First Half of November

So, as usual, it's been too long since our last blog. Unfortunately, not having internet at our apartment poses a problem for frequent blog updates. Lauren and I decided not to get internet for two reasons: it's too expensive and, without it, family time is much improved. So, we made a commitment to keep our home-space free of internet distraction, which has been rewarding and challenging at the same time.
So, as the previous blogs mentioned, we had a great trip to Toronto, with lots of interesting discussions with interesting people. We were glad to get back to home-sweet-home Montreal and keep practicing our French. That has been one major change this year with our school being so Francophone (French-speaking). Lauren and I have been thrown headlong into a mostly French-speaking environment day-in and day-out. Last year, most of the students were English-speaking. This year it's the opposite. It's a great challenge and we love learning more and more each day, but it's not all sunshine and happiness. It's hard!
The first two weeks of November were non-teaching weeks, which means the students had more time to explore further possibilities for volunteering and an internship. For Lauren, lil Denny, and me, it meant some more home-improvement and preparation for my big concert, which took place last Friday. The concert went really well; I had a good turn-out of friends there to support me and played 2 sets, about 17 songs in all. I'll put a few of them up on the video bar to the right. Hope you enjoy.
As far as home-improvement, we're getting ready to host (starting today) our school's teacher for the week, whose name is Jeff Pratt and comes from New Haven, Connecticut. Jeff is simply an amazing person to get to know. We had him for a week of teaching last year, and got to know him a bit through that. But this year, he's staying at our apartment! We're looking forward to some more in-depth conversations with the Pratt-Master, as Lauren and I like to call him. Here's a link to the community that he runs in New Haven (www.ywamaxiom.com). Lots of great opportunities there for young folks looking for a chance to deepen their faith in a new place.
We're really looking forward to a great week! We'll be updating again sooner than last time, so keep checking!
Peace.