Learning French in Provence—Part II

Provence!!!  What can I say?  There are few places in my travels that compare with Provence.  The weather is warm.  The afternoons may get a little hot, but the heat is nothing compared to that of East Texas in the summer.  If you decide to study at Crea Langues, the best time to come is early July, when the lavender is in full bloom.  The color of lavender in full bloom cannot be captured in any photo.  You have to see it in person.  The bees go crazy.  If you ride your bicycle next to a lavender field, you will run into dozens of bees.  However, you needn't worry about being stung.  The bees are more interested in the lavender than you.  But do keep your mouth shut.  The colors in Provence are absolutely amazing.  It's little wonder that Van Gogh, Matisse, Cézanne, and Picasso loved this place.

Studying French at Crea Langues is more than just learning a new language.  Your classmates will be interesting and have great stories to tell.  The food here is exceptional.  Christophe, our chef, is an absolute artist.  The Monastère de Ségriès, where we stay, has a very large green house, so the fruit and vegetables don't get any fresher.  For example, I usually do not eat tomatoes in the U.S., but the tomatoes here are delicious.

There are various afternoon activities, including a workshop on the painters who lived and worked in Provence, canoeing in the Gorge du Verdon, visiting a local micro farm and hiking with the goats, some hiking excursions, and making your own engraving (my work of art is below) at a local workshop.  I knew that there were wolves in the Alps, but I learned that there are three wolf packs in our area of Provence when I visited the micro-farm.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the other students are interesting.  They are mostly European, but there is one other American.  In the past, I have met students from Australia, but Australians are having a particularly difficult time traveling these days.

Learning French in Provence—Part I

The first thing that I learned about language acquisition is that one should not dabble.  My high school French did not prepare me to have any sort of conversation in France.  College German was worse.  I suffered through two years of German at the University of Illinois (I passed), but I can't even put a single sentence together in German.

This all changed when I decided to study Japanese.  Immersion is the only way for me to learn a language.  I spent several years studying Japanese during the year in both Portland and Cambridge, but studying Japanese during the summers in Japan is what made the difference.  At one point, my Japanese was good enough to give a few talks (a very nerve wracking experience).  I even wrote an academic paper in Japanese (which would be quite difficult for me to read now).  I haven't really used the language in about 15 years, but I'm sure if I returned to Japan that I could be up to speed in a month or so (with some hard work).

Since Japanese was somewhat of a success, I thought that there was no reason not to add another language.  Which one?  I thought about Chinese but that only lasted one class.  Then I thought about trying French again.  So I enrolled in a one-year course in the Harvard Extension School.  To get better, I knew that I had to do some sort of language immersion in France.  A friend of my sister recommended Crea Langues (https://www.crealangues.com).  Armed with my single year of French, I enrolled in a two-week course in Provence.

Crea Langues is not for absolute beginners—you need a minimum of one year of French.  It's total immersion.  If you tell a joke in English, the professors will find out and make you retell the joke in French.  Two weeks at Crea Langues is worth a semester or two of college French.

The day that you arrive, you will take a placement exam consisting of a written multiple choice exam (very hard) and an interview with one of the professors (actually sort of fun).  Everyone is then separated into groups of 2-5 students depending on their level.  After a very French breakfast each morning (bread, coffee, fruit, and yogurt), we have class from 8:45 until 12:45 (with breaks).  Classes consist of reading, listening, speaking, studying grammar and pronunciation, etc.

There are two options for the afternoon—intensive and a la carte.  Intensive means more lessons and a la carte means activities.  As my brain can only hold so much each day, I go a la carte.  You still speak French but activities are substituted for the lessons.

The professors are some of the best that I have seen.  They rotate among the different classes, and we see someone new each day.  And the professors meet daily to coordinate their teaching.  If there was more coordination among teachers at U.S. institutions, we would have a much stronger educational system.

In my next post, I will include more photos as well as some descriptions of our daily life and outings.

Tour de France 2021

Here are my thoughts on the 2021 Tour de France.

Winners

• Tadej Pogacar won his second Tour de France decisively.  At the end, he had a lead of over 5 minutes.  Do I think that Pogacar was doping?  No, most of his strong competitors were early crash victims.  However, I am a notoriously bad predictor of who is doping in the TDF.
• Mark Cavendish tied the record for the most TDF wins.  Both now have 34 wins.  He also has a second green jersey.  He is truly the TDF greatest sprinter ever.  More than that, Cavendish is an inspiration.  He was ready to quit racing last year, but signed a one-year contract with Deceunick-QuickStep.  Four stage wins.  What an inspiration to us all.
• Mattieu van der Pol held the yellow jersey for 6 days before quitting to concentrate on the Tokyo Olympics.
• Wout van Aert won on Mont Ventoux, the final time trial, and on the Champs Élysées.
• Deceunick-QuickStep.  Alaphilippe wore yellow and what else can I say about Cavendish.
• Ben O'Connnor (AG2R).  Fourth overall for the Australian.
• Jumbo-Visma showed that they were more than just Roglic.  Besides van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard was on the second step of the podium.
• Richard Carapaz deserves mention for making the podium.

 Losers 

• Ineous Grenadiers arrived at the TDF with one of the strongest teams.  Thomas, Porte, Geoghangen Hart all lost time early in the race due to crashes, etc.  Only Carapaz did well
• Last year's runner-up, Roglic, crashed out and left the race.
• Crashes!  Lots and lots of big crashes.  One fan caused a crash by holding up a huge cardboard sign in front of the peloton.  The crashes took out many of Pogacar's main competitors.
• Rigoberto Uran was a sure bet to finish in the top three until he lost almost 9 minutes on Stage 18.
• MovieStar usually does well but not this year.
• After a police raid at their hotel, Bahrain Victorious is under investigation for doping.

Getting Things Fixed in France

 Two things broke last week.  First, my hot water heater died after working fine for a couple of days.  Then I found out that my MacBook doesn't like 12-year-old single malt scotch.

I found out that I wasn't getting any hot water after a few days of the thing working perfectly.  Both Elma and Mark, my friends who live a few kilometers away, came over to take a look.  We decided that it was something only an electrician could fix—probably a burnt-out heating element.  Well, the hot water heater was installed in 2004 and had not been used in over 18 months.  It probably failed due to the strain of a new owner, switching over the power to my name, etc.

Mark said that he could install a new one for a little over 200 euros plus cost for a few parts and his time.  I got a smaller one as the old one was large enough for a family of ten to take hot showers simultaneously.

Problem 2.  Apparently, my MacBook does not like 12-year-old single malt scotch.  I'm not sure if it doesn't like scotch or it is holding out for older more expensive scotch—probably the later, since all Apple computers are snobs.  In any case, part of my drink splashed on the keyboard.  No, I didn't dump the whole glass into the computer.  As a result, a few keys were damaged.  However, it was impossible to do any work.  Eventually, it was so bad that I couldn't logon.  I spent time in chat with Apple support (via my iPad), and we decided that I needed to take the MacBook to an Apple Store.

I stopped at the Apple Store in Aix-en-Provence on my way to language school.  Armed with a vocabulary list, I was fully prepared to explain the situation in my poor French.  However, the technician spoke much better English than my French.  We decided that my computer needed to be sent to the warehouse, and I would have it back in 10 days.  However, the repairs only took 5 days, and I picked up my computer on Saturday.  They replaced the keyboard.  Normally, this would cost $400, but I was smart enough to by Apple Care, and there was no charge.

So yes, things can be fixed in France.  You have to be patient, and knowing some French helps.

Rules for Buying a House in France

 I signed the final papers on Wednesday and am now a home owner in France.  I will spend my first night in the house today.  I learned a great deal about buying a house in France over the past six months.

Here are some rules to live by.

1. Open a French bank account.  This is the first step.  You do not have to be a resident of France.  I opened my account at CIC two years ago.  You will need tax returns, etc.  And it helps to speak some French.  I have a person that I correspond with at CIC, and she makes things easy.
2. Have a friend in France who knows how things work.  The whole process of buying a house in France takes 5 or 6 months.  If you have someone in France that you trust, you can give them power of attorney to sign papers, etc.  They should speak French.  And unless this person is a very close relative, you should pay them for their time.
3. Learn to speak French.  Even if your French is not up to dealing with the notaire, speaking French definitely helps.  The notaire is the person who handles all of the legal paperwork.  I was able to read all the documents and correspond by email with the notaire.  I was able to arrange for insurance for the house myself.  Arranging for water, electricity, and internet was a bit more challenging, but I had help.  And I doubt that I could have met with the notaire by myself for the final signing.
4. Get a mobile phone with a French telephone number.  You will need the French number so that people can call you back or text you in France.  The guy who empties your septic tank is not going to call or text you at your U.S. number.
5. Have a bank in the U.S. that knows how money transfers work.  And if you pay for your house in full, your French bank and your U.S. bank will want to know where the money came from.
6. Make friends with your neighbors.  My house sits on almost two acres.  One of my neighbors cuts the grass in the field for the hay twice each year.

Here a few more photos.

Traveling to France from the U.S. during the Pandemic

I flew from the U.S. to France on June 27 with no issues. France has been pretty much off limits to all Americans since March 2020 due to the pandemic, but Americans can finally travel across the Atlantic once more. France introduced the traffic light travel classification (green, red, and orange), which determines the rules for entry into the country for vaccinated and non-vaccinated travelers, on June 9th. See below.

Life in France during the Pandemic. You can go to the store, and there are no limitations on travel inside France, but everyone wears a mask here. Outdoor markets are open. Restaurants are open, but I am not sure that I would make a habit of dining inside. I am also sure that the gendarmes will get you if you flaunt the mask rule. Offices are pretty careful about who they let in and have strict protocols. I am not sure about public transportation, but I am staying off of trains and the metro. Here is how the traffic light classification works. 

The Green List. Green means go. All travelers can come for any reason, including tourism and family visits. The countries on the green list are all EU and Schengen zone countries as well as countries where the virus is not circulating widely – Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Lebanon, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Hong Kong, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Taiwan, Vanatau, the USA and Canada. If you are vaccinated, you do not need a test. I showed my vaccine card at passport control and had no issues. If you are not vaccinated, you need a negative PCR or antigen test taken at least 72 and 48 hours, respectively, prior to travel. Advice—man up and get the vaccine!

 The Red List. Red means stop. You are not going to get into France without a very good reason—like you are a medical professional who has expertise treating Covid patients. The red list consists of countries where the virus is still circulating widely and there is “a worrying presence of Covid variants”. These countries are: South Africa, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Turkey, Uruguay, Russia, Namibia and the Seychelles.

The Orange List.  This is basically everywhere else. Countries are ranked orange if the virus is circulating but in a controlled way and there is no widespread circulation of variants. You still need a really good reason to travel, but you might not have to quarantine if you are vaccinated. In other words, if you are not coming from a country on the green list, you are not going to be able to come to France. 

The countries on the red and green lists have changed twice, so check the latest list before you make your reservations. And check the travel requirements in your own country. Australia is on the green list, but the Australian government has basically closed their borders in both directions. No one is getting in or out.

France 2019—Lessons Learned

Every time I spend a summer in France, I learn new things (or re-learn old things).

• Do not ride tubeless tires on the road.  I invested in a pair of 28cm Continental GP5000 tubeless tires this spring. and put them on my road bike.  The idea was to get a nicer feel and fewer flat tires.  Then I had my first blowout while climbing the Col de Macuègne in the Drôme at the beginning of June.  It was a rear tire and I was going uphill, so there were no big consequences.  There was a 2–3 cm rip where the sidewall separated from the tire bead.  It was not rideable, so I called for a ride in.  I wasn't so lucky yesterday.  This time it was the front tire on a descent, and the blowout sent me to the pavement hard.  The next thing that I remember were the people standing over me telling me not to get up.  I got an ambulance ride to the emergency room in Lourdes where they examined me and took an EKG.  The finally released me and gave me the bill—50 euros or about $55.  I don't think that I was charged for the ambulance ride.  I think that this would have cost me $2000–3000 in the U.S.  Got to love the French medical system!  When I finally got the bike back, I looked at the tire and it was the same problem.  This is surprising because Continental generally. makes good tires.  Needless to say, I won't be riding tubeless tires on the road any time soon.

• Renting versus purchasing a house in France.  I seriously considered buying a house in France next summer (and still may do so) but decided to rent instead.  It's cheaper and you have more flexibility.

• What to bring and what to buy.  If you have favorite snacks or a drink mix for the bike, you might want to consider bringing these with you.  Chances are you will not be able to find the same thing here.  Bring chamois cream, sun screen, bike clothes for all weather,  extra tires and tubes.  Buy CO2 cartridges here, stuff to clean the bike, and an extra pair of bib shorts if you need them.

• Lose weight and ride lots if you plan to do the bigger climbs.  I only ridden about 3000 miles this year and 4000 miles last year.  Compare that to 9000 miles in 2012 and 8000 miles in 2013. I was lighter then too.

• I was stung by a wasp on the day of the Tour.  The bite was already starting to swell, so I decided to track down some ice.  Elma stopped me and told me to use a hot spoon to break down the toxins instead.  Heat a spoon under hot water and press directly on the sting.  Repeat.  It works!

• Horse flies can bite through kevlar.  And the bites hurt.  They were the worst I have ever seen in the Arège.  Try getting bug repellant with eucalyptus oil.

• Invest in a good VPN.  Express VPN works.  You can access Netflix and all of your accounts.  Also, everything is encrypted.

• Upgrade to premium economy.  You will have more leg room and a few other perks.  Generally, the people in premium economy are ob a better class.

• When you bonk in the heat, stop riding.  If you don't, you may end up with heat exhaustion or worse.  I had to dig really deep to finish last Thursday's ride.  I made it, but I should have hitchhiked.  It took me most of two days to recover.

• Open a French bank account.  I opened one at CIC Bank in Saint Girons, and I now have a French debit card (true chip-and-pin) and French checks.  You can use your U.S. address, but you will need a utility bill to prove you actually live where you say you live, a copy of your latest tax return, and a French address where they can send the PIN code for your card.  Claire, the woman at the bank who helped me, spoke some English and was wonderful.  I can now use Transferwise to transfer money into the account from the U.S.

• Two weeks of intensive French at the beginning of the trip is worthwhile.  I did a one-week course about 4 weeks into the trip.  It helped, but two weeks at the beginning will bring your French up to speed.

• AT&T is not your friend.  They double charged me for an international package, and I ended up paying an extra $300 on my July bill.