The ordinary life.

Bonjour, mes amis.

It's a rainy afternoon here in Pau.  The sky is dark, complete with lighting bolts and thunder claps.  I can hear the cars swish and splash by, and the creak of bus brakes.  Frank Sinatra is playing on iTunes in another room.  

I am staying the night at a friend's apartment (and currently typing on her MacBook).  A few girls are having their twenty-first birthdays, so we are hosting a dinner.  I am in charge of bread and cheese, so I bought four baguettes and a large brie (which I'm going to bake).  The baguettes are only 36 euro cents a piece!  The only downside to the day (aside from the railway debacle) was the downpour my friend and I got caught in on the way back to the apartment from Le Clerc.  I sacrificed my raincoat to preserve the baguettes, and we had left our umbrellas at the apartment, so we arrived completely trompee (drenched).  At least the baguettes are dry.

We're excited to stay the night here because La Vague (the main cafeteria on campus) has really good breakfast: half of a baguette with butter and confiture (preserves), orange juice that they press to order, and chocolat chaud.  I think secretly we all feel quite French when we eat it.

Some of my traveling companions and I decided that a beach trip is necessary.  So, we booked a hotel (it's in a great location, and has gorgeous views of the Mediterranean) and train tickets for Nice this weekend.  Only two slight glitches in the plan: the TGV (the main railroad company en france) is on strike, and the lady at the ticket counter didn't print our tickets with the correct stops, so we don't have ticket for our connection back to Pau for late Sunday night.  Zut.

In other news, I went running yesterday, and found le chateau in Bizanos (the little town in which I live).  The grounds of le chateau are a park, and the view of the French countryside is fantastique.  I'll post pictures sometime.  Pascal practices rock climbing every Monday night and asked me if I wanted to go with him this coming Monday.  It's indoors, and he said if I didn't like it, I could just read a book or watch.  I think I will go unless I'm too exhausted from traveling.  I think it's just worth mentioning that he practices rock climbing every week.

I'm beginning to settle into the rhythm of life here in France, and like it more everyday.  No place is perfect, but the persistent presence of centuries and centuries of history gives every moment of every day a certain gravity which I like very much.  It makes me feel like I'm part of the community of the ages, and alone at the same time.  

Bisous,

Marguerite.