I've been sick for the past week and a half. But that hasn't stopped awesome things from happened! Sorry if you get annoyed with me saying that every post. But it's true. My life is quite happenin'.
First of all, I have a HUGE praise to report. I just had a friend accept Christ this week! Oh my word! I've been praying for this girl ever since I met her, and God has totally come through. Praise the Lord!! Please be praying for her new faith and growth. It's not easy being a French believer. Especially a new one.
Hmmmm. What else? Everything else seems to pale in comparison to that. This has been a week of tests for me. I had one on Monday, one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. The first two went well, but I basically got my butt handed to me on Thursday. Which reminds me. My friend, Adam, and I went out for dinner on Thursday, and I spent the evening teaching him very useful American phrases like:
"I got my butt handed to me."
"Back up the bus!"
"Hold the phone."
"I give you props."
And others :) I'm sure he'll thank me later.
So now that those 3 tests are done, it's vacation for me! I don't have class this upcoming week! YESSSSS. Feels good. And mind you, this is not spring break. We get two week of break at Easter, too. :P
Tonight was so fun, though! I went to my friends apartment and watched Dragonball Z. In French. As a pre-teen, I loved Dragonball Z. And honestly, I still do. So Julien decided that he and I will watch every episode while I'm in France. ALL 270 OF THEM. But, to make it educational, we're watching them in French. They're voices are horrible - so disappointing.
But anyway, I went to Julien's knowing fully that we would watch DBZ. However, I did not know we would watch it for 3.5 hours. That was a little too much, I will admit. And he wants to watch more tomorrow. Maybe I should? I still have 255ish episodes to go before July. :|
After leaving Julien's at 10:30 or so, I was walking home. It's about a 10 minute walk, and as I'm walking, I hear someone call my name. I look across the street, and who do I see? Yann and Josias! They're two French Agape members. They had just watched True Grit (in French, of course) and were grabbing a bite to eat. They asked me to join them, and I can't say no to Yann. That's why I watched hockey last week. Which I don't regret at all.
So I sat with them. And we talked in Franglais. Most of it was French, but sometimes, I had to revert to English. But anyway, we talked. In Franglais. For 2 hours. About religious history and accents and dancing and Bollywood. It was so much fun and a total unexpected blessing. God is so good to me :)
Love.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
It's Only Weird Because You're Not Used to It Probably
The title of this entry is a quote from my very good friend, Philippe. He said it to me today when we were discussing the differences between French and Americans regarding love languages. It was interesting. Anyway, I loved that he said that. He's wiser than he realizes.
A lot has happened in the past few days. A lot a lot. Just to over-emphasize. And again, I'm writing this blog at 12:30. Though this time it's PM, which is so much better, I think. Though I am a creature of habit.
Starting off, last Tuesday evening was fabulous. I went over to Chris and Spencer's (they're STINTers), and we had a Great Music Exchange. Basically, we just listened to angst-filled music that we'd loved while growing up. Like Staind, Trapt, 3 Doors Down, Third Eye Blind, Taking Back Sunday. It was a lot of fun to just reminisce and be crazy. Good times.
Wednesday was really good for me as well. I hadn't really taken time for myself for about 2 weeks, so that's what I did. Since I hadn't been feeling well on Monday and Tuesday and my Wednesday is comprised of 6 hours of French class, I just chilled at home that night and worked on my new novel :) I'm super pumped about it. Though, like last time, I'm a little worried that I won't be able to write it like I want to. We'll see what happens, though!
Thursday was a great day also. I wasn't feeling sick at all. Classes went really well - I spoke more than normal. And that night, we had the Seeker Bible study. I like to go because it's small, and I tend to understand it fairly well. My friend Adam came for the first time this week, and I was so happy, because I hadn't seen him in 2 and a half weeks! So good. Oh, and we talked about forgiveness. Always a great topic :)
Friday may have been my favorite day of the week, however. Though that may be because very unexpected things happened. I don't have class on Friday, but Stephanie and I planned on going to campus anyway to go sharing. Which we did. We took a video that some of the STINTers made and asked students to watch it then answer questions. The video is only like 7 minutes long. So Steph and I went on campus and talked with some girls for a long time. It went well :) Then we met up with Lea and hung out with her for a while, as she was leaving the following day for Paris.
After that, I went home and did some random stuff. And I was desperately looking for something to do. Around 6:30, though, I got a text from Katy asking me if I wanted to accompany she and Julien to a middle school musical. What the heck? Um, yes, please. It's a French middle school play with music. I was totally on board. I quickly got ready and headed to meet them. I got to ride in a car for the third time in France, but this was my first time on the interstate (autoroute. boom French vocab.) That was an adventure. It was also an adventure because Julien didn't actually know where we were going. It was at a church in Frontignane. What?!? Okay. However, that was much easier than planned because it was actually in this banging cathedral that's 900 years old. Oh, okay.
Well, apparently there was some miscommunication. Because it wasn't a middle school musical. It was a children's Gospel choir. Best surprise ever, let me tell you. It was like seeing Sister Act live. Only they were kids. With French accents. Not dressed like nuns. Julien, Katy, and I were all pleasantly surprised. :)
Saturday was sweet, too. I basically laid on Julien's floor while watching two movies I'd never seen. The first, Groundhog Day, was surprisingly good. Much better than I expected. The second, Scream, was super disappointing. I wanted to be scared. I wasn't. You know what else is disappointing? Watching DBZ in French. Their voices are all wrong. Meh.
You know what's not disappointing? Watching French hockey. That's what I did on Saturday night. I've never watched hockey before. Not on TV, not live. Never. But it was so much fun! I'm going back as soon as there's another game. I loved it! And we (the Montpellier Vipers) won in overtime! Dang! Yelling that much definitely didn't help my sore throat (which is still lingering. hate.)
So onto Sunday. I'll try to wrap this up quickly. Church was amazing (the sermon was on purity and how to resist temptation. The pastor brought his A-game.), and many of us went to Subway for lunch after. Then, because it's about 60 degrees and sunny here, we went for a walk. Lovely day. Lovely day.
Sorry if that was long with unnecessary detail. Don't feel obligated to read everything I write :)
Love.
A lot has happened in the past few days. A lot a lot. Just to over-emphasize. And again, I'm writing this blog at 12:30. Though this time it's PM, which is so much better, I think. Though I am a creature of habit.
Starting off, last Tuesday evening was fabulous. I went over to Chris and Spencer's (they're STINTers), and we had a Great Music Exchange. Basically, we just listened to angst-filled music that we'd loved while growing up. Like Staind, Trapt, 3 Doors Down, Third Eye Blind, Taking Back Sunday. It was a lot of fun to just reminisce and be crazy. Good times.
Wednesday was really good for me as well. I hadn't really taken time for myself for about 2 weeks, so that's what I did. Since I hadn't been feeling well on Monday and Tuesday and my Wednesday is comprised of 6 hours of French class, I just chilled at home that night and worked on my new novel :) I'm super pumped about it. Though, like last time, I'm a little worried that I won't be able to write it like I want to. We'll see what happens, though!
Thursday was a great day also. I wasn't feeling sick at all. Classes went really well - I spoke more than normal. And that night, we had the Seeker Bible study. I like to go because it's small, and I tend to understand it fairly well. My friend Adam came for the first time this week, and I was so happy, because I hadn't seen him in 2 and a half weeks! So good. Oh, and we talked about forgiveness. Always a great topic :)
Friday may have been my favorite day of the week, however. Though that may be because very unexpected things happened. I don't have class on Friday, but Stephanie and I planned on going to campus anyway to go sharing. Which we did. We took a video that some of the STINTers made and asked students to watch it then answer questions. The video is only like 7 minutes long. So Steph and I went on campus and talked with some girls for a long time. It went well :) Then we met up with Lea and hung out with her for a while, as she was leaving the following day for Paris.
After that, I went home and did some random stuff. And I was desperately looking for something to do. Around 6:30, though, I got a text from Katy asking me if I wanted to accompany she and Julien to a middle school musical. What the heck? Um, yes, please. It's a French middle school play with music. I was totally on board. I quickly got ready and headed to meet them. I got to ride in a car for the third time in France, but this was my first time on the interstate (autoroute. boom French vocab.) That was an adventure. It was also an adventure because Julien didn't actually know where we were going. It was at a church in Frontignane. What?!? Okay. However, that was much easier than planned because it was actually in this banging cathedral that's 900 years old. Oh, okay.
Well, apparently there was some miscommunication. Because it wasn't a middle school musical. It was a children's Gospel choir. Best surprise ever, let me tell you. It was like seeing Sister Act live. Only they were kids. With French accents. Not dressed like nuns. Julien, Katy, and I were all pleasantly surprised. :)
Saturday was sweet, too. I basically laid on Julien's floor while watching two movies I'd never seen. The first, Groundhog Day, was surprisingly good. Much better than I expected. The second, Scream, was super disappointing. I wanted to be scared. I wasn't. You know what else is disappointing? Watching DBZ in French. Their voices are all wrong. Meh.
You know what's not disappointing? Watching French hockey. That's what I did on Saturday night. I've never watched hockey before. Not on TV, not live. Never. But it was so much fun! I'm going back as soon as there's another game. I loved it! And we (the Montpellier Vipers) won in overtime! Dang! Yelling that much definitely didn't help my sore throat (which is still lingering. hate.)
So onto Sunday. I'll try to wrap this up quickly. Church was amazing (the sermon was on purity and how to resist temptation. The pastor brought his A-game.), and many of us went to Subway for lunch after. Then, because it's about 60 degrees and sunny here, we went for a walk. Lovely day. Lovely day.
Sorry if that was long with unnecessary detail. Don't feel obligated to read everything I write :)
Love.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Can't Roll It Back, It's Understood
I'm a creator. I never thought this was true about myself. If anything, my thought was always that I didn't have that gift. And maybe I don't. But that doesn't stop me. There is a part of me that creates. A part of me that I didn't discover for a long time. Though, I'm of the thought that it had been there all along; it just manifested itself in different, less satisfying ways.
Upon discovery, my life changed. I no longer struggled to make music or to paint or whatever. Instead, my choice medium is words. I'm not saying I'm a good writer. But when I have a blank page in front of me, thoughts just pour out of me like they're from somewhere else. It's fluid. I write for myself. Not for anyone else. And this has helped me to better understand the person that I am.
I am an expressive introvert. I'm not quiet by any means, but I'm timid. I need to be alone, but my thoughts can't just sit inside my head. So they come out through my hands, with my fingers translating perfectly. Most of the time.
So here I sit with a small bowl of cereal, because tea would keep me up longer. It's 12:30AM. I'm in France. I have my first French test tomorrow. But I don't want to study. I want to write. I want to create a reality that doesn't yet exist. I think that's where the name for this blog came from. Because my thoughts tend to stray from reality quite often. I over-analyze. I misinterpret. I don't catch certain things. But my thoughts are still there; they still exist. So a part of them is real. I think. Maybe this is just 12:30AM Jordan talking herself in circles.
I'm working on a new novel. It's kind of about what I've been talking about in this post. Kind of. A little more extreme though. I'm so excited. I may not sleep much tonight.
Love.
Upon discovery, my life changed. I no longer struggled to make music or to paint or whatever. Instead, my choice medium is words. I'm not saying I'm a good writer. But when I have a blank page in front of me, thoughts just pour out of me like they're from somewhere else. It's fluid. I write for myself. Not for anyone else. And this has helped me to better understand the person that I am.
I am an expressive introvert. I'm not quiet by any means, but I'm timid. I need to be alone, but my thoughts can't just sit inside my head. So they come out through my hands, with my fingers translating perfectly. Most of the time.
So here I sit with a small bowl of cereal, because tea would keep me up longer. It's 12:30AM. I'm in France. I have my first French test tomorrow. But I don't want to study. I want to write. I want to create a reality that doesn't yet exist. I think that's where the name for this blog came from. Because my thoughts tend to stray from reality quite often. I over-analyze. I misinterpret. I don't catch certain things. But my thoughts are still there; they still exist. So a part of them is real. I think. Maybe this is just 12:30AM Jordan talking herself in circles.
I'm working on a new novel. It's kind of about what I've been talking about in this post. Kind of. A little more extreme though. I'm so excited. I may not sleep much tonight.
Love.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Anglophonia
My, oh my, it's been far too long since my last past. My apologies. A dec amount of things have transpired in the past week. Hmmmm. Let us see.
Last Sunday, I went to church, and it was AWESOME. The worship songs that we sang were wonderful. And the pastor was gone, but a different man spoke. He talked about those things which we dream of. And he asked if these things align with what God wants. It was very thought-provoking for me, and I understood it all. Which I was suspicious of. Generally, I don't understand the majority of the sermon. The pastor speaks so quickly! Then, near the end of the sermon, the man said something involving the number three. And he put up three fingers: the index, the middle, and the ring. Now, this isn't unusual for us. However. The French don't do this. When counting on their fingers, they form the three with the thumb, the index, and the middle. This guy obviously wasn't French. That's why I could understand everything he said. I asked me French friends later, and they agreed with me, though they did say that he spoke perfectly and had a wonderful accent. He'd obviously lived in France for a long time. I was still slightly disappointed, though.
I was slightly scolded by two different professors this week as well. They both scolded me for not talking enough. Now, I normally don't talk much in class in the States. I'm not one to answer a lot of questions even if I know the answer. I just don't do it. But I spoke some this week in class when Madame Gardiers and Madame Bert asked me questions. And after I spoke, they asked why I don't do so more often. They both said I speak very well. It was a nice confidence booster :)
Also, two people in my class (one from Russia and one from Venezuela) asked me why I speak better than the other Americans in my class. I found this kind of funny. In my class (I'm with the same people all day, everyday), there are two groups of people: the English speakers and the non-English speakers. The English speakers include Americans, Irish, Icelanders, Norwegians, and a French-Ecuadorian. They speak English together all the time. Then you have the non-English speakers: a Brazilian, a Venezuelan, a Russian, two Japanese, and a Chinese. They speak French with each other. At first, I kind of floated between the two groups. The English speakers all go out and drink together every night. Not my style. So I kind of stopped spending time with them. Oops. Anyway, I like the non-English speakers. They're a lot of fun. Besides, I didn't come here to speak English.
Why did I come here? Because France is in need of laborers. That's why. And on that note, I've decided I'm staying for summer project. So I'm gonna be in France until July 2. Crazy, huh? But I'm so excited! God is moving here. And I'm so blessed to be a part of it. For sure. Be praying for us? And for my upcoming support raising? Thanks :)
Love.
Last Sunday, I went to church, and it was AWESOME. The worship songs that we sang were wonderful. And the pastor was gone, but a different man spoke. He talked about those things which we dream of. And he asked if these things align with what God wants. It was very thought-provoking for me, and I understood it all. Which I was suspicious of. Generally, I don't understand the majority of the sermon. The pastor speaks so quickly! Then, near the end of the sermon, the man said something involving the number three. And he put up three fingers: the index, the middle, and the ring. Now, this isn't unusual for us. However. The French don't do this. When counting on their fingers, they form the three with the thumb, the index, and the middle. This guy obviously wasn't French. That's why I could understand everything he said. I asked me French friends later, and they agreed with me, though they did say that he spoke perfectly and had a wonderful accent. He'd obviously lived in France for a long time. I was still slightly disappointed, though.
I was slightly scolded by two different professors this week as well. They both scolded me for not talking enough. Now, I normally don't talk much in class in the States. I'm not one to answer a lot of questions even if I know the answer. I just don't do it. But I spoke some this week in class when Madame Gardiers and Madame Bert asked me questions. And after I spoke, they asked why I don't do so more often. They both said I speak very well. It was a nice confidence booster :)
Also, two people in my class (one from Russia and one from Venezuela) asked me why I speak better than the other Americans in my class. I found this kind of funny. In my class (I'm with the same people all day, everyday), there are two groups of people: the English speakers and the non-English speakers. The English speakers include Americans, Irish, Icelanders, Norwegians, and a French-Ecuadorian. They speak English together all the time. Then you have the non-English speakers: a Brazilian, a Venezuelan, a Russian, two Japanese, and a Chinese. They speak French with each other. At first, I kind of floated between the two groups. The English speakers all go out and drink together every night. Not my style. So I kind of stopped spending time with them. Oops. Anyway, I like the non-English speakers. They're a lot of fun. Besides, I didn't come here to speak English.
Why did I come here? Because France is in need of laborers. That's why. And on that note, I've decided I'm staying for summer project. So I'm gonna be in France until July 2. Crazy, huh? But I'm so excited! God is moving here. And I'm so blessed to be a part of it. For sure. Be praying for us? And for my upcoming support raising? Thanks :)
Love.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Things I Desperately Want
So, after being in Montpellier for a little over 3 weeks, I have compiled of list of things that I want. I don't need these things by any means, but if I had a genie, these are the things I would wish for. Actually that's not true. I'd wish for other things. And this list is longer than 3 things. Okay, that example completely breaks down. But anyway.
1) A Shower That is Hot for Longer than 5 Minutes.
My shower doesn't stay hot for very long at all. Maybe 3 minutes? Then it quickly gets cooler and cooler until minute 5. There's no hot water left at this point, and I'm standing in ice cold water. If I'm not done with my shower yet, too bad. I'm abandoning ship, because standing there shivering is not my style. So every morning, it's a race against the clock. Oh, once, I had warmish water for 7 minutes. That was a great day :)
2) A Straightener.
Now this may seem a little vain, and I'm a little ashamed that this is on the list. But you don't know how much you appreciate something until you don't have it. Now, my hair's not curly by any means. But somethings it flips too much. Or have weird waves in it. Or my bangs just don't cooperate. It's times such as these that I long for a straightener. Or a curling iron. Or some sort of hot hair device to fix my problems.
3) Books.
I brought five books to France with me. I could have brought more, but for my six months here, I only brought a 50 pound suitcase and a carry-on. I could bring as many as I'd like. I've been trying to ration my reading time, but I just finished my first book today. Which means I'm reading too fast. Though I'd definitely like to spend more time reading, I'm trying to ration. I could always buy more books, right? But I'm trying not to spend a lot of money. And books here are expensive. At least the one's in English are.
4) Post-Its.
I like to make lists (obviously). It's how I keep all my crazy random, jumbled thoughts in order. And post-its are so small and convenient. And they tend to stick where I leave them, which is a perk.
5) Peanut Butter.
PB is rare here, and people don't really like it. And it's expensive. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE NUTELLA. But I miss my PB. A lot.
Hmmm. I'm sure there's things I'm forgetting. But right now, that's what's on my mind.
Love.
1) A Shower That is Hot for Longer than 5 Minutes.
My shower doesn't stay hot for very long at all. Maybe 3 minutes? Then it quickly gets cooler and cooler until minute 5. There's no hot water left at this point, and I'm standing in ice cold water. If I'm not done with my shower yet, too bad. I'm abandoning ship, because standing there shivering is not my style. So every morning, it's a race against the clock. Oh, once, I had warmish water for 7 minutes. That was a great day :)
2) A Straightener.
Now this may seem a little vain, and I'm a little ashamed that this is on the list. But you don't know how much you appreciate something until you don't have it. Now, my hair's not curly by any means. But somethings it flips too much. Or have weird waves in it. Or my bangs just don't cooperate. It's times such as these that I long for a straightener. Or a curling iron. Or some sort of hot hair device to fix my problems.
3) Books.
I brought five books to France with me. I could have brought more, but for my six months here, I only brought a 50 pound suitcase and a carry-on. I could bring as many as I'd like. I've been trying to ration my reading time, but I just finished my first book today. Which means I'm reading too fast. Though I'd definitely like to spend more time reading, I'm trying to ration. I could always buy more books, right? But I'm trying not to spend a lot of money. And books here are expensive. At least the one's in English are.
4) Post-Its.
I like to make lists (obviously). It's how I keep all my crazy random, jumbled thoughts in order. And post-its are so small and convenient. And they tend to stick where I leave them, which is a perk.
5) Peanut Butter.
PB is rare here, and people don't really like it. And it's expensive. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE NUTELLA. But I miss my PB. A lot.
Hmmm. I'm sure there's things I'm forgetting. But right now, that's what's on my mind.
Love.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Joyeuse
Dang, I'm going to have to start posting everyday - I just have too much to talk about right now!
Since my last post, a lot of little things have happened to me:
a Japanese girl in my class (we can call her "Nun Woman" - refer to previous post) told me I was beautiful when I didn't wear my glasses. Haha. Because of this, I created a theory. Every morning, as I'm getting ready, there is a constant battle between my vanity and my laziness. Do I put in the contacts or do I go for the glasses? Since arriving, my vanity has taken a backseat to ease, but after a comment like that, this may change soon.
Hmmm, I ate the best pizza I've ever had in my entire life. It was at a little Italian pizzeria, and the pizza was called Carbonara. It's named for the pasta dish. It has France's equivalent to bacon (yeah, they don't really have actual bacon - worst part of France, by far) on it with onion, ricotta cheese, mozzarella (of course), and a creamy egg mixture instead of tomato sauce. HOLY MOSES. SO GOOD.
Anyway, lots of other little things have happened to me. But tonight, tonight was by far the most joyous night I've had since arriving. I mean, my birthday was great, but tonight was AMAZING. What on earth happened, you ask? Good question, Robin. Today was Agape night (Agape is the international version of Campus Crusade for Christ), so we gathered at the Skur's house. We ate food and visited. Then a French missionary to East Asia gave a little presentation about her ministry there. It was super inspiring. And a few French people are traveling to East Asia for the Easter holiday for a short mission trip. So exciting! Anyway, I think the best part was when we all prayed together. Honestly, it was just a small group of believers gathering together, but really, is there anything better than that? I haven't really had that since I arrived. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love, of peace, of joy, of community. I felt accepted. Gosh, I love those crazy men (as only a few women attend Agape things - but I love them, too!). Everyone prayed in French so it was hard for me to understand everything that was said, but it didn't matter. God was there. I could feel it. And it was beautiful :)
Please be praying for the upcoming mission trip to East Asia. And for the French believers. And for the STINTers here. And for me. That I'll be bold in my faith. God is worth every moment we spend laboring here, away from everything we know. He's worth so much more, too.
Love.
Since my last post, a lot of little things have happened to me:
a Japanese girl in my class (we can call her "Nun Woman" - refer to previous post) told me I was beautiful when I didn't wear my glasses. Haha. Because of this, I created a theory. Every morning, as I'm getting ready, there is a constant battle between my vanity and my laziness. Do I put in the contacts or do I go for the glasses? Since arriving, my vanity has taken a backseat to ease, but after a comment like that, this may change soon.
Hmmm, I ate the best pizza I've ever had in my entire life. It was at a little Italian pizzeria, and the pizza was called Carbonara. It's named for the pasta dish. It has France's equivalent to bacon (yeah, they don't really have actual bacon - worst part of France, by far) on it with onion, ricotta cheese, mozzarella (of course), and a creamy egg mixture instead of tomato sauce. HOLY MOSES. SO GOOD.
Anyway, lots of other little things have happened to me. But tonight, tonight was by far the most joyous night I've had since arriving. I mean, my birthday was great, but tonight was AMAZING. What on earth happened, you ask? Good question, Robin. Today was Agape night (Agape is the international version of Campus Crusade for Christ), so we gathered at the Skur's house. We ate food and visited. Then a French missionary to East Asia gave a little presentation about her ministry there. It was super inspiring. And a few French people are traveling to East Asia for the Easter holiday for a short mission trip. So exciting! Anyway, I think the best part was when we all prayed together. Honestly, it was just a small group of believers gathering together, but really, is there anything better than that? I haven't really had that since I arrived. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love, of peace, of joy, of community. I felt accepted. Gosh, I love those crazy men (as only a few women attend Agape things - but I love them, too!). Everyone prayed in French so it was hard for me to understand everything that was said, but it didn't matter. God was there. I could feel it. And it was beautiful :)
Please be praying for the upcoming mission trip to East Asia. And for the French believers. And for the STINTers here. And for me. That I'll be bold in my faith. God is worth every moment we spend laboring here, away from everything we know. He's worth so much more, too.
Love.
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