January 15, 2010

“Lets talk about whether we want to forfeit 44 € and not attend the MUC dinner/dance tonight.”

“OK, but lets promise ourselves not to use our conversation to relax into the inertia of the warmth and security of staying home. We both slept through the night last night, finally adjusted, after two weeks, to the change in time from the US so we cannot use the excuse we are not rested!”

“But we don’t even like cocktail parties in the USA. How will we feel being with 60 other French people 15 of whom you know only by biking with them on Sunday mornings? “

“I’ll go if you promise it is OK with you that we spend the whole evening talking with each other.”

“I want to see the building of the bike club headquarters because it was so hard for you to find and because the roads are so busy you cannot bike to it! For the first time in a week, it is warm, rather than snowy, cold, raining or windy so we can comfortably take the 30 minute tram ride and walk easily along the busy road with a flashlight in the dark. We really have not been venturing out at night to practice our French what with the weather, the dark and our search for a good night’s sleep.”

“Sounds like we have decided to go. At the very least we will have a story to tell.”

So off we went, to a big square warehouse-like building in the middle of busy intersections and a large sports complex.

The bike “boys” planned and implemented this “Galette des Rois” evening for themselves (about 2/3 did not have a date) and for their wives. This convivial bike club rides every Sunday morning, for about 3 hours with the fast group averaging 15-18 miles per hour but with slower groups averaging somewhere around 12 to 16 miles per hour.

We walked in the door and within moments we were welcomed by two of the officers of the club, busy with meal preparations, as they strode over to shake our hands and introduce themselves and their wives.

Women danced with women. Some danced alone. People changed partners. It was great fun and as the black hats changed hands, we found a way of being expressive that required no French.

Carrefour provided the dinner. The food was accompanied by lively conversation with strangers who went out of their way to spend 5 hours with us, not even trying to practice their English. Many respected Bob because they had biked with him. Now was their chance to get to know him a little more. It is always the people that make an event. We had such a good time, we left at midnight to walk back to the tram, laughing and wondering why we ever thought about not going.

The French are very civilized in their approach to the holidays. Rather than sending Christmas cards, they send greetings of the New during the entire month of January. These greetings are often accompanied by a Galette des Rois.

Sharing a piece of a Galette des Rois is definitely part of the French tradition!
In the last two weeks Bob has had a piece of five different Galettes des Rois. I lag behind with only four but then the month isn't over yet.

The first Galette des Rois we had was at Gila house, the warm and hospitable woman with whom we study French two times a week.



The nine she had for dinner—only four native born French (others born in Russia, Austria, England, USA)—found our way our way to her home through a rare, but beautiful Montpellier snow. (It snows here less often than it snows in Seattle.)

She set a lovely table!

We laughed and sang as Bob and Tom tried on the octopus and fish hats that Gilda's husband Fish had created for their New Year’s Eve dinner.

The second Galette des Rois was the one we served to our landlady Gill and her Spanish husband Omar as they described their recent trip to India.

My third taste of a Galette des Rois was with my gym class that has been led for 20 years by the 43-year-old teacher shown below in the gray blouse. It is the best gym glass I have ever taken with great music, much kidding, chatting and laughing.

With the start of the year, and the addition of a Wednesday Qigong class, every weekday includes hour of exercise.

In addition to the Galette des Rois, another Christmas tradition is the display of santons, wooden statues carved in Provence. This exquisite display was part of a New Year's walk along the aqua duct of of the Chateau de Castries at the mas de Fondespierre. Marie-Martine and I had already seen the harvest dancers in the round (upper right hand corner) when we went to the harvest festivals,

The boules players looked like they were real people.

Evidently making a mattress is also an important trade in the village. The graceful aqua duct took us to the Mas de Cadennet where we admired the beautiful pigeonnier.

Walks like this provide a chance to get out of doors in the sun and to speak French for three to six hours with different people, all with a story of their own…In this group there was a woman who sells real estate, (the blond) two women who are retired, one used to be a teacher,(Marie-Martine the red head who was kind enough to invite me to drive with her) the organizer with a son in Canada, (the woman with gray hair) a fifth who works for 160 wine growers (the woman between the wall and the blond) and the last who works for an association that supports sustainable development. (the woman closest to the camera.)

On a more serious note, Bob and I were tempted to be in Gaza at the end of December to join1300 people from 43 countries for the Gaza Freedom march, but we had already purchased our return tickets from the USA and could not do both. Marchers were collectively refused permission to cross into Palestine. I am proud of the French participation and preparation (Gaza Freedom March).

On a more uplifting note, Bob and his colleagues did research for 10 years that has been so controversial that it has taken five years for it to be accepted for publication. This week it was accepted for publication in a prestigious journal. I am so thrilled for him…. and because one can now follow the importance of a discovery by the number of times an article is cited, it will be possible for Bob to know if the their research is as important to others as it is to them.

Time to close by wishing you and those you love the best of New Years.