Yesterday I turned 26 years old. I think I asked my parents at some point what time I was born. I think they didn't remember. So I usually just go for a celebration that starts at midnight. Midnight on the 20th I was chatting franglais with Whit, Raph, Ian and Andrew at the Broc Cafe. Then I walked home under a sky that I would have expected to be much darker at 1am.
I woke up the next morning, put on my birthday shoes (which look exactly like my regular shoes btw) and walked over to chez Whit to meet her and Daniela, my road trip buddies to Giverny! And what road trip girls we were. Complete with us shouting "road trip," stopping for snacks, rocking out to "You're the one that I Want," and shouting "Giverny!!" in unison as we passed the first road sign for the village.
So, you know how Monet painted these?:
The inspiration for the water lillies series was his garden in Giverny. And that is where we spent the day on Sunday. You know I am a sucker for collective energy. For me, there is no better place than somewhere with a lot of other people appreciating the beauty all around you. So of course I loved Giverny. Even, or maybe especially, under the rain everything was magnificent. We walked the paths that Monet walked, laughed together in this garden that it must have taken loads of people to cultivate. We snapped shots of lillies, hulking trees, weeping willows, colorful orchids, and each other.
We took a little visit of Monet's house. Looked out his bedroom window into his garden. I especially loved his blue kitchen. Blue plaid curtains, awesome stove, and a whole wall of hanging pots, pans, spatulas. And even better than that, a kitchen all decked out in yellow!
We ate overpriced cheese dishes that none of us enjoyed (who knew my favorite of all cheeses is gross when warm?). We drank coffee and juice. We smiled with the flowers when the sun came out.
I am so glad that the rain didn't stop us from going, because raindrops on flowers can be as lovely as the flowers themselves.
May I always have birthdays that are shared with amazing friends, in inspiring places.
All photos are the master photography of Whitney. My battery was being weird.
When else in my life am I going to have the chance to really focus on self-improvement? Let's face it, in the USA I never have time to create and reach goals for myself. Here, I work 12 hours a week, giving me plenty of time to travel, read, write, do whatever the heck I want, really. So, I present to you my goals for 2011-2012.
1. Get healthy physically, mentally, spiritually
2. Run 5k nonstop by March (the 3k track is literally right outside my door)
3. Find yoga and do it at least weekly
4. Eat seasonally
5. See Germany
6. See south of France
7. Perfect my french
8. Cut down dairy/sugar consumption
9. Write poems weekly
10. Try other forms of writing/arts
11. Create lessons that I can use later as a teacher
12. Save money
13. Make awesome friends (already cracking away at this one!)
14. Talk to family as often as possible
15. Translate some French poems
16. Complete National Poetry Month in April (write a poem a day)
17. Volunteer
18. Complete advanced degree of french studies
19. Handmake Christmas presents
This list was inspired by a photo I took last time I was in France of my goal list. And I realized I had done most of them:
1. Find yoga
2. Eat better
3. Walk 1/2 mile a day
4. Become fluent
5. Finish l'histoire de pi
6. Try 20 cheeses
7. See D-Day beaches
8. See Eiffel Tower
9. Go to England
10. Complete NaPoMo (intentionally not completed)
11. Write poem in French
Funny what changes in three years, what stays the same.
So Lizzi invited me to go to this special viewing of L'Occitanienne at the cinema in Lisieux last night. Rock. Then I found out that the director was going to be there and we would have the chance to meet him and ask questions. Double rock!
I was stoked because I have a slight silly obsession with Occitanie, a region in France. It all started when I discovered the store L'Occitane en Provence in New Jersey. It's a cosmetics shop with luscious perfumes, soaps and lotions. I loved it even before I had any interest in French, back when I used to butcher the pronunciation of the name something awful. When I first got here and saw one of these stores, I thought I was about to walk into heaven. I thought, if the L'Occitanes in America are as beautiful as they are, I can't imagine what they'll actually be like in France. To my disappointment (at the time), they are exactly the same. The owners like to keep the same authentic feel in all of their stores. As much as I wanted a super-store, I know I'll appreciate this when I go home. I'll know that I can go into any L'Occitane in the world and it will be just like the ones here.
Anyway, after Christmas I started reading this quite massive book about the French, and one of the chapters is on regional dialects. And there's one called Langue d'Oc that originated in this area. And I would love to hear this type of language spoken and compare it to French now that I can understand French.
So now that we all know how excited I was to see this movie, we can get to the good stuff! But not immediately, because the movie was not so good, in my opinion. It was the story of Chateaubriand, a famous writer in the 19th century, and his final love. Nice story, but boring for me. The movie lacked action. It was mostly just scenes from one room at one time. All conversation. How am I supposed to follow something like that? Yeah, I got the gist, but there were so many words I didn't get. Add to that the fact that there was some Langue d'Oc phrases, and that they spoke fast sometimes, and I'm actually surprised at how well I did understand.
The movie was not the best, but I was thrilled that I got to meet the director! Based on the search results I got, I don't think Jean Périssé is actually too well known here. But he did get to work with Bernard le Coq, who is apparently hot stuff in these parts, though I've never heard of any of the films on his imdb list. And you know, it was the same for Chateaubriand, the subject of the film. His wikipedia entry says he is considered the founder of French romanticism, yet I've never heard of him! When we asked the director why he's so important, he told us that to understand, we would have to imagine Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, and Johnny Hallyday all rolled into one. And that's how huge this guy was during his time. I don't know. I'm going to have to check out his work for myself.
I had fun last night. And I want to meet more artists. And Jean Périssé signed something for me. Triple rock.
I wake up late, about 10am. I watch some children's programs on TV. I like them because they are easy to understand and often include vocabulary that is important to learn. If I'm particularly lucky, I'll find Samantha oups!, a program that I find quite quirky and intriguing, mostly because it features two main characters who are clearly men in wigs and women's clothing.
I'm not sure exactly what to make of it at this point. I haven't talked to anyone about it, so I'm not sure how they are received. If they are making a statement about how gender roles don't matter at all (the people in the show don't cast them dirty looks or otherwise acknowledge that they're not fulfilling their generally accepted gender roles), that's awesome. But if they're acting like this to be just a spectacle (i.e. the kids at home laugh because that man is in a dress, not because of the joke he made) or to make fun of the silly things women do, then that's not cool at all. I'm interested in watching more, and asking people whose kids watch it what they think.
Whoa. Majorly side-tracked. Back to my day: After I wash any dishes I was too lazy to clean the night before, I walk to the market if it's a Saturday or the supermarket if it's not. They're both about ten minutes away. Before I leave my studio I check my mail (nothing today) and take out any recycling or trash. At the market I buy healthy, fresh food, and stay away from frozen dinners and canned meals, which have been staples in my diet for far too long. Instead I buy fresh veggies, warm fresh-baked whole wheat bread, local cheese. Not much is long-life, which is why I grocery shop several times a week, much more frequently than in the states.
I dump all my purchases in my swanky reusable shopping bag (which the French are all about - most stores don't even have plastic bags to offer so you're forced to buy an earth-friendly one) and tote everything back home. I unpack, then make another trip to the discount Aldi's where I buy anything I can use in bulk - TP, candles, matches, whatever. Return home again, make lunch while watching a French trivia game I don't know any answers to, and maybe read a little from the local newspaper, but only if there's anything that can hold my interest long enough to persevere through the horror of not being fluent yet.
Then I go to the library, catch up on emails, blogs, and chat with anyone who is online for a few hours. Maybe I plan a lesson for the students. Right now I'm working on ideas for American New Years traditions. Anyone? Anyone?
By the time the library closes it's usually dark. If one of my friends was at the library with me, we might go have a drink, or walk in the same direction for a while, but that's pretty much the extent of my nightlife. I'm broke and there's not much to do in Lisieux during the week anyway. I return home where I draw or write in my journal or read; maybe if I'm feeling extremely motivated I'll even translate a poem. I wait to see what will be on TV later. If it's something good like Cold Case or CSI I'll watch that. If not I'll watch a little Buffy in French. I felt so accomplished last night because I watched "Tabula Rasa," and I understood the translation of the joke where Giles and Spike realize they're British. Usually, translated jokes are hard. To get them, you have to know more than just language. You have to know culture, and I guess I know that pretty well now. *pats self on back*
By now, it's usually pretty late so I take my two-min-max shower and talk on the phone a little before sleep. Not to make anyone sick with the honeymoon-phase butterflies, but Tapan does call me every single day. Which means a lot because it makes me feel like I'm not so far away from everyone.
I try to fall asleep every night to French, whether it's a DVD, TV, or a book. But so far it's not been working. Falling asleep to Buffy gave me strange nightmares. Falling asleep to Veronica Mars is impossible because it's so damn compelling. And I can only read for about three minutes before my eyes shut. Maybe I'll try the radio tonight.
Well there you have it. A day in the life of me. I'll have many more like them in the next four months. Whoa. Four months. As in three already gone. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
I did lots of fun stuff. I went to Trouville, which is a half hour away, next to Deuville. Then I saw Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which I think everyone should see. Well, at least everyone who is open about sexuality and can accept and appreciate other lifestyles. Because it was an awesome movie. Oh, Woody Allen. Extra bonus: it was in the original format, English, so I could understand everything!
And I got a little bored and decided to try some sketching. When I was young I was horrible in art class. But this past summer I dabbled a little and realized I wasn't so bad. But I was so busy with other things I quickly lost interest. But then last week I was upset about things and Donna inspired me to pick it up again. And really, my boyfriend has the most beautiful face for drawing. Maybe that's why I've always admired strong jawlines.
