Uh oh, we're not in France anymore!

Hello there everyone, or should I say HOLA! That's right, I just got back from my 2 week vacation in Spain with my dad and my brother! It was a wonderful trip and we saw so many great places! Aaron and I spent several days together in a small town called Cadaques on the Costa Brava before heading to Barcelona to meet up with my dad. Barcelona was quite a city to see! Unfortunately, I fell very sick with a stomach bug for the last 2 days of that visit, but from the day and a half that I had there--I LOVED IT! Then my dad and I experienced the Spanish high-speed train and to go to Madrid, where we picked up the rental car (deep breaths, dad) and drove to Toledo. Toledo was an old, fortified city with cobblestone streets and an irresistable charm! After Toledo, we spent a couple of days in Cordoba where we were able to watch a very long, interesting religious parade complete with caped men, women, and children. After Cordoba, we set up camp in Ronda, a cute little old town in Southern Spain. We did day trips to Gibraltar (complete with the rock, monkeys, the english language, and fish 'n chips!) and Grazelema. Afterwards, we had ONE more UNESCO site to hit--the Al Hambra (sorry if that's the wrong spelling) in Granada. Then we made our way up the coast and back to Barcelona, where my dad flew home and I took several trains back here to Montpellier. I hope that you enjoy the pics--it was an AMAZING experience!

My best bull cut-out shot/TAPAS

CADAQUES

The church and town/the lady who helped Dali

Dali's Statue of Liberty (town center)/Aaron in a Dali egg (on the roof of Dali's house)

BARCELONA

Christopher Colombus/The port

Dad at the entrance to Park Guell/Me on the Gaudi bench!

Dad at the AMAZING fruit market/Olympic symbol


TOLEDO

The old city from afar

The Main Plaza/The church


CORDOBA

The parade!

Dad at the famous gardens/Patio competition!

RONDA

Our cute little hotel (don't ask me how to get there)!

The first bull ring/Me alluring the bull


GIBRALTAR

The rock/Me next to my favorite monkey

Dad and I at the top/FISH N CHIPS!!!

GRAZELEMA

Rainy day in the center of town

GRANADA

The Alhambra!

And the "Strike Season" continues

This past week was one touched by greves and manifestations (strikes and public demonstrations). I must be honest in saying that they left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. On Friday, our university had to be shut down due to damage from students the night before. On Thursday night, there had been a student meeting that got out of hand, leading to broken windows and doors and the necessary intervention of the police. Then on Monday, I arrived at 8:30 am to a human chain across the entrance, blocking both students and professors from entering. We waited nearly 45 minutes before giving up and heading home. After I left, I was told that the students started shooting paint balls at anyone trying to enter. REAL mature!
During these protests, students hand out pamphlets describing their cause, which is always the same--Sarkozy is taking from the poor and giving to the rich, diminishing school and university funds each day. I understand that they are upset with the situation and that they would like to see change, but can't they try a different approach because this strike option is proving absolutely nothing! Can you imagine if we tried to do that at UB? Goodness!
Then on Thursday of this week, there was a national strike again and thus no public transportation! Colette drove me to class in the morning but then I had to walk 45 minutes from the university into town and then over an hour to get home (I know, it sounds like something your parents would say when describing how much harder their childhood was--but it was a lot of walking!) Again, I would like to know what resulted from that strike besides me receiving a sunburn and three new blisters from all my walking! Arrrgh! I thought that the "strike season" here in France was over but I was apparently quite mistaken!

You'll take the high road and I'll take the low road...

Last weekend, I spent three days in Scotland visiting Shona, my forever-young and wonderful babysitter! When I arrived, there were fields beyond fields of sheep and as I exited the plane, a hug rainbow welcomed me back! While there, I got to know Derek (Shona’s boyfriend with a heart of gold), Lucy (her adorable dog) and Creamy (the wild cat). It was great to be back and to see that not very much has changed. We visited all of my childhood sights, like my old house, the base, my school, downtown Edzell, the Blue Door, etc! We had time to visit a castle, east at some great restaurants (I had a spoonful of haggis, sticky-toffee pudding, and “banoffee” pie), and even visited the farm where Derek works to see the newly-arrived calves! On the way back to France, my backpack was LOADED with Scottish candy so I have a pretty lasting supply of fruit pastilles and Cadbury chocolate! Tee hee. It was sad to say goodbye but it is all the more reason to plan a trip back as soon as possible!!!

LUCY!

Shona's Plantingside Bungalow/Me at my old school

My old house/Edzell Arch

Me at The Blue Door/Lollipop Lad :-)

Crathes Castle/Shona and I at the castle

Momma and her calf/What i wanted to bring home from Scotland

Sheep on a snowy hill/The hills

"I do"...kinda

A couple of nights ago, I met a friend of my host brother’s whose name was Frederick. After he left, Colette explained to me that his fiancée lives in Paris and that they commute often to see each other. My next question, which seemed logical to me, was “When are they going to get married?” The response was a loud laugh followed by, “They are not going to get married, they are ‘pacsés’” (pronounced p-axe-ay). Baffled, I asked her what this meant and learned something very interesting on the subject of marriage in France.
Many French couples are choosing not to get married these days. Due to a sharp rise in the divorce rate coinciding with a decline in religious participation, most young couples are opting for something different from marriage—more liberal and less ceremonial. This option, called “pacser” or “PACS”, grants couples the right to be together officially but provides an easy “exit-route”, so-to-say, if needed. It is similar to a civil union but more loose. Since divorces can be expensive and monetarily devastating for one or both parties, many French are choosing this cushion or safety-net--if the couple breaks, each party takes whatever started as their property or money without argument. This situation grants couples the possibility to jointly buy a house, adopt a child, or to make other similar official decisions. The couples still wear rings and are officially recognized as “pacsé.”
After hearing this explanation, I made a statement about how this union is similar to those proposed for homosexual couples in certain states in the US. Colette told me that it started here as a manner for homosexual marriage and was nationally voted into utilization by a large part of the French population. The idea was so popular that heterosexual couples began opting for it and now it is certainly “à la mode,” more so than getting married!

Katie came to town!!!

Well I finally got the wonderful and magnificent Katie Lutts out of the country! Yayayayay! That’s right folks, last week I was graced by the presence of my best friend in the whole wide world! Katie arrived early Saturday afternoon and we didn’t waste any time in getting down to sight-seeing business! Saturday night we attended a fantastic ballet at the infamous Opera Garnier (the theatre of the “Phantom of the Opera”) to see the nephew of my host-mother. The next two days were spent visiting all of the must-see sights, like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Sacre-Coeur, Moulin Rouge, etc. We finished the Paris visit with a charming yet chilly night-time boat tour on the Seine. Then we headed down to Montpellier where we visited my host parents, touched the Mediterranean, and ate as many “sandwichs americains” as possible! I had the most wonderful week and loved every second of having Katie here!
I have attached some photos below of Katie’s visit as well as some pictures that I took Sunday at a parade near Montpellier. The end of February through the middle of March is considered “Le Carnaval.” It is a celebration of the end of winter and the start of spring. Usually there are fairs and parades with people dressed in costumes and masks. This particular parade was in a very small town and yet I was still impressed by the floats and costumes. I hope that you are as well!

KATIE'S VISIT

Katie at the Mediterranean/Opera Garnier

Me at the Opera/Katie in our box seat

"la dame de fer" at night/Katie eating her first crepe

Katie at the Arc de Triomphe/The Louvre

The Mona Lisa/The Winged Victory

THE PARADE

Egyptian-themed float/drunk fishermen float

Greek-themed marching band/Cinderellas dancing

ZORRO!/A walking strawberry

Dancing the Night Away!

Last night was certainly a dance extravaganza for my roommates and me. The son of our host parents, Mathieu, offered to take the three of us out for a night of dancing. We began our night at 11:00 p.m. by going to a special “West Coast Swing” soirée thrown by a dance company here. All of the dancers assumed that we knew this dance since it originated in the U.S., but boy were they mistaken! I hate to say that the three of us did not do well in representing Americans at this particular dance-off! I was quite surprised by the version of swing that everyone was dancing. I expected peppy fifties music with fast and happy footwork but I was quite wrong. The French dance “swing” much slower and in a much more sensual and seductive manner. To top off my surprise, they were all dancing to modern American songs like “Bleeding Love” or “With You”. WHAT?! I was utterly confused by how this type of dance had managed to change so much between its origins in the U.S. and what I saw here in France! It was absolutely bizarre.
At 1:00 am, Mathieu told us we were leaving and thus I mentally prepared myself for our arrival back home. Oh, was I wrong—the night was yet young in the eyes of the French! Next we found ourselves at a discotheque just outside of the city. While it would normally cost twelve euros for an entrance fee, we got in free thanks to Mathieu’s friendship with the bouncer guy. As we entered, I was plunged into darkness and strobe lights, loud techno music, and intense heat. I was surrounded by young people ranging in age from 16 to 25ish. Everyone was permitted to drink and it was strange for me to be around high-schoolers with beers in their hands, completely legal. The city of Montpellier provides a cheap and popular bus service at night, with service all night, to all of the discotheques, attempting to protect against drunk drivers. We stayed at the discotheque for over an hour and then Mathieu agreed to call it an “early night” and brought us home. My head didn’t hit the pillow until around 3:30 a.m., early huh? The truth is that here in France, most young people, from high school age up until late twenties, stay out until five or six in the morning. Personally, I like to be asleep BEFORE the sun starts to rise but, to each his own. The French sure do have stamina!

The Words Heard Around the World

As you can probably guess, this blog is in response to the recent inauguration of our new president, Mr. Barack Obama. On Tuesday afternoon, every French man and woman eagerly scampered home from work early in order to watch the live broadcast. Christian and Colette both came scurrying into the house and turned the TV on to watch the speech, dubbed in French. I could hear Obama's words as well as the dubbed version and must say that I believe that the magic and elegance of some of his speech was certainly lost in translation. I had to watch the speech a second time in English to hear the true poetry of his words.
The afternoon before the inauguration, I was in a class on French society where, in honor of the day, we spoke briefly about the US president. My French professor shared two interesting facts with us. The first was that the French find Barack Obama to be a beacon of hope, undoubtedly. However, they do not consider him to be black since his mother was white, making him of a "mixed race". While his election is considered a grand and liberal success, the French do not refer to him as a black president. I think that many Americans are proud to have a black president when, in all (literal) reality, we are only halfway there.
The second topic of conversation was in regard to our separation of church and state in the US. The professor questioned us about it and we proudly defended the need for a complete separation of the two. She then proceeded to call us hypocrites in highlighting how Obama swears his oath of presidency on the Bible after a national prayer is shared. I had honestly never noticed how church and state are NOT completely separate in the US until she made this point. It really is a bit hypocritical of us all and I couldn't help but smile at the fact that French liberalism was proving me wrong yet again.