Avignon, 25, 2007

Au revoir – Auf Wiedersehen – see you later, Avignon! As excited as I am to Lisa and boys again, I am also a bit sad to leave Avignon. This second week brought with it a cohort of new students that was very agréable, a group that seemed more open and connected. My last day here was fabulous: class in the morning, then a group field trip to Villeneuve des Avignon (same place where I went to the ‘empty attic’ (direct translation from ‘vide grenier’) sale last weekend) where we had a quick orientation to the farmers market and then were told to buy whatever we wanted to eat for our pique nique lunch… we each went in different directions and came back with what amounted to be an amazing collection of treats: goat cheese (at three different levels of aging), caviar pâté, funky little bit-sized sausages, other dips and cheeses, fresh cherries and strawberries, as well as … baguette. Together with a couple of bottles of vin rouge. Not a bad assortment for what people here call an apéritif! There is a great public bathroom experience that caps this first part of the outing, something to be told in person… suffice it to say, the toilet did not flush (by itself) until after one leaves the bathroom unit… The rest of the afternoon was spent doing the sights of the town, with another extraordinary event: Martin ate for the first time ever an almond directly freshly picked off an almond tree! Otherwise this week’s highlights:
ü around 90 degrees F every day this week, in Avignon – no air-conditioning
ü one of the new participants this week works for a think tank on environmental policy issues in Berlin (advising EU and German policy makers) – she knew all about the Waldsee BioHaus (at CLV), which, by the way, earned an Minnesota Environmental Issues award this past week and has been nominated (one of 21 projects) for a World Clean Energy Award to be awarded to seven organizations in Basel/Switzerland June 15
ü cultural highlights: went to two concerts this week, an open air concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a (MPR-like) regional radio station, featuring what one can easily classify as French chanson singers, and a truly magnificient concert in the Avignon’s Notre Dame cathedral on my last night here, a concert for organs (2) and trumpets (16!), featuring classics from Händel and Purcell – truly an amazing sound! Since no French composers were on the program, they added in a ‘surprise’ at the end: the Marseillaise! Vive la France!
ü Christian’s been battling a bit of a stomach flu this week in Schönwalde, coming home early from school on Monday and going back and forth into feverishness… today he apparently was better again. So far no similar reports (that I am aware of) from others, Graefes, Imsdahls, or Hainses. Hopefully he’ll feel alright by Saturday, when we start a 2-week stretch that leads us to Leipzig, Riesa/Dresden, and Innsbruck, fortunately all places with good personal.

Avignon – May 20, 2007

Flea market Extraordinaire. Twice last week the instructor of the advanced class, somehow the real beginners needed real help and they decided I should be in the advanced class…, referenced this ‘event’ of sorts that he thought we students should be aware of. So, today, I walked across the Rhône River, found my way to centre ville in this town called Villeneuve (the new city). I wandered about a bit, trying to find this festival, this event, and finally asked someone. Over the hill and spread throughout the town was this massive flea market, all outside, in the narrow little side streets, on little squares, in the court yard of a medieval monastery… and thousands of people in this sleepy little neighbor town of Avignon. Mixed in with all the clothes, old boots, books (101 Dalmatians, in French of course, among them), was street food, yummy French pastries as well as Vietnamese and African treats. Street cafes here and there. Beer, coffee wine. Red elephant shaped toilet training potty; lots of used toys; various parts of rusty equipment; LP’s and video games; lots of sets of little espresso cups; ashtrays (maybe the French are also starting to smoke less); souvenirs from travels abroad. My favorite, and I went back to visit them twice, was this set of three garden gnomes, French garden gnomes… awfully cute! They had had their tongues sticking out. But, as much as I wanted them, it was just too unpractical – I had no room in my luggage. On my first visit back I took a picture. On my second visit back, to say au revoir mes amis, there were only two! One, the one riding the frog had been separated from his buddies; someone had the heart to just by one of them – and they were selling at half price; encroyable - unbelievable! Just think, this picture is very likely the very last picture ever taken of this very handsome French garden gnome threesome!

Talked with Lisa tonight. Everyone was doing homework. Christian and Carl will be going back to school with the Imsdahl kids tomorrow and the rest of this week. How lucky they are! We had a great call; all is going well and everyone sounded happy; they all had a blast with the Haines visiting there as well (they even extended their stay by a day, so much fun they were having) – 9 kids, five adults! Thermal bath visit, including sauna and water slides. Jazz fest in Eutin for the adults one evening. Another trip to the beach on the Baltic Sea today. The boys are curious about my breakfast conversations with Madame (today I asked her about the tadpoles she’s raising to turn into frogs to eat the snails in the yard), what my favorite new French word is (can’t tell quite yet!), and whether I speak German with the other participants (no – while all speak German, we have all stuck with French, or silence, as a mode of communication, even though we didn’t sign any sort of oath – guess we’re all just so motivated – ha!).

Avignon – May 17 (Ascension Day)

Sorry that I have not posted on the blog all week… I’ve been pre-occupied with covering the basic needs and getting acclimated. I did find an internet café where I can use my laptop, but then could not get access to the blog somehow – Lisa’s been doing the posting up til now!
Today is a holiday, so no classes. Yesterday was a big day in France, with the transition of power from Jacques Chirac to Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s new president. So, in class that was the main topic of discussion and conversation; we also watched the actual change-over ceremonies live on TV. After a mid-day snack of baguette, cheese and some wine in the park-like garden of the school, we went on an excursion to a little town called Boulbon, to visit the ruins of an old Roman castle and an active, restored medieval moulin – wind mill. As we walked to the mill, we passed orange and olive trees and François, the school’s founder/director, pointed to various herbs (de Provence) along the way… I picked some thyme, rosemary, lavender and juniper berries along the way.
Today I think I’ll do some of the traditional touristy things around Avignon… sur le pond d’Avignon, ont y danse tous en rond… - à la prochaine!

Avignon – May 15

After a great flight with Ryanair (currently offering the best deals (often for $29.99 Euro or less, one way, some extra charges apply) for flying within Europe, however only to selected smaller airports) from Lübeck to Marseille, and after navigating – all in French! - a shuttle bus, a train (TGV- France’s high speed train) and a cab, Martin arrived chez the ‘townhome’ of Mme Danielle Eboly in Avignon. The room is small (about the size of four queen size beds, even though there only is one…), but comfortable, with my own mini fridge, ¾ size bathroom (separated by curtain from the rest of the room), a wardrobe and a small desk. I have my own entrance and so also quite a bit of privacy. In the mornings I go down the very narrow, spiral steps, through the yard, past my favorite fig tree, and into Madame’s kitchen for breakfast. She, retired and living alone (besides the various foreign students she hosts), joins me and entertains me with her thoughts for the day, about the world, languages, French politics and current issues – all in French.
The first day of classes was a bit overwhelming . I am wondering why I am doing this; our little family has had such a great trip and time together; it’s very strange to all of a sudden be alone here in Avignon. Language wise, I understand a lot, most of what is being talked about, even if not all, but my speaking skills are truly minimal. I have the basics down for being a tourist, but beyond that I seem to have lost whatever vocabulary and grammar I once might have had, since my last efforts at studying French were 23 years ago. The staff at the school (CEILA) is very nice; the atmosphere is informal and family-like; the other students (mostly in their 20s) are mostly personable. All the students – there are only about six right now - are focused only on speaking French, even during breaks and after class. So, I am mostly quiet, taking in the conversations of others, smiling and nodding, making various facial expressions of surprise, agreement or disagreement, and often sharing a puzzled look. What surprised me, even as I started looking up some words in the dictionary in the days before my voyage to France, was that I automatically shift into thinking in English when figuring out how to express/translate something in French. For the first five weeks of our European stay, I processed everything in German and it’s confusing to all of a sudden have English popping up as the dominant language. At night, it takes me some time to process random French words or expressions before going to sleep.
I talked to Lisa on the phone – all seems well with the clan. Christian and Carl are going to school with Solveig/Marit and Olaf respectively the first couple of days of this week. The Haines family arrived in Schönwalde this evening after their visit in Münster.

Schönwalde … Avignon/France - May 13, 2007

Today Martin leaves for his French immersion experience in Avignon. The day – and we do celebrate the mothers in our midst today and every day – started with going to a small church (a rural church with services every other Sunday, where Ingrid and Pete used to be caretakers and grave diggers) with Solveig playing the organ. Attendance was strong due to a baptism. While special chairs (mini-thrones, one could say) are always reserved for the local duke’s family at the back of the church, they did not make an appearance that day. Back at home, and after a group effort changing a flat on the Imsdahl van, it was time for cinnamon rolls and brunch, served outside on the porch. Later Ingrid and Lisa dropped Martin off at the Lübeck airport and then treated themselves for Kaffee und Kuchen in Travemünde before picking up Pete at the train station – he spent the weekend teaching a couple of GMAT preparation courses in Frankfurt.

Eutin/Schönwalde – May 12, 2007

Our arrival in Schönwalde offers us another opportunity to become part of life in Germany. Lisa, Christian, Carl and Andrew will be here a full two weeks, joining our friends in the daily routine of things. Lisa spent the first days catching up with Ingrid, while doing laundry, drying the clothes by turning them frequently on the hot tiles of the Kachelofen (wood-fired stove with ceramic tiles that retain the heat for hours-the furnace for the house, and Ingrid fires it just in the mornings once to take the edge of the cooling down overnight). Everyone helps, doing dishes, setting the table, etc. We even listened in on a practice/rehearsal session of our friend's musical trio (Solveig on piano, Marit on violin, and Olaf on cello) at the music school in Luebeck, as they prepare for their national competition in Erlangen (near Nürnberg) on 5/25 – they are truly amazing, talented musicians and will represent the state of Schleswig Holstein proudly!
The kids all get along really well and play games well into the evening hours. Without TV and computer access, the focus is on each other, spending time outdoors and reading books. It’s a nice balance to other parts of the European adventure so far where the focus has been more on seeing stuff and meeting lots of people, etc. Of course, Lisa and boys will also enjoy sightseeing in the area, especially in Lübeck and various must-see hot spots along the Baltic Sea.

Eisenach – May 10, 2007

Happy Birthday, Jon Erik! He is fifteen years old today and we are having a great time celebrating together. We have been in Eisenach since Monday. Eisenach is a city we really liked when we traveled through this area in 2005 and vowed to return to one day.

When we drove here on Monday afternoon, we wound up driving through the countryside because of a detour. I am glad we could get off the Autobahn and see a little bit of East Germany. Twenty years ago this area was in the German Democratic Republic, and a member of the Warsaw pact alliance. It is very interesting to be somewhere that would not have been open to us during the Cold War.

In Eisenach we visited many very memorable sites. On Tuesday we walked through the town and went to the Bach house. We saw St. George’s Church, where J. S. Bach was baptized and where members of his family were organists. On Wednesday we went to the Wartburg castle. The Wartburg is famous to Lutherans and linguists alike, because it is there that Martin Luther lived in hiding and translated the New Testament into German. This served to make the Bible accessible to the common people and to standardize written German. Luther lived in Eisenach as a youth while attending school, so we were able to see the house he lived in. It is now an interactive museum – very well done and informative.

Today we are parting with the Haines clan. We are driving up to Lübeck to stay with the Imsdahl family. The Haines’ are driving to Münster. They will be staying with Martin’s uncle and aunt. After a few days Heidi, Jeff and family will visit the Imsdahls too. They will be on their way to Scandinavia. We will see them then.