New Update

Oh man, I lose points for failing to update my blog.

Here’s a recap of what has happened over the last 13 days.

On Thursday August 5, our supervisor, Todd, had a “present” for us. He brought us a new 4^th register. So, rather than saying, “I’m sorry, I’m not a register, I’m a wrapper,” we now must actually help customers. It is supposed to allow us to help more customers, but really, we help the same number because we have to wrap our own jams and jellies and other fragile stuff. And registers 2 and 4 share a credit card machine, so that gets a little messed up at times too. Over all though, I guess it is okay.. Customers seem to like it.

Friday August 6.

Today was criticize everything day. When we take breaks, how we do our shipment..EVERYTHING. Todd was back and was on our cases about everything. It led to the beginning of A LOT of tension in the store, and us not looking forward to Todd coming. Not only were tensions running high in the store, but in the dorms. This day was the day when it was said that there could be no more parties in the dorms because people weren’t cleaning up… Let me tell you about how well that is working… Its not.

Saturday August 7

Today marked the end of the busiest week our company has ever had in any shop. We did 8.5 days of sales in 7 days at our shop. We broke the record by a half day. IT was intensely busy all day.

Sunday August 8.

ITS SUNDAY. That means, service, brunch, nap, nap, snack, nap, service, dinner and friends! What a perfect Sunday.

Monday August 9.

Yey! Popover Monday. If you don’t know what popover Monday is, it is when Greg (a supervisor at work who goes to Rutgers) and I eat popovers on Monday at 815. It is the highlite of our week. And usually when we close things are amazing and we have fun, eventful nights..

Wednesday August 11.

Evidently, this day was magical. Or that’s what I have written on my schedule.. I’m not sure why I wrote that on my schedule, but okay.. This was also the day when the Bluders came and saved me from the chaos of work for a while! Yey bluders! (PS did you guys get Harbor Bars? I thought of that while I was eating one today.) Or maybe they came on the 10^th, and I was off on the 11^th and that’s why it was amazing. I know why! I did 4 loads of laundry, for free, went on the lighthouse boat tour, got a harbor bar, talked to some people on the phone, and got to watch TV. .Is it sad that watching TV made me happy?

Thursday August 12.

Um, well. This day was drama filled at work, but I’m not going there. I talked to a lady on the phone that was here 3 years and just wanted to tell me how much she loved everything. Yes, it was interesting. Yes, I actually listened.

Friday August 13.

I have a new number as of this day. My new favorite number is 1902124. Greg and I will play the lottery with this number.. Well, actually the number is 19,021.24 and it represents the amount of money we did that day. It was the busiest day in the history of the company at our store. And greg and I were there for it and helped us get to that amount. Without us, we would have been at $18,900.

Saturday August 14.

Today marked the day that we did 1000 dollars less than we needed to do to beat our busiest week ever. Tonight was stressful, but also the night that people in our shopped realized that God answers prayers, just not in the most convenient ways. A few of us had been praying that all the drama in the shop would go away, or subdue. We were sick of it, and couldn’t deal with it. One girl in particular was causing about 95% of the drama, and she called tonight to say there was a family emergency and would be leaving and not returning. We hate to see her go because that leaves us a person short and she was a good worker, yet at the same time, we are willing to say goodbye because it means no more drama or name calling and work will be a better place for us all.

Sunday August 15.

I gave another message on this day, then went into work cause we were short staffed. We got people to cover and I went and napped. J (see message below.)

Monday August 16.

Guess what? It was another Popover Monday!!!!!! I worked 1030-10 and Greg and my friend Barbara (the lady who spent 680ish dollars on August 2) called today and spent another 90 bucks. So, Greg and I wrote her letters and shipped the CDs. (Yes, we gave her free shipping)

Tuesday August 17.

On this day, I went to breakfast in town with Champ, Scott, Heidi, Lindsay and Nikki. Then I drove up to schoodic point/peninsula for a while, hit up the Verizon store, grabbed lunch at Wendys, got a harbor bar, cleaned out my car, took a nap, went to our managers house for dinner and then to an Agitha Christy play called, “Murder on the Nile”!

And, I’ll be at school 3 weeks from today! It seems so far away though!

I want to welcome you all to this morning service. Today, I want to talk with you about something that God has been laying on my heart the last couple of weeks. This week has been a particularly hard week for me. I work at the Jordan Pond Gift Shop and the past week is traditionally one of the busiest weeks of the season for shops in town. Everyone’s tensions were running high and made work extra stressful. As I checked my email this week, every time I logged on, I had a new message from someone at school asking for a form that I hadn’t filled out. Or asking me to pick up extra hours at work. I had emails about housing and emails about internships. Everything that had to be figured out before I return to school in a few weeks. My week went on and everyday something else came up that started to weigh down on me. While I was dealing with everything this week, I put God on the back burner in my head. I had it in my head that I could face everything alone and I didn’t need help from anyone. But, growing up, I was always told that God needed to be the center of my life, and turning to him would, in general, make everything okay. It’s one of those hard things to remember in times of stress.

At one point this week, I was sitting at a friend’s house in town and saw her bible sitting out. I felt myself sitting there and needing to open it, I decided to flip through it. As I picked it up, I found myself flipping, naturally, to the page with a bookmark in it. The bookmark was one of those cartoon-ish kids’ bookmarks and had a house on a rock and said something along the lines of building your life on the rock of Christ. Our scripture reading from today tells us that God is our Rock, and the strength of our salvation. As I thought about this week and everything that was weighing down on me, I realized that when my life is centered in Christ, everything is a lot easier to handle. I realized that when I left things in God’s hand and trusted that God would take care of everything, life was a lot easier. I decided that worrying and stressing over everything this week wasn’t going to make things easier, but giving it all up to God may help my mood. I began to open my bible and found myself turning to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7. A few verses stuck out to me from the whole sermon. Matthew 7:24-27 reads: “24 Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rains came, and the streams rose. The winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fail because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against the house. And it fell with a great crash.”

I began to think about how life is like building a house. To build a house, you need a strong foundation. If we build our lives on a firm foundation, Christ, than we are able to stand firm and stand strong through times of trials in our lives. But if we build our lives on a less stable foundation, then when the winds and hard times come, we fall down. I could feel God pulling at my heart to give all my troubles up to him. I could feel him saying to me, “Let it go. Concentrate on work and let me do the rest.” Psalm 18:1-2 tells us that the LORD is our rock, our strength and shield. He will protect us from everything and by building our lives on him, we can stand strong. When I started trusting God with things this week, and not worrying about everything everyone wanted me to do, my week turned around.

As I began to write this message, I started looking through my bible for any additional resources I may have collected over the years to help me talk about God as our Rock. I didn’t find anything. Feeling dejected, I decided to check my email, and even knowing it would probably cause stress. Maybe there was something there I thought that someone had sent that I had looked over. I pulled up a recent daily devotional that I was subscribed to and read it. They were talking about how life is like a tree. “A tree,” I thought? “I thought life was like building a house?” As I thought about that statement, I decided that we really can learn a lot from trees. The devotion started with something that some ancient rabbis thought was similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:24. The rabbis said, “The man whose knowledge exceeds his works, to whom is he like? He is like a tree which had many branches, and only a few roots; and, when the stormy winds came, it was plucked up and eradicated. But he whose good works are greater than his knowledge, to what is he like? He is like a tree which had few branches, and many roots; so that all the winds of heaven could not move it from its place.”

I thought about how trees are flexible and can bend and move when a storm comes. As I hiked around this week, I wondered why not every tree fell during a storm. As I studied more trees, I noticed that the ones that were still standing were the ones with strong roots. And here I was again, thinking about the roots that things are built on. The roots of a tree are like the foundation a house is built on. Everything goes back to focusing on what you are built or made on. It goes back to focusing on the roots. If you have done any hiking in the park, or biking on the carriage roads, you’ve probably noticed some trees that have fallen down. Whatever the reasons are for their falling, one thing is for sure: their root system could no longer support their body above ground. They become, like the rabbi said, a tree with too many branches and too few roots. And down the trees come with the help of a storm, or simply because they have become too weak. A tree with a strong enough and broad enough root system will always be able to support the body of a tree. In the same way, a person with a strong enough life in Christ will always be able to handle whatever comes their way.

In the two passages I have referenced today, Psalm 18:1-2 and Matthew 7:24-27, David and Jesus (The Psalm was a Psalm of David) were talking about essentially, having a strong root system; a strong foundation upon which to establish one’s life. In singing or praying this Psalm, David was re-establishing his foundation on God and strengthening his root system. When Jesus finished his sermon on the mount, he was letting people know that acting upon what he taught was the way to spread their root system so that their lives would not topple over. For a simple illustration, think of a sequoia tree. Sequoia trees are found out west and are enormous. They are the largest trees in the world and some even have bark 4 feet thick. Some of them are even so big you can drive your car through them! But many of these trees fall over and die because they have a shallow root system. They are big on the outside, but their foundation is shallow. When Jesus talks about building houses on the rock, he is referring to the sustaining & protecting coverage of his Father. When we are outside the father’s coverage, we are susceptible to destruction by the elements: the rains of life, the flood waters of temptation, and the winds of spiritual conflict that we don’t even see.

So when life seems rough, like this last week has in my life, all we need to remember is that root system on which we have grown. God is my anchor and even when I feel like I’m toppling over because life is so stressful, God is anchoring me to him and will not let my life crumble. There are times in life when we may want to put God on the back burner in life, but we must remember that he is the one keeping us from toppling over and putting him on the back burner may weaken our roots. He is our Rock, our strength and our salvation. By accepting God into our lives, we establish that root system and it continues to grow with us as we grow in our life with Christ. I want to encourage you this week to take a look at your root system. And wrap your thoughts around the rock so that our lives are anchored on the only thing that will keep us from toppling over like the trees with too many branches.

Sunday Sermon (Aug 8--Blackwoods Campground..)

When I was growing up, I had to wait for a lot of things. I had to wait for dinner. I had to wait to see grandma. I had to wait for soccer practice. I had to wait for vacation, or for my dad to come home from work, or for Santa to come. Waiting was a part of daily life. As I grew up, waiting became easier, but I am still not very good at waiting. I’m not good at waiting to see people I miss, or waiting for the cafeteria to open for dinner, waiting to get off work, or waiting for rain, or waiting for whatever movie I really, really want to see to be released. There are bigger things that we wait for as well, but waiting will drive us all nuts. But, as I’ve thought about all the waiting I’m doing, and all the waiting I’ve done in my life, I’ve come up with four things that you need to do to help you wait well. The first one is to listen to God. The second one is to lean into others, the third is to be present in day to day life, and the fourth is to keep trusting. I want to focus on the first one today. The first way to wait well is to listen to God.

When I’m waiting for something, it usually drives me to silence. And that silence, usually draws me to turn to God. Being silent and waiting for God to act is hard as Zechariah found out in Luke 1. The story, in short, goes like this. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth are an elderly couple who always wanted a child, but never had one because Elizabeth was barren. One day, an angel visited Zechariah and told him that they would be blessed with a child and would name it John. Zechariah questioned the angel, and had to remain silent until the baby was born. As soon as the baby was born, Zechariah saw that the angel was correct and their son became very important. The silence drove Zechariah nuts, but waiting for God to act was hard as well. There are many places in the bible where people ask God to not remain silent in their life because they feel God is silent. Psalm 109:1 is one of those places and also happens to be one of my favorite cries to God to not be silent in my life any longer. Psalm 109:1 says, “O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent.” But the truth is, God is never really silent in our lives, but he is working in ways that we cannot see, and we need to wait for him to uncover these ways to us. God has plans for us, and slowly but surely, he will reveal his plans to us for our future, just as it says in the verse from Jeremiah.

I’ve come up with 3 truths about God that should be noted here. The first one is that God does not believe in coincidences. Everything in our lives is happening for a reason. We may not see the reason at that time that something happens, but everything in life really does happen for a reason. A friend once asked me if God meant for people to die. It’s a hard truth that we face, and in the times of hurt and pain in our lives, we tend to forget this truth; that in fact, everything does happen for a reason, and God is the only one who knows the master plan for our lives. God is always working in our lives, and even if we can’t see it, he is doing amazing things. It’s a matter of waiting for him to reveal these things to us.

The second truth about God is that he is not compelled to be on our time table. We pray and pray for things to happen, usually in a time when we want God to act right away. But, at least in my life, God usually doesn’t give me an immediate response. I have to keep praying and waiting for God to show me what he wants me to see, but not being on our time table stinks some times. It really does. But we have to remember that God has his own time table and things will happen when they are supposed. Go back to Luke 1 and Zechariah. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old in age we are told before they were blessed with a child. They probably wanted children when they were much younger, but it wasn’t in God’s plan. The third truth is this: God does not play games with people. There are so many times in my life when I feel like God is just playing cruel games with me, and at some point he is going to say, “No I’m joking. Everything that just happened? It didn’t really happen.” But God is never going to say that . There is a lot in life that we don’t get or don’t understand. Romans 8:28 says. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God has a plan, but we also need to realize that life isn’t a walk in the park, and sometimes, that plan for us involves pain. Although, if you recall the verse from Jeremiah 29, God tells us he will not harm us. Then, some people wonder, why do we fall and scrape a knee, or why do we have pain and suffering? It’s a different kind of harm that God is keeping us safe from, and we must wait and see how everything falls into God’s plan.

Taking these three truths and remembering them, dwelling on them and keeping our connection with the LORD strong, will make the waiting a little easier. You must remember that God is not silent because of something that we did. We can’t buy into that thought. If we let that thought consume us, we will not be waiting well for the LORD to show us something. We are less likely to wait well and patiently with that thought. Also, a sermon I was listening to once said that having unconfessed sin will dampen the connection with God. This doesn’t mean that whenever we do something bad we should be running to confession. All I’m saying is that God sees our slip ups and waits for us to confess to him that we saw it too. Confessing our sins will bring us closer to God and will make the waiting process easier. Also realize that God’s plan is bigger than ours. My plans right now would be to work the next month and go back to school. I don’t have plans about anything after school. But God’s plan for my life runs the whole course of my life. I can’t see his plan for me until it happens. I was speaking with one of my friends from home this week and was complaining about something. Something minor that I probably shouldn’t have been complaining about because God was in control of it. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but her reply to me was simple. She said, “Amanda, God’s in control. He is God, you are not. Don’t try to move too far ahead of the here and now.” He is God, we are not. What perfect words. We can’t control things and He will reveal himself to us when he is ready, and when he thinks we are ready to see what he has been working on.

So, after all that, how do we ultimately “wait well” in times that God is silent? Don’t let waiting become the center of our lives. My pastor one gave me a list of a few ways to “wait well” as I go about my life. Don’t let it control your every thought. Go about your day to day lives as if you weren’t waiting for this. Taking your focus off of the waiting will make it easier. See beyond the mystery of life. Realize that you wont understand everything in life, and that’s what makes life so wonderful. See yourself and your place in God’s story. Know that you are in the palm of his hand and the story of your life is unfolding before you. Enjoy it. The last one may be the hardest, but it could also be the most fulfilling. Sacrifice my dreams for God’s dreams. We have different dreams then he does, but his dreams are what count in life. The most important one is probably this one. Always keep praying and be faithful to the LORD. Allow God’s silence to work in our lives. Use the waiting periods in your life to become closer to the LORD.

A few months ago, I was looking for a devotional to share at a family pizza night. I came across one that I think goes well when talking about listening and waiting.

God is like coke… He’s the real thing.

God is like General Electric…He lights your path.

God is like Bayer Aspirin… He works wonders.

God is like Hallmark Cards… He cares enough to send the very best.

God is like Tide… He gets the stains out that others leave behind.

God is like VO5 Hair Spray… HE holds through all kinds of weather

God is like Dial Soap… Aren’t you glad you know him? Don’t you wish everyone did?

God is like Walmart… He has everything.

God is like Alka Selzer… Try him, you’ll like him.

God is like Scotch Tape… You can’t see Him, but you know He is there.

God is present in our lives, even when we can’t see him. We need to always remember that. God has plans for our lives, to not harm us, and plans to give us hope and a future.

the last couple weeks

Just a few random photos I felt like updating to start with.

I was going to post something about how nothing interesting has happened since my last post, but that would be a complete and utter lie. But I have no idea where to start about things.

I could start with the 75 year old lady and her mom who have traveled the world and then came into our shop and spent $680 dollars and kept us open an extra 2.5 hours and gave Greg and I

both 20 dollar tips.

Or I could start with my birthday of a fog coated-non existent sunrise from Cadillac, a nap, a bus tour, a cake, and friends.. Oh and a decorated bed.

Or I could start with folding mass quantities of shirts..

Or I could start with how busy the shop has been

Or I could mention that we've had record numbers at our evening Cadillac services.

Or I could start with the fact that I have some awesome friends who send hilariously funny cards about playing dodge ball.

I could start with my trip to the Cranberry Islands.

I could start with my adventures on the Island explorer

Or with the day we took Kayla's raft out on Jordan Pond.

I could start with the conversation Lee and I had with a Polish family after campground calling where the parents wanted us to tell their daughter that 7th day adventist was wrong and Roman Catholic was right. It was quite interesting.

Or Christmas in July.

But, I don't think I will start with any and just leave it with brief descriptions that you just read :) Ask if you want more details on anything .

The small things

You know how people say its the small things in life that matter?

That has become so true this week. It happened on Monday night. I found out about it on Tuesday morning.

I closed at work Monday night with Greg. We had no one in the store after 8:43 pm (we close at 10) so I had a fairly long vacuuming session, and cleaning and folding and whatever else closing wise needed to be done. I spent 40 minutes vacuuming, and then folded shirts, joked with Greg, the usual. As i was turning off lights around 10 after 10, Greg said something to me, but I didn't hear it, and didn't ask him to repeat. Apparently though, he was praising my performance for the day.

He left a note for the manager in the morning saying, "Rosemary- Amanda did an EXCELLENT job closing last night. and her register was 1 penny over. Give her a huge pat on the back."

It kind of made my day and put a huge smile on my face when Rosemary told me.

July update

Oh man. I suppose I am bad at updating my blog. Or nothing interesting has happened. I suppose I'll tell you about what I have been up to and you can be the judge.

My message a couple weeks ago went well! We had decent turn outs at both services that I gave it at, despite having iffy weather.

That week was rough in Maine. The Obama family was in town that Friday- Sunday, and tenions and emotions at work were running high. Nobody had patience to deal with each other, and no one wanted to say what was bugging them. Thank goodness that faze is over and we all enjoy each other again. I have no idea what it was that was getting to us, but were glad its gone.

The Obamas came and left with no interaction to us. They ate at Havanna, saw the lighthouse, went up Cadillac Mountain, got ice cream at Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream, and saw Bar Island, but for some odd reason, unknown to us, did NOT come to Jordan Pond. Who comes into the park and doesn't get popovers?!?! Geesh. Let me take a moment to tell you what a popover is. A popover is a pastry made from milk, eggs and flour. It is baked in a convection oven in a muffin pan or popover pan. If made in a muffin pan, it is necessary to skip every other hole so that the pastry can "pop" over. It bakes hollow and is served warm with butter and jam. They are delicious!

Also that week, on July 15th actually, I rang up the second largest order of the year. It was 500+ dollars. The family was a family of 5. I don't quite remember how they did it, but I know the kids had about 175 dollars and the mom had about that, and some how they made up the difference. I think my mom and dad would NOT let me spend 175 dollars in a gift shop that we go to every year when I was under the age of 10. It was quite ridiculous, but it made up 10% (or a little more) of our days sales.

Last Saturday, I took a nice 8 mile hike. In the beating sun. Of course, sun burn and sore muscles came along with it. But it was well worth it. Sun burn is almost gone, just some scratches and bruises remain. But, It was enjoyable (see pictures on facebook if you wish..)

Last Sunday, we had an ACMNP (A Christian Ministry in the National Parks) cookout with our whole team. It involved eating steaks and s'mores with over sized marshmallows.

this past week, my parents were in town.. So between working and spending time with them, nothing else really happened. We ate lots of food, did lots of shopping, and spent some time together. We went mini golfing, attempted to see whales, and i sent them on some "easy" hikes. It was a nice week.

Today, Sunday, we took a raft out on Jordan Pond and laid in the raft for a while and also had brunch at someones house on the Ministry support committee. We have one more service tonight, then off for Christmas dinner in town.. Did i mention its christmas in July today? Pretty uneventful though..

Well, that keeps you up to date for now!

amanda Woodin

Jordan Pond Dorm

PO box 267

Seal Harbor, Maine 04675

Rest and rejuvenation (Sunday Sermon)

Most people come to the park for vacation. Vacation is a time of rest and rejuvenation from their day to day lives back at home. So many times, we pack out lives full of activities from sun up to sun down. I know in my family, we are going from before the sun rises to long after it sets. My days filled with class, work, homework, sports, chapel, time with friends, meals, working again, and the list goes on. I rarely have time to rest and sometimes I forget that I don’t need all of these activities in my life to make me happy. If I would take time to rest and rejuvenate, I would recall the love that God has for us. The love that keeps us going from day to day. I want to share a version of the 23rd Psalm..an antithesis, or counter position to the original psalm. I think many of you can relate to it.

The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.
It makes me lie down, only when exhausted.
It leads me to deep depression, it hounds my soul.
It leads me in circles of frenzy for activities sake
Even though I run frantically from task to task,
I will never get it all done, for my ideal is with me
Deadlines and my need for approval- they drive me.
They demand performance from me beyond the limits of my schedule.
They anoint my head with migraines, my in-box overflows
Surely fatigue and time pressure shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the bounds of frustration forever.

Does this version sound much like your day to day life? The 23rd Psalm encourages us to relax and trust in God and the Basics that he provides for us. The 23rd Psalm is probably one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Although it is commonly associated with funerals, and is appropriately used in that setting, it is as much about living as it is about dying. In this psalm, we are reminded that we are to live our lives under the loving watch of God, our shepherd and King. In ancient Israel, kings were known as shepherds. Therefore, to profess the Lord as one’s shepherd meant to pledge ones loyalty to God and to live under God’s reign. In return, just as the shepherd provided food, water, and protection for their sheep, God will provide these basic necessities for us. As twenty first century believers, the challenge for us is to depend solely on God and to be content with “the basics.” The point where we submit to the ultimate provider- God, as our shepherd and king- is where we will truly be able to say, “I do not want.”

I want to invite you now to close your eyes and just listen now. Listen to the birds, and the voices. The wind through the trees, the creation that God has given us. As we close our eyes, I’m going to read the traditional 23rd Psalm to contrast the antithesis I read earlier. As I read, I want you to think about what it means and what God is providing for us.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, and he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23 speaks of the LORD as our shepherd. Just how in our scripture reading, we also see the LORD as our shepherd.

Throughout the gospel of John, there are seven I AM statements. The fourth statement is found in John 10:11 and 14. It states, “I Am the good shepherd.” The statements in the gospel of John connect Jesus to God. God identified himself to Moses as “I AM who I Am.” In this passage, Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for the sake of his sheep. The sheep of God are everyone who follows and believes in him. This passage tells us that Jesus was willing to lay his life down for everyone else to live. The model shepherd is contrasted with a hired hand, who is concerned for his own safety and has no investment in the sheep. When the wolf comes, and times get tough, the hired hand runs away, because he doesn’t really care about his sheep. The shepherd on the other hand, stays and protects his sheep from the world At first glance the passage from John appears to be about Jesus’ care for us, but it is also about the relationship that Jesus offers us. Jesus said, “I know my own and my own know me and listen to my voice.” Jesus is our shepherd and he knows us, just as a shepherd knows his sheep. A shepherd will never leave a sheep behind, just as God would never leave a follower behind.
Taking time for rest and rejuvenation is good to help us make it through the rest of the year. But if we fail to take time to think of God in our time of rest, than how rested and rejuvenated can we truly be? John 10:11-16 tells us that when the wolf comes to attack the sheep, the shepherd, not the hired hand, stands strong. In the same way, when times of trial and tribulation come, when we feel far from God, He stands strong.

From the beginning of creation God instituted a day of rest for men. And it's no wonder because God knew the limitations of the human body. Our body wears down after hard work. Rest rejuvenates exhaustion, cures fatigue, and clarifies confusion. We cannot function properly without it.

But in reality, how much resting do we really do? I know for me, not much resting actually happens. As people living in the 21st century, we often jam pack our lives full of activities including Sunday. It often takes planning to actually achieve time for rest. Or sometimes, going about a day without a structured schedule, nothing to get done, just slowing down and taking your time allows you to relax. Whatever it be that helps you relax, I encourage you to partake in a little relaxing to remember that God is in control and will be there for us always. So I want to encourage you that as you use this vacation time to rejuvenate and explore the park, also explore God’s beauty. Remember that rejuvenation with Christ is just as important as rejuvenating physically. Cast your worries on the LORD, and he will keep you safe.

Things that make the job worth it

1. Hiking on days off. I seem to find the hardest way up a mountain, and I tend to get my butt kicked. But, the views from the top are certainly worth it. Saturday July 3rd I climbed South Bubble, North Bubble, and then went on to Conner's Nubble.
2. Exploring places we aren't supposed to explore. After services today, we went to Bass Head Lighthouse. The lighthouse was at the top of the rocks and there were some stairs down, but we took it to the extreme and went down the rocks to the water, back up the wrong side of the rocks to climb over the fence to see the lighthouse.
3. Conversations with overly grateful customers. Such as this one:
Setting: 6:30 Friday Evening. It was about time for me to be off.
enter: An older couple carrying a take out container from the restaurant
Man: "Excuse me, do you sell batteries"
me: "Yes. they're right here" half-heartily pointing in the general direction of the batteries seeing how I had been there for almost 9 hours and didn't care at the moment.
Man: "Um, those are the cameras. I need batteries."
me: Yes there are batteries there too.
Man: Oh yes I see
Women: Do you have a plastic spoon?
Me: Um, I don't think so, Sorry.
Women: Oh, I got some ice cream and couldn't finish it and the restaurant didn't have a spoon. I thought maybe you would. Or do you have a straw? I could let it melt and drink it
Me: Well, let me see what we can find for you. I know we have straws. Hold on
*Runs up stairs, gathers 2 stir sticks, a napkin, and a straw and runs down*
Me: Here's what I found.
Women: Oh bless your soul. You are too kind.
Man: Do you have one of those collectible spoons? You know, some people collect metal spoons. Do you sell those?
me: yep, right here. Let me show you!
Man: I was thinking i would buy my gorgeous wife one so she could eat her ice cream
me: oh! Maybe she will share!
man: maybe.

So i ring them up and say goodbye.
I get ready to check out, do one last store walk through, and go to check out when...
re-enter women.
women: Excuse me. I forgot to ask where you are from.
me: I'm from Iowa!
women: Is everyone from Iowa as polite and nice and helpful as you?
me: generally, Iowans are pretty friendly.
women: well i never knew anyone from Iowa. What is your name?
me: Amanda. Oh, I see. I dont have my name tag on. Well now, you know someone from Iowa.
women. Yes. Honey, come here with the camera! (directed towards her husband.) take this young ladys picture.
me: Why dont you get in the picture too?
women: Okay where can we take it at?

This whole situation was kind of funny and put a smile on my face.

Woah. Blazing fast internet. I think that calls for a blog post!

Oh my. It's Wednesday. What has happened this week. Hmm...

Sunday. Wake up at 6:45. we had 25 people at the Blackwoods service. The Lord seems to be bringing more people every week which is quite a blessing. We only had 2 at Seawall again. After talking with Hal and Ellen, the ACMNP pros in our group, we think we don't get too many at this service because it starts at 10 am and the check out time is at 10 am. Also most people are out and about at the time of day. We will see what God has in store for us there. At the sunset service at Cadallic we didn't think we would have too many people because it was cloudy. Well, lets thank God again, because we had 17 at that service, AND there was an AMAZING sunset. Pictures just can;t do it justice. We had 4 Acadia Corp employees there who are all amazing people. The other were from families. After service, Lindsey invited us over again for some more delicious food and a movie! Woop Woop! Lindsey- You are amazing.

Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday work was fairly busy. So far this week: The computers have gone out, weve had a separated family and called the ranger, I've gotten yelled out by an old lady, I've folded 100 shirts just to watch the lady unfold them because she cant see the designs that are 2 feet above her head, and had dinner at the restaurant with Meghan and Kendra. Meghan works at the shop and found it absolutely absurd that the restaurant was not my first stop in the park. So we went. a 4 course meal for 21 dollars. Including tip. Thank you employee discount! Other than that, work is fairly uneventful, and people are mostly bearable.

We have a few prayer requests that have come in this week that I'd like to share:
My friend Mark From UNI who is serving with ACMNP in Custer State park txted me the other day asking for prayers. His co minister decided to step down from the ministry leaving Mark to do the services (which we do in Acadia with 6 people) by himself. Prayers that he can follow God's guidance and find the strength to continue when times get tough!
All the people travelling to and from the park. For safe travel. And all the people falling on the trail that their injuries heal. I met a man while campground calling who had tumbled 8 ft off a path. Prayers that he may heal completely.
And lastly,
all the staffers here. July 3rd marks the start to our "busy season". Most places are still understaffed after the second hiring wave, which means working 48-50 hour work weeks in the restaurant and 45-48 in the shops. People are starting to get burnt out and having negative attitudes.. Not what we need right now!

In all, I am LOVING this place. You have ocean views from the mountains. You can't get that in Iowa!!! (or Wisconsin.. or Illinois. or anywhere in the Midwest for that matter.)
And one last thought: It's a small world. I asked someone where she was from today. Her family said Illinois. I had heard of their town and told them I was from Iowa. She asked where. I said Iowa City. She said she grew up here and graduated from IC West and went on to Coe in CR.. hmm..

I've been in Maine one week and it seems like I've been here forever. It's a different world out here, but an amazing world.

Last Saturday night, Lee and I went campground calling. All that basically entails is walking around the campground going to each site and inviting people to ranger talks and our Sunday services. It took about 2 hours and people took it pretty well. I feel like we went somewhere after that, but I don't remember.

Sunday, we had 3 services. At Blackwoods campground, we had 17 people. Even after the morning rain! It was amazing! We went to Seawall Campground, a 40 minute drive, next and only had 2 people there. It was disappointing, but Hal and Ellen said not many people seemed interesting. We went out to lunch as a group at Seawall drive in, a little dinky pull up place off the side of the road. Afterwards, Lee, Kayla, and I went into Bar Harbor to see Toy Story 3. We went to a place called 'Reed Pizza'. They serve Pizza during the movie and have couches. Its basically the best movie place ever.

I started work on Monday. Work is pretty uneventful and always fun. The people are cool and the work isnt too bad. That was basically my week. We had some hot weather, cold weather, and rain. But, we lived.

Friday night, Tim, Lee, Kayla, and I went to Pirates cove for mini golf.
Saturday, I hiked a mountain, and am preparing to watch the world cup! If only I could find the channel it is on!

Maine

Wednesday 6 am (CST): Depart home. The car is loaded, the snacks packed, and the sunglasses on. We set out going East on Interstate 80. The next turn? 500 something miles down I-80. Awesome.

Wednesday 4 pm (EST): Switch drivers. Dad is driving again. We are merging back onto 80. Or is it 90 now? POP. Hmm. i wonder what that was.

Wednesday 5:30 (EST): Steak and shake for dinner. Yum. Oh, whats that? A sprung spring and a slashed tire? Uh-oh!

Friday 12 PM (EST): LOOK ITS THE JORDAN POND DORM!!! Shoot. No cell reception.

Friday 7 pm (EST): Hi. Wanna go to the beach with us? Sure. Hi. Want to go to ImprovAcadia with us? Sure.

Saturday 10 am (EST): Dad, lets go on a boat ride!

Thats the first few days in an nutshell. The car got fixed in Hamburg, NY (outside of Buffalo) starting about 8 am and put us about 5 hours behind, but we made it on Friday to Acadia National Park. It is way hot here. But these are the hottest two days all summer. It shouldn't last. I got unpacked, locked my keys in my car, figured out how to go from no reception to reception only in town. Went to the beach, cut open my leg, and went to an improv show with some of the ACMNP people plus a couple. It was hilarious. Afterwards, we came back and I went to bed. Dorms are 4 people to a room (Think small than a normal dorm room, with 2 bunk beds, 4 closets, and some shelves between the beds and a window. Add it to the second floor of an unconditioned building in 80 some degree weather and you get our room. this morning, I went back into town and dad and I went on the nature boat ride and saw all the islands around. We were going to go whale watching, but It was 4 hours long and its cold out on the ocean, and it would be pushing it to get dad back to the hotel in time to leave for the airport.

Most everyone in the dorms (theres 51 of us!) works during the day, either at the restaurant or the shop. On peoples days off, it seems some go into town or go hiking, or climbing. some seem to just chill. I'm sure it depends on what day it is and who else is off with you. I'm thinking if it cools down hiking sounds fun. .Or biking. And ofcourse, going into town once and a while to turn on my phone.

Address for the summer:
Amanda Woodin
Jordan Pond Dorm
PO Box 267
Seal Harbor, ME 04675

Normandy and Last few days in Paris

Has it really been a week since we left for Normandy? Good grief, where does the time go?

Last Friday, the day started like any other. Class. But after class, we got to go to the free, stuff your face with French food, buffet at school. After eating lots of French food, I got a text message saying the Catacombs were closed due to flooding. Take 3 at the Catacombs spoiled. So we re did our plans. After leaving school, we headed towards Suzy and Ashleys house for Gelato Friday, and then walked to a nearby souvenir shop for some souvenirs. After a while, we met up with the class to tour the Rodin Museum. It was our last tour with Edith and one of the museums we were most looking forward to seeing. The Rodin Museum used to be where Rodin lived, and in exchange for Rent, he gave his works to the state. The most famous work it houses would be 'The Thinker.' After the museum, we got a very short time to explore the gardens and take pictures before being kicked out of the museum (we got good at getting kicked out of museums for staying too long.) We went over some instructions for meeting in the morning and then everyone headed home for dinner with families and to pack for Normandy tomorrow.

Saturday: We had to meet Dr. Hagan at St. Lazare train station at 7:30 this morning. Do you know how early that is? We had a very uneventful trip there and found Dr. Hagan easily in his bright orange jacket, baseball cap, and his 7 ft tall-ness. We had a 2.5 hour train ride to Normandy that was also uneventful. I managed about an hour nap, and then talked with Dr. Hagan and some other people the rest of the way. When we got to Normandy, we were met by Rose, our tour guide, and our bus driver. Rose told us that rather than doing the beaches on Saturday, she wanted to take us to Mont St. Michel because it would be less packed today. Downside? It was a 2.5 hour bus ride. She was a really good guide though and talked to us the whole way talking about each town we went through and the historic events of the town. It was very informative. I had never heard of Mont St. Michel before and had no idea how it related to the war, but it sounded cool so I was excited to go. Come to find out, I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with D-Day, but it was a cool place.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

These verses describe Mont St. Michel to a tee. Mont Saint Michel is this huge Monastery/ church/ former prison on the very top of a mountain of rock. There is a town (that is very touristy) built below on the mountain. As the tide comes in, every other week the area around the mountain floods. It floods most the parking lots and you end up walking a very long way to get there. We were lucky enough to go at low tide and just had to hike up the side of the mountain. The only way into the town is the access road, which is very long and doesn't generally flood. We toured around the Monastery and had a lot of picture time. This was the highlite of the trip so far. I loved hearing about all the history in the church and how some rooms were supposed to be built, but then they decided not to build them. It was way interesting, and I decided that, someday when I get a nice job and can afford it, I will go back. After the tour, we got some time to go shopping in town and to the beach. The beach was muddy, but many of us still went it. Were Iowans, and this is a real beach. Don't tell us we can't go in! After about half an hour, we loaded the bus and began the long ride back to Bayeux. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant and then headed back to the hotel. Jessie, Eboni and I were rooming together. We had a game of Phase 10, which, point wise, I won, and then headed to bed.

Sunday:

We caught the breakfast (cereal, hot cocoa, warm croissants, bread, jelly, juice, yogurt, and some other stuff we could choose from) at the hotel and then headed out for a busy day of WWII history. We started by going to the German Cemetery. We saw pictures of the Germans and Rose told us of how many soldiers who were captured were actually happy about it because they would be treated better as POW than their own army treated them. From there, we headed to Mont St. Eglise. This is the church were (if you know your D-Day history) the parachuter got stuck on the steeple of the church. We toured the town on the bus, headed to a bakery to pick out lunch, then headed to the museum. It was way cool! We got to see a glider that was used (that I would NEVER ride in.. Hard to describe, but it was not feeling very sturdy.), and then saw a video of what had happened in the town. After wards, we headed to the church. The cool thing about the church was that they had some interesting stained glass windows; for example pictures of the Virgin Mary with soldiers around it. Many things at this church were fairly new as they were not put in until the soldiers returned to the town for the first time about 15 years ago. After this, we headed to Utah Beach. We got to walk around there reading the numerous monuments for soldiers and eating our sandwiches for lunch. Next, we went to Pont du Noc (i think that is what its called). This is were the Rangers climbed up the side of the mountain after an Arial attack, but they were 45 minutes late. This place has not been restored and you could climb in and out of many German bunkers (hide outs) and also see the holes in the ground where the bombs fell. We got about an hour to run around here and crawl around the bunkers which was a lot of fun and a lot of history! Next, we headed to Omaha beach. Omaha beach had the most casualties on D-Day, and is probably the most well known beach in Normandy, for the Americans at least. We saw the one gun that still remains there (behind bars though) that was a huge gun for the Germans and could shoot huge amounts of distances across the beach. Then we headed out to the beach to go wading in the water. We walked quite a bit out even though the tide was coming in . We walked across a few sand bars and after a few minutes, realized the tide was coming in quicker than we though, so we wondered back. When we walked out, the water was about mid calf. Coming back it was up over my knees, so coming back was probably a wise decision. After Omaha beach, we headed to the American cemetery. Rose walked us around and should us the different statues and the maps at the cemetery. We had some time to wonder around and she pointed out different graves that she felt we should see. We saw a grave of one of the few women buried there, the grave of the highest ranking person there (which isn't distinguished at all), the grave of an unknown soldier, and someone who got the Medal of Honor. After that, we walked on the sidewalk over looking the beach, and headed to the last monument that was at the cemetery that had a bunker next to it; so of course we all crawled in and out of the bunker. We took about a 30 minute bus ride back to Bayeaux and then had a few minutes to rest before we decided to head out to the same restaurant we ate at last night. Tonight though, we had some sort of soup, pork and French fries, and chocolate some or else for desert. (Last night was a meat dish for appetizer, some sort of main course that i dont remember but it was good, and apple tart for dessert.) After dinner, a few of us walked Suzy to the train station so she could head home for camp. On the way back, we stopped by a park and got roped into playing (aka kicking around a ball) soccer with a kid and his father. We wondered the park for a little bit and then headed back to the hotel. We had a nice chance to sit and talk with a lady from Wisconsin (whose daughter went to Iowa!) for a while and then headed to bed after a long day.

Monday: Today was a holiday in France so many things were closed. We got to sleep in (until about 8:30!) and then after breakfast at the hotel, headed to the Bayeaux Cathedral where the famous Bayeaux tapestry used to be housed. It was an amazing cathedral. Words cant describe how amazing it was. They had some really nice relics and some other nice stuff. (its okay though, i have 100 pictures :)) Then, Dr. Hagan sent us to a park so we could lay and frolic for a while in the sun. When he caught back up with us, we went down to the tapestry museum to view the 240 foot (70 meter) tapestry. It tells the story of William the Conquerer through embroidered scenes made in 1044 ( I think). Quite the sight. We wondered through that museum and saw the movie for it and then grabbed some Kabobs for lunch and headed for the train back to Paris. Many of us were sad to be leaving and going back to Paris. We had enjoyed the time back in small towns and were not looking forward to the hustle and bustle of a large city. When we got off the train, I saw a fnac (book store) across the street and headed there to find a few more gifts. I then headed to St. Sulpice to look around some more. St. Sulpice is the church where (if you have seen DaVinci code) he kills the nun. The church is absolutely amazing and looking not very much like the church in the movie. The best part: on the wall in the church is a sign that basically, in more words, says "Dan Brown: you are a liar." (I'll put a picture of it on Facebook.. Speaking of Facebook: there are a ton of pictures on there, so if were not Facebook friends and you want to see pictures, friend me!) I then headed home for the night as an exhausted camper.

Tuesday: Today was our last day of class! We just had morning class too! So after class, we did the goodbye and picture thing and then headed to a former Port of the city (Paris used to be a walled city so there were a bunch of doors to get in. Only a couple remain so Dr. Hagan took us to one.) and then got food at an amazing Turkish restaurant. I had some sort of tomato paste for an appetizer (can't say I would voluntarily order it again..), beef for main course, and then that one traditional dessert that i don't remember the name of. I think its a Greek dessert.. (YEY GOOGLE. Its called Baklava.) After that, the majority of us headed to my neighborhood (ish) to a former châteaux/ prison (what is it with the French using things for prisons?). Also there, there is another St. Chappelle (in order to be a St. Chapelle you have to have a certain relic.) So we wondered around both of those places and then Briana, Matt, Ryan, Chanie, Emmalee, Sofie and I headed for the pond (thats right around the corner from my house.) Unfortunately, I had never been to that side of the park. Someone, not me, i promise, had the great idea to turn off the main road so we took a nice 30 minute walk out of our way, but eventually found the pond. We got some crepes and hung out for a while. Later that night, after dinner, I headed back out to meet up with some people from our class at school to see someones boyfriend play at a Jazz Cafe. It was pretty good.

Wednesday: We attempted to go to the catacombs again today. Still flooded. Darn. Were probably not meant to go to the Catacombs. We walked to Luxembourg Gardens one last time, and then some of us did a picnic lunch while others went and got crepes. Afterwards, we walked to St. Michel for coffee, and then i went with people souvenir shopping on the way to BHV. We walked to Bastille, got crepes, got smoothies, then went to Pompidou Center for Gelato. Then we went to a park on the other side of town were you can actually walk on the grass (many places in Paris you can't be on the grass.) and did our individual presentations about things that we had learned/noticed in Paris. I presented mine on the poverty and homelessness in the city. After that, i ran home to change for dinner and headed back out to meet the group. That would be when the most traumatic event of the trip took place. In short, I got stuck in a VERY crowded metro with no light in the middle of a tunnel for a while and then had to make 5 connections because of a passenger accident and showed up at the group dinner, out of breath from running a few blocks, and in tears, 20 minutes late. I was also quite scared out of my mind to ride the metro again. We had a dinner that wasn't all that terribly amazing, and then headed out. We finished dinner around 12:30 am (no joke) and the metros stopped at 1 am, and we were meeting at 7:30 the next morning, so we headed home to pack.

Thursday: Ugh. Sad day. Last day in Paris. I tried to go to the bakery this morning to buy a baguette to bring home for my brother, but nothing in our neighborhood opens until 8 am. I should have guessed. So, i gave my host my thank you gifts, finished packing and then we headed out. After dragging my heavy suite case uphill the 10 minute walk to the metro, we rode a packed metro and RER (basically a passenger train that goes through the suburbs into town) to the station where we were meeting and headed to the airport. We had a rather smooth flight, which was also 40 minutes early, and a smooth landing. It was a nice flight. Headed back towards Iowa to drop people off and do a quick DQ stop so i could see some friends and made it home and went straight to bed. My bed. I forgot how much i loved my bed. With real pillows. and a real blanket.

In all, I loved Paris. It was quite different from anything else I have done/experienced in the states. I can't say I would go back again with a large school group, but I think if i went with the right people,. I'd go in a heartbeat. The best part was, by far, Normandy. I can't describe how amazing it was or why it was so amazing, but you will have to go there yourself and experience it. Now that I'm home, I'm starting to get excited for Maine this summer, and the plans that God has for me there. Yet, it still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm in Iowa. Ill give it a few days. :)

Hospitality and Generosity.

As our time in France comes to a close and we reflect back on everything we've done, we see that we have had an amazing month. The highlight of the month has been the past 4 days. Three of the last 4 days were spent having an AMAZING weekend in the Normandy region of France. We toured all the tourist places (in a bus, so it was even more touristy), climbed in and out of bunkers, walked on the beach, and much more. Add perfect weather and sun to that, and you have an amazing weekend. It was capped off Sunday night by soccer in the old golf course and an amazing dinner. More about Normandy will be posted later probably, but there' s been this thought in my head I had to get out.

When people talk about France, Paris actually, I always here stories of how rude the people are. Eileen even pointed it out the other day. I disagree whole heartily. At our metro stop, it is basically a requirement that you hold the door for the person behind you. It is really nice and a small gesture to remember that people are friendly. At the hotel this weekend, we were in the lobby talking after we got back, and the owner told us we could stay up as late as we would like and even opened the breakfast room for us. You can stop and ask almost anyone where the metro is and they will walk you to the stop. The hospitality and friendliness here is amazing!

We have one 3 hour session of class left Tuesday morning before fitting in as much site seeing and stuffing our faces with food as possible. Dr. Hagan says we like food. Maybe a little too much. Well, Red Drhagan (pronounced, Dragon.), we do like food. and fun. Our time to Paris is winding down, and my mind is moving on to the next leg of my adventure. And I can't wait to have as much fun in Maine as I've had in Paris.

Pictures (New update below)

(pictures go most recent to oldest.. darn uploader/ being lazy..)

the sunset from our apartment.
this is the swing ride i talk about in my post below...
At Moulin Rouge.. We got there about 2 seconds before the picture and left 2 seconds after.
Breaking a rule and sticking my head outside of the Eiffel Tower..
picture perfect day at the Eiffel Tower
picture perfect day at the Eiffel Tower
My kangaroo and mashed tater dinner!
see that small glassed in thing>? thats the Mona Lisa.. And this is the crowd of people in front of it.
Ryan: Closer amanda! Me: Um NO! it might start moving!
the little Pastry rabbits the amazing pastry people were making my Notre Dame at that one bread festival thing

I was sort of entranced by my Gelato, so Jessie took a picture

stairs to get down from the top of the Arc... hope you're not claustrophobic.

Me looking at the tomb of the unknown soldier.. AKA at the Arc de triumph

In front of the Arc de Triumph

Eating a crepe.. Have you had your crepe today?

Sitting on a railing in Germany.. We started in that town down there and climbed

At the Castle in Heidlberg

cooking food with Vanessa in Germany

Week...3? I think its week 3 at least

Dear Sunshine,

You make Paris even more beautiful than it was before you came here to visit us. You make dancing lessons on the river and crepe Thursday even better.

Love,

Wartburg students in Paris

Yes, the sun has FINALLY come to Paris. And don't worry, we are taking full advantage of it. It started on Sunday and has continued all this week! Speaking of this week, is it really Thursday dinner and am I REALLY about to consume snails? Well, my calendar says it is really Thursday, and the note from my host says I'm supposed to cook the snails, so I guess that is a yes as well.

On Monday this week, Jessie and I headed out after class to go up to Sacre- Coeur. Sacre-Couer is a large church up on Montemarte which is an overlook of the city. (I'm loving seeing the city from above..) We took some time to eat our desserts (carrot-orange cake) and then went in to see the church. Unfortunately, no pictures were (legally) allowed in the church, so I can share its beauty with you. After that, we headed for a quick walk past Moulin Rouge and then headed back toward my place. We had intentions of going to the aquarium, but my attention was, for some reason, drawn to the fair. I was told by my host about 5 minutes after I arrived on day 1 to stay away from the fair. Naturally, I wanted to go. It was HUGE. I mean, were talking all rides, food booths and games. Perhaps state fair size! We walked around the whole fair and Jessie decided she wanted to ride the swings. These aren't normal swings (pictures when I get home maybe?), but grown up swings. They went round and round and round and up and round and up and round..etc. Now, background, we had just eaten crepes and waffles. Hmm.. yeah I was not doing so well afterwards. So, I headed home to work on my presentation for class the next day and called it a day.

Tuesday: Class (had my presentation and we were in the lab again, fairly uneventful), and then after some slight shopping at St. Michel, I headed home with a migraine. Ate some dinner, took some Advil PM and slept through the night. It was kind of amazing.

Wednesday: Oh man! Awesome day! After class, we ran to Monoprix (the grocery store) and bought stuff for a picnic. We jumped on the metro and headed for Versailles. We picnicked in the gardens at Versailles then met up with Edith (our AMAZING tour guide) for a tour of the palace. While there, the group decided it would be an amazing night for a boat ride. So, we made plans for a night boat ride. After Versailles, we RAN home, scarfed some beef bourguignon and chocolate cake (Mom, please tell me, it IS a sin to not have milk with warm cake, isn't it?) and then RAN to catch the boat. After a frantic call to tell Dr. Hagan we were coming and to not leave us, we arrived (10 minutes late) and got on the boat for a ride around the city. After the boat ride, some of us went for Gyros and crepes to end the night.

Thursday: We had class today and lunch in the Luxembourg Gardens as we have been doing a lot recently. For afternoon class today, we went to St. Sulpice church (Da Vinci code people: this is the church where he killed the nun..) and then headed towards the river for dance lessons. We learned (sort of) how to dance tango and salsa. Don't except to see any of us on Dancing with the Stars any time soon. We then headed to St. Michel for crepe and coffee Thursday. (This is what it sounds like... we drink coffee and eat crepes on Thursday.) Then I headed home via stops to look for Fnac, a book store, to look for a Dr. Seuss book that doesn't exist in France. LAME. How do these kids grow up with out Dr. Seuss? I'm sitting on the 2 ft porch now trying to swallow the escargot. Wasn't a fan of the first one. Let me try a second. Hmm, tastes like.. snail. Maybe, It's because they were frozen not fresh. Not my favorite food. My host is gone tonight and my roommate is currently MIA, and the note from the host said neither would be home for dinner.. Oh well, house to myself for a little bit. The quiet is a nice change of pace.

Usually, I would wait until Sunday to post about the week, but we are leaving at ridiculous hours of the morning (meeting at a stop 30 minutes away) at 7:30 AM Saturday morning to go to Normandy for the weekend. I know a few of us are very excited to leave Paris and travel around Normandy! It should be fun. After 3 days in Normandy, we have 2 days in Paris and then a day of traveling. One week and 30 minutes from now, we should be touching down in Chicago. (Well, Paris time at least.) Have we really been here that long already? "We're here a month, we can wait to see it." Crap, now we don't have time to see everything!

So Tomorrow, Friday, we start the day with class and then (hopefully, knock on wood) will make it to the free buffet AND the catacombs before Rodin at 3:45. It's our last museum visit :( And then Normandy. So the last few days will fly buy. I think I have a couple gifts to track down and maybe something else for me (yeah, you thought I was spending all my money on other people? I'm not THAT considerate..) and I'll be ready to go. I decided today that I will not have to buy an extra carry on back, but will put everything heavy in my backpack and then also use my drawstring bag. Yes, I'm going to be that person who takes two carry ons. Woops.

Some other cultural differences/ random things that I have noticed this week:

The metro. I know I've mentioned this before, but this is a different thing I have noticed. The metro is amazing. It is an equalizer. Everyone has to take the metro. The people who, unfortunately, wont have a meal on the table tonight. The people who will throw away food tonight. The people who live in the suburbs, the people who live in the city. Everyone rides the metro. Business people, homeless people. People with blue hair, purple hair, no hair. This is the one place these people interact. Who are we to judge others when we are all equal on this basis. The first way you tell who someone is is by their shoes. Are they wearing flats? Tennis shoes? Business shoes? Boots? Thats the first indication of who they are. Then you look at what they're doing. Are they jamming out? Reading the paper? On a crack.. I mean blackberry? Are they drunk? Are they drinking? Are they just standing there? You can tell a lot about someone by what they do on the metro, and it is just interesting to think about how the Parisians feel about it.

Public intoxication. I don't know why, but you can be drunk off your butt here and no one seems to care. Maybe it is because the drinking age is 18 (or is it 16?) but no one cares if a scary old drunk dude gets in your face on a crowded metro and you can smell the alcohol on his breath. Its disgusting. NO, I'm not telling you where i'm going, my name, where I live or giving you my number. Yes, I speak English, and some French, but I have no intentions of talking to you, so PLEASE, get out of my face. Oh look, my stop. Sorry. It can get annoying dealing with drunk people, I'm glad that the US (or Iowa) has that "No Public Intox) rule that we have.

People are not afraid to run over you. Not in a car. But on bike or trampling you in the metro. Today alone, I got run into by a bike and got knocked down in the metro station by some dude sprinting down the staris. (On the bike, I was in the walking lane but the class was in the bike lane so the biker was in the walking lane and didn't like me there.. In the metro station, I was being a good polite Iowan and walking on the right side of the stairs in a crowded stairwell. HE was running down the stairs at full blast through the crowd and ran into me.. OWW!)

Lastly, everything comes in a can. Or so it seems. Who puts milk and apple juice in a can? Can I have my plastic bottles back please? I promise I'll recycle!