May

Crossing Cultures: To France with a Sheltie

by Sheron Long on May 16, 2013

A Sheltie in the markets of Provence prompts aha moments while crossing cultures

Chula the Sheltie loves the windy Wednesday market in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
© Sheron Long

Aha Moments in the Markets of Provence

Our Sheltie, Chula Wula D’Augue, has never been inside a grocery store in her home state of California. She’s not allowed on the grounds that dogs and food do not mix.

But every year when we take her with us to France, the cultural differences work in her favor. Crossing cultures means she can stay in hotels, from simple to chic, and go with us to restaurants, where the kind waiters bring her water and sometimes an amuse-bouche.

And she can make her favorite foray into the big outdoor food markets where dogs and food DO mix. Here in villages across Provence amid the chatter of buying and selling and the tasting of everything from cheese to paella, is where Chula and I have one aha moment after another.

In fact, I’m pretty sure of this one revelation:

Everything I need to know about life I’ve learned from my dog in the markets of Provence .

After crossing cultures to France, a Sheltie steps out her gate and heads to the markets of Provence.

To market! To market!
© Sheron Long

Such as, you ask? Here are my top 6.

1. Follow Your Passion

In our village of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, we live only a short block from the market. From the time we step out of our gate, Chula strains at the leash, trotting left then right then left again to the sausage table by the centuries old church. She knows the way because, you see, sausage is her passion.

After crossing cultures to France, a Sheltie finds tasty morsels under the sausage table in the markets of Provence.

The deep dive under the sausage table nets Chula some satisfying morsels.
© Sheron Long

And Oh, I see too: Once you find your passion, go for it. The reward is immense.

2. Respect Everyone

Chula looked down her long Sheltie snout into the flat face of this Boxer and said, “Bonjour!” With his short fur, he must have wondered how Chula stood the heat of a Provençal summer. But they found common ground here by the flower stand and shared their secrets on which vendors give treats to canine friends.

After crossing cultures to France, an American Sheltie bridges cultural differences and makes friends with a French Boxer in the markets of Provence.

Sheltie meets Boxer by the flower stand.
© Sheron Long

Oh, I see. Bridging differences can enrich your life.

3. Sniff Out Opportunities

Not much gets by Chula. Like other dogs with long, wide snouts, she has about 225 million scent receptors. Compare that to the human who has 5 million, and you get a sense of her talented nose, which she uses to interpret her world.

This day, Chula sensed an opportunity and stuck her neck out. She didn’t get the roast chicken inside the sack, but she did get a great scratch and those welcome words joli chien (pretty dog). Befitting words, too, since her name Chula means “pretty” in Spanish.

After crossing cultures, a Sheltie sniffs out food in the markets of Provence and provides an aha moment.

Chula sniffing out opportunities at the big outdoor market in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
© Sheron Long

Oh, I see when you know your talents and put them to work, unexpected good comes your way.

4. Own Up to Your Mistakes

No matter how talented, every dog comes a-cropper from time to time. Chula’s downfall is tomatoes. She loves to steal them out of kitchen gardens, from market crates, off plates left unattended. When she lifted a tomato from this vendor and got caught, she looked up at him with soulful eyes and pledged a reparation. I handed over a euro, and knew she’d do it all over again.

After crossing cultures to France, a Sheltie steals a tomato in the markets of Provence and has an aha moment.

Chula lifts a tomato from a market crate and tries to say she’s sorry.
© Sheron Long

Oh, I see. It’s one thing to say you’re sorry and another to mean it.

5. Live Life with Friends

Chula knows the value of friendship. Good friends help each other put their best paw forward, they watch each other’s back, and they show each other the way. On this sunny market day, two dog friends savored the moment, trotting through the crowd on their way to the paella skillets.

After crossing cultures to France, a Sheltie strolls through the markets of Provence and has an aha moment.

Nothing beats padding through the big Provençal market with a friend.
© Sheron Long

Oh, I see. Time with friends puts a smile on your face.

6. Keep an Open Heart

Chula paused in front of the lovely linens on sale at every market in Provence, perhaps to show that she thinks about things other than food. I like to think she was making a statement about her love of France, her joie de vivre at living life in a different culture, the pleasure of the time away with us.

After crossing cultures to France, a Sheltie admires the linens in the markets of Provence.

Chula loves her life in two cultures–American and French.
© Sheron Long

Who can ever know for sure what a dog is thinking, whether at home or crossing cultures? But no one can doubt the shared love and adventures that transpire when you keep an open heart. Oh, I see!

Visit AngloINFO Provence for a schedule of market days in the different villages.

Sheron Long and Chula Wula D’Augue are authors of Dog Trots Globe—To Paris and Provence, a visual account of their adventures through France, including a chapter and video on the markets of Provence. Chula shares her dog’s-eye view of Provence in these postcards, which she offers to you as a free gift.

Sheron Long 4 Comments

Crossing Cultures/France/Secrets to Life

May

Firsts Happen When There’s Courage of Conviction

by Sheron Long on May 2, 2013

Sky showing behind zipper, illustrating firsts that can occur when you show courage of conviction

Reveal the courage of conviction, and push the limits to the sky.
© Hemera

Jason Collins and Wilcox County Teens Push the Limits

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. —Anaïs Nin

Two recent events, startling by both their similarity and difference, make for this week’s “Oh, I See” Moment in the news. Both events show the courage of conviction, the stuff that firsts are made of.

NBA’s Jason Collins Speaks Up

Jason Collins became the first male athlete on a major professional sports team to share publicly that he is gay. The acknowledgment was a life-changer even for this game-changing basketball player.

Road signs, illustrating firsts that can occur when you show courage of conviction

Jason Collins is moving forward.
© iStockphoto

As he told Sports Illustrated about his decision to come out, ” I felt whole for the first time.”

Four Teens Take Action

At prom time this April in Wilcox County, Georgia, four teens relied on their courage as well. The high school there does not put on a prom. Instead, even after schools were desegregated over 40 years ago, white proms and black proms hosted by parents have been the tradition.

This year, however, Quanesha Wallace, Stephanie Sinnot, Mareshia Rucker, and Keela Bloodworth decided to break through that tradition and put on the first integrated prom, themed “Masquerade Ball in Paris.”

It took courage and great effort by these teens, two who are white and two who are black. Why did they do it? The long-time friends, who attend classes and football games together and who sleep over at each other’s homes, also wanted to build joyful memories of their senior prom together.

In other words, like Jason Collins, they wanted to feel whole. And, because of their courage, life expanded for Jason and these teens.

2013 scratched in sand, showing a modern year when firsts are still happening

A modern year, yet the tide of change is still incomplete.
© iStockphoto

Tides of Change

The fact that these two events happened in 2013 in the United States of America, however, is where the differences come in.

How is it that Jason Collins, a black athlete, felt fear and limitations not because of his race but because of his sexuality, while in the same month four teens were fighting against segregation, which was outlawed in the schools in 1954?

Oh, I see. The tide of change moves slowly. Sixty years from now, there will be people pushing past new frontiers of acceptance while (hopefully many fewer) members of the gay community still feel fearful of acknowledging their identity or even encounter unfair treatment.

But change that lifts the limits on individuals’ happiness and self-respect will come. The way to speed it up is for more people to show courage of conviction, speaking out and taking action to pave the road for the people who follow them. While it is sometimes the hardest thing to do, surely the most important is to

Typography spelling the word "Start," to prompt people to follow the courage of their conviction

It takes courage to start.
© iStockphoto

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sheron Long Comments

Making a Difference/Stereotypes

Apr

Sunny with a Chance of Cherry Blossom Petals

by Janine Boylan on April 15, 2013

Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival, showing Japanese cultural traditions

cherry blossoms in San Francisco’s Japantown
© Janine Boylan

The Beauty in Japanese Traditions

This time of year, many families in Japan are not checking weather sites for weather but for sakura, which are cherry blossom forecasts. This is the season for hanami, or picnics under the pale pink blossoms.

The Cherry Blossom Custom

Centuries ago, emperors and elite began the practice of cherry blossom viewing. Over the years, more and more people adopted the custom, and, in the 1700s, Shogun ruler Tokugawa Yoshimune planted cherry trees specifically to encourage the tradition. Now viewing cherry blossoms is a deeply-rooted part of the Japanese culture.

Like many of the Japanese customs, viewing cherry blossoms is meant to be an appreciation for beauty and detail. It’s the same attention to detail that is required for other Japanese arts, such as complex origami, precise flower-arranging, and flawless zen gardens.

Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, showing Japanese cultural traditions

A Local Celebration

I was not ready to notice any good details when I arrived at the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco’s Japantown. It had taken some serious strategy to wrestle a parking spot, and the sidewalks were packed with people shoulder-to-shoulder. On top of all that, my camera wasn’t working, and I had to rely on my loyal, but less high definition, phone to document the day.

I rushed past a blur of trees, top-heavy with pink blossoms, to view the performance arena.

On stage were the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. The performers were magically pounding the front, back, and sides of giant drums. The rhythm quickly beat out the frustration I had felt on the journey to this spot.

taiko drums at Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, showing Japanese cultural traditions

And then I noticed the petals. The delicate pink cherry blossom petals were gently wafting through the taiko performance, as if they were sprinkling their approval.

It was a classic Oh, I See moment. This is what the festival was about: noticing the details and beauty around us. I needed to keep my eyes open for that.

Taking Time for Tea

A tea ceremony after the drumming reinforced this lesson.

Japanese Tea Ceremony during Cherry Blossom Festival, showing Japanese cultural traditions

Like the tradition of appreciating cherry blossoms, the tea ceremony has been part of the Japanese culture for hundreds of years.

It is a meticulously planned event which includes carefully chosen utensils and perfectly arranged flowers.

During the ceremony, a trained host prepares tea for guests by following a procedure that has been studied and practiced for years. The beauty in the ceremony is in how gracefully the host moves, the inlaid decorations in the tea scoop, the selection and arrangement of the flowers, and hundreds of other thoughtful details.

Reconsidering the Day

It forced me to think back to my morning and appreciate all of the details I had missed in my hurry.

Sure, getting parking had been a hassle for a few minutes. But the spot I found was very close to the festival and just perfect.

Yes, I didn’t have my bigger camera, but I at least I did have a phone camera, so not all was lost.

And I was reminded to stop and ~~smell~~ view the flowers.

Turns out that participating in the Japanese cherry blossom cultural tradition had yielded a perfect day, down to the last detail.

If you would like to attend the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco, the event continues April 20-21, with the Grand Parade on Sunday afternoon.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Janine Boylan Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/On the World Stage/USA

World Views:

Topics

Category Archives: Different Cultures