Well today is our first Sunday in Annecy. We decided to meet up and venture out to find the church building here...we knew it was somewhere...just not exactly where. Because Janessa doesn't want to spend a second more then is necessary with her family she spent the night at my place. We woke up early and went to meet up with everyone. We met at the gare at 10:30 and then went for our search. We found it only about 1.5 blocks away. We went inside and were greeted by the nicest people! They showed us the way into the chapel and even snuck us into Sunday School. (I felt bad for the sister teaching...we more then doubled the size of people in attendance and couldn't contribute to the lesson AT ALL.) After Sunday School the rest of the congregation came in to join us...around 5 more people. Since it was a Fast Sunday we sat there trying to figure out what everyone was saying. It was actually really helpful because a lot of people say very similar things in their testimonies, so it helped me to get the lingo. I decided to be brave and bear my testimony in French...I had it all planned out, how to say it and what I was gonna say. (I made sure to plan out something very, very short.) But when I got to the front of the room all that came out was English...hopefully this is a time when "It was the thought that counts" is applicable. We met the missionary couple that was there from the USA and got to talk to them a bit. Elder and Sister Doyle were so nice! They suggested a bunch of things for us to do while in Annecy...and when they heard that I was from California Elder Doyle exclaimed "Hubba! Hubba!" (I still don't really know what that meant....)
After church we decided that it was time to get some food...so we grabbed some pizzas to share and headed over to the park next to the lake and relaxed while munching away. It was fun to just sit and talk and watch people in the park. There were tons of people there! We never use our public parks like that....but I guess after seeing how small my apartment is it would make sense that they would want to use the public space. Amongst the people playing soccer, walking their dogs, eating, there was also a couple guys sitting and playing their didgeridoo...didnt expect that one!
After lunch we just went exploring around Annecy and sat on "our dock" (aka the best place in Annecy). When we originally got there a group of people had snagged our spot, so we decided to sit on the grass and wait them out by getting some homework done. This ws intereupted by the Chinese tourists who decided that we made a good backdrop for their photo. After they realized that they had gotten our attention, they took turns sitting in the middle of our semi-circle and took pictures with each of their cameras...guess we look like locals? Doubt it.
At about 7 pm, after reclaiming our dock and after we had finally stopped laughing, I went into town to meet a friend of a friend who now lives in Annecy/Geneva. She was so nice! We sat and talked about what we love about France and got to know each other. Dinner started to come to a close and what had once been a sunny day had turned into a rainy evening. As we sat waiting for "l'addition" (the check) a homeless lady came and asked us for our money. When we declined, she spit on my pant leg and walked away...safe to say I washed those pants really well. But after dinner Cynthia offered to take me home, but since I didnt know the way by car I settled for a ride to the bus station so that I could just hop onto the night bus. This would have been a great plan if the night buses had been working...but alas, they were not. I realized this too late and ended up walking home in the rain. It really wasnt that bad though. It was kind of a warm rain and the 45 minute walk went by quickly. But by the time I got home I was just happy to crawl into bed and get some shut eye!
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