Lindsey, Lori & Sam

I received three letters today: Lindsey Herde, Lori Lund and Sam Bhagwat. I just sent Lindsey and Lori letters this morning too so that was pretty fun to get their letters this evening. And Sam sent his letter probably a month and a half ago.  It was SO great getting his letter. He sent pictures and he'll be coming home December 27 and I go home December 28 so we'll be able to see each other before he leaves for Stanford and I go back to BYU. YAY!!

Tomorrow is the 6 months left for Jamon anniversary and the 1 year left for Lindsey anniversary. Of course I won't tell either of them that I am counting down (sorta) the months they have left because that isn't what they should be focusing on.  Goodness I love my missionary friends. I am so blessed to have them.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends in general. I love Lindsey so so much! She is just always constantly being an answer to prayers. And Lori is just fabulous! And Sam, Sam is Sam. :) I can't believe I'll get to see them all soon!

Sometimes...

Quelquefois mon cœur fait mal et je voudrais pleurer mais cette nuit je savais que je suis triste parce que je suis fatiguée. Et les autres choses, bien sûr, mais la plupart des raisons c’est que je suis fatiguée.

J’ai reçu Intermediate High sur mon ACTFL post-OPI avec Mme Thompson cet après-midi. L

TRC volunteering

The past three weeks I've gone and volunteered in the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in French. It has been such an amazing experience! Not only do I get to practice speaking in French myself, not only do I get a little confidence booster that I really do know more French than I think I do, but I also get to feel the Spirit and I get to have my testimony strengthened of the reality of Jesus Christ, His mission, and the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This past week I was able to be there for two hours (usually I'm only there for one but this week my career strategies class got out early). The first hour I was with more experienced missionaries (they'd been there for eight weeks) and so they taught the lesson in French. They taught me about the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom. Did you know what the Word of Wisdom translates as in French? La perle de sagesse. The pearl of wisdom. Basically the same thing but the change from "word" to "pearl" really stuck out to me.

The second hour I was with missionaries who had only been there for one week. They did their initial contact and setting up an appointment in the first fifteen minutes (like the more advanced missionaries had done) but they were so nervous! I felt so bad for them. The last pair that was in the room with me, I heard them talk in English once they left the room and they were talking about how badly it had gone. I said a little prayer for them while they were out in the hall preparing for the lesson they would teach me in English. They taught me about the church and Book of Mormon. I know that I've read the scriptures they had me read countless times--Joseph Smith History 1:16-17 and Moroni 10:3-5. But this time both of those scripture accounts really impressed themselves on me. The fact that just at the moment when Joseph was going to surrender to the adversary, the pillar of light descended and he saw the Father and the Son. The fact that the Lord has been merciful unto the children of men from the time of Adam even down until the time that we read the words contained in the Book of Mormon. Those facts really struck a chord within me. They're true.

The Lord truly does love us. God will be there for us, even if it isn't until the last hour, He will come. Sometimes we need to see what we can do and what we will do in a certain situation. Sometimes our faith is tried. And probably many times we just don't see the hand of the Lord guiding our lives.

I'm so grateful I get to go to the TRC and have my testimony strengthened.

I just needed to write

So it's September 8th, 2010.

I've been in school for fall 2010 for a week and a half. I absolutely love my classes! I know I say that every semester, but I really do. I've already been struggling and succeeding in my French classes, I love having an excuse to draw everyday as part of an assignment for my Drawing class, and I really hope I get my teaching assignment soon so I can begin teaching.

I have a habit of going to the temple every week. This semester it is on Tuesday mornings at 5:30 with for sure two girls in my ward. Starting this week one of my roommates joined us and then there is a guy from my ward who has been consistently coming. I am so grateful to go to the temple. The peace and beauty that I feel there is so wonderful. Sometimes I get confused about things but when I go there, everything is clear. Everything is right.

Yesterday Amelia posted on Facebook that sometimes she feels like she needs to cry for no reason. Sometimes I feel that way. I felt that way yesterday afternoon and evening. So I did. :) I didn't break-down or anything, I just sat by myself and shed a few tears, then looked at the stars and counted my blessings.

Monday was a dear friend's birthday and tomorrow is another dear friend's birthday. I love birthdays. I love the celebration of another year of life having gone by and the possibility of what the next year will bring.

I guess that's all for today. I just really wanted to write in here again because I love the header that I made for my blog and I wanted to see it again. haha. That's a little narcissitic, but it reminds me of France because that's where I made it.

Back in Utah

Dear family and friends who have been reading this blog,

So I returned to the United States and am now safely in Provo, Utah--right back into the thick of things at work and getting to know people in my ward.

Thanks for everyone who has been reading my blog. I hope you liked it. I'm going to keep writing on here every once and a while--mes aventures à Provo. I'm going to take off the email alert after this post, just fyi.

-Beth

p.s. I'm a little more of a food snob and white plate snob now that I've spent 6 weeks in France. Today as I was walking back from campus I made a pit stop at a little grocery store, looked for some French bread or a baguette or something (because hey, you never know!) and surprise surprise, they didn't have any. So instead I bought some bread from the Provo bakery instead of the Home Pride or whole wheat grain bread that I used to buy...

Day 41 & 43: Sites & "Getting Lost" in Monaco

On Monday I went with a group of people to several different areas/sites in Nice as a class assignment--Old Nice, chateau (really, they're chateau ruins) and a Russian orthodox church. I love the bright colors of the buildings around Nice. I wish I could have had more background information about the chateau/ruins before we went to find it. The church was really neat though! The iconography is interesting. I told Rachel that it is fun to compare the art of the Byzantine era with the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The changes that came about with the Renaissance with the Roman Catholic church and the continuity and consistency of Eastern Orthodox to Byzantine styles is pretty interesting. After so much time has passed, it has remained virtually the same.

Russian Orthodox Church in Nice

Old Nice

Today Grace, Judy and I went to Monaco. We didn't actually get lost, but we were flaneuses--we didn't have a specific walk we needed to do, we just needed to get a feel for the environment and notice what was around us. It started as an adventure getting to the right bus station and going around Nice with a cranky bus driver. But we did make it to Monaco, standing all the way. Grace and Judy got off and then the doors shut so I got off at the next stop. :) We met up about 5 minutes later. We walked through Old Monaco, through the cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried (they have signs everywhere with her picture and captions in several different languages telling what she did at that place), and then we walked around some more. Monaco was cool, it wasn't entirely what I was expecting after hearing that it is such a rich place to live. It seemed pretty dirty and cramped to me. I wouldn't really want to live there, sandy beaches and all. But whatever, to each his own.

I just thought this sign was funny :)

Grace Kelly is buried here

Day 40: Matisse & Chagall

After church we went to the Musee Matisse and the Musee Chagall (because they are free on the first Sunday of each month...maybe every Sunday but definitely the first Sunday). The Musee Matisse was interesting; there were a couple of paintings that I particularly liked his brushstrokes and/or use of color that I took a picture of (before I realized that taking pictures was interdit (forbidden)). His work reminded me a lot of the way that kids look at art and the world. I think that using Matisse's work as an example of line, color and shape would be really important to help kids understand those elements but also to help motivate older grades to actually try to be artistic.

The Musee Chagall was fantastic! I didn't know what to expect and as such I was thoroughly wowed by what I saw. He depicts a lot of Bible scenes and his layout and plot narrative and symbolism are very interesting. His use of color is phenomenal! I don't even know how he creates and uses color in the way that he does. I really like his work. He may actually have become my favorite artist--even more than Vermeer. I bought a book with his Bible paintings because I liked those so much.

I can't believe that I go back to Provo in six days. It has gone by so very very quickly. Ending the program in Nice has been a wonderful blessing though. The weather is so so wonderful. I swam in the Mediterranean yesterday. The water was the perfect temperature. And the beach is rocky so we didn't get sand everywhere. These next five days are going to fly by but I hope to enjoy every minute of it.