Vanessa des Sources

This country is breathtaking; truly the countryside. The entire experience is a contiuation of “Jean de Florette”…right down to the groups of elderly people conversing casually, yet with an air of importance, at tables and beside benches alongside the river that runs through the town. Everyone knows everyone, even if it is through distant relatives or friends, and an hour at the weekly market is time to see the extended family--that is to say, everyone. It is a bit like a blockparty in Chicato in its early hours; people sauntering lazily, greeting each other as though they haven’t seen each other in months. They exchange the usual “how are yous.” “Ça va toi?” “Oui, et toi?” “Bah oui, maois tu sais, tous sont toujours bien.” Then they plunge into talk of “how is the family?” and “what happened with/to whoever” Then follows gossip about family/neighbors/acquaintances, finished with, “Fin, je te laisse. I have to be on my way.” Somehow, the whole interaction is so much more appealing to me in a french setting thani n the US… perhaps it is because I find everything more appealing in the French language.


I find it entertaining how certain human interactions do not really change form with the culture or language. I suppose it is simply human nature—our desire to fit in, to feel appreciated, needed, missed, and loved, to boost our confidence, moral, and importance. We are competitive, yet as being so, we are also dependant on others to feel complete. It takes a very different kind of person to take to the hills an never interact with others—they are usually viewed as either very pious (hermit monks, etc), or simply a bit off the rocker (i.e. Thoreau and Walden Pond). I am certain that some devout Thoreau followers would argue with me for days over that last statement, as it is a bit shallow in content and seems to discredit his work. Honestly, though, someone who cannot find a way to interact with his fellow homosapiens in everyday life and sees fit to leave such a social setting to be completely solitary, (revolutionary thinker or simpleton) he is typically seen as crazy.