Caen

Sorry folks! I've been really busy these last few weeks and have tons to say, yet have not had enough time to get it all down on paper or rather computer. I have a nice block of time in the near future and hope to catch up completely.

A "chapelle" within Abbaye aux Hommes

So, I'd like to tell you all about Caen: the city that I'm currently living in. During World War II, Caen was occupied by Nazi Germany as were many settlements in France along the western Atlantic border. During this time Caen was heavily bombed by Allied aircraft resulting in near total destruction of the city. Unfortunately, this means that very few historic buildings remain today. Despite this, there are a few architectural gems that survive today which I enjoy immensely whenever I pass one by. One perk of the forced citywide renovation is that the roads were able to be widened and organized more efficiently. This makes travel by car and exploring on foot much easier. Still, I find myself longing for the grid system of Edmonton. It makes finding things so much easier! They also name streets and avenues here instead of numbering them sequentially thus making it hard to find shops and easy to get lost! In the face of this navigational problem, I have devised a way to keep tabs on where I am and where I want to go! Church Towers are the key. As there are so many old and towering churches in Caen, and in practically all French cities, one is usually close by anywhere you want to go. Better still, as these churches are some of the oldest buildings in the city, often all the newer construction was planned around them. While many of these churches were restored beautifully after the war, others were left in their bombed state as a somber reminder of what was lost. An example of one of these bombed churches is Eglise St. Etienne which can be seen to the right. Now, I am able to recognize near all the churches by the steeple as well as remember generally what is around it. I no longer get lost.

A skyline of Caen

As I mentioned earlier, the roads in Caen were redone and remade wider, yet it is hard to imagine how the current roads could be any narrower. Lanes are barely wide enough for one car and it is not uncommon to see cars straddling two lanes in the absence of oncoming traffic. As a matter of fact, the side mirrors on all cars here fold inwards to allow drivers to squeeze though narrow roadways and slide into tiny parking spaces. The French also seem to capitalize on space as much as possible. It's not uncommon to see parking spaces painted halfway onto the sidewalk allowing cars to rest with two wheels on the road and two on the walkway. Speaking of cars, driving in France can be described with a single word: Scary. They drive like maniacs! Weaving in and out of traffic, horns blazing narrowly missing pedestrians... In the main commercial centre, it's not uncommon to see a car making it's was through a sea of people - quickly. Taking all this into consideration, there are amazingly few to traffic accidents. I have not yet even heard about one let alone seen the evidence of an accident.

While it was hard to concentrate the first few car trips to anything but the frightening driving, I eventually started to notice the brands of cars here. They have Toyota as well as many other recognizable names but one new one struck me in particular and made me laugh: Citroën. In French, the word citron means lemon. Back in Canada, (and I assume the United States) one describes a very poor car as a "lemon." Perhaps this name choice is why I've never seen this car in North America. Interestingly enough however, Citroën is apparently a very reputable car brand in France which is known for it's inventive innovations in vehicles. Still, I chuckle every time I see "lemon" written on the back of a car. One other thing to note is that cars in France are noticeably smaller than those in North America not only by chassis but also in wheel diameter. I think some American cars would have quite a bit of difficulty negotiating with some of the narrower streets and slimmer parking spaces.

The two neatest things I've yet seen in Caen is the public bicycle system and the automatic shop. The public bicycle system, Veol, was implemented in an effort to cut down pollution and traffic. Caen and a number of other French cities have public bike racks where you can cheaply rent a bike 24hours a day 7 days a week! I'm sure my father, Paul, would love to see these. They're maintained about once a week so they're always in good repair. I'm itching to get a Veol card so I can try them out. As for the automatic shop, it's essentially a giant vending machine on the street where you can buy pretty much anything you could at a generic convenience store. One just pops in some money and enters the code of the desired item. We need some of these in Edmonton!

The Petit Casino 24: Roadside Vending Machine

Moving on, the information I was told on the weather here in Normandy was not at all overstated. It rains; and it rains a lot. There are many gag tourist items showing the four seasons of Normandy as the same: Gray and Rainy. This however is not quite true. There are many days when the sun shines brightly and one feels warm. The form that rain can take here is also interesting. Some days, it's merely falling mist that is just a little bit too heavy to be blown away. Another neat thing is how fast Norman weather can change. In Edmonton, when it rains in the morning one can be fairly sure as to how the weather will be throughout the day: Wet. In Caen, it can rain a little bit, stop, and be sunny for a few hours before a bit more rain falls again and vice-versa. I suspect these speedy climate changes are due to our proximity to the ocean. With all this rain, comes humidity. However, as it's never particularly hot in Normandy, the humidity is rather nice and does not cause you to overheat. This moist air has been wonderful for my lungs and great for my violin. She's sounding better than ever and I've received more than one comment on the quality of sound. I'm very glad I decided to bring her.

The Annual French Weather Forecast

Back to architecture. The churches here are amazing. All are mostly in the Gothic style but some of the older ones had been changed from traditional Roman architecture as can be seen from the rounded arches inside amidst the Gothic pointed ones. If you look to the right, you can see Gothic arches that have been built within the old roman ones.

Caen also has it's own version of the Leaning tower of Pisa. One of the churches in the middle of the city has a doorway and bell tower that have existed at an alarming angle for many years without change. This tilt occurred shortly after it was built. it is said the King who commissioned the Eglise St. Jean to be built did so in order to attain permission from the Pope to divorce his wife. He was rather contemptuous about having to do this and built it on a riverbed. The soft and sodden ground resulted in the tipping of the entrance and the bell tower above it. The doorway of Eglise St. Jean is shown to the left. Below are a few pictures of some of my favorite churches in Caen. If you would like to see more pictures, including the interiors, they are posted under the album "Caen" in the photo section of my Facebook profile.

Abbaye aux Hommes

Abbaye aux Dames

Eglise St. Pierre

With the above photographs, I'd like to include a little history. The Abbaye aux Dames used to have spires but they were knocked down during the Hundred Years War. Not having the funds nor the manpower to rebuild the spires, they instead put up balustrades. The Abbaye aux Hommes used to house the school I that now attend and served as a makeshift hospital during World War II. In order to prevent the allies from bombing it, the French used bloody sheets to form a large red cross on the roof during air raids. Interestingly enough, the greatest danger to these old churches today are the pigeons! They peck at the limestone and make it look like sea sponge. An example of this can be seen above Amid these churches are a few surviving neat old shops. The picture to the left is a tiny place where one brings antique books for repair. I had a nice chat with the owner during one of my lunch hours. (In french!)

During my first week here, I got to visit the infamous Château Ducal built by William the Conqueror (formerly William the Bastard and today known as William I of England) around 1066. There is a rather funny story concerning dear William, his castle and the two magnificent cathedrals built at the same time around it. No, William was not a particularly devout man who wanted many grand buildings of worship near his castle. He was a man who was seeking to bribe the Pope. For you see, William married his cousin, Matilda of Flanders, which was highly frowned upon by the church. In order to attain the forgiveness of Pope Leo IX (and God I suppose), William promised to build 2 cathedrals around his castle. These two cathedrals stand today as the aforementioned Abbaye aux Hommes (The Men's Abbey) sponsored by William and Abbaye aux Dames (The Woman's Abbey) sponsored by Matilda. William's tome lies within Abbaye aux Hommes and Matilda's within Abbaye aux Dames.








I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of Caen.

Ciao for now.

The Land of the Setting Sun

I was going through all the photographs that I have taken with my new camera, (my wonderful family all pitched in and bought me a decent one for this trip) and found this picture. It was taken on the drive back from my Aunt Hilde's summer party.

That's one stunning picture. I think it's one of the best I've ever taken. It's currently my desktop background on my laptop. If Japan is known as the land of the rising sun, perhaps Canada should be called the land of the setting sun.

Aunt Kathy's savvy with cameras has benefited me greatly. Thanks again for the wonderful camera.

Home Sweet Home

Hello everyone,

I've gotten a little behind on my blogging recently due to my very busy schedule getting in the way. All the things to do such as schoolwork, settling in, and desperately trying to learn French take up a lot of my time and energy. However, I'm more settled in now and am getting into a more relaxed state as I slowly get into the rhythm of French life. The next few posts will be going back in time to when I first arrived. I had hastily pounded out outlines of all of them previously, as not to forget what had happened or what I wanted to write about, but now have the time to change them into something logical and legible.

During this exchange, I will be given lodgings by four different families spending an average of three months with each. I don't even know who my next host family is after I leave the Corbaux family at the end of January. I will be writing about each of these four families over the course of the year.

The Corbaux family lives in what we would consider a suburb just outside of Caen. This suberb however is actually a separate town/village (or commune in french) and goes by the name of Cuverville. Most people actually do not live in Caen but in these numerous outlying communes. The full name of this town that I live in is Marie de Cuverville. The word Marie I think just means town or village as all the other communes follow this pattern. (Marie de Giberville, Marie de Demouville etc.) Some of you have asked for my current mailing address. It reads as follows:

A. Macdonald
6Bis Rue de Demouville
14840, Cuverville, France

As I have mentioned before, four members make up the Corbaux family: Eric and Nathalie Corbaux with their two children, Scarlett, their daughter, and Hippolyte, their younger son. I have not actually met Scarlett as she is currently on an Rotary Youth Exchange to Edmonton, Alberta. Eric, Nathalie and Hippolyte have been very kind in welcoming me into their lives.

As we entered Cuverville after our long drive from the airport, I began to get very excited and tried to guess which house was theirs. I was hoping for something very old and classic to old French architecture. I saw numerous grand old houses which were elegantly nestled within thickets of trees.

During this guessing game, I noticed that all the houses were enclosed by a fence or hedges, and without exception, a large, double-door gate. These gates are usually opened and shut by a little motor and allow privacy and car access. Quite a few houses do not have garages. The gates seem to be the French equivalent of a garage door.

When we finally stopped I was disappointed to see that they lived in a newer home built around the 1960's. My dissatisfaction did not last long however when I saw that they are neighbours to a 500 year-old church, the Église de Cuverville. The photograph above shows the view from the street. They also have a beautiful garden and fish pond. A photo of the Corbaux Family's home can be seen to the left.

After lugging my two enormous suitcases from the car, I was introduced the the family dog, Ani. He is a French Bulldog named after Anaken Skywalker: a character from the Starwars series which the Corbaux's enjoy immensely. Ani enjoys stealing my socks, attempting to eat my shoes and sneaking into my room when the door has been carelessly left open. He is just like a little pig with the way he snorts and snuffles around. At night, he sleeps just outside my door and snores like a tractor often waking up around 1:00am to play "kill the chew-toy." Although aesthetically challenged, he is very friendly and rather mischievous.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. After meeting the dog the Corbaux's s led me the door of my room whereupon I hit my head on the hanging chandelier of the entryway. It seems I am the tallest person in France and I can say with conviction that France is not designed for someone of my height. I must be constantly vigilent of what is near my head in order to prevent injury.

After much snickering at my expense over my altercation with the light fixtures, the Corbaux family allowed me to unpack and explore my room. It is on the first floor and my window sports a wonderful view of the church bell tower which can be seen to the left. The church clock chimes on the half hour and hour and goes absolutely bananas at 7:00am, 12:00pm, and 7:00pm. The chimes act as my alarm clock in the morning. (A rather nice wake-up call I think!) I hope to see inside the church soon.

My bedroom boasts a personal shower and is just outside the door of the main floor bathroom. It also has a desk, a large wardrobe with full length mirror, a long radiator coil, and, of course, a bed. Buildings in France are seemingly all kept warm though radiant heat. As it is warm right now, the radiators are shut off but I look forward to seeing how well they work. People try to not turn on their central heating system until the last possible minute due to the high price of fossil fuels. We Canadians have no right to complain of high gas prices compared to the French, and I assume the rest of Europe, as they pay slightly more than double the Alberta price. To save money and heat the house, the Corbaux's burn wood in a small firebox. It is my job, everyday after school, to light the fire and keep it going. I'm getting quite good at it and only need a bit of kindling and newspaper to start it. At first I had to use little white cubes of fire-starter to get it going. Pictures of my room can be seen below.


The French (from what I've seen so far at least) have shoes for inside and outside the house. The Corbaux's were surprised to hear that in Canada I usually walked around the house barefoot if not in stocking feet. Shortly after my arrival, we went to a large department store where I purchased a pair of comfortable carpet slippers. I really like them. They keep your feet warm on those cool mornings. These slippers are also useful for quick trips outside the house such as when I am asked to get some fresh baguette from the bakery which is 2 minutes walk from the doorstep. The bakery or boulangerie smells heavenly which makes the job of fetching bread hardly a chore at all. So long for now. You'll hear from me soon.

The Flight to France: Une Grande Aventure

Hey there!

I am safe and sound in France on Monday, August 25th after a very long series of flights. Although tiring, the trip was interesting because of the sights to see in the European Airports. The Airport of Frankfurt was the most interesting. Immediately after we disembarked the plane, three buses could be seen waiting for passengers to take to the terminal. Frankfurt Airport is so large that this is necessary or one would be walking for an hour or more. Inside the airport other arrangements for long distance travel have been arranged. There are escalator-like moving floors which move people to the terminals within the airport and transport passengers between gates. A very long tunnel, with one of these moving floors along it, exists under the airport to move people between terminals. This tunnel can be seen to the left.


After a long walk to the correct gate (which changed 3 times, causing me anxiety) I bought a refreshing iced tea. I don't know if it was because I was thirsty or if it was actually a European version of Nestea but it tasted amazing. Not too sweet with a noticeable hint of lemon. At any rate, it is better than any commercial iced tea I have ever had in Canada. After enjoying my rejuvenating beverage I looked for a recycling bin. I found instead a very interesting garbage can. As you can see above, it has areas for all types of refuse. All the garbage cans I saw were like this. We should get these in Edmonton. It makes recycling easy. As I was walking away I saw a man on a bike in the airport. The sheer size of the airport makes this commonplace for workers. You can see him to the left as well as the shop where I bought the iced tea. They had very peculiar chairs which looked like little white cubes on legs. You can make them out in the background of the picture to the right.

Not long afterwards an amusing and novel invention met my eyes, The Smoking Cube. As smoking is banned in public areas (similar to Edmonton) and in the plane itself, those desperate for a cigarette need not search for an exit sign. They merely enter a "Smoke 'n Go" to light up inside the airport without bothering anyone. In one of these cubes, it was so full of people smoking, it was hard to see inside through the transparent walls. I thought they were quite amusing and a few desperate-looking people made a beeline for these upon sight.

I boarded my flight to Paris without much difficulty despite the 3 gate changes. After a long wait, my luggage arrived intact and I was warmly received by the Corbaux Family: Nathalie, Eric and Hippolyte. After loading my luggage into their car, we drove to Paris to give me a quick tour and have lunch at a café. Paris is amazing. It is definitely made for people as it has many diverse shops both large and small. The architecture is very historic and is it difficult to even find a building that is not at least 200 years old.

The Courbaux's daughter, Scarlette, is on a Rotary Student Exchange as well. She is traveling to Edmonton. Apparently she missed her flight in Toronto, to the great anxiety of her parents, but managed to catch another flight after a long wait. I am glad I did not have such difficulties.

Au revoir pour maintenant. I shall write again soon.

France Flash!

Well after my very long absence (let's call it a sabbatical) I have news! I've been sitting for literally months on this information as it has been at times uncertain and/or incomplete. As some of you may know, I have won a Rotary International Youth Exchange Scholarship to spend a whole year in France. During my stay I hope to go on a number of trips around Europe. At any rate, it has finally confirmed that I will be staying in the city of Caen in the region of Normandie!
Caen has a population of 200, 000 people with a density of 4,435people per Kilometer squared. It first came into the record books circa. 1060 when William built the Château du Caen in the middle of a small town. It became the most wealthy town in Normandie and for this was looted and pillaged by King Edward III of England in 1346. Again it was nearly leveled during World War II in 1944 from getting bombing by Axis Forces. This town is rich in history and I look forward to exploring it. Here are some pictures.

A Church in Caen. (Abbey des Hommes)

Château du Caen built by William the Conquerer circa. 1060

The Cathedral of Caen

The first family I will be staying with is the Corbaux family. I wonder what they'll be like. Anyway, this blog will be my communication to those interested in what I'm doing. It will be a journal of sorts. I promise to take lots of pictures and write everyday. Comments would be really appreciated so I know I'm not talking to myself. Talk to you folks soon.