Wow, another gorgeous day. :)

We went to the flea market down the street (<>) and it reminds me of something you would see at a carnival back home...lots of trailers rigged up with wares, guys on the street corners holding out cheap watches but looking through you even as they hold them out, loud music playing--I think it's French hip-hop, which for some reason doesn't seem to jive in my mind but the rhythm is just fine. Lots of the clothing is very hippie-esque: bright colors, pieces of cloth patched together that somehow work even though one would think they could only be worn by a clown. (Fun stuff to be lazy in, I'll tell you that much). And then there's the jewlery--we found a booth with earrings/bracelets/stuff that looked homemade but was eye-catching. I couldn't resist one pair of earrings in particular (wearing them as we speak!).
I realized as I walked through the market that I am overcoming a fear even right now: the people-pleaser in me is raging that I'm not buying everything in sight, or even giving more than a "Bonjour" to the overeager sales folks. But resisting and persisting in being polite w/o being cajoled is my new goal, and so far so good. And a lot of them know English, which even though it's a little embarrassing to revert to, is slightly relaxing.

Then, we went to the later 1:30p.m. service at the American Church in Paris, and while walking there from the metro saw sunbathers and soccer players on the grass, the Louvre looming in the background and Seine in front of us. It's so far my favorite place to go so far; the scenery is so cheering. The service was assuring, b/c Kate and I had talked about the exact same thing the day before: beauty in creation and how God created everything with beauty in mind (the word "good" in Hebrew can also be translated to mean "beautiful", giving new meaning to the verses in Genesis, hm?). After that, more walking, plans to see national museums next Sunday (b/c the first Sunday of every month is free admission!!) and back to the dorms to eat lunch, where we raninto Ahmed again (he brought his brother to Paris to show him around, real shy guy) and then we napped til we couldn't nap anymore :) I mean, c'mon, it's Sunday.

Finally, tonight we talked with Cedric, who bought us a pizza b/c he's leaving for a week (which was nice of him) and a liter of Coke!!! Ahhhhh I've missed soda. We totally took what was left in the bottle back to our rooms. I wonder if we'll get to the point here when we can order a pizza. That will be the crowning achievement of our French-speaking abilities...

...especially if we're able to communicate that we have a coupon. Holla.

And then, we talked to another nice guy who works the front desk sometimes (and embarrassingly enough helped us figure out how to close the door to a washer when we were attempting to do laundry...it was easy and obvious we discovered...it always when you need someone's help...) and then we met another guy (Terry...gotta remember names...) on the elevator ride back to the room who mentioned a picnic happening saturday. So maybe that will be fun--it's hard for me to get into that stuff if I don't know anyone there, but who knows.

Anyway, this was kind of boring but hopefully not too much so. There will be more exciting days, I feel sure. Til next time...bisous.