"Rennes est une ville où il fait bon vivre. [C'est] aussi une ville qui si nourrit de la diversité de sa région, la Bretagne. Union de la terre et de la mer, l'Armor, la Bretagne de la mer, étire du Mont-Saint-Michel à Brest et de Brest à Nantes, une côte magnifique aux noms évocateurs...c'est aussi la Bretagne des peintres, là où la lumière est la plus belle...la Bretagne intérieure, l'Argoat, est...plus mistique, où l'on rencontre des forêts de légende...mégalithes, châteaux, manoirs, et villages anciens."
"Rennes is a city where the living is good. It is also a city that thrives on the diversity of its region, Brittany. Union of earth and sea, Armor, Brittany of the Sea, reaches from Mont-Saint-Michel to Brest and from Brest to Nantes with a magnificent, evocatively named coast...It is also Brittany of painters, here where the light is the most beautiful... Inland Brittany is... more mystical, where one encounters legendary forests, megaliths, castles, manors, and ancient villages."
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| best hot chocolate in the world!!! |
The explosion of life and love, relationship, joy, well-being, kindness, and comfort that hit me when I reached Rennes after a LONG semester in Mali was enough to keep me gasping for breath and floating on the clouds for my entire two-week stay there. Whether it be the beautiful welcome and soft pink comforter waiting for me at my church friends' house where I stayed or the smiling woman at the post office who spent ten minutes searching to give me pretty stamps instead of normal ones, I found myself surprised to the point of tears by this kindness that I understand. It also makes me believe that if I ever encounter a Malian stateside, I will greet him or her for about 15 minutes just so that he or she may experience a sign of kindness recognizable through the lens of Malian culture. I was content to stare at the pastries, appreciating them for their precious ingredients, their beauty, and the cleanliness of the shelves on which they sat. My French program directors offered a warm welcome, sympathy, encouragement, and even a good old American hug. I visited the most beautiful park in the city, appreciating the flowers and the lawns on which people are not allowed to walk. My little host sisters seemed all grown up when I went back for dinner with the family. It was Monday night so according to tradition, we had to have galettes!!! And of course, I spent quality time with the people of my church-- friends my age, the couple that took care of me. I was able to witness baptisms and meet some of the youth as well as to sing the beautiful French hymns I grew to love last semester- scripture paired with harmony.
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| an old friend down the street from the best spot in Paris...wonderful |
Two weeks in Rennes and a weekend with a wonderful old friend in Paris later, I was finally ready to go home. But my time in my favorite town of my favorite region of France left me certain of one thing: in this messy world, there is always a place waiting for you...maybe it is a place you have not yet visited. Maybe it is a place you have never seen for what it really is to you; maybe it is a place to which you must return. Aiken, South Carolina, here I come!!!
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