♪ Here it comes, the great American tourist! ♫

So...I was sitting on my bed after talking to Jeff for a really long time on Skype...lol....listening to the booming voice of the announcer and roar of the crowds drifting through my window from the French Open, and I decided this would be a really good time to update my blog, seeing as I haven't for over a week....

Don't worry, I'll go back and recap everything that I did in the last week. I just decided to recount what's gone on the past couple days before it gets too foggy, and then go back from there. I'll be on a bus all next week (starting the 31st) so hopefully I'll have time on the bus to do a little typing and get some of those in.

Yesterday....was funny. At least in the morning. I started out with a great instant message chat with Jeff (lol) and then had breakfast really, really late. Oops. :) My host family was getting ready to go to the baptism of their little grandson (or nephew, in Aude's case), so they were rushing around the house in nice clothes.

After a shower in the weird bathtub (:P So excited for a real, stand-up shower on our bus trip, even if I hate the hotels we're going to be staying in) I set off toward the Champs Elysees looking for a flower festival they had advertised in the newspaper. Two hours later, after getting off on the wrong stop and walking almost the entire length of the Champs Elysees (ok, it was only from the Petit Palais to the Arc de Triomphe, but that's far!) I realized that they weren't setting up the gardens until later that night. Sigh. And...I totally couldn't find a metro when I got to the Arc de Triomphe! I thought they'd have several entrances since it is, after all, pretty much the center of the city! But no... They only have two entrances. I finally found one of the entrances, but there were tons of protesters all around it. So...I decided I didn't even want to try to get through so many people. :P Luckily it didn't take me that long after to find another metro.

After that, I decided I wanted to go back to the Jardin Luxembourg, so I got off at a stop that I thought was nearby it. It is nearby it...I just didn't have a good map, and couldn't find which direction to take again. By this time I was hot and tired and frustrated, so I just got back on the metro and went home and took a nap. lol. What a morning/afternoon!

But never fear, my Saturday was not wasted! Because at 5:30, I met up with a neighbor from my home ward to do a PHOTO SHOOT! lol. Isn't that amazing? Getting paid to act like tourists in front of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine and Place de la Concorde? We even got a free dinner out of it at a really nice restaurant! I asked two girls from my group, Jessie and Joy, to come with me for the photo shoot. It was a lot of fun. lol. They both have tons of energy, so it was fun to giggle and pretend to take pictures on our little cameras, and pretend to be lost and stuff. And we didn't even have to talk about anything real, because none of the clips my neighbor sells have sounds in them. (Although, I'm definitely glad, or at least hope, that the camera guys didn't hear some of our conversations....lol. That would be awkward...) I can't wait until we see the pictures and video clips! (He's giving us a CD of stuff!) After filming for four hours, we went to the restaurant. I ate lamb. It was soooooo good! So tender and delicious....and the green beans were soaked in butter. :) I only wish I'd stayed for dessert, because Mark said the creme brulee was to die for. But I really needed to get home because it was getting late.

Last night at the house was actually kinda scary. Because...I was all alone. lol. Paris went to Liverpool with another girl for the weekend, and I didn't really want to spend money on a plane ticket (or I totally would have gone, because I love Liverpool), so after the family left I was the only one here.... And the overhead window was open! And I couldn't find a way to close it. (And Mme Devarenne said that I should close it...I'm not sure why.) AND there was this really weird noise all night long... I'm still not sure what it is. It sounds like something dropping (not water, a solid object), and it keeps happening over and over. And it's definitely coming from somewhere inside the house, because it kind of echos off the walls in the living room downstairs. It's still doing it today, actually. But it's not as scary. Ugh. That totally freaked me out. Especially because the part of town we live in has a reputation of being kinda shady after dark. In the day it's fine, but at night...*shivers* So yeah...if I hadn't been exhausted, I wouldn't have been able to sleep, I don't think.

Luckily, I woke up this morning! :) And nothing was stolen from the house! So no bad guys came. That made me very relieved.

AND I TOTALLY GOT KISSED ON THE METRO THIS MORNING! lol. Now I can say I've been kissed by a Frenchman. :)

Before you go off thinking I'm a terrible cheater, let me explain. The past couple Sundays, an old man has gotten on the metro and played some really pretty violin music while I'm on my way to church. I've loved it, because it put me in a really good mood for church. The man isn't any spectacular artist, but his simple tunes have been so beautiful and touching to me. But when he comes around asking for money, I always feel bad. Because...it's Sunday. And I feel like if I give him money, I'm encouraging him to "work" (I guess you could call it) on Sunday. So I usually enjoy the music and then turn my head to look out the window when he comes around.

Well, today I sat there listening and loving his music, and the thought popped into my head, "You really should give him something. You keep listening to and gaining something from his performances." But I was torn. So I started a little dialogue in my head. I don't know if you could call it a full, formal prayer, but I thought, "Heavenly Father, I've really appreciated this old man's talent, and it's helped me feel the Spirit on my way to church. Would it still be bad for me to give him a couple coins?" I guess I didn't really get a straight answer, but I felt really warm and happy when I decided to give him some change.

He looked so grateful when I handed the coins to him. He said, "Merci! Merci!" over and over. Then he put a hand on my shoulder, and I thought he was going to give me baisos (or however you spell it), which are those air kisses on one cheek and then the other that everybody gives in movies set in France. But this little old man missed the air and actually hit my cheek! lol. (Actually, I'm pretty sure he was aiming for it.) It kinda caught me completely off guard...lol. It was kinda funny. When Paris gave him a couple coins last Sunday, he didn't do that to her. Or any of the other people I've seen give him money.

Anyway, I decided I'm glad I gave him that change. Maybe he was having a hard day or something. Even if he wasn't, I think it made my day better. And it gave me a funny story to tell and now I can say I've been kissed in France.

Church was pretty cool today. In Relief Society, we talked about teaching children. (Which, I love. lol.) The sister who taught was pretty easy to understand, too.

In Sunday School we talked about Ruth and Naomi. That was another pretty cool lesson. I've never thought too much about that story, other than the fact that it's one of the not very many scripture stories about women. Ruth was an incredible example of faith, hope and Christlike love. She left her family to follow her mother-in-law because Naomi needed help and Ruth knew that she wouldn't be able to follow the Lord like she knew she should if she returned to her people. So she gave up everything, not knowing what the future would bring, but trusting that the Lord would help her. And He did! He gave her greater blessings than she ever dreamed of.

The lesson was also cool because I liked the teacher. He was cool. Although, his accent totally threw me off. Because, when he spoke French he sounded like an American, and when he spoke English he sounded French. He was fair skinned and had kind of reddish hair, so he looked like he could be either. Then a girl from our group asked him where he was from, and he said India! lol.

Sacrament Meeting was pretty cool too. I love singing the hymns in French, even if it's difficult to get the timing right sometimes. I think it makes me focus on the words a little more. And different translations bring up different meanings or different ideas about the meaning of each song.

I also realized I loved how diverse the Paris ward is. There are a lot of Americans, a few white French, many Africans, and a scattering of people from all over Asia, the Middle East and Europe. A lot of people don't speak the same language or the same dialect. But somehow they can all gather on Sunday and talk and laugh and learn about the Savior together. They care about each other, even if there is a language barrier for some. I think this is what the Church is all about- gathering God's people together, regardless of color or culture or race or language or any other difference, to worship Him and strive to reach exaltation. It's pretty amazing.

After church...ate food, talked to my parents, talked to Jeff... That's about it. I can't WAIT until I can make real food again! Not that I don't get real food here, but I want to cook it! Not microwave or pay someone else to cook it. I want to make bread and dessert and spaghetti and green beans and make lemonade or something. Do the whole darn meal. All by myself. (Or I guess with help... ;) but I want to be in charge! lol.) I just want to cook again. Sigh. Who would have thought I'd miss that?

So something weird...I decided that French people are not very good at preserving food. I mean, they don't have preservatives in any of their food, but they treat it like they do! They leave cheese and milk out all night and still drink it. I don't think the water pitcher has ever been refrigerated. (Which I don't like, not just because it tastes old, but because I like cold water.) They don't cover anything when they put it in the fridge... They keep their fruit (all of it, not just the bananas) on the counter. They leave their bread on the counter too, with no wrapping. It's so weird... I thought it was just our family, but talking to Joy last night I realized that it was all of them...

Tonight at dinner, the Devarennes were talking to me about their grandson's baptism. Then Aude asked me if the priests in our church drink wine, if the rest of us don't. I told them no, the priests didn't drink wine. We just used water for the Sacrament. Then I had to explain that the priests in our church were 16-18 years old, and the ones who passed the Sacrament were 12-13, and we used real bread broken into little pieces instead of wafers. And I had to try to explain what men do in the Church when they're older than 18, and the fact that not very many people are full-time Church workers, that they have other jobs too. And they can get different callings and be released and stuff. They thought that our Church did things in really weird ways. lol. But they also said that I was a good representative of my Church, that who I was made the Church look good...? (Or something like that. I forgot how you say that....) So I guess that was a nice compliment. :)

It was also funny, because Mme Devarenne got a picture book of the family from all her kids, and Aude was complaining about how she looked in some of the pictures. Mr Devarenne was disagreeing with her, and said that she was pretty. Then in English (with an extremely thick French accent) he said, "You are beautiful girl." Then looking at me. "You are both beautiful girls." lol. It was so cute and so funny hearing him say that. I don't think he speaks English very much. Like, not at all. Mme Devarenne is really the only one who partially speaks English.

Ok. Two days down. Let's hope I can get the rest of the days in soon! :)