Shortly after Thanksgiving, I grew panicked at the thought of leaving. As a result, I've been trying to go non-stop, which is inevitably just making me tired. I think I'm actually accomplishing and adventuring less as a result of trying to do more. Regardless, these are the things I've been up to:
1. I went to a French soccer game. Nantes v. Chateauroux. It ended in overtime and eventually a tie. I loved going; I typically love watching live sports - almost as much as I dislike watching televised sports - and found the energy at the soccer game to be a bit wilder than I'd anticipated. Approaching the stadium at night, you could hear the chants and the drums from miles away. Inside, people were waving banners that looked more befitting a middle ages jousting tournament than a 21st century "football" game. It felt every bit like I was attending the Quidditch World Cup.
2. On the way home from said football game, Hanna, Horace and I had a 30 minute long conversation with four or five 10 year-old French boys. One in particular was absolutely brilliant; he already spoke English very well (and by that I mean had a very good English accent but knew very few phrases). I was very impressed with him and we talked non-stop all the way to our stop. He asked me in French: "How old are you? Do you live with your mom and dad? Do they miss you? Do you miss them? Do you have your own house? Are you in college yet? Are you an American? Do you have a brother? Bigger or smaller? Are you married? Do you have a love? Where does your love live? France? America? Spain!? Do you have a baby? Does she (Hanna) have a lover?" He also informed me he wanted to be a surgeon when he grew up; I have no doubt he'll be able to succeed. He was the cutest child I think I've ever met and kept calling me Madame. It was just too sweet. His dad was there with him and was decidedly beaming at how intelligent he was when he spoke English.
One of the other children was decidedly less bright and far less polite; he asked me if I liked Obama, if I voted for Obama (I said, Yes, very enthusiastically as a response to each) and then promptly informed me, "Well Sarkozy DOESN'T like Obama!"
3. I finally visited the museum inside the Nantes Chateau. I went by myself and really took my time. Nantes has a fascinating history; it used to be considered the Venice of France it had so many islands and and rivers and bridges. It was called the Mermaid City because it was said to belong to both man and fish. Around 1900 the rivers were channelized and filled in; I suppose in hind sight it
might have been a smart move (Venice as we all know is in the process of sinking). All the same, I cannot imagine how much more magical Nantes would be now if it had remained the same. I kept thinking about all the transitions it had undergone: Roman city, chateau of the dukes, later captured by the crown, becoming one of the King's favorite vacation castles, a city of the Revolution, executions taking place in the Place du Bouffay, where all the trendy bars are now, and then WWII, when it was bombed to pieces, and the reconstruction with lots of shanties lining the streets until houses could be rebuilt (thanks to the Marshall Plan). And now the Isle of Machines and all the eccentrics, hobos and beautiful French families that live here now.
It is impossible for me to wrap my head around how the history of Nantes (or I suppose, of the world)is a progression. It is hard to envision that the town of bold and disobedient Brittany dukes would became the town of such unimaginable destitution at the end of the war, or that that destitute town became the expensive, chic, clean city of Nantes today. It seems rather that they're all separate cities, full of separate people. And yet its entirely possible that Nantes has had some of its same inhabitants for millenia. I cannot fathom how many people have paced the worn stones in the old cathedral, or walked the winding streets of the Bouffay. I can't even fathom how many families, how many dramas, how many secrets our old apartment, built circa 1800, has known. I certainly cannot fathom how small and insignificant that makes the day to day trials of my own life.
4. Christmas is here!!! The streets are decorated, and what's more, there are Christmas villages set up in Place Royal and Place du Commerce full of little artisan chops and street vendors. Vin Chaud (which is very much like mulled wine) is everywhere, very cheap and very delicious. I also tried some chi-chi, which is like Spanish chorro and very similar to American funnel cake. But better. I've been trying to attack Christmas shopping and so far accomplished very little.
Nantes is absolutely magical looking with all of its holiday decorations, still it is hard to connect it with the any nostalgic memories of Christmases past because it is just very different, very European. They have very few French Christmas songs, Christmas movies, and seem to have borrowed the majority of their Christmas decorations, which mostly read "Merry Christmas!" rather than "Joyeux Noel." Still it was one of my favorite days ever walking around the Christmas villages with Hayley, Elisa and Hanna.
5. In keeping, last Thursday, the 3rd, Hanna and I went with her host parents, Stephane and Laure, to see a Concert de Noel at their church, Notre Dame de Bon Port. I cried all the way through it because it was so beautiful. The ensemble was called Stradivaria and is a baroque ensemble out of Nantes. Their visiting Tenor, though, was named Jeffry Thompson and comes from the Cincinatti conservatory. His voice was absolutely beautiful; on the high notes it seemed to rise up to heaven. I've never heard anything so beautiful before. And he seemed to be singing with his whole body, as if he became a breathing instrument. It was terribly moving, being in the old church; thinking of all the ways people have honored God - the construction of beautiful buildings (Bon Port has a dome ceiling with painted stars on a blue heaven) - and the composition of beautiful airs and concertos. My favorite was an extract from Back's BWV 19 cantata, or possibly the encore, which was
"Minuit Chretiens," an old French Christmas hymn that was later translated into the English "Oh, Holy Night!" It was simply beautiful.
6. I've been going out a lot to celebrate various things, in particular the night that concluded the hell week of writing three papers in French (totaling around 17 or 18 total typed French pages=way too much for one weekend, especially considering that meant having to completely switch gears 3 times during the weekend. I could have handled easily writing one 17 page paper in French, but switching topics and having to research and plan in three different subjects was a nightmare). All that to say, going out is a great way to meet French people and practice speaking.
Most drunk French people have complimented me on how well I speak, probably because they're drunk. Still, all in all, I have been pleased with how easily I could converse with them more or less. Either that, or I thought I was doing better than I really was as a result of being a bit tipsy myself.
One such night I was with a group of six or seven IES students when three French guys came and started chatting with us. They were fairly amusing, but at some point we realized that one of them had been sneaking behind the bar and stealing beers and then hiding them under his shirt. The bar tender came once and patted down Seth, and IES student who is a bar tender back in the states and was most definitely not stealing. It was funny but a little unnerving.
One other such night an Algerian girl who was really high , on crack, became obsessed with us and kept saying she was going to come stay with us in America. She also tried to kiss Seth and kept talking about how sexy Americans are. She gave me her number so that I can call her when I get back to America and make plans for her to come visit. This will most decidedly not be happening.
One other such night a very sweet bar tender bought a round of shots for our entire table, which was very sweet of him.
And I finally went to Lieu Unique, which is inside the old Lu cookie factory. I had a ridiculously fun time there, the music was very bizarre techno but it was still super fun to dance to.
7. I love the friends I've made here. I'm very glad that two of the friends I've made here, namely Forrest and Hayley, are Sewanee students I just didn't know before, meaning that I get to keep them as friends in the Spring! But the others, like Maddie and Horace and Seth, to name a few, I know I'm going to miss badly...
8. Yesterday we baked cookies with Hanna's host sister Clemence, who is 8 years old, absolutely adorable and decidedly crazy. I loved it!
To conclude, before leaving (in less than 2 weeks) I have five exams, one paper, and one recitation to do. It is going to be ridiculous.
The next blog entry I write, most likely, will be entitled Le Cheminement, which will explain the title of my blog and sum up this experience a bit.
I am so excited about everything right now: excited about the next 13 days here, excited about my whole life ahead of me and how much I know this experience has impacted it. I'm excited to see my family and MY DOG who I have missed a ridiculous amount. I am also so excited to see Jonathan; we have now spent a grand total of around 6 months apart this year, and I'm ready to be in the same country with him for a change!
Crypts of the Cathedral:
