Guess what?! We might have to be evacuated tomorrow if Earl decides to come up the sound instead of veering out toward the right. I've never been evacuated before. Although, really, I guess it's only exciting since our apartments aren't really at risk where they are (north side of the island, soundside, up on some dunes - probably the highest elevation on the island. seriously)....I'm still going to pack all my most important things and be ready to take them home. wow. Kind of hard to look around my room and imagine it being destroyed when I return, but I don't really think that will happen. I hope not.
I hope you all are safe wherever you are. I've recently learned from various events in my life - and the lives of people I know - that you absolutely cannot imagine what is about to happen, and how your life might be changed by it. Or even ended, sadly. I've always found the phrase carpe diem too...brief to encompass the weight of the concept, but I think E.E. Cummings touches on it when he writes,
"history immeasurably is / wealthier by a single sweet day’s death." I've been trying to live more consciously recently - to not do things I would regret, to do things I would regret not doing, to love openly, and to be kind at all moments (because why should we be anything else?).
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
In which Audrey goes exploring
wow. the past few days have been packed with lots of exciting things. I think that's how the whole semester will be!!
Here are some pictures from the house we went to on Thursday evening:
Saturday was pretty low key.... in the evening we went to a fish fry at the Outdoors Outfitters in downtown Manteo. My parents stayed at their B&B (Outdoors Inn, right around the corner) for a few days after dropping me & my stuff off, and absolutely loved it. They kayaked and biked around through this outfit, so if you're interested, ask them about it. I'm sure they'll recommend it highly. Anyway, they were having a free fish fry on Saturday, so most of us from the program went. It was a gorgeous evening - sunny and about 80 degrees. perfect!! There was freshly fried hushpuppies & fish as well as homemade slaw, cucumbers with some sauce, cake, and baked beans. NOM NOM. Once we were all there, we constituted about a third of the party, but it was so great. Several of us were interested in various things they do (kayaking, diving, etc), so we talked to Pam, one of the owners, for a while. My friend Chris was in the area from Chapel Hill for the weekend because he lives down by Hatteras. He's actually the one who convinced me to do this program! (he did it last fall.) So he met us at the fish fry, which was great, and then showed Nathalie (another girl in the program) and I a really cool secret beach at Fort Raleigh, on the north end of the island. A bunch of us hung out that evening - with a number of his friends, too - and had a lot of fun.
Sunday afternoon I bike up to Fort Raleigh to explore [the rest of] it. It's a national historic site where the so-called Lost Colony originally set up camp. Where'd they go?? It really is kind of interesting to think about. It was so cool to walk through the woods there and imagine 16th century colonists wandering around trying to figure life out in the New World.
After walking around there, I headed over to the Elizabethan Gardens. We're living in the apartments that the Lost Colony keeps for its performers, so we have Lost Colony company cards! Which means I got in to the gardens for free. It mostly consisted of trails lined by plants (some of you could have appreciated those more than I, but I did do my best to be interested in them)...but my favorite part was a sunken garden in a very distinctly English style. I had fun playing with my new camera...
There were also a couple groves of beautiful live oaks:
more garden.
statue of Virginia Dare, supposedly the first European child born here....but then she disappeared!!
Today, Monday, we went exploring... our task was to go to some random town on the Outer or Inner Banks, so my group chose Duck, which is on the very outer banks (as opposed to Manteo, which is shielded from the ocean by a barrier island...where Nags Head is), north of Kitty Hawk. It was interesting because it was very unlike the Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk stretch, which is extremely strip-oriented development: strip malls, long straight strips of beach, and rows and rows of beach houses. Pretty unpleasant, if you ask me. Duck, though, was more like Manteo - more suburban feeling (which is, oddly, a compliment of sorts in this case)...houses were organized in a way that felt more like neighborhoods, and there were TREES! Everything - even gas stations and touristy surf shops - was hugged by trees. It made a huge difference. There was also a distinct town center/commercial area (CBD, if you know what I mean...), which gave it a more bike/pedestrian friendly feeling. (A gallery owner described the town to us in this way, and I was interested to see that the bike/walking 'lane' was 1. marked with an HOV rhombus (geometry! Jay-Z!) and 2. literally RIGHT next to the highway.
what.
okay sorry for the planning tangent.... We finished with lots of time to spare, so we headed up to Corolla (pronounced, for some reason, "kuh-rah-luh") to meet another group. We were both in four wheel drive vehicles, so we could drive up the beach after the paved road ends. We drove up the beach and then back into the inland of the island...where we saw some wild horses! One had an egret standing on its back but he flew away before I could get the picture. I did get a shot of a colt and mother, though -
We went swimming for a bit there and then Robb (who was driving our group) let me drive his car! So I four wheeled down the beach, which was so fun!! Never thought I'd get to do that. We headed straight to the Manteo airport because we were going FLYING!
in this little guy.
Jockey Ridge on a skinny stretch of the Outer Banks
o hai
ship wrecks RIGHT off shore
solid development all the way up the coast :(
these houses were once quite a ways back from the water but with the erosion rate of 7 - 10 feet per year, they're as water front as it gets now. most have been abandoned....probably a good thing, given that Earl (the hurricane coming more or less towards us) could wipe them out.
mix of tides just outside Oregon Inlet - the blue on the left is the ocean (Gulf Stream + Labrador Current) and the green is the salty-fresh water from the sound
looking south toward Hatteras
just inside Oregon Inlet
This last picture is actually from last night, but it seemed like a nice image to end with...
The vestiges of a simple but beautiful sunset on our beach. Reminds me of Monet.
. . .
In case you'd like to see more pictures, you can go to my Facebook album (even without an account!) here.
Here are some pictures from the house we went to on Thursday evening:
Saturday was pretty low key.... in the evening we went to a fish fry at the Outdoors Outfitters in downtown Manteo. My parents stayed at their B&B (Outdoors Inn, right around the corner) for a few days after dropping me & my stuff off, and absolutely loved it. They kayaked and biked around through this outfit, so if you're interested, ask them about it. I'm sure they'll recommend it highly. Anyway, they were having a free fish fry on Saturday, so most of us from the program went. It was a gorgeous evening - sunny and about 80 degrees. perfect!! There was freshly fried hushpuppies & fish as well as homemade slaw, cucumbers with some sauce, cake, and baked beans. NOM NOM. Once we were all there, we constituted about a third of the party, but it was so great. Several of us were interested in various things they do (kayaking, diving, etc), so we talked to Pam, one of the owners, for a while. My friend Chris was in the area from Chapel Hill for the weekend because he lives down by Hatteras. He's actually the one who convinced me to do this program! (he did it last fall.) So he met us at the fish fry, which was great, and then showed Nathalie (another girl in the program) and I a really cool secret beach at Fort Raleigh, on the north end of the island. A bunch of us hung out that evening - with a number of his friends, too - and had a lot of fun.
Sunday afternoon I bike up to Fort Raleigh to explore [the rest of] it. It's a national historic site where the so-called Lost Colony originally set up camp. Where'd they go?? It really is kind of interesting to think about. It was so cool to walk through the woods there and imagine 16th century colonists wandering around trying to figure life out in the New World.
After walking around there, I headed over to the Elizabethan Gardens. We're living in the apartments that the Lost Colony keeps for its performers, so we have Lost Colony company cards! Which means I got in to the gardens for free. It mostly consisted of trails lined by plants (some of you could have appreciated those more than I, but I did do my best to be interested in them)...but my favorite part was a sunken garden in a very distinctly English style. I had fun playing with my new camera...
There were also a couple groves of beautiful live oaks:
more garden.
statue of Virginia Dare, supposedly the first European child born here....but then she disappeared!!Today, Monday, we went exploring... our task was to go to some random town on the Outer or Inner Banks, so my group chose Duck, which is on the very outer banks (as opposed to Manteo, which is shielded from the ocean by a barrier island...where Nags Head is), north of Kitty Hawk. It was interesting because it was very unlike the Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk stretch, which is extremely strip-oriented development: strip malls, long straight strips of beach, and rows and rows of beach houses. Pretty unpleasant, if you ask me. Duck, though, was more like Manteo - more suburban feeling (which is, oddly, a compliment of sorts in this case)...houses were organized in a way that felt more like neighborhoods, and there were TREES! Everything - even gas stations and touristy surf shops - was hugged by trees. It made a huge difference. There was also a distinct town center/commercial area (CBD, if you know what I mean...), which gave it a more bike/pedestrian friendly feeling. (A gallery owner described the town to us in this way, and I was interested to see that the bike/walking 'lane' was 1. marked with an HOV rhombus (geometry! Jay-Z!) and 2. literally RIGHT next to the highway.
what.okay sorry for the planning tangent.... We finished with lots of time to spare, so we headed up to Corolla (pronounced, for some reason, "kuh-rah-luh") to meet another group. We were both in four wheel drive vehicles, so we could drive up the beach after the paved road ends. We drove up the beach and then back into the inland of the island...where we saw some wild horses! One had an egret standing on its back but he flew away before I could get the picture. I did get a shot of a colt and mother, though -
We went swimming for a bit there and then Robb (who was driving our group) let me drive his car! So I four wheeled down the beach, which was so fun!! Never thought I'd get to do that. We headed straight to the Manteo airport because we were going FLYING!
in this little guy.
Jockey Ridge on a skinny stretch of the Outer Banks
o hai
ship wrecks RIGHT off shore
solid development all the way up the coast :(
these houses were once quite a ways back from the water but with the erosion rate of 7 - 10 feet per year, they're as water front as it gets now. most have been abandoned....probably a good thing, given that Earl (the hurricane coming more or less towards us) could wipe them out.
mix of tides just outside Oregon Inlet - the blue on the left is the ocean (Gulf Stream + Labrador Current) and the green is the salty-fresh water from the sound
looking south toward Hatteras
just inside Oregon InletThis last picture is actually from last night, but it seemed like a nice image to end with...
The vestiges of a simple but beautiful sunset on our beach. Reminds me of Monet.. . .
In case you'd like to see more pictures, you can go to my Facebook album (even without an account!) here.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Manteo
I'm finally in Manteo! After several years of on-and-off deliberation, I'm here. We've only been here a few days but it seems like we've already done so much. Tuesday evening there was a cookout for us & our parents, held at the beautiful home of the chair of the community advisory board. Most of the faculty for our classes was there as well as most of the board, and it was a wonderful evening of introductions and getting to know everyone.
Nothing was scheduled for us Wednesday morning to give us time to finish unpacking, but since I had finished late Tuesday evening, I decided to ride into Manteo (about 3 miles each way) to check out the bike trails on the island and explore the downtown area. First, I explored the forest and beach around our apartment complex...
our building, Thomas Hariot.
our personal beach, as seen from the top of a dune.
me & Lucille, my bike.
the waterfront in Manteo.
Thursday morning we went kayaking in Milltail Creek in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. My parents always tease me about hating kayaking, but it's like hiking - I don't hate it, I just like to go at my own pace. At first we went through wide lake- and river-like areas, and then got into some hairier sections where we were surrounded by marsh grass and sort of had to gondolier our way through.
learning about the history of the area.
hanging out in my kayak.
getting our feet under us, so to speak. just starting out...
Thursday evening we went to a beach house on Nags Head rented by the extended family of the program director. It was one of the old houses (turn of the century) and was beautiful. We arrived just as the sun was setting behind the house... we met everyone - again, all so incredibly kind and interesting - and then jumped in the water. We'd been to Nags Head earlier in the week but the rip tide was so strong that they wouldn't let us swim, so this was our first dip in the actual ocean....and what a beautiful first dip!! The water there is a deep teal and the sky is always a gorgeous deep [Carolina] blue, dotted with white clouds. It was such a lovely evening.
Today was mostly discussions, although the one in the afternoon was held in a gazebo right on the water in a marsh. Beautiful! We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach in Nags Head again, and I think we're going to grill out tonight. We have the weekend free, so we're going to explore the area further!
Nothing was scheduled for us Wednesday morning to give us time to finish unpacking, but since I had finished late Tuesday evening, I decided to ride into Manteo (about 3 miles each way) to check out the bike trails on the island and explore the downtown area. First, I explored the forest and beach around our apartment complex...
our building, Thomas Hariot.
our personal beach, as seen from the top of a dune.
me & Lucille, my bike.
the waterfront in Manteo.Thursday morning we went kayaking in Milltail Creek in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. My parents always tease me about hating kayaking, but it's like hiking - I don't hate it, I just like to go at my own pace. At first we went through wide lake- and river-like areas, and then got into some hairier sections where we were surrounded by marsh grass and sort of had to gondolier our way through.
learning about the history of the area.
hanging out in my kayak.
getting our feet under us, so to speak. just starting out...Thursday evening we went to a beach house on Nags Head rented by the extended family of the program director. It was one of the old houses (turn of the century) and was beautiful. We arrived just as the sun was setting behind the house... we met everyone - again, all so incredibly kind and interesting - and then jumped in the water. We'd been to Nags Head earlier in the week but the rip tide was so strong that they wouldn't let us swim, so this was our first dip in the actual ocean....and what a beautiful first dip!! The water there is a deep teal and the sky is always a gorgeous deep [Carolina] blue, dotted with white clouds. It was such a lovely evening.
Today was mostly discussions, although the one in the afternoon was held in a gazebo right on the water in a marsh. Beautiful! We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach in Nags Head again, and I think we're going to grill out tonight. We have the weekend free, so we're going to explore the area further!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Ratatouille!
well HELLO! Sadly I'm not back in France but I just made a huge batch of ratatouille using the recipe I got from the mill and I thought I'd share it because it's delicious.
At the mill we used vegetables from our garden, as you might remember, but as I don't have that luxury here, I got all mine from the fantastic Carrboro Farmers' Market. My camera is a little less than alive & kicking at the moment, so the only picture I took was with my computer...
Such beautiful colors and shapes!! Here's the original recipe, which is from the well-known French chef Joël Robuchon. I added some notes at the end if you're interested!
(for about 8 people)
At the mill we used vegetables from our garden, as you might remember, but as I don't have that luxury here, I got all mine from the fantastic Carrboro Farmers' Market. My camera is a little less than alive & kicking at the moment, so the only picture I took was with my computer...
Such beautiful colors and shapes!! Here's the original recipe, which is from the well-known French chef Joël Robuchon. I added some notes at the end if you're interested!
(for about 8 people)
2 lbs tomatoes
2 medium onions, sliced thin
3 small zucchinis, unpeeled
2 small eggplants, unpeeled
1 green sweet pepper
1 red sweet pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 bouquet garni (4 stems flat parsley, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 5 basil leaves, 1 small celery branch, half a bay leaf )
1 1/2 cup olive oil
salt, ground black pepper
1- Vegetable prep:
- Plunge tomatoes 1-2 minutes in boiling water, peel, cut in half. Press tomatoes gently to remove juice and seeds; reserve juice. Dice tomatoes.
- Peel and chop onions.
- Cut zucchinis and eggplants lengthwise into small sticks.
- Cut sweet peppers in half; remove seeds and filaments and cut into wide slices.
- Peel and mince garlic.
- Wash and tie together the bouquet garni.
2 -In a deep pan, put 1/2 cup olive oil, onions and a pinch of salt; cook until translucent. Add sweet peppers and salt, let cook 4-5 minutes on low while stirring.
3 -Add tomatoes, mix and cook on low 4 to 5 minutes without browning; add a pinch of salt.
4 -Add reserved tomato juice; stir and add bouquet garni, garlic and ground black pepper. Cook, covered, on low for 30 minutes.
5 -Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large frying pan; add zucchini sticks; brown 5 minutes (do not salt), drain and set aside; cook eggplant in 1/2 cup olive.
6-Combine zucchini and eggplant sticks, add salt and pepper. Add to large pan with other ingredients, cover and cook gently on low for 30 minutes.
7-Transfer ratatouille to a serving dish and serve while hot.
*Perhaps I was cooking everything on heat that was too low, but I had to cook it longer than it says in order to get the vegetables just right. Bernard and I had a discussion last year about cooking it too long, though...apparently some French people like it super cooked, but he and I agreed that it was better when you could still see the shapes and colors of the vegetables.
*I found that 1/2 cup of olive oil was a little much to cook each type of vegetables. It was pretty much absorbed while cooking but then when all the vegetables were combined in a big pot, it kind of rose to the top, which was gross. Thankfully it's just olive oil so it's not terrible, but just not the most appetizing when you open the lid after having let it sit.
*I love to eat ratatouille plain because it's SO GOOD and I love tasting the vegetables, but my friends and I tried putting it over pasta, and that was pretty good too. Goat cheese sprinkled on top is excellent, and I'm going to try making baked ziti with it (instead of tomato sauce) this week.
Let me know what you think!
ps - I'm doing another study 'abroad' program this fall, but it's not actually abroad.....this time, I'll be on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a small town called Manteo. UNC has a field site there, and I'll be taking classes and doing a planning internship. I figured I might as well keep blogging about my experiences on the same blog, so if you're interested check back in late-ish August!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
if a world ends
more than all worlds begin to(see?)begin
. . .
I love E.E. Cummings.
. . .
I had no idea that I hadn't posted in December at ALL until today! sorry! I just survived an awful week, but now I'm at the Moulin and things are great. My train ended up being over 2 hours late because of snow, so I didn't get here until 1:30 (am). I went straight to bed (in the Barbara Streisand room, although not in her bed. I love mine all the same:)
I didn't wake up til late Friday, and then Bernard and I went shopping in Saumur for Christmas presents. We went to the village for dinner - Pascal made a pot au feu that was so goood. We had good wine too, of course. It was so fun to hang out with them all again...we sat in front of the fire and talked and hung out with the animals. Ricky (I think?) and Albert were cuddling...ADORABLE:
The Moulin is cold but beautiful...most of the snow has stuck around since Thursday, and I think it might snow again tomorrow. This is the view out my bedroom window:
So different than it was in the summer! In the back, the river is partly frozen over, and it's funny to watch the ducks bob around in the water and then try to walk on the ice. Sometimes they fall through.
. . .
Ok so about the end of November and the beginning of December... Thanksgiving was fun. We had carrots, green beans, and mashed potatoes (which were all very good) and turkey cooked in white wine...which was good despite the fact that it tasted almost exclusively like white wine. The apple "crumble" for dessert was actually more like flan + apples + caramel sauce (not at all what I expected) but also tasty.
I finally took some pictures of things and people in Montpellier that are important to me:
Carthage Milk!!!
Date pastry I got at Carthage Milk the other day...apparently made from the same thing couscous is made from. huh! very delicious once I got over the slightly surprising texture.
Part of the UNC group having a pastry party. mmmm. I'm going to miss boulangeries & patisseries :( From L to R, Jillian, Mandy, Kathleen (who had already eaten her tiny pastry), me, Bonnie, and Ali.
Me and my neighbors!! The two kids are the ones I did English with for an hour every week...they are adorable. I love their family. They invited me over for dinner my last Friday in Montpellier and we had such a fun evening. From L to R, Adele, Oscar, Sarah, me, and Hubert.
Me and Roseline at the UNC end-of-semester soiree this week. I think it's one of the few photos I have with her. It's just weird to take pictures of or with someone you live with, you know? It's okay though.
. . .
Life is good.
. . .
I love E.E. Cummings.
. . .
I had no idea that I hadn't posted in December at ALL until today! sorry! I just survived an awful week, but now I'm at the Moulin and things are great. My train ended up being over 2 hours late because of snow, so I didn't get here until 1:30 (am). I went straight to bed (in the Barbara Streisand room, although not in her bed. I love mine all the same:)
I didn't wake up til late Friday, and then Bernard and I went shopping in Saumur for Christmas presents. We went to the village for dinner - Pascal made a pot au feu that was so goood. We had good wine too, of course. It was so fun to hang out with them all again...we sat in front of the fire and talked and hung out with the animals. Ricky (I think?) and Albert were cuddling...ADORABLE:
The Moulin is cold but beautiful...most of the snow has stuck around since Thursday, and I think it might snow again tomorrow. This is the view out my bedroom window:
So different than it was in the summer! In the back, the river is partly frozen over, and it's funny to watch the ducks bob around in the water and then try to walk on the ice. Sometimes they fall through.
. . .
Ok so about the end of November and the beginning of December... Thanksgiving was fun. We had carrots, green beans, and mashed potatoes (which were all very good) and turkey cooked in white wine...which was good despite the fact that it tasted almost exclusively like white wine. The apple "crumble" for dessert was actually more like flan + apples + caramel sauce (not at all what I expected) but also tasty.
I finally took some pictures of things and people in Montpellier that are important to me:
Carthage Milk!!!
Date pastry I got at Carthage Milk the other day...apparently made from the same thing couscous is made from. huh! very delicious once I got over the slightly surprising texture.
Part of the UNC group having a pastry party. mmmm. I'm going to miss boulangeries & patisseries :( From L to R, Jillian, Mandy, Kathleen (who had already eaten her tiny pastry), me, Bonnie, and Ali.
Me and my neighbors!! The two kids are the ones I did English with for an hour every week...they are adorable. I love their family. They invited me over for dinner my last Friday in Montpellier and we had such a fun evening. From L to R, Adele, Oscar, Sarah, me, and Hubert.
Me and Roseline at the UNC end-of-semester soiree this week. I think it's one of the few photos I have with her. It's just weird to take pictures of or with someone you live with, you know? It's okay though.. . .
Life is good.
Time's a strange fellow
He gives more than he takes (and he takes all)
. . .
[I wrote this on the train Thursday on my way here, but this is the first chance I've had to post it]
. . .
I’m writing this on the train… I said goodbye to Roseline, my host mom, this afternoon and got on the train (barely!) to go to Saumur. I’m spending my last few days in France back at the Moulin. I’m so excited! It was snowing when we stopped in Lyon, which is much farther south than the Loire Valley, so I’m hoping it’s snowing when I arrive…that would be so perfect.
But so about how I almost missed the train… this week has been hell for me. I don’t think I’ve gotten so little sleep so many nights in a row in a long time. Yes, it’s partly because I procrastinated, but it doesn’t help that it was almost all assigned in the last few weeks of the semester. Gotta love that French system. Anyway, so I STILL had one more thing to finish this morning (dissertation on nuclear waste, anyone?) in addition to packing and running errands. I got it all done but it ended with me dragging my suitcases down the four flights of stairs of my building and freaking out the whole tram ride to the train station. I was already mostly convinced I was going to miss my train and was overheated and trembling [SIDE NOTE: there is the most adorable baby a few rows ahead of me in the train: he looks constantly extremely surprised and/or overwhelmed with joy] so I was trembling and freaking out already and then some guys next to me on the tram started playing a violin/accordion duet of “Flight of the Bumblebee” …yes, thank you, that does help my nerves. (Did I just say that? am I 94?) When I got to the station, I composté-ed my billet, by which I mean my ticket, and did my best to run down the stairs and then back up to get to my correct platform….my two somewhat heavy suitcases made that a little hard, though, but thankfully two very nice French men carried them for me. I started to get on the train in the wrong car, which isn’t usually a problem because you can walk between cars, except that not this time. So then I had to try to figure out where to go and I was really convinced it was going to leave while I was standing there, which would have been so unacceptable. I stopped at one door and tried to figure out what car it was – the electric screen that is supposed to indicate the car number and destination of the train was conveniently off – and this guy standing in the doorway said “oh, this is car 5.” PERFECT, finally. My seat is in car 5. When he told me that I just wanted to hug him, but then it got better, because he opened the door for me (it wouldn’t let me in the car) and helped me with my bags. Now, this might seem like what we would call a Boyfriend in Montpellier – a guy who will do anything to get your attention – but it was different for some reason, i.e. that he was just being nice. After I got settled on the train and my heart rate was no longer 200 bpm, I thought about it: was he aware of how much of a difference he made in my afternoon? It gives me a new presence of mind when I interact with strangers.
So apparently our train is going to be an hour late, I think because of the snow?? Six and a half hours on a train is long, but snow would probably be worth it.
Know what’s weird? I’m coming home on Tuesday. Home! I’ve been in France for 6 months, which seems short and long at the same time. I kind of feel like a grown up who’s been away at a new job location and is now flying home for Christmas. Like a movie, or something. Several people here have asked me if I can imagine living in France and I don’t really know what to say, I guess cus I…am? I realized today that it was hard for me to answer because I already feel like I really am living here, not just taking classes in French and eating croissants. So, in answer to their question: yes, I would absolutely live in France [again]. At the same time, though, and I don’t really know why, I don’t feel like Montpellier is my city. Not in a possessive sense but in a mutual sense…like Montpellier and I don’t need each other. Don’t get me wrong – there are a lot of things I love in Montpellier, but I…just don’t really feel any attachment to the city itself like I’m attached to the Moulin, Chapel Hill, Raleigh… I’m so glad I’m spending my last few days in France at the Moulin! It’ll be all the things I love about France – the beautiful countryside, good food, good wine, lively discussions en francais, and entertaining characters. And hopefully snow!
I’ll be home for less than two days, and then we’re flying up to Washington to spend Christmas with family, which I’m so excited about. Then I’ll be in Raleigh for a little less than two weeks, and then back to Chapel Hill! I’m so excited about being back at UNC, but it seems like I have so little time at home. I’m going to do my best to make the most of it.
. . .
[I wrote this on the train Thursday on my way here, but this is the first chance I've had to post it]
. . .
I’m writing this on the train… I said goodbye to Roseline, my host mom, this afternoon and got on the train (barely!) to go to Saumur. I’m spending my last few days in France back at the Moulin. I’m so excited! It was snowing when we stopped in Lyon, which is much farther south than the Loire Valley, so I’m hoping it’s snowing when I arrive…that would be so perfect.
But so about how I almost missed the train… this week has been hell for me. I don’t think I’ve gotten so little sleep so many nights in a row in a long time. Yes, it’s partly because I procrastinated, but it doesn’t help that it was almost all assigned in the last few weeks of the semester. Gotta love that French system. Anyway, so I STILL had one more thing to finish this morning (dissertation on nuclear waste, anyone?) in addition to packing and running errands. I got it all done but it ended with me dragging my suitcases down the four flights of stairs of my building and freaking out the whole tram ride to the train station. I was already mostly convinced I was going to miss my train and was overheated and trembling [SIDE NOTE: there is the most adorable baby a few rows ahead of me in the train: he looks constantly extremely surprised and/or overwhelmed with joy] so I was trembling and freaking out already and then some guys next to me on the tram started playing a violin/accordion duet of “Flight of the Bumblebee” …yes, thank you, that does help my nerves. (Did I just say that? am I 94?) When I got to the station, I composté-ed my billet, by which I mean my ticket, and did my best to run down the stairs and then back up to get to my correct platform….my two somewhat heavy suitcases made that a little hard, though, but thankfully two very nice French men carried them for me. I started to get on the train in the wrong car, which isn’t usually a problem because you can walk between cars, except that not this time. So then I had to try to figure out where to go and I was really convinced it was going to leave while I was standing there, which would have been so unacceptable. I stopped at one door and tried to figure out what car it was – the electric screen that is supposed to indicate the car number and destination of the train was conveniently off – and this guy standing in the doorway said “oh, this is car 5.” PERFECT, finally. My seat is in car 5. When he told me that I just wanted to hug him, but then it got better, because he opened the door for me (it wouldn’t let me in the car) and helped me with my bags. Now, this might seem like what we would call a Boyfriend in Montpellier – a guy who will do anything to get your attention – but it was different for some reason, i.e. that he was just being nice. After I got settled on the train and my heart rate was no longer 200 bpm, I thought about it: was he aware of how much of a difference he made in my afternoon? It gives me a new presence of mind when I interact with strangers.
So apparently our train is going to be an hour late, I think because of the snow?? Six and a half hours on a train is long, but snow would probably be worth it.
Know what’s weird? I’m coming home on Tuesday. Home! I’ve been in France for 6 months, which seems short and long at the same time. I kind of feel like a grown up who’s been away at a new job location and is now flying home for Christmas. Like a movie, or something. Several people here have asked me if I can imagine living in France and I don’t really know what to say, I guess cus I…am? I realized today that it was hard for me to answer because I already feel like I really am living here, not just taking classes in French and eating croissants. So, in answer to their question: yes, I would absolutely live in France [again]. At the same time, though, and I don’t really know why, I don’t feel like Montpellier is my city. Not in a possessive sense but in a mutual sense…like Montpellier and I don’t need each other. Don’t get me wrong – there are a lot of things I love in Montpellier, but I…just don’t really feel any attachment to the city itself like I’m attached to the Moulin, Chapel Hill, Raleigh… I’m so glad I’m spending my last few days in France at the Moulin! It’ll be all the things I love about France – the beautiful countryside, good food, good wine, lively discussions en francais, and entertaining characters. And hopefully snow!
I’ll be home for less than two days, and then we’re flying up to Washington to spend Christmas with family, which I’m so excited about. Then I’ll be in Raleigh for a little less than two weeks, and then back to Chapel Hill! I’m so excited about being back at UNC, but it seems like I have so little time at home. I’m going to do my best to make the most of it.
Friday, November 27, 2009
"Bon Thank-givings"
This is what my Carthage Milk man wished me yesterday when I went in to get my Tunisian sandwich for lunch. adorable! He explained to me a few things about making the bread and how to make the harissa sauce not too hot, so I'm going to try to make them at home...we'll see. The French don't celebrate Thanksgiving and find the story about the pilgrims and Indians pretty fascinating. Our program had a dinner for us at a restaurant since our host families weren't doing anything special. We had green beans (excellent), carrots (good), mashed potatoes (not like my mom's :( but still good), and turkey cooked in white wine (good, though slightly disorienting with every bite). For dessert we had "crumble" à la française...I thought it would be something like apple pie, but it was a little more like flan with apples in it, with caramel sauce. huh. It was good, though. I definitely missed my three Thanksgiving favorites - cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie - because they don't have any concept of any of those here, but I was glad to be able to still have the chance to share a good meal with friends.
Is it too cliché to reflect on things I'm thankful for? There aren't any huge surprises...I'm incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be here, to have a wonderful family and awesome friends, to be in good health...in short, to be living my life.
. . .
The last few weeks have all but flown by, and I know the next few will probably be over even faster. I can't believe I'm leaving France so soon! But let's not talk about that right now...
We didn't have class on November 11 (they celebrate Armistice Day too, but for them it's apparently just for WWI?) so we went on an excursion with our language school. Remember our enthusiastic Occitan guide, Jean-Paul? love him. We visited several places the Cevennes mountains north of Montpellier, including La Couvertoirade, which is a tiny, sleepy medieval village.
It was hard to capture just how much of a cute, picturesque medievally village it was...
but I tried.
We ate lunch there at a similarly tiny restaurant. We had a traditional meal - sausage and aligot, which is basically mashed potatoes with unimaginable quantities of melted cheese mixed in.
I love French food.
After that, we went drove through Millau (a little town) to see the Viaduc de Millau, which the highest bridge in the world. It's something like 6 or 7 km long and taller at some points than the Eiffel Tower.
I took this from the bus as we were driving down into the valley...not the best quality picture but it gives you an idea of the scale of the area. It was kind of like rural Mediterranean + (Arizona + trees). So beautiful!
This is the only picture I could get of the entire Viaduc...
also obviously taken from the bus, but it (again) gives you an idea of the scale. enormous!
We finished our day with a tour of the caves of one of the 7 Roquefort producers in the world. There was even blue-green mold growing on the rocks in the cave! Very authentic. We learned about the process of making and storing the cheese and then tasted a few different kinds (who even knew there even were different kinds of Roquefort?!).
. . .
Last weekend, I finally went to two places I've been wanting to visit: Avignon and Carcassonne. My friend Bonnie from the UNC program went to Avignon with me...we had so much fun.
Ramparts across from the train station.
Inside of the ramparts with beautiful light and fall leaves.
We walked around and saw pretty much all the Things You're Supposed to See, including the Pont St Bénézet (sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse) ...
and the Palais des Papes (Avignon was the seat of the Papacy for about 70 years in the 14th century, and then was the site of the anti-popes...more here) :
but since it's a pretty small city, we finished pretty early and just wandered around, which we both love doing.
In wandering, we stumbled on a Christmas market in one of the town squares...there were lots of little wooden booths and Christmas/winter decorations set up, and they were playing French Christmas carols. The theme was 'welcome to the farm' because it was a market of local producers of practically everything you could imagine...honey, duck, jam, figs, cheese, olive oil, nuts, wine... We went around to all the booths and tried everything - so much wonderful food that we weren't even hungry for lunch!
The people at the booths loved us because we were a) American and b) curious about everything...they were all so excited to introduce all the different stuff to do us. "Taste this! Taste this! This is is soo French! oh this too!" it was so much fun, and of course, delicious.
The only things we actually bought that day (aside from goodies to take home, yum) were amazing almond pains au chocolat and some cherry juice. Straight cherry juice. mmm
. . .
The next day, Bonnie and I went to Carcassonne, and our friends Ali (also from the program) and Tristan (a British guy living with one of our program friends) came too. We had such a great time. When we got there it was about lunch time, so we went to Monoprix (like Target + Harris Teeter) and a boulangerie, and got some food for a picnic. We ate our baguettes, ham, cheese, and hummus next to a fountain in a large square in the middle of the 'low' city (i.e. not the medieval part, which is up on a hill). That's one of the things I'm going to miss about being here...the downtowns here are beautiful and so old.
Also the streets lined with colorful houses like this... we walked up this street on our way to the Cité (i.e. the medieval 'city'). Part of what I loved about Carcassonne was its normalness - it wasn't overdone for tourists by any means...we had to wander around for a while and ask directions to get there. What a nice change! Though I took this as we were walking back to the train station, it's the best picture I got of the first view we had of the Cité :
It really was like a fairy tale...or a dress up game, if your childhood was anything like mine :)
This was the entrance we went in.
Ali, Bonnie, Tristan, and I. Love that self timer.
View out the ramparts of the chateau towards the cathedral.
Us again! Tristan, Bonnie, me, and Ali, with the chateau behind us.
And, in case you haven't seen enough, more of the ramparts and towers:
Incredible. I loved it!!
. . .
This Wednesday as I walking home, I encountered my first French manifestation (basically a protest, although the French will tell you it's different). Or actually, I encountered the war zone preparing for the protesters: several trucks with huge grills in front, I guess for pushing through riots, 6 or 7 trucks FULL of heavily armored national policemen, and several squadrons (word choice?!) of the same armored policemen with riot shields, or whatever they're called. [Forgive me, my English is deteriorating.] I stood in the middle of all this for a while...the French people were mostly milling about normally, though the ones who had to climb over a 7-fence-deep barricade to pass between the plaza and the road I was headed down looked a little bothered. I was so curious about what was going on that I asked some French people after they climbed over the barricade and they explained the wine producers were protesting against globalization and the French government. They asked me if I was English and what I was doing in Montpellier, and we started talking and ended up going to a cafe to stick around to see what happened with the manifestation.
I asked them what they were doing in Montpellier and they said learning English. When I asked why, they told me, among other things, it was for "manipulation" ...(of what?) ..."the American government." uh...quoi? I asked them if they liked Obama, figuring they would since most French people either love him or think he's okay, and they shook their heads so solemnly that I thought they were joking. Turns out they believe that Obama, Sarkozy, and Bush are all part of the Free Masons/Illuminati, and they are plotting to take over the world. I couldn't believe that I was actually talking with people who believe this...not to belittle them, but I've never encountered such adamant (or any) conspiracy theorists. They told me there is a large field of antennas in Alaska that is used to control people's minds and create natural catastrophes like Katrina and climate change. huh. Also that the trails airplanes leave in the sky are actually a product that is designed to fall to earth and weaken our immune systems. These people are responsible for September 11th, they explained to me: the proof lies partly in the American bills that can be folded to show the twin towers and the Pentagon burning, which (and I quote) "ends up as a tiny airplane" ...I'm sorry but, as I told my friends, if you try to fold it into an airplane, of course it's going to be an airplane.
When they were explaining all these things the Free Masons were doing to kill off the excess human population and control the rest, I asked if they were doing it also to instill fear in people so they could be more easily controlled. They looked at me as if I knew something I shouldn't and said HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?? They never seemed to believe me when I explained that it just made sense that frightening people makes them easier to control..... YES, conspiracy theorists, you have stumbled upon a renegade secret agent!!
They also warned me that 1) I should never, ever get vaccinated because it is a way for Them to weaken our bodies and more easily control us and that (how this is related I have no. idea.) 2) Coke and Fanta labels from the year 2003 show '666' holograms when you fold them in half and hold them up to the light. ...huh. One of them emailed me with links to several sites and videos that I should read ("the only thing we can do to rebel is inform people" they told me) ...I stopped reading after the first website cited what they referred to as "so called 'unconventional' scientists" and documents called "TOP SECRET doc No.8" etc. What an interesting afternoon.
. . .
Anyway, I hope you all had wonderful, happy Thanksgivings with people you love!
ps - If you'd like to see more pictures from this fall, check out my Facebook albums:
part I (arrival in Montpellier through Avignon)
part II (so far, only Carcassonne)
Is it too cliché to reflect on things I'm thankful for? There aren't any huge surprises...I'm incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be here, to have a wonderful family and awesome friends, to be in good health...in short, to be living my life.
. . .
The last few weeks have all but flown by, and I know the next few will probably be over even faster. I can't believe I'm leaving France so soon! But let's not talk about that right now...
We didn't have class on November 11 (they celebrate Armistice Day too, but for them it's apparently just for WWI?) so we went on an excursion with our language school. Remember our enthusiastic Occitan guide, Jean-Paul? love him. We visited several places the Cevennes mountains north of Montpellier, including La Couvertoirade, which is a tiny, sleepy medieval village.
It was hard to capture just how much of a cute, picturesque medievally village it was...
but I tried.We ate lunch there at a similarly tiny restaurant. We had a traditional meal - sausage and aligot, which is basically mashed potatoes with unimaginable quantities of melted cheese mixed in.
I love French food.After that, we went drove through Millau (a little town) to see the Viaduc de Millau, which the highest bridge in the world. It's something like 6 or 7 km long and taller at some points than the Eiffel Tower.
I took this from the bus as we were driving down into the valley...not the best quality picture but it gives you an idea of the scale of the area. It was kind of like rural Mediterranean + (Arizona + trees). So beautiful!This is the only picture I could get of the entire Viaduc...
also obviously taken from the bus, but it (again) gives you an idea of the scale. enormous!We finished our day with a tour of the caves of one of the 7 Roquefort producers in the world. There was even blue-green mold growing on the rocks in the cave! Very authentic. We learned about the process of making and storing the cheese and then tasted a few different kinds (who even knew there even were different kinds of Roquefort?!).
. . .
Last weekend, I finally went to two places I've been wanting to visit: Avignon and Carcassonne. My friend Bonnie from the UNC program went to Avignon with me...we had so much fun.
Ramparts across from the train station.
Inside of the ramparts with beautiful light and fall leaves.We walked around and saw pretty much all the Things You're Supposed to See, including the Pont St Bénézet (sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse) ...
and the Palais des Papes (Avignon was the seat of the Papacy for about 70 years in the 14th century, and then was the site of the anti-popes...more here) :
but since it's a pretty small city, we finished pretty early and just wandered around, which we both love doing.
In wandering, we stumbled on a Christmas market in one of the town squares...there were lots of little wooden booths and Christmas/winter decorations set up, and they were playing French Christmas carols. The theme was 'welcome to the farm' because it was a market of local producers of practically everything you could imagine...honey, duck, jam, figs, cheese, olive oil, nuts, wine... We went around to all the booths and tried everything - so much wonderful food that we weren't even hungry for lunch!
The people at the booths loved us because we were a) American and b) curious about everything...they were all so excited to introduce all the different stuff to do us. "Taste this! Taste this! This is is soo French! oh this too!" it was so much fun, and of course, delicious.
The only things we actually bought that day (aside from goodies to take home, yum) were amazing almond pains au chocolat and some cherry juice. Straight cherry juice. mmm
. . .
The next day, Bonnie and I went to Carcassonne, and our friends Ali (also from the program) and Tristan (a British guy living with one of our program friends) came too. We had such a great time. When we got there it was about lunch time, so we went to Monoprix (like Target + Harris Teeter) and a boulangerie, and got some food for a picnic. We ate our baguettes, ham, cheese, and hummus next to a fountain in a large square in the middle of the 'low' city (i.e. not the medieval part, which is up on a hill). That's one of the things I'm going to miss about being here...the downtowns here are beautiful and so old.
Also the streets lined with colorful houses like this... we walked up this street on our way to the Cité (i.e. the medieval 'city'). Part of what I loved about Carcassonne was its normalness - it wasn't overdone for tourists by any means...we had to wander around for a while and ask directions to get there. What a nice change! Though I took this as we were walking back to the train station, it's the best picture I got of the first view we had of the Cité :
It really was like a fairy tale...or a dress up game, if your childhood was anything like mine :)
This was the entrance we went in.
Ali, Bonnie, Tristan, and I. Love that self timer.
View out the ramparts of the chateau towards the cathedral.
Us again! Tristan, Bonnie, me, and Ali, with the chateau behind us.And, in case you haven't seen enough, more of the ramparts and towers:
Incredible. I loved it!!. . .
This Wednesday as I walking home, I encountered my first French manifestation (basically a protest, although the French will tell you it's different). Or actually, I encountered the war zone preparing for the protesters: several trucks with huge grills in front, I guess for pushing through riots, 6 or 7 trucks FULL of heavily armored national policemen, and several squadrons (word choice?!) of the same armored policemen with riot shields, or whatever they're called. [Forgive me, my English is deteriorating.] I stood in the middle of all this for a while...the French people were mostly milling about normally, though the ones who had to climb over a 7-fence-deep barricade to pass between the plaza and the road I was headed down looked a little bothered. I was so curious about what was going on that I asked some French people after they climbed over the barricade and they explained the wine producers were protesting against globalization and the French government. They asked me if I was English and what I was doing in Montpellier, and we started talking and ended up going to a cafe to stick around to see what happened with the manifestation.
I asked them what they were doing in Montpellier and they said learning English. When I asked why, they told me, among other things, it was for "manipulation" ...(of what?) ..."the American government." uh...quoi? I asked them if they liked Obama, figuring they would since most French people either love him or think he's okay, and they shook their heads so solemnly that I thought they were joking. Turns out they believe that Obama, Sarkozy, and Bush are all part of the Free Masons/Illuminati, and they are plotting to take over the world. I couldn't believe that I was actually talking with people who believe this...not to belittle them, but I've never encountered such adamant (or any) conspiracy theorists. They told me there is a large field of antennas in Alaska that is used to control people's minds and create natural catastrophes like Katrina and climate change. huh. Also that the trails airplanes leave in the sky are actually a product that is designed to fall to earth and weaken our immune systems. These people are responsible for September 11th, they explained to me: the proof lies partly in the American bills that can be folded to show the twin towers and the Pentagon burning, which (and I quote) "ends up as a tiny airplane" ...I'm sorry but, as I told my friends, if you try to fold it into an airplane, of course it's going to be an airplane.
When they were explaining all these things the Free Masons were doing to kill off the excess human population and control the rest, I asked if they were doing it also to instill fear in people so they could be more easily controlled. They looked at me as if I knew something I shouldn't and said HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?? They never seemed to believe me when I explained that it just made sense that frightening people makes them easier to control..... YES, conspiracy theorists, you have stumbled upon a renegade secret agent!!
They also warned me that 1) I should never, ever get vaccinated because it is a way for Them to weaken our bodies and more easily control us and that (how this is related I have no. idea.) 2) Coke and Fanta labels from the year 2003 show '666' holograms when you fold them in half and hold them up to the light. ...huh. One of them emailed me with links to several sites and videos that I should read ("the only thing we can do to rebel is inform people" they told me) ...I stopped reading after the first website cited what they referred to as "so called 'unconventional' scientists" and documents called "TOP SECRET doc No.8" etc. What an interesting afternoon.
. . .
Anyway, I hope you all had wonderful, happy Thanksgivings with people you love!
ps - If you'd like to see more pictures from this fall, check out my Facebook albums:
part I (arrival in Montpellier through Avignon)
part II (so far, only Carcassonne)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
