It's my third Sunday in Paris and it's been 3 weeks since I've been to church so, not feeling particularly hopeful, last night I Googled "evangelical English-speaking churches in Paris" just to see if there was likely to be anything nearby (or even a Metro ride away). What I discovered is that Hillsong church has an offshoot here in Paris, and it's not all that far away. So that was a serendipitous discovery for me and sealed my Sunday morning plans :-)
The church gathers in a theatre in Montparnasse at 10am and 12.30pm and their services are conducted in both French and English - this could be interesting!
It takes almost an hour to walk there but it's very close to the area I was exploring yesterday, so fairly easy to find. The foyer is full of friendly young people many of whom speak English, and indeed once the service starts it's clear that it really is a bilingual service. The songs are sung either in French or English and there are both lyrics on the screen. It's easy to follow the French lyrics and sing along, even though I don't always know what I'm singing (good thing God knows)!!!
The pastor is Australian and the message is interpreted by a young woman who copes admirably with switching between the two languages. The extra time needed for translating makes the service longer than usual but the overall experience is very enjoyable and it's great to be worshipping with God's church here in Paris. I meet two young women from California who are spending the semester studying in Paris, and a couple from South Africa who now live in London and attend Hillsong London. They're just in Paris for the weekend and came over on the Eurostar (as you can.........)!
After church I wander back via the Panthéon, which is a very impressive structure in the Latin Quarter - I think my lovely husband will appreciate its grandeur.
The weather has turned bleak and cold again so I'm glad my afternoon plan involves the indoors - I'm going to the movies! For the last couple of weeks I've been seeing a poster for a movie called "a la Merveille" (To the Wonder) starring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams and I've wondered whether, given the line-up, it might be in English.
When I chatted to my apartment host yesterday I asked her about movies and whether any cinemas screened English language movies. Her response was that many films are in their original format and just have French subtitles - the perfect way for me to see a movie in Paris - to hear the dialogue in English and to read the subtitles in French. So I Google "English movie screenings" and discover that my little local cinema is screening that very film in the original version this afternoon.
So after a warming lunch I walk the 2 minutes to the cinema, where the helpful young man in the ticket office happily switches to English when I say that I don't speak French. I buy my ticket (at 9€ it's definitely cheaper than back home) and head into the lovely old and cosily warm cinema. A little disappointingly my expectations are not fully met, as it turns out that the movie is not totally in English but also has some French and Spanish dialogue in the original version. So whenever there is English dialogue there are French subtitles, but when the dialogue is in French there are, naturally, no subtitles - this is France, after all - and when the dialogue is in Spanish the subtitles are of course in French! So I think I manage to understand perhaps 70% of the movie but it's a little frustrating not being able to grasp the whole story. Now I want to see it in English to fill in the gaps - hopefully there will be English subtitles for the French and Spanish bits ;-) (but I can probably wait for it to come out on DVD!)
My interaction with the young man in the ticket office has made me rethink how quickly I say that I can't speak the language. I'm finding that it's reducing my opportunities to put into practice what language I am learning if people are too willing to speak English. I think from now on I'll have to find some other way to begin interactions so I get a chance to use what I've learned - or at least have a go!
My homework only took me 10 minutes last night so let's hope I was on the right track! I'm looking forward to week 2 of my language course, and since it's a school night I'm off to bed early :-)
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