La Rentree a 5 Allee Ste Marie

I made an executive decision to discontinue putting photos directly in the text of my blog. It was tough to man-oover (I have no idea how to spell that word - manoeuvre...?). I figured out a better way to put my photos online, so that's good.

My French brother, Pierrick, is in a relationship with a girl named Melanie, and it really reminds me a lot of my relationship with Paul. I tried to explain to him the three different kinds of love that exist - I know there's a billion ways to split them up, but I like this particular model - Friendship/intellectual love (my handler), Romantic/physical love, and then there's this other love that is...just...way deeper. It's the "pure love of Christ" - it's to forgive, to love anyway even when you see the faults of someone else. I've only ever felt this way for one single person in my life.

I tried to explain la decollage horaire to my French sisters, but they didn't really understand. It absolutely amazed them that it was possible that it's 7 hours earlier chez moi. I asked, at the dinner table, where you'd like to go if you could go anywhere. The kids all said funny things - Nolwenn would go to China, Xavier didn't know, Pierrick would go to Norwege, Anaelle would go wherever I am...cute. I'd go to Alaska.

I was an idiot - thought my flight was leaving on the 5th of February for Jordan, but in fact it's leaving the 8th. So I went to my French parents - it was really la folie dans la maison - seriously, people running around everywhere, people skinning potatoes, stirring the soup, cutting up carrots, I was in charge of the salad...yeah, I went and asked them, "Je viens vous demander si je peux abuser votre hospitalite encore deux jours..." It was funny. They laughed really hard. Etienne is a very fun pere d'accueil.

But what I really want to say isn't about any of this - it's that I went back to SYA! Back to my school! I walked in the building - it's just...

It's not smaller, it just feels - the proportions aren't right. I remember being so...always having this feeling of being very self conscious. It doesn't exist in the France-Kate anymore. It's so strange. I don't understand how something like that can just disappear, but it has. I think that living in Jordan completely changed everything. Or maybe it's the fact of living surrounded by friends. I didn't have close friends before going to BYU, so that definitely must have changed some things. But seriously, I could definitely very easily live in France for a year or too, without finding any serious difficulties. It's so similar to home. So much more similar than the Middle East.

My friend Adam Tashman recommended that I live at his house instead of Senaa's. He doesn't trust the fact that they're Muslim. I trust Adam with my life. He said that his family would really love me to live with them. Hmmmmm.

Yeah, Pascal completely remembered me! He said that my year of SYA was really a strong year in many, many different ways - he still is impressed thinking of SYA-France 2002-2003. He remembers our names, too! So crazy! I returned a book I borrowed from him, and he was extremely happy to receive it; it's out of print now, and he was looking for it recently. It made me happy to have thought to return that book - there were several other that I happened to have added to my library, but never felt quite comfortable with having taken without asking or buying - effectivement, having stolen them. So I returned them and felt like a good girl.

M. Austin is still there. He asked me if I wanted to do a little presentation on Monday at the school assembly. I know it's kinda dorky, but I still am a little bit excited to do it!!!