so it's been a few days

...and there have been some complaints from the peanut gallery. but its just because i'm keeping busy. after 3 years away at college, my parents have figured out that when i don't call, it's usually because i have a lot going on. so if i was blogging all the time, i couldn't be enjoying paris, right? so consider that my excuse: i'm enjoying paris :)

i filled my week since i posted last. the past week has been a lot of helping out around the house as i mentioned before. tomorrow the passion world tour (www.268generation.com) makes its stop in Paris. this is a big project for Al, so it's been my priority to help with the family this week which meant extra runs to/from school and doing what i can around the apartment. i ran alot of errands with nicole last week which i really enjoyed. they may have been boring in a sense, but hey... i've never been to a french pharmacy or supermarket before! i also got to join emma and elizabeth on their annual checkup at the doctor's office. france has a public health care system and as apart of that, all children (0-6 years old) receive free checkups and vaccinations to make sure children are healthy and that parents are informed. my days following around a 'french' parent definitely allows for good cultural immersion!

wednesday and friday were my writing workshops at the french alliance. i really enjoyed both sessions. i interacted with adults from (literally) all over the country. the only common language among us was french! i was the only person who spoke english as their first language. it was a bit challenging, but a really great experience. there was a mixup on the first day of the workshop with my online registration... so that was frusterating. however, it turned into a positive experience because i spent a greater part of my morning with a french professor working out the scheduling (in french) and it was a good opportunity to have an extended one-on-one conversation involving comprehension and speaking. and with the timing of the mixups and the classes, i had 3 free hours to kill. i opened up my map and found that i was just a couple blocks from the Luxembourg Gardens... so i was able to spend a few hours enjoying creation and the sunshine. pretty cool.

thursday night i helped out at le pave d'orsay with an artist's 'vernissage'... which is the unveiling of a new gallery (or, the varnish. get it?). the vernissage was apart of an event called 'les portes ouverts' (or, the open doors).. where all the galleries in the area (it's a very artsy area) open their doors for the evening while people walk around, in and out, talking to artists and friends, eat free food, etc. our gallery wasn't too busy so i had the chance to walk around with adrian for a while. adrian is an american who has been doing an internship with la fonderie for the past year. it was great to have the time to interact with another 20-something, hear a little about her story and enjoy a parisian evening together!

when i'm not helping out with the family or coordinating events, i'm wandering the city. my mother has subtly (was it subtly? :)) asked a few times if paris is a safe city to walk around at all different hours of the day and night. surprisingly, paris is just as busy in the evening as it is during the day... but that doesn't come without caution. it still is a city and i still am a 21-year-old female. while i am cautious walking home/taking the metro late at night, i haven't felt overly unsafe or threatened. i try to take the time to pray for the people i pass and ask for God's blessing on the streets i walk along and the locations i pass. it keeps my mind focused instead of being fearful. but don't worry, mom... i still carry my pepper spray in my pocket. ;)


as i sit in the little office of the small apartment that is home to me for the remaining 2.5 weeks (yea, i'm halfway done! crazy), i'm trying to iron out what it is God wants me to learn while i'm thousands of miles away from anything familiar. i'm trying to help out with the feria's as much as i can while i cram in so much of paris while also trying to polish up what french i can understand/speak. a lot of what i do seems pretty trivial especially while i'm helping hang laundry or carry groceries or the french person resorts to using english with me because they see i'm slow at comprehending their french...
but even as i type this, i'm reminded of a quote from mother theresa (as quoted in shane claiborne's irresistible revolution), "we can do no great things, just small things with great love. it is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."
so i'm probably not here to do great things. maybe i'm just here to learn how to love... love strangers i can barely understand, love a family who is doing the best they can to share Jesus with parisians, love a city who doesn't really care about God, love annoying tourists and point them in the right direction of the notre dame (even though i have yet to visit it).

...but then again, maybe that's just today's lesson.
tomorrow is another day with more faces and different challenges.



on the docket tonight... hopefully a free play downtown - woohoo! tomorrow - spending the day keeping nicole sane with the kids while Al prepares for passion. and tomorrow night - Passion Paris! :)


grace, peace, & love.
<3 jenn