La fête de Ben!!

In France, everyday is a fete. Everyday there is a saint that is celebrated. Everyday is assigned to a name. Most french names are names of saints, so people have a fete once a year. Today is the fete of Ben.
To celebrate, I'm going to post all things that are ben.

In France, this is a ben:












In Paris, the slang word for these is Ben:











And in Canada, this is Ben:

Bonne fete Ben!!

Theres no going back...

1. 
   Last night I went to see "Le Cirque Plume"
   
   At the end of the 2 hour show, a tears rolled down each one of my cheeks...
   It hurt my heart that it was over. It was fully magique.
   
   It was the best show I have ever seen. It was poetry in motion, theatre, music, dance, it was art. There is a few photos and a short video on this site, that you could look at if you wish to see it with your own eyes.
   
   There were people of all ages there, of all types. During those 2 hours we ALL laughed our heads off together, and at the end, we ALL stood up together, and applauded so loud, that the performers had to tell us to be quiet.
   
   The name of the show was "plic ploc" They played with the theme of water. The sound of it. The things we do around it. The way it makes us feel. From pipe repair men, to kids at the beach, to umbrellas (yes!) in the rain, we saw all kinds of beautiful images surrounding water.
   
   It was very colorful, sometimes black and white, sometimes with a splash of red crossing the stage. Sometimes it was young and silly and sometimes just beautiful. They all got soaked. everything was wet. The water came from the sky, the ground, the sides. All over it was soaked.
   
   They used the stage and the water, in very creative ways; the lights, the shawdows it makes with the water all added to the story.
   
   The things that the performers did with their bodies blew me away. It was nuts. I don't understand how people can bend like that.
   
   The cirque is just the coolest thing ever. Like I have said before, its everything that I love about live theatre. Its like 2 hours of happiness for everyone in the room. That connection can't be reproduced.
   
   I'm now officially addicted to le cirque. Theres no going back.

Lyon was..

I went last weekend with my host parents to see the sights. I would like to make it know first off that Lyon is the second biggest city in France, and largely over looked. It is beautiful, has a well organized down town and is know world wide as the capital of gastronomie. Which I will admit as well, was where I ate some of the best food ever. The first day we got there I ate so much my stomach hurt. Like it really caused me pain. I have never really felt that before. What an exchange student experience.
And now I will show you all, my dear readers, what I saw.

We started out in the morning appropriatly with a museum about the beginnings of Lyon. Their research and findings date back to a few hundred year av JC. When the romans came and built a grand fortress to expand their empire and defend against the original french, the gaulois, who were living there at the time. This a picture of their fortress after 2000 some odd years:

They were pretty with it for people who built houses way back in the day. They had pools they built their rooves so that they got the most sun was at an angle where it warmed the houses in the winter and wasn't too hot in summer. This picture is of their little theatre. The musuem was prostar (thought I'd add a little canadian slang) because you start at the top and walk down hill for 4 floors then take the elevator back up. The perfect solution.

After that we went to see this really old Cathedrale at Fourviere, which was also very prostar (can you use "prostar" to describe cathedrales?) There was a one of the first coo coo clocks ever there, which was built in 1300 and something and it still works today. It is an astrological clock so it tells you lots of other stuff too, like the day and your astrological sign. It was cool. We waited till 3:00 to watch it chime. As you can see, it was the 11th of March the day we were there.

We also went to the theatre down town the Celestins, for a guided tour, which was cool cuz the actors and musicians were doing a final rehearsal / walk of the stage and it made me miss doing those things myself. However it was neat cuz I saw one of the canadians I met at the olympics, and his quebecois roommate, who were doing a university project on the theatre. What a small world!

We stayed with friends of the family, who live there that had the most beautiful house ever. I thoroughly enjoyed being there. The next morning we went to an art market along the Saone river, then we saw a circus. But not a circus with clowns and elephants, but one that was like theatre but with juggling, and dancing and people doing really amazing things with their bodies. For one entire hour I sat with 60 other people and didn't move, we stared, all of us. It was incredible the things they did. The performers were beautiful, and athletic and gracful and talented. I have never seen a circus before, but I realized that it is everything that I love about theatre. Its a story without words, an expression of the body. I have definatly decided instead of university I am going to join a school of cirque, and do that for the rest of my life. I have found my passion, and there is no going back.

The last thing we did was to stop by the Opera of Lyon, wich was also very cool and very well known. Then we went home. It was a wonderful little jont.

Anecdotes for a rainy day.

Today it rained!!!
Living in Kamloops, I have never had a valid reason to use an umbrella in my LIFE. I had to resort to bringing an umbrella into the shower to sing, "singing in the rain"
I have never actually owned an umbrella, let alone needed one.
Since I came to France I have had to use one twice. I am hoping that the spring brings a lot of rain with it before I leave. It makes me so happy.
I'm thinking of buying an umbrella all to myself. I saw one with hearts on it the other day and it was pretty classy. Its not for sure yet, its a pretty big step for a semi-arid dessert raised girl, to actually own her own umbrella, but I will be living in a more rainy climate next year, whether that will be near the ocean in France, or near the ocean in Canada, so I think it would be a worth while investment. I'll let you all know how this umbrella plan eventually pans out.
And now for the much awaited, much cherished

......... Petit french anecdote.......................

Well, this isn't really much of an anecdote, but I just wanted to continue the list of names that french people give to things in english.
Today we will talk about musical bands.
I have much enjoyed the signs around advertising rock concerts for,
-"the third eye machine"-for all those monsters out there with, sadly, only two eyes, who have always longed to qualify in the three eyed catagoie
-"The Shaggy dog story"- less creative, a clear mix between, snoop dog and shaggy, which conjures up an image of the snuffleunfagus from sesame street. Definatly a hardcore rock image.
"Celtic hangover"- not just any kind of hangover. This band obviously wanted to be specific.
Well that does it for band names now, however I saw I few stores or maybe restaurants in Paris called, "happy phone" but we have a song in english called banana phone (thanks raffie) so I can't really say much about this one. Well ladies and gents, that concludes

......the petit french anecdote of the day................

Le Semi Marathon de Paris

This weekend, I went with my host Dad to Paris, for 18 hours. For two hours and sixteen minutes of that time I was running.
We stayed with Etienne's brother, in his house in the suburbs of Paris.
The race was really quite cool. We started out in front of this really big castle. We ran through one of the two natural parks of Paris, and into the city. Although we didn't run by the Eiffel tower, we did see it. We ran by the Bastille and the hotel de ville, then we turned around and ran back again. It was cool to run around Paris with 21 thousand other people. There was music every 5 or so km. Me and Etienne danced at just about every musical station. We stopped to take pictures, and pick up clothes that people had tossed to the ground. We found some good running clothes! It was quite cool. I wore my Canada flag and I met two other Canadians!! One from Toronto and one from Ontario. It was a groovin time. Although not so easy physically.
Without really seeing it happen, I have slowly lost my long distance endurance. I got tired after the 5th kilometre. Then I had 16 more to go.
This is me at the 10k half way point.
Needless to say, it wasn't a very fast race. It hurt. A lot. It made me miss all those early saturday morning torture sessions runs I did last year with the group. Definatly helps so much for the actual races.
I was quite dissapointed with my time of 2:16, being my personal worst half marathon time ever, hahaha, but even with that time I was 8th out of 18 on my age catagorie. Not too shabby.
In any case I think Paris is a classy place to have done my personal worst, no? I'm proud. I didn't come to Paris to get a killer time. I came to say I did it, so .... I did it. Got the tee-shirt and a medal too.
I love this picture. I think it captures well the feeling of finishing the race. Its not pretty, but I was sooooo tired and sooo happy to be done.

I have been in France for 6 months now. I love it here.

I am getting sad about leaving, already. Its not that I am not thrilled to see my family, friends, ben at home, but its just that I have a life here now. Canada is starting to feel the way that france felt a year ago. Canada will be a whole new adventure when I come home. It will be re-getting to know people and having people re-get to know me. It will be getting ready to move out, either to France or university. It will be finding a new job, busy and probably very rushed. I'm excited for all that to happen. But I'm sad to leave my life here. When I leave here, it will never be the same again. At home or in France. I'm appreciating the stability of the moment.

I have been particularily enjoying promanading in town lately, seeing the old buildings like this one. Night or day, Chambery is a pretty town. I have only one month left with this family before moving again. The last three months will fly.

This weekend I am going to go to Paris for the second time to run the half Marathon. I have been really lucky to be placed in two houses with Dads that run. Bernard took me to the South of France, and Etienne is now taking me to the North.

Its a beautiful day. I am going to now promanade myself to the swimming pool for some nice laps.

Just one last comment: check out this website about the meaning of the olympic rings