This is a photo of France in the wintertime. Owned, Minnesota.
I'm a little burnt out, so I'm gonna do this list-style.
1. Yesterday we went to the Luberon. It was beautiful, even though it was winter and a bit chilly. We met a little French girl named Laurie and her puppy (a mini Jake!) in a café, and they were the cutest things I have seen in a long while.
The town of Gordes, home of small child and adorable puppy.
2. I got assigned a language partner, and he was pretty nice, but there were little things that sketched me out and made me not want to be alone with him:
a. Um, hi, we met five minutes ago, I don't care how cold you think I am in this fifty degree weather, get your damn hands off my collarbone. No, I do not need you to adjust my scarf.
b. I look like one of the girls in the movie Charlie's Angels, but you don't know which one? Let's see, we can rule out the gorgeous blonde and the Asian. Drew Barrymore? You think she's incredibly beautiful? Thanks...I am uncomfortable being complimented on my physical appearance by strange men, and I have a pretty swell boyfriend.
c. No, I really don't want to wait for you to smoke outside the restaurant when all my friends are inside. Seriously, I'm not cold. Don't put your coat on me! Yes, I understand you think this is freezing, but I do not. You are being quite gentlemanly, but this isn't a date so cut it out. Did I mention my big strong boyfriend who's at least six inches taller than you?
d. You play rugby? Sweet! I used to play rugby. This means I know how sketch most rugby guys are. Yes, I probably could tackle you; no, I don't want to try in the middle of this crowded room.
e. We met an hour ago, and you already want to bring me home to meet your mother in Marseille? Um...what? She makes good couscous, you say. I could stay with you? How convenient! You know who else lets me stay with her? The mother of my boyfriend. I bet she makes pretty good couscous too. He's of Norwegian descent...the Vikings were a proud and jealous people. Violent, too. Seriously though, please don't try to feed me your dessert.
f. I'm a big girl. I don't need to be walked home. No, seriously, it's okay. I'd really feel better on my own.
At first I wondered if I was just being paranoid or misinterpreting cultural differences, but I think there's something to be said for intuition. After meeting the language partners of some of my friends, I feel better about my decision to switch--they are totally chill and not sketch and don't do the creepy "you are all such beautiful girls" routine every five minutes. Only problem is, tonight he called my house. Thankfully, my host mom did a very convincing routine pretending I was on skype and yadda yadda she can't go out for coffee tonight, but I think if it happens again I need to just do what I dread and tell him I won't be able to meet up...ever. Avoidance is my chosen method for dealing with most unpleasant situations, but perhaps it's time to grow up and learn to be direct.
Provence is known for its lavender. It's harvested in August, but there's enough to last the rest of the year.
3. In my French Cultural Patterns class, we discussed a study an anthropologist did a while back about physicality of couples in different cultures. He observed romantically involved couples at restaurants and counted each time they touched each other (a kiss, a hug, holding hands, etc) within an hour long period. Here are the results:
London: 0
Jacksonville: 8
San Juan: 20
Paris: 110
Impressive, no? I thought this was really interesting. And given the couples I've seen around here, I believe it. Once I was just walking down the Cours Mirabeau, and I saw a couple come out of a restaurant, share a passionate, several minute goodbye kiss...and then walk off together. It's like all those pictures of train station kisses in WWII (side note: Life magazine photo archive on Google? Awesome.), the "I don't know if I will ever see you again alive so let's make it count" kind, except with more groping and no wars.
I have homework to do, so I'm gonna call it quits for today. I miss and love you all!
