arrêt!

"...avec l'accent américain"

Tonight I have taken it upon myself to tell you a few of my most recent going-ons. It's approximately 12:25 am here, and I'm not particularly tired, though I am fully dressed for bed.

This evening I had a most unfortunate accident that involved a toilet. Françoise and I went to a movie at 9 (Séraphine) after having a fish and potato dinner, which was great, with the exception of the fish bones stabbing my cheeks. The problem that arose, I think, was the combination of it with a stomach full of hot milk (as I had just come from the Gorrells's where I was served hot chocolate with actual milk). Fast-forward thirty minutes and you find me frantically searching for the exit. After much confusion, as I actually exited the building and had to explain (very poorly in french to the ticket-person) that I had already paid and would like to be let back in free-of-charge, I arrived at the restroom.

I will spare you all those details, save one. As I walked in I searched for the light switch and found none. I thought, "Ahh, another weird European thing. No light switch. Whatever". Two minutes passed, and I was suddenly in total darkness; I then realized that the bathroom light in fact was activated by a motion sensor. Not a huge problem if you're in the bathroom for two minutes or less, but considering my, err, condition, one can imagine the nuisance the flickering light became...

All that to say, I eventually came home, not finishing the movie, and leaving poor Françoise to wonder where I was and what I was up to. I called her daughter once I got back to the apartment to let someone know that I was alive (Françoise had not taken her key or cellphone..oh la). When Françoise returned she was sympathetic to my plight and politely informed me that her daughter was in Copenhagen...As she would say, ahh messe!

So yeah. Classes are going well despite my "game of hookie" this Thursday. Did I spell that right? Hookie? Hookey? I don't know if I've ever read that word. It was one of those mornings that I chose to be courteous to others by not showing up forty-five minutes late. At least that's the way I'm choosing to look at it :) Josette, my prof, was even particularly friendly to me today. She asked me if I was ok and answered all of my questions without her usual edge of disdain. Worry not readers; I have discovered through careful objective observation that Josette is casually rude to everyone in my class.

I went to my first CILEC party this Wednesday night. Discovered that I haven't been missing much. I just don't really enjoy staying up until 2 am, dancing to The Jackson Five while downing cheap beer. Am I the only person who feels that way? ;) In fact, that's not all entirely true: I do love dancing to The Jackson Five, or any music, in my kitchen at 405 Glade St. wh09p!

Though I desperately wanted to leave, and was detained from doing so by my very protective Bosnian 'big brother', some good things came of the evening. I met an Italian gal named Pamela, haha, and I think she's pretty swell. Thus far I have yet to meet a Pamela I haven't liked :) Srdan also told me that he thinks I'm less timid since he first met me, which led into a better conversation about how I appreciate him as a friend. He also gave me a little more insight into his past. That, I think, will be important information for the future.

I just realized I've been recounting my week to you backwards. I like this; let's continue shall we?

So Tuesday Françoise invited me to a birthday party for her friend, Odile, whom I was already acquainted with. Odile was turning 51, so her gal pals from the junior high they all work(ed) at showed up at Odile's house to celebrate. We had an apéro for ohh, four hours. Was I tired? You bet. Did I want to be there past 7? Not at all. Knowing this will help you understand what the Lord has been teaching me these past few weeks: dying to myself. And gosh, it's hard. After finishing-ish the apératif, the young people reconvened in a back bedroom to talk about the states and attempt conversation in English. Found out after the fact, that one of the ladies' sons who wanted to chat in English with me, is a pathological liar. "C'est une maladie" as Françoise would say, and I think I would say, "Je suis d'accord avec toi". Didn't get his email address because he doesn't have one, allegedly. At the time I just dismissed it as an archaic French thing, but after discovering the truth (haha), I think I may reconsider his hesitancy to give me any form of contact of information. Hmmm. Odile's daughter, Caroline, however, was very charming, and her hair framed her face like a lion's mane. Seriously, she has the wildest look about her. She loves Johnny Depp and Chuck Norris, so obviously we got along smashingly. I'm hoping to meet up with her again before I leave.

Monday was perhaps the most exciting day of this week. One of Françoise's friends is an English professor at the junior high Françoise used to teach at, so they arranged for me to give a short presentation to the students about the US. I was really nervous before getting there because I hadn't really prepared anything, not for lack of desire or laziness, but because Marie-Claude (the English prof) insisted that I didn't need anything. So I waltzed in, charmed one little boy before I even opened my mouth, and awaited my instructions. Marie-Claude had each student introduce themselves and raise their hands to pose questions. The questions were on the whole pretty terrific and I marveled at their intelligence (these kids were 11-13 years old). They asked me things like, "Is the climate the same in Texas as it is in Morocco?" (due to the latitude) "Do people drive on the left or the right side of the road?" "How old do you have to be to bear arms?" (which I think I answered incorrectly; 10 years old?) "Are people in America really obese?" "Do you know any famous people?" "Do you like to skate-board?" "What do people do for fun at night?" They were very receptive and seemed to want to know what I had to say. I felt a little lousy for not being more prepared, but I've been invited back. That's a good sign, right?

Oh Mom, Bryan Adams is playing...the only thing I want, the only thing I need, the only thing I choose...the only thing that looks good on me... :)

Excuse me.
So, I'm hoping to go back to the junior high, even if that involves skipping class. How often do foreign students get insight into real French school rooms? Not very, I think. Poor Françoise, she thought I was terribly ill and here I am listening to Bryan Adams and typing noisily.

Monday evening, in true Brooke fashion, I was late to a dinner date with a friend from church. In truth the dinner was scheduled for 6, but my friend thought it is was scheduled for 5...thus making me an hour late. It was terrible, but I think I've been forgiven. When I told Srdan and Julian about this, they said that the only reason my friend waited was because of that "church love". Hmm, that's pretty close, I guess to Christ's love :)

The weekend was splendid. I met a French family who had lived in the states for six years on Sunday, so I had a great time chatting it up with them in English. They were conspicuous admirers of America, if you know what I mean. They are relatives of Françoise, and she knew they would enjoy Coke. So she bought 4, 2L bottles of Coke zero. They drank two of them, often passing over the delicious red wine, for a glass of Coke. Their youngest son, Juan, asked me at least three times if I had an "amour" (= boyfriend). Every time I had to mask my giggling while responding 'no, not yet'.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Françoise's son, Clement. He showed me around town Saturday evening and we met up with some of his friends later that night. They were gamers, if that means anything to you. Maybe to give you a better idea, I might need to describe Thierry's bedroom: eastern wall-Dragon tapestry, bedroom door-animé, various cartoons on the walls. They loved talking in English and talking about politics. I was only slightly uncomfortable when Thierry began to smoke something quite illegal... eek! That led to an interesting conversation; they smoke pot, but they don't talk about it with their parents. I asked them how they would react if their kids started smoking pot. They said they would never encourage it and tell their kids that they should do it in moderation. I thought that was extremely fascinating: here they are saying it's no big deal to smoke pot, yet saying it's dangerous.

Saturday i also had the chance to attend a ladies' seminar in a little town west of Lyon, Marrennes. It's so pretty! I hope to find other French villages like it before I leave. Anyway, the topic of the seminar was the power of our words and letting go of words that have hurt us in the past. We read a ton of proverbs and the passage in James about the tongue being like a rudder to a ship. The passages were excellent, bien sur, but I cherished most the time I got to spend with the ladies from the church. They're all my parents' age, so I really felt like I was with three pseudo-moms rather than with friends. There's just so much one can glean from the experiences of older women.

A very agreeable weekend. Had a great convo about the Lord with Srdan last Thursday. It mainly centered around my life being so different from his. I'm hoping that he won't just accept that as something natural; that each life is just different and that the differences are purely cultural. I was able to tell him a lot about my convictions as a believer and how much more satisfying it has been to live by the spirit...Maybe it was a bit lofty, but he seemed entirely engrossed and kept telling me that he "really wants to understand why I am the way I am".

Thank you to all of you have been praying for Srdan. I think his heart is most fertile to the things of the Lord, so keep praying! I have a new friend you can keep in mind too. Her name is Juzelena, and she has just arrived here from Sao Tome. She's 17 and has really attached to me. I think she's Catholic, but I'm not really sure. Anyway, if you can remember think to pray for her protection and peace of mind while she's here; she's really homesick and she misses her twin sister.

I love you all, and if I remember, I'll dig up some old pictures for you :)


Most of my love, i send to you :))))))))