More genealogy

After a quick search on the Internet, I found an interesting site that sheads more light on the "de Longueval" family (that of Anne Convent, the wife of Philippe Amiot who came to Quebec in 1635).

Last few days in Picardy

I will be leaving this beautiful place soon, on Monday, filled with memories even greater than last year. Not only was my fieldwork successful, but I also had the opportunity to meet welcoming people who allowed me to experience local activities. I really hope that my budget will be sufficient for me to enrich the data I already collected here in preparation of my dissertation, and to strenghten the personal ties I now have with some of my new Picard friends. I will be heading to Paris on Monday morning, and back to the US on Wednesday. More details to follow soon, hopefully.

Genealogy on Tuesday

I'm writing this short note from my phone (I may not have Internet access until I'm in Paris), but I wanted to let you guys know that I went to Laon to search for information about my Villeneuve/Amiot ancestry on Tuesday. Spent the day there and although I didn't discover a great family treasure, I had a fruitful day and found interesting leads to explore concerning the towns of Estrees, Berzy-le-Sec and Longueval in the Aisne department.

More information:
Berzy-le-Sec
Estrees
Longueval-Barbonval
Épieds

More details to come on the blog soon.

More fun times

Given that I can't tell you guys all about my work (confidentiality), here's an idea of how I spent my free time in the lest few days.

Last Friday, in a town called Valines, I attended a play written in the local Picard variety. I had lots of fun, and could understand almost everything... except some of the funny inside jokes and play on words.



Then, after rainy weather almost every day, we were lucky enough to enjoy a sunny day on Monday! So I spent the evening on the beach in Cayeux with two friends. We had a nice chat, ate dinner at their "cabine", and then watched the sunset.



What I like about this place is that people are convivial and genuine, and that nature always has something to offer to all five senses. Nice landscape, sounds of birds, cows and sheep, great food, and much more. I wish you guys could enjoy this with me...

Funny look at rural Picardy

Here is a video by Kamini that two teenage girls from Vimeu told me about. It's quite funny, and it will give you an idea of how some people perceive rural Picardy.

http://www.koreus.com/video/kamini-marly-gomont.html

Fieldwork (part 2)

My work is going well. I'm meeting lots of friendly people in the Vimeu area, and I'm collecting a good amount of data. I don't have much time to work on transcriptions at night, given that I often have full days. I'm a bit tired, but I'm having a great time. I will be at the the Universite de Picardie in in Amiens on Thursday and Friday, attending a conference, and then back to the Baie de Somme for more interviews.

Last night, I went to Eu (in Normandy, just South of Vimeu) with Edwige. Her middle school students were performing at the theatre located by the Château d'Eu. The show was good (although a bit short), but the evening allowed me to see the inside of the theatre, which is only open to the public for performances.



Thanks to those who sent me little notes on my cell phone at 0669484935@imode.fr; it's a much more convenient and cheap (free!) way to stay in touch. I hope you are all having a great summer too!

Wonderful Thursday

What a great day! I woke up early this morning to get to Onival for shrimp fishing with Philippe. We met on the shore, under the rain, and after putting on the "boot suit"; (very stylish!), we went in the water. We gathered about 200 grams of shrimp in almost two hours. Got back home cold and soaked, but I had a blast!















After cleaning up, I took the afternoon off and walked along the shore in St-Valery. The sun had decided to make an appearance, and I was determined to take advantage of it. I stopped by the bakery, picked up quiche and bread, walked along the shore for a bit, and ended my adventure in the lovely tea bar by my place (Le Samovar) for a late afternoon tea. I asked for something interesting; the owner treated me with his selection, black tea with hints of vanilla, berries, and white chocolate. I can't wait to go back!








What a beautiful day!

Fun times

I enjoyed the last few days I met a lovely couple from Buigny last Thursday, who invited me to a tea dance on Sunday, given that I had not taken any appointments because of Mother's Day. So on Sunday, I went dancing to Michel Pruvot's accordion music with a bunch of energetic retired people. It was fun to interact in a relaxed setting and to try a few dance steps!

On Monday, I went to Amiens to meet with professor Jean-Michel Eloy. Given that my afternoon appointment canceled that morning, I found myself with a free afternoon, and decided to drive away to where ever the road would lead me. On the way, I encountered this sign, that reminded me that maybe I should have lunch too! (Where's the road to "Baguette"?!?).

I eventually ended up on the road to Péronne, where a War Memorial is dedicated to WW I. I also visited the Australian Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, where fallen Canadian soldiers were also burried. Because few French-Canadians -- who were vehemently opposed to WW I -- participated in that war, French-Canadian names are rare in these memorials. Still, I took some time to reflect and wonder how so many lives can be lost in political conflicts...





I ended my visit to Amiens in St-Gratien with Laurent and his friend, Cécile. They showed me the totem unveiled sholtly after my visit to Picardy last summer, and once again, Laurent played along for my silly play on words in Contay. ("Contay" is pronounced like the French verb "conter", which means telling tales; Laurent is a story-teller. Okay, maybe it's not that funny after all... I guess you had to be there!)





Yesterday afternoon was "club picard" day at a local middle school in Feuquières. The kids' energy re,inded me of my good old days teaching in Montreal. I was quite impressed by the spontaneity with which they read a text in Picard and translated it into French. Thanks for the great welcome!

Write to me !!

Is anyone is reading this? (I can almost hear my own echo...oh...oh...)

I was finally able to get a cell phone that allows me to receive and send unlimited emails. You can write to me at 0669484935@imode.fr (1000 characters or fewer, no attachments).

I can't wait to hear from you guys!

Where do we come from?

It's always fascinating to discover one’s origins, and for me, this desire has translated into a passion for genealogy. After discovering that Philippe Amiot, my father’s paternal ancestors came with his family from around Soissons in the Aisne department (Picardy), I decided to contact the archives to see if more information could be found about them. Neither the Soissons municipal archives nor the church could provide anything before the French Revolution of 1789. I was referred to the “Cercle généalogique de l’Aisne” in Soissons, the “Société d’histoire et d’archéologie de Soissons” and the departmental archives in Laon for more help. I haven’t been able to reach the first two groups, but I am planning a road trip to Laon in late June, after the re-open from their annual vacation on June 18. I’ll keep you guys posted on what I found, or didn’t find…

Read more at http://mypage.iu.edu/~avillene/genealogy.htm

Fieldwork (Part 1)

I am pleased to announce that my first week in Baie de Somme was rather productive. After Brett took the train back to Paris last Wednesday, I stayed in Abbeville to try to figure out cell phone issues that would allow me to to access my email more regularly. The most affordable Internet-enabled phone was back ordered last week; I have yet to hear back from the store.

After catching up on sleep Thursday morning, I met my first informants, a friendly family from Rambures, located in the southwest portion of Vimeu. Because I got lost in the small village (No co-pilot… Any volunteers?), I discovered a beautiful castle which dates back to the 15th century. Hopefully I will have time to visit it during my stay. Work first though (sigh…). A fortuitous encounter with a Belgian artist from Mons that morning led to a nice conversation over coffee upon my return to St-Valery.

I spent Friday afternoon at Jean-Luc and Delphine’s place and finally met little Florian. He is the friendliest, cutest, most adorable baby who, I'm sure, will be babbling in Picard very soon! Then, I spent the evening over dinner with Anne’s family in St-Valery. I completed three more interviews over this long weekend of “Pentecôte”, along with a very pleasant dinner in Bouillancourt on Sunday and great conversation at Jean-Michel’s – whose humor certainly keeps my brain on its toes (uhm interesting image here !?!) – on Monday morning. I also visited our dear Picard elder on Monday, after learning of his hospitalization last week. Nothing too serious; I was relieved when I saw him…



That's it for now. Hopefully, you guys won't get to bored with my work. Unfortunately, for reasons of confidentiality, the most interesting details cannot be posted here but trust me, I'm having a great time and a fruitful visit. More to come when technology cooperates and is available…

P.S. This is a little wink found in the church of Bouillancourt. The architect placed this sculpture of himself pulling faces (perhaps for the priest!) at the top of the church, facing the alter. For years, church-goers assumed the piece stiking out was his beard… I thought this piece of humor would give you an idea of the local spirit.

Picardy with Brett

I arrived safely in France on Monday, May 21. The flight was rather uneventful; that's usually a good thing. My friend Brett met me at the airport and we drove up to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme after picking up my little grey Nissan Micra. After having a bite at the local Saint-Val, we met Anne, who gave me the key to where I'll be staying for the next five weeks. It's a the cozy two-level studio, located right downtown. From my bedroom, I see the Bay and from a distance, I can hear the sheep roaming in the Bay.










We stopped by Laurence and Antoine's to say hi, and after buying a few groceries at the InterMarché (where we met a lively local woman and her teenage son), we had a cozy evening at home.

It feels great to reconnect with French pâté, jambon sec (similar to prosciutto) and baguette. I've also missed my favorite lemon-flavored water for the last year (let's start a petition to bring "Volvic citron" to America)! We took a long walk along the Bay and in the streets of St-Valery after dinner. Needless to say, I fell asleep like a rock.

On Tuesday, Brett and I headed up to Cayeux-sur-Mer to see the beach, after having a quick coffee at La Civette in Sy-Valery. It felt good to breathe the ocean and see that the "cabines" are almost ready for the beginning of the summer season on June 1st. Then, we drove to Ault, so that he could see the magestic cliffs. It was low tides, so we were able to walk around and see a few (life-filled) shells. We spent the rest of the afternoon in Abbeville, where we had pizza, pasteries and a warm beverage downtown.

Brett's visit to Picardy was short, but I think it was a nice change of pace after his year in Paris. We had good seafood at the Drakkar (rue de la Ferté) in St-Valery before taking another nightly walk in the medieval part of town. On Wednesday morning, we were back in Abbeville. Brett took the train back to Paris to spend his last twn days in France.

P.S. I hope you made it home safely, Brett. How about posting a few of our pictures to show our readers how talented we are at taking autoportaits? :)

Phone number of Anne-Jose in France

Here is my cell phone number in France; until July 4: (0)6.69.48.49.35
From USA and Canada, dial 011.33.6.69.48.49.35 (don't forget 6 hour time difference from East Coast, 7 hours from Central!). Will write more soon.

Read you soon,

Anne-José

Two week notice

It's May 7. I am still in (fabulous) Bloomington, Indiana.

With only two weeks to go, I'm trying to get ready for my second visit to Picardie this summer. As many of you already know, I'll be heading to France on May 20 to conduct more sociolinguistic research until early July.

I will arrive in Paris on May 21, and (if he is still in?) I'll take my friend Brett up to Baie de Somme to show him this wonderful "coin de pays". Then, work, work, work... until early July, when I'll repeat last year's concluding note in Paris. Shopping, more good food, and fun.

I hope you guys enjoy following me on my European journey this summer. I look forward to reading you all too!

BTW, if you're in Northern France between May 21 and July 4, let me know; maybe we can meet up for coffee too!

Greetings from Paris

Hi Anne-José,

Paris does not seem all that down about the Sarkozy win, although there was a heavy police presence on the streets of the 7th last night and a few despaired wails in the air. Not sure how often I'll be able to check your blog because we' ve yet to figure out the Internet connection at our apartment. But I have a few places to go to check so at least once or twice a week I'll be able to check in.

When do you arrive in France?

Traci