A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
I have had the chance to write for France Today on and off since 2005, back when it was a paper journal. In 2013 they invited me to write a back page column in their glossy British edition and, not long after, the column was syndicated in their new American edition (my aunt and uncle in San Francisco can now pick up a copy at the newsstand!). It is a dream come true and I am eternally grateful to be working with France Media and their talented, France-loving team. (Below, you can read an essay from my column Le Dernier Mot.)
France Media Group publishes several magazines and I secretly yearn to write for another of them, as well (it's called Taste of France...). Meantime, I am excited to collaborate with France Today Travels (the magazine organizes tours!) in my next newsletter. For this, I'll need to temporarily switch formats--which is why today's letter looks a little different!
Alors, thank you for welcoming France Today Travels in the next post, when they will share with you their immersive week-long luxury tours (something I'd like to be a part of, too...maybe a writing or wine tour in France?--and aren't I a stinker for dropping hints here in case the editor is reading. Speaking of reading. I hope you enjoy this story from the September issue of France Today...
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Le Dernier Mot: War on Waste in La Ciotat
Here in La Ciotat a citizens' initiative to clean up our beaches is turning heads. Le Déchet Zéro & Co. meets Wednesdays beside our sparkling turquoise sea. Its shores, littered with les mégots, des paillettes, and touillettes, seem to breed garbage during tourist season when vacationers leave behind more than footprints in the sand.
Out jogging along the boardwalk, my husband encountered the group of eco-citoyens. He learned the next scheduled clean up fell on our 24th wedding anniversary...so instead of dinner out, we celebrated in a more meaningful way: by a symbolic "cleansing"!
Packing cloth gloves, reusable poubelles, and a post-clean-up apéro (what to bring? My fridge was empty and my canteen (no plastic allowed) was missing. Pas de souci! The goal is to fight trash by using what you have. Noticing my uncle's christening cup in the back of an armoire, I finally had an excuse to put it to use! I only hoped I didn't look chichi pompom sipping from a sterling silver goblet....
At La Plage Lumière we recognized the blue-shirted volunteers. Amélie, Magda, and Gaëlle greeted us before handing over a release form stating our awareness of the dangers of collecting waste. Eager to begin, Jean-Marc borrowed a pair of 3-foot long attrape-touts and headed to the plastics-cluttered seawall.
Following Amélie to the beach, I looked like Goody-Two-Shoes with my pristine garden gloves and white paper bag, but any awkwardness quickly fell away when Amélie underlined our objective: we weren't here to shame the litterbugs, rather, by our plucky example, to sensitize them to the problem.
Et quel problème! A waterfront of discarded lollipop holders, cigarette cartons, and forgotten socks! A woman called out as we combed the beach: "My 6-year-old wants to play with those cool garbage pincers!" Amélie seized the opportunity to chat about the satisfaction of volunteering....
"Let's head to the esplanade," Amélie suggested. We were clearing the streets of soiled napkins and bottle caps when an old man approached us. "Tomorrow, there'll be more!" he grumbled.
"Je le sais, mais je fais ma part," Amélie sympathized with the naysayer before sharing with him La Légende du Colibris (the hummingbird who worked to put out a forest fire, drop by drop.)
Moving on, a carpet of plastic spoons covered the ground beside an ice cream truck. Amélie struck up a conversation with the owner, who eventually warmed to the suggestion of ordering wooden spoons the next time. This last win over brought our hour-long mission to a tidy end.
As the sun set over the Mediterranean, we mingled, over drinks, with other volunteers (one of whom gave my silver cup a thumbs up. Ouf!). Beside us, on display on the ground, hundreds of pieces of plastic waste caught the attention of passers-by. Mission accomplie.
FRENCH VOCABULARY
le déchet zéro = zero waste
le mégot = cigarette
la paillette = straw
la touillette = stirrer
la poubelle = garbage recepticle
l'apéro = aperitif
pas de souci = no worries
chichi pompom = snobby
l'attrape-tout = garbage pincher
Je le sais, mais je fais ma part = I know, but I'm doing my share
ouf! = phew!
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