Farewell to France

Today is our last day in St. Papoul. Ted is breathing down my neck because he needs to disconnect the Internet and return this modem. Three months have gone by quickly. This PhotoStory was put together by Ted, with many of the photos he's taken over time here. You can see he especially likes the old buildings and the countryside. The two songs you'll hear are songs we heard in heavy rotation on the radio while we were here, so they will always remind us of this special place. The songs are Mon Petit Village (Ulysses Ridan)and Chupee by Cocoon (Arms Akimbo friends take note, this is the song I was singing to you when you were here!)

I don't have time to write some big, all-encompassing summary of our time in France. My only regret is I didn't sudy the language more in order to communicate better with the people I've met. On the plus side, I have a renewed appreciation for what I do, helping kids communicate better. Without a shared language, people cannot truly connect. I know helping kids acquire a basic vocabulary of nouns and verbs can go a long, long way to getting them connected to the people in their worlds. Au revoir, France! Karibisha Africa!

Update from DJ and What's Next

Just before we left Ottawa, my friend Darlene gave me her fleece jacket to take on this trip - heretofore known as DJ (Darlene's Jacket). I promised to send updates once in awhile but I've been a bit negligent with that. Truth is, until this past month of October, DJ basically just hung around (on a hook that is) waiting for the weather to chill.

I remember we actually went swimming on Sept. 30th at Narbonne-plage. Unbelievably, my mom reported snow in Saskatoon not long after! In early October, the weather here started to turn and DJ has been at my side (actually on my back) ever since. DJ would like everyone to know how exciting her life has been this part month . . . galavanting all over Carcassonne with Arms Akimbo, checking out the paleolithic cave paintings at Grotte de Niaux, browsing the early-morning market in nearby Revel, or even just strolling around St. Papoul. The mornings here are especially chilly right now and DJ is the first thing I grab to throw on over my PJ's before I stumble downstairs to put some coffee on. One of my favourite activities that I will miss is walking along the Canal du Midi all the way from St. Martin Lalande to Castelnaudary (takes about 60-70 minutes). Right now the fall colours are spectacular. I could not do that these days without DJ!

Who needs a coat like this when I have DJ? Please note, I have had my hair cut since this photo!

But alas, DJ may have to hang around unused again for awhile, now that we are preparing to head to Africa. Here's what is coming next for us:

-depart St. Papoul and drive to Paris this Sunday
-fly to Nairobi, Kenya via Zurich (just one night in Zurich)
-arrive in Nairobi on Tues., Nov. 3rd

One of my dreams is coming true! I will get to participate on a cleft palate mission in Kijabe, Kenya for 3 weeks in November. It's a long story how this came to be. Here's the condensed version. I had credentialled as a volunteer with Operation Smile and applied to several of their missions. However, I never "got the call" (at least not yet anyway - there is still Vietnam and Cambodia ahead). I decided to contact Smile Train, an organization with a similar mission of repairing cleft lip/ palate in developing countries. One key difference with Smile Train is you more or less set up your own mission and they provide support. They give you a stipend for certain expenses and put you in touch with their medical partners around the world.

One of the names on the list jumped out at me - Dr. Dan Poenaru in Kijabe. He is from Kingston and he and his family had visited our church back in Ottawa a couple of years ago. Just before we left Ottawa, I had coffee with a wonderful woman named Zeta from my church. She had encouraged me to contact Dr. Dan when we got to Africa and to be sure to visit Kijabe if we could. Dr. Dan has been a pediatric surgeon at the AIC Hospital and the adjoining Bethany Relief and Rehab wing in Kijabe for about 6 or 7 years, I think. And there was his name, at the top of the list given to me by Smile Train. Coincidence?? After contacting him, things just really fell into place. We will be in Kijabe until Nov. 28th. They are hiring a local Kenyan women who has shown some potential to be a "speech assistant". In addition to assisting with a visiting cleft palate team of ENTs and plastic surgeons from Canada and the US for the first two weeks, she will be shadowing me and I will spend the third week intensively training her to carry on basic speech therapy after I leave.

After Kijabe, it will be safari time (Rift Valley Lakes plus Masai Mara) and then off to Tanzania. Our plans for Tanzania are not completely firm yet although we know we will spend 2 weeks in Longido helping Corey Wright from Sauti Moja. The plan is to build and paint bunk-beds for their Child-Mother project. Ted will be our lead man with that project! We hope to visit the famous Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar as well.

I've been doing a bit of research on the Swahili language. (Here's an aside - ever wonder what the difference between Kiswahili and Swahili is? Now I know. Kiswahili is the language for most of East Africa while Swahili refers to the culture as a whole including the language. So to say someone speaks Kiswahili or Swahili is really the same thing). Another thing I learned is that Kijabe means "place of the wind" in Kiswahili, not surprising given that it sits along the Rift Valley escarpment at an elevation of over 7000 feet. I mention this because maybe - just maybe - DJ will see some action in Kijabe after all . . .

Wild boar, wine, apples, castles and Arms Akimbo

Arms Akimbo (a.k.a. the Book Club) has left the building and I am sad. What a great week we had! Not only did they enrich the economy of Carcassonne through their unflagging shopping and fine dining (okay, so I was not-so-reluctantly dragged along), but they managed to squeeze more into one week than most tourists would in a month. I guess your first clue of that would be the title of this post . . .

First things first, some history. Our Book Club meets monthly in a small pub in our neighbourhood. Most of met 12 years ago when we attended "Mommy & Me" classes with our first-born children at the local community centre. We had come across the term arms akimbo more than once in novels we had read so one evening we digressed into a conversation about the meaning of this term. Was it crazy arms, waving and all bent out of shape? Or was it a stance with one's hands planted firmly on one's hips? And what did it signify? Annoyance? Impatience? Determination? Somehow the name stuck. Besides living in the same neighbourhood with kids the same age, we also share a love for all words weird and wonderful.

And, apparently, we also share a love for good food and drink. A couple of things I learned about my book club friends this week. (1) They can hold their vin rouge, no question (2) They are committed carnivores - all the way from head to trotter and the tripe inside, and (3) their remarkable facility in the French language puts the Elborns to absolute shame. Ah well. I like to explain this by saying I grew up in Saskatchewan where the second language is Ukrainian not French - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

My five book club friends arrived last Wed., Oct. 14th and stayed one week. Three arrived after one week in Paris and two came via Marseilles. They rented an apartment in Carcassonne, right in the heart of the town overlooking the city square and a short drive from our base in St. Papoul. As luck would have it, the annual Fete du Vin (wine festival, celebrating the grape harvest) was just commencing. Other highlights included exploring La Cite, the monumental castle in Carcassonne; the Fete du Pommes (apple festival) in Mirepoix; a short visit to another medieval town (Foix); a visit to Montolieu (village du livres - if you've heard of Hay-on-Wye in Wales, this is the French equivalent); checking out local outdoor markets; and plenty of restaurant sampling.

Sometimes we broke into smaller groups to pursue separate activities. One day, Ted and the boys along with Sherry and Frances drove to Chateau Peyrepertuse to climb and explore this historic Cathar castle. Another group rented bikes and cycled through a tunnel of plane trees along the scenic Canal du Midi.



Three of us had birthdays that very week. My birthday last Monday was truly memorable. With our vintner friend Gerard, and his family, all of us dined at a restaurant called 6eme Sens (Sixth Sense). Two birthday cakes followed - a mango mousse and a chocolate mousse.

But the most memorable feast had to be the wild boar meal (sanglier) right here in St. Papoul. Recently, Ted was given the gift of a hunk of wild boar meat, hunted and shot in the woods near Gerard's vineyard. We carefully wrapped it up and tucked it into the freezer awaiting the arrival of Arms Akimbo. Sylvie, the proprietor of Le Recantou (St. Papoul's local restaurant), marinated it in red wine and onions for two days and then slow-cooked it with potatoes, carrots and other vegetables. Along with her trademark delicious salad and chunks of bread, we imagined we were dining like the Cathar peasants we'd been reading about.

So what I say about this past week? I'll close with a phrase my French-speaking book club friends taught me a few days ago. J'ai bien manger! Beh oui.

Half of Arms Akimbo arrives in Carcassonne via train from Paris

A toast to everyone's safe arrival

Sante, the Fete du Vin has begun!

Sabine overseeing the action in Place Carnot, city square of Carcassonne

View of La Cite from the pedestrian bridge in Carcassonne

Exploring La Cite, historic castle village in Carcassonne

Kerry and Jenny exploring the book village of Montolieu

Kerry on the hunt for unusual cookbooks in the antiquarian bookshops of Montolieu

Yet another wonderful lunch out - my first time eating rabbit

Gathered for the wild boar meal (Sylvie, our chef, is sitting beside me at the head of the table)

Okay, so this is a bit of a silly shot - standing arms akimbo under the wild boar's head at
Le Reconteau in St. Papoul

Close-up of sanglier (wild boar) stew . . . delicious!

Archway entrance to medieval square in Mirepoix

Banner of apples spelling "Mirepoix"

Every type of apple was for sale at the annual Fete du Pommes

Yum, chocolate-covered apples!


The theme of this year's Fete du Pommes was "music" so apple sculptures in the shape of different musical instruments were displayed throughout the village square in Mirepoix

Love this photo - maybe we'll pass on buying this particular candy apple

Apples as a tuba

Apples as bongo drums

Tasty apple treats for sale at every stall

Local musicians play amongst the apples in Mirepoix

My birthday dinner in the underground cavern-like restaurant

Looking down on the lower buildings at Peyrepertuse - remarkably well-preserved - they date back to 1070 AD

Sherry and Frances enjoyed the spectacular views - the climb was facile for them!

Ascending the scary steps of Saint Louis to access the upper San Jordi keep

Many small windows and arrow slits in the ruins of Peyrepertuse

Frances and Mitchell snapping photos

Mitch, Ted & Jackson checking out the views

Travel Days 63 & 64 - I Got My Fingernails Dirty in France

This week I had a chance to learn a bit about the grape growing and wine business, and very much practice my French. It’s surprising (not really) how little I knew about wine making and how much French I do know. Much thanks to the patience of my instructors. Since coming here and being able to practice my French with people who have virtually no command of the English language, I now have a renewed appreciation for the language. It certainly has opened up my experience in France.

The last couple of days were spent immersed in the language (out of necessity) and in the fields of the vineyard of Chateau Sesquières. I didn’t really pick any grapes since the harvester does all the work but I got to ride on it. I did help out when the grapes were brought back to the barns to be unloaded. It’s a 250-hectare farm with about 20 hectares (60 acres) under cultivation. It’s owned by the family of a gentleman (third generation) named Gerard that we met as we made the rounds to the weekly evening markets of local produce and goods in the surrounding villages. Both Kathi & I like their Merlot. It’s more of an estate winery and they have been kind enough to share in their lives, experience and knowledge.

I enjoyed just being on the land as the sun was rising, with views over the valley to the Pyrénées beyond. The air was cool but the sun was warming to the skin. My thoughts were of the reality of the experience. Lunch that day was cuts of sausage, baguette, chicken paté, and a green salad served with an aperitif primer. This was followed by a bit of rosé. Of course, I tentatively thought that this was it. A serving of steak with a touch of salt and pepper and home made macaroni with a touch of cheese and some of the Carbardès (vin rouge) came next. This was topped off with some coffee and fresh fruit - figs picked from a tree right outside in the yard. My very own ‘Peter Mayle’ experience.

I expect to be back at it for another day or two when it’s time to harvest another variety of grape – the Cabernet Sauvignon. These hosts have been kind enough to open up their family to us and it’s been great to meet them and have this experience in France.

TE