One of my favorite authors is Nicolas Bouvier. He is, what I
would call, the original ‘travel writer.’ Beginning in the 50’s, Bouvier left
Sweden to travel the world. After each trip, he would return home and reflect
upon his travels by writing books, the most famous of which being l’Usage du Monde. However, the difference between Bouvier and most
of the travel writing that we see today is that he didn’t search for the two
'biggies': stereotypes or exoticism. He rather concentrated on the
individual characters he met along the way to tell the story.
That got me thinking about the characters who have played a
role in my last four months in France. Small part or large, these people are
the ones who have made my time here what it was. Here are just a few of my
favorite recurring characters:
*My roommate, Ana: Spanish to the bone, she taught me that midnight dinners are fun and that once you earn the trust of a woman from the south of Spain, you are her sister.
*My students: You may have noticed that I never posted any pictures of my students here. I wanted to, but because of privacy laws I'm not really sure what's appropriate to put online or not so I steered clear. But let me just tell you, they were WONDERFUL. They are as chic and sophisticated as I would expect French high school students to be but they surprised me with their kindness. They were really great to work with because they are smart, fun and verrrryy curious about that random American girl teaching them :) It was really hard to say goodbye to my little preshys.
*This guy: Always there to add a typical French soundtrack to my centre ville wanderings. J'adore
*Mira: My lovely Finnish partner in crime has taught me more about Finland and Finnish culture than I thought I would ever know...well, ever. This includes following all the rules and being really REALLY nice. Well, maybe the nice thing was just Mira but either way, she was a great person with whom to spend the majority of my time. A Northern Europe trip is already in the works :)
*Les Enfants: This semester would have lost about 90% if its 'cute' factor without my little French babies. Ahh, I die for their little faces and their little French voices. "Breeeetttttttaaaaanneeeeeee....est-ce que tu peux jouer avec nous??"
*Madame Fubert: My feminist, socialist French professor. Get it girl. Love her.
*That damn black cat: I am very superstitious and so the need for all my neighbors to own a black cat really urked me. I think they felt my hatred so of course, they all stalked me. Dogs people, dogs.
*Patrick, the neighbor guy: This is the only picture I have of the elusive Pa-treek (see him there in the back with the tall hat) He always looks like he is literally straight from a movie about a fisherman's wharf. If anyone has seen Le Havre you will know exactly what I am talking about. Pa-treek was everywhere - Jack of all trades, if you will. Fixer man, sled crafter, Calvados liquor supplier, bus organizer, and babysitter. I will miss you my dear Pa-treek!
*William the Conqueror: Living in a city so steeped in history was amazing. Guillaume over here was EVERYWHERE. Castles, monuments, abbeys, tapestries...you name it, Guillaume had his Norman hands in it. I should point out that just before this picture was taken the tour guide was talking about how huge Guillaume was and everyone was like (in French) "wow, he was monstrous...terrifyingly big..." Blah, blah, blah...notice our size difference. Depressing.
*And last but not least, my adopted French family: I would be so lost without them. Living in the same building as them was such a gift. They not only helped improve my French, but they did everything they could to make me feel comfortable and a real part of French life. It's hard to break into a French circle, but because of them I was no longer a tourist or a foreigner, but a family member to them and all their friends. I am eternally grateful for that.
