For the first time, I felt really fed up (j'en ai marre!) with my social situation. Sure, I've missed having friends and being around young people, but my middle-aged colleagues haven't bothered me much thus far, and have been great educators as far as Vosgien traditions and winter sports were concerned. So maybe it was the sickness (I have a touch of la rhume), the boredom, or the sunshine that made that final thread holding my social sanity together snap, I don't know, but I kind of lost it a little yesterday. I felt displaced throughout the whole day, both in my element (playing around in nature) and out of it. I couldn't relate to half of the things my fellow snowshoers were talking about -- hot flashes, technology misunderstandings, their children -- although I certainly tried, at the very least getting a few new vocabulary words and expressions out of it.
Besides feeling like a silly little girl the whole day (who at least kicked all their butts when it came to fitness), I did learn a bit more about mountain life and Alsace, which is where we were hiking the whole day. We passed a couple of ferme auberges, which are just like normal auberges -- mountain lodging, essentially -- but which also function as farms in the summer. At least 65% of their food must come from their own farm, meaning that in the Vosges, these places serve up mostly meat, dairy (cheese!), tree fruits and vegetables (apples, cherries, chestnuts, hazlenuts), and sauerkraut (choucroute). Every winter, the farmers herd their beasts down into the valley where it's warmer, and re-herd them back up into the mountains in the spring. Like all French traditions (this one is actually stronger in Switzerland), the herding is accompanied by a massive festival:
I wish I took this.
Hopefully I'll be here to be able to attend one!
.............
The landscape of southern Alsace:
6 comments:
Oh Rachelle!
How frustrating. Is alpinisme more your thing? Or cross country skiing?
At the very least, I know these links will cheer you up:
Baby animals in the womb:
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2010/03/12/extraordinary-animals-in-the-womb-stunning-photos-from-nat-geo-film/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1077492/It-aint-half-snuggly-Mum-The-ground-breaking-pictures-animals-capturing-life-womb.html
that picture of those decorated cows really brightened my day. i do hope you get to see them in person.
by the way you are missing quite a weather apocalypse in levittown. two weeks ago we had a blizzard that shut down schools, and today we had a thunderstorm that made the buildings shake it was so strong.
Rachel. Alsace is beutiful. You must be getting ready to come home
to tell your family and friends about your experiences. I hope you
don't get so turned off by the French old people that you can't
talk to your octogenarian Papa.
Love Papa.
"Every winter, the farmers herd their beasts down into the valley where it's warmer, and re-herd them back up into the mountains in the spring"
in French we say "transhumance" for this. nice word :)
traditionally, a Sunday in the middle of May :)
i LOVED those womb pictures... especially the puppy, which is so obviously a shar-pei. and yeah, i think faster and more intense sports are more "my thing," downhill skiing being my favorite... i'm supposed to do an epic alpinsme thing this weekend but the weather forecast is nasty, so we'll see...
I know- the puppy was adorable! wombs must be so nice.
you're so right, the french have a perfect, succinct word for everything!
transhumance! who knew? hopefully you'll still be there for the festival!
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