Land and the People

I have always been a fan of the fine arts, and perhaps that is one of the reasons that I have always loved France so much - what place in the world is better known for its fine arts?  In Paris, I was able to visit many museums, including the Louvre.  My favorite exhibit in all of Paris, and up until now in all of France, was actually the Monet Exhibit at the Grand Palais.  It was a chronological (for the most part) visit of the entire life and career of Claude Monet, who has always been one of my favorite painters.  One thing that I particularly liked about the Monet exhibit was the way they presented the "series" paintings that Claude Monet made so famous.  He would choose one subject and try to paint it in as many different ways as possible.  Many times he took exactly the same angle or viewpoint and painted the subject in the morning, afternoon, evening, night, bright sun, or cloud cover.  I felt inspired by this notion to do a "series" of photographs from Perigueux, the city where I am living.  There is a bridge in Perigueux that is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful parts of the entire region of Dordogne.  I decided it would be a perfect place to do my series.

It wasn't hard to find a nice, semi-cloudy day for an "after-the-storm" picture.  Every day was cloudy and rainy before the fall even came.  Everything was still green, though.

The lights at night made some beautiful colors and reflections.  This picture was taken shortly after nightfall, and the sky was still a magnificent blue.

The colors quickly went from green to orange as the weather got colder.

The fall quickly arrived and everything started changing colors.  Finding a day without rain became the most difficult part of it all.

Despite the cold weather, the spot remained a popular one for people to walk and sit while just enjoying nature.

Some natives of the region.

Winter set in and nearly all the leaves fell to the ground.

It's a beautiful day, and with the blue sky you would never guess how cold it really is.  Notice the dead vines hanging off the bridge.

1st Century and pre-medieval architecture in Perigueux

"Ok son, our seats are at portal GG, section 2, seats 17 and 18.  I think portal GG is down this way, come on!  Hold my hand son, there are a lot of people here today and I definitely don't want you getting lost."
"Ok dad.  Daddy, will we be able to see the athletes?  Where are they now?"
"They are probably getting dressed, and warmed up right now.  It's an important round today!  Hurry, let's get in our seats before it starts!"

"Alright champ, out the end of this tunnel is waiting your strongest opponent yet.  He's going to try to mess with you, to get in your head.  You can't let him!  This is just another round like every other round!  You know how he thinks and how he works!  You're going to go out there and show him what a real athlete can do!  You got this!  Go get 'em!  Yeah!"
"Just like any other round... just like any other opponent... I got this..."

"Daddy!  Can we go down to the arena to watch?!  Can we?  Can we?"
"I'm sorry son, I don't think that is allowed.  There are security guards down there to make sure we don't go to the wrong seats.  Look, our seats are right up these stairs, we are almost there!  You will be able to see EVERYTHING from our seats up top!  We are so lucky to have such high seats!"
"Why do the important people get to sit so close to the bottom?"
"Um... I think it is because... well, those people don't really like sports as much as we do so they decided to put them closer because then they can't see everything at once... yeah, that's why."
"Oh... I want to sit close one time."
"Let's go up to our seats for now, I think it's about to start!"

"Good Priest, I know I am not worthy to enter the Holy Cella, but I wish to thank the Goddess Vesuna for my victory today in the arena."
"Only a priest can enter the Cella, but I will enter and give up an offering for you."
"Thank you Priest."

"... So that's what happened years ago.  The fort down the road was used for wicked sport, but now it houses our military.  We are lucky to live in such a strong castle in a city surrounded by a great wall to protect us."
"And the pagan temple for Vesuna?"

"We destroyed it and taught them all about Jesus Christ."
"What if they didn't want you to destroy it?"
"Then they were destroyed with it."

A Utahn in Perigueux

I immediately knew what I wanted to attempt to capture when I read this assignment.  This is not my first experience living in France, nor specifically the south of France for that matter, so I didn't have much of a "first impression" when I showed up in Perigueux - it seemed more or less how I had remembered/imagined it would be.  What did strike me, though, was the high school I am working in and the incredibly different experience I had as a high school student compared to these French students.
My first few weeks were spent visiting most of the English classes in the high school just to introduce myself. The students were often allowed to ask me questions.  One of the first questions I was ever asked came from a group of students about the age of American Sophomores: "Do you smoke?"  It wasn't so much the question that made this moment memorable, but rather the reaction of the students when I told them that I did not and had never smoked a single cigarette.  You would think I had told them I was from the moon.
Another day in one of my classes with 14-15 year old students, we were taking turns introducing ourselves and describing some of our interests and hobbies.  One student gave the following introduction (with slight paraphrasing): "My name is _______, I am fifteen years old.  I like rugby, I like to eat, and I like beer."  Nobody in the class reacted in a way that would indicate this is an inappropriate thing to do or say.  I don't completely understand the laws about alcohol consumption in France, but I don't think a fifteen year old should be drinking.  In my Mormon-dominated high school in Utah, if a fifteen year old student did somehow find/taste/enjoy alcohol (which is probably pretty unlikely in the first place), he would DEFINITELY not announce it to his class for fear of legal/peer reproaches.
An hour after that class, one of the students who had seemed particularly interested in America during that same class came back to visit me because I had a break between classes and he had ten minutes until his next class in the room next door.  He told me that he hadn't been in his previous class because he had been in the school nurse's office.  I asked him if he was sick.  He told me he was not sick, but just needed to have blood drawn.  He then went on to explain that, "My girlfriend's mom is making me get tested... there is no risk though, I am alright."  Again this experience opened my eyes to the new world I am living in.  Sexual relations in high school are definitely frowned upon in Utah.  Parents would do anything in their power to prevent them from happening.  This student's girlfriend's mother basically just gave them permission to do whatever they want as long as he isn't infected.  He is only fifteen.  Perhaps this conversation wouldn't have been as influential to me if the student had seemed at all awkward about sharing this information with me, but it was as normal for him to tell me he was getting tested for AIDS as it was to tell me his name or where he is from.
So with this photo, taken at the entrance of the high school where nearly all the students gather to smoke right outside the gate (since it is forbidden to smoke on the school grounds), this puddle full of cigarette butts illustrates the difference between our two worlds.  One where anything goes and no one cares compared to my world of strict values and serious consequences for any action that doesn't conform to the accepted standard, even for the students that don't share a belief in that standard.                            

Métiers and Storefronts

In most instances in the United States, going window shopping and getting some fresh air are two activities that can not be completed simultaneously.  From beginning to end, a shopping trip - whether it be for groceries, clothing, or other - begins in the house and continues directly to the car, from the car to the parking lot, the parking lot to the mall/super Wal-Mart/Costco, back to the car, back to the house, back to the couch.

But in France, anything from food...

to flowers...

can be found on Wednesday or Saturday at the outdoor marché.
When shopping at the marché, you never really know what you're going to find.  Sometimes you'll find antiques that have been hidden away in an attic for who-knows-how-long,

items used by several of the previous generations,

the catch of the day,

or even have a souvenir made while you wait.

All in all, on the day of the marché, everyone is out and about and everyone is happy to be at the marché.

Or at least almost everyone...