Computer Problems, or, La télé française

So...my computer stopped working. It was bound to happen sooner or later, since the poor thing is nearing five year old--gotta love planned obsolescence, right? *sarcasm*

 Without my little old HP Pavilion, I lost all motivation. Sad but true. And since it was during the winter holidays (February 21), I had ABSOLUTELY NO WAY of getting internet. Thus, poor little bloggy-blog suffered. At least I have my writing saved on a USB. Thank goodness for that!

To fill the void, I stared watching a lot of French TV. I have since discovered that the French have shamelessly imported all of the trashy and disgusting American reality TV programs I would never deign to watch at home. Plus, they've created their own: notably, Les Ch'tis à Las Vegas, which is basically the French Jersey Shore. A group of young people go on (often drunken) adventures in Las Vegas and experience various forms of culture shock--mostly not being able to understand English while being in the United States. I had a hard time watching a full episode, since the "stars" remind me a little too much of my students (especially the poor English skills).

"Ch'ti," for those unfamiliar, is the term for the inhabitants of the region Nord-Pas-de-Calais, near the Franco-Belgian border. The Ch'ti accent is very thick, as many Ch'ti traditionally spoke Picard, a romance language closely related to French, also spoken by the Belgian Walloon population.

Mostly I just watched the news and movies on TV, but I happened upon a show I really liked one night on France 2: Nicolas Le Floch, which is a period police drama based on novels by Jean-François Parot. The story revolves around the marquis and police commissioner Nicolas Le Floch, who works for Louis XV during the Ancien Regime (roughly 1761-1789) and swashbuckles his way into the hearts and minds of the people of Paris, including several lovely ladies. It's so fabulous--an excellent stand-in for Downton Abbey.

Nicolas Le Floch, as portrayed by Jérôme Robart

On the computer front: obviously, it is working again. I had to order a new battery and a new power adapter, which is all I can afford right now--no new computer (I wish!)--and were sent from Hong Kong in a relatively timely manner. Gotta love Amazon.com!

*Crossing fingers my computer problems are resolved*

A Trip to Aix-en-Provence

At the beginning of the month, Epiphany to be exact, I made it up to Aix-en-Provence to look around and do a little shopping. I ended up buying an incredibly delicious chèvre cendrée (goat's cheese with an ash rind--it sounds gross, but it is not! Just don't eat the ash) and Turkish apricots that were to die for at the farmer's market; drooling over a pair (...make that several pairs...) of Ubu earrings at a boutique; and hightailing it to the Musée Granet to see some of the lovely works of native son Cézanne--as well as other Impressionist, etc., artists.

Paul Cezanne lived here once

Santons: little figures for your Nativity scene made in Aix!

For my first trip to Aix, I'd say this was a success! I wish I had enough money to buy myself a pair of Ubu earrings, but the trip itself will have to suffice for my little birthday present to me. I thought about buying some santons, the little Nativity figurines that are made in Aix and a staple of Provence at Christmastime, but I realized, if you buy one, you have to buy a set--and those don't come cheap, either! They're something you buy as a collection: one each year to add to as the years progress: finding the perfect one is half the fun! But for me, I didn't think it was worth it, knowing I probably won't be able to collect year after year...I'm not going to be in France forever! Then there's the question of which figure to collect first: Baby Jesus, because he's most important? Or one of the Three Magi? Maybe Melchior because he has the coolest name...and there's where I left off, because I cannot make a decision, if ever so inconsequential, to save myself.

Here are some more pictures of santons:

And here are more pictures of Aix:

Hotel de Ville

A protest?!? In FRANCE?!?

One thing I learned at the museum, which was small but good, is that Cézanne and Emile Zola met when they were kids at school, and continued a lifelong friendship, even after they each became famous! Definitely cool. I also learned the French for "still life": nature morte. It just seems so much more philosophical and expressive! 

Here is a famous Cézanne nature morte:

Le Mistral and Other Sea Breezes

Le Mistral is a sharp, cold wind that comes from the north, usually in the winter, and blows through the Rhone and Durance river valleys. In Provence, the Mistral usually comes after a cold rain and clears out all of the clouds. This is partly where Provence get the reputation of being sunny even in the dead of winter. I've noticed in my month of being here that the weather typically chooses an either/or scenario: rain or sun; unlike in Vienna, there are no cloudy, rainless days; only sunny, cloudless days. I think it makes a difference in the locals' temperament.

The Mistral also has the reputation of bringing good health, because the winds are dry, which helps circulation, and they clear away pollution and other nasty things that might develop in urban areas. The winds also work similarly to the Föhn, but in the opposite direction: it can dump lots of snow from the Alps onto lower altitudes; or, the Sirocco, which comes up from Africa over the Mediterranean, rather than down from the Bay of Biscay.

All this talk about le Mistral has made me think about other types of sea breezes; or, brises marines as they are known in France. In fact, a rather funny story springs to mind. I've been having a good time interviewing my new students. Some of them have great English skills, some have mediocre ones, and some...don't get me started.

Point is this: I have a number of students who are Corsican, and one of them was telling me how much she loves crime dramas because she is Corsican, and things like The Godfather are like a slice of life in Corsica...okay...I will leave the stereotyping of italophone peoples to those better versed in Mediterranean cultures. The problem of organized crime, my student was telling me, was really widespread in Corsica about 20 years ago. The crime family brise marine controlled basically everything, but they've more or less been shut down. She didn't know how to say their name in English, so I offered: "Sea Breeze?"

"Yes," she said. "There is no more Sea Breeze in Corsica."

At face value, this is hard to believe. But in this case, it's most likely a good thing.