There have been many incidences where reality has not aligned itself with my expectations of France. These, in part, are my musings upon those misconceptions that which have thrown me for a loop.
On wednesday, a group of four of us decided to take a day trip in the magical world of Le Camargue. Le Camargue is a marshland set aside as a national park and safe haven for a couple larger and more charismatic wild animals. White mustangs (les chevals camarguais) and bulls (les taureaux pronounced toro) run wild across its wide expanses and flamingos (les flamants) flock to the shallows in droves. This is what the park boasts to tourists. ha. we did end up seeing all three of the park's major attractions just without so much of their illustrious imagery.
Just an update on what I actually look like. I realized that I'm not in any of my photos because I'm the one taking all the photos. So here's my moustachio and me. Where else can i have a mustache other than France. come on.
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merci
Went on lovely run yesterday just before the sun dipped behind the horizon. It thought how nice it would be to get out of the stuffy house and see the sunset through the trees (les arbres). Though I found, in fact, trees obscure sunsets and most assuredly detract from the sight, the forest itself was beautiful.
About a quarter of a mile down the road from the house im staying in is the humble entrance to le forêt de Phalempin (the forest of Phalempin- yep pretty self explanatory). The forest is small in ecological standards but remains easily vast enough to get quite lost in (according to my standards) so as a result, I chose my route with shrewdness and discernment; going in as straight of lines as i could follow and making directional marks where i could. The sun was a low in the sky and I didn't want to get caught out in the middle of a forest, lost, without phone service, and sans even a light to guide my steps. Trying to stay true to my better instincts, and with no one to impress, about a mile and a half into the run, it decided it prudent to turn back and retrace slightly more familiar ground in the dim light than continue forward into dark territory when light was failing quickly. so back, running to beat the darkness, i turned and followed my directions(see below) home at the mouth of the forest arriving just barely before i no longer see my own feet.
I'll do it again, just not a night.
My somewhat bleak yet beautiful run in Le Forêst de Phalempin..
I guess this is what it supposedly looks like in the spring. Kind of a stark difference from what is present now. (stock photo of this forest)
The twists and turns of an unfamiliar forest compelled me to utilize primitive signage to find me way home. A ball a string was a close second.
The family took me into Lille today. I accompanied them into the city so while they went to a dental appointment I could rome around and explore. I went to the multiple Palaces, le Palais des Justice and le Palais des Beaux Arts, looked around the opera (l'opera), just basically took in the views and the essence of the city. I quite liked Lille and almost prefer it over Paris now, though really i was only there for about four hours. It had a a much quieter and much less pretentious air about it. I didn't feel so much like an outsider save my obvious inability to speak to single soul. Everything was pretty much beautiful too. I've mostly seen gloomy skies like in Scotland (Ecosse) but today was beautiful. Blue skies as far as the eye could see. The fresh and warm feel to the city was definitely influenced by the sun showing itself today.
La Grande Place de Lille. It is a gigantic plaza in the heart of Lille rimmed with large buildings donning beautiful and immaculate facades. Tres belle.
La vielle Lille (old Lille ). The city and specifically the older part of the city have a Flemmish/Belgian (Belgique) essence mostly because Lille was at one time part of Belgium.
Palace of Beautiful Art. - there's one in every major town. ha. but a beautiful name nonetheless.
As far as language goes, I've been having a very rough time. HOWEVER it's coming along. It's an isolating feeling to know what you'd like to say but not know how to express it. And it happens far to often it seems. For example, dinner is the time when the family eats and talks together, problematic situations for me usually look something like this:
1A. I have no idea how to say the ice breaker I've been concocting for the last minute so i don't say anything at all. or...
1B. I do figure out how to say whatever it is i'm going to say and the family is baffled by it.
or it can go the other way around
2A. The Dad says something quickly to me and waits for a response. I don't know what he said so i ask him to repeat it multiple times. or...
2B. I understand what he's just said but, again, have no clue how to respond.
Anyways. it's getting better. i'm hearing things much much better and getting bolder in talking to the parents. I struggle with conversations where there are lots of people apart of it but one on one is usually pretty good at this point. Also, it's only my third day.
Tonight (ce soir = this evening), the oldest daughter, coline, invited her boyfriend over and he brought along some friends. He is a biologist/ecologist by trade and he brought some bats (les chauves-souris) he's been working with over to the house. He weighed, measured, and tagged them and let them go into night (la nuit). I took some video embedded below.
woke at 8am. had some breakfast (le petit déjeuner): homemade bread with homemade red currant jam and butter and chicory coffee. They tell me Chicory coffee is specific to the Norther regions of France, especially in Lille. Then straight to work. Valerie had already been up and about roto tilling the ground in preparation for our work today. We transplanted young black currant trees from one area of the garden to a more permanent place where they will be able to grow much larger. This seems less time intensive than it really is. I dug up about two dozen little trees (about 1 meter tall) and then dug new holes for them elsewhere, placed a tree in each hole, covered them with a layer of dirt(la terre), card board(le carton) and mulch(paillis). That took about 2 hours. Here's tthe final outcome.
it's difficult to tell, but the lighter brown is where I planted all the trees
Then Valerie and I collected a bunch of fallen branches and twigs and burnt them to add to the composte to decrease the humidity of the mixture (le mélange). no picture there. fire looks like fire (feu).
The pond in the middle of the garden. Hopefully the trees start blooming soon. They're pretty baren right now.
