Back from another exciting weekend adventure, this time from the Camargue in France. (As previously mentioned, French cowboy land!) France, especially Provence, is so diverse, it's amazing how different of a city you can find within an hour drive!
We arrived to Saintes Maries de la mer which is a cute little beach town in the Camargue. It being the off season, the town was very much deserted but we managed to find a few shops and restaurants open to explore while we waited for our activities to begin. The town is tiny and we ate lunch ate a great family own creperie where the husband and wife owners were delivering plates of warm crepes to the neighboring shop keepers. They don't seem to get many American tourists this time of year and were delighted when they discovered we could carry on a conversation in French. I ate a delicious crepe filled with asparagus, creme fresh and ham...yum.
After lunch it was off to an afternoon of horseback riding! We rode beautiful Camarguaise white horses who took us through the marshland and along the beach. Although it was cloudy and pretty chilly, it was great scenery with not one evidence of civilization in sight. The wildlife there is also vastly diverse and we were able to see dozens and dozens of pink flamingos! They're so beautiful, especially mid-flight as the underside of their wings are striped deep pink and black. It was all very surreal...
The next day the surreality continued when we visited a local bull farm. The family who runs the farm has know Vivienne our program director for years so we felt very warmly welcomed. We took a hay ride out to see the bulls and were given demonstrations on how they herd the bulls on horseback by their 8 year old daughter. Bulls are what Camargue is most known for and they treat the bull raising as a very serious traditional process that has been maintained for many years. It's such a different way of life there it's amazing to think of being raised in such a culture.
After another fantastic lunch (including a course of the most amazing fresh goat cheese and olive oil I have ever had!) we were off to une course camarguaise which is their local version of bull fighting. It's a very serious sport there where the men are put into the pit with a bull who has ribbons strung around his horns. Their mission is to try to remove the ribbons with this pick that they have attached to their hands. It's a sport the requires an huge amount of athletic ability as the men are leaping in and out of the pit as the bull chases after them. They bound off of a platform that surrounds off the ring and it looks very much like they're flying. It was exhilarating to watch and definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
After the course had finished we were on the bus back to Aix...It was a great weekend filled with events that I would never have experienced if it wasn't for the organization of my program. It was such a great opportunity and I'm so glad I was able to take part in it all. The Fall schedule for CSUMB came out so I've been thinking about my future plans a lot lately and although coming abroad is going to be setting me back a bit for graduation, I have no doubt in my mind that it was entirely worth it. Not only has it gave me so much more culture, but a better perspective on life and a great reassurance that I'm on the right track with my future/education. While I've enjoyed the school here, I really miss science classes which is such a great affirmation that I'm headed in the right direction. I cannot wait for what the future holds for me and I feel like this experience has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities...
...and I still have two more months to go :)
Until next time...
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