TOULON

This weekend was probably one of my most memorable weekends here in France. I ventured by train to the very south of france to the city mention in the title to visit my host family and her parents and cousins. The beginning of the trip, however, didn't begin so splendidly.
Because I was finishing a midterm before I planned to leave, I stayed up the night before until about 1am, when I knew I had to wake up around 5am so that I could have enough time to finish packing, shower, have breakfast and get to the train station in plenty of time to figure out where I needed to go. I woke up 4 hours later, at 5am, groggy but ready to go. I finished packing my things and got ready to go. I wanted to leave my house at 6:30 so that I could get to the station at 7am, because my train was at 7:54am. I have never been to the Gare de Lyon before and it is a huge steel structure of confusing train portals. Being the nervous wreck that I can sometimes be, I practically ran around for 40 minutes trying to figure out where I needed to go because I was convinced that I was in the wrong place and that I'd miss my train. I also asked various people in shoddy, nervous french where I needed to go by showing them my train ticket. I finally boarded the train at 7:54 and everything was alright. The trip was beautiful because I got to see the french countryside. Plus the farther we got out of Paris the more sun there was. You people in Ohio should feel lucky if you think Ohio is a desolate wasteland with no sign of life for miles except cornfields and soybeans. France isn't really much different. Outside of Paris there is just farms and tiny towns scattered across the country. It's beautiful.
I arrived in Toulon a little after 12pm and took a taxi to my host mom's parents' house. I had no idea just how beautiful it was going to be, or how close it actually was going to be to the Mediterranean. We were a two minute drive from the beach, and from my window you could see the sea and distant mountains. I WAS IN AWE. I met her sister and her kids, and was oddly really comfortable around them. I have to note that I am still feeling awkward around my host mom and I don't know why. I was completely comfortable with the rest of her family, but I still feel like I have to prove myself to her or that I have to put on a facade. I don't know if it's me or her anymore that's making me feel this way. I should get over it, but knowing me I'll let it bother me until I die.
It was around 65-70 degrees for the time that I was there and the sun shined the entire time. The sky was magnificently blue and provided a striking contrast to the brown rolling hills beyond the sea. The wind was gentle enough that I could wear a tee shirt and jeans outside so that I could soak up the sun, because I have been deprived of clean air and sun for a while. I actually think Toulon is heaven. The first time that I saw the sea up close was indescribable. to be on the bank of the sea knowing that Spain, Italy, Africa and a slew of other countries lay beyond where I stood made me tingle. I could've spent hours just looking at the sea. The water was clear, but a little cold. I couldn't help but to be caught up in the sounds of the sea.
We walked along the shore of the sea for a long time and I watched the kids run around and discover little things hidden in the sand or rocks. We stopped for a while and the kids found some vines with which they turned into fishing rods, so any time we stopped they had to try to catch some fish. It was amusing to watch. Then I skipped stones into the sea for a while, which I could've gladly done for a lot longer, but the kids wanted to go. At the house I didn't do a whole lot except steal long glances at the sea and watch the kids play around the outside of the house. They found a lizard in the sink and put it in a bowl to play with it, but they soon got bored of it, and i secretly let it back into the "wild" of their bushes. I think the entire weekend I kept saying to myself over and over, "I can't believe I am here, in France, looking at the Mediterranean." I was stupefied for almost the whole weekend. We ate dinner a little later, which was nice because there were 11 of of and they were all chatting about their days and being happy to be together. I enjoyed it a lot. I like to be an unnoticed observer when I can. I was really tired after that day, so I went to bed around 10 and woke up the next day around 7:30am.
The morning was pretty uneventful. I just ate breakfast, read, wrote a bit, and then got my things together. We were all going to take a boat ride to another part of the shore so that we could go to the beach, have lunch and walk around. The boat ride was great because it was only one of the few times that I've ridden in a boat. I think I astound my host family with how little I've traveled (in europe and the U.S., that is, before I came to live with them), and how few times I have seen the ocean or the sea. I also baffle them that I am 20 years old and I haven't mastered an instrument or learned more than one other foreign language. I do feel a bit judged or looked down upon at times, but I don't care.
the beach was wonderful! It was sunny and warm and I took lots of pictures of the sea and of the kids. I even managed to get a picture of myself in front of the sea. After lunch, we took a walk along a really rocky shore, right on the sea. It was a little difficult walking on the huge rocks in my sandals, but I managed. I can't even describe it to you, the picture of the rocks we climbed over and the waves crashing against the ones just below. It was like a mini adventure. Heck it was an adventure for me. I want to do it all over again. My train was leaving at 6pm, so we left a little while after so that I could get to the station. it was a short but really great time in Toulon and I wish that I could live there right now. I think I am convinced that I live with the most perfect family in France. I think they're a little too perfect, though, and I am waiting for some big dark secret to emerge from the depths that might create scandal within their family. Then I look at them again, and realize that maybe there is such a thing as near perfection. That's not to say that I don't think my real family isn't perfect or isn't great, because I think they are and I wouldn't want them any other way. Every day I am more and more curious about how much money my host family makes! It's ridiculous. Here's my tally so far: A huge flat in Paris a block away from the Eiffel Tower, another home on the outskirts of Paris which they go to every once in a while to "get away," a house on the Mediterranean with 3 floors and a pool, a nice car, and lengthy travel experiences. Their kids also go to a private school and take piano lessons. Mind you the kids don't go to the piano teacher's house or office, but the teacher comes to them because they have a grand piano in their living room. I have the pleasure of listening to the dad play the piano when he comes home from work, and the not so much pleasure of listening to the kids barrel through their lessons. It's a good combination.
Now I am back in Paris and am planning on vigorously visiting as many museums and "touristy" places as I can and as I can afford. Most of the museums are free for me since I am a student, so I am thoroughly happy about that because my budget is plummeting. Hmm, have I exhausting everything that I want to say? I think so. I hope that you enjoyed my post!