le moine

Ok, so it's been a couple days... I apologize. Ever since Disney Land, I've been far too tired to function when I get home, and it seems no matter how early I go to bed, or how much sleep I get, I am perpetually tired. (Sigh) Oh well.

So Saturday (Saturday?? That was so long ago!!) Sutton and I woke up at 8:30, went shopping at 9:30 for groceries. Now we can have practically free lunches instead of buying 3-4 euro sandwiches! Celebrate! Après ça, we went into the city to buy stuff. Both of us needed a bag/purse that was perfect for lugging our books everywhere, and I needed a coat because I left mine at home. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to bring one. I had wanted to get one here, but I didn't anticipate its being this cold so early. I mean, it's only September! Most of the time, the temperature is barely bearable until around noon, then you have that short window of opportunity before it gets chilly again. It's frustrating.

So I did buy a bag (17 euros - not bad) and a coat (I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it euros). Seriously, it took me a lot of courage to go up to that cashier and say, "I wanna buy this - I spend this money all the time!" I nearly had a short circuit, but everyone kept telling me that good coats usually cost this much, and I liked it so much that I went ahead and got it. It wasn't until Sunday that I really appreciated it - it was so cold! It was on the cheap side, I guess, as far as coats go, but still, I had never spent that much money in one go... all on one item!

After my near-fainting experience of spending gobs of money, Sutton and I went off to the Institute to meet with everyone and went to the Sacre Coeur. It was absolutely STUNNING! I think it was even more beautiful than the Notre Dame! This other girl in my group (Judith) and I climbed the stairs while everyone else took the tram up - golly, it was GORGEOUS! Outside, it was impressive enough on it's own, but inside, I nearly had another short circuit from all the beauty. We couldn't take pictures inside, so when I say that you just have to see it for yourself to understand, I mean it. The ceiling was huge, and the paintings were so rich and colorful. And the stained glass windows! Gah, I've never seen such beautiful windows! It took my breath away. I can't even tell you a comparison - it almost felt like a temple.

Then we went home and had a yummy French pizza (it had goat cheese and olives). Or is that Italian? In any case, it was definitely better than Pappa Johns or whatever is the best pizza chain. And then we went to our respective rooms, and as I went onto the computer to write my blog, I began falling asleep on the keyboard, so I decided that it might be a good idea to go to bed. Voila

Sunday, it was stake conference, so we had church at Versailles... VERSAILLES. Shall I repeat that for you? We had church at V-E-R-S-A-I-L-L-E-S. Incroyable! It was beautiful! And it was a very good meeting. Of course, by the last talk, I gave up trying to understand, but it was all about missionary work. It was pretty cool. Then afterward, we went out for a picnic with the ward. We had a hard time trying to find a park we could eat at for free (so by then, all of the Study Abroad kids had given up, and I was alone with the ward members) but we eventually found it. It was beautiful. I also made some friends! With some real Parisians! Algenor and Oliver (both with really cool French accents), and of course Melissa. It was so much fun, because they all taught me some new French ways of talking, and I finally learned the difference between fois and temps and when they are supposed to be used.

Then we went home, and I got to have dinner with the family. We had steak, potatoes, green beans, cheese, bread - all that good stuff. I even had a pickle, but I have decided that pickles are the same everywhere, and therefore they are all gross. I'll never have a pickle again. Our conversation was a little interesting - about religion. Or more specifically, our church. They kept asking all these questions that we couldn't answer in French, so the conversation sorta lapsed into English. At least they know more about our church now! It was kind of surprising to me, though because don't French people tend to avoid the topic of religion? My teacher was wrong. She said not to talk about religion with them because it was rude and offensive - but they brought the topic up on multiple occasions! It's probably because they are devout Catholic, and they can see we're pretty strong in our own church, so they feel comfortable with the subject.

The next day, I went to classes, studied, went to class again, had FHE with the Study Abroad group, went to FHE again with the ward, came home, and found a monk in the house. No joke. He slept in the bedroom next to mine. NO JOKE. His mission or whatever they have is in Africa, but he came back to Paris because (and here is where it gets a bit sketchy - translation and all) of a religious holiday? He gets to visit his family. He also said he has kids, which I didn't know was allowed. Maybe that's another thing that I lost in translation. Maybe he meant children in the Church? (shrugs) Oh well.

And now today is a new day - and I'm off to make my mark on the city! Woohoo!

Hotel de Ville