Life in France

I'm so not adjusted to Paris time. It's nearly 11:00 and I'm nowhere near ready for bed. I guess it doesn't help that we stay up until at least 1:00 - usually later - playing on the internet and watching Flight of the Conchords on YouTube. (Seriously though, check that out. Foux De Fa Fa and Beautiful Girl are the best. We've had the Foux De Fa Fa song in our heads all day.) We've decided that staying up late eating bread and cheese (but not the Camambert that smells like feet) is the way to go. It's amazing how much energy and how little sleep we've had. Just my advice for those of you traveling overseas. Take it for what it's worth.

We had a really good day today. We started by having a long breakfast (three hours or so) and just talking and spending time together. It was great to have some good conversations and to process some of what's going on.

After breakfast we went to the Musee d'Orsay, which has a lot of the Impressionist work - Matisse, Monet, Van Gogh, etc.. I don't get really excited about art. It's cool and stuff, but it's just really not my thing. Even so, some of the paintings were quite impressive. I'm amazed at how they could paint those giant paintings. Enjoy some art - Monet, Degas, Matisse, and another Monet:

We went to dinner at Marie's apartment tonight. She made crepes - we had chicken and cheese for dinner and Nutella and banana for dessert. They were fabulous. Her apartment has a nice view of the Eiffel Tower - imagine waking up, looking out the window, and seeing the Eiffel Tower. How amazing would that be?! At night, it's lit with blue lights. For the first 10 minutes of each hour, it sparkles from top to bottom. It's the most awesome thing I've ever seen! I tried to take pictures but they didn't really turn out. Stacey got some great shots of that and of the sun setting over the city, so I'll try to steal some of hers at some point.

I'm sure I've already mentioned how beautiful the city is. It's really left a huge impression on me though. The French really value savoring the beauty of life. I wish there was a way to describe what it's like here. I know I'm not seeing the entire picture. I've only been here a week, and I've only seen a very small portion of the city. As a visitor, it's impossible to really understand what everyday life is really like. And yet, there are things that you see that do reflect life here. For example, meals are a presentation. It's not just about the quality of the food (although it's excellent), it's also about the appearance of the food and the atmosphere of the experience. For example, when we had dinner at La Fonderie on Monday, we offered to bring paper plates - a major convenience since we wouldn't have to do dishes. We'd eat on paper plates in a heartbeat at home. They wouldn't hear of the idea. Real meals are eaten on real plates. The French take pride in the appearance of everything.

On those same lines, the French people are far different from what I expected. The belief that a lot of people have in the States is that the French are rude American-haters. I've experienced the exact opposite. Sure, there are a few bad apples, but overall, the people are incredibly nice and are willing to help anyone. There's a guy who lives in our building who was coming in one day as we were headed out. He greeted us with a very friendly "Bonjour!" How often would that happen in the States? They're also patient with us when we try our very limited French and are willing to use the English that they know (which is generally quite a bit) to help us get what we need. It's funny - we'll be in a restaurant ordering a meal and will try to pronounce the French words, and the waiter will respond and answer any questions that we have in English. After we're all done, there's a chorus on "Merci!" from all eight of us. I have a feeling that they get a kick out of us using the five words that we know. They certainly seem to appreciate our efforts.

The pace of life seems to move a little slower here as well. Sure, people hurry from work to the Metro to home, but when they have down time, they seem to make the most of it. Maybe that's more of a perception than a reality, but at the same time, I haven't seen any "15 minutes or it's free" lunch menus. Life just seems good here.

And yet...something's not quite right. It's impossible to put into words; you'd have to experience it to really understand. The best way I can explain it is that it just feels heavy. I don't know if that makes sense or not. To be honest, it doesn't really seem all that clear to me. I know what's missing. I know enough about their history to understand why it's missing. I don't know how to bring it back. And I don't know how to explain this weight that I feel. I want to find the words to explain it because I want people at home to get a glimpse of what's really going on over here. Many people don't have a clue that most people here don't know God. They don't know who God is or that He wants so badly to have a relationship with all people. Since Europe was such a center of Christianity for so long, many people back home don't realize how much things have changed. It's hard to imagine living in a place with no hope. God has certainly not abandoned them, but He is quite the gentleman and won't force His way into a relationship that isn't desired. I know I'm ranting a little, and I don't know if this makes a lot of sense. I'm trying to process everything myself, and I have to admit that having this blog was a selfish decision because I need to write everything down so that I can process it.

We're getting up early tomorrow to go to Versailles...so I'm going to bed.