Day 34:
Thursday, April 23, 2009: Today, we had four hours of oral grammar because the creative writing teacher is out of town. Next week we will have four hours of creative writing so it evens out.
We started with an exercise about expressions like: “I’m as hungry as a horse,” or “I have a frog in my throat.” For that, the French say: “I have a cat in my throat.” So that was what we talked about. We also talked about the levels of slang too.
After class, I went to the university library with Lance to use the internet. It turns out that on Monday they voted to keep the university open for the week and have spring break as scheduled next week. So we could have had classes here this week. I uploaded a bunch of pics and videos onto Facebook.
Then, I had my journal meeting with Katy. I walked to the wrong place and was late. Then we had class again. This time, two groups had presentations. Zoe and Sakinah talked about an MC Solaar song and Rachel talked about a Canadian song. After listening to both, we go through line-by-line and discover the slang and colloquial words that are used in them.
Before class, I talked to Christophe about missing class to spend time with my family in Nice. He approved my request. Katy told me it was against the rules and that I needed to talk to Christophe about it; he had no problem. Then I asked if he could suggest a hotel because Katy told me that he lived there for two years.
His first suggestion was 200E/night; probably a little high for our price range. The second place is an apartment rented by a family. It is all done by word of mouth; they have no website. He gave me the phone number and told me it was worth a shot so after class, I went to Melissa’s with Lance and Meghan and I Skyped to reserve a room. The room for my family has two beds, a bathroom, and a kitchenette a block from the sea for 100E/night! While I was on the phone with the woman, I asked her about another room for Meghan, Melissa, and Lance. They got the same room as us for 25E/person/night. It was really weird because the lady made our reservation without even taking my name or credit card number. She gave me the address and said see you soon.
So then I Skyped my mom and grandma and told them that it was taken care of. I went home and we had dinner. Afterwards, Melissa, Meghan, and I went to Lance’s and Kelby had a bunch of people over and we had a party before going to the club. There were probably ten people there. At the club, it was there anniversary night party so it was really fun. They had an energy drink company there with free samples and they were giving away a bunch of free stuff. I got a messenger bag.
(Google MC Solaar)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Day 32 & 33
Day 32:
Tuesday, April 21, 2009: We started the day by finishing the movie and then it was time for the test. We were allowed to use a dictionary and our buscherelle (a book with conjugations of tons of French verbs. Because spelling changes occur so much with verbs, even French people use them.) And of course, I forgot my dictionary.
It was okay, I really didn’t need it that much. I didn’t think that the test was too hard but I never really know how I do on French tests until I get them back. After our test we had history again. It was fine. Some people really can’t understand the professor because of his accent but I follow pretty well. We also are talking about the Catholic Church its connection to France and some people aren’t Catholic so it is harder to understand.
After class, I went to Melissa’s house to use the internet. We were hanging out at her house and got a text that our next class had been moved up. Excellent planning; no one tells us anything. We got there almost 30 minutes late; it was okay because other people were later than us. We were talking about Balzac again… I do not understand the professor’s explanations all the time.
After class, I went home and chilled on the terrace. After dinner, I went to Lance’s with Melissa and Meghan. We watched Toy Story 2 in French.
Day 33:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009: Today we had a cooking lesson at the market. We were divided into three groups to prepare a Provencal meal. I was with Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and John to make the pork. Katy gave us the money and shopping list and we bought our supplies right there in the market. They have a kitchen area for groups like us and they also have cooking demonstrations on Sunday mornings. The other groups were cooking Ratatouille and apple pie.
We bought our stuff and started cooking. There were way too many chefs in the kitchen, as the expression goes. I didn’t want to fight for a job so I mostly just watched and made sarcastic comments about what everyone else was doing wrong. My only job was squeezing the lemon and pouring the juice onto the pork. Yey! So then we had to wait.
The pork took the longest to cook. The Ratatouille could have been cooked a lot longer than it was too. The pies were done first. Finally, we were ready to eat. Katy bought plats, plastic forks and knives and napkins and we went to a nearby park to eat outside. We had to bring our own drinks… thanks for telling us that one.
After lunch, a bunch of us went to the island because it was a really nice day. Lance and I took the ferry boat there and Melissa and John walked across the bridge. There were like eight of us who lay out and enjoyed the day. While we were there, we were approached by a cameraman and his assistant and they asked us to be in their documentary about spring. We explained that we were Americans and they probably wanted to talk to people with better French skills but they insisted so we obliged. I said that to me, spring was sun, fresh air, and flowers.
We stayed until about 5 p.m. and then walked home. Everyone left before Lance, Melissa, and I because they had to watch a movie for the Resistance class. John suggested our house without asking Jacqueline and Bernard so I didn’t want to be there when five people came over. It turns out that they couldn’t watch the movie on our TV because it was in a different format or something so they watched it in our living room on John’s Mac. Sweet.
When I got home, Jacqueline cut my hair. She told me that I had a really beautiful face and that I could do some really radical hairstyles but I explained that I was happy with what I had. She wanted her son to cut my hair because he cuts hair for L’Oreal in Paris professionally but I will be in Nice with my family when he visits.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009: We started the day by finishing the movie and then it was time for the test. We were allowed to use a dictionary and our buscherelle (a book with conjugations of tons of French verbs. Because spelling changes occur so much with verbs, even French people use them.) And of course, I forgot my dictionary.
It was okay, I really didn’t need it that much. I didn’t think that the test was too hard but I never really know how I do on French tests until I get them back. After our test we had history again. It was fine. Some people really can’t understand the professor because of his accent but I follow pretty well. We also are talking about the Catholic Church its connection to France and some people aren’t Catholic so it is harder to understand.
After class, I went to Melissa’s house to use the internet. We were hanging out at her house and got a text that our next class had been moved up. Excellent planning; no one tells us anything. We got there almost 30 minutes late; it was okay because other people were later than us. We were talking about Balzac again… I do not understand the professor’s explanations all the time.
After class, I went home and chilled on the terrace. After dinner, I went to Lance’s with Melissa and Meghan. We watched Toy Story 2 in French.
Day 33:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009: Today we had a cooking lesson at the market. We were divided into three groups to prepare a Provencal meal. I was with Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and John to make the pork. Katy gave us the money and shopping list and we bought our supplies right there in the market. They have a kitchen area for groups like us and they also have cooking demonstrations on Sunday mornings. The other groups were cooking Ratatouille and apple pie.
We bought our stuff and started cooking. There were way too many chefs in the kitchen, as the expression goes. I didn’t want to fight for a job so I mostly just watched and made sarcastic comments about what everyone else was doing wrong. My only job was squeezing the lemon and pouring the juice onto the pork. Yey! So then we had to wait.
The pork took the longest to cook. The Ratatouille could have been cooked a lot longer than it was too. The pies were done first. Finally, we were ready to eat. Katy bought plats, plastic forks and knives and napkins and we went to a nearby park to eat outside. We had to bring our own drinks… thanks for telling us that one.
After lunch, a bunch of us went to the island because it was a really nice day. Lance and I took the ferry boat there and Melissa and John walked across the bridge. There were like eight of us who lay out and enjoyed the day. While we were there, we were approached by a cameraman and his assistant and they asked us to be in their documentary about spring. We explained that we were Americans and they probably wanted to talk to people with better French skills but they insisted so we obliged. I said that to me, spring was sun, fresh air, and flowers.
We stayed until about 5 p.m. and then walked home. Everyone left before Lance, Melissa, and I because they had to watch a movie for the Resistance class. John suggested our house without asking Jacqueline and Bernard so I didn’t want to be there when five people came over. It turns out that they couldn’t watch the movie on our TV because it was in a different format or something so they watched it in our living room on John’s Mac. Sweet.
When I got home, Jacqueline cut my hair. She told me that I had a really beautiful face and that I could do some really radical hairstyles but I explained that I was happy with what I had. She wanted her son to cut my hair because he cuts hair for L’Oreal in Paris professionally but I will be in Nice with my family when he visits.
Day 31
Day 31:
Monday, April 20, 2009: Today started by sucking. We have class from 12:45-2:45 p.m. so I got up early so that I could go to the university library for some much needed internet time – I was having withdraws. I walk all the way there to find out that it is closed until further notice… great. Now what do I do? The sign said that one gate was open so I figured that I would walk all the way around the block and check it out. I just wanted to sit somewhere and use the network.
So I get to the gate and there are students that have closed it. Basically only teachers and administrators are getting in to prepare for a big meeting later that day to discuss further action for the strike. Excellent. So then I walk all the way back to the main gate where I know I will see other group members and we will decide what to do about classes. I sat there for probably half an hour before I saw someone. I did get asked twice what was going on and I had to explain the situation.
I sat with Lance until everyone else gradually started showing up. Apparently, Christophe sent out an email saying that classes at the university were cancelled all week because of the strike and they had reserved space for our classes somewhere else. We were to meet at the university gates at 12:15 rather than 12:45 and he would show us where we would be having class for the next two weeks (the week after is there spring break).
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad I have internet at my house and can check my email 24/7 like at OU… oh wait; I don’t! How was I supposed to know where/when to meet? So much for this phone tree for useful information.
It’s a good thing that the new building is on the street that I live on; otherwise I would be even more upset. So we finally get into a classroom and Christophe tells us what is up with the university. Apparently, some students were taking exams at McDonald’s this week so that they could finish classes and would no longer be affected by the strike.
On today’s agenda: watch the movie “Marius” in preparation for tomorrow’s test. The plan was to watch it on a huge screen at the university but now we were watching it on a TV no bigger than 27 inches. And it was in black and white and had subtitles. Okay, so the movie finally started and it was really good and then there wasn’t time to finish it. For homework on our schedule, we were supposed to write a comparison of the book and the movie. This was obviously not going to be possible. Christophe told us that we would finish it before the test tomorrow. Finally some good news.
So that was the end of my classes and Lance and I walked to the internet café to get our fixes. He doesn’t have internet at home either. We were there for almost two hours. I Skyped with my dad and grandma; Lance posted pics on his flickr. Afterwards, I went across the street and bought more minutes for my cell phone. International texting from my first days in Paris really sucked up my minutes. I got 45E worth of minutes for 35E.
Then we walked home; just before it started storming. Provence has afternoon storms like Ohio. I chilled before dinner. We had fries! (Not French Fries… just fries.) After dinner, John and I had to help Bernard and two of his friends push an old truck into our garage. Bernard is putting a new engine in it.
After the news, I watched the rest of the Marius movie with John and Bernard. John borrowed the movie from Christophe because he is in the class for fun and doesn’t receive credit for it. He didn’t go to class to watch it and doesn’t have to take the test. Bernard served us really good digestifs (like aperitifs after dinner). This drink was a specialty of Normandy and tasted like apples and fingernail polish remover. Marius is a comedy by Marcel Pagnol and is really famous and really well-known in French culture. Bernard had seen it like six times already and still loved it and watched it with us.
After that, I had to start studying. I get really bad test anxiety for French tests. I studied for about an hour and then Melissa sent me a text saying that she was going to Lance’s to study with him and Kelby and I went too. We studied together until 1 a.m. then we went home.
(Google Marius or Marcel Pagnol)
Monday, April 20, 2009: Today started by sucking. We have class from 12:45-2:45 p.m. so I got up early so that I could go to the university library for some much needed internet time – I was having withdraws. I walk all the way there to find out that it is closed until further notice… great. Now what do I do? The sign said that one gate was open so I figured that I would walk all the way around the block and check it out. I just wanted to sit somewhere and use the network.
So I get to the gate and there are students that have closed it. Basically only teachers and administrators are getting in to prepare for a big meeting later that day to discuss further action for the strike. Excellent. So then I walk all the way back to the main gate where I know I will see other group members and we will decide what to do about classes. I sat there for probably half an hour before I saw someone. I did get asked twice what was going on and I had to explain the situation.
I sat with Lance until everyone else gradually started showing up. Apparently, Christophe sent out an email saying that classes at the university were cancelled all week because of the strike and they had reserved space for our classes somewhere else. We were to meet at the university gates at 12:15 rather than 12:45 and he would show us where we would be having class for the next two weeks (the week after is there spring break).
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad I have internet at my house and can check my email 24/7 like at OU… oh wait; I don’t! How was I supposed to know where/when to meet? So much for this phone tree for useful information.
It’s a good thing that the new building is on the street that I live on; otherwise I would be even more upset. So we finally get into a classroom and Christophe tells us what is up with the university. Apparently, some students were taking exams at McDonald’s this week so that they could finish classes and would no longer be affected by the strike.
On today’s agenda: watch the movie “Marius” in preparation for tomorrow’s test. The plan was to watch it on a huge screen at the university but now we were watching it on a TV no bigger than 27 inches. And it was in black and white and had subtitles. Okay, so the movie finally started and it was really good and then there wasn’t time to finish it. For homework on our schedule, we were supposed to write a comparison of the book and the movie. This was obviously not going to be possible. Christophe told us that we would finish it before the test tomorrow. Finally some good news.
So that was the end of my classes and Lance and I walked to the internet café to get our fixes. He doesn’t have internet at home either. We were there for almost two hours. I Skyped with my dad and grandma; Lance posted pics on his flickr. Afterwards, I went across the street and bought more minutes for my cell phone. International texting from my first days in Paris really sucked up my minutes. I got 45E worth of minutes for 35E.
Then we walked home; just before it started storming. Provence has afternoon storms like Ohio. I chilled before dinner. We had fries! (Not French Fries… just fries.) After dinner, John and I had to help Bernard and two of his friends push an old truck into our garage. Bernard is putting a new engine in it.
After the news, I watched the rest of the Marius movie with John and Bernard. John borrowed the movie from Christophe because he is in the class for fun and doesn’t receive credit for it. He didn’t go to class to watch it and doesn’t have to take the test. Bernard served us really good digestifs (like aperitifs after dinner). This drink was a specialty of Normandy and tasted like apples and fingernail polish remover. Marius is a comedy by Marcel Pagnol and is really famous and really well-known in French culture. Bernard had seen it like six times already and still loved it and watched it with us.
After that, I had to start studying. I get really bad test anxiety for French tests. I studied for about an hour and then Melissa sent me a text saying that she was going to Lance’s to study with him and Kelby and I went too. We studied together until 1 a.m. then we went home.
(Google Marius or Marcel Pagnol)
Day 30
Day 30:
Sunday, April 19, 2009: DAY 30!!! Wow time really has flown by. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been in France for a month! Today was really fun! I went to Aix-en-Provence with Jacqueline and Bernard. They invited John but he had to stay home and write a paper for his Resistance class that I am not in. They told me I could bring up to four friends but I didn’t have cell phone minutes to ask people.
I would have invited Melissa but she already had plans to go to Marseille with her host mom and family for her host mom’s birthday. I invited Lance but I didn’t know if he could get up and be ready to go by 11a.m. when they wanted to leave. He couldn’t. So it was just the three of us. It takes an hour by car to get to Aix and Jacqueline let me sit in the passenger’s seat so that I could see the countryside. It was really pretty.
We were going to Aix because their youngest son, Mikael, lives there. He is a high school English teacher and is moving to New York City in August to teach. He lives alone but has a girlfriend – more on her later. So we were at his house for awhile we let to go into town. Mikael drove.
We parked and walked around a little farmer’s market. It was an okay day… a little overcast with a chance of showers. They showed me around Aix a little then we found an Italian restaurant and ate lunch outside. I had this really good spinach ravioli with a ricotta cheese sauce and cream brulee for dessert. This was Mikael’s birthday lunch because they were not able to celebrate earlier because they were in Paris for the Easter weekend. He is 31.
They also talked about plans for the wedding of their other son, Phillipe, on June 27. Mikael was making plans for the bachelor party in Paris. Lunch was really good. I discreetly watched Bernard put 100E (between $130-$140US) on his credit card for the four of us. After lunch, we walked around more and saw more of the city. Aix is probably about the same size as Avignon but attracts a younger crowd with more money. The city reminded me of a much bigger Athens because it is built on hills. Avignon is cool but as much as I complain about them, I love the hills in Athens; it adds to the character.
We walked down Cours Mirabeau with its super chic stores (all closed on Sunday; probably better for my wallet that way) and we went to Mikael’s girlfriend’s house. Her name is Leah. She is 21 and studies dance. She’s moving to Brazil in August. She invited us in and we had tea. The conversation then turned to the differences in the education systems of the United States and France. The French think that it is really ridiculous that universities give athletic scholarships. A recap of the French system: all classes and books are free; students pay for food and lodging; students can earn up to a doctorate degree for free. They also think it is strange that we have rural universities in America – like OU. All the universities in France are in cities.
The students are striking in protest now because Sarkozy wants to close smaller universities – like the one in Avignon – and require that students start to pay for instruction.
So anyway, after visiting with her for awhile, we left and wandered around some more. Mikael, Leah, and I went to a Picasso and Cezanne museum. Cezanne lived and did a lot of work in Aix. The museum was free because it was Sunday; it was mildly interesting. After that, we walked down the Cour Mirabeau again and there was an outdoor antique market. There were a lot of people and a lot of really cool stuff but I really didn’t get a chance to look around that much. I think my mom and grandmas would really like it.
So then we walked all the way to the new Theatre of Aix. It has the best view of the city from the deck on the roof; but it, too, it closed on Sundays. Mikael really wanted me to see the view so he insisted that we climb the fence and go. So Mikael, Leah, and I left our bags with Jacqueline and Bernard and went. The risk was really worth the view. No one was going to stop us anyway and there were already 10 people there.
On the walk back to the car, Mikael and I talked about New York. He is looking at an apartment in midtown that is half as much space as he has now and twice as much rent per month. I told him that I just went to the city at the beginning of March and I plan on going again and he invited me to stay with him if I ever needed to!
So we went back to his apartment in Aix and left for Avignon. We had to take toll roads there; it cost almost 10E. The ride back was really pretty too; we talked about my family visiting at the end of the month. We got home and John was not home; we started eating dinner without him. After dinner, we watched the news and I did some homework/blogging before bed.
(Google Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne, New York City, etc.)
Sunday, April 19, 2009: DAY 30!!! Wow time really has flown by. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been in France for a month! Today was really fun! I went to Aix-en-Provence with Jacqueline and Bernard. They invited John but he had to stay home and write a paper for his Resistance class that I am not in. They told me I could bring up to four friends but I didn’t have cell phone minutes to ask people.
I would have invited Melissa but she already had plans to go to Marseille with her host mom and family for her host mom’s birthday. I invited Lance but I didn’t know if he could get up and be ready to go by 11a.m. when they wanted to leave. He couldn’t. So it was just the three of us. It takes an hour by car to get to Aix and Jacqueline let me sit in the passenger’s seat so that I could see the countryside. It was really pretty.
We were going to Aix because their youngest son, Mikael, lives there. He is a high school English teacher and is moving to New York City in August to teach. He lives alone but has a girlfriend – more on her later. So we were at his house for awhile we let to go into town. Mikael drove.
We parked and walked around a little farmer’s market. It was an okay day… a little overcast with a chance of showers. They showed me around Aix a little then we found an Italian restaurant and ate lunch outside. I had this really good spinach ravioli with a ricotta cheese sauce and cream brulee for dessert. This was Mikael’s birthday lunch because they were not able to celebrate earlier because they were in Paris for the Easter weekend. He is 31.
They also talked about plans for the wedding of their other son, Phillipe, on June 27. Mikael was making plans for the bachelor party in Paris. Lunch was really good. I discreetly watched Bernard put 100E (between $130-$140US) on his credit card for the four of us. After lunch, we walked around more and saw more of the city. Aix is probably about the same size as Avignon but attracts a younger crowd with more money. The city reminded me of a much bigger Athens because it is built on hills. Avignon is cool but as much as I complain about them, I love the hills in Athens; it adds to the character.
We walked down Cours Mirabeau with its super chic stores (all closed on Sunday; probably better for my wallet that way) and we went to Mikael’s girlfriend’s house. Her name is Leah. She is 21 and studies dance. She’s moving to Brazil in August. She invited us in and we had tea. The conversation then turned to the differences in the education systems of the United States and France. The French think that it is really ridiculous that universities give athletic scholarships. A recap of the French system: all classes and books are free; students pay for food and lodging; students can earn up to a doctorate degree for free. They also think it is strange that we have rural universities in America – like OU. All the universities in France are in cities.
The students are striking in protest now because Sarkozy wants to close smaller universities – like the one in Avignon – and require that students start to pay for instruction.
So anyway, after visiting with her for awhile, we left and wandered around some more. Mikael, Leah, and I went to a Picasso and Cezanne museum. Cezanne lived and did a lot of work in Aix. The museum was free because it was Sunday; it was mildly interesting. After that, we walked down the Cour Mirabeau again and there was an outdoor antique market. There were a lot of people and a lot of really cool stuff but I really didn’t get a chance to look around that much. I think my mom and grandmas would really like it.
So then we walked all the way to the new Theatre of Aix. It has the best view of the city from the deck on the roof; but it, too, it closed on Sundays. Mikael really wanted me to see the view so he insisted that we climb the fence and go. So Mikael, Leah, and I left our bags with Jacqueline and Bernard and went. The risk was really worth the view. No one was going to stop us anyway and there were already 10 people there.
On the walk back to the car, Mikael and I talked about New York. He is looking at an apartment in midtown that is half as much space as he has now and twice as much rent per month. I told him that I just went to the city at the beginning of March and I plan on going again and he invited me to stay with him if I ever needed to!
So we went back to his apartment in Aix and left for Avignon. We had to take toll roads there; it cost almost 10E. The ride back was really pretty too; we talked about my family visiting at the end of the month. We got home and John was not home; we started eating dinner without him. After dinner, we watched the news and I did some homework/blogging before bed.
(Google Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne, New York City, etc.)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Day 29
Day 29:
Saturday, April 18, 2009: Today, we wanted to go somewhere again so Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and I went to the train station. We bought tickets for Arles with the intention of catching the bus to The Camarague. It’s supposed to be one of the prettiest places in France. It’s a nature preserve on the Mediterranean with wild white horses and flamingos, etc. We wanted to go to a ranch and ride horses. That was the plan anyway.
Well we got on the noon train to Arles and found out that the next bus was not until 4pm. We really didn’t want to wait around and be in The Camarague for an hour before coming home to get our train later. We failed on that planning; my first as a travel agent.
Shawna hadn’t been to Arles with the rest of us the first weekend so she was content with playing there. We agreed, thinking that we had seen everything there our first weekend; we were wrong. We went to the real Van Gogh gardens, not the public parks where we were before. Then we went to the café that Van Gogh painted; it is one of his most famous pieces of work. Shawna has the poster on her wall at school so she really liked seeing that.
Afterwards was by far the most interesting part of our day. We bought tickets for the Corredia (bullfight) that was cancelled on Easter weekend because of rain and storms. As American students in France, we wanted to take in as much of the culture as possible. This may have been more than we bargained for. The Corredia is a Spanish custom but because of the close proximity to Southern France it has been adopted here as well. This was also a good way for us to see the Roman Arena that we otherwise would have had to pay for.
So we get to our seats at the Corredia and there is a band and people selling drinks and snacks. It looks really interesting. At the beginning, all the Matadors process out and present themselves to the president who judges the competition. We weren’t really sure of the scoring system – more on this later. There are also men on horses and other Matadors that are assistants. On the schedule today were three main Matadors – all younger than me – and “fighting” six bulls.
As the spectacle begins, we quickly discover how gory this is going to be. We were fascinated and we all took lots of pictures then we realized what they were really doing. The bull has a ribbon nailed (maybe) in its back and at first they are just oley-ing with it. Then the men on horses come out and one of them jabs and stabs at the ribbon with a really long pole with a spike on the end. The bull reacts by attacking the horse – really sad to watch – but the horse is protected with something like chainmail.
After that, the real brutality begins. The Matador stabs sticks with nails in the end into the Toro’s (bull’s) back. This happens six times; each time becomes worse than the other. Finally, towards the end, the Matador does the most damage by sticking a sword into the bull’s back. The sword is probably a foot and a half long. This brings the bull close to death, but he still has fight in him. The oley-ing continues. Maybe they get points for that?
The sounds that the bull makes are still in my mind. They are awful cries and blood flows from its back and mouth. Finally, when the bull is about to give in to death it lies down, still fighting the taunts of the Matador with small bursts of energy. Now sitting and waiting for death, another Matador stabs the bull in the base of its head and kills it – hopefully instantly but not always.
Next, the horses are brought back in and the bull is chained to them and paraded around the arena for all to see. They also cut off its ears. The bull is pulled off and the Matador walks around the arena to acknowledge his fans. He throws the bull’s ears to two of his most adoring fans – a trophy of his conquest. He bows to the judge and exits. The arena workers come in and re-chalk the ground for the next round.
After this carnage, we all just looked at each other stupefied. We really paid to see this?! We felt like awful people by just watching it; let alone participating. This type of thing would never be allowed in America yet it was like a national sport. It seemed like I was at a Reds’ game of sorts. We looked at the program and that’s when we discovered that we would be seeing this occur five more times. Excellent.
The next Matador wanted to taunt the Toro by sitting on the ground right in front of the doors upon its initial release; smart right. Well the Toro is pissed and comes out and charges him and he can’t get out of the way fast enough and he gets trampled by the Toro. His legs go flying in the air and we all thought he was dead. I knew this was an awful place. He runs off and gets looked at and decides to go back out to fight. Basically, the same carnage occurs again; same blow-by-blow.
Only this time, when the bull attacks the horse, the horse loses its balance and falls; throwing the man on it as well. The bull is still attacking the horse and I thought that it was dead too. The other Matadors distract the bull long enough for them to stand the horse back up – he is okay.
So this was our second day in Arles. It began to rain and I bought a poncho. After the Corredia, we exited the arena and it just so happened that we walked by the butcher that was chopping up the bulls after their deaths and they were bringing the last bull there right now. We stood there mesmerized as its body passed us in the streets. We walked to the front of the arena and the Matador that won – the third one – was signing autographs on his way out. Melissa got an autograph and I took his pic.
Let’s say that no one was hungry after that. Arles is like Nimes in that everything closes at 7 p.m. We walked around for a bit then waited for our train at the station. After returning for dinner, we went to Lance’s and played cards. No one was really in the mood to go out. Now I can say that I’ve seen a Corredia. I’m not sure if I would ever do it again although I was fascinated. I don’t like the idea of taunting and torturing an animal for sport but the unpredictable-ness of it is what undoubtedly brings in the crowds.
I’ve posted two videos of the massacre on Facebook. Viewer discretion is advised.
Saturday, April 18, 2009: Today, we wanted to go somewhere again so Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and I went to the train station. We bought tickets for Arles with the intention of catching the bus to The Camarague. It’s supposed to be one of the prettiest places in France. It’s a nature preserve on the Mediterranean with wild white horses and flamingos, etc. We wanted to go to a ranch and ride horses. That was the plan anyway.
Well we got on the noon train to Arles and found out that the next bus was not until 4pm. We really didn’t want to wait around and be in The Camarague for an hour before coming home to get our train later. We failed on that planning; my first as a travel agent.
Shawna hadn’t been to Arles with the rest of us the first weekend so she was content with playing there. We agreed, thinking that we had seen everything there our first weekend; we were wrong. We went to the real Van Gogh gardens, not the public parks where we were before. Then we went to the café that Van Gogh painted; it is one of his most famous pieces of work. Shawna has the poster on her wall at school so she really liked seeing that.
Afterwards was by far the most interesting part of our day. We bought tickets for the Corredia (bullfight) that was cancelled on Easter weekend because of rain and storms. As American students in France, we wanted to take in as much of the culture as possible. This may have been more than we bargained for. The Corredia is a Spanish custom but because of the close proximity to Southern France it has been adopted here as well. This was also a good way for us to see the Roman Arena that we otherwise would have had to pay for.
So we get to our seats at the Corredia and there is a band and people selling drinks and snacks. It looks really interesting. At the beginning, all the Matadors process out and present themselves to the president who judges the competition. We weren’t really sure of the scoring system – more on this later. There are also men on horses and other Matadors that are assistants. On the schedule today were three main Matadors – all younger than me – and “fighting” six bulls.
As the spectacle begins, we quickly discover how gory this is going to be. We were fascinated and we all took lots of pictures then we realized what they were really doing. The bull has a ribbon nailed (maybe) in its back and at first they are just oley-ing with it. Then the men on horses come out and one of them jabs and stabs at the ribbon with a really long pole with a spike on the end. The bull reacts by attacking the horse – really sad to watch – but the horse is protected with something like chainmail.
After that, the real brutality begins. The Matador stabs sticks with nails in the end into the Toro’s (bull’s) back. This happens six times; each time becomes worse than the other. Finally, towards the end, the Matador does the most damage by sticking a sword into the bull’s back. The sword is probably a foot and a half long. This brings the bull close to death, but he still has fight in him. The oley-ing continues. Maybe they get points for that?
The sounds that the bull makes are still in my mind. They are awful cries and blood flows from its back and mouth. Finally, when the bull is about to give in to death it lies down, still fighting the taunts of the Matador with small bursts of energy. Now sitting and waiting for death, another Matador stabs the bull in the base of its head and kills it – hopefully instantly but not always.
Next, the horses are brought back in and the bull is chained to them and paraded around the arena for all to see. They also cut off its ears. The bull is pulled off and the Matador walks around the arena to acknowledge his fans. He throws the bull’s ears to two of his most adoring fans – a trophy of his conquest. He bows to the judge and exits. The arena workers come in and re-chalk the ground for the next round.
After this carnage, we all just looked at each other stupefied. We really paid to see this?! We felt like awful people by just watching it; let alone participating. This type of thing would never be allowed in America yet it was like a national sport. It seemed like I was at a Reds’ game of sorts. We looked at the program and that’s when we discovered that we would be seeing this occur five more times. Excellent.
The next Matador wanted to taunt the Toro by sitting on the ground right in front of the doors upon its initial release; smart right. Well the Toro is pissed and comes out and charges him and he can’t get out of the way fast enough and he gets trampled by the Toro. His legs go flying in the air and we all thought he was dead. I knew this was an awful place. He runs off and gets looked at and decides to go back out to fight. Basically, the same carnage occurs again; same blow-by-blow.
Only this time, when the bull attacks the horse, the horse loses its balance and falls; throwing the man on it as well. The bull is still attacking the horse and I thought that it was dead too. The other Matadors distract the bull long enough for them to stand the horse back up – he is okay.
So this was our second day in Arles. It began to rain and I bought a poncho. After the Corredia, we exited the arena and it just so happened that we walked by the butcher that was chopping up the bulls after their deaths and they were bringing the last bull there right now. We stood there mesmerized as its body passed us in the streets. We walked to the front of the arena and the Matador that won – the third one – was signing autographs on his way out. Melissa got an autograph and I took his pic.
Let’s say that no one was hungry after that. Arles is like Nimes in that everything closes at 7 p.m. We walked around for a bit then waited for our train at the station. After returning for dinner, we went to Lance’s and played cards. No one was really in the mood to go out. Now I can say that I’ve seen a Corredia. I’m not sure if I would ever do it again although I was fascinated. I don’t like the idea of taunting and torturing an animal for sport but the unpredictable-ness of it is what undoubtedly brings in the crowds.
I’ve posted two videos of the massacre on Facebook. Viewer discretion is advised.
Day 28
Day 28:
Friday, April 17, 2009: Greve Jour!!! (Strike Day!!!) As rare as a snow day in Athens, today we had a strike day! All of our classes were cancelled because of unrest yesterday (as previously noted). Apparently, students were punching administrators and professors were punching each other and administrators.
After going out last night, Lance and I decided to meet at Casino (the grocery store) and buy stuff for a picnic lunch. The weather was so nice; it was probably 75°F and sunny most of the day. We bought salami, bread, cheese, brownies, baconsmaaks (like cheese puffs but bacon flavored), apples, and a bottle of wine for 10E. We packed it in my book bag and headed to the Palais des Papes.
We climbed the hill and sat in the grass on the hill overlooking the Rhone and had lunch. Afterwards, we just chilled and enjoyed the day. Often, I find myself saying that, “This is the life.” To the French, this weather is still pretty chilly. To Ohioans, this is excellent. Jacqueline always asks me why I never wear a coat out and I have to explain to her that it snows in Ohio. They don’t get snow in most of France.
Shawna came by but only stayed for a few minutes because she was feeling really sick; then she went back home. We stayed there most of the day but then Lance got a really bad toothache. He had a root canal before we left and didn’t have time to get a crown so he thought that he broke it. We went back to his house for a few then he wanted to take a nap and I left. I got home just as it started to storm. They have afternoon thunderstorms here like we do in Ohio too, except there are no tornados in Europe.
After dinner, Bernard went to the train station to get Jacqueline as she returned from Paris. I went to Lance’s and we hung out for a while before trying a new club that we had heard of. When we got there at midnight, we were the only people there. It was like being the first people at a high school dance. The club looked really cool but we didn’t stick around.
Friday, April 17, 2009: Greve Jour!!! (Strike Day!!!) As rare as a snow day in Athens, today we had a strike day! All of our classes were cancelled because of unrest yesterday (as previously noted). Apparently, students were punching administrators and professors were punching each other and administrators.
After going out last night, Lance and I decided to meet at Casino (the grocery store) and buy stuff for a picnic lunch. The weather was so nice; it was probably 75°F and sunny most of the day. We bought salami, bread, cheese, brownies, baconsmaaks (like cheese puffs but bacon flavored), apples, and a bottle of wine for 10E. We packed it in my book bag and headed to the Palais des Papes.
We climbed the hill and sat in the grass on the hill overlooking the Rhone and had lunch. Afterwards, we just chilled and enjoyed the day. Often, I find myself saying that, “This is the life.” To the French, this weather is still pretty chilly. To Ohioans, this is excellent. Jacqueline always asks me why I never wear a coat out and I have to explain to her that it snows in Ohio. They don’t get snow in most of France.
Shawna came by but only stayed for a few minutes because she was feeling really sick; then she went back home. We stayed there most of the day but then Lance got a really bad toothache. He had a root canal before we left and didn’t have time to get a crown so he thought that he broke it. We went back to his house for a few then he wanted to take a nap and I left. I got home just as it started to storm. They have afternoon thunderstorms here like we do in Ohio too, except there are no tornados in Europe.
After dinner, Bernard went to the train station to get Jacqueline as she returned from Paris. I went to Lance’s and we hung out for a while before trying a new club that we had heard of. When we got there at midnight, we were the only people there. It was like being the first people at a high school dance. The club looked really cool but we didn’t stick around.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Day 27
Day 27:
Thursday, April 16, 2009: Today was awful until dinner time. We had writing class which was fine except that the students decided to strike again today. The professor told us that they had decided to strike now of Tuesdays and Thursdays – American students would have chosen Mondays and Fridays without a doubt. The worst part of the strike is that there is never anyone with a key to the classrooms so we are forced to wait in the hallway until the professor can find someone with a key and that is willing to help us out.
We had class and wrote a poem about our first reactions to being in France for the first day. It was more creative but I have to think that I’ve written about three of these for different classes now.
After class, we had a four-hour lunch break. This is the worst part of Thursdays. I ate at the cafeteria and used the internet. We tried to make plans for our four-day weekend in May. We’re going to the beaches of Corsica! Shawna, Melissa, Lance, and I then played 18 holes of Golf (the card game). We were so bored!
After we got tired of that, I Skyped some American friends – shoutout to Aimee Rancer, Caroline Flynn, and Haley Smith! Then it was time for class again. We met by the locked classroom for the professor. At the same time she was searching for someone with a key, the students held a rally in the lobby of the main school building of which we immediately became bystanders of. I’m not sure what came of that but they had to cancel our class because no one would let us in the classroom and they didn’t want to put American students in danger if it turned bad.
We were content with no having class. It was a nice day. I was mad because we waited all this time for class to just be cancelled. I was there so I wanted to have class. Some people in our group went to the bar to celebrate. I went to Lance’s house and we sat outside until dinner.
I ate with Bernard and John and then went to Melissa’s. Her host mom’s favorite foreign student was visiting this week and she was going to go out with us tonight so I went there to get them. Every time I go there, I always have to have espresso with her host mom. After that ritual, Melissa, Josephine (the 17-year-old German), and I went to Lance’s.
Lance and Kelby live together and have their own guesthouse (if I haven’t included this in a previous blog entry) so we can go there and chill and be out of everyone’s host family’s house. We were hanging out there when someone got a text from the assistant Katy… she had some excellent news! It seemed that after our class was cancelled, the students were still protesting and one of them punched an administrator and Friday classes were cancelled for the entire university as a safety precaution!
This was excellent for us! But we still wished we knew earlier so we could have planned something for this unexpected three-day weekend! It quickly became known to the group as Greve Jour! (Strike Day; comparable to a snow day at OU.)
We decided to celebrate by going to a new discotheque that was larger and much closer to everyone than the one that we discovered first. On the walk there, it thunder stormed and we arrived just as the hail began to fall! What an excellent end to a day that otherwise would have sucked.
Thursday, April 16, 2009: Today was awful until dinner time. We had writing class which was fine except that the students decided to strike again today. The professor told us that they had decided to strike now of Tuesdays and Thursdays – American students would have chosen Mondays and Fridays without a doubt. The worst part of the strike is that there is never anyone with a key to the classrooms so we are forced to wait in the hallway until the professor can find someone with a key and that is willing to help us out.
We had class and wrote a poem about our first reactions to being in France for the first day. It was more creative but I have to think that I’ve written about three of these for different classes now.
After class, we had a four-hour lunch break. This is the worst part of Thursdays. I ate at the cafeteria and used the internet. We tried to make plans for our four-day weekend in May. We’re going to the beaches of Corsica! Shawna, Melissa, Lance, and I then played 18 holes of Golf (the card game). We were so bored!
After we got tired of that, I Skyped some American friends – shoutout to Aimee Rancer, Caroline Flynn, and Haley Smith! Then it was time for class again. We met by the locked classroom for the professor. At the same time she was searching for someone with a key, the students held a rally in the lobby of the main school building of which we immediately became bystanders of. I’m not sure what came of that but they had to cancel our class because no one would let us in the classroom and they didn’t want to put American students in danger if it turned bad.
We were content with no having class. It was a nice day. I was mad because we waited all this time for class to just be cancelled. I was there so I wanted to have class. Some people in our group went to the bar to celebrate. I went to Lance’s house and we sat outside until dinner.
I ate with Bernard and John and then went to Melissa’s. Her host mom’s favorite foreign student was visiting this week and she was going to go out with us tonight so I went there to get them. Every time I go there, I always have to have espresso with her host mom. After that ritual, Melissa, Josephine (the 17-year-old German), and I went to Lance’s.
Lance and Kelby live together and have their own guesthouse (if I haven’t included this in a previous blog entry) so we can go there and chill and be out of everyone’s host family’s house. We were hanging out there when someone got a text from the assistant Katy… she had some excellent news! It seemed that after our class was cancelled, the students were still protesting and one of them punched an administrator and Friday classes were cancelled for the entire university as a safety precaution!
This was excellent for us! But we still wished we knew earlier so we could have planned something for this unexpected three-day weekend! It quickly became known to the group as Greve Jour! (Strike Day; comparable to a snow day at OU.)
We decided to celebrate by going to a new discotheque that was larger and much closer to everyone than the one that we discovered first. On the walk there, it thunder stormed and we arrived just as the hail began to fall! What an excellent end to a day that otherwise would have sucked.
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