February 24- March 13

The highlights were: Tuesday night at the pub with Nico, Friday night getting philosophical with Gary, Saturday at the cafe with the old men, Sunday at the chateau with the girls, Tuesday lunch with Emily, Wednesday hot chocolate writing letters with myself, Friday playing in Carcassonne with Elyse, Saturday with Elyse in Toulouse, Saturday night Jerome's birthday party at La Makhila, Sunday night dinner with the girls, and Monday night Susan's birthday party at the pub.

Tuesday night I went out with the assistants, but I ended spending the whole evening drinking and playing darts with Jerome, Nico, Bob, and Benjamin. We had a great night!

Friday night, I entered into a ridiculously profound philosophical conversation with my friend Gary. It made me happy, and feel like I haven't lost my edge!

Saturday, I did my usual routine of the market, and then met David, David, Pierre, Bob, and Daniel at La Saillon for a huge plate of meat (including chicken hearts!) and plenty of wine. We continued with coffee, and I found myself with David and David, just talking until 6 in the evening.

Sunday, we went to free castle day up in La Cite, followed by lunch at a restaurant, and later that evening a German movie at the cinema.

Tuesday afternoon after “work”, I met Emily at one of my favorite little lunch places. I've only been there twice, cause I don't eat out often in Carca (WAY too expensive!), but I really like it. It's owned by a French-Lebanese woman, and it's this tiny little hole in the wall covered with art work. Apparently, it's an artists collective, although I'm not exactly sure how that works. In any case, she makes one set dish every day, with Moroccan mint tea, and you come in and she just serves you what she has. The meals are always very fresh, healthy, and balanced. Tuesday for example was chicken with herbs, green beans, warm vegetable salsa, spiced carrots, green salad, bread, and tea. It's just a fun place to go, cause it's almost like a boarding hall- you go in and eat, totally relaxed and no fuss! I like places like that.

Wednesday afternoon I went to La Terrade for the best hot chocolate and a great view of Place Carnot to write letters and read.

On Thursday my very good friend Elyse Tishkoff came to town! We went out Thursday night for a drink with Jerome, Nico, Bob, and David. Then on Friday, we did Carcassonne! We had croissants and coffee in Place Carnot, went up to La Cite and walked around, had lunch at Intheieure 13, walked along the Canal du Midi, met girls for afternoon tea, had a picnic dinner of cheese and bread, then went out to the pub with a bunch of people for drinks. I think we managed to get almost everything in in one day!

On Saturday, we went to the market (of course) and had coffee. Then we took the train to Toulouse, where it was beautiful and everyone was out! I had decided definitively a couple weeks ago that I will be returning to the US and staying there next year, but being in Toulouse with all the young people and the sun out and everyone happy made me really want to stay here! I am so torn!

Saturday night was Jerome's birthday party at La Makhila, this funny Basque bar. So I went to that with Celia, Sarah, Charlotte, and Malick. We danced and sang (and I lost my voice!), and had a merry time!

Sunday evening we all had dinner together (Charlotte, Cristelle, Celia, Julie, Katie, Elena, Emily).

Finally, Monday evening we celebrated Susan's birthday at the pub with wine and about six different cakes! The whole crew was there, basically the core of the friends I've made here. It was really nice to hang out with everyone and just enjoy each other's company!

All right, that about catches us up! I know it sounds like I don't do anything here but go out and play with friends, and that's about right. I haven't been working lately because my students are on a two week internship. I have been doing lots of writing, however, and trip planning!

Hope you are all well! Bisous!

Amalfi on my mind

The rugged coastline presses in and out of the ocean like an amorous wave. Shell-colored buildings are scattered here and there. Cliffs and rock faces form natural castles and roads give the hills terrace-like structure. There are groves of lemon trees and green things climbing vertically up from the sea, sheltered from the wind with gauze and tarpaulin, exposed to the warm salty air.

Amalfi itself is a charming town with a beautiful brightly painted duomo rising above the town square. I pause here, a few moments on a port, looking around, breathing. Then I wander about the tiny town, losing myself in its streets.

People smile saying hello, and I wonder if being surrounded with beauty makes people more peaceful and kind? There are stairs that lead in all directions, up the mountain sides, and tunnels that connect one shop to another. Roof-top terraces and glass enclosed living rooms hang out over the water.

The whole scene looks organic, like the houses and churches formed at the same time as the jagged cliffs, taking on the colors of the sky and the sea. It is peaceful. I smile.

I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN TO MT. VESUVIUS!

But I HAVE been to Pompei! It was so much bigger than I imagined. Denser, more modern, better preserved. Entire houses with still-vivid frescoes and green gardens. Little shops, that just like today, sold food, jewelery, even sex. Walking through and among so much history in Rome, Pompei, even in Carcassonne, I find comfort and humor and maybe a common thread linking the past and the present. The fact that it has always been the same basic things that sustain and entertain us makes me feel connected with the long spectrum of time. Whether we were born in 1979 or in 79 ad, we still enjoy a good meal, good theater, and good lovin! We still deal with violence, and even create it for sport and leisure. Children, given open space and free time, will still play and laugh about the same things. I find it comforting that no matter how much time passes, we are still basically the same people seeking the same things.

When in Rome...

I had a hard time getting my mind around the history and significance of Rome. It was so much bigger and more monumental than I had imagined, and I feel incapable of truly grasping the importance and depth of it all. I'm American, so the idea of living in and around so much history is a bit unusual for me. But, I live in France, so I have learned to meet a certain amount of history in my everyday life. I live in a city built in the 14^th century, and I work next to a castle that Charlemagne frequented. This is an amount of history that I can comprehend. But anything over 800 years old (that's not a forest or a rock) is way too old for me to relate to. It's so old and therefore significant that I have no concept of its placement. It is no longer in a human scale, even though it's human history.

Rome was for me a whirlwind of colors and smells. It was energetic but strangely relaxing. I think this might be because I had to go on auto-pilot for certain portions of the day. Everything I saw was so incredible, that often I reached a limit of sensory retention, and had to just kind of float through the city, looking at everything the way you do when you go to the Louvre. It is so overwhelming. I found myself also wondering if I was appreciating Rome enough, or in the way I should be. Maybe I was supposed to be getting more out of every experience there, but I think that I did what I was able to do in five days. It is definitely a place that you could go back to over and over and always be intrigued. I hope to return there many times.

On the airplane to Rome, Emily was seated next to two Americans who then joined us on our trek to the hostel, and with whom we spent our first day in Rome. When we arrived at our hostel, Gulliver's House, the guy working there (“I am Chozhan from India”), offered us juice and set about making us comfortable. Chozhan turned out to be an extremely friendly guy, who wanted to make everyone happy, and who REALLY liked Emily and me. Our second day there was Emily's birthday, and Chozhan threw her a little party!

So our first day we spent “Rome-ing around” (HAHAHAHA) with Scott and Andrew, the guys we met on the plane. Emily and I both felt like it was some weird first double blind-date. Scott is a Seattle-based pharmacist, and Andrew (currently a Hilton Hotel night club manager) assured me that he will soon be taking an early retirement off the fortune he is sure to accumulate through an entrepreneurial nut company! “Dees Nuts” - keep a look out! :)

We hit up the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, plus just walking around. That night, Emily and I cooked dinner at the hostel.

The next day was Valentine's Day and Emily's birthday. We didn't know it, but soon found that all the monuments were doing a two-for-one deal. With our French residency cards we got E.U. Price reductions, and then with the Valentine's Day deal, Emily and I got to see the Colosseum and Palatine Hill (LC represent...!) for like 3 Euros. Palatine Hill is the part of ancient Rome where the wealthy and the rulers had their villas. It was incredible to walk around the ruins of these pleasure palaces and see the modernity and opulence of the rich Romans. After Palatine Hill, we entered the Colosseum. It's huge. I don't really know what else to say.

After, we wandered over to the Trastevere, the old Jewish neighborhood for lunch. This part of town is way less touristy and full of students and young people. Then we checked out the Campodiglio (a square designed by Michaelangelo). Finally, we headed home for Emily's birthday party at the hostel. Then we all went out to dinner together.

We had about three more days in Rome, seeing all the sites, eating all the food, and hanging out with all the people. It was wonderful!