Open windows...

First pictures is all of the girls in the program on the hike down the Bastille
Second: View of Grenoble from on top of the Bastille
third: Back entrance to the dorm I live in

Salut mes amis!

Well I have spent a three full days in Grenoble and have gotten to see and experience quite a lot. The first night here another girl and I went to a pizzeria on what is called “pizza row” (it has about 30 pizzarias in one small area! Many Italians moved here to France after WWII) to eat dinner and made friends with the owner who was from Italy. She helped us with French and we helped here with English. I have been fortunate to meet many people like that. They want to talk to us to work on their English, and we are eager to talk to them for them to help us with French. We seem to always make friends most places that we go. I have also met people from Tunisia, Germany, and of course France. Getting to communicate with these people has probably been my favorite part thus far.
The first day here the program director, Patrick, showed us all around Grenoble and where we would be going to school. It was quite the day filled with seeing new things and having new experiences. Yesterday we rode the beulle (it’s like a Gondola) up to the Bastille, built in the 1400s, where we got to have a birds eye view of the city. After climbing up the rest of the mountain we were able to see clearly the Roman Road that came right down the middle of the city when it was inhabited by the Romans. By observing the different architecture, we were also able to see where the borders of the Roman city would have been.
Besides satisfying the history major side of me, the view from atop the Bastille was also beautiful! Grenoble is surrounded by three mountain ranges, and we had a breathtaking view of all three: the Vercors, the Belledone, and Chartruse.
Today we visited two of the Museums here in Grenoble. The highlights were getting to see a 3rd century baptismal and being able to read part of an inscription on an old Roman tomb stone. I also was able to spend a lot of quality time with the girls in the program today. Thank you for all of your prayers, the Lord has provided another believer in the program. I am really thankful that the small size of our group (four girls total) as it enables us to get to know each other well. We are already rather close and have had many laughs together! I look forward to seeing what the Lord does in and through these relationships.
Overall, I am really enjoying my time here. As I was walking down from the third floor of my dorm this morning (it used to be a convent before the revolution), all of the windows in the place were open and the stairwell was filled with the gongs from St. Andrae signaling it was 9, the bustling of the French market, and the cool breeze of mountain air. It was an underserved gift to simply enjoy the beautiful environment from the steadfast place I was in. I feel like my time here in these three days has been that of open windows. I have been simply able to enjoy the breeze, the smells, and the sounds of a different culture from the steadfast place of being a disciple of Christ. I am thankful and loving it!