All week we had bread, cheese, milk and jam delivered for breakfasts. Mimi, Djeynee’s mom, along with some of the crew prepared food for all of us; mindful of the vegetarians, gluten-free, and salt-free diets various people are on. The food all week was yummy and more than a lot of work feeding all those people.

I wanted a warm breakfast. The nearest grocery store was at least a miles walk away. At the first little market they did not have mushrooms. Bonnie really likes scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese. The next nearest store was an additional mile walk away and they did have mushrooms. I asked the lady behind the counter; first with my “sorry my French sucks” phrase, then “Avez-vous l’oeil?” thinking I’m asking for eggs. Oeil is French for eyes. Oeuf is eggs. At first, she stared at me while I tried to gesture “eggs” in the best way I could. She figured out my mistake, showed me the eggs, and had a chuckle. I had no idea I’d said it wrong until Pascal, Djeynee’s husband, explained it to me later.

One evening we had a picnic at the beach with a drum circle and dancing. I’m used to evenings at the beach with a bonfire and beach chairs in the sand. In France the sun does not set until well after 10 pm, the sand ranges from rocks to small pebbles, and usual snackie bits are wine, bread, and cheese.

The day after my surf adventure, the outing was to be a 30 minute walk to Biarritz to a night market. Up one side street in Biarritz, a little French bulldog came over and let me pet her. She went back to the gutter, picked up a fat green onion, brought it back and dropped it at my feet. Then she sat on my feet and wagged her tiny little tail. I bent down to pet her and was rewarded with many licks on the head.

The walk was difficult for me. My body had been so beat up by the surf the day before, sleep had been sporadic with loudness waking us up in the mornings, plus Bonnie was exhausted by classes. By the time we both got to the destination, we wanted to go back to the hotel to sleep. We made our way back to the bus and got a ride back.

The show at the end of the week was amazing. The stage was right off the main beach in Biarritz next to the fancy casino. The wind was blowing but everyone performed their hearts out. This show was outside, open to the public, and they flocked to see the show. Tjarda and Renata of Uzume from the Netherlands were fierce. They looked like Norse Goddesses walked right out of the ocean onto the stage. Amy and Tangerine did a wonderful piece together. Our drum class did a little bit. All the French groups, Kami, Fred, Ariella and Jenn were beautiful to watch. And of course, Unmata tore the stage up!

Raven co-hosted the show with a French fellow. She provided the English portion of the show. I talked them into letting me tell a wee tale. I told the story in French, as I had been practicing, about my trip to the market. Comedy in general is hard but in a foreign language is really difficult. They were all slightly amused by my attempts at French but they did enjoy the story of “Imagine. Instead of eggs, a breakfast of eyes.”