Lebensmüde and Weltschmerz

          On Saturday, some teens and I went on an escapade to Chateau de Chantemerle, which for those of you who don't know, is the ruins of a castle. First, we biked to the hill that the castle is on, then we climbed up to the ruins. Two of the towers were still mostly complete and the rest were just walls of the once castle. When we got up to the ruins, we looked around and climbed on the them. It was fun and gorgeous, not surprisingly.

This is the view from the tower we climbed up.

Town and mountain from the tower.

Pascal climbed to the other side of the tower.

Stone!

                                                                                                                   

Climbing down from the tower. Look at Charity just chillin' in the doorway.

The view!

Having fun!

Emma being silly!

         

          
          Then, on Sunday, we went to Conflans which is a medieval city, 15 minutes walk away. There was a medieval festival going on and we went to go see the parade. Sadly, it was raining which made everything a little bit more damp. We had to play "hop from one covered place to another" which is actually quite entertaining. Exploring the city was exciting with all its little shops, alleys, museums and churches. The parade was full of masquerade-dressed people. It was an awesome venture and a fair parade.

Part of the parade, all ready to go including their umbrellas!

He was the coolest person in the parade. I mean, look at him, he just carries himself the way someone dressed up in masquerade attire should. Also, he has a kinda Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow look to him. 

I did actually see this French painter in this French alley way.

One of the many beautiful views from Conflans.

I respect her, not only because she looks awesome, but because she is putting up with everyone taking pictures of her.

Meet the comrados (like comrades but not): 

Gorgeous Naomi

Naomi is a 15 year old ballet dancer. She grew up outside of New York and has gone to a French school since she was two. Thus, she knows English and French fluently and is now learning Spanish (look at this girl!). She is here for a year of French private school and she staying with a missionary family who she knew back in Plattsburgh. She is very sweet, kind, nice and friendly.

Thoughtful Emma

Emma is a 15 year old missionary kid who is going to Mali. She also grew up outside of New York where she meet Naomi. She knows French fairly well, better than me. She is homeschooling and going full time to French language school. I don't know how she does it, I couldn't! She is quiet, amiable, considerate and I hope to get to know her even better.

Adventurous Charity

Charity is a 18 year old who works part time in the nursery and goes part time to French language school. She is taking her second gap year before heading off to college. She grew up in northern California and has more recently moved to southern California. She is pretty radical, I mean, she goes skateboarding from beach to beach. She is affectionate, sophisticated, compassionate and a good listener and friend. 

Climber Pascal

Pascal is a 17 year old missionary kid, Emma's brother, who is going to Mali. He also grew up outside of New York, obviously. He knows French pretty well. He is taking a couple of classes along with learning French full time. He is funny, considerate, surprising and awesome. Oh, he also really likes to catch "mad air" on scooters.

Jonathan trying to copy Naomi.→ 

She's got it right, silly is the way to go!

Jonathan is a 18 year old almost former missionary kid. He is finishing up his senior year here in France and then in December he will go back to the states for college. He grew up in Brazil and knows Portuguese fluently. He is not actively working to learn French in the few months he is here. He is outgoing, passionate, and fun. 

         





 Now, you are probably wondering about the title of this blog. They are German words! Why? Well, at Conflan, Jonathan asked me what my favorite German word was, because apparently everyone has a favorite German word. Well, I didn't have one at the time; So Jonathan, I found my two favorite German words: Lebensmüde which means life tired or tired of life, but I like to think it's talking about how life just makes us tired sometimes. Weltschmerz mean world-weariness or world pain, which is something I've been feeling recently, because not many people actually go to church or are Christians here. I just look around and see so many people who are oblivious to God's unconditional, everlasting love. I see individuals who need to be told that His blood can cover ALL of their sins, not just some, not just the little ones but ALL of them! Take 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" This world is so messed up, so full of people who are self-centered, sinful, greedy, and it's just mind-blowing that God loves us anyway. That even though we've turned away from Him, and spit in His face, he's still waiting for us with arms wide open, welcoming us back. Just look at 1 John 3:1a "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." God loves us so much that He calls us His children!

As you can probably tell none of my friends are French yet. Because I don't know French very well, I don't have a good way to connect with the French teens. As I learn French and get to know the French better, I hope that I can share God's love and forgiveness with them. I hope to show them how to lessen their Weltschemerz, to give them a reason to look past their Lebensmüde and see the future kingdom of God here on earth and how they can be apart of bring it. I am glad to have this community of teenagers to hang out with for now. I hope to get to know them deeper and better and to grow even closer than we already are.


BONUS PICTURES AND RANDOM INFO:

We saw this Milou (Snowy) from Tintin spray painted on the back of a stop sign.

Johnathan is working on becoming a model while Naomi is just being herself. 

Everything. is. beautfiul. in. France.

Andre and I had to stop and admire all of these knives. So awesome!

Cooking up Adventures

No, this wasn't posed. They are just that cute.

          Well, it's official, I cooked a French meal in France! I made it from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and I must say I feel like a boss. We had Cuit a la Vapeur Brocoli et Sauce Hollandaise (Broccoli and Hollandaise Sauce), Poulet Saute aux Herbs de Provence (Chicken Sauteed with Herbs and Garlic, Egg Yolk and Butter Sauce), Tomates a la Provencale (Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Herbs, and Garlic) and Bread Pudding. Now, listen, I was going to make Creme Brulee, but we had stale bread that needed to be used up, so I made Bread Pudding. It was a long day of cooking and afterwards we watched Julie and Julia which seemed appropriate. 

          

Shannon, Sydney and I have gone on many adventures hiking the mountains near our apartment. The hikes are pretty killer on your quads, uphill yo. It was amazing and beautiful! Today, we went biking on the bike trail along the river, which was also very beautiful. Let's just be honest most things here are beautiful. 

        

The white and brown apartment complex is our apartment!

Good photo shot idea from Shannon. It was through a fence.

Albertville

Look at this cute! I love her so much!

          There is this church you can see from my window and ever since we arrived I wanted to hike up there. On Sunday, Dad and I hike/biked up there. It took us an hour to hike up, pushing our bikes, the 45% uphill grassy trail. When we got up there, it was worth it, we could see all of Albertville and we got to explore the church a little! Unfortuantly, we forgot to bring food or water, but that seems to be a regular thing on our adventures. On the way back home, we sped down the windy road! It was super awesome!

The Church

The view from the church

Lost, 1 Invisible Youth Blister Club

         
          Clubs are a big thing here in Albertville, and because clubs are a big thing they have a mini-festival for them. Well, this minifest was on Saturday and we went to check it out. It was set up around the Olympic Torch for the 1992 Olympics. There were tons of booths where you ask questions or get information about specific clubs. Life has been pretty busy though, so I didn't sign up for anything yet. Afterward, the Potters and I went and had a picnic lunch by the river. We had pizza with really good cheese circles on top, apple sauce, juice, and really yummy dried mangos! When lunch was finished, Sydney and I splashed around in the water; She loved it!

          Then, the Potters went shopping and I headed home. I didn't really know the way home, but I had Google Maps so I was good, right,...wrong. In case you didn't know, I am a pro at unexpected longcuts. One moment, I was walking down the familiar path home and then, nothing looked familiar. I wondered along a little farther, just to make sure I was really lost, and then I checked my phone. When I was trying to figure out where I was, though, I couldn't find myself so I just kept walking. I tried to look for anything familiar, but things just looked more and more unfamiliar. I looked at my phone again, to see if I could find where I was now, but the map wouldn't load; So now, I am in the middle of this unknown city, no idea where I am, surrounded by pubs and no way to contact my family. I thought about asking someone directions but I was either in a residential area or around a pub; Plus, I wasn't exactly sure how to ask them because I didn't know the name of our school, or the part of the city I live in. After an hour of walking, in the direction I thought was home, I stumbled upon the park across from our church and found my home from there. Sadly, I had chosen my shoes that aren't very good to walk in for hours and I have at least 5 blisters and my feet are pretty beaten up. Boo.

     
         After church, we had the very first youth group of the year. We went to a park, had a potluck lunch and hung out for 4 hours. Seeing as I don't speak much French, it seemed like a long time. I did get to hang out with the 4 other teenagers that are here at the school, which was good. While there, we did some group ice breakers, talked about the plan for the year, played field hockey, and hung out. There was quite a bit of free time where you could do whatever, which made it seem long. I know that a 4-hour youth group back in St. Louis would be awesome, but I don't really know these kids yet, so it wasn't super fun but hopefully it will get better. I do have to say I know the kids from the school quite a bit better than before which is good. I am hoping to continue getting to know them deeper. They are pretty cool.
          We have a courtyard here on campus and it seems that there's an invisible schedule that says when everybody goes and hangs out in the courtyard. Now, I do realize that France has quiet hours but these are different rules. Sometimes it's what I like to call "community time" when everybody is in the courtyard talk, riding bikes or scooters, eating, play basketball or one of their new favorites, Ripsticking. I have the desire to go out and hang with the other families but when I go down there, I always think "Why am I down here? This is boring." Partly, I think that's because I don't want to go get my bike from our basement just to ride around in circles, but I do hope to find someway to connect with the community.

          Well, that's it from this side of the Atlantic. Trying to learning the customs of France, the school and looking for the right community to be a part of. More later!

Bonus: I am learning to french braid my own hair which seemed appropriate to learn while in France.
     

Tidbits

     This girl is the reason this post was again delayed. Last night, we got to skype! It was the first time I've actually used Skype myself since we've got here, true fact! It was really good to catch up and just hang out! We actually had a movie date tonight since, thanks to Google Hangout, we can watch it at exactly the same time! 

       On Wednesday, I started school which took me til 9pm because I didn't start til around noon. Boo. Then on Thursday, I not only had school, but also started babysitting Sydney full-time. It's not that bad, especially because she takes a morning and afternoon nap. Well she "takes" a nap, she hasn't been sleeping very well in the mornings, sadly. School is tough; I should expected it but that still doesn't make it very fun. Below is Sydney and another of her new friends, Elise! They have the same hair color, are around the same age,  are the same height, and are cute as can be. 

    
     
     We got a bike! Since biking is such a big thing here, we decided get our own. We only have one as of now but we are hoping to get more! On Tuesday, Shannon, Sydney and I along with our new friend, Amanda went on a bike ride. At first, we were supposed to go for a 25 minute recreational ride and then head to the big Walmart-like store. Well, we left the campus and set out on a nice ride along this beautiful river. It was really nice, the weather was grand, the river was a gorgeous light grey-blue color, and the company was great. After we stopped and splashed around in the river, we decided to head to the stowwah. (if you don't understand here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3yMCOE8nNY) Well, turns out, none of us actually knew how to get to the store from the river. We did,  however, know that the store was near the Olympic Center, so we followed the signs to there. Although there were a few close calls, we didn't die and only made one wrong turn.

 What is that, you may ask. Well, it's the inside of a washing machine. The laundromat here cost €3 per load, so my dad has been trying to fix several washing machine. This is machine #3 and still no sign of cheaper laundry in sight, although my dad is getting pretty creative.
    

 This is a common sight in the Rice apartment. Right now the score is Nancy = 2, Dad = 1, and Ryan = 1. Well, the first time I "broke" glass, it wasn't my fault, when we got here from the airport I opened my backpack to find my nicely wrapped glass frames broken. Grrr.... That was a hassle to clean out of my sheets and all my other stuff in my backpack. The second thing I broke was a half full bottle of wine, it was in our fridge door. Who keeps wine in the fridge door? We do apparently. Well, I was opening up the fridge to get something and wasn't thinking: Oh, let me open the fridge door slowly and carefully, so that the white wine that's in the door won't fly out and shatter all over the floor. So, I just opened the door, pretty quickly might I add, and there went the wine all over everything. Life in France, one and all.

     One of my favorite snacks here, which I eat
frequently, is plain yogurt and jam. You should try it, it's supa tasty. Also on the topic of food, we had ice cream last night for the first time here! We had Mango, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Vanilla with this really good, if I may say so myself, peach syrup that I made.

     My time here has been a mix of good and bad things, but I think you'll find that anywhere. I am excited to learn French and to become more apart of the community. I am ready to get in the rhyme of school and watching Sydney. I do miss my "family" and the comforts of St. Louis. The whole idea that we're not just away for a bit still hasn't fully sunk in and I dread the day it does.