A Language I Understand

I find myself understanding more and more French as the days go by. I understand a lot more than I can speak. It is hard to find the words to express myself, and I need to be better at speaking up. Today at church, however, I was reminded of something very important. I may not ever completely understand the French language, but music is something I will always understand in any language in this world. I love singing the hymns in French. It's something I feel I can really participate in and feel the spirit. The primary children did a musical number in sacrament meeting today. The only words I caught were- God loves me. But, honestly, what else is there to know? No matter where I am in the world I can always count on knowing that God loves me. I felt the spirit from those little primary children, and I am grateful for their examples.

This is the entrance to the building where church is held.

You may recognize it from my other pictures.
It is the same place I go to school.

Bisous Bisous Initiation?

Yesterday as I stepped off the train and started my walk home someone yelled my name. Surprised, I turned to find Tiphaine (the cute 15 year old I live with). She approached me and before I could say a word she kissed me on both cheeks. This is a very very common greeting in France between close friends and family, however, I had yet to experience the bisous bisous. I now consider myself fully initiated into the Julienne family.

Walk With Me Through Paris...

One of the classes I am taking here in Paris is called "Paris Walks." Sounds terrible, I know. I was given a book of twenty-one different walks that I am supposed to go on while I am here in Paris. A requirement for this class is to keep some sort of journal with my thoughts of the places I visited, along with pictures and facts. I thought a blog would be a good way to do this. I've posted a link on this blog that will take you to the new one I created for my walks. So if you are interested check it out, and walk with me through Paris!

A Day in My Life...

Every morning I wake up in my beautiful house on the Seine and sigh in relief that I haven't been dreaming. After breakfast I love to take peaceful walks along the river where it's quiet and all you can hear is the birds, the flowing river, and your own thoughts. I may then walk through the tree lined streets of this quaint neighborhood of Croissy and admire the beautiful French homes on my way to the train station where I hop on one heading to Paris. The metro stations are a lively and quick pace part of my day, so many different people going in so many different directions. Often there are people playing music in the halls of the stations. Violins, accordions, wooden flutes, and guitars are commonly heard playing familiar French tunes of Debussy, or La Vie en Rose. I climb the stairs out of the metro and am faced with panoramic views of L'hotel de Ville, Notre Dame, l'Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. So many times during the day I have to say to myself, "you really are here." I stroll along the cobblestoned streets taking in everything around me. At some point I will stop at one of the many boulangeries and pick up une pain du chocolat or a croissant or maybe a piping hot crepe filled with mouthwatering chocolate. I may sneak into the Louvre for an hour or two, or perhaps climb the towers of Notre Dame to make friends with the gargoyles. It's then time to catch the train back to Croissy for dinner with my host family. Monsieur and Madame Julienne have four children. Lorene is twenty. Tristan is seventeen. Tiphaine is fifteen, and Lidwine is thirteen. We all gather around in the gorgeous dining room for a wonderful meal cooked by Madame Julienne. The conversation is lively, and there is lots of laughter as we try and understand eachother. My French is going to improve by leaps and bounds while I'm living here. After the main course, a basket of bread and a platter of cheese is passed around, which is then followed by dessert. After dinner, all of us crowd into the kitchen to help out with the dishes. I will then come downstairs into my French antique filled room, where the dreams I will have cannot come close the dreams I am living.

Welcome to My Blog!

I'm down to minutes on my countdown until I will be in Paris! After much packing and weighing and weighing and packing, I have (I hope) successfully packed everything I will be needing into one suit case that weighs less than fifty pounds. That is no small feat my friends. Having realized that I will want to bring home a plethora of cool souvenirs, I have fully prepared myself to leave my wardrobe with the French upon my return. A gift they will undoubtedly enjoy as much as I will enjoy leaving it.

I am so excited to begin this new adventure. It's something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember. It hardly seems possible that it is actually happening. I want to thank all of you for your love, support, and prayers these last few months. I know that it is because of you that I am going to be able to get on that airplane tomorrow and have the time of my life.

I'm not entirely sure what to expect out of this grand adventure, other than the divine pastries, crepes, and baguettes. I have a hope that this experience will change me forever for the better. There is a magic in Paris that is hard to find anywhere else. I'm determined to let it lead me and take me wherever it wants, hoping that I will be able to follow and discover whatever secrets Paris has in store for me. I hope you will enjoy following me on my adventures through this blog. After all, Paris is always a good idea.