School Trip to Marseille

Trip to Marseille with my Students!

Last week, I got to be a "chaperone" and accompany my students
on a school fieldtrip to Marseille!
Twisty-turny bus ride. We took 2 buses between the 75-ish students and dozen adults.

Nice countryside views from the bus window. We detoured off the main autoroute and took the smaller highway and got some beautiful views of the towns/water/countryside
Boardwalk along the water in the city

This is a Coca Cola advertisement mural on the side of the building.
The "Coke" coming out of the bottle is actually the city of Marseille
We headed up to the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde for a stunning view of the city below.
Travel book excerpt:
"The domed neo-Byzantine-style structure was erected b/w 1853 & 1864 on the site of a 1214 chapel...It is topped by a 33-ft-high gilded bronze statue of the Madonna, who watches out for the fishermen headed to sea."

Enjoying the view, well, sort of

Invasion of students! Step aside tourists, here we come!

The inside of the Basilique is filled with mosaics and murals,
along with other artwork (and pews)
One of my students offered to take my photo.
Have I mentioned recently how much I love my students? They are just too cute.

After the Basilique visit, we walked down the Colline to the famous port, "where ships have docked continually for 2,600 years." Then we headed to a big park to eat our sack lunches, then either relax -- or run around on a full stomach -- this is what separates the grown-ups from the students... haha, I can tell I'm officially old when I want to take a nap after eating instead of doing cartwheels with my students...

Great weather, great students (I love them!!)...a great day trip!
I'm thankful to have been a part of it! :)

It's a Boat! It's a Plane!

"Centenaire de l'aéronautique navale:
Du grand spectacle à Hyères"

Me kickin' it with the French Marines. I just had to get a pic to capture their traditional uniform. I can't imagine US marines wearing a shirt like that, not to mention the pom-pom hat. But hey, I got to touch a pom-pom and apparently that brings good luck! Well that's what they say, anyway...

Tens of thousands of people came out last Sunday to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the "existence of aeronautical shipbuilding." And I was one of them!

Now I'm no expert on big boats and fancy planes, but this "meeting" was a huge event!
As I understand it, the naval base in my town was one of the first main places, in 1910, to really go gung-ho on, shall we say, encouraging the bond b/w ships & aircraft. Hence the giant party in my town!

Here's a very big ship, I think the USS Normandy, and a little police boat to come chase people away so they don't get too close

I met up with Raymond, Christine, and some of their friends/relatives and first we went out on their sailboat to take a look at the battleships that were just a ways off shore!

There were 8 giant ships on the water, from a mix of countries, including the US! It was so cool to see our flag flying (next to the French one, since the ships were in French waters). Not to mention, the BIGGEST, COOLEST ship with the most planes on it was from the US :) And yes, we had a cultural singing time on the sailboat, which included my stunning rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, followed by both the Thai and French national anthems (not performed by me, thank goodness).

If you know more about big ships than I do, here are the names of the boats that were there:

• nuclear aircraft carriers "Charles de Gaulle" (France) & "USS Harry S. Truman" (USA)
• auxiliary aircraft carrier "RFA Argus" (Great Britain)
• aircraft carrier "Principe de Asturias" (Spain)
• missile-launching destroyer "USS Normandy" (USA)
• a big boat with a landing strip for the planes, "Foudre" (France) (ok, so it's getting tricky trying to translate the names of the types of boats)
• some missile-launching warships "Forbin" and "Hessen" (Germany)

See the helicopters?

After our tour by sea, we found our way to dry land and toured around a ton of different planes and helicopters that were all parked on the naval base. There were 110 aircraft!!!

Here's one of the helicopters on land!

They even allowed the public to go inside some of the planes/helicopters to see what it was like inside! It was really cool getting to talk to the crews responsible for the planes...I even found the AMERICANS! It may sound ridiculous, but Americans are few and far between over here, and casually talking to them in English made me so excited to come home! haha

This is Casey, from Dallas. I also met some guys from LA and NY. It's funny how it feels like a big deal to meet people from the US -- it feels like, "oh gosh! people that understand where I'm coming from!" (even if they don't.) It's just a change from trying to explain to French people the differences b/w here and the US.

I got a 5-euro* badge commemorating the "Rawhides" 50th year anniversary as a VAW/VRC squadron.

More info on the Rawhides here: http://vaw-vrcreadyroom.org/50th-anniversary-of-vrc-40/

*free for me! cuz I'm just that special... ;)

AND then there was a big flight demonstration of tons of the different planes, including a show similar to the Blue Angels show that flies in Seattle each year over Labor Day, only French style :)

"La patrouille de France" = French Blue Angels

There were some very noisy planes!

There are more photos of the event at this URL:
http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=113449&u=77322

Eating like a Frenchie

On a cultural GASTRONOMICAL note...

Christine and Raymond have invited me over & we've had several meals at their home. French people eat meals differently from what I'm used to in the US, and I'm hoping to pick up on some of their habits and bring them back to the States with me.


The main difference is the concept of courses --

start off with a small, shared appetizer,

then have a (small portion) main plate,

followed by maybe a green salad,

then bring out the cheese plate with a few varieties to share,

after have perhaps some fruit for dessert,

then end with a small, strong coffee
(and perhaps a small cookie or piece of dark chocolate to go with).

So, over the course of around 2 hours, we slowly enjoy smaller portions of food while enjoying each other's company and conversation. Of course, it's not always complicated and doesn't have to be (I know it sounds like a lot!) but it's really just having an order and separating the food out. Taking your time and having smaller portions helps with digestion and helps you avoid overeating, and you feel more satisfied in the end!

The meal becomes more ceremonial-- more of an experience rather than something on the "to do" list. Here, people often take time to eat. Having a solid block of time to eat is structured into daily life and is structurally reinforced in the way businesses and schools, for example, are run. Yes, it's annoying that certain shops and offices close during lunch hours, but it's interesting to think about the cultural differences in having time for a long lunch (vs. cramming in a quick bite while you're on the clock.) And it's ridiculous to think of US schools functioning as the French do when it comes to meal time -- students have about a 2-hr break and are even allowed to go home! The teachers are not responsible for the students during this time; there are other hired people who work to regulate the cafeteria and the courtyard (aka playground).

And another thing about eating habits, people don't eat and move at the same time here. Meaning, the one time I was running late and grabbed a wrap at home and ate it on my walk to school, I felt like everyone was staring at me (even if they weren't). At home, it's normal to eat while doing other things -- I eat toast in the car on the way to work, I drink a portable coffee while I walk around the mall, I eat an apple while I'm walking down the street. And at home, it's completely normal. Here, it's not normal. When people here eat, they do it at meal time (hardly ever in between), and they sit down when they do it.

Eating here, it seems, is viewed not as a means to get fueled up for the next activity, but as an enjoyable activity in itself . Food and wine are celebrated by slowing down to enjoy the taste and experience, as well as enjoy the company with whom you are sharing them.

(I pulled all these photos off of google image searching, which means I don't have the right to "distribute" them...hopefully, since I don't get paid to blog, it's ok that I put them up here? Does anybody know the rules about that?)

Adventures with R&C

Hanging out with Raymond and Christine

Raymond, Christine, and I have been going on new adventures! Here are some photos from another walk/hike we went on recently.

Finding some wildlife

If I jump, who wants to come save me??

Lots of little beaches and inlets, so close to my home!

Kayaking in Cassis

Kayaking in the Calanques!

What's a calanque?
according to wiki, "calanque" is from the corsican word meaning "inlet"; it's a geologic formation in the form of a deep valley with steep sides, typically of limestone, in part submerged by the sea.

Enjoyed by tourists and locals alike, the calanques in Cassis are best explored, according to me, by kayak!
I went 2 years ago (shout out to Mina and Stink)...it was one of the best activities we did on our Europe trip 2008!

Cassis = small vacation/port town outside of Marseille

A few weeks ago, I went to Cassis with a group of English language assistants from the area for a day of kayaking adventure in the calanques!

Tessa, Victoria, Adam, and Nikki on the 40-min train ride there

Quick lunch near the beach before setting off

Gotta fuel up for the trip

We're excited for a little adventure!

So wait...what exactly are we doing?

"A this is how you paddle..." Our rental man gives us the run-down.

I'm so ready! I was made for this!

The plan:
4-hour rental
3 boats with 2 people each
An hour to paddle out to the beach in the inlet, a couple hours to relax, then an hour trip back.

We made it! Darren relaxing in the boat. That was a tiring trip!! Lots of waves and wind

Nikki enjoying the view. Crystal clear aqua colored water...like a swimming pool! But so much better :)

Tessa finding her inner peace on the rocky beach

ONE MONTH!

Today's June 1st, which means...

O N E M O N T H

until I come home!

Mark your calendars for:
----------------------------------
J U L Y F I R S T
----------------------------------

That's right, didn't want to miss out on the
4th of July!
(Even if I am jetlagged.)

I'm definitely still happy to be here, and am planning on making the most of the month of June.
I'm a bit tired of lesson planning, but I (still) love my students! I want to do fun/creative things to finish out the year; I'm trying to finish strong!

As much as I love it here, I'm also really excited to come back to the Pacific Northwest.
I've been brainstorming lots of ideas for fun and adventure this summer!

What a privileged life to lead,
having a heart split between two wonderful places!

Hiking w/ Raymond and Christine*

*If you don't know who Raymond and Christine are yet, just click over to the May blog post entitled "A Lesson in Trusting Strangers."

An Afternoon Stroll by the Sea

Christine and me on the path. (Raymond was the photographer that day so he's not in any photos.)

A couple weeks ago, they took me out to a new area I haven't been to (not a lot of buses in that direction), and we went hiking along the beach! It's really cool, there's a long walking path up and around lots of little beach coves - beautiful views, good mixes of sun/shade, beach/forest, hills/flat bits.

An action shot. Here we are cruisin' along the beach.

Hiking around the cliffs, never far from the Mediterranean Sea

Another action shot. I blinked.

A pretty, but invasive, plant species that grows in the area.

Raymond and Christine know lots about plants, wildlife, and the geography of this area. They taught me the names of several plants typical to the region (in French). We talked about different types of birds, insects, and other wildlife critters in the area (and I told them about what we've got back home too.) In the car on the way, and also when we got to the beach, they let me look at a couple maps to see where we were and where we'd gone.

Christine teaching me about the fauna. Gosh, I look tall.

Relaxing at our destination, one of the nicest beaches in the region (with extremely fine sand).

And the bra in the background reminds me... Wondering about French Riviera "topless" policies (or I should say "social norms")?
It's up to a woman's personal preference. I'd say it's about half and half, maybe 60/40 split (more women favor avoiding the tan lines)

Here's a big tree that got uprooted over the winter. The strong winds that blow through the area are known as the "Mistral." Comparable, I imagine, to the Santa Ana's, but they can come anytime)

Curious about the Mistral wind? This Wiki is pretty interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistral_wind