15 minutes of fame

I got an article published in the Des Moines Register, pictures and all. Check in out HERE.

-Summer

Je t'aime Paris

The first time Paris and I met it wasn't meant to be. The weather was cold and wet, I was sick, and we didn't meet very many people. Frankly I was happy to leave. It's been exactly three years. This time around has been very different. Though it's still rainy it's not quite as cold. I'm not sick. I actually speak french (a little anyways). And the brothers and sisters we've met have been incredible. We're staying with Edyta. She's from Poland. She is the cutest little thing you could ever meet. Her boyfriend Jean (togolese) is friends with Yahli so that's how we met.

Sunday we said goodbye to our 'family' in Tours. Yahli said with us till the very last moment when the train began to leave the station. I was very sad to leave. After we dropped our things off at Edyta's house I dropped Channing at the Louvre and went to see a cathedral that is famous for it's stained glass. (will post pics later on flickr). It felt like I was inside a kaleidoscope. I walked around a bit more, past notre dame, ect. Then I joined Channing in the Louvre. The poor thing looked exhausted. We tried to find the tetragrammaton but couldn't. And of course most of my favorite rooms were closed for renovation. After that we went back to Edyta's and had dinner with another couple from her hall. It was so nice because for the first time I felt like a was actually a part of the group conversation. It was like validation for being here a month. Like it was actually worth it.

Monday was a great day. First stop was Le cimetière du Père-Lachaise. Like a city for the dead, there are street names, and a map too. We saw Molière, Edith Piaf and many more. Then we headed off to Montmartre. We walked around and saw were Van gogh lived, heard Bob Dylan song coming from one of the apartments, saw Eric satie's home and too many other things to name. I bought to music boxes. And Channing saw the Eiffel tower from the top of Montmartre. So of course our next stop was there. We got there just as it was getting dark. In the line, to the front of us were three Russian guys, the oldest was the father of the other two. Though I don't think he spoke any english he was such a gentle man. And behind us were two American ladies from the south. We were able to tell them that we were Witnesses and why we were in France. At the top of the tower the wind was glacial. But it was great. The whole city was lit up.

Tonight we're going to meeting with Edyta and then our last meal in France! I can't believe it's over. See you very soon.

-S

too soon

It's our last day here in Tours, and it's here too soon. Without knowing it a bond has formed. The congregation has accepted us without thought. We've made life long friends. And Maryline and Agbesi are now like family. Though I'm looking to the future and what it might hold I am sad to leave. It is truly amazing to me the blessings we receive when we put ourselves out there.

What blessings? Well, besides the new friends, our french has indeed improved. Channing is just starting to put together her own sentences and her reading has improved one hundred percent. Shame it didn't happen till the last few days, c'est la vie. As for me...well my head doesn't hurt as much at the end of the day from trying to speak.

Oh, one more thing. Guess what we did last night with some of the young ones from the congregation?¿?¿?¿? We had an American night out...that's right MacDonalds (which they call Mag dO) and bowling and beer. Believe it or not yours truly, the gutter queen, didn't do too bad. It looked like I might actually win for a while, but I got third place. :)

I might not be able to post in Paris, so.....á bientôt!

Mannequins

Once a harmless department store display item, here in France they seem to be much more menacing creatures. We went to the Ussé castle last saturday. It's famous because apperently mr. Disney himself used it as basis for the movie sleeping beauty. It was a rainy day, but the clouds parted somewhat as we drove to the castle with Yahli (Gideons nephew) Sara and Maeva. From a distance the castle was lovely, evoking thoughts of damsels in distress, dragons and prince charming. But the interior was lacking. The original walls were plastered over instead of restored. And the rooms were sealed off, with a dirty smudged window letting us glance into the so called fairytale. What we really saw were CREEPY mannequins and cheap design. Needless to say I was disappointed.

drunken mannequins

prince charming??

The castles we saw on monday more than made up for the creepy mannequin experience.

Villandry had the most wonderful kitchen

And it's gardens are incredible. They are replanted twice a year.

Azay le Rideau was probably my favorite despite it's small size and lack of gardens like Villandry.
Anyways, or trip is coming to an end. Sunday we are going to Paris, and then back to frigid Iowa. I'm sad to leave but I think it's time. I need to get back into a routine, or I'll never make my time for the year! See you soon.
-S

A Chateau AHHH!

On Wednesday Oct 21st, 2009 we went to our first chateau, Amboise. I was really excited and didn't care how small it looked from the outside. The weather was really stinky. It was raining and cold, not the way you want it to be when your going to your first castle. We managed to take pictures and only have one umbrella. Yes just go ahead and laugh, you know we can't remember everything. Gosh. We were one of the first ones there, which was good because we could have more room to take pictures. We first went to the church, where we found Divinci's resting place. We didn't realize that he was buried there, so that was interesting. The inside of the castle was really neat, they even had a fire burning in the Council Chamber. Summer had her bottom practically in the fire, I thought she was gonna burn it. Kinda funny. Muahaha. The Stained glass was very pretty and all the details made everything stand out. There were Fleur De Li's everywhere, on pillars, walls, and chairs. It was like a scavenger hunt, instead they were easier to spot but not everytime. Stairs............oh boy you know where I am going with this. We would go up and up feeling like it was never ending. Wait for it........and then down never ending stairs. I hope i lose some thigh out of this. They had some very cool portraits of the very first to the latest residents. We will have some of the portraits in our pics, so check em out. The grounds were very pretty and you could see the whole town from up top. Oh yeah, forgot to mention a disappointment from summer and I. I really wanted to see a dungeon, don't ask why. Summer says too many movies but I don't think so..... Summer wanted to go up into the biggest tower but no we weren't allowed to do that either. We are hoping in the upcoming castles we will, so hope for us.
-Channing

Click here for more pics of the Chateau

give the people what they want

You asked for it so here it is:

toilets and knives

I'd like like to talk today about toilets and knives. "Toilets and knives, what does that have to do with france??" I understand your confusion. We'll take it step by step.

First "les toilettes"

What is different about bathrooms in France? Location, location, location. There are bathrooms in carved into the rocks, under the castles, and on street corners. Literally on street corners! They look, as Channing puts it, like space pods ready to take off. The other strange thing about them is the toilets themselves. They are shaped slightly differently, and most come with options when it comes time to flush. Depending on the 'job' you did you can do full flush or half (I'm assuming it's to save water). It's not worth the trip just to see the bathrooms but I thought you might find it interesting.

Second Opinel knives

While wandering the streets of Amboise today we went into a kitchen store to escape the rain. The owner was very nice. We were looking at the opinel knives he told us the history of them. They have been made in France since the 1890's and back in the day every man carried one just about all the time. Now days many older men still carry them and families have them in the car or take them for picnics. It was great getting a little history to go with our purchase and keep our minds off the rain. Originally they only came in plane wood...mine is purple.

Keep the comments coming! Miss you all.

-Summer

p.s. I uploaded new pics to my flicker. Click HERE.