It's Spring in Brittany

The rain has stopped and the clouds have cleared. Not only are the trees flowering, they're leaving out. Yesterday it was hot! As I walked the 2 miles to and from Lanvallay yesterday I was sweating under my thin shirt and wished I had put on sunscreen before leaving.
The first burst of sunshine ignited spring fever in primary schools. Last Friday I had to expel 5 boys from my class of 2nd-graders before I could teach properly. And it wasn't just me; other teachers I spoke that weekend had had similar behavior problems in their classes. Thank goodness for weekends.

Saturday I went home with Béatrice, a colleague from the primary school La Ruche, to her home in Borseul. It was a fantastic weekend. Béatrice has 4 kids, 2 girls and 2 boys, and her youngest, Gwen, is a hilarious 7-year-old with incredible attitude. Gwen was a boon because, like all little kids, she likes to play so there was never a moment of awkward downtime like there often is when visiting other people's houses. After lunch Béatrice, her 2 girls and I went to the beach near St. Jacut de la Mer and walked along the coast to the ruins of the castle of St. Cast-le-Guildo, an impressive fortress with a great view of the estuary. At low tide, the muddy sands stretch out for miles. Boats in the port lie comically on their sides and the air is filled with the smell of drying mud.
We walked back along the beach and when we reached the spot we had started from we were joined by my neighbors, Vincent and Simon, who Béatrice instantly invited to dinner. After a rousing game of soccer on the sand (with Gwen as goal-keeper) we went back to the house and had savory buckwheat crêpes for dinner and sweet white-flour ones for dessert, accompanied by homemade cider. Very Breton.
At around 10pm Béatrice and I left Simon, Vincent and the kids at home watching "Kung-Fu Panda" and headed to Matignon for a Fest-Noz. My young friends from Dinan were already there, dancing away. It was a smaller crowd than usual because there was another dance in Pleurtuit the same night, but I appreciated having the room to move around. These dances can get pretty suffocating otherwise. There's something magical, though about a mass of people all doing the same steps to the same rhythm, arms linked and moving clock-wise in concentric circles. I've gone out with my neighbors before and found it difficult to stay awake and enjoy myself after about midnight, much to the annoyance of Vincent, who likes to go to the night club/bar and not come back until 6 or 7am the next morning. But at a Fest-Noz I can dance 'til 2am without a wink of boredom or fatigue... Which is exactly what we did.
The next day Béatrice took me to visit some more ruins before taking me back to Dinan. I turned in early, knowing that daylight savings meant I had to get up an hour earlier than usual for my first class. This week will be a busy one; tonight I'm giving a presentation on the US at the Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs, Wednesday I'll be rehearsing with Carole and Raphael in Plancoët, Thursday is another trip with Béatrice, and Friday I've agreed to perform some American fiddle tunes for my music class.
Soon it will be Easter vacation (April 7-22), then one more week of classes before my contract is up. Then it will be one more month in Dinan, a visit from the parents, followed by a flight home to Oregon on the first or second week of June.
Until then, I'll be sending best wishes and sunshine to you all!