Take a walk and meet a neighbor

A relaxing Sunday afternoon habit is a nice stroll. I've experienced this on more than one occasion after eating lunch at friends' homes. I have since made it my own little outing, rain or shine. Sadly, it's a rare moment now when ipod, cell phone, computer or general noise isn't filling my head. Taking a walk is also a great time to think or to pray.

Sometimes I get to see cool stuff on such walks like in the above picture and other times I see little old ladies, students from school, and French families spending an afternoon at the equestrian center near where I live.

Well to not make a short story long, I took a walk this afternoon and a little old lady asked me where the something something something was and I said I didn't know but I thought it was this way so we eventually found it after asking one of my students whom we ran into along the way. The little old lady turned out to be originally from Poland, had married a Breton man, had nephews in the United States, etc.

So, I think I'll keep up my little walks. Give it a try, yourself, you just might make a habit out of it.

Je m'excuse, vous fidèles qui lisent ce blog en français. J'ai pas eu le courage d'écrire en français récemment, mais je reprends....

J'aime bien l'habitude que j'observe ici de faire une bonne promenade surtout le dimanche après-midi. C'était en faisant autant que j'ai développé mon appréciation pour cette habitude. Je m'en souviens d'une fois en particulière quand j'ai profité des choux de Bruxelles d'un ferme dans la compagne pendant une promenade avec des amis. C'est ce genre de souvenir que l'on garde - encore plus longtemps que d'autres choses.

Maintenant, avec ou sans pluie, je fais une promenade le dimanche après-midi et bien que j'ai du mal à laisser mon mp3 ou n'importe d'autre machin qui fait du bruit, je sais que ça me fera du bien d'avoir un peu de calme. Grâce à ces moments paisibles, je suis libre de penser, de prier, ou de faire la connaissance d'une vieille voisine qui cherche le Centre Brézillet et qui a envie de parler un peu comme était le cas aujourd'hui.

The Importance of Reading the Newspaper

This semester the newspaper Ouest-France, in it’s benevolence, has decided to gift our school with numerous copies of it’s daily press. I also profit from this delivery. Not only am I able to stay up to date with the news, but I also have a chance to improve my French. Last week I learned such useful words as bouder which means to pout and entamer one of I think a million synonyms meaning to start. I know this blows your mind, but just hold on...

I enjoyed reading my little copy of the paper in the evenings for the first couple of days and felt really with it when news was being discussed in the teacher’s lounge for example.

Then came two fateful days at lunch. One sunny midday the extremely popular topics of politics was floating around. The subject, more specifically, was the U.S. primaries. "There’s just one thing I don’t understand though, Lawrence," said a colleague, "and that’s caucus." Hmmm. Well, right. Needless to say I said I didn’t know too much either but shared what I did. That night Wikipedia helped clear up some of the foggines for me. Bet you didn’t know the word probably comes from a Native American implying meeting.

Day two was much the same as another question came my way. “So what do you think of the bourses in the US?” Thinking the teacher was referring to the loans that students received (my only reference for this word) I said, “Ummm, they help me?...” Well it turns out this is also the word for the stock market. So my comments about students and college must’ve seemed odd. The inquisitive teacher pulled out all kinds of knowledge about this nation and that one (France included) being influenced by the U.S. economy while others like India and China not being in this situation. “These people are political geniuses,” I thought to myself.

To make this a little more interesting, Mr. “What’s a caucus?” from the day before was sitting right next to Mrs. “What do you think of the U.S. stock market?” I think I lost some smart points with these people.

Fulfilling my wish to read the paper that evening, I noticed an article "When recession knocks at the door" which said just about everything the enlightened Mrs. Stock Market had shared. Disappointingly, I was reading this article about 6 hours too late. So perhaps my dates with Ouest-France will have to be elevensies instead of digestifs from now on...

PS - For those of you who don't like Lord of the Rings or aren't British, elevensies are a midmorning coffee and cake.

Why my bike went to school today

I love my bike. Bought used, it's a little particular and it sometimes prefers that I walk it rather than ride it. But, hey, it's transportation and it's helpful and fun.

I don't quite know how to start this little story but picture me next to (key words) my bus stop, ready for my first day at school after Christmas break. I'm holding my cellphone writing a little texto. Oh, how high class am I?

Noticing large splashes of light green out of the corner of my eye (the color of the bus), I begin to reach around my back to retrieve my bus pass. In the meantime, I glance up at the conducteur and he at me. Finding my pass I start to approach the bus but to my Monday morning horror the bus continues to roll smoothly right on passed me! I also notice the sad/worried expression of a student in the back of a bus. "It would truly be a Christmas miracle," I say to myself, "if he gets up and says, 'STOP the bus!'"

But it's January now, so no luck. Moroever, he doesn't speak English so it would really be a surprise.

In a flurry of English unpleasantries said to myself, I decide whether I will just be late (again - ooops) or do something CRAZY. Feeling crazy, I choose option b. You should know that I was really feeling wild because I only put on 1 of 2 serre-pantalon which keeps my pants from becoming tangled in the chain. If you find this extra-funny, I count you as a good friend, or a member of my family.

Riding wildly (*but with utmost safety) through the streets of Saint Brieuc, I arrive at the bus's next stop. Bus in sight, I remove the serre-pantalon and get off the bike in one brillant move. Next I approach the bus, greet the conducteur, and politely ask if I can but the bike in the luggage compartments under the bus. He concedes.

So the student with the worried face, my bike, and I, my heart full of thanks - a slight change from a few minutes prior, all arrived safely to school this morning. And that's why my bike went to school today.