Allez, allez René!

Other than wild alligators and volcanic eruptions, most things are better experienced in person rather than seen from behind a TV screen. This includes the sea (la mer), salt swamps (les marais salants), and triathlons (les triathlons), all of which I experienced with my host family this weekend in La Baule, a commune/municipality/city on the Atlantic coast (which they call the sea).

I was glad to finally meet Dany and René's two grown children, Caroline (pronounced kah-ro-leen) and Stéfane, and Stéfane's wife Nathalie. Caroline is sweet and smiles a lot. She showed me how to cook and peel chestnuts, and played some old records for me, French classics like Henri Salvador, Julien Clerc, and Jacques Brel. She loves dancing to ABBA, especially La Reine de la Piste ("queen of the dance floor").

Stéfane is a jokester. He told stories using lots of funny voices and hopped down the stairs with his arms poised like a little velociraptor. He's going to be a fun dad in about 4 months. With her long red hair and slender fingers, Nathalie appears tranquil as a swan. Stéfane would often touch her round stomach, his face radiating with happiness. When we went to the beach, he dug a hole in the sand so that Nathalie could lie on her stomach.

The Aubineaus have an apartment in La Baule, with a garage full of bikes! I rode alongside the sea on a trendy (kind of) "comfort" bicycle, much softer under my tuchus than the VTT (vélo tout terrain, mountain bike) that I've been riding. Neither a picture nor a thousand words can capture the sensory treats that the sea offers, but I'll say that the water sparkled like an outfit any member of ABBA might have worn.

I rode with Dany and Caroline past the salt swamps of Guérande. Sea salt is farmed in these flat marshlands. The seawater floods the land and then drains, leaving behind large grains of salt and fleur de sel, white salt crystals also used for seasoning. Fleur de sel is very expensive in the United States, but salt season is long past so I won't be bringing back any salty souvenirs. The cultivated beds were majestic even while napping.

We returned just in time for the Grand Prix, and I'm not talking about cars. The 21st Triathlon Audencia featured five different races, for everyone from handicapped athletes to professional triathloners. I saw three of the five races: Triathlon Découverte (for those "discovering" the triathlon, René's race), Triathlon Courte Distance (for amateurs, but it wasn't so short), and le Finale du Grand Prix (the pros, a number of whom placed in the Olympics!). I watched the swimming (la natation) from afar, and could only see a thousand little heads bobbing in and out of the water. The second part, le cyclism, was fast and exciting, but the athletes turned into an indistinguishable rainbow of spandex swim-bike-run-wear and spinning wheels. The final part, la course à pied, was when the athletes came alive -- though no doubt they felt like they were going in the other direction.

Seeing the pros run by was like watching a Gatorade commercial come to life, for lack of a more profound image -- though their sweat was not strawberry or blueberry-colored. I could actually hear their breathing and their feet pounding the pavement in a steady rhythm; I wondered if in their heads they were reciting song lyrics, or maybe reciting Baudelaire? On the less poetic end, there was plenty of snot dripping and snot rockets (couldn't find it in French) flying. A few were foaming at the mouth. They came in all different sizes, some tall and bulging, others little and lithe. A few were so lean and muscular that it made me cringe to see their muscles flex with each stride. They looked like power wrapped in spandex.

During René's race, we positioned ourselves next to the fueling station. The waterboys and girls stood ready with little cups of water as the athletes ran by, some thrusting their hands out for a cup, others humbly requesting eau, s'il vous plaît! My favorite was a gentleman who ran by and asked for une bière (what it sounds like), s'il vous plaît! We all shouted Allez! Allez! as René biked and ran by.

At one point, I turned my head one way and saw la mer shimmering like ABBA. Then I looked the other way and saw my French family jumping and shouting. I was really inspired to do a triathlon, but then I remembered that that requires swimming more one lap. Zut.

Allez. A fine weekend at the races.

Toujours à la mode

In Madame Berk's high school French classes, we used a grammar workbook called FFF: French for Fluency. Here in Nantes, I see the heartbeat pumping French blood in terms of a different three Fs: food, friends/family, and fashion. The best social welfare in Europe also keeps French hearts healthy, but it doesn't fit into the F model. Perhaps welFare.

But about that last one, fashion. While I doubt that anyone would ever come to me for fashion advice, I can usually tell when someone else has a superior fashion sense and looks put-together. (When my mom comes into my room with a fashion question, it's usually to consult the full-length mirror, as all I can offer is a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.) But I think I know enough to say that the French have got it going on in the fashion department. They are, as a whole, always à la mode.

The first difference I noticed was in the men. On my very first walk into town, I saw two attractive, well-dressed men walking together and found myself surprised that they weren't holding hands. My stereotype-wired brain automatically equated their tight black v-necks with homosexuality. I looked around and saw fashion-savvy men everywhere, pushing baby strollers, kissing beautiful women, drinking Heineken, doing any number of manly things. I asked Dany about homophobia and she told me that while France is years away from legalizing gay marriage, there is an unspoken social acceptance; if you're gay, you're gay. Do what you want with whichever gender you prefer, only don't parade it in front of the whole city.

Of course there are gay men and women in France, but they are not so easily defined by their clothing. (Oy vey, now how am I supposed to compartmentalize people?) Straight men dress just as well as women, whereas I'd venture to say that American women out-dress their male counterparts on a daily basis. No offense, Dad.

French women are stunning. Sometimes, when I see a jaw-droppingly beautiful one, I feel like a little kid whose socks don't match. Their look is subtle; other than the occasional over-rouged, stiletto-suffering one, the women don't dress to be spectacles. Their clothes appear straight and smooth as they hug their small frames. Young women wear mostly dark colors, lots of blacks, browns, and grays. It's les accessoires that add the sparkle -- scarves, belts, and earrings in vivid reds or blues or funky patterns. Shoes must be practical (suitable for miles of walking, so usually flats) yet also capable of beckoning "come hither" with a little twist of the ankle. French women rarely twist their ankles, though, because French men can be real creepers.

The French have an expression, coûter les yeux de la tête, for things that are very expensive -- literally, they "cost the eyes from your head." Fortunately for those of us using the eyes from our heads to track the exchange rate, haute couture (expensive designer fashion) is less popular among young people, who instead prefer to roll their monnaie (coins) toward more affordable accessoires to flavor their wardrobes.

I like that the French take fashion seriously because it seems more sincere that scoffing at it, which is what I usually do. After all, we all wear some form of clothing most hours of the day, most days of the week (one must account for the highly sexually-active and those who shower multiple times a day). So why not look good? Taking an active interest in the clothes you put on each morning isn't shallow or vain, in fact I'm starting to believe what friends and Vogue have told me time and time again: there really is an art to fashion. I guess it took being in another time zone to convince me.

One consolation for my mismatched-socks complex is that from what I've seen, French joggers actually look less put together than I do (I try to match my shorts with my sports bra, just in case I cut my leg on a fallen branch and need to use my shirt to stop the gushing blood). A few days ago I passed a man jogging whose t-shirt said "Property of G-Unit." It made me laugh and I think he thought I was hyperventilating. I quickly stopped laughing, mumbled "Bonjour, Monsieur," and continued on my way. Just another day at the park, with a little 50 Cent to remind me of home.

Le Parc Procé

My French bicycle (vélo) is blue with neon green writing and red handlebars. The brakes squeal like little piglets, but they get the job done and also do my work for me -- I simply brake and the joggeurs hear, "On your left!" Though here they pass on the right.

Réné, my 61-year old host father, is an avid triathloner. So it shouldn't have surprised me when he appeared for our bike ride wearing black spandex pants, a slick jacket, and a compact little backpack. (He's also French, so of course he's serious about biking, oui?) I felt like a little kid just learning to ride a bike in my running shorts and long-sleeve t-shirt from some high school cross-country race. He didn't seem to mind.

We buckled our casques and pushed off. The Aubineaus live a step away from the beautiful Parc Procé, Nantes's Forest Park/Central Park, so we started our ride on the gravel path around the park's perimeter. And what a park it is -- covered in rolling hills, so many trees!, a pond with ducks and swans (!) in the middle, kiddies on scooters, kiddies on the merry-go-round, teenagers smooching discreetly in trees, teenagers smooching indiscreetly on the grass, old men reading newspapers on benches, women strolling in stilettos, boys running in short-shorts and men running with their socks pulled high (some fashions are universal), mothers and fathers pushing strollers, -- a park of many colors, you might say. My favorites are the jardin dahlia, dahlia garden, and the saules pleureur, weeping willows.

Then we turned onto a wooded path and -- cue the adventure movie music -- kicked it into high gear. We flew over rocks and tree roots, swerved around puddles and unknowing little birdies, pushed up hills and sped down hills, kicking up muddy remnants from the previous night's downpour. I rode behind Réné and he told me about different routes for running/biking/walking and ways to get back if I got lost. Seeing as I have trouble understanding people speaking English when we're riding bikes, I only got about half of it. Luckily, I caught that the river the path follows runs in the direction of their house.

This path connected us to another park, le Parc de la Gaudiniere, the site of a grand chateau (castle) and a golf course. I think the castle was built a few years before the golf course.

The ride back was a bit slower but no less exhilarating. Lunch tasted especially good that day. Broccoli soup, I believe, and some cheese for good measure.

My friend Imin and I take lovely walks in le Parc Procé. She lives a street away on la rue Claude Monet. (We're in the artist section. I live on la rue Antoine Jean Gros, a neoclassical painter who sucked up to Napolean and painted him a lot). Imin and I both requested "close to a park" on our housing questionnaires.
It certainly is nice to get what you wish for.

Madame Rouchet

If the dictionary had pictures, a smiling Madame Rouchet would appear for the entry French woman. The caption would read, "French woman with poodle." Sadly, I don't think she has a poodle.

Chantal Rouchet (one of the IES directors) is about 60, with the figure of a 30-year old. A few elegant wrinkles framing her eyes are the only sign of her age. She wears a black, long-sleeve shirt tucked into a beige knee-length skirt, with a thick silver belt wrapped around her tiny waist. Her earrings and necklace are also silver, while her lips, cheeks, and fingernails are bright pink. Tiny red glasses rest on the tip of her nose, so she is continually raising her eyebrows to look at us over them. Her hair is a sparkling gray, cut in a sassy bob with styled bangs. She flutters around the classroom in tiny beige heels. Somehow she also manages to walk à la francais (very quickly) up and down stairs and on the cobblestone streets in the older sections of Nantes.

She speaks v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and annunciates her words. She thinks Parisians are snobs and is proud to be "une provinciale," someone from anywhere other than Paris. She smoked like a chimney in her younger days, and her slightly raspy laugh contains hints of that.

She really should have a poodle.

Hop-là!

I love the sound of French. It's full of smooth consonants linking words and harsh consonants to add the zing. I like hearing the emphasis on the ends of words, and the sentences that rise and fall as unexpectedly as comes and goes the rain in Nantes (very).

I've also been finding that French is full of onomatopoeias and other funny sounds. My favorite is the ubiquitous Hop-là! (pronounced "ope-la," with a pause before the "la," making sure that the "ope" is a higher pitch than the "la"), which, like the Italians' Prego!, can be used in a number of different situations.

Situation 1: Almost hitting people.
I was helping my host mother, Dany, clear the table after dinner one night. She was coming into the kitchen carrying some dishes and I pushed the door open, not realizing that she was behind it. I narrowly avoided hitting her, breaking the dishes, and forever damaging French-American relations. Her response was a cheerful Hop-là!

Situation 2: Throwing things.
The trash dispenser in the Aubineau's kitchen is absolute genius. There is an opening in the counter with a top that looks like the top of a pot. The opening is connected to a pipe/tube (I don't know which) that runs down into the garage, where they keep the trash can. When Dany is cooking dinner she tosses things into the opening from across the kitchen. Each toss, whether or not it is successful, is accompanied by an Hop-là!

Situation 3: Putting things down.
This is similar to the previous situation, but more focused on presentation. Dany always brings out some Hop-là! with the bread, as a way of saying, "Look, here is the bread! I brought it from the kitchen to the dining room, and now I'm putting it down on the table. "

So you can see that Hop-là a versatile little guy.

Another fun one is toc-toc-toc! Dany says this when she accidentally drops something or is simulating knocking on a door, window, table, or anything else that would emit this unique sound when knocked on. These surfaces seem to come up frequently in French conversations. Perhaps it is so that the speaker can make the toc-toc-toc noise.

Americans say "uh" or "um" to stall/reflect, and the French instead use the elongated versions: "eeeuuuhhh" and "beeeuuuhhh." Both sounds are accompanied by raised shoulders and rapid hand motions, usually circular or horizontal.

I don't mean to poke fun -- I find French extremely beautiful and more precise than English. I suppose it just makes me feel better to think that even the sophisticated French take a little Hop-là with their coffee.

Sur place ou à emporter?

Bonjour de Nantes, France. What better place to begin than with the proudest, most coveted, confounding, and succulent aspect of French life: la cuisine.

I ate my first French meal at 8h00, le 3 septembre, in the Charles de Gaulle airport -- a ham and cheese sandwich. The bread was a long baguette, softly pointed at both ends, a tasty multi-grain that was crunchy on the outside and soft inside. No dressing or veggies, but the meat and cheese provided for a satisfying breakfast experience. The sandwich label assured me that it was "homemade in accordance with strict hygiene and traceability rules." A few meals later, I learned that traceability really means something in France. All the meat is labeled with the name of the region that it came from. Whatever the region, the pig/chicken/cow/lamb/frog did not spend its short life in a CAFO (confined animal feeding operation), or factory farm. That being the case, I've decided to throw vegetarianism to the wind for the next four months. So far, it's been delicious.

My first French meal was also when I learned the phrase"Sur place ou à emporter?" which means "For here or to go?" So now I am ready for MacDo (think golden arches).

Our IES program orientation was in Vannes, a city in Bretange (Brittany) in the west of France, right on the coast. We ate our dinners at the hotel each night and oh la la, were they good. We gleefully sipped wine (le vin) as waiters brought out French bread and salad, then the main course which was either fish (le poisson) or another seafood (le fruit de mer), and then the real main course: dessert.

I wish I had taken food critics more seriously so that I would have the culinary/artistic lexicon to describe these desserts. Sometimes moist, other times flaky, the different tastes and textures were each done with just the right amount of zip or zest or whatever it called for. The chocolate mousse cake was rich but not too rich, and the fruit tart sweet but not too sweet. Slivered almonds sprinkled on top were a savory bonus. Raspberry sauce drizzled in abstract designs were a reminder that the food is as much about presentation as it is about taste (the eyes get hungry, too).

Back in Nantes, baguettes abound. To buy one, you can walk to the nearest patisserie (bakery). To see one, you can simply look around and find one tucked securely under the arm of a little old lady, a boy on a skateboard, a businessman, a police officer, a skinny jean-clad woman, or any other French person who has at least one arm. Throughout the day, baguette-tucking pedestrians are a constant reminder of France's remarkable food culture. The heavenly smells wafting from the patisseries help, too.

The number of patisseries and cafes in the Centre Ville de Nantes makes Starbucks's takover of Manhattan look like child's play. Each block boasts one or two of each. They are full of people at all times of the day, people buying bread/pastries for later or sipping shot-sized espressos (the idea of a venti is as ridiculous to the French as Hummers are to... well, anyone with any sense at all. I saw an H2 parked on the sidewalk while on a walk with Dany, my host mother, and I asked her what she thought of it. Her response was, "C'est ridicule." That sucker was the only SUV I've seen so far.)

Dinner with Dany and Rene Aubineau begins at 20h00 and lasts about 1 hour 15 minutes. Rene comes home from work (as a dentist) around 19h30 and we watch the news. He sits in the comfy chair in front of the TV and Dany stands behind the hammock next to Rene, leaning on it and swaying back and forth. I usually sit on the floor in front. They make little side comments and I hold on for dear life, trying to follow the announcer's words. Dany goes into the kitchen periodically to check on the food. The final music plays on the news program and Dany claps her hands and says "Op! A table!"

First we have some sort of salad, soup, or vegetable. My favorite so far has been the cream of zucchini soup. Dany and Rene both really like saying the word "zucchini." It's a fun word to say, I suppose.

Next is the main course, which is always meat and vegetables. The portion sizes are much smaller, so as not to crowd what's already been eaten and to leave room for what's to come.

And that would be the cheese. Keep in mind, the bread stays on the table throughout the meal, to be nibbled, dipped in the soup, or enjoyed with some butter. But only when the cheese comes out does the bread really get its groove on.

A highly useful piece of information: the French never put the bread on their plates. The bread only accompanies the meal, so they put it on the table to the left of their glass. It makes for a lot of crumbs, but so it goes.

After the cheese comes the dessert. It's never extravagant, usually fruit or some kind of pudding or mousse. A few times we have had cantaloupe, and it is always incredibly sweet. I asked where it came from and Dany said it is from a few hours away. No wonder. The mousse that I really like is chestnut-flavored. There is actually a chestnut tree right outside the dining room window (not where the mousse comes from). I asked if we could roast them (though I actually said something like "Can we cook them like at Christmas") and Rene said yes. Youpie!

Breakfast is very simple, usually a few pieces of toast (the baguette from the previous day) with jam. My favorite is Dany's apricot jam. I also have un cafe with a cube of sugar, which they keep in an old tea pot. They drink orange juice with lots of pulp so I am being reeeeeaaaalllly flexible and drinking that too. Yum, pulp.

I will finish this bit with my first authentic cafe experience, which happened a few days ago in Vannes. I was with three new friends (other Americans on the program), and we were speaking French with each other, saying "eeuuhh" a lot and trying to convince the people around us that we were French. We sat down at a table outside the cafe and when the waiter came I said calmly, without missing a beat, "Bonjour, monsieur. Un cafe, s'il vous plait." He brought it out, all 3 ounces of it, and it tasted like success.

It wasn't a lot, but it was a bonne journee.