the scene reminded me much of one sunny day in Galway.
There were groups of people sitting enjoying the sun on the pier by the harbour. People everywhere, enjoying the sun.
Here on Belle Ile, several of the people held the one-Euro plastic glasses that you can buy beer in (so smart! No waste!), but I saw no drunk people. Note: everyone COULD have gone and bought full bottles of wine and cases of beer and drunk them on the pier, legally, but I saw no person or group of people doing so. People contented themselves with a little very good beer (from the local brasserie on the island, Le Morgat) instead of tons of cheap crap.
In Galway, on that sunny day, most of the groups seemed to have cases (as in often more than one case) of beer with them. By the afternoon, I was uncomfortable with the level of drunkenness and felt slightly unsafe.
Here on Belle Ile, a large group of people sat near us while we waited for the fireworks and they were happy, and rowdy. They sang... things like the Marseillaise, correctly, and in tune. They were full of bonhomie and joie de vivre, and chatting to many other people around them, and... not at all scarily drunk. A family came along and sat their small children down very close to them.
In Ireland, you could often speak to people, and they would usually speak back. You approach with more optimism than you would in Canada, where your chances of friendly response would be lower. But here in France, or at least on Belle Ile, people are really truly polite and kind to each other. I am trying to learn to remember the niceties, e.g. greeting people before asking for a coffee, saying bonjour on the street, saying good-bye and bonne journee at least twice, and so on. You can't hurry people up, because all the right words have to be said.
It's not made up. People just genuinely enjoy each other. The whole entire energy of it is completely different.
I'm reminded of one of our favourite British TV shows through the last long winter, "Escape to the Country." House buyers often commented that they did not want to be able to see or hear their neighbours. I grew up with that ethic, too, that other people were a "bother" to be avoided. However, here in France, as I noted and loved when I lived in Montreal, people seem to actually enjoy each other. Of course there are crankpots and jerks, but I would say that the overwhelming characteristic of interactions here on Belle Ile is KINDNESS. It's kind of a paradise that way for me.
Hitch-hiking here on Belle Ile is also even better than Ireland. Usually, the first, second, or third car will pick us up. I'm not saying that everything about France is better than everything in Ireland. I know for a fact that hitch-hiking is not this good everywhere in France. But Belle Ile is an amazing, old fashioned, wonderful little place.
A teacher from the Alps on her holiday sat beside me in the cafe this week and struck up a conversation. She noted that because mass tourism hasn't really poisoned the place, it's delightfully preserved. I agreed with her. People here wear a lot of striped shirts, not for the tourist industry but because they just do. They help each other and cooperate. They stop by each others' houses instead of phoning. They have a bylaw that you can only build the old-fashioned template house, so all the houses on the island (With very few exceptions, like one handful) look about the same. I can see how this could drive a person a bit nuts (though don't worry, some people have lovely big sunrooms and/or large patio doors on the standard ancient designs).
Belle Ile is also similar to Ireland in that Ireland has Gaelic on the signs, and in Bretagne, there is the Breton language on the signs. (I think I just used French and then English spelling there... never mind).
Oh, here's another difference I love. You can sit in a cafe for hours after your coffee is drunk and they honestly don't bug you at all. In Doneraile, if we sat in the café past about a half hour, the twitchy waitresses would start shooting me dark looks (the pub was okay, but not the café).
Oh, and the way French people wear their clothes! I love that too. I can't put my finger on why, but there just seems to be something more pleasing about it. Of course, the fabrics and the cut of the clothes are often better. People are more fit, though not perfectly shaped. But there's just some sort of comfort and intimacy in the way they dress. North Americans often seem to be self-conscious in their clothes -- the poison of the media and the colder way of being? French people seem to be conscious, but not in the embarrassed way that we often are.
I should do a little photo series of all the variations on striped shirts! I love the traditional striped shirts here. I finally decided to get myself one today and feel much more like I belong on the street. :)
I suppose I could sum it all up by saying that I feel more accepted here. More acceptable. But then, I also accept and respect the way people are here, more. The parenting is much more sensible -- if you know me, you know how I have railed at the idiocy of so many North American parenting strategies these days. Here, kids are WITH parents -- at the pub, at the concert, at the party, with friends, wherever. So they grow up more mature and happier and better-mannered. That's how I raised my kid and it makes more sense to me.
I suppose if there's one thing that still doesn't make sense, it's this: why are they still smoking so much? Sure does cut down on the pool of kissable men! :)
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