La Greve. [The Strike.]

Today was an adventure.

So you may properly understand the scenario: I live in Le Vesinet, right next to the Le Vesinet-Le Pecq RER train stop. The RER is a suburban metro with the purpose of getting you actually to the metro lines in Paris. A typical day on the RER includes boarding on the :08, and arriving in Paris 20 minutes later. I can get to the major stops to transfer to various metros and consequently be pretty much anywhere in the city worth going to in 40 minutes. Not bad.

Today, the RER was on strike. Now, the French are known for striking, it's true. However, typically the metro lines strike, and they still actually run the lines, but maybe just 1 out of every four trains will run, so it makes you wait longer and makes you stuff into the metro car like sardines. But, still viable. Historically, the RER rarely strikes, and in the case that it does, will generally run one of each 2 or 3 trains. Today: the ran 1 of 2 trains from 7:30-9:30 a.m. and from 4:30-7:30 p.m. AND NONE IN BETWEEN!

I had made plans with a friend, Becca, to meet up and go to the movies. Then I had class to go to at 1:30, so I left the house and saw the RER pulling away from my stop (at 9:30 - assuming it was the 9:28 train); and I'd hop on the :38. NO.

After canceling plans with Becca, watching Glee to calm down, and eating a pain au chocolat, I spent some time in the French transportation website to figure this thing out. Was I even going to get to go to class? I really wanted to considering I quite like class, and had done my homework and everything!

My new route: Take Bus 19 from Le Vesinet - Le Pecq to the end of it's line. At that stop, Houilles de Carriers, there will be a regional SNCF train [services the entire Ile de France state] that I could take to Gare St. Lazare, to transfer to Metro Line 3 to transfer to Metro Line 2 in order to arrive at school at Place de Victor Hugo. O.K., here I go:

I get to my train/bus stop at 12:10, knowing that my bus leaves at 12:19 and another doesn't come through for half an hour. Turns out Bus 19 is the opposite side of the station. So, back down the road, up the stairs, over the bridge to the waiting Bus 19. 22 minutes later, I am at the end of the line where I follow the crowd to where the trains must be. Following signs, I make it to the correct platform. At this point, aside from trying to ignore the map of the aforementioned route in my head and it's huge inefficiencies, all is well. Lo and behold, an RER train pulls up, and everyone on the platform gets on. So do I. My reasoning skills tell me that since just the Poissy and St.Germain-en-Laye branches of the RER A are down, that it makes sense that the Cergy branch (where I now currently am) is running. Sure. Everybody else is doing it...

We pull into the stop, and I am confused. I had thought that because I was on the RER and obviously it was moving and other people were on it, that it would be following the course of the RER line. Thus, I believed that the stop in which everyone disembarked the train was Nanterre-Prefecture [I realize none of these location names mean a whole lot to you], and not my destination point, or really anywhere I knew how to navigate. Damn. [Pardon my French. : )]

My instinctive reaction was to get on the waiting train on the other side of the platform, go back to where I had just come from, and try again. Now, for a standardized test-type reading question: Do you know how I had screwed up? I had gotten on an RER train and not the SNCF regional train. That must be the problem, right?

Back at the Houilles de Carriers stop I had just come from, I had over to the platform where i had stood now 30 minutes before, and waited on the train I SHOULD have taken. Lesson learned: don't deviate from the plan when you have somewhere to be!

The correct train pulls up, but on the wrong tracks, which leads to my sprinting down stairs, around the corner, up the stairs to the [in]correct platform to board. Finally. Whew. "Hey, these are nice trains..."

We pull in to the exact stop I had just come from. Not the Houilles de Carriers one, Gare St. Lazare. Yeah, that one from the beginning of this blog post that was basically my 'home free' mark! I had taken the RER [train #1] to the correct stop, but didn't realize it, so took RER [train #2] back, and got on SNCF [train #3] to where I had already just been.

[Insert anxiety-induced perspiration here.]

Frustrated with my own stupidity, I got to metro line 3, which I took to Line 2, which I took to school, where I learned about ordering theatre tickets after 2 hours [normally a 40-minute trip] of "travel". I could have been in Germany or England by then!

Oh, yeah - and they're striking tomorrow, too.

Gobble, gobble. Jingle, jingle.

Happy Thanksgiving, family and friends!

This year, I have even more reason to be thankful for: YOU. [And layering techniques - brrr!]

What a surreal experience it is to wake up Thanksgiving morning not in my bed in Dallas, not with a planner-full of things to get done for school, and with a regular day's agenda... it was weird to go to class and try to describe American Thanksgiving to international friends, who all deemed our holiday contradictory.

I guess it is in a way. They seem to see the paradox in celebrating what one has by using all [hypothetically] of your resources in order to consume a feast. However, if you look back throughout biblical feasts, weren't they held in celebration of what one already has - potentially making a sacrifice of time, effort, finances - in order to properly honor an occasion? For example: Paul describes how necessary it is for the church to host her Bridegroom in all that she can pour out... and as the song in the Prince of Egypt depicts, "When all you have is nothing, there is a lot to go around!" Thus, I don't truly see any irony.

I was fortunate enough to celebrate twice this year - first at church with 175 Americans, French, varying populations from Africa and Asia, all come together to eat and be merry... until that one woman decided the event was in need of an emcee, and further found a microphone and talked into it for the entire night. I mean, come on! She's one of those that thinks of her answer to her own question when she asks you one; she literally repeatedly chastised the room of 175 adults [and a few children] to stop chatting with friends so that we could properly hear her and the background music... saywhat?!

Yikes.

Sunday was a special Turkey Dinner, too. [Though, admittedly, we celebrated with chicken.] I have made some neat friends [all '09 grads of Pepperdine] who have an apartment in the 7th arrondisement, a neat part of town just across from le Tour Eiffel. So, a fun group of 3 Brits, the Pepperdine gals and their boyfriends, and I, got down on some chicken, stuffing, mac'n'cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, ratatouille, and creamed corn... and my wine and chocolate contribution, too. : )

These next two weeks should be interesting ones; the grandparents are visiting until Dec. 10. What this means: I may have some shifts cut short, and therefore have more free time! And, since Manfred, the grandfather [actually, Opa] is a retired professional chef, this also means I will be eatin' good in the neighborhood... and then, *drumroll* IT'S TIME TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!

It's the best of both worlds - the lights and decorations for Christmas have already started to go up here; the markets and festivals are in full swing, and the cafes have spiced blends in for the season! Then, I get to come visit good ole' Texas - where I won't get frostbite on my nose in the morning, and I can have some true southern comfort food, family and friends!

Yikes, Stripes.

I apologize for the duration in which I haven't written... I feel as though it takes a while for my creativity levels to refuel, and I was feeling quite unorganized and un-witty the last couple of weeks. As a result, this blog is a meandering through my thoughts. I am betting it might be a little too much of intimate look inside my head for some - others will get that corny movie scene where you can totally hear me saying these silly things I am about to write. Whatever, skip over it if you want; this is a diary blog without plot or sequence.

To catch up: since returning from London, I went to a retreat with the American Church in Paris to the ville of Houlgate in Normandie. We stayed right on the beach in a neat quasi-conference center that was really more like a dorm with large common areas. Growing up in the church, I experienced a number of lock-ins, youth retreats, church camp weekends, and the like. However, I have never before experienced the learning potential and dynamic of having an all-church retreat; families and youth, seniors and young adults - everyone came together to participate. As a young adult, I experienced fellowship with adults who have lived and seen more, with kids outside of a Sunday school atmosphere, and with other young adults who have matching struggles to mine. I encourage any of you who feel comfortable to encourage your church family to organize such a retreat.

What I took away from this experience was a refreshed, relaxed newness: spiritually, emotionally, and physically. There was no "church camp high" for me like I'd seek in 8th grade singing praise around the campfire; but instead there was fulfillment, continued longing to know more, and fabulous friendships made. Goodness gracious - if I have anything to be thankful for this Thanksgiving it is friends and family back home, and the young women of the ACP who can grow with and challenge me in my journey to trust in God.

I just got off the phone with my mom prior to this entry; a little Turkey Day chat. She helped me to realize something pretty interesting. You may or may not know this, but coming to Paris as an Au Pair to care for the children of a fairly wealthy family gave me some heavy conflictions. Yes, it is a bit of a dream, and on occasion a cush job. But coming from the whirlwind of Texas A&M University, where school, work and a women's service organization demanded compassion, earnest effort and selfless service got me to think "Am I really doing enough by going to Paris for this job? Am I a putz for not being in a more laborious field where I am directly serving the poor, the hungry, the unempowered?" Here's the answer: NO. I prayed super specifically over this position. Every prayer was answered so specifically it's pretty comical; the Lord MOVED in my heart and made some bold moves in my life.

How I got here:

I graduated from A&M not knowing what to do for the next step, and knowing that was OK. You know me, you know my heart - I love to plan. And for the first time in my life I had prayed over and decided to give God the time and the trust to leap into an unknown without closing any doors on my own. I prayed about a job search, and made my lists. I knew that after searching the corporate sector [not terribly extensively, I'll admit] that wasn't where I was being led at that time. I then checked out this whole au pair thing, with the romantic idea of being in Paris wearing fabulous shoes and sitting at a cafe with a bowl of cappucino reading a novel... and 6 weeks later I moved here. The bowl of cappucino has happened, with the novel once and with some good conversation another time; the fabulous shoes - well, they deserve a chance out, but with so much walking here... eh, I digress.

My point though is this: I am meant to be here. I have prayed for insight into His will, and this is what I have come up with [with the help of mom]: I am here to learn; about another culture, another language, about patience and selflessness with kids [yikes] and about what it means to stop trying to put my plans into motion. I have literally "planned" how neat it would be to have such-and-such apartment in D.C. with such-and-such semi-corporate job that sends me on travel for roughly 30% of the year; the gym that would be preferably on the same street as work so I could keep a locker and workout each morning still having the time to grab a smoothie or coffee on the way into work... there are drawings and lists of projects for the interior design of said apartment in D.C., how to organize the fabulous walk-in closet, the list goes on, I assure you.

WHO AM I? Why in the world did I "plan" all that? Now, in a year, if/when none of that happens I will be disappointed or some other slightly-less-than-exuberant emotion at what I should be ecstatic about because it is God's perfect plan for me. Will I never learn? But these are some of my struggles. I want to be the independent single girl again. Or not single... that would be fine. But I do know that as much as I look forward to a time of having my own place, I appreciate that I have a place at all; and that if absolutely 0% of the items on my list receive checkmarks, I have a place where Jesus is waiting for me to put down my planner, and take a chill pill.

Also, I was inspired to write a blog about fearlessness, as I realized the other day that there are many connotations to that word in my life here. Sometimes good ones: where I know that I can leap and land in the Louvre and if something isn't exactly as I imagined, well the worst-case scenario is that I go to the Tuileries gardens outside and people-watch. Not so bad. Also bad ones: I am not really so badass that I don't get scared. I get scared all the time; "Am I doing this right with the kids? Am I going to get caught doing somehting stupid that really never happens except for the one time when I was seen screwing up? Am I lost? Am I sticking to the familiar in order to not get lost and thus losing my sense of adventure? Am I losing my Spanish? When do I get to feel comfortable again? Am I longing for the dreaded complacency?!"

In case you were wondering, I am working through these questions, but though this is a blog that follows [a very indirect] path inside my head and heart, if you have insight, answers or where to look for answers, I would appreciate your sharing. I mean, that's why you're friends with me, right? [Family didn't get a choice; you're stuck with me. :)]

Recap: I am thankful for you, I am constantly getting knocked down a peg, I continue to seek answers, and you can help me out by talking with me. And I feel super narcisstic after this post, I guess because it was candid. I hope you still think I am cool.

Love.

Get ready, this is a long one.

London. Was. GREAT.

Friends and Family,

For those of you who hadn't known, I have been thinking that D.C. would make a fun post-Paris habitat. Well, it's still on the block, but man oh man, London is definitely next on the list.

We rented a flat at 7-8 Manson Place, a pretty hip side street in South Kensington, which was wonderfully close to The Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert, The Science Museum, Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. We were blessed with a beautiful sunshiney week, with temperatures in the 60's, and rain only on Sunday.

So, in the spirit of a journal entry here is my week in London.

Monday:

Taking the Eurostar train fro Paris to London was a lot of fun. I only had to help with the kids a little bit, so I was able to enjoy the views, my "sleeping on trains and buses" playlist that I made in anticipation of traveling through Europe, and reading The Other Boleyn Girl. Absolutely fabulous book. I have heard the movie stank, and I believe it, but goodness gracious, if you haven't studied up on historical fiction, this is the place to start. [It's my favorite genre anyway.] I definitely look forward to similar trips by train in the future. Apparently flying here is cheaper, which I will probably do here and there, but I have always loved train rides. I think the first one I remember enjoying was when I was 15 and took an overnight from Paris to Zurich, and then after that when my family took an all-day trai from Fairbanks to Denali Park in Alaska. Super cool, and I hope to repeat the experience.

Getting into town was fun - I really enjoy taking longer cab rides when I arrive places [granted, if i am super tired from the flight or hungry, not so much] in order to take some breaths and not have to worry or plan anything, and also to get to see what's around me. That night for dinner we had the classic fish and chips with a John Smith smooth ale at the Zetland Arms Pub. The food was passable, but I have never before had a beer that was so flat. I mean, the carbonation is half the fun, right?

Tuesday:

Jennifer and I left with the kids to head to the Museum of Natural History, but as England apparently also had a school holiday, the lines were winding through the courtyard, out the gate and down the streets in order to get in. So, we bypassed that and headed to the Victoria & Albert Museum. [Just one block over.] V & A is incredible. Maybe that will be a place to look into jobs for the future - some sort of behind the scenes or marketing for the museum? That'd be great! I only had an hour or so while Jen took the kids to explore, so I checked out the most important exhibits: the famous fashion section and the jewelery one. The Materials & Techniques: Fashion exhibit was off the charts cool. Starting from British shoes of the 16th century and how pumps have evolved to today was neat. Men's suits, men and women's states of undress, women's ball gowns, cocktail dresses, and famous couture were studded throughout. And taking all of this in with the obvious design students in their own funky styles and sketchpads added to the experience. In fact, there was a part of the exhibit that showcased some up-and-coming designers and their design innovations [like plastic shoulder pads] from London Schools of Design. The jewelery room was neat, too - though I was reprimanded for taking photos. Darn.

After lunch I had the afternoon to go to Kensington Palace. This palace was constructed in the 16th century as a country home for joint monarchs William III and Mary II. This exhibit took me through the state rooms, various bedchambers, privy cambers, and outer rooms of the king and queen. [Having just read The Other Boleyn Girl kind of made these all come alive.] This is also the palace in which Princess Diana and Prince Charles lived, and where she lived after their divorce, and where her funeral cortege began [ended at Westminster Abbey]. Appropriately thus, there was an exhibit of her famous gowns and a short history for her. In addition, the Last Debutantes exhibit was great. They had displayed the history of being presented at court [dating back to those Queen's Ladies in Waiting at the Palace] and the end of the tradition in 1957. Sweet 50's dresses were displayed, a few common etiquette lessons, and even a waltzing presentation. Afterwards I headed around Hyde Park [the largest park in London that used to be a game reserve for the King's hunting trips] to check out Prince Albert's Memorial and Royal Albert Hall. Both were neat, and it was good to spend some time in the fresh air before going back to the apartment for the kids' evening routine.

Wednesday:

Learning our lesson, Jennifer and I decided to be a little bit strategic for the Museum of Natural History. Meaning, at 9:30 I went and stood in line until the doors opened, getting us into the museum at about 10:15 and with minimal bored-child-fussing in line. :) Then I got to explore the dinosaur exhibit, which was cool, but having been spoiled by my trip to the Smithsonian in D.C. in May, wasn't quite as impressive. However, the highlights were definitely the British takes on how dinosaurs become extinct. Theory No. 1: that they were abducted by aliens. Theory No. 2: whilst one dinosaur attempted to teach the game of cricket to the others, they all died of boredom. [Accompanying political cartoons can be found on facebook in the London Calling album.] The Human Biology exhibit was graphic. And I mean (porno)GRAPHIC. Yikes. [I thought of taking a picture to show how British presentation and American euphemism are nothing alike, but I couldn't bring myself to be seen taking a photo of the "conception" display!]

The new Darwin Centre, which had just opened in September displayed a couple of neat exhibits, where an artist had captured historical photographs of various emotions and explained how once could tell that a child was suffering by the "mouth widely opened in a peculiar manner, giving it a squarish shape." Who knew? There was also the vaguely offensive video projection showing an African man holding up an ape... again, British tastes are SO different from their American parallels. The Geological and Jewelery exhibit was again neat, and showcased a bunch of diamonds that in regular light sparkle as we know them to, and in ultraviolet light give off that cool glow-in-the-dark effect. The ecological exhibit showed a ring of an 800 year-old Seqouia tree, and the most magnificent part was just enjoying the architecture.

Then I left and had lunch in Parliament Square, between the House of Parliament [at the base of Big Ben and in sight of the London Eye] and Westminster Abbey. Both of these were closed, but it was still cool to get pictures and examine the outside. After some shopping and visiting at Harrod's, I went back to the apartment to grab those kiddos and we went to Princess Diana's [over-crowded] memorial playground.

Thursday:

Really fun day at Buckingham Palace. I visited the Queen's Gallery to see their brand-new exhibit The Conversation Piece. This was an exhibit of paintings revolving around the aesthetic lifestyle of living at court; they depicted parties, dances, the Queen's maids, the King's steeds, and for an artist who usually doesn't enjoy classical art that al begins to look the same, it was remarkably entertaining. Oh, and I picked up some fabulous postcards in the gift shop that are the Royal Family's family portrait - complete with awkward uncles and wayward children. I have some friends in mind who will probably enjoy the tacky-ness of these postcards as much as I do. :)

Friday:

At this point the only main attraction I had yet to visit was the Tower of London. Fabulous. And well worth the outrageous pricing. I know I probably should have known more about the Tower of London [apart from it's where they tortured and executed people] but history in American schools just doesn't do the rest of the world justice in it's notes. I hadn't realized that the Tower of London wasn't just one building like any other museum. It is actually a fortressed group of towers. One is the Bloody Tower, famous for it's torture; another is the White Tower which housed the Great Hall for balls and important meetings; the Beauchamp Tower was the prison; the Jewel House had been estates and other quarters; and there are even homes in which courtiers lived. [And that now the honored few families of the Yeoman Warders reside in. When the attraction closes and the tourists go home or to hotels, the people of the village actually live there and the Tower comes back alive with a completely new vibe.

The first tour [cool audio guide narrated by some famous Brit I hadn't heard of] told me all about the water gate that was used not only to hold out boats approaching from the river, but also was later named the Traitor gate, through which traitors and enemies of the state could easily be transported to the Bloody Tower where they would be tortured for information or confessions by use of varying disgusting measures. Really interesting to read about, until you get to the part where your mind gives you a mental picture - or worse, a mental sound effect. [Shiver.]

Did you know that King Henry the VIII once said that the day there were no longer ravens at the Tower of London is the day that it would crumble and London would be no more? Pretty heavy prediction, and so now ravens are kept in cages just outside the White Tower in order to maintain the status quo, not that they're superstitious or anything.

Inside the White Tower the curators had opened a new exhibit of two sets of armor that were made for and worn by King Henry VIII himself. One was from when he was a younger man, and one was from shortly before his death at age 55, when it was apparent that he had become quite rotund. It was a fantastic showing of armour, weapons, and even some fancy schmancy ballroom type clothing. Best part: the collection was called 'Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill.' Chuckle, chuckle.

The Crown Jewels were incredible! I had to wait in line for about 15 minutes just to get into the jewel hall, but once inside, it really wasn't all that crowded, which was fabulous. I think that was why they had the line outside, and it allowed me to go by the crowns and the orb and the scepters a few times, as well as to step back and read their information. Did you know that you view the Crown Jewels on a conveyor belt? I mean, it definitely makes sense, as otherwise I can imagine how plenty of tourists would stand gawking and not give others the chance to see, but it's still a bit comical that they literally move you along like that.

Saturday:

Saturday I went to Holland Park, and stopped into to two "charity shops" along the way. These are basically thrift stores, but with high quality stuff, and the proceeds benefit a specific charity - I guess similar in a way to Goodwill, but also along the lines of CARE or something. The first shop had some adorable polka-dot 50's era [but brand new] shoes, but of course they were not my size. It got me in the door though, and I bought a cool wrap sweater, a fabulous beaded gypsy belt, and a super cheap trashy little chick-lit novel about a woman in Manhattan who starts a business about getting kindergartners into private schools... it was entertaining enough. And hey, my purchase helped out a philanthropy dedicated to fighting women's poverty in Romania by contributing to the building of a new wave of agriculturalism. The second shop benefitted a HIV/AIDS research fund, and I got a wonderful new coat - it's pea green and snappy. :)

Sunday it rained all day, so I took the time to go back to sleep and read, and not leave the apartment. It was a really great vacation, and of course it was also work, but the kids have never behaved better, and the weather was wonderful. Everyone spoke English [which I forgot how much I enjoy that]

We came back to Le Vesinet Monday, and a quick thanks to Papa and Anne, Mom and Dad, Pam and Kyle and Lois, and Alyssa for sweet birthday gifts and cards or letters. That all made for a really great rest of my Monday.

Well, I am headed to Normandy for the weekend in about an hour and a half, so I better ske-daddle and get my stuff together.

More to come, and much love!

My 23rd Birthday and a Trip to London.

Friends and Family,

I appreciate the well wishes and am fortunate to have had a great weekend and a few things coming up to be excited about.

In celebration of my birthday, the Eiffel Tower people created and displayed a new light show Friday night. The typical light show lasts for a few minutes at the top of the hour, and the Tower sparkles. It's definitely a pretty neat sight, but for the next month, following the premiere Friday night, they are showcasing a fairly psychadelic light show. There were patterns and all colors of the ROYGBIV, sometimes reminiscent of Las Vegas, others of a Lisa Frank era bygone. Add some tripped-out flame-throwers into the mix, and voila - a pretty spectacular beginning to a birthday weekend.

[Disclaimer: the light show is actually being conducted to celebrate the anniversary of the Eiffel Tower, and not my birth.]

Saturday presented a fun-filled afternoon of shopping and exploring, mostly at Chatelet, which is a huge mall connected to the metro station, and a cool spread of shops and cafes and such above ground in the surrounding vicinity as well. Carey was sweet enough to buy me some birthday lunch at a neat pizzeria. Oh, and I got a great couple of things at H&M that I shan't mention considering there may have been some Christmas gift finds for some certain friends and/or sister. :) I had a fun day Sunday at church, working through the impossibilities of Jesus in Mark 10, and the disconnect that we face between being unflinchingly compassionate and being utterly obedient. It's another of those impossibilities that we must not 'balance' these aspects of our faith, but that we must be 100% of each. Obviously, it's impossible for us; and why it is so stinking incredible that we have a Lord of impossibilities.

And now I am in London.

All of French schools have Toussaint [All Saints] Holiday break for the next week and a half, so I have taken off [with the family] to London for the week! We are staying in a pretty rad flat in South Ken [so posh using the abbrevs.] which is close to the coolest museums and only a couple of tube stops from the other major to-do's in London. Plus a few of things that aren't on my personal list, but that are still fun, I will get to do here and there with Jennifer [the boss] and the kids during the mornings. We're here for a whole week, so that gives me six afternoons to get a chunk of this town under my belt.

I'll keep you posted.

[Get it?]

Crisis Averted.

Saturday night I came back upstairs after Indian chicken for dinner and a partially-watched 90's movie called Sliding Doors, to find a horrible-looking blue screen on my laptop. Some have referred to this as the blue screen of death. Well, it was.

This blue screen was staring at me saying in that weird, programmer font that if this is the first time I am receiving this screen, that I should just restart, and life will be ok. It doesn't actually tell you that life will be ok, but I do feel as though that is virtually implied. I mean, it was my first time getting the screen. I would totally understand if this is like the third time I got the blue screen and re-booting didn't work. Nevertheless, my rebooting didn't work. In fact, I feel like this only made it worse. The blue screen at least gave me some information [that I should have read more carefully, and perhaps even written down before attempting the restart]. This new, imposing, black screen only showed me a handful of words. "Hard Drive 0 not recognized. F1 to retry boot." People, F1 did nothing but beep at me.

So, dead laptop. I grieved and mourned, I really did. If you ever saw that Making the Video of Britney Spears' Lucky - [I assume no one actually watched the video once you saw the making of] well, you have a mental image of what I looked like. I SOBBED. Over a laptop. I mean, one might have thought I was horribly depressed or something. I was.

This silly little piece of technology is kind of everything to me. It is communication to and from home, it is Facebook and blogs, it is online TV, it is my PDF books, it is even my Song of Songs study series. Travesty.

Sunday morning I woke up in denial. No way did that really happen. [It is one of the steps of grief, after all.] I quickly moved on to angry, and then to rushed because I needed to know the weather forecast in order to get dressed for the day. If I had had a working laptop, I would have known a light jacket was an inappropriate choice for such a chilly downtown day in Paris. [Bitter?]

Well, I had plans to check out another church. The American Church of Paris, right on the Seine. Carey had come with me, and after a great musical worship - I experienced something I haven't in a while. Some really awesome worship through prayer. I remember back in my youth ministry days at Trinity [home church], learning to understand how to worship in ways outside of Sunday-morning songs. I will also admit that I haven't done such a good job of my own worship through prayer, as mine tend to be "Help me, Help me, Help me" and not enough "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you." [Credit: Ann Lamott in Traveling Mercies.] But we opened up a pretty awesome floodgate: prayer for the church body, for each member's ministries, for hearts and open-minds, for Paris' working poor, for the orphaned children, and for true movement as the body of Christ. Really, truly cool stuff; and the sign of sincerity that I look for when being churched.

A great gospel lesson and sermon later, meeting some new friends in coffee fellowship was the icing. I love how many study groups, discussion events, and 'niche market' followings this church offers. I am looking forward to that fellowship for sure. Carey and I are pumped for our new Sunday plans, and participating in the all-church retreat to Normandy that is coming up in November. We had a picnic in Champ de Mars, went to St. Germain-en-Laye for a movie, and ended a fabulous day of revelling in what the Lord has done for me. We're talking direct results of prayer - fellowship, a church family and true spirits to befriend. Praise Him for that. [And thank you to any and all of you who may have been praying with me!]

So I get home and my laptop is still dead. I pray about it and realize that I am fortunate enough that this home has another computer I can use, and that really instead of curling up in bed with my laptop for some online TV or Facebook, that I should be directing my time in more productive ways. I pray for and receive peace about the whole deal. It's just a thing.

Luis [boss-man] agrees to take it to IT at his office the next day, where they push the button and it turns on. IT TURNS ON. No blue screen, no black screen, no robot font. All is well.

Thank you, Jesus, for realigning my priorities. And for giving me my laptop back. I get it now.

I'm Impressed.

Thursday I successfully baked a French quiche from scratch.

This morning I made Nutella crepes for breakfast.

What's next? Croissants? Beignets?

One can only hope.

Always Learning Something New.

This weekend was pretty fun - Friday night I met up with some girls and we grabbed some wine to just go hang out at the Eiffel Tower. I feel like life was a bit surreal at that moment, with the light show starting and the Eiffel Tower sparkling; sitting and having a bit of wine and some chocolate [new favorite combo]. The way back was definitely stressful - we had to figure out the Noctilien [or night - or knight :)] bus. There aren't very many easy-to-read maps, and we ended up finding one to the Arc de Triomphe, and then just splitting a cab home. All in all, not bad though, because with 4 people to split it, it came out to be what I paid for cabs in Costa Rica and Mexico.

Saturday night was the famous Nuit Blanche. I don't know if you followed the Nuit Blanche wikipedia link that I left, but it is basically a night of free art exhibitions where museums and galleries are open and free, and there are art displays in the streets and live music performances - basically an artistic free-for-all.

As I was working Saturday night, I didn't even head out until midnight, catching the last train out of Le Vesinet into Paris. After following some directions to a bar in the 19th, I met up with some friends and we walked to a train [two lines were open all night] and went to Chatelet for a bit, grabbing some 'kebobs' and hanging out in the streets. Now, you may be picturing kebobs as a few pieces of meat and veggies on a skewer, right? No, my friend, not the case. I think I have found a new love in this food - it's a giant sandwich-type thing with meats, veggies, cheeses, sauces... and upon trying the lamb kebob, I think I fell in love a little bit.

We walked to the Louvre, which apparently even on all-night open free-for-alls, closes by 4:30am. HUGE BUMMER. So, we sat on the steps of the Louvre until 5:30am to catch the first train home. And such was my Nuit Blanche - overall fun, a bit disappointing, and definitely something to give you an appreciation for dressing warmly and sleeping at night.

I started my french cinema class Monday. Also a bummer - I mean, I was truly disappointed. In college, I took a Hispanic Film course where we studied film in Hispanic societies from its origins. Pre-Franco Spain, Post-Franco Spain, all through the South American continent, Mexico and Cuba. It was fabulous, and easily one of the most challenging and my most favorite class of college. So, I guess it is fair to say I had high expectations. And why not? French film is a pretty big deal here... class consists of an old man who has a VHS copy of some movie from the 70's [maybe as recent as '82] that is about a woman who is the director of a tennis club, but is somehow physically disabled. ?

This is all we got, because of course, the VHS doesn't work and the volume on the projector doesn't work. I had some nostalgic reminiscences towards those 1986 copies of movies that we recorded from the TV - I think we have Mary Poppins and a couple of Christmas movies like that, complete with 1986 commercials that you had to fast-forward through. Well, this was like that, where the snowy lines show up every ten seconds. Except worse, because you can't even hear what anyone was saying.

The rest of class was spent lecturing about a handful of verbs, what they meant and how to conjugate them. Absolutely ridiculous - we do this in grammar class, and we do it better in grammar class. I was doing my best to be patient and understanding, because obviously this man did not plan on his movie not working. I think he genuinely thinks this movie is good, that it would contribute to our understandings of French language and culture, and that it would work with the technology provided. However, after about an hour of suffering through his lecture [which NO ONE learns from someone just telling you 'this is how you say this'], and being frustrated at the group of about 8-10 girls who wouldn't even whisper during this awful class time, I began to wonder if I should even try to stick out the last half hour of this mayhem.

Well, I did anyway, mostly because I couldn't get up the gumption to just walk out. Hopefully, it will be better the second class. If it is the same, I will make a complaint to the office. Then if it still isn't better, I think I will try to get a refund, and just not go. We shall see.

In other news, I am working my way through different Bible studies. If anyone knows of some good podcasts to download, I have found that I really enjoy having some media or sermon with which to study. Currently, I am doing the Song of Songs through a disk set that my Dad gave me ages ago from my church. I never had gotten around to it [insert excuses here] but brought them with me and learning my way through that twice a week, and working through some other books in the meantime. I want to be at a place where even if I can't spout scripture with the right numbers, I can at least pull it to reference in the right time and situation. It is also pretty neat how the Lord is speaking to me through what I am learning in life's situations and in my study: for example, in a couple of places [Colossians, Phillipians and Jonah] we are called to work steadfastly and honorably. Not slacking off when no one is looking, not complaining or arguing - but serving your boss as you serve the Lord. That one is kinda rough sometimes, when I want to sit and eat my lunch first, or when I grumble about sleep or arguments with a 3-year old. Kids are hard, but learning to be selfless so as to love kids and work for their betterment is worth it.

If you are inclined to help me pray, pray for my depth of knowledge and insight for His will. I know through prayer that I am meant to be here, but knowing His purpose along the way will help me to maintain discernment in my heart. Pray that I will grow in patience and kindness, and that I will be gentle and not too stern. I am praying that I will not be too caught up in earth here, but that I will be thinking of what is waiting for me; what is stored up in Heaven, and that I continue to stockpile there, and not here. Please pray that sisters in Christ are presented for community - I have made some neat friends, and I am glad to have them, but I also desperately need fellowship. I am trying another church this weekend, and I pray it is a good fit, or else the right community will be shown to me. It's a struggle not having those friends and family here to really delve into Christ's love and participate in discussion about His wonders as readily available. So, all of you people back home - know I am appreciating you even more than I already did. [And believe me, I appreciated you at home, too.]

Until next time.

Adjusted.

In the last week or so, I have become what I like to consider "adjusted."

I have gotten into a fairly familiar routine, which is comforting and gives me some normalcy. But of course there are some splashes of fun, and I love the independence I get here. I feel like I am growing into a better version of myself. One that is more patient than ever before, who is more adventurous, a bit more daunting, and with more toned calves from all this walking!

Since we last chatted, I met some new friends. We went downtown on Saturday, which was absolutely beautiful, and walked through a flea market, toured a fabulous old church with all the carving, fresco and romance of all the great old churches, and went shopping in a humongous mall that is linked above and underground with the Metro. Definitely a great afternoon. The pictures from that adventure are up on facebook labeled Chatelet.

Sunday I tried my second church. Joelle, who is following this blog, lived here in Le Vesinet and was an au pair for a different family, but as she babysat for the kiddos I work with, I got to know her a bit as the reference Jennifer provided. [And, one of the new friends I made is Kitty, the replacement-for-Joelle au pair.] Well, Joelle recommended her church in Paris, so I tried it out. Props, Joelle. I loved the vibe of this eglise - it was one of those free-flowing, all-out praise type gigs. I think my favorite part was while the instruments played, the people called out their praise and prayer, worshipping fully and wholly. Very cool, and one of the more genuine church services I have been to. We discussed love; Jesus' accepting love that we are called to embark upon. That no-holds-bar, accepting, non-judgemental, deep and wide river of love. As we pulled from scripture in Corinthians, Proverbs, Matthew, Romans... [it did get a little hard to keep up with all of the verses, seeing how the whole service was in French], my cup was refilled. I mean, how amazing and incredible is it that above all else - hope, joy, faith - God is love. GOD = LOVE. So good. We are so blessed to have a Maker who just wants to love us. I am so blessed that even when I am thinking wretched thoughts, forgetting my Bible time, or praying in that lazy half-asleep prayer before bed, that the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE loves me. That's why I am called to keep on keepin' on - lovin' on his children, my brothers and sisters.

That afternoon I had a fun picnic with a couple of other friends [see - I am not a total loner!] on the Champ de Mars under the Eiffel Tower, with a little wine and some good chocolate. [Those pics are the musical-chairs ones also on fb.]

This week has been pretty cool: on Tuesday, I had to run some errands. Probably the coolest errands I have ever had to run, since I was in Paris to do them. :) I needed to 1) get my phone fixed because the email was being incompatible with the wifi and 2) get my books for my classes. So I head on over; I have mapped out my plan for the metro and where to turn for each store. I kid you not I get to BOTH stores and am told BOTH times that I have to go to a different location. It's like going to a Barnes & Noble back home, realizing they don't have what you're looking for and having to go to another location that they tell you has the books you need. EXCEPT AT HOME I KNOW WHERE THINGS ARE. But, the lady was nice enough to let me spread out my map, and tell me where to get on and off the train, and where to turn for the other bookstore. Ok, done. So I head out to find the cell phone store [the 2nd location was somewhere on Champs Elysees]. I don't know if you realize, but this is not only a pretty famous street, but also a really long, and really wide, and really high-traffic one. But, all that time wasted at the first two stores, getting lost and having to make pedestrian u-turns paid off. I got my books, I got my phone fixed, and then I saw Elton John. ELTON JOHN, PEOPLE!!! Dude had the quintessential cross earring, the floppy/frumpy old lady hairdo, the blazer - fabulous. He did tone down on the shades though; I almost didn't recognize him. Ha, right. So, I guess running around in Paris, a little frustrated, a little lost, and a little bit blistered [I swear, even the shoes I thought were the most comfortable at home don't stand a chance here] resulted in a pretty neat surprise. Thanks, God. I needed that one.

Started school Thursday. Classes should be interesting - I feel like I am definitely in the right level, with everyone similarly efficient at speaking. [Which is a bit more than minimally.] I met a neat Dutch girl, Roos [pronounced like the flower], and a couple Mexican girls that I got to speak Spanish with, which is fun. I am much more excited about my Monday classes though, because I am taking a French film course! Hopefully it is great, because Hispanic Film was my favorite class of college. [Little known fact.]

Tomorrow is Nuit Blanche which means that all the museums and galleries and artsy places are open ALL NIGHT FOR FREE! Thus, I will be going out. And not coming back till morning. I need to stop by the grocery store for some Red Bull. :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuit_Blanche

More to come, I am hoping for some great stories from this weekend!

Much love, and thank you so much for caring enough to keep up with me. I want to know what's going on in your life too, so shoot me an email or leave a comment!

Learning to Pray.

In these last few days, I have been praying quite a bit. I have two prayer journals going right now: the one that accompanies my current study in Romans, and whenever I finish that it will stay with my Bible for some one-on-one time and 'serious praying.' These are those prayers where you are just wiped; where you come at it with no organization of thought and you just lay everything out for the Lord. For me, this is usually in the morning and before bed. Also when I get some down time during the day.

Then, there is my on-the-fly prayer journal. I pray here when I am out and about, when I just say "God, Please Help. Help, Help, Help." In fact, this one calls me to meditate on His word and fix my eyes on His ways [Psalms 119 15-16]. I tend to pray in written form because I am really very easily distracted, and writing helps to keep my focused. Unless all of a sudden someone decides that a ridiculous distraction is in order, it usually works.

So here I am at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a wonderful backdrop for trying to meditate and keep my eyes fixed; I am asking for guidance and for His light to shine in me. Not five minutes later some ridiculous french man sits next to me and with a flourish of his guitar and what I am sure he thinks is a charming "Enchante," he starts asking me questions. Well, folks - I am in the middle of some me-and-the-Father time here. Naturally, I try to be patient and gently tell this man in so many ways that I am not interested in anything he has to offer. Not conversation, not music, not anything. He is respectful enough to go away, so I continue in my thought process and literally the thing I prayed about next was that I would exemplify Christ in everything. AND THEN - WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?! Another self-righteous charmer comes and sits down next to me. Blech. He started talking to me [I had my iPod on, which usually gives the 'I'm otherwise occupied' vibe] and again, I tried to be patient. He asked what I was doing, so I told him: "I am trying to pray to God. Unfortunately, I keep getting interrupted by distracting conversations. So I asked Him to make you go away." Finally he did.

And then I realized that even though these guys' intentions definitely were not Christlike, that I was also just given two unique opportunities to exemplify the Lord, and didn't do so well. Lesson learned - I guess I will keep working on that one!

Some First Occurences.

Today had a lot of firsts. It began with the first morning I slept through the night and didn't feel like trash at my 7:30am alarm. Thank you, Tylenol PM. I should have brought more of that stuff, because tonight I am on my own.

I thought I beat jet lag. I bragged about beating jet lag. I apparently lied to you and to myself about that. Bummer.

Somewhere in the middle, I had the first time alone going to the park with Sebastian, helping Sebastian to feed the swans and trying not to feed Sebastian TO the swans. Today was the first pressure's-on driving situation, and the first time I took Sebastian to school. This outing culminated with the first time I couldn't fit into a French-sized parallel parking space. I am very sure it won't be the last.

The best part: today was the first time I rode the French metro. To PARIS. I took the RER (train #1) to the #6 at Charles de Gaulle - Etoile (which is totally the train station under the Arc de Triomphe!) and popped up a block away from the Eiffel Tower. Another first: lounging in the grassy park at the base of Le Tour Eiffel. Oh, and the uncanny first time of randomly being asked to share a picnic with some friends there. Let's hope that happens again. These two women from Puerto Rico, and their new french friends, apparently decided it was high time I didn't sit alone and read anymore. So, I got a couple of non-self-taken quintessential pictures of me with the Eiffel Tower in the background (to be posted to FBook shortly) and some free crackers and stanky cheese. It might be blasphemy, but I think I like the American versions of French cheeses better, so far. Some things are just not meant to be green and funky.

I decided to toodle around until I found another train stop somewhere (Mom - don't stress, I had a map in case) and in the process got to see a tiny tiny man with three very very large dogs, the Palais de Chaillot (which apparently used to house the World's Fair, and now maintains multiple museums), as well as some of the prettiest architecture and apartment buildings that I have ever seen.

Tonight will be the first night I really blog, it has been the first night the kids have been chill, and it was the first time in a long while that I have had such an adventure.

Hoping you're well!

Preparing to Au Pair.

Title credit: HMW.

Bonjour!

So, travel here was a beast. We'll just say that I hate Houston Intercontinental as much as Houston highway drivers.

But, now the good stuff: I have beaten jet lag! The food is fabulous! I live with and work for a sweet family with two rambunctious, mostly happy kiddos. I am in Paris! I got all 23 pairs of shoes here safely! I made a friend today! Did I mention I live in Paris?

Today was my first real day to figure a few things out, buy quiches for lunch with new au pair friends, and walk to the neigborhood french ducks that say "coin coin". [Pronounced kwan kwan.]

I promise to have more stories, encounters, and pictures post-exploration tomorrow, so stay tuned.