Oh Where Does The Time Go?: The Triquel?

Güerzi! It's already Thursday, and I am still to write about Sunday. I feel like I should have named this in "parts," like The Godfather, because, seriously, triquel cannot be a word. Hmm. Let me get to work. So I can finish these and get to come up with some good puns for next post...

So Sunday, at church, we talked about The Word as a love letter from God. I have heard this analogy many times, and at first, I was disappointed to hear I would be listening to it again; it can sound so cheesy, rather than something deep and meaningful. But I am telling you, hearing about God in another country can put a whole-new, fresh spin on things. The speaker was explaining how he read doodle-covered love letters from his girlfriend (now wife) in college: feeling weak inside as he opens it, in anticipation, reading it over and over and over again, analyzing every word, smelling it even! And this is how we should approach the Word of God, with a Love Hunger. I love that phrase. He also explained that we should not approach the Bible in hesitation, scared of finding more errors in need of correction in our life. We need to approach it as a bottle of water. You do not question that it is safe; it is bottled water, and you just swig away, not doubting, but firmly believing it will hydrate and provide for you. He also told us that it is difficult to have an entire Bible in China, that you can only get your hands on a part; they are just not widely available, and you can be jailed. So the Chinese read their Bibles over and over, trying to commit it to their mental iPod, and have it available to them. And as he said, "You wouldn't want one song being played over and over. You need a good playlist that you can recall in everyday life." WOW. Another interesting analogy... that if you do have only a short playlist, you could develop "spiritual cavities" from spot reading the Bible; he explained how one must read the whole Bible to have a balanced and nourishing spiritual diet; we need to read the vengaence Psalms and the family trees to accentuate the life of Jesus and see even more love and depth to God's promises. Wow. Wow. Wow.

After church, I came home to make some S cookies for the Bible study dinner I had at my friend Lana's house on Monday. I cannot tell you how crazy it was to try to find baking ingredients in German. I had a very difficult time trying to explain vegetable shortening (Crisco) to the stockboy. I think I came home with some sort of animal fat or something. And there is absolutely no baking powder! So, I resorted to a box bread/cake mix (ironically, the same kind that Katie and I couldn't determine whether we liked or not). I am becoming a better cook here, but the directions were in German, too, and I was still trying to replace ingredients for things...so needless to say, it was an interesting, laugh-filled experience had by me and my roommates. I accidentally broke an egg all over the counter, too. It looked great in the oven, and great when I got it out of the pan.. but the next day, right before I needed to leave for my dinner, I saw the middle had not been cooked! How sad! All that effort, and I ended up going like the Little Drummer Boy ("I have no gift to bring, pa-rum-pa-pum-pum").

Bible study was fantastic. I met a new friend, named James from Malaysia, here for school. It was awesome to hear his stories of the struggles of Christianity in Malaysia. They cannot have a cross on their church; churches must be built to look like factories, to blend in and not call attention. He did not mind this... he was just happy to be able to worship anywhere. What a different life. We all had so much to learn from him. I cannot tell you what a wonderful thing this community is. I have never been in a co-ed small group, let alone with such a wide range of ages. It is invigorating, having the wisdom of age and the vitality of youth bundled into one discussion.

During lunch on Tuesday, I finally went inside the Münster. It is so nearby, that it is one of those things that you say, oh, well I'll just do that later. Later was Tuesday. It was beautiful, as cathedrals tend to be. My favorite part, though, is for sure the courtyard out behind. I have lunch there sometimes, overlooking the river. I went to the Jean Tinguely museum after work, which is in a breathtaking building, on the water, designed by Mario Botta.

Despite what you may think, "Jean Tinguely" is not pronounced "tingly," but "dongoley." I said Tingly for, I don't know, three weeks, and Mirjam then taught me the correct pronunciation. This guy is absolutely bonkers... and I love it! He is a kinetic sculptor, meaning most of his pieces have sound, motion, motors and are interactive. I am greatly reminded of the City Museum in St. Louis, just slightly more refined. There were all of these bright red buttons on the floor, 4-5 inches in diameter, just begging to be pushed. The viewer could control the sculpture!

The shadows that the sculptures cast were just as interesting as the movement. Think caribou heads, marionettes, wheels and pulleys, and lightbulbs all soldered together to make a statement all their own.

Afterwards, I walked around Kleinbasel and the river, watching the rowing teams, and I stumbled across a Vineyard Basel! I couldn't believe it! My church is going on summer break these next two weeks, and I was looking for a church for this time! Unfortunately, the service is only in Swiss-German, but the woman who emailed me encouraged me to come, especially for the English worship songs. So weird how things just happen into your life like that. Got some pizza (good good margharita pizza) and headed to my "special spot." It is this mistake of a place. You are walking by the river in Grossbasel, right next to the bridge by the Münster, and there is a small table and bench, overlooking the water and the bridge, just a fabulous view in a secluded place just for me. The pizza and the view were delicious. Also saw In Bruges, a British comedy, with Katie at the theater (discount Tuesdays!). You won't believe this... we were actually assigned seats! We were the only two people in the theater for awhile, and then one man came in, and had the seat right next to us. Within the whole theater, we were just this little cluster! Other people came in, and sat in other places, so it wasn't absurd for more than 5 minutes. But I must say, I prefer to choose, haha. The movie was fantastic, a real thriller and comedy blend. Go see it now.

As for Wednesday, I went to this amazing flea market in Barfüsserplatz, only a few minutes walk from my work. I cannot tell you how sweet it is to be at a flea market in an old country. Seriously, there was some OLD stuff. I was mainly looking for, I don't know, some super-rare, signed Basler design piece from the 50s, but came up emptyhanded. But there were brass elephant doorhandles, ancient lock and keys, jewelry (I looked, and succeeded in just looking! What a feat!), and vintage purses (I caved.) After work, I met up with my friend, Jenny, from the corporate party in the middle of nowhere. It was so great to see her again, and to hear all of her stories. She has done a LOT of traveling, including all over the U.S. and to Egypt. I still cannot tell you how awesome it is to make friends here in this city. This is exactly what I wanted from co-op this quarter, to build new relationships and friendships. We had some "piadinas," which are kind of like pita wraps, but folded differently, and then, we went to Starbucks. That was the first time I had had it since I went to Toledo with Mom in mid-June. I had a Pomegranate Peach blended drink—there were so many drinks that I didn't know, I had been away that long! I paid an arm and a leg, and I drank it in probably 15 minutes, but it was satisfying and oh-so-American. We spent some time down by the river, watching the sun set and exchanging stories, and learning some German. I can remember most of it (I quizzed myself at lunch today).

Today, I went to the market, and then came home. It is the first time in a long time that I have been home at 6:30pm. I cooked a wonderful meal for myself, went for a run, and had a relaxing evening with the roommates. We rearranged our (everything here is Daniel's)/his furniture, making it feel very homey. It was wonderful bonding time. :)

I hope things are going well in your life. I am beaming here. I could not stop smiling today as I was walking home. This is going to sound weird, but I caught a glimpse of my reflection today in a store window, happily cradling the alliums (the big purple ball flowers) I bought, with some old buildings in the background, and I couldn't help but laugh at how amazing it is that I get the opportunity to live and breathe Europe for three months. That I am in love with my job here, my roommates, my experiences, even me. 

Man, I am thankful.