Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat

I've been volunteering with an organization that helps people who are homeless in Cork. Often my work is inspiring, but unfortunately some days I see things that make me very sad and disheartened. Yesterday was one of the sad days.
In the evening, when I was feeling very tired and down about the events of the day, my mother just happened to tell me that she was listening to this song and it reminded her of me. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
Thank you, Ima.

Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat - by Georges Brassens
(French with English translation)

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'Auvergnat qui, sans façon,
You the man from the Auvergne who without any fuss,
M'a donné quatre bouts de bois
Gave me four pieces of wood
When it was cold in my life.
Quand dans ma vie il faisait froid.

Toi qui m'a donné du feu quand
You gave me a fire when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the very well meaning people
M'avaient fermés la porte au nez.
Had slammed the door in my face.

Ce n'était rien qu'un feu de bois
It was nothing more than a wood fire
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
And in my soul it burns still
À la manière d'un feu de joie...
Like a bonfire

Toi, l'Auvergnat quand tu mourras
You, the Auvergnan, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you away
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'hôtesse qui, sans façon,
You the landlady who, without any fuss
M'a donné quatre bouts de pain
Gave me four pieces of bread
Quand dans ma vie il faisait faim.
When in my life there was hunger


Toi qui m'ouvrit ta huche quand
You who opened up your bread box, when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the well-meaning people
S'amusaient à me voir jeuner.
Were enjoying seeing me starve.

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de pain
It was nothing but a piece of bread
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
À la manière d'un grand festin...
Like a great feast.

Toi, l'hôtesse quand tu mourras
You, the hostess, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you off
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'étranger qui, sans façon,
You, the stranger, who, without any fuss
D'un air malheureux m'a sourit
Looking unhappy gave me a smile
Lorsque les gendarmes m'ont pris
When the police picked me up.

Toi qui n'a pas applaudi quand
You didn’t applaud when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the well-meaning people
Riaient de me voir rammené.
Laughed at seeing me led away

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de miel
It was nothing but a spot of honey
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
And in my soul it burns still
À la manière d'un grand soleil...
Like a great sun

Toi, l'étranger quand tu mourras
You, the stranger, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you off
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

So Behind in My Blogging, I've Given Up Apologizing.

So much to tell.

Jon & I made the final lap in our wedding extravaganza. This one, organized by my mother and held in Tel Aviv on April 30th 2010, was a luncheon affair. Despite the fact that it rained a bit, a rather shocking weather event for Tel Aviv at the end of April, the party was wonderful and we all enjoyed ourselves. The photographer, Nicole de Castro, took some fantastic pictures:












After breaking the glass.










After the wedding grand finale, we took some time to hang out and enjoy Israel. We spent time with family, lay on the beach, went to Jerusalem, and checked out some fun stuff around Tel Aviv.


The cousins at a tapas bar in downtown Tel Aviv


Quiet Tel Aviv beach


View over Jerusalem's Old City


The new Design Museum in Holon




Ottoman ruins in Tel Afek




Orchid garden at Utopia Botanical Park




Carnivorous plant at Utopia



Now that you have had some measure of an update on my month abroad, at least via photos, I feel I can begin to tell you about life in the present. We are back in Cork, and Jon is working while I am doing volunteer work for the Cork Simon community. We are busy and the weather is a bit more summery, so generally things are good here. Still, I must admit that I am happy to know that after this summer it will be time to go home to Toronto. It's a sort of a countdown in my mind now. But until then, I hope to suck up every moment of our European adventure!

Driving on the Left

Map of Ireland:



Hello dear readers in all parts of the world,

My parents returned home yesterday. We had a nice time together and did a bit more Irish traveling over Easter weekend, since Jon had a couple of days off work.

I've been on 3 separate car trips in SW Ireland over the last month, so I thought I'd do an overview. This is a total injustice, of course, since each trip deserves its own massive poetic essay with adjoining photos. However, I know this is the only way I have any hope of catching up, so my apologies. Please believe me that these places are fantastically beautiful, and touched my heart in a way I did not expect.

As you can see on the map above, the southwest coast of Ireland consists of a group of pensinsulas, some tiny and some biggish (in orange). They are all quite windswept, craggy, oceanic, and rural. The largest and most famous one is The Ring of Kerry:



My first trip was around the Ring of Kerry with Jon & Jen (from Canada) & Christina (from Australia). We had perfect weather that weekend, and were completely blown away by the landscapes. Whether it was the sheep milling about, the waves crashing against the cliffs, or the colorful little villages, we were delighted.








Next, I joined Christina on a trip to discover the other, smaller and lesser-traveled, peninsulas. Starting in the south, they are called Mizen Head, Sheep's Head, Beara, Ring of Kerry (which we had already seen), and Dingle Peninsula. With the exception of Sheep's Head, we covered most of that area on our 5-day trip.









Trip #3 was this last weekend. It was a long weekend because of Easter and my parents were here, so we decided to rent a car and take off on some adventures! They were interested in the Ring of Kerry, so we doubled back a bit, but we also went to some new places around Killarney. The around there is a National Park, so it is very lush and pretty. It actually reminds me of Canada. Also, there are a bunch of historical sites - castles in particular - that we went to see. Very *very* impressive.











(No idea what's up with the size of these pics?! Any help or suggestions from blogger geniuses out there would be greatly appreciated.)

Jon's parents arrive in early May, so knows where life will take us next??

In the meantime, I hope all of you are doing well. I think of you often. Funny how the world can seem so small and so big at the same time.

Awaiting Ima & Aba's arrival!

Some random thoughts:

1. I listen to RTE radio a lot, and I noticed that at 6pm they always say "... and here are the angelus", followed by what sounds like church bells and then the news. I actually thought they were saying "...and here are the angels" at first.
I used google to educate myself:

The Irish national broadcaster RTE broadcasts the angelus bells at 12pm and 6pm every day on the national radio station RTE Radio 1 and at 6pm on the national television station RTE One. The television version of the Angelus at 6pm consists of a bell ringing for the duration of one minute and is accompanied by images of people pausing in contemplation.
Source

2. Sheep are one of my new favourite animals, especially when there are lambs involved.



3. Orange juice here comes with JUICY BITS or NO JUICY BITS. Doesn't that sound like some part of a dirty joke?



4. Jon & I were interviewed over lunch today by a newspaper journalist doing an article on the Jewish community in Cork. Crazy, no?

5. Tomorrow night Ima (my mom) & Aba (my dad) & Jon & I are going to a community seder. A seder is a Passover meal. I'm eager to meet the Jewish community of Cork and to celebrate Passover with them. The whole thing sounds very quirky.



6. Everything that mentions a mother here in Ireland says "Mum". Not Mom, Mother, etc - but Mum, spelled with a U.



7. The head of government for the Republic of Ireland is the Taoiseach. This position is the equivalent of a prime minister, and the word itself is an old Irish word that means Chieftan or Leader. Taoiseach is pronounced "Tee-shock". (source) .

IMA

Ima means Mom in Hebrew, and it's what I call mine.
In a couple of hours I am going to the Cork airport to pick her up. That's right, it's going to be an Ima weekend chez Jon & Linor! I'm looking forward to it.

Amazingly, it's rather sunny and beautiful today, so she'll get to see Cork in all its glory. The last week has been awfully rainy and windy, so this is a welcome change in weather at the perfect time.



PS. Pic #1 is us in Prague, and pic #2 is my mom with her sister in Indonesia.