Recapping

I had a dream the other night that I was in a supermarket here in France and there was an entire aisle of peanut butter. The creamy kind, the chunky kind; organic and processed; Peter Pan, Omega Balance, Jif, Skippy, all of them. It was like – well – it was like a dream.

This vacation period (vacances) has been really nice so far. I’ve spent some quality bonding time with some really important people. I watched Dracula: Dead and Loving It with the other assistants and explained to them (in French!) how I love this movie because it’s nostalgia for all the times my cousin Beenie and I watched it when we were younger. And of course, nostalgia for Thursday night movies at E03 my last semester at Stockton. I couldn’t help but laugh at rasper-babies and when the wig went flying at the end. It was nice to have a little get-together at chez moi. My studio is small, and the four of us pretty much filled it, but it felt comfy. I had some snacks and wine and soda and music. It was nice. And since the Spanish assistant Milena came and she doesn’t speak English, we had to speak French the whole time. Very cool.

The day after, I went to Deauville with two of my teachers from Laplace. Best Day Ever! S (one teacher) picked me up at Gambier (where I live) with her little puppy, who was the cutest thing ever, and whose name I couldn’t even begin to spell. Together we drove through the lovely countryside (and also through a hailstorm) to get to M’s house. M is another teacher at Laplace. And her house is friggin awesome! I would love to live somewhere just like it. It’s got a lovely inside complete with a real fireplace, and it sits on a lot of land. Also a big plus: her neighbors have ponies! M also has two sons who came with us to Deauville. They are lovely kids and very well-behaved.

We all drove to Deauville together, hoping it wouldn’t rain while we were there. I learned that Deauville is one of the most famous places here in Normandy. There is a festival every year in September with lots of music food and dancing, and many American celebrities come to visit. And I can see why. It’s a really lovely beach, and it almost reminded me of the Jersey Shore, except that the sand was a different color. And you know, I was happy that it was a cloudy, overcast day. The deep gray color of the sky was a very nice complement to the almost-orange of the sand. And as I was talking to M and S, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the color of their skin looked against this contrast. If I were a professional photographer I would have seized upon this opportunity.

Along the boardwalk there were several changing stations for tourists to use in the summer. And each changing booth was named for a celebrity. Tobey Maguire was there, and Francis Ford Coppola, and Adam Sandler and countless others. When it rained a little, we took shelter in Sean Connery. I’m so happy I can say that!

After the boardwalk my guides showed me the luxurious city of Deauville. The Hotel Normandy is huge and from what I was told very expensive. There is also a casino there that is really decadent inside. It was small, even compared to the ones in Atlantic City, which in turn are dwarfs compared to the ones in Las Vegas. I thought it was interesting to look at the names of the slot machines in this casino. There weren’t many French ones. I found they were mostly “Lucky Sevens” and “Star Wars” and “Try your Luck.” I guess the names on the machines don’t typically get translated. Maybe gambling has strong English or American roots?

Then we took me to the expensive shopping district. Hermès was there, and Vuitton, Dior and Chanel. I didn’t buy anything. Maybe next week. We also went to a toy store, where I found a whole aisle devoted to Babar, which I think made Donna very happy. Then we went to a café, and then our day was over. It was dark already at 6pm, since we just had our time change. In the car, I gave everyone some candy corn that I brought from home. I love giving candy corn to people here! I explained that it was an American candy, and that you can only find it on Halloween. And I think they liked it. Take that Chris Moore!

Driving back from Deauville we listened to the radio, and I knew two out of every three songs. I think it’s funny that everyone listens to American songs here, even people who don’t speak English. American culture is everywhere. The other night I watched The Incredbles followed by Terminator 2: Judgment Day (blog recap to come). Yesterday when I woke up The Bold and the Beautiful was on. In the supermarket the bath and body aisle is filled with American products. And as much as I want all the French culture I can get, I’m OK with this. It makes it a little harder to be homesick when I’m surrounded by reminders of home.

Win of the day: I solved a puzzle on French wheel of Fortune! Yeah! OK, to be fair, the answer was faire du tobaggin, and it looked like this:

_ _ _ _ _ D _ T O B _ G G _ N

But whatever. It was still French and I still solved it!