Snowmen and Galettes Bretonne

I have finally decided that I can't rely on public transportation. I'm pretty sure it's parallel around the world, in the way that just when we need to get somewhere, that's when we have to take a less convenient path to get there.

Lets just say I've done a lot of walking in the past two days because somebody somewhere decided to close an entire metro line, or part of a bus route, or there was so much traffic that the bus driver abandoned the route and said he'd not be going to any more stops. Not so fun without a GPS, and I've got the blisters to prove it ;) I won't be posting pictures of my feet though, sorry.

But what I do want to show you is a little bit of what I have done so far this week:

I built a snowman!! Je voudrais un bonhomme de neige . . .

I went to visit one of my adopted grandmothers on Monday, and I brought some Play-dough with me. It's too painful for Mme Bourbon to leave her apartment so she usually just sits in her house and colors pictures.I wanted to change things up a bit, so we decided to play with Play-Dough and build some snowmen :) Also it was like 88 degrees plus humidity, so I'd say psychologically, it was a good idea to build snowmen. Mine's the red one!

Then I told her that when I was little, my mother used to make our play-dough, and she would make birds for my sister and I. So we made a bird nest first, and then the mother bird. I used the blue play-dough to make the mother bird, but Mme Bourbon got confused and didn't believe me when I said bluebirds are real. In her mind, everything is either gray, red, or green. So I told her we would just pretend they can be blue. Then we made some eggs for the mother bird to hatch. Thinking we were done, I said, "Do you like it?" "Oh yes," she replied. And then I asked, "Do you think we need a papa bird?" She laughed, so I took that as a yes. I think I like my blue bird better. This is what we ended up with: (How'd I do, mom?)

On my way back from her apartment, I cross the river Seine. 

 I tried my first galette this week! They are like crêpes but with a darker flour and they are cooked to look like this:

I think traditionally, they put an egg in the middle - it's not usually cooked hardly at all, but when you eat the galette, you just break it and spread it around. And they sure do go heavy on the cheese! Well, it was too much cheese for me :) Below is a picture of Megan (a former BYU student also participating in the same program as I am), and she is the one who found out about this place. Apparently, it's the best one in Paris! That is, according to one of the JAS we met on Monday night (JAS means jeunes adultes seuls, which is french for YSA - young single adults).

I have to admit that I will miss the sunsets here! We were walking over the Seine last night and the sun was setting at the same time. It's such a dream come true to think that I'm here in Paris, going to crêperies and patisseries and visiting monuments and cities I've only ever read about. I'm so grateful to be here!

Apparently, they took down what was formerly known as "the lock bridge." But it looks like there are people who are interested in making another lock bridge. As the story goes, you put your love lock on the bridge and throw away the key - symbolizing unbreakable love. Cute, eh? 

Something that I have been reflecting on a lot recently is what it means to love people, and what it means to love who I am. This quote from C.S. Lewis has always helped me to see things in a different way:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

The reason this quote accurately describes my internship in Paris is because I can either choose to maintain a distance from the elderly people I visit because maybe some of them speak or walk differently than I do, or I can choose to love them. So what should I do to show both love - the feeling, and love- the verb? Both are empowering, but I have come to learn from the people I visit that love, the verb, happens when I make the decision to go out of my comfort zone, talk about my life, ask them questions about theirs, and decide to create a friendship. 

The same thing applies to whether or not I choose to love where my life has brought me so far. Am I going to love my experience here in France? Will I let it change me? If I want my heart to change, I have to allow it to break - to leave the comfort of what I'm used to and turn towards the unknown. 

Today I heard some girls complaining about our concierge, which was understandable. Apparently he hadn't been very understanding when they went to talk to him about their broken showers. Later this evening, after a really long and hot day, I was walking by a patisserie by my apartment, and decided to go inside to buy something. I came out with a lemon muffin and some sort of tarte that had a pear on the top.

As I walked into our apartment building, I felt like I needed to give our concierge the muffin. So I walked over and said, I have a muffin for you! He was so touched and instantly wanted to talk to me. I feel like so often, we can be quick to judge people, not taking the time to see their perspective or understand what they are going through. But a little bit of kindness can truly turn that around. So go out and find someone who might need a little bit of love, and perhaps a lemon muffin. :)