whit meets world: June 2009

Friday, June 26, 2009

Manon Bout

Introducing…one of the coolest French ladies I know: Manon Bout. She lives in a little town about 40 minutes from Grenoble…one of those quaint little French towns that you think only exist in the movies. Not so. Manon is the perhaps the spunkiest, liveliest silver-haired woman I know. Yet she is without question a lady; as all French (and Italian) grandmas, she is never without her high heels. I’m telling you, if I had to choose just a few words to describe the French, classy would definitely be one of them. (I think that’s one reason why I enjoy people-watching so much in France.)

During World War II, Manon was a teenager, and she participated in the French Resistance. (During the Second World War, Germany occupied France- it was an awful thing to have your country taken over, as you can imagine. And so people had the choice to either collaborate with the Germans, which was definitely the easier choice, but likely went against what they really stood for…the other option was to resist against the Germans, which was obviously a very dangerous decision, one that could cost you your life.) Manon walked long distances to deliver letters that contained information about the Germans. She only did this a couple of times before her fiancé insisted she stop because it was too dangerous. (Although they still took part in the Resistance, he thought a teenage girl shouldn’t be put in such a dangerous position.)

Manon has one of the best “how we met” stories I’ve ever heard. She met her hubby-to-be on the slopes. She loved to ski (her dream town is surrounded by the Alps); however, there was one little problem. She didn’t know how to stop. One day, she was swooshing down the bottom of the mountain when she saw a big group of people in front of her. “Get out of the way!!” she screamed. But no one moved an inch. So she crashed smack dab into this group of people…and guess who was swept off his feet, both literally and figuratively? Her future husband. You could say she was a knock-out. ☺

Manon is my French grandma. She gives me a big kiss on each cheek each time she sees me. You may know that that’s how the French usually greet each other…but her kisses are grandma kisses- every one is bursting with love. She also happens to be a fabulous cook. When you sit down at her table, you feel like royalty. Manon lived in Cameroon with her husband for a few years for his work, and they had several guests over for dinner practically every day. So she is an expert when it comes to entertaining!

Manon has so much faith. She says the most touching prayers; they are so sincere and full of gratitude. When she prays, her understanding of who Heavenly Father is is so evident, and you can't help but know Him better as a result. I love meeting people with such different, interesting stories, who also inspire you and give you a stronger desire to be better…like Manon Bout.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Bayonne & Bordeaux

This weekend, I spent a fabulous couple of days in Bayonne (in SW
France, close to Spain), visiting a couple of missionaries I taught
in the MTC: Michaël Récio (left), and Charles Seube (right). It was really
cool experience to see them again and meet their family and
friends. I even got to meet Charles' beautiful fiancée. :)

For those of you who may know the purple socks story,
the purple ones aren't Charles' only cool pair. :)

This is Charles' dad, sporting his beret! Really, you don't see
that many berets around. He told me guys from from
Strasbourg (where's he from) wear them more frequently.

St. Michel (Bordeaux)
On Monday, I took advantage of seeing the beautiful city of Bordeaux
(the 5th largest city in France), where I would take my flight later that night.

I explored this fun little market.

Pont de Pierre, over the Garonne River.

Porte de Bourgogne

A beautiful view next to Place de la bourse.

Place de la bourse

On the river bank.

After Marseille, Bordeaux is the oldest trading port in
France. It has been a major port since pre-Roman times.

Love this.

Esplanade des quinconces

I was fortunate enough to discover Grand parc (my guidebook
didn't really talk about it). And one of the coolest things was this photography
exposition. I know that Americans appreciate art. But after my experiences in
Europe, I would say they have a greater appreciation for the arts in
general. And I think that's a wonderful thing.

For example, Sunday was the fête de la musiqe (music holiday/
celebration). Anyone who wants to play music, whether amateur or expert,
can go play music in their city for others to hear. And then everyone else
gets to go around and listen. It's a huge deal. This is an event that the French
started back in the early 80's, and it has since become widespread
in all of Europe. That's awesome.

Inside the park.

Lots of people were relaxing in the park during their lunch break.

I love European parks.

Trucks are a rare sight in Europe. :)

Grand Théâtre

Eglise Notre-Dame

(I wish I had a better camera, so I could get
the church all in one shot. One day...)

St Pierre

I went on a treasure hunt in search of a canelé, a
pastry Bordeaux is famous for. And I found one! :)

St. André

Vive la France! :) How I'm going to miss it...

Sorry for all the pictures. I'm usually not for long blog posts,
but I just couldn't pick and choose between all the beautiful sights
I saw in Bordeaux...I wanted to share them all with you!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Life Changing

This is my friend Véronique, a 5th grade teacher in one of the schools I work in. I give her private English lessons as well. She's a lot of fun and a really neat person. She spent much of her childhood in Africa~ her parents were school teachers in Morocco. When she was 14, they moved back to France. Anyway, she's a dear friend and we've really had a blast this last year. Véronique is in an amateur choir here in Grenoble, and she has been telling me for a few months now that their big performance was coming up. I told her I would love to come~ but I had no idea how incredible this performance would be until I actually experienced it. They performed "The Passion of St. John" by Bach (in English, I believe it's officially called "St. John Passion"). The performance was over two hours long, but I barely noticed. This piece was so moving. It is all about the Atonement of Jesus Christ; the text is taken from John 18-19. The power of the music is indescribable. You really have to hear a live performance to understand what that means. They sang in German, the language of the original text, but we were able to follow a French translation in our programs.

These musicians were something else~ especially the soloists. The man on the right touched me the most. I couldn't stop watching him, and his obvious profound love for this work of art helped me appreciate it much more. I have never seen someone so passionate about a piece of music. He would often sing along with the choir, like he just couldn't hold hi

mself back. Throughout the performance, he would just close his eyes and be lost in the music. It was written all over his face. A few times, I saw him wipe away tears. I don't know if I have ever been so touched by one person's performance.

It is no coincidence that one of the greatest composers in the world's history teaches us about the Savior. I think the most moving element for me was the text. The fact that they are set to such glorious music empowers these words and amplifies their meaning. You cannot listen to this piece and not feeling something special, emotion that floods your soul with gratitude for the Savior Jesus Christ. It touches the deepest chords of the heart. I want to seek out more performances such as this. There is nothing like the power of truly great music. I hope you get to see it one day! It will change your life too. :)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

This is MY sister.

Could I be a prouder sibling? I think not. :)

(You can actually see the whole screen here.)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Mission Call x 2!

My incredible little twin brothers got their mission calls today! We had a wonderful little family conference, thanks to Skype and a cell phone. :) Drumroll...Scott (on the left) is going to the Chile Santiago mission, and Brian (right) will be heading to the Chile Osorno mission! (My friend Katy's boyfriend is currently serving in the Chile Osorno mission, and she told me it's the southernmost mission in the world. There are penguins there and stuff. :) ) Soooo very exciting. They will both report to the Provo MTC (where they will study Spanish for nine weeks before going to Chile) on August 5th (two months from today!). They couldn't be happier that they both get to learn Spanish and that they will likely have very similar experiences in the same country! I'm definitely going to be studying some more Spanish during the next two years. I can't wait for their weekly e-mails! I'm so proud of my brothers. And I know that feeling will only grow stronger. Yay for mission calls. I know Heavenly Father knows my brothers and knows where they are needed, as well as what experiences they need in order to become who He wants them to become. He is so very aware of each one of His children. These two years will change Brian and Scott's lives forever, as well as many others. They will come to understand Heavenly Father's love for His children in a way that they never have before. On my mission, I saw how involved God is in the details our lives. There were countless times when Heavenly Father led us to the right place at the right time, to help one of His children in need. I saw people's lives change profoundly as they learned about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and felt Their infinite love for them as individuals. I witnessed the joy that lit up their lives as they developped a personal, intimate relationship with their Heavenly Father and received answers to their prayers. I saw many, many miracles. There are no words to express what my mission means to me. So you can imagine how excited I am for my brothers. :) Chile, here they come!