30 Mars: "we all speak better french with a little champagne"

Open house today! The monastery was swimming with people all afternoon, locals and some from church, a few from Albi and even a reporter. And of course, the one hundred and one year old woman from down the road also managed to come up and check out the place. Yesterday, we cleaned, mostly just leftover messes from the construction workers, but the place looked pretty impressive, I think. At least the completed renovated spots of course. We had Mass this morning first and we sang the prayer of St. Francis and it was very well received from the townspeople. Then, during the open house, we each had our turn of attempting the tour "en francais." We could get the basics across, and it also helped that there were more than a few people in town who are English or Irish who spend their Spring or Summer here in southwestern France. I met one woman in particular, an English woman who had just returned from traveling in the states. She also likes to participate in home exchanges with people in the US. She's been all over the place, except for the Northwest. She's was very interesting and we talked for a while about all sorts of things: the terrible exchange rate for Americans, binge drinking problems in the states and in England, and the accessibility of guns in the US. It made for some pretty good conversation. As for the French conversation, I was able to do some decent small talk, and everyone seemed thrilled for us to be there. There was this one adorable older lady who kept grabbing my arm and winking at me. It sounds a little creepy but I swear it was cute. They made us feel incredibly welcome and I hope we made a good impression as well.

25 Mars: british tea

Today we went down the street to Peter and Margaret’s house, a British couple who moved to Ambialet about eight years ago. They organize the music for the church so we went to visit so that we could practice a few songs with them for our open house Mass this weekend. We stayed for tea and cookies and I really enjoyed talking with them. They rent out bikes in the summer and provide bike tours and that’s what attracted them here in the first place. They told us about their grandkids and everything they know about the town.

They showed us a few pictures of the town when the Tarn river flooded a few years ago, when the “pres qu’il” or “near island” became a complete island. They also told us that since it is prone to flooding every five or ten years, no one is permitted to build anything new, unless it is for renovations of an already existent structure. It makes sense but it’s kind of sad that Ambialet can never really grow any bigger at all. Peter and Margaret are thrilled with the fact- that’s part of the joy of country life- huh? I guess I can understand.

It was great talking to them. they emphasized how great it is for us to be there and for giving the monastery a rebirth. Everyone who lives in Ambialet either took classes in the monastery in the summer, grew up in it when it was a boarding school, or knows someone who did. It’s a major part of the community and I’m glad to be a part of it coming back to life. It means a lot to them that we’re bringing younger people to the community and for reviving the church as well.

24 Mars 2008: MTV shows are just as bad in French...

Paques in Marseille! My first Easter away from home. A few of us ventured to Marseille, a city in Southern France along the Mediterranean. I ate one too many baguettes and too many pastries while I was there but it was entirely worth it. There aren't many actual sites to see in Marseille but we spent the weekend walking around, checking out the shops and the old port, and just walking along the beach. And our hotel room had a TV with CNN in English! I hate to say that we watched a lot of TV but it was definitely constant background music when were at the hotel because we really have missed it a lot. Anyways, we had a few nice train rides, a lot of unhealthy food, and a few very windy beach afternoons.

We went to Easter Mass at the Notre-Dame Basilica down the street from our hotel, which was very nice, aside from one simple thing: there were no line for Communion. It was survival of the fittest and it was complete chaos. It just left everyone scrambling around, walking over other people trying to get to one of the ten stations, then trying to climb back into their seats in a weird order. We had to go to the back of the Church because one poor, old man was so confused with the whole ordeal that he stood in front of our pew with his cane until we finally gave up blocking the aisle traffic. It was ridiculous and if I was ever a member of that congregation, I would have shown those people how civilized lines work.

We also hit up the local cinema for a movie on Sunday night and saw the one film whose sign said it was originally American. We assumed that meant it would be in English with some French subtitles but I guess one should never assume because we definitely felt like asses when it was all in French and we could hardly understand anything. It was like our incomprehension was being shoved in our faces with each punchline that we failed to understand. I mean, we could get the general idea of the movie just watching it, especially because it was a Jack Black film and no serious conversation was involved, but it was still quite an unexpected blow. It was enjoyable nonetheless but it still hurts.

18 Mars 2008: "He was giving us the 'I know English' stare"

St. Patrick's Day this week! Very good time at an Irish pub in Albi. I was shocked at all the English speakers that we met there-I'm guessing at least half the people weren't speaking French. It was so much fun- we met some students from the States, people from Ireland, Britain, Australia, other areas of France. We also met a few local students who desperately want to study in the US. It was great to meet all those different people. It was also a lot of fun that the bartender knew that were were American and still gave us a few free drinks! Also, side note- once you get past that name stage- those French automatically do the cheek-kiss thing before you even realize it. It threw me off a few times.

15 Mars: Je t'aime...dammit!

So a traveling disco came to visit Ambialet last night! Apparently these companies go from city to city with their equipment and set up their stuff and have a makeshift disco. I have to admit, we were all a little wary about the whole idea, considering we still have yet to meet the "young people" of this town but to our surprise, teenagers from all kinds of surrounding areas came over for the night. We were told that there would be food before it started, so we went down early around eight and had a pretty good dinner of saucisson, mussels, and some kind of chicken wing. The "chicken" wing was pretty suspicious though- we think it was some other kind of bird. They eat all sorts of weird fowl we wouldn't consider edible. I'm thinking it was either a duck or a rabbit. You can never be sure though. As our religious studies professor would say at the sight of any rodent, "oOoo, it looks quite tasty!"

There were mostly only older people there during the dinner part, which we expected, and we met a few more of the townspeople. We tried our communication skills again. It was semi-successful, as always. However, I manage to make a fool of myself to one older lady. After asking me, "Qu'est-ce que comment vous trouvez Ambialet?" (how do you find Ambialet/how do you like it?) I was so excited that I fully recognized what she was asking me, that I quickly and stupidly replied, "Ah, oui! Je t'aime beaucoup!" Yeah, the most basic sentence and I managed to say "Ah, yes, I like you a lot!" instead of "Je l'aime beaucoup!"- "I like it a lot!" I had wondered why she gave me such a puzzled smile afterwards but I think she may have realized what I was getting at. Let's hope so at least.

Anyways, it was actually a lot of fun! There was probably 150 or so people there. The music was good, there was some American songs- Eye of the Tiger got us all up and dancing. They also played Cotton Eye Joe and just as we all got up, we got pulled into a train/London bridge thing which was pretty funny. The only down-side of the night would be the crazy man who was incredibly intoxicated and whose pants couldn't manage to stay above the plumber crack line.

12 Mars: money, money, money

Last night we had dinner with our religious pilgrimage teacher and we all had a lengthy conversation with him about differences between France and the US and it was very interesting. Our director, Tim, has lived in France for seven years so he was able to add some input to the conversation as well. One major topic was work. Obviously, Americans work more than the French- they only have a 35-hour workweek here. And it's governmentally enforced. If you own a store, it has to be closed Sunday. And if it's not closed Sunday, it must be on Monday. And basically everyone shuts down from 12-2 every day for lunch, except for the restaurants. Growing up in a capitalist society, that sounds ridiculous, I didn't understand how France could even compete globally with that definite dent in their production. Apparently though, Tim informed us that they have enough of a domestic market to keep them going. Also, Eriq helped us realize that although it doesn't completely make sense to a capitalist, it's a great way to live. I mean really, if everyone had Sunday or Monday off, that means they would have that much extra time to visit with your family and friends who are also conveniently off work as well. It would be a great mindset to just simply not be completely concerned with making money like so many Americans are. I wouldn't consider myself a materialistic or money-crazy person, but even I was surprised at the thought of no work throughout the entire country on Sunday. I automatically think so myself, "Well that's nice but companies and stores could accomplish so much more and make so much more money if they didn't do that." It's not that I'm greedy but like many other Americans, I think of progress and production first. But obviously that's not the most important thing in life. It's imperative that we be productive as opposed to lazy, but it's also more vital to make sure we prioritize other things, like people.

We also learned something else interesting. Apparently when a woman will get like eight months of maternity leave automatically. How amazing is that? And from what our professor told us, the more kids you have, the more maternity leave you get! That makes sense, doesn't it? I should have my kids over here. : )

9 Mars: Just call me Anna

So today we had Mass with the townsfolk. I call them townsfolk because that's exactly what they are to me- country folk who live in this town of 30 people- yes, only 30 people. We went from 6 mill Parisians to THIRTY villagers. The nice thing about living in a monastery is the fact that the church is attached to your house so we didn't have to leave for church until about 11:12 to get to Mass by 11:15. There were about 20-30 people other than us for Mass. The priest did a fine job of introducing us and I have now officially taken on 'le prenom' "Anna" since it is proven to be entirely impossible for the French to pronounce the "H" enough to say my name. And since I have to force myself to hocker in order to annunciate my name clearly enough, I have backed down to accepting Anna as my new persona. Anyways, we were kindly introduced and shown the hymnal and taught the melody. I feel so much more welcomed here than I did in Paris. The only pathetic part was when they tried talking to us and our limited conversational French didn't get us too far- little awkward. Oh well, hopefully we'll get better or we could all resort back to hand gestures and pointing. : )

8 Mars: our "monastic" life

So, here we are, on top of this gorgeous mountain surrounded by the Tarn river on three sides in this 35,000 square foot monastery. It's really quite spectacular. The ride from Albi is pretty ridiculous though- in order to get to Ambialet, it's necessary to first go down a huge mountain that consists of about 30 sharp twists in the road- apparently it's the mountain that was used for the le tour de France time trials last year. I couldn't imagine going up that enormity on a bike in a million years!

Anyways, when our director, Tim, pulled into the driveway after he picked us up from Albi, I couldn't get over the absolute silence and the absolute darkness at the top of the mountain. It was incredibly calming, yet a little eerie. We walked into the huge castle of a place and although construction was still going on, it is still pretty incredible. It's just endless- it keeps going and going. It's wonderful how we can enjoy our completely renovated rooms and brand new bathrooms and Internet and all of the modern stuff but still be living in this ancient place with the gorgeous architecture and an 800 year old living room.

We got our bikes and had our first riding adventure. We started with a basic route that didn't involve too many hills. It was rainy but still very nice. It was pretty invigorating with the rain and all and the landscape is still so pretty regardless. We also took out first hike up the huuge mountain across from the monastery. We actually took the trail further up than we intended and got to see the view from the very top. On the way back down we stopped at some old castle ruins and climbed up those even though that was a bit scary because I don't think you're really supposed to climb all the way up there and it's quite a steep way. I'm excited for all of the outdoorsy kind of things we will get a chance to do here.

2 March: Roma as the chubby ugly friend

Throughout the week, I questioned how much of a true traveler I really am. I don’t know how much I really like adventure. I mean, I do love going to different places and meeting new people and seeing so many amazing things, but I get scared pretty easily. I worry too much about money and I imagine everything that could go wrong: with flights, with language barriers, with bad neighborhoods. I enjoyed Rome entirely, I am so glad that I came here and got to experience it all. But it was a dirty city and that dirtiness scared me just because it jut set the scene for something frightening to happen, if that makes sense at all. My homesickness hit me too this past week so maybe that was part of it too. I found myself missing weird little things that I wouldn’t expect to. I miss the familiarity and the security. Security is a big thing that is so easy to take for granted. Life would simply be horrific without that essential basic sense of safety. It’s not that I’m scared for my life here, but it’s easy to be wary of people and things when in a new surrounding and especially when they speak another language. I liked Rome for its history and it’s beauty but I really disliked it for it’s uncleanliness. The people are amazing- the restaurant owners and the store workers- they all wanted to help way more than the Parisians. But to me, Paris’ beauty gives it a better score by far. Italy has the right personality and the ancient beauty but it was too ugly on the surface to love it for me. Rome is the fat girl with the great personality and Paris is the stuck-up bombshell. You want to dislike Paris but you can’t keep your eyes off her. You know she thinks she is better than you but you just can’t pull away. You know that if Rome just shed those ten pounds of excess, she would win hands-down. Either way, it was nice to be in the company of someone a bit kinder, even though she looked a little haggard.

Anyways, we're heading out tomorrow. I really did enjoy Rome but I'll be excited to not be living out of a suitcase anymore and sharing one bathroom with eight other people.

1 March: and still more churches...

Not too many big plans for our last day. The weather was pretty ugly- a lot chillier than it had been all week and rainy. We had to catch up on souvenir shopping so we mostly spent the day exploring around, stopping at stores and of course any other churches we passed. Marcellino e Pietro al laterno was one in particular but we saw a few more too.

29 February: More churches…

Another backtrack day for Karen. We headed back over to the Spanish steps so she could see the Piazza del Popolo and those fabulous views from the park above it. We caught a few more churches, the best free way to see some Roman artwork. We got through Trinite del Monti, Gesu e Maria, Santa Maria Maggiore and Pudenzia today. The churches all amaze me. They are each incredible. Whether they be ornate or simple, or have a famous piece of artwork or an incorrupt pope, each one had something unique and fascinating in it.

We also got to do some shopping on a main road by the Spanish steps. That area was pretty and busy too. We all scooped up a souvenir or two with the money we had left.

28 February: Watch your step!

So we had a recap day today for Karen’s sake. We headed back to some of the same spots so she could see them as well. We actually got to go into the San Giovanni museum this time though because our tickets to the Vatican museum worked for this museum as well. It was pretty interesting- we got a tour from a very animated Italian woman whose accent I loved. The museum was actually where the popes used to live. It was definitely neat to see. We got to go through their living quarters and receiving rooms. We got to see a lot of the clothing they got to wear and what their guards wore throughout that time period.

We ventured over across the city and stopped at a few more churches: Santa Gregorio Magno and Santi Giovanni e Paulo. We were heading to see an ancient stone pyramid but it proved to be pretty disappointing.

Oh and by the way, Rome is still pretty dirty; it’s not just by our hostel. It’s pretty around the big important landmarks, but on every other road, it’s not that nicely kept. Maybe Paris is just exceptional, but this place is kind of gross.

27 February: Benedicto!

So, front row seats to the Pope today! I think it’s pretty funny that I traveled all the way to Germany for World Youth Day 3 years ago just for the sake of seeing the pope and I was probably only within a mile of him in actuality. And here I am, within 20 feet of him on a random spring break trip. Pretty impressive I would say. We came early enough that we were able to get those front seats which was pretty exciting, even if it was just for five minutes.

We also got to go through the Vatican Museums and see the Sistine Chapel. We didn’t look too much through the museums but we stayed in the chapel for a good half hour just because there is so much to look at. It was amazing to see it. I mean, I don’t know much about art, and I couldn’t really differentiate much art from any other in terms of skill or style. After seeing so much art and paintings in France in so many museums, I could identify particular works but I really couldn’t tell any distinct talent-based differences between them. I didn’t know which was technically “better” or more impressive than any other. However, in the Sistine Chapel, I could immediately see a difference in his painting, which was unlike any other I had seen. Not only was there just so much there, and painted upside-down nonetheless, but the figures and people actually looked like card-board cutouts to me, that’s how realistic they were to me. It was pretty amazing.

Another funny incidence: while walking down the street and shopping through the souvenir shops in Vatican City, we ran into a former teacher from St. Francis- Fr. Brad! We all kind of just did a double-take but we actually ran into someone we knew in Rome! It was pretty funny but nice to see a familiar face.

We ended the night with another walk to the Trevi Fountain, which we had wanted to see at night. Still the same story- same pose, same laugh, same toss behind the shoulder, same picture taken.

26 Fevrier: thousands of people, same pose

We made our way over to the ruins again and down to the track where the Romans used to have their chariot races, Circo Massimo. It was a cloudy but pleasant day. The red brick and gray stone ruins were a great backdrop for a group of young guys playing soccer in a spot we sat to read. They reminded me of my brothers when they would have one of their Frisbee sessions- very laidback and easygoing, anyone’s invited. Two Asian guys went over to join them as they tried to establish a pattern through their language barrier. Soccer is international though, they figured something out. We had a nice picnic too in a park by the Colosseum. Nice view but the Italians are crazy about their dogs over here. It’s like France, where it doesn’t seem that many of them are ever on leases. While we ate our lunch, I could see about sixteen big dogs all around. I was surprised none of them attacked each other. I guess they’re well-trained like those Parisian pups.

We ventured over to the Trevi fountain today too. It was fun to sit back and watch so many different people from so many different places approach the fountain and act out the exact same scene for the exact same picture: sitting on the edge, throwing their coin in backwards for good luck. It’s funny because no matter how different these people are or no matter what their language or nationality, they all basically acted the exact same for those five minutes.

Karen arrived from Prague safely. We got moved from the 6-bed dorm hostel to the 9-bed which was in another building. This one looks pretty shady but we’re meeting some cool people though. This is what I wanted to do- meet and talk with people. We hadn’t gotten to do that too much in Paris or during these first few days of Rome, but now we are. Our new roommate, Jill is actually from PA and doesn’t live that far from St. Francis! It was so comforting- I felt like I knew her.

25 Fevrier: just follow the McDonald’s signs…

More hiking around today. We made it to more of the bigger ruins in the Roman Forum and down to the Pantheon. I cannot believe that that building is still standing. It’s unfathomable how the whole thing was ever made in the first place. The architecture and perfect geometry and symmetry of it seems impossible. And to think it was made around 25 BC and is still standing strong is incredible. I really was impressed with its enormity. But the funny part was the fact that even though the Pantheon is in a pretty little square with quaint, pretty Italian buildings and restaurants, good old McDonalds was directly across from that glorious ancient monument. How nice. But not really. It was also pretty funny to look at the rules once walking into the Pantheon. Apparently one major rule was to not “make annoying noises inside the building.” What kind of general rule is that? Ha, who knows but we got a laugh out of it.

On the way back, we stopped at this great glass bead shop. It was a small store, but every square inch of it was covered with multi-colored beads and glass balls and chandeliers. It was so pretty and we hung out there for a little while just for the atmosphere.

24 Fevrier: Roman cats are taking over the ruins

Another busy day full of walking. We made the hour and ten minute trek to the Vatican. Our hopes were to get to the Vatican museums for free since it was the last Sunday of the month but that plan fell through when the line turned out to go on for blocks. We also got side-tracked because the line for the Vatican itself was basically non-existent because we got there so early. We got right in, walked through and took pictures, and even made it for 10 am Mass inside the Basilica.

After the Vatican and a wonderful outdoor lunch of marinara pizza and of course some more gelato, we made some more church stops on the way back. Faustina was the first one and while Claire stayed for the holy hour, Tim and I headed over to the riverside and went past the Castel Santa Angelo. Another great view from that side. It was pretty picturesque, plenty of people stretched out on the grass, alongside the river, with the bridge reflected onto it, while a few guys played guitar nearby- incredibly relaxing.

We also made it to a few more churches on the way back- Andrea del Valle, Ignatius Loyola, and Campidoglio. We also passed a small area of ruins. It was funny because the entire thing was overtaken by stray cats. They were everywhere! Each little spot you noticed, there was another cat, peeking through some grass or a hole in a stone. Black and gray cats, white ones, orange, striped, fluffy, thin- everything. They totally took over.

23 Fevrier: reading, sun, and art- wow, my Mom would be proud

Wow, we saw more today than we had originally planned. We made it to the Piazza del Popolo, including the Maria del Popolo church and the Santa Susanna church. We saw the Fontane del Tritone and the Spanish steps. Carol had advised us to first go to the piazza, and then walk down along the Bourgeoisie park in order to get a great view as we made our way to the Spanish steps. She was right on--amazing view. And the sixty-degree weather didn’t hurt either. After walking all afternoon, we made a few stops in the park and atop the Spanish Steps to read, enjoy the view, and soak up the sun. Lovely day overall.

It’s a lot of fun to go into these churches and see so many famous paintings and sculptures by all the artists we have read about in our art history class. I’m no art expert but it’s interesting to be able to see them and actually recognize them and know some background or be able to see some differences between them.

We have also discovered a new weakness (aka- addiction): gelato. Wonderful creation and done quite exceptionally by the Italians.

22 Fevrier: Hopping glass barricades for Rome

We have arrived safe and sound in Rome! We didn’t have too many problems getting here. We only faced one minor complication in Charles de Gaulle airport. So, we bought our eight euro metro tickets, like the good temporary “citizens” that we are. However, we got off at the wrong terminal stop, so by the time we took the metro back to the correct terminal, our tickets wouldn’t let us go through the turn-style machine. Most metro stops only have turn-styles though, so if you are without a ticket and there isn’t security in sight, one can easily jump it. However, of course, when it comes to being late for a flight, we were faced with not only a turn-style, but also closing doors surrounded by a 7 foot wall of glass. But no worries, our desperate selves, managed to shimmy our stuff over the wide expanse of glass and jump the whole wall! Very entertaining, a little nerve-racking, because of course it’s not easy to be discreet about that but we made it.

Anyways, we made it successfully. We made it to our hostel safely only after being ripped off five euros by a taxi-driver. The hostel is decent- nothing spectacular but mostly clean and sufficient. We were placed in the 6-bed dorm too so it was nice to only have a few roommates. However, our hostel does seem to be placed in the China-town section of town. Nothing wrong with that but the area over here in kinda dirty and there is dog poop pretty much every few feet. They don’t seem too clean in Rome so far.

We made it to the Colosseum, where we caught a beautiful sunset and got our first glance at ancient Rome. We also made it to San Giovanni church and Santa Maria degli Angeli church, as well as the Republica area with it’s beautiful fountain. Claire made a great find in San Giovanni- an older lady named Carol who gave us countless tips and advice about Rome. I guess we won’t need to buy any transportation while here- she claims that Rome is extremely walk-able. Our first dinner was nice too- the waiters are way nicer here than in Paris. Also a bonus!