Chapter 11: Facts and Fun

calculators1000 post #11

Yesterday was another good day. Went to the university and explored it with NO. Her real name is Cynthia. (Due to growing Canadian concern, I will no longer post about B or R unless it's all very nice.) So yes, we explored, and then went for a long walk downtown and she met Osson (who spells it Hossoen) and Pascal. Then we went to the grocery store and bought ingredients for a delicious dindin. We had cheese and shrimp on baguette, with wine. Very nice. Super cheap. Thanks, France.

After dins, we went toThirsty Street and met up with the other two lecteurs, and a new one who is from Spain and is a lecteur in the Spanish department. She was really nice, and doesn't speak English, so we all spoke French. I hope she continues to hang with us, because it's better for the French. All of the pubs there are really cool - old and interesting. This one was called 1929, and had all stone interior and dates back hundreds of years. It was cool.

Today I have a busy day. I'm going to the train station to pick up another lecteur from the States who will move into the slum motel for the month as well. Then I meet a Frenchman named Pierre-Antoine for a coffee date at 2pm. Dinner will be with Cynthia and her soon-to-be-married rooommate to discuss the apartment and the possibility of me moving in. Tonight, all the lecteurs will finally be here, so we'll all get together. There's an Italian one, too, our only guy, and he'll come too.

And now, some fun facts:
1. A bouncer is called 'un videur' which kind of means an emptier! I thought that was a bit funny.
2. Saint-Malo, the town I want to visit, is the one Jacques Cartier set off from to discover our beautiful Canada.
3. Everytime I see an exit sign, I want to take spray paint and change it to "Sorbie." Yes, I think of her every time I leave a place. Sortie and Sorbie are so close..
4. The comic book Asterix and Obelix is set here in Brittany!
5. The legend of King Arthur is supposedly set in a forest right close to Rennes, and tourists like to visit it.
6. re: Brittany:
Brittany was the last province (or region, here) to join France, and it has a Quebec-like pride in its uniqueness. They also have their own language - Bretonne - which is still spoken in more rural areas, and certain words are used everyday here in Rennes. "Cheers" for example, isn't "sante" here, but a Bretonne word (that I've forgotten..) and there are others. Bretonne is not a dying language, but actually a growing one, as the youth are trying to revitalize it to preserve Brittany's history. It's a popular major at the university. Brittany only joined France 200 years ago. Before that, it was ruled by a duchess. In fear of having Brittany taken over by force by the French king, she married him to preserve the culture. She apparently hated him, but did it as a sacrifice for Brittany, and is therefore a heroine..
7. The two rivers that pass through Rennes are called Ille and Vilaine. Brittany is split into departments (sort of like counties) and the one Rennes is in is called L'Ille et Vilaine, named after the two rivers.
8. Rennes is the capital of Brittany, and is a very big city, by French standards. It's population is mainly made up of people from Brittany, as opposed to peeps from the rest of France. The 60,000 university students are mostly from the province, too. They go home on week-ends. Rennes is the smallest city in the world to have a subway.

No more facts for today.

Love to Canada.

Hincks.