a mediocre dreamer

BluDragonSeaSlug: wow it's your last day as a teenager!
s URF cloud 9: i know
s URF cloud 9: i'm sad
s URF cloud 9: :-(
BluDragonSeaSlug: its ok
BluDragonSeaSlug: dont be sad
BluDragonSeaSlug: u should be excited!
BluDragonSeaSlug: you are gonna be 20!
s URF cloud 9: soon enough, my body will give way to gravity and sag all over
BluDragonSeaSlug: lol!
s URF cloud 9: not that it isn't doing it already
BluDragonSeaSlug: yea you are so old
BluDragonSeaSlug: you might as well be a grandma
s URF cloud 9: thanks

today I went on a prayer walk with ppl from the deep end (a subgroup at my church here). it was a really good experience… we walked around part of paris and just stopped to pray at these 4 stops: in front of the french embassy, the grand palais, place de la concorde, and madeleine. the group was really small but it made it intimate and calming. we prayed about the french government, justice and peace in the current world events, our neighbors and the reconciliation of the church and the state. I hardly pray enough for those kinds of things and to do it in front of such great edifices was amazing. especially standing in one corner of the huge place de la concorde, I couldn’t help but be in awe of God. annie gave us like a 2 minute history synopsis of what went on there during the revolution and reign of terror, but in those few minutes there was a world of history that so many ppl leave unnoticed, myself included. I just started thinking about how many centuries old the world really is (america really is just a baby of a nation), and despite all that time and all the waves of changes, God is still present. maybe the rest of the world doesn’t think that special, but to me that’s gotta mean something. I was standing on the very same roads that were stained with the blood of martyr and innocent victims centuries ago and it just made me think about all the ppl who have held their faith throughout history… I’m really just blabbing right now and a lot of this is just for my own memory, but wow… I just felt so small yet so secure under God’s greatness. if I’m not expressing myself well right now, I don’t think I can get any clearer.

I also got a chance to talk to ppl with whom I had never formally met or spoken. two of the ones in particular were phil and ang. one thing that’s been so great about being here is the opportunity to meet ppl who are so SO different from what I’m used to. I mean I’m meeting ppl who literally come from all over the world.. ppl who have lived and grown up in countries that are drastically different from one another. phil, for instance, was born in the philippines, raised in hong kong till age 12, then lived in australia (I think?), went to college in england, is currently in paris teaching english and planning to study old testament theology next year. He’s british but speaks with an english/australian/american/other stuff accent that is just beautiful. he’s just one of the several amazingly cultured (compared to me) ppl I’ve met here. I had a good time talking to him about what he was doing here in paris and about both of our cooking experiences and stuff. then nicole and I had fun making him speak with an english accent while we were in a café tasting the beaujolais nouveau (the first wines of the new harvest). I’m just so speechless and amazed at how much God has opened my eyes here.

I still haven’t made up my feelings about going home. I really do want to see my family but nights like this make me realize how much I’m gonna miss it here.. mostly the ppl and the richness of culture. I dunno why but ppl just seem more educated here and it’s so mentally stimulating =) I’m so sad that I’m meeting even more new and awesome ppl when it’s about time for me to leave.

gosh, time flies.

i have just embarked on the two most hellish weeks of the semester.

check out my nifty schedule: french test and extensive communications paper synopsis due thurs; music exam on friday; another french test the following wed; 10 pg communications research paper due that thurs; then a 10 pg music/opera research paper due that friday. not to mention the fact that i am preparing to cook for 60 ppl this sunday AND planning 2+ weeks of travel for 3 (because of which i am bitterly spiteful) AND this all happens to fall right on that irritable time of the month for a girl.

talk about pressure. still, it's kind of a rush! =)

just wanted to drop a huge "DO-bree den" (hello--phonetically) from prague! can't say much more since this is my first night but it's beautiful here.. despite the nose-nippin cold weather (crisp and icy cold, my fav)

stay tuned for more details to come.

in light of my not being able to sign online very often without private internet access, i guess the best means of keeping ppl updated would be through blog. for those of you who are faithful readers, woohoo! i'm updating! i've been hesitant only because my blogs are not nearly as funny and captivating as other ppl's, but eh, just read and humour me, will yah?

a big fat WELL and a SIGH! here i go... how i'm going to put my experience so far into worthy words i have no idea, but lemme give it a swig and hopefully i'll do better than a nutshell. first off, school is school.. being in a diff continent doesn't make you enjoy it any more than usual. luckily for me though it isn't very challenging so i've been able to soak up my time bumming around all the artists and crazies here. you all thought that berkeley was full of weirdos! no no no, i think paris puts up a hearty challenge. for all the boys who don't like carrying around change, you should spend a day on the metros of paris and dispense all your jingles to the fine musicians that serenade you on your ride. i've have an overdose of accordians, but there are the occasional other talents that are really amazing actually. some example just for memories sake: two french hornists in the long hallway btw line 1 and 8 at the Concorde station (pleasurable acoustics), mr. oboe-man at the La Motte-Picquet Grenelle station who surprisingly doesn't break his reed in a flashing second, and the amazing glue that must stick those musicians to the car floor when the metro is rockin like a boat.

ok, next... paris is paris. mixed emotions about it and i think it's a poor representation of what france is really like. my trips to the countryside are just fab and i think i'm just gonna miss places like that so much. on a positive note, i'm learning to appreciate it more which is a big plus. i'd have to attribute that to the ppl though. christian union and st. mic's has been sooooo good. the ppl there are amazing and i'm blown away by experiencing God in different languages. (this would be the mind of someone who has yet to go on missions). since the church is technically defined "anglican" most ppl are british and the services are still in english... but yesterday i got to hear ppl praying in french and it was just amazing. i don't really have the words to explain it but wow.. i'll just leave it at that so i don't ruin it.

anyway, i gotta run to french class. another test to take, this time on vetements (clothing) and couleurs (colors). sounds so difficult doesn't it?? i'm sorry for all you berkeley-ers who are in the midst of midterms, but a big flipping HANG IN THERE for you all to munch on till it's over. =) laters folks.