if we build it, they will come

my first week here i spent most of my time working on a future hedge: building fences, backfilling the trench that the fence sits in, adding compost, planting saplings and transplanting other hedge bushes. i also did plenty of dishes, as i couldn't stand watching karina both cook and clean up.

my evenings i've spent mostly writing and reading- outside in the garden if its nice, or holed up under a skylight in steve's antique shop. they have a huge book collection, and used to run a book exchange until too many unfair trades made them quit. they have great taste in literature (lots of my favorites in there anyway) and some of my happiest moments have been getting to know those shelves and reading as much of it as possible before i leave.

i've also tagged along on some outings- to the bar with steve, and to the kids' school for a buffet and dance performance. it seems odd that there is an international community here- from all over europe but especially britain, and even a woman from vancouver canada.

using french has been lovely (the first time in the last four months of travels that i had a hope of understanding locals in their own terms). this is the first immersion i've had in french since sénégal (fall 05), and it's rusty of course. my vocabulary is pitiful, but my comfort and ability to improvise came right back. i used french a lot in the first two weeks before i came to chateau lassalle, but here i am in a bubble of english (actually, british, which sometimes i can't understand at all). so, time out in the community is nice, even if it's just to flex the ol' linguistic muscles.

this second week i enjoyed the work much more. replacing huge oak rafters in the barn, chiseling away at ancient masonry, busting down walls with a sledge, painting shutters, and cutting up old moldy floorboards for firewood.

this is all part of the master plan. i will explain as best as i can.

there is one barn right next to the house, which currently holds the brocante (antique shop), library, storage spaces, and a big room that serves as an art gallery, studio and gathering space for social gatherings. steve and karina host cultural events here, art shows and entertainment and the like- in fact last saturday night they had an event, displaying posters from the summer 1968 near-revolution that rocked france (as well as many other parts of the world). these propaganda posters are beauties, giving me the itch to get back to printing t-shirts.





also, they are experimenting with a sunday restaurant, and even as i write this there are a couple dozen people out in the garden being served lunch.

but with this second barn on other side of their house that they have recently acquired, they want to reorganize their project. they want a physical separation between their private family space and their public project, so they are going to move all the public things to the second barn. it is also big enough to house a real restaurant and kitchen, and a half-dozen art studios and apartments. eventually lassalle could become a full-blown cultural center and the heart of an artsy little community.

now this is rural france, and there isn't really the right type or size of communty here to fully support a project like this. yet. things are building momentum slowly, more people are getting involved over time, locals are being slowly drawn in, and physical construction is coming right along.

as steve put it, quoting the classic film directly: "if we build it, they will come". it's actually quite inspirational, and i wish i could be a bigger part of it. perhaps i'll come back some day.

so now my two weeks here are coming to an end. tomorrow i'm headed off to barcelona for the final chapter.