Catching up with my life a bit

Good lord and my gracious and all sorts of other similar exclamations! I don't know where the last month has gone...
Well no, that's a lie. I do know where it went.
It went away.
Very quickly.
I was quite ill for a lovely chunk of time, and thus (now restored to full health) have spent the last week and a half being SO PLEASED I'm not ill that I haven't really had blogging time.

I've also been genuinely busy. I do work, and I've been doing it. Which means I haven't been blogging.
I also have been doing fun things! Fun things which also take away from blogging time.

So this is not the update about my February run to Istanbul, Eu, and London. That will still happen, I do indeed promise, just not today. Today is just more of a general update on my life.
Fascinating?
Probably not.
Entertaining?
I shall endeavor to be at least mildly so.

Right. We shall gloss over the two weeks of non-fun, and enter into the part where Normandy suddenly decides that it is SPRING.
Spring has officially sprung here people. We've had more than a week of truly gorgeous weather! Sunshine, no sweaters, t-shirts, a sudden need to re-evaluate my footwear situation in favor of something more summery. It's been lovely!
Accompanying this has been a general state of restlessness in my students. Which, I admit, I do understand. Nobody wants to be inside learning when you could be outside basking.

The weather started taking an upswing when Lydia and Alex came to visit for a couple of days. I got to walk them round my streets, introduce them to what France is really about (countryside, food, and being leisurely), and stuff them ful of pastries.

I've also gotten to explore another little town near Domfront. I've made friends with another English Assistant who lives in the town of La Flerté-Macé about half an hour away from Domfront. And I finally made it over to visit her. La Flerté is super cute. It's a bit bigger than Domfront, and has a pretty spectacular church in the center of it. It also has a lake, which we went down to and explored last Wednesday.
The lake is actually really fantastic looking. There is even a little beach along one edge of it. We've got another school break coming up, and I think I might go back over there to hang out. I miss bodies of water, and this one is easy to get to. It's also got a walking path all around it that I think would be lovely to wander along.
While we were down at the lake I actually ran into someone I work with. The man is a serveillant, basically a playground monitor/attendance office worker. We have about four of them in the collège and they keep everything running smoothly. This guy I've actually chatted with before. He spent seven years living in Ireland, has excellent english, and is a generally neat individual. He's in a band that plays  pretty regularly in the (only) bar in Domfront.
Well he and Dearbhla got along like a house-aflame. She's Irish herself, and so they chatted about "hurling," "celtic football," and made jokes about different regions of Ireland. I was a bit lost at sea, but came away with the distinct impression that I should go and visit Ireland sometime in the very near future. As they are both lovely people, and if they are any representation of the general population, it'll be a pretty great place.
Dearbhla has also taught me a bit of Irish. I would write some phrases out for you, but it isn't pronounced like it is spelled, so it wouldn't help at all. But it's a really pretty sounding language. I find that I have to sort of sing it to get the pronunciation right. So that's a new one on my "to learn" list of languages.
Pity that it's becoming a rather long list, with very few "practical" languages on it... ah well.

Another thing that is in La Flerté is a cinema! Gasp. Domfront has a theatre that shows two films every 15 days. But in La Flerté they have a cinema that shows films nearly every day. Sometimes more than one film a day! Gosh.
So I've been twice in the last two weeks. I saw La Taupe, which is Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, dubbed in French. I was quite proud of how well I followed it actually. That is not a simple movie, and I managed to get along in French! Whee! And then this week we saw The Hunger Games, also dubbed in French. I read the book, and was quite pleased to find I enjoyed the movie! They did a really decent job of adapting the book. You don't get as much of the emotional background, so if you saw the movie and haven't read the book, I suggest putting it on your list. (Provided of course you enjoyed the film. If you didn't like the film, I doubt you'll enjoy the book.) But really, I think it was great! Even dubbed, Stanley Tucci made me laugh!

And then last weekend...oh! Last weekend!
Geh.
So, basically, I have the best roommates ever.
JP and Véro surprised me last week with an early birthday gift: a ticket to see the ballet at the Opéra Garnier in Paris!

....

....

!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


^^ was pretty much my reaction to that.

This is the Opera House of Paris. You know the Phantom of the Opera? Yeah, it's that Opera. It's the Opera of Paris that was, for several hundred years, the premiere Opera house of Europe. It was where western Europe created ballet (yes I know, Russia is the home of ballet, but in the west this is where ballet started and became what it is today), it was home to one of the top corpse de ballet for nearly as long, and is still home to one of the best ballet companies and schools.
I'd never been inside, but, like most dutiful tourists, I'd seen the outside. Which is quite large, impressive, and covered in things like arches, gargoyles, and general architectural features. It's quite pretty.
My excitement was basically fully of bubbly goodness!

So, on Saturday JP and I drove to Paris. JP's sister lives in a suburb of Paris, and we were to spend the night with her. That way JP could see his sister while I was in the show.
I got all pretty, in the classic little black dress and heels, and we went on into Paris.
Somehow we got a bit turned around arriving to the Opera house, so I didn't end up going in the main entrance. This should have been a bit of a disappointment. In actual fact, it was the complete opposite!

Because now... now I get it.

I read the Phantom of the Opera in high school, I've seen the movie, and I've heard all the music. And I was just never on board with the whole thing. I couldn't picture the Phantom swooping in and out without being seen. I couldn't picture the decadence of the Opera house, I couldn't picture the twists and turns, and nooks and corners that they describe. I just sort of saw a regular theatre.

Nope.

Nope nope.

I totally get it now.
This Opera House is huge. And it is not what you might call straightforward.
I ended up going in a side entrance, though I didn't know it at the time.
I walk in down a sort of open foyer, and up to a guard. He points me further into what appears to be a very open sort of maze of corners, pillars, and marble. He says I have to go down, to the right and up the stairs. So I do.
Oh gosh. I had no clue where I was. But it was gorgeous! Marble pillars, stone columns lining a circular sort of room that I walked through, with mirrors between the columns, so you keep catching little glimpses of yourself sliding between them.
And quiet. Nothing but your echoing footsteps on marble floors.
It was passing through that circular room of mirrors that I believed in the Phantom. There was light and shadows, and the echos, and more than one entrance and exit to that room. You could haunt those lower floors so very easily.

Well, subdued, slightly nervous I'm going to get lost and miss the start of the show, and still terribly excited, I find the door that leads through another open room to some stairs.
I was still a bit confused, but walking up these stairs was what made me realize what was up. I wasn't walking to the entrances to the seats, I was walking to the main entrance to the opera, which would then lead me to the seats. The quiet of the lower levels then made much more sense.

So I'm walking up some shallow marble staircase that is curving slightly, and suddenly I'm in the main entranceway, right next to the main doors and the Grand Stairs.
*BAM* I'm back in time 200 years, feeling a sudden need for elbow-length gloves, a satin gown, and to be dripping in diamonds.
Holy goodness.
The marble stairs, pale cream.
The marble pillars, russet red.
The marble statues, curvy muses marking the entrance to the Orchestra seats.
The chandeliers, the lights, the balconies at each level of the theatre with people leaning over the (you guessed it) marble rails taking in the crowds below.
Dazzled might be a good word to describe how I felt.
Really glad I'd put on heels would be a more superficial take.

And then I got to my seat. And inside the theatre was just as decadent as outside.
Huge arched and painted ceiling murals. Gold painted balconies and box seats that were carved and deliciously ornate. Even the chairs were luxurious- in crushed red with gilt painted feet and arms.
Wow.

And what a seat! I was right down low, really close to the stage and about five rows behind the live pianist.

Wait. Rewind.

Yes, I said live pianist.

The first half of the show was classical ballet, all to live Chopin.

Heeheheeheeheee....

Time to talk some dance! If you are not a dancer, or do not wish to read my rambles about ballet and dance, feel free to skip on forward. I'll make it clear when I'm done being excited about dance. Right? On we go!

You all know, or most of you do, that I am a modern dancer. That is what I do, it's what I love, and it's what I have seen. I had never seen real ballet before. Not real, GOOD, ballet before. And boy it does make a difference.
Pointe shoes. I didn't hear them. And I was close enough that if the landing wasn't just on I would have. But I didn't. Nope. No noise. No clunking. No shuffling.
I mean, most of these ballerinas probably weigh about 75 pounds when soaking wet, but still. It takes great control and real power to land some of those jumps and not have your very solid pointe shoes make noise. I was quite impressed.
Male ballet dancers... hmmmm tights. But they definitely tend to get the better moves. Big powerful jumps, great extensions, and some of the more interesting footwork.

The first piece was very classical. All to Chopin music. And I admit, I was slightly apprehensive. I love Chopin, but he is very pastoral and cheery. I wasn't sure if I could handle an hour long piece composed only of his music. There is really only one tone...
But it was lovely! It was a bit slow in the middle, but they managed to pull out a flirty number that brought the energy back up from "look aren't we happy couples skipping about in pastel colors in a field dancing together and being happy with life in general hooray" to something a little more vivacious and interesting.
And, as I said, the dancers were superbe.

The second half was much more modern. Modern costuming, a lack of pointe shoes, and some very modern messages. It was a series of vignettes describing daily life activities. It started "in the bathroom" and moved through things like "television" and "pedestrian crossing" to a piece that had all the women angrily wielding vacuum cleaners like spears and swords.
What I loved in this piece was the really dynamic use of the stage. They took up the whole stage, and it was HUGE. But they kept coming way downstage... and I was really close to the edge. I got a really close up view of these dancers moving.
And getting that close to a high-calibure professional while they are in motion... it's more than a treat, it's a special glimpse into the motion of a body, and the mind of a dancer. I could see every expression... oh gosh! (And as this is a company that does full ballets, they have to be trained to give emotion when they dance! I love that! Getting to see the face of a committed dancer... committed to motion and emotion in every way.)
And I got more live music! There was a four man electronic-string quartet on the stage. I really enjoyed the music. Some of it was traditional strings, but there was an edge to it. At one point one of the not-violins sounded like bagpipes. I found it to be very exciting and interesting music. I will actually be looking up the composer.

I did enjoy the piece. But you could certainly still tell they were ballet dancers doing a more modern piece. Ballet dancers do ballet. I'm not passing judgment for or against this. But I can tell, even when they are the highest caliber dancer, that they are classically trained. There are just certain things a ballerina and a modern dancer do differently.
The dancing was (obviously) lovely. Powerful, well executed, clean and controlled. I think some of that "control" might be the dividing line between ballet and modern. Both, especially at such a high level of dance, must have control. But different styles of dance define control differently. I found it both beautiful and fascinating to watch.

Basically it was an amazing amazing night. I could, and still might, do a more detailed review and discussion of the pieces, but for now I'll leave it at:

The dancers were magnificent.
The pieces were lovely.
I love it when there are live musicians on the stage!



---okay those of you who wanted to skip the dancing chatter pick up again here---

So, that's been me for the last few weeks.
I will be getting up last vacation at some point. And I do want to tell you more about my classes.

I'm leaving in a bit over a day to chaperone a trip to the French Alps with 156 sixth graders. They are going to ski for a week, and I am one of 8 chaperones going along.
We get to leave at the ungodly hour of 3:30AM Sunday morning, and drive in a bus for 16 hours. Whee?
If the trip doesn't kill me, it will be totally awesome! One is as possible as the other I think.

And then it's the Easter Vacation. Two weeks off. Then my last week of teaching, and my contract is over. How the year went so fast... I just don't know.

But you all will be getting more updates in the weeks to come. I promise!

Anything you are dying to know? I love questions, feedback, whatever! Did you enjoy rambly post about my life? Is it better when I just stick to big events? Do you want to know little details? Is my writing too jumpy and I should really try to stream-line it more? Just let me know!

Until the next ramble!