Thursday, we had our classes and we rode in the church van to Eliane’s apartment (we picked up Eugette along the way). We sat around Eliane’s well-set table, drinking tiny cups of coffee, and eating chocolate and cookies. Then, we sang many songs from the songbook and had a Bible study on the first chapter of Hebrews. Reading Hebrews more slowly, in a second language, was very illuminating. I was kicking myself for not having read it more seriously before; it’s full of good stuff!
We had a free evening.
On Friday, after classes and after our lunch we all walked to Saint Maur and had a tour of all the buildings. The Maitresse told us about the sorts of things we could volunteer to do there and we filled out forms about what we were interested in helping with.
Friday night was the kick-off of the first FOI en FOLIE, the group of 7-12 year olds at the church. They kick off the year with a Progressive dinner with one stage at each of the CEM apartments. Our apartment was the first visit, the Entrée. Afters, they went to the girl’s apartment above the church for the main meal, and then to the boys’ apartment for the dessert. Joelle and I worked hard all Thursday night and Friday afternoon for our entrée.
We had our first almost-argument fueled by a culture clash Thursday night. Joelle made mini-omelettes for each child, called “Tortillas”. A Tortilla in Spain is an omelette; different from the definition of a middle-American tortilla. We decided we should give the kids a little bit more, so I suggested we give the children carrots.
“You can’t just give a child a carrot? How’s he going to eat it?” Joelle exclaimed, and did a bugs bunny expression.
“Yes, that is how you eat a carrot.” I said.
“You can’t just give a child a carrot!”
“Yes, you can.”
“You must ‘rapee’ the carrot!”
I use rapee in the context of fromage rapee, grated cheese, but I was praying that in this case, it meant “pealed.” “you mean, remove the skin?” I said, hopefully.
“No, rapee!” and Joelle showed me how to grate the carrot.
The first law of cooking with me is that, if you don't have to, you don't. I did not want to grate a perfectly ready-to-eat carrot, and I thought maybe the children in this country need to learn to use their teeth a bit. But Joelle explained the concept; you grate the carrots, you cut up tiny pieces of tomato, you add her special sauce, and you have a salad for children. I had also never heard of a children’s salad, or children liking salad, but I finally ceded to Joelle’s superior knowledge of her own culture and began grating carrots.
The meal turned out to be a success: each child got the tiniest cup of fancy salad, and most ate it! As Joelle said “they’re children, they don’t eat a lot.” (I'd never heard that one, either, but I'm glad I went with it). The children came with Philippe, they asked us a few get-to-know-you questions, they gave us clues for a game of “name that Bible story” sang us “my God is so Big!” and left after 20 minutes, onto the next apartment for the main meal.
Saturday, I was thinking of going downtown. I went over to the other girls’ apartment, to see if any of them wanted to come with me. In the apartment under them, I saw that Djijiga had many guests, including Katie Young. They invited me in to meet everyone and say hello. The guests left, but Djijiga gave me coffee and I ended up staying. Her three children invited me in to watch a documentary about sea life, and after that we all ate lunch together. I had the children help me with my homework, which was to read Genesis. We read Genesis Chapter 37, 38, and unfortunately 39 (after which I said “sometimes kids, people in the Bible do things that God doesn’t want them to).
Tonight we have our first “Soiree des Jeunes,” a young adults group for ages 13-25. If everyone in this category shows up, we’ll have 30 people! We shall see. Joelle has made a beautiful "Carottes Rapees" salad and I made an apple pie and vanilla pudding.
There is a risk that this will become a food blog.
Words of wisdom for the week:
Why did God call Abraham? Because Abraham would listen; Abraham would say yes.
Why did God choose Mary? Mary admits she doesn't understand God's plan, and she doesn't see how the whole Virgin-bearing-a-child deal is going to work out, but she says "I am your servant" and agrees to play her part in God's plan.
What is so special about we CEMistes? Why are we here? Because we said yes!
*Grated Carrots. No direct translation into American.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
So You Think You Can...
...Throw a fancy dinner party?
I thought I could; but my waffle/soup/chili gatherings do not hold a candle to my apartmate's vision of how a dinner party should be!
Monday we had our first classes and then a meal together; lasagna made by Katie, Dolores and Prisca. After that we went through our schedule for the week. The guys went to pick up our 11th CEM student, from the train station. Joelle and I went back to our apartment and prepared for dinner. We invited all the CEMistes for dinner. I had made dough in the morning and prepared pizzas. Joelle prepared mini croques monsieurs. We had our first chorus rehearsal, and afterwards all the CEMistes, came over for dinner. First, we brought out the croquet monsieur, cut up into 1/6ths, and passed them around. Then, Joelle brought out a beautiful salad, with tomatoes and hard boiled eggs cut into flower shapes. It was a bit too beautiful and we had a hard time getting the crowd started at eating it! After that, we brought out one pizza at a time, four total, concluding with a not-quite-CiCi’s quality macaroni and cheese pizza. After that, we brought out rice pudding, delicately spooned into mini-expresso mugs. Very classy. At the end, we sang and ate a birthday cake.
Tuesday: Today after class and our 2 hour lunch break, we took the metro together to visit Odette, the oldest member of the congregation. She is 94 and in the hospital at the moment.
Tuesday evening we had the first Club Cool. The lesson was about Peter. There were about 12 children, and they (almost all) love answering questions; they squirm and jump up and down and shout “moi, moi” without any offer of candy! Very impressive.
Wednesday we split up for our afternoon activities. Joelle and 3 others provided homework help. Only church-kids came, and not very many, but it looked like the tutors were sufficiently occupied with the few who came. 2 went to a school for autistic children, and myself and 3 others went to St. Maur Maison de Retraite, or Home for the Aged, and worked with the Blouses Roses (Pink Blouses). We donned our pink coats and worked with 6 other woman, who had set up a little art project. We traced “leaves” on the paper, and gave them to the residents to paint. Afterwards, we cut out the leaves and pasted them on an orange background to make a Fall Scene.
I thought I could; but my waffle/soup/chili gatherings do not hold a candle to my apartmate's vision of how a dinner party should be!
Monday we had our first classes and then a meal together; lasagna made by Katie, Dolores and Prisca. After that we went through our schedule for the week. The guys went to pick up our 11th CEM student, from the train station. Joelle and I went back to our apartment and prepared for dinner. We invited all the CEMistes for dinner. I had made dough in the morning and prepared pizzas. Joelle prepared mini croques monsieurs. We had our first chorus rehearsal, and afterwards all the CEMistes, came over for dinner. First, we brought out the croquet monsieur, cut up into 1/6ths, and passed them around. Then, Joelle brought out a beautiful salad, with tomatoes and hard boiled eggs cut into flower shapes. It was a bit too beautiful and we had a hard time getting the crowd started at eating it! After that, we brought out one pizza at a time, four total, concluding with a not-quite-CiCi’s quality macaroni and cheese pizza. After that, we brought out rice pudding, delicately spooned into mini-expresso mugs. Very classy. At the end, we sang and ate a birthday cake.
Tuesday: Today after class and our 2 hour lunch break, we took the metro together to visit Odette, the oldest member of the congregation. She is 94 and in the hospital at the moment.
Tuesday evening we had the first Club Cool. The lesson was about Peter. There were about 12 children, and they (almost all) love answering questions; they squirm and jump up and down and shout “moi, moi” without any offer of candy! Very impressive.
Wednesday we split up for our afternoon activities. Joelle and 3 others provided homework help. Only church-kids came, and not very many, but it looked like the tutors were sufficiently occupied with the few who came. 2 went to a school for autistic children, and myself and 3 others went to St. Maur Maison de Retraite, or Home for the Aged, and worked with the Blouses Roses (Pink Blouses). We donned our pink coats and worked with 6 other woman, who had set up a little art project. We traced “leaves” on the paper, and gave them to the residents to paint. Afterwards, we cut out the leaves and pasted them on an orange background to make a Fall Scene.
Friday, September 21, 2012
The First Week of CEM
On Sunday, en lieu de Bible Class, we had a small welcome ceremony for this year’s CEM students. After the church service, there was a meal with the congregation, and after that, we loaded ourselves into the church van and drove 3.5 hours to the church camp in the Ardeche mountains.
We spent the first two days being introduced to each other and to our CEM Professors, Max, Greg and Philippe. We went over the history of the Chapelle du Fuveau, the church which we will be worshipping and working with for the year. We listed most of the ministries and activities available with the Church, and talked about what we’d like to learn this year and what activities we’d like to get involved with.
We will have four classes this trimester, and 3 hours of class Monday-Friday. We will be studying:
The Gospel According to Luke (an in-depth study with Max)
The Old Testament (requires a lot of reading)
The Church (studying it from the Old and New Testament perspectives)
God’s Plan (ambitious title, only 1 hour of this class per week so not to blow our minds)
On Tuesday, six Seniors arrived for the francophone Church of Christ’s Golden Age (l’Age d’Or) retreat. I got to sit next to them a lot during meals, but unfortunately was not able to understand much of their wisdom. One of l’Age d’Or, Danielle, did CEM years ago, and gave us much wisdom, her blessing, and encouragement of the worthfulness of our time spent there.
Good to remember:
CEM n’existe pas pour vous. CEM existe pour les autres.
CEM doesn't exist for you, it exists for your church. The goal is that you will bring what you’ve learned back to your home church to edify them.
<
A few of the mountains surrounding our camp.
We spent the first two days being introduced to each other and to our CEM Professors, Max, Greg and Philippe. We went over the history of the Chapelle du Fuveau, the church which we will be worshipping and working with for the year. We listed most of the ministries and activities available with the Church, and talked about what we’d like to learn this year and what activities we’d like to get involved with.
We will have four classes this trimester, and 3 hours of class Monday-Friday. We will be studying:
The Gospel According to Luke (an in-depth study with Max)
The Old Testament (requires a lot of reading)
The Church (studying it from the Old and New Testament perspectives)
God’s Plan (ambitious title, only 1 hour of this class per week so not to blow our minds)
On Tuesday, six Seniors arrived for the francophone Church of Christ’s Golden Age (l’Age d’Or) retreat. I got to sit next to them a lot during meals, but unfortunately was not able to understand much of their wisdom. One of l’Age d’Or, Danielle, did CEM years ago, and gave us much wisdom, her blessing, and encouragement of the worthfulness of our time spent there.
Good to remember:
CEM n’existe pas pour vous. CEM existe pour les autres.
CEM doesn't exist for you, it exists for your church. The goal is that you will bring what you’ve learned back to your home church to edify them.
<
A few of the mountains surrounding our camp.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
You know you're... when....
You know you’re in France when:
-Two of the women on the Golden Age Retreat spent their free time searching for giant mushrooms. Wednesday’s dinner was a 30 egg mushroom omelette that had far more mushroom than egg.
-After dinner every day, we would pass around a cheese platter. I listened to a “How Stuff Work” podcast about cheese, and it said that the French eat at least twice as much cheese as Americans (and it is not often that a people eat more of anything than Americans). I see how it is true.
Every meal, at a camp, has at least 3 courses and lasts at least an hour. Complete with dessert and snacks in between meals.
You know you're with the Church of Christ when:
-The guys in this group are crazy about singing. At the moment, it’s entertaining (I like singing too), but soon I think I’ll feel like I’m trapped in a Glee Episode.
-Two of the women on the Golden Age Retreat spent their free time searching for giant mushrooms. Wednesday’s dinner was a 30 egg mushroom omelette that had far more mushroom than egg.
-After dinner every day, we would pass around a cheese platter. I listened to a “How Stuff Work” podcast about cheese, and it said that the French eat at least twice as much cheese as Americans (and it is not often that a people eat more of anything than Americans). I see how it is true.
Every meal, at a camp, has at least 3 courses and lasts at least an hour. Complete with dessert and snacks in between meals.
You know you're with the Church of Christ when:
-The guys in this group are crazy about singing. At the moment, it’s entertaining (I like singing too), but soon I think I’ll feel like I’m trapped in a Glee Episode.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Thus Begins the Next Stage of My Life
Short Version:
Took plane from Newark to Brussels, bus from Brussels to Marseille, successfully found at bus station, heading to Retreat Center Sunday for 5 day retreat with the other CEM students
Long Version: I boarded my Eurolines bus for Marseille at around 9PM and I think I slept fairly solidly until about 6 AM, vaguely regaining consciousness at some of our bus stops.
In my waking hours, I mostly read “And the Band Played On,” which I had started to read on the plane and was quite the page turner. A recommended read for anyone who is not trying to relax and fall asleep in a plane thousands of feet over the ocean.
As the sun rose on our bus ride through France, I looked out the window and felt like it couldn’t be real that I was on a bus going to the city in France where I would spend a year; I didn't really know what "a year" or what being a CEM student actually meant. But as we drove further and the sun fully rose on the sunniest day I've seen in Europe all summer, and we went a little further and I saw some mountains, I began to feel welcomed and stopped worrying about what I didn't know.
Tomorrow, all the CEM students will meet at church and then head to the church retreat center in the Massif Central (mountain range) for five days.
Took plane from Newark to Brussels, bus from Brussels to Marseille, successfully found at bus station, heading to Retreat Center Sunday for 5 day retreat with the other CEM students
Long Version: I boarded my Eurolines bus for Marseille at around 9PM and I think I slept fairly solidly until about 6 AM, vaguely regaining consciousness at some of our bus stops.
In my waking hours, I mostly read “And the Band Played On,” which I had started to read on the plane and was quite the page turner. A recommended read for anyone who is not trying to relax and fall asleep in a plane thousands of feet over the ocean.
As the sun rose on our bus ride through France, I looked out the window and felt like it couldn’t be real that I was on a bus going to the city in France where I would spend a year; I didn't really know what "a year" or what being a CEM student actually meant. But as we drove further and the sun fully rose on the sunniest day I've seen in Europe all summer, and we went a little further and I saw some mountains, I began to feel welcomed and stopped worrying about what I didn't know.
Tomorrow, all the CEM students will meet at church and then head to the church retreat center in the Massif Central (mountain range) for five days.
Friday, September 14, 2012
12 Hours in Brussels
My flight arrived in Brussels at 8 AM and was catching a bus for Marseille at 8:45 PM; plenty of time to see some of the city!
I had printed out walking directions (well, I hadn’t printed any of the individual directions, just the overview googlemap with the suggested root outlined.) It was a little under 12 kilometers from the airport to the bus station, where I was hoping to get a luggage locker. I figured I could just use the map, get my bearings in the sky, and walk generally in the right directions until arriving at the Gare de Noord, where my bus would be leaving from at 8:45 PM.
Even if I were the most competently trained scout, there was no sun available for identifying the morning’s southeast; I only saw the sun for about 20 minutes in the course of my day-long walk through Brussels.
I started going South from the airport and ended up in the Zaventum neighborhood, which was a little bit East out of the way, but I figured I could rectify that by turning right at some point. I wandered confusedly behind an old woman, turning my map around and pausing at the circle, until she showed concerned and I asked her the direction of Gare de Noord. She gave me directions to the train, though I thought I was saying I wanted to walk (I was saying “Je veux promener” and later persons asking what I was up to corrected that to “Je vais a pied”). The very nice older lady led me all the way to the Zaventum train station, and showed me the office where I could buy a ticket. On the walk there, I decided that I should probably give up my foolish walking plan, as it was already a silly idea and an even worse idea if I didn’t take the help offered by this very helpful woman.
At Gare de Noord, I left my luggage in a locker and went out to see the city!
Ever since we did a unit on Belgium in high school French, I have wanted to go to the Comic Strip museum in Brussels.
I only ended up spending about 2 hours in the comic book museum. The best part were the statues of famous comic book characters that I got my picture with.
Recognize this one?
There was a terribly small and simple exhibit on the history of the comic strip, beginning with the cave painting. Then there was a whole gallery of 200 original pages of comic books by various authors, rotated regularly. This period’s exhibit was on animals. They only had one page of a superhero comic from the states, a page from an old John Buscema Spider-man where he is fighting the Lizard. The next exhibit was on Belgian comic book authors; a short biography, examples of their work, and commentaries on periods in their work and how their areas of focus/storylines/characters changed throughout their careers.
I took a break from the museum to eat lunch and decided to go and see the EU and other Brussels government buildings, which turned out to be quite fancy.I returned to the Gare de Noord at around 7 PM, after visiting the Brussels Info Place (bip), walking down the Rue de Loi, through the Jubel/Centenaire Park and a huge arch. The "arc de triomphe" pictured below was dedicated in 1905. You can also get an idea of the threatening weather that fortunately only threatened me the entire day.
I went immediately to reclaim my luggage, and found that the locker was unlocked and the door ever so slightly ajar! Praise God, so far I haven’t noticed that anything was stolen (or anything creepy added to it); the door probably popped open on its own as many of the lockers were malfunctioning. I suggest that you be very suspicious of your own travel-locker services, as I hopefully will be in the future.
I had printed out walking directions (well, I hadn’t printed any of the individual directions, just the overview googlemap with the suggested root outlined.) It was a little under 12 kilometers from the airport to the bus station, where I was hoping to get a luggage locker. I figured I could just use the map, get my bearings in the sky, and walk generally in the right directions until arriving at the Gare de Noord, where my bus would be leaving from at 8:45 PM.
Even if I were the most competently trained scout, there was no sun available for identifying the morning’s southeast; I only saw the sun for about 20 minutes in the course of my day-long walk through Brussels.
I started going South from the airport and ended up in the Zaventum neighborhood, which was a little bit East out of the way, but I figured I could rectify that by turning right at some point. I wandered confusedly behind an old woman, turning my map around and pausing at the circle, until she showed concerned and I asked her the direction of Gare de Noord. She gave me directions to the train, though I thought I was saying I wanted to walk (I was saying “Je veux promener” and later persons asking what I was up to corrected that to “Je vais a pied”). The very nice older lady led me all the way to the Zaventum train station, and showed me the office where I could buy a ticket. On the walk there, I decided that I should probably give up my foolish walking plan, as it was already a silly idea and an even worse idea if I didn’t take the help offered by this very helpful woman.
At Gare de Noord, I left my luggage in a locker and went out to see the city!
Ever since we did a unit on Belgium in high school French, I have wanted to go to the Comic Strip museum in Brussels.
I only ended up spending about 2 hours in the comic book museum. The best part were the statues of famous comic book characters that I got my picture with.
Recognize this one?
There was a terribly small and simple exhibit on the history of the comic strip, beginning with the cave painting. Then there was a whole gallery of 200 original pages of comic books by various authors, rotated regularly. This period’s exhibit was on animals. They only had one page of a superhero comic from the states, a page from an old John Buscema Spider-man where he is fighting the Lizard. The next exhibit was on Belgian comic book authors; a short biography, examples of their work, and commentaries on periods in their work and how their areas of focus/storylines/characters changed throughout their careers.
I took a break from the museum to eat lunch and decided to go and see the EU and other Brussels government buildings, which turned out to be quite fancy.I returned to the Gare de Noord at around 7 PM, after visiting the Brussels Info Place (bip), walking down the Rue de Loi, through the Jubel/Centenaire Park and a huge arch. The "arc de triomphe" pictured below was dedicated in 1905. You can also get an idea of the threatening weather that fortunately only threatened me the entire day.
I went immediately to reclaim my luggage, and found that the locker was unlocked and the door ever so slightly ajar! Praise God, so far I haven’t noticed that anything was stolen (or anything creepy added to it); the door probably popped open on its own as many of the lockers were malfunctioning. I suggest that you be very suspicious of your own travel-locker services, as I hopefully will be in the future.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Departure!
I am trying to enjoy my 4 days at home as much as possible before I fly to Marseille on Thursday, Sept. 13. Stay posted and prayerful!
Hopefully I didn't forget that thing that I really need to pack... what was it again?
Hopefully I didn't forget that thing that I really need to pack... what was it again?
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