One of the things I love about living in France is how easy it is to walk wherever you want to go. I walk for at least an hour everyday, through gardens, on paved sidewalks, up stairs, down stairs, across the bridge. Blois feels more alive when taken by foot, and I feel more alive, too. As a pedestrian in Blois, I feel like there is nowhere I can't go. If I want to get to the opposite side of Blois, all I have to do is walk there. It may take me an hour or two, but it is possible for me to get where I want to be with nothing but my own two feet (and for free!). This would be almost impossible in the United States, where cars reign supreme.
Two weeks ago, my belief in pedestrain-friendly France was shaken by a unsuccessful cinema outing. Harriet and I decided to go see the new Twilight movie dubbed in French, and with our faith in our ability to walk anywhere in Blois, we set off by foot toward the big cinéplex on the northern side of town. Google Maps said the walk would take about 40 minutes--no big deal. An hour later, we were still searching for the cinema. It turned out that the cinema in Blois is one of those rare places that you can't reach by foot. Two round-abouts and a highway stood between us and the ridiculous fifth installment of the Twilight series. I was tempted to take my chances crossing the round-about, but Harriet wisely advised that Twilight was simply not worth risking life and limb. We went shopping instead, as the cinema is close to the ugly outskirts of Blois where all the cheap, American-like French chains are located. We left with martini glasses, a shaker, and a resolution to go straight to the Intermarché (our nearest grocery store) to buy vodka, triple sec, and cranberry juice for cosmos. We also invested in a tub of pistachio ice cream that lasted us all of two evenings.
I am still muddling through my disappointment that the cinema is not accessible to pedestrians. The next Wednesday, we took a bus to the cinema (a very inconvenient one that only circulates every hour and that costs 1,10 euros) and still found ourselves in unfriendly pedestrian territory. There were no signs for the cinema, no sidewalks, and no pedestrian entrance. After I tripped on a piece of trash left in the parking lot, I had half a mind to tell CapCiné that they needed to provide some better transportation options for the 4,000+ students, predominantly pedestrians, living in Blois. But the other half of my mind preferred to keep quiet and escape into the darkness of the cinema. (Note: the French Kristin Stewart sounds twice as intelligent and three times as interesting.)
Other than wayward cinema trips, not much is going on here in Blois, at least not that belongs in this blog. The big gala at the university was fun. Everyone was much too drunk and no one sang along to the songs as they were all American pop hits in English (Harriet and I were screaming the lyrics at the tops of our lungs much to the surprise of everyone around us). I'm looking forward to the next one in December, a more intimate affair to ring in the end of the world (December 21, 2012, according to the Mayans). Thomas the Marseillais is helping to organize it, so it's sure to be a smash.
I am slowly getting more comfortable with the teaching, and sometimes I have really successful, invigorating classes. Other times my classes go so badly that I want to cry. The other teachers are being mostly helpful, and I've even had some legit conversations with a few of them. Some even seek me out to chat. I'm beginning to feel less and less like the unpopular weird girl mistakenly seated with a popular clique.
Edwige invited me to join her choir that rehearses at the hospital. It is made up of women between the ages of 30 and 70, and I am the only one under 30 and foreign in the group. They are all very welcoming and nice, and I am so enjoying being part of a choir again. I've missed singing a lot. We sing simple songs, usually in unison or in canon. We are preparing for a Christmas program for children who are sick in the hospital over the holidays. I also love having the extra time with Edwige. She invited me over this weekend to help make foie gras and countless other strange French delicacies out of the whole ducks she bought at the market.
As most of you know, my dad had a heart attack last Sunday. He is doing fine and came home from the hospital on Tuesday, but it definitely was hard being so far away when my family was in crisis. I was able to reach my parents by phone and talk to them Sunday night, which really helped ease my feelings of worry, powerlessness, and detachment.
It was also weird being far away for Thanksgiving, which I celebrated with some leftover couscous and a beer with a French guy at a nearby bar. Christmas is sure to be equally strange, but I'm hoping my trip to visit my friend Ali and her boyfriend in Foix (in the Pyrenees, south of Toulouse) will be fun and full of holiday cheer. We'll hopefully be ringing in the New Year in Barcelona if we can work out our transportation okay, so that should prove to be quite the party.
Tonight, Amy, Harriet, and I are having a Titanic night watching Titanic and eating ice cream. Tomorrow, our friend Suzie is coming to Blois and then we're all going to Orléans together to check out the Christmas markets (perhaps the subject of my next post). For the first time in my life, I have money to spend on Christmas presents and I'm excited about creating a Christmas package for my parents. I'm also ready to get into the Christmas spirit. Suzie is spending the night in my apartment and we're ordering pizza and watching another movie. I'm looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend! France continues to be wonderful, and I'm feeling more and more comfortable. I think I may be applying for next year...
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