Un Post

Well, this may be the last post. Of note in the last two days, yesterday the whole camp went to the nearby village of ----- (Charles Dickens does this, so I figure I should be able to). The dishes crew (Aaron, Jordan, and I) walked with the younger kids to keep them from walking in front of cars along the curvy hilly roads. The kids sang some marching songs, similar to American ones (e.g. "sound-off, 1-2-3-4"). It was fun.

In town, a bunch of the campers presented a musical, and some of the counselors sang. Oh, I meant to say that last week there was a talent show, and a few of the counselors (including me) sang some Acapella songs. Well, we sang them again at this Catholic church (not quite a cathedral... probably around 600 years old). In English. I sang a more-or-less freestyle bass line.

Oh, the Hendrixes came to camp yesterday. Arlin spoke this morning about the parable of the man who owns a vineyard and sends the servants and finally his son to check on the workers. It was good.

Oh, I meant to put this in last week, but I did end up meeting some of the campers and talking to them in French. There's one girl, Alexia, who says "bonjour" to the dishes crew every morning at breakfast. She's quite adorable.

This afternoon 4 of us went hiking up an un-trailed mountain nearby (pics). It was adventureous... never knowing what was next, or if it was "safe". There was poison ivy everywhere, so although I was careful... we'll see. I tend to get it rather terribly.

We head out from camp Tuesday. I'll be in Marseille for a couple days killing time until my plane leaves.

Pour les personnes qui parlent francias, ou pour quelq'un qui sait assez des roots latines a compredre, merci pour lire mon blog cet ete. Vous etes tres gentils et patients. Je pense que j'ai appris beaucoup des mots et grammar francais, mais il y a nombre titantique de choses que je ne sais pas mais saurai tot. Je peux lire beaucoup de la bible. Parler est encore le plus dificil. Au revoir. Je verrai le plupart de vous tot.

First, a few corrections/additions to the last entry:
blague = joke
Sugarload = Sugarloaf
&, we had to jump an electric fence to get to the mountain (well, we avoided paying a 2-euro fee... and the fence was only lightly charged...)

Today we went to the Chateau Moras a few hours away. Three large buses took all of us there and back. Vomitous kids from the mountainous switchbacks kept the trip there interesting. At the fortress, which was up on a hill above a city (I know, hard to believe, right?) we got to go around and learn some of the medieval crafts, such as practice swordfighting, calligraphy, and painting (for the younger kids). It was hot for a while, and then it rained, but it was a good trip. The walk up to the fortress was killer.

The other pictures didn't turn out well. Camp ends Tuesday. I get back a week from tomorrow (Friday).

Une blog blague

Since last week, a couple special events have happened. We DID see the tour de france. The whole camp trekked to the road where they were coming by (last photo). We had lunch there, picnic, and then watched the parada that rides in front... a kind of caravan with specially designed vehicles that advertize and throw out goodies (3rd pic from the bottom). I actually got an LCL cap, which is the same bank whose ATM ate my debit card. About an hour afterwards, the bikers came coasting down the mountain, and passed us in a climax of 5 seconds. Most of them were huddled in a group. In the top pic, you can see the biker back on the road. It was a fun trip, and supposedly, we saw Lance Armstrong, though we didn't know that we saw him (or did we really see him if we didn't know that we saw him? famous philosophy of mind question).

Tonight, Aaron (roomate, was in Marseille with me... he's from Freed-Hardaman, touring French churches) and I climbed a nearby mountain, Mont Gerbierdejoncs, which is supposed to be the source of the Loire, the longest river in France (other three nature pics). It was a great trip... a decent amount of hiking, but nothing ridiculously strenuous. I think most of my readers are familiar with Sugarload in AR, and it was about like that. At the top, we had a magnificent view, and we read, journaled, and marvelled until after sunset.

Otherwise, everything is going fairly well. Food is good. We're learning a lot of dishes words. Playing basketball most days. Camp is half over, and I am missing home while enjoying the end of time in France.

New favorite french phrase: Tu sais francais comme une vache espagnol! which translates, You know French like a Spanish cow! very useful

(Lynda, sorry if I made any grammatical mistakes! My battery dies...)

Camp

I've been at camp since Sunday. We're in the mountains of central france. It's beautiful, cool, remote. I've been washing dishes. It's been amazing. That's the short of it. Kids are running around the few of us who have dared to reveal our laptops, now. The sun has set, but there's an afterglow of red orange yellow green fading into the lower mountains below us.

We've been busy, but content. Basketball. Devos. Lots of pots, pans, silverware, mops, hot water, and silly French regulations.

Tomorrow, the tour de France is passing nearby, and the whole camp is picnicing to see it. Yeah, awesome.

Great food; enough english to keep me sane; rest time for reading... Wittgenstein, Dickens, and current fantasy.

Pictures later. There's bound to be a great one of me with my hairnet, apron, and beardnet (the envy of the cleaning crew).

Bonjour, Barcelona

Top pics from Barcelona... the writing one is an English "translation" of the Spanish caption... doesn't make any sense to me... last two are the guys I've been living with in Marseille.

Headed to Barcelona Tuesday by train. Took most of the day, got into a hostel along "La Rambla." The hostel had hot water problems (which worked out well, as you'll infer later), was stuffy when I shut the window and loud when I left it open (had a nice balcony, though); however, I paid for a single private room and got a double... which was good, since the one mattress didn't shield me from the metal bar on the bed, so two worked well. Meagre breakfasts there.

I walked most everywhere in Barcelona, despite the great metro system (like Paris's). Probably 7-10 miles per day. I did low and high estimates. Mainly, I explored, mapless. No wi-fi at the hostel, so it was pretty much just discovering the city unaided. I spent plenty of time along the ample beaches, getting a nice sunburn the first day (this is where you make the inference). The Picasso museum was good for learning about his development as an arist, but not many famous works (I realized that I'd seen them all elsewhere before...).

La Sagrada Familia is the most impressive Cathedral I've seen. Immense. None of my pictures turned out well... it's just too big and packed with sculptural architecture. I went up a metro-funicular to the mountain overlooking the city, then successfully avoided (for the second time this trip) another funicular to the castle (above). Great view from up there. Real-used castle. Cannons.

It was a fun, unstructured trip by myself, but a bit lonely. I'm glad I'll be with people I know the rest of the time in France. The next two weeks are camp. Looks like money is going to work out fine. Not sure if I'll be posting at camp.

Oh, we played some of those group games (involving running around the room and chairs) with the youth from church tonight, which, if you think they're awkward in English, try playing them in French!

Spain

I'm headed to Barcelona, Spain, tomorrow for the rest of the week. I'll get back Saturday, and we leave for camp Sunday. Camp is two weeks, afterwhich I'll come back and stay with one of the missionaries until my flight leaves.

A little setback I've had that got resolved today. Saturday I was trying to get cash from the ATM, when it retained my card. I entered the wrong PIN too many times, thinking it was my old account. The bank didn't open until today, but one of the missionaries (Phillip) went with me, and after a few calls to my bank, we got the card and got it reactiveated, and I was able to get money.

A couple people let me borrow money in the interim, as I was out. Christians in France have been continually generous to me. It's been quite a testimony.

More after Spain, if I have internet. If not, this may be the last post for a while.

pictures

Several pics from Chateau D'If, famed prison of Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo. A picture from the banquet... Canadian and Croatian friends from this week at CEM.

The week's been excellent. Very full. Morning till late night. We finally toured a bit today. The missionaries here are really living for this ... mission. I heard some amazing testimonies and interacted with needy people in real ways that taught me and helped them.

Well, not much of a post. Feel free to ask questions, as I know that things that are transparent for me maybe hidden for you. Church (& potluck :-D ) tomorrow.