Paris Day Five

Today has been my favorite day so far.
My visit to Giverny. What is that you ask.
Well....have you heard of this guy named Monet? Claude Monet???
That's where he lived for the second half of his life.
Wow, huh?!?
Yeah it was amazing.
There was the garden that was directly in front of the house and then there was the Lily Gardens and that was so beautiful.
After that our group when on the Seine River tour at night.
It was amazing because Paris looks so different at night.
All the lights make it all the more beautiful.
I'm tired so its time to sleep.

Paris Day Four

Hey again!!!
Today in the morning went to the Musee D'Orsay.
All the art is so beautiful.
Of course the Museum is famous for the Impressionist Art and I was blown away by all the art.
Everything is just so amazing and wow.
After that I went to the Tuilerie Gardens. That was beautiful and the Concorde where the Obelisk stands.
Again today I ate at the Latin Quarter and it was again amazingly delicious.
Rest time now.

Paris Day Three

In the morning today there was a bus tour and we went all around Paris.
The tour guide was so amazingly fun.
She's a British lady that has lived in France for more than 10 years.
Its funny when she speaks French she sounds French, but when she switches to English its funny that a British Accent comes out.
After that there was lunch and then our group when on the walking tour of Paris and it was absolutely amazing. We say the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens, absolutely beautiful and we ended up at Notre Dame. We were actually right in front of it and it was so crowded!!!!!!
Then I made my way to the Saint Chappelle. It was breathtaking. That's it. Good advice Grace.
After that I went to Arc de Triomphe. It was amazing as well.
I then ate dinner in the Latin Quarter and that was amazingly delicious.

Paris Day Two

Today I got to Paris after a 45 min. layover in Frankfurt, Germany.
I arrived and we had a little welcoming party and my tour guide, Patrick, explained what was going to ensue. EXCITING!!
What happened first was that we took a pleasant walking tour through the Latin Quarter of Paris.
That is where the of Roman Baths are built a whole lotta years ago and of course that is where the Sorbonne University is.
The walking tour also allowed me to become familiar with the metro system, the Parisan Subway.
Amazing how readily available public transportation is in Paris.
After that I ate some excellent food and it was really amazing.
It is amazing that when I look out of the window I see the Eiffel Tower. That is so cool!
I have a view of the top of the tower because the Paris Hilton ( I know, huh?) is in the way, but if I walk out then I can see almost the whole thing with a few trees in the way.
I saw a great view of the amazing and always beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris.
I ate dinner and now I'm tired so sleep time.

Paris Day One

Leave for Germany and then Paris.

I figure that this trip is a great opportunity for me to get more readily acquainted with global culture.

Going to Paris and staying there for 8 days is a pretty good way for me to have a trip of a lifetime without having to miss home for too long of a duration.

One thing that I want to do in Paris is have a time where I don't get tired and do the things that everyone does on their first trip to Paris.

Amazing how my parents and of course God gave me this opportunity to go and travel.

Imagine just a week ago I was sitting on the ground in my 2^nd summer session French while fretting if I'll get into class or not.

I guess the weirdest part of this whole thing is how all of a sudden it was.

My mom after learning of my failure to get into class suggested that I go to France, my dad concurred, and I started searching on the internet for such a trip.

With a few blips here and there I'm on the plane faster than you can read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

(I'm just kidding because reading that book could take months and it did not take me months to get on the plane and anyways if you can read that book in a week I congratulate you on your diligence and reading proficiency.)

Looking around the plane is pretty fun.

Being able to see these people for such a long time gives me a deeper glimpse into who they are.

Obviously I'm not going to be able to sojourn deep into their lives, nor are they going to let me.

But I can tell when they slip and reveal something about themselves that they did not want others to see.

A sheepish glance in a few key directions most certainly gives it away.

Of course being on the plane for just as long as my riding mates makes me susceptible to such slips as well.

One of which I happened to do as I write. (I sang pretty loud as I wrote this because I had my earphones on and obviously when I'm writing and listening to music I get a familiar feeling of home.)

First, let me describe my position on the plane.

I'm sitting in coach (how convenient) and I'm sitting in between a middle-aged German man who speaks very good English (I can't even tell if he has an accent or not. Maybe I'm just being lazy.) and a girl that I really don't know much about.

She's very mysterious because she looks like she could be 15 and at the same time looks as though she could be 25. Amazing how age is so hard to gauge.

She's really skinny. She might be 85 pounds.

Might meaning she could possibly be lighter than that. Her arms are literally skinnier than my wrists and I mean her upper arm....above the elbow.

I'm comparing because she's sleeping and hopefully she won't notice me looking at her skinny arms.

I think she might be German, but her accent is very hard to distinguish.

Maybe I'm just not good at telling different accents apart.

I'm reading the Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.

It's an interesting book because it has so many different elements that are brought together.

There is an amazing line in the Preface that only Lewis in his simple genius can deliver.

“If we insist on keeping Hell (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell. I believe, to be sure, that any man who reaches Heaven will find that what he abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) has not been lost: that the kernel of what he was really seeking even in his most depraved wishes will be there, beyond expectation, waiting for him in 'the High Countries.'

What is man really seeking in his most depraved of wishes, but to love and be loved.

Of which there will be an overabundance in Heaven.

Thinking about everything.

The thoughts are just coming in bunches now...
Amazing how I'm even awake at 4 am.
God is so good.
I'm going to Paris for nine days on Saturday.
Kristine is leaving for Michigan soon.
Praying for Doojin.
Going back to UCI in the fall.
The last couple of days were fun.
Thank you Grace for your hospitality.
It doesn't matter how much you don't talk.
Being there is all that matters.
Love is truly trumps all.
Amazing to think that I was able to see lightening in the sky at 1 in the morning.
That was three hours ago.
Going to miss a lot of people as they say their goodbyes.
Where to go from here?
How come there are some many people hurting?
I need to pray more, love more, help more, hurt more....
Please forgive....

The ability to share in pain and suffering is the most amazing way that God allowed people to be close to one another.

-Johny (:

Here we go.

I think I'm finally learning what it means to "let go and let God."
I'm not saying I am able to fully carry out what it says or even fully understand what it means.
I'm just saying that God has widened my comprehension of what it means to let go.

-Johny (:

Sights and sounds.

I am a man.
I hope to be a real man of God one day.
To be able to lead a family.

My struggles are real and I feel as though without God they are impossible for me to overcome.
Because of my propensity towards sin and my fleshly desires, how can I?
Without God I am just a chicken without a head.
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
I guess what I want is that kind of faith.
That would be so cool.
To just be able to know that God is there for me.
The hard, dry times...yes, they will come, but knowing that God is there is just so comforting.

I want to make a vow like Job.
That man was so faithful.
The ability to endure what he did and still be able to wholeheartedly praise God is just a testament to his relationship with God.
"as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit."

Amazing Love.
Amazing Grace.

-Johny (: