...with liberty and chicken nuggets for all.

I'm not sure which is worse: that they exist or that I am eating them.

Chock-full of GBU goodness

When I first arrived in Strasbourg, I had over two weeks to kill before classes began. The prospect of spending this time alone in my room was quite depressing, so I was delighted when Emilie suggested that I participate in the back-to-school events of the GBU (Groupe Biblique Universitaire). During those two weeks, I waited impatiently for 8:00 pm each evening in order to have human interaction and some time to reflect on God's Word. There were meals, debates and a "Soirée Intérnationale" where I taught a group of 60 the Electric Slide! After attending nearly all of the events, I was looking forward to getting to know these GBUians in the semester ahead.

The GBU is an international organization of college students who get together and study the Bible. In Strasbourg, each school in the university system has a group that meets weekly and all of the groups meet together monthly. Every Wednesday, about 20 of us from the Université Marc Bloch gather to discuss a text from the Bible. Afterwards, we chat, nibble cookies until security locks building at 9:30, and then linger outside for another hour (or two...).

GBU also organizes retreats throughout the year. Last weekend, I hopped in a car headed for Besançon to meet up with GBUians from Nancy, Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Colmar and Besançon. It was a great to get away, spend time in Scripture, learn more about the ministry of GBU, admire the beautiful Franche-Comté, play ridiculous games and get to know some lovely people.





On both ends of the weekend were memorable roadtips with Rachel, Estelle and Joël! The ride to Besançon included a sing-a-long to classic 80's French music and Le Roi Lion (The Lion King in French) courtesy of Rachel's family's cassette tape collection. The return trip featured a nap (yay!) and some hot aviator sunglasses found in the glove compartement. We capped off the weekend with Domino's pizza and Ben & Jerry's ice cream for Estelle's birthday (and because no one had any food at home).

Luxembourg? How lovely!

This past weekend, the weather forecast was calling for rain, but I didn't want to waste a weekend in my room. I was itching to catch a train out of Strasbourg and see something new. En route to my last class of the week (Friday, 4-6pm!), I thought through some possible Saturday day trips: Basel? Paris? Metz? Nancy? Frankfurt? Luxembourg City? YES! The capital city of this tiny country (less than 500,000!) has intrigued me for some time and this would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. Unfortunately, none of my international friends were free for the weekend to "play tourist", but I still enjoyed exploring Luxembourg City all on my own. With the absolutely perfect weather and gorgeous display of fall colors, I spent the day and a half wandering around the streets and cobblestone paths of the city.






Since Luxembourg is such a tiny country, it is heavily influenced by the surrounding countries and all of the tourists passing through. I noticed restaurant and shop signs in English, German, French, Italian and Japanese. Many waiters changed easily from French to English to German to Dutch. Upon entering a busy square, I nearly died when I saw a ChiChi's Mexican Restaurant right next to a Pizza Hut! (Thank you America...)




After a noisy night in a cheap but charming hotel, I devoured a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast (not to be found in France!) and tried to avoid the chain smokers in a café. A self-guided walking tour showed me around the city sights and I spent most of the afternoon rambling through a historic neighborhood nestled between the city's orginal walls.





But I think the trees were my favorite. I'm just crazy about autumn!



And then Lassie just happened to run by...


And before heading out of town, I spotted a prime example of mullet preservation in full force. I actually followed this guy into the cathedral just to get a good look. (Oh and the cathedral pretty cool too...)

Strasbourg at First Glance

A Day in the Vosges

One great advantage of having international classmates is that you always have people with whom you can "play tourist." This was precisely what a few of us had in mind for one sunny, September afternoon. With a Thomas (German) as chauffeur, Graeme (Australian) as navigator and Nadja (Danish) as backseat conversation buddy, I was off to visit the Vosges mountains!

Strasbourg is situated in the flat land between the Vosges mountains (to the west) and the Rhine river/Black Forest (to the east). Drive 20 minutes outside of Strasbourg and you will stumble upon quaint villages, endless vineyards and fields of cabbage (destined to be sauerkraut) tucked into the rolling, green hills of the Vosges.

In the car of Thomas' host mom, we explored Mont Sainte-Odile, a former Catholic pilgrimage site with quite a view...



...Haut-Koenigsburg, a mountaintop castle...




...the tiny village of St. Hippolyte and its annual wine festival with traditional Alsatian costumes and dancing...





...and the picturesque Ribeauvillé where we savored "Choucroute Garnie" (translation: a pile of sauerkraut with heaps of meat). I finished the day with a marvelous crème brulée. Mmm...


The day could not have been more beautiful!