have translated it into English, but for the moment, it’s French. Why am I writing in French for the first time? It’s because tonight I want to dream in French. Tonight for the first time in my life I want to have several French dreams. Also, I was in the process of speaking and thinking in French before I came back to the apartment tonight when I decided to write something for my blog. This isn’t an easy thing to do if I wish to continue in French so that I might dream in French. If I continue to think in French, I can’t write in English! What should I do? Write in French!

Today was very good for my health! I went to my grammar class (ok, not everything was good for my health) and then I went to the Lounge Café for coffee and use the internet. I went with my friend Amanda, Rachel, Andrew, and Marie. It was nice! We talked and discussed for several hours! After that I went to the gym and then back home for dinner; however, I didn’t eat. When I got home, no one was in the process of cooking anything. There was just Yves-Marie and Benedict. Yves-Marie was looking at photos of trains while Benedict was watching television. Hélène wasn’t there and Yves was at Rugby practice with his rugby team. I waited until 19h45 (7:45pm) and then I decided that I had to leave for church that would be starting at 20h00 (8:00pm). I said to Yves-Marie, “I have to leaved now.” And he said to me, “You’re not going to eat with us?” I said, “No, I can’t. It’s already 19h45 and church starts at 20h00.” He then said, “Oh, that’s sad! Have a good evening!” When I got to church I was crazy hungry! Too bad (as the French would say)!

At church Rachel was there for her first Friday service. After the service, we went to the basement for coffee like usual. After everyone had finished their café and snacks, my friends Jérôme and Kemuel washed the dishes. I went into the kitchen to speak with them. While talking with them I learned that when Francophones speak French they don’t have an accent, but when they speak English, I think, “OH MY! THEY’RE FRENCH!” C’est marrant ça ! (Sorry that doesn’t exactly translate!)

After the dishes were done, the guys decided to be a bit mean to the girls. Rachel lost her shoe while trying to kick a soccer ball and Kemuel decided to steal it for a game of “Keep Away”. It was very funny and very good for my French! Kemuel is probably one of the funniest people in the world! In the past I didn’t think that would ever be able to understand French and converse in French, but after tonight, I KNOW that it’s possible! THANK YOU GOD! It was midnight before we left!

After church our friend Magalie took Rachel and I into Centre Ville so that I could eat. We then met Linden at Saint Pière so that she could eat as well. We then decided not to speak in English for the rest of the night. After a night at church like this one, I didn’t want to adulterate it with English. While eating Rachel said to me, “Cole, cover your ears! I must say something in English!” I did and afterwards it was nothing but French. MAIS OUI! After Linden and I had eaten, we ran into our friends Marie and Julia (Julia from Norway). We decided to walk together to look for a place to hang out. We were out of luck because all of the places were closed. So, we said goodbye and now I’m back in the apartment typing in French! It’s 7:39pm (in Texas) and I am VERY tired! Good night!

Après-Midi

2008-03-07T15:18:00.004+01:00

I’m back in the café that has internet. It’s called “The Lounge Café”. They’re very nice here! I just wish the café were free! Mom, send café money! I’m just kidding! It’s been a blessing to come here all the time. They play good music and have very comfortable seats! They even have pillows! I just want to throw them at someone when they walk in the door.

Yesterday I had a class called “Civilization”. We learned about women’s rights in France. In order to ensure that we fully understood what he was saying, the professor drew the female anatomy on the board as well as a condom. My friend Min from China didn’t quite understand, so I just leaned in and said in English “IT’S A CONDOM!” She speaks English, so she fully understood. She then went on to draw one in her notebook for her own reference. It was funny.

After class I went home for dinner. It was a fun dinner as I explained to the entire family my issues with meeting French people. They enjoyed the stories and were very nice to tell me that it wasn’t my fault, but that French people are just very hard to meet. Hélène and Yves-Marie move a lot because of his job, so they’re used to having to deal with this issue. They said that when they came to Caen, they had all of their neighbors over for a party and not one of them called them back or invited them to their place. That’s apparently how it is here in Normandy! Hélène said that she was tired of making an effort, but that since I’m young, I have a better chance. She’s right! Last night ended up proving that making an effort is worthwhile!

You might remember that a couple of weeks ago I was approached by a crazy French student exclaiming in English, “YOU ARE AMÉRICAIN!” That same student and his friends invited me over to their resident hall to hang out for the evening. Rachel was invited as well, so we went and spoke French for over three hours! Before that Rachel and I had gone out into town to find French people. We ended up in some random bar by the university where we sat AT the bar next to some old balding drunk man and ordered hot chocolate. It was quite the show! We were glad when some real French people called us! Because Rachel had class this morning at 8h20, she felt the need to leave at around 2h00. (WHO DOES THAT?) Right before she left she said to me, “I know you’re in Heaven and all, but what time to you think you’re going to head out?” I then responded, “I’m closing the place down!” I was right! The place was well closed when I left. Before I left, I was invited to have dinner with them next week some time. They want to get Rachel, Linden, and I together to cook for us! I have a feeling that if I’m persistent, I will finally have real friends in France! PRAY HARD!

After hanging out with the Francophones, I went home and crashed. When I tried to wake up this morning I ended up pushing the snooze button too many times and had to cut my daily twenty minutes of Nutell™ heaven in half. Oh well. I went to my grammar class and enjoyed three hours of pronominal verbs. (AHHH!) Now I’m back in the café talking to you! I hope things are going well in your domain! Keep me updated!

Je Reviens

2008-03-06T11:46:00.002+01:00

I must apologize! I finally brought my laptop to the university to update you! Let me just say, this internet thing is going to be the death of me! There are now three brand-new stories to read! I’m sorry that it has to be this way!

Yesterday was interesting. As you may know (from reading the previous “brand-new” stories) I have been sick. My head feels like it’s going to explode. I finally went to see a doctor, and let me just say, things are NOT like they are in the United States! First of all, when I showed up, I looked for a place to sign in. That’s not how it works. You just sit in a room with all sorts of random other people and wait for the doctor to open the door and call in the next person. This means that you have to remember what order you came into the room. When it was FINALLY my turn, I was made to come in and explain my problems in French. This wasn’t too bad except for the fact that I was feeling like hammered doodoo and my throat was inflamed. This makes for a difficult French conversation. She gave me some prescriptions and filled my others then sent me on my merry way.

After the doctor I went home to lay down for a little bit. I couldn’t fall asleep, so I got up and got on the computer (NOT THE INTERNET! – sad face). I then had dinner with just Yves and Benedict while Yves-Marie and Hélène went to the cinema. We had some meet and CRÊPES WITH NUTELLA™!

After dinner I went out with Andrew to an apartment with some of his French friends from his business classes. It was semi-fun. Everyone spoke English, so it was like spitting in the wind for me to speak French; however, I ended up speaking French to them and they spoke English to me. One of his friends, Hervé (you might remember him from a previous post) tried to hook me up with this girl named Alexia. She was nice, but I don’t think it was a good situation to meet her. There was loud music and everyone was smoking. I finally went home and caught the last tram back to my tram stop (Quai de Juillet (kay de jwee-ay)). I was still feeling sick, so I fell right to sleep.

Today I have been feeling better, but I’m still a bit under the weather. Now I’m sitting in something called La Maison d’Étudiants (It’s like the SUB at Baylor). I’ve been having a conversation with a few friends (in English) discussing our experiences in France. We’ve been talking about how annoying it is to meet a French person and have them ask you “Do you like Bush? Which kinds of AMERICAN music to you listen to? Do you want Hillary or Obama to win? I want to go to the USA! I can speak English!” I want to launch those people to the moon when they start in with those comments! Now I’m going to lunch and maybe tonight I will hang out with some French people! On va voir!

Ego

2008-03-06T11:05:00.002+01:00

Lego my ego! Today was definitely a day that stroked my ego! First of all, my professor came up to me in my culture class and said, “Because I noticed that you can speak French really well, I want to give you a supplementary article to read if you would like.” I was a bit embarrassed because she said this in front of the entire class, but I was SO enthralled! ME? SPEAK FRENCH? You’re kidding right? Surely she was hearing someone else speak! After that class, I went to the gym and had a nice workout. After working out I had a short conversation with the two ladies that work there. One of them goes to the same church as me here in Caen and so I had the opportunity to talk with her a bit. While I was talking with her the other lady said, “You speak French really well!” Like I said before, she must have been listening to someone else! I objected, but she just kept on insisting. She then said, “I also love your accent.” Now that’s nasty! American accents are not attractive! They sound like a Ford™ Tempo gasping for its last breath of carbon monoxide. But hey, whatever works! It is true that Americans like French accents, but I find it hard to believe that the inverse is true. Who knows, maybe my accent will find me a wife!

When I got home, Yves-Marie and Yves tried to help me figure out the problem with the internet. Yves-Marie tried to call the internet company and ended up handing the phone to me. I was a bit shocked, but was able to understand what the person on the other line was saying. I don’t know how that happened, but it did! ALERT THE MEDIA! After our nice little internet escapade with no positive result, I had the supreme opportunity to eat with just Yves! It was SO fun! After an hour or so of conversation I forgot that I was speaking French! This was ego booster number four. It didn’t matter what I said, he was all ears. He started talking about how much he wants to come to Baylor to study. I then told him that he would need to practice his English. We tried to practice a bit, but the conversation soon switched back into French. He is VERY timid and afraid to speak English in front of me. I basically told him “You’re gonna to have to buck it up cowboy! Ain’t nobody in Texas gonna speak French!” He wants to come and hangout with my American friends one day to try and hold a full conversation. After a short failed attempt at English, I showed him some American praise and worship songs. He was very pleased and told me that he wanted to copy them and blare them on his stereo. He’s not used to hearing that sort of music in the churches he attends. We then had a very nice conversation about dating and having a relationship with someone who wasn’t a Christian. As you may know, his girlfriend doesn’t believe in God, so things are going to be very interesting when they start to talk about his Catholic beliefs.

Had it not been for God’s blessings upon my ego, today would have been a terrible day. I am currently sick and came home after my morning class to take a three hour nap (missing my very boring grammar lecture). My ears, nose, and throat are inflamed like none other! It’s going around. It was bound to hit me! It always does! I found some pain and inflammation pills from Baylor, so maybe that will help! Tomorrow I will try to hit up the doctor’s office on campus!

Escaliers

2008-03-06T11:01:00.003+01:00

Seventy-seven! That’s how many stairs I climb every time I come back to the apartment. I could take the elevator, but when I’m actually seventy-seven years old, I will be willing to give anything to be able to climb seventy-seven stairs every day!

Tonight I spoke with my family about the internet and Yves found a code for me to use. I’ve not received it from him yet, but we’ll see what happens! Today started off a bit slow, but eventually picked up and ended up being a very nice day. At the beginning of the day I was feeling down, but the Lord blessed me at lunch by allowing me to run into some of the French friends that I had met two weeks ago. One of the guy’s names is Démen and he was the one who approached me when I was getting food. He just came up to me and asked if I wanted to hang out sometime soon! YES! My words couldn’t come quick enough! I then asked him and the other two guys to sit with us and eat. They did! Praise the Lord! I hope that things start going somewhere!

After and my afternoon class I got my very first French haircut! I look so good! They lady started by shampooing my hair and messaging my scalp! AMAZING! She then took her time and gave me a very nice European look! I’ll add some photos as soon as I have the internet again. She then only charged me €15 (€3 less than the advertised price)! I’m going back there!

After my haircut I went to the gym and then home for dinner. We had meat! I was very pleased! I then discovered the secret behind the lack of meat in the past! Hélène revealed to me that they only eat meat for lunch! Who does that? Anyway, we had a nice dinner and I helped Yves with his English work. He had me read some story written in British English that would have made absolutely no since to me if I hadn’t taken years of English courses. I don’t know how he understood! After dinner I went to a bible study with my church. Can you say hide me under a rock? Four Americans: Andrew, Jonathan, Rachel, and myself, all speaking French (or making an attempt to do so). For some reason it just wasn’t working for us. At one point I tried to use the verb accueillir (to welcome: pronounced ah-keu-year) and ended up saying ah-quee-ear. You should have seen the looks on those people’s faces! They were perplexed! I tried to cover it up, but the damage was already done. Out of over seven years of learning the French language, one would assume that I would know that all words with the letters “q” and “u” make a “k” sound. Québec is pronounced kay-bec and accueillir is pronounced ah-keu-year. I’m an idiot! Oh well! Live and learn! That’s what they say!

After bible study we went to the Lounge Café and met our friend Guillaume. One of the first things he said when he saw me was, “HEY! I read your blog!” How did that happen? Guillaume, if you’re reading this blog right now, please grant me pardon for any faux-pas I might have committed in the past fifty-five posts! I promise you I’m getting better! We had a nice evening and enjoyed talking about French pop music and Religion! Nice combination!

Conversations Intentionnelles

2008-03-02T17:39:00.002+01:00

The rest of yesterday wasn’t too bad. I went to the house of my friend from Norway. She and Marie were there with one of Marie’s friends from Mexico and a friend of Julia’s who is visiting from Norway. We had fun as we ate really good tacos and listened to some music. I got up and danced and they all thought it was insanely funny. They recorded it with the cameras on their phones and on their digital cameras. If you see me on the internet, please look the other way! After that we went to some club that was very boring. We just sat and talked. Julia and her friend from Norway (Cecelia) decided to leave and find a better place to dance. Marie, her friend (Eli), and I just stayed a while and talked. After that I went with them back to the university to get my things from Marie’s room and start my two mile walk back home. Here I am now. In my room without internet! Oh well! Tant pis as the French would say!

Today I went to church with Jonathan and Rachel. We rode the tram to church with our friend Carley from England. Church was very nice. One of the songs was called Emmanuel. It’s the same tune to a song called Emmanuel in the USA, but it was obviously in French. The reason I mention this song is because it has sort of been the theme of the past few days. Emmanuel means God with us. When Rachel and I met those three French girls, you might remember that one of them was named Emmanuel. Rachel pointed that out to me. I know that things have been tough, but I also know that God is with me. I don’t know what the heck He’s doing, but I know he is here! A friend of mine (JOHN KITCH!) recently reminded me of something I used to always say: If would be rude if God gave you a passion for something and never allowed it to be fruitful. That isn’t to say that God is rude by any stretch of the imagination, but that if God weren’t God, then He would give useless passions. God is God; therefore, His passions are always intentional. I hope that is understandable! In so many words, what I’m saying is that something good will happen! Just wait!

I’m in that café again with my friend Carley from England, my friend Dion from Jamaica, and Jonathan. We’re just here hanging out and enjoying the happy English music playing in the background. Because I have to come here for the internet, please understand that if I don’t post one day, it’s not because nothing happened, but because I am a bit restricted! I will write something every day in my temporary blog I have saved in word, but I won’t always get to post it right away. Some days I might have several posts from several days, so always look back to see if anything happened previously. I’m still a bit taken by the fact that the internet won’t work, so I will be having an intentional conversation with my family tonight at dinner. €23 per day is a lot to have to pay just to sleep in a room! Without the internet at the apartment I’m not able to call anyone from Skype at midnight in France. I guess I could walk down to Centre Ville and hope the café wifi is on at midnight, but that would be quite a bit of trouble! If you’re used to talking to me on Skype, please forgive me for never being online! I’ll do my best to fix things! I’m an American right? I’ll see what a little American complaining does, but I’m not guaranteeing much. You might receive another ranting blog post, but I’ll pray that the necessity isn’t such!

EN COLÈRE

2008-03-01T20:00:00.002+01:00

Today I planned on going out to Cafés to meet people. Right now I am in a café and I am EN COLÈRE (MAD)! It is 19h18 (7:19pm) and I just discovered that the internet at my apartment has stopped working. The Grousiers came back to town about two hours ago, so I went to ask Yves if he knew what I should do. I kid you not, the kid told me that I would just have to wait a while and see what happens! I’m going to lose it! He basically told me, “too bad!” Just for the record, that is a common French response to any problems you may have! One can never expect things to be the way they are in Texas! And you can take that to the bank!

Today is NOT over; however, I am forced to post early because waiting might NOT solve the problem YVES! Let me just say that my anger is simply from the fact that I was born in the United States of America. Think about the last problem you had with technology or something pertaining to the general public. What was your reaction? Were you so enraged that you couldn’t see straight? (Some random French people are staring at me!) If you said no, consider this: you’re in your house in the middle of a burning hot summer and the air conditioner stops working. Are you mad yet? Some of you might be mad just thinking about that! If so, it’s probably because you’re an American. If you reading this and you’re from another country, please bare with me for a moment! In the United States we have everything we need any time we want it! Walmart™ is open all night; McDonalds™ will have your food ready within ten minutes or less; pizza companies advertise how quick they can bring you your pizza; and Starbucks™ would never build a location where they couldn’t have a drive-up window. In France drive-up windows are foreign. (These French people are still staring at me!) We are spoiled! When the internet doesn’t work, we call the internet company and they had better be there ASAP or we’re taking our business elsewhere! My family here in France has a dishwasher, but it hasn’t worked since well before I arrived. Do you know what their solution is? Wash the dishes in the sink! (Scary music…woman screaming!) They don’t even have a microwave! Mom, Dad and Carter would die! When there’s a problem, oh well! Have a cigarette! C’est la vie! (That’s life!) Your problems don’t exist in France (according to the French). Americans have a very real since of urgency when something goes wrong. When we “need” something and it isn’t there, we freak out! That’s what I did! After I spoke with Yves I sat in my room and yelled out English profanities for a solid fifteen minutes. He probably thought that I was having a case of Turrets Syndrome! (I’m going to throw a spoon at this French girl if she doesn’t stop staring at me! This may be where a riot is started Meredith!) I decided to go downstairs to call my friend and see if he knew where an internet café is located. When I got on the phone, I can assure you that my tone of voice made it very clear to the family how I was feeling! I hate speaking English in front of people when they can’t understand, but this time it was too bad! Sorry Yves! I just had to leave!

I took my computer and went into Centre Ville to buy a phone card and call my mom from a pay phone. Mom, I’m sorry if this upsets you, but when she answered, I started to cry a little bit. As a guy it’s hard to admit that, but in this case it might help you understand how I was feeling! For the past four weeks I have been able to keep in touch with my friends and family in the USA, but now I feel stuck! I was blessed to find this café that has internet access for free! Even though I’m so mad that I can’t see straight, I am still being watched over by God.

To go from the excitement of meeting new French people, to being treated like dirt by those French people, to not having the means to communicate with my loved ones, to being here in a café being stared at by random French people is hard! Like I said, this might be the point at which I start a riot! I’ve been here for over a month and I still don’t have a solid relationship with anyone in this country. Some of you think that I’ve been whining and that I should just shut up and enjoy the fact that I’m in France; however, this isn’t a vacation! I didn’t come here to see the country side or to climb the Eiffel Tower. I did those things five years ago. This time is for real. This time has to count. Every day is another chance to change my life. I will refuse to let these four and a half months be in vain. Today is the first day of the rest of this séjour. Today will either be a good day or a bad day. Should I discover that I’ve been wasting my time here, I will see you all again in June and will never look back! I pray that this doesn’t happen. I pray that something phenomenal will occur! I pray that when I come back to the States that you won’t recognize me because I’ve been so changed! I want to use French words on accident! Just now I accidentally spelled out June like Juin (June in French). I want that to happen all of the time! I want this language and culture to infiltrate my mind. I can eat a baguette with Nutella™ in the United States. I can only be stared at by a random group of French people in a French café in France! Something needs to happen!

Vendredi

2008-03-01T02:20:00.004+01:00

Today I was Lazy with a capital “L”! My one Friday class was cancelled, so I slept until 15h30 (3:00pm)! I was VERY tired! When I finally got up I went to buy some bread to go with my Nutella™! Let’s take a moment! If you are in the United States right now, please understand that YOU CAN buy Nutella™ there! It is sold at Target™ and Walgreens™. As soon as you get finished reading this post, if it’s not too late, go to one of these stores and buy some! It will change your life! You must eat it on a baguette (French bread) or on a croissant! If you’re trying to lose weight, forget it! Nutella™ is where it’s at!

I would also like to take another moment to give you a bit of a cultural lesson:

Milk: In France milk comes in a box and can be stored in the pantry until you open it. Apparently it is ultra sterilized and has a lot of aluminum in it that keeps it fresh as long as it is kept sealed.

Toilets: In France every toilet is flushed by pushing a button! Crazy!

Central Heating and Air: What? Who’s ever heard of that? Not the French! In France there is no such thing as air conditioning, and heating comes from wall heaters that are placed in every room, bathroom, kitchen, and hallway. Talk about clutter!

Old: You name it, it’s old! Almost all of the buildings here were built over one hundred years ago!

Cars: I don’t worry about dying by being hit by a car. I worry about hurting the car should it run into me. Did you every play with matchbox cars or know of people that played with matchbox cars? In France matchbox cars aren’t toys; they’re actual cars!

Car lots: Think of what you would picture a car lot looking like in France. Is it similar to the United States? If so, you’re wrong. There is a car lot near the apartment that is completely inside! There’s a show room with a giant garage in the back for all of the cars. Above the garage there are very nice apartments. Talk about saving space!

Sales: It’s time to go to town! JC Penny’s is having a sale! Not in France! In France sales are only twice a year. When I got here they were having a sale for the end of winter. Now the prices are back to normal and won’t be reduced until August! Put your scissors away! There are no coupons in the paper this week!

Scissors: Haircuts here are asinine! For a guy to get his hair cut, he must pay €18! That’s $27.314! For no more hair than I have, I may as well use a knife!

Politics: Topic of discussion nine times out of ten! You’re from Texas?!?! Do you like George Bush? Do you want Obama or Hillary to win the election? Can you say rude? Not to French people! It’s ruder to ask a French person whether or not they have any siblings than it is to ask them for which political party they vote. Every time they ask me this question I want to say that it’s none of their business, but it’s truly just part of their culture!

After I bought my bread and had breakfast at lunch time, I went to the gym. I then went back home and had a sandwich for dinner. It wasn’t an American sandwich. It was a big sandwich with baguette, lettuce, gruyere cheese, ham, and butter. It was very good! I then went to church and enjoyed some very nice fellowship in French! On my way back to the tram from the church I walked with my friend Carlie from England. She speaks French very well, so we spoke French the entire time. When I got back home I finished off the baguette with some Nutella™.

Tomorrow I will be going back to the cafés to meet people again! Keep praying!

Gouttes de Pluie

2008-02-29T02:54:00.002+01:00

Raindrops keep falling on my head. Just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed; nothing seems to fit. Those raindrops keep falling on my head; they keep falling.

Tonight I went out with Rachel to meet our new French friends at O’Donnell’s. We were very excited and I was very nervous! When we first got there we thought that we had been stood up because we couldn’t find our friends. When we decided to look outside, we finally found one of the girls. She welcomed us and introduced us to her other friends. She then took us inside and we sat at the back of the bar with tons of others. At one point it was just me sitting with eight French girls. It was crazy! I looked for my new friend Julia, but she didn’t come until later. When she finally came she was with her friend Tibo. At first I thought that Tibo might be her boyfriend, but it became obvious quickly that he and I don’t bat for the same team if you know what I mean. Tibo was probably more interested in me than he was in her.

After a while I asked, just for kicks and giggles, our friend Emmanuel if Julia and Tibo were dating. This turned out to be a riot. Everyone started laughing. Emmanuel told me that they were just friends and that Julia was single. She then asked me if I was seeing anyone in the United States. I told her that I wasn’t and then she asked me if I worked out. This was a bit weird, but I went ahead and responded. She then said to Julia, “Hey! Look at him! He works out!” This, again, was weird. I think this scared her away. For the rest of the night Julia spent her time running away from my presence. I didn’t even say anything!

I finally went into a room full of people where everyone was dancing. Rachel was there, so we decided to join in. We started jumping and swaying and singing. It was fun…for about ten minutes. We finally got too hot and went outside to chill down. I then asked Rachel why she thought Julia was being so distant. She just told me that it wasn’t worth my time and that I should just try to have fun no matter what. She was right, but we didn’t end up having fun after that. Linden had come earlier in the night, so the three of us walked around and tried to have conversations with these people in a very noisy environment. I went to talk to the other girls in the group we were with, but they seemed to be having a bad time. It was very discouraging. Out of all of them, Julia was the one with such a cold shoulder. She wouldn’t even look at me. I don’t know what her problem was, but (allow me to be slightly conceited) she missed out! If she wants to sit on a bar stool and ignore someone who hasn’t even done anything to her, may she be content in knowing that she ruined her own night. If she was playing hard to get, she lost! As we would say in the USA, bye-bye!

With all that being said, tomorrow is a new day! Cafés here I come! I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining; because I’m free! Nothing’s worrying me!

Il Faut Faire un Effort!

2008-02-28T01:55:00.002+01:00

Today I saw a little girl crying with all of her might. She was walking across campus with her mother, but not once did she try to break away. She was sad, but never did she let go of the hand that was protecting her. Not once did her mother try to scold her. They were simply walking hand in hand. This picture is very similar to my current walk with God through this country. If you read yesterday’s post, you know that I was crying out. You know that I felt as if I was headed to my demise; however, I never let go! I never allowed myself to be free of the one who guides me all along! Listen to what happened today!

All day I couldn’t stop thinking about what Hervé was saying to me last night! He kept encouraging me to put myself out there and make a real effort to meet the French people! In so many words he was saying, “You have to be intentional!” (Thank you Sharia Hays!) Today I had to be intentional. Today I had to step up and try to discover my purpose in France!

After my morning class I ate lunch with my friend Marie and my friend from Norway (Julia). For some reason Marie decided that our entire lunch conversation would be in French no matter how hard it may be. It was very successful! Not one English word polluted our conversation (Ok, maybe just one)! It was finally like a breath of fresh air! After lunch I decided to take Hervé’s advice and try to make an effort to meet French people. I went to the café on campus and ordered a café au lait. As I was sitting just waiting for something to happen, I wrote a prayer down in my notebook. At the end of the prayer I wrote, “I can’t leave this café without meeting someone!” I left the café without meeting someone, but refused to leave the vicinity until absolutely necessary. I therefore sat down on the steps in front of the café and waited once again. Eventually someone approached me and asked me for a lighter. I didn’t have one, but did end up meeting a guy named Julian. He was nice, but our conversation was very anticlimactic. I asked him what good things there were for students to do in Caen and he listed off everything I already knew. He also told me that if I wanted to meet French people that “Il faut faire un effort!” (It is necessary to make an effort). This was the same thing Hervé was telling me last night! As I said goodbye I thanked the Lord, but definitely asked him for another opportunity.

After my afternoon class I decided to go into town to a local café to try again. I ordered another café au lait, sat next to a couple of people that looked my age, and asked them if they were students. They said, “Non.” (No). I then asked them if they were citizens of Caen. They said, “Oui.” (Yes), and that was the end of the conversation. I began to write another prayer in my notebook, but this one wasn’t as nice. I was VERY angry! Then I remembered, “Il faut faire un effort!” (It is necessary to make an effort). I got up from my seat at the café, walked down the street, and into another café.

When I got to the next café I ordered another café au lait and sat next to two girls. I listened to them speaking in hopes that I would be able to interject at some point. I waited and waited and waited. Finally there was a pause. I said, “Are you students here?” They responded! We talked for about an hour! It was great! Then they had to leave. No phone number; no reunion; just, “maybe we’ll see each other again!” I was happy, but wasn’t satisfied. As I looked up at the wall I noticed an advertisement for singles night every Wednesday. I called Rachel to talk to her about my frustrations and told her that I had become so desperate that I would be going to singles’ night later on in the evening. She decided that she wanted to go as well, but that we wouldn’t go together.

As I made dinner and waited for singles’ night to start I became very nervous! I have not been this nervous in France yet! It was crazy! I finally ate and prepared to walk into Centre Ville. On my way I got a call from Rachel saying that singles’ night looked like a flop but that the café down the road seemed promising. I was a bit relived as I DID NOT want to have to recount a story about meeting someone at singles’ night! When I got to Rachel we decided that we didn’t want to wonder into the places alone. We looked at the café that she thought would be promising and scoped out some other places as well. We were lost! We didn’t know where to start! Finally I asked that we just stop and pray that God would show us where to go. After praying, Rachel recommended that we go to the bar next to campus. I agreed and we started walking in that direction. On our way there we stopped and decided that the bar next to campus would be too far for the effort. Just as we were standing in the middle of the road looking like lost puppies, I noticed a group of three girls walking in our direction. I then said to Rachel, “I have an idea!” When the girls got close enough I asked them if they knew of any good places for students to hang out. I also told them that we were new students and that we wanted to meet other students. One of the girls then said, “We are students!” Rachel became so overwhelmed she couldn’t find the words to say. Finally she said, “Can we come with you?” They were very much obliged! We then joined these three girls as the Café Latin and I ordered a decaffeinated café. I could not stand any more caffeine! I had well reached my limit for the day!

I ended up sitting across from a girl named Julia who talked to me the entire time! She is fluent in English, but chose only to speak in French! This made me VERY happy! Rachel talked with the other two girls while Julia and I went to town! After an hour and a half of great conversation, the two other girls decided that it was time to leave. Before leaving they invited Rachel and I to go out with them again tomorrow night! AMEN! When the waiter brought the bill, I did something VERY stupid! I could have died on the spot! I told the girls that they were an answer to prayer and that I would therefore pick up the tab; apparently this isn’t a popular thing to do in France! Julia explained to me that it is very traditional for girls to pay for themselves. I just about cried! My one chance to meet French girls and I pull out the southern hospitality! Mom, why didn’t you tell me that chivalry was only applicable to Texas women? Rachel said that it wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be and that they were just saying that because they didn’t want me to have to pay. I hope she’s right, because these were the first non-drunk group of French friends I’ve made! Please pray that something will become of these relationships and that tomorrow night will be a BIG blessing! PLEASE!

Les Larmes

2008-02-27T02:07:00.003+01:00

Four months! Three months! Two months! One month! One week! One day! One hour! Happy New Year? Not so much! This is the clock inside of my head that consistently warns me that my time in France is VERY short! I have already been here for a month and have yet to solidify my life here. I have searched high and low for French people with whom I might experience life, but have yet to establish any sort of relationship. I feel as if I’m being impatient, but with only three months left, it’s like I’m drowning in an hourglass. The sand keeps on pouring; and when it’s done, it’s done! That’s it! No return! No regrets! Nothing! I must take what I have, pack it away, and go home. These experiences are great, but are they paramount? Why am I here? I spend hours each day talking with friends, laughing, joking, and learning; in English. In English I think, in English I speak, and in English I pray. If you would, for one minute, imagine yourself as a child. You are waiting in line at the greatest theme park in the world. It’s sort of hot outside, but your worries are gone. You’re ready to play! You’re ready for what seems to be the greatest experience you will ever have in your entire life! You and your family are only one family away from gaining entrance into the park. Thunder! Darkness! Rain!

For seven years I have dreamed of being in France and living amongst French people. Today I am in France, living amongst French people, but not is all as it seems. I am angry! I don’t want to go home, but I don’t want to be here. That is to say, I don’t want to be in this situation. I don’t want to be an English thinker, speaker, and prayer in France! I want to learn French! I-LOVE-FRANCE! But what is France to someone who lives in America while living in France? What is France to someone who only understands French when spoken to slowly? That isn’t France! That is French 1401 at Baylor University. Entry levels are necessary, but one would never teach a runner how to walk! One would never show an actor how to cry. Laisses-tomber! (Leave it alone!)

Today I woke up at 7h00 to get dressed and buy bred. When I went to the boulangerie I realized that I had left my money at home. I asked the lady if she took debit cards, but she told me no and pointed to an ATM across the street. I was already not in the mood to deal with a bad morning; however, when I got the ATM, my card wouldn’t work. Stupid me, I finally realized that I put the money in the small pocket of my jeans. I went back to the boulangerie and purchased the bread. It was hard. I think I made the lady mad for some reason. She had to have given me the hardest bread I have ever eaten! I get the feeling that she isn’t too fond of Americans. I’m sorry! It’s not my fault that my parents birthed me in the USA! Please allow me to denounce my nationality (or go home)! I was not happy!

When I went to school I gave a presentation on Religion in France amongst young people. It went very well as it sparked an hour conversation about religion. It was useful, but not truly French. International students speaking French does not qualify as a true French experience. I can hardly understand what any of the students are saying.

At lunch I ate with a group of girls from Wisconsin. They were very sweet, but they spoke English.

Tonight my friends from Baylor came over and Andrew made us all the most amazing hamburgers I have ever had in my entire life! They were paramount! Our conversations were in English. Later on, one of Andrew’s friends from school (French) came over. His name is Hervé and he speaks English very well! That made the conversations easy, but they were in English. Hervé spent last semester studying at Texas A&M University in College Station (Don’t get too excited Meredith). He was very encouraging about meeting French people. He told me (sometimes in French) that he felt the same way when he was in Texas. He understands how hard it is for foreigners to make friends in another country when they group together. He gave me some tips on how to meet other French people, and he got my phone number to call me some time in the future (that could be a long time from now). I will try to take his advice and see if I can’t make some lasting relationships within the next day or two. Please continue to pray!

Caen Encore!

2008-02-26T00:34:00.002+01:00

Tout va bien! (Everything is alright!) I can imagine that some of you (mom) are about to kill me! I am sorry that I didn’t post on Sunday night like I promised! When I got home, I realized that I had let my friend Marie barrow my adapter; therefore, I could not use my computer. However, fear not! I am alive!
Paris was great! You might go ahead and read the posts before this one to see what all happened.

Today I woke up at 6h00 to go and purchase bread. Now that I am alone in the house, I have to buy the bread every morning if I want breakfast. When I got to the bakery, they were still closed! I was very mad as I thought that French people woke up at 4h00 to make bread! This isn’t so! I went back home, slept some more, and woke up at 7h09 to go back and buy the bread. They were open this time!

I made it to school on time for my very boring writing class. I seriously fell asleep with the professor looking straight at me! It was alright everyone else was doing the same. After class I had lunch with Marie (USA), Min (China), Min’s friend (China), Amanda (USA), Helena (Finland), and Helena’s friend (Finland). Everyone spoke English because it was easiest. English is making me sick! That’s not why I came here! Marie looked at me during lunch and said, “I am praying that you find someone here in France to marry because you truly love this country!” That was very thoughtful of her! She made me feel much better about speaking English for a few minutes.

After lunch we had an oral test. It wasn’t too bad (I don’t think). I then headed home and ran into one of my new French friends near the tram stop. He was very nice and came up to say hi. I was so excited to talk French again! I then went home to take a nap. I was SO tired from this morning’s writing class!

Tonight we had steak for dinner. By “we” I mean me, myself, and I. Because it was up to me to make dinner, I decided we would go for the protein for a change! The company wasn’t that interesting, but the food was good! I ended up opening a window and listening to the cars pass by as I ate. It was boring. I then went up to my room to do some homework and write this blog. Here I am. It’s now 00h09 (12:09am) and I must go to sleep so that I don’t fall asleep in class again! Goodnight!

Paris Encore! III

2008-02-26T00:20:00.003+01:00

Today we woke up and went into Paris for food. Andrew, Jonathan, Marie, and I ate at a Gyro place while Linden and Rachel went to see the Eiffel Tower. I would have gone with them, but I’ve already seen it twice. After we ate, Andrew and I went to check out Saint Chappell while Jonathan and Marie went to the train station to head back early. Saint Chappell is one of the most beautiful churches in the world! It is even prettier than Notre Dame! We then left Saint Chappell in search for a restroom and luckily found one. We weren’t as luck as we thought! The men’s restroom didn’t have any toilet paper, so we snuck into the women’s restroom before anyone saw us! As soon as we got into our own stalls we noticed that the women’s restroom didn’t have any toilet paper either! We were about to leave, but a group of women came in at just the wrong time. We had to hide in our stalls until the left. Luckily they didn’t see or hear us! It was close! We then found a secret passage from the restroom to the plumbing room and decided to explore. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but we looked around anyway.

After our restroom escapade, we went to see La Tour de Saint Jacques and Hôtel de Ville. We took some photos and then decided to check out Place Pompidou. This is a modern art museum that has to be the most amazing museum I have ever seen in my life! Don't be surprised if some of the next photos are of the art exhibits here! Andrew and I spent three hours in there just wondering around. By the time I was done I just about fell asleep on the floor! When we finished at the museum, it was about time to leave to return to Caen. We found Rachel and Linen, ate dinner, and decided to sit outside of Pompidou to eat a baguette with Nutella™ before we needed to get on the Metro. We lost track of time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves before we realized it was time to leave! When we notice what time it was, we hurried to the Metro only to realize that our tickets weren’t working. We were panicked, but waited for a group of guys to come trough so that we could jump the turn stile. This is not legal, but we were desperate and there was no place near to purchase tickets. As we ran through the Metro I told everyone that no matter what, they aren’t to speak French. This is in case the Metro police find us and ask for our tickets. We were going to have to pull the stupid American card. When we finally made it to the train station, we got on the train with minutes to spare! We were very lucky!

Paris Encore! II

2008-02-26T00:17:00.002+01:00

Today we woke up and went to a local “mall” that had a super market and bakery. There we ate breakfast for very cheap! I bought a jar of Nutella™, a litre of Orangina™, a croissante, and a baguette for all fewer than six Euros! You can bet that I ate every bit of it! It was amazing! After that we went into Paris and saw the Louvre! This was the second time for me to ever see the Louvre! I took a lot of photos! I tried to call the Baylor regents, but their phones were working! I was sad! After the Louvre, Andrew, Jonathan, Marie, and I all went to the Tullieries Garden for café while Linden and Rachel went to meet one of Rachel’s father’s friends. After that Marie and I went to find her some post cards and ended up going to Montmartre for her to get her portrait drawn by one of the artists.

After Montmartre we decided to divide into two groups for dinner. One group, the cheap group, went for pizza and Panini. The other group, the not very cheap group, went for a nice Parisian meal. I’m glad I saved my money! We then went back to the hotel in the middle of nowhere and called it a night.

Paris Encore! I

2008-02-26T00:11:00.002+01:00

As I write this post, I am sitting in a hostel in Paris where there is no internet access. I would love to post this post right away, but I’m afraid that by the time you read it today will already be three days old. I’m sorry about that!

Today I wondered whether or not I would actually be going to Paris. When I woke up, I received a call from Rachel telling me that the train tickets were going to be over €60! I knew that wasn’t going to work, but Rachel and Linden found a solution. They discovered that if we buy a student card for SNCF (French National Rail Society), our tickets would be 50% – 60% off every time we decided to travel in France. I went ahead and got the card and my train ticket for very cheap! My friend Marie from UNT decided to come with us as well.

When I took the train to Paris, it was just Andrew, Linden, Marie, and I because Rachel and Jonathan had to leave at a later time due to their classes. When we arrived in Paris, a random French man greeted us on the metro. He was very excited to see us for some reason (zoo exhibit). He started announcing to the entire metro that we were American and then proceeded to tell us how beautiful the French women are and how ugly the English women are. At one point he looked at a couple of girls and said, “Excuse me, are you French?” At which on of the girls said, “No, I’m English.” She was just kidding as she was actually Swiss. It was weird, but fun at the same time. We then decided to go to Montmartre to see the artists. The weather was great. We then went down to Place de la Concorde where we eventually met up with Rachel and Jonathan. This was when Rachel announced to us that our hostel wasn’t actually in Paris.

When we went to the metro to find out the best route to our hostel in the suburbs, we ended up having to communicate with a man through a glass window. This was a bit of a challenge. He told us how to get to the suburb we needed, and we bought the right tickets to get us there. We then went to eat at a not so great, but not bad restaurant. Then we found our train, headed to the hostel, and here we are. There are funny sounds next door!

Paris

2008-02-23T10:31:00.001+01:00

I am in Paris, but our hotel does not have the internet. I will be documenting each blog each night and will posting them all on Sunday night.

De la Nouvelle!

2008-02-22T04:36:00.001+01:00

Every morning on my way to school I pray that God will bless the day. Because my days are numbered here, I can’t afford to have a day that could be easily forgotten. Each day must be valuable. This morning on my way out of the door I started to pray saying, “God, why did I even get up this morning? It’s just another day! I have been here for four weeks and have yet to truly make French friends!” I honestly said to God, “God, I’m mad at you! What is my purpose here?” I then got on the tram and went to school.

At lunch I ate with my friends Amanda, Helena, Marie, and her Brazilian friend who only knows Portuguese and French. We therefore spoke in French the entire time. This was ok except for the fact that it was so unnatural. There were so many times when the English speakers would turn to one another and spout out entire paragraphs in English. I was eating, but yet I was SO hungry! I wanted to be with the French so much!

After lunch I went home and took a nap. I also ran by the bank to pick up my debit card. I then returned to the university for a class that made me want to jump out of the fifth floor window. The professor is VERY nice and very funny, but he never keeps his thoughts strait and he acts like we’ve never spoken a word of French in our lives. At the end of every sentence he would say “Ça va?” (In other words, do you understand?) He would then want us to respond with, “Ça va!” At one point nobody was saying anything, so he got frustrated and INSISTED that we proclaim, “ÇA VA!” I wanted to scream. He then said, “Ça va?” one more time and I responded with a forceful, “UH HUH!” Marie turned to me and gave me a funny look, but I didn’t care. I may not be the greatest French speaker in the world, but I’m not an idiot. I would hope that four years of high school and two year of college would somewhat prepare me to understand what someone says when they’re speaking at a pace of ten words a minute. I thought I was going to cry, but then my friend Esther from Ghana handed me a peppermint out of the shear kindness of her heart! She didn’t hand any peppermints to anyone else, just me! God always provides!

Rachel called me earlier on today to tell me that she and the others were planning on going out tonight. I decided that I would go just in case I might be able to meet some cool people. We went to a pub by the port, but decided it was too expensive and went to one closer to Centre-Ville. We met our Australian friends, looked for a table, decided to sit outside, and ordered some drinks. After the waiter brought us our drinks and I paid for mine, I stood up to let Linden and Rachel sit down who were previously inside looking for a table at which we could all sit. Right when I stood up, out of nowhere a French guy by the name of Romain came up to me (a bit tipsy) and said, “You’re American!” (In English) I was caught off guard, but VERY pleased that I was speaking with a French person. Before I knew it, Rachel and I were surrounded by a group of (tipsy) French people who were fascinated with us. One girl, Mandy, grabbed me by the arm and begged me to take her back to Texas with me (don’t worry, her boyfriend was standing near). I couldn’t believe this was happening! The French group then decided that they wanted to go to McDonalds®, so they began to say goodbye. At this point Rachel looked at me and said, “Should we go with them?” I was much obliged! When I asked if they minded that we join them, they all but lifted us on their shoulders and carried us to the good ole’ MacDo. When we got to McDonalds®, we all sat around and talked about American bands. They were in awe of Rachel and me! I felt like a star! We were then told by one of the workers that it was closing time, so we had to leave. Rachel decided to go home, but I wasn’t leaving these people until they knew that I was serious about this French thing! I guess you could say that my name, Cole (aka Colle – which means glue in French) was very appropriate.

I followed this group of people until Linden gave me a call and wanted to meet up with us. We all waited, and she joined us as we went to a resident hall at the university. We sat in the room of a guy named Bastien and talked for over two hours! It was 3h30 in the morning before I finally left! We exchanged numbers and they promised that they would call us again! It was a miracle! I hope I wasn’t dreaming! This morning I was mad at God, but He proved to me yet again that He always provides!

En Calvados Aujourd'hui

2008-02-21T00:17:00.003+01:00

I am still VERY tired! This language is making me SO tired! I realized today that when I go back to the United States I will be in shock to hear people speaking English in the streets! I don’t know how I’m going to feel about that! I love to wake up in the mornings, get on the tram, and hear these Francophones go to town! In other news, if you would like to read a blog post of mine that was posted on a Baylor blog, go to http://www.campuslivingandlearning.blogspot.com/. I was asked to write the post by Rishi Sriram, the Associate Director for Academic Initiatives & Housing Administration at Baylor. He is one of the chairs of the Global Community Living and Learning Center steering committee, of which I have been a member since the end of 2006. We’ve had great opportunities to help develop a community that could forever affect the greater Baylor community. Now that I am in France I’m not able to work with this committee; however, this doesn’t mean that I’m not in contact with those who are still at home! They’re working their hearts out! Good job ya’ll (I miss Texas)!

Today I had my Global Simulation class. This is the class where I have to develop an alternate personality and live a pretend French life. Today we worked on developing the apartment complex in which we all live. I got to draw floor plans of the inside! That may sound boring to you, but if you know me, you know that I like drawing floor plans even when it’s not for a grade. Did I just admit that on the world-wide web? It’s going to be an amazing class! I wish I could have it more than once a week. My other class today was my Media class where I had to get up with my group and give a presentation on French newspapers. It was boring! Since he wasn’t teaching, the professor decided to sit in the empty seat next to me; this meat that I wasn’t allowed to doze off when I got too tired.

Some of you might wonder what the professor of my Oral class had to say about the live Bears we have on Baylor’s campus. I mentioned it again yesterday and he ran down to the Mediatech to look online. Much to my chagrin, he came back with a print out of a webpage that talked about Baylor Bear abuse. Apparently there was a group a while back that didn’t like the fact that we have a “zoo” on campus, so they decided to make our program sound bad by creating a website that talks bad about the Bear Program. What they don’t know is that the new habitat cost almost $1million dollars and is incomparable to most other Bear habitats. www.baylor.edu/bear - I will be e-mailing my professor this site!

Later on today I went to the gym and then home to eat with Yves-Marie. We had a very nice dinner just the two of us. We talked for well over an hour (IN FRENCH). He informed me that he just received some time off from work, so he will be joining his family in Britagne from this Saturday to next Saturday. That means that I will have the house to myself for six days! I would have it for seven except for the fact that I will be going to Paris this weekend with my friends. When I get there I will get to have coffee with the family of a Baylor Regent! I’m very excited!

Je m'appelle Colle!

2008-02-19T23:29:00.001+01:00

Glue! My name is glue! Literally! The French word for glue is “colle” and is pronounced like “Cole”. The verb for to glue is coller (cole-ay). This summer at Baylor Line Camp there was a group of students singing “Cole-ay! Cole-ay! Cole-ay! Cole-ay!”. If they only knew what they were singing! “To glue! To glue! To glue! To glue!” I discovered this the other night when a friend of mine from church came up to me, put his arm around me and said, “hey, je suis collé à Cole!” (I’m glued to Cole!). Thanks Mom! It’s a wonderful name that goes very well with Casper …in the United States! Can you imagine a foreigner coming to the United States with the name Glue? It’s no wonder the French never have trouble pronouncing my name when I tell them for the first time! It is French! It’s glue! Hi, my name is Glue!

Today I had five hours of very boring classes! It was tough to stay awake! I had one class that has around 100 students and a professor that stands at the front of the room and talks about pronouns! GAG ME WITH A SPOON! Today on my way out of class I told my friend Marie that this had better be the last grammar class I ever take in my life! I have not only had to put up with French grammar since high school; I’ve also taken two upper level French grammar classes at Baylor and now this one that lasts for an hour every week and comes with a supplementary two hour class on Fridays! By the time the weekend is here I’m spent! I also had to give a presentation in my Sociology of Language class on the differences between the French second person pleural and second person singular. This is the difference between you and ya’ll; except in France they use ya’ll to speak to someone formally. I wrote about this subject when I first started the blog and told you how Hélène said that I could use you instead of ya’ll when talking with her.

After class I went to the gym and had a conversation with a mumbler. He told me that I should use the sauna when I’m done working out because it calms the nerves. We’ll see about that one. On my way home from the gym I was confronted by a bum wanting a cigarette. When he started to talk I said, “Excuse me?” in English so that he wouldn’t bother me for much longer. Just when I did that, a friend of mine from church drove up and rolled the window down to say hi. I was caught! I tried to pretend I couldn’t speak French, but now I was obliged to speak it fluently. I therefore lied to a bum! For once I wanted to be the dumb American, but was caught red-headed! C’est la vie!

You know the feeling you get when you’ve eaten the last piece of candy out of the Pez™ dispenser? It hurts! Thanks mom for the Valentine box full of goodies and BEEF jerky! Even in France she still provides for me when she hears that I’m not eating enough meat! I wonder if I could get away with telling her that I’m not meeting enough French girls. You think she’d mail on to me? I guess I’m in the best location to find and mail one of those. Maybe I’ll mail myself one back to Texas!

Les Yeux Ouverts!

2008-02-18T23:14:00.001+01:00

Eyes wide open. That’s how I feel right now. Tonight Hélène and Yves-Marie invited Rachel and Linden over for dinner. There was meat! I had told her that the girls really wanted to meet (not meat) my family, so we had a big dinner with cocktails and the works! It was SO nice. After dinner we all sat around the table and had a very deep conversation about religion in France and amongst young people. Hélène said that we were three out of four Americans that she has recently had in her home, and four out of four of us are all Christians. She was saddened to think that she could not find the same thing in her own country. She said that if she were to gather four French people for conversation, maybe one of them would be Christian, but not practicing. At that Rachel went off the handle. She started talking about how important it is for Christians to pray for France and for those who refuse to believe. Yves-Marie just about stood up and shouted AMEN. They were very impressed that students would have such a strong faith in God. They were very pleased to spend their evening speaking with us.

All through dinner Yves starred at me with a very intrigued look. He was consistently smiling for some reason. This was actually the first time for me to lead the entire dinner conversation. He usually comes to the table, scarfs down his food, talks ninety to nothing about some event of the day or wanting a scooter, and runs away. Tonight he just sat and watched. He sat for a long time too! I wanted to ask him what he was thinking. At one point he heard me make an inside joke with Yves-Marie and he asked me if I would tell him about the joke later. It was almost as if I was his American buddy. Like I’ve said before, working with students Yves’ age has been a passion of mine every since I became a Community Leader (resident assistant) at Baylor. These students are always going going going. They’re hard to capture, but when you do capture them, they never want you to leave. Tonight when I went to find Rachel and Linden to show them where the apartment was located, I invited Yves to come with me and he actually came this time! On the way back to the apartment from the Tram we started to talk about girls. I mentioned something about my future girlfriend being a Christian. He asked me, “Does she have to be a Christian?” I struggled to respond, but eventually said, “Well, yeah”. He then told me that he didn’t think his girlfriend was a Christian, but that she didn’t believe in God at all. Perhaps this was why he was intrigued with me all through dinner. I’ve never talked about Christianity with Yves before, but now I’m curious. Just because he comes from a practicing Catholic family doesn’t mean he actually believes in God. Now I’m intrigued Yves!

If you could have only been with me a lunch today! Mom, you’re going to love this one! After class my two Chinese friends were waiting at the door with big smiles, ready to eat with me. We went to the cafeteria with another American friend from our class named Amanda. As lunch was wrapping up, I started to eat my bread. The bread in the cafeteria is hard, but I can usually manage. Not today! Today I just happened to swallow too much and it got stuck in my esophagus. As I tried to make it go down, the voices in the room became babble. I did no longer understand words in English or in French. My face got really hot and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I finally poured my water glass out onto my tray and puked into the glass. I felt SO stupid! I just knew that everyone was watching. Min was very nice as she got up and ran to get me some napkins. Now that’s a good friend! If I had been her and I threw up in the middle of the cafeteria in front of God and everybody, I would have been tempted to get up and take my tray. God bless these pour people who are tolerant of my stupidity! If you ever eat in the cafeteria with me in France or in the US, please don’t let me eat the hard bread!

After lunch we had one last class and then I went to the gym. I still can’t understand the mumblers, but I’ll know I’m completely fluent when I can! One guy asked me if there was a sink in the dressing room, but when he first said it I thought he sounded more like he was imitating a motorboat. I just stood there and looked at him until I finally said, “J’ai mal compris” (I misunderstood). When he finally enunciated, I could hear him as clear as a bell! It’s funny how that works!

Quelque Chose!

2008-02-18T00:31:00.003+01:00

Remember when I said that speaking French makes me tired? Try being tired and having to speak French! Wow! I’m pooped! Today was a gift! I didn’t deserve it, but it was given to me anyway!

This morning I met Rachel, Linden, and Jonathan at the tram at exactly the right time. We made it to church before it started, and enjoyed every minute of it! The songs were wonderful, the message was great, and I could understand almost every word spoken! At the end of the service we were surrounded by people that wanted to know us. It wasn’t like the zoo, but more like the petting zoo. When we stood up, there was a woman behind us who happened to be from the United States, but moved to France to be with her daughter who was married to the pastor who is from Morocco, but lives in France with his American wife and French/Moroccan/American children. Crazy! She was SO nice! Not only did she invite us to come over to her house sometime for dinner, she spoke French to us the entire time! It was amazing! Even when we were confused on a few words, she still stuck with the French! Amazing! After we talked with her, we spoke with her daughter (the pastor’s wife) and she invited us over to her house for a gathering of college and college age students at 19h30 (7:30pm) tonight! We were much obliged! After that we went downstairs for some coffee and fellowship with the other church members! It was Petting Zoo Part Two!

After church we went into town and ate Kabobs! AMAZING FOOD! Dad, if you come to France, this is the one thing you will love! It was so nice! After Kabobs we walked through the market and then to a bakery for desert. After desert we went to a café for coffee and talked for two hours! We then decided to depart from one another to freshen up for our soirée.

In order to get to the pastor’s house, we had to take a tram to a certain stop, and walk about two miles. It was actually very fun! We knew exactly where we were going, but it seemed like it took us forever. When we got to the apartment, we rang the bell and went right on up to a place full of people who welcomed us with open arms! There was food and fellowship out the ying-yang! I spent the entire evening chatting with everyone in French while Rachel targeted the Jamaican girls again and spoke English. She was having a ball! I met a guy named Kemuel from Haiti who spoke French very quickly! But as the night progressed, I was able to understand him without a problem. We laughed and joked all night and then exchanged numbers so that we could meet up some time at the university for lunch. I also got the opportunity to talk with the other students (only two of which were French, while the rest were just Francophone). It was great to have such an international group, but sad to see that only two of them were actually French! As I said, young French people don’t like to go to church at all! It’s very sad! There was a girl from England, two girls from Jamaica, one guy from Haiti, one girl from Martinique, a couple from Gabon, a guy from Hungary, the pastor from Morocco, two French girls, and of course, several Americans. It was such a special night! We stayed for three hours! At the end, we all caught rides home from various people so that we wouldn’t have to walk two miles back and catch a tram. These people are amazing! I’ve found a place to go to church and be involved!

Amusant!

2008-02-16T23:33:00.013+01:00

Funny! One word to explain tonight’s “crêpe party” would be funny! It didn’t actually turn out to be a crêpe party, but rather a pizza get-together. Some of Yves’ friends came over and we all ate pizza and watched a movie (an American movie in French). Yves asked me if I wanted to watch the movie with English subtitles, but I told him that if we were going to watch the movie in French that I would like to see it with French subtitles. It’s too annoying to have to watch a movie with one language and read it in another; especially since the movie is supposed to be in English anyway. It would be like me watching a movie written in English, changing the audio to Japanese, and turning on the English subtitles.

When Yves and his friends first came to the house, it was a bit awkward. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to just march in there and say, “Howdy ya’ll! I’m the American living in the spare bedroom upstairs! How are ya’ll doing?” Eventually I thought of something to say and Yves and his friend Alexis (boy) came into my room to talk for about two minutes. I must not be that interesting. When they left I just sat in my room on the computer until Yves called me to eat. When I got to the table there were more people and everyone stared at me (zoo exhibit), so I said to the people I hadn’t yet met, “vous êtes?” (ya’ll are?). I was asking them what their names were, but instead Yves said, “ils sont Français” (They’re French). Thanks Yves! I didn’t gather that at first! When I sat down to eat, they started talking ninety to nothing about Lord knows what! They were talking too fast for me to understand, and they were using words I’d never heard of before. I wanted to burst out into song just to break the ice, but I don’t think they were very interested in me. Instead they just talked about farting and the teachers at school who they think are gay (typical of most highschoolers world wide). I also discovered that Yves has a girlfriend! ALERT THE MEDIA! Apparently this is a big deal because he doesn’t want his parents to know! (I hope they’re not reading this blog!) He told me that I couldn’t say anything because Catholic families don’t like their children to date until they’re adults. I hate to break it to you Yves, but I don’t think that’s a Catholic thing! Your parents just told you that so they would have a reason for not wanting you to date people! But I promise I won’t say a word to anyone in the world!

Today we finally got to go to the beach! On my way to meeting my friends, I ran into a guy that I met at church last night. He came up to me and we talked until I had to get off. It was so cool! After that, I thought we might miss the bus again because Linden couldn’t find her bus pass. We went back to her room to look for it and it turns out she had it in her backpack the entire time.

When we finally got to the bus stop, we ran into some other Americans who were headed out to the beach as well. One of them was trying to read the bus map and turned to a French guy to ask for help. As she began to form her sentences, the guy said, in English, “it’s alright.” She was upset as she said, “Everyone in France knows how to speak English! Why did I come here?”

At that Rachel said, “Yeah, it sounds like he speaks better English than I do!” It turns out that the guy was from Los Angeles and is studying in Paris, but took a day trip up to Normandie to see the

Beaches. That means that every person at that particular bus stop at that particular hour happened to be American. THEY’RE FOLLOWING ME!

At the beach we took a lot of photos and enjoyed the cool ocean breeze (COLD). After that we went into this little town by the beach where we found the best bakery in the world! The baker made us fresh sandwiches and served us some amazing deserts. We were in heaven! We then found a spot to sit and eat. While we were eating we ran into the other Americans again. They were chatting with us when I noticed that someone had dropped a brownie on the ground. I then loudly said, "Is that a terd or a brownie?" Rachel poked me, told me that it was a brownie, and reminded me that these people don't know me. At that I just looked at the other Americans and said, "Don't step in the brownie!" After that we took a bus back to Caen and took some pictures as the sun was setting on the city. It was amazing!

Tomorrow Rachel, Linden, and Jonathan will be joining me for church! I am so excited! I hope I become good friends with these French people!

GLORIEUX!

2008-02-16T02:09:00.003+01:00

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!

Dieu est Gracieux!

2008-02-14T21:30:00.003+01:00

I’m tired! As I’ve said before, speaking this language makes me very tired! But that’s a good thing! This means that I am working! Today I woke up early as if I had class at 8h20 only to realize that class didn’t actually start until 9h00! Therefore, I went back to bed for thirty minutes! I was eating breakfast with Yves when I decided to return to bed. I told him that I was lazy and he just said, “comme moi!” (like me!) Fear not little (<-sort of) American brother! Apparently being lazy is international!

This morning in class I learned the reason why French and English have so many words in common. This is because of the Greek language. That’s why the words Biology, Physiology, and many other words are the exact same (except with different accents). It was very easy for us English speakers to follow along, but I’m not sure it was as easy for the Asians! They are brave brave souls! I could never do what they have attempted to do!

After class I had lunch again with the same girl from my class. Her name is Marie. She is very nice and enjoys eating cheep like me! When we got into the cafeteria we ran into of her friends from Brazil. She only spoke Portuguese and French, so we got to have another entire lunch conversation in French! It was great! After that Marie and I went into town to look for French dictionaries. I have an English to French dictionary, but believe it or not, translating everything into English isn’t the best thing to do! Now instead of looking up the English meaning to the French words that I don’t know, I will use other French words to describe what I’m trying to understand.

I received an e-mail from a Baylor regent’s wife today telling me that she and her family would be in Paris this month. She was at a regent’s lunch and asked Dub Oliver (Vice-President of Student Life) if he knew anyone in Paris this semester. Dub gave her my information and told her to contact me! So, she did! I’ll probably go see them the last weekend of this month and finally have some more Baylor in my life! SIC’EM BEARS!

I sent Dub an e-mail talking about how fortunate we are to have such a great university! I like the university here in France, but believe me, it is NOT Baylor! The French universities are run by the government, so the students lack an insurmountable amount of respect for their school! They graffiti everything! What’s worse, they TRY to graffiti in English! Today I saw some writing that said “Moses give him us back!” The French have a funky relationship with pronouns, so this often slips over into the foreign languages they speak. Everywhere you look there’s graffiti; on the sidewalks, on the buildings, on the tram, on the statue of the Phoenix (School’s mascot), and even on the walls inside of the buildings! It is SO sad! They have no respect for the school and the people that have to work there every day! I would never want to be a professor at a French university! You would have to pay me a lot! Also, there is no such thing as Student Life. This means that Dub would not have a job in France! Nor would I for that matter! Americans, you have no idea how lucky we are!

Tomorrow I will be having coffee with Rachel and three French people! Rachel was very kind and decided that she would invite me to have coffee with some French people she met, because she knew how much I wanted to meet French people. I am so blessed! That means that this weekend I will be having coffee with French people, having crêpes with French people, and having a Bible study with French people! God is good! Pray that at least one of these people becomes a good friend!

Ouest France!

2008-02-13T21:06:00.002+01:00

Well, today was fun. I had class again at 8h20 and thoroughly enjoyed it! The class is called Global Simulation. We make up fictional characters for ourselves and play this roll the entire semester. My name is Christophe Crétien and I’m married to a woman named Chloé Crétien. My parents are French, but they moved to the United States before I was born. This means that I am an American, but I now live in France where I met my wife Chloé.

After class I had lunch with a girl in my class from the University of North Texas. We ate on campus in what’s called the Resto U. That simply stands for Restaurant Universitaire. While we were eating I saw two Chinese students from our class sit down at a nearby table, so I asked them to join us. They did and we spoke French the entire time. When I went to fill up our water pitcher, I ran into another girl from our class from Finland who was eating alone. I asked her to join us as well. It was quite the sight I’m sure! As we were speaking I noticed two French girls watching us like we were yet another zoo exhibit.

Commercial:
Australian Announcer: Watch the foreign tribe try to communicate using words uncommon to their own vocabulary! Wait a moment! Check out the red haired little fellow! He looks frustrated and might attack!

I finally turned to the girls and said, “J’imagine que c’est très drôle d’entendre les étrangers parler français!” (I bet it’s funny to hear foreigners speak French !) The just smiled and one of the girls said, “Mais tu parles très bien!” (But you speak very well!) This made me just a little happy on the inside!

After lunch we had another class that wasn’t quite as fun. We just looked at French newspapers and searched for the differences between each of them. The group I was with was very intent on making sure that we did a good job. We have to present these newspapers next week to the class and explain the differences. I wasn’t that pressed on making sure that we memorized each newspaper, but one girl in my class decided that we needed to each take the papers home and read them so that we can explain to one another what each paper is like. Please! Newspapers!? I suggested that we just talk about the sections of the newspapers and how they differ from those of the other newspapers. I guess that won’t cut it. I tried to explain that we don’t need to take the papers home and make a big deal out of it; however, this particular little lady insisted that we scrutinize the heck out of them. I don’t even think it’s for a grade! I might find better things to do between now and next week!

After class I went to the gym where, this time, I was not treated like a zoo exhibit. I just worked out and swam. It was very relaxing! I then went home and waited for the dinner call (À TABLE!). Tonight we ate pizza, salad, bread, cheese, yogurt, and clementines (which is actually the same word in French). Yves was late because he was coaching a little league rugby team. Before he got home, Hélène told me that this Saturday Yves would be having a crêpe party at the house that I would be invited to attend! Yay! French people! This weekend it turns out that Yves-Marie, Hélène, and Benedict will all be leaving to visit their other son/brother in east France. That means it will just be Yves and I holding down the fort for the weekend. Next week it will be just Yves-Marie and I holding down the fort! Someone should pay me for doing all this holding!

Bonjour! Je m'appelle blah! blah! blah!

2008-02-12T22:46:00.001+01:00

There are two types of native French speakers in this country; enunciators and mumblers (I think I just invented a new word). Either someone knows how to speak to a foreigner or not. Let me just say that most people DO NOT know how to speak to a foreigner. They think that their everyday jargon will be completely understood. That is SO far from the truth! If you’re laughing now at the thought of me trying to understand these people, please consider the last time you tried to speak to someone from another country. Did you speak to them the same way you would speak to me? Did you use your Texas, Idaho, or New York accent? Did you treat them like they were deaf and start screaming at them so that they would “hear” you better? I promise, they hear you, they just think you’re rude.

Today I went to class at 8h20. This was tough! We were given a paper with pictures of an event and were told to pair up with another student to play the rolls of an interviewer and interviewee concerning the events on the paper. During our preparation the professor noticed that one of the Chinese girls had her dictionary covered neatly in French newspaper. This was normal except for the fact that the girl had accidentally chosen the obituaries. I about lost it and so did the professor. What’s even worse is the fact that the pictures on the paper given to us were about an earthquake. These poor Asians! Can you imagine trying to go to China and learn their language with that crazy alphabet and verbs that aren’t conjugated? At least as an English speaker there are several French words that are the same in English. This is never the case in any Asian language! They just show up every day and dive in head first (sometimes into shallow waters). You might think that it would be difficult to be an American in France, but let me tell you; French people know everything about America and can speak some English! They know nothing about Asia and can speak maybe one word of any Asian language if that!

After my morning classes and random one hour break, I had lunch in town with Linden. We have the same 12h00 class together, so we just went into town and grabbed some food. After that I went to my afternoon class (snoozer) and then to the gym where I encountered many mumblers. If you’ve been to a gym in America, you know that the guys there generally tend to mumble. Fear not! They do the same in France! One guy thinks I’m some sort of zoo exhibit. Every time I go to speak he turns to his friends and comments. I don’t think he says anything bad because he is very nice to me, but it’s sort of like being a dolphin in an aquarium and watching people point and talk about you with fascination. “He’s from America! Did you hear his accent? Isn’t it weird?”

Tonight we had no meat yet again! I’m going to start bringing some protein powder down to the table and drinking it every night so that maybe they’ll get the point. Hélène was very sweet and invited my friends Rachel and Linden over because they have wanted to meet my family for a while now. They will be joining us for dinner on Monday night. Linden loves to play twenty questions, so this should be very interesting!

This Friday I will be going to a service for college and career students at a local Baptist church. I e-mailed the pastor of the church to see if they had anything for people my age and he told me that he would love to have me join them this Friday. Please pray that this one goes well! It may be my last hope!

On Y Va!

2008-02-11T23:01:00.000+01:00

(photo of the entrance to the apartment building) To be honest, it’s hard for me to type in English for the moment. I just got done watching a film avec ma famille d’accueil qui s’appelle “Père et Maire”. C’était un très bon film ! Yves-Marie m’a dit que c’était un vrai film Américain. Ce n’était pas Américain, mais il m’a dit que tous les films Américains finissent avec les morales, et ce film était comme ça. J’imagine que c’est vrai, mais je lui ai dit que tous les films Français finissent avec l’amour. Il était d’accord. Maintenant je vais parler en English for those of you who probably didn’t understand a word I just said. Needless to say, it is becoming easier for me to converse in French. Hélène m’a dit que by the end of four months I will be fluent. J’espère que ce soit vrai!

(photo of the apartment - our's is the top balcony) Today I had my first real French class. It was quite entertaining. The professor was very funny and nice as well. When he called roll, there were some students whose names were left off of the list. This was no accident. The first student whose name was missing happened to be a guy who just arrived in Caen last Friday. I kid you not; he could hardly understand a word of French! For some reason he accidentally ended up in our class. When the professor went to ask him a question he responded in English. The professor then said, “Parlez-vous Français?” (Do you speak French?). Silence. I felt bad for the kid, but at the same time I wanted to throw a pen or notebook at him for waltzing his way into an advanced French class when he couldn’t even answer whether or not he spoke French. The next student whose name was not on the list happened to be a girl that decided she liked my class’s schedule better than her own. She therefore just decided to switch. The professor immediately got up and said, “On ne peut pas changer” (You can’t change classes!). “Aurevoir!” (Goodbye) “Il faut que tu ailles” (You must leave now). “Tu es très sympa, mais tu ne peux pas rester ici!” (You are very nice, but you can’t stay here !) « Désolé ! » (Sorry !) After that, the guy next to her confessed to doing the same thing. It was crazy! Who do these people think they are?!?! After we separated the men from the boys, we got to work. He put us in partners and had us find out five truths about one another, make up one lie, and present them to the class for them to decide which of the six things was a lie. I ended up with a girl from China who couldn’t understand much of what I was saying. I don’t know if that was her fault or mine. You know which one I’m leaning towards! I told her that she could tell the class that there are live Bears on my campus at Baylor and that they would think that was a lie. She; however, thought that this was the lie and continued to tell the class that it was a lie. When I interjected the professor could hardly believe that I was telling the truth. He told me he would have to search the internet to see if I was for real or not.

After class I met Linden in town for lunch. We ate sandwiches (the cheapest and most filling thing one can buy in France), and I helped her shop for some things for her dorm. I then went to the gym and then to a café to meet Rachel and Linden for an early evening coffee. It was very relaxing.

Tonight I came home for dinner and (WE HAD MEAT AGAIN) found out that at the end of this week, Yves and Benedict will be on vacation for two weeks! OH THE FRENCH! Hélène will also be on vacation because she works at a preschool. The three of them will be going to Bordeaux to see their brothers/son for two weeks while Yves-Marie and I hold down the fort. You know what that means? Butter! Cheese! MEAT! FAT! FAT! FAT!!!!! YAY! It’s going to be fun! I will miss having the other family around, but it will be nice to have the entire upstairs to myself! Yves-Marie is my favorite person in the family anyway, so maybe I’ll get more time to get to know him and learn even more French! He can’t go on vacation because he is a manager at a Bank. In France employees can only work 35 hours a week; however, managers can work as much as they want. This means that Yves-Marie works a lot!

Tomorrow I will have class starting at 8h20 and again at 9h30, 11h50, 15h10, and 16h20! Crazy! That’s five classes in one day! That’s a lot for someone who hasn’t had class since the middle of December! Here we go!

Attention Tout Le Monde!

2008-02-10T21:33:00.000+01:00

If you read my post entitled "Bouger", you know my little story about the old people party! These photos will prove it! Be sure to check out my quote in the first one!

Today I was awoken by a phone call from Rachel asking me if I was walking or taking the tram. This seems like a crazy reason to call someone considering that we pay by the minute for our cell phones; however, she was asking because she wanted to know why I was late meeting her downtown. You guessed it, I overslept. I had recently taken the battery out of my phone and this caused me to have to reset the time and date. I unfortunately set the time two hours behind. So when Rachel called me at 7:30 my cell phone’s time, it was actually 9:30 French time. I told her to go ahead and that I would meet her at the church. When she got there she called me to tell me that the service started at 9:30 but that she was going to go ahead and sneak in the back. When I finally got ready, I made my way to the church and found Rachel sitting (somewhat) in the back. At this point they were singing hymns. It was really cool to hear hymns sung in French! Next they gave communion; however, all through communion the people went crazy. Everyone started to pray out loud at once and some people were prophesying. When the prophesying started everyone got quiet to listen. One woman even sang prophesy (with a not so pretty sounding voice). Needless to say, I felt a bit out of place. These sorts of services are nice for some people, but it was a bit much for me. Rachel said that this must be what it’s like when a country so far from God has citizens who hunger for Him so dearly. They not only meet for TWO HOURS every Sunday, but they go crazy when their together. She wasn’t too thrilled with the church, but said she would return if she couldn’t find something a bit calmer. I however, will most definitely look for another place. Not only was the service a bit much, there were nothing but old people. (COLE AND RACHEL –OLD PEOPLE PALACE PART DEUX (2))

After church Rachel and I went to a local bakery and got sandwiches and desserts. We then took them and sat on the castle wall to eat. We talked a bit and then met Linden at the university to look at our class schedule. With this I am not very pleased! You should see this schedule! I have never had more random small bits of free time in all of my life! They didn’t let us pick the schedule for ourselves, so we have no choice but to go with the flow. Some of my friends have Fridays off, but not me. I started missing Baylor a little more. This was yet another reminder that I’m not in Texas anymore. And Rachel’s not in Kansas anymore (I just had to add that)!

After that we went to the Port and got Linden something to eat. We then sat on a bench next to the boats and watched the birds eat all of the leftover food from Sunday’s market. Andrew then met us here and they decided we should go to a café. I’m a bit tired of paying high prices for coffee, so I passed and went home for another nap.

Tonight at dinner Yves-Marie went into the family room to get the dictionary (he likes to read it during dinner for some reason). While he was in there, Benedict ran to the kitchen to grab the butter. Hélène about threw a fit. She told Benedict that she better hurry up before papa returns. She then gave some butter to me and ran the butter back into the kitchen. Benedict also had to wait until Yves-Marie was full before she could bring out the cheese. Tonight we had pasta, bread, salad, and soup. They’re worried about getting fat, but they eat more carbohydrates than any family I know! Someone should tell them; but wait until I leave because there’s no telling what we would eat if we couldn’t have bread!

Tomorrow I will be going to school at 10h40 for one class. I think I’m going to teach these people how to schedule!

Appelez Jerry!

2008-02-09T21:48:00.000+01:00

So, Cole didn’t go to the beach. We got into town too late and missed the bus. Sad day! For some reason this put me in a very bad mood, so I just went home and, had some bread with Nutella™, drank some coffee, and took a nap. It was a long nap too! After my nap I got up and had dinner.

Tonight Yves-Marie went to get some butter for his bread and, I kid you not, the kids flipped out! I was almost rolling in the floor from laughter. They think that if he eats too many things that are bad for his health that he will die. Yves starting screaming something along the lines of “I guess it’ll just be Benedict, mom, and I if you keep eating like that!” He didn’t care. He ate it anyway. I was secretly rooting for him. If I flipped out every time my dad ate something that wasn’t good for him, somebody would have to put me in a mental institution! Hélène also took the cheese away so that Yves-Marie wouldn’t eat it either. She says that cheese makes you fat, so old people can’t eat it. She then started telling Yves-Marie how much healthier she was than him. He still didn’t care as he ate his breaded butter. Yves finally just had to leave as it was all just too much! I told Yves-Marie that he needed to wait until everyone was in bed and then he and I would sneak down to the kitchen for some cheese, bread, and butter. He liked that idea, but Benedict abruptly disagreed! I might have to call Jerry on this family!

Commercial:
WHEN FATHERS EAT TOO MUCH JUNK
Hélène: Yves-Marie you never exercise! (chair flies across the stage)
Benedict: Papa I hate it when you eat cheese! (chair number 2 flies)
Yves: I CAN’T TAKE THIS!
Yves-Marie: (swimming in a vat of butter) Shut up and eat your yogurt!
– NEXT ON JERRY SPRINGER!

Tonight I’m using the washing machine for the first time (Big deal)! The entire machine is in French (duh!). I’m hoping that I put the little soap tablet in the right place. If not I might have to go on Jerry with the family!

Tomorrow morning Rachel and I will be going to a protestant church here in town. I was told that there are some university students who go there and that they would love for us to come. I hope I will meet some nice French Christians! Religion in this country is as old as the buildings! It’s almost as if it was something that happened in the past, but has become so old that it no longer pertains to everyday life. Most of the people in the country are Atheists. There have got to be over twenty-five massive cathedrals in this town, but Hélène was telling me that there are only a few priests that conduct services at all of the churches because there aren’t enough people to have a priest for each church. Sad! They are amazed when I tell them about Texas and how popular it is to go to church on Sundays. Hélène almost fell out of her chair when I told her that my college group in Waco has over 400 students.

Please pray that this new church will be a very positive experience for me! I have needed to meet people in this country that are as passionate about the Lord as my friends back at Baylor. I’m very excited to see how things turn out!

CHANTEZ!

2008-02-09T13:49:00.000+01:00

IT WAS MEAT! Yves-Marie made lunch today since Hélèn has to work on Saturday mornings. He made pork chops and French fries. He also bought some amazing Chocolate Éclairs from a local boulangerie (bakery).

Today I will be going to the beach with my friends and hopefully see some amazing things! Stay tuned!

LA VIANDE! (MEAT!)

2008-02-09T11:50:00.000+01:00

I JUST CAME BACK FROM THE GYM AND SAW MEAT COOKING FOR LUNCH! PRAISE THE LORD! HALELUJA!

Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! There goes the baker...

2008-02-09T01:47:00.000+01:00

Today I woke up late because I had no class. When I went down stairs I apologized to Hélèn for waking her up last night. She didn’t mind. She just didn’t know that I had ever left and thought it was her daughter coming down the stairs because she was sick.

When I finally got up and left the house I met Linden and Andrew for lunch. We ate at this very nice little restaurant that served gourmet meals for about a quarter of the price they would be in the US. We had a nice discussion on the differences between American restaurants and French restaurants and how in American restaurants it’s all about how fast they get the food to you. For some reason, this is considered polite. The faster you eat, the more you eat, the quicker you leave, the bigger the tip you will leave. In France this isn’t the case. The tip is already included into the price, so you always know exactly how much you’re paying when you look at the menu. In France the waiters are much more concerned about the quality of time you spend in the restaurant. When they give you the menu, they don’t come back four times to see if you’re ready to order. They give you about fifteen minutes to look it over before they even approach the table again. They also don’t give out mass quantities of liquid at each meal like they do in the US. The only thing they ever refill is water; and even that is limited. It has definitely taught me to drink a whole lot less while I’m eating. In America I’ll order a glass of sweet tea and have the waiter fill it up four or five times before I’m out the door. And I’m not the only person that does that! Imagine those who have the glass of Coke filled up four or five times before they’re out the door! No wonder our country is perceived as being fat!

While leaving the restaurant I had to stop and take a moment. Imagine, the sun was bright, the boats were stationed in their port, the bells of Saint Pierre were singing, and the citizens of the town were going about their daily routines. It was a Disney™ movie waiting to happen! I just knew some animated bird was going to be landing on my shoulder soon!

After eating I went to work out and then home for dinner. Still no meat. We had something called potato crisp, steamed tomatoes, bread, cheese, and yogurt. I was craving bread with Nutella™ so badly that I just had to ask for some. Hélèn thought I was crazy because they usually only eat Nutella™ for breakfast, but I didn’t care.

After dinner I went out to Café de Caen for a crêpe and a Diablo (a type of lemonade). I sat and chatted with my friends Linden, Jonathan, and Rachel, and then Rachel and I went to stroll through the town. We stopped at that church that had been bombed during World War Two and talked about what it would have been like to have lived during a war like that. I pray that I never have to know exactly what it feels like!

After that, I came home and tried to be quite once again. This time I think I tried too hard as it took me almost ten minutes to get from the door to my room. Every time I take another step the floor creeks because of the old hard wood! I can’t imagine having to sneak around at night all the time like that! It would drive me insane if I had to do it for too long!

Encore le FreeCell!

2008-02-08T01:14:00.000+01:00

So, I’m still playing FreeCell; however, it’s not because I’m board, but rather because I like it. A lot!

Anyway, today was great! I got out of class early and I have no class in the morning! This morning the professors had to go around and make us sign something saying that we are being placed in the correct level of French. There are six levels, A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. A1 is for people who don’t know a word of French and C2 is for people who speak French as well as they speak their maternal language. I was lucky / unfortunate enough to be placed in B2. I’m hoping that it will be challenging enough, but easy enough to make good grades! Stay tuned!

After class I went into town again with my friends and ate! I love to eat here! If you’ve ever been to France you know that just walking through the streets and seeing all the food makes you gain fourteen pounds. I am not kidding you; there are bakeries and chocolate stores on every corner, every bend in the road, and every crevasse known to man! If you ever have to die and go to pie heaven, I guarantee that God will put you in the middle of France! Baguette, crêpes (of which I ate more today), chocolate, wine, cheese, are you hungry yet?, cakes, pies, tarts, coffee, etc… And in every category I just mentioned, there are millions of things from which to choose! The world is yours (as long as you have something we like to call Euros)! If I run out of money by the end of this séjour, it won’t be because I traveled too much, but rather because I ate too much! I should have brought fat pants!

After we ate, I had to opportunity to meet a guy from one of Andrew’s classes named Guillaume Le Ber. He is a student here at the university and loves to hang out with Americans. He speaks English very well, but lets me speak French with him. We taught him some American slang words that he can use / watch out for when he visits the states. He wants to study at Baylor in 2009 because he heard that it’s the best university out of all the universities with whom Caen has exchange programs. I told him he was right even though I’ve never even seen these other universities.

Tonight at dinner there was still no meat. The family started to tell me about lent, so I just jumped right on in and asked if it was a tradition not to eat meat during lent. They told me that you’re only supposed to eat it on Fridays, but that most people don’t follow that rule. I almost said something, but I decided instead to eat another block of cheese. We had quiche, salad, fried vegetables, cheese, bread, and yogurt. It was very good! Hélèn is always a good cook and always gives me the most food! There must be a rumor running around that Americans eat a lot! Imagine that!

Tonight Rachel was invited to go out with some Australians for a guy’s birthday party. She was told to invite whomever, so we all joined her, including Guillaume. Although I would never be able to do this in Waco, we all went to a local bar and sat around meeting people from all over the world! It was so amazing! The bars here aren’t like the bars in the US. Here they’re actually classy and have character. I got to meet some girls from Australia and was told that if I ever went to Australia that they would show me around! I might just do that some day; eh mate? (They don’t actually say that!) It’s so cool to have connections all over the world!

Tonight when I came in I was as quiet as I have ever been, but for some reason Hélèn got up and asked what I needed. I know she was still half asleep because she was saying some pretty crazy things. Instead of saying goodnight (bonne nuit), she said goodbye (au revoir). I got a nice little laugh out of it and walked up to my room.

Bouger!

2008-02-07T01:08:00.000+01:00

Culture Shock (according to Cole): The feeling you get when things aren’t the way they should be.

As I’ve said before, this experience is like a roller coaster! For those of you that read my last post, you might have guessed that I had hit a low spot on the roller coaster. If you enjoy (for some random reason) reading this blog, (hi mom!) you might have also noticed that I didn’t post anything yesterday. This is because after my low spot on the roller coaster I hit two high spots in a row; today and yesterday!

Yesterday was a hilarious day! After class I went into town with my friends and ended up looking all over the city for a gym. I ended up in a town right south of Caen at a very nice gym that takes over half an hour to reach. Nice idea, but I think I came to France for other reasons than to ride a bus all day! Eventually I ended up about seven blocks from my apartment at a gym called Sun Club. Sounds a bit shady, but it ended up being a very nice establishment. What’s even better, they give a 10% student discount! I was so excited I almost hugged the lady behind the desk! And if I’m not mistaken, I think she was just as excited for me! Yay, happy French lady!

After the fun and exciting gym adventure, I went with Rachel to a party we were both invited to attend. You might want to sit down if you’re not already! We not only take thirty minutes to find the right bus to get us to this place; we show up at this random building full of people who have no teeth of their own. That’s right; we were the cute little American kids at an old people party! Apparently it’s some sort of club that helps to build relations between the French and the Americans in Caen. Just between you and me, I don’t know that these people know that we’re the only Americans here. Anyway, the party was great as they fed us our weight in crêpes, Nutella (The Original Creamy, Chocolaty Hazelnut Spread™), wine, and cider. It was so delicious, but Rachel and I could not stop laughing about the situation! Just as we thought it couldn’t get any funnier, a guy from the local news came in the door with a camera and a microphone. I just about died! He interviewed the lady that was in charge as I continued to laugh (seemingly enjoying myself, but rather snickering at the situation). He then so gracefully approached Rachel and I and handed us the microphone. You guessed it; I was on the news speaking French to thousands of native French people who are now laughing at me!

Today I was tired after staying out all night recanting this amazing story to the others who did not feel inclined to join us; however, this did not stop the fun from coming. As we took the tram up to Campus two so that Linden could talk to our advisor about something, my friend Alex played hide and seek with the tram patrol. Alex has yet to purchase his tram pass, so he’s been riding the tram illegally for the past couple of days. We’ve yet to see anyone ask us for our tickets, so it was assumed that things would be fine. Not today! I heard a nice old man say “bonjour” to a group of people and when I looked up to see who it was; I saw that it was them! I looked at Alex and didn’t even have to say a word. As soon as the tram stopped, he jetted. I went with him so that he wouldn’t have to ride the next tram alone. When we got on the next tram, it took us to another stop where there was yet another patrolman. This time I didn’t even see him, but thank goodness Alex did! Alex walked right passed him and exited the tram while I accidentally stayed on and showed the guy my tram pass. When Alex finally caught up to me we decided that it might be good for him to buy a tram pass pretty soon!

After the tram excursion, Alex and I went for coffee just before I went to workout in my new gym! I was so excited! When I got to the gym, the same lady that helped me before was back to greet me with a smile! When I got to the workout room I was greeted by one of the locals. He could tell that I had an accent and asked me if I was English (they all ask me that!). I told him that I was actually American and that I was having trouble converting the weights from kilograms to pounds so that I could understand what I was lifting. He laughed and continued to tell me some elaborate story with big words while I pretended to understand.

After the gym I went back to the apartment where I waited until 8h30 to have dinner. We usually eat at 7h00, but Yves was late getting home. I just about had words with him! Actually, I did have words out loud to myself in English that made me feel much better about the situation. I just pretended that I was back home in the US and said to Yves (to to his face) what my father would have said to me. For those of you who know my father or know of him, you can only imagine!

Dinner tonigth was nice except for the fact that there was still no meat! I’m guessing that since they are Catholic, they aren’t eating meat because it’s lent. My mother offered to send me some beef jerky, but I think I’ll just go buy some protein powder or start eating massive amounts of meat at lunch! Ridiculous!

At the beginning of this post I gave my definition of the term culture shock. If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, you might have already gathered that this is from what I am suffering on occasion. As days pass, I notice that things are becoming more and more normal. Now that I have a place to workout and am starting to get a feel for the town, I think that in a couple of weeks I’ll stop making fun of the way things have been. Until then, be prepared for whatever, whenever!

La Vie Ennuyeuse

2008-02-04T21:59:00.000+01:00

WHERE’S THE BEEF? Since most of you probably don’t remember this line, I’ll go ahead and let you know that it’s from an old Wendy’s® commercial. As you may have already discovered, when anything exciting happens, it happens at dinner. Not tonight. For some reason the Groussiers decided to quickly eat a light dinner. That’s nice, except for the fact that I am famished! All day I walked through the streets smelling the food from the patisseries thinking, “I’ll be eating soon! I’ll be eating soon!” Soon came, but the food did not. Potatoes, salad, bread, and cheese was all. No meat! I know I sound like I’m whining, but if you know me at all, you know that I love to eat! A lot! Oh well, one night of going to bed hungry won’t kill me.

My first day of preliminary classes was ok. It was a bit boring, but ok nonetheless. All the professors really wanted to do was stand at the front of the room and talk about nothing. I could understand them, but nothing is nothing whether it’s in English or French. There’s another American girl in my class that ate it up, but I think I’ll pass. I’m ready for something interesting.

To be completely honest, boring has been the theme of my life for the past few days. I’m in France, but bored to tears! So far I still haven’t met any French people despite my efforts yet again today in the cafeteria. I went in and asked to sit next to these two guys. They told me I could sit next to them, but when I asked them what their names were; the conversation didn’t go very far. They asked me where I was from but that was about it. Oh yeah, they also asked about the Super bowl.

After lunch I hung out again around town with my friends, but after that I just came home and ate some potatoes. Now I’m sitting here playing free cell again. I am now able to beat the game every time I play it! Yay.

Dimanche

2008-02-03T20:59:00.000+01:00

Today was good! I woke up and took a bath (not that you care). I can’t take a shower here because they only have a shower nozzle on a rope and a bathtub. So I sit in the tub and try to bathe while freezing to death! After that we went to church. Wait, we walked to church. That’s right. The French love to walk. Imagine that! And it was cold too! We took the elevator down to the first floor, put something in the car, and walked to one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen.

The church is called Abbaye aux Hommes and is one of the biggest churches in Caen. It was actually used as a refuge for the citizens of Caen during the bombardments of World War II. As you may know, Caen is in Normandy and was almost completely destroyed during the war. There is actually a church next to Abbaye aux Hommes that was bombarded during the war and was left as a memorial. Because of the American aide to the French during this war, the citizens of Caen are very welcoming to Americans like me. When they hear that you speak English they think you’re from England, but when you tell them that you’re from the USA they get very excited! That’s right ladies! I’m an AMERICAN! (Pause for national anthem of the USA).

Today we had a big lunch with a little bit of wine. I like wine, but to be honest, French wine is very strong and hard to swallow! The Groussiers don’t drink that often, but today was Sunday and the day after the day after Hélène’s birthday. We got to sing Happy Birthday in French! After lunch everybody (including me) took a nap! It was very nice and relaxing.

When I woke up from my nap, I went to the university to see where my classes would be held for tomorrow. When I got there I saw that I had been placed in the third group. I’m not sure what this means, but I think it means that I will be expected to learn and study more! This is good and a bit nerving at the same time! If it is a higher level of French, then IF I do well I will receive a certificate from the French government saying that I am proficient and fluent in the French language. We’ll see what happens.

Tonight at dinner I spoke with Papa Groussier about country music as he told me how much he loves it. He is still putting the hot sauce I brought on everything he eats! Chicken, salad, bread, you name it! I’m going to have to see that my parents either send me another bottle before the man goes crazy, or bring some when they come to visit me!

It is now almost 9h00pm (2h00 USA). I guess I’m going to go to bed early since I have to be at the university at 8h20! Good night!

La Montagne Russe! AH!

2008-02-02T22:48:00.001+01:00

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.

Chez-Moi (My Place)

2008-02-02T01:55:00.001+01:00

Au Café!

2008-02-01T20:53:00.001+01:00

If there is one thing that I’ve learned thus far it is this: If when you look back and miss the things you once had, this means that you’ve had a good life so far! When doing something new, it is important that one never forgets where they came from, but also to look forward to the things that one will soon look back upon and miss.

Today was a good day. I went to the university at 9h45 to meet my friends from Baylor. I helped them get their student IDs and pay for insurance. We then went to eat at the university cafeteria. I was hoping that we would find some French people to talk with, but we pretty much ate as a group. I got very excited because a blond French girl came and sat next to me. My friends were very happy for me, except for the fact that she wasn’t French but American. I was very funny, but I’m not losing hope!

My friend Linden ran into a guy that is actually staying in the same house as her for the next couple of weeks. He is from Finland and knows five languages! And I though two was hard! He spent part of the day with us as we ventured into town. We went to get our bus and tram passes so that we wouldn’t have to pay every time we wanted to go to school. Things went well for the most part except for the fact that the lady who helped Rachel get her pass was very rude and ended up charging her extra for some packet of coupons of which she could care less! (photo on the left) We were both enraged! I almost told the lady that she was the reason some Americans don’t like the French.

Latter on we went for some coffee and began to discuss our financial situation with our host families. Someone said that we were paying an extra $3,000USD to stay with families. I became a bit depressed at this, but later on found out that what I was paying wasn’t anything near $3,00USD. I was also depressed as I thought that I would never meet any French people, but I became very assured as I prayed on my way home and had a very nice conversation with my adopted mother. Today is her birthday and her husband is taking her out. They are such a nice family! She told me that I could come home whenever I wanted because I am “of age”. This was a bit of a relief as I thought I would have to be home every night by 9h00 or so!

I also got a cell phone today, so if anyone wants to give a shout out to France, call (33)6.42.35.55.74!

Right now I am responding to some e-mails from my friends back in the US and listening to country music. I really do miss the United States, but know that I will soon become very used to things here and hopefully make some good French friends. Please pray that the Lord will place some amazing people in my life that will become good friends forever! I love my American friends, but they agree with me that we are going to need to be submersed into the culture and that we need to meet other French people. That sounds like we’re breaking up doesn’t it? We still want to see each other, but we also want to see other people at the same time!

Caen

2008-01-31T21:24:00.001+01:00

De Texas à France

2008-01-31T19:06:00.000+01:00

Today I woke up earlier than normal to go to the university for an orientation. Having worked for Baylor as a Baylor Bound Leader, I have to admit that this orientation wasn’t quite the same as the ones I’ve seen in the past! If you’re reading this and you are a Baylor staff, please know that Baylor has one of the best orientation processes in the world! If you are reading this and you are a staff member of another university, please go here NOW: http://www.baylor.edu/orientation/ ! We sat in a room full of international students from all over the world and listened to three people give us the low-down. They spoke in French, but it was very easy to understand because they spoke so slowly. We were then given a tour of campus that made me think of my days of giving tours of Baylor! Baylor students! We are SO lucky! Student life isn’t as big of a deal in French Universities as it is in the United States. I was with several of my friends from Baylor who decided to go into town to eat lunch after the tour.

We found this really nice restaurant that served these amazing salads and crêpes! It was awesome! The only bad thing is that we started to speak English and I began using my Texas accent once again. When we were done with our meal and began walking through town, I realized that I had become an obnoxious American that was speaking very loudly in a very funny accent. My friends thought it was funny, but I can imagine that there were a few Frenchmen who wanted to kick me. That’s ok. I’ve wanted to kick them because their French is so much better than mine. I also got the opportunity to open a bank account in France! The only bad thing is that I had been speaking English all day, so when it came time to speak in French, I was a bit caught off guard. But things went well and I finally have a way to operate financially in France.

When I went home for dinner with my family d’acueil, I was very interested to hear that Yves-Marie (the father) was in love with the hot sauce that I brought for the family. We were eating grilled cheeses and the family was putting on the sandwich itself! They were eating it with bread and I even saw them eat it with a spoon a couple of times! It was quite funny! We then sat and talked a while about the differences between English and French and other sorts of thought provoking topics that would interest a student like me studying another language.

I am finding it easier to understand and speak the language the more time I spend here. Speaking with the family has really made things easier on me!

À Caen!

2008-01-31T18:57:00.000+01:00

I’ll go ahead and put the first few days of Caen in one post. All I have to say is, AHHHHHHH! These people are speaking another language! Obviously, but I never anticipated how hard it would be! I find myself becoming jealous of them because I want to be able to speak as well as they do. They all say that I speak very well, but I think their full of it! Yesterday I looked all over campus for the lady that is in charge of giving us our stipend for the month and nobody even knew her! Finally someone knew who I was talking about and she walked me to the office where I needed to be. On the way over she asked me if I wanted a cigarette. I of course said no, but couldn’t believe how many people here smoke! There are cigarette butts everywhere!

The night that Eve-Marie (M. Groussier) picked me up from the train station, he told me that there was another American staying with them and that she was in my room until Thursday. When I got to the house, sure enough, there she was. Her name is Margareta and she is from Delaware. She greeted me with that nasty French kiss thing they do on both cheeks. She was cooking dinner for the family and me to eat that night while Eve-Marie and I sat in the living room talking. After dinner Margarita turned to me and said, “I’m SO glad you came!” Apparently it was easier for her to talk and listen to the family when I spoke with them. From then on she and I have been talking in English and enjoying each other’s company. She even showed me where to go and what to do in the cafeteria at school. When we went to the cafeteria we sat with some of her friends from Delaware and got stared at by some of the French students. It was a bit awkward, but I’ll go with it.

When I went home, that day I fell asleep on the couch from exhaustion. Listening to these people speak makes me tired! Today I walked through town and got an adaptor for my computer and found myself wanting to lie down on the sidewalk for a bit of a siesta. I want to be able to talk with them so badly, but they can always tell that I’m American and they start to speak what little bit of English they know. It is SO annoying! In the US I thought in French because I always wanted to practice and had no better way to do it. Now all I do in think in English and say things out loud to make myself feel better. I think my French has gotten worse since I got here! Either that or it just seems worse because everyone here speaks it so much better than me! Even little kids running through the street are smarter than me! One of these days I’ll have it down! (I HOPE!) I HOP! OH HOW THAT REMINDS ME OF HOME!

Tonight the family went out with Margarita to some thing her school is putting on as a farewell to the families. The son (Yves) has late rugby practice so he can’t go. When he gets home, he and I are going to have dinner together. I’m sure that will be a bit weird because I don’t know that he likes me all that much. All he does when he’s here is sit in his room and play guitar or listed to music! He’s kind of like my brother back in the US.

Paris

2008-01-30T23:18:00.001+01:00

2eme Jour à Paris

2008-01-30T21:54:00.000+01:00

After some much needed sleep we went to Notre Dame for morning mass. I have heard that the best day to go to Notre Dame was on a Sunday because nobody in France goes to church anymore. Well, this wasn’t exactly true. The place was crowded! There were people there from all over the world! Portions of the mass were in other languages but hardly any of it was in English. This was a great surprise because almost everything in Paris seems to be in French and English. When it came time for communion, Rachel and I (two Protestants) went up to the front with our arms crossed to signal that we weren’t Catholic so that the priest would just bless us instead. However, it seems that he did not understand this sign as he gave us the communion wafer instead. I have been to several Catholic masses and the only one I actually ever took communion in was Notre Dame! Crazy!

That afternoon we ate at a nearby restaurant that had a student meal for a discounted price! We then decided to see Musée d’Orsay (the impressionist art museum). When we got to Musée d’Orsay we were so tiered we could hardly stand up. We were still suffering from jetlag. We then decided to leave and go get some coffee. This is when we found this nice café near Place de la Concorde where we had some coffee (which you must know, in France, when you order coffee they give you a shot of espresso. In order to get coffee like we have in the US, you have to order café au lait). We then took our pictures at Place de la Concorde and then took a train to Mont Martre to see La Moulin Rouge and Sacré Coeur Cathedral.

We took some photos at the Moulin Rouge and at Sacré Coeur and called our families from a nearby telephone booth. We then ate at a place that served crêpes. When we sat down, there was an old woman at another table that didn’t seem to like us very much. She sort of stared and started to mumble a few things to the people with whom she was sitting. At one point the waiter told her not to worry because we were just English, of which WE ARE NOT THANK YOU! I’m sure the English are very nice people, but I am not English! We then headed back to our hotel via the metro where we were stopped by some not very nice officials and asked for our metro tickets. Of course this was the first time that Rachel and I both threw out tickets away right after we walked through the turnstile! I tried to argue with the lady, but she wouldn’t listen. We had to pay 25euros each! I was furious! Rachel and I had been speaking French with one another the entire time, but at that point, I angrily began to speak in English. Rachel kept encouraging me (in French) that it wasn’t a big deal, but I wouldn’t listen and continued to speak in English. This is when a guy overheard me and nodded his head like he knew what I was talking about. I then turned to him and started to explain in French what had happened. He was very surprised to hear that I could speak French and invited Rachel and I over for something to drink. We (probably shouldn’t have) said yes and went to the home of François. He was very nice and told us that if we ever come back to Paris that we needed to stay with him. His house was a bit nasty so I think I’ll pass, but we did have a very nice time. He gave us some bear, but we only drank a little bit to be nice because we were both not keen on getting drunk. It was a nice time and we made a new Friend!

La Tour Eiffel

2008-01-30T16:26:00.001+01:00

1re Jour à Paris

2008-01-30T15:08:00.000+01:00

So it hits me, why don't I just go to the university to use the internet! Duh! And it works! Praise the Lord! Where do I start? Well, I guess I can tell you what Paris was like.

The flight to Paris was good except for the fact that my friend Rachel and I only got about two hours of sleep each. When we got into Paris we knew that we weren't going to be able to go to bed because it was 8:40am and if we did, we would never get used to the new time zone. So we decided to get our luggage and take it to the hotel before we ventured into the city. We asked the stewardess on the plane if he would advise us to take a taxi to the hotel and he told us that it would cost about $100. We decided then that we would take our chances with the metro. Oh was that a journey! It seems as if you are handicap in Paris, you are not allowed to use the metro. We had to climb up and down more stairs than I ever want to see again in my life! And please do remember that we had luggage for four+ months! It was crazy! Once we finally got to our hotel the man let us leave our luggage in the lobby until check in time at 3:00pm. We then went to a place known in France as a Tobac. Here you can buy cigarettes, lotto tickets, and COFFEE! Coffee is exactly what we needed after not having slept! When we were through with our coffee we went to check in at the hotel and then ventured into Paris!

While in Paris we saw L'Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower! At the Eiffel Tower we decided to climb the stairs instead of take the elevator just to say that we did! Guess what? I took the stairs up the Eiffel Tower! There, I said it! Anyway, on the first platform they have snow and snow shoes for people to wear and glide around the Eiffel Tower. When we got to the second platform we took the elevator because there are no stairs that go all the way to the top. Sad day! The view of Paris is amazing (see the slide show above entitled, La Tour Eiffel)! When we were done we went to the bottom and called home. I got to speak with my little brother and Rachel spoke with her parents and good friend. We then got something to eat at a pizza place next to our hotel where we were sitting next to these two people who kept starring at us. I couldn't understand what they were saying until I later discovered that they are staying in the room next to us in the hotel and that they are from the Netherlands. When I saw them in the hall and started to speak French to them but they didn't understand. When they discovered I could speak English it we had a nice conversation. They told me that that they thought Rachel and I were French because they heard us speaking French with one another. Isn't that ironic?

Bonjour Encore!

2008-01-30T14:21:00.000+01:00

So, I'm sitting here in a basement in some place where it costs 3euros to use the internet for one hour! STUPID! I finally got an adaptor for my computer, but when I tried to use the internet at the apartment it didn't work. So here I am with only 15 minutes to write as much as I only have 1euro in cash.

So I arrived in Caen and was greeted at the train station by M. Groussier. He is very nice and was very glad to see me. While he was taking me to his appartment I said, "You and your family live on Rue Paul Toutain right?" and he said to me, "No, we (including me) live on Rue Paul Toutain!" So, we live on Rue Paul Toutain in a very nice appartment on the fifth floor of this building. The appartment is two stories and has plenty of space. Right now there is another American living with us until Thursday because she was in town doing an exchange for three weeks with the Groussiers. When she leaves I will have her room which has a sink and lots of space. Right now I am staying in the daughter's room (her name is Benadict) and she is staying in the family room. They also have a son named Eve who plays rugby. He also coaches Rugby for little kids. Mme. Groussier is very nice and is a good cook.

Right now I am trying to find people to get to know and hang out with. I feel like a little kid running through the streets saying, "Will you be my friend? Will you be my friend?" Today I went to the school cafeteria by myself in hopes that I would find some people. No luck. I just ended up eating alone like a loser. Oh well! I just laughed and went on with life. Maybe I'll have better luck in the future!

Well, there are many more stories to tell, but I have to go now or the man upstairs (litterally) might try and eat me for being on the computer for too long. Talk to you soon!