RETOUR des ALPAGES (Return from the High Pastures) - OCTOBER 2009

A Time of Thanksgiving and Reflection - HIGHLIGHTS
- Thanksgiving
- Retour des Alpages mid-Oct
- Fruit and Nut Gathering Walk Oct 21
- Chamechaude and Habert de Chamechaude Oct 25
- Girls’ Night out
- Martine’s party
- Callum’s cut finger
- Halloween
- Le Millesime – 10 days
- Pet Expo


Oct. 20, 2009

We’re still alive (at least now that the heating is working!)...

October is a wonderful time of year to live in the Alps. Mountain people disregard official national borders and treat each other like the neighbours they really are. The hills are alive with autumn colours, dramatically back dropped by white-iced mountains. Food and vin chaud (mulled wine) flow like fountains of youth and cholesterol. Thanksgiving is not a festival here, but there is a plethora of gratitude and much celebration of old skills and customs. The interdependency of animals, plants, land and humans is held like a precious rare egg.

RETOUR DES ALPAGES
On October 17th we went to Annecy for a celebration of alpine culture, traditions and the return of the herds from the high mountain pastures. It was a time to acknowledge and enjoy a bountiful harvest, fantastic foods, tasty drinks, amazing music, insightful art, colourful costumes, valued relationships with the land, animals and neighbours. It was a time of thanksgiving, the alpine culture transcends borders. While it is influenced by countries that wander the Alps (ie. Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, etc.), these mountain people recognize they have more in common with each other than not. They are neighbours.

NUT FESTIVAL - ALLEVARD
On October 21st we gathered walnuts, chestnuts, apples and pears near the village of Theys. In the process we made new friends (Amanda, Ellen, Jack, Sindhu, Tejus and Eleanor). And check out the sheep!

CHAMECHAUDE
On October 25 I hiked through and above the clouds with Mark and Sam (from the U.K), Janelle and Matt (from Australia). We peaked at 2082m. Location: Col de Porte to Chamechaude (2082 M), near Grenoble. Definite highlight for me!

CALLUM
Callum is doing well, but the language barrier is still stressful.
He gets two French classes (about 1.5 hours) per week at the end of school, and a tutor helps him once a week for about 45 minutes doing French language games on the computer. About two weeks ago he was really struggling and Colin and I had a hard time with it. What seemed to be extra difficult was lunch time at school (he ate at the canteen instead of at home because of my work) twice a week. It's not monitored closely and he would get bullied and then he'd stand up for himself and get into trouble. Things seemed to have settled down now though. The hard part is having Callum be so lonely. He plays with kids in the playground, but they don't understand him and he misses sharing imagination games and cooperative play. I know this will all get better. The school's assessment is that he understands a lot of French words already, but only "speaks" English. That's a typical progression of language acquisition.

Callum takes swimming classes once a week through school and is a strong swimmer. He's also taking more interest in creative and academic pursuits. He's developing a delightful wit, a keen mind for questioning and is very articulate when describing his feelings. Also, he's learning to think of consequences before taking action and is growing out of his stubborn phase (!). This is probably temporary but while it lasts I'm going to revel in it. He's calmer and more cooperative. Happier than when school started.

A not so happy incident at school was when they were making soup and Callum was given a knife. He did the classic bagel cut across the inside crease of his left pointer finger ... right where it joins the hand. Colin happened to be sick that day and took Callum to emergency. He appears fine now, but it was a shocking incident and a pain to keep clean. Callum dealt with it remarkably well, and Colin didn't even pass out!

He asked Colin to read him stories the other night. Colin said, "I'm so tired I would fall asleep." Callum replied, "That's the point." He wanted Colin to be sleeping with him. Smart cookie.

When Colin and Callum were play fighting Colin pinned Callum's arms. Callum, as feisty as ever, said, "Remember, I can still chew."

ANIMAL EXPO
We went to the Animal Expo this weekend. Loads of dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and other odds and sodds pets like ferrets and chinchillas. There were a gazillion puppies and Callum was beside himself with delight. He's so gentle with creatures. He asked how long he would have to save his allowance to buy a puppy. Colin told him 400 weeks, until he was 16. He wasn't very happy about that.

MY JOB
I've had mixed feelings about teaching English. I'm grateful to have my job and have some fun students, but the first meeting with my students is always really stressful. There are times when I receive very little information beforehand. The other teachers are old hats at this and can more easily walk into unknown situations. Currently I'm teaching a few students one on one, but in November I start teaching 2 classes, maybe 4, with groups of people. Yikes. Two of the classes are in the high security synchrotron facility. I'm having to study a lot (ie. English grammar) so that I can be giving my students what they need. It'll get easier as I do it more I'm sure. Currently, I'm working, studying English, studying French (I have classes in French 2 nights a week), training and running a household. No time for writing at the moment. We're all tired as we adjust to the new schedule, but we're glad of the extra income. Colin was a superstar this weekend and let me lie in on Saturday morning. I'm usually up at 6:45 am or 7 and I got an extra 2 hours kip.

PHYSICAL GOALS
I was training for either a triathlon in Annecy or the March in the Netherlands (20, 30, 40 or 50 km a day for 4 days. I want to do 200 km in 4 days). Wow. Then my foot started acting up again (the cyst on the nerve between two toes). I'm currently getting that checked out to see if it's the same condition or a fresh curse. X-rays, ultrasound and potentially an MRI.

COLIN
Colin is doing better. He's biking back and forth to work and it's already changing his body. His calves look fantastic! they are as defined as David Suzuki's. It brings him peace of mind too, riding into the sunrise and being next to the river instead of in a crowded bus. His new boss Melanie gets a lot done and he has fewer headaches around red tape when he needs things. He's also enjoying the job more since he's got relationships now with people all over Europe. He says it's interesting, challenging, and the frustration is less than before. Also, because I have French class, Colin is at home by 5:30 twice a week, rather than home by 7:30 or 8pm. It has made him a more balanced person and Callum is happier (he adores his dad).

HALLOWEEN
For Halloween Callum has a party at school, a party with Open House (the international group we're part of) and we're going to an adult Halloween party on the weekend as well. I don't know if they do trick or treat house to house like in North America. Callum is dressing up as either Batman or Darth Vader. He can't decide which. He has the black cape and two masks. Both are very cute.

Another great party that we attended was Adam and Martine's dip party. Great people, fantastic dips, conversation into the wee hours. We've met some really neat folks here.

CUTE! AND HAPPY
We're very excited about Ang and George's new daughter Murron. Since Colin is not going to be getting the break between Christmas and New Year we will have to wait until spring or summer to meet her.

LE MILLESIME
Christmas There is a wonderful festival here, in Place Victor Hugo close to our place, which celebrates wine, food and music. For 6 Euros you get a wine glass and entry, and then people wander around for hours going to lectures on wine and tasting the nectar that is created here in our own backyard. There are definitely some perks to living in France!

Christmas should be fun. The Noel festivals and illuminations look amazing. There are also a number of our friends who are staying here for the holidays. We're going to adopt them all for Christmas dinner.

Hope all is well with you.

With joy, Ramona