Wade and I woke up Saturday morning and decided then and there that we were going to Metz. We packed a bag and walked to the train station. The train ride was uneventful--well, other than the fact that I listened to Christmas music! I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet! My reasoning is that they don't have Thanksgiving in France, so I'm justified in listening to some jolly tunes! “When in Rome”... am I right? When we got off the train in Metz, Wade saw another English assistant who works in Forbach. Apparently there are two middle schools in Forbach. She was sent to the “nicer” one. Anyway, we start talking to her, and I'm just smiling like a dork because usually I don't understand the conversation because, well it's usually in French. I then remember she is from Scotland and is speaking English… I know these words! Sadly, I realized this a little too late and only said a few things to her. As we walked away, I told Wade I was sad that I didn't talk to her more. I miss speaking English to people. I know what you're thinking--just learn French. I'm currently learning, but it's a slow go.
We checked into our hotel, which was conveniently located right across from the train station. We decided we wanted to spend a day in Nancy. It's a town about thirty minutes from Metz. We got on another train and headed there. We didn't really know what there was to do in Nancy. We walked to the historic downtown, which was pretty cool. There is this square that has golden gates at every entrance. That was pretty neat. We went to a very big and beautiful park and walked around. We then started to realize there wasn't much else to do. We ended up walking down the shopping district. We went into a store that sold books, games, electronics, Apple products--basically it sold everything. We bought a book and then headed to the train station and back to Metz. We had decided that we liked Metz even more than we liked Nancy.
We got back to our hotel and watched some TV. Folks, we watched a station that literally just kept playing The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Seriously, it would end and then another one would come on! It was even in English. So weird. We ended up going to a movie theater in Metz. Folks, they were showing Doctor Strange in English with French subtitles! It was the most exciting thing ever! We bought our tickets thinking we would be the only people actually seeing it. Nope! Apparently everyone universally loves Marvel movies. Let me just say that it was the coolest movie I have ever seen! I liked it more than all the superhero movies! It was fantastic! The movie theater was pretty nice too. Instead of regular seats, they had nice comfy ones. The chairs kind of looked like little couches. It was cool. Another fun fact is that we didn't get back to our hotel until 11:30pm. We haven't stayed out that late in a very long time!
The next morning we walked the freezing cold 20 minutes to get to the church building. The people there are so kind and always happy to see us. Regretfully, we hadn't been for a couple of weeks, so we were happy to be there! You can feel the spirit so strong in this tiny little chapel with the handful of people who attend. It's an amazing feeling. I'm grateful we have the opportunity to be around such wonderful and faithful people. It really strengthens my testimony to see and feel their devotion to the gospel.
After church, we walked back to our hotel, hung out for a bit and then walked to the train station. We were standing in the train station when I saw some glorious donuts. I wanted one immediately. Wade encouraged me to order the donut by myself. I was nervous and second guessing myself, but I managed to sputter out some words that resembled French. Wade then decided he also wanted a donut, and I had to add another incoherent phrase to the first. We ended up with the donuts, and I was kind of proud that I tried to speak French to an actual Frenchmen and not just Wade! We got on the train, and I defied the rules again by listening to Christmas music.
Folks, here are some things to take away from today’s read. Listen to Christmas music whenever you want to. Also there is no Thanksgiving in France, there may be one in Canada but not in France. Metz will always be my favorite town to visit. Jimmy Fallon is always on TV for some reason. I saw a English movie in France. Doctor Strange is a great movie! Church is always the best place to be on a cold Sunday morning. And most importantly, donuts are always worth making a fool of yourself!
Thanks for reading folks!
No comments:
Post a Comment