A Joyous Adventure, Joyous Beyond Words

In case you were not aware, Murphy’s Law is universal and the Europeans have adopted it.

But first, the good news. The train ride was pretty uneventful and actually fun. There was a really pretty sunset and I was in a booth thingy with 4 other really cool people (well, I only actually talked to two of them, after the other two got off) but they both live in Paris and talking was a good way to pass the time. We kind of had this weird conversation in French and English, as I started talking to this girl in French, and then there was a Lebanese guy who spoke French, but they both spoke good English, so we’d kind of randomly switch languages and it felt pretty good to be able to use both. Anyways, on to the good stuff.

So my ticket said that I had a direct route to Karlsruhe with no connections, and as on the way back my ticket shows a connection through Strasbourg I didn’t worry about any connections. So we get to the end of the train ride, and although I arrived on time, I arrived in the wrong city. I guess I was supposed to switch in Strasbourg (thanks for the heads up guys) so I was on a train that just went south for an hour and a half to some dumb French city called Mulhouse. Then, I proceeded to wait about an hour for the next train (I just thank God there was a next train) to take me back to Strasbourg (that’s another hour and a half mind you) so I could take the next train to Karlsruhe. I got to Strasbourg at about 1 o’clock, and as 1 AM isn’t exactly the prime takeoff time for trains, I had to wait around till 6:54 for the next train.

As the train man not so kindly informed me, the train station was closing, so I took my backpack and messenger bag and proceeded to embark on an excursion of Strasbourg in the middle of the night. Luckily Turkish restaurants close obscenely late, because I hadn’t eaten really anything since lunch. But alas, the Turkish restaurant wasn’t going to stay open until 6:54, so I had to leave, but the nice man working there let me know there was a Café (aka Bar) that was open till 4 AM. So I went there, grabbed some German beer, and watched the rest of Gangs of New York that I had yet to finish after starting on the train. Again, 4 AM is not 6:54 so I had to figure out what to do after they closed. It was actually a beautiful night, and feeling somewhat supercharged by the presence of my backpacking backpack, I proceeded to sleep for about an hour on the street. Well I guess I laid there for an hour, and probably slept for about half of that. I don’t really understand why it suddenly felt a lot colder when I woke up, but I felt that since the train station was open I should go there (although you can’t lay down at train stations) and try to get some warm sleep. I fell asleep kind of awkwardly on a bench (I’m extremely thankful I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere) until before I had to leave, so that helped the extreme boredom that was beginning to set in.

On the next train (where I am writing this now), the attendant lady tried to tell me that I needed to pay an extra 60 Euros because my train ticket wasn’t valid for the right connection from Karlsruhe to Goettingen (where Tyler is picking me up). Thanks so much to debate and my love of a good argument, I gently informed her (well as gently as can be after the extreme agitation I’ve been feeling about this whole ordeal) of what happened and that I didn’t feel I should have to pay since the reason I missed the right train was because of a screw up on the part of her company. My persuasion (or maybe my exceedingly good looks) succeeded, and she wrote a little note on the back of my ticket so I won’t have to pay when I switch. SCORE! Seriously, if I would have had to pay 60 extra Euros I would have freaked out. But as of right now, I’m watching the sunrise over the German country side and it is beautiful. So I’m content because of that, and also because I’ll be able to make a connection to Goettingen right after I get off this train, so that in total I’ll only be 3 hours late.


It’s Midnight and I’m here, in Hann. Meunden. I didn’t just get here, just haven’t had time yet to post this bad boy. Being reunited with one of my best friends is basically the best thing that could happen at this moment of time. I spent the last 5 minutes of the train ride barely able to control my joy and thus smiling uncontrollably without control. Today was amazing, although slightly uneventful. We walked around Hann. Meunden, which is beautiful and despite all joking, is the European garden of Eden. It’s fall so all the leaves are turning and it was actually really hot today. So Tyler showed me around and we took some pictures (those will come later, as I haven’t loaded them yet). I then took a nap which was supposed to last an hour, but ended up lasting 2 and a half, as either my alarm didn’t go off or I don’t know what. But after 19 hours of travel and maybe 3 hours of sleep, I think a little sleep was warranted. We ate some dinner and had an amazing conversation, then Phillipp (tyler’s host brother) got home from Volleyball and yet another great conversation ensued. I am loving life. More updates later.


Tchuss,

Brent


p.s sorry i tried to post this last night but blogger was down

2 Months + 1 day

Yesterday was 2 months.

Tomorrow I go to Germany.

Welp, that’s basically all that needs to be said.

Brent




















P.S That picture is not recent, my host family did not recently insert a pool in their apartment. Although that would be amazing 

“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the
One who makes me who I am”

That verse in Philippians somewhat sums up a lot of what I’ve been thinking about and struggling with. Before that Paul says “I’ve learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,” and my biggest struggle here is trying to find that secret of just being content with where I am. I will expand on this with a few examples.

I’ve realized that not many people are content with where they are. This is represented by a lot of conversations I have with people here that go somewhat like this.
Frenchy-“So have you been to New York?”
Me- “I’ve never been to New York City, but I’ve been to New York state”
Frenchy-“There’s a New York State?”
Me-“Uh..ya, it’s pretty big actually”
Frenchy-“Oh well New York is probably the best place in America, I definitely want to move there someday”
My thoughts-“And everyone in New York thinks Paris is the greatest place on earth and probably wants to move there too, but then when you switched you would both realize that you were happier where you started, and living in a city so draped in legend isn’t so great after all”

I guess that just goes along with what I said in an earlier post, about this exchange being a Christmas present. I spent so much time over the past year thinking about and wishing I was in France, all the while neglecting the fact that I was in the present moment living a perfectly happy life in (what I think is) the greatest place in America, and could die at any moment, so me wasting my time on the future was just that, wasting time. We spend so much time looking for that next stage in life, the next best thing, that we forget that nothing in life is guaranteed, not tomorrow, and definitely not next year. I think in order to really end the habit of always living in the future is to practice living in the present in the smaller things in life. Eating a meal and cherishing it as maybe the last meal you’ll ever eat, savoring every bite and being thankful, instead of simply pounding it down to satiate hunger and simply moving on to the day’s next activity. Or, while reading, simply taking in each page, each sentence, without worrying about when the chapter ends or what page you’re on. Only when we’re content with the little aspects of our life can we move on to be content with the overall. I think Gandalf says it best in the Lord of the Rings, "…All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Or Dumbledore in Harry Potter says it pretty well too, “It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.”

I said in my last post that I was a little homesick, which was true. Something random that my host mom said really made me think about that though. She was talking about how it gets annoying to always be cleaning, but then added a disclaimer that she wasn’t complaining, as so many people would give so much to have a nice apartment. Sometimes there are those things that people say that stick out in your mind, that they’ll probably never remember saying, but for some reason stick in your mind. I just started thinking that, although it is normal to miss home, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. At least I have a home to miss, a lot of people I see every day on the streets of Paris don’t even have that.

Last night I went to a big party that everyone in my class (the 30ish kids I spend most of the day with) and it was extremely fun. Being around them outside a school setting was relieving, as they are all so nice and fun to be around. There honestly isn’t one I dislike. There was a lot of dancing, which was really fun, as any song with English (in other words every song) I was expected to sing along to (although I knew less words than they did) because, well, I’m the American kid. But I was sitting there, and it suddenly popped into my head that I wouldn’t have rather been anywhere else. Just being with all these people that are so fun to be around, laughing, dancing, speaking French, being in France, and being in Paris on a beautiful night. I felt a little of what it was to be completely content in my circumstances, although I will admit it’s a lot easier to be content having fun than it is to be content going to high school. But you have to start somewhere!

So sorry if this is a little deeper than you may have expected, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about a lot and wanted to share it with you (plural).

Thanks for listening friends


Brent

P.S I am visiting Tyler in 3 days, although for these next three days I’m going to have to work on being content where I am, and not spend all my time thinking about vacation! 

I Seriously and Honestly Hate Titling These Things

So this week was okay I guess. Paying attention in school is tiring, as evidenced by the fact that I come home and basically fall asleep on my bed while reading most afternoons.

I went to the Sainte-Chapelle on Wednesday which was beautiful. It is the smallish church on Ile de la Cité (the same island as Notre Dame) with the room full of stained glass. It was used in the Middle Ages to hold a ridiculous amount of relics purchased by King Louis IX. I went on a tour with a really funny tour guide so I think that made really interesting, as she explained a lot of the architecture and the hidden meanings behind things. Highly recommended stop for those traveling to Paris, another recommended stop is…

202 Boulevard Malesherbes
Paris, France 75017

…where you can send me some goodies if you feel so led.

The rest of the week was just normal, didn’t do that much. I’m visiting Tyler in 5ish days, can’t wait, as I’m getting a wee bit homesick right about now. This weekend there is this big party that everyone in my class is going to on Saturday night, so that should be fun. I think I’m just gonna make up for all the parties I didn’t go to in high school and see how high I can get my BAC…or actually probably not. But that should be fun to hang out with everyone that I spend all day with outside of class. But tomorrow I have Sport in the morning, so I’ll be signing off right about now, as I’m going to go watch some Arrested Development (aka the greatest show on earth) that some heaven-sent person put on the internet. Thank you putter-of-arrested-development-on-the-internet man/woman, you shall be blessed in the after life.

Brent


 

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord did do…

These last two days have been a lot better than the last weekend. Yesterday I talked to my principal, told him I was sorry I was lazy, and told him that I was going to work harder. He was nice in talking to me, so that was a relief. That’s basically what I needed to get all that I was worrying off my chest so I was happy to have that over with.

Oh, also yesterday I only had 3 hours of school, so that was also a bonus.

I realized paying attention for an entire day in a foreign language is tiring, as I found out today after school when I fell asleep reading.

Today I scored some points (hopefully) with my head teacher, the one who talked to my host mom. I decided to bring my book to class (actually it was the wrong book I think), and she needed a book, and with my new strategy of not sitting in the back of class, I was able to let her use my book. Score number 1. Second, we started talking about the nucleus of an atom, and right after we started talking about it I looked up the word (it’s noyau in French), and directly after that she was like “let’s see…Brent…what’s in a nucleus.” I felt maybe a little spite in her voice, maybe a little “ha, let’s see if this stupid American knows anything.” My first response would have made the response “no” if that had been here thinking, as I said electron (I was thinking of an atom, I mean how long’s it been since I’ve thought about that stuff) but then I quickly corrected my thinking and answered the question. Therefore, I felt as if I proved a little something to my teacher about my new work ethic (although I honestly understand very little in that class). Score number 2. I think I just need to score a little every day to dig myself out of the hole I started with her.

I also had a quite funny (well, actually it wasn’t that funny) conversation with this kid who asks me constant questions about America, but is actually really nice. He started of (in French, bien sûr) saying “do you have a lot of blacks in your high school” and then in English said “a lot of n******.” I told him he shouldn’t say that, and he said “why, all the rappers say it.” So I was then forced to explain to him the finer aspects of the N-bomb and how being black, you are able to say it, but if you want to keep living, then as a white person you probably shouldn’t say that in the presence of black people.

The other day I met a really nice American on the bus. I was basically on top of him as there were a lot of people, and I heard him speaking English to his friend. Now, I usually don’t do this, but I got up a little courage and said “hey, I couldn’t help but hear you, are you American?” His response was “yeah, are you?” I responded “yes,” and his very genial response was “good for you.” (I think he thought I was just a dumb tourist…but I was still very glad to have become acquainted with him!)

Brent

Blog-ness

Sorry this has been a few days in coming; it may get a little long and bogged down. Feel free to skim through, read a sentence or two, and then comment as if you read the whole thing. I won’t feel bad, I might not even know.

So Thursday was probably one of the funnest (Microsoft Word tells me funnest is not a word…ha, I’ll show them) days I’ve had since I’ve been here. I didn’t have my first two classes so I slept in till 9:25, then got to school at ten and we all found out our Biology teacher was gone. That meant I had four hours till my next class. So my friends and I went to my friend Guillaume’s house, listened to music, played some foosball, and watched some MTV (which was quite entertaining for me). It was extremely fun to just hang out with them. My 3 hours of math after that were not as fun, but I made it through, and then that night I went and had dinner with Rene’s sister Callie, who was in Paris on business, and who I had never met before. She was extremely nice, and I loved the conversation we had. It was great to have someone I actually had some connection with (Camp Elim etc) and that I could have a legitimate conversation with. It also helped that this conversation was over an amazing dinner at an amazing restaurant amazingly paid for by Callie’s company. Thank you expense accounts. This means we both got entrées (we still don’t know what I got), a bottle of wine, some good meat, crème brulée, and coffee. Basically amazing.

Friday, I walked around the Latin Quarter (which, unlike Rick Steve, I enjoy thoroughly), took some mediocre pictures, and had a pint (hey, it was happy hour, can’t pass that up) while reading the Message. Pretty successful night…until I find out that my host mom had talked to my head teacher and I guess she was somewhat unhappy with my performance at school. A large difference between the French and Americans (besides the French being extremely more rigid) is that a French person that you don’t really know (aka a teacher) will never talk to you directly and tell you what you are doing wrong or what you need to change. So, I really would have liked to have simply known from my teacher what her expectations of me were, as I was confused because I am not taking their large test at the end of the year etc. Regardless, I was lazy, so that is going to change on Monday.

Saturday. I had Sport this morning at 8, shot putted around for about 2 hours, came home, napped, ate, and then went and hung out with Victor, my friend Guillaume, and his girlfriend Marine. Guillaume is one of my best French friends and is extremely funny, and his girlfriend is very nice (I believe I say extremely a lot) so it was fun to hang out with them. This weekend is the big “Fête de la Science” (Science Festival) in Paris, so there are a lot of expositions at schools and all the science museums are free, so we went to one at the Palais de la Decouverte. We couldn’t really find it at first, which turned into a fun game of Victor and I asking random people where it was. It was a game because sometimes Victor and I would speak English to French people and pretend like we didn’t understand (you have to remember Victor speaks fluent English), or I would speak English very poorly to English speaking people (as if I didn’t speak any English) and Victor would pretend he knew a little more English than I, or I would speak French to English speaking people and pretend I didn’t speak any English. Sorry if that was kind of confusing, but it was really funny to go up to random people and jack around with them. The museum was interesting, but my friends all kind of went home pretty early so that kind of sucked. It was my host dad’s birthday today (of which I had no knowledge) and I had told my host mom I wouldn’t be home for dinner (as I didn’t know it was his birthday), so I just ended up having dessert and wine with them and their guests, which was good. I had some 1978 wine…I’m telling myself I could taste a difference but I may just be lying.

Oh, one more thing, last night I basically saw the funniest thing ever on the metro. I walk on to the train and hear this ridiculous techno music, see these speakers with a walkman hooked up, and then look around to see this ridiculous (I really don’t know how else to describe it) kid with bleached, short hair with the little shaved designs in it, getting his groove on really close to all the people on the metro while holding out a cup for money. He actually seemingly made a lot, so maybe as a celebration he decided as his grand finale to stand right in front of me (not facing me, but directly in front) and unbutton most of his shirt and dance. I couldn’t help but laugh. It also made me decide that that is one of my goals before I leave, to try to garner some cash on the metro by doing something ridiculous. This will most likely come in June, right before I leave.

I tried to post this yesterday but I guess it didn’t work. Well, I guess I’ll update you on today. Slept 12 hours, ate, walked through the Luxembourg Gardens, came home.

You are all beautiful people

Brent

Some things I’ve noticed…

I’m still really bad at introducing myself, turns out I haven’t heard anyone besides me say “je m’appelle” so unless someone introduces me it can get semi awkward.

I still can’t drink wine without leaving residue on the glass, on my lips, or on my teeth.

Sudoku is an amazing way to pass time in class.

I don’t have to go to Spanish anymore, WOOT WOOT.

Unless I take everyday as it comes and stop worrying about tomorrow (or stop getting uber excited for my vacations) then this year is going to go by way too quickly.

There’s just something about drinking a glass of wine at a Parisian café…

This exchange is kind of like a Christmas present. I wished and hoped for it for so long, and now that I got it I want to move on to something else.

I need to not want to move on to something else.

I am truly blessed with a few good friends (I just wish they had more time to hang out, or spent less time with their girlfriends).

I hate seeing something that I find very funny, and that my friends would also find very funny, but not being able to share that with them and thus being forced to laugh awkwardly by myself.

I still hate shaving.

If I didn’t have my MP3 player I would be in an awful mood every morning.

Normandy is beautiful (just not every weekend).

I <3 Wine, Cheese, and Bread.

There are ignorant people everywhere, not just in America.

Responding to the questions “So do you like George Bush?” and “What do you think about Iraq?” gets pretty annoying.

It’s probably not a good idea to try to read a book that, when every French student who sees it says, “oooh, I couldn’t even understand half of that book”

The greatest thing about being an exchange student is the universally applicable excuse of “oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t understand.”

I have awful table manners.

My awful table manners are often corrected by my host mom.

It is difficult to explain what a Cornucopia is in French...very difficult. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that as I tried to draw it the kid I was explaining it to thought I was drawing a picture of Cartman from South Park, obviously my drawing prowess hasn't improved despite all my doodling during class. Well, Practice makes Perfect.

I am done writing this, because I emptied my brain of imaginative thinking.

Bisous,

Brent

This Little Weekend of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine

So basically my weekend consisted of this. I got up to go to Sport at an unholy hour on Saturday morning, showed my shot put who was boss and launched her 9.5 meters (I hope you’re all proud of me, it was the longest in the class, and for any of you who thought I had totally atrophied after I stopped playing hockey, I leave that fact as proof against your assumption). Anyways, on to my weekend. So turns out (as I have no prior knowledge of anything that happens in this apartment) my host brother’s girlfriend was over for the weekend (she lives in Brussels), and we were having lunch with her and her parents. So, champagne and wine ensued (as always), as well as semi awkward conversation (well I guess it wasn’t really an awkward conversation, more like as always I sit and don’t say much, because whenever I realize I can say something and figure out how to say it, then they are really far past that subject and it would be ridiculous for me to bring it up). I then proceeded to nap for about an hour, then my host parents and I headed off to Normandy…again. I don’t really get why we left, as the parents were staying in a hotel (and I figured if they got along at least half way decently they would hang out together over the weekend), and the host brother/host girlfriend were staying in the same room in the apartment…kinda awkward.

The weekend in Normandy, although beautiful weather wise, was nothing to write home about (although I guess that’s what I’m doing now). Although there was a pretty funny conversation that took place as we were driving there. Keep in mind this is at about 6:40 at night, and roughly translated from French.
Host Dad: “So we’re going to go to mass at 7, would you like to come”
Me: (Thinking he means in the morning) “ya, sure, I’d love to”
…Silence…
Me: (rethinking) “umm, maybe not, I think I want to sleep, you know, I only get one day out of the week to sleep in”
Host Mom: “So you want us to leave you in the car?”
Me: “uhhh?? Oh, it’s tonight, like in 20 minutes, alright, ya sure.”
Okay maybe that’s not as funny as I thought it was, but my favorite part is when my host mom asked me if I wanted them to leave me in the car.

Anyways we went to mass (extremely boring, but in a really pretty church), I ate, I slept for 12 hours, I read a ton, and then we drove home.

I was supposed to meet Rene’s sister for dinner last night, as she is in Paris on business, but her phone didn’t work so it didn’t work out. I, not wanting to sit around with my host family any more, decided to go search for her at her hotel. No luck. Then I went to Notre Dame, because Rene said she might have gone there, so I decided there was an off chance I’d see her, and it was also a beautifully perfect night. Notre Dame is beautiful at night, and I walked around the Latin Quarter and ate some probably not fully cooked Greek, but overall it was a success, except of course, for finding Rene’s sister.

Basically every Sunday night I want to kill myself thinking about waking up for school in the morning, but today wasn’t that bad. I only had 4 hours of classes, because my Spanish teacher was gone and it turns out it’s pointless for me to go to English (who knew?), so I no longer have to attend that awful, awful class, but I will probably have another, hopefully more useful class like French, during those hours.

Today I I officially became European. I walked through Montmartre, took artsy pictures, went to a Café, drank a beer, smoked a cigar, and read Victor Hugo. I believe I have fulfilled my duty of becoming fully immersed in a culture, and I am coming home tomorrow.

Brent

Actually, I am not coming home, sorry to falsely excite you all.


Translation of Picture:

Sign—The Portrait of my Master
Below, still on sign—Author/Anonymous Work

 

This Little Weekend of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine

So basically my weekend consisted of this. I got up to go to Sport at an unholy hour on Saturday morning, showed my shot put who was boss and launched her 9.5 meters (I hope you’re all proud of me, it was the longest in the class, and for any of you who thought I had totally atrophied after I stopped playing hockey, I leave that fact as proof against your assumption). Anyways, on to my weekend. So turns out (as I have no prior knowledge of anything that happens in this apartment) my host brother’s girlfriend was over for the weekend (she lives in Brussels), and we were having lunch with her and her parents. So, champagne and wine ensued (as always), as well as semi awkward conversation (well I guess it wasn’t really an awkward conversation, more like as always I sit and don’t say much, because whenever I realize I can say something and figure out how to say it, then they are really far past that subject and it would be ridiculous for me to bring it up). I then proceeded to nap for about an hour, then my host parents and I headed off to Normandy…again. I don’t really get why we left, as the parents were staying in a hotel (and I figured if they got along at least half way decently they would hang out together over the weekend), and the host brother/host girlfriend were staying in the same room in the apartment…kinda awkward.

The weekend in Normandy, although beautiful weather wise, was nothing to write home about (although I guess that’s what I’m doing now). Although there was a pretty funny conversation that took place as we were driving there. Keep in mind this is at about 6:40 at night, and roughly translated from French.
Host Dad: “So we’re going to go to mass at 7, would you like to come”
Me: (Thinking he means in the morning) “ya, sure, I’d love to”
…Silence…
Me: (rethinking) “umm, maybe not, I think I want to sleep, you know, I only get one day out of the week to sleep in”
Host Mom: “So you want us to leave you in the car?”
Me: “uhhh?? Oh, it’s tonight, like in 20 minutes, alright, ya sure.”
Okay maybe that’s not as funny as I thought it was, but my favorite part is when my host mom asked me if I wanted them to leave me in the car.

Anyways we went to mass (extremely boring, but in a really pretty church), I ate, I slept for 12 hours, I read a ton, and then we drove home.

I was supposed to meet Rene’s sister for dinner last night, as she is in Paris on business, but her phone didn’t work so it didn’t work out. I, not wanting to sit around with my host family any more, decided to go search for her at her hotel. No luck. Then I went to Notre Dame, because Rene said she might have gone there, so I decided there was an off chance I’d see her, and it was also a beautifully perfect night. Notre Dame is beautiful at night, and I walked around the Latin Quarter and ate some probably not fully cooked Greek, but overall it was a success, except of course, for finding Rene’s sister.

Basically every Sunday night I want to kill myself thinking about waking up for school in the morning, but today wasn’t that bad. I only had 4 hours of classes, because my Spanish teacher was gone and it turns out it’s pointless for me to go to English (who knew?), so I no longer have to attend that awful, awful class, but I will probably have another, hopefully more useful class like French, during those hours.

Today I I officially became European. I walked through Montmartre, took artsy pictures, went to a Café, drank a beer, smoked a cigar, and read Victor Hugo. I believe I have fulfilled my duty of becoming fully immersed in a culture, and I am coming home tomorrow.

Brent

Actually, I am not coming home, sorry to falsely excite you all.


Translation of Picture:

Sign—The Portrait of my Master
Below, still on sign—Author/Anonymous Work

 

I Hate Making Titles for These

Let’s see. Yesterday we had dinner with the really funny speaking people from Quebec that we met randomly in a café in Bayeux and saw again randomly and had lunch with at Mont St. Michel. They came over and I had fun listening to their RIDICULOUS accent, drinking champagne and wine, and eating some good food/cheese/bread. Probably one of my highlights every night is eating my host mother’s amazing cooking, as well as eating amazing French cheese on amazing French bread. Other than that, I didn’t do very much yesterday. Actually, I did go to a Café for two hours, had a glass of wine (which I wouldn’t have had if I knew we were having company, but I’m pretty out of the loop here, as in they don’t tell me anything that’s going on, so it’s not my fault), listened to a Rob Bell sermon, read, and worked on my little report for the French Rotary people I have to write.

Today…today. Friday’s are usually pretty good because I just have labs in Bio and Physics then one or two hours of Math. But today my teeth were really hurting me for some reason, so I came home, took a nap, and have pretty much just been rocking out in my room since 1. We are going to the country home again this weekend (kind of over going there every weekend, especially when my host brother stays at home), but what can you do? I also have Sport tomorrow at 10 (AWESOME, YES, AMAZING!). This was probably extremely boring to read, but I really don’t have any funny anecdotes or stories to put in. I’m going to go watch a movie my host parents gave me to watch, Amadeus, about Mozart. Hopefully it’s good. Well, I’ll let you know Sunday how the weekend/my movie was.

A Bientôt

Brent

“Why count the days, when one is enough for a man to know all of
happiness?

-Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brother’s Karamazov

That quote pretty much explains today.

-I only had 4 hours of school
-I ate an amazing 60 Euro lunch at Rotary (don’t worry, it was on Rotary)
-Rotary gave me 80 Euros
-I FINALLY got everything worked out for my Visa, hooray! (my medical visit is Nov 9th)
-I now have no need to worry about my Visa situation
-It was unexpectedly sunny and nice
-It was very sunny and nice
-I went on a walk in this beautiful park, Parc Montsouris (guided by my friend Rene’s amazing present of 50 City Walks: Paris, which is my new favorite pastime)
-I got to take pictures that I now share with you (although I did edit them a tad)
-I fell asleep in the grass, in the sunlight
-I read, in the grass, in the sunlight
-I had a legitimate conversation with my host parents at dinner, that did not simply consist of me preemptively nodding my head to what they were saying, and then getting caught having no idea what they said
-I don’t have school till 9 tomorrow
-Oh ya, and I live in Paris

Brent!

 

The Confession Of An Ardent Heart, In Verse

The Yom Kippur Party I did not attend.
T’was a party of a friend’s friend
And if friend One can go not
Joyful, it can be not

So to Montmartre I traveled
At Sacré Coeur I marveled
As I sat on the Terrace
A Café, and Victor Hugo, took away the coldness

The clouds let out their rain
Sitting in Sacré Coeur, I felt sane
In the quiet, in the still
My joy, fulfilled

Today,
Was Today,
Nothing significant,
To say 

The Weekend I Live for the Weekend

In my humble opinion, I’d say this weekend was a success. Had P.E Saturday morning. I’m throwing shot put which is kind of funny. Then me, Victor, and Gabriel (the one’s in the pictures from a little while ago) went to Gabriel’s apartment (close to the Eiffel Tower) and made lunch. Gabriel got sick, so then Victor and I headed out into the Latin Quarter to hang out. We visited the Pantheon, where all the old, famous Frenchmen are buried. It was beautiful, but kind of a letdown inside. I mean, you can only look at Voltaire’s grave for so long before it becomes a little boring. Good thing I got in for free because I’m “under 18.” Then we walked through the Luxembourg Gardens, which are beautiful, and even more so with the falling leaves. Basically we walked a lot. We looked in a bunch of stores (books, cds, clothes) and I actually bought some clothes! I found a store where not everything in the display was over 100 Euros, so I went in and bought a 2 track jackets (1 for 7 euros…ridiculous! And the other for 20) so I’m pretty content with my first clothing purchases in Paris. Basically we walked a lot, but it was really fun. It was great to talk to him, as he is extremely nice, and I can feel my French improving daily.

I figured since this was my first Sunday since I arrived that I was in Paris, I would try to go to church, so I went to the American Church of Paris. It was in a really pretty building, and there were lots of people there. It felt weird having so many people speak English around me. The Pastor-ess kind of annoyed me. She pretty much spoke to us like we were a group of 4 year olds at story time, so it was a little hard for me to get into the message, as in I can’t even really recall what it was about, except I do remember her talking about some Anime movie she watched with her daughter. But we had communion so that was good. Not sure if I’ll be going back, wasn’t exactly the greatest experience I’ve had at a church, but it was still good to go. I went back home for lunch (wasn’t planning on it as I was pretty far away but then my host dad called), then went back out again to visit the Picasso Museum. Most of the museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, so that’s why I went. I was lucky and missed the line, and walked around there for a while. Some things I noticed: Picasso really liked guitars, like really liked them. All his naked pictures look the same (not naked pictures of him, like the one’s he drew, you get the point). His cubism is really cool (although sometimes I’d stand in front of a picture, read the title, and spend the next 5 minutes trying to figure out what the crap was happening without success). And Museums aren’t my favorite thing ever (I’d much rather walk around the streets and take pictures). Then I went to this awesome Café that’s set up like a living room, had myself a glass of really good wine, and read and worked on my SPU essay for 2 hours. It was amazing. I then walked around some more, and was basically pretty content with life. I still am basically content with life because I don’t have school till 2 tomorrow (because it’s Yom Kippur and I have 2 Jewish teachers) and because I got invited to a Yom Kippur party tomorrow night (lots of food). So I’ll be getting back to you about that. Thanks for reading friends.

Brent

P.S. The pictures are from today (Sunday) because I used Victor’s camera yesterday and don’t have the pictures yet