Atherton Family Notes

So we’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon here in France. Hip-hop, Rap, and R&B are popular here in France, just like in the US. However, in France, they play the uncensored versions of the songs, unlike the US. In fact, it is also unlike Germany, where they also play only the censored versions, probably because of the relatively large number of English speakers (or at least English understanders) present in the country.

The most hard-to-believe one is a song actually titled “F**k it” by an American artist named Eamon. This song has so many curse words in the chorus, that I would actually be surprised if thay have made a censored version that makes any sense. It’s a soft ballad (no kidding, it’s got an R&B beat like you would expect in a love song) about a guy who has just found out his girlfriend was cheating on him, and he is, shall we say, pretty upset. It makes your ears bum to listen to it. If you click on the link above, it will take you to the video on Youtube which includes a lyric sheet. I do not recommend that if you have tender sensibilities, though.

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say the French do this to embarass tourists. Realistically, though, it’s probably because those words don’t have the same kind of impact on French ears. C’est la vie, non?

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Last weekend, we went to the beach in St. Malo, which is located about 40 minutes away from our house in St. Gregoire (naming towns after saints is very popular here).

St. Malo is on the northern coast of Brittany, and it is a popular destination for the local populace when the wheather is nice. This weekend was the first really nice one of the spring , so it was a good day for the kids to take off their shoes and play on the beach. The temperature was in the low 70s, and St. Malo was bright and beautiful, even with the mounds of seaweed at low tide.

Here is a panorama I captured:

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Carissa was very excited to get her birthday picture taken. She has become quite the model and makes her own poses. The other 2 girls wanted to get their pictures taken as well so I kept going. I was shocked at how many really good ones we ended up with. In fact I have pulled 33 really good pictures total of all three, taken separately. Either that is going to be one very large collage or I will have to narrow it down even more. I think this one is my favorite. (At least today anyway)

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Although our kids have been playing in the yard on several occasions, I had yet to see another kid in the neighborhood. (OK, the 2 boys that came to our door for their lost ball in out yard do not count) This past Sunday was a beautiful day here. The sun was shining and the temperature was rather warm. It brought some neighborhood kids out.

By mid-afternoon our kids were outside running around yelling, screaming, and having fun. All of a sudden, Carissa came running into the house as excited as can be because there were kids outside. Ken and I went out to see for ourselves. Sure enough, there were about 5 kids standing at the fence watching all the happenings. Watching them, watching us, it hit me… we were like caged animals at the zoo. Mama and papa bear standing watch over our 3 young cubs who were frolicking in the grass, speaking a language of their own, while people on the other side of the fence enjoyed the show. There were looks of awe, whispers in French, and giggles of excitement from the crowd while our young cubs played like they were the only ones around.

Next time I am at the zoo, I will not be able to look at those animals the same again. For now I too, know how it feels to be on the inside of that fence.

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