Expressions and Impressions

I had a very special Valentine's Day in Holland. In Europe Valentine's is moreso a holiday for couples. But thanks to mom and Neeley who each sent me a lovely package with treats I was reminded of how much I'm loved. And isn't the expression of love what St. Valentine fought for? So I extended this expression by passing out cheesy American valentines with pixie stix that I brought from the States to everyone here at L'abri. The kids really enjoyed the foreign treat.

Thursday is our day off here at L'abri anyhow, so Mette, Kara and I planned to spend our Valentine's Day-off in our favorite city Utrecht with our Dutch friend Jojanneke. Our plan was to have a ROTIC day, which is ROmanTIC without the man! (Haha.Thanks Kara.) And that we did! We set off Wednesday night to Utrecht to enjoy some live jazz music with friends at 't Oude Pothuys (translation 'the old pothouse'... pots that you cook with, not the pot you normally associate with Holland). In the picture is Mette, Me, Kara, half of Levien (who I met last year at a L'abri theme weekend), and Karlien (who came to stay at L'abri for a short stay this term). So it was nice to meet with our friends, enjoy some drinks together, and take in the ambience of the cave-like, dimly lit, smoky lounge. The jazz music was okay. A bit too loud and percussive and no vocalist. But we weren't just there for the music.

We stayed the night with Jojanneke in her Utrecht flat. She had all kinds of mats and blankets spread about over her floor for the three of us to crash. We got up early to enjoy a brunch downtown at a restaurant called "Broers" (translations 'Brothers') that Robb recommended. We sat for a couple of hours stuffing our faces with bread and cappuccino, hearing about Jojanekke's thesis research in India. She also entertained us with cultural and historical lessons about Utrecht-the city itself and she even pointed out the "typical" Utrecht University students who put on the I-just-rolled-out-of -bed-around-noon-looking-fashionable look to chat with their scratchy Dutch voices alongside their cigarettes and koffee. Then we set off to stroll about the city, enjoying the people we saw, the coffee, window shopping, book shopping and conversation. We went into a shoe store and I saw the silliest hat on clearance for one Euro. Since I'm a silly girl I thought, "hey, why not buy this?!" So I bought the strange hat, which was an additional 50% off. So for 50 cents I got to look like an idiot... But it paid off. Allow me to tell the story...

We were taking the train back to L'abri in the afternoon. Aware that I lost my train ticket I purchased the night before in Tiel I began to prepare to act my role as "the apologetic, unfortunate, young, female, foreign traveller" in case the train attendant asked to see my ticket. When the young male train attendant walked into my cart I got a little nervous, but he, on the other hand, began to to laugh and laugh at my silly hat. When he came to my seat he asked for all our tickets. I gave one last search through my bag and pockets and told him I must have lost it and I was truly sorry. Now usually these train workers show NO mercy for a traveller without a ticket and charge them the full price for the ticket plus an additional 45 Euros! So I was extremely fortunate that he took a liking for my hat, because he decided to cut me a break and allow me to purchase a new ticket at the Kiosk at our destination Tiel. When we arrived at Tiel he walked with me to the Kiosk and I got to the woman at the counter to purchase the ticket. The train attendant and the Kiosk worker were talking in Dutch, but from the body language, vocal tone, and the little I could translate I could tell they were discussing how I "lost" my ticket and had to buy a new one.
Well, it turns out the Kiosk worker REMEMBERED me from the night before and explained to him that I DID in fact purchase a ticket from her. The train attendant turned to me and said, "You don't have to pay. She remembers you bought a ticket..." What great mercy he showed to me! He still had the authority to make me pay, but didn't. I thanked him and his words to me were, "I see you make quite an impression on people." I'm not sure if it was ME that made the impression or the hat, but I cannot regret the $.50 impulsive hat purchase which saved me over 50 Euros in the end ($75 U.S. dollars!).

L'abrians: A Caricature

Though over 20 students have come in and out of the L'abri house since January 10 I'd like to introduce you to the few who I consider long term.


Name: Tae Young
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Age: 24 in Korea (at birth Koreans are 1), 23 to Westerners
About Tae Young: A chemist who helped detonate landmines for the Korean military for two years. Likes to find uses for the few American expressions he knows like "trash talk" and "poop or get off the pot." An excellent caulker.



Name: Jantine
Hometown: Haarlem, Netherlands
Age: Mid 30's
About Jantine: She is a loving wife to Arvid, her husband and currently studies to change careers from journalism to contextual therapy. Though caring and sensitive you wouldn't dare get in the way of her axe.


Name: Clara (Christian name), Yoon Sook (birth name)
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Age: 30 to Westerners
About Clara: An exemplary woman of love, joy, discipline and service. Social worker, hymn hummer and expert knitter. Loves new experiences and she even let me tie her limbs into challenging yoga positions.


Name: Kara
Hometown: Portland, OR
Age: 27 as of recently... one of the best birthday parties I've ever had, and it wasn't even mine
About Kara: My fellow helper who I not only share household chores with, but also long walks, beer, "potty talks," and patty cake. A displaced artist and non-performing pianist. Enjoys culinary ventures, bike rides through the Dutch countryside, dead people's music and the matching tattoos on her wrists and feet.


Name: Mette
Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
Age: 23
About Mette: The only accomplished recorder player I will ever take seriously. She's studying linguistics and wants to translate Bibles for Wycliffe. Recently listened to a 40 cassette lecture series on the book of Revelation by Francis Schaeffer. One of the few people here who laughs at my jokes. Smart and full of surprises.

Apples, Me and Everything Greek

Winter certainly makes things bare. Here you see the apple orchards near the house now compared to September when I was here last.
The barrels of apples I helped pick months ago have been either consumed or rotted. So, sometimes I get to buy apples from the nice old lady two houses down. I walk up to her door and say something like, "Hi! I mean...Hallo! hmm... um... appels kopen?... voor L'abri... vier kilo... dank je wel.." Which translates into something like "Hi. (gibberish, gibberish) Buy apples?... for L'abri... four kilos... thank you!"And then she carries a further conversation with me in Dutch, except my only contribution to our dialogue is a big smile and a nod. But in the end I have a delicious sack of crisp and juicy, golden and red apples.

I'm getting pretty used to my schedule here at L'abri. I make a lot of tea and coffee, wash and hang a lot of laundry, and scrub a lot of toilets. I drink a lot of tea and coffee and sit around the fireplace to keep warm. I go on a lot of walks with Kara from Portland--we toss around ideas about relationships, culture, and personal shortcomings. I have a stack of books I'm working through and I journal often. I play patty cake with five-year-olds. I bake fresh bread and make soups from scratch. I knit while listening through Henk's vinyl record collection--Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence." Michael Jackson's "Bad," and Dutch folk singer Boudewijn de Groot's greatest hits album are currently my favorites. I participate in group lunch discussions, most recently about perfectionism, work, idealism, purity and experiencing God. I do a lot of yoga and push ups in my 7' x 12' bedroom. Here you can see my room and yoga mat.


A vital part of the week is my Monday afternoon tutoring session with Christa. It's helpful to have someone to think with and who can articulate what I often cannot. She listens well and can quickly expose the root of my struggles. She also assigns homework so we have something concrete to work with. Most of what I gain through my experience here will come through these interactions, I am certain.

Last Sunday was Kara's (the other helper from Portland, OR) 27th birthday. The other students and I planned a full day of birthday events including a surprise birthday song at 7:30 a.m., a long bike ride to a surprise tea party, a Greek-themed toga dinner party with Greek music and dancing, Greek food and a pile of gifts for Kara to open. She was overwhelmed with our efforts and remembers it as one of her best birthdays ever. A very special memory for all of us.

The Kolsch Empire

My backpacking journey ended on the 10th of Septmeber in Cologne, Germany. Brandy and I spent four days, two of which were spent at the best hostel EVER, Meininger Hostel. Our reason for stopping in Cologne was to explore some Kolsch history. The German spelling for Cologne is Koln. Our roommate from Hamburg, Germany explained to us that Kolners add the letters SCH to words to identify it as being from Koln. "They do it to everything! It's so annoying," she expressed. Hence, Koln + SCH = Kolsch, meaning "from Koln." Next to the Dom (Cathedral outside central station), most important to Koln culture is their Kolsch beer. So I pretty much told everyone we met that I am a Kolsch. Bless Brandy's heart. She must have been so sick of hearing me boast about my heritage. I thought I'd get some free beer, but it never happened. Surprisingly I only indulged in one beer in those four days in Cologne and I had it mixed with Coke. Very unusual to me, but a popular way to serve beer in Europe. I brought a nasty cold with me from Paris which eliminated most of my alcohol desires. We even spent our third day in bed. So it was Kelley the sick Kolsch and Brandy the pregnant lady. We needed the rest, though before beginning our time at L'abri. I was able to accomplish my dual mission while in Cologne: see the beautiful cathedral and find some Kolsch paraphernalia. I would love to return in good health to have a tour of one of the Kolsch breweries and learn more about the Kolsch way.

Paris

We weren´t sure we´d make it Paris, since it wasn´t on our "top cities to vist" list. Logistically the stop made sense since we were just in Taize, which is 1.5 hours south of Paris. Unfortunately most of the people we met along away told stories of their disapointment with Paris, but we learned after some time that people are idiots and are poor critics. So with little expectation we caught a train to Paris, with no hostel reservation. Though a kind Indian brother at Taize was aware that the pregnant girl and her friend did not have a reservation for their next destination, so he was kind enough to print some listings in Paris for cheap hostels. Fortuanately the first hostel on the list worked out. We had yet another pleasant Aussie roommate and a sweet young Brazilian boy to share our cozy room. My primary goal was to fall in love with Paris. So many people I know seem to do it, so why can´t I? In order to execute this mission we participated in a free walking tour (the same company that gives free tours in Berlin and the very reason we love Berlin so much). The four hour history lesson took us through some monumental sites in Paris like the Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. Though we didn´t really explore any of the sites we were taken to, the brief historical background given by our Mexican-American tour guide allowed us to determine whether the site was worth returning to on our own time. With only one full day in Paris, returning to the sites we were further interested in was not an option. Though I enjoyed our brief time Paris, I did not have a romantic fling with the city as I hoped I would. But I do desire to return in the future for at least a week with a sugar daddy in order to afford the pricey restaurants, lavish boutiques, and an accomodation without mold and multiple foul stinches of smoke and dirt (I received an unpleasant cold while in Paris... still hacking away).

A-a-a-a-lle-lu-i-a

Not even a fully booked train could prevent the three of us from tackling this destination. Summer train fills quickly, so when we were told we couldn´t catch the train to get us to Taizé, which would´ve left us stranded in some wierd French train station overnight, we jumped on it anyhow. Luckily a dining cart onboard gave us a place to hide. So, we just blended in with all of the other passengers who were dining hoping a train attendant wouldn´t find us reservation-less and tag the 50 euro/person penalty. The whole task was actually like taking candy from a baby, though we don´t plan to hop any other trains in the near future.

Let me briefly introduce Taizé as printed in their welcome packet:

Coming to Taizé is an opportunity to seek communion with God through common prayer, singing, personal reflection and sharing. Everyone is here to discover or rediscover a meaning for their life and to find a new vitality. Being in Taizé is also a preparation for taking on reponsibilites at home with a view to being bearers of peace and trust. As you arrive at Taizé, you are welcomed by a community of brothers who have made a lifelong commitment to follow Christ in common life and celibacy, in simplicity of life.

Though some aspects of our time in Taizé felt like a kid´s summer camp, there is a great effort on behalf of the brothers and sisters in residence to encourage families who visit to spend much time together in prayer, studying scripture, playing, preparing meals and cleaning. I would love to return someday with my family. The entire time with the community is a true test of patience, selflessness and gratitude. Luxuries are non-existent, food is served scarcely as army rations would be and work is expected. My favorite times (other than mealtimes) were prayer times. The day begins with morning prayer, midday prayer at 12:20 and evening prayer at 8:30. The church can occupy up to 5,000 worshipers. Not sure how they can fit that many, as the 1,200 present were crammed in. Most sit on the floor or on a wooden kneeler carved and sold by one of the brothers and there are also some benches often occupied by the elderly, the pregnant or crippled. Chanting begins as numbers on a screen light up to indicate which number in the chantbook to follow.

TAIZÉChants are primarily sung in Latin, French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Chinese, as the brothers are from all over the world. Throughout the entire service prayers, scriptures and chants are individually recited by brothers in their native language. Beautiful a capella harmonies fill the dimly candlelit room with orange banners stretching from the altar to the highly vaulted cielings. A heavenly experience. The majority of those visiting Taizé while we were there were mostly families and large groups of European Catholics from age 0 to 100, but we made friends from China, Alabama, Indonesia and Guatemala, Protestant and Non. And even the founder of Taizé, Brother Roger, was Protestant. In 2005 he was stabbed by a crazy Rumanian during a prayer service. I can´t imagine being in the building when the event occurred. Once visitors arrive they are asked to make a donation according to whichever region they are from. Those visiting from the States are asked to give between 5,50 and 7,50 euro. Brandy and I didn´t follow the conventional schedule each day, we just participated as we desired as this point in our trip we were very tired and Baby now 7 months. The one day of our four at Taizé that we did help out with work we were asked to welcome the new families arriving from Spain, since we were the only willing guests who knew Spanish. It was definitely a struggle, but we were able to deliver the info the families needed. As well, practice our Spanish. Another day we spent in the prayer, reflection and meditation garden. It´s a huge grassy area on a hill with trees and trails that lead to a small lake, a waterfall and prayer chapel at the foot. Another memorable part of Taizé is the Exposition where brothers make their living by selling handmade ceramics, jewelry, prayer kneelers, paintings, drawings and other art. So, where I saved money on my accomodation, I made up for in the Expo, but the beautiful souveniers will be a great reminder of Taizé. I will also remember the Oyak, the cafe where everything, including beer and wine, are sold at a minimal price. I felt like I was at the Our Savior Fair beer tent, except no Bingo and my bottle of beer was .60 euro cents. God bless the European Christians.

Barcelona (pronounced Barthelona)

When I remember Barcelona I picture a large city, busy yet clean, with big trees scattered throughout the sidewalks. Much like Boston, Brandy says. Though I´ve never seen Boston, I imagine I'd agree with Brandy. I admire the city and I am fascinated by the culture. It was a pleasure to simply roam the streets and observe the Spanish living their lives. I would love to return to Barcelona and when I do I will check out more of Antonio Gaudi´s crazy architecture. We observed some of his works from the street and I think we concluded where the adjective "gaudy" may have stemmed from. Just check out this picture of his Casa Batllo and you may agree.

Our hostel was wonderfully located in a very central, busy and charming area of Barcelona. This mega hostel was great but because of it´s size and number of guests, everything is portioned for the guests-the shower (1 minute at every push of the button), the AC (turns off automatically in the middle of the day), the light in the toilet room (shuts off after 5 minutes), and even the stove (off in 15 minutes). The hostel does offer paid tours for the guests though. One night Brandy and I signed up for the "Tapas & Flamenco Show Night." In actuality, it turned out to be a couple pieces of toast, a 20 minute performance (which was great) followed by a night of bar hopping. The hostel advertises for some local bars and in return they each offer a free shot of something awful like peach schnaps to hostel guests who are brought there on tours. After Brandy drank all of our free shots :) we retired for the evening. A great night, though an unexpected shot of Spanish nightlife.

The next afternoon we set foot for two things: 1. T-mobile, to inquire about a new phone for me and 2. a Mexican burrito with sour cream, one of Brandy´s cravings. Spain is not like the States where a Mexican restuarant can be found on every other block. When we got to the cell phone store it was closed, so we walked to kill some time and what did we stumble upon? A Mexican restaurant! Not the true Mexican portions we are used to, but it was just what the Doctor ordered. We even got festive and decided to wear a costume.

Brandy and I were especially looking forward to our time in Barcelona so we could use our Spanish-speaking abilities. And that we did- though Catalan, similar to Spanish but extremely different, is spoken in Barcelona. So they could understand us, but we couldn´t understand them. They also speak with a terrible lisp, which we refused to take seriously.