Sunday Train

Today, Brooke and I went to church. It was so weird to me that my church is in another town one hour away, plus it is about 15 minutes away from Brooke's house in a car (we will usually take the bus). I have grown up with a church three minutes away from my house. And Mesa has LDS churches everywhere. I was surprised to see the building looked pretty much like church buildings back home, except the building in Rennes is tiny. Church starts at 9:00 AM even though there are quite a few people that have to travel from other cities, like me. Not sure who decided nine o'clock was the best time. Anyway, church was different. For starters, the songs were in French, not English, and we had no idea what people were saying. Luckily, there are people that know English, so they translated for Brooke and I. The couple missionaries in my ward are from Mesa, AZ! People at church are very friendly, and I am excited to feel like I have friends now! I'm happy that I have something here in France that is familiar, and, apart from the language difference, similar to home.

After church and a little nap, Brooke, her host family, and I went to a manmade canal system. I forget what they are called, but I think it is similar to how the Panama canal works. Besides the dirt paths, everything was so green! But do I really have to keep saying that France is green? I think you all get the idea by now, but growing up in a desert, green places amaze me. There were some really cute houses at the gates. Their are people that are paid to live there and push a button for the gates to let boats come through. Sign me up!

Sadly, we had to leave because I had to catch the train at 6:30 PM to head back to St Malo. The train pick up/drop off is seriously right around the corner from Brooke's house. Apparently we had to tell the conducted that we got on at the Pontchalliou stop instead of the main train station. I don't know why it matters, but they can fine you for it! Lucky for me (it seems like I have a lot of luck in France), a lady knew English and was boarding with me so she informed the conductor about both of us. The train was pretty full, so Corinne and I sat by each other. She also lives in St Malo, and is a teacher. She loves traveling and has been through most of the US. Her English was good because she lived in New York for a year. At our stop in St Malo, she gave me her contact information incase I wanted anything from her. Or needed help with something.

I forgot to check my email before I left to see if Karine knew I was coming back. Because the busses don't run on Sundays, I needed Karine to pick me up. So there I was at the train station, no phone, no internet, no way to make sure I was getting home without walking. Corinne noticed I still looked very lost and offered a ride, but I didn't feel comfortable going with someone I met on a train, even if she helped me so much and gave me advice on the train. Ten minutes after getting off the train, Karine pulled up. Rennes was amazing and fun, but it was nice to be home. Well, home in France.