The cute little couple that I laughed at while they were expressing their sentiments towards each other.
Hide! The Chinese are invading France!
Lord of the Rings in France.
13 septembre 2009 (Day 13)
I have almost been in France two weeks now- wow! I cut my hair today like I normally do in my usual fashion once I don’t like something about it. Needless to say, 1. Good thing good haircuts don’t exist in France and 2. Having good scissors really does make a difference !
Church was excellent today. I don’t understand all of what is said, but I do understand a lot. It is so interesting to me to see the different views and things people outside of Utah say in lessons (we had a repeat relief society lesson to one I had previous to coming). I think part of the excellence of church is that it is in French, so it is kind of like relearning. Having church in a foreign language also confirms the truthfulness of the gospel; even when you don’t understand you can still feel the spirit! We had a Young Single Adults Sunday School class today in which we talked about the pioneers. I have never had a pioneer lesson strike me so. Normally in Utah we go boring and tune out, but it was a really good lesson. We watched a little video in French (with English subtitles) that almost made me cry. I have such an appreciation for the pioneers. Being in France has made me realize how blessed I am in the place that I live, my family, my religion, the excellence of Utah State, and the list could go on. There are some things we are missing in the United States though. I love how people here aren’t connected to their iPods and cell phones, unlike in the US where we constantly need that IV for survival.
There were two particularly humorous little children in front of me at church whom I enjoyed watching immensely. They were slipping on their toys and pushing chairs, and it was just funny. Church actually ended on time today. There are some random quirks about church here. The choir has matching outfits that they are supposed to wear. They also have a sort of “linger longer” except you bring your own food that you eat yourself. There is a Spanish girl who lives in England (she is terribly British) who is here working who lives with a family. They were kind enough to share with me. They had this really good cold rice, tomato, corn, and olive salad with some sort of Dijon and oil dressing, pear cake (mmm! By cake they mean sweet bread), and an excellent cheese which reminds me of cream cheese and bread. It was such a pleasant surprise to have food the everyday French cook!
Today I went to this park on an island. There was bamboo and green hills, waterfalls and ponds, and paths swerving every which way. It was so peaceful and gorgeous: there were loads of people reading, talking, picnicking, playing with their children, etc. You would never see such down to earth family time by so many people in the states. Needless to say, I had a very pleasant time sitting by a waterfall reading. There was a teenage couple sitting a little below me, and were they drole! I had to try so terribly hard not to burst with laughter when they started kissing. Oh, teenage love. It was just so funny to watch them.
Homemade food is heaven! I made some pasta with fresh tomatoes and zucchini. It was SO divine to have something so simple and healthy (and vegetarian!).
