This is my first real journal experience that I post word for word. The first and last time I will do it. but what the heck maybe some of you have similar experiences.

So now I know why French people don’t eat frys. Given that the eat all their food outdoors and frys are very greasy, and there fore reflect all light shone upon them with great intensity, I discovered this morning that the net effect of eating a fry on the terrace at 1130 am in the morning is severe but temporary blindness. Once in a while this may do no harm but perhaps every day would result in a nation of white sticked Labrador lovers inside of the poodle pinching prats that seem to inhabit a lot of this area.

Today we got temporary social security which means I can finally go and get this scan done on my body to get some cartilage fixed in my leg. R is going to ring the doctor now.

My French is progressing somewhat but still a long way to go. To give an example of why you should learn the language of the country before you go there……get this. I spent the weekend humping tiles and cement all over the place with bp who then gets on to the roof ( le toit) in Falicon to fix the holes. He stands on a beam ( a tasso) with a bunch of tiles( les tuiles) in his hand and earlier we had been talking about the piping (tuiot ) for the septic tank. Anyway the beam cracks in the middle so I shout up Hey Jerome watch out for the rotten tile………It’s nothing he says …..I say “no the roof is rotten……..he says I know…….I say" bp" ………..he says ………What? Look! Oh Shit he says That’s a beam Cg not a tile. Luckily it didn’t break right through but actually I think it was only the other tiles he was standing on that kept him there till it was fixed. He reckons two more weekends for the roof. And the place ready by the end of September. I reckon Christmas at the rate we are going. o is getting on really well and correcting my French now. R is very content. I am not but it’s only the normal change effect really kicking in. Got some more stuff from the boxes i.e. filters and that so all is fine really. Sunshine kicking in the vitamins and the food is good but the flies in Entrevaux are Gross just sickening makes me wanna vomit. First time I was there the meat was all bloody when it came to the table now it has to burnt????? Makes you wonder you had a dose of what in the intervening time J.

leaving home learning language

So here it is. The first blog of an Irish Guy living on the Cote D'Azur, and how blue it is. Many times I have asked myself what am I doing here and how did I get here. Coming from Ireland, I have come from a place that has little or no knowledge of the War (ww2), little or no knowledge of cultural diversity. and certainly no knowledge of how life is lived on the South coast of France.
If this was a place that spoke English I would say it would be called a melting pot, but despite the meterological temperature here, I am guessing, (still after one and half years ) that little melting, and then therefore little mixing goes on. Yes there seems to be diversity but in itself, it is each grouping to its own. I will write more about this as this blog develops.
My life has been complicated to say the least and I have decided to blog to share my experiences but also to share what I feel I have learnt over the last few months, about Race, Culture, Identity, language, and many more issues that are interrealted besides.

I hope that those who read this site take it for a sharing and not a judgement. I would never place myself as someone who knows all the answers, but I have to, being the man that I am, put my experiences into perspective. Finally I am diaspora, exiled, foriegn, and yet still Irish. What does it mean for me to be Irish? Ha well I feel a connection with a culture, a place, an ancestory, and a way of looking at the world. I call it Irish. Yet, I am aware that others who identify with this title, may not identify with my views.

So I will post my journal, my thoughts and my experiences. I will write about real people, real issues and hope that those who read, even though they may disagree, will at least understand or strive to do so. That people will try to see the bigger picture I am trying to describe and that you won't be too judgemental of my words, thoughts, and actions. So for the next few months sit back read and enjoy. Know you are welcome. Visit often I will update a lot. From time to time share your thoughts with me, not on the nitty gritty but the bigger image I try to project here.

Why? Simply because I want to and I wish I had known what I know now before I came here.