Paris, 8/23
"...So here, i guess, is where i write the perfect poem- explaining with eloquent words both what i've seen and what it means. now is the time to tell of these wonders and share some piercing insight into the truer, deeper workings of the universe. But alas, i have no great prose. I am on a stage but all those onlooking eyes see is just a
simple boy who has forgotten his lines. the only song i know to sing is great is Thy faithfulness, how great Thou art. Maybe its just one more step on the Quest to make nathan smaller, and God bigger..."

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Did:
Made my long awaited stop at an Italian fashion store to purchase a long awaited Italian tie. Before I left, Kaye and Bryan gave me a very thoughtful gift that had to be used to buy something for myself and couldnt be a necessity like food or travel expense. This had the effect of forcing me outside of my miserly world and spend lavishly on something i dont normally spend on. While i got my tie (yes, i have wanted an italian tie for many years) i also learned yet another lesson about stewardship, both saving and spending the money God has given.

Learned:
Rome was my first and only stop of any length by myself. 6 months ago i failed to win a large foreign studies scholarship that i was sure i desreved and would have allowed me to make my own itinerary for the semester in Europe. from my vantage point now, I think God in His infinite wisdom called that one right. Rome was fun by myself, being able to linger where i wanted and skip what i wanted. But i doubt very much whether i could have done it for 3 months. Many things like drawing and travelling and reflecting work well alone. But some things, like touring, were never meant to work alone.

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Did:
Went swimming in sea, at night, in the middle of a rainstorm, next to rocky cliffs. probably not one of my smartest decisions.

Learned:
This stop was my last visit with any classmates and from here I go to Rome solo. I came to the humbling realization that back in August, one young college kid from Idaho set out to witness to his peers. Standing here now, I see that it was 8 atheist, liberal peers who unwittingly ended up witnessing to me.

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Did:
All of us except the professor stayed in the same apartment. It was very crowded, very loud, and very dirty, but we survived. it did make me most grateful though for the roomates i have been blessed with throughout my college career.

Learned:
In Barcelona, we spent two full days exploring the work of early 20th century Art Nouveau architect Antoni Gaudi. It was revealing to see how strongly his work has become the defining symbol of Barcelona. This brought to mind how powerful architecture was and is in shaping society (especially here in Europe). Seville's icon was bullfighting, Bordeaux's was wine. But Paris immediately conjurs up images of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Charles Renne Makintosh is the icon of Glasgow's urban style, Carcassone in France only exists because the walled fort first existed. And Rome is the Rome we know because of the Colesseum and later St. Peter's Basilica.

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Learned:
The main attraction of Marrakech is its old Medina or market. As we have travelled through so many moroccan cities and towns, its uncanny how its so often the markets, places for the exchange of stuff, that are always the center and the place of most activity. This seems odd considering its relative poverty and strict religion when its put in comparison with europe, where the church or cathedral was always the center of town.

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did:
rode camels into the desert where we spent the night in a traditional berber tent set right on the dunes. (the berbers were the indigenous, nomadic moroccans before the arabs came.)

learned:
after my little attempts at observation and talking with locals, my initial analysis of moroccan islam is: "degrees of
adherance". there are more rules and codes of conduct to this religion than i think anyone knows, but it seems its all a matter of how much you want to obey. so much of it, it seems, is strict adherance by the devout, and a sort of looking the other way when the less devout dont follow a certain stipulation. i think this interestingly parallels
Chrisitanity. There are levels of commitment. the diehards do their thing but they´re not allowed command over the nominal believers. adhering to only what you want softens the edges of religion, and it makes it into what you want. follow the pieces you like, leave out what you dont like under the guise of trying to not be an extreme fundamentalist.

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Did:
Wandered through the locals´ non-tourist market. Top selling items were shoes (not usually available in pairs), live chickens, plastic tubs, not so fresh fruit, and any (and every) part of a sheep or goat you could want.

Learned:
As we continue to absorb not only Moroccan architecture, moroccan lifestyle, culture, and history, i am increasingly aware of my natural and immediate tendancy to compare and contrast with the US. "What is the same" and "What is different" is always my primary mode of analysis. I wonder if there isnt a more accurate, more beneficial, or
at least different way to see all this. The Christian lens should never be removed. But the judgemental lens (which so readily flows from comparative analysis) can and maybe should be. Who am i, after all, to judge? Did i choose to be born in the US? can i realy see all the angles?

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Did:
Countinued this surreal journey deeper into southern Morocco. Our professor doesnt know where we are goin, our driver doesnt speak english, and we students dont know anything but to get into the van when told to. it is quite an adventure.

Learned:
As we travel through this unknown country, i have watched how God continually makes provision for us, and in connection with that I have become somewhat enamored with the book of Esther. As a piece of literature, it is beautiful in its foreshadowing, between-the-lines message, and recurring themes (gallows, feasting, kings rewars, etc.) But i think it is even more remarkable precisely BECAUSE God is not mentioned, yet He is so active. As i drive through a muslim country in a van full of atheisitc students, who would have guessed that God would suddenly be so eminently present: providing and protecting us. the odds say we should be stranded in a flood, and odds say the Jews in Esther´s Persia should have been slaughtered. But we aren´t playing the odds here, and neither did the character of Mordecai. nestled in Eshter 4:14 is what i think the core of the book: a settled conviction that God
will bring deliverance. period. Mordecai´s words to Esther are also words to me. God is busy delivering. will i use my position to be a part of such deliverance?

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Did:
On our way to ride camels, we spent three hours backed up in a town on the edge of the Sahara, waiting for a flash-flooded road to re-submerge. I know it sounds like i made that up, but is true.

Learned:
While waiting for the flood to die down, we had a chance to wander this tiny village of Aousous. Here we left the tourist-circuit and could really see what true architecture and culture in 21st century morocco looks like. it was an eye-opening mix of black and white differences, and things exactly the same as everyday life in the US.

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Did:
Our tuition includes two upper-scale group meals paid for by the
school. Our first was in Switzerland, our second here in Fes. And the
dirham is much more friendly than the franc. Our menu consisted of 9
plates of salad each served to be eaten with bread, lamb on the bone
with steamed potato, olives, celery, and two citrus plants i didnt
recognize, tangerines, grapes, apples, and bananas as after dinner
refreshment, and cocunut cookies and a sweet, heavily minted tea for
desert. and of course a coca-cola. it was all accompanied by live
dancers, muscicians, and magicians.

Learned:
Here as much as ever it was so difficult to put what i saw
into writing, to give some form to these whisps of memory. How then, i
wonder, can i ever move beyond merely describing all this, and begin to
look at it through the lens of an architect, a theologian, or even
simply a kid desperatly trying to live rightly before his God?

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Did:
Went out for authentic Spanish Tapas. Apparently there is a
tradition peculiar to Granada to serve free tapas every time you order
a beverage.

Learned:
In addition to architecture study, I made it my goal to read
through John Milton´s Paradise Lost. I just finished it on the train in
and it was very beneficial for me to see how much depth there really is
in poetry, and how poems can use the same words we use every day, but
say so much more and with such brevity than we almost ever do.

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Saw:
an Andalusian sunrise while sitting on the ramparts of the ancient
town wall, and an Andalusian sun set from atop a 300 ft cliff. (Ronda
is an ancient moorish settlement perched on a plateau with cliffs on
almost all sides.)

Did:
Hiked down said 300ft cliff on an unmarked trail that wove its way through the ruins on an old hydro-electric plant.

Learned:
Over the past two weeks I have been reading through the life of Moses and his role of mediating between God and Israel. It has repeatedly if indirectly brought to mind wise words of Than Baylor and echoed by C.S. Lewis, how we can fixate on a single attribute, to the exclusion of others, and do so to our peril. The holiness of God untempered by mercy is desperatly fearful. The tenderness of God without truth and consequences leaves nothing more than a teddy-bear god. My addition to this is a realization of how the Person of Jesus Christ is the ultimate and perfect display of a 3-dimensional God. It is in fixating on this King who was dead but is no longer that sinful eyes can most accurately see God. (in case your wondering, yes, i am also learning a bit about architecture. but some things you learn in life make other things so much less importaant...)

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Did:
After getting turned away by rain from a bull fight 20 minutes before it was supposed to start, my friend and i instead took a day trip to Cadiz, an ancient port city on a peninsula with cliffs on all three sides. It houses a 2000 year old roman theatre right off the beach and was the departure point for Amerigo Vespucci.

Learned:
a tough go of it this time. one of the most difficult parts of this semester has been knowing how best to relate to and witness to the 9 classmates/peers/friends i am traveling with. I didnt do a very good job in this city and it taught me two lessons. 1) these 9 people are the only people i have to talk to in a foreign country, and witnessing to them is the most important reason why i am here. Thus, failing on that front proved remarkably discouraging. 2) God doesn´t wrap his arms around me, pat me on the back and say "there, there, its okay". rather, the lesson is that of Jeremiah, that he says Repent of your sin, get up, and fight again.

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Did:
Got to travel First Class on a bullet train, complete with first class lounge and enough freebies to satisfy even a Shaw.

Learned:
We visited the Prado (world-renowned collection of classical painting) and the Reina Sofia (world-renowned collection of modern painting, including Picaso´s "Guernica") in the same day. I came away with the surprising realization that i enjoy and respect modern art more than i ever have. I have to be careful here to not say it is all good art, or that it is as noteworthy in terms of craft and skill, but the diversity in it and the way it engages the viewer (at least me) i found most refreshing after seeing my 1000th "Madonna and Child". If nothing else, it reminded me that for thousands of years, art was, and still is, a very powerful, and very valid form of communication.

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Did:
Toured a massive tent market with medieval actors right out in front of our hostel, and managed to sleep in a bug infested matress. I left Bilbao with 58 bites.

Learned:
This stop marked the half-way point for the european excursion. one of the things i have been internally struggling with and considering is how truth and emotion manifest themselves in real life. I have decided that truth is a bulldozer and emotion is a wrecking-ball. Truth knocks things down, is unstoppable, and is very slow and steady. Emotion likewise knocks things down, but is erratic, and once there it is gone just as quick.

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Did:
Walked 3 miles in the rain to see Sir Walter Scott´s mansion, drank tea in his sitting room, and caught a glimpse of the man who was and still is Scotland´s most beloved hero.

Learned:
in our ongoing attempt to save money, my friend and i stayed in a true budget hostel. Though it was far far away from being truly uncomfortable, it did make me remember the missionaries we support and gave me pause as to what it must be like to be far away in a new country, without friends, and to not have a warm, safe place to return
to at night.

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Did:
ate a genuine scottish breakfast complete with blood sauage and eggs fresh from the chickens wandering out front of our bed and breakfast.

Learned:
the encouragment of seeing other believers on the other side of the ocean worshipping the same God i worship. we finally got a chance to attend a Sunday morning service we could understand and it proved to be an encouragment throughout the entire day

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Glencoe and the 3 sisters mountains (look this up if you haven't seen it<editor's note: click here to read about it>

Did:
Toured our first historic sight (st. andrews cathedral) in english and realized how much more there is to experience when you can read as opposed to just look.

Learned:
The power of human scale. I was comparing France and Scotland and trying to figure out why I found Scotland so much more appealing. I think one of the reasons is the scale of the built environment. France is notable for far stretching avenues, large open squares, the eiffel tower and chartes cathedral. Scotland has so much less monumental structures. if a castle is tall, its only because its built on a cliff. Buildings are made of small stones, with small doors and small spaces. I think this makes it feel more like it was designed for regular people and less like it was designed for giants.

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Saw:
Strasbourg Cathedral, which is absolutely stunning. Next to Mont-St-Michel, probably has the biggest
walk-around-the-corner-and-hit-you visual punch.

Did:
Went out for a very nice meal as we concluded the first half of our semester. the final bill was 507 swiss franks, but luckily i wasnt paying.

Learned:
this leg of the trip saw the most amazing natural vistas thus far. some might say this is where God shows off what He can do and puts mans works to shame. but im not sure that is true. i believe that God is most glorified by men, the pinnacle of creation, and thus perhaps He is more glorified in our volitional acts (such as creating and building), as frail as they are, than He is of all his mighty, inannimate creations.

Editor's Note:
Just a reminder, the photos posted here are mainly from Wikipedia articles about the places Nate is visiting. He hasn't been able to send his own photos yet. I'll let you know if and when the images are his own!! Also, I've left the typing as he sent it to me, so you know which parts are his style and which are mine.

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Saw:
An ancient walled city on a hill completely lit up at night. (Helps enlighten Matthew 5:14)

Did:
Sketched Roman ruins while perched on stone ramparts above a 100 foot cliff. unfortunately the sketch paled in comparison to the locale.

Learned:
I listened to a sermon on the train in by Dave Gibson talking about the picture of heaven created in Revelations. In it he quoted this idea of "divine discontent"- that while on this side of heaven we are longing for home, and proposed that the greatest reality of heaven is not the percfection, the lack of pain, the golden city, but it is that our Father will be there. I was powerfully struck by the reality that one of the most discouraging parts of this trip for me has been that my own father is not here with me...and i realized even more that the great discontent of this life is that I am not yet with my true Father.

• the reformed wont appreciate the first half, but the sermon, entitled "A Discussion About Eternity", can be found at

www.corkingoodsermons.com at the bottom of the page. "

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Saw:
The most picteresque riverfront thus far. (Bordeaux is apparently a candidate for the 2013 European Capitol of Culture)

Did:
Experienced the largest open air street i have ever seen. I opted for a cucumber the size of my forearm over a fresh shark's head...but only because of cost.

Learned:
The difficulty of trying to reconcile the splendid architecture of the French enlightenment with the reality that it was born of a violent and utterly humanist movement. Wondering at cathedrals seems a logical way of giving praise to God, but were it not for common grace, praising the great works of secular hands would be praising the enemy.

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Did:
Tried to escape a torrential downpour while high up on the ramparts of said castle. We didnt make it.

Learned:
That it is difficult to put a price on experience. Some friends and I went to a nicer restaurant for dinner and it is hard to say if my asparagus pizza warranted its price tag. Its like asking how many hours are in a 5 gallon barrel. Price and value of experience measure 2 completly seperate quantities

(Wikipedia article on Nantes here)

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What I saw:
Possibly the most beautiful blend of architecture and landscape on this planet: Mont St-Michel, an island fortress in the ocean

What I did:
Ate blackberries while walking a French countryside road. (hopefully they were blackberries)

What I learned:
That having people who speak your language is easily taken for granted, and that not having anyone who speaks your language is suprisingly lonely.

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What I saw:
The Big Three (obviously)- Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre...and 47 other notable buildings-- google 'centre pompidou' for example

What I did:
Fed pidgeons in front of the Arc d'Triomphe, attended mass at the Cathedral of St. Ambrose, watched a waltz at night on the banks of the Seine. (pretty much anything you do in paris seems like something out of a postcard)

What I learned:
That there comes a point when one reaches sensory overload- almost a dazed numbness where you just can't take in any more new sensory information.
After processing my own overload, I was observing peoples response to such overload in the Louvre. I think that people some how inately know when they are in the presence of something great, but quite often they don't know how to respond- hence the thousands of people staring at blank walls, trying to videotape there entire walk, or photograph every single painting.

(editor's note--due to the difficulty of getting photographs, I will supplement these blog posts with photos from various sources. Don't worry--when Nate actually sends his own pictures, I'll make sure you know it!! This photo is a postcard that he sent us from Paris.)

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