Kickin' It on the South Side

We spent a lovely, family-filled weekend in Provence, attending N’s aunt’s wedding in Aix and otherwise kicking in Marseille with N’s sis and other relatives (N, his sister, and cousins are pictured). It was great meeting N’s extended family, spanning multiple generations including the newest bevy of babies. Everyone was super welcoming and excited to hear all about our first six months in Paris.

The weekend also put some things into perspective and opened my eyes to some aspects French culture beyond Paris. A hodge-podge of observations:

- This trip gave me a prime opportunity to flex my language skills. My French has progressed quite a bit, as many of N’s family members remarked (nice props!). Indeed, from their perspectives it’s true, as the last time they saw me (in ’02) I knew 10, maybe 20 words of French and couldn’t string a sentence together for the life of me. However, I discovered that my small talk skills are still spotty. I can hang in a one-on-one conversation (up to a certain point of course), but in a larger group it’s easy to get lost amid all the rapid chatter. By the time I’m able to interject a comment, the conversation has progressed beyond the point of its relevance. Oh well, still advancing every day.

- People in the south of France are waaaaaaaaaaay more laid-back and friendly than Parisians, although I knew this already. I bumped into people in the jam-packed pedestrian streets of Aix several times, and they actually smiled and said excuse me. Imagine that!

- French outdoor markets are next-level, another fact I already knew, but had time to appreciate in spades during this visit. The Marché d’Aix is especially wonderful, sprawling across multiple sections of the city and divided into sectors (the flower sector, the produce sector, the knick-knacks and antiques sector, the jewelry and crafts sector…). We bought a handful of delicious soaps, which are a regional specialty.

- Aix is a charmer of a city, while Marseille is a bit grittier. Granted, I didn’t get a chance to see too much of it what with the wedding and other family get-togethers, but there’s a lot of graffiti on all manner of building faces and some areas are in disrepair. However, the grittiness gives way to an ethnic, artsy edge in certain neighborhoods, a funkiness reminiscent of the Lower East Side and Alphabet City (minus the gentrification of the past decade or so). So I dug that, and look forward to returning so I can explore the city a bit more. Another difference between these two southern cities is that you'll find far more Anglo tourists in Aix than in Marseille. Walking through Aix, we heard snippets of English every now and again, while none was to be heard in the southern port city - a fact that made our discovery of the pictured sign all the more curious.

- The French – particularly the women – get wild on the dance floor! It was a hoot to watch a circle of women of all ages tearing it up at the wedding. Even the rabbi was getting D-O-W-N, lifting ladies into the air. Maybe he was jonesing for some height on the dance floor since the hora was limited to keeping everyone’s feet on the ground – the ceiling was too low for the customary chair-hoisting fun.

- Speaking of the rabbi, he was a riot. After an hour-long sermon during the ceremony full of lengthy anecdotes and jokes that seemed to make himself laugh as much as the audience, we knew he was a character. But then he approached me on the dance floor and after chatting me up for a while, he pulled N in starting performing little magic tricks (making his business card disappear and then pulling it out from behind N’s ear). It was all a warm-up to start pestering us about starting a family: (in thick French accent, with a hint of NY Jew) “you’ve been married four years and no kids? SO??!!” A perfect mix of Gob Bluth and my Jewish grandma.

- I’m not sure if this is a tradition, but I’ve been to two weddings in France at this point and both have featured a dessert cart minus the customary wedding cake but featuring multiple sparklers planted in the towers of sweets. Ooh, so pretty!

So yes, good times were had and I’m looking forward to the next visit when I can explore more of the region and get to know the family on an even deeper level (both in terms of quality time and in terms of improved communication).