Chateau Chenonceau

Parents are here, had my last day of class, and we visited an amazing castle today!  Just wanted to share some initial pics of my last beautiful week in France.  Details soon to come.

Easter in France

I had a wonderful Easter with two fellow ECCers, Ken and Adrienne! I went through a training with Adrienne last summer, so it was fun to reunite in France as we are both in language training now.  It was really helpful to talk with Ken about preparations for Congo - he worked in the Northwest region for 20 years! Ken and Adrienne are living in Lyon now, and will eventually be moving to Marseilles (the South of France) to work with the immigrant community there.

It's been fun to welcome visitors here when spring is in full bloom!

Ken and Adrienne took me out to authentic French cuisine.  It was a great day to sit outside, French style.  I ordered foie gras and duck, proud of myself!

Saturday evening before Easter we attended a candlelight service at a charismatic Catholic Church in Angers.  It was special to share this experience with Ken, Adrienne and all my classmates.

Sunday morning Easter service at the Cathedral in Angers.

For Sunday lunch, the Director of Mission Langues, Willy, and his wife Maria prepared a Colombian meal for us! Coconut rice, grilled salmon and fried plantains.  So delicious!

In France, forget the bunnies - it's all about chocolate chickens! This one stayed in tact for about a week until our chocolate cravings got the best of us.

Celebrating with my Vietnamese and Portuguese friends.  It was really special to have such an international celebration!

Ken and Adrienne brought me my very own chocolate chicken, complete with the french flag painted on the tail.  Behind that is the Easter card I received from Sharon Johnson at WCC.  So wonderful to have friends near and far remember me on these special holidays!  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebration, and thanks again to Ken and Adrienne for a great weekend!

"La Tante"

It was great to have my Aunt Pam here with me in Angers for two weeks! She was fondly referred to as "The Aunt" and quickly became part of the Mission Langues family.  Some pics of our time together:

Visiting the Castle in Centre Ville

The famous Apocalypse Tapestries are inside.  They were created during the period of the Hundred Years War between France and England during the 14th century.  Influenced by that war and the book of Revelation, the images are pretty grim, but fascinating.

One of our favorite days was the market in Angers.  Aunt Pam came just in time for all the beautiful spring flowers!

A stop on our bike ride along the Maine and Loire Rivers.

We rented bikes for a day and had PERFECT weather! I insisted on helmets, although I'm pretty sure we were the only ones wearing them.  The French look cool when they ride their bikes, but what if they get in an accident?!  

Waiting for lunch at a local brasserie.  Notice the table setting - only one fork and one knife.  Good thing we're family and don't mind sharing:)

Enjoying the feast.  Salmon, steak, homemade fries and tarragon sauce, so delicious!

It was so special to have my Auntie share life with me for a few weeks.  Thank you for a wonderful time!

Spring

Spring is here, the sun is out, tout va bien. Some photos of life at 70 F.

Teaching guitar to my friend Teresa.

Next goal: learn, and then teach songs in French.  

My front yard.

The vineyard on our front lawn.  The co-operative has been coming every Saturday this month to prepare the vines for this growing season.  

Enjoying the Saturday market with my classmates.

Different classmates this month, another group photo. New nationalities represented this month: Ugandan, Lebanese, Costa Rican, South African and Philippino. I continue to really enjoy and learn from this international community.


On a more somber note, please keep in prayer the families of the victims of the terrible events in Toulouse this past week.  This is the first ever school shooting in France and the incident is having a profound impact on the entire nation.

Visitors

I have had a busy few weeks, and amidst the flurry of visitors, transitions and exciting happenings back home (Baby Lucia Gloria Johnson was born to Matt and Elsa! What a joy to meet her via Skype!!) I continue to move forward with my French. One of my professors remarked several times that he thought I was making good progress.  It's important to hear that once in a while because language learning is NEVER finished.  I often still feel like a kid when I'm trying to communicate, but I have to remember where I started and I am thankful for how far I've come in a short time.

I said good-bye to another group of friends at the end of February.  Sandrine (right) from Madagascar was a presence of wisdom, patience and encouragement here, I will certainly miss her spirit.  Rosine is from Central African Republic and has invited me to stay with her when I travel through Bangui, the capital.  We will practically be neighbors when I am in Northwest Congo!

Paris!

I was incredibly blessed to spend the entirety of last week with my family in Paris! My Aunt Kathleen, Uncle Mike and cousin Emily came for the French experience, and we lived it up! Some highlights from our week together:

Our Parisian apartment for the week! It was the 5th floor of a building from the 19th century, with low ceilings but just enough room for the four of us.  Aunt Kathy bought the fringed tulips the first day so we could enjoy them all week.  

Breakfast in Paris.  Every morning one of us would run to the boulangerie down the street to pick up fresh grainy bread to go with our fromage.  This picture highlights my favorite cheese that we tried - a camembert crusted with rosemary and cloves.  I'm sure I added a few pounds this week, we ate well!

Bridge over the Seine.  These locks run all the way across, and have cutesy things written on them like "Mike et Kathy pour l'eternite".  

I have to say, Paris lived up to its "city of romance" stereotype.   Locks of love, and PDA at every corner!

Sainte Chapelle.  We waited in line for almost an hour to see this.  It really is jaw-dropping when you enter the chapel, being basked in the magnificent light of floor to ceiling stained glass from the 17th century.  Truly stunning.

Aunt Kathy taking it all in.

One of the best parts of Paris is the sidewalk cafe culture.  Even in February lots of people are outside enjoying a coffee, and sharing life together.

Notre Dame.  Em and Kathy are tiny in comparison! I  was disappointed that inside people paid 5 euros to light a candle and say a prayer for someone.  Awfully reminiscent of the type of church Luther was trying challenge....and they sold souvenirs right in the church! Blech.

Backing up a bit, Em and I visited the Cathedral in Angers before we headed to Paris for the week.  We were lucky to experience an impromptu organ practice session.  That has been one of my favorite church experiences, listening to the organ in these ancient churches.  It makes me think of my Mormor and Winnetka Covenant.

Emily loves cool old doors.  Who wouldn't, really?

A secret old neighborhood Emily and I found hidden away in Angers! There is always more to discover.

Thanks to Uncle Mike and our guide books, we had a thorough historical introduction to many sites  we visited.  I have to admit, I am a Rick Steve's convert!  He is fabulously dorky and informative, no turning back.

Em and Mike discussing our next museum visit in front of the l'Orangerie, the museum that has Monet's water lilies.  The paintings take up the entirety of two large rooms, you MUST see them if you're in Paris!

The whole crew in front of the obelisk, near the Louvre.

We climbed to the top of the l'Arc de Triomphe, and this was the view!  This was the closest we got to le Tour Eiffel.  Maybe on the next visit...although I would be happy to buy a pair of pink Eiffel Tower earrings instead and consider it visited.

It was an incredible blessing to spend an entire week with my Auntie.  So glad she was feeling good and able to travel, it was truly a perfect week!

Night life.  Can you see what's hanging in the trees?  They neighborhood we stayed in has lots of history in regards to the early Enlightenment thinkers, and it is very close to the Sorbonne, so there were tons of antique books shops.  And yes, those are books hanging in the tree.

Le Cafe Procope.  Mike and Kathy were excited to bring us here - this is the cafe where Voltaire, Rosseau, Diderot, Dalembert and their contemporaries spent lots of time drinking coffee (the first cafe in the Western world! Opened in the 17th century) and discussing philosophy, religion, science and politics.  The restaurant has Voltaire's desk on the second floor.  It was cool to be there with a tour guide (Mike) who knew so much about this era of French history.

Emily's friend Sabine joined us for a day too.  We had a great day shopping together, and this is the girls in front of Notre Dame.

Sabine is French but grew up in Germany.  It was fun to hear her take on French culture and Parisian life.  Her apartment has a bed that cranks up to the ceiling when she needs more space during the day.  Crazy small apartments.  That's why everyone hangs out outside at the cafe's - even during February!

Winged Victory was one of the more memorable works of art from the Louvre.  She is so strong, beautiful and mysterious, it's not surprising to me that there was a huge crowd around her, gazing in awe.  We saw the Mona Lisa too - much smaller than you would expect.  We had to wait our turn to get close to her, there were so many people wanting to meet her.  

Em and me on a pont over the Seine.  I am still glowing with all the family love I had last week.   Thanks again for a great week Mike, Kathleen and Emskies:) I will never forget it.