narisilme: March 2006

Is that SUNBURN on my arm?!!!

I went to a carnaval parade in Aix today. Nevermind that it's a month after the carnaval season. I like when big groups of people gather to celebrate culture. Drumming. Trumpets. Medieval costumes. Ball gowns. Dancers. Jugglers. Stilt-walkers. Ice cream. Iced tea. And Robin Hood. (Ethereal sigh).

What else? I'll be going to Le Roi Soleil on Friday. It's a musical/rock concert about the Sun King. Last semester Laura and I talked about making t-shirts that say "Louis XIV is my homeboy." It'll be my summer project.

I'm still "teaching" English to one of my Japanese friends. She knows much more English than I originally thought but we still get together to talk. Through this, I've realized that everyday English relies heavily on prepositions. Let's hang out. It's over there. Sit up straight. I'm in love. I'm reminded of 12th grade English and reading Beowulf. I could see that old English was composed of images. A ship might be a "wave rider," for example. I believe English is the language of images and French, well, is the languages of sounds. You want to know what turns me to puddy? It's whispered French.

I can't stop smiling

My prof asked me yesterday in class why I was smiling. I don't know! But for the past two days there's been a light smile hovering over my mouth. It's as light as a feather. Maybe it's the reggae CD I checked out from the library. Maybe it's the pentatonic scales I've been practicing on the guitar. Maybe it's the postcard I got in the mail. Or maybe it's the arrival of spring (see below). But I can't stop smiling!

Strike!

The French certainly know how to strike. There have been "manifestations" going on for the past two weeks. Nothing too serious has happened in Aix but it is fun to sit in class and hear people shouting and clapping outside. Poor Becky hasn't had class for the past two weeks. The French university is closed. I hear there is a special student committee in French universities for organizing student strikes.

I'd also like to mention that Sunday was the first day of spring. This is a big deal.

To find joy

On my way to class yesterday, I heard the "chug" of a motorbike behind me. I moved to the side of the street and kept walking. As the bike sped past, I caught a glimpse of the man in motion. He was an old man, a bit scrawny. He wore a black, bulbous helmet and his elbows pointed straight out to either side of him. He wove his wheels through the streets of Aix.

I don't know that I've mentioned this before, but there is a dog for everything in France. Well, there's the rockclimbing dog and a dog that rides the bus and a dog that chills in front of the grocery store. We now have a class puppy named Twiggy. She curled up and took a nap in my lap while I picked apart a piece of prose.

On my way to the computer lab just now, I heard the sound of a guitar apicking and a fiddle ajigging together in a nearby apartment. Yes, I want to learn the fiddle.

Wine ambassador for life!

You want to know what I love about France? I love the random. I went to Avignon with my Cal State program yesterday. Avignon is a medieval city and still looks like one. Several pope's hung out there in the 1400's and built a gothic palace. We arrived and got off the bus right next to the Pont d'Avignon (Bridge of Avignon).

Sur le Pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le Pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, tout le monde

On our way to the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), we passed a vineyard. People were dressed in blazers and broad brimmed black hats. People were singing. Children dressed in t-shirts and red baseball hats were picking up sticks. Two boys poked their noses through the fence and said, "Do you speak English?" A man speaking into a microphone annonced, "Look, some Americans have arrived! Our American friends!" They invited us into the vineyard. They gave us free t-shirts, wine, turkey, bread, cheese, paté, apple tart. I might want to mention that this was the palace's vineyard. I drank Pope wine! They removed their hats as they sang the Hymn de Provence. The band began to play. We took a picture with the mayor of Avignon (a woman, mind you). A man of particular importance asked Ashlee, another American, and me to come up to the microphone. He gave us the necessary "bises" (kisses on the cheek). He presented Ashlee with a bundle of sticks and a special glass for wine-tasting. Then, to top it all off, the three of us were to give a few words. He asked us what wine we prefered. Ashlee gave the perfect answer: Côte-du-Rhône. (We are in the region of Côte-du-Rhône). I said I was thankful and so happy to be there and so forth. They beseeched us to go forth into the world as ambassadors for Côte-du-Rhône wine. This is what I love about France: to live in the world of random and good company. I want to have stories like this my entire life.