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Published: March 20th 2006
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What a week! I have been all about and have had little time to catch up on emails or even get to my homework! This means that I have been busy doing other things.
The latest news: my big toenail fell off. Too much information? All I know is it hurts. I hope it grows back sometime. Now, on to the more interesting stuff!
I had two meetings with my adopted French parents, Leopold and Colette this last week. The first was tea and a conversation about the CPE (the law that is causing all the protests in Paris right now). It was great getting their perspectives on the events. It was especially funny because Colette declared that the Prime Minister, Villepin, would be out of a job in two weeks (she was upset by this because he is so attractive she said!). Léopold did not agree so they then made a bet on it and the loser has to buy the winner and ice cream! It was quite funny. They clearly have had many a disagreement and have this system worked out to avoid tension. Quite amusing. And they learned the word witness from the encounter!
The
Chateau
The flowing Seine.... more elaborate affair was a Saturday trip to Normadie. We drove an hour and a half about to a small town called Les Andelys where we ate at a fancy restaurant/hotel on the bank of the Seine! Our view from out table was the Seine with ducks whizzing by in the current. We proceeded to have a SIX-course lunch with wine and carbonated water. Quite an outing! Let’s see: lobster mousse, salmon with zucchini in perfumed olive oil, rabbit (it was my first time and it was good!) with veggies, cheese with salad, a large apple tart with warmed apple liquor on it, and finally coffee with cakes to stimulate the palate! I was quite satisfied and ready for a long walk along the Seine after it. We had lovely chats all in French that day and I discovered that Leopold too is a sailor though Colette stays safely on dry land. It was great getting out of Paris and into some space, not to mention the food and the company. I’m going to see them in their house in the Alps for four days in April so I’ll keep you posted on them.
I was walking back from
The cliffs
Typical house in Normandie their house to my house on Saturday afternoon and walked right into the protests! Oops. These things are huge. Sadly every article I’ve read in the American press has been rather inaccurate and somewhat patronizing so I fear that this is being rather misconstrued by the American media machine. At any rate, I was a bit nervous as I walked through the protest and had a rather intimate conversation with a riot policeman…..all is well though. It is really exciting seeing this happen here though it is getting a bit old. Thankfully, I didn’t take any Sorbonne courses this semester so my school life isn’t effected at all. If any one wants to know more about the protests email me and I can fill you in some more.
On Saint Patrick’s Day I went on a little trip with my director to two chapels, which hold the bodies of three saints. The first, Saint Paul, is a rather fancy chapel with really different architecture (Enlightenment style…not very churchy) and he was in a glass box. The belief with all these three saints is that because they lived their lives so purely their bodies didn’t decompose…..Saint Paul was covered in
CRS
The riot police......before I realized I was most likely somewhere I shouldn't be! wax to help the preserving process, mostly I found it uncomfortable. I felt like I was on a ride in Disneyland or something. The next chapel had Saint Katherine and Saint Louise. Saint Louise was clearly in wax also but Katherine is under dispute as to what elements of preservation have been added. This church served a working class congregation and has mass ALL DAY- so as soon as one ends the other begins. It was very interesting.
Of course that night was spent in an Irish pub rubbing shoulders with some actual Irish people, none of this green beer stuff that is served in the States!
Finally, yesterday four of us sprung the ten euros to go to the ballet. We had seats on the top level but in the front row so it wasn’t too far off to enjoy the dancing. It was actually three ballets each created by a different choreographer. It was something! This was far from the land of tutus, and instead was modern and sometimes minimalist. Watching the bodies move and the interaction between the dancers was beautiful and I am so happy to have seen it.
Beyond this my digital camera
PCF
Real live communists!! broke yesterday, I guess I finally wore it out!
LOVE and misses
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Oncle Tom
non-member comment
Tes parents francais
Quelle bonne chance d'avoir trouve Leopold et Colette!