Scenes and Snatches of Life

Book Review: Adventures in Odyssey: Cause & Effect (52)

2010-10-03T02:31:00.001+02:00

This review is from: Cause & Effect (Adventures in Odyssey) (Audio CD)

Album 52 comes on the heels of album 51 which marked the re-launch of Adventures in Odyssey. That album marked a total shift in style, characters, and even talent for the show. In this album, Andre Stoika is still not natural to me as Whit, and I doubt he ever will be. The absence of so many old AIO characters is still jarring, and the presence of too many new characters with too similar voices gets confusing.

Still, some of the changes are welcome. Eugene hanging out at Whit's End is cool (even if a little odd, since Katrina is mentioned but never heard from). The Parker family, particularly Mom and Dad, are the strongest AIO family in quite some time; too bad they are really only in 2 episodes.

All of the changes represent a massive shift in the show as Odyssey tries to maintain relevance. It really seems, especially in this album, to be more of a spin-off series than a continuation of the AIO of albums 1-50. I really think album 51, 52, and following should be referred to as "The New Adventures in Odyssey". Nevertheless, they are still top-notch quality shows with excellent morals and teaching for kids.

Below is a quick review of each show on the album:

Mystery of the Clock Tower - This episode is a serious mystery (unlike the Emily Jones Detective Agency mysteries) that actually allows listeners to figure out the clues along with characters. Clever listeners will be able to figure out the solution before Whit and the gang. The one thing that keeps this episode from being so classic is that it simply isn't as emotionally compelling as it could have been. One of the central characters (Wendy) doesn't even appear vocally in the show. 4/5 stars

Wooton's Broken Pencil Show - I reluctantly have to admit that this show is actually very clever. I don't generally care for Wooton, but this episode made me find some depth to the character, and I found myself laughing in spite of myself. 5/5 stars

Stage Fright - This is another mystery and slight allusion to Phantom of the Opera. It has a fairly childish conclusion and is generally not as clever or strong as it could have been. 2/5 stars

Fast as I Can - AIO occasionally tries to tackle the Spiritual Disciplines, and they've done fairly good episodes about some of the practices in years past. This episode is only the latest, but unfortunately it comes off more irreverent and indifferent than it should, not taking the disciplines seriously. One thing that did make me smile is the goof when Whit refers to them as the "spiritual disciples" early on in the show. Frankly, though, it would have been better to ignore the disciplines than to handle them so callously and irreverently. 1/5 stars

Opposite Day - This semi-cute episode deals with the important issue of social networking and friendships. It actually had an important lesson for me, proving that AIO does still have some original morals and ideas left up their sleeves. It's a good reminder that real, genuine friendships aren't easily made and don't come in large quantities. Being a good friend to your real ones is much more important than being a friend to everyone. 3/5 stars

The Owlnapping - One of the weakest storylines in the album. This story is as old as dirt and has been done on almost EVERY kids show. It deals with the importance of using symbols, traditions, etc. correctly. It has a good point: "When we start to think that traditions can help us, we are in danger of replacing God" But the point has been made so many times that it takes away from this episode. 2/5 stars

Square One - Not the strongest but certainly not the weakest episode on the album. It's a fairly sweet episode about trust, friendship, and letting friends be who they are. 3/5 stars

A Thankstaking Story - Clever Spoof of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Pretty hilarious. 4/5 stars

An Agreeable Nanny - This is an interesting nod to Mary Poppins as the Parker kids get a new nanny. It's funny and has a good point for younger audiences. 4/5 stars

The Malted Milkball Falcon - Another Emily Jones Detective Agency mystery, this one a bit better than Stage Fright, but still fairly weak. It deals with responsibility and honesty in a way that helps remind kids that even white lies are real lies. 2/5 stars

Grandma's Christmas Visit - This is a nice, sweet episode dealing with the dangers of replacing Christ with busyness and traditions. It's also a nice follow-up to Grandma's Visit from the last album. Listening to it in early October may have been strange, but it put me in the mood for Christmas already. 4/5 stars

Conclusion:

Overall, this album is a nice but not outstanding addition to the AIO cannon and a decent follow up to album 51. No episodes stand out as either very strong or very weak, but it does provide the launching pad for good family discussions. Not all the episodes are designed with the "whole family" as was true of earlier albums, but the album does have something to please nearly everyone.

Looking forward, album 53 promises to be a real treat: a 12-part mystery about money, plane crashes, and green rings. Don't miss it!

*Please note: Anatomy of the Soul was provided free of charge by Tyndale Press for review purposes. The author of this review received no financial compensation and has not been influenced by Tyndale Press, the author, or any entity concerning this product.

Book Review: Anatomy of the Soul

2010-07-01T04:16:00.005+02:00

First, I must make it clear that I have interacted with this book in ways which the average reader probably never will. For starters, I myself am in the process (though currently paused) of earning a degree in a psychology field. This was, in fact, one of the reasons I selected this book. However, my academic appreciation for Anatomy of the Soul did not keep me from appreciating it on other levels. I'll attempt to briefly discuss a few of them below.

Literary, Dr. Curt Thompson is a master storyteller. I'm willing to admit that my own interest in counseling/psychology probably has a lot to do with my fascination of his stories, but he illustrates his points in a fascinating way through real-life examples. On the other hand, his metaphors can be over-exaggerated at times, and he has accepted too many of the modern chic elements of writing, but the book is definitely engaging and well-written. The structure of the book does oscillate between the scientific, theological, and practical, but Thompson does an excellent job of keeping each type of section compelling.

One fairly major quibble with the book format is the way in which his Integration Exercises have been randomly inserted throughout the book. These are several hands-on exercises, described in a page or two, which readers may use to help integrate Thompson's points into their lives. The idea of including these exercises was brilliant, but they occur in random places, many times breaking up sentences or paragraphs. The first few confused me greatly since the only differentiation between them and the surrounding text is a slight change of font. The biggest problem with this approach, besides being confusing, is that the readers will probably skip them to finish the rest of Thompson's thought and forget to come back. It would have been much more helpful, not to mention logical, for the Integration Exercises to be included at the end of chapters or in logical breaks in Thompson's thoughts.

Scientifically, Dr. Thompson does an excellent job of presenting a heap of psychological, neurological, and other scientific material in layman's terms. The front cover says that the book will explore "surprising connections between neuroscience and spiritual practices that can transform your life and relationships". It does just that. At times the scientific terminologies were slightly over my head, but Thompson does an outstanding job of explaining how neurological pathways are created, pruned, strengthened, and weakened throughout an individual's life. A portion of his book explores how consciously creating new neurological pathways can help to strengthen the Christian life, particularly the Fruit of the Spirit and the two qualities of Mercy and Justice (more on that in a bit). This proves to be an enriching and blessing blend of Christianity and Neuroscience.

One section of the book deals with how the ancient spiritual disciplines, so often and tragically neglected by modern Evangelicals in the West, have been proven scientifically as ways of reinforcing this brain re-wiring. Thompson points out in multiple places that he views Scripture as authoritative and thus is not shocked to find that there are now scientifically verifiable reasons for practicing the disciplines of fasting, confession, silence, solitude, Scripture reading, etc.

Along the way, Thompson reviews Attachment Theory (something every Christian parent, teacher, or child worker should be familiar with), the biological make-up of the brain (right v. left and the triune brain), the role and substance of memory, the dis-integration that happens in a person's mind because of shame ("Pride and shame are in fact two sides of the same coin" [page 241] says Thompson), the dangers of having a dis-integrated mind and the value of having a integrated mind, and the role of the prefrontal cortex in the areas of decision making and emotions. He emphasizes multiple times the importance of integration, specifically of the right (emotional, "we" centered) and left (logical, "I" centered) hemispheres of the brain (neither is more important than the other), and of "paying attention to what you're paying attention to". His scientific discussion also helps readers understand how the brain functions during an emotion, thought, or subconscious action. Knowing this allows one to rewire his neural pathways so that a) if the emotion, thought, or action is sinful, the root causes can be dealt with or b) if the emotion, thought, or action is holy, it can be encouraged, repeated, and memorized.

Another important aspect of the book is Thompson's idea of, as he calls it, the process of being known. He states the importance of being known: "It is only when we are known that we are positioned to become conduits of love" (page 3). This is an important element of Christianity, one that reaches into eternity past through the doctrine of the Trinity but which has been tragically forgotten in modern Christian thought, to the point that, as Thompson points out, few people realize that they are not being known by anyone, including themselves. Thus, we define "love" either intellectually or emotionally, but rarely a synthesis of the two.

Thompson also points back to the importance of both knowing and being known by God, something he says is next to impossible if the neurological patterns of an individual haven't been ordered through foundational relationships to at least have a blueprint (I.E., Attachment Theory) of the way God responds. In other words, if a person has grown up with angry, demanding parents, he cannot see God as anything but angry and demanding until his brain has a blueprint, picked up from other relationships or observing others' relationships, that enables his neurons to create a pattern for a non-angry God.

Theologically, Thompson has a lot of interesting ideas. First, he points out (somewhat subtly) that science and theology are both written by God and should fit together; his definition of "science" is "the study of God's good creation" (page 238). Ergo (though technically unstated by Thompson), what Scripture reveals should help guide our interpretation of scientific facts and what science reveals should help guide our theological interpretation of Scripture. It's an interesting idea, one that many Christians, especially scientists and theologians, will not agree with.

One of the biggest controversial theological claims Thompson makes in Anatomy of the Soul is that "We delude ourselves into thinking that we know God, but God as we believe him to be - in control and invulnerable - not God as Scripture describes him to be: risk-taking and able to be hurt badly." He argues, in essence, that humans can affect God (not his being, but his emotions). Hard-core Calvinists will likely find this idea repugnant. Indeed, most other orthodox Christians will find the idea difficult to balance with their (quite proper) theology of God as sovereign, unchangeable, all-knowing, etc. Yet the idea has clear Scriptural backing, and I wonder if there is as big of a paradox as first appears, but perhaps it's an idea that should be explored and discussed more.

One thing that does make me a bit squeamish, though, is the way in which Thompson presents his theological ideas (with the exception of the above idea): He rarely cites Scripture accurately and, even when what he's saying clearly agrees with what Scripture says, he tends to get there in a sketchy or confusing way. For example, in one section discussing the Fall and Eve's reaction to the Serpent, he goes out of his way to say that we can't add to what is in the text, but the whole discussion is based on analysing Eve's brain processes which of course involves several extra-textual presuppositions. Elsewhere, Thompson often dismisses or twists Scripture to fit what he's saying, even when his interpretation makes little sense in the original context. Not that he isn't in good company since 100% of human Christians (especially theologians of all brands) do this at some point, but it is a little too prevalent in the book. Again, I'm not saying his interpretation of Scripture is heretical or seriously flawed, but his methods are. Unfortunately this flaw will likely give credence to those wishing to ignore the major themes of his book.

Another troubling example of Thompson's tendency in this area has to do with his elevation of mercy and justice as the primary functions of Christians in social interaction. No Christian should have a problem with mercy and justice, to be sure, but there's absolutely no Biblical reason (or scientific reason for that matter) why these two should be elevated above, say, harmony, grace, humility, or, most importantly, Truth. Not that Thompson doubts or questions the value of any of the above, especially Truth. On the contrary, he does discuss each of them and, despite sounding like one at times, Thompson is certainly no post-modernist. He strongly believes in the authority of Scripture. But the problem lays in his making assertions (such as that justice and mercy are the greatest outworking of the Spirit in society) with no real backing, either Scriptural or scientific, for his claims.

Related, Thompson tends to make brief comments about several hot-button political issues that are at least a distraction from the main thesis of the book and at most should make anyone familiar with Scripture raise their eyebrows. His unspoken but between-the-lines views of the death penalty, Evolution, and homosexuality reveal a troubling arrogance and elevation of his own mind/emotions above what Scripture clearly says (I could have misinterpreted his positions on any/all of these, but there I would say he should be faulted for being so vague and repeat the assertion that these issues shouldn't even be addressed unless one wants to take the time to properly clarify one's position, something which would be highly inappropriate for this book).

The biggest problem with Thompson's sketchy interpretation of Scripture (or ignoring of Scripture) and his needless inclusion of hot-button political points is that, because he is wrong in some of these areas, it calls into question his major themes and points, especially for those who tend to be more theologically astute. This presents a two-pronged problem:

Those who are in the most need of this book are probably the more conservative, fundamentalist types who will automatically use Thompson's weakness in this area as an excuse to ignore the rest of his mostly excellent ideas. Thus, those who would have benefited the most will simply ignore his valid points because of his weak, minor points.
Thompson's faulty interpretations and other errors are likely to be swallowed whole by those who do benefit from the book. This is why the apostles and Early Church warned about being too anxious to teach: you are responsible for even the minor errors you teach.

All of that detracts from the otherwise strong and beautiful theme of Anatomy of the Soul: "When our brains operate in a flexible, adaptive, coherent, energized, and stable fashion, we are able to live in community in a way that encourages those around us to develop these same qualities." It is a stellar theme, one that the Evangelical world is, quite literally, dying to understand (or for lack of understanding). What I mean is that ignoring the basic principles Thompson presents in this book are what have lead to the spiritual and intellectual devolution of modern Evangelicals, whether they be more liberal-minded or conservative fundamentalists.

Despite the flaws, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in discovering how to improve relations, move closer to God, or integrate his mind, spiritual life, and actions more fully. As with any book, just be cautious about the author's own flaws, particularly how his political ideals may affect his interpretation of data (both Scriptural and Scientific).

One last word of caution: About halfway (or earlier) through the book you will feel overwhelmed. I certainly did and the majority of the scientific and relational material was not new to me. Keep with it. Anatomy of the Soul is definitely worth reading to the end. Feel free to take a break, but make sure you go back and finish.

*Please note: Anatomy of the Soul was provided free of charge by Tyndale Press for review purposes. The author of this review received no financial compensation and has not been influenced by Tyndale Press, the author, or any entity concerning this product.

Fruit!

2010-06-15T06:03:00.004+02:00

I'm finally settling back down in the States, as much as I can these days. I'm not sure what I'll be doing next autumn, much less next month. Being back State-side is a mixed bag; lots of things I love and lots of things that are hard to get re-used to. Some things I hope I never get re-used to.

But that's another post for another time. I'm in a hurry and just wanted to let my avid readers know with what the majority of my time in the last few days has been taken:

Fruit!

All kinds of fruit! I visited my brother and sister-in-law over in Louisiana last week and picked up about 8 pounds of blueberries and about 5 pounds of blackberries. Last week was dedicated to freezing half of each, cooking blueberry muffins, and then heading back to LA to attend my sister-in-law's citizenship ceremony (congrats once again!). Freezing blueberries/blackberries is not a small chore since each berry must be washed, inspected, dried, and laid out on cookie sheets to freeze. After the berries have frozen overnight, they can then be placed in plastic bags. This keeps them from sticking together and getting all gross when thawing out. Berries, berries, berries!

Today I spent the morning trying to pay a little attention to my grandmother's mini-peach orchard. It's mini because there are only four trees. Last year the four trees produced a total of about 30 peaches, only half of which were actually good. I pruned all the trees last year (something that hadn't been done for around three years). Two trees are beginning to ripen and are loaded down with close to a thousand or more peaches between the two (not exaggerating; the branches of one are literally laying on the ground). Unfortunately, no one was around a few weeks ago to thin the peaches when they should have been (1,000 peaches is waaaaay too many for two trees), so they are all about half the size of normal peaches. But they are just as sweet and delicious!

This morning was spent thinning the other two trees. I picked off almost 200 small green peaches, hopefully giving the rest a chance to grow big and strong. Then I picked about a bushel of peaches from the ones that are beginning to ripen. This is actually the second bushel (I took about a bushel to my bro last week), but there are still a good 15 bushels out there. Incredible. And what are we going to do with them all?!?!

Ideas?

Then the afternoon was spent pouring over recipes on what we should do with the rest of our blackberries, blueberries, and the forthcoming great load of peaches, and I mashed all of the rest of the blackberries in an attempt to de-seed them. It was a brutal experience. I'm not sure we'll ever get the blood, er, juice cleaned up. I made blackberry tea this evening, and we went shopping for ingredients for tomorrow's adventure. We're going to make blackberry cobbler tomorrow while the rest of the blueberries have been sentenced to a fate of ice cream and scones. Yummy!

We've also come up with recipes for peach and pecan pie (my grandmother's pecan trees produced a load last autumn after I left for France), peach ice cream, and peach cobbler. And, of course, we'll probably jam/jelly quite a bit too.

About the time we finish with the first batch of peaches, the second batch should be ripening. These will be much nicer for eating and, perhaps, freezing.

Then - Oh, we aren't done yet! - the grapes and figs should be ripening early next month and, since I also pruned both of them for the first time in several years last year, they both promise to produce a healthy crop as well this year. And, if this isn't enough, I feel confident that we will be blessed with several bushels of persimmons, and possibly even some apples and/or pears in the next few weeks as well. And I'm crossing my fingers that more berries will be arriving from Louisiana in a few weeks' time.

Finally, if I'm still around in September, there's the pecans that will need to be harvested once again...

The funny thing is that I'm actually loving all of this! From picking blueberries/blackberries to thinning the peaches and helping my grandmother come up with interesting ideas for what to do with our bounty, I'm finding this all quite interesting and invigorating.

Maybe I should be a farmer.

Meme: Five Things in My Wardrobe That I Wouldn't Be Without

2010-04-21T16:47:00.002+02:00

So I was doing some reviews of my blogroll (which I haven't read in weeks), and discovered that Rebecca tagged me in a Meme. I've never even heard of such a thing much less done one, but apparently I have to list 5 things in my wardrobe that I wouldn't be without... Strange. Nevertheless, here we go:

1) Scarves: Scarves are one of the most obvious differentiations between North American and European fashion. Everyone wears them here, and not just for warmth. In fact, they even have "summer scarves" made from light material so that they aren't too hot.

Some Winter Scarf Styles

And Some Summer Scarf Styles

And feel free to click through this gallery if you aren't yet convinced of the wonder of men's scarves. They just add a certain class that, well, isn't there without them. The super-interesting thing about the recent trend in scarf fashion is that they seem to be replacing the tie (not in very formal settings, but in casual-formal settings), which itself replaced the cravatte, which was itself a scarf tied fancily. Interesting, eh?

Another ulterior reason for loving scarves is that they almost necessarily increase modest. Oh, did I mention that they are just as popular for women over here?

2) Squared-Toed Shoes - European shoes always look more sleek and sophisticated that North American shoes. The current trend is a slight variation of the traditional European style: sharply pointed toes ending in a square and a heal about equivalent to cowboy boots. I have to admit that they aren't the most comfortable when doing too much walking or wearing them for hours at a time, but they certainly aren't uncomfortable and the sheer sexiness of them makes up for the discomfort. Yes, I did just use the term "sexy". On my blog. To refer to shoes. Scandelous. But no other way to describe them.

Unfortunately, I can't find any online pics that really do them justice. They look 10x better on a person's foot than they do in a window. Nevertheless, here's few photos to give you an idea.

Keep in mind that I'm not talking about the material of the above two shoes. They're a little sketchy in my book. Instead, I prefer the smooth black/brown leather shoes, but I couldn't find any good pics of those.

3) Fleece - They aren't particularly fashionable, but a good fleece keeps you nice and snug throughout early spring, autumn, and winter. The one advantage they have over sweaters is that they just don't feel as formal as a sweater. One can lounge around the house in a fleece, jump in a pile of leaves, or give the dog a bath without feeling like one is risking an expensive garment. I'd never go for too long without one.

4) Jeans - Nothing special here either. One needs a good pair of trousers to get around, doesn't one? ;)

5) Colored Eye Contacts - Don't leave home without them. I never do. For years people have thought my eyes are either green or brown, depending on which color I decide to wear. My secret? They're actually a sick violet color. Like this:

(That picture reminds me that babies are also a nice fashion touch, especially if they aren't your own)

Most babies born with violet eyes eventually grow out of them. 1 in one million adults have naturally violet eyes, Elizabeth Taylor being the most famous example. They might look pretty chic on a lady, but a guy with violet eyes wouldn't pass, so I keep no less than 5 sets of green and 2 sets of brown colored eye contacts with me at all times. I mean, I can't think of anything worse than being caught without them and having people notice that I have purple eyes. Honestly, what would you say if you saw me with purple eyes?

6) Long Over Coats - Okay, most of you won't need #5, so I decided to throw a sixth as an extra. Everyone has one here in Europe. Not everyone, I guess, but all social classes. About 70% of my students own a longer over coat. I fell in love with them about 30 seconds after seeing them and found a nicely priced one during the after Christmas sales.

Pretty darn nice, eh?

And now I'm supposed to tag people.

Miss N... because she always has the best fashion stories.

Olivia who has some of the cutest kids I'm not related to.

Caleb and Sashanna just to see if they actually read my blog.

And Spiff... because there's no way he'll do it. ;)

The rest of you can breath a bit easier, eh?

Here are the rules.

Title your post- Meme: Five things in my wardrobe that I wouldn't be without. [Edit: Since this is a blog title, please use proper capitalization. Thank you.]
Tell us who linked you.
List your 5 wardrobe items.
Paste these rules at the bottom.
Tag 2 or 3 others to join in the fun!

Nothing Much New

2010-04-21T13:31:00.001+02:00

Howdy friends and family out there in the virtual world!

I know it has been a terribly crazy time since I've posted here. I do apologize. Let me give you a brief run down on all that has happened since my last post:

February - I had (another) two weeks of holiday but was taking intensive online courses at the same time. February ended up being too busy to do any traveling or, to be honest, anything interesting at all.

March - After my online courses ended, I re-arranged my work schedule to allow me to head to l'Abri in Switzerland for a week. I also visited Geneva on my way through both ways. Switzerland is so beautiful. I could live there. But then again, I could live just about anywhere I've visited in Europe!

I had such a good and relaxing time in l'Abri. Nothing that I want terribly to write about here, but it was definitely a good time. In Geneva, I visited the Reformation Museum, St. Peter's Cathedral, and a few other historical places. I learned all sorts of interesting stuff about Calving and the French/Swiss Reformation (most of it was really just review).

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because I had a bad water-related accident with my iPhone while in Switzerland. It fried something on the mother board and I've spent the last 3 weeks trying to get it worked out. I'm really, really starting to get frustrated but I think it may all work out soon.... The whole story requires another post, but it does make for a funny story. In that tragic, painful sort of way.

April - Another two weeks of holiday that just ended last week! For the first week, one of my oldest friends (in length of friendship, not age) came all the way from Turkey with two of her colleagues just to visit me here in lovely France. We had a stupendous time. I didn't take any pictures for two reasons: 1) I still did have my iPhone (though I do have a camera) and 2) they took so many I didn't figure I would need any. They promised me that I would get copies of some of them. Maybe I'll post some in a few months... ;)

Meanwhile, if you want to see how our time went, head over to Miss N's blog and check out her last few posts (April 2010). She's got several good photos and descriptions of holidaying in France.

And that brings us to now! You see, nothing much going on over here... ;)

I'll Bring the Salsa

2010-01-29T00:35:00.003+01:00

I know I need to get Marseille pictures finished. They're coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy this anecdote from earlier this week:

About three times a month, I have the wonderful opportunity of helping to organize an English language Bible study here in Amiens. We've been meeting in the flat of one of my colleague’s from school: Jane, an amazing English woman who boldly invited me to church the first time she met me. We’ve had many, many wonderful conversations, and somewhere along the end of October we talked about the importance of being able to talk about God in one’s maternal language. Lightening struck my brain, and I asked if she would be interested in an English Bible study. The idea mushroomed fairly quickly, and our pastor excitedly endorsed the idea. The only problem we could see is that there are only three Anglophones between our church and our sister church in a nearby village, and the lady from our sister church was on bed-rest because of a difficult pregnancy. We weren’t sure if anyone would come, or what we would study.

In the end, we decided to do The Truth Project by Focus on the Family, and it has been such a nice study. I’ve done this study three or four times now, and I’m always challenged and humbled by the material.

But that’s getting off topic.

To make a very long story somewhat shorter, our first meeting started with just three of us. That was discouraging at first, but it quickly became obvious that God had brought the exact people He wanted. Fortunately God is much wiser than I and that ended up being the perfect beginning. What started out as two Anglophones talking in the hall at a French public school quickly turned into a group of about 8 regulars meeting several times a month for food, English conversation, lots of laughs, prayer, and a great excursion into the Word. We have three other English assistants from nearby towns joining us (a Canadian, a Jamaican, and a Brit), two French people who spent a fair amount of time in the States when they were younger and speak English very well, and another Frenchman, J.N., from our church who originally wanted to come to improve his English.

We were cautious at first when J.N. asked if he could join us. The idea had been, after all, to really be able to talk about God in our native language, not to give free English lessons. Jane and I talked about it a bit and, in the end, we were happy to have him but we agreed that we didn’t want to allow any others join us just to improve their English. He has been an amazing addition to our little group. He was the third person at our first meeting and has never missed one since. A few weeks ago, he floored me when he asked if The Truth Project was available in French because he really wanted to do the study with some of the others in our church. For those wondering, Focus Canada is producing it and it should be out by March…

Jane and I were talking about dear J.N. the other day; his English has noticeably improved, and he’s joined in the laughing and joking of the Anglophones. Last week, he took a group of us “youth” to a concert and told me (yes, I’m considered “youth” in France!) that he has decided to try to speak English to his 1.5 year old son. The thing is, I think it’ll actually be good for both of them; he’s at that level. He’s a brilliant man, and I’m shocked at how quickly his conversation skills have improved in only a few hours a month.

J.N. volunteered to bring dinner a few Saturdays ago (we usually eat together, but we try to do potluck style so as not to be too much of a burden for any one person). His wife joined us for the first time with their little guy, and we enjoyed an AMAZING French fondue from his native region in eastern France. The next day at church, I told him how much I had enjoyed the dish and having his wife and little boy join us, and he told me that it has been such a wonderful experience being able to come. He told me that I absolutely HAVE to come back next year because our little group has been such an encouragement to him and he doesn’t want to see it fall apart.

I hope it doesn’t. I hope they keep meeting and find something else to study in English when I do leave. I don’t know if I’m coming back yet, but even if I do, I’ll only be here for another year, so they’ll still have to figure something out later.

But there I go, getting off of my story.

Last Wednesday, I decided I wanted to make a South of the Border dish that my mom has made since I was a little kid. It’s basically a nice sauce served with chips and other goodies similar to a chili salad. I sent out an email to everyone in our group explaining that I would be bringing a Mexican dish and that I needed people to volunteer to bring the following things:

Lettuce
Diced tomatoes (half a tomato each)
Sour Cream and Guacamole
1/2+ kilo Grated Cheese (Cheddar, Emental and/or Mimolette)
2-4 bags of corn chips (or "crisps" for ourEnglish friends!)
Salsa
Drinks

A body can find all of the above things in most French grocery stores, but the quantities are just never what they are in the U.S. I reminded everyone that we would be around 9 people, so please bring enough for everyone. People quickly volunteered for everything. J.N. sent me the following message:

I'll bring salsa !!! (and other latine dances ;) )

I smiled and sent a goofy reply back to him:

I'm excited to see you dance on Wednesday! Personally, I love the Tango, but the Salsa is more appropriate!!!

I didn’t really think anything more about it except when we (Jane and I) joked about “J.N. bringing the Latin dances.”

J.N. is a doctor at a local hospital, and so he usually comes to Bible study a little bit late. We are usually all finished and just preparing for dessert when he arrives, so he usually eats quickly and then we start the film. It’s usually not a problem, and I didn't think it would be a problem last week either because we could just use the salsa to finish off the chips during the film. However, last Wednesday, he arrived later than usual; a full hour after we had started eating and long after the time we had usually started the DVD.

He came breezing in, apologizing for his tardiness, and excitedly announced that the salsa was finally there. He withdrew from his sack four CDs, all Latin dances. “And just for you,” he said, pointing to the Tango CD. I laughed. Jane excitedly said she loved to dance, so we put one of them in the CD player (no one danced). We enjoyed a little mood music for a few minutes while he quickly ate, and we sat down to watch the lesson.

It didn’t occur to me until we were into the film that we hadn’t brought the chips and salsa in for people to snack on during the film. “Oh well,” I thought. “We’ll just do that later.”

But after the study, there wasn’t any sign of a can of salsa. I concluded that J.N. had been running late and simply hadn’t had time to pick it up. As the French would say, c’est pas grave (“no big deal”). After the study, I gathered his CDs up and handed them to him. “No, no,” he said. “You can borrow.” I thanked him, wondering why he though I would want to borrow them.

It didn’t hit me until I looked at the CDs again. The title of one of them stood out in bold red print:

Mexican Salsa

Marseille I: First glipse of the Sea

2010-01-21T17:04:00.003+01:00

At the beginning of December, my dormmates and I took a trip to Marseille in the south of France. It was a good weekend, but so much colder than we thought! As much as I've previously traveled around Europe, this was the first time I had ever seen the Mediterranean Sea (which I still have to look up whenever I spell it). I was pretty excited, let me tell you! Below the fold you'll find some pictures from our time there.

First time seeing the Sea!

Beauty!

Notice the palm tree on the left. I've only seen palms trees in three other places: California, South Carolina, and Kenya.

My dormmates and I arrived at the Marseille airport around midnight. The other two Americans, Andrea and Taylor, caught a long taxi-ride (around 50 euro) into town to their over-priced hotel while Stefan, the German assistant, and I caught a short taxi-ride (around 8 euro) to our budget hotel right next to the airport. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the room, but we both started laughing when we saw it. Well, it wasn't really the room that we laughed at; it was the bathroom. It reminded one of an airplane WC with a curtain hung across half of it. Behind the curtain was the shower, but there was litterally only about a foot between the wall and the curtain. For Europeans, this might be fine, but for this fat American, I couldn't believe it. I kept kicking the toilet through the curtain while I was trying to avoid bashing my head against the wall as I soaped up. Fortunately, the shower head was one of those ones that comes off the wall, so I could rinse without endangering various limbs.

Stefan's shower story was probably more dramatic: I was bumping my head on the bathroom ceiling when I stood on my toes, and he's about a foot taller than I. Somehow he forgot to tell me about his shower experience.

But then, of course, the entire bathroom was soaked, including the mirror, because the curtain failed to properly shield the water. And the floor of the "shower" was separated from the floor of the bathroom with a half-a centimeter drop. In other words, the floor of the bathroom was flooded by the time one got out of the shower. Fortunately, Stefan and I took this with a fair amount of humor. After all, we'd saved more than half the money Taylor and Andrea had spent on their cushy taxi ride and however-many-star hotel.

Little did we know what adventure awaited us the next morning...

Apologies

2010-01-15T14:32:00.002+01:00

Well hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Life has been wonderfully crazy recently, and I'll try to update you all on my many adventures in the last month or so in my next few posts. As for now, please accept my apologies for my long absence!

Finished!

2009-12-18T14:32:00.002+01:00

Just sent in my last project for school! It feels pretty darn good to be done for one whole month!!! Now I just have to wait on grades...

Textbook Funny, II

2009-12-15T14:15:00.004+01:00

Found some more textbook funnies today. Sorry for the crudeness of the last one, but I couldn't help but laugh when I read it, especially when one synthesizes it to with my last Textbook Funny entry. Be forwarned: it is not G-rated.

"Widows and widowers have a seven times greater risk of dying within one year after their spouse's death than do nonwidows and nonwidowers. Remarriage seems to reduce this risk"

This really doesn't make any sense, and, unlike the other funnies I've noted, I honestly can't figure out what the authors are trying to say here. People whose spouses died have a greater chance of dying with a year after the death of their spouse in comparison with those people whose spouses did not die. So in other words, you're more like to do die 1 year after your spouse died if your spouse actually died. If he or she didn't die, then you're not as likely to die 1 year after he or she died. Does that make ANY sense to anyone???

Forgive me for this second one, but I had to laugh when I read it:

"Sexual activity can and often does continue throughout the lifespan. Furthermore, there’s some intriguing evidence that having sex may have some unexpected side benefits: One study found that having sex regularly is associated with a lower risk of death!"

This is the same book that said that women have a lower risk for death than men... Makes you wonder what all of those 1,000+ year old women we discussed last time are doing in, well, wherever they're being kept. But now, at least, we know why they aren't allowed to be in public!

Finals!

2009-12-14T20:16:00.000+01:00

Sorry about the lack of posts in the last week. It has been a crazy week. I'm experiencing my first Master's level final exams. Actually, they're almost over already. Yes, I'm only taking two classes, but that equals two research projects plus two actual tests plus the normal weekly readings and essays due. I've mostly finished both research projects and am looking forward to trying my hand at the tests later on in the week.

I've really enjoyed these classes, and I'm looking forward to classes next spring. Okay, not exactly ALL of my classes. In January, I'll be taking a Research Methods and Statistics (or something like that) class, which I'm not particularly excited about. It sounds tough so I'm taking it by itself. Then in March I'm taking two classes that sounded loads more fun, but I can't remember their names right now. I'll let you all know closer to March.

You Raise Me Up

2009-12-07T21:31:00.000+01:00

I just recently found this hymn from Celtic Woman while listening to their Christmas music. It's so, so beautiful.

Give it a listen and let me know what you all think.

Around Amiens

2009-12-07T09:43:00.005+01:00

Here are some pictures I took awhile back of around Amiens. I'm still meaning to post some pics of the school campus and my room... maybe next week?

On the Somme

My dormmates. From left to right:

Stefan, the German Assistant, Taylor, the other American, Andrea, Taylor's girlfriend.

Thanksgiving Feast!

2009-12-07T09:35:00.001+01:00

I've been meaning to post pictures from our Thanksgiving feast for awhile now. I was hoping to be able to get some of the picture off of Facebook to include a photo of all of the American chefs, but sadly, I'll just have to stick with the pics I took on my iPhone.

Five of us American English instructors decided to host Thanksgiving for several British, Irish, Italien, Spanish, and German assistants. It was such a fun time, but I did miss the religious observations. I was struck as we went around the room saying "what we were thankful for" that most of the people in the room had no idea to whom they were thankful, they just had vague feelings of appreciation. Sad.

But the food was so amazing! We had all of the traditional stuff: Turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, pumking pie, and mashed potatoes. We also included some French goodies. You can see on the corner of the table some croissants, and next to the turkey is a poulet roti (roasted chicken). And of course we had some nice French wine and chocolate

The Spread!

My contribution: Mashed Potates! They turned out really well!

I couldn't believe we had FOUR real live pumkin pies in France!

This year, I thank God for an awesome opportunity to live overseas, an amazing job and coworkers, an encouraging and open church here in Amiens, wonderful Christian family and friends back home, and all that God has done in the last year to mold me more and more into the man He wants me to be. I'm also thankful that He never changes no matter how much I have to!

A Textbook Funny

2009-11-30T18:18:00.002+01:00

Good news to all of my European-American female friends: You've got a much better chance at immortality than the rest of us, particularily my African-Amerian male friends.

I was just reading one of my textbooks and had to laugh at this paragraph: “Men are more apt to die than women, primarily due to their higher involvement in automobile accidents. Furthermore, African-Americans have twice the death rate of Caucasians, and minorities in general have a higher likelihood of dying than the Caucasian majority."

Ignoring the repeated use of the highly offensive term "Caucasian" to refer to European-Americans, I couldn't help but laugh at the bizzare world in which these people live. But I hope you European-American girls enjoy your life since you're probably not going to die. I just wonder where they keep all of these 1,000 year old women...

For the rest of us (males and minorities): I can't see much benefit to living forever, especially since these ladies are apparently locked up somewhere after they get much older than 100, so we shouldn't feel too bad about our higher chances of dying.

Christmas Music!

2009-11-30T16:48:00.007+01:00

With Thanksgiving past, Thursday was the official start of the American Christmas season. Also in Amiens, the Marché de Nöel started last Saturday, and I got a glimpse of the lights and decorations downtown Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Spiritually, yesterday was the First Sunday of Advent.

While I hate the over-commercialization of Christmas, I love the real celebration. The colors, lights, and decoration are just the best, and somehow seem fitting for the remembrance of the nativity of our Lord. The world is filled with joy and anticipation, and I think everyone knows deep down that it isn’t anticipation of gifts to be opened or meals to be devoured.

Christmas music floods the airwaves and gently tickles the ears when walking through the mall or the outdoor market. This is the most annoying part of the holidays for some, but I have to admit I love Christmas music. Well, most Christmas music. While I enjoy secular songs like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Chestnuts Roasting, they are the songs that get old the quickest. One Christian station I used to listen to made a habit of trying to have a secular-religious-secular-religious pattern of songs. I usually ended up turning them off after an hour or so in favor of my own Christmas CDs.

So what are they? Well, here are my favorite Christmas albums:

Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album, Home for Christmas, & A Christmas to Remember
Fernando Ortega’s Christmas Songs
Mannheim Steamroller’s A Fresh Aire Christmas & Christmas Extraordinaire
Sandi Patty’s O Holy Night, Yuletide Joy!, and other assorted songs

I also enjoy the Christmas music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Celtic Woman, Julie Andrews, and other random artists. Casting Crowns’ “While You Were Sleeping” is particularly good, but I’ve never been able to listen to their whole album Peace on Earth. Regina Spektor’s Baby Jesus is a clever look at Christmas from a non-Christian perspective (she’s Jewish).

My favorite traditional songs include: "The Hallelujah Chorus," "Ukranian Carol of the Bells," "O Holy Night," "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," "Silver Bells," "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," "Still, Still, Still," and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

Two of my favorite modern songs are: "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant and "Mary, Did You Know?" by Clay Aiken.

So now I’d like to hear from you! Which Christmas albums is the first that you pop into the player after Thanksgiving? What Christmas songs do you turn up when the start? Post them in the comments.

Ice Skating!

2009-11-29T19:52:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago I went ice skating with my German roommate and four other Germans. It was a fun adventure. The last time I was ice skating was when Spiff and Mrs. Spiff were courting, which was a looooooong time ago (one 'o' for every year). I was really rusty, but it was a blast! Below are some pics of me at the skating rink.

Well hi there! I'm just trying not to kill myself here!

Look, Ma, I can stand all the way up!

I'm proud to say I didn't fall once, though I thought I was going to dozens of times.

Okay, stop taking pictures now.

Notice the gloves. They are required. Why? I was just as confused as the Germans. But we're all slowly learning that the French revel in strange dress code requirements for places like skating rinks and swimming pools.

Swimming pools? Yes, France is probably the only place that forbids too much modesty at the piscine. Okay, Greece probably does too, but you get my drift. I'm not allowed to wear either a shirt or my bermuda shorts while swimming. There are only two male garments allowed: un short, which is like super-tight boxer-briefs, or un slip, which is like a speedo. Oh, and you can wear something to cover your (head) hair if you want. Needless to say, I haven't been to the piscine since I got here...

But I can agree that modesty isn't always the best policy. Paris swimming pools caused a raucous but refused to back down when they banned "burquinnis" last year.

WARNING: PICTURE CONTAINS GRAPHIC ANKLES NUDITY

Day of Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T00:33:00.003+01:00

The Lord is here,

His Spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is indeed right.

It is our duty and our joy,

At all times and in all places,

To give you thanks and praise,

Holy Father, heavenly King,

Almighty and eternal God,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For he is our great high priest,

Who has loosed us from our sins

And has made us to be a royal priesthood to you,

Our God and Father.

Therefore with angels and archangels,

And with all the company of heaven,

[With all your Saints, on earth and in heaven,]

We proclaim your great and glorious name,

For ever praising you and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.

Therefore, Lord and heavenly Father,

In remembrance of the precious death and passion,

The mighty resurrection and glorious ascension

Of your dear Son Jesus Christ,

We offer you through him

This our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
Grant that by his merits and death,

And through faith in his blood,

We and all your Church may receive forgiveness of our sins

And all other benefits of his passion.

Although we are unworthy, through our manifold sins,

To offer you any sacrifice,

Yet we pray that you will accept this,

The duty and service that we owe.

Do not weigh our merits, but pardon our offences

With your grace and heavenly blessing;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

By whom, and with whom, and in whom,

In the unity of the Holy Spirit,

All honour and glory be yours, almighty Father

For ever and ever.

In the Name of the Father

And of the Son

And of the Holy Spirit

Amen.

Taken with some changes from the Book of Common Prayer

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Châteaux-ing, II

2009-11-20T23:47:00.000+01:00

The second château we visited was much, much older. Sadly, it had been bombed in one of the wars (I think the Great War, but I could be wrong). All that survives is broken wall surrounding the restored church inside. Everything else was abandoned and enver repaired. Pictures below the fold.

The outside of the wall.

The Passage under the wall and into the courtyard. Scary.

If you look through the door at the end, you can see the beauty of autumn.

The church inside provided a beautiful contrast of the hope and beauty

of God and the destruction and ruin of Man.

Just to prove I really was there.

We decided we didn't want to take the scary passage again and tried to scale the walls.

Sadly, the wall was too much for us, and we were forced to find another exit. If it hadn't been for the annoying white dust that got all over our clothes, we might have made it. As we snuck out of the château, we witnessed a horrible battle (I have a video of it, but can't figure out how to post it) between Revolutionary forces and Royalists. Well, they were all speaking French so I assumed it was one of the half-dozen French revolutions and not between the Germans and French. Oh, and they were all about the age of 8 or 9. They had guns that made delightful bang-ing noises, and we got to witness several theatrical death scenes and the raid on the château as the ladies of the court threw rocks at the intruders. My German friend couldn't take the violence, so we left before we found out who won. Unfortunatly, the papers neglected to mention it the next day so I guess we'll never know who won.

Châteaux-ing, I

2009-11-18T18:16:00.001+01:00

One of my first weeks here, we went chateaux-ing around Amiens. We meaning myself and my German roommate. It was a lot of fun. And it was really nice that he brought his car to France. Below the fold are some pictures of one of our adventures.

A 19th century château.

Looks like Percy Blakeny could live here!

A beautiful lake... somewhere.

I actually don't remember where I took this picture.

The forest outside of the château.

Sadly, it was closed to the public so we just had to look through the bars.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post some more later.

Back on the Air!

2009-11-17T12:19:00.000+01:00

Well, a lot has happened since I last updated! But first thing's first: I think we're back on the air!

Yesterday the school changed Internet filters. I guess they decided the one they were using wasn't strong enough since we could still use Deezer.com and Grooveshark. So they changed to a new filter. At first I was really irritated because I couldn't access some of the things I used to be able to do. Then I randomly visited a blog just a few minutes ago, another blogspot blog, and noticed that the toolbar was available! Before, I could read blogspot blogs but not log in to comment or to post on mine. With much excitement I clicked on the "log in" button and, low and behold, I am now able to post on my blog!!!

Quick updates on various aspects of life

Job: I'm nearing the 2 month mark here in France, and I'm still loving it! I've gotten settled into teaching. I never thought I could enjoy something so much as this. It's been so much fun. I have my off days, to be sure, but for the most part I love the kids, my collegues, and the job. The paperwork, on the other hand, is still overwhelming. I'm not sure why it has to be so complicated!

Church: I found a nice church through several 'coincidental' happenings. I'm amazed at God's grace to me in even these small things. I'll write more about my church later, but for now I'll just say that the people are ever so welcoming. Even with the language barrier, they've been trying to include me in Bible studies, prayer meetings, youth days, and everything that happens at the church. One of the elders even suggested the other day that the church incorporate some English songs to make us (3) anglophones more at home. I actually don't like the idea, but I'm touched by the thought.

School: Master's courses are in full swing. Actually this week is midterms. I'm enjoying them a lot but am still having some trouble getting back into the 'rhythm' of academic life. Funny, it's only been a few months! But I'm not really cut out for online courses, so this is a triple challenge for me.

Housing: I'm living in a dormitory style apartment. I have my own private room but share a kitchen, bathroom, and washroom with 2 other Americans and a German. We have a lot of good times, but it can also be stressful sometimes. I'm sure I'll write more about them in the coming months.

Other: We're starting an English version of The Truth Project tomorrow! I'm so very excited. I'm sad to say that not as many people as I had hoped are able to come (there were four English assistants interested, but it's looking like 1 or 2 won't be able to make it). But God is Sovereign, and I'm trusting that He'll provide those He wants to come.

Holiday: Well, the French have so many holidays. Right after getting two weeks off for Halloween (okay, it was actually All Saints, but same thing, right?), we got the following Wednesday off for Armistice Day. Nice. Now we're all looking forward to Christmas holiday starting on 19 December. Exciting stuff, I tell you. I've asked off for Thanksgiving Day and am awaiting a reply from two of my collegues.

Okay, I'll try to update in the next few days with pictures, stories, etc.

Two Stories

2009-10-15T13:51:00.001+02:00

I still don't have access to Blogspot in my room, so I'm having to do only text updates infrequently until they get that worked out. Hopefully that will be next week. Realistically, it might happen before January. That is, unless I invite the network administrator out for a drink before asking him. Or discover that we're related somehow. Or I marry his daughter. Or my supervisor happens to be his sister. Or he knows and likes another American. Or... well, you get the idea.

One day I'm hoping to upload pictures of the campus. Not sure how I'm going to do this since flashdrives are interdits (forbidden) on the school's computers. We'll see what I can figure out.

Classes have now been going for two weeks. My students range from being being stupid in any language to being straight up anglophones (native English speakers). Seriously. Here are two of my fun stories from the last two weeks:

Making my first student cry. Okay, it wasn't really fun, but it was interesting. She wouldn't say anything to me. I asked her some simple question (I think it was, "what are you studying", but I can't remember for sure), and she just gapped at me. I said, "try". She stared at me. I said, "it's okay if it isn't right, just try". She stared at me. I said, "essayes" (try). She stared at me. I said, "parles quelque chose" (say something). She stared at me. I pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her, determined to get something out of her. I did. She covered her face and sobbed. I moved on to the next student. I won't be having her in class again. That's good for both of us.

Being taught English by one of my students. I was supposed to oversee a sort of special study hall for three students from different classes. I had done this earlier and found that I like the arrangement since the students don't typically know each other. My first student enters and says (in perfect British-English), "Where are you from?". "The United States" I say. "Ah! I'm so glad to have an English speaker! The teachers here... well they all speak with a bad accent..." I'm dumbfounded. This is more English than I have ever heard from a student. "Where are you from?" I ask. "Nigeria" he says. "Great", I think, "why did they send me an anglophone?" Then my next two students come in. Both girls were native French-speakers and fairly weak in English. So I had to try to teach an English class and be interesting for two people who hardly speak English and one who speaks it as his mother tongue. He was excited to speak English with someone who actually spoke English. He wouldn't slow down for the others, and he just looked at me strangely when I spoke slowly and put breaks between my words. I'm sure he thought I was a bit retarded. I ended up making the class about differences between British-English and American-English. I learned a lot. The girls, I'm afraid, didn't. They mostly just stared off into space while he asked me questions about gangs, hamburgers, and life in America.

I have more, and they'll be coming soon (I hope). Until then, Bon Courage!

Arrival in France

2009-10-09T11:50:00.000+02:00

I know it has been quite some time since I used this blog. I guess the last time I really used it was last summer when I was in Brussels. But I'm hoping to get it going on a more regular basis now that I'm in beautiful Amiens, France for the school year!

Where is Amiens, France, you might ask? I had no idea either before getting my letter saying I was assigned here. It's in the north of France, Picardy to be precise. A little north of Normandy. It happens to also be the capitol city of this lovely region.

I arrived in France on September 23 for several days' visit in Paris. I stayed at a lovely guesthouse recommended by some friends who only live a couple of blocks away. I had some great talks with both Mme. and M. B. She's American living in France and married to a Frenchman, so she gave me lots of tips (and an extremely valuable book) on French culture, etc.

Then I headed to Amiens on Saturday. I met up with one of my new collegues at the train station. I was immediately taken and dropped at another collegue's house. This one is married to an Australian who had been home from a world tour with his business for only 2 days. That evening I got to enjoy my first French party (a welcome home/birthday party). Super crazy. But fun. And educational.

And great for my French. In French culture, as in any I suppose, there are so many faux pas one can accidentally commit. What's to be done? I had the luck of being chosen to help serve the champagne. Why? Not sure. This is a delicate task in France. It must be served according to age rank and gender. I had no idea. Nor did I have the foggiest idea who to serve first. Fortunately, my host helped me out. Which was good. The 'oldest woman' in the room looked about 10 years younger than at least two of the others. *sigh* I survived. And they all got their champagne. And no one cursed me in French. They all smiled and enjoyed their glasses of champagne.

And I even got an invitation to another party fort the end of November, to the home of one of the French couples! My American friend's book said this is practically unheard of, so I felt like I accomplished something. At least I hadn't offended them.

Then off to school on Monday. The week was spent filling out paperwork, moving in, meeting millions of people (okay, more like dozens, but they all blend together after about 4 for me). There are still people people who I don't know and don't remember meeting who come up to meet and just start talking to me as if we have been friends since the cradle. I haven't an idea in the world who they are, but they seem adament then they know me. Okay. Whatever. That's French culture! Roll with it. Yesterday I had one of my collegues introduce me to the Italian professor (I had a message to relay to him but didn't know who he was) only to have him inform her, very passionately, that of course he already knew me and no introduction was needed. And a slight wink in my direction as if sharing a joke with me: "silly woman, doesn't know that we're best friends". I smiled back. This is what we do in France.

I'll have to share more another time. I'm having problems with my computer (again, it seems to happen when I come to Europe). I gave it to the Computer Department to work on here at the school, and she told me that the mother board is broken. *sigh* So now they've lent me one for an indefinite period. But I can't access facebook, youtube, or blogger in my room. I have to go to the school's library for them. Posting may be slow until we work something out for that.

Until next time!

The Adventure Continues May 2009

2009-02-24T17:28:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Spiff for the heads up.

Wedding Plans

2009-02-19T05:37:00.000+01:00

No, not mine. A dear friend of mine from CofO recently announced his engagement to another of my friends. Mr. B and Miss L are to be wed sometime later this year (date not yet known). As they'll both be graduating in May, I thought I would try to help them out and post some ideas for different portions of their wedding. It does appear that I won't be approaching the altar anytime soon, so I have all of these pent up wedding ideas that I just have to get out there. I know, pretty weird. Guys aren't supposed to think about their weddings until the day before. But I guess even I have a slight romantic side to me.

Of course these are only suggestions. Mr. B and Miss L., please don't feel like you HAVE to plan your wedding in anyway according to these videos if you don't think it would meaningful for you. The important thing is to remember that this is YOUR day. I won't be offended in the least; I just thought you might be able to use some of the following videos as inspiration.

Edit 8:57 am 19 Feb 2009: Correction of glaring and disgusting grammatical and spelling errors.

C.S. Lewis Bibliography

2009-02-15T05:33:00.000+01:00

I went to Branson, MO for a movie evening celebrating the life and work of C.S. Lewis this weekend. The movies, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Shadowlands, were excellent. I had never seen Shadowlands and found the film moving and meaningful. I'll probably post later on my other thoughts regarding the film and trip, but the evening inspired me to post something I've had for awhile but not gotten around to posting yet.

I've had difficulty finding a complete list of C.S. Lewis works, so I decided to gradually build one myself. These are the latest editions of most of his writings. The editions chosen reflect the desire to have a uniform look to the books. The "Essential Readings" are the books that belong in every Christian's library. If you don't own them, get them!

Essential Readings

The Signature Series Boxed Set (contains Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, A Grief Observed, The Screwtape Letters, Miracles, The Great Divorce)
The Four Loves (my favorite Lewis book) - UK Signature Series
Surprised by Joy - UK Signature Series
Selected Books (contains The Pilgrim's Regress, The Abolition of Man, Till We Have Faces, Reflections on the Psalms, Letters to Malcolm)
The Cosmic Trilogy/The Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength)
The Chronicles of Narnia Series
Essay Collection: Faith, Christianity and the Church
Essay Collection: Literature, Philosophy and Short Stories
The Complete Poems (Publish date: 2010; Replaces Spirits in Bondage, The Collected Poems, and Narrative Poems)

Note: The two Essay Collection volumes replace most of the previous essay collections, including Christian Reflections, Christian Reunion, God in the Dock, The Weight of Glory, Present Concerns, On Stories, The World's Last Night, and The Dark Tower and Other Stories. This is the most complete set of books for his essays. Other essay collections in print, such as Of Other Worlds (but excluding those listed below), contain only essays that can be found in these other volumes. Only two essays from these books are missing from Essay Collection. They are: 'A Reply to Professor Haldane' (On Stories) and 'Rejoinder to Dr Pittenger' (God in the Dock)

For the Completest (Non-religious and scholarly work)

George MacDonald: An Anthology
Studies in Words
An Experiment in Criticism
The Discarded Image
The Personal Heresy
A Preface to Paradise Lost
The Allegory of Love
Arthurian Torso
English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama ( or Poetry and Prose in the Sixteenth Century)
Spenser's Image of Life
Boxen: Tales Before Narnia
All My Road Before Me (diary from 1922-27)
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume I
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume II
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume II
Essay Collection: Academia, Education, and Scholarly Work (Note: It isn't clear if this collection will be published in the future. This volume would replace Selected Literary Essays, Studies in Medeival and Renaisance Literature, and Rehabilitations and includes the missing essays from God in the Dock and On Stories

Happy Martyr's Day!

2009-02-14T22:05:00.000+01:00

It's that time again. I won't go into the reasons I detest the modern celebration of Saint Valentine's Day (if you're interested, you can read them here ), but I will say that, every year I think more about the historical Valentine, I become more convinced that the modern practices of the day should be totally scrapped.

I'm not a female, but maybe one of you can chime in and tell me how romantic it is if your man buys flowers, chocolates, etc. for you on the one day that they are told by the entire culture and shouted at for weeks by store, TV, and radio advertisements how they need to. Let's face it, the majority of American males, even those who passionately love their female companions, are not getting them flowers on this day because of their undying love; they're doing it because they've been guilted into it and feel like their wives have an expectation for it. They're doing it because they are told to.

It doesn't seem to me that romantic attention on this day means much: everyone else is doing it, and you're made to feel bad if you don't participate (however it is that culture tells you to particpate). Buying someone a card, flowers, or chocolate on Valentine's Day to show your affection is rather like showing your love to your significant other by wearing the same clothes you would have anyway or doing some "special job" for her/him that you would have done anyway. It even seems comparable to trying to show your wife you life her by doing your taxes. It seems to me that this day's observances are, in reality, anti-romantic.

All of this is easy for me to say. I don't have a significant other. I am, along with millions of others on this day, celebrating Single's Awareness Day (or S.A.D for short). Perhaps my feelings about the holiday are simply my resentment toward being single bubbling up in me. Funny how I don't feel that resentful though.

But I don't think I'm going to celebrate modern Valentine's Day even if/when I get married either. Of course I'll have to talk that one over with my wife, but it seems much more appropriate to have a spontaneous day of romance at another time (a week later when everything is 75% off!) instead of following the dictates of the combined efforts of Hollywood and Wall-Street marketers, very few of whom have probably even had dinner with their own families in a very long time. Believe me, when I need advice on romance, I won't be going to Wal-Mart or Hershy's executives for for it. Instead, I'd like my family to observe this day as what it was originally intended to be: a celebration of Christ's martyrs, those whose blood has been the seed of the Church. Ultimately, that's a reflection of the most romantic action that has ever taken place in the entire history of the human race: Christ's self-giving sacrifice for his beloved Bride.

Since December

2009-02-02T22:37:00.000+01:00

I shall have to update on last semester at another time. Right now, I'm just going to let you all know where I am and what I'm doing right now.

Not much, really.

I graduated from College of the Ozarks with a major in International Business and minors in French and Philosophy & Religion. I did actually make Summa Cum Laude, but there were a few moments of stress and doubt. CofO doesn't have a ceremony in December, so mid-term graduates walk with the May graduates. Right now, I plan to head back up to Branson for graduation in May.

Because of my awkward graduation date and my exceptionally heavy class load last semester (22 hrs.), I did not have a job or any other plans lined out for January. I made it through Christmas with little problems and headed back up to Branson for a weekend to turn in applications and look for an apartment. This is what I really wanted to do: get a job, live in Branson, hang out with my friends, audit a few classes at CofO, and wait around until September when I plan to move to France to teach English.

What really happened is that no jobs to my liking have come open in Branson. I headed south to visit my grandmother in Texas. My grandfather passed away two summers ago, and she's been living on her farm alone ever since (with abundant visits from family close enough to do so). I asked her if she would be interested in me moving down to live with her for a few months before I move to France, and she said she'd love to have me if I could do it. I decided to shop around for jobs in Texas and see what came up. I currently have 2-4 leads and have not exhausted the opportunities yet. Though it's not quite what I had in mind after graduating, I'm excited for this opportunity for many reasons.

My grandmother is a very loving, generous, and caring woman. She's also very wise but at the same time "up-to-date" with the real world. Her mind is sharp and she's in great physical condition too (especially considering her age). She just makes life so very comfortable to be around. This makes it sound like I'm letting her wait on me hand and foot, but that really isn't true either. She's more than happy to make me dinner or wash my clothes, but in reality we do a lot of things together, and I do a lot of things for her. That's not because she needs me to but because she's the type of person that makes just being around her relaxing and comfortable. It feels like a holiday even though I'm doing a fair amount of work. For example, getting up and helping her get breakfast ready at 7:00 isn't really as hard as mornings have always been for me (my former roommates and siblings can all acount to the fact that I am NOT a morning person), though I would still rather wait for breakfast until 10:00.... ;)

Last semester, I also got interested in pursuing a Master's Degree in Psychology or Counseling. Right now I'm leaning to Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling/Therapy. I had planned to do this online via Capella University, but the program is significantly more expensive than I originally thought ($40,700) versus much more reasonably priced Christian universities (Liberty University online or Southwest Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth which both cost less than half of Capella's tuition). I wanted to avoid Christian institutions because I want to be able to work in secular counseling situations, but right now I'm starting to think that maybe I should go for it. I have a fairly pushy recruiting agent at Capella who won't like me to withdraw. I'm already accepted and he's been badgering me to start in Februrary, but I've finally told him that I won't start until March at the earliest. Now I'm reconsidering again, but I'll have to decide by the end of February. Hopefully I'll have a job by then.

C.S. Lewis has also been a nice companion since Christmas. Some friends of mine gave me an Amazon.com giftcard, so I used it buy some of his books. So far I'm enjoying them immensely. I've always liked Lewis; he has a brilliant way of outlining Truth in a way that makes it graspable. Certainly he isn't right on everything, but who is? I've been mostly reading his fiction works: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength (The Cosmic/Space Trilogy), and a collection of short and unfinished stories entitled The Dark Tower and Other Stories. Some are strange, but most are excellent. I'll review the Cosmic Trilogy later. Now I'm out of his fiction (I left Till We Have Face at home) so I'm reading The Four Love again (so far my favorite Lewis book) and random essays from God in the Dock and Christian Reflections.

So here I am in Texas, looking for a job, doing research on Master's, enjoying Mr. Lewis's well-written literature, and thinking about what I want to do with my life. Pray for direction for me, if you think about it.

Pathetic

2009-01-29T04:07:00.000+01:00

The semester is over, and the new one is well on its way. I'm not taking classes right now so it makes little difference to me. Graduating from college has proven to be one of the most complex changes in awhile, but I'll write another post on that sometime. This is really just a note to say how sorry I am that I've procrastinated and failed to write anything for soooo long. I'm pathetic. I have no excuses right now, since I'm not taking classes and I'm unemployed. More on that later too. Anyway, hopefully this is the start of more habitual posting.

Two Months!!!

2008-10-18T17:43:00.000+02:00

Can it really have been two months since I've posted? I suppose it has been, give or take a few days. If there is anyone who still bothers to come and check out any updates, I'd like to say that I do apologize for such rudeness. There really isn't any reason for it, but my excuse is that I've been severely busy with school. As most of you probably know, this is my last semester, and I've got a full load (22 hours), plus I'm working on trying to figure out my plans for next semester. I have a lot to say about my semester, but I think I had better keep things in chronological order and wait until I finish posting the rest of my summer adventures (seems so long ago...). So please consider this note a quick "we're back on the air" notice, and I hope to be more faithful in the next two months.

Points of History (Berlin, III)

2008-08-22T20:09:00.000+02:00

The Brandenburg Gate was a sign of national pride and strength. The main central gate was reserved only for the coaches of the Kaiser. After WWII when the city of Berlin was divided into four different sections (American, British, French, and Soviet), the gate served as the border between the West and East. The Russians, Europeans, and Americans agreed that the gate must be repaired and reopened after suffering massive damage during the bombing of Berlin. New statues were ordered repairs were done by both sides. However, before the gate could be unveiled, the Soviets began work on the Berlin Wall. Since the Gate officially belonged on the Soviet side but much too close to the allied side, it ended up in No Man’s Land, the area between the Berlin Wall and another, smaller wall that kept the Eastern Berliners (not jelly doughnuts as one famous U.S. President said) from trying to get to the Wall.

There was a cool Russian guy who sold visa stamps and post cards. I got a visa stamp from the American, British, French, and Soviet sides, as well West Germany and East Germany. Behind him were these two guys with the British and American flag. I asked, in French, where the French flag was, and they said they only spoke English and German. I thought this was strange since most Europeans speak at least three different languages and probably four or five. But oh well. I asked in English. They looked at me with a stupefied expression and pointed toward the French embassy as if they were shocked that I had spoken English. I asked them, since Western Berlin was originally split between the three countries, why they didn’t have a compatriot to represent the French. They answered, in halting English, that three people was too many. I finally figured out they weren’t actually American or British. In fact I don’t think they were even German. I’m pretty sure they were Turkish. Oh well. Makes for a cool photo, eh?

But I did find the French at Checkpoint Charlie, the main (only?) border passing between Eastern and Western Berlin. I was again pretty sure he wasn’t really French, but I didn't get a chance to ask him. Oh, and that American had some sort of foreign accent.

I’m pretty sure Checkpoint Charlie was the only checkpoint because, even though it was located in the American section, the signs were written in English, Russian, French, and German. Why French? It would have made more sense for them to use the French crossing if there had been one.

I love this picture of the four flags. Strange to me that neither German flag is included.

So that was my trip to Berlin, a city of rich but tragic history. And I see nothing but equal amounts of pain and tragedy for the city in the future. Though the city and the country have only be reunified for less than 20 years, Germany faces again losing its identify on two fronts: The EU and the massive amounts of immigration who bring, and are slowly replacing Christianity/Secularism/Atheism with, Islam. If Germany is still existing as a free independent democracy in 25 years it will be a miracle. Or it will be because they have, once again, had a bloody civil war.

Exploring Berlin (Berlin, II)

2008-08-22T20:02:00.000+02:00

After my visit to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s house, I still had about ten hours before my train was to leave. I decided to explore a bit of the city. First I took a river boat and got a view of the center of the city. There’s an island in the middle of the main river of Berlin that has five different museums and little, if any, else. It’s called, appropriately enough, Museum Island.

This is the oldest chapel in Berlin.

The Reichstag is the building of the national parliament, the Baumstang (sp?). Also close by are the Chancellor’s offices, the Parliamentary library, and other national offices. I did actually go up into the glass globe later on. From the top you can see almost all of Berlin.

The golden dome is the rebuilt National Jewish Synagogue. This was an interesting photo to me with the smoke stack to the right and front of the Synagogue. As most know, the smoke stack was a horrifying symbol of Nazi murder and torture of the Jews.

The Protestant Saint (Berlin, I)

2008-08-22T19:37:00.000+02:00

The Catholics have, quite literally, thousands of them. Evangelical Protestants are reticent to name people ‘saint’ for many reasons. The two most important reasons are, in my humble opinion, quite valid. They are: 1) The Bible calls all Christians ‘saints’. To give specific people this title excludes certain that are and, quite probably, has included some that are not. 2) When Catholics use the term ‘saint’, they really mean ‘demi-god’ who somehow makes intercession on behalf of mere men here on earth before God. A foundational belief that sets Protestants apart from Catholics is the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. This makes praying to saints not only pointless and silly but idolatrous and sinful. As an aside, notice how the doctrine is called “priesthood of all believers”, not “high-priesthood of all believers”.

On both of these issues, as with 90% of other issues, I am in total agreement with the Protestant view. However, there does seem to be a need to differentiate great Christians heroes throughout Church history. These people live lives that are particularly instructional to Christians. They can be known for anything from performing a miracle to total devotion to God, from theological treatise to martyrdom. Some Catholic saints that Protestants all readily agree should be recognized on some level include: the Apostles, Mary, Valentine, Patrick, Augustine, Thomas à Kempis, and others.

Yet since the time of the Reformation, we Protestants don’t tend to raise people to this level. There are literally dozens of individuals from the Reformation period that would be called ‘saint’ if they had been on the other side of the conflict: William Tyndale, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Knox, Jean Calvin, Queen Elizabeth, etc. But there are also hundreds, possibly thousands, since the Reformation. People like Corrie ten Boom, Jim Elliot, Mary Slessor, William Carey, the Wesley brothers, and many others.

One staunch Protestant of whom even the Catholic Church has expressed approval was martyred in Nazi Germany during World War II. “The Protestant Saint” is not my own phrase. I read it sometime ago in some Catholic publication discussing the life, work, and death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Most likely this is, at least partly, due to the failure on the part of the Catholic Church itself to resist Nazism, even while many Catholics did. Bonhoeffer helped to found one of the only official Protestant church movements in Europe, and the only in Germany to my knowledge, to refuse to cooperate with Nazism on almost every point.

But that isn’t all he did to deserve this title. He is, perhaps, best known for his theological and Christian living writings. This summer I read three of his books: Psalms: Prayer Book of the Bible, The Cost of Discipleship, and Life Together. I found each to be a treasure trove full of gems waiting to be explored. Perhaps my favorite of the three is Life Together. ‘Favorite’ isn’t the correct word, as it took more than three months to finish the book because I could only read a few pages before having to put it down in shame and conviction. I realized, for the first time, how my view of Christian life, family, and friendship has been so incredibly twisted.

The Cost of Discipleship is easily the most controversial among Evangelicals but also the richest. It is true that Bonhoeffer flirts with, what sounds to some (including at times myself), blatant heresy. But he also lays the practicality of Christian life out in an uncompromising way. Sadly I think that these times he flirts with heretical language only serve to, in the minds of some, discredit what he has written. But there are many important things one must understand before passing judgement on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s orthodoxy: his stream of Christianity (a mix of Evangelicalism, Incarnationalism, Holiness, and Social Justice), his denomination (Lutheranism), his time, and the politics and environment of his country all contribute to a use of vocabulary that differs greatly from the way 21st century American Evangelicals tend to use them. It is important to remember that The Cost of Discipleship is talking solely about discipleship and victory in Christian life even when he uses the term “salvation".

That term, for Bonhoeffer, rarely means what we Evangelicals mean when we use the word. We of course mean eternal non-damnation and rewards in Heaven. Well, at least most of us do. This alone has done more to contribute to a total misunderstanding of Bonhoeffer’s works among American Christians than anything else. However, there are two other things that Christians of my generation won’t understand: 1) Bonhoeffer’s contact with Christian Liberalism in New York and Berlin that horrified him at the state of Christian theology and 2) the emergence of Nazism in Germany and, especially, the sympathy and aid it received in the German Lutheran Church. These two things influenced his writing and colored his writings in ways that we can't understand as 21st century Middle-Americans who have basically little contact with theological Liberalism.

But I’ve written over a page of explanation and haven’t gotten to my point! My trip to Berlin really had only purpose that made it impossible for me not to go: I wanted to visit the house of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I did make it, and, like visiting the Hiding Place in Holland, it was an extremely moving experience for me. This is the outside of his parent’s house in Berlin where he stayed whenever he was in the city:

The following pictures are from Bonhoeffer’s bedroom. To sit in his chair at his desk where he wrote some of his theological works and love letters, to look at the books in his library that must have played an important part in influencing his own writing, and even to see his wash basin and wardrobe meant something I can’t explain in words. My prayer was: “God, raise up a generation like this man! But if not a generation, raise up a few individuals who will preserve the name of Your Church when it is bent by being corrupted by the world.” For you see, our time is, in many ways, not that much unlike Bonhoeffer's. The Church must always be on the gaurd against becoming so embroiled in the world (politically, culturally, socially) that she loses her savor.

Paris Refreshment (France, III)

2008-08-20T22:29:00.000+02:00

As I write this, I’m sitting in the train station in Sweden after having taken my second night train in 2 days and waiting for my connection to farther north. This night train, though, was a lot more successful than the first.

I left Le Chambon early on Wednesday morning and headed for Paris. I arrived by 13h00 and had arranged to meet up with some friends of mine at 17h15, so I had about four hours to hang around. I’ve been to Paris twice before and spent a lot of time walking across the city. If you know me, you know I’m not a big fan of big cities. They tend to have a lot of people and, as I’ve mentioned, I’m not a people person. Paris is better than most big cities, but it's still a big city.

This time, though, seemed to be fairly low on tourists compared to when I’ve been there before. After a delicious Parisian meal (for the record, I’ve never paid for a meal in France that I didn’t enjoy to the utmost, but then I don’t eat at the normal tourist places) that was, of course, more than I could possibly eat, I walked along the Seine and drank in the view (and the language!) for awhile before deciding to head toward Notre Dame. I had visited the famous church back in 2004, but there were a lot of people at the time, and I wanted to take another look. I approached the cathedral from the back. This let me walk through all the lovely parks surrounding it. Parks tend to be one thing out of many that the French are experts at. When I arrived at the front of the cathedral I discovered to my dismay that I couldn’t take my backpack in with me.

With no baggage check and nothing to do, I decided to head on toward Paris Nord, the station I was to leave from for Berlin. Since I still had a few hours, I decided to walk and drink in the sights. I met my friends one metro stop away from Paris Nord at a Starbucks (yes, they do have them in Paris). Holly came to France one month after my first visit to work with the mission group (CEF) I had done my summer-mission’s trip with. We met in 2006 when I went back to France and have been in contact via email for two years. She married the eldest son of the CEF national director in France right after I left in 2006. Our chat was too brief, but it was lovely to meet up with someone with whom I share a common language, country, religion, and world view. I can’t remember talking about anything particularly important in our chatting (except the French waitress who asked me what cologne I was wearing... awkward), but I do remember that I was incredibly refreshed afterwards. This is something that God has allowed me to experience several times in my stay in Europe so far: the refreshing fellowship of the Saints. First my friends in Holland, then my Northern Irish friends in Brussels, Mary, Peter, and Susan & Geoff in London, and Holly & Jean in France. Most of these people I would never have met if we all lived in the same country. Or we would have approached each other with suspicion, distrust, and our doctrinal divisions.

My time in Paris came all too quickly to an end as I boarded my train toward Berlin. The train was fully booked I had reserved my tickets too late to get a couchette (bed in shared compartment) or a sleeper. I was stuck in a tiny compartment with five other people. Two of them, a teenage boy and his mother, didn’t speak French, English, or German, but they did speak some language that sounded something like a cross between a dying frog and fingernails on a chalkboard. What they had been doing in France or how they managed to get around is beyond me. They were from somewhere in eastern Europe and kept their eyes lowered the whole time. Strange. The other people in my car were nice enough, but we were so cramped and tired that no one really talked a lot. I did end up having a nice long conversation in the corridor with a lovely Frenchman and his wife who were going to Berlin to visit their daughter. He didn’t speak any English so it was great for giving me one last stretch of my French skills. Seriously, I think my French improved more in four days in France than ten weeks in Belgium. It makes me wish I had been more assertive in going to Paris. But then I would have missed all the fun and people I met in Brussels.

So to you, my dear reader, I leave three closing thoughts: 1) The fellowship of the Saints is refreshing indeed, 2) if you want to learn a foreign language, go to the country of its origin, and 3) if you’re going to take an overnight train, make sure you get a couchette or sleeper.

French Hospitality (France, II)

2008-08-20T22:03:00.001+02:00

Unlike my experience in England, my hotel experience in France was superb. This isn’t meant to be a diss on my English friends or an assertion that all French hotels are better than English; I have never stayed in an English hotel. Remember the staff at my hotel in England couldn’t even speak English (or French). I really consider it more of an Indian/Polish hotel in England instead of an English hotel. Not that I have anything against Indian/Polish hotels. The staff at my French hotel could not only speak French but spoke it slow and clear enough that I could understand almost perfectly. They also spoke some English to some degree, but I convinced them not to do so unless I absolutely could not figure out what they were trying to say.

I made my reservation via email after finding the hotel on the Internet (at the website for the Office de Tourism, so I figured it couldn’t be that bad!). They’ve been more than helpful in so many ways. As I’ve mentioned earlier, my computer’s wireless card wouldn’t read their wifi connection, so the Madame offered to let me use her personal computer at any time. Quite a difference from being told I have to pay to use the Internet for my “free” tourist information.

But the amazing thing is the price and what was included. I paid 35€ for a bedroom with shower and a perfect view of the lovely village. Included in that is a demi-pension, which means breakfast and one other meal. Breakfast is the normal French breakfast: coffee, bread, jelly, and butter. I have to admit the first day I was starving afterwards, but that was because I hadn’t had dinner the night before and didn’t order my breakfast correctly. The second morning I ordered chocolat (hot chocolate) instead of coffee and slathered my bread with the jam making sure I used it all. The chocolat came with a half-pint of steaming hot milk. Between the milk and using all the jam and butter, I was stuffed. Literally. I couldn’t think of eating another bite for several hours after eating breakfast that morning.

The best part though, is my other meal which I took at noon the first two days. The first day I was still starving from breakfast and was dissapointed at the one medium slice of pâté porc, salad, and four pieces of baguette. I hungrily devoured everything, including the bread, and began making plans to visit a restaurant after leaving. To my surprise, though I really shouldn’t have been, I was provided with another fork and steak knife when my dishes were cleared away. Soon I was brought my second course. One may remember my post on the French and their courses back on my dialogue about a Happy Meal from Brussels. I, unfortunately, had not remembered, or had at least thought it wouldn’t apply to a meal that cost only 5€ more than the room. I now looked at the beautiful array of chicken, mushrooms, au gratin potatoes, and fresh green beans that filled my plate, accompanied by another full basket of baguette, with a bit of remorse. Why had I eaten so much bread earlier? And why had I eaten every last bite? And how was I going to be able to eat all of this? Somehow I managed and, feeling a bit gorged, decided I needed to stay to digest for a moment before rushing out the door. To my amusement I was quickly brought a selection of cheeses. Of course, this being France, I had to at least taste each one and felt a tinge of remorse that I couldn’t finish two of them (the third wasn’t to my liking). But now I was beginning to get the hang of this and prepared myself for the fourth course. Sure enough some sort of delicious pear desert was placed before me when my cheeses were finally taken away. I sighed and dug in, wondering if one can literally eat enough to make one’s stomach explode. Finally I finished and placed my spoon back on the plate. I prepared myself mentally, refused the next course (coffee), and made a quick, embarrassed exit. But the lesson was learned, and I was now prepared.

Dinner my second day proved to be a much more enjoyable experience. The first course was a beautiful goat cheese and spinach tart accompanied by a fresh salad green and, of course, baguette. I ate only half a piece of bread with this course and restrained myself from finishing everything on the plate. The second course was an amazing slice of roast pork with onions, fresh carrots, and whole baby potatoes. Amazing. And I couldn’t stop myself from eating everything but the fat trimmings (which the French think are the best part, but I personally can't think of eating without feeling naseated). When asked about my cheese course I ordered fromage blanc not having a clue what it was other than, as the name suggestions, white cheese. It proved to be what looked like sour cream covered in thick cream accompanied by sugar.

My hostess had hardly left the room (fortunately all the other guests had already finished and departed the dining room as well), before I burst out laughing. I couldn’t stop thinking, “I’m eating sour cream with milk and sugar on it!” When my abs started hurting I starting thinking of my dear friend Krystalin who always had that effect on me as well. This, of course, only made me laugh harder because I was imagining her laughing at me eating sour cream with milk and sugar on it. I’m even laughing now as I’m writing this. Krystalin, if you’re reading this, first forgive me for spelling your name wrong and then tell me you would have laughed at my eating sour cream covered in milk and sugar. You’re probably laughing now anyway. But let me tell you, it's something completely different to be laughing uncontrollably in front of your computer and be laughing uncontrollably in a French dining room. I was concerned that someone would come in and think I was choking. Every time I took a bite I couldn’t help but chuckle again as I tried not to attract attention from the kitchen. That thought made me laugh even harder. Then I was concerned about really choking myself. I would probably be the only person who had ever killed himself on sour cream dowsed in milk and sugar. All I could see what Krystalin sitting across from me with her hand over her mouth and doubled up with not-so-concealed laughter. It was the funniest food I have ever eaten. I’m reminded of a corny AIO reference where someone says “food is funny” to which someone else responds “you put anything from the dairy section in front of me and I’m on the floor”. The line was supposed to be stupid, but now it actually makes a lot of sense to me.

But did I mention that it was delicious? Weird, I know, but it was. Maybe I’ll try it when I get back to the States. Maybe I’ll even invite Krystalin over for a bite. And someone will probably later discover our bodies, choked to death by sour cream with milk and sugar on it, but with big smiles and achy abs.

Dessert was next: fresh fruit. I was given a new knife and found myself in the awkward situation of trying to eat a whole pear with only a knife. In the end I simply cut it and used my hands. But not before I had enjoyed another ab-aching laugh and whispered a prayer of thanks that no one else was in the room. The meal ended with a nice demi-tasse of coffee, accompanied by another half-pint of steaming milk. I wasn’t quite sure if I was supposed to dump the coffee in the milk or try to drink enough coffee to put some milk in. But then the milk would have filled the cup at least four times by itself. In the end I drank a few sips, added some milk, drank half the cup, filled the cup with more milk, and then just left the rest of the milk.

The rest of my meals and stay in the hotel were excellent, and I would highly recommend the Hôtel de Verlay to anyone visiting Le Chambon-sur-Lignon.

Below are more pictures from around the town. I had so much fun walking around, talking to the natives (locals?), sun-bathing, and swimming at the little plage (beach).

The Boche Ball Stadium

The beach. It's actually one of the rivers that feeds the Loire and comes from the glaciers in the Alps. It was really cold. And clear, even though this picture makes it look dirty.
The railroad
The road
The town square. The fountain was quaint.

Chambon-sur-Lignon (France, I)

2008-08-20T21:11:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the delay after England. I thought I should give you some time to digest and read all the little stories. Hope you enjoyed them! After I finished my internship in Brussels, I took a whirlwind tour of four other countries (France, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark). My adventures follow.

Saturday evening (26 July), after a long day of two trains and one bus, I arrived in the little village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in the Haute Loire region of the South/Central part of France. This tiny village that my French professor had never heard of was the central part of a massive underground resistance movement during the Holocaust. The village barely had a population of 2,000 people in the early 1940’s, but they were somehow able to organize the rescue of over 5,000 Jews, mostly children, through connecting them to friends in Switzerland or simply housing them in the village and refusing to turn them in to the Vichy, and later German, officials.

On my way to the little village and during my first day I there I read the book Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed about the history of the town. While the history is fascinating and moving, I don’t suggest the book at all. The author is a seemingly atheistic-Jew, or at the very least some strange blend of mystic, who also works as a professor of ethics somewhere. His last two chapters are absolute rot and nonsense as he is forced to admit that his ethical beliefs and worldview demands him to believe that what these people did was no more good than what Hitler did. Yet he does understand that this view simply doesn’t make any sense with any normal human being, so he gives some nonsense about the Chambonais being good because he and others feel them to be good. Nonsense and double talk. He, sadly, isn’t helped by the leader’s (André Trocmé) own apparent lack of theological conviction.

But the story is no less inspiring. God did a work here that no one can really fault or doubt. What drove the Protestant Chambonais to do what they did while their few Catholic brethren, and even other European Protestants, refused to get involved? I can’t say that I really know. Neither do they. Most of them, when asked years later why they had done what they did, simply responded that it had to be done. For them there wasn’t any other choice. They knew what was right and couldn’t fathom the idea of doing any less anymore than they could fathom they idea of turning in their own children to the Nazis. It was natural for them to give of themselves to protect helpless people.

At the risk of sounding terribly judgemental, I think this can probably be contributed, at least in some tiny way, to their Huguenot beliefs. The Catholics of the village didn’t help. For them it was a choice, as any action always had to be. Their choice was thus influenced by the risk to their own personal safety, their own dislike of the Jews, or whatever other reasons there might have been. To be sure, Catholics across France and other parts of Europe were instrumental in resisting Nazi oppression against Jews and others. But for the Catholic it was a choice. They made their decisions because they felt that doing what was right was ultimately more profitable than doing what was wrong. That’s where they differ from the Huguenots of Le Chambon. The Chambonais simply didn’t think about it. There was no option for them. It wasn’t a choice. Many Jews look back and thank their lucky stars that certain European Catholics made the right choice, but no one can do that for the Chambonais. This has important ramifications to the modern Evangelical church in the United States, indeed to any Church anywhere or anytime.

Enough history and talking. These are several pictures of important landmarks in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon:

Le Temple Protestant
Inside the Temple
A memorial plaque from Israel
The Presbytery

Goodbye, My Dear England (Part VII)

2008-08-08T22:44:00.000+02:00

Tuesday came much too early. My train was to leave at 6:30 in the evening, and I wanted to get a full day in before that. Unfortunately I didn’t start as early as I wanted because a ridiculously rude Irish guy in the hotel decided he was going to punish everyone because of a disagreement he had with someone and went to bed very late (and loudly), left his light on the entire night, and got a phone call early in the morning which he felt he must share with the entire room. I didn’t have the most restful night in the hotel, but I have learned decisively never to do the dorm-style thing again no matter how much cheaper it is. Seriously the rudest guy I’ve met in Europe. Even ruder than the Spanish. But he’s proven to be a major exception, especially of the Irish whereas a non-rude Spaniard were definitely be the exception.

First thing on my itinerary was the Tower of London, the famous fortress used by kings of England since Edward II back in… a long time ago. For me it is best known as the place that Bloody Mary held her sister, Elizabeth, when she suspected her of treason.

Here are a few photos of the castle:

This is the scaffold where so many famous people from English history met their fate. Interestingly, it was only for men. There was a smaller, less public scaffold for women traitors to the State (such as Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, etc.)

Our tour guide was amazing. He had an incredible sense of humor (or is that “humour”?) and, after discovering I was from America, did a jolly good job of welcoming me “home”.

Traitors’ Gate, the gate coming from the Thames. Mary had Elizabeth brought this way because she was afraid Protestant resisters would rescue her if she was brought by land. Elizabeth, it is rumored, wouldn’t walk up the steps until she had declared her innocence and her guards agreed with her. Elizabeth just happens to be a fascinating historical character for me, and my second favorite character from the Reformation time period, so this was an awesome experience for me.

London Bridge! Again, I didn’t explore because it cost simply too much (and I was tired of walking). Instead I had a cup of tea roughly underneath it right next to a lovely little boat harbor (habour?). And yes, the British do enjoy Starbucks.

My last stop was Covenant Gardens, the famous setting of the opening for My Fair Lady. Eliza was, I believe, sitting beneath this alcove when she was confronted my Henry Higgins for her ghastly pattern of speech (“It’s ‘aouh’ and ‘garn’ that keep this wretched girl in her place/not her dirty clothes and wretched face… This is what the British population/calls an elementary education!”)

And I was out of time and on my way back to the train station. As I boarded the eurostar, I felt a pang of sadness. London does feel a bit like home. But I find that everywhere has a bit of home and a bit that is strange and other-worldly. The sadness, I think, was because I had only had four days. Next time I will spend longer and get farther away from London.

That’s all! Hope you all enjoyed this little mini-series of blog entries and, once again, I do apologize for not getting them on earlier. Next up: My great Europe Tour!

English Countryside (Part VI)

2008-08-08T22:19:00.000+02:00

On Monday morning, I took the Tube northwards to meet some of my friends whom I had met in Scotland last year. Susan and Geoff have been in and out of contact ever since March 2007 when I met them on my trip to Iona. There they fulfilled one of my longtime dreams by inviting me out for a lovely tea by the sea the day before we left the island. It was the only day the sun came out for more than an hour. I was excited to see them again and was surprised at how our friendship picked up exactly where it had ended. Neither of them seemed to have changed a bit, but Susan asked me if I had gotten taller. I told her I didn’t think so, but I may seem like it since I wasn’t hunched over trying to stay warm (it was freezing on Iona, and we always trying to stay warm).

They took me to a place where we could look down and see the City of London all the way to the South Downs (which are actually ups). Here are some random pictures of my day with Susan and Geoff:

And once again we had a lovely tea together. This time they took me to a semi-stately-home of England, and we enjoyed the heavenly nectar with some biscuits in a lovely English garden. It was absolutely amazing.

Hotel Horror/Sunday Rest (Part V)

2008-08-08T22:17:00.000+02:00

Saturday evening proved to be the worst experience of my trip to London. The directions to my hotel were absolute rot, and what should have taken 30 minutes to find took about two hours. I finally stumbled into the wrong hotel out of desperation and found that it was, indeed, the right hotel. The name on the Internet/emails was not the same as the one on the building. The correct name is only above the reception desk. Then I was checked in by a nice gentleman who could barely speak any English (no, America isn’t the only country with that problem) and absolutely no French. He gave me my total for the stay (weird to pay when arriving, I thought) which included one extra day’s stay. When I asked him about it, he did a lot of clicking around on the computer and finally told me he had no idea and I could ask the receptionist in the morning for a refund. I was so tired I said that was fine. Then I went to my supposedly male-only dorm room to discover not only that someone was in my bed, but that the someone was indeed a female someone. I found an empty bed (her bed, as it turned out) and finally went to sleep. Needless to say, I was not impressed and vowed to try to find a different hotel for the next night and call my credit card to refuse payment. But the next morning I was served a very large English breakfast and realized that I simply wouldn’t find another hotel for less than the £15 ($30) I was paying that included breakfast like that. I spoke with the receptionist (who also could barely speak English) about my bill, and she informed me that I would still be required to pay for the extra day. I later had the hotel manager refund it for me. It’s nice to know other countries have problems with service and sheer stupidity as well as my own dear America-Land.

Sunday morning, after my tangle with the receptionist who didn’t speak English and discovering that the advertised “free tourist information” was, in fact, pay-per-15-minutes Internet access (which I used but refused to pay for), I walked nearly over a mile to St. Augustine’s Anglican Church (supposedly the closest Anglican church to the hotel) for the last 20 minutes of their service. Afterwards I did make it to the International Christian Center (Assemblies of God) for the complete second service starting at noon. It was an interesting coincidence because I had been attending Christian Center in Brussels which is also associated with Assemblies of God. Only I found out later than the American AoG (which is what was in Brussels) aren’t at all associated with the British AoG. Whatever.

At this church, I met a lovely Irish woman, Mary, who chatted with me for several minutes while the first service was finishing up. Later she invited me to sit with her when she saw me sitting alone before service started. That was really very nice. I can’t tell you how many American churches I’ve sat in, awkwardly waiting for someone to approach me and welcome me to service and extend a hand of friendship. Mary did that right off the bat, and I had the feeling she would have invited me over to dinner except she was being driven home by someone else. An interesting contrast to one experience when, after 2 years of attendance at a certain church and never having visited anyone else’s home, the greeter, whom I had passed every Sunday for two years, asked me if I was visiting. Let this be a lesson to myself, who doesn’t tend to be the social type with people I’ve never met: a kind word and greeting can mean a lot to someone. Genuineness is also generally a plus and, if possible, invite people into your home to get to know them.

Sunday afternoon I walked around Wembley, which is in West London just west and a little north of the City of London. I read some Bonhoeffer in a nice park where I was asked first if I was a tramp and, when I said no, that I was a tourist, was I then an illegal immigrant? I laughed and asked the kid if they had a lot of illegal immigrants from the U.S. I got no response so maybe they do.

In the evening I arrived, a little late, to St. Michael’s Anglican Church for evening Mass. It was a small service, only about six people total, but it felt very warm and intimate. I was in for a few shockers, but overall I found the service quite refreshing. Afterwards I asked the priest, who also doubled as the organ player, if he would like to go out for tea and a bit of conversation. He counter-offered a drink at the Vicarage, which I accepted without it clicking that he had invited me into his home. Father Peter, as I ignorantly called him (he later told me to drop all titles), proved to be an excellent example of generous Christian hospitality. Though I only had two glasses of orange juice (calm down CofO peeps), I found him to be the most giving, generous, and open person I had met in my entire time in Europe, with the exception of a wonderful Northern Irish family who has taken me in as one of their own back in Brussels. Perhaps British Christians are just like that? Or perhaps the Christian spirit of hospitality and community transcends nationality. I think that’s it. Our chat covered everything from religion, politics, education, society, and back again. Before either of us realized it, it was after 11:00, and we had talked for over 3 hours! It was a perfect end to a lovely Sunday in England.

My experiences with Mary and Peter taught me a lot about myself and the state of the current evangelical church in the United States as contrasted with the Church, both evangelical and Anglican, in England. Or at least my small taste.

West End (Part IV)

2008-08-08T22:07:00.001+02:00

Hear them up in Soho Square, dropping H’s everywhere!

So sang the famous Professor Higgens in My Fair Lady. I heard a lot of people in Soho Square but not many were dropping H’s. Most were speaking French. But I did hear a bit of American-English. Silly place.

The statue is Charles II. Not sure what he’s famous for (I should know I’m sure), but he apparently built Soho Square. If you look closely you’ll see a pigeon on his head, and he’s covered in, uh, whitewash.

For my dear brother, I took a photo of this theatre (not cinema) that I had absolutely no desire to visit. But I did get a pretty good laugh out of the theatre façade.

And here you can make out The Queen’s Theatre advertising their production of Les Miserables, which has been showing non-stop on West End for over 20 years.

At the risk of making many of my friends jealous unto sin, I will eagerly share that I did in fact go to see the evening production of Les Miz. It was the most amazing theatrical production I have ever seen, though that’s only because I had bad seats when I went to see Beauty and the Beast in Kansas City back in 2003. Now I want to read the book in its original French. If you’re not familiar with the story, you should be. Go out and listen to the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version of it, the musical CD, or just read the book. Don't watch the movie with Liam Neeson. Somehow this story captures the reality of the human life on so many levels. The opposing character’s of Jean Valjean and Javert represent humanity’s two possible responses to the Grace extended to us. An excellent spiritual allegory that deserves not only a blog post but several books expounding on the gems of the story. Maybe I’ll do that sometime (the blog post, not the books).

Around the Old City (Part III)

2008-08-08T21:25:00.000+02:00

After the Queen’s Mews, I had all afternoon to continue exploring London.

Below is Big Ben (again, sorry about the angle thing. I’m going to fix these before I print them). Off to the left you can see the top of the London Eye. I wanted to go up it, but there was a three-hour wait, and it cost something like £40 ($80), so I didn’t. London is an expensive city.

Sadly, Parliament wasn’t open yet (again, I was ten days too early), but here’s some photos of the outside:

That statue is Oliver Cromwell. Okay, not him really but his image.

And Westminster Abbey, which I also didn’t go into because the wait was over an hour and cost around £16 ($32). I did go into Saint Margaret’s Chapel, which is, I think, the official Parliamentary chapel. It was really cool but there was a sign saying “no photos”. I was the only one who obeyed the sign.

After not visiting the Eye of London, Parliament, or Westminster Abbey, I decided to have a snack and sit by the River Thames. Beautiful. This is actually right behind Parliament and part of the park I was in is fenced off as the private gardens for MPs. But the public can still see in! Unfortunately Parliament was already dismissed, so there wasn’t anyone wandering about.

After walking around a bit longer in the government area of the city, I decided to head to the West End. I was almost immediately accosted by a beggar around my age saying he hadn’t eaten in three days and couldn’t I please give him some money? I told him flat out no but that I would buy him fish and chips if he would show me a good place to get them myself. He agreed but the whole way there kept badgering me to just give him some money. I remained firm and refused. He finally admitted he didn’t really want food. I offered to buy him a drink, and he accepted that proposition by getting two. As he finished them, he promptly threw the cans on the ground. I was a bit shocked. And he kept asking me to just give him some money. Finally it came out that he wanted to hire a prostitute, to which I said that this was exactly why I wouldn’t give him my money. He wasn’t very happy with that but did show me a great place for fish & chips and a nice cup of tea!

The Queen’s Mews (Part II)

2008-08-08T05:51:00.000+02:00

Sadly Buckingham Palace wasn’t open yet for guests. I was ten days too early. Depressing, I know, but I survived through tears and howls of anguish. What was even more depressing is that they were going to be hosting an exhibition on state banquets as a temporary exhibit. I would have enjoyed that. A lot. Oh well. I’m sure one day I’ll get to attend a real one with the Queen present! J (Bonus Points to whoever can identify the second tense used in my third sentence of this paragraph).

After a quick photo-prohibited tour of the Queen’s Gallery (a selection of paintings, furniture, jewels, etc. from the Queen’s personal collection), I went for a relaxing tour of the Queen’s Mews (stables). I was blown away by how many coaches the Queen has and the history and purpose of each.

I can’t honestly remember which this one was. There were several very similar: the Irish Coach, the Scottish Coach, the Australian Coach, the Glass Coach, and Queen Alexandra’s State Coach to name a few. Each had interesting bits about it. One of them is the Queen’s favorite because it has electric heating and cooling. Interesting for a horse-drawn carriage, eh? The Australian one was a gift from Her Majesty’s realm of Australia on occasion of her 50th anniversary on the Throne (I think). However, the Queen didn’t want Australian citizens to have to pay for it through taxes, so it was completely funded by donations.

I also found out why Wales is never represented on the flag, crest, or any other object of the United Kingdom, but England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland always are: Wales is a principality, not a kingdom, and therefore isn’t afforded equal status as the three kingdoms. Interesting to me since Wales now has its own Parliament and is, arguably, freer (more free?) than England within the United Kingdom (England still falls solely under British Parliament, with representatives from all four countries voting on issues that only affect England while each of the other entities has a local Parliament). British politics are interesting. And somewhat sad.

But onto the rest of the Mews! Here’s a royal carriage for young princes and/or princesses. It has been pulled by goats, sheep, donkeys, big dogs, and finally ponies.

Here’s the front picture of the huge State Coach used only at coronations or, sometimes, weddings. The Queen did use it on her Golden Jubilee as well, but that was the first time it had been used since her ascension to the Throne. Before I forget, the woman in the front was our charming tour guide. She has a beautiful accent and seemed to know everything about the royal family. Sadly, she had to deal with some spoiled Yankee brats in our tour. I wanted to ask their parents to PLEASE get them under control but, alas, I did not.

And here’s the side view. One of the British kings created this coach to rival Louis XIV of France, so that’s why it looks as if it belongs in Versailles rather than Buckingham.

The Greek god of the sea shows British navel superiority. All of the weapons illustrated have been broken to signify the end of one of the conflicts with France. I think it was the War of the Roses, but I’m not sure.

In case you were wondering, the wheels are, in fact, slanted; it is no fault of the picture-taker. This apparently relieves pressure on the axles so the wheels don’t snap under the several tons of weight. This coach is by far the heaviest in the Mews (probably the world) and has to have a team of eight horses to pull it!

There are only five cars in the Queen’s employ. Queen Victoria famously asked the Keeper of the Mews to please never allow those “horrible machines” into the royal stables. It didn’t quite turn out as she would have wanted; her son immediately added one or two for his use upon his mother’s death.

So that’s the Queen’s Mews.

Arrival in London (Part I)

2008-08-08T04:31:00.001+02:00

First I must apologize for not getting these photos up sooner. Life gets busy in those changing times of life, which, for me, seem to come at least every three months. After my tour to London, I found myself in a shocking shortage of time. I needed to get packed up (which proved to be a lot more complicated than I thought), finish up project at work (which took more time than I usually spent at work), and say goodbye to many dear friends I had made in Brussels. Bright and early the next Saturday morning, only seven days after being in the same station on my way to London, I found myself leaving Brussels for France. Sadly, when I arrived in France I couldn’t get my wireless card to read the wifi signals in my hotel and other places. I felt like launching it out the window but resisted the urge. I am now writing this entry and saving it to my hard drive in hopes that someday soon I can post it on my blog. If you’re reading it, then I have probably done just that (or you’ve hacked into my computer to which I would have to say, “shame on you”). Anyway, the commencement of my exciting four days in London!

My train left Brussels at 6:50 in the morning on Saturday, July 19, 2008. I arrived in London at 7:53. Quick train, one might think, and it indeed was. But it wasn’t quite that fast. There is a one-hour time set back between Brussels and London that one has to remember, so really the train ride was two hours. Still pretty fast if you ask me.

I arrived just as the Old City was beginning to wake up. The perfect time, really. After a quick breakfast at the McDonald’s right across from the train station, I set off. It took me fully 2 hours to get my coordination, eat breakfast, purchase bus and metro passes, and arrive on Constitution Hill. Here she is:

Strange, I thought, since the United Kingdom doesn’t have a written constitution, to have, as the connection between Parliament and the Royal Palace, a monument called Constitution Hill. My apologies for the picture. My camera takes photos slightly angled (or I’m crooked myself, who knows?).

Next I walked up the path through the beautiful St. James Park toward Buckingham Palace. Below is my first glimpse of my first recognizable landmark in England!

Here are some “bobbies” guarding her Majesty’s palace from all manner of evil: terrorist, vandals, thieves, and, of course, the French:

And a Royal Guard.

As you can tell, it there weren’t any guards in the fuzzy hats doing the guarding. Not sure why not, but there you have it. I was back in front of the palace again at 11:30, but the Changing of the Guard was canceled because it rained a bit. I was disappointed, but there were so many people I don’t think I would have been able to see it anyway. And I’m not big on hanging around in large gatherings of people. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate people? I hate people. I love persons, but people are generally loud, rude, uncouth, and uncaring to an individual. Below is a picture facing the opposite direction of the palace, toward St. James Garden and a big monument that I should know the name of but don’t. As you can tell, there are still enough tourists.

London Coming Soon

2008-07-25T18:39:00.000+02:00

I'm frantically trying to finish packing. I was supposed to pack last night but my Irish friends kept me out late, which I certainly didn't mind as I would much rather have hung out with them rather than pack. But now I feel the crunch. My train for Paris leaves at 8:30 tomorrow, and I'll arrive in the South sometime in the early evening. I'm super excited.

Pictures from London will be coming soon. In the mean time, here are some more amazing photos of Luxembourg City. Not that the photos are that amazing, but the subject of the photos is amazing.

These guards manage to never acknowledge that people are mere inches away taking photos and point at them.

The Valley from inside the fortress

The outer fortress.

Inside the fortress caves. Thousands of soldiers used to share over 10 miles of caves like this as bunkers and drilling areas.

This actually isn't a fireplace but the beginning of another set of stairs. They're off to my right.

Unsuccess

2008-07-18T19:29:00.001+02:00

No, my escargot experiment didn't quite go the way I wanted it to. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but it was an interesting experience. When I got ready to do the deed I washed them one last time quite thoroughly. They seemed to know what was coming. I then filled the bottom of their little ice cream container with about 1/2 an inch of vinegar and salt to purge their systems. That was kind of gross. Then I rinsed them again and boiled. Lots of foam so I drained, washed, and boiled again. Not as much foam. I washed again and de-shelled. That was the most fun part. It involves a toothpick and, despite what I've read online, is really not that hard. You know what's funny? The escargot come out in the shape of... well a snail. They're all curled up in about 3 twists. It looked like small cinnamon rolls. I then fried them in butter and garlic. That was fun and yummy smelling. Then I decided to make an escargot omelet, so out came the eggs and cheese.

In the end they didn't taste bad. They just didn't taste good. I'm baffled. Every time I've had escargot they always have a sharp taste, something that one will either love or hate. These didn't taste at all. After munching down 4 of them, I gave up. It's not worth it if they don't taste. So I just ate the egg and some baguette. It was still a good dinner but not quite what I was expecting. I have several theories. Tell me what you think:

They were too small - Not sure if this matter, but I've had some about this size in a French restaurant and they were exquisite.
I starved them too long - Everything said to starve them for a few days, but it was anywhere from 2 days to 8 days depending on where I looked. I decided to go high but I think I may have done it too long. Next time I'll starve them for 2-3 days and then feed them safe food, like carrots and onions.
I didn't cook them right - How hard can it be? Well, I left out the white wine (all the recipes called for it but I didn't have any), and I didn't have a garlic smasher. Maybe I shouldn't have boiled them twice. Who knows.
I just don't know how to do this - This is probably the best possibility, but everything worth while takes practice, eh?

You may be wondering where the pictures are. Sadly, there are no pictures. I was in a hurry tonight and didn't have time. But I promise next time I do escargot I'll keep a full photo journal.

Yes, there will be a next time. Why not?

Almost Ready

2008-07-17T21:53:00.000+02:00

The prey is almost ripe. It has waited for almost a week for the correct time to be harvested, and that day is tomorrow. Today, as every day, I pulled my catch out for a bath. The water was almost clear which signifies that their systems have been adequately purged, and they are now ready to be devoured. Alas, one was discovered rotting away in the muck. He perished sometime in the last few days but was only now discovered.

The process tomorrow will be neither easy nor clean, but it will be a day long remembered.

Below are some pictures. Please enjoy.

Trying to escape Escargo Death Row

"Take us with you!"

Anyone home? This little guy never did come fully out of his shell.

Changing of the Guard

2008-07-15T07:39:00.000+02:00

Enjoy these videos of the changing of the guard at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg. This is, sadly, only a part of it. There was first a parade where the band went all the way around the block playing... music of course. Then they did a neat little military drill and finally this below.

Sorry about the jiggle. A rude Spaniard (which is really being repetitive) kept pushing me. Of all the Europeans, Spaniards are the only ones I don't have anything nice to say about. Their rude and loud and have no sense of morality. That's all. It might have something to do with them having lived under a dictatorship for so long. Then again, eastern Europeans are some of the nicest people ever.

Hope you enjoyed this little part of Fairy Tale Land (the short form name for Luxembourg).

Fairy Tale Land

2008-07-13T15:14:00.000+02:00

Once upon a time...

Forget EuroDisney, yesterday I took a day trip to the magical land of Luxembourg, the last Grand Duchy in Europe.

The history of this tiny country is long and sordid. It's been owned by practically everyone in Europe: Austria, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and finally the European Union. Somehow, even with all the invasions, it's known as the Gibraltar of the North because of the intense and impregnable fortresses that make up the city. When Revolutionary France decided they wanted to tiny Duchy, they had to starve the citizens out (6 months) because the fortress impossible to breach.

It currently acts as the home of the Secretariat of the European Parliament, the secondary meeting places for the Council of Europe (after Brussels), the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, and the European Investor Bank.

The country is located in and around a beautiful valley. Bridges connect the two sides of the valley, and you can walk up and down by paths and stairs. Below are some photos of the beautiful valley. I'll post some of the fortress pictures later.

Looking down into the Valley

A Hunting We Shall Go

2008-07-09T22:12:00.001+02:00

Tonight I had the urge. I think all males must experience it at one time or another. The urge to hunt. I don't believe in hunting for sport, so I fully intended to eat my catchings... even if I have to wait until they have gone through the appropriate processing first. Trusted sources have told me this can take two weeks, so now was the last real chance of mine to do the deed if I wished to eat my catchings.

It rained all day yesterday and today. Lovely weather. Not storms, just a drizzle. An umbrella is perfect. My shoes are wet, but not enough to soak through. The cobblestones around Brussels allow the water to run between the stones while people walk on top. It's perfect.

So off Truman and I went. I had first thought of hunting the week I arrived. Truman and my first walk; I remember it with clarity. I saw a beautiful specimen, almost calling out for the game of the chase and catch. It winked at me, then slid into its den with only the softest of noises. I knew then: there is joy in the sport of hunting. Joy in the idea of fending for one's self. It is an unspoken bond, I think, between hunter and huntee. For indeed the huntee was made to be hunted. Made to serve its purpose; made to feed the human race.

A few minutes walk and we were in a small field ripe with so many specimens. Catching 10 was no difficult task, but I wanted to make it to 15. Why not? This proved to be a bit harder. The field was smaller than I thought, and other sorts of game claimed their own stake. Truman and I moved on. My eyes scanning the bushes and tall grass, Truman's nose sniffing for all it was worth. Poor silly dog. He never did get the hang of the hunt.

Several specimens were too small, and I had to let them retain their freedom for a time. Perhaps by the end of the season they will be big enough, but for now they must nourish themselves, grow, and survive.

Five more specimens and I was finished. Truman was sad that the hunt was over, but this was more than enough. I brought their cold bodies back to the apartment wrapped in plastic and began the washing and packaging process. It was a gruesome process and not at all to my liking, but it must be done. My task this evening was not to prepare them to eat but to preserve them until later.

I will perhaps show pictures later. Tonight I am finished. By bed beckons, and tomorrow is full already.

Kidnapped

2008-07-05T13:58:00.000+02:00

aka: A Normal Evening in Brussels

aka: Do I Look Jewish?

A strange thing happened to me the other night. I went out, as every evening, about 9:00 for a long walk with Truman. We usually take a 15-45 minute walk (depending on how tired we are). This walk turned into about an hour and a half. Here I am, innocently walking along a sidewalk in Brussels just a few minutes from my flat. Suddenly I find myself accosted by an elderly woman. Okay, she didn't actually do the first accostation; that was Truman who, as we were passing the woman, felt the great need to reach up and lick her fingers. He does this sort of thing a lot, and I always get smiles and friendly chatter out of such embarrassing moments. No different this day. The woman turned to me and started chatting away. And chatting. And chatting. Within the space of a block of shared sidewalk, she basically told me her whole life story. It turns out, she's Jewish. Her father escaped Austria into Switzerland before the Haulocaust. Interesting. "Where are you from?" she asks me, of course in French. "I'm from the States", I say.

Conversation takes a drastic change. Ah, she has a friend who was born in Maryland but moved to Canada. He's also Jewish. His wife and he live only a few blocks away and shouldn't I like to meet them? "Of course," I say, not realizing, until too late, that she means this exact moment. So off we go, to meet more Jews.

They had a lovely home and shared the nicest wine with me. "How strange..." I think as I'm sitting on their veranda. Moments ago, I didn't know any of these people, yet here I am on their private veranda, enjoying a nice glass of wine. Now I have to explain to my hosts why I'm not able to house sit their flat for them on their next trip to the U.S. in two months. How strange. How Belgian. How Bruxellois. Things like this happen here for many reasons. Most people who live here in Brussels are foreign (I am American, the accosteress Swiss, her friend American/Canadian, and his wife Dutch). People here are lonely, and they reach out to anyone who has the faintest connection to them. In this case, I apparently look Jewish and that was enough.

I didn't think much of that particular aspect of my experience. I was too busy thinking how strange it was to show up at someone's house I had never met and be offered a glass of wine and an evening chat. But the next day we had a new student at French class. He was instructed to guess each student's nationality. Most he quickly guessed: 4 Spaniards, 2 Italians, 1 Indian, 1 Afghan, 1 Brit... and then me. He looked at me for 2 seconds and promptly asserted "Ah, tu es d'Isriel, non?" (You're from Israel, eh?). Israel? How strange. How coincidental. How funny.

I was telling some fellow interns this yesterday, two of which are Jewish. After a chuckle, the Jewess next to me asked, "But how did they both know you are Jewish?" to which the other Jew nodded. Unbelievable. I explain that I am not Jewish. Really. Looks of disbelief. "I'm 1/4 Italian, 1/8 Swedish...." and they drop it.

So here I am: 4 people (3 of which were Jews) in less than 1 week have thought I am Jewish. I've only had one other person in my entire life ask if I was Jewish (a girl at school who was asking everyone because she just found out that SHE was Jewish).

I ask you, my dear readers, do you think I look Jewish? I would humbly present that I can do one killer of a Jew-from-Brooklyn accent, but I've never thought I also look Jewish. What do you think?

Waterloo, Part Two

2008-07-03T08:04:00.000+02:00

"Waterloo" is just so rhym-able, don't you think? As a follow up to some questions asked in the comments to my first Waterloo section: The Battle of Waterloo (June 1815) was the battle where the French Napoleon was finally defeated by the British, Dutch, and assorted Italians and Germans, such as they were at the time. The battle took place close to the small town of Waterloo in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (now southern Belgium). It is widely lauded as the end of French Imperial colonization on the Continent, though this isn't quite accurate. For more information, check out the wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

Below you'll find an assorted array of photos, including an upclose of some French amour worn into battle. Nice stuff. We also wondered into the calvary camp and got some pictures of them doing some exercises. Unfortunatly, we couldn't stay for the actual battles (engagements) because the doggy was getting tired (not to mention me). Hope you all enjoy.

Waterloo and Watery-Poo

2008-06-28T13:05:00.001+02:00

Last weekend was beautiful. The sun was shining. The weather was a delicious 75 degrees. No rain was forecast. So a fellow intern and I decided to head down to Waterloo to check out the sites. In a fit of strange excitement and utter foolishness, I decided to bring Truman with us. First we had to take a tram, then a train, then two buses to get there. Dogs allowed on trams, trains, and buses? Of course! This is Europe, after all! It's necessary, and indeed would be uncivilized, to allow dogs anywhere in Europe. But you'll have to pay to go to the restroom...

We ran into a slight hitch on the train. It was supposed to be a 15 minute train ride, but it turned into 1 hour 45 minute train sitting because of a problem with the tracks. Poor Truman found the train so uncomfortable that he promptly started shedding. And shedding. And shedding. By the time we finally left, my seat was covered with a thin layer of dog hair. Oh well.

When we finally got to the city of Waterloo, Truman found himself with another small problem: diarrhea. I'm not sure what he ate, but the poor guy got his whole system cleaned out fairly quickly after arrival. It wasn't pretty.

Then we got to the Waterloo monument and found, to our surprise, the only place in French-speaking Europe that one can't bring a dog along to. Yes, an outside monument with my pocket full of poo-bags, and we weren't allowed in because other guests might have "allergies". If you're paying attention, you will note the irony in being able to take a dog into closed trams, buses, and spend almost 2 hours in a hot train with only 2 windows just barely big enough to fit a human head through (not to mention bringing Truman into the train/bus stations, restaurants, and clothes shops in Brussels and Waterloo earlier). And yet we couldn't take the little guy up the (outdoor) hill to see a stone lion. Whatever. Welcome to Belgium, land of idiocy.

So instead we went to the reenactors' camp a few kilometers away. I had actually planned to go here and stay for the battles after my fellow intern had to leave, but now we all got to go. The camp was very similar to Civil War reenactments I've witnessed before, only with slight differences. Practically everyone had an earring. Apparently the French used earrings to signify rank. There were tons of men running around with no shirt (a big no-no in Protestant America at the time). Lots of gypsies.

We also had the good fortune of stopping to talk to some soldiers in the French camp. I asked, very politely, "Pardon messieurs, combien de soldats est qu'il y a ici aujourd'hui?" (excuse me sirs, how many soldiers are here to do?), to which they responded "parlez-vous English?" (do you speak English?"). I laughed and said that I did. It turns out these two gentlemen were British but enjoyed playing the "losers". They play the British during American Revolution reenactments. And they were excited that my brothers played Confederates for the Civil War. They just liked being the losers for some reason.

There's more to be said, but this post is already plenty long. And now some pictures!

Book Update #1

2008-06-28T12:46:00.000+02:00

As some of you will remember, I published a rather intense and ambitious list of books I intended to read this summer. Unfortunately, things are not quite going as I would like, and I haven't gotten as far as I should have liked. I have finished three books, and am well into another four. Here's a brief run-down and a brief statement about each:

The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom - I've already written about this one a few posts back.

Psalms: Prayerbook of the Bible, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Excellent short intro to the Psalms, placing them into a setting I had never before thought of. In short, Bonhoeffer suggests that the Psalms should be viewed as Christ's prayers, and our (or the original Psalmist's) prayers through Christ. This book is very short. I used it as my tram reading for about 1 week and was finished. I highly suggest it though.

For Men Only - An interesting glimpse into the minds of women. While I found it educational and helpful, it's probably better suited for men who are already married or in a committed relationship. This was my second "tram reading" book.

Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - I started this one (again) right after arriving, but have to put it down after every few pages because of one of two reasons: 1) It's so deep that I have to think about what has been said, or 2) It's so convicting I have to repent and rethink normal approach to Christian community. Again, an excellent book.

The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - I'm almost 3/4 done with this book, and it's proven to be the deepest and hardest. One has to remember Bonhoeffer's setting, or one will be tempted to think he has crossed the line multiple times into heresy. But the book is still rich with deep meaning.

The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis - This book has easily become my favorite Lewis book (no easy task). I'm always amazed how a non-theologian English professor could have such insight into theology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc. Convicting but excellent. A perfect companion to Bonhoeffer's Life Together.

The Politics of Repentance, by Andre Trocme - I've only read the introduction, but already I'm fascinated by some aspects and concerned by others. Trocme was a French pacifist. However, unlike most pacifists, I think he has earned the right to be heard because of his amazing ability to live a pacifistic life during WWII while still resisting the Nazis' rule. Indeed, perhaps he did more for the Resistance (or at least the Jews) than most French (or Dutch, or Belgian, or Danish, or Norwegian, or Polish, or....) militants.

Meet the Neighbors/Faire la Connaisance de mes Voisins

2008-06-18T18:30:00.001+02:00

I think I've mentioned, but I live in a fairly nice suburb of Brussels. It's called Ixelles or Elsene, depending on if you're French or Flemish. There are a lot of embassies and missions in the area, as well as docteurs et advocats (doctors and layers). Today Truman and I took a walk, and I wrote down the embassies and took pictures of some of them. Here's what I found:
I'm within walking distance (less than 4 blocks from):

Embassy of Equatorial Guinea
Embassy of Monaco
Embassy of the Philippians
Embassy of Algeria
Embassy of Slovakia
Embassy of Portugal
Embassy of Latvia
Embassy of Belarus
Embassy of Burkino Faso
Embassy of Zambia
Mission of he African Union
Official Residence of Turkish Ambassador

In addition, I think I've seen in my wanderings around the area the Embassies of Hungary and Tunisia.

Here are some pictures:

Embassy of the Republic of Belarus, the last dictatorship in Europe. They are fond of reminding us that, if they had oil, they would not be considered a dictatorship but an "international ally".

A shot just down the street, where the Slovakian and Portuguese embassies are right next to each other.

This is the complex I live in. We're the 2nd floor (3rd for Americans) with the window boxes outside. Someone that visited the other day asked why we had the only ugly building in the area, and I told them it was so we didn't have to look at it.

The Phillippino Embassy, which is literally right across the street from where I live.

Of Holidays, Tractors, and Dinners of Joy

2008-06-18T14:28:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I found out I would have today off, but still be paid for my hours. "Why?" you might ask, and I will tell you. As you may know, I'm working for the U.S. government. The U.S. government offers its employees 10 paid holidays, even if one is working in a country that doesn't recognize those holidays. So, for example, I was paid for Memorial Day even though I didn't work it, and I'll be paid for July 4th, even though I didn't work it. Here's the beautiful (if you work overseas): U.S. government employees stationed overseas also get local holidays off. This is Belgium. Most European countries have at least 10 holidays as well, and only a few overlap. So that's at least 15 paid holidays that Americans working in Europe will be given (my next one is July 21st). But interestingly, today is not a European or Belgian holiday.

Anyone who watches European news will have heard of the protests and demonstrations going on here in Brussels. Mostly they are either fishermen, truck drivers, or farmers protesting high gas prices. Contrary to what the news wants to imply, the demonstrations are usually quite peaceful and not violent at all. Today the city of Brussels has been invaded by thousands of tractors and semi-trucks as a protest to high European taxes on petrol. While we don't expect these demonstrations to be dangerous, the Embassy felt it wasn't worth us trying to make it into work today since most traffic around the city is blocked. And so we all have a non-holiday holiday. And it's an excused absence (since public transportation is most likely disrupted), so we all get paid for it as well. I love Europe.

I have a theory as to why the governments of European countries are in favor of the EU: They get tired of demonstrations in Paris, Rome, Madrid, London, Berlin, the Hague, etc., so they've decided to export these demonstrators to Brussels. And the Belgians are just stupid enough to agree to it (I'll do a post on Belgian idiocy sometime in the future).

Today I took a quick trip into the supermarket in downtown Ixelles, a superb of Brussels. There weren't supposed to be protests out this far (I didn't think), but hundreds of tractors were driving through the main street today. I don't think I've ever seen that many tractors, not even in my dear Kansas! I couldn't help but laugh because most of these were from other countries: France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. They were protesting the high prices of gasoline. And yet these farmers could afford to drive their huge tractors all the way to Brussels from, say southern Spain or eastern Germany, to prove their point. How much did that journey cost in petrol? I couldn't help but laugh at their absolute stupidity.

In other news, I also stopped by McDonald's (or McDo) while I was in town. It was a nice little respite and a great place to watch and laugh at the tractors rolling past. I ordered a Happy Meal (or a "Dinner of Joy") and was surprised at the price: 4 euro 30! That's $6.15!!! For a Happy Meal!!! But my shock soon turned to amusement as I realized why: This is French-speaking Belgium. Most of the culture here is, despite what the Flemish want to think, French. This was no ordinary American Happy Meal with a drink, toy, fries, and hamburger. Oh no! The French would, of course, consider that silly American Happy Meal a 2-course meal (fries and burger): how barbaric. That simply wouldn't do for a French child. They must have, at the very least, 4-course meals. Even at McDo. So my Dinner of Joy included the customary toy (choice between boy or girl), drink (bottled water, soft drink, or fruit juice), fries, an entree (hamburger, cheeseburger, chicken sandwich, or chicken nuggets), crudite (raw veggies), and a dessert (cake, fruit smoothie, fruit or chocolate milk, or fresh fruit). I could have also taken a balloon, but I declined. I was a little amused that the meal didn't include a cheese-course. The sucker filled me up. If American Happy Meals included 4-course meals, I would gladly $6.15 for them. If you're interested, you can check out the Belgian McDo's site for Happy Meals at http://www.mcdonalds.be/fr/index_FR.php?page=menu:happymeal

Strange Boys in a Strange Land

2008-06-16T20:17:00.000+02:00

A friend of mine, Jeremy, told me awhile back that he would be visiting Europe this summer. But he had no plans to visit Brussels. I was glad for him that he could make it to Europe, but sad that I probably wouldn't get to see him. This is the friend that I have taken many adventures with in the past. The two of us visited Boston on a road trip last Thanksgiving break and the Christmas before we went to pick up his brother, Sean, from college in Minneapolis, MN. We've had a lot of great times together. So I was elated when he sent me his itinerary and it included Essen, Germany, which is just north of Cologne. Jeremy and Sean were traveling with one of Sean's friends, Bryan, who knew some Germans. So we stayed in the home of a wonderful German family and got to experience the essential German life. So many sausages... And beer (but not as many as in Belgium)... And this amazing chocolate candy called "Marzipan" which I had never heard of but fell in love with.

I had never had any real desire to visit Germany again, but something about being shown the country by real life people who really live there helps the experience a lot. I suppose that's true of any place though. One doesn't learn about France by visiting the Eiffel Tour, or about England by visiting Buckingham Palace, or about Italy by visiting St. Peters anymore than one learns about the U.S. by visiting the Statue of Liberty. Honestly, those things I can take or leave, but the people in all of these countries (as well as dozens others) fascinate me. In each, they have their beautiful and ugly. And it shows me the beautiful and ugly in my own dear Kansas/Oklahoman culture too.

Essen used to be a huge coal industry town. In the 1970s, all the mines were closed down. They tried to tear them down but the biggest one was preserved and is now a Unesco World Heritage site. Below are some pictures.

Outside the coal mines. Jeremy, Sean, Bryan, and the German family.

Inside the mines. Scary huh? Actually it's face light.

We had a near miss when part of the building started to fall down. Fortunately, Sean was there to save the day and pulled the steel beams of of us. Jeremy would have helped more, but his hands were fully of (English!) materials about the museums.

It was so sunny and warm in Germany. Well, compared to Brussels anyway.

So that's my adventure in Essen. The family has asked me to come back, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to. The eldest son (Hendrick) wants to visit me while I'm in Brussels, and I've assured him he's more than welcome. So you may hear more from my new German friends!

Pineapple!

2008-06-12T20:40:00.000+02:00

I love pineapple. It's probably my favorite fruit. Except maybe strawberries. But I love pineapple. Yesterday I went to an open market a few blocks away from my flat (it's only open once a week) and found an amazing selection of pineapples (they had ones to taste) for 1 euro each. I did a bit more shopping and came back to buy one. Apparently I came at just the right time (right before closing) because Monsieur at the fruit stand informed me "et un gratuie aussi", which means "and one for free too". So I got two pineapples for one euro! Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Corrie ten Boom's House

2008-06-12T19:32:00.000+02:00

I know I should have posted this a long time ago. My apologies.

On my second day in the Netherlands, I got to take an afternoon trip to Corrie ten Boom's house. My hosts both had to work, so I was on my own. Starting when I got in the airplane in Dallas, I had began reading Corrie's famous book The Hiding Place, which tells the story of her family's experiences living through Nazi occupied Holland. As most of my readers are probably aware, Corrie's faith played a huge role in her life. She knew she couldn't simply stand by and let the Nazis run amuck in her country. Her heart was especially touched by the plight of Jewish-Dutch people living there in Haarlam. I finished the morning I went to visit Corrie's house.

What I found most sobering and scary about the book was the description of Christianity in Europe, especially Holland, at the time. Holland was a Christian country. The churches were active. And yet public outcry against the Nazi treatment of the Jews was almost non-existent. A considerable amount of the "Christian" Dutch population collaborated with the Nazis. The vast majority of these Christians simply stood by and refused to get involved. Holland had a population of 140,000 Jews before the war began (not counting Jews that had fled from Germany earlier). Only 40,000 of these Jews would survive the Holocaust. 71% of the Jewish population died in Holland, and the Christian Church was mostly silent on the issue. Compare these statistics with Denmark. Before the invasion, 7,800 Jews lived in Denmark. When the "Final Solution" was declared in Denmark, the local population was so horrified that they immediately sprung into action. Only 60 Jews in the entire country were ever caught. The Danes saved 99.2% of their Jewish population.

So what made the difference? From what I can tell, Denmark had already reached the post-Christian status. A minority of Scandinavians were attending services every Sunday before the war (the occupations in both Norway and Denmark dramatically increased church attendance, and the effect bled into Sweden as well). My belief, with no serious research, is that the Church in Denmark was able to have a greater impact on Danish society precisely because it had been purged of all the pseudo-Christians who attended simply because it was popular. When the hard times came (the Occupation), the Danish Church proved faithful, not only able to respond in a Christian manor to the Nazi's intentions toward the Jews, but also influence their society toward a more Christians outlook as well. The Dutch Church, on the other hand, was crippled by countless people who were Christian because that was the socially acceptable, easy thing to do. But when the hard times came (the Occupation), their faith proved to be fruitless as they stood by and watched the Nazi's slaughter thousands of their own countrymen.

So where are we in America today? I shudder at the thought that we are closer to where Holland was at the outbreak of the War then to where Denmark was, but I am saddened to admit that I think we are indeed more Dutch than Danish. Why this is the case is difficult to discern. I will give a quick thought though: I think that the Church in America, much like the Dutch Reformed Church, is much more interested in making sure that its members say the right things, agree with a specific catechism (statement of faith), and can go through the motions of good Church members than in actually affecting the hearts of her people. Not that the former is bad. Indeed we must have correct doctrine or trying to live Christians lives is impossible. But so many modern churches in America consider church attendance, tithing, missions work, etc. as the "important things" and ignore the nitty gritty of real life: anger, pride, gossiping, backstabbing, causing other Christians to sin, foolishness, idolatry, and many more.

Okay, I'm done with the rant. Now onto the stuff you've all been waiting for. Pictures!!!

Outside the Ten Boom watch shop. The store is the front part of the house (which is the museum) and is still a real jewelry and watch shop.

This is the signal that Corrie's underground movement used as a secret signal. When the Alpina sign was in the window, it meant all was fine. If the sign was gone it warned people not to stop. On the night of their arrest, the Germans figured this out and used it to trap other members of the underground.

This is the living room. The picture above the piano is Corrie's father.

Corrie's linen closet which was used as the secret entrance to the hiding place. You can see at the very bottom that the door is open for someone to slide through.

This is a hole in the wall so you can look into the hiding place. I don't know these people but they were part of my tour.

A shot of the inside of the hiding place.

This is a small hiding place used to hide Jewish valuables, as well as extra ration tickets and so forth. On the night of the arrests, this hiding place was found but the one with the people in it was not.

So there they are. I hope you all enjoyed!

Of Umbrellas and Parties

2008-06-08T17:13:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a looong day for me. I was looking forward to my first weekend alone here in Brussels as a time to relax and finally catch up on my sleep a little big, but then we found out that the EU Commission and Council would be open for the public. This only happens once a year, so one of the interns and I agreed to meet over there at 9:00. Of course it took me about an 45 minutes to get there using trams and metros, and I had to get up earlier to give Truman a substantial walk before I left, so I ended up getting up at 7:00. Not too much sleeping in.

Since most of my readers are probably unfamiliar with EU politics, let me explain the Commission/Council as best as I can. Be aware that I'm still confused about them as well to some degree, as is everyone. People keep saying that "once the Lisbon treaty is passed, it will simplify things!". That should tell you how bad EU bureaucracy is if a 500 page document "simplifies" it.

First was the EU Council. This is an immense building with glass on all sides. It's really pretty neat to look at, but unfortunately I forgot my camera. The Council is where all the heads of state from each of the 27 European Union countries meet to discuss EU treaties, etc. They also discuss new EU policies and laws, etc. The Council can also consist of the specific ministers of each of the 27 countries on a given issue. For example, in poultry trading (the big issue at work right now), the Council is actually the Minister of Agriculture for each country instead of the Prime Minister/President. It's a big deal because we're trying to get the EU to accept American poultry, which they refuse to do because it is dunked in chlorine before being sold. The Council's presidency changes every 6 months. Right now, Slovenia is finishing up their presidency with France to take over next month.

The Commission was next and is the most powerful body right now of the EU. Each country's government can appoint one Commissioner for so long (I think it's 4 years, but I'm not quite sure). These Commissioners are the only real Europeans because they have to swear to not consider their own country when making EU decisions. The head of the Commission is President Jose Manuel Barroso, who is considered the most powerful man in Europe right now. I'm a little confused as to the job of the Commission, but they pass laws and such that are then sent to the EU Parliament for approval.

Both the Commission and the Council had tons of goodies available for free for people visiting. These included all sorts of paraphernalia regarding the EU. Mostly maps, DVDs, books, etc. It was quite the treasure hunt for me because I could get everything in French and English, which I shall use later on to practice with. But neither compared to what was to come at the Parliament! After we finished with the Commission and Council, the other intern had to leave but I went on to Parliament, where each of the EU Parties had a booth with lots and lots of free stuff. I got a safety vest for riding a bicycle (which I was going to have to buy), three umbrellas, and all sorts of other goodies. Below you can see a picture of Truman with my umbrellas:

The blue square one is from the center-right party which includes Nicholas Sarkozy's conservative party from France. It isn't the most conservative one in Europe, but it is the biggest. The green is from the Greens. I had to laugh because, of all three, the Greens' umbrella had the most plastic packaging. The Greens are known because they were the first European Party to launch a pan-European campaign in the last election. The red one is probably my favorite, even though its the Socialist party, because its so big. After I left, I saw someone with a navy blue umbrella as big as this one from the EPP party, which is probably the most conservative main-line party (the British Conservatives are a part of that party, though they have promised to pull out after 2009). I was going to go back in to try to snag one, but there was a huge line, and I would have had to go through security again. Anyway, three is probably sufficient anyway.

So that was my adventure with the EU. I'll probably get a more in-depth official tour with the other interns, but it was great to see everything anyway.

Still Alive

2008-06-07T21:47:00.000+02:00

This is a brief post, mainly because I wrote a very long post and had it deleted by my computer. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive, though right now I'm extremely frustrated. My computer problems is the major contributer right now, but I also have a headache and am really tired from another day visiting downtown Brussels. I'll try to post on that tomorrow. Also, Mr. and Mrs. S. left yesterday, so it's just me and Truman. He's been acting antsy since they left. So I'm going to bed, and I'll try to post tomorrow something real.

Good night.

Holland!!!

2008-05-31T13:24:00.000+02:00

Finally, the long awaited pictures from the Netherlands! I was in Holland for 4 1/2 days and stayed with the family of a lady I met in Scotland last spring break. I did not realize until I was there that her husband is actually a pastor for mentally challenged individuals. They were extremely nice and showed me around Amsterdam, Armede (their area that was drained and built in 1975), and many other places in Holland. I saw everything from windmills to dikes. In Holland, there is very little countryside because it has been mostly urbanized. Almost every inch of the country is planned so as to make the most out of their space. Below are different pictures of different aspects of the country.

This is a place that used to be an island before the area was drained. You can see the fortifications against the sea off to the right.

Yes, they do have some old-fashioned windmills left in Holland. This one is actually a house now. The people in front are Ronald and Tineka, my amazing hosts!

A thatched roof on a Dutch farmhouse.

A canal in downtown Amsterdam. The canals basically run in squared tic-tac-toe mazes throughout the entire city.

No, this isn't an optical illusion. The building really is leaning forward. There were two explanations given me: Taxing was based on ground usage, or the building was so old the foundations have shifted.

Two canals separated by a dike. You can see that the two canals are several meters different in depth.

Typical Dutch architecture from the 1600s.

So that's Holland for you. I'll have another post on Corrie ten Boom's house soon.

Wedding Dress

2008-05-28T21:17:00.000+02:00

I know I should be posting about Brussels, my job, or something else having to do with my time in Europe, but I'm going to take a break from that (I know, I haven't done too much anyway). I went to the Royal Park today for lunch (it's right across the street from the Mission) and read a few pages of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Psalms: Prayerbook of the Bible". So far an excellent read. It's always so strange to me how God continually brings up the same things. Last semester in Christian Worship, I learned the importance of understanding that worship and prayers are not mine, but I am permited to join in Jesus' worship and prayers. Bonhoeffer echoed that sentiment, adding that anything less (or more) than joining in Jesus' work is neither worship nor prayer. A proper prayer, the prayer that Jesus prays for and with me, will always be modeled after the Lord's Prayer. Even the Psalms, according to Bonhoeffer, follow that pattern.

And I realized how, once again, I had made my Christianity, my faith and prayers and worship, an act of myself over the last few weeks. It's been fairly easy. But the odd thing is that when I get to thinking how great I've got my prayers and Christian work, that's when I can no longer control my sin. I realize now that I have to step back and really let Jesus be my holiness, my worship, and my prayers for me. How easily, and how quickly, I forget that.

The following song is by Derek Webb and is written specifically about the Church but can also apply to individuals. It was played at our Ash Wednesday service earlier in the year, and it cuts me to my heart everytime I hear it because it's so true. It's very easy for me to claim Christ when things are easy, but that is normally in name only. I'm terribly easy to satisfy. I easily get bored with Christianity. It's hard to say, but I really am a whore. So without further ado, Wedding Dress by Derek Webb.

If You cold love me as a wife
And for my wedding gift, Your life
Should that be all I’ll ever need
Or is there more I’m looking for
And should I read between the lines
And look for blessings in disguise
To make me handsome, rich, and wise
Is that really what You want?

I am a whore, I do confess
I put You on just like a wedding dress
And I run down the aisle
Run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
I put You on just like a ring of gold
And I run down the aisle
Run down the aisle to You

So could You love this bastard child
Though I don’t trust You to provide
With one hand in a pot of gold
And with the other in Your side
I am so easily satisfied
By the call of lovers so less wild
That I would take a little cash
Over Your very Flesh and Blood

I am a whore I do confess
I put You on just like a wedding dress
And I run down the aisle
Run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
I put You on just like a ring of gold
And I run down the aisle
Run down the aisle to You

‘Cause money cannot buy
A Husband’s jealous eye
When you have knowingly deceived His wife

I am a whore, I do confess
I put You on just like a wedding dress
And I run down the aisle
Run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
I put You on just like a ring of gold
And I run down the aisle
Run down the aisle to You

Brussels and Sunshine

2008-05-24T11:36:00.000+02:00

I'm in Brussels. Actually, I've been here for 5 days already. My silly wireless card has decided to be temperamental, so I haven't been able to get online here at the apartment, and I'm not allowed to get on blogs while at work. My hosts (Mr. and Mrs. S.) have kindly fixed me up with a guest account on their desktop computer. This will work great later on, but for now I feel like I'm inconveniencing them every time I need to use it. Therefore my blogging has been non-existent since my arrival.

I do have pictures from Holland, which I fully intend to share. They will have to come perhaps tonight or tomorrow. I have to download them from my camera onto my computer, then put them on my flash drive, then bring them to the S.'s computer, and finally post them to my blog. It's really not as much work as it sounds, but I'm feeling lazy. Actually, I'm supposed to be leaving right now for downtown Brussels.

To get you briefly up to speed, I arrived in Brussels last Monday and started work on Tuesday. The weather has been amazing (it rained a lot in the Netherlands). This is such a beautiful country, and the people are so nice. I'm getting to practice my French a little, but not as much as I would like because everyone else wants to practice their English. I made a deal with our local-hire secretary at work who is from Brussels that she should speak French to me and she can practice her English whenever I don't understand her French. Another local hire is Flemish and won't speak French with me, and another is Croatian and also refuses to speak French with me. We have one from France who I never get to see and another from French-speaking Belgium who is coming to America later this year and wants to practice his English.

I do need to go for now, so I'll write more later. Hope life is going well for all of you.

Safe Arrival

2008-05-17T21:28:00.000+02:00

Yes my dear friends, I am in Europe! Holland to be precise. Amerde is a "new" part of the suberbs around Amsterdam (built in 1975). Yes, I am actually in a part of Europe that is newer than the U.S. More on that in another post. Anyway, the flight was uneventful. I'm here with the most charming family and enjoying every moment of it.

I will write more on my Dutch experience, including my trip into Amsterdam and visit to the Corrie ten Boom house.

Finals Finally Finished

2008-05-09T17:55:00.000+02:00

I finished my last final this morning after having finished work last night. It was quite the relief. It feels good to be finished with everything. The next 5 days will be a wild ride, but I'm fairly sure I can hang on long enough to make it to Wednesday. For the interested, here is my schedule of events for the next few days:

Today (Friday) - Finish packing room, returning various borrowed items, etc. Picnic for lunch. Do some errands in Branson.

Tomorrow (Saturday) - Leave campus for two of my dear friends' wedding at 6:30 AM. I'm helping to set up for the wedding, which starts at 10:00. I hope to be back on campus no later than 3:00. Whenever I arrive back, I'll finish the last few bits of packing and sign out of my room. Then it's off to Oklahoma! Hopefully in time for dinner with the family.

Sunday - Mother's Day!!! Church in the morning, cooking dinner in the afternoon for my dear mom (if you're reading: I love you!). Pack. Try to catch a nap. Leave for Texas after evening church so we can meet up with Jon, Judy, and little Danny at my grandmother's house before they leave Monday afternoon.

Monday - Play with Danny, Robbie, and Emma. Talk to GranEsther. Hang with various members of my family.

Tuesday - Finish packing. Clean up some storm damage on my grandmother's property.

Wednesday - Check everything for trip. More farm chores. Act giddy and nervous. Plane leaves at 3:55 from Dallas to Detroit. Connection in Detroit to Amsterdam.

Thursday - Arrive in Amsterdam for a weekend with friends. Really looking forward to some Dutch hospitality, although I've heard they make guests pay for everything... :) Really, this will be quite an adventure and (hopefully) relaxing time for me.

Added Bonus!
Following Monday - Take train from Amsterdam to Brussels. Meet the people I'll be house sitting for. Settle in a bit.

Tuesday - Start work at the Embassy!

Summer Reading

2008-04-30T23:08:00.001+02:00

Summer break is almost here (1 1/2 weeks to go!), and I find myself, for the first time in many years, with a time when I can plan to do some heavy reading. Now plans, as they always are, often come to naught, but I have a list of books that I'm taking to Europe with me and fully intend to read. If you've ever read any of them, and have anything to say about it, please let me know. So without further ado, my ambitious summer reading list:

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of Chambon-sur-le-Ligne by Phillip Hallie
The Politics of Repentance by André Trocmé
Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution by André Trocmé
Angels and Donkeys by André Trocmé
Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis
Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Ethics by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Psalms: The Prayerbook of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
By the Rivers of Babylon: 15 Sermons by Kaj Munk
Four Plays by Kaj Munk
The Epistle of James by Zane Hodges
The Epistles of John by Zane Hodges
For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn

17, yes 17 books. But I must inform my dear readers, before they think me too ridiculously ambitious or more intellectual than I am: many of these books are not as in-depth as others. One at least is a children's book (Angels and Donkeys). Others are quite short or are a collection of shorter works (both of the Psalms and Kaj Munk's books). The two Hodges books are meant to be utilized along with a study of those Biblical books, so they will be read along with Scripture. So while it may take me a week to read The Cost of Discipleship or Surprised by Joy, I should (hopefully) be able to get through all or most of these books before I return at the beginning of August. And if I do not, then I shall have a leg-up on my Christmas Break reading!

For my extremely sharp readers out there I have a trivia question: What do the first 14 books have in common?

And We're Back

2008-04-27T22:51:00.000+02:00

Wow, more than a month since my last post. I did warn everyone that I was bad at these types of things. Anyway, I think we're back on the air. I'll just explain my absence for this entry.

First was spring break. Yes, spring break started on Good Friday. I did not get to go home for either Easter of the break, as I instead went to St. Louis on a missions trip. It wasn't like any other missions trip I've been on. It was sponsored by InterVarsity, and it was very much a Social Justice type organization and mission. We worked with students from three other schools, which was great fun. My group painted a local widow's windows and then finished the carpeting at a church. It always strikes me as strange how fun those types of "chores" can be when done in company of friends. We had a lot of fun chatting and sharing with each other about our own lives, but we also finished both before the week was up.

The highlight of spring break was going to an English/French church there in St. Louis for Easter service. St. Louis is the 2nd biggest refugee city in the United States (behind some city in California, I think). Many of the refugees begin to form communities throughout the city, and we worked very close to the French speaking community. Before someone asks, I should clarify that these French-speaking people are mostly from west Africa. There really aren't a lot of refugees from France or Quebec. :)

I fully intended to post on my excursion when I returned, but I woke up the morning after our return (Saturday) with a sore throat and headache. Yes, the flu. I slept a lot that weekend and tried to get over it. Monday I felt a lot better, but that soon changed. Monday evening I got to experience the worst sore throat in my entire life. I couldn't sleep because every time I swallowed if felt like someone was slitting my throat. Not that I actually know how it feels to have a slit throat; it felt like I imagine a slit throat must feel like. After a whole long hoopdela (about 2 weeks) with our campus clinic in which they insisted that I simply had the flu and most definitely did not have a bacterial infection (even though my tonsils were about twice the size of normal), I finally went to a real medical facility where they told me that, indeed, I DID have a bacterial infection. They put me on antibiotics, and I started feeling better within a day. It was a good lesson on why socialized medicine is evil. I clearly had tonsillitis, but they simply assumed I was taking advantage of free health care and so offered me little.

After recovering from that, I had 2 weeks of class that I had missed. I ran for crazy for another week and a half trying to line everything out. My teachers were all very considerate and helpful. I did finally finish everything in time.

Next week is the last week of classes. I'm super excited about that. I like some of my classes, but I'm ready to move on. So after next week (or I suppose it is this week) comes finals. Graduation is on Sunday, and I'm going to try to go because many of my friends are graduating. I've never been before. Then I have to get out of my room before 12:00 Sunday night/Monday morning. Which is fine because I'm heading home where I'll be for whatever is left of Sunday and leave for Texas on Monday to visit grandparents. My grandmother had a storm at her house and there's a lot of clean-up for all of us to do.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to help out more than a day and a half because I fly out of Dallas/Ft. Worth on that Wednesday (May 14th) for Amsterdam. If you're keeping track, you'll understand that this means I'll have to be basically backed for this trip before I leave school. That's going to be fun. Anyway, I'm going to be visiting a family there in Amsterdam. I met the mother of this family last year when I was in Scotland for a week at our Chr-stian retreat. Before we all went our separate way, she invited me to her home whenever I next came to Europe. Well, this is my next trip to Europe, and I'm really looking forward to it. She's promised to show me around Amsterdam and give me a taste of the "Dutch life". I guess that means I get to pay for everything myself. :)

After a lovely weekend in Amsterdam, I head to Brussels for my 10 week internship. Yes, in case anyone was wondering, I am super excited about this. G-d has been so faithful to bring everything together even when I couldn't because of sickness, business, or just lack of motivation. One of my biggest worries was housing while I'm there, but He has provided a house-sitting/dog-sitting job that will allow me to stay in Brussels for free. Yes, free. He is certainly good, isn't He?

This is long enough by now, and I'm quite sure you are getting bored of reading with no pictures. I'll post more (hopefully) later this week.

Maundy Thursday

2008-03-20T20:45:00.000+01:00

Today is Maundy Thursday, or "Holy Thursday" or "Holy and Great Thursday" to some. This is the day the historic Church has chosen to recognize Chr-st's final celebration of Passover with His disciples. The word Maundy is derived from the French word mandé and the Latin mandatum, which is the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"), the statement by J---- in John 13:34 is how Jesus explained to the apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.

On this day we remember the establishment of Eucharist and the urging to serve fellow Brothers and Sisters through the ordinance of foot washing. Both of these have been interesting topics in my Christian Worship class as well as in Sunday morning church the last few weeks.

Foot washing is not an ordinance to literally wash another's feet. It is an ordinance of service in humility. In our day, foot washing has lost this meaning. Many times, it becomes almost a flashy way of showing how humble we really are. My pastor several Sundays ago spoke of the shock with which the disciples would have witnessed J----'s actions during the Last Supper. In that time, Jewish masters could not require their Jewish servants to wash their feet because it was such a low and shameful act. Yet this is what Chr-st did for His disciples. The point is to do serve each others in shocking, scandalous ways.

Interesting, up until the 18th century, the English monarch would choose 12 of his or her subjects to wash their feet on this day. This is a little bit closer to what J---- was trying to communicate, but it still misses it because it became expected and ritualistic. So what is the modern way in which this should be done? I have to confess, I don't know. But the point is that the actions are not the point. The attitude is. G-d, give me attitude of love and service for my Brothers and Sisters!

Looking Backward

2008-03-19T00:33:00.000+01:00

And now some pictures from some recent events. I've blogged about them in the past, but I just now got around to getting the pictures off of my camera.

The first group of pictures are from winter past. One day we had a lovely ice storm that encrusted everything in about 1/2-3/4 of an inch of ice. It was absolutely breathtaking. Even the blades of grass each took on a bit of individualism in their winter coats. It made me think that surely not even Solomon in all of his splendor could have been ~~arraigned~~ arrayed* like these. So for 2 days, our campus resembled a diamond mine in all its spectacular beauty.

*[edit] Thanks to a sharp-eyed reader who caught my humorous type-o. I suppose when Solomon, if he had been in court, would have been cold and nicely dressed. :)

Really, pictures can't do it justice.

The next group of pictures are from two different outings with friends. The first is at Panera Bread. The second is a late evening at McDonald's after opening night of Beauty and the Beast. We originally planned to go formal, but some people didn't quite make it, and others changed after the play but before McDonald's. Anyway, enjoy.

That's all for now. Pictures are a real pain at times.

Spring, Beauty, Sadness, and Summer

2008-03-12T16:55:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the long wait since my last post. A lot has been happening here in the beautiful Ozarks as winter slowly gives way to the first whispers of spring. The two seasons have been struggling for the past month; at times it seemed that spring had finally chocked the last winter breath away, but then we would wake up to a winter wonderland of ice and snow. I shall try to post some pictures of some of our winteresque beauty. One day we experienced all four seasons in the full day. We woke up to birds singing and a light spring breeze. By noon the sun was brilliant and summer was in full bloom. Then it turned to an drizzly afternoon of autumn bliss and, finally, it froze before the day had ended.

Two weekends ago our local college theatre department presented "Beauty and the Beast", based on the old original Disney animated film from 1991 but expanded for Broadway in 1996. This play is one of my favorites for several reasons: the animated movie is one of my favorites. The characters are perfect: Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Babette, and Mme. de la Grande Bouche are adorable characters. The play is even better because it flushes the characters out and adds spice to the story. The play also has some fond memories for me because two of my best friends and I took a rode trip in the summer of 2003 to go see the traveling Broadway version in Kansas City. It was absolutely crazy because we ended up staying with people I didn't really know and my friends didn't know at all. But I also have some of my favorite memories from that trip. So here's to Joyous and Miss N!

But life can't be all interesting weather and happy memories. Last Wednesday my brother called from Texas to tell me that my grandmother (my mum's mum) had passed away. I left Thursday afternoon to avoid another big snow storm coming through and missed classes on Friday. All in all, it was a strange experience. My grandmother had an unidentified form of dementia, so it was almost as if we had really lost her several years ago. The whole event was somber but not near as sad as my grandfather's funeral (my father's father) last summer. Mum made the comment that she distinctly remembers going through the grieving process several years ago. The whole event was sort of surreal.

Last week was also midterms! I really only had one major test, which I did quite badly on. I've emailed dear Dr. Zakariadze to see if I could possibly try for some extra credit to make up for my poor showing, but he hasn't responded yet. He's probably still translating my email into Russian. Another thing about midterms is that it tells me summer is almost here. And with summer comes Europe. Right now I've been switched (again) to Brussels instead of Paris. Every day I get a little more antsy as I watch the dollar lose value to the euro. Today it is at another all-time high of $1.55. By the time I get over there it could be over $1.75 or (Heaven forbid) over $2.00! At the rate I'm going I'll have to live in a cardboard box and eat out of trashcans just so I can go to work. :)

That's all for now. I hope you all have a faaantastic week!

The Middle Road

2008-02-29T16:16:00.000+01:00

In our current environment of extremism, whether it be political, religious, or some other issue, I have found, and continue to find, C.S. Lewis’ following quote quite telling. You see, when we begin a new subject of study, if we are honestly seeking for the Truth, we do not enter into that study with a preconceived belief. However, after only a short amount of study, we become intimately familiar with a particular error on one side of the discussion or another. That error so consumes us that we often turn so passionately and so firmly against it that we have unwittingly embraced the opposite, equally malicious error.

I feel a strong desire to tell you–and I expect you feel a strong desire to tell me–which of these two errors is the worse. That is the devil getting at us. He always sends errors into the world in pairs–pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them.

This applies to any subject one can think of:

In economics, one may see the vast problems of communism and so embrace pure capitalism as if it were the perfect answer. Or visa-versa.
In language, one may understand the idiocy of thinking that words have no meaning and thereby assume that words will always have the same meaning. Or visa-versa.
In business, one may understand the importance of making a profit and conclude that he must make a profit at any cost. Or visa-versa.
In politics, we may see the problems inherent to the Republican Party (Conservative) and so embrace the errors of the Democratic Party (Liberal). Or visa-versa.
In theology, we may either reject God’s sovereignty or us it to blame Him for our actions. Or visa-versa.
In doctrine, we may reject certain twisting of Truth in one denomination so hardily that we also reject the Truth that has been twisted yet remains in that denomination. Or visa-versa.

It would seem that almost anytime one is placed in the position of having a belief that must be either this or that, and this and that are complete opposites of each other, that neither this nor that are likely to really be the Truth, but instead are usually two equally evil twisting of what the Truth really is.

Busy Week 2

2008-02-27T15:26:00.000+01:00

My last post seems to be the most popular so far, so I figured I should go ahead and continue with the rest of my week.

But first some clarifications. Panera Bread was wonderful, as was the tea and company. I tried the black bean soup and a French croissant. Both were amazing. I think my dad would like the black bean soup (so if you're reading, you should try it!). My friends (please note the plural) were also great company, and we enjoyed much interesting converation. To answer one commenter's question: I do occasionally go to restaurants with females. Yes, it's awkward and risky, and sometimes I'm just tempted to drop to one knee right there, but the other people with us normally do their best to keep me accountable. ;) I don't know why I experience such urges... maybe I've been reading/watching too much Jane Austin.

Fortunatly for me, I actually have until December before I finish with school and things get real busy...

On to my busy week:
Wednesday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-10:00
French Through Popular Culture class @ 10:00
Study Break @ 11
Lenten Chapel Service (for Christian Worship class ) @ 12:00
Lunch @ 12:30
Study/Thursday Homework 1:00-3:00
Free Time!!!/Catch up on other Projects/etc. 3:00-4:45
Dinner @ 4:45
Work from 6:00-9:00
Finish homework for Thursday @ 9:00
Bed @ 10:30/11:00
Average Amount of Free Time on Wednesdays: 2.5 hrs.
So Wednesdays are my good day. Actually they are normally very relaxing.

Thursday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-9:30
French Civilization class @ 9:30
International Economics class @ 11:00
Managment Information Systems @ 1:00
Study/Friday Homework from 2:30-4:45
Dinner @ 4:45
Truth Project (Bible Study) 6:00-8:30ish
Finish homework for Thursday @ 9:00
Bed @ 10:30/11:00
Average Amount of Free Time on Wednesdays: 1.5 hr.

Friday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-10:00
French Through Popular Culture class @ 10:00
Lunch @ 11:00
Christian Worship class @ 12:00

And I'm done with the week's scheduled times until Sunday! Happiness and joy and bright sunshine!

Busy Week

2008-02-23T23:36:00.000+01:00

I thought I should allow my readers to take a walk with me through my days. My next few posts will follow my steps throughout the normal week. Unless I find that this is too overtly boring, in which case I won't post Wed-Fri.

Monday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-10:00 (includes tutoring, professor assistance, studying, etc.)
French Through Popular Culture class @ 10:00
Lunch @ 11:00
Christian Worship class @ 12:00
Work from 1:00-4:00
Study/Break @ 4:00
Dinner @ 4:45
French Club or French Bible Study (alternating each week) @ 6:00
Homework for Tuesday classes 8:00-10:00
Bed @ 10:30
Average Amount of Free Time on Mondays: .75 hrs.

Tuesday (This is my exciting day!)
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-9:30
French Civilization class @ 9:30
International Economics class @ 11:00
Break (I don't bother to go to the cafeteria) @ 12:30
Management Information Systems class @ 1:00
Break/Study/Campus Errands 2:30-4:45
Dinner @ 4:45
Free Enterprise Studies class form 6:00-9:00
Finish homework for Wednesday @ 9:00
Bed @ 10:30/11:00
Average Amount of Free Time on Tuesdays: 1 hr.

So my Mondays really aren't that bad, but my Tuesdays are a killer. Fortunately, it is my worst day (could it get much busier?), so everything is downhill from there.

Today we finished filming a class project for Free Enterprise Studies. We did a presentation of "20 Minutes" with Jeter Pennings and Bobby Walker. I was Jeter Pennings. I also played the roles of a trendy English CEO, a computer geek from New York, and an old Southern gentleman. It was all very fun. I never knew I could talk as slow as I did when I was the Southern gentleman. On playback I was listening to myself going "could you just speed up an itsy-witsy?", but the group liked it, so we didn't do another take.

Before that, I helped a friends family move their business from an old warehouse to a new warehouse. It's a manufacturing business where they make... actually I don't know. There were lots of wires and cables and things, and it's called "Positive Connections", so it must be some sort of electrical connection manufacturing business. That was fun. This evening I was supposed to meet a couple of people and go to a Rotary Club chili feed. At the last minute (actually 3 minutes before we were supposed to leave), I got a phone call saying that we weren't going after all because someone had lost our tickets. I don't think any of us were too crushed, but I was sort of looking forward to it. So my evening became suddenly open again...

Except that another friend had already asked me to dinner with a few others, so I called her and told her that I could join them. So I had just enough time to get on the Internet, check the news, read my emails, and write this blog entry. I hope you've enjoyed it. I'm off to Panera Bread for a lovely evening of homemade soups, freshly baked breads, and, of course, tea!

Henry IV and Random Thoughts

2008-02-20T01:29:00.000+01:00

We learned about Henry IV of France this morning in French Civilization. Henry was born a Huguenot during the Wars of Religion in France shortly after the beginning of the Reformation. He became leader of the French Protestant movement (the political arm anyway) but converted to Catholicism to marry the princess of France. When the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre occurred, he converted back to Protestantism (possibly out of horror at French Catholics?). In 1589 he was invited to become King of France, but the Parisian area objected since he was not Catholic, so he converted once again back to Catholicism saying "Paris is worth a Mass".

As king, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes suspending violence against Protestants and brought relative peace to the country. He was wildly popular with the French people and ushered in a short time of prosperity for the beleaguered country. As popular as he was, he found enemies on both sides of the religious questions: Catholics distrusted him because of his liberal policies toward the Huguenots while the Huguenots distrusted him because he was Catholic. He eventually overcame most of these problems (partly because of the Edict) and presided over several years of peace. He was assassinated in 1610 by a Catholic extremist. His Catholic wife, Marie de Médicis, reigned as regent until his son Louis XIII was old enough to assume control. Marie squandered the wealth and prosperity of her husband and later caused a civil war between her sons.

Henry IV's grandson, the infamous Louis XIV ("Je suis L'État") later over-turned his grandfather's famous Edict and Protestants were once again murdered in the streets of France and successfully driven from any subsequent influence on that country (they currently make up less than 3% of the population).

While Henry IV is generally accepted as one of the best kings in French history, his reign really seemed to have little permanent affect on his country. Worse, he seems to have been a man of little real conviction, only drive for political power. This caused countless deaths on both sides of the religious fight. In my mind, that really makes him a failure.

I couldn't help but compare him to his contemporary, Elizabeth of England, who found herself in many similar situations. She was born Protestant but later found her life being threatened when Catholicism made its brief return to English politics. While Elizabeth made it clear that she was loyal to her Catholic queen, she refused to compromise her beliefs. For years she lived under house arrest in constant danger of being burned as a heretic or traitor. When she came to the throne, she made it clear to her Catholic subjects that she would most certainly not sacrifice her Protestant beliefs just to have a "successful" reign. But she also made it clear that she wanted peace. She, like Henry, brought peace, tranquility, and general prosperity to her country. She survived dozens of assassination attempts by Catholic extremists and credited God with this protection as well as military victories. When she died, the country had permanently adopted her Protestant beliefs. One could argue that Elizabeth I single-handedly laid the foundations of the Victorian British Empire, both politically and religiously.

How sad that Henry IV missed his opportunity to do the same for his own country.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T22:12:00.000+01:00

Today is Valentine's Day. For those curious, I have no big announcements or plans for the day. This is probably my least favorite day of the year, even more so than Halloween. Not because I necessarily dislike the idea of a day set aside to remind loved ones that they are loved, but because it is a stark reminder of some of the reasons I hate Western culture.

We have taken a day that was meant to honor courage, sacrifice, and chivalry and turned it into a day that honors our own self-gratification and lust of all kinds. Even for the non-romantically involved, it is a day to buy cheap candy and have a popularity contest with the amount of Valentine's one has received in comparison to others. Not that there is anything wrong with a box of chocolates, cards, flowers, or a romantic evening for those who do have those things, but it has become a day of severe social uncomfort for the less attractive among us: the ones who are alone, hopeless, and forgotten. The very ones that Saint Valentine himself would have ministered to. We have sapped the day of almost any real value and replaced it with cheap pieces of paper, over-preserved candy, and nonsensical explanations of our "wuv". In short, Valentine's Day has been completely robbed of any real meaning or true worth. It has been destroyed. It, along with a few other long-decayed days, are perfect examples of what we are currently attempting to do to Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and... Wait... those are the only non-patriotic holidays that have any meaning left in them.

And what about the actual man behind the day, or what he did, or indeed what was done to him. Indeed, much of his story is probably legend, but at least the legend inspires greatness and self-sacrifice instead of our current tradition of egotism and self-pampering. Unfortunately, most people don't know his story, and those that do rarely think about it or connect it to this day at all. If you don't know the legend, I strongly suggest you look it up. It might inspire more in you for this day than the normal run-of-the-mill Valentine's Day tradition.

So here's a few ideas for Valentine's Day that I got while thinking about the real Saint Valentine. Of course we don't all have to do these; I don't even know if I will, but at least it's a chance to skip the secular traditions and do something that means something:

Instead of sending tacky cards exhorting someone to "be my Valentine", we could send a card exhorting someone to look outside himself/herself for real love. Instead of giving silly conversation hearts to our friends, we could start up a real conversation with them about the real meanings of "sacrifice", "love", and "commitment". Instead of buying a box of chocolates... Well we all like chocolate so do that anyway, but we could also send a donation to a charitable organization or helping out someone who may not be as fortunate as ourselves. Instead of spending time asking ourselves about the states our love lives, spend a few moments calling our Representatives or Senators and asking them why they haven't done anything to preserve what is left of the state of "marriage" in our country.

Weekend Recovery

2008-02-11T22:06:00.000+01:00

I got hit with a case of the stomach flu over the weekend. It wasn't really fun but at least it came at a time when I didn't have too much to do. I'm feeling mostly better, but for some reason my voice is starting to go. I think I'll cancel my evening activities and go to bed early again.

Random Thought: Has anyone ever wondered why there are bureaucracies in the world? I think it must be a result of the Fall.

Ash Wednesday

2008-02-06T23:21:00.001+01:00

Remember, from dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.

In Chr-st Alone

2008-02-03T20:49:00.000+01:00

*Note: For my international viewers, I will try to be discreet with my words and terms so as not to find myself blocked by your Internet service for being "anti-xyz". This is why I have chosen to incorporate Chr-st, G, J----, and so forth instead of the proper words.

Now on to my entry. We sang this song this morning in church, and it made me want to post it here because it is so powerful. It is, in most people's view (including my own), one of the very few modern hymns. Why don't we get more these days?

In Chr-st alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Chr-st I stand.

So often I think the Church, and myself included, forget that it is only in Him that we find any of the above. In this verse, my favorite line is the one that talks about Him bringing His grace and peace to us when our strivings have ceased. I tend to be a striver; trying to earn both of the above, or at the very least make myself worth of them. But one cannot experience His grace and peace until one has stopped the strivings.

In Chr-st alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of G in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as J---- died,
The wrath of G was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Chr-st I live.

Some people object to the sixth line. I've heard/seen it debated that it was not G's wrath that was satisfied, or that not all of His wrath was satisfied in Christ. But as for me, I think Scpt is clear that the wrath that should have come to me was taken by Him.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Chr-st.

I don't know how often I have missed this. Sin's curse has lost its grip on me. Tense is very important; It is not that sin will lose its grip, or that it is losing its grip. It has lost its grip!

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

'Nuff said.

My Full Semester

2008-02-02T05:18:00.000+01:00

I thought I should give a brief outline of what my semester is looking like. I'm taking 18 hours this semester, which is lower than usual but seems harder because they are all upper-division classes. They include 3 business courses (Management Information Systems, International Economics, and Free Enterprise Studies), 2 French classes (French Through Popular Culture and French Civilization), and only 1 religion class (Christian Worship). So far that last one is my favorite but also one of the harder ones. It's my favorite because the professor, Dr. Bolger, is one of the wisest men I've ever met yet retains his humility and gentle spirit. It's also the most challenging to me in my personal life. I've been learning a lot, but I'll try to have a full post on that at some time in the future.

In addition to all of my classes, I'm also still President of the French Club, a member of RotoAct, and a French tutor at the Foreign Language Lab. I've also picked up two Bible Studies (The Truth Project and a French language one here on campus), and I attend First Baptist Church in Branson (but still visit other churches in the community). Lastly, I'm in the process of getting an internship for the summer that is taking a lot of time in paperwork, research, etc. I did a quick calculation and found that I only have about 5 hours of time not taken up with studying, classes, club & activities, work, sleep, or eating per week. That's Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. By the time Friday evening/Saturday roles around, I don't really know what to do with myself. Yes, I have a crazy life. But then, so do all of my friends here on campus. It's normal for college.

New Experiences

2008-02-02T04:04:00.000+01:00

The last few years have been filled with new experiences for me. Some of the more major ones have seriously impacted my life forever: Moving, College, France, Christian Spirituality, my grandfather's death, and so many more. But little things have impacted me as well: a cup of tea, a good book, a comment made by a professor or friend, a candle, an e-mail, and the list could go on.

I have decided to add one more "little thing" to my life: blogging. Honestly, I am not a very committed person. I rarely even read my dearest friends' blogs. I don't know how much, or how long, this blogging experience will last. I honestly do not know if I will even post a second time. But I want to. I almost feel I need to.

It seems like an excellent way to share what is going on in my life, to pause and reflect in a more permanent way than sitting in the dark (my normal mode of reflection). I do not think blogging can or ever will be as deep as sitting in a dark room, possibly with a candle, thinking on so many things. But the other side of that "deep thought" (if I am capable of such a thing) is that it is so temporary, and I forget it so easily. I should really keep a journal.

So what is the point of my blog? I suppose it is primarily a place for me to write my thoughts, shallow and silly as they are, as I see fit. A place to keep my friends and family updated on my life. A place to record my experiences and to experience, in and of itself, something new.