Nights Forty-Nine and Fifty

l'habitant

After class last night, I went and sat outside a café for a little while and watched the sky turn wintery.





As I was leaving, I found myself in the middle of a parade of little kids with paper lanterns. I followed them, of course, and it turned out to be a petite spectacle by the German section of the International School (last night was St. Martinstag, a traditional German holiday having something to do with St. Martin and horse – I’m not clear on the details).



I teach at the International School, so I kept running into people I knew and having my students run by me and shout out “Hello Miss Holly!” I hung out for a while and watched, mostly because I was really enjoying the sense, for the first time in Manosque, that I actually live here.

Here is an adorable video of the spectacle, wherein you will find a boy riding a broom around like a horse, and a little bit of the church square.



Then, as I was walking home, I ran into Juliana and Alice (the Brit) on their way to eat dinner, so I tagged along (we went back to the creperie. I had my usual: poulet frites and cold red wine.)



Today we had the day off (it’s Armistice Day), and I was invited for lunch at the home of Yves, one of the English profs who I work with, and his family.



We ate beautifully: sea bass with buerre blanc, tomato salad, cheese (including a camembert which Yves declared to be the essence of France, in cheese form), and fruit salad. After, Yves got out his guitar and we sang Neil Young songs. And I felt at home.