My brain

I think that I have discovered that there are 2 parts to my brain, the part that figures out what is being said, and then the part that remembers what was said.  I have also found recently that if the first part has to work too hard, the second part has trouble working at all!  For instance, sometimes I have to work so hard at understanding people when they introduce themselves to me that the next week when I see them at church, I have no idea what their name is! 

I saw this clearly last night when we went to a special seminar by a Bible school teacher here in Paris.  I was following along quite well for most of the time.  He spoke very clearly and slowly, and I could understand him well.  Because I could fairly easily understand him (although it still took some work!) I was able to remember some of the points that he made and relate them to earlier points (just the normal way you would listen to a message).  At one point he began to use a word that I didn't know though, and I started scrambling in my mind trying desperately to figure out what in the world he was talking about!  And because of that one word (which was quite important to the point) I have no idea what he said for the next 5 minutes.  And even if I heard it and understood a lot of the words, it took way too much work to remember.  

I guess everybody misses bits and pieces of life here and there.  I just hope I don't miss anything too important!

Myths about France (# 1 being I ain't seen the first dang beret)

#2 - Europeans don't wear blue jeans - jeans with the typical american billboard t-shirt, no; but jeans, yes.

#3 - The food is great (never mind, that one is true. The food is great!)

#4 - French people are rude - 

We've heard this statement from numerous people but up till now we have not experienced one bit of it. We've had times of pulling our metro map out and looking lost and had someone volunteer to help us before we even ask. We've met people on the street who have cheerfully said, "Welcome to France." And most importantly, I'm pretty sure that every single time I've begun a conversation with, "I'm sorry, I just speak a little French," the response is always a big smile followed by a "No problem." People have been very patient in having to repeat themselves to us (although not everyone gets the fact that I need them to speak really slow) and very willing to help us.

Picture of the week - sobering reality

This week we went on a quick trip to Normandy and were able to spend a day seeing WWII sites.  One of the places that we visited was the American Cemetery near Omaha beach where the soldiers who died during the invasion are buried.  It was an incredibly sobering experience to see so many graves together for so many men who died in an extremely small span of time.  This picture is just a small part of the entire cemetery.  

As I walked through this place, it made me long for a day when there would be no more war, and no more death.  Malachi 1:11, (at the top of our blog) says that "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun."  We long for that day when all peoples, tongues, tribes and nations will know that God is the one true God and will worship Him.  It is why we are doing what we do now.  We want to be a part of issuing God's great name to the ends of the earth.  We know that He does not need us to accomplish his goal, but that He choses to use us for His glory. We are grateful that He has given us this opportunity, and that we know without a doubt that it will be accomplished.  And we are grateful that one day we will not have to live with the sobering reality of war, and death, and sin, but that one day all people will know and worship the one true God and that His reign will be one of perfect peace.

I bought 3 months worth of toilet paper today!

This may not really be exciting for many people, but we were very excited to be able to go to the grocery store and shop with a cart, not just a basket!!  This week, some of our new friends from church are on vacation and they asked if we would like to borrow their other car for the week.  We are thrilled to have a little more freedom for the week as we have been taking the bus and walking everywhere that we need to go.  Here is how our week has looked like with the car

Saturday - leave it parked on the street because we're too tired to actually go do anything on our first day of vacation (I was actually tempted to have Wayne just drive me around some just because we had it, but I thought that might be a little silly)

Sunday - drive to church for the first time by ourselves, get lost, and be 10 minutes late.  We found out that roads are not really marked very well, and most of them change names 3 or 4 times in a mile.  

Monday - go to the big grocery store (which is only a 10 minute walk) and buy a whole cartload of groceries (and  I mean a cartload, it was almost overflowing).  Some of our more exciting purchases - toilet paper and paper towels (it's hard to carry them both back and pull a cart with groceries and push a stroller), lots of canned goods and spaghetti sauce, 6 liters of milk, and 80 diapers!

Tuesday - another IKEA run is planned, but this time it should only take a couple of hours max as it is only a 15 minute drive (but a 45 minute to an hour bus ride).

Wednesday - we're headed on a quick trip to Normandy, home of the famous D-day beaches.

Friday - we might be so tired from our vacation by then that we'll need to rest at home all day.

Saturday - I'm sure I'll come up with something, just not sure what yet.

Sunday - back to church, this time without getting lost, to return our treasure to our friends.

My cupboard stuffed with canned goods (and a few cookies and some chocolate to balance things out)

And the rest of our treasures (hmmm...never thought I'd call toilet paper a treasure)

Wayne's interpretations of the international language learning standards (along with our current levels of competency)

You might be wondering, how do you know when you're competent enough in French (oh yeah, and what level are you at now)? Well, actually, there are international standards. Here's a link to more official definitions. I'll give you my interpretation of those definitions. The levels are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

A1 - You know common phrases, can tell people basic facts about yourself and even understand basic questions from others when they speak with an extremely slow southern drawl.

A2 - You can now move out of the fish bowl where you're only good for people looking at you and asking where you're from and where you're going. You can actually go ask for stuff at stores, give directions and can understand people who speak with just a regular ole southern drawl.

B1 - You no longer have to just talk about yourself and the things in front of you. You now can discuss abstract ideas (like why The Andy Griffith Show is still the best show ever, or why you think that even though the past 2 decades have mostly been depressing, next year N.C. State will be good).

B2- Native speakers begin to be less bored with you because they can watch you speak without seeing you painfully search your inner dictionary.

C1 - At this point, you're kicking some butt. You could probably understand more complex dialogue like in this video.

C2 - You've just about gotten native at this point. It says you can understand just about anything read or heard. I'm not sure I'm here in English.

Before we leave, we would like to be around B2, C1. It kinda stinks that now that making a C is a good thing, it'll be hard for me to do. If you're wondering what level we're at now, Hilary is at the upper end of A2 and this clip explains where I'm at.

Yeah, you guessed it. Somewhere in A1.

I'm proud of my husband

Remember when you were a kid and you'd bring home a good report card?  Well, Wayne got back his test this week and it deserved to go right on the fridge!  The writing on it says "Bravo, you have made a lot of progress, keep it up!" (in a Hilary translation).  Wayne has really been improving in his speaking skills.  One of our new friends from church even told him on Sunday that he thought Wayne was really improving, and apparently, when you get a compliment from a French person, it really means something.  The French don't give out compliments very easily.  He also told Wayne "I wondered why you decided to go to a French speaking African country instead of an English speaking one.  A month ago, I thought you maybe had made a mistake.  Today, I don't think so.  I think you made the right choice and you'll do well!"

I just wanted to brag a little on my husband :)  And I'm not the only one who thinks he's pretty amazing!

Learning a language is a lot like the Christian life in general

Total immersion works! Once you're immersed in a language, you'll learn it.

I've heard this statement numerous times from people who have gone through the process of learning a language. Although, the past 2 months have created many occasions where I question this advice. Will it really come? Simple everyday tasks create numerous opportunities where I can't find the word I want, can't express the thought I'm thinking, or can't begin to understand what is being said to me. And yet for some reason, I press on.

There are numerous reasons to press on, but a major one involves taking by faith the statement that "Total immersion works." Yes, it's the most mentally exhausting activity I've ever done. Yes, it's the most humbling activity I've ever attempted. But, I take on faith that "Total immersion works." 

Regarding the Christian life, I've often considered the wisdom, "trusting God works," as simply accepting the complete deferment of joy until the afterlife. I focus solely on the current blank stare on my face and fail to realize this isn't a permanent condition. Trusting God involves complete trust, but not complete deferment of joy. 

Similar to learning a language, many days include nothing but frustration, yet I hold on to the hope that one day a new world of expressing myself will be opened. One day, I will get and tell inside jokes in another language. 

One day, but, as C. S. Lewis describes the gradual growing joy in the life of a Christian (again eerily similar to learning a language), "he gets it gradually; enjoyment creeps in upon the mere drudgery, and nobody could point to a day or an hour when the one ceased and the other began. . . This will not . . . happen in a day; poetry replaces grammar, gospel replaces law, longing transforms obedience, as gradually as the tide lifts a grounded ship."