The Wall

Over the past few weeks I have experienced "The Wall."

The wall is an invisible hurdle, where culture, over- saturation of language immersion and pining for the sanctuary of home hits me over the head like a wet, soggy cloud.

Winter is not my season of preference.

"The wall" is not a permanent fixture, but I am looking forward to it melting away and enabling me to resume my life here in France with renewed fortitude.

There is a cool french expression:

"À chaque jour suffit sa peine."  One day at a time. When translated directly, it means that if you have one day of difficulty, that day should be kept to that day only ….. not perpetuated into further endurance.

I have often said aloud when on holiday, "If only one could bottle sunshine and bring it out during winter." I am deeply grateful to my sister, who lives on the Gold Coast of Australia. My mother has been visiting her there for two weeks. During the holiday period, they have sent me sunshine through invisible transmission. Thank you for your daily dose of sunshine.

In fact, in the north of France, the lack of sunshine, can cause terrible diseases and mental health issues, is a known fact. I can see how it is a reality. However, it is not so common here in the South of France.

One day when I write the fabulous best seller of Viki's experiences in France, it will be the adversities, the mistaken understandings and mis-communications where the most amusing anecdotes will be told. 

However, I have a quick anecdote to tell you. Unfortunately, I cannot blame cultural misunderstandings nor the language barrier to cover my faux pas. I was talking to the landlords, and I turned to descend to my apartment below. I was completely SHAMOOZLEDLY CONFUSED when I walked into ……… the toilet! !!!!!!!!!!!! The door to descend the stairs and the door to the toilet are identical and side by side. What a complete fool I am. Imagine the hilarity as the landlords recount this story to their french comrades!

Sometimes, I do not represent New Zealand in a positive way!

"Âllo, Mr Key? So sorry to represent NZ with an empty brain! "

Here is photographic proof of my misunderstanding.

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Thank you to everyone whom has expressed an interest in this blog. At times, it seems as if I am talking to a brick wall. I understand that it is difficult to use the comment box to respond.

Thank you, Greg, for leaving a comment. I get your "vibes" of encouragement and support. I deeply appreciate it.

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Today I made a quick visit to a patisserie. I asked for a cappuccino. However, my memory banks clicked into action. Last time I was here, the girl made a tiny, tiny expresso and filled the minuscule cup to the top with cold milk. So, this time I asked for a hot cappuccino. The milk was heated up. Oh dear. It was marginally better. Anyway, I bought these little petits fours to go with my coffee. They are delicious. They are tiny, bite-sized meringues. A perfect accompaniment to the bitter coffee.

Charming!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Furthermore to an earlier post ….

I mentioned that it wasn't uncommon for dogs to take themselves out for a walk, here in Gap.

Well, today I encountered two little doggies out for their independent stroll in the sun. they were ahead of me, approaching in my direction. Our paths were destined to meet. I whipped out my camera to be ready and waiting for them so that I could take a close up of them.

One of them, the smaller of the two was adorable. If he was a person, he would be a hippy surfer. His long, scraggly hair was bleached, tousled and blonde. His cheeky eyes were full of impish adventure. This fellow saw me take out my camera and took off in the other direction. 

This little fellow in the photograph below ….

… decided to face the challenge of the camera ordeal.

He stood his ground and as I took his photo he turned his back to me. Not to be usurped by his statement, I tried again, and I managed to get his face in shot. Yay!

What a little charmer!

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Creperie

Yay. Jess and Joel came to visit. Jess is my study buddy and she is on the same immersion award as I am. She lives in Mauberge; right at the other end of France. Joel is her husband and he is experiencing France with gusto.

Jess and Joel arrived in the early afternoon and we had a great deal to catch up on and compare experiences. 

Later on we were on our way to dinner, when I suggested a spur of the moment idea. We visited friends of mine; a wonderful typical french family. We were welcomed with wide, beaming smiles from all of the family. The remnants of dinner was swept aside as a french drink called, Pastis, was glugged into glasses. It tastes just like Ouzo, with a strong liquorice flavour. It went down well; especially as we had already had a Muscat and Champagne before we left home.

The children were absolutely adorable. One of them promptly sat down and drew a complicated picture. He sure had a rambunctious story to tell with his artistic flair.

We were offered some delicious flavoured waffles.

One of the girls created masterpieces for each of us. The drawings were individualised. We all were gifted with a superb princess.

After our lively visit, we toddled off to dinner. It was a cute little creperie. The selection of Galettes, salad and deserts that we chose were absolutely delicious. It was very cool to be dining in our enchanting surroundings. We couldn't resist the desert. My one scoop of caramel ice cream was delicious. I was most impressed with Joel ordering his meal in french. In fact he followed our french conversations with confidence, ease and a carefree attitude.

It was with great sadness that I waved goodbye to them the next day. They set out before daybreak, to travel 9 hours back to Maubeuge. Whew!

Melting snow

Gap is situated in a valley. It snows on the surrounding mountains during the night. The snow melts the next day. There are tons of rivulets, streams, rivers, throughout the town. The water is always fast running, which makes a cool sound. It is quite rare to see stagnant water. All the town fountains have been covered over, as they are prone to freeze.

After enjoying 4 months of perpetual sunshine, the rain has hit Gap. Low, grey clouds and water, water everywhere!

Viaduct

Today's walk, the first day of the year, was a quest to visit the local viaduct. The air was crisp, cold and fresh. 

I headed towards my intended destination, but I wasn't exactly sure what road to follow.

At an intersection, I stopped to ask a gentleman for directions. He spoke in very clear, well articulated french. I found him easy to understand. So when he suggested that we walk together to the next intersection, it was easy to fall into step together and converse. His 12 year old border collie was adorable and the walk transpired into a full circuit of the local streets.

I learnt that the area around the viaduct has become blocked to the public because of vandalism. I also learnt that if I really wanted to visit the viaduct, I needed to go a very complicated and roundabout route to get there. So when we reached a suitable point, I asked if he would take my photo, with the viaduct in the background. It is a (working) bridge for the train.

After a leisurely stroll with this gentleman, I was delighted to have made his acquaintance. 

He told me all about Gap and I told him of the reasons behind my 10 month visit to Gap. It was very pleasant in contrast to the evening prior, where talking fluently was a major downfall in my conversational french.

What the …….?

Ok. So, you need to look closely here.

Queue de porc.

 If you look "queue" up in the french dictionary the translation could be any of these: 

tail, line, queue, pigtail, cue, panhandle, cock, dick, prick.

Make up your own mind!

Pig trotters!  Easy to interpret. Must be horrible to eat!

Time for appreciation of nature on the final day of the year

I needed to purchase some alcohol and nibbles for the New Year's Eve celebrations. I decided to be adventurous and travel to the other side of town to the huge supermarket that had an enormous selection of goods.

Whilst waiting for the bus, I chuckled at my sharp, elongated shadow cast by the midday winter sun. Never before have I had such long, modelesque legs!

My new felt hat that I recently purchased looked very chic!

I was perplexed why the bus that I was on was taking a very strange route. It turned out that it definitely was not heading to where I thought it should be. I found myself returning back to where I started from. 

Quickly gathering my thoughts, I made a snap decision to get off the bus and make a journey up the steep side of the local mountain, called Charance. I had two hours to fill in before the next bus.

The next hour I made my way through winding country roads towards the grand Chateau that overlooks the town. There are a number of picturesque walks around the area.

Once I reached quite a high point, I left the road and followed a muddy track into the forest. 

After a while, I paused to remove a layer of clothing and get my breath. I was beside a fast running stream. The majestic trees towered above me. I listened to the silence and was lulled into deep appreciation of the beauty of Mother Nature.

The stream made the most adorable music. The brown leaves made a patchwork carpet on the floor of the woods. There was not a soul around for miles. The azure sky painted a perfect backdrop for the evergreen trees.

 I even took the liberty of leaning against a tree and feeling the slow throb of the pulse of life.

It was only afterwards, that the thought occurred to me that I could have been approached by a wolf.

As I continued to climb the hillside was punctuated with waterfalls of melting snow.

At last, I reached my destination. The Charance Chateau is a solid landmark on the side of the mountain that presides over Gap with a nurturing energy.

The photos are unable to depict the silence, stillness and serene beauty that spread before me.

The descent was a lot quicker and easier than the ascent.

I took a gamble on the interpretation of the bus timetable and miraculously, I connected with a bus, half an hour later, just as I arrived at the appropriate bus stop.

I took the bus to the supermarket, but like a naughty, wayward child, I made a detour to a cool op shop. I spent ages there, deliberating a something new to wear for New Year's Eve. So by the time I arrived back at the supermarket, I only had 10 minutes to make my purchases before my bus departed for the homeward journey!

The supermarket queues snaked for miles long. The supermarket would be closed the next day, and the whole world needed their last minute supplies. My quest for alcohol and nibbles was thwarted.

By the time I arrived back at my apartment, night had descended and it was only 5 o'clock. I downed some food, as I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and made my way out into the frosty evening for a visit to the local supermarket, on foot. It turned out to be an hour long excursion. The upside was the stunning night sky: twinkling stars; stark, intense black sky and midnight blue, mysterious shapes along the winding, country road back to my apartment.

With deep reflection as I was walking, I was able to ponder on 2013 and then set exciting goals for 2014.