la PariJane: 31 août 2014

So I found three churches that I'm interested in:

Paris Presbyterian Church - It is a Korean/French church in the 11th arr. I went there today because I talked to the pastor on the phone yesterday and he made me promise to come. It was alright. I might continue to go to their college group meetings on Saturdays but we'll see how I like the other ones first.

It is super close to the ACCENT center and it was a 10min walk away from the hotel we were staying in. However, it'll be quite a trek to get there from my homestay.
Funny story (or sad, depending on which way you look at it): I spotted a very good-looking halfie and after the service, I had to walk past the bench that he was sitting at. As I was passing by, he stood up and he was just around my height, maybe a little bit shorter. All attraction gone. There always has to be a but, huh? Not gay (like most of the guys I find attractive), BUT he's way too short. :( And Sarah's response to this was hilarious: "sigh, god is fair i guess lol" >_>
I got a free lunch at the church: 김치 and 닭죽 and 수박! I would have eaten more but it was awkward not knowing anybody and yea. So I just left. Apparently they don't serve lunch every Sunday though... and starting next week, the service is moved from 11AM to 2:30PM anyways so no more free lunch (or Korean food)

Église Presbytérienne Coréenne du Pont-Neuf - My destination for next Sunday.

It is super close to my homestay - a 15min walk away. It takes 15min by Metro too so I could take that if I was feeling lazy but if I walk, I get to walk by the Eiffel Tower so I think I will opt for the scenic route!
I can't find much information about the college group so I'll have to just check it out for myself. I didn't really interact with anyone at Paris Presbyterian Church so hopefully I'll be less shy? It was very strange to see so many Koreans speaking French o_o And since my French is worse than my Korean, I'm kind of forced to speak Korean which I don't particularly enjoy doing. Meh. I guess I'll just have to improve my French ;)

Hillsong Paris - My destination for next NEXT Sunday

It is pretty close to my homestay - a 25min Metro ride away.
I am looking forward to going here because the sermon is in French and English (much more comfortable than JUST Korean or JUST French). They also have a lot of different ministries that I can get involved in (which will not only allow me to serve, but I will also get to practice more French and get to know more people).
Another plus about this church is that since it's so big and well-known, I kind of know what I'm getting myself into (in terms of doctrine, beliefs, etc).

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After church, I just walked around Paris (quite aimlessly) and took pictures. I eventually ended up visiting la Gare de Lyon, la Place des Vosges, le Marais, and la Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. All these places were super beautiful but I think I liked Place des Vosges the best!

I saw la Gare de Lyon from afar and walked towards it without even knowing what it was. I'm glad I did because it was really pretty!

This is la Place des Vosges. I was kind of following my Walking Paris guidebook and this place was so gorgeous. The atmosphere was great -- kids playing soccer with their dads, people having picnics, music playing, etc. It was kind of crowded today but probably because it was a Sunday? It's pretty close to the ACCENT center so I am definitely going to go back there again, perhaps to study or just read a good book or something.

Like la Gare de Lyon, I came across la Place de l'Hôtel de Ville without even knowing it. I saw the side of a building with really beautiful sculptures and this is what I found! So history, much beauty.

And in case you were wondering, le Marais is like an art district with lots of shops and galleries and stuff. I didn't take very many photos there which is why I didn't put one up... I did go to a pop up shop though! Tooooooo expensive. Also, between la Gare de Lyon and la Place des Vosges, I passed by la Place de la Bastille and saw a rollerskating dance class (I may or may not have stopped for 30min just to sit and watch):

Please note the sad man in rollerblades who is not dancing. He left soon thereafter.

LATER, as I was making my way back to the hotel to meet our host family, I passed by la Place de la Bastille AGAIN. This time, I found a breakdancing class for what looked like 8-18 year olds. Very interesting age group... I don't know about the older kids but the little ones were super cute to watch. Also, if you look closely at the photo, you'll see an old couple. They were clapping very vigorously after each boy did his thang:

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I finally got to meet my host family today! Jacqueline et Claude Bouteillon:

For those of you who are wondering, they are sosososo very nice and welcoming. They are also very good cooks! Claude is a retired electrical engineer while Jacqueline does event planning. My first meal with them was ratatouille (a couple things: SO DELICIOUS and SO PERFECT OMG IT'S LIKE I'M IN A DISNEY MOVIE CALLED, OH I DON'T KNOW, RATATOUILLE?!?!?!?!?). I also had champagne for the first time. Blech. Je n'aime pas d'alcool. So we ate with one of their close friends + her daughter + her daughter's boyfriend because they are visiting for a week from New York. The friend brought a bottle of red wine from her own vineyard/wine cellar in Bretagne. They made me a special appetizer because I don't eat raw tomatoes -- it was les pommes des terres avec l'hareng. I don't really know what the actually name of l'entrée is but it was super good. For the la plat, we had chicken, ratatouille, and pasta. As I said before, la ratatouille était incroyable. Then for dessert, there were 3 different kinds of tart -- 2 store-bought and 1 homemade by Jacqueline. And of course, the plum tart by Jacqueline was the best. SO delish.

I can't help but feel my host family is very bourgeoise. Well, actually, they are. They live on the second highest floor and, if you've watched the film Les Femmes du 6ème Étage, you know that's basically the penthouse. Their building is vintage and it even has the service staircases for the maids who live on the 7th floor (I am on the 6th).*** And yes, you got that right, we have maids. What. On top of all that, they have dinner like that every. single. day. Crazy. Oh and did I mention they have a country house that they go to every. single. weekend. ???!?!?!?!? C'est la vie. At least in France, it is. And in the bourgeoisie. Last on this point, please enjoy this lovely view of the Eiffel Tower that I have from the balcony:

After dinner, I gave my host family their gifts and they LOVED it. I gave them cute Korean house slippers - Jacqueline got cats and Claude got monkeys. She put it on right away - she looooved it. I also gave Claude a sudoku book which we bonded over. Then I brought out a set of 공기 and we just got on the floor and started playing (well, me, Jacqueline, et their friend (I forgot her name T_T)). Apparently the French have the exact same game except they used to play it with small pig bones o_o But anyways, it was really fun ^_^ My host mom is so cute haha

***In France, the ground floor is Floor 0, so I guess in American terms, I live on the 7th floor and the maids live on the 8th floor

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Finally, I just wanted to include some funny/interesting signs/tags I passed by today. Enjoy: