I'm in a much better frame of mind today than I have been for quite a while. Honestly, the last month has had some really rough moments. But God and I have been slowly [read: pain-stakingly] working through this.
Last night, I got a text from a French friend, Yann. He asked if I wanted to see Thor with him at 8. Since I hadn't done anything that day and because I hadn't seen Yann in over a week, I said yes. Well, it ended up being me, Yann, Ben, Albin, and Christian. And let me tell you, those French men are crazy when they're together. I got to hear about how hott Natalie Portman is, they did weird [maybe secret, but I doubt it] handshakes, and they raved about the movie. I never felt awkward, and I contributed a little [yeah, the movie was good; I prefer Thor to Natalie Portman, etc]. Honestly, though, I felt more like an anthropologist thrown into a French college guy's natural habitat. So I mostly just observed. It was fun.
I also liked analyzing my interactions with all of them. At first I thought it would be some sort of direct relationship with how much time I've spent with them individually. I was wrong. You have to consider their relationships with each other as well. It turns out [though I knew this previously] that I was with 2 sets of best friends. However, I'm very good friends with 1 man from each set. But I know one of those far better than the other. Confused yet? However, I also know the third man far better than the fourth. To explain:
::::: There are 4 French men: A, B, C, D. A and B are best friends, as are C and D. I'm very close to A and C, though A more than C. B and I kind of know each other, though I think of all of them, I technically met him first. D and I are slowly becoming good friends as my French progresses. [Side note: I consider A the biggest contributor to my French progress]. So to break this down even further, I will use a diagram with relative proximity to me.
:: Me::::A:::C:::::D:::::::::::::B.
I think that's pretty accurate.
Moving on. The movie was pretty good. It may have been my first 3D movie? Save the ones I saw in junior high at the Omnimax theater. And it was all in French. But I understood most of it. I consider that a win.
I think this morning, I started a new tradition for myself. Unless I have something else to do, I will spend extra time in bed on Saturday mornings reading a Biblical commentary. It was quite enjoyable. Now, I just have to get my hands on a few more. I'm also starting a new journal either tomorrow or the next day [depending on how much I write today]. I believe this is somehow related to what I just said. If not, that's okay.
Tonight, I'll be attending a casual dinner. Why? Because Elder is back in Montpellier! Who is Elder, you ask? Only one of my favorite people in the entire year. Mostly, I just like the peculiar story of our friendship. We met in Montpellier last summer. It was my first week of summer project, and I went to the The-O-Show [a French discussion group that Agape puts on]. I was at a table with Craig [a STINTer], Ben [a French Christian philosophy major], Jonas [I believe one of my friends called him the French version of Paul, evangelically], and Elder [a Colombian Christian in his early 30's who had lived in France for a few years]. The topic that night was harmony, and we had a good discussion. Thankfully, everyone at my table spoke English.
The next Sunday, I'm sitting on the end of the row at church with my summer project, and someone plops down next to me. It was Elder! We ended up sitting by each other at church for the next 4 or 5 Sundays. We'd always talk awhile after church, too. Whenever I hear the song "Blessed Be the Name", I think of Elder, because that's his favorite song. Though in French, it's "Beni Soit Ton Nom".
My last night in Montpellier, Elder invited me over for dinner at his apartment and told me to bring a few friends. I brought two: one from Mexico [Elder requested I invite her, as he wanted to speak Spanish] and my French friend Julien [he and Elder were already friends lol]. It was a blast!
Elder and I have e-mailed a few times the past few months, and I'm excited to see him tonight. So excited.
"And as He stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me..."
Love.
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