Parce sur Sarthe

This past weekend started les vacances (vacation) for most students in France so I went with my family to their house in the countryside. Paul drove us (in France, you cannot get your license until 18, and most people drive manual cars. The car we took was very old and we had to wait for it to raise itself up before driving. We also managed to find gas, but each car was only allowed 30 euro worth) about an hour and a half outside of Nantes, toward Paris, to Parce sur Sarthe. The house was amazing with 8 or more bedrooms, long hallways, multiple living rooms, and warm fireplaces which were always filled with glistening red logs. The outside walls of the house are being refinished, but even hundreds of years after first being built, it is still standing strong. The family even has a book there that is older than the United States. It is weird to think that Europe was so developped before the States were even dreamed of.

I spent the weekend relaxing and enjoying family time. Paul and I played wii throughout each day, bonding as we smashed bricks and jumped over flame balls to save the princess (I practiced my french video game action vocabulary), we played guitar together, and took a tour around the petit ville to see all the old houses and stores and narrow streets. A bunch of the cousins were also there, so we played on the trampoline (I was le cheval and I gave beaucoup de wild rides on my back) and joked around like normal cousins do. The smaller cousins were upset that I had to leave in the middle of the week, so I believe we will have more fun when we are all together again for Christmas. One night for dinner, we ate an interactive meal. A bowl of sliced potatoes rested on a hot plate, and underneath was a heated plate that melted your personal skillet of cheese which you could pour over your potatoes and ham. We also ate broccoli which my family considers to be very American.

Things I did for the first time:
1. Went mushroom hunting with my host family and some friends from around town. We tugged on our shin-high rubber boots and trekked into the woods in search of mushrooms. We were looking for mushrooms with brown heads and a spongy underside (not the poisonous red spotted mushrooms!) and I was able to find a decent amount considering they were the exact same color as the fallen leaves covering the ground. We ate the mushrooms for dinner that night. I liked hunting and gathering for my dinner. We should do that more often in the States. 2. Went to a Catholic service. Not only was it very structured and more ritualistic (I feel I should have had a lesson before to know what to do and say at certain parts of the service) but it was also in french (bien sur) so I did not have many verbal clues as what to do. The family took communion (in Catholicism the bread represents the actual body of Jesus rather than just a symbol of His body), I was spritzed with holy water, and the boy at the alter made faces at someone in the crowd inbetween readings. 3. Took a train home alone without a ticket. My family is staying at the other house until the end of the week but I still had classes this week, so I had to find a train to take me back to Nantes. We arrived at the train station as my train was pulling up, but the ticket machine did not work and the front desk woman was busy, so my host dad put me on the train and said I would be fine. I took my seat and was anticipating having to explain my situation to the ticket checker, but he never came. I came home on Tuesday which was apparently a national day of strike so buses and trains were not running their normal schedules and therefore tickets were not really being checked. I lucked out with a fast, free ride home.

In strike news:
Some of the piles of trash have been picked up that were crowding le centre-ville, but there are still sidewalks filled with trashcans (as most of Nantes would say, c'est degueulasse!). There are even some trashcans that were burned and now sit half full and melted in the sidewalk. La manifestation is still alive and blocking the tram tracks as they gather in le centre-ville. I thought they would have taken a break during this vacation, but apparently they are in it to win it.

Strike Diary

Lundi (monday): When I left home this morning, my parents warned me to take my identification with me because there were police all around dealing with the especially active manifestation. The neighborhood was a little chaotic and the nearby school was locked down today because la manifestation (this time it was a large group of 2000 students from high schools further north in Nantes) flipped over two cars and burned another car near le lycee livet (my host brother's highschool around the corner). They took to the streets, tore down metal public trashcans in their path, and invaded the Monoprix (similar to Target). Other workers (including truck drivers who recently joined le greve) lit fires near the tram tracks, physically blocked the tracks with construction barriers, and decorated the tracks and some buildings with "en greve" (on strike). Most greves in France usually start with transportation, then education, then resource availability. The teachers at Paul's highschool will be en greve tomorrow again, and more than 1000 supermarket fill-up stations in France have already run out of fuel because of the go-slow protests by truck drivers. Apparently it is especially strong in western France (quel chance pour moi!) where they are physically blocking fuel stations.

Mardi (Tuesday): The trams were scarce today because of the continued blockages across the tracks. The Nantais marched through town by the thousands like always with flags, drums, and united chants. I had to walk from the University (all classes were cancelled, and the gates to the highschools were baracaded with dozens of trash cans and shopping carts) to IES in le centre-ville which took a good hour. This is the first week where le greve is starting to get on my nerves. I really enjoyed the quick tram rides and now walking everywhere seems to be taking up much of my day. In the centre-ville, we walked toward an intersection filled with smoke, screaming whistles and chanting, and miles worth of grevers marching ensemble in the streets. It was difficult to pass through the thick crowd, but we squeezed our way across to continue on to our destination. In Paris, la manifestation is getting more wild as the streets are constantly filled with mobs blocking all activity and general mobilization. In Lyon, la manifestation is leaning more toward a riot because there is increased violence (objects being thrown at blockaded buildings) and even masked looting. Airports in France have been cancelling half of their flights some days, and people are stuck either in or out of their city because there is no gasoline to keep traveling. Thursday there is supposed to be a vote of whether to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62 or not (and although much of the country will be upset, the amendment is predicted to pass by Sarkozy). I do not understand how Sarkozy can function when his entire country is en greve. C'est folle, la France.

Mercredi (Wednesday): La manifestation took a break today, but le greve is still going strong. From looking and smelling around town, I think that the trash pickup is currently en greve also. There are boxes piled high, dumpsters stacked and filled to the brim, and trashcans teeming with a week's worth of rubbish. Every week the stores in le centre-ville leave huge stacks of cardboard boxes in the sidewalks to be picked up (a SDF's haven), but as of now they are just taking up large sections of every sidewalk and making the town look a little rugged. Apparently the French Army cleaned up the trash in Marseilles, so hopefully they march on over soon.

Jeudi (Thursday): Although the streets were relatively empty today (only one big crowd was manifesting in front of the Prefecture), the trams are still blocked and only running between limited stops. By now, le greve is just another aspect of la vie en France that I have become accustomed to. I begin my day knowing that I will have to walk a few extra stops after the short tram ride to and from town and that my final destination is probably blocked so I will have to walk there too (fortunately, it was a beautiful day so I took advantage of the weather to run a six mile path along the Erdre river through the woods and past un chateau). As always, the walking is not so bad (there is beaucoup to enjoy since I am in FRANCE) so I am not really complaining, but I do love a nice reliable tram ride.

For those who have a tendancy to worry, you do not need to for me. Nantes is very safe and calm compared to other parts of France (I do not even feel a tiny bit anxious about my safety here right now), and the news coverage in the States seems to only be showing the worst of la manifestation. I will let you know when worrying is necessary.

I do not know what will happen after the vote is taken and a decision is made. There are already two dates set for la manifestation in the future. Perhaps the french will settle down, or perhaps that is just wishful thinking.

Irlande

When you think of Ireland, it usually goes something a little like this: beer, sheep, pubs, green, drinking songs, leprechons, clovers, and beer. This weekend, Ireland lived up to it's reputation and exceeded my expectations tenfold. Thanks to the rediculously inexpensive flights with RyanAir, I was able to spend the past weekend in Ireland, visiting Dublin and the countryside along the east coast. As soon as I stepped off the plane onto the Irish tarmack, I could feel my Irish blood tingling with excitement to be home. The air was fresh and cool as five of my friends and I carried our backpacks to the double decker bus which took us to our hostel. It was very easy to locate and close to a busy, thriving area of town. This was my first hostel experience and I completely loved every aspect of it. The owners were cheerful and interested and offered good advice for our Irish adventures. We stayed in a mixed 12-person room with bunkbeds and its own bathroom. Everyone in our room was around our age and had the same adventuresome spirit as us. The bunks were scabbies- and bugbed-free and kept us more than warm enough through the night. They also served us a full Irish breakfast (eggs, ham, baked beans, sausage, hashbrowns, toast, jam, tea) to fill us up before our long day.

 

 

 

On our first day, we walked all aroung the town center shopping (I bought a warm scarf for 3 euros) and watching all the Irish folk. There were multiple street performers and artists who were all amusing to watch as we walked the streets. There were several performers frozen like statues, and they were so convincing that we began to question if Dublin actually had any real statues around. We saw the Dublin Spire (a giant flagpole-looking structure which is 120 meters tall), the church of St. Augistine and John (with a beautiful facade), Christchurch Cathedral (a medieval cathedral with 19 bells that ring full circle- the largest of its kind in the world), and Trinity College (beautiful campus housing the book of Kells). We took a tour of the Guinness Storehouse which is seven floors of the history, ingredients, brewing, and advertising of the famous beer. I drank my first pint of Guinness beer at the Gravity Bar on the top floor which gave a view of the entire city (It is not my favorite, but who else can say they drank Irish beer in the storehouse where it was brewed?). We spent the evening in an area called Temper Bar, a pub crawler's haven with live music inside and all around outside on the streets. The nightlife was very lively and the singing coming from each bar felt very Irish.

 

 

We woke up early the next morning to embark on an early bus tour of the countryside. We took a day tour through five small towns south of Dublin, each with its own view of the countryside. Glendalough (meaning "valley of two lakes") was absolutely beautiful and we took a long walk through the forested valley where every shade of Irish green gleamed in the sunlight. It is famous for its 6th centure monastic site filled with thick stone crosses. In Killkenny we saw the castle and St. Canice Cathedral, and we ate Irish food (I had Sheppard's Pie, and it was so good I almost did an Irish jig at the table) in the dungeon of a restaurant. The bus for our tour was packed with visitors from all over the world and there were probably six or seven different languages being spoken between all of us. The tour guide was very comical and he did lots of singing (I know a long Irish sing-along now) which made the trip even more authentic. We met a new friend from Australia on the tour, so I now have a connection down under!

For all the pictures that I took, I wish I could attach a sound clip to each one. I am now in love with Irish accents, and the accents were honestly what made the trip extra enjoyable. Everyone in Dublin was very friendly, they smiled all the time (unlike the straight faces in France), and their accents were so charming. It was a shock to be able to speak English with everyone around me (It was hard to get used to, and I continued to say "pardon" and "merci" without thinking) but some Irish accents were so strong, it might very well have been another language. Surprisingly, redheads were still a minority among the people we saw, but most people still looked very Irish in a magical kind of way.

We cancelled our second night in the hostel and set up our camp at the airport where all the other tired travelers came to pass out on a couch before their flights. I completely enjoyed traveling with just a backpack and knowing that everything I needed was with me. I think the bonding process between two people happens much faster and stronger when you experience some new adventure with them, and there is a common mindset that gives the relationship vigour and durability. After talking with all the other travelers, I know I will be back one day to work my way around Europe, traveling simply and inexpensively to discover more awesome adventures and friends. There is so much more out there to experience!

Strike Three

And so it begins again. I do not know how many more posts I can fill with details about le greve, but this week offered some interesting stories filled with the increased unrest in France. Tuesday started the begining of a prolonged greve (There were posters everywhere pronouncing something like "Tuesday we take to the streets, the next days we do it again. Vive le greve!) for mostly the same reason: la retraite (retirement age). The trams continue to run fairly often, but they all stop a few stops away from le centre-ville because la manifestation blocks the tracks with their masses. Even a gated park nearby (where I sit and eat my new favorite treat: une tartine chocolate, so moist and chocolatey!) remained locked because apparently it was on strike too. On wednesday, les Nantais (people from Nantes) took a break and everything flowed smoothly, but today they are back in action. As I hopped on my tram this morning to go to class, I saw a crowd of University students creating a wall behind the tram, heading toward le centre-ville. One stop later, we approached another massive crowd of students who surrounded the tram on the front and the sides and walked beside the tram as it paced along at barely walking speed. Some of the students were banging on the sides of the tram and the windows with their hands or other objects, so I knew today they were a little more serious and fiesty. My host family told me that the manifestation is blocking either the gas or electricity plants (not quite sure which one exactly) which only have around a two day's supply of resources. Other IES students have told me they saw a small fire on the blocked tram tracks, and I have surely seen the greve-passion from all the flag waving participaters. Along with la manifestation, there are motorcycle and minivan cops at basically every corner around le centre-ville to contain the mobsters. This greve is supposed to be fairly active all week, and especially strong this Saturday. Many flights and trains are not running, the TGV from Nantes to Paris has very limited trips, and local transportation will not be very consistent during the weekend. I fly to Dublin tomorrow morning with some friends, so we are hoping that our bus to get to the airport is running, and that our plane will still take off as scheduled (I am flying with Ryan Air which has extremely cheap, but limited destination flights. For instance, I could fly from Nantes to Marseille for 20 euros round trip if I wanted. However, Ryan Air will no long be in France starting next year. C'est dommage for the French because it is truely a bon marche).

Also, during my tutoring/english speaking session this week, the young girl and I talked about how French is much harder than English (this is coming from a native french speaker) because of all the exceptions to the grammatical rules. Et ca, c'est vrai. I am really enjoying each conversation with her and her family because I continue to learn new words, french ideals, the french schooling system, and french views on the States. It is really interesting to see how English is taught in France. For the most part the grammar is correct, but just like how french is taught in the States, some of the phrases are not completely up to date. However, languages are taught much earlier in school and it seems to be more difficult and highly effective. In middle school, each language class is taught primarily in the foreign language which allows for at least a class period of emersion (in the States, my french classes have always been primarily taught in english, except for maybe the higher levels in college). The moral is: French language is hard, kids should start learning it earlier, and I am going to have bilingual kids.

Chateaux of the Loire

I visited five castles this weekend, what did you do? My trip to tour the Chateaux of the Loire lasted only Saturday and Sunday, but it was packed full of amazing sights. We drove a few hours outside of Nantes (and an hour to get to each new chateau) to an area of France along the Loire river spotted with ancient castles and their amazing landscapes.

We began our trip with a visit to Montgeoffroy. It was more of a giant mansion than a chateau, but it was still interesting to view. The residents are still living inside Montgeoffroy so our tour guide only showed us the first floor, with large tapestries, portraits and velvet chairs positioned as they were used in the 16th century. Montgeoffroy had a giant kitchen with walls completely covered with hanging copper pots and pans, and the sun reflected off the copper to light up the entire stone room. There were also stone stables (now only housing old horse-drawn carriages) and acres of trimmed green grass (less astonishing than the other chateaux, but still nice and dewey).

Our second chateau, Azey-le-Rideau, was exatcly how you would picture a french castle. The milky stone walls formed towers on all the corners and the walls were filled with symetrical windows. This chateau bordered a small pond on one side, grassy fields on the others, and green and brown forestry wrapped around the outsides as a buffer from the streets nearby. It is the site of the Massacre of 1418 where 350 soldiers and their captain were executed by Charles VII when he passed through and was insulted by the Garrison Burgundy who occupied the chateau.  

I remember the third chateau not for it's architecture (en fait, I spent maybe 5 minutes total looking at the actual chateau) but for the dozens of gardens around the property. There are four gardens, one labyrinth, and le Potager composed of nine square, Italian-influenced plots with different geometric patterns of multicolor vegetables and plants. Villandry is a dream jardin, so beautiful and peaceful, and I would feel content working as a gardener there if I was able to wander those rainbow acres every day. Some colors I saw at Villandry: pumpkin orange, velvet red, hedge green, caterpillar green, cabbage white, ladybug rouge, neon blue, honeysuckle yellow, fairy blue, valentine's pink, maroon, and rabbit's ear green.

 

Chateau number four, Amboise, was built on a hill towering above a town of roofs of homes and creperies packed together around the Loire. The view really showed how tightly spaced together french buildings are. There was a tiny chapel off to the side of the chateau that I had a little special moment with. The sun was shining so perfectly through the stained glass windows and the intricate detailing of the sculptures around the outside walls was awe-some. Inside the chapel is the tomb of Leonardo Da Vinci. He visited Amboise fairly often while he was alive, and I can completly understand while he would want to be eternally buried there (I wouldn't mind some of my ashes being scattered around that chapel). I especially loved all the gargoyles at Amboise. There was one gargoyle flying on an owl, one carrying a little jester in his claws, and even a frog gargoyle. I felt all giddy from seeing so many protective gargoyles, so I am probably going to need to sculpt some on my future house.

Chenonceau was the last chateau on our weekend tour, but it is one of the most popular. It is built across the river, looking almost like a castle on a bridge, and boats can pass under the thick arches holding it up. King Henri II lived there with his wife and favorite mistress until his death. The chateau was owned mainly by women (the wives of the kings), and one there is one room (chambre des cinq reines) which housed five different dames. One woman (Louise de Lorraine) painted her room black in mourning after her husband, King Henri III was assassinated. The entire interior of the chateau was covered with massive, still brightly colored tapestries and each room had a floor-to-ceiling fireplace next to the canopy bed.

The weekend was another successful bonding and sight-seeing trip. However, looking at castles all day can really wear you out. Whenever we were on the bus inbetween chateaux, everyone was passed out, folded and slouched uncomfortably in the bus seats. At each chateau, we found the best location to lay in the grass or sit near a garden to rest and soak it all in. Fortunately, I am not desensitized to castles yet, and each one is still a new adventure for me.

Speak the Truth, Eleanor!

I have a new motto that I am trying to live by each day in France. "Do one thing every day that scares you- Eleanor Roosevelt." This is so relevent in my life right now where even routine tasks can be scary. When I think about this quote, it is hard to go a day in France NOT doing something that is intimidating or scary. But whenever I am faced with a difficult situation, one that might not be necessary but could be potentially helpful, and I am searching for courage and confidence, I think about this quote. It means stepping out of my comfortable boundaries, maybe making mistakes, and feeling accomplished afterwards. I would be missing beaucoup de opportunities and experiences if I had not already popped my comfort bubble.

Things this week that were scary (because everything is harder en francais), but I did them anyway:
1. Initiated a conversation (en francais bien sur,  assez intimidant) with a student a l'Universite about the class I missed. 2. Went to the phone house alone to recharge my phone and successfully purchased and activated my monthly plan. 3. Hung out with a just a french friend. 4. Got a job tutoring/speaking English to a young girl (and potentially her friend too, j'espere) from an ad posted at IES.

My feelings right now are, if I can live life speaking only french in FRANCE, then I can do anything back home. If I can take classes and study in french, doing it in english will be a breeze. If I can navigate my way around town, tell a boy I did not see his lost dog, and set up a rendez-vous with new french amis, then everything will be ten times easier when I return home.

There comes a time when you must forget your pride and just live life as it comes at you- Grab every opportunity, open your own doors, and walk in a path that stretches your comfort zone (even a few inches) each day. With a boost from Eleanor, and knowing that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, I think I am doing just that.

La Manife(te)station

I finally saw la manifestation (demonstration) up close today for the first time. It was big, it was loud, and it was in the way. Thousands of people were marching through the streets carrying flags and signs, chanting and putting their stickers on everything, and the crowd stretched probably a mile (it snaked through streets and across the tram tracks so that all of le centre-ville was blocked). However, this demonstration looked more like a parade to me (un fete is a party en francais, so this post title is a little combination of demonstration/party, which is exactly what it felt like. Clever, huh?). There was a drumline that stopped in the middle of the masses for a music break and everyone gathered (some even danced) while they filled the streets with beats. There were also big vans snailing along in the middle of the crowd sporting bundles of blue balloons and blasting music. Saturdays are already extra busy in le centre-ville and the giant crowd covered the streets and spilled over onto the sidewalks. I had to walk home because the tram could not pass through the moving wall of bodies that zig-zagged the tracks. It was exciting and lively and made me really miss Fiesta in San Antonio.

And my birthday yesterday was perfect hanging out with my friends and my brother and his friends! Paul took me to Mac-do (McDonalds) and I ate my first American (french) cheeseburger. Like everything else in France, it was smaller than a burger made in the States (even the Big Mac had a smaller patty-diameter) but it was fairly tasty (but still obviously not an American burger). You can choose between frites (not french frites, just frites) and potato wedges to go with your burger, and one soda (no refils, bien sur). Coca (cola) in France is much sweeter than in the States so one cup gives you all the sugar rush you need. There is also a white sauce here that is the French equivalent of ketchup (not the taste, but it has the same eat-with-everything status here that ketchup has in the States). People still use ketchup, but this special sauce is very popular with frites and kebabs and burgers.