So yes, last weekend. Matt came too to see our two profs Mac and Anne (who are married, and spending their semester sabbatical in the French country side about three hours outside of Paris with their three wonderful and adorable children Oliver (7) Iris (6) and Eleanor (3). It was a weekend I will not soon forget. We left on Thursday directly from IFE and we went to to the Train station, where we took the TGV out of the city to Rennes. The train went super fast (as they are intended to do) and we were in Rennes in about 2hours 10 minutes. Over the course of the train ride, I befriended the man sitting next to me, and he helped me with some of the vocabulary in my book that I am reading for school, and he made sure I got off the train at the right stop. Also, he probably thought I was kind of crazy because when they came by to check my ticket I dropped my sandwich on the floor and proceeded to pick it up, put it back together, and eat it for dinner. There is a TGV five second rule right? Anyway the train was quick, and Anne was eagerly awaiting our arrival in Rennes when we got there with large Bizous and a wonderful welcome!
We then jumped into their car (which came with the house they are renting for 6 months and were off on the road to get to their home out in the country side. And in five minutes of driving, it felt like I was home. I am sure I will say this through out this post several times, but DePauw University is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life. Only at a small liberal arts school in Indiana could you find professors who are so deeply invested in your life and your success that they would invite you to visit in the first place, but not only that, they listen and talk with you like you are intelligent and your opinions are interesting and relevant. We talked about our classes, and French politics and Anne's studies in Paris when she was in school. It was wonderful, and then we arrived at their 17th century house in rural France in the town of Josselin with a population of 2,500 people. And Mac was awaiting our arrival with a wonderful dessert, and more wonderful conversation. And once again, thousands of miles away from Greencastle, IN I was home. (I count Greencastle as my home away from home for 9 months of the year, so it really felt like home.) And it also wasn't long before we heard the pitter patter of little feet (of small children who were supposed to be sleeping...) and we got to say good night to the little ones too! Even though they were very grumpy the next morning, we had such a wonderful welcome, and fell into bed dreaming of the weekend to come.
In the morning Mac had made his usual trip to the Boulangerie and retrieved delicious goodies for us for breakfast, and after convincing Anne that her beautiful lovelies would be fine at school for just a few hours without us being super close by, we headed out into the French country side to see some megaliths (rocks like those that make up Stone Henge) from 5,000 B.C.E. We saw the rocks, and hiked around and found a wonderful little hamlet in the middle of the country, and once again enjoyed several hours of outstanding conversation with profs who care not only about our success and education in the world, but also care about genuinely as people, and as potentially blooming academics like themselves. So wonderful... and a picnic lunch in a little bit of rain to top it all off! Then we went back to the town to collect the little ones and have coffee (which is way less expensive if you are not in Paris FYI). The really brave people in this adventure are Oliver, Iris and Eleanor, who picked up and moved around the world, and now go to school in French all day everyday. Especially Oliver who doesn't always understand what is going on, but gives school his best everyday... and Iris who is learning french faster than anyone probably know, and Eleanor who could actually forget all of her English and start again with French if she was given the opportunity... which is weird to think about!
But we collected the little ones from school... and rivers of English poured out of their little mouths as they were so excited to be understood again... and we went home and had a wonderful evening, a wonderful dinner and then more wonderful conversation with Mac and Anne after the little loves had gone off to sleep. In the morning... little footsteps on the stairs woke us up... and soon I found three little children in bed... eager to start the day! Iris accompanied Anne and us to the market... where she also showed us the catholic church in the town, and she showed us how to pray and use the holy water and everything, good job Iris! The market of the little town was amazing, with every kind of fresh fare you could want from Bretange... Cheese and bread and mussels which we had for lunch. The best quote of the day then came out of Oliver's mouth after our delicious lunch of mussels (cooked by the fabulous Anne) "If there is more to life than this, I don't know what it is." No one could have said it better than Oliver.
And we spent another wonderful day exploring their town (which has an awesome castle which you can see in the pics) and all kinds of other wonderful things from the 16th and 17th centuries. The kids took us to some of their favorite places... including the lovely little bamboo grove thing that is randomly in their town, and it made me think of China. The kids were full of tireless energy, and we could have explored everything endlessly. They are never afraid to try anything, or go anywhere or do anything! When we returned home, unfortunately Mac wasn't feeling so hot because of a little allergy to shell fish (the mussels didn't go over so hot...) and Anne cooked a lovely dinner of crepes for us and the kids while Mac tried to sleep off his unpleasantness... and we watched one of my all time favorite movies "The Princess Bride." I had Eleanor curled up in my lap, and the other kids loved the movie which is perfect since it is a classic. Another wonderful day... it all seemed so much like a dream, as we were treated like royalty, and a little piece of DePauw and home were so wonderful to have for a weekend.
Sunday then flew by, as we went exploring even more in the town, and the two little girls let us off to the boulangerie to get breakfast so that Mac could stay in bed and rest. And Iris kept us all in line, reminding us several times, "Shhhh the french are a quiet people" whether we were talking or not! And we adventured more with the kids, and enjoyed the sunshine that peaked through the winter clouds for the rest of the day, until we jumped on the bus back to Rennes and took a train back to Paris which got in around midnight.
I can't even express here, and the pics do not do it just either, the wonderful weekend we shared with Mac and Anne. Like I said before, they are amazing professors, who treat us with the utmost respect and listen to our ideas about life, and french culture and politics, and provide invaluable insight and advice. They treat us like grown ups (even if we aren't quite there yet) and make us feel like we have good ideas which are worthwhile to listen to. Nothing could be more wonderful than that... so an infinite thank you to mac and anne for a wonderful weekend, and to the kids for welcoming us into their home and showing us all around... it was a wonderful weekend get away... and it made me a little homesick when I woke up Monday morning and had to go back to class...
from Oliver: "that post was awesome! hey, this is my first comment on a blog ever!" from Iris: "I loved having you over, love, Iris" from Eleanor: "I want to say I have a stick wand and that's all I want to say, love, Eleanor."
ReplyDeletewe admire you two so much!!! still a-glow from your visit and the great conversation - Paris is yours!