'Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis'

It has come to my attention that Picardy is the Midwest of France. In the U.S., people on the East and West coasts tend to have preconceived notions about each other, some not very positive (i.e., West coasters are pot smoking hippies, East coasters are uptight and unfriendly). However, both groups tend to agree that they are both better off than Midwesterners inhabiting the "flyover states". In France, people in the South are the equivalent of the West coast's pot smoking hippies, stereotypically spending all their time lounging on the Riviera in the blazing Mediterranean sun. Parisians might be roughly similar to your cliché East coasters, dressing fashionably for a colder climate in a big city. Both groups, however, are terrified of 'les Ch'tis' or THE NORTH- namely the regions of Picardy and Nord Pas de Calais. This is the land of COLD, gray skies, small towns, and big farms. Most French people I've met so far have reacted the same way to my coming to Picardy as Midwesterners reacted to my moving to Iowa for college- "You come from California? And you CHOSE to come here??"

For a funny perspective on France's collective and stereotypical fear of LE NORD, you should check out the film 'Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis', (roughly translated as 'Welcome to the Sticks',) which tells the story of a guy who is transferred from a job in Montpellier to Beurgues, a small town in the very Northernmost part of France.
Here's a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLRTtHByPn4

Luckily (for me, I guess) I like farms and snow and small towns, and have had some cool opportunities to find out what makes les Ch'tis awesome. Last week I spent two nights in a town called Laon, which is about a half an hour drive from Tergnier. Laon is one of the oldest towns in France, boasting medieval architecture, including ancient ramparts that completely surround the original town, which is situated on a plateau. I stayed with a man named Rémy who works with my contact person Marie-Ange. He was born and raised in Laon, and lives there with his wife in a house constructed for American pilots during WW2 at the bottom of the plateau, where they raised their three daughters.

Rémy and his wife Nicole were very welcoming, and treated me to a couple exquisite meals featuring specialties of Picardy. My first night we had wild boar pâté (!!) a potato-green-onion dish, an assortment of delicious cheeses, salad (lettuce from their CSA share!) and of course wine. Rémy and I share an Oct. 13 birthday, so the night of the 12th we really went all out- cantaloupe with prosciutto, tarte aux maroilles (a very notorious, stinky, delicious cheese made in le Nord), another tarte with onions and tomatoes, salad, champagne! and ice cream for dessert. :) :) :) A veritable birthday feast!

Laon is a neat place; it's got a Gothic cathedral of its own, that isn't as big as the one in Amiens, but is older. It also has some pretty awesome animal decoration going on- I spied several dozen cows, and a hippopotamus! Wonder how medieval sculptors ever saw one of those.

Cathedral pics!!!
Hippo gargoyle:




Creepy man with knife and young scared looking tied up boy statue:

A shot of the cathedral's spire from a path that runs along the outside of Laon's ramparts.

Two of four original gates to the city. I tried to wait for the truck to leave for a better photo op, but it was parked there for a while! alas!


One thing I love about France so far is the juxtaposition of really old with new. Like cathedral and garbage truck.


I came back to Tergnier the morning of my birthday, after a checkup at the doctor's required by France's immigration authorities. That's the first time I've ever gotten a chest xray on my birthday! And I got to keep the xray! Tabea bought me some beautiful flowers and petites gateaux, and I had a couple wonderful packages waiting for me in the mail when I got home. Thanks everyone for the birthday well-wishes! In the evening Tabea and I took a train to Chauny, a nearby town where 3 other language assistants are living- one from England, one from Germany, and one from Argentina. We had dinner together at an Italian restaurant; it was nice to get out of the house and do something different for a birthday treat.
Birthday goodies, including chest xray


post birthday dinner in front of la Mairie in Chauny

The rest of last week, and the first few days of this one, have been dedicated to figuring out my schedule and observing classes. I've gotten a little (actually a lot) frustrated with my contact person Marie-Ange, who was supposed to have figured out what schools I would work in before I arrived in France, but didn't start contacting schools until I got here. So until the middle of last week I wasn't sure where I would be working, or for how many hours, and had very little to do during the day. The good news is, after Marie-Ange canceled our appointment to meet with la Directrice of one school, and forgot about me several times, I insisted that I go talk to la Directrice myself, and finally have my schedule sorted out! (Sort of!) I'll be working Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings at a small primary school called Condren. I spent one day last week and one this week observing classes, and I like the teachers, la Directrice, and the kids there very much. Today I sorted out my hours at a second primary school called Blériot. I'll be working there all day on Tuesdays, but my schedule is subject to change depending on the English competency of a new teacher who will arrive after the Toussaints holiday. La Directrice, who's name is Mme Blondi (she is indeed blonde,) is very kind, and I sat in on an English lesson with 7-9 year olds who were learning the numbers 11-15. The highlight of the class was #13, which is very difficult to learn to pronounce- the kids were all saying "ffffirteen" until the teacher told them to rest their tongues on their front teeth, 'make a face like something smells bad,' and push out the "ttthhhh" sound- "thhirteen!" This is the last week before the first vacation, Toussaints, but I'm looking forward to having a set schedule and getting to know the kids at Condren and Blériot when I get back.

I'm also looking forward to the having some adventures during Toussaints. This coming weekend is Tabea's 25th birthday, and her family is driving down from Germany! She invited me to spend the weekend with them; we will spend one day at the Atlantic coast, and one day in Reims, a city in the Champagne region where they make a lot of bubbly. I've also made plans to visit Hannah Deming's friend Hilary in a small town in Brittany (near Caen) for four nights after Tabea goes back to Germany, and then I'll head up to Lille to see one of my favorite French musicians perform! (Her name is YELLE, here's a music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHB9epBQxlI) So it might be a while before my next post, but hopefully I'll have lots to tell!