Friday, 20 August

Back in the USofA. First morning of being roomie to by brother Keith. My travels are over and my transition is on. Looking for a job, wondering about where next, living day-to-day in the comfort of my family and friends while moving along the river of life.

Vendredi, 9 julliet

Back in St. Just, Cornwall, with my sister. Nat arrived in Paris on 29 June and we are travelling in France and England. I was here in April at the beginning of my "grand tour" and loved it, so we've set up a tent at the hostel and enjoying the tranquility of the coast of southwest England.

Samdi, 26 juin

Nearly a month in Spain, at the moment in Irun, heading to Paris tomorrow. Had to walk from Spain to France this morning to buy a train ticket : ) Only 3 km and a nice walk. Seems fitting as I came to Spain for walking to Santiago de Compostella, but had crossed the border on a train. Made a pilgimage of sorts to the Alhambra in Granada. That too was fitting, a walk to a christian site and to a moslem site too. Magnificent gardens and architecture and irrigation system especially. Deservedly a wonder of the world.

Jeudi, 10 juin 2010

Sitting in a cafe at Ribadiso da Baixo, 40-some kilometers east of Santiago de Compostlla. Walking for two days in the Galician rain, a hot bowl of soup and a beer is exactly what one needs -- and I just got it. Should arrive SdeC on Saturday and I´m feeling a sense of accomplishment at this physical challenge. Happy me!

Jeudi, 3 juin 2010

Have arrived at Porferrado, Spain, and at the moment the sounds of keyboards clicking and water falling in the fountain outside the hostel here are what I hear. Tomorrow begin walking the road to Compostella here in Spain, after 18 days of walking between Le Puy en Velay and Figeac in France. There is nothing like walking thru a place -- the sounds, fragrances, sights, weather, bugs and rocks and mud and poppies and old villages and lots of people, friendly people along the way. We need a pilgrim road in the USofA!

Mercredi, 12 mai 2010

Have arrived at Le Puy en Velay from where I begin walking tomorrow toward Santiago de Compostella in Spain. The area was once home to many magnificent volcanos and today there are old medieval churches (and one very gaudy statue a la Rio) perched atop volcanic cores. Quite the site and sight! Writing from the local history room at the municipal library, a lovely room! Love too all readers!

Mercredi, 21 avril 2010

Sitting in the "Surfen" room at the central Karlstad public library in Sweden -- this is a hoppin' place, but not quite as hoppin' as SAG was earlier today. The high school where friend and librarian colleague, Lennart Wettmark works. Today was the big Poesiefestival and even though I only understand two words of Swedish (Hej! & och) I thoroughly enjoyed the morning programs. The 150th anniversary of Sweden's great poet Gustaf Fröding (1860-1911) is being celebrated here. Here is one of his poems -- which I was able to understand when it was read in Swedish, because I'd just read the English translation and it was in my memory.

GREY ROCK SONG

Stay
grey,
stay
grey,
stay
grey,
stay
grey,
stay
gr-e-e-y.
That's the grey rock song,
very l-o-o-o-o-o-ng.

vendredi, 2 avril

Today is my last day taking French classes at CIEL. Wanted to ride Mellow Yellow here this morning, but it was raining so heavily that I took the bus instead, not wanting to be soaked before I got out of the dormitory parking lot. Of course, half way to school on the bus, the skies cleared and it will be a beautiful day. Turning in the keys to my room Monday morning before catching ferry at Roscoff to Plymouth.

Mercredi, 24 Marz

Awoke this morning, as usual, to Culture France -- the radio station I like to listen to. Every week I can understand more words, but still have troubles comprehending full sentences. The early morning program is great for me because it consists of interviews with people new to France. People like me who are learning the language and who talk about everyday events. One morning I felt very sad for the man speaking, an Arab who described how his brothers had all found wives in France, but he had none. He sounded very sad. Also this morning, as I topped the longest hill on my 12km bike ride to school, the fragrance of freshly cooking crepes met me and they smell just like pancakes! On a cold morning there is nothing more inviting and homey than to be surrounded by the warm aroma of Breton crepes.

Dimanche, 7 Mars

Visited Oceanapolis with Miho, who visited me yesterday to get an idea of life at the dormitories at Cité Universitaire. I was sick this week for the first time in a couple years (missed three days of class) and so it felt great to hop on Mellow Yellow and pedal to Oceanapolis, Brest's magnificent aquarium. Cold, but sunny and very windy. Visiting Oceanapolis was a special treat after seeing Jacques Perron's new film, Oceans. One scene toward the end was filmed at Oceanapolis and two others at and around Ile d'Ouessant which I visited the first weekend in February.

Samedi, 27 Fevrier

I'm learning French! This morning was able to (1) overcome my timidity in speaking French outside of class and (2) render complete sentences in a conversational exchange. "Merci pour le chanson de George Brassens!" says yours truly to the proprietor of Café de l'Ocean. "Je ne comprend pas les paroles, mais j'aimé ses chansons. Je pense il chante avec beaucoup joie de vivre!" A grand speech pour moi! I imagine the proprietor was shocked to hear his usually mute customer say something more than; "Bonjour! Merci beaucoup! A revoir!"

Mardi, 16 Fevrier - my birthday

Yesterday I nearly broke down into a puddle of tears -- twice -- because of my inability to communicate. First, trying to track down missing mail, then at WorldPhone when the proprieter treated me like I was stupid because I didn't understand how much I was to pay.

But, today, was altogether different! My 54th birthday began with greetings via the internet, then "felicitations" from my classmate Miho who gave me a stupendous box of chocolates, and a trip to the Musée de la Fraise with Marie-Pierre, a new friend. We meet once a week to practice one another's language. Friday I treat myself to dinner aboard "Ma Petite Folie."

Photo Melange

Attempting to maintain a blog has not been a simple process. For the moment, please know that the photos connected to new entries bear no connection to text. Random images will have to do for now. Much love to all!

Vendredi, 12 Fevrier

On the way home from school, carry on a conversation in French with a Chinese student. My French is halting, filled with gaps and dictionary-assisted, her's is very good. She and two other Chinese students get a kick out of my paperback dictionary. Around here, electronic dictionaries are a la mode.

Samedi, 6 Fevrier

One month in France and I'm sitting on the edge of the European continent watching the Atlantic crash against the rocks at Point de Pern on l'Ile Ouessant. C'est bon, tres bon. C'est la vie!

Jeudi, 28 Janvier 1873 Colette et 1999 Leah

J'ai ache une velo d'occasion! I buy a used bike! 7-speed Peugeot, made in Canada, name it MelloYello apres -- guess what? -- its color, and in hommage to all the places in Brest where I hear old (and I mean OLD) American rock-n-roll music. On the bus, in the cafe, on the radio:) At 65 euros it fits my budget, and then I spend about the same for new anti-vol, deux phares (blanche et rouge) et les bandes reflechissant to keep my pants from getting caught in the bike's gears.

Dimanche, 24 Janvier

Met classmates Roman & Miho for a treat at Symphonie, a cafe and patisserie on rue de Siam, we visit Tour Tanguy which houses a nice museum of pre-WWII Brest, and then take a walk along the quay enjoying a spectacular sunset and a chance to see two world-class racing trimarans readying for "bon meteo" to commence their round the world voyage.

Dimanche, 16 Janvier 1956 Charlene et 1964 Monica

Daylight comes very late in Brittany. France maintains one time zone for an area that would cover at least two zones in the U.S. So, 8 a.m. Sunday morning it is still dark, I'm wide awake and walking through quiet, mostly empty streets. End up following a woman with a shopping card, walking purposefully toward Place de Liberte. I figure she knows where she's headed and I don't, so... Imagine the thrill of suddenly finding myself in the midst of the Sunday farmers' market being set up! A home away from home, with one important difference -- I'm in FRANCE! The cheese is LOCAL -- les fromage c'est du pays!!! This market is heavenly and the cheese is only the beginning!

Samadi, 9 Janvier 1908 Simone de Beauvoir

Awoke 10:31 am! Jet lag -- en francais "J'ai souffert du decalage horaire!" (I need to figure out how to reset this keyboard to type in French.) Took a walk through one of Brittany's unusual snowstorm and enjoyed a cafe au lait at Cafe de l'Ocean in the center of Brest, which more than revived me -- along with the simple exuberance of being in France. L'idee du hier c'est las realite du jour! The idea of yesterday is the reality of today!

Choosing a Motif for Ezine-on-Blog

A conversation, at the Winter Solstice community dinner in Carnation with a young man who had ventured forth in much the same manner that I am, got me to thinking of a graphic, thematic focus for blog postings. He'd used the word "road." As I thought of geographic places to which I hope to travel -- Finistre, Land's End, Finisterre -- and the fact that I've lived at the "end" of Epsilon Street for the past five years, I imagined utilizing the letter "E" as an image. And, now, having just learned that the Greek Epsilon has origins in the Phoenician He (meaning "window"), which itself derives from the Egyptian hieroglyph Hii (meaning "jubilation"), and the fact that "E" is also the initial letter of my first name (plus, I am taking off to study a new language) it seems appropriate to select an element of language as a motif for postings -- "E" -- "windows" -- and moments of "jubilation"!

So, today's joy is to be found in the first day of preparing for a fast. A great adventure requires physical preparation and well-being, no? My guide is Ann Louise Gittelman and her book Fast Track Detox Diet (New York: Broadway Books, 2005. 0-7679-2046-5). I'll let you know how I feel when I'm done.