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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Strike!

My parents arrived on Saturday and they got to see my first home game against St. Raphael. We won 3-0 and it was really fun to play at home! I am so excited that they are here! My mom made peanut butter cookies before she came because they don't really eat peanut butter here and everyone LOVED them!! Sunday we woke up early and took the train to Paris! We first stopped off to take pics of the Eiffel Tower and then the Arc de Triomphe! Then we hit up the Louvre! My dad apparently loves art (which I never knew) because he was taking pics of almost everything we passed. Now the Louvre is pretty big so it took a while! We grabbed lunch in the Louvre cafeteria and then we went to check in at our really cute hotel! It right near the Opera! We took a 30 minute cat nap and then headed to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre! We walked through the beautiful Basilica and then decided to go see the crypts and go up to the top of the dome! Well the crypts were closed but we decided to take the stairs all the way to the top of the dome. It was soooo cool and I am really happy that we decided to go. As we walked and walked and walked up the stairs the bell tower started ringing because mass was starting below us. We could see the entire city from the top and we got some really cool pictures! When we went down we decided to see how far into mass they were. The priest was in the homily and so we decided to stay for the rest! After mass we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was good food but our waiter was rather "surly" in the words of my mom. Then we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night! It was really really cool and I am so glad we went back at night! We walked from one side, underneath it, crossed the Seine river and then made it to view it from the other side. We got some great pictures! We also saw it all flash like it does on the hour. We decided not to make the venture to the top because it was FREEZING! I'm pretty sure I convinced them that since we already saw the city from Sacre Coeur, that we didn't need to do it again. I knew how cold it was from when Nicole and I went in the daytime. Monday morning we went to Fauchon (the famous chocolate shop) and then to Notre Dame. Then we jumped on the metro to head back to the train station. Our train left at 12:45 and was supposed to arrive in Nantes at 3:15... perfect timing to make my practice at 5!

Well, we arrived at the train station and our train wasn't on the board... Hmm. We asked and someone told us, "O, it was cancelled because of the strike." OK. I started to freak out a little because I had to be back for practice. They told us just to get on the next train with no seat. Weird. But we did it and the train was scheduled to arrive at 4:15. I had to be at practice by 4:45. It I am late, I get charged. So, I made some calls and finally we figured out a plan. My teammates boyfriend picked me up from the train station, swung me by my apartment to grab my things and took me straight to the gym. I arrived at 4:45 on the nose! Talk about stressful! Wow!

Tuesday, I had to go to a special medical visit for my visa. Nicole and I headed to our appointment at 1:30 and proceeded to sit in a room until 3:30 without our name being called. People who arrived after us were getting called before us. WOWW! So finally we said something, and they told us they had forgotten about us. They got us in to see the 4 different doctors. After a very interesting topless chest x-ray and seeing the other doctors, we finally left at 4:45! O France!

This morning my parents were headed to Geneva so that they can make it to my game near there on Saturday. They had a flight out of Nantes. We left way before the flight to try to find some gas however we did not have any luck. I wouldn't have had enough gas to get them there and back so we went to plan B. I brought my parents back to the hotel where they called a cab. Well they tried multiple places and finally one agreed (all because of gas and the strike). So the taxi came and took them to the airport! Here is the text word for word that I received from my mom:

"OMG. We just arrived at our gate. The plane is flying but stories to tell about how we got here. The airport exits were closed both directions off the interstate so the cab driver took us through the countryside for 30 min to find the back way in. We arrived at the airport greeted by numerous armed guards, a fire somewhere in the vacinity and a 56 euro cab ride. But we are here!! BTW, there was one gas station open on the interstate but the line was about a mile long. Love you and hopefully we will see you on Saturday!!"

That about sums up strike. Today all the workers decided to block all the entrances of all the airports today so that passengers couldn't get inside so that is what my parents were dealing with!

I went to a gas station that my teammates told me about and waited in line for over an hour to get gas! But Bertha (our car) now has a full tank of gas and she is ready to go! So that is life in France currently! Tomorrow the Senate will vote on the bill again! Everyone is on strike because the government is changing the retirement age from 60 to 62. And since the government pays all the retirement salaries for all the workers, everyone is upset! I hope the vote tomorrow goes well or else we may have some problems getting to our game this weekend. We are supposed to take the train, but they informed us that if it is cancelled then we will drive the 10 hours in buses there. But "with what gas?" is my question!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Eighty!

Did you know that eighty in french is quatre vingts... which literally translates to 4x20. WHAT?? As I try to learn French, this is what I am dealing with. Or did you know that I am une americaine, but my dad is un americain? Yes because I am a girl, I get 2 extra e's. Or did you know that a dog is masculine and a car is feminin? Who decided that? Well I am learning French slowly and I really want to learn. I practice with my teammates all of the phrases I know, and they laugh because it is so basic and funny to them! But I am hoping with 3 1/2 hours of French class a week, that I can learn something!

Here is what I know:
-Je m'appelle Sarah.
-J'ai suis americaine.
-J'ai 22 ans.
-Je suis volleyeuse.
-J'habite a Nantes.
-Je suis nee le 11 avril 1988.

Other phrases that are useful:
-Je ne sais pas. (This means "I don't know" and I use it very frequently.)
-J'ai faim. (Literally meaning "I have hunger" and yes the m in faim is silent so the pronunciation of this would be "jay fah")
-Big mac grande avec frites et coca-cola (You can figure it out.)
-J'ai froid ("I'm cold" pronounced "jay fro-ah"... silent letters are everywhere.)
-Je ne comprends pas. (I don't understand.)
-A quelle heure? (I thought it meant "what time is it" however, I just looked it up so I could figure out how to spell it and it actually means "at what time?" Haha funny)

So today I had a busy day... practice 11-1:30, class 2-4, practice 4:30-6, reception 7. I am sooo excited for Saturday when my parents will come!!! Yahh!!! And we play our first home match on Saturday night! So excited!! Also last night I downloaded the first book in the Narnia series on my Kindle... I am so excited to reread them since I read them as a child. I am sure that everyone wanted to know that, but these are the things I get excited about!!!

Au revoir!

Monday, October 11, 2010

My Life... Updated!!

Ok yes it's been FOREVER since I last wrote, and I was doing so well with keeping up with it. So here is what you all need to know!

  • Sonja Newcombe arrived on September 24! Ahh it was so great! The whole team went to the train station to pick up her and Kyle (her husband). I am soooo happy she is here!!! You have no idea!
  • That night Nicole, Alex and I went to the FC Nantes futbol (soccer) game! It was really really fun and they actually won too!
  • The following day (Sept 25) Nicole and I hoped on the tram bright at early (like 6:30am) and headed to the train station to head to Paris! When we arrived we headed straight to the Eiffel Tower where we stood in line forever! We finally got our tickets to head up! When we made it to the 1st floor, we realized a) that is was FREEZING and soooo windy and b) that we had to wait in another line for 45 mins to actually take the elevator to the top. My hands were numb and Nicole thought she might die from the cold (yes southern Cali girl). But we survived and made it to the top and it was beautiful!!! We left there and headed straight to the Louvre! We made a quick run through it to see all the sights and then after about 2 hours left. We walked around near the Opera and wandered to some shops and this huge mall. Then we met up with Nicole's cousin who happened to be in town and went to dinner! It was really fun! After dinner we walked around and checked out Parisian night life! We made it to our hotel late and woke up early Saturday morning! Nicole agreed to go to Hillsong Paris church with me so we headed there Sunday morning! It was really really great to sing and worship our King in English! The whole service was entirely in English and French which was really really cool! I had an absolute blast and I can't wait to go back! After that we headed to lunch and to a shopping district! And finally we made our way to Notre Dame and did a quick walk through! Sooo beautiful! Then we had to make our way to Paris Orly airport where we were meeting our teammate Ati who was also in Paris for the weekend! We met her there and she drove us home! Yes I live in France and can randomly head to Paris on an off weekend! It was sooo refreshing!
  • After that weekend we started to prepare for our first match of Championship season (the French league Pro-A). We played Cannes on our first match of the season on Saturday the 2nd! They have won the league every year for about 15 years and they are also in Champions league! All week at practice the coaches kept saying, just have fun this weekend. There is no way we can win. WHAT?? Hello? I've never heard that in my life. So the three of us Americans were out of our element a little with that mentality. But we played well in our match and yes we lost in 3. But we played well as a team and it was very fun to play together... FINALLY!!!
  • We got back on Saturday night late and I felt sooooo sick! I woke up Sunday morning and turns out I had a stomach virus. Ugh... I felt awful all week. I practice Monday, layed in bed all day Tuesday, practiced Wednesday, went to the doctor Thursday and practiced in the afternoon. I was feeling a little better come Friday when we had to leave, I just hadn't really been able to eat anything except the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast). Friday we headed to Venelles and we played on Saturday! I was finally feeling better on Saturday and got to eat real food!! Yahh!! The match was so exciting! We lost the 1st, won the 2nd and 3rd, lost the 4th and pulled it out in the 5th. We were up 10-5 in the 5th and Venelles came firing back and tied it 10-10. We could have chosen to give in then but we kept fighting and pulled in out 16-14!! It was a great great win for us!
  • So that is a recap! My parents come on Saturday and I am soooooo excited!! My mom is bring a huge suitcase full of all of the things I left at home! Thanks mom! I can't wait to spend 2 weeks with them!
Other things to note:
  • France likes to go on strike! Tomorrow there will be a gas strike so all the girls informed us to fill up our tanks tonight because we won't know how long the strike will last. So after waiting in line for about 30 minutes, we have gas... yes it costs about 80 euros to fill up a tank! OUTRAGEOUS!
  • I am currently making pasta salad! The pasta is cooking as we type! I hope it is good!
  • When we returned home from Venelles, we found our car (her name is Bertha) in a different place than we left her. Yes Yes we put the parking brake on. So we asked around and turns out there was a farmers market and someone needed to move her. We aren't exactly sure how this all went down but Bertha was parked sideways in a parking space about 30 feet from where we parked her. Funny!
  • I've been making some delicious delicious salads lately! I find every veggie I have, cut it up and throw in on my salad along with avocado and pears! Pears in a salad are sooo good!
  • On the road we eat at cafeteria's. Red meat is not allowed to be eaten.
  • Yes my jersey may look cute in pictures, but it is really small. It is super tight and the spandex are uncomfortably short. I feel super self conscious but I mean what am I gonna do about it?
  • It rained for about 6 days straight last week :(
  • We aqua bike every Wednesday. Yes we bike in the water and also swim. But when we swim we are only allowed to use our arms or our legs.
  • O How could I forget?? We started French class last week! It is every Tuesday and Thursday right in between musculation and practice. My favorite expression: Je ne sais pas... which means I don't know!
  • Drum roll please!!! WE ARE MOVING ON DECEMBER 1!!! Yes Nicole and I are moving to studio apartments in the same complex as Sonja and Kyle!! I am sooo excited!!
  • Did I mention that my parents will be here on Saturday and that I can't wait?
  • In France when you are sick, they don't think you should eat crackers. I had about 4 people tell me that crackers were bad for my stomach. Weird.
  • I was watching French survivor and they had a challenge between the two teams. The winner won baguettes, Nutella, pain au chocolat, cheese, crepe's and butter. It made me laugh!
  • I really miss all of my friends and the community of Christian friends that I had a UK! I was very lucky to have that environment and I hope my friends that are still at UK realize how blessed they are!
  • I miss my teammates!!! Ahhh we had so much fun and I miss everyone that supported UK volleyball.
  • There is so much else to write but I can't think of anything! I will hopefully write soon!
Have a great week!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Taco Tuesday!

Yes 3 days in a row!!! STAR!!

Today I discovered why panini's in France taste so good. I had a doctor's appointment and we arrived a little early so we went across the street to the little panini/croissant/pastry shop to grab a sandwich for lunch. I got the jambon fromage (yes ham and cheese). It was really delicious and at first I thought it was just because the baguette it was served on tasted really good. Then it hit me! They put butter on the baguette and then they load on the ingredients. Butter is the answer. Now, I am the type of person who never adds butter to anything... I give my butter from my pancakes at Cracker Barrel to my dad, I eat bread plain, and I just don't really see the need for it. Well since living in France, I have a new found appreciation for butter. Because France loves butter!

Also tonight for dinner we decided we needed to satisfy our Mexican craving, so we decided it would be Taco Tuesday! Nicole and I have family dinner almost every night and tonight we decided that we would invite our teammate/dorm mate Alex over for dinner because she had never had a taco before! It was really fun! I showed her how to make the meat and then we showed her the best strategy for rolling your taco so you wouldn't lose all of the ingredients. She commented that taco night seems that it would be really enjoyable in America... I don't think she even can begin to imagine my families love for taco night because we do enjoy it. PS Aunt Marcia I miss you and wish you could have been here tonight! Sorry we enjoyed our taco's without you! But Alex really enjoyed her first taco experience and I think we have her hooked!

Tomorrow we have water recuperation (I'm not really sure what that means) and practice. Thursday we have a 2-a-day. Friday we have practice, pictures, we pick up Sonja from the airport, and are going to the FC Nantes soccer game. And Saturday morning Nicole and I are jumping on the train to head to Paris for the weekend!!!! Life is good here! We think we will visit the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre Dame on this trip!! And we are trying to figure out where to stay... any thoughts??

Monday, September 20, 2010

Thanks Dad!!

Yes I am updating my blog two days in a row! Yah me!

So most of you know that my dad got into a motorcycle accident over the summer. In the beginning of July, I was his personal chauffeur to all doctor's appointments, work, etc because he couldn't drive because of the meds he was on. One day I took him to the hospital where they put the cast on his thumb. As I carted my (sling on the left arm and cast on the right arm) father home we heard a weird noise coming from the car. I pulled over and sure enough, I had run over a nail and I had a flat tire. GREAT! But it was a perfect time for my 22 year old self to learn how to change a tire because my father could be of no physical help. He walked me through it step by step and only helped me to kick the old tire a few times to get it to come loose. It was the perfect teaching strategy... dad tells you exactly what to do but he can only stand on the side of the car and take pictures to text to family members. I felt pretty accomplished after changing my first tire back in July!

Well as of today, I have now changed two tires in my life. A couple of weeks ago, the club gave me and Nicole a car... and yes it is a manual. Sylvain our assistant coach took us to a parking lot to practice for about 30 minutes and said ok you are ready and handed us over this bright gold huge car. The first week, we were scared to drive it because we couldn't get it into first gear without stalling it. And soon after we struggled with parking and reversing the car. I am finally starting to get the hang of it and I finally feel comfortable driving it! It is even fun! I rarely stall it anymore (maybe once a day) and it isn't even jerky when I drive.

So today Nicole and I were returning home from the grocery store and I was driving the car. We were almost back to our apartment when all of a sudden a huge truck veers into my lane. I have 2 choices... hit the truck head on or veer to the left and miss him. I chose option 2 only when I swerved to the left I heard a huge pop and Nicole says, "Uhh I think you popped the tire." I was still shaken up from the near on collision with the truck and then the pop.
So I pulled over (right outside our favorite pizza place) and assessed the damage. Sure enough, I had popped the tire. But I would still choose tire over collision any day. So I said, "Nicole I got this. I know how to change the tire." So we open the trunk and can't find the spare tire anywhere. We see the tool to loosen the nuts on the tire but no tire. Hmmm... We have no cell phone or anyone's telephone number to call to help us. As we try to figure out what to do, Nicole spots the tire underneath the car under the back bumper! YES! Ok now how do we get it out? We try and try and try and can't figure it out. Finally we decide to go ask our pizza guy friend who we know really well because we eat pizza there at least once a week, and he speaks excellent English. So I went in and told him our dilemma and asked if he could help us figure out how to get the tire loose so we could change it. Luckily he was able to figure it out and we got it out. Then he informed us that he must return to work and change his clothes since he was laying on the ground under the car. Whoops! Thanks pizza guy!

Now it was time for the real work to begin. I first jacked the car up. Then I loosened the bolts little by little and made sure to loosen them in opposites and not in a circle. Then I took the tire off and put the new tire on. I put the bolts back on and tightened them little by little in opposites again. And then I made sure to get them really really tight so I stepped on the tool thingy to tighten them all. And then we were on our way! SUCCESS!! The tire is a little flat, so tomorrow we will attempt to find air somewhere to put in it!
So thanks Dad for life lessons only a father can teach!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Weekend in Quimper

So I know that I am really terrible at updating my blog but I will try harder and do better. On Thursday morning we left at 8 am and drove to Quimper, France for a tournament. (Quimper is pronounced Kam-Pair.) It is about 2 1/2 hours away. We took 3 cars there so it was a tight squeeze. On the schedule we were given it said we had reception at 11:30 when we arrived. I took that to mean serve and pass so I was already when we left, spandex on and everything. Well it turns out, we had an actual reception with the mayor of Quimper to kick off the tournament. That just gives you some idea of how as an American, I never know what is going on here. So we had the reception with the mayor and then we went to check into our hotel. Well turns out we aren't staying at a hotel, but rather we are camping. By camping they mean, you stay in a mobile home in a campground by ocean! This was my house that I shared with Nicole and Alex.
We ate all of our meals at the campground. It was a really really cool place. You could see the ocean from our house and there was a pool with waterslides, a basketball court, ping pong tables, a playground and much more fun stuff! I wish it was summer and warm cause this place would have been awesome! I mean it was pretty cool, but I wish the weather would have been a little warmer! Here is Valeria (she is an OH from Hungary but played at Kansas State) and Ati (she is a MB from Spain) in front of the playground!

The pool had this sign... only in Europe would you see a sign that said no swim trunks allowed, only speedos. Hmmm...
I had to take this picture for Doza... a pirate and his rhum. It just makes me laugh!
Once we arrived we ate lunch and took a nap before heading to the gym to play our first match against a team from Spain, Majorque (pronounced May-York-uh). Michel explained that our other tournaments we played in were for them to see everyone play in different positions and with different lineups, but this tournament was more to prepare for when the Championship starts in 2 weeks. So going into our match I was wondering if Nicole or I would start. I was hoping that I would but you never know. The coaches informed Nicole and me and they wanted to run a system with 2 setters. So they hired 2 setters of equal ability and at any time could switch us in and out to change the style of the game, or also switch us with the right side to potentially do a front row back row switch to change the flow of the game. They told us to trust them. I do. It is just hard being so competitive and wanting to play all the time. It is a new role for me but one that I am embracing. I work the hardest I can at practice everyday and that is all that I can do. The coaches will decide who they want to play. Anyway, Nicole started in the match against Majorque and I was a little bummed, but ok with it. We we winning in the first set and then lost it at the very end. In the second set, he ended up putting me in for Nicole halfway through, but we weren't able to pull it off. I started the 3rd set and we won. I started the 4th set and here is a funny story. Toward the end of the 4th set, which we were ahead in most of the set, Majorque was going on a run and it was getting a little close in the very end, so he put Nicole in for whoever was in right back. I was in left front. I thought that she was going to pass and play defense, but NO she was setting and I was in left front... YES HITTING! So of course we pass the ball and the only person she can set is me and I swing and hit a floater with my wrist (great haha) but I kept it in play and then in transition Nicole could only set me again and so hit the one shot I have in my repertoire, face cross and roll shot down the line to the corner. AND YES I GOT A KILL!! I was pretty pumped. We ended up winning the 4th set! In the 5th set we controlled the whole set and were up 13-10. Then of course we had a mental breakdown and couldn't pass the ball. We were in rotation 5 so of course I keep setting every ball outside or backrow but ughh they ended up winning the set 15-13. Very very frustrating. But I played well and we just didn't get it done.
On Friday, we played a match at 2:30 against a French team in the 3rd division. Nicole set the first 2 sets and we won. I set the 3rd set and we won! Yippee we actually beat a team 3-0 or 3 nil as they like to say here. It was really fun because a ton of elementary aged kids came to the match as a field trip or something and they were sooo excited. They were cheering for our team and they were being sooooo loud! Personally if they weren't there, I'm not sure we would have won the 1st set because we were trailing and staged a serious comeback! After the match, all the kids came down and we played with them for about 20 minutes. It was really fun! I really enjoy stuff like that! So after the match we were all starving because we ate lunch at 11 and then played a match which ended around 4:30 and our coached wanted us to stay and watch the match that started at 6:30. So we went into the center of town to a bar (that is what you do in the middle of the day in Europe) and all got something to drink... not alcohol but coffee, hot chocolate or juice. But no food. ugghh. Luckily when we returned to the gym, they were selling sandwiches outside that we bought. We watched 2 sets of the next match and then headed back to the campgrounds for dinner. Dinner is eaten sooo late in Europe and it is really hard to adjust to.

On Saturday we woke up, had breakfast and headed to the gym for musculation (lifting). The coaches thought it was more important to prepare for the actual season and they didn't really care if we were tired for our match that night. After musculation we headed back to the campground for lunch and then took naps. We played our match against Quimper at 6:30. I was really excited for the match and was having one of those warm-ups where you just are "feeling that you're gonna play well." So I hoped that I would get to start cause I didn't want to lose it. I got to start! We were controlling the first set, and Quimper had a late comeback but we were able to shut them down to win the first. I started the second and we killed them 25-15. Nicole started the third and we couldn't pull it together and lost 25-22. Nicole started the 4th and our passing was really terrible and we lost 25-15. And then in the 5th, I was hoping that I would get to play Nicole played and we lost 15-12. It was really frustrating especially since I won the 2 sets I played in, but I did my job and did what I was supposed to do. The coaches get to decide who gets to play. But like I said earlier, I don't think they really cared if we won the match or not. O well. After the match we went back to the campground to eat dinner and then got on the road. We didn't even leave until 11:10 and arrived back in Nantes at 1:45. It was a late night.

Me and Val at the campgrounds with the ocean in the background!

So I thought I should fill you in on my teammates:

#1 Alice Persinova
  • She is an OH from Czech
  • 30 years old
  • We call her Ala
  • She speaks English fluently and washes mine and Nicole's laundry at her house so we don't have to pay the 8 euros per load
#6 Laeticia Lagarde
  • She is the libero and is from France
  • She is 24
  • We call her Lay-tee
  • Her English is very good and she also speaks Spanish
  • She eventually wants to be a translator since she is tri-lingual
#7 Me

#8 Jennifer Chalumeau
  • She is an OH from France
  • She is 21
  • We call her Jen
  • She is a smaller outside but somehow manages to tool the block almost everytime and her defense is really good
  • Her English isn't the best but she want's to learn
#9 Alexandra Dascalu
  • OH from France
  • She is 19 and the youngest on the team
  • We call her Alex
  • She speaks English and Spanish really well
  • She will be studying in school this semester and playing vball
  • She is a very very good hitter but just young
#10 Nicole Vargas
  • Setter from USA!!
  • She played at Long Beach State University
  • She just turned 24
  • She lives across the hall from me and I don't know what I would do without her here... you need another American for sure!
#11 Noelle Chevigny
  • Middle from France
  • She is 24
  • He English is really really good!
  • She is really fun to be around
#12 Valeria Hejjas
  • OH from Hungary
  • She played at K State
  • She is 30
  • She is our captain and she always takes care of me and Nicole!!! Thank Goodness!
#13 Ati Garcia
  • She is a MB from Spain
  • She is 31
  • She doesn't speak French, but a little English. She thinks that we understand her Spanish and speaks to us really really quickly and I just look at her and tell her I don't know
  • She is CRAZY! The things she says make me laugh sooo much!
  • I recently learned that she has 7 siblings and they all have 2 names except from the youngest two who got left out I guess. The names crack me up:
  1. Juan Carlos
  2. Jose Luis
  3. Victor Manuel
  4. Antonio Jesus
  5. Maria Elena
  6. Maria Estel
  7. IncarnATIon (Ati)
  8. Nicholas
#14 Laura Bonnerova
  • She is a MB from Czech
  • She is 20
  • Her English is really really good and she is a lot of fun!
  • We get along really well
#16 Sonja Newcombe
  • She is from USA and an OH
  • She played at Oregon
  • She is 22
  • She just got married yesterday and will arrive in France on Friday!
  • We are soo excited for her to get here!
My team: (Front row from left to right) Laeti, Jen, Nicole, Me, Alex (Back row from left to right) Michel, Valeria, Ati, Noelle, Ala, Laura, Sylvain

So that's my team and my weekend! I made it to mass this morning at 9:45 in case anyone was worried! Nothing interesting to report! Haha! I will try to update this more often! I miss everyone at home so much!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

My Sunday

So, last Sunday I decided to find a church to attend, so I was searching the Internet for any church service in English. But, I forgot that I was in France and the odds of finding an English service were slim to none. So I decided to attend St. Gregory's which is about a 12 minute walk from my apartment. I searched online and saw that mass started at 9:45, but I also saw that it said 10:30 too. I was confused because I couldn't read the French so I decided to be there at 9:45 and if it was at 10:30 then I could just read until it started. Well sure enough it started at 10:30 so I just read and prayed before church started. Then about 15 minutes before mass, I went inside and the priest greeted me because he could obviously tell that I was new. He was speaking French of course and I said "Anglais?" and he said uhhh "Welcome!" That was nice. About 5 minutes later this older gentleman maybe about 65 came up to me and said, "I hear you speak English. Where are you from?" We started talking and he introduced me to his wife who doesn't speak English and then they sat by me at mass. He told me that after mass they were going to have a small going away gathering for one of the nuns and that I was invited. I said, "oh, ok" not knowing what else to say. Mass started, all of which was in French. But the thing I love about the Catholic church is that I knew what was going on. I looked up the readings online before I left so i followed along in my Bible and during the homily, I just read some parables in Luke. Once mass was over, the man said to me in his broken English, "You come with me, right?" Since he did ask me a leading question (yes I know all about these because I do have a lawyer for a father) I couldn't say no. So I said that I would go to the gathering. After mass this man knew everyone and he had to greet and say hello to everyone (reminds me of my family after church.) So I just stood patiently waiting for him so we could go to the gathering. Once he was finished chatting, we went into the room for the gathering. I walked in and everyone was clapping to welcome ME. I had no idea what was going on but the man told me to say a few words... WHAT?? I told them I was happy to be in France and that I could attend their lovely church. I didn't really know what was going on, because I was entirely caught off guard. The man translated what I said and I did catch the part where he called me shy. HAH! Well, the church was very happy to have this girl from America who spoke zero French worship with them. I talked to one other family who spoke English and they all wanted to know my life story. The priest kept walking over because I could tell he really wanted to talk to me but he didn't speak English. :( Once the gathering was finished, about 20 minutes later, the man finally asked me my name, which in France is pronounced Sare-Hah. He told me his name was Yves (pronounced Eve) and his wife's name is Annic (pronounced Ahh-Neek). The only reason I remember this is because I repeated it over and over in my head until I left the church and then I immediately made a note in my phone with pronunciations and all. Right before I left, Yves asked me, "We will see you next week, right??" I said yes of course. How could I deny the welcome I had just received?

So today is Sunday and I woke up and left my apartment at 10:10 so that I could be at church for mass at 10:30. I was excited to see Yves and Annic and be able to go to church and sing and worship. I get there and mass already started and is in the middle of the consecration (for those that aren't Catholic that is 3/4 of the way finished with mass). WHATTT?? Last week it was at 10:30 so why did it start at 9:45 this week?? UGGHH I was really sad because I feel like I lied to Yves and Annic and I wanted to go to church. So I left because I did not feel comfortable walking in 45 minutes late. I was weighing my options and as I was walking back I decided I would jump on the tram and go downtown and see what time the mass at the Cathedral was. If I missed it too, then I could go to a coffee shop and have some quiet time with the Lord. The tram is right by St. Gregory's and it is the end of the line so I could see it waiting for me. I was about 20 seconds from getting on it and it pulled away. NOOOO!! It's Sunday and the tram only runs every half hour so I would definitely miss mass. So I decided to walk to this little park that I had wanted to visit that was about a block away. I would walk and pray and have quiet time there.

Well, first of all this park was NOT small. It was huge. And it was beautiful. It's called Parc floral de la Beaujorie and there are a ton of rose gardens everywhere. Mom, I can't wait to take you there because you will LOVE it!! It's gorgeous!! I had a great time exploring. I saw people running, elderly couples walking and holding hands, a dad and his teenage daughter running together, children riding bikes, parents pushing strollers, and then I came upon the playground!!! I decided to sit on a bench and just watch. (Yes I took this picture by myself since I was alone).

I was drawn to Matthew 18:3-4.

"And he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

So I sat, watched and learned. Children are really fascinating. They get so excited about anything new or any new accomplishment.

So here are some of the things that I saw today. First, the little girl and her older sister. (Picture below). They were playing in this little house. The whole playground is made of sand and the dad, who you can see sitting and watching, brought a little shovel and bucket. The older sister was trying to get all of the sand out of the house and the little sister was trying to bring handfuls of sand into the house. Now every time the little sister would grab a handful, she had to step up the step to the house and droped about half of it in the process and then she would finally empty it into the house. She would get sooo excited that she would flap both of her hands up and down really quickly. :) Now the second she would get the sand in, the older sister would sweep it right back out, but she never did get upset with her sister. She just PATIENTLY let her sister have fun, and then she got rid of it. It was fun to watch.

The next picture is the same 2 little girls. The older sister is on the slide, and the little sister is on the second step climbing up. Now I watched the little sister for a long time. She would climb up on a step and had to completely flatten her little body in order to get up. Then she would stand up and flap her hands up and down because she was soooo excited that she had conquered the step. Then she would have to do it all over again. She gave the same excited arm flaps each time, for all three steps. Then she would stand at the top of the slide and flap her hands from excitement as her dad proudly was taking pictures with a huge grin from ear to ear. He was so proud and excited for his daughter's excitement and accomplishments. Hmm... sounds just like our Father!!


The next image is of the shy girl. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen. She had pigtails and hot pink glasses. At first she would not leave her Father's side because she was shy and didn't know any of the other children on the playground (well none of the children knew each other but they acted like they had known each other all their lives). But her father played with her and another girl came over and wanted to join in on the fun. So after a little while, the father left his daughter's side and the two girls played on the sea saw together. Then the other girl lost interest and ran away and played in the sand by herself. The shy girl, walked back to her Father's comfort and I could see him tell her that it was ok and to go ask her to play. As I watched all of this happen, I hurt for the little girl because I just wanted to her have a friend to play with. She just stood and watched the other girl playing in the sand and she kept making glances every 20 seconds back at her father. Finally, the other girl stood up and saw her friend standing by the play house and they started playing in the sand together and sharing the toys. :) Finally, friends again.


Next there are the little boys climbing on the huge jungle gym. The boy on the far left is at the top and was yelling, "Mama!" He wanted his mother to see him all the way at the top! His mother was taking pictures! Then on the jungle gym is the boy with the red cape, sword on his belt, and feather on his head. He was an explorer and exploring he was!! He sprinted to the top of the jungle gym and just stood at the top and looked at all that he had conquered, stopping to wave at his mom.
I had a great day at the park today. I realized that we need to be patient. We also don't be afraid because our Father is always watching us. He is excited for us when we accomplish something new. We need to look out for the outcasts and make sure that we include them. We are free to explore because we can conquer anything with God and He will be there to wave at us. But in all of these children, they trusted in the love of their parents. They knew their parents were always watching over them, protecting them, keeping them safe, and they felt their love.

We need to trust the love of our Father. I hear over and over again, unconditional love unconditional love. But as a mere human it is so hard to grasp. Everything in our lives is conditional. Everything. You play badly in a game, you come out. You don't study for a test, you get a C. You break the rules, you get grounded. So how are we supposed to trust the love and grace that is being showered upon us daily? I learn more and more what that love feels like daily. I just have to continue to spend time with Him to hear him call me His Beloved.


p.s. we won our first scrimmage yesterday in 5 sets! yahh!!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Pictures of my room

My Bed
My Shower
Kitchen
My Room
Table

Here are some pictures of my room. It is much more homey since I was able to go to IKEA.

Today I did laundry and it cost me $8 for one load. Wowwww!!

We are headed to La Baule tomorrow after we run our fitness test.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Words to live by from Michel

Things are great here in Nantes (pronounced Nahn-tuh)!! We've had meetings, doctors appointments, practices, fitness, and even a team building scavenger hunt through the woods. This team is much different than what I expected, but in a good way! The coaches demand so much out of the players and they demand excellence. They do not allow you to get away with non-effort. From what I've heard about teams in Europe this is usually not the case and causes many Americans to pull their hair out because it is different than NCAA volleyball. So I am very lucky that all of my teammates are very hard workers and super committed to making themselves and everyone around them better. Every practice starts with some sort of fitness. We usually have running with agility stations in between! At first I dreaded this part of practice but now I am starting to enjoy it because it reminds me of training in the States! Then we have a proprioceptive circuit with a lot of balancing. This is good for my unstable ankles for sure! This is followed by a band workout to warm up our shoulders! Then we start training which is very intense. :) I am thankful for this.

My coaches are great! And I love love my teammates. They all speak English which is a huge blessing because I will actually be able to become friends with my teammates! Practices are usually run in English (who would have thought?). My coaches are funny and they take really good care of us! The club president and staff threw us a welcome party after the first day of training and they got all of the players flowers and we had refreshments! It was very nice! Once again I am very lucky to be a part of the Nantes Volley Feminin family... it truly is a family.

We will get our team cars soon... and yes they are manuals. uh-oh. Luckily one of the girls volunteered to teach us and she will probably get a huge laugh out of it! We made a trip to IKEA and got some things to make the room a little homier! I am starting to like my room more and more and my apartment is in a great location! It is about 5 minutes from the gym and very close to the tram station!

Nantes is a great city! Nicole and I went to explore one day in the center (downtown). It is really cute and there are really cute shops all around! We also discovered a Castle where the Duke of Normandy used to live! That was crazy to stumble upon lol!

Tomorrow (Sunday) we will have training in the morning and after all of us girls are going to the beach for a picnic. I believe that it is about 30 minutes away! We asked what we should bring and they replied "Chips and Dips!!!" Apparently that is American... I didn't realize. So Nicole and I are making a 7 layer taco dip. On Tuesday we will run the beep test in the morning (yes interesting for volleyball I know) and then we will head to La Baule until Saturday. La Baule is a beach and we will all stay in a house and train there! I am pumped for that!

Ok so there is what I have been up to, now on to the reason that I wanted to write this blog entry.

On Wednesday at our first team meeting, Michel gave a speech about the upcoming season. It got me really fired up!! The whole time he was talking about volleyball, all I could think about was Jesus. He gave us 4 terms that he wanted us to remember the whole season and I think they help me be aware of my walk with the Lord. So here they are:

1. SPIRIT- We have the Holy Spirit with us always. It made me think of Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." That is sooo legit. We have the same spirit that overcame death living inside of us. We have the Holy Spirit. How often do I forget that I have God living inside of me? How many times do I wish that I truly walked and was led by the Spirit? How would my life be radically change if I submitted to the Spirit daily?

2. GIVE- God gave us life and then we sinned. Then he gave us Jesus so that we could be saved from death. Someone in your life probably introduced you to Christ. They gave you truth. Now it is my turn and your turn to give to someone else. Tell someone about Jesus. That is the greatest gift you could ever give someone. But why am I so scared to tell someone about the one thing that is most important in my life? Do I not realize the importance and the magnitude of the Gospel? That is not ok? I want to be able to have spiritual conversations with family and friends even if it is uncomfortable. But why do I let my comfort decide whether or not I could possibly introduce someone to Jesus? I need to be a giver of the Gospel.

3. COMPARISON- Michel told us that we can not compare our present team with teams in the past or to our experiences in America. This is so true! I am on a new team now and this is an entirely new experience. When he was talking about this I immediately thought about being content. God has led me to France for a reason. I need to be content in my current situation and know that God has a purpose for me being here. I must continue to walk by faith and not by sight. I want to be content with what God is doing in my life, but I never want to be content in my walk with God because I want to always be growing and never stagnant. Are you content in your present situation?


4. SMILE- We need to smile! I have Jesus. And I have joy because of that. Pure joy. Happiness comes from your circumstances, but joy is despite your circumstances. Do you have joy?

Monday, August 16, 2010

Au Revoir USA, Bonjour France!

Well, I don't really know how I feel about making this whole blog thing, but it's been on my heart so I thought I would give it a go and use it to pass some time. Yesterday (Sunday) at 10am I left my house in Indy and headed to the airport. I flew from Indy to Charlotte and there I met up with my future teammate Nicole. We boarded our 8 hour flight to Paris and upon our arrival (6:50am Monday) we had to locate our bags and the train station. After finding the train station we had a few hours to kill so we relaxed and observed the French. I think our first hour sums up France pretty well... we saw a dog on a leash poop in the middle of the train station and then we saw about 5 people walk through it. We saw people inside smoking. And Nicole already got hit on by a rather creepy French boy. Welcome to France. I was so happy Nicole was with me so that we could experience those things together as well as find our train and make sure we got on the correct car. We finally got situated and 3 hours later we arrived in the beautiful city of Nantes. We saw our head coach Michel (pronounced mee-shell) towering over everyone else and he was accompanied by assistant coach, Sylvain, and player Valeria (who played at Kansas State but is from Hungary). We were greeted with a kiss (well double kiss) and welcomed into the family. I really love my coaches and I think that we will have a lot of fun this season! They took us to our apartment and we dropped our stuff. We are living in more of a dorm room. We have our own room with a bed, bathroom, desk, table, and small kitchen. I do sort of feel like I am a freshmen in college again but this will be my home for the next 10 months. We dropped our bags and went to see the volleyball facilities where we met the president and secretary and various other important people with the club. After about 8 more kissing introductions we were on our way. They coaches took us to a Target sort of store (but bigger) for us to get a few groceries. Then they dropped us at our new "home" and we were on our own in France. Nicole and I unpacked with out doors open randomly yelling things across the hall at one another. I was super frustrated for a while because my internet would not work for anything but I finally figured out the touchy ethernet cord. Nicole and I later walked back to the Target (actually called Carrefour) to buy a few things to make our "dorm" rooms feel a little homier. We also grabbed our first panini and it was delish!! Now it's 9pm and I am soooo tired.

Ok so there was my day... now I promised a friend (Nova) that if I ever started a blog that I would include my deep thoughts for everyone to read. So here you go Novs... I was sad, nervous, and a bit anxious as I left the good ole US of A, but I am happy to finally be in France. It still doesn't seem real, because I do feel like I am kind of on vacation. I have been praying since January that no matter what I felt God calling me to in my life, that I would reply, "Yes, Lord. Here I am." I'm not sure why France, but I am completely (well 99.8%) trusting in His plan for my life and time here in Nantes. I am really excited to see how He will use me, and more importantly how He will use this time to refine me daily. I have a feeling there will be some lonely and hard days and nights but I pray that in those times, I would truly have to depend on my Lord and Savior. My comforts have been taken away once again but I am looking forward to it. Even though the thoughts of being alone in my dorm room seem so terrifying to my extroverted personality, I pray that I will learn how to enjoy solitude more. I already miss my friends and family dearly, but I have my Rock.

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." -Psalm 18:30-32