Religiously speaking.

Cathedrale de Notre Dame, Rouen, Normandy

Religious participation is decreasing the world over. People have chosen various past times over their religious obligations. I myself am no exception! I could never imagine going back to a catechism class and learning the verses of the bible by heart. I don't go to church anymore on sundays and now that I think of it, I don't think I will be hearing mass for a long time (unless my mom suddenly shows up in France and drags me to church because that's what "good catholic girls do"). I'm not sure if my children would be obliged to be catholic, only because one of their parents was born into the religion. But I will from time to time convince them and others to go an sit a while in church, not to recite the prayers that you learnt by heart, not to kiss the statues that represent God, but to just sit. I have no idea what aspect about religious monuments appeals to me why it cannot be recaptured in our homes. I love incense and candles and I tried to recreate the same composed ambience of a church in my own house but it doesn't work! Actually going into church and sitting on one of the hundreds of wooden benches helps in many ways I feel. It gives more perspective to your being, your sadness, your joys or sometimes you can go there and just be free of your thoughts. Just stop thinking and be. Try it sometimes! This helps me a lot because I'm always thinking. Not like the greater thinker or anything but what I mean is, I always over work my brain with random thoughts and when I sit in church, I feel as if I'm there by myself and not with thoughts about where I go next, where I've come from, etc. I'm just present with myself. Me. 

Candles attract me immensely. They come in all shapes and sizes and the ones sold in churches are inexpensive so that anybody can light one without burning a hole in their pocket. I think it's this act of offering a little gift to some superior power makes the church experience so beautiful. I've never entered a church that has never had candles lit, I guess it's part and parcel of the age old traditions. For me personally, I love looking into the flames, they are so tiny and yet so bright. I wonder sometimes who must have offered them and what were their thoughts. I have tried on numerous occasions to capture the flames of the candles on my camera but I never get it spot on. These were the best photos out of the dozens I took and even these aren't satisfactory!

Living in a little town in France is a beautiful experience. I have the countryside all to myself and all the little churches and chapels scattered around as well. But the only unfortunate thing is that most of them are closed either because most are privately owned or the Mairie (the mayor's office cannot afford to keep them open to the public all the time, owing to the high cost of electricity, repair work, etc. So here's where living in Rouen (the capital) comes in handy. The churches are always kept open in Rouen and I could go in there as and when I please. But a true architecture fan will still find ways to admire the architecture whether it is present inside the monument or out. The little church in my village is open on certain days and I need to out the timings because if the exterior is so beautiful, the interiors must be lovelier.

It's a medieval church and a few metres away from the Franco-British cemetery. There is a peculiar monument in front of the church, exactly the kind I used to see in Bretagne. It's a tall pillar with strange little impressions on it and right on the top stands a cross. I presume this was one of the medieval architectural styles!

Reflections

If you want to find the noble image of yourself, look into nature's mirrors :)

- me. 

Chronicling autumn (October 21)

The changing leaves of autumn colored brightly red and gold,
Also bring a warning of the coming winter cold.
As the wind is changing from the milder summer breeze,
You can feel the difference as it echoes through the trees.

When the clouds descend on earth..

I was walking down this charming street and I thought I saw someone looking down at me, I looked up and I could I sworn it was a wolf. But no! It was this adorable husky!! who didn't mind posing for a pic :)

Yesterday was extraordinary. I must have done something right to have witnessed nature in such a glorious state. The skies were the bluest I have ever seen in France. Almost as beautiful as the ones I saw in Tuscany. I spent nearly four hours in the sunlight even those it was a bit chilly. It was all about the clouds yesterday. The clouds coming down to romance the coast. You are going to see a huge explosion of blues on the page because I want to dedicate this blog post entirely to my tryst with nature yesterday. 

Lighting up the night so bright... for all those who sail by night...

Ive seen plenty lighthouses before but the cutest has to be this one in Saint Valéry. I love how its green top blends with the true blue sky :)

"Clouds symbolize the veils that shroud God". Honore De Balzac

The sea was no less amazing, the clouds would pass over it and causes a chaos of blues and greens and aquamarines and so many other shades of blue we haven't even got names for!

There is a beautiful cross right at the start of the promenade that leads to the light house. It's really tall and outstanding, perhaps used to bid good for the sailors who passed by.

"A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache". Catherine the Great 

Remark the difference in emotions you might feel on two different days. One when the skies are blue and the clouds come by and one when the sky is grey and perhaps a little gloomy?

I get wildly enthusiastic about little things! I play with pebbles for long hours, I hunt for seashells and look too long at the skies!

Those massive cliffs you can see in the background those are part of the famous and very beautiful Alabaster coast in Normandy!

 "Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time". 

John Lubbock 

"Nature is my springboard. From her I get my initial impetus. I have tried to relate the visible drama of mountains, trees, and bleached fields with the fantasy of wind blowing and changing colors and forms". Milton Avery 

The clouds were like piles of cotton that floated above my head :)

It's the best feeling when you have the entire Alabaster coast and all its beings, all to yourself!

"Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man". Orison Swett Marden 

A famous cricketeer form India often said "A fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef!"

“I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with” Plato.

The lovely houses in my village!

Peace :)

Things are slowly falling into place in France. Not with the economy, not with the people still on strike, not with the French people lining up to petrol stations, but just with me! I'm at ease in my little Saint Valéry. I get to walk around a lot, which I would generally not do if I was living in the capital city of Rouen. The only thing I will never figure out is how to greet the French irrespective of where I live in France. The French have various ways for greeting one another. Some will shake your hand or some will embrace you lightly or some will reach forward and lightly do a cheek-to-cheek greeting twice if you're from Paris and four times if you're from regions around Paris. As you know, I have a penchant for getting into really awkward situations. Living as an expatriate in France, has not helped me get better at these kind of social situations. For example today, I rushed into the school, I was already 10 minutes late thanks to the cartons put in front of my gate by the strikers. The principal and the assistant principal were standing in the corridor of my classroom (just my luck). They didn't seem to notice I was late and came forward to greet me. Since I was in such a hurried state of mind, I mixed up all the forms of greeting! :) With the Monsieur le Principal, I shook his hand and also hugged him (not appropriate to do both). With Madame l'Adjointe Principale, I shook her hand and then even after realizing that was enough, I went ahead and gave her the cheek-to-cheek greeting, while still holding her hand. She gave out a little laugh and said that my cheeks were freezing. Which would explain why she had offered me her hand in the first place! Sigh! I feel less embarrassed now that I've put it down on paper. I guess I have to just laugh at myself. There's no promise that I won't encounter more awkward situations like these in the future but hey! they make for a good laugh sometimes don't they?!

Other than that little awkward situation, life is peaceful. I have two weeks of All Saint's holidays coming up. Yes! we have two weeks! French schools operate for three to fours weeks and then they close for two to three weeks of holidays. I'm considering going to Bretagne (Brittany) as I have some friends there and I had visited the place in 2006 (when I won a trip with Alliance Française for writing an essay on the feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir, yes those were the days when I would really challenge myself) and I absolutely loved it. I had originally planned to head for Marseille, in the lovely south of France but then the strike is still on and I wouldn't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere without any possibility to get home. Bretagne (North west of France) is much closer to Normandy and if the trains are still not working, a friend of mine could drop me back. I really hope the strike gets called off though because life is starting to get a bit dicey. Airports are running minimum flights, factories have shut down, people are queuing up for petrol, the economy is on a standstill and this could cause trouble for the French and my holiday plans! voilà c'est la vie!

Saint Valéry exposed

This is how Saturday went!

Now the French are still not satisfied with the pension laws so basically the entire transport system has been semi-paralyzed and of course as my luck has it, my bus to Rouen was cancelled and I couldn't not head to the city on Friday to attend my training session. But then another bus (heading to Dieppe) appeared magically and I hopped on it. The last time I went to Dieppe was somewhere during the summer. Dieppe is also on the coast and it's exactly an hour away by bus from Saint Valéry. The bus ride cost just 2 euros one way and I really wanted to do some retail therapy and Dieppe has some lovely stores. My first stop was my ever favorite Yves Rocher and they have the most adorable beauty products at really nice prices. They had launched a new scent that day called Miel d'Oranger (honey from the orange?) and it smelt divine so I bought myself the candle (pic below) and then proceeded to munch on some pain au chocolat (chocolate bread). Next stop was Eurodif, for a brand new bag (with bohemian prints of course) and some photo frames and napkins for the house.

Miel d'Oranger from Yves Rocher, get it, it's lovable!

After heading back from Dieppe (I didn't stay too long because you never know how erratic the buses can get and I might just be stranded somewhere if I followed the bus schedule! Yup this is that side of France you never hear about!) Saturday was spent indoors because you had heavy wind and rains on the coast. So bored to death, I decided to question my creativity and sure enough I remembered that back in school I used to love collages. It's been nearly 10 years since I last cut up a magazine and created something out of the pieces. I was not sure what I could chalk up and I decided to go with the easiest and so voilà! a lady with a hat (pic 1 of this post). I am pretty happy with my chef d'oeuvre :) I know that the skin tone of the nose doesn't match the eyes but hey! beauty is present in imperfections! (comment taken from the same photo page on Facebook). 

Sunday was the best day of the week. It was really sunny and the people automatically were in a good mood. I walked a lot around the town. It was still windy but the sun was out. Strange weather like this only comes to Normandy. I even walked right up to the lighthouse and the winds were crazy but there were about two fishermen present there and they were really nice. Except one of them didn't really mind taking a wizz in public right in front of me. So weird! I walked all over the "galais" which is what the French call the pretty pebbles that are present on all their beaches (in the north of France? I've never been to the south of France so I don't know whether they have stones or sand on their beaches there). 

On chronicling autumn, so it's October 17 and the leaves are lush green with slight hints of orange!

Flora around the cliffs :)

I think I'm slowly beginning to fall in love with Saint Valéry. I love the colour blue that fills the bassin with all the boats, it's a beautiful aquamarine which I can assure, you will only find in Saint Valéry. Sometimes I wonder when people say they're looking for something in life. What if that thing is a colour? I still don't know what I'm hunting for in life. But I'd like to think that the aquamarine colour of the Saint Valéry bassin played a pivotal role in getting me there. 

Aquamarine :)

On the "galais"

Is it a doughnut? Nope! another food shaped "galais".

Sweet nothings on the beach.

Aha! a sea gull's memoirs

Hi escargot!

bye escargot!

Charming little roads appeal to me!

Champignon!!

If only Environmental Studies was so much fun!

The thing about French education is that it is far superior that most pedagogical setups in the world. I am truly blessed to be part of such a well organized, well structured system even if it's for the shortest time. I know many of you will disagree with me. But hear me out first. I come from India and completed most of education there. Indian education is excellent on would say that Indian students are extremely smart. We are grounded in various streams, be it arts, science or commerce. For example, in History class, an Indian student will have studied all the historical facts about the Russian Revolution. They can narrate the exact time and date of the various battles in the world. They know by rote all the political leaders that participated in the numerous historical events. But try asking them what is their opinion on Stalin or Communism? or maybe more simpler, What is the need to have wars? An Indian student in such a situation will be dumbstruck because we were never allowed to have an opinion! What the teacher gave to us, would be the final word. No discussion, no opinions. The thing I hated most about my school were my teachers because they smothered all our voices. All they wanted was robots who could tell you the exact time when the Russian people gathered at St. Peter's square and exactly how many people were murdered on Bloody Friday. What we feel about the event was never take into account. So here is where French education is far superior than ours. Because A) all students must give an opinion. B) No one is ever wrong in a classroom. C) There is plenty of room for mistakes. I'm not speaking for the entire French teaching force here, because I have met some really horrible french teachers and their students literally hate their subjects. But the majority who I have worked with have always given their students space to express and embrace their subject matter. 
I am currently in my second week of observation (all language assistants when they come to a new institution in France are required to undergo a Période d'Observation, where we have to sit in various classes and observe how the teacher conducts his/her class.) I have to admit that in my new collège there isn't a single class out of the eight I observed that wasn't up to the mark. All the teachers weren't friendly to me, but they certainly were kind to the students and I took tons of pointers on classroom management. I noticed that the older kids respond well to friendly sarcasm :) The students even have music class once  a week and it was such a pleasurable relaxing hour for me and the participants. The only times an Indian student will get to learn music is if he is willing to pay for it in a private institute. ha! My most favourite class so far was SVT (environmental studies) which completely blew me away. I was amazed at the alarming difference in attitude towards the environment between the French students and their Indian counterparts. The children here were fully aware of the various environmental problems and they even had fun exercises on how to combat the damage. On the day I was assisting, they were working on the various minerals that exist in nature and the different sources that can corrode them. They were asked to furnish their own ideas on the topic and were graded on basis of originality, neatness, etc. I kept thinking about my school days and the last time someone asked me to do such kind of an assignment and the answer is NEVER! Isn't that a shame? India is facing so many climate changes and if the education board could take some pointers from the French, we would have created a few nature friendly citizens who would in turn take a small but necessary step in reversing India's climatic downfall. It's not that the Indians don't care about the environment, it's just that they are not aware of it! Below are some of the assignments which the students submitted and I loved every single one of them!

We later studied about the various kinds of leaves and the teacher had brought in many branches from her own garden with tons of little critters crawling over them. I was a bit uneasy but the students were having a marvelous time! They were asked to observe the leaves and define the type they had. Let's see what I got!

I identified my leaf as Une Feuille Lisse which means a smooth leaf without any teeth or dents and I was correct! Never too late to learn anything is it? :)