Je reviens. A little over two years ago I found myself in a small little village in the south west corner mountains of France in between Montpellier and Beziers. I had just graduated from high school and never traveled alone, especially not out of the country. I took a chance and found a little farm happily titled, "La Ferme d'Art" (The Art Farm). I had absolutley no consception or expectations of my responsbilities or where in the world I would be living for the next two months. However, when I arrived I was welcomed and embraced into the lives of many of the people of the village, not just the people I came to know at The Art Farm. Over those months I came to know the history of the valley, the extreme beauty of the southern sunset, how to compost and feed chickens, but most importantly I grew to learn how to embrace life with every moment and every individual that is brought in front of you. When I left I told myself and everyone in the village that I would return and that I would see them again. Firstly because I am not very good as saying "good-bye", but also because I knew that there was a part of myself that I would be leaving in this valley.
Now after returning to the States and finally beginning my "academic life" at Middlebury, I am sitting back in this same valley. Taking the bus back up these familiar roads I remembered the beauty of the Hérault mountains and the sight of endless vineyards. There was an anxious nervousness inside me, like returning home from a year at Middlebury. I was anxious to see what changes were made and anxious to catch up on unfinished conversations.
The moment I knocked on the door to Lisa's "post office" apartment it was like stepping back in time and I was greeted with whole heart into home. Lisa is like no one I have ever met. She welcomes anyone into her life and makes them feel at home without judgment. Everyone in this village admires her and waits for the next time they can get together with her. If it had not been for meeting Lisa, my experiences in this valley would not have been the same. She makes the sun shine brighter in this small unchartered village. I am so happy that over the years we have kept in contact, whether it be by email or world adventures in New York City or Paris.
On my first night back I shared a beautiful dinner and drank plentiful amounts of the wonderful local wine with some old familiar faces, and of course some new ones as well. Today I spent the day with Lisa's friend Helen, also another wonderful and welcoming American ex-pat, and we prepared a full Mexican lunch (complete with homemade flour tortillas, salsa, guacamole, and carne asada). I then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the village and on the banks of the River Orb enjoying the beauty of this hidden valley and watching the sunset on the mountains with Helen on her porch drinking warm tea. While I enjoy the cosmopolitan life in Paris, I am admire and am drawn to the simplicity and stillness of the "countryside".
I look forward to the rest of my weekend with Lisa and my old friends in this valley.
This past week I finally made it to the "Maison Européenne de la Photographie". These were some of my favorite photos by the artist Elliott Erwitt that I feel describe both "la vie à Paris" and "la vie Provinciale" in France.
