Ashley and France : January 24-25 2015

I enjoyed a relaxing weekend with my host family in Préfailles along the coast of the Loire Atlantique. It's not far from Nantes and it felt kind of like being back at the Oregon coast. I've been dealing with being sick, adjusting to new classes, new groups of students, so I won't be updating my blog as regularly as last semester. This semester with two French literature and history classes, I will be more busy academically. Fortunately my host family loves going to Préfailles often. This has been the second time I've been by the ocean in France, the first being at Saint Malo. Being by the ocean is so calming and I appreciate especially the relationship I have with my host mom. She spent a year studying abroad in the U.S. around the same age as me, so she understands very well what the process is like. When I explained to her how I don't think much of my country, or feel as connected to it while abroad for so long, she understood. "When I'm in Préfailles, I don't think of Nantes and when I'm in Nantes, I don't think of Préfailles."

During the weekend, we saw a very moving and heavy new international film, Timbuktu set in a village in Malia where terrorists dictate repressive rules, no music, no dancing, especially towards women. The story follows a family who lives isolated from the village and when the father finds himself in unfortunate circumstances, he has to fight for his life for the protection of his wife and daughter. Here's the link about more information on Timbuktu: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dwight-brown/timbuktu_b_6506404.html
I enjoyed hearing the mixture of languages in the film's dialogue and music: Arabic, French, English, and Tuareg, the local language of Malia. It's definitely a film with beautiful sweeping landscapes and heartbreak that stays with you.