Oy, I didn’t think I would get this hot in France! My room is on the top floor, with a skylight window, so I’ve discovered that during the day the heat in here is rather abominable even if it’s not scorching outside. I felt like I should be taking a Spanish siesta this afternoon and took a cold shower just to cool off. :P (No, I didn’t count the liters.)
The whole “water usage” obsession has gotten ridiculous. Joselyne basically told my housemate the other day that she needed to find another place to live after her summer holidays because it made Joselyne sick to hear so much water running. She also used the same wording to express how bad it would make her feel if Wei Wei moved out, which made me mad. How can you put a human being, especially a human being that you’ve developed a friendship with over the course of a year and a half, on the same level of importance as a few liters of water? For a person as friendly as Joselyne, it’s not logical. It’s not like she’s obsessive about everything else; on the contrary, she’s a pretty spontaneous kind of person, not the anal retentive kind that keeps track of everything meticulously. Well, she was pretty obsessive about a couple of marks on the stove and wouldn’t let anyone use that burner for weeks until she finally cleaned it, and she doesn’t know how to use her oven, so she doesn’t let us use it either. :P But everyone has their quirks, and it’s understandable that she’s being careful with the kitchen she just remodeled. The water is just a strange obsession, though, and I can’t help but wonder if something is a little...”off”...there. It’s plausible, especially since the “stains on the stairs” incident, when she called me and Wei Wei out of our rooms at 11pm to tell us that there were marks on the stairs that had just ... appeared. Now, this is an old wooden spiral staircase, with lots of marks from use over years and years and years, and it’s not especially “finished,” so there are a lot of imperfections and darkened places just due to the natural appearance of the wood grain. At first, though, I thought maybe someone had tracked something in on their shoes, so we checked ours, but there was nothing there. Neither me nor Wei Wei had brought any heavy loads upstairs that would have made any marks on the stairs, but Joselyne insisted that the dark places on the stairs were new and weren’t there the other day when she looked at them. She spent a good ten minutes pointing them out and talking about them, while Wei Wei and I stood at the top of the stairs shaking our heads. I even scratched at the marks with my fingernails and rubbed them with the bottom of my shoe, and absolutely nothing came off. But still, she insisted that it would only come off if we scrubbed it with some kind of cleaning solution. (Right...cleaning solution will magically remove, what, the wood?) Finally she went to bed, telling us not to worry about cleaning it right then and that it could wait until later. (Yes...it most definitely could. I love her, but I’m not scrubbing imaginary stains on the stairs at 11:30 at night...) Anyway, every day is an adventure, that’s for sure.
I do need something to keep me on my toes, I suppose, because without classes to keep me busy, the hours can pass pretty slowly during the week. Kendra and I did enjoy an afternoon of sight-seeing and shopping with Cassie during the middle of the week, though, which was really refreshing (and much needed). She studied abroad like us when she was an undergrad, and this semester, she was asked to come back and teach an American culture class at UCO. It was super-helpful to hear about her experiences (from another American’s perspective) and to glean some wisdom about taking advantage of the time here and preparing for the culture shock of going home. I had been feeling rather anxious about whether or not I was really taking advantage of my time here, but talking to her really helped put some of those doubts to rest. Evidently, I have had the opportunity to see the region and spend time with French friends a lot more than most exchange students. So, even though it’s still hard to feel “integrated,” I’m extremely thankful for what I *have* experienced. Cassie introduced us to her first host mom, who is probably one of the best host moms here - probably because she’s more like a grandma! I’m making a mental note of all of the good host families I hear about here, just in case I need to make recommendations. It’s hard to find a good one. Andrew’s family takes him shopping, barbecues in the backyard, buys him French candy...it’s insane. Mine just complains about less than 5 minute showers. (I timed myself.) Oh well, I’m here for a reason...I just don’t know how best to take care of her yet! She’s taken care of me -- even brought me a rose when my grandma passed away. That’s why I’m kind of confused about this whole thing...
Anyway, yeah...I only have one exam left now: ALP on Friday. Not looking forward to it. Well, I take that back; I’m ready to finish it. I just have no idea if I’ll be prepared for it or not. There’s really no way to tell! I could be asked anything from the entire semester, whether it be castle or church architecture, the history of the kings of France and the dukes of this region, traditions of the different areas of Anjou, the different scenes in some tapestry somewhere -- there’s no telling. There was information in some of the practice questions they gave us a few weeks ago that we hadn’t ever covered, so, I’ll do what I can, but I can’t guarantee anything. :P Overall, I’m just glad that I had the opportunity to take the class and learn more about where I’ve been living.
Hmm, what else have I been up to lately? I’m generally occupied with friends on the weekends, fortunately. A couple of weeks ago, the group of young adults from church had a Bible study fellowship which was super-fun. I always love hanging out with them, and I am going to be sad to leave them in a few weeks. Going to Louis’ baptism a few weeks ago was special, too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people crowded around a tiny backyard pool! In a country like France where so few people actually follow Christ, a baptism is a cause for a huge celebration. It hasn’t lost its significance, and I love that. I’m pretty sure the entire church was there, and we all sang together, prayed together, and celebrated together in Louis’ backyard. (I think they must have asked for a “feed the 5000” miracle, because there was a seemingly endless supply of little pastries. Every time I finished one off, I was being offered another one from a newly-replenished tray. I wasn’t complaining, though.) Anyway, Louis has health problems, especially with his feet, which makes mobility especially difficult. Three of the guys in the church, fully clothed, jumped into the pool to help get Louis in the water and baptize him. Watching it nearly brought me to tears. I just love it when the body of Christ gets it.
Soooo, wow, it’s later than I thought and I should be getting caught up on some sleep. It was a great weekend, but that story will have to wait. :) Night!
(Oh by the way, 25 days...but who's counting? ;) )
No comments:
Post a Comment