June 21, 1996Rebyata, Yet another Friday -- I have two left. (Neat!) For a change, we'll do the week backwards. Today I went to Marseille for the 1st real time, bought two movies, one cassette, and one CD. All French. I saved a bundle because today is Music Party Day, and so there was a sale. Marseille sucks and reminded me of Russia; I got lost, no big deal; found the main street, did my shopping then it was noon, and I was tired. Of course you can't just sit down anywhere, so I kept walking in the general direction of a movie theatre I wasn't sure existed. However, it does exist, right on Castellane, a big square with an obelisk/WWI&II pillar and fountains. It's also where the bus to and from Aubagne stops. The Cesar was showing Trainspotting, so I saw it. Pretty...ugly. Not nice, but funny and horrible. A good film. Thursday I stayed home and was in the way. Mag has stopped going to school now and does nothing, like me. Her school wants her to do 9th grade over again because she's not smart enough and the profs don't like her. I thought that she would passs anyway but now I'm not sure. Michelle is stressed about her bank -- the grandmere has payed her loans but has forbid dn her to take out any more. Michelle is very stressed. Wednesday I saw Devil in a Blue Dress and it was hot, Thursday too. Tudesday I climbed a mountain. I started out after lunch with my camera and a little bottle of water, intending to take a route I thought would last an hour, ninety minutes. It started up, way up, in the hills past the last house at the base of the Garlaban. It wasn't so hot, only 75 maybe, 80. I got up to the start of the path after 45 minutes and stood underneath the big telephone pole and listened to it crackle. I had an irrational fear that the lines would break, fall and electrocute me, but I stood and listened a few minutes more. Then I started the real part.
But it did. I realized it when -- oh, I don't remember when. I was tired and had bug bites and the garigue was closing in. I knew this side was harder than the other side, and my water was half gone. I kept going anyway, taking a tiny break every minute or wvery two minutes. The path was steep and I am out shape. I saw birds circling and figured they were just waiting till I got to the top before they pecked my eyes out. After 2 hours I reached the ridge, where there are pine trees and a clearing and paths wide enough to drive on. The summit was just 10 minutes away -- the Garlaban is like this little box on top of the ridge, like a head on a pair of shoulders. I saw 2 people with hats coming down and they weren't speaking French. I went up to meet them and they were definitely American, 40's from Louisiana, only now they live in Nantes. They offered me an apple and some peanuts, and then said they'd give me a ride back to Aubagne, after I climbed to the top. So off I went, it was nice, I touched the cross (there's a cross on top, plus a 340 degree map), I came back down and we went. They were awfully nice, on vacation, not married _too_ long (less than 5 years? Definitely less than 10, or maybe I'm just clueless), etc. In the car, after we finally got down, we listened to Lyle Lovett. They're not big fans of the French systems, which we discussed. I got back 4 hours after I started and took a shower. Only Americans are crazy enough to climb that goddamn colline. Thursday morning I mailed 2 boxes of books by boat for 26 bucks. They better get there. Monday I was gonna do the hike but Mag and Michelle guilttripped me into going to Auchan. I looked for CD's but didn't find the ones I wanted, then watched while Mag threw a fit about platform shoes. All the shoestores are the same here; black platforms, or white ones, or sandals in gold or linen. Degeulasse. Gross. I was lucky to find my dorky sandals I think. Berkenstock imitations exist but no one wears them. This weekend I'm going to Evelyn's until Tuesday and I'm glad. We'll do stuff and have fun and not feel stupid. We were going to go hiking in the mountains with her family, and then we were going to stay in Tristan's (her brother) apartment in Marseille, but now we're just gonna hang out and go to the beach. Oh, ok, I'll tell you what I bought in Marseille. Metisse and Regarde les Hommes Tomber, two movies with Mathieu Kasovitz, a Francis Cabrel cassette, and Lily Margot's CD. I know I'm stupid for spending so much money, but at least I know enough not to buy American CD's here. Like duh. I really will be very extremely happy to leave Aubagne. Hopefully coming home won't suck and hopeuflly my pictures won't get fried by X-rays and hopefully the planes won't crash, and hopefully I'll be the same only different. Hopefully, my dog will remember me. Hopefully my parents won't make me eat Brussels sprouts -- hopefully I'll remember how to drive and all that sort of stuff. I wonder if Schnuck's has Camembert. I suppose CU has changed -- new grocery stores and stuff, I donno...I'm pretty bored right now. Waiting for the weekend. Craving chocolate. Thinking longingly of the Jarling's (good grief, Jarling's is open again) snowstorms Todd is supposedly leaving by the shackles in the laminating room at Monarch to hasten my return (yes, I got the email in my snail mail.) 2 weeks. That's nothing. By the time you read this, one week. The letter I write next week will arrive just before I do. The last will arrive after. I'll probably write one my first Friday home, just for kicks. Now it's too late to write me letters. You have procrastinated to perfection. :). Hugs and Kisses, Hannah Back to my front page |
It was rocky and there was the garigue -- all
those dry prickly scrubby shrubs that harbor loads of bugs like wasps, bees, ants spiders,
flies and dragonflies. It was ok. It kept going and going, but I wasn't worried it
couldn't just go all the way up to the Garlaban, could it?