salut, all.
today i went to my first church service in france.
first of all, let me explain how i went about finding a church to go to. my grandma sent me some sort of list she found of churches near here (by france’s version of the ZIP code). i looked at this list, and, i’m not kidding, picked one because it had the best name. most of them are just “eglise” (church) + denomination + location of some kind. i picked one called Eglise Amour Foi Esperance, or, roughly, Church Faith Hope and Love (well, technically “love, faith, and hope,” but the other way sounds better in english). forget that whole “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” thing.
so, after a few emails back and forth with the pastor’s wife and a few phone calls to a young man who goes to figure out how to get there (ligne 2 direction Marcel Paul, arret Longchamp, if you’re ever in nantes), i set off this morning for Eglise Amour Foi Esperance. aside from the fact that on sunday there are a lot fewer trams and busses going various places, getting there went off without a hitch. i arrived at the proper stop, took a look around at the addresses around me, and walked in the correct direction until i ran into the same young man who helped me figure out how to get there, Nicolas, who prevented me from getting lost. see, the church is so small it’s in a back building with no sign.
the church itself takes place in a room of inauspicious size, and there can’t have been more than 30 people there total. BUT a church’s size is no indication of how present God is. the worship leader is a woman who moved here from the united states around 30 years ago from Seattle, and the worship is happy and ALIVE. i haven’t yet figured out if the woman who spoke today is the pastor’s wife or the regular pastor, but whatevs. the message was good, the worship was good (started out with a french translation of “blessed be your name”) and i’ll definitely be going back.
only problem:
nicolas is VERY attractive in a number of ways. i don’t know how old he is, but 1) he’s really nice. 2) he’s good with his mom, 3) this is gonna sound corny, but i can see that, like most or all of this church, he has the joy of the Lord, 4) he ran the soundboard, therefore he is at least a wee bit nerdy, and 5) OMG he’s PHYSICALLY attractive. face, eyes, oh la la.
this is bad. i am not here to get a “petit ami” (boyfriend), nor do i want to continue my bad crush habit (see: almost any other old post on here) while in france. i’m here for STUDYING, learning the little things about french culture, being french, and gaining some new friends along the way. plus, i promised everyone back home that i wouldn’t come back married…because i’ve heard stories of those who get married in france, they don’t ever leave again. and i’ve got 1.5 years after this semester of schooling (at least, if i don’t continue with a master’s program) before i will allow myself some ridiculous thought like that. plus, you know, he might already have a girlfriend. there’s always that.
i’ve had odd instances of a very tangible loneliness while here. it’s usually for a specific person who shall remain nameless, but it’s also me going into withdrawal for lack of hugs. the french are a bit odd in this respect. they seem to have no personal bubble, there’s that cheek kiss thing (“la bise”) and i’ve often observed young couples making out and practically (or actually) groping each other at tram or bus stops…but there is a distinct lack in hugs. cultural difference, i’m sure, but one of my love languages is definitely physical touch, and right now i really want hugs all the time. and cuddling. when i go to bed, all i want to do is cuddle someone, and this is a weird and new feeling. not that i’ve cuddled much ever, but now i want to. meh.
classes have started. i’ll be logging the most hours in my written french course (it’s 7 credit hours, oh la vache), but school will be weird otherwise as well. i have only 1 morning class on mondays and fridays (but they’re each 1.5 and 2 hours respectively) and get to go home for the rest of the day after that. i start at a different time each day. i’m a commuter. the school is ginormous (like, the size of a state school. for those of you that are unaware, my school at home has a little over 5K currently). there are 4 different places to eat lunch on campus…and so on.
well, i’m done rambling for this week. direct any pertinent questions to the comments.
[by the way, "oh la vache" techically means "oh the cow!" but it's used as a kind of expression for "Wow!"]
