Sunday 5-16
We arrive at 8:00 am. We are now nine hours earlier than Phoenix. As we were the first on the boat, we are last off (of course). It is early Sunday morning in Le Harve and it is like a ghost town. Almost no shops or restaurants open and very few people about. We make our way through the city and find the small roads that will take us to the next campground. We ride through a great deal if industrial districts, but also some beautiful countryside along the route. After 30 miles of mostly flat terrain, we arrive at the small village of Villequier and the campground.
A note here - “Thank you Mr. Rogers!”
When I was a sophomore in high school, I took French for one year. The teacher was Mr. Gil Rogers. He was one of the best teachers I ever had, for any subject. But for French, he was magnific! The first day of class we were told that if we had any questions, or anything we wanted to say in English, that would be the day to do it. After that day, we spoke ONLY French. Mon Dieu! How were we supposed to survive? How could we learn a completely different language? Ah... the way most people learn, by speaking and hearing it. Of course he helped by drawing objects on the board, having us do projects and write little skits. Next to drama, it was my favorite class.
Now, some forty plus years later, the words and sounds come back just enough to get by. Oh yes, I could survive by speaking only English. And sometimes, speaking French gets me in a little trouble, as people start talking back very rapidly and I can only pick out every third or fourth word. I know I have poor grammar, my syntax is not always correct, and sometimes I strain for the right word. But I feel a bit of relief that I can have some ease of communication. So Mr Rogers, “Merci beaucoups!”
The campground is run by a husband and wife who speak almost no English. They are very pleasant and accommodating. Now comes the fun part. The part about traveling that I love the most: the people.
They have an eating area and serve meals, mostly frozen food, but passable. As we finish our dinner, a small child of nine enters and walks right up to Cookie and gives him a big smile. We have paper place mats and she turns one over to reveal several games on the other side; find the word, find six things that are different, etc. She motions to Carl to play the games with her. She is delightfully cute. Who could resist!
I have brought some things with me for just such an occasion. I go to my tent and retrieve some magic tricks... and Grover. I return to the dining area and after they have finished all the games, I produce Grover and he introduces him self (in French). She is all giggles and smiles as her parents come out of the back to see what is happening. Her name is Orianne, and Grover has a fun conversation with her about how old she is, does she like school, etc. She scratches him under his chin and he shakes his body in delight. Again, she giggles. I do some magic with small red sponge balls, producing two from one, and making them appear and disappear. Her smile and the look in her eyes are my reward and payment in full for the show! Before turning in for the night, her father takes a picture of us all. Can you see grover smiling?
We arrive at 8:00 am. We are now nine hours earlier than Phoenix. As we were the first on the boat, we are last off (of course). It is early Sunday morning in Le Harve and it is like a ghost town. Almost no shops or restaurants open and very few people about. We make our way through the city and find the small roads that will take us to the next campground. We ride through a great deal if industrial districts, but also some beautiful countryside along the route. After 30 miles of mostly flat terrain, we arrive at the small village of Villequier and the campground.
A note here - “Thank you Mr. Rogers!”
When I was a sophomore in high school, I took French for one year. The teacher was Mr. Gil Rogers. He was one of the best teachers I ever had, for any subject. But for French, he was magnific! The first day of class we were told that if we had any questions, or anything we wanted to say in English, that would be the day to do it. After that day, we spoke ONLY French. Mon Dieu! How were we supposed to survive? How could we learn a completely different language? Ah... the way most people learn, by speaking and hearing it. Of course he helped by drawing objects on the board, having us do projects and write little skits. Next to drama, it was my favorite class.
Now, some forty plus years later, the words and sounds come back just enough to get by. Oh yes, I could survive by speaking only English. And sometimes, speaking French gets me in a little trouble, as people start talking back very rapidly and I can only pick out every third or fourth word. I know I have poor grammar, my syntax is not always correct, and sometimes I strain for the right word. But I feel a bit of relief that I can have some ease of communication. So Mr Rogers, “Merci beaucoups!”
The campground is run by a husband and wife who speak almost no English. They are very pleasant and accommodating. Now comes the fun part. The part about traveling that I love the most: the people.
They have an eating area and serve meals, mostly frozen food, but passable. As we finish our dinner, a small child of nine enters and walks right up to Cookie and gives him a big smile. We have paper place mats and she turns one over to reveal several games on the other side; find the word, find six things that are different, etc. She motions to Carl to play the games with her. She is delightfully cute. Who could resist!
I have brought some things with me for just such an occasion. I go to my tent and retrieve some magic tricks... and Grover. I return to the dining area and after they have finished all the games, I produce Grover and he introduces him self (in French). She is all giggles and smiles as her parents come out of the back to see what is happening. Her name is Orianne, and Grover has a fun conversation with her about how old she is, does she like school, etc. She scratches him under his chin and he shakes his body in delight. Again, she giggles. I do some magic with small red sponge balls, producing two from one, and making them appear and disappear. Her smile and the look in her eyes are my reward and payment in full for the show! Before turning in for the night, her father takes a picture of us all. Can you see grover smiling?
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