Veuil

So I spent my last few days in Angers enjoying the heck out of my friends there but also wondering if I was going to hear from my friend Drew as to where the Chateau de Veuil actually was, and how to get there. Saturday morning, as I was getting ready to leave for the train station I was actually looking up names of hostels in Tours, in case I couldn't get a hold of him or Jean-Claude, the proprietor of the chateau. Fortunately, I remembered that on the webpage of the chateau, Jean-Claude had his cell phone number posted. On the seond try I reached him! He and Drew picked me up at a tiny po-dunk train station 45 minutes from Tours, and off we went... to the hardware store for paint (did I mention I'd be working here?) and after, to a little town called St. Aignon, where Jean-Claude stopped off so we could take a quick walk around the chateau there. There was a wedding happening at the chuch at the foot of the stairs to the chateau, but we had a couple of minutes inside the church, so we got the underground tour (J-C knows everyone in the region basically) and saw the wedding party approach. And the chateau was incredibly beautiful. The same family has lived there for hundreds of years. Hard to imagine being that wealthy.
We walked into town only to run into a friend of J-C who had the cake for the wedding in the back of his truck. Turns out he owns and runs the best patisserie in the region. So we stopped and had drinks with him at a café and went to the chateau to start painting. ad a lovely dinner outside in the castle courtyard under a walnut tree and had wine with some neighbors who stopped by. Apparently, that happens almost every night.
The funniest thing is that J-C is one of those people who is totally ADD, super-smart and loves it when someone else takes charge of projects. So we are getting along great. Drew and I painted the newly refurnished kitchen today and the three of us cleaned the house and I love it here. Renaissance era house, Medeival castle ruins, it's fab. We toured the surviving subterranian rooms last night, including an oubliet, yes, just like the one in Labyrinth but without escape route, and saw a bat up close - which was cool. I am psyched to come back here after my Mediterranian trek. More about the chateau later...oh, PS - I changed the setting on my blog so you don't have to log-in to comment. Sorry about that. Please, comment away! I love knowing that people are reading it.

the next few weeks

I had the good luck to get a nice person at the train station yesterday who helped me get my trip through the south all planned out. I have tickets for Tour, the closest station to the castle (Chateau Veuil) where my friend Drew is working, and where I'll be working later in August; from there I go to Toulouse for 2 days - apparently it's kind of a ghost town right now because everyone's on vacation further south - then all the way over to Lyon for 4 days, back down to Marseilles for a few and finally to Nice to stay in a "trailer park" near the beach. Should be quite the adventure. I found people to host me in each location through couchsurfing.com. Each place I'm staying has its attractions, the guy in Lyon is a couchsurfing.com embassador - to find out what that means, check out the website - the girl in Marseilles lives right on the beach, the guy in Nice is a huge partier, so that should be interesting...
Yesterday I started to feel like I wanted to head home early, but I think it was just because I've been tired and fighting off a cold. It would be a total waste to leave now. I don't know when I'll have another opportunity to travel and work in France for three weeks again. I hope that I will, but who knows? My host mom and her family have offered me a place to stay if and/when I return to France, so I guess it's possible...

I had to let go of the idea that I would be astronomically better at speaking French before I finished this program. I am certain that I have improved, but I think I won't be skipping a level at SOU. The classes here aren't intensive, just immersive. There are many verb tenses yet to learn, and what we did learn was entirely n French, which is limiting in that, I think I've missed some of the nuances of the usage explications. Ça va. But, I will say that my comprehension is much better, written and oral. Last night we were all out at the best bar in town - The Abbey, very San Francisco-like - and I carried on intelligible conversations in French over the din of music and people. That is definitely progress. We made an impromptu dance party there. Best night out so far.
I can't remember if I've written this already, but I'll say it again: being in France is a completely different experience when you speak French. Even as rudimentarily (is that a word?) as I do. I can actually get past the stoic French façade and get to know some people. They're really nice once you get past that. I've heard from many of the people here that Americans appear to them to be disingenuous. Because we are open and friendly with everyone, they assume that it's not sincere. They, on the other hand, as a culture, do not give their emotional energy to someone unless they see a reason. Knowing this changed my experience of being here. I think part of assimilating here is being sensitive to that particular dynamic.
Tomorrow is a big international soirée for the last day of the program. Doiing a Charleston number with some girls for it. It's an American dance after all...The large group of Spaniards is at the other end of the hall as I type, rehearsing their songs. They are highly amusing.
The photos are of a group of us at a bar here in town and a pic of me in Carnac with some 3-4 thousand-year-old stones, like Stonehenge...except most of them are smaller stones and there are tons and tons of them in rows throughout the town.
A little side note: after Saturday, I don't know what my internet access is going to be like, so I may be out of touch for the next few weeks. I'll try to post when I can...

more rain and homesick

Wrote this about a week ago: "Found a nice little Asian market here today. Now I'm excited to cook for Annick. They have plaintains there and if I can find black beans, it in ON. I made her a salad last night with walnuts (from the community garden), goat cheese and dried fruit. She'd never eaten walnuts toasted, nor had she ever eaten salad with nuts and fruit in it. It's so fun introducing new things to people. Still cloudy but no rain. It's been a little warmer today, thankfully.
Yesterday I made a little breakthrough. All of the sudden, it's a bit easier to have a conversation in French. So many of the students here speak English all the time, it's difficult to keep speaking French. At lunch, I have started to sit with the students who speak only French, to get more practice. It means there is less conversation, but I enjoy it more. We keep verb books and dictionaries around and it's fun pulling out new words."

Since then, I've been swamped with homework. Wrote and presented (in French) two 10-minute presentations, one on French cuisine, the other on American dance, toured a few more sweet little towns in Bretagne (Brittany) and had a few ups and downs. Today I had to make a call to the US to fix a financial situation with a title company, and I noticed that I felt apprehensive. Then I remembered that I could speak English during the call... it's been like that. I can function alone with French now, but I am still in a frustrating stage of not knowing whether or not I'll be able to communicate exactly what I need to say.

I need more sleep than I'm getting, but enjoying immensely the immersion and my friends here. There is so much more to write. Too bad, I'm off to bed. Here are links to some photo albums on facebook (I had to, everyone here has it) so you can - if you are bored - see more of what I've been up to...

Cheers!

http://sou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13479&l=bb6a8&id=679611012
http://sou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14634&l=410fc&id=679611012
http://sou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15110&l=d3bef&id=679611012
http://sou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15269&l=7523e&id=67961101

Atlantique excursion and une grande jardin

On Saturday last I slept in (the day after the 4am Puy de Fou return) until midday. When I woke, my host mom and I did some gardening in her back yard, and then she asked me if I'd like to pick some haricots verts (green beans). I say, bien sure! Of course! Little did I know what I was in for. We walked through the neighborhood, a mish-mash of ancient homes behind decrepit, vine-covered walls and new homes in the old style trying, like thumbs at a finger convention, to fit in. There are so many copious gardens in people yards. And not just their backyards, but the front too. People have great big lots in front with grapevines, fruit trees, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, beets. I want to live like that! I guess my life in Ashland is pretty close; my garden is only a few blocks away. Annick's community is also just down the street, and wow. It's amazing. Figs as big as lemons, nectarines (which no one here seems to know the French equivalent to), all the aforementioned vegies as well as artichokes, zucchini, squash, herbs, and who knows what else. They have bees, and a resident beekeeper named Jean-Claude, a short, funny, gnomish man in his 60s with a nose like red cauliflower and bright mischievous eyes. He promised to deliver some of their honey for me in a day or two when the hives were full. Needless to say, I was in heaven. I imagined living in the little shack where Annick keeps her buckets and tools, eating boysenberries (the best EVER) for breakfast, tomatoes and salad for lunch... Everything I'd been eating since I got here came out of this garden. It was such a treat to see it, and help harvest dinner.
We picked the green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, some figs and I found a few potatoes laying around. We also found all the ripe boysenberries - the bush was on its way out of season, sadly, but ate those on the spot. The blackberries might be ripe before I leave, and you can bet I'll be checking... I made friend zucchini to go with dinner that night.

The next day I got up at 5:30 (Mon Dieu!) get to the bus for a trip west to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo. It poured rain all the way there. At Mont St. Michel, the rain let up and we actually got some sun through the clouds for a bit. MSM is an ancient abbey/castle on the top of a small mountain on the West Coast of Bretagne, or Brittany, the region of France with a strong Celtic influence. The birthplace of the crepe. It was started in the Middle Ages and transformed every few centuries by whichever monarch was in power at the time. It went from French to English to French a few times, was used as a castle at times and is now one of the most viisted places in France. It's surrounded by marshlands that, when the tide is high, are covered in several feet of ocean water. We were there at low tide, but we were warned not to go out too far toward the ocean, as people have been stranded as the tide came in. The abbey itself is beautiful. Inside the oldest part, you can smell its age. I know that sounds weird, but those of you who have been in a reeeeeeeeally old building can attest, there is almost a visceral smell of the age and history. The tapestries hanging in the lower parts of the Chateau d'Angers had the same smell. It's one of the things I love about Europe. The age mixed with the ancient incense, probably burned there for hundreds of years.
There were nuns in the church at the top, praying, lighting candles and generally being holy. There was one who I thought was too pretty to be a nun, and I asked to take her picture, but she declined. I suppose it gets old, being perceived as part of a tourist attraction. That wasn't my perception, but I couldn't tell her that with my vocabulary.
After lunch there, we went to St. Malo, a walled city right at the waters edge a short ways away. Very touristy. Lots of creperies, cafés and little overpriced shops. I checked out the tidepools with my friend Allie and we got crepes. Kinda had to. People there were swimming and playing in the ocean, but though the sun was shining, it was under 70 degrees outside. Not nearly warm enough for me to venture into the cold Atlantic. There was a cool band of Roma musicians playing their gypsy music in the main square. I thought to buy a CD for my mom, but they wanted 23 Euro! For one! And they weren't double length or anything. I just laughed. But people were buying them. I guessed that they weren't doing the math. 23 Euro = about $34. Forget that noise! The band was good, but not that good. I took a photo (posted below). And there was sun. The first I'd seen in days.
I'm wondering where my summer has gone... Oh right, it's in Ashland... dang. I hope to find some sun in the South of France in a few weeks. My friend Drew (mentioned in the earlier blog) is staying at a castle an hour or so South of here, and I may be able to go work there when I'm done in Angers. I am in the process of figuring out if it will work or not. Apparently they throw parties there. Sounds like my kind of place. I had a test today and tomorrow we have a half day. Yesssss. I see shopping in my near future. ANd I have cafés to visit. Friday we go on a tour of local site "trogloditique" which, for those of you who are not total geeks like me, is a place where people in ancient times built homes, farms and living space into the hillsides and partway underground. It sounds so cool. And that evening we eat at a restaurant nearby that specializes in mushrooms. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Can you tell that I am excited about that? Mmmmmm. Mushrooms. In French "champignons". That's our word for the day.
Gotta go back to class. A bientot!

reunion in Paris and more

Sat down at a cafe on the street (I just discovered the sweet part of town) and "Mausam" by Nitin Sawnhey is playing, one of my favorite songs, (which subsequently was followed by Norah Jones, I think they swiped my iPod). So, I've got to go back and recount my Saturday night in Paris. By chance, my friend Drew, fellow student at SOU, was in Paris for a few days on his way to Poitiers for a summer internship. He's got friends in Paris that he met in Guanajuato, where he lived for a year through an exchange program. When he saw my email saying I was in Paris, he mailed back and invited me to a reunion picnic with his friends. It turns out that several of his pals from the program in Guanajuato were flying in that night. So we met up downtown, hit the market for some cheese, baguettes and saucissons secs (salami) and headed for the banks of the Seine, walking distance from his friends' apartment. The Gay Pride parade had made its way down their street that day, so the remnants of celebration lay all around. Happily, the remnants of those celebrating were partying on the Seine that evening. The sun was still making its way past the spire of the looming Cathedral Notre Dame at 9pm, as boats of tourists puttered by, lights twinkling, cameras flashing. There was a group of young, French, queer kids nearby, three of whom were having the greatest time mooning all the tourists as they floated past much to the amusement of all in proximity. The tourists on the boats clapped, cheered and snapped pictures. We laughed a lot. The group I was hanging with were a mélange of French and Spanish people, Drew and myself being the only Americans. I understood as much of the French as I did the Spanish, a new experience.
As the sun went down, little lights on the nearby bridge, the boats and the lights on the cathedral created an air of quintessential Frenchness. If only I could bottle it and send it back. Eventually we met the mooners, and their friends, many of whom spoke English well enough, and for awhile, the parties merged. About the time they decided to head to their next soirée, I was exhausted (still jet lagged) and I headed to the Metro. On the way I saw a huge crowd in front of the cathedral. It turned out that there was a guy with a guitar playing an Oasis song, and everyone was there watching and signing along. It's nothing like I've ever seen in the U.S. Parisians have a sense of community that I can't explain. Perhaps it's all the French, I haven't figured it out yet. Men, even young men, here are generally more willing to show physical affection with each other. And I'm not just taking about my new friends by the river. Even here in Angers, the teenage boys do the kisses on the cheek with each other. I love that way of greeting. It's just generally funny and sweet. I love watching the way different people do it. Some people here do 4 kisses altogether left cheek, then right, then left, then right. I try not to giggle, but it strikes me as funny sometime. I wonder, do you kiss more times depending on how close you are to the person you're greeting. And how do you both know how many times? What if one person tries to stop with three and the other goes for the fourth? Could be embarrassing. So far I've only gotten the two-kiss greeting here. I wonder if I will earn three before I go...
Let's see...what else?
Since my birthday I've started classes, and I love my sweet and dorky teacher. We're reviewing a few things and learning some new in the process. I am not sure that I really like studying French with people who will not speak English. We have a teacher's assistant (our monotrice, Magali) who does speak English, but only under great duress. We don't get English translations for anything, and I truly wonder if it's a better way to learn. The immersion is working, but when it comes to grammar, I feel more frustrated without translation.
A bunch of us went out on Tuesday night and had a good time. We bar hopped a bit and danced at one of them. I have yet to find a place where I'd actually like to hang out at night. I think next week I'll try to find a dance club. The problem is, the busses stop at 12:15 am and taxi cost upwards of $10 Euros, about $15 to my house. I am seriously contemplating a change of lodging. Now that I'm spoiled by being able to walk/bike everywhere in Ashland, I don't want to commute. Last night I went with my group to a big show about an hour away (2 hours by bus) that was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. And I mean awesome in terms of the size and scope of it. It's called the Puy de Fou. Look it up online, it's insane! You sit in these huge stadium-style bleachers across a lake from this big castle, and I'm talking, thousands of people here. I don't know how to describe it. They put on this show about this particular part of France we're in that starts with medieval times and goes through WWII. Hundreds of performers, horses, sheep, geese, pigs, fires, lights, explosions, wars... it was spectacular. I'm glad it was in French because I think had I understood all the words it would have been more cheesy. If you're ever in France, I think it's worth the trip. The music was original, and it sounded a lot like the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings, which, of course, made me like it more. And it was not totally Disney-ed out. It was really well directed, and only at the end did it start to go overboard. Oh yes, and there were fireworks. Trés cool. I got home at 3:30 in the morning after a ridiculous time trying to tell one of les monotrices how to find my house for about 1/2 an hour. Yay.
Tomorrow it's Mont St.-Michel and Saint Malo. Mont St.-Michel being the Sleeping Beauty type castle on mountain. Can't wait! Castles are cool no matter what.
The pic is the view from our spot on the Seine trhe other night. My connection here is really slow, so more pictures will be posted on Monday...

arrival and birthday

So it's been an interesting few days. On Sunday, I missed the first train to Angers because my bank card would not work in the ticket machine at the station. No big deal, I took the next train an hour later. Upon arrival, my "host mom," Annick, took me to a family BBQ where I ate more than I have eaten in the entire year so far. Here's what I remember of the menu: marinated cucumber salad, bean salad, cous cous avec herbs, tomates avec feta et basilic, with rosé wine, then: sausages, slabs of grilled bacon, pork roast, lamb chops, with cabernet sauvignon, then a cheese platter avec camembert, brie, port salut and a ripe mild goat cheese. Dessert: Two types of brownies, fresh raspberry pie, chocolate mousse, charlotte chocolat (which is a bread pudding mould soaked with Cointreau -made here in the Angers region -filled with chocolare mousse) and dessert wine. Coffee and tea. Everyone ate at least a serving of each dish. Annick has since served a similarly generous répas each night. I must start cutting back, this is the third night that I've gone to bed uncomfortably full. Not something to complain about, I know.
Annick's houise is charming. It's a 4 bedroom townhouse with a lovely garden of flowers, herbs and the occasional vegetable. My room is upstairs, sunny yellow walls - the color of the kitchen at the 10th St. house for those of you who saw it. here are metal shutters and a view of the garden. The house is a few miles from the school, so I take a bus in the morning. If I had my bike, it would be an easy ride, but as it is, the bus comes by the house once an hour. Fortunately, there are more buses leaving downtown when I'm on my way home.
The group of students in my group (through UofO) are young and friendly. There are various levels of French speakers, which has made conversations in French easier these past few days. Yesterday we had an intro meeting and a walkabout town. Our director, Sue, helped us all get bus passes, cell phones (except me because my phone company sucks and has not yet unlocked my phone) and showed us the sights. Last night I had a lovely dinner with Annick, with interesting conversation. She speaks not a word of English, and her French is fast, so I end up understanding about 20 to 60 percent of what she says depending on the subject. So much assumption and contextual clues. I think it would be much better to be in a home where someone could at least explain a few of the phrase structures and words I don't understand. It's really getting to me today.
Yeah, birthday abroad. Not terribly fun without loved ones around. Annick gave me a rose from her garden this morning, but otherwise, there has been little to do. I thought that I would not mind, but as my day started with rain, missing the bus (didn't realize it came once an hour until today), being late for our group meeting, and taking a placement test, you could say that it's been a challenge to keep it together. I did tour a huge castle downtown today, a highlight. I'll write more about it tomorrow. Right now, it's 10:30, the sunset is just about finished and I'm nodding off. More photos coming up as well.