New friends and new experiences

After having spent the day in Paris we went and stayed in Antony. I got to meet Christiane who only spoke french. We got some food before we went off to bed. The following morning was fairly slow. We got up late and we ate lunch with Christiane and her friend who spoke some English. Most of the conversation went in French so I had a hard time keeping up. Eventually I just stopped listening.

It was a nice day so Hannah and I went out for a walk to the park and spend a few hours there. It almost felt like summer. We started to get hungry and I was in the mood for crêpes so we went into the center of Antony to look for a place we could eat.

Hannah feeding the ducks

While looking for a place to eat we found a strange vending machine outside the pharmacy. There you could get anything from painkillers to pregnancy tests. I thought it was weird when I first saw it but soon realised how practical it really was. If there's anything you need from the pharmacy and they're closed you can just get what you want from the vending machine.

Anyway it took ages before we could get any food since the places we looked at opened late. At that point I had gotten really grumpy because when the one place was closed and we went to the next it was closed as well. So we went back to the first place and looked at the menu while we waited for them to open.

 When we had finished our food we went to a grocery store to get something for the picnic that was to take place the following day. We were in a bit of a hurry since it was almost closing time. Moving on from the store we went to see the wine and cheese festival in town. There was a lot of people but we didn't really see much since we mostly just went in and out. 

We went over to the bus stop and found a car parked in the middle of the way. This was the second time that day that I had found a car that was terribly parked. While looked for a food place we found a car parked on the pedestrian crossing. We waited for the bus that had to stop in the middle of the road due to the car and we went home. We looked for a movie to watch and Christane came home. We ended up putting on Troy but Hannah didn't really want to watch it so we turned it off and put it back. Before we went to bed Hannah wrote in her diary.

In the morning we got up early so we would have time for breakfast and a shower before we left. That morning I ended up drinking coffee out of a little bowl instead of a cup. I was quite surprised when she took my bowl and put coffee in it but I didn't complain. When we arrived at the church we we're greeted by some people who were going to pray before the meeting began. Hannah and I joined them but before we started I got to meet one of the american pastors. It was a relief I got to speak some English.

The text translates into A hear for Paris

Before we started praying everyone said what was going on in their lives and if there was anything we could pray about. I listened to everyone explain their situation in French and I kind of got an idea about what they were saying but I missed out on a lot of details. Finally it was my turn to tell them a bit about my situation so I tried to use the French I had and explained my situation and what I wanted them to pray about. They understood what I meant which was a relief and then we got to praying. I thought everyone prayed for a very long time. Normally I'd be used to people praying longer prayers than me but this time I just wanted it to end quickly. I suppose me not understanding half of what they prayed has something to do with that as well.

The whole meeting was in French and it was hard to keep up so eventually I just stopped listening and started reading the Bible for myself instead. Whenever they had a passage up on the screen I'd look for that passage in my Bible so I could follow what they were on about.

Some of our new friends

 After the meeting was done they served some drinks and biscuits and stuff. Then I got the chance to speak with some of the English speakers. I met some of the other young people and met two others who had also just come here who didn't speak any French yet either. We exchanged numbers. There were also French speaking young adults that we got to know but I never exchanged any numbers with them.

After church we all went off to a nearby park and had out picnic. Hannah and I went to a bakery first to get something more for the picnic. Luckily there were others who thought they'd get something as well so they joined us. We all went to the park at the same time. We had a very nice time. I got to speak a bit more with everyone from church which was very nice. Some of the others were planning on going to Hillsong Paris later on in the evening and asked us if we were coming too. I wasn't too sure at the time if I wanted to go or not. I decided that I wanted to go off alone with Hannah for a bit before making a decision. I needed to recharge a bit before the meeting in any case.

We said goodbye for now and went to our coffee place and got that good coffee that we can't seem to find anywhere else. On our way there we heard a couple fighting. They were in their apartment with the window open so everyone could hear them shouting and throwing things around them. Luckily it didn't bother us when we had our coffee and smoothie.

Suddenly we heard a group of people singing nearby. I recognised the song so we left the money on the table and went to look at the group. It was a gospel group who were giving out flyers for the concert they're having. We stood and listened to them while they sang which really made my day. When they finished we went off to the metro to move on. I was thinking about maybe going home instead of going to Hillsong but I couldn't get a hold of P so I decided to go with Hannah. See I take the train to Poissy and there is no busses on Sundays so I had to rely on P to pick me up.

We went to Hillsong and met up with our new friends. When we got in there and found some seats for ourselves and then I started to relax again which was a bit strange considering the place being packed with people. The songs were all in French but there were English subtitles so I recognised the songs and could understand what they were singing. The whole meeting was in French but there was an English translation so that was a relief. The preacher talked about different aspects to guilt which was quite interesting.

After the meeting we went outside and said goodbye. Before we left we prayed together which felt completely natural. One of the others left and we went in to find and English Bible for the friend that stayed. When she got her Bible she went on home and Hannah and I continued to look for one of the French Bibles they were handing out. We ran around for a bit before finding one for me. They were giving them out for free so I just thought I had to take the opportunity to get one.

We were both a bit hungry so we went to a crêpe place just outside the Hillsong place. There I phoned P and decided on when she'd come pick me up and everything. Hannah didn't finish her crêpe so I ate the last of it. It was a chicken crêpe and I felt like I was in heaven. It was on a completely different level than any of the ones I had tasted so far. Next time I'm definitely getting one of them.

We went to the metro and we had to go our separate ways. To be honest I was a bit sad at that moment and I didn't want to say goodbye so I missed one of the trains in order to stay with Hannah for a little while longer. She cheered me up and we said our goodbye and  I got on the train.

So this week started off easy. The car was going to the garage so Penny took O to school before going off with the car so I got to stay home. I took care of the dishes and cleaned up after breakfast like every other morning and I just took it easy to recover from all the adventures. Later on I picked O up from school and made her some lunch. O went upstairs and changed to some lighter clothes since it was quite warm. After lunch and everything we went back to school and I took it easy again. Hannah told me she was going to come visit me that day even though that previously wasn't the plan. When O and I were on our way back home we stopped at the busstop for a little while to wait for Hannah to arrive which took maybe two or three minutes. It seems like O has grown fond of Hannah as well because every now and then she asks if Hannah is coming over.

Like the day before I didn't need to drop Olivia off at school so the same procedure as the day before. Only this time she was having lunch in school so I spent the day taking care of myself. Hannah came over yesterday after her job interviews. She couldn't stay for long this time which was a shame but I'm happy she turned up at all. She helped with O's homework which is a relief since there's not much I can do when it comes to the french homework. O is a smart girl and I'm really impressed by how quickly and well she knows her homework. We spent sometime outside and also we did some drawing.

Hannah drew some animals and a Pokémon and O drew a whole lot of things on here big piece of paper. I drew a globe.

Hannah went home and I continued with O and eventually started with supper. Later on a little girl came over and spent a few hours here since her parents were off on some dancing. I put the children to bed and watched some tv with O's friend. I tried to communicate with her with the French I know. It wasn't perfect and I had a few blanks in my sentences but it worked anyway.

Eventually P came home and I helped her bring in the stuff from the car. The parents came and picked up their child and P and I sat down and had a little chat. I gave her an update about how things are going. I told her about how I like being here and that I want to continue doing this and everything. There's really nothing else I'd rather do right now. I really believe I should be here right now. Things were a bit rough in the beginning when I hadn't gotten the hang of things yet but now I feel a lot more confident in my role here and I'm getting more relaxed. Things are getting easier everyday and I'm learning a lot.

This is a great adventure.