Weekend Shenanigans

It works. I now know (kind of) what creepy men feel like when a woman sprays pepper spray on them. How do I know this you might ask? Well, I’m not a creepy man so we can scratch that option off the list. What happened was, we were out and about Saturday night at Vieux Port and we must have unknowingly walked through a light, lingering cloud of the stuff because all of a sudden I had this strange tickle in my nose. So I sneezed. Then my throat started feeling weird and scratchy, so I started coughing. Then my eyes had the same symptoms, so they started watering. I noticed my face started tingling a little and my nose started running a bit, kind of like when you eat something really spicy (or is that just me?). Then my friend Sara started coughing and sneezing. Then the fine young gentlemen who were with us starting coughing, and sneezing. Then the group of people walking behind us started coughing and sneezing too. Then after like a minute, we all stopped and looked at each other and said, “Wait a minute! Is this pepper spray we’re suffering from??!!” (In French, of course.) We all started laughing, and it was kind of like a cute bonding moment. Except it was due to pepper spray soooooooooo I don’t know if I’d call it cute. Funny, in the least. Never did I ever think I’d experience pepper spray on myself! And in such a random way… haha. 

Mon weekend était assez… vif. On va dire ça. Je me suis couchée à 5h du matin samedi soir/dimanche matin. Oups J Je suis sortie les deux nuits, en commençant chez des amis et après on tente de sortir au bar ou en boîte. Vendredi soir on a fêté l’anniversaire d’une fille que Susie et moi avons rencontré, qui est super gentille ! On a fait le tour de beaucoup de bars pour retrouver des amis et c’était vraiment génial. Et samedi soir on est sortie en boîte. Apparemment les boîtes sont mieux à Aix, mais ça m’est égale. Ca fait trop de temps depuis que je n’ai pas dansé et c’était tout l’électro donc j’étais « chez moi » comme on dit en anglais haha.

Hier je suis allée à la plage et après j’ai retrouvé des amis au café pour boire un café (si français, je le sais :P) et le weekend prochain on va peut-être sortir encore, mais surement on va aux Calanques le dimanche. Recherchez sur Google les Calanques, et vous verrez comme c’est vachement beau J Aussi, ma classe va dans le Lubéron ce weekend, ce qui est une région très belle et vieille. Le weekend après, on va au Marsatac, c’est un grand concert et le samedi c’est tout électro et ça ne coûte qu’environ 30 euros. J’ai beaucoup de plans sociales et ça me rend très contente J

Aujourd’hui je fais mon premier cours de salsa ! Apparemment la plupart de gens sont un peu âgé mais ça va. Je pense pour mon travail bénévole je vais faire le tutorat pour les lycéens en anglais au lycée Thiers qui n’est pas loin de chez moi.

Aujourd’hui j’ai réussi à me connecter au wifi chez moi. La technologie et moi ne s’aiment pas du tout mais enfin on a fait une compromise. Enfin je peux faire mes devoirs et écrire dans mon blog quand je veux !

Petit mot : Chaque fois que je rencontre plus de français je suis toujours frappé par leur curiosité pure et véritable de me connaître. Ils me posent beaucoup de questions importantes, pas superficielles, sur moi-même et mon pays parce qu’ils veulent vraiment savoir, pas parce qu’ils se sentent obligés d’en demander. Ils veulent me faire sentir confortable et comme je fais partie du groupe. Ca, j’apprécie ça vraiment plus que je peux exprimer. C’est difficile de le trouver à Linfield, et les Etats-Unis, des fois. Et donc ici, j’ai l’impression que je connais des gens vraiment gentils et honnêtes. 

En Anglais:

My weekend was pretty ... intense. We will say that. I went to sleep at 5h in the morning Saturday night/Sunday morning. Oops. :) I went out two nights, starting with friends and after attempting to leave the bar or box. Friday night we celebrated the birthday of a girl Susie and I met, who is super nice! We toured many bars to meet friends and it was really great. And Saturday night we went out clubbing. Apparently the clubs are better at Aix, but I don't really care. It's been too long since I have not danced and it was electro so I was "at home" as they say in English haha.

Yesterday I went to the beach and after I met friends at the cafe for a coffee (so French, I know :P) and next weekend we may go out again, but surely we are going to the Calanques Sunday. Search on Google the Calanques, and you'll see it's really beautiful  Also, my class is going this weekend in the Luberon for a field trip, this region is very beautiful and old. The weekend after some of us are going to Marsatac, this is a great concert and Saturday it's all electro and it costs about 30 euros. I already have many social plans and it makes me very happy :)

Today I am going to my first salsa class! Apparently most people are a little old but it's okay. I think for my volunteer work I will do English tutoring for students in high school at Thiers High School which is not far from home.

Today I managed to connect to my wifi. Technology and I do not like each other at all, but finally we made a compromise. Finally I can do my homework and write in my blog when I want!

Little note: Whenever I meet more French I am always struck by their pure and genuine curiosity to know me. They ask me a lot of important questions, not superficial ones, about myself and my country because they really want to know, not because they feel obligated to ask. They want me to feel comfortable and like I'm part of the group. That, I really appreciate it more than I can express. It is sometimes difficult to find at Linfield, and the United States. So here, I feel like I know people that are really nice and honest.

Bises,

Katherine

What kind of bees make milk? :)

Boobies! 

Get it?

Sorry not sorry for the cheesy (and maybe slightly inappropriate) joke, but it is the cleverest way I can think of to introduce the topic of the female anatomy. Namely, breasts. At the beach. They’re aaaaallllways out and about and usually it’s the older generation who goes topless. Now, I’m not saying it’s weird or gross because that would be a culturally close-minded thing to say. It’s just that it’s so different and it will never cease to amaze me how in America (relatively speaking), nudity is such a “scary” thing and here it’s no big deal if you’re naked and hangin’ out with your friends in public in the broad daylight. I mean think about it. For people my age, one way to feel “risky” is to go skinny dipping (guilty) in the dark when no one can reeaaally see you. If we really wanted to be risky we’d do it in the daylight! But see in Europe that’s not being risky at all. It’s normal. I did talk to one French girl about it and she said that she finds it vulgar, particularly with the younger generations. Because it’s just something that only older people really do, so if someone our age were to do it, it’s just weird and out of place. I think her attitude towards it is not uncommon among her age group. Which goes to show the shift in culture within the different generations. I’m hoping it’s not due to American culture (because that wouldn't surprise me) that it’s changing! I’ve always admired the Europeans’ open-minded regard on the body, even if I myself would never feel comfortable going topless at the beach… ever haha. I had a funny thought though. At the beaches in France, men and women interact normally and platonically even though a woman’s ta-tas might be out. At your average American beach, I don’t think guys of any age could handle that. Hahaha. 

On a more serious note thought, I do wonder why the younger generation is, for the most part, not as open about the actual act of going topless at the beach as the older ones. What factors are playing into that? And what historical/cultural factors play into the fact that Europeans are generally more open about the body than North Americans? 

Just food for thought!

Bises,

Katherine