Beaucaire and Bulls

Ann had a meeting in Tarascon today. Although I love the place, I could not spend another day there. I headed over the bridge back to Beaucaire and wandered the wall which lead me to the center of town where there was a market! I was so excited even though it was small; it was a market. I walked around and got a couple of figs and then walked around the city a bit more.

It was getting close to meeting time so I headed back to the end of town. What do you know, another market! This was a market of non food items though. There was a great plate (I know, a plate?!) that looked awesome. It would have made a beautiful serving dish, even if I only got one. They were hand painted but I did not think that I would be able to safely ship or keep them for another month or two in my suitcase so I passed on that but bought a cute little necklace instead. It is a silver coin looking thing with a green fabric flower on it with green string for the part that goes around the neck - I like it!

I headed back to Tarascon and hung out by the castle looking at the Rhone. I was thinking about how funny it was when I walked around the castle, I began to sing. I am not much of a singer or hummer but something popped into my head and throughout the entire tour...it was old school; Ruff Riders. Anyway, I sat by the Rhone and laughed at that for a bit and saw some carvings on the wall that I was sitting on.



I told myself that it is Pocahontas and John Smith. Ann saw me sitting on the wall and then we headed off to Arles, where she had a hair appointment. We got out of the car and I dropped my phone. I picked it up and we headed to the center of town, that I missed the first time. There is a statue of Fredric Mistral and some old Roman remains. The restaurant that Ann wanted to eat at did not have bread yet. She said a Japanese Canadian runs the place and is very nice but we had to go elsewhere so she would not be late. We went to the bakery that is nearby and both got a sandwich. Ann got a raspberry tart; the jelly below the raspberries was delectable!

Ann headed off to her appointment and I was off...somewhere. I went to the Rhone and sat again in the sun. With little wind I am trying to soak up as much sun as I can before the weather turns (should be rainy next week). I walked around town for a bit and got really really lost. I wound up by the information booth and asked the lady where the center of town was. She circles the entire map. I asked where the statue of Fredric Mistral is and she gave me the location - I was off.

I got there before Ann said that she would call me. She was supposed to call an hour after she arrived at the appointment. She thought it would take 1-1.25 hours. When I had not heard in the hour, I figured she had shampoo in her hair or driers and could not call. When it was time that she was supposed to be done and I still did not hear from here I was getting concerned-I had been sitting for about 45 minutes. I went to dial her number and the phone said to insert the SIM card. When I dropped the phone, the SIM card was loose and so I could not receive or make any calls! The time still worked, which was evil. I realized this and took out and put back in the battery and voila it worked. Ann called me twice! I called her back and we met up, unfortunately she was out for 15 minutes already, ooops!

We arrived back home and the parking lot was full. It appeared that the area was having an event TODAY! I went inside got a few things together and then headed to the bull ring. Sitting there, waiting for it to begin, I was happy that it was not where they hurt the bulls, although after watching the event I decided it is still cruel, prancing around hitting them in the head...sort of.



The bulls have flowers on both horns and the men in the ring try to get the flowers. The flowers are tiny though and at first it looked like they were just smacking the bulls in the head. The bulls were getting meaner and bigger. One bull was only in the ring for like 5 minutes, he spent the rest of the time in the outer circle.



Funny things that happened: one guy had his pants ripped off by the bull, he was wearing red undies, another bull went to run up a wall and all of the kids went running. I originally sat down by the entrance and then moved so I could be in the first row, where I moved to was where the guys were jumping up so I got a lot of sweat time with the gentlemen....oh yea.

Lots to Say

Auriane told me that I was too nice to be a teacher. She is happy that I am nice, because she felt comfortable talking to me where if I was mean she would not have said anything to me. So little she knows me… :)

One of the craziest things I saw today: In Avignon there was a car parked on the main street with its hazards on. This, not crazy. Police were outside of the car, writing a ticket for it being parked there. This, not crazy. The car had a baby in it. This crazy. The police wrote the ticket and left the car with the baby in it on the busy road. This, the craziest thing today.

So I have a kind of hate hate relationship with the cat here. He follows me everywhere and basically knows he should stay away. I cannot do much since I do not want to touch the thing, I tired poking it with some paper towels, the cat enjoyed this. I tried getting it to move by putting a hand towel on its back, it enjoyed this too. He is a bit evil. Today, I got my revenge. The cat has been jumping and going after any flies that are in the house. Today he jumped on the desk and watched one until it flew out of the window. I was by the desk typing and my watch had a reflection of a light on the wall (you know what I am talking about). Anyway, it drove the cat a bit crazy and I took full advantage. It was swatting and moving all over the place. Someone was coming into the room so I stopped playing and started typing. The reflection went on the ceiling and the cat jumped onto another desk and the laptop, Alan picked the cat up and took him outside.

Today was beautiful. The sun was shining and the wind was down. I went outside and read some of a popular comic book that Ann gave to me. Auriane, Alan and I enjoyed lunch together (it is Wednesday so half day in schools). There was some pink stuff in a small container. I had no idea what it was. There was a picture of the pink stuff with a lime on the label. It kind of looked like frozen strawberry margarita or something like that but it was tiny. There was also some chopped up beet looking thing.

Auriane informed me that the pink thing is fish, I have no idea what kind but it smelled like whitefish, despite the pink color. It was acceptable (despite not being a fan of whitefish). The beets were gross but the best beet thing I have eaten, which says something. We also had quiche, mine was leek and cheese. It was acceptable, Auriane did not like it, she said that when they make it it is better.

We went into Avignon to the big book store (like a Borders). We went upstairs and Auriane was looking for some DVD. I asked her which one so I could help her look for it, but had no idea even after she repeated herself twice. I found an employee for her to ask and he did not understand either. Finally, we got it: Camp Rock 2. We had looked everywhere except the end of the aisle, which was a huge display of Camp Rock 2.

After we picked one up we headed to the gelato place that she likes so much. I got strawberry and vanilla and tried a crème of orange (did not like it so did not get it). The guy was very nice and the portion was huge…really huge. I was stuffed after.

We headed to Auriane’s tennis practice and they explained where I should go. I walked there with no problem. The lady was trying to be nice but really bamboozled me into getting a free card that will give me discounts to all of the main places in Avignon. The problem with that is the first place you use the card is full price and I will not be going to other places in Avignon. I did that though without thinking and got a ticket for the chateau and the fort. The chateau was like all of the other chateaus that I have been to, I was not impressed. It took me 30 minutes to walk through it; partially because it was boring and partially because I paid to visit the fort and needed to get there in time.



By the time I arrived at the fort, my watch went off telling me to head back. Of course I was determined to see something (instead of just asking for my money back). I went up the largest hill ever to take two pictures, one of a wall and one of the view and then turn around. It was hot, I did a whole lot of walking (uphill) and was tired. I headed back to the tennis courts. I got there 15 minutes early, but Auriane had already finished. I met them in the parking lot and we headed home where Auriane went to watch Camp Rock 2.

Taracon Part II

I went with Alan to drop Auriane off at school and then he dropped me off in the center of town (Tarascon). I began looking at all of the food venders again; I am not sure what it is but I see all of the venders I know they are the same but I need to do a couple of walk throughs. After I got my fill I found a supermarket to get some acceptably priced water.



I then headed to the castle again to get a picture with the Tarascon monster outside of the castle and to pick up a keychain that I could not find anywhere else. I am not sure what it is with this city but I love it. The castle gives me this feeling, it is so old and has so much history, I love it. After I got my key chain and picture I saw there was a wall and went to it, there was a beautiful view of the Rhone, I decided I would have lunch there.



When walking around the market part, I saw all of the normal things, 1,00 spot, mattresses, sunglasses, shoes, clothes, etc. One man with a super French look, curled up mustache and all said something to me. I did not understand and said I spoke little French. We said goodbye. After I got my water I ran into him again and we chatted for a short bit, as long as our lack of language allowed us.



It was early, not time for lunch, but thinking about lunch made me hungry. I got a thin slice of Compte cheese, a baguette and some paella. There were three or four people selling paella but I went to the guy at the end who had the best smelling one. I decided I would get a small and the man asked if I wanted the small, I said no. Not sure what compelled me but I went with the medium. It was huge but I was happy. I headed to my lunch location, very early and got situated. There was such a strong wind today and by the water it did not stop. I scarfed a bunch of paella down as I realized I was trying to eat it before the wind cooled it down. The wind was so strong that I could not put the container down or it would blow away; eating shrimp and mussels with one hand is very tricky but I think I did well.

After I could not take the fast paced food eating I looked at my map and saw a garden nearby. I packed up and headed out. The garden was about 20 feet from the castle and less windy (but still windy) than the place I sat before. It is a beautiful day, it would be even better if the wind died down just a bit.

Ann picked me up soon after and we had three baguettes to choose from for lunch and Alan had a treat of Jujubs that I picked up for him (this is what he stood staring at when we went on our walk in Aramon (or the other city) and I figured he really liked and they are rare). An a okay day by me.

Shit

I keep smelling a bad smell. At first I thought it was because the cat was near me and then I thought it was me. I looked at the bottom of my sneakers, smelled my shirt, sweatshirt, pants, book bag, everything. I cannot find where the smell is coming from but I smell it and it STINKS! I blame it on the cat, I just don’t know how Zefier (the cat) did it…

Well I got back to my room and checked everything. Not my sweatshirt, shirt, pants, book bag but it was on the bottom of my left shoe. I had looked at the bottom of both shoes earlier and smelled my right one. There is nothing on my left shoe but it sure as heck smells bad, I cannot tell if a dog or a horse left me this present but whichever it is I am just glad that it was not on my clothes!

Lazy

So I feel as though I have been lazy the last couple of days…okay the last week. I have been hanging out with the family and gone on my computer and that is it. It is hard to plan things when I do not want to bother the family but I am just sick of staring at the computer screen. I have taken some walks during the day but the other villages are a bit far so I have been staying in Vallabregues. I asked to return to Tarascon on Tuesday for their market, as well as to explore the city and get my keychain. Today Alan is dropping me off in Avignon again, so I can explore by myself.

One would think okay, he drops you off you have a meeting place and time, done. It was not that easy. I did not understand if he was telling me to meet him in 4 hours or at 4 o’clock. He had no idea what o’clock meant and just kept repeating heure which did not help me. He dropped me off after I said yes to some time, and agreed to meet in this exact place. After walking around for an hour I called Ann-Francoise to verify that it was 4 o’clock and 5 hours.

I had checked the weather before I left the house and it was supposed to be 7*F. I was excited and chose to wear my sandals so my toes could breath. This was a great idea until I got out of the car and realize just how cold it really was. My tank top, t-shirt and sweater were not enough and my toes were not happy with my choice. I had the map Ann-Fracoise gave me from our last visit and decided to skip getting another (better one) or even look at it, instead I followed the sun. I literally chose to walk down any street I saw that had the sun shining in it. I often would have to change streets and had no idea where I wound up or was as the map I had did not have all of the street names.

I followed my nose to a bakery and got a baguette, which was so good I cannot tell you. Maybe it was because I have not been eating a lot, or that my breakfast was small, or that the bread was warm but whatever it was the bread was good! I ate half of it before I went anywhere. I found a historical site and read about the street and how it is a waterway and has had many names through the years. It explained how this street connects the old wall to the new wall as well. I found a bench in the sun and ate more of my baguette and the banana I brought from home.

I felt much better and continued to wander the streets for a couple of hours. Then I found a church and went inside, it was nothing special at all. How could this be where many popes lived and the church is so puny? I kept walking and found my way to another church where I decided I should look for where I was. I had no idea the name of the church so that did not help me in finding where I was. I am not quite sure how but in two hours, I did not pass one thing that looked popeish, where was his palace? This church I knew was something special though since the inside was all gold. It was beautiful but the ceiling was bare. All I could think was that they needed some Italians to come and help them out with the ceiling. As soon as I left the church I saw a sign for the Popes promenade, no map needed.

I followed the sign, followed another sign and nothing. Where do I go? I found a couple of signs after that that pointed in opposite directions. Somehow I wound up at some stairs and decided to take them. There were a lot a lot a lot of stairs. I kept walking and there was a curve and I walked some more it was a bit crazy. I reached the top and there were people looking out at the view, which was beautiful. I arrived at the Roches des doms, which is the garden next to the Popes Palace. I found it! I walked around and then sat for a long while looking at the Basliqe Metropolitaine Notre-Dame-des-Doms basking in the sun.

Pont du Gard

Ann-Francoise took me to the Pont du Gard; Auriane continued to play her computer game and I think Alan was working. The wind was still brewing but not nearly as much as earlier. We arrived in about 15 minutes and Ann went to the front desk. She is very much concerned about getting me English information which is very kind. I just kind of wander around and find out what strikes me but it is nice to get the additional information, even if I do not use it.

The monument had changed its yearly pass and for 5,00 more 5 people can go as much as they want and it includes parking, the museum and a video. We arrived with five minutes until the English video which is pretty good as there are showings every hour from 9:00-18:00 and only two English ones.

The video was ridiculous, an Italian couple making out (from American standards) and exploring their own way. It was interesting though and taught me a bit. We then headed to the Pont du Gard which was beautiful but it was hard for me to connect with it. Perhaps because it was so big or I did not know enough about it but, it was very nice. Ann pointed out where the “beach” was added a few years ago to allow concerts to happen. She said that they used to picnic there often but have not in a couple of years. She then took me to their favorite spot, where you could see that Pont du Gard with all three levels. It is gigantic.

It is so hard for me to understand how people back then (1st century) could move so many heavy, heavy blocks of stone. How they were able to construct such a ginormous thing is just mind boggling to me, even with their levers and pullies. I took many pictures and then we headed towards the gift shops to get a couple of post cards. On the way out Ann asked if I wanted to go into the museum and I said “why not?”

The museum is in the basement of the ticket building and is different from many of the museums that I have been to. It is very modern and beautiful, when you enter it is black except for black light shining on flags with different pictures. The place is almost silent except for the sound of mallets hitting stone and flowing water.

The museum was huge and there was so much to learn. 500 men worked on the aqueduct and (I forget) 85-90% of it is underground. It is the largest bridge from the Romans still standing and it brought water to the city of Nime. Even though Nime has a population six times of it back then, they use the same amount of water. The water helped keep the people healthy as it would flush the dirty water away in the gutters and they had Roman Baths. The aqueduct took water and brought it from Nime on what appears to be a straight line, but it is curved and on a large gradient. As soon as use of the Aqueduct began leaks were found, due to poor craftsmanship. Much of the water that should have reached Nime, was lost. After a few centuries people stopped using the water for themselves and just for their crops and eventually that stopped as well. The aqueduct was altered to allow wagons and animals to pass by and it was used as a road for many years. It is now a national monument.

I loved my visit and was so glad that Ann took me. Tomorrow it is off to Avignon (again).

Pétanque

This morning I had a cup of tea with Alan as we waiting for the girls to come down for breakfast. We had a leisurely croissant and talked for a while. Auriane picked out that she was interested in making potato pancakes and so Anne went to get the potatoes and applesauce. While she was away I helped Auriane play her Harry Potter computer game for a bit.

When Ann returned, she peeled the potatoes and I grated them. We prepared the onion and then were off to play Piquant. From what I understand it is very similar to bocce. It was crazy windy out so we were the only ones in the area and had the whole “park” to ourselves. We put our hoods on and began. There is a tiny ball that is thrown and the object is to get your ball as close to that ball as you can. It does not matter if your balls touches or moves the little ball.

I went and then Auriane. Apparently whoever is farther away (loosing) goes again. Each person has three balls and it does not matter who on the team goes. I did not realize that Alan and I were on a team, and I thought he was just being nice knocking everyone’s balls out of the way, except for mine, Silly American.

The ball that is closest wins points, the number of points varies. All of the balls from your team that are closest to the small ball count as a point, you stop counting your team’s balls from the nearest opponent’s ball. The game deals a lot with distance, radius and diameter; I might have to keep this game in my pocket for teaching.

My team was the first to 13…or 17 (I forget) but we won! It was fun and I was happy that they showed me how to play. I think I will buy myself a set for back home. We headed back for lunch and I fried up some latkas.

Jewish/French Cooking

Who would have thought that I would be giving lessons on Jewish culture in France? Today Auriane looked through the recipe book that I gave to her and she wanted to make potato pancakes. It is almost the same recipe that my mom makes every so it was easy for me to make it. Auriane helped with squeezing the water out from the grated potatoes and then she made the pancakes that I took and fried. They turned out good but we only had 2.5 per person. The French do not eat a lot, I do not get it. You have amazing food and you do not eat! I could have gone for another three but I only have two months to wait before I will be home making them with my Mommy. Everyone said that they liked them, but I was not sure if they meant it or if they were being polite. Ahh Hannukah how close you are!

After Anne and I got back from our visit to Pont du Gard Auriane met us at the door. Anne asked if she Auriane made chocolate cake and she said no, then she ran into the kitchen. I was impressed as I smelled nothing. Chocolate cake it was! She made the mini lava cakes that are chocolate cake filled with gooey hot chocolate…mmmm mmm what a delicious surprise and snack!

No Touching!

After teaching for two years and having very good relationships with some of my students, I never felt motherly towards them. Perhaps more big sister. At Auriane’s tennis match I felt more motherly. We arrived early and sat inside to get out of the wind. A male friend came up from behind her and put both hands on her sholders. I immediately got that middle school feel that he was into her and just smiled. He looked so much older than her; 13 while she looks 9 or 10. Anyway, Anne left the room and I was with the two of them watching their conversation develop.

Alan came and said that Auriane should warm up and she went for a quick run around the parking lot with her friend. When it was her time, she entered the court and sat down, holding her arm. She had an injury a while ago and she seemed to be dealing with it fine but her holding it before the match was not a good sign.

Auriane began by loosing the first three rounds, she sat down and began to sob. I felt horrible and Ann walked away. She said that she it was hard to watch and not be able to do anything. I guess that is one of those things that mothers (and fathers) have to deal with that we, as children, do not think about. It is hard to see your child fail and just be there. She wound up winning the next round with some support from us, but lost the game.

What do you say when the person comes out? Good job? What if it wasn’t a good job? Better luck next time? What if it is not luck? Perhaps if I knew her better I could think of what to say, but instead I just was quiet as I was proud of her for coming back the fourth round but did not want to dwell on this.

Her “friend” came over and put his hands all over her. Not in a horrible way, but a middle school way that I wanted to be the teacher and say “no touching!” Perhaps that is why I did not feel any issues with my students, I knew the boys and the girls and I could just say “no touching.” I did not know this guy though and he was all hugging and squeezing her. He even lifted her up on his shoulder, I wanted to hit him, in the most loving way, but instead looked at the ground and just kicked some dirt around. Being a parent has got to be a lot harder in ways that I have not really thought about.

Anyway, Auriane got over her loss quickly and went off with her friend. She accepted her award for making it to the finals and enjoyed some snacks, then we were headed for home.

A Lesson in Pop Culture

Anne-Francoise wanted me to do an English lesson with Auriane this week, as her English teacher was out and there was no substitute for her. We pulled out her English book and looked at each other. Anne-Francoise was determined and when she realized there was nothing to read for the lessons she had us turn on a CD with people talking.

This CD lesson was hysterical. It was English and they were talking about living in a flat. The formal type conversation that you know would never really happen in real life. Auriane was uninterested and started strumming her guitar. After lesson two, I could not listen to it any more, it really was torture. I looked through her book and got an idea.

In the back of the book there were excepts to read and some songs dealing with slavery and equality. One of the songs that they had was Let My People Go. I had her read it to me; she did a great job, just needs to work on pronouncing the ‘s’ at the end of words. I then pulled it up on youtube and we listened to Louis Armstrong’s version as she followed along.

I know that she is singing Billie Jean for choir this year so I pulled that up; video and lyrics. She did not want to look at the lyrics (of course) but was interested in the video. I explained what the song was about, as neither Anne nor Auriane understood the words well enough to get an idea of the song. I thought it was a bit weird to have middle school kids sing, but I am American.

I had also pulled up some Hannah Montana songs with lyrics. Apparently there is one song that there is a video to show you how to dance along but Auriane does not know the words so she kind of hums and makes up what she thinks the words sound like, like we all do. She did not look at this though, she was into Michael Jackson. We watched Thriller a couple of times and then headed downstairs for a long discussion of musicians. Of course I knew less than 1% of the French artists that she named and she knew all of the artists that I named.

For those of you into music here are some songs that either I like and/or are popular at the moment:
Zaz - Je Veux
Milow - Ayo Technology
LUCENZO feat BIG ALI - VEM DANCAR KUDURO
Unheilig - Geboren um zu leben
Collectif Métissé - Debout Pour Danser
Jessy Matador - Alllez Olla Olé
Emily Loizeau - 'Je Suis Jalouse'

My Troubles with Israel Part II

I also needed to buy a ticket from France to London. I was going to take the train but Anne-Francoise said that there is a cheap airline that flies from Nime to London. I checked it out and she was right. The ticket was 9 euro but with my new luggage and the taxes and fees it was about 40 euro. My flights were close together and I might have to run to get my luggage and then put it back on another airline but everything was done and I was ecstatic it was over and just exhausted from trying to get the logistics of it figured out.

At dinner Anne-Francoise mentioned that the flight from Nime to London flew into a smaller airport in London. I decided that I should check that my airports matched up. The next day I checked and of course, they did not match up. There was no way that in two hours I could exit a plane, get my luggage, get to another airport, check my luggage and then make my flight. I had to rework this.

The flight from Nime left once a day, that was it. I could not rebook my flights from London to Israel and back, that was way too much money and a pain in the butt; I had to look at my flight from Nime. I wound up changing my flight from the 18th of October to the 17th. I will spend a day in London and then catch my planes to Israel the next day.

I cannot believe how much work and how much of a mess all of this is. I guess I am a bit irritated because after all of this I have paid an arm and a leg and I still have not heard back from the farmer. Ridiculous!

My Troubles with Israel Part I

I would like to start this entry off by saying that I love traveling. I like to see what is out there and how people live. I like how I mapped out the beginning of my trip; stay in this hostel this day and this hostel that day and then do whatever my heart desires in between. It just worked.

Planning around other people is hard. I mean not just you compromise what you see and do but I mean the planning just gets hard. Instead of walking until you are content you have people who want to go this way and get mad when you go that way and it is wrong. I have been fortunate with all of my travels though, very fortunate.

As you know, I have been planning to visit my cousin in London for Thanksgiving (November). This was a great idea until I did not get my French visa. Once that happened and I had to stick to my 3 months in the EU 3 months out, everything got complicated! I decided the best place for me to go would be Israel, I have been there before, I have some contacts there, and I can work on a kibbutz. This also sounded like a good idea when I looked at how expensive it would be to go and stay in Switzerland or try to get to Norway. Just go to Israel and stay in one spot. It would help me save some money and energy planning things.

My friend told me about a kibbutz that he stayed at and loved. When I contacted them, I dropped his name hoping for some good news, but they told me that they were all booked until next year and that I would have to go through the kibbutz national organization anyways. I thanked them and began my long and stressful kibbutz process.

I contacted the organization, I paid a fee, I had email contact, I set up a phone interview, and I applied for a specific kibbutz. This kibbutz is a family run one that only accepts 4 volunteers at a time and I can stay for a month (which is rare apparently to stay for such a short period of time). I did not hear back from the company. When I emailed them they said that they would contact the farmer. Basically I have been emailing the company once a week for three+ weeks and they said that they have not heard back from him that he has room for me.

Not just is this annoying, but now it is becoming a financial problem. I could have gotten round trip flights to Israel for $200, but now it was a minimum of $500. I decided that I could wait no more as the tickets were selling out and the prices were rising. It was cheapest to buy round trip tickets from London and I booked mine for about $550. I will be getting into Israel on the 18th of November at around midnight. I am guessing that I will be staying in a hotel that night…

Beaucaire

Auriane and her mother had a dentist appointment in Beaucaire and so they dropped me off while they took care of business. Before they left me, I got a map of the city with all of the national monuments and things to see. Anne-Francoise told me where her favorite was and that I should not go on the left side of the map as it is shady and there is not much to see.



We had a meeting point, a had the car key in case I needed shelter, the time was set and we were off. I headed on the main street towards the street that would lead me to the main monuments. It basically led me to the entrance to the town, which I was happy about. I got a nice shot of the bull statue and of a sign that warned people about bull demonstrations. I also found a tobacco store to buy some more minutes for my phone.

I headed into the store and began my wonderful French, asking for minutes for my phone. I am not sure of the pronunciation for minutes…so I tried about three possibilities and then I showed the international sign for cell phone. The woman asked me if I spoke English and we conducted business en Anglais.



After my business was taken care of I headed to the first monument. I was hungry though and smelled some wonderful smells coming from the left; after a short detour and an éclair later I was back on track. I found an old church and a beautiful square that had a statue of a dragon in it. I thought this was weird but did not question it; in France these things just do not seem weird to me until I write about it and then I am like, “what the…”



After the square I began to just walk. I got lost in the streets but they were beautiful. I found a painting that looked like a door that was closed and one that was opened. I just found beautiful things that if I write them, they will just sound stupid or usual but they were none of these, they were extraordinary. (you must look at my photo album in order to understand!)

It was getting late and I decided I needed to head back to the car. I looked at my map and had no idea where I was. This was one of those crappy maps that show the main streets and the monuments but not the streets of the town. I had long past any monuments and this map was of no real use to me. I decided to find a street that looked like it was a main street and walk down it. I walked until I found where I was on the map…I was on the left side of the map, where Anne-Francoise told me not to go. I was happy that I wound up there though, those were the sites that I wanted to see.

I made my way back to the car and met up with Anne and Auriane who both had a clean bill of teeth given to them.

Kissing is Evil

So I know that it is customary for friends to kiss each other on the cheek when they greet in France, I was prepared for that. What is so strange to me is seeing it happen not just during hellos.

On one of my last nights in New Jersey I went to a friend’s surprise birthday party. It was lovely and I was so glad to see him. There were a couple of guys who did that Italian mafia kind of thing where they kissed the head and I don’t know how to really explain it, it was just very mob like. None the less, it is funny because it was all in good fun.

When I was walking in the streets of Vallabregues I saw an 18 and 16 year old boy kiss each other hello (around 18 and 16). Now, it just makes me giggle, all tattooed leg and funky staged and they do this and it is normal. I cannot imagine seeing tattooed punks kissing left and right to say hello or to see 12-14 year old boys kissing each other hello. You can barely get them to touch your hand when meeting them with cooties and all.

I think that the weirdest kissing thing that I have come in contact with was during Auriane’s tennis match. Her opponent was late but when she arrived they kissed each other hello and then began to warm up and played. At the end of the three hour, intense, sweaty match the two girls got up real close to each other and kissed each other three times on the cheek. That is just evil! I mean you just lost to Auriane and now you have to get all up in her grill and touch her sweaty smelly face. I thought a handshake was bad enough….

A Whole Lot of Bull

In all of the small towns that I have been to lately, I have noticed signs of bulls. Like “Watch out for bulls!” In Vallabregues I have come across a door and fence that had bulls on them. In Aramon I found some shutters with bulls on them, they are everywhere.



On the day that I decided to explore Vallabregues, I ran into Alan as he was leaving Town Hall. I asked him which way the river was. I was happy that I asked as I was walking in the wrong direction. He walked me to the split in the road with directions that consisted of him pointing straight and then right and with an emphasis of “eh” each time he changed his hand direction. During our short walk to the cross, we passed a bull ring. He explained that they have bulls sometimes and if they have them while I am here, they will take me. I was excited about that!



When Auriane and Anne-Francoise went to the dentist I walked around the town, which had signs to watch out for bulls and statues of bulls. These were much more prominent then the bulls that were painted on the doors and gates of Vallabregues. On the ride home from the dentist I asked Anne-Francoise about the bulls. She told me that there is a specific kind of bull in the south that does not live elsewhere. All of the small towns in the south of France to Spain have a running of the bulls. I thought it was just one crazy town in Spain, little did I know it happened all over! She said that the streets are gated off and the bulls make their way through town. She said that men and men on horses chase the bulls; it is much more of a man’s “sport.”



Anne-Francoise also told me that in the small villages from Easter to summer they have bulls in the bull rings. Now, some of these towns are small…like REALLY small, but each one has a ring (no super market, just a bull ring). Anyway, in the small villages they do not kill the bulls like they do in Spain; they just put roses on the bulls’ horns and try to get them off. It sounds like a silly thing to do, but much better than killing the poor animals. I was informed that in the big cities like Nimes and Avignon they do kill the bulls but they are hoping that this will change as in Spain some new laws have been made against the killing of the animals.

At dinner I found out that there would be a bull event next weekend that I will be attending, I am excited to witness this!

I Don't Speak American

Today will be summed up quickly:

Woke up late, enjoyed exploring the village, got some nice shots of the town, checked out the post office and got some stamps. Enjoyed lunch with the whole family as Wednesday's are half days. Spoke to my sister for a bit, headed to Auriane's tennis match (it was long, but good and she won!). I am super tired and it is late, the end :)

Interesting:
They keep saying "how do you say it in American" or people who I am introduced to say "I do not speak American." I finally asked what the difference between speaking English and American was. Aside from getting some puzzled looks at first it was explained to me: the accent. Now when I slip up and say that is how it is said in American, I do not have to change it, look at that!

Aramon

We got back into the car and headed to Aramon. It is a town for rich people and the houses show it. We made our way to a chateau and walked around only for a short bit. We saw some beautiful trees and spots, even an old woman cutting vines from her balcony. It looked like they were about 20 years old and she was doing some amazing work. I did not feel right taking a picture but we smiled as we walked by the second time.

Aramon was a nice town but I did not see much of it, perhaps not much to see. We got back into the car and headed to pick up Anne. After that we dropped her off at home and picked up Auriane. After a light snack I updated my pictures and blog and voila - you are up to date with me!

Barbentane

We dropped off Anne and headed to Barbentane (pronounced bar-bonn-tah-nuh). We began walking and saw a nice tunnel. I figured Alan was in charge of this one and I just followed. We walked through a tunnel (upwards). We both said that we felt it and then we got to the end of the tunnel and saw the stairs, straight up some more. The stairs led us to a wonderful view of some old ramparts of the city.

After we looked at that for a bit we began walking the streets. These streets were even more narrow than other places that I have been. I have no idea how one car can fit through them, let alone where the cars park or what happens during the holidays. There was beautiful views from the hilly streets though.



Alan told me that the flags represented the town’s festival. There were French flags and then flags representing the town’s crest, basically. The flags looked very festive. We walked past a few large houses and I was informed that they were not hotels, but mansions.

Where Are We Going?

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch with Alan. I had half an avocado, some bread, ratatouille, and a kind of hamburger. Apparently the French make hamburgers but they eat the meat alone, it is weird and kind of grosses me out, I mean it is not a steak it is chopped meat. I guess this is just a cultural difference and it makes no sense whatsoever that I am weirded out by this; but I am. Anyway, it was a bit rare but totally eatable. The ratatouille was good, but did not live up to Fanny’s (it was from the store).

I hung out for a bit and did some research on The Mistral (strong winds in the south of France in the Rhone Valley). Looked up a few other interesting facts and then Anne told me we were leaving in five minutes. I said “okay, where are we going?” Apparently she had a meeting to go to and it was Alan’s job to amuse me. We would be headed to a nearby town.

Tarascon Part II

So I walked up to this ginormous castle. I figured I should go in and so I walked over the empty mote to the center of the castle. Now this castle was not grand or decorated fabulous like Ludwig’s but for whatever reason, it impressed me much more. Perhaps because I felt it was more authentic, I mean Ludwig’s castles were just for hobby. They were magnificent inside but it was all from his imagination and not made as a real place to defend your city…but this was.

I made my way up to the entrance and looked at the many French books. I wish that I had more room, I would be bringing Zavi and Zia lots of material to read back home. I found a cute keychain with the Tarascon monster but figured I could go back for it later. I bought my ticket and got my English brochure and began to walk around.



Side Story:
The town is called Tarascon after the legendary sea monster of The Rhone. As legend has it, there was a sea monster called Tarascon living in the Rhone. The village people hated Tarascon, their children were afraid to play in the water and the fishermen feared him. One day some ballzy (sp?) town’s lady had had enough and went to fight Tarascon. She wound up winning and she brought his head into the village; all of the town’s people rejoiced. They town still celebrates this each year (I won’t be here for the festivities though). It looks like the Chinese New Year where people are under the monster’s body and they walk around town.



The castle was huge. I went into the kitchen, the garden and then everywhere else. I actually liked going alone as I could take my time. I had a few questions by the end but I kept them in the back of my mind to ask later. The king’s toilette was on the top floor so that everything could flow down the pipes to the bottom floor.



My favorite was learning that the castle was turned into a prison in the 1800’s for over 100 years. You could find carvings that the prisoner’s had made. You could see the days carved by the window and even their names and stories. I found a John Silver and a funny little riddle.



The last room that I went into was the Graffiti Room. It had HUGE carvings all over. One of the castle, ships, all sorts of things. I was not sure if this was from the prisoners or the castle era but it was wonderful nonetheless. At the end I asked the lady how many prisoner’s stayed there, she said that they do not have records of that. I found out the story of the Tarascon monster later in my day. I was curious how the prisoners had been able to carve things into the walls as they carvings were very neat and deep, I think I can find that out on my own though.



Anne called and said that we would be meeting up in 30 minutes, perfect timing. I went back to the market and got some bread to hold me over until lunch and then explored the church. The church was old, nothing I have not already seen though…except for the man who was sitting on the stage meditating! I took a picture – but did not make it too obvious (I hope).



In the basement of the church there is the tomb of Jean de Cossa. It was creepy. I met up with Anne, got some fresh fish from the market for dinner and we headed home.

Tarascon Part I

For dinner the family had pasta with some kind of cut up pork pieces, they made me some fish patties and some un-porkified pasta. It was quite yummy. The day was over and tomorrow Auriane was able to go into school an hour late since her English teacher is out this week and that is her first period class.

I woke up early but decided to go back to sleep. I was awakened by the 7am church bells but stayed in bed until 7:30. I took a shower and headed downstairs. When I got downstairs and went to open the door to the living room, it was locked. I walked back upstairs, went through the den (good thing I did not lock it last night!) and then crept my way downstairs. I was not really quiet as it was dark, I was not used to the house layout and it is an old house so it creaked a lot. I was the first one up and made some tea and enjoyed a nectarine.

Apparently Auriane woke up her parents early with screams from a nightmare – either it woke me up and I did not realize what woke me up or I did not hear it…Either way everyone was getting up. I went with Alan to drop Auriane off at school and then he dropped me off in the school’s town, Tarascon. Today is Tuesday and the village is having a market, apparently it is the best market of the surrounding towns. I was told that in the center of town I would find the food market.



It was a very large and wonderful market. There were vendors selling everything under the moon (for those who want examples: sunglasses, carpet cleaner, watches, wallets, mattresses, shoes, clothes, etc) and then there was the food market. Two fish stands, three cheese stands and lots of vegetable and fruits stands later I was in heaven.

Anne told me that she had a 9:30 phone meeting and she would call me when she knew when she could come to pick me up. This of course made me feel like I had no idea how much time I had so I went to do big things first. I skipped buying any food and went looking for a map. I wound up at the Town Hall (did not know this at the time) and a very nice man gave me a map. He told me where the information center was, but he had just given me everything that I needed. We chatted for a bit (or tried to) and then I went to the castle.

My Favorite Story Yet

Okay so this may not be the best story I have told, but I found it to be the most amusing experience yet.

Blah blah blah…and so Auriane and her mother went to Auriane's first guitar lesson. I was home and just hanging out and then heard noises downstairs. I saw that it was Alan who was cooking dinner. He showed me that he bought some honey and said that I should have some. He got out a cup and a spoon and put a huge spoonful into the cup. Then he asked if I wanted more or if that was enough, I am not really sure which; I said okay and he looked at me funny. I said that is enough and he said “oh?” and so I said "I don’t know, whatever" (or something like this), he put in another huge spoonful. I made a face like “oh geez...” but I do not think he saw it and another spoonful (or two) went in.

Was I supposed to just eat it? Like it was candy, with the spoon? I wonder how long it would take me to do this...maybe I could ask for some bread or something to dip in the honey. Then he asked me "water?" I said yes and was very glad that I did not have to drink the cup full of honey. He added some water and stirred...I will repeat: he added some water and stirred. I sat at the table thinking, how strange, who drinks water and honey without heating up the water? It is going to taste like some crazy soda or something.

Mid thought he asked “chaud?” I said “yes!” If it was warm, at least then I could drink it like tea. He heated up the honey water and then took it out and gave it to me. It was the color of water once a teabag has been sitting in it for 5 minutes. It was ridiculously sweet but 100% drinkable. He was very kind about the whole thing and I think what he tried to do was incredibly nice. I hope that he did not hear me giggling since at some thinking about drinking honey or honey in room temperature water was very comical to me.

We had a very hard French and English lesson that I think we both learned from and then he thanked the heavens when he heard the back door open.

Arles

Today Anne-Francoise is meeting a colleague in Arles for work; I will be dropped off in town and meet up with her at the end of the day. I had a light breakfast and headed into Arles. It is a town that has many of the Roman feeling structures in it. I got to see the amphitheater and a few other major structures. They are rebuilding the amphitheater and it is just amazing to see the work that they have done. Old next to new. I bought a couple of post cards, explored the streets and grabbed a light snack to enjoy while filling out post cards. I got to listen to some guy on a guitar play while filling them out and then I got to check out an exhibit in a church that was really interesting. It was all wood cut into tusk looking shapes that were taller than me. Some had lights in them, some with plastic sections filled with items and others plain wood. The music in the background was earthy. It was a nice layover for a bit.

My only complaint of being in sneakers: my poor feet want to come out and breathe. It is a bit cool to wear my open toed shoes but I need to work something out as I do not want to suffocate my feet – that was all.

I walked around for a bit and then decided to take the train tour. If anyone is planning to visit Arles and thinks this might be good DON’T! Don’t even do it if you are on crutches and cannot walk, the tour was 35 minutes, 5 of which were waiting at another stop. There was less than 5 minutes of talking throughout the entire thing, LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES! This is what they said “up ahead you see carved lions, they are remains” that was it. No driving past the lions, no who carved it or when, it was so bad! I would have asked for my money back but did not feel I knew enough French to overcome that feat. I was surprised since I had done one of these tours in Nice, with much less history in the town but I learned so much more so poo poo to you!

I decided I should look for a place to eat so, after getting lost and wandering around in circles I found an affordable spot for 10 euros. I ordered the plat du jour and my free tap water (yay FRANCE)! I must have been out of the country for too long because I forgot what food items I stay way from…jambon and fois. What did I order? Beef fois or calf liver! After I got it, I cut into it…paused. Ate it, paused and tried not to gag. I had about three more bites before it registered what I ordered, then I ate the potatoes and bread with the sauce that was over the liver - those were delicious!!

I headed back to a main square where a French class was having a field trip. I could imagine it being a fun place to live and learn . It was also good to see the kids trying to focus and failing…miserably. The kids looked like they were middle school/freshman age. It was interesting to see and to try to listen to the teacher. Anyway, that is all for now. Just relaxing before meeting back up at four.

The Family

Anne –Francoise is a wonderful woman. She seems very sweet and patient. She is a publisher who usually works from home and has done everything from books to DVDs. She is working on something dealing with boys and girls and equality in math or something like that. I am going to try to figure it out later as it sounds very interesting. I found out that I was supposed to take the TGV train to the TGV station. I have no idea why I got that so messed up (I guess that explains why I was so nervous at the station, I knew something was wrong) and why she was late and came from the other station. She was gracious about it, she did not make me feel bad or stupid in the least. She just apologized for being late to me! I am sure that if I were here I would have said something like “I reviewed with you 20 times” or “what the hell, I just drove like crazy to get here” she just smiled and welcomed me. I am so appreciative of that, as I cannot believe what I fool I was for messing that up and I feel horrible about it.

Alan is a quiet man who is very protective. As we walked through the streets he always had Auriane close to him and guided her to the correct place. He has a wonderful relationship with Auriane and I love to see them interact. He has not said a lot to me but I think it is due to our lack of possible communication. We both try sometimes though and are more often than not, unsuccessful.

Auriane, a spunky little 12 year old. She is an only child and I think she loves the attention and love that she gets from both of her parents. She likes to stay busy (she plays tennis and is starting guitar lessons, plus during lunch in school she plays ping pong and/or art). She was kind of quiet when I first met her but she is warming up nicely. I think she is very nice and excited to bake and speak with me. She is typical 12 year old and does funny things randomly – it I good to have a kid around again.

Avignon

Apparently, today is a national holiday for monuments and all of the monuments are free to visit in France. We went into town which is where the Pope lived before he moved to Rome. It is built up with what appear to be Roman remains and is just lovely. We stopped by a few places, all filled with people. We stopped by the Palace but the line was out of the door as it is very expensive usually. I was a bit bummed we did not get to go in, but I understand that they did not want to wait. (Plus, I think they have already been and I will return before I leave!). We found a couple of art museums; one said “nothing stays forever,” which made me think of death. Later Auriane repeated it and I realized it really said “nothing stays hidden forever” oops!



Auriane was excited for the ice cream as she said it is the best in Avignon. We went somewhere, where it was a bit expensive but I learned that it was the same price for as many flavors as I wanted. I wound up getting mango, strawberry and some kind of chocolate that Auriane later told me was the best…the whole thing was delicious! Auriane got only two flavors, but whipped cream (Chantilly) on top.

It was a nice visit to Avignon and I am excited to have time to explore it again in the future on my own. I have realized that I do not do a good job taking pictures when I am with people; I feel rushed (even when I should not) and do not wait for that perfect shot.

We headed home and I relaxed for a bit while Anne-Francoise prepared dinner. We had salad (which in France is just lettuce with a bit of dressing) and rice mixed with cucumbers, tomatoes and olives and an omelet. I am not used to having omelets at night, it is a weird thing for me. It was very good but the top was not cooked all of the way, I thought I was being slick scraping it off while eating (I don’t want salmonella!) but then my plate was left with uncooked egg on it, I forgot about that. It was tasty none the less.

Auriane and I were going to watch a movie but decided not to and she headed to bed. I stayed up for a while then headed in as well.

The Mistral, Math, and a Hot Meal

It was a bit chilly with the wind, but I associated it with being near the river. Everyone else was shocked that I was in a t-shirt. I mean it was cool but in the sun it was not too bad. It was honestly like a most wonderful and perfect beginning of fall, fall day.

Anyway, we got back to the house and I put on a sweater. Then I saw that Auriane had a friend over. She either had brought books or was looking through books. I thought that they were going to sell the books outside but I have no idea if that ever happened. I went on my computer to write for a bit and got connected/wired to the internet. Auriane kept coming upstairs so I figured something was up. I finished writing to a friend and then Auriane showed me what math she was working on in school. She then asked me to check her homework (classic!).

I was glad to help but worried that I would show her something differently than she was taught in school; I am sure all of you either remember this from when you were a child or felt it as a parent: someone was doing math homework, the parent would go to help and the child would say NO YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG or THAT IS NOT WHAT MY TEACHER DID! I was one of those that said “I have no idea what you did, you got the right answer, but you did it wrong. I cannot learn it your way, I will get in trouble!” Although as a teacher, I love when students find different ways to do the math (as long as it is correct) I understand the students’ points of views.

She did the first problem correctly, it was all about fractions. Adding, multiplying, dividing, etc; she knew her stuff. The only mistake that I found was that she simplified -1/1 to zero when it should have been -1. She showed me her notes, but those were incorrect as well. She checked her textbook and voila. She made her corrections.

Then came the scientific notation. She was solving problems with positive and negative exponents and then she had to write the answer as a decimal. She did the first part correctly, but her answer was 30 x 10^-8 Now, for those of you who know math it should be 3.0 x 10^-7 she wrote the power to -9. I tried to explain it to her by having her write both out but of course she did not know how to write out 30 as scientific notation properly. This problem took a long, long time. With my lack of French, her lack of English, it seemed a hard struggle that she did not fully understand by the end. But she got it…kind of and we continued.

The last problem was about a plot of land. 1/6 was used in 2001 and 4/5 was used in 2002. If 1/6 is 6 hectares find how much was used in 2002 and how much has not been used. It was a great question (once I understood it). Auriane said that she did not know how to solve it. She is so silly for thinking that I would tell her! I just said “oh.” She talked me through what she though she should so and with no real guidance she figured out the answer. She did a lot of work and it was scattered and messy; she said that she would rewrite it; I hope she can figure out what she did!

It was time for lunch, we had breaded and fried turkey strips. It was a bit over cooked and Auriane let everyone know; she did the typical coughing and opening the window gasping for air from the smoke in the kitchen. There was salad, bread, and mashed potatoes. Apparently this is the first hot meal of the season. I suppose you could say, summer is coming to an end.

During lunch we spoke of the weather and I found out that the winds this morning were due to The Mistral. Everyone was wearing jackets and saying how sold it was. I did not get a clear understanding of how cold it will be in the winter. I mean they say it is very cold due to the winds but they said it almost never reaches freezing. I need to do a little research as I cannot imagine it being THAT cold with winds, e horrible winds if it is not that cold outside. Auriane said that she would like to go to school in New York or Boston and I told her that she needs to get ready for real cold.

Auriane wanted to do some baking and she made a very simple yogurt cake (loaf). It was put into the microwave, which doubles as an oven and we all left for Avignon.

What Town is This?

Auriane decided to show me the river, I had no idea we were right on the Rhone! It was not a place to swim though, too many boats (not really a lot) and the tides, from what I gathered. I also saw a lake where people fish and then we headed to meet Alan for a round of tennis. Auriane plays tennis and practices with her father, which was really delightful to see. I also saw a bunch of lavender – this means I got my lavender from the south of France!! My friend, Brenna, got me a bag to fill with lavender on my trip – I did not think that lavender from France would be the last to enter the bag, but it is finally there!

While Aurian and her father practiced a bit, I looked at the postcards that he had picked up for me at the museum as well as the information book that he got for me, in English. It was so informative! It has information on every town in the area and what it is known for. There was a map and I found out that the name of the town that I am currently in: Vallabregues.

The Wicker Museum

After we walked by all of the goods we headed to the museum in town. Apparently the town is known for its wicker and weaved baskets and so we headed in. The lady at the desk was very friendly, in fact she made a comment about being a drinker or being drunk; either way she made for a most excellent tour guide. I think she was happy just to have someone to show around but her needing to speak English may have tickled her pickle that much more…

I was told about the 450 basket weavers in the town, which was huge for a town of less than 2,000. It was hard work but they were good at it. There was a flood and everyone went to the highest points in the highest houses. Many died or left or something like that. There was also a man who was a basket weaver and a woman who loved him. She was rich and her parents said that she could not be with him for he was a poor basket weaver. She went into another town’s church to pray to be with him and it was hot outside and she fainted on the way home and died. He was buried with her. The end.

Yea, so many I did not get as much out of the tour as I could have, but seeing the museum lady and Alan do different dances to try and get me to understand words was priceless. Auriane did an amazing job of translating and getting missing words found. I mean she truly impressed me. She even remembered her vocabulary word of the week “sheets” which everyone else pronounced as “shits” even after they said it sounded like shits and having sheets said multiple times.

Church Bells

I was warned that the church bells go off from 7am until 10pm. Apparently the church is nearby and I should not be scared in the morning. They did not give me a time to get up for breakfast and said that I should sleep in. I woke up early, went back to bed, woke up again and laid there for a while. I heard voices and then the bells went off. I my sweet time getting out of bed and getting ready. The shower…A+.

I headed downstairs and found Anne-Francoise and Alan eating breakfast. I enjoyed my staple breakfast of water and a croissant and we waited for Auriane. She came down and I sat with her while she ate. I gave her the cookbook that Vicki helped me find and Justin bought and brought over from the states. She seemed to like it and even said that the tomato recipe is common in the Provencal region.

Alan was going out for a walk through town as today was the one day a month that there is a flee market! I headed out with him while Auriane and Anne-Francoise showered. We stopped and said hello to his neighbor who was setting up for her garage sale in the street. I said hello and before we could continue our walk out came Auriane. She walked with us until the next neighbor. He was selling old shoes…lots of old, worn, weird looking shoes that were stuffed with newspaper. I badly wanted to take a picture of him sitting under the stone arch of his house entrance way, with his missing two front teeth smile, in the plastic lawn chair and newspaper filled boots and shoes, but decided it was not the polite thing to do. Alan was able to get away without buying anything and we continued on.

We made it to the center of town where there was the flee market. Auriane told me that it was not the towns people selling good but people come from other cities with their goods. It looked like people pulled a bunch of old stuff from their attics and were selling it; but what do I know?

The South of France, Again

Where were we off to? I have no idea. It was dark by now and I was glad that I had eaten a large lunch and saved a sweet for the train (which by the way was AMAZING). We arrived and parked, somewhere. There were buildings around but not a house. We began walking in some back allies. It did not look like a place that I would feel safe walking alone but both females in front of me were 100% comfortable. The buildings we were walking past were old and beautiful. Not beautiful like they had a lot of fancy architecture or paintings but old as in rustic. We got to the house and opened the door. I walked up three flights of stairs of what was there house but was big enough to be a hotel.



My room is big. I have a double bed (please note: the 5 star hotel had two twins put together, most amusing) and a sink, shower, and toilet. The toilet apparently makes loud noises when you flush it, Anne-Francoise flushed it to show me. Nothing. She did it again. Nothing. She did it again and it sounded like the pipes were going to fall from the ceiling. I was glad that she did it to show me. The floor is cement and the walls are a big stone. Part of the walls are covered in almost a plaster to make it possible to paint and hang things up. It is nice to have it with the stone but then you have dirt and tiny pieces of pebbles falling all of the time.

I had a glass of water with the family and got to know the father, Alan. His English is about as good as my French. After the glass I got the grand tour of the house and everyone headed to bed. It was a long day and I was happy to hit the pillow.

TGV or Not to TGV

I picked up my baggage about 40 minutes before my train. On my way getting my bag I tried to return the ,20 to the attendant but he would not have it.

I got my stuff, readjusted, and headed to the information station since my train was not listed. The guy told me that I needed to go upstairs, which is for international trains. This made me nervous but I went. There was a check point, I showed my ticket. The guy looked at it funny (I got it in Italy) and then smiled and let me up. I headed to the board that had a hundred or more people crowded around it. I saw my train was not letting people on yet but that it was a TGV. Now, this again made me worry, way more than before.

Anne-Francoise who I am meeting in Avignon kept asking me “you are getting into Avignon and not Avignon TGV right?” I mean when I looked up the times it was for Avignon and not Avignon TGV. My ticket says Avignon but this is a TGV train! Does that mean that I am going to the TGV station? I have no idea! I asked some girl who was standing around, she spoke very little English. She told me my train was in but not boarding yet (which I knew). I asked her about the station but she did not really understand my question. I got onto my train and the guy sitting next to me was my next best bet. He spoke even less English. I asked about Avignon versus Avignon TGV and he told me I was on the right train according to my ticket so it must be stopping at Avignon. Again, no real help to me. A couple of minutes before the train was about to take off, some girl asks us if she has the right car number. We say yes and she says that I am in her seat!! She goes to find someone and comes back saying she is good and sits in a seat in front of me, but that does not make me feel any better (I know two complete separate issues).

I have Anne-Francoise’s phone number but am kind of worried that she is going to be like I TOLD YOU NO TGV. I told her the train number and car number though and she could have checked. I really am just so lost and hoping that I am not getting off and just going to be standing around looking like an idiot in the middle of somewhere far far away from her. Here is hoping I did not screw this up!!

About 30 minutes into my train ride the conductor came around. She spoke little English, but enough to say that I was going to Avignon Central and not Avignon TGV – yay! I was excited that I did not have to worry anymore and tried to catch a few z’s. The guy next to me had horrid breath and every time he opened his mouth, I gagged a little.

About 7 minutes before my stop I began to get nervous. I am sure that I will enjoy it and like the family but it is the fact that I am getting off somewhere, traveling to some town (that I did not even recall) and being enveloped in someone else’s house. I got to my stop and somehow was the first one off (huh). Nobody was waiting for me at my car, so I waited. The train closed its doors and everyone got off. I began walking to the station and went inside. I turned around and checked again now that everyone was headed inside. Nobody was there. I went downstairs and then upstairs. I realized that Anne-Francoise told me that if she missed me at the train to meet downstairs at the bookstore. There was no bookstore down there. Maybe up here…I walked around. Nothing. I began to get flustered and just stood thinking about how I could contact Anne-Francoise with my no minutes left phone when in walked a frazzled woman and girl.

We quickly knew that we were looking for each other. They had made a sign for me with my name and said that they just came from the other train station. After our kisses hello (I am a pro at this now, I got the right cheek and even the three kisses right, which is a country thing) I asked about her telling me not to go to the TGV. She told me that it did not matter as they were the same distance apart and I felt bad that she had just driven like mad not to miss me here. We walked to the car and were off.

It’s Like I’m Home

I could never live in New York City, I know this, I have visited many a times and enjoyed almost every time. It is just too busy and cramped and just not a place I could see myself living. I got into Paris and felt like it was just right. I could totally see myself living here. I am not sure for how long, but I definitely can see it.

Anyway, getting to my adventures. I got off of the train and headed to the first subway. Caught that and headed to my second. I decided to skip the Louve and just head to Gare de Lyon in case I had any issues. I got off there and needed to get out of the station. It took me a good 15 minutes to get out, literally I had no idea what it was telling me to do. Go this way go that way exit here exit there but not once was there an exit to the outside. I found my way to an information desk and they pointed me towards luggage storage. The guy at the desk told me I would need a small locker, 4 euro but that it only accepted coins. I had 3,80 he gave me the ,20 which I thought was extremely nice.

I found my way outside and walked all around. Within minutes I a man stopped me and said something; no idea. He realized I spoke English and it was a total he was hitting on me. He was old though; and I look young – that is all just wrong to me. Here is something that I was thinking about; In America we got into a thing of calling black people African American(even though there are plenty who are not). What is the “politically correct” way of calling a black person in France? African European? This is in no way meant to offend anyone, I just started thinking about it and really have no idea.

I made my way to Bastille which is the street market that I was supposed to check out but forgot to when I was last in Paris. There was no street market but there were people practicing walking on new wave stilts. I found a restaurant and got a falafel which was good – it honestly just made me miss Atlanta, there was a place there that was way amazing. On my way back to the train station I found a group of kids dressed as a mix between the Insane Clown Posse and The Joker; white faces, black line/diamond down the eyes and wide painted smiles. They were drumming and screaming and just a mess. I looked for a bit then kept going.

I was stuffed in the best possible way and decided to head back, of course I stopped to get a pastry first and then began walking. I got all discombobulated and did not get a map of the town. I asked someone and they pointed me in the right direction. I purposely went the other way (not sure why) but listened to his directions and found my way quickly. I headed back and found the train station, but it was not the ghetto part that I left from. I walked for a bit and found it.

Kids

So I know how easy it is to look at other people, raising their children, in only the instances that I see and make judgments, but it is a hard thing not to do. I think that overall Americans are known for dressing lax, speaking loudly and wanting to be the center of attention and having bratty spoiled children. Perhaps I have no proof for the last one, except my own experience of growing up in the United States. The following are a few thoughts and feelings that I have on raising my own children based on what I have seen and learned in the United States, Europe, and educational studies and teaching.

There are a few things though that I really want to stick by when I have children (perhaps I should not have this in writing, but none the less I shall for the sake of you getting inside of my head and possible humor)

1) Do not have candy, sweets or soda around the house. I am not saying that my kids will not be able to eat any of that ever, but I think it is important to have a home environment that does not endorse it. I also think it is important not to award behavior with these kinds of treats. If your kid does something good, do not say hey let’s go get ice cream or stop at McDonald’s as this will get the child to think that those are the ultimate reward and they will only do things to get that reward.

2) After the child has gotten old enough to have their own little personality learn to say no and stick to it. I am sure that this is extremely hard coming from the child crying due to needing something to the child crying because they want something but no means no. I am sitting here on the train and this little girl wanted sweets and the mom said no. She threw an all-out tantrum, body flailing, legs stomping and the crocodile tears came. The mother gave in. The girl wanted to talk on the phone, the mother said no, the same thing happened and the girl got the phone. This happened a few more times and it is like – you are raising a spoiled brat!! At this age it is hard for the mother to say no though, as the tantrums are just embarrassing in public places. I would have picked her up, brought her to the outside of the car and let her scream and cry all she wanted.

3) Speak softly. I have heard this in the states and seen it work where a child who is upset or not listening is screaming and running all around and the parent gets their attention and almost whispers. It is amazing how the child will quiet down and come in close to listen to what you have to say. I think that it is important to be able to speak to your children and not yell at them, especially when they are upset. I know that this will be hard for me as I come from a family who yells and I personally raise my voice when I am not being heard (yes, raise my voice not yell, and yes this is often).

4) The French seem to treat their children as adults and expect them to take on the roles that they are given. Americans seem to treat their children as babies and are upset when they grow out of the baby role, letting them get away with childish and ridiculous behavior. I have seen French people who let their kids run, run on raised surfaces, sit on the ground of a train, touch everything they can find, play with arm rests, and wander off in the park and beach. Although I am not okay with letting your kid wander off so far that you cannot see them getting into the street, I think that it is good to let them explore and see new things. If you tell them not to touch this or that, they will not learn they will just learn to listen and eventually they will question and not necessarily listen when it is important.