and the journey continues.......

Life in France has become strangely normal, after being here for 2 and a half months. Most of the time, life is pretty mundane. I have gotten used to twisting my thoughts around so that I can say the things that I want to say in French. I have gotten used to waking up to the sound of roosters and suprisingly, I have even learned to live closely with spiders. (don’t know how long that one will last). But then……there are moments that are very much out of the ordinary, moments where France comes alive and I feel as if I am in some kind of weird dream. Last night was one of them….

So, last night, Cyril, Dominique, and I went to this town fair for dinner. Apparently, its something they do every summer. It’s a small town so everybody knows everybody. We got there kinda late (being farmers we work kinda late) and were starving. We all talked about how we were going to eat right away when we got there and then afterward, walk around and look at all the booths and see what people were selling. But, if there’s one thing I have learned about French culture its this : Friends are FAR more important than food. (which is kind of strange because the French are extremely passionate about food.) So as we arrived, starving bellies and all, we ran into some people that Dominique knows. (Surprise, Surprise ! I’m saying this with a sarcastic tone) So we greeted everyone, which meant we all went around and gave air kisses to each person in the group and then proceeded to chat for a while. This same ritual occured, at least 5 times before we actually got food. Making it an 11 pm dinner !

There was a moment last night that, to me, was magical. Surrounded by beautiful old buildings, the town had come alive with people gallore eating, drinking, and in general just having a good time. Then, I looked down one of the streets and there was a man playing the accordian and what of course was he playing ? He played a song from Amelie ( my most favorite French movie in the world ! ! for those of you who don’t know). And it was one of those moments that just made me love France.

The rest of the night was pretty fun. Cyril and Dominique have a lot of friends from the netherlands and so all night long I heard French in one ear and Dutch in the other. I was adventurous and ate something I had never eaten before…..I believe it was cow intestine. Dominique asked me and one of her Dutch friends if we wanted to try some. The Dutch friend declined…..I said « pourquoi pas ? » (why not ?) After that, Dominique exclaimed…. « see, Americans are just MUCH more adventurous ! ». I made my country look good last night ! After that, another family arrived, who also had some wwoofers, like myself. After realising that he was American, Dominique brought him over to me and said «Kelly, he’s an American like you, now you guys can speak American together ». Dominique loves to find people who speak English, so that I will then talk to them in English. I think it’s so that she can just listen to us talk, even though she doesn’t understand English all that well. To her….I am something very exotic.

Well, it’s strange to think that in just a little over a week, I will be back in Michigan. I think I will feel the same about leaving as I did coming here. There are things that make me want to go back home, things that I miss, but on the other hand, there are things I am really going to miss about France.

Until next time……

Kelly

The French hippies....or something like that

So, happy belated 21 of June to all!

Yesterday was a big French holiday which celebrates the summer solstice. So, in celebration, the school that the children go to (the Steiner Woldorf school) had a big party!

So, Sarah, Fiona and I tagged along with the fam and got the chance to see what their school is like. It was amazing! Steiner Woldorf schools are independant schools which are pretty much run by the parents so its nice because everything there had a homey feel to it. The school itself is tucked away in the woods and is comprised of just a couple of small, cabin-like houses. It was an idilic setting.

So, after standing around awkwardly for a couple of minutes watching the parents run around trying to get everything ready for the party, we decided to jump right in and help out!

It could have gone a little better. I frantically followed this french woman around, who was very nice, but after a couple of minutes I realized I was left in charge of maning the crêpes table and I didn't know how much to charge for them or how they wanted me to make a crêpe!!

Eventually, someone took my place and saved me! Sarah and Fiona returned and we walked around and looked at all the games! It was so refreshing to see everyone just so down-to-earth. The games that the kids played were so simple, not flashy at all. Like, one of them was just a man dressed like a lumberjack and the kids picked different strength nails and hammered them into some wood. Ok, the way that I put that makes it sound really lame.....but in actuality.....they were really creative and all the kids had SO much fun.

The moms there reminded me of my sister, krista, because they all wore those baby-carrying things, the ones that kinda look like wombs, and most of them wore beautiful flowing clothing and had piercings and tattoes......I died and went to hippie heaven!

After all of the games....On a mangé! (we ate!) They sold tons of quiches for the meal, which was fantastic! I swear, I think every french person is secretely a master chef! I had a tomato quiche, with veggies, a glass of Sangria and some kind of cheese-cake like thing for dessert to top it off.

After the food and some singing.....we started the fire! Apparently, in Southern France on the 21 of June everyone has a big bonfire. Why, i don't really know. I have asked MANY french people this and no one seems to really know. Its just some kind of pagan tradition that was once turned into a christian holiday (its also known as the day of Saint Jean). So, they sing these songs around the fire.....the songs are pretty much just about how they love France and they were beautiful. After that....everyone jumps over the fire!! I couldn't believe it but literally, EVERYONE jumps over. Men, women, children, women holding babies....literally everyone! Even an american with two brits!

So, I had my first fire-jumping experience and it was pretty cool.

alright....its late....and there so much more i want to say but physical work is calling me in the wee hours of the morning....so.....i must sleep.

until next time,
kelly

The california of France

Hey kiddies!

So, i feel like Im living in the california of France. For those of you who don't know, I have moved to another farm (even though its not really a farm but an amazingly beautiful organic garden) near Nîme.

The sun has been constant and HOT! The house that I'm living in is beautiful (kinda italian villa-esque with grape vines towering over the back porch and palm trees shading the backyard).

It was kinda hard when I first got here....it was pretty lonely because I have a lot of independance here. But two girls just arrived on tuesday from Scotland and we have quickly become very good friends. Its nice because we share a lot of music interests and have a lot of good conversations.

Fiona and Sarah have been good friends to have around here because they are really socially conscious and are really involved with a lot of fair-trade organizations so we've had a lot to talk about. Plus its fun when we can make fun of each others accents. Today they were cracking up at the idea that i refer to the hair that is falls on my forehead as bang. They call it fringe. crazy brits!

anyways we're planning a trip to the beach and to Marseille......so i will probably get some site-seeing in.

well, thats all for now
k

Happy birthday to ME!

Salut!

Well, saturday was my fake birthday. That was the only day that everyone could celebrate my birthday, so Saturday was my birthday...in France.

It was pretty close to being magical. Christian made me a birthday cake, which was closer to being chocolate mousse with cherries and bits of vanilla cake sprinkled with rum surrounding the mousse. Either way, cake or mousse, it was delicious!

So, it was really nice because Christian's daugher and boyfriend were here for the weekend. It was nice having Elodie around. She's really nice and was easier to understand: I think she just has really good pronunciation.

I invited my only friend (outside of the family) that I've made (and is still in town) to my birthday party. That's Jacques....a 50 year old man who is super nice. He even gave me a birthday gift. I was SO suprised. He gave me a necklace and some earings. They're kinda quirky but I like them. I also got to take part in a REAL French birthday party tradition. They take a knife and cut off the end of a bottle of champagne so that the cork is still stuck in the end. Apparently, after the end is cut off, you write the date and your name on the cork and it's a memento. I thought that was pretty cool. So, now I have a cork with the end of a champagne bottle stuck around it.

So, it was pretty chill, my birthday party. Just the typical French dinner. Salad, potatoes and beef sauteed in olive oil and garlic and of course lots and LOTS of bread and fromage (cheese for our non-french speakers)! I am falling in love with French cheese! I love it SOO much.

After dinner, I was forced into serenading everyone with my Ukulele. We sat outside, under the stars with candles as I played my very short songs (everyone wore farmers hats...I think they thought the Uke is a hick instrument or something). After that we just dug into the cake.

Also, over the weekend, we had 12 quebecois rent out the bed and breakfast houses here! It was almost like having a piece of home here in France, having the canadiens here. They mainly just spoke French though.

Well, that's all for now.
Krista: CONGRATS! I'm glad to hear that you had Cade! I can't wait to meet him.
Diana: I've been thinking about you. I hope everything goes well for you in Texas/Mexico. Thanks for the message in French (that was clever of you)

I love you guys!
Kelly

and the journey continues........

So, About 5 days ago, I arrived at my "farm". With only a couple problems. The main one being that no one was there to pick me up. So, i quickly made a friend and he let me use his phone book...and telephone....because apparently the number I had was incorrect. Luckily, Pascale came to get me and ever since I have been VERY happily installed at their house. Well, not exactly. I live in the "pigeonnier" or the pigeon house. It's very cute. To the left of this page is where I live. (this picture was taken by Christian Combaceau) Their are LOTS of spiders there...I have been learning how to combat them. there have been parties pretty much every night since I've been here. Apparently the weekend that I chose to come to France had LOTS of holidays....so...no work! I met tons of Christian's and Pascale's friends and was pretty much lost for the most part in conversation. But luckily....I feel like I've had a break-through and I can now understand very rapid speech and I think that my French has improved a lot already. I LOVE french dinners! I have been eating sooo well here. (it helps that Christian used to be a professional cook). The dinners a usually pretty long...a couple hours for lunch and then sometimes more for dinner. Always, with wine of course. Christian says that I'm a true French woman because I love French cheese and I love French wine. There is another woofer that's here. His name is Dave. He just got here two days ago and proceeded to sleep for 16 hours! Gotta love jet lag. He's really nice and I think by talking to him in French I have been getting better with it. Today, we didn't really do anything special. Just worked in the garden and after that Dave and I took the donkeys for a walk. Well, that's all for now. Will post more when something exciting happens.
donc, a bientot!
Kelly
http://www.perigord.com/gite-lefalgueyret/accueil2.htm

I made it!

well, the past two days have been exciting/nerve-wracking/scary. My flight to Paris was good, even though the first flight was just a puddle jumper, but I found myself a home away from home in Washington DC when I walked to my gate and saw there...Potbelly. So, my last American meal was just a delicious chicken salad sandwich.

So, I arrived in Paris early this morning and found myself in a Taxi with a very nice taxi driver. He immediately asked me if I was for or against Obama.

Once I arrived at the train station I found out that their wasnt a train for me to take today....so the rest of the day was pretty frustrating. Going from a couple hostels....trying to get a room. I have one now...and Ive been spending the past couple hours just relaxing....I sat outside in a park and drank an orangina while listening to music. It was wonderful! Im eager to get to my first family. So.....tomorrow I will be there.

well...I guess that's all for now. Mom, when you read this, give dad a call and let him know that Im ok. I have some phone card problems and dont know when i will be able to call.

I will talk to all of you later,
Kelly

Bienvenu!

Well folks. I just wanted to set this blog up so that when I'm out in France (and when I have the opportunity to use a computer) I can let everyone know what I'm up to on the farms! Stay tuned....