le bois
29-09-06 sunday 11h17

this place is almost perfect. the whole area is so neat and everything so organised you wouldn't be able to get a bus off schedule. i made a tour of the community this morning when i went jogging. the quartier is really neatly structured. there are several parks with basketball court, football field, places to sit, play area for small children: the works. everything is thought of.

i found myself wondering if everything was all good here. i must say i was searching really hard for some negative but i found the following:

1. two physically / handicapped persons
2. only three churches (all catholic) over such a wide area
3. a man dressed quite well who was arguing with himself - aloud - and making some weird gestures
4. a seat in the parc on which was written a sentence that i've never forgotten since reading it there - "qu'est-ce que la loi peut faire contre la haine?" (what can the law do against hate?) it was signed by a name that seemed to be arab / french african.

these things just proved to me that everything isn't as perfect as it seems.

i didn't write anything last night because i felt the need to rest - not because i was tired - i wanted to get in touch with myself, to see how much or little one week in france had changed me. i discovered no real emotional / psychological change but i realise that i, who never walked pass people without at least saying good morning, have had to do it countless times in the last week. the people in herouville-st.clair are not unfriendly but they are not prepared to take the first step and they are so caught up in their own affairs, no time for the other.

i was pleasantly surprised when a little girl came up to me in the ever overcrowded supermarket where i shopped and said 'bonjour!' and then moved along as soon as i answered her and a smile spread across my face. i looked around for her family then spotted them when she ran off to catch up.

i got to talking with ben, the 14 year-old son of the family, yeasterday and figured out that france was swamped by bob marley and that ben loved bob's music and reggae in general. i played a cassette with buju banton that i had and he said, "c'est bien!" course the parents didn't quite think so, so they loaned me a tape deck to play my music in my room! lol

i had two accomplishments yesterday: i opened my bank account with the help of m. and mme. legrand and on thursday i'm to return to the bank for my checkbook and carte bleue. i also finally posted my letters after walking around trying to find a bureau de tabac in order to buy some stamps. a man standing near the automatic door at the shopping centre let me know that it was an automatic bureau de tabac that i should be looking out for, just like an atm machine. everything in this place is done by machines (well, almost!) - the machine weighed the letters, produced the number of stamps required (after you pay of course) and then you drop them in the mailing slot. ca y est!

p.s. last night i asked myself,"where was i last week saturday at this time?" answer: home in jamaica with my man!

more peace. more love.

sekhetq