Happenings of november

I realized I have not really written much in the last couple of weeks so I decieded to post and give an update. This may be long but here goes.

A few days after my dad left my friend Andrew from home came to visit. He is a friend of mine I have known since freshman year in high school. We stayed in Aix and just hung out. It was so much fun to catch up and see how things were going in his world. He currently is living in Germany. I introduced him to crepes which are just amazing.

After he left another friend from the states came to visit. She is currently living in Northern France and working as a teachers assistant. This is something I am contemplating for this next fall. The day after she arrived one of my friends here called and asked if we wanted to go hiking. It was great. We hiked Mount Saint Victoire which is a mountain that Paul Cezenne painted often. We had a blast going up. It took a little longer than it should have going up because we kept stopping to take pictures and we stopped for lunch. The group who went were just a fun group of people so we had a good time. Thankfully every one knew how to speak french so we all were able to have some good conversations. Not one of us in the group were from France but rather the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Yeah for representing north America. When we reached the top there were a bunch of guys where were working to preserve the little church at the top. One of those men gave us a little overview of the chruch and the importance of the mountain. It was really interesting from what I could actually understand. After resting at the top for a little while we started to head back down. The sun was setting as we were heading down which just made the sky light up. The rocks behind me turned a reddish color. It was just beautiful.
Instead of going on some really big trip Kate and I went on little day trips. We went hiking, and then went to Cassis which is this really pretty town on the cost. While being there we found the town to be more of a tourist spot for the French than anyone else. We had some really good pizza and just enjoyed walking around. Unfortunately we arrived too late but we tried to take the boat which would show us more of the town. Then we had to run to catch the bus back to Aix. Thankfully we got there just in time. We also spent part of a day in Arles which was lots of fun. We walked along the market and got some amazing humus and bread for lunch. While there went and saw a bunch of old roman ruins and learned a little about its history. It was rather interesting. We decided because we had some time left in the day we would go from there to a random city close by to see what that town (Mirmas) offered. As it turned out there was nothing particularly because it was sat and not a lot of things are open on the weekends especially in small towns.

During her stay we went to the french church and ended up eating lunch and talking with the people from the church for three hours. It was amazing. The elders seemed to take us under their wing. They made sure we met every one we needed to and had enough to eat. It was so much fun. We also went to a museum of different arts which was fun to walk around in and learn about different paintings that were popular at different times. I also got her hooked on crepes but decided to try a new type of crepe. This one had cheese and ham rather than nutella and bannanas. Needless to say we had a lot of fun together and hanging out.

Most recently there has been a strike at my school and for two weeks I only had class twice. What was supposed to be a 4 day weekend became a lot more than that and it was right when Kate came to visit which was rather nice. Because the strike continues my program thankfully changed where we meet so classes can continue. I am sure this sounds weird to some of you but my classes have been helpful in learning the language.
I also recently joined a small group in french which is really interesting but rather difficult to keep up with. All the same I enjoy the time I get to spend with the different French people. It is great to listen to their discussions and debates over issues in our religion. I definately went home very tired after we met that night.

The other day I went to a wine tasting. It was soo much fun to try some of the affordable wines here and learn what things go with what wines. It was also really tasty. There were two that I liked the most. One of which was a red wine that was really smooth but also had a good spice to it. The other was a wine from Chili. It was interesting to find I liked the red wines more because in the past when I tried wines I liked the white more than red. Also if anyone has not tried it yet try a deep red wine with dark chocolate. It is a really great combo.

This last weekend was just amazing in regards to learning and the experience I was able to have. People from the english speaking church (of which i was part of) stayed in a castle this last weekend. This place was beautiful. I got there earlier than the others and was able to look around a bit. Each of the rooms were different in some way. There was this huge library in one of the towers with books that dated back to 1804. The pages had dust in them. One of the evening I had the opportunity to listen to the owner of the castle who gave us the history of the castle. It was rather interesting. On top of that we went to this museum and cave. The museum was about all of these protestants who were persecuted by the catholic church. Granted I had learned of the idea and the fact that it had happened a while ago but it was really interesting to learn in depth different things that took place. This town was where a lot of persecution took place. They had tons of the old letters from the king and old sermons. Everything they did in regards to the service had to be able to be hidden in case someone came to check the house. One of the hidding spots were underneath the kitchen of this man's house. You could probably fit two people there but a whole family would make themselves fit there. It is hard to explain everything that was there but it really was amazing to see and learn about. There was a poster in french (obviously) which stated something along the lines of "If I fear God I do not have to fear anything else". The museum and the hike to the cave later really made me think of my faith and what lengths I would do for it and how complacent our world, myself included, have become. It was rather humbling. In everything these people did they did it with joy for God and giving him all the Glory. It was really interesting to ponder and think about.

After the museum we went to this cave. It is about a 20 min hike (although short it had a rather large incline). This cave went back really far but there was a smaller group who decided to cross the water in the cave to by jumping rocks to go back even further. At first I was the only girl willing to go but after two other girls found I went across with out getting wet they came as well. While walking to the back we saw this small group of bats. I saw a ton at camp but never saw a clump together sleeping. It was neat. Then we went to the very back of the cave and turned out all of our flashlights. You could not even see your hand right in front of your face. The only way I knew exactly where it was was if I had it touching my face. After doing that we looked the other direction and saw this really small ray of light. The next day we sang Here I am to worship. In it there was two lines which stated "Light of the world you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes and let me see. The beauty that makes this heart adore you and a hope of a life with you". It was neat to see that song in a different light and reflect on the cave and what I had learned. In a lot of ways God has been opening my eyes so that I see things in a different light.

Those are most of the adventures I have been having here so far. I am daily learning something new and am really enjoying my experience thus far. Hopefully sometime this week I will put pictures up online. I have tons for people to look at it is just a matter of finding a computer that will allow access with my camera. Not as easy as you might think. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. This week I am going to have a Thanksgiving dinner with the english church which I am excited about.

Little things that make you smile

This blog may seem random but it is the little things over the last couple of weeks that have made me smile which I decided to share.

I have come to realize just how much I love the market in my town. Three days a week it is right next to my dorm and three other days it is all over the main part of the city. I love just being able to walk through there and listen to people talking while looking at all the things being offered. My favorite is buying some fresh fruit, looking at the different flowers, and walking past the herbs and spices. Simple I know but it is one of the many things I have comet to appreciate about this town.

A couple of days ago I was sitting in the part when this little girl came running up to the fountain near where I was sitting. She sat down and just played with the water and then ran up to meet her parents. It was not like she did anything special but in a way she reminded me of my brothers-just the fun playful spirit.

It amazes me how much God works through our lives and those around us. Lately I have been learning more about our walk and how safetly plays a role (if it really does at all) as well as our faith and what it looks like. What was neat was I got an email from a good friend who was able to challenge me although he did not realize it. At church this last sunday that is what the pastor spoke on. It just made me smile at the different ways we affect each other and God uses us.

This last Thursday my friend David called me randomly and asked if I wanted to go hiking. I said of course and made sure my friend Kate (who is visiting) wanted to go as well. We had a blast that day. Half way up we decided to take the difficult route and let me tell you it was definately a challenge and at times you had to use both hands and feet. My favorite part of that day was climbing down. We made it to the top where this man started giving us some history so by the time we started our descent the sun was setting. It was amazing. We had to stop time and time again because it really just took your breath away. The sky was several different shades of yellow, orange, red and purple. The mountain we were on is one in a small range with deep valleys. The sun hit everything just right making the whole place just shine. For example the rocks behind us were this beautiful color of red and orage. It was also just good to be out and hiking again. The whole trip was about 6/7 hours.

Trains and buses are a very easy and reliable form of transportation but at times too reliable. My friend and I went to Cassis for the day and caught the bus there which was almost 1:45mins. We spent a couple of hours in this really cute little town right on the water. It was amazing. In its own way it was a touristy town but more of a touristy town for people who are french rather than normal tourists. We decided to head back to Aix en Provence and get dinner back at my room so we went to the bus stop. We waited and when the time came we got a little nervous because generally if it is not there you somehow missed something, and ofcourse we did. We found out that the bus we needed was around the corner. Finding this out we run to the bus just as the last person was getting on.

This last thursday and friday we had off due to all saints day. Interesting how there is a huge separation of church and state and yet they take a holiday which is supposed to be religious...Interesting but I am not complaining. Anyway I went to school this last Tuesday to find my school was closed. none of the students were allowed to enter the building. My sources could be wrong and my understanding of french may be off as well but from my understanding the school does not have en ough money and were trying to come up with more ways to come up with this money. In order to do this the faculty besides most of the professors were in meetings all day but in hopes of keeping the students from striking or doing something stupid to the school they cancelled all classes for Tuesday and wed. In turn I had basically a fall break this week. Yeah go french school system.

This may sound random but I am really excited about it...I will be singing in a choir for the christmas church service coming up in about 3weeks. They were trying to get as many people to be in it as possibly so we could fill more seats with locals. There are going to be about 50 people in the choir so my voice will not really be heard. Anyway we get to sit up front during the service and get to look out at crown who will all be holding candles. It is an event where both French and Internationals come together to celebrate christmas. I am sooo excited.

I will write up an update on what I have been doing at a different time but I thought this would give you a fun idea of some of the small things that have been taking place. I will also be putting up pictures probably on monday (I hope). Until next time.

Good old times

Hi friends,
I realize I have not written in a while and the blog I had started to write got deleted. This entry my in turn be rather long. I have done so much in the last two weeks. It is hard to believe I have been here for a month now...crazy. It has gone by really fast. On the 3rd of October I left Aix and went to visit an old friend Tyas. Some of you may remember him from freshman year. To be honest I was expecting our first encounter to be awkward because of not seeing each other for three years and because of the last time I had seen him was a couple of days after I broke up with him. In fact there was nothing awkward about it at all. It was very much like old friends who picked up the friendship as if no time had passed (execpt of course neither of us now has feelings for each other).

The first day I was their we went to Maaschrict (I belive that is how you spell it). We had a blast with that because we were able to take a tour of the town in a more historical sense. We went around the city wall and learned about some of the history behind the city and what protected it. In general I love doing that kind of thing so I definately enjoyed that time. At one point we also got caught up with looking and playing with these huge spiders. If you saw my pictures on facebook you would see a picture of one of them. Other than that we walked around the park. It was soo pretty there because of all the trees and the leaves changing colors. I love the fall! That night his mom cooked a traditional dutch dinner, which was very good but I can not remember the name of it. I was also able to meet his gilfriend, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend. All of them were very nice and fun to hang out with. Milou (tyas' girlfriend) and I got along really well. There was a joke by the end that I was the "latino who claimed to be from the United states and is from the bronx." Needless to say we had fun messing around and more so teasing each other. Thankfully they all knew english because French does not help me speak dutch.

The next day Tyas showed me around his town and then we went to a field and played nothing other than...frisbee. Yeah for bringing Whitworth to Europe. : ) That day we ended up walking for about 4 or 5 hours. I was rather tired. We went back and watched Blood Diamond which I had never seen before. It was a good movie. Definately one that make me ask a lot of questions and think. One interesting thing about watching the movie with Tyas is that his father and step mom live in South Africa with his two little brothers. At the end of the movie we were able to have a good conversation about Africa. Really interesting. Through out that day a few days before I had had a little cold and was very tired by the end of the evening. I also had been going to bed around 3 every night. Not good for getting a cold. Finally I learned to get some sleep.

The following day was fun but rather interesting. Tyas was having his going away party because he is leaving for Chicago to work for about a year. He is doing some sort of student research in regards to the human side of economics. I do not remember exactly what he is doing. Anyway his family and friends came over and most of them could not speak english. In turn I had a lot of fun watching the way people talk. Most people who were there spoke a lot with their hands and gestures. Finally on sunday I returned back to Aix. It was a fun trip.

The next day was monday and also the first day of classes. I have three classes through out the week that are three hours long, and I have several classes which are only an hour long. In all I am taking about 12 credits. Nine hours of work is grammar and language and then I have a role playing class, creative writing, Provence culture (the region I am currently living in) and Phonics. My professor is fun, she makes the class laugh a lot. She also does a good job of explaining things. All of my classes are completely in french-we are not allowed to speak in english or use a dictionary in class. We must explain using other words and then ask what the actual word we were looking for. I am working with a girl on my hall who is helping me with me french. I am also using the weekend time to work in almost a lab environment where I force myself to speak as much in french as I possibly can.

This last weekend was a great example of that. My dad came to visit this last weekend. I had soo much fun going everywhere with him and just exploring. I became his personal translator. He would want to know something or would try to buy anything and would need me to translate. It was really hard at times because I had to use words I did not know but in the end I learned a lot. In learning a lot you also generally make a lot of mistakes. I misread the ticket to Vernon and thus missed my first train. In turn I got into the town I was meeting my dad three hours late. By the time I got there there was no buses, no taxis-nothing. I got the directions and walked to the hotel in the dark. I know not safe but neither is staying at a train station that was closing. Obviously because I am writing this now I got there saftely. The next day was one of my favorite. We went to Claude Monet's Garden in Giverny. I have liked his work since I was in third grade. Getting to see his house and what inspired him was such a neat experience. It is rather hard to describ. I will try to put pictures up soon so you can see what I am talking about. The colors were amazing. You had the leaves changing colors, flowers of every color you can think of and the beautiful blue sky behind as a backdrop. Then we had lunch at this cute this resturant near his house. I loved that day and I loved being able to spend it with my dad.

That night we took the train back to Aix and dropped my dad's stuff off at my room. The next morning I took him around and showed him where I live and where I go to school. After that we randomly decided to go to Marseille. When we arrived we decided to go to the beach. It was fun to walk around and enjoy the sun. There were tons of sailboats out that day (I think there was some kind of race going on). Then we found our way around this place that was obviously a private club to a entry way which allowed us to watch a race of small remote control sail boats. It was rather fun. From there we took a bus that was far too full for its own good back to the train station. While on the bus I came across this women who decided to give me a brief history of Marseille and some of its old buildings. That was really random but interesting to listen to. When we arrived at the train station we decided instead of going back we would head to Avignon.

We got to Avignon in the middle of the ruby game against England. It was definately a party. That night we stayed at a little hotel in the middle of the city. The next morning we got up and went to the Pope's Palais. We spent a lot of time walking around there and learning about the history. Mine was rather hard to hear because I got one of the phones in French (again working on my french) so I had to ask my dad several times what they actually said. From there went to Pont d'Avignon. This is a bridge that is rather famous in Avignon. It is famous for reasons which are normal to a bridge but also for the song that orginates from it. I learned this song while at whitworth this last jan term. It was fun to see where it actually came from. From there my dad and I went to a mideaval fair type thing. That was rather interesting and fun to watch. Although I do not know where you would put all of that stuff when you were not working at a fair.

Eventually we returned back to Aix. I had class the next morning and my dad had tons of homework to do. That evening I sent him off on his way. He was going to visit Evan before going to business meetings. This week has just been a lot of me catching up and working on improving my french. Thankfully it is improving daily. I am making more friend and have become a little more confident in my abilities. That is where things are now. Hope all is well with you guys.

Interesting week

Hi friends. This week has been an interesting week. It was full of all sorts of things. I got a cold for a couple days which made my energy level almost none existent which meant the last thing I wanted to do was go out and speak french. None the less I made myself go out because I would not get to know people, or improve my french, or get the things I needed to get done if I hadn't. There were a couple of days where I got rather home sick. All I wanted was to see a familiar face or talk to someone I knew. That got better as I began to meet new people. I now know a few people I hang out with frequently and some people who I have made a deal to help them with english if they help me with french. I also went to a church that I was told about which was nice and they welcomed me in right away.
The problem that I have found the hardest is how many people prefer to speak english with me especially when they learn I am from the U.S. Especially when my cold was hitting full swing I easily fell into the trap of just speaking english. Slowly though I have continually asked different people to speak in french. Although I have spoken in english a great deal I have found that my confidence of speaking french has improved and given me courage to do it even more. Of course I make mistakes but I am definately improving. I had a conversation a couple people the last couple of days in french that lasted about 20 or 30 mins. That was encouraging.
So some interesting things that have taken place. I was walking down one of the main roads and walking a local performer when I saw a guy running toward me. My immediate reaction is hold my bag and start walking away. Considering the fact that I do not know many people it makes sense. Eventually the guy got closer all the while calling my name. It was David, the guy from Whitworth who is studying here. It was fun to bump into him and see a familar face. Unlike what I thought he actually had just arrived in Aix. For some reason I was under the impression that he had been here for a while. He has not had the best time here so far. They put him in a room that has bed bugs. Apparently he had asked Marlene (i do not know how to actually spell her name but I think this is close) for a pot to borrow so he could he something for dinner. She is one of the girls that I have started hanging out with. They got to talking and realized he was put in the same room she had just been moved from because she complained of the same thing. He had not had a chance to sleep for a while so they checked the room to see if the bugs where there or if they had the dorm had taken care of the problem. Generally you do not put a person in a room that you know has bed bugs. he woke up the next morning covered in bites. Since students are the ones who run the "office" on the weekends he could not change rooms. He found a friend he could room with for a couple of nights. Now the bed bugs are everywhere in his room. Including all of his stuff. We all joke about it but it still is not exactly the best welcome. He should be allowed to change rooms today I think.
Another interesting thing...I have been asked by two African American French guys at different times if I could be their girlfriend. You must realize that both times it was after having met them once and talking for about 15 mins. Both of them wanted me to go back to their houses with them. I said no and found ways to leave the situation. Both of the guys were students and both occurances happened at different times, different places but I just found it funny. It also holds to the stereotype that European people believe American girls are easy. Well they kind of picked the wrong girl to see if that was true. Going to prove that one wrong quickly. Just thought it was interesting.
Anyway. My social butterfly is starting to come back. I was walking around with a couple of people yesturday and what stared as 4 people sitting at a cafe went to 10 people at the table. It was rather fun. I was sitting in the middle and was able to be part of several different conversations. What was also fun was that France was playing rugby against Republic of Georgia (country) so every cafe was full of people watching the game. We could not really see the screen from where we were but we could hear the cheers and boos through out the game. It made for a fun afternoon.
Alrighty this is getting long. I hope all is well with everyone. I will write again sometime next week or so. I am going to Holland this weekend to visit a friend and then start school so it may not be for a little while. If you could be thinking today of me because I have my oral test tomorrow and hope it goes well. Eventually I will find a way to get pictures on here but currently my computer is not working well and it does not seem to work well with wireless so I haven't found a place I can download pictures. Also in regards to skype...same problem. I will continue to try and find places but I can not promise I will have that any time soon. Things here are good and I miss you all.

I'm here

Hi friends,
Most of you recieved an email stating I was here. I have put my address under notes on Facebook for those of you who want it. If you don't have facebook b/c I know some of you don't feel free to email me and ask me for it. Things here are going well (except for my french but with time that will hopefully improve). I have made a couple of friends 2 of which are guys from my hall. Most of my hall is guys. That is definately different from what I'm used to. All in all I really like it. Currently I don't know where I can get access to internet with my laptop so skype is not going to be an option for the time being. I will try to have it running in a little while. So far I've been able to make a few friends, find my way around town and realize my understanding of bed is very different from others here. Let's just say I left last night around 12pm and some of the guys just left to go dancing. I know me miss out on dancing...Walking all day and trying to speak a different language leaves me very tired by the end of the day. Hope all is well with everyone. I would love to hear how things are going with you. Miss you.

Getting ready to leave

It is crazy to think I am leaving in about 4 days for France. The reality of it still has not hit yet and probably will not until I actually land in France. Currently I am packing and getting ready all the while hoping I don't forget anything. My friend came by the other day and saw how little I was packing and was sure I forget all the necessities. Fear not, I believe everything is accounted for.
Knowing I am leaving in only a few days has the excitement level continue to rise. This trip is going to be a neat experience. Some of the things I'm looking forward to is meeting new people from different places, being able to travel, explore and really learn about another culture. My hope is that while I'm there my French will improve dramatically-it is going to have in order to get through the semester. Right now to be honest I am nervous about my French skills (or lack there of). Granted most people I've talked to have said that most of the french I have learned will come back when I need to speak. Thankfully I am not going will many expectations. There are some things such as language barriers, feeling stupid at some point, adjusting to culture shock, and others which are to be expected. All in all I expect to grow, learn, explore and just have fun. Well the next time you hear from me will be from France. Yeah! : )
I currently have skype so if you have it as well my name is kiddojess.
In regards to my address I will give it to people as soon as I get it.
Feel free to email me b/c I would love to hear how things are going in your life. Au revoir.

Considering the fact that this blog is looking back at the whole summer this blog may be a little long. Hopefully the blog entries after this will be shorter.
This summer has been amazing, full of growth, new friends, overcoming fears and challenges.Although this was my second year at kidder creek there were so many aspects of camp that were new it kept things interesting. For example-I was in charge of coming up and explaining all of the crafts for the summer, at different points I was director of our Ranch Camp and day camp, and for the first time ever I was able to go backpacking.
There were several times in which I had to face my fears. There is something called tarzan at the high ropes course which is climbing up really high and walking across a wire while trying to reach out to ropes that are hanging. It was really scary because everytime you get a rope you would swing back and forth. It was thrilling and exciting when I got down and looked at what I did but in the middle of it there were points where I was very nervous. Every day a group is on the river every one has an oppertunity to jump rocks into the water if they want to. The highest jump is crazy and is about 50-55 feet above the water. I decided to jump the middle jump. It was actually one of the challenges I gave myself this summer. The jump was about 25 feet. It was neat especially because I went with a camper who was also afraid of heights. I was able to go with her and share that experience of both of us facing our fear. Although they were scary it was exciting to look at what I was capable of and accomplished.
Looking back it is neat to realize how well the staff got along with each other. There were not many problems that arose. Everyone got along really well. That was one of my favorite things of the summer just getting to know all the staff. Much of what God taught me this summer was through interactions and converations with the staff. It was so much fun to just hang out with them on the weekends. We definately are a weird group. Thank you friends for all the laughs (don't forget you can put the extra one in your pocket and save it for later...hehehe juan. : ) )



If you want to see more pictures look on facebook under groups with kidder creek 2007. There are tons. I had a blast with these people this summer.
Backpacking was a blast. We did team building, games, and high ropes course the first day. From there we took our packs and hiked in 6 miles to this beautiful lake (campbell lake). The hike was not that long but it was a neat time to talk with kids and really enjoy God's playground. We went through this gate into a meadow which was just breathtaking. We all said we entered fairytale land.
It was rather entertaining. Every morning while we were there I was able to get up around 6 and watch as the sun came spilling over the mountains stretching arcoss the lake and brightening everything in its path. It was so refreshing. After we finished backpacking and rock climbing we went down to the river. I guided Rattlesnake (rapid) for the first time and did just fine. It was fun. That week was probably my favorite week all summer.
An interesting aspect of this summer was I dealt with the older campers more than other campers. Part of this had to do with the fact that I was returning counselor and the oldest female counselor. It was one highlights because I was able to ask harder questions and really challenge my girls to think more about their walk with God.
I hope you all enjoyed your summer and were able to take time to stop and just be. That was one thing I was really challenged to do. I do not like taking my time off all that much but at times throug out the summer it became a necessity for me to stop and take time for myself and with God. I will probably write more about camp later but for now i'm going to call this good.

This is more of me playing around with the site before I leave. Have a great summer.