Sunday, November 18, 2007

La Belle France, La Belle Vie

One of the things that I've realized about keeping a blog is that sometimes a slideshow formate is much easier to keep up to date. And it might be more interesting. And then I realized that I have been doing that on my Facebook profile. I take a ridiculous amount of time to compose captions on the photos that I upload. And I just thought of a new possibility: video-blogging. This website is going multimedia. Oh and one other thing: I've added another video of a performance I did for an acting class to the sidebar. I play Benjamin Bradly in arguably the most famous scene from The Graduate. My brilliant costar is Wendy, the sumptuous Mrs. Robinson.

Here are pictures from my first trip to Paris with Majka and Aude:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049953&l=46e12&id=122505819

And then from Mimizan:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050683&l=70193&id=122505819

After Mimizan, I headed to Normandy, where I was stationed for the summer. This is our site, called "La Mazure:"
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051712&l=91a52&id=122505819

And then the monsters arrived. Session 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051713&l=9918f&id=122505819

Intersession in Paris (Bastille-Day Weekend!):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051718&l=1b193&id=122505819

Session 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051720&l=4b5cc&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054019&l=48faf&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054027&l=0afd8&id=122505819

Intersession in Paris:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054032&l=39e0a&id=122505819

My all-time favourite session -- session 3:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054040&l=af349&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054295&l=ad569&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054766&l=92051&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054767&l=2bb2c&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2062176&l=30e91&id=122505819

And Session 4 was pretty-darn amazing as well:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057829&l=2a7f7&id=122505819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058606&l=e9af4&id=122505819

After packing up the site, some of us head back to Paris to meet up with our friends from other sites and to PARTY!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059828&l=c80f3&id=122505819

After a week in Paris, I head out to Geneva to visit the most-fantastic Kowaleski family. They are from Victoria, but spending a year on sabbatical in France / Switzerland. Their house is actually in Cessy, France, which is about ten minutes from the Switzerland border.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059856&l=3228d&id=122505819

And then to Lyon, and Macon, and back to Lyon:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059939&l=e65eb&id=122505819

And thus ends my travels in France for the summer. I'm back in Victoria right now. I will post on my life in Victoria tout de suite.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

What Seemed Like Only Another Holiday...

Written on July 16, 2007

So by the time I arrived at Mimizan, I had met nearly all of my fellow American Village counselors. We were in Mimizan for BAFA training. BAFA stands for Brevet d'Aptitude au Formation d'Animateur (or something like that). The French Ministry of Games and Youth requires all French citizens to have completed BAFA to work in any sort of camp for children. But American Village also selects twenty of its North American counselors to take as much of the BAFA training as possible. There are three stages to BAFA training. The first consists of sixty-four hours of general training camp counselling: children and their needs, discipline and authority, parents' needs, games, crafts, songs, etc. That was what we were in Mimizan for. The second stage is like a practicum: two weeks working in a camp. Then the third stage is for specialization in a certain types and areas of counselors' jobs: skiing, lifeguarding, camping, etc..

When we arrived at Mimizan, we realized that American Village had only intended us to be there for seven of the nine days of training. In other words, we wouldn't even be able to complete the first stage of BAFA training. Instead, they wanted us to have a few days off before going to our AmVil sites and beginning work. But most of us wanted to complete the training, so we asked if it was possible to extend our stay at the retreat centre that we were doing BAFA at. AmVil was happy to let us do that, which was so great, because if we were doing BAFA on our own, the first stage alone would cost us 1000 € each! And AmVil also said that they would pay for our second stage, which we could complete simply by working at AmVil, and if we came back to work for AmVil next year, they would also pay for our third stage! So most of us are going to finish BAFA next year. It will be an asset for finding jobs in France, and is a well-recognized (though not mandatory) program in many other countries as well! So as I write this, I have now completed stage two, and will return to complete stage three next year: a total cost of around 3000 €!

But Mimizan was amazing for so many more reasons than this. First of all, all of us AmVil counselors got along so well. We became really good friends right away. There were also about twelve or thirteen French people taking BAFA with us. Some of us were bilingual, or partly bilingual, while others in our group couldn't speak a word of the other language. So at first, translating everything was very tough. Two out of the three instructors couldn't speak any English. So the pace of instruction and learning was slowed down, complicated, and sometimes confused, because everything had to be translated. But everyone did their best to show the others that they were trying to learn the other language, and it worked out really well in the end. Having to go through such a frustrating experience together made us so much closer by the end of the training.

But by far the most incredible part of Mimizan was the beach! Mimizan is located south of Bordeaux on the Atlantic Ocean, in the area of France known as the Pays de Surf (Surfing Country). From the beach, you can see the northern coast of Spain. For the most part, the days were sunny and hot, and the nights were warm and stormy. The first thing that we did when we got to Mimizan was jump in the ocean! I've never been to a beach with waves so huge and powerful. It was incredible to fight the waves that crashed on the shore.

One of the first few nights that we were in Mimizan, we went to the beach after we were finished for the day. Across the ocean was a huge lightening storm, while above us was a few clouds and mostly a clear sky in which we could see so many stars. The clouds that made up the storm, however, darkened everywhere around us. In fact, we could see around four or five different storms out over the ocean as we looked south to north. These storms weren't far away from us at all, but there was no rain where we were – only wind. The sheet lightening from these storms flashed four or five times per second. Each time the entire sky would light up, and we could see the terrifying clouds, the tumultuous ocean beneath, and everything around where we were standing for only an instant. I felt like we were standing right on the edge of the sun, watching the solar explosions occur in slow motion. A few of us jumped in the ocean and stood there as the heavy waves left the eye of one of the storms and pounded us, looking at the stars in one direction, and watching the storms develop and the rain fall flash by flash in the other direction. Eventually, one of the storms started moving toward Mimizan, so we got out of the water and went to a bar. When we got to the bar, it was pouring rain, and that night, we slept as the same storm that we had been watching passed over us.

PS: Photos will be up soon.

A Last Few Days in Paris

Written on July 15, 2007

I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. Internet access and time to write is sparse. But I hope to have my blog updated by the end of this week.

My last few days in Paris were relaxing. I was pretty familiar with the city at that point, so I could make my way around quite easily. With Majka gone, Aude also became quite busy, so I was spending more time by myself. That was actually quite nice – to have some time to myself.

I saw the Cluny – the Middle Ages Museum, Ste. Chapelle, the Conciergerie, le Marais, St. Eustache Church, and Le Musé Rodin. Ste. Chapelle was an incredible experience. I had been wanting to see it since I arrived in France. It is a chapel built within the walls of the Palais de Justice by St. King Louis IX in the 12th century to house some relics of the passion. There are two chapels in the building. The first floor chapel blew me away. My mouth dropped when I first came in. There are almost no windows, and it is quite plain compared to the diversity of architectural and artistic styles. But its uniformity and simplicity make the walls which are painted royal red and blue with gold fleurs de lise stunning. The second floor, where the relics were kept, is very different. The walls are nothing but curtains of stained glass. It's absolutely remarkable.

Another highlight of these last few days was the hotel I got to move into! It was so nice to have some privacy after sharing a hostel room with strangers for a week. American Village paid for two nights in this hotel before I left to go to BAFA training.

I packed up again on Sunday morning and headed to the train station. It was a rush. The morning didn't go according to plan. (Of course, I never “plan” to sleep in. For some reason, that just happens to me often). Any way, I made it to the train station and on board the train with just a few minutes to spare.

Friday, June 15, 2007

My First Week

I arrived in Paris last Friday afternoon. The flight didn't seem that long. I found the train without a lot of difficulty. A man was playing the accordian inside one of the cars. No one was really paying attention to him, but I thought, “Yes! I'm so in France.”

I was carrying A LOT of stuff, and so by the time I met up with Majka and
we got to our hostel, I was exhausted. Nevertheless, Aude took us meet some of her friends. We sat on the walkway along the Seine River and ate dinner. Then Aude took us to the Louvre, because it's free for students on Friday nights. We saw Napoleon III's apartments, but didn't have time for anything else. We were there until closing, at which point the museum staff, who are stationed throughout the museum in each room, begin to shuffle us out. As each room empties, the staff member follows the crowd, eventually joined by other staff members from other rooms. We were the last to leave the museum, escorted by about fifty staff members who guarded reentry into the apartments!

On Saturday, Aude had us over to her apartment for breakfast. Majka and I have mastered the Parisian metro system. We later made our way to the Champs D'Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, had lunch in a park, viewed artwork at the Petite Palais, visited La Place de la Concorde, and the Jardin de Luxembourg. After dinner, we were waiting for the sun to set so that we could go see Paris at night from the Tour du Montparnasse. We went into a church where there was a benefit concert for a drug addiction program. The choir was singing some classical hymn as we entered. When they moved onto the next song, they surprised us by belting out “America” from West Side Story. Their French accents lent a particular authenticity to this! They divided into two “gangs,” snapping their fingers, and dancing. Well, we had to stay for more of this. They finished off with some jazz, and a few more hymns.

I am loving speaking French. Aude is a very good teacher! She makes me go talk to French people when I have a question. And then when I embarass myself, she corrects me (after laughing)! It's so great to have someone to correct me, because otherwise I go on assuming that what I'm saying is fine. For the last two days, I had been wandering around calling my backpack a “cadeau” (gift), because I thought I heard people calling it that. So I went with it, even though I knew that you generally only receive cadeaux at Christmas and on birthdays! To my embarassment (and amusement), I learned last night that a backpack is actually a “sac à dos” (they rhyme)! But in general, I'm learning so many new words and can actually carry on a meaningful conversation with strangers now!

I have also been learning local customs. Les petites bisous (the French double kiss) was one of the first. I have also been entrusted with secret Catholic knowledge. Apparently you can tell the “hard-core” Catholics from others by the way they dress. Men wear brown loafers with tassels and a button-up shirt that is tucked in. Women wear long dresses. And if they're headed for a night out on the town (watch out!), they put their collars up! I think I will leave these fashion statements to the French Catholics.

Majka and I went to Versailles on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday, we wandered through the gardens, which are just amazing. They go on and on; they seem to never end. Then yesterday we saw the apartments that belonged to the Dauphin and his wife, and the king and queen. I saw the movie Marie Anntoinette a few months ago, which focuses on the palace life of the Louis XVI and his wife. We saw the secret door through which Marie-Anntoinette fled from the rioters, the guard rooms that were emptied to appease the angry crowd, and the balcony where Louis and Marie were forced to bow to the revolt. I have to go back again to see Marie-Anntoinette's personal hamlet (she liked to play “milkmaid”) and the trianons.

Interestingly, I learned from Syriac, a friend of Aude's, that the (in)famous “Let them eat cake” is a bad translation. Marie actually said, “Let them eat brioche,” which is not cake; it is a bread-dessert. So unfortunately, my picture is not quite accurate!

Majka left early this morning for the airport. I've had such a great time with her. So I will visit some museums on my own in the next couple of days. I will also be moving out of my hostel tomorrow for the much more “luxe” Grand Hôtel de France,” which my employer has set up for me for two nights! Then off to the south for training. I'll update next time I can. It's hard to get a stable internet connection and free time to write!

A bientôt.
(Written Thursday June 14)

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Yet Another Map and a Change in Plans

American Village has been finalizing placements for their employees, and so I've learned that I'm going to a different camp now (ie: instead of La Tour de Buis)! It is called La Mazure, 15 miles south of Mont Saint Michel, the island abbey built around 1100 or so. The camp is in Normandy, though also very close to Brittany. I'll be there for the first month (July) and then I will move to another camp (counselors often move from camp to camp during the summer). I'll find out later where I'll be going for August!

I realized that I have not really explained what these camps are all about. They are linguistic and cultural immersion camps. They are based on the idea that the younger our brains are, the easier it is for us to learn languages (particularly foreign languages). And the best way to learn a foreign language is to be immersed in a culture: to be forced to use the language and live in a a way that is based on that language. But children are too young to travel to the other side of the world by themselves, so these camps (American Villages) recreate North America in France. The kids are issued "passports," which they must present on arriving at "immigration," have their bags checked, and so on. So it is a really exciting experience for the campers, and also for the counselors, who are responsible for ensuring an authentic experience of North America!

It is exactly a week until I leave now. SO much to do! But it is so great to see all my friends and family as I say good-bye!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Training in Mimizan

I received word two days ago that my training session will be held in a small city called Mimizan, south of Bordeaux, near the Atlantic coast. That is such great news, partly because I am VERY excited for the training, and also because that means that I will be able to see a whole other area of France! Plans are coming together for a week in Paris with Aude and Majka, then I will head to Mimizan for training, and then I might have a couple days off. If so, I think I will head to Lyon, though I might want to stop in Bordeaux, and then be at camp by the 26th. Bordeaux's permanent museum exhibits are all free, so I don't think I can miss that. Getting everything done before I leave, however, is quite a challenge. I am trying to see as many friends and family as possible, but that is tiresome in itself: let alone packing, cleaning, and even painting!

I have been organizing travel plans for after my work ends after August. I'm trying to gather information on family in Sweden, who I'm particularly excited to meet. But I am also going to visit my glorious friend Nicole in Italy. Plans are in motion. Europa so fantastica.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

My Placement

Today I received a package from American Village, my employer in France. It includes information on my placement (which will be confirmed later this month). I'll be working in at La Tour de Buis, which is just 12 miles from Vienne, in the "foothills of the Alps!" Vienne has a great jazz festival in the summer, which is held in an ancient Roman ampitheatre in the city. The city is actually full of many Roman ruins. It's also very close to Lyons and Geneva. It's great to know where I'll be headed for most of the summer. When I arrive in France, I'll be spending the first two or three weeks in Paris, during which time I'll be vacationing with two friends and doing training for my job. Because I will be going to training during my first few weeks in France, I won't have a chance to go and visit family in Sweden (as I had originally planned) before I start work. But I will have plenty of time to do that after the summer is over!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Last Year in Europe

I thought that I might start off this blog with some of the pictures that I took last year in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. I had told people that I would upload all my photos, but then I realized that I had taken over three thousand photos. Yikes. So here are just a few (I'm restricting myself to five) photos.

This is the Fontana di Trevi in Rome. During the day, there are hoards of people sitting, standing, and walking around it. Cafes and restaurants surround the square. At night, the area is even more alive with people. The water pours over the edges of this fountain, loud enough to be heard over all the noise of the crowd. I think I remember that the original architect use a Roman aqueduct to supply the fountain with water. This is what I loved about Rome; wandering around, taking in the energy of a place that seems so foreign and fascinating.


This is my sister Sara and I at the top of the Tower of Pisa. The tower leans because of a giant air pocket underneath the Pisa Square that has disrupted its foundation. Walking up the tower, you actually fall to one side of the staircase.











About two hours outside of Athens is Cape Sounion, where the Temple of Poseidon is located. According to myth, this is where King Aegeus killed himself by jumping over the side of the cliff into the water below. And so now we call the ocean around this area the "Aegean Sea." The woman in black on the left is my friend Jennifer, an absolutely incredible person that my mom, sister, and I met on our trip.






And here is my friend Lori and my mom. Lori and Jennifer both come from LA. And Lori is likewise such a great person with the BEST sense of humour. I took this picture on board the cruise ship that took us to Mykonos, Rhodes, Patmos, and Turkey.











Just past the port-city of Kusadasi, Turkey is the world's most in-tact ancient city, Ephesus. It was abandoned in the 8th century because of malaria. This picture shows the front facade of the city's famous library. For some time, this building was the world's third largest library with 100 000 scrolls. It was only surpassed by Alexandria and some other city that I can't remember! You can walk up and down the ancient streets of Ephesus, view the Roman sewer system (complete with road-side manholes and a public lavatory), sit in the stadium where the Ephesians tried to arrest St. Paul, and walk amid the pillars that once composed part of the world's first basilica. Though so much of the city is in-tact, archaeologists are still trying to piece together the 85% of the city that remains under centuries of silt and dirt.

OK, one more picture. This picture comes from central Greece, which my mom, sister, and I visited at the end of our trip. The area is called Meteora, and is characterized by its extremely unique rock formations: huge rock-pillars that reach hundreds of metres in the air. At some point in the 12th-14th centuries, hermits who had been using the caves in these pillars as hermitages decided to build monasteries on the pillars' tops. They used a scaffolding system to haul all their supplies up past the caves, and then climbed along the bare rock the rest of the way! We visited two of the monasteries when we were there.

I'm still waiting for my placement in France. But all the camps are amazing, so it really doesn't matter which one I am assigned.