Just a quick note, because it is about 3 in the morning here, so I should get to bed.
Where do I even start? I have so much that I still need to write in here. I still really need to write about Paris, Mont St Michel and St Malo, and Normandie. Right now, though, I will write about my weekend and Nantes in general.
So, I feel like there are a few things that I have noticed happen quite often in France, including during this past week/week-end. They are:
1. Manifestations! Since I have been here, there has been one strike and two manifestations that I know of, but there could likely have been more. The post office was on strike for a day to protest a law that will make it possible that the post will become a private institution. That didn't last long though. Regarding manifestations, I saw one two weeks ago. I'm not sure what it was about, but they cut the tram line because of it and I had to walk into town. But! None of these are as exciting as the farmer's protest a few days ago! So, you may have heard about this, but many farmers
in France have been striking recently. At first it was the dairy farmers who, the weekend before my friends and I went to Mont St Michel, poured tons of milk over the mount. They have also gone into stores and handed out cheese and milk for free--all of this to protest the small amount of money that goes to dairy farmers when their products are sold, among other things. Then, last week, more farmers--including wheat, pig, and other farmers of all different products--protested all over France--in Paris, Normandie, and--among other cities--Nantes. Once again all the tram lines were cut. This time because hundreds of tractors were in the city streets and were blocking tram lines. Farmers were lighting 
hay on fire, firing a machine that makes the sound of a cannon to scare birds out of fields, and had even brought and tired up a cow and a bull, who was not enthralled about being tied up in Nantes. These farmers, like the dairy farmers, were demanding a raise in their revenue and an urgent plan to help french farmers. (Photos by Dani Witt).
2. Great food! This past weekend Olivia, a boy who used to go to Whitman named Will, and I ate lunch at Flo's house. For those of you who don't know, Florian is a grad student in Nantes who lived in the French House at Whitman last year and is now back in Nantes and lives in an apartment near Olivia's homestay. Flo's parents and two brothers were all incredibly nice and welcoming and we had a delicious, filling dinner with several courses: (1) apertifs and carrots with cheese (2) the most amazing mussles I have ever eaten (well, actually, the only mussles I have ever eaten, but still, they were delicious) (3) chicken, couscous, and ratatouille (which was also delicious, even though I was already completely full from the muscles) (4) cheese (including one of my favorites, comté) (5) chocolate cake and crème anglaise and finally (6) coffee and tea. It was all very good, and I was full for the rest of the day.
3. Weekend Markets
4. Tests
5. Long Walks
I will update this post soon and add more to this list, but I really need to get to bed.
One thing though, I'm thinking I'm going to go to Finland to see the Northern Lights, sleep in a glass igloo (that's really warm inside and in which you can see the Northern lights and stars), go dog mushing, do some snowshoeing, go snowmobiling, do some ice fishing, sled a bit, spend some time in suanas, and go to reindeer farm,
among other things. I'm really excited! But, this is something I just thought of doing in the past hour or so, and I haven't thought through any of the logical/reasoning/planning/funding parts of it yet, so we'll see if this happens. But for now, I'm really excited about the possibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment