A Little Eccentric

Joyeuse Paques!

Bonjour all!
I hope you had a lovely Easter. Mine went as well as it could have considering I am on the other side of the planet as my family.
On Saturday, I met up with Tija, Trice and Jess (the other Americans) to paint Easter Eggs. It was awesome to get to do a tradition from home. It was kind of rough though, to be painting eggs with girls I have only known for a couple months as opposed to my family. I had a hard time being too cheerful, despite how nice they all were. All the Islamic people came out of their rooms to watch us. They obviously don’t celebrate Easter, and were unfamiliar with the concept of Easter Eggs. They thought it was fascinating, and kept asking us if they could drink the dye.
After that, we got all dressed up and went to a candlelight service at a local Catholic church, L’Eglise de St. Jean. It was really awesome for me. I have a fondness for church services, especially when I’m a little sad. They are so uplifting and hopeful, especially on Easter. I also really liked the formality of the Catholic clergyman with their white robes and practiced rituals. It was fascinating to watch. I was really touched when the whole church was dark except for the softly glowing candles, and all you could hear was the chanting and singing in French. It was beautiful, and a memory I won’t soon forget. We had a bit of a hard time keeping up since it was all in French and the priest talked in that weird sing-songy way that they use in catholic churches, but it is amazing how much you can blend in just by watching other people and doing what they do. I have become an expert at this. At midnight, I walked home feeling happy and fulfilled, despite the distance between my loved ones and me.
On Sunday, I got up late, ate some pain chocolat (which makes up about a third of my diet along with nutella) and went over to Tija’s room. All of us made short work of the Easter eggs we made yesterday. Again, it was so nice to have them to hang out with today, but it still made me a bit homesick doing traditional Easter-type things. Being here in France scarfing hard-boiled eggs covered with little color spots from where the dye leaked through the shells definitely tugged at my heartstrings.
I also got to talk with my family, though, which was really nice. I don’t think I have ever appreciated how lucky I am to have my family until I have had to be away from them for so long! As you can tell, I spend lots of time thinking and talking about them. All of us here are torn between enjoying Europe as long as possible, and getting home as soon as we can. I think I will stay for about a week after classes wrap up, (around May 25th) but I am so looking forward to coming home.

posted by Molly Jo @ 4:05 AM