3 day weekend, Evening Hymns and IKEA

I think I am going to enjoy having a 3 day weekend for a whole semester. After classes finished on Thursday, I worked up the courage to go to volleyball only to find out they start next week. I was not pleased. Anyways, I will be going next week sometime (and I will also have my court shoes and kneepads! Thanks mom!).

That night we had a meeting with Gildas, our ISEP coordinator. We talked about our classes for a bit, but we spent the majority of the hour talking about the French school system and government. Apparently Rennes 2 is one of the most politically active schools in France. It's super amazing to see so many students passionate about their rights, but it means there is a good chance there will be a lot of days where the school goes on strike. Right now, there is an issue regarding pensions and the students have decided it affects them too so the school might be closed on Thursday. Also, the past 2 years in France have been really bad for strikes. When I was talking to a girl at the concert I went to Saturday night (I will get to this later), she said Rennes 2 went on strike and she didn't have classes for 3 months. The education is so different here, and in a lot of ways it's so much better than our system back home. Everyone has a right to education, and no one can be denied entry to university. It's ridiculous how much we pay back home for university (my American friends pay even more). I'm just hoping the striking doesn't get too crazy this year. As sweet as it would be to be off school all the time, I'm still here to learn.

On Friday we got and we went shopping! We've discovered the cheaper stores and I bought myself some trousers all the French girls wear around here, and some sweet kicks at H&M. H&M here is so much better and so much more chic (like everything else). That night we went to le Mairie (the mayor's building) because they were having a reception for all international students. This building was so grand and majestic. Kamloops City Hall is a joke. This was like a palace just for the mayor. We stood in a really crowded room and enjoyed some lovely French desserts and weird green punch.

Later that night, I went to this bar called La Bascule to listen to some indie-folk music. Everyone else was going bowling, and it was tempting to go. But I needed a night to myself and I needed to chill out and listen to some good, warm music. When I got there, there were so many middle-aged people, but I chatted up the girl who organized the event. This bar was so strange and awesome. The first act was so bizarre; I really didn't know what to think. But then Evening Hymns came out. It was exactly what I needed. You should all really check them out. I told them to come to Kamloops because they are so wonderful. (Watch the video they filmed in France called Dead Deer. Their voices together are so beautiful and haunting). Afterwards, I talked with them (Jonas and Sylvie). They were so friendly and interesting, like any Canadian indie artist. There was one more act, and he was so lovely, but I was tired. It was close to midnight and I still had a walk and a metro ride ahead of me. I was so glad I took the risk to go by myself and have to chat with people I don't know. I couldn't have asked for more.

This morning I got up around 10am and Wei and I went to IKEA! So exciting. We took a bus 10 minutes outside of Rennes. I couldn't believe how little this place we went to felt like France. It looked and felt like any suburb off a big city with McDicks, IKEA and giant mall and other warehouse stores. I successfully purchased a clothing dryer thing (I still had yet to assemble it) and a meal in the IKEA caf. It was so nice to have a warm meal that wasn't pasta or instant packages of rice. Then after being baffled by the buses, we got on the right one without waiting too long and made it home safe and sound.

Tomorrow there is this giant braderie (flea market). I had some friends that went today and they said it was crazy. It was so huge and there was so much stuff. I'm really excited. And then I have a long time to do go over all my notes and make sure I am picking all the right classes. Life is getting more normal here everyday. I can't believe I've already been here close to 3 weeks. Pretty soon and I will have already been here for 1/8 of my time in Rennes. That is so nuts.

At the end of October, we have a week of vacation, so I am thinking about going to Taizé. I am so close so I need to take this opportunity to go there. I am going to buy my train ticket this week so I can start mentally and spiritually preparing myself for the week in the community.

Thank you for all your messages and comments and prayers and thoughts. I miss you all beaucoup. The homesickness peels off more and more everyday as I get into the rhythm of things here. I know I can do this, and I feel confident in myself here because I know I have a whole group of people back home supporting me and praying for me and wishing me the best.

Grosses bises,
Skye