Annot 2
Today we headed up to the Rue de Plaisir Sector, right near Paf le Chien, which we had visited last year. Most of the problems have unprintable names, but they are quite varied in both difficulty and angle. After warming up on the B3 to the right of princess tam-tam, 37.2 le matin and the b4 to the right of it, Chloe and I started working on, and eventually sent poker d'ass, b7.
It was Chloes first climb of the grade, and a had very cool, highly technical movements over small holds. I was so proud and happy for her when she stuck that ending hold!! After a few more easy fun problems like the tall and juggy smartiesb4 and some othe runnamed things, I threw myself at the very tall rue de plaisir. Just getting into the sidepull undercling was very strenuous, and the blind slaps to the arete were scary as hell. After several tries and the prospect of leaving unfinished business, I made it to the ending jugs without pitching off. It was a proud send, and I was very happy to end what is likely to be our last Annot trip in a very long time on such a fine note. After good sends all around, Dave, Sandy, Dylan, Mark and Amy left for Grenoble.
Chloe and I showered up, went for a tea and coffee at the cafe de commerce, and then took a short walk around the vieux village to kill time. We saw the restored communal bread oven 
and then walked down to the hotel Grac. A few years ago, we were surprised to hear american english being spoken and what looked like college students running around near the Hotel Grac. Upon closer inspection we discovered that the University of Charleston had a European Campus in a converted part of the Grac! If you haven't been to Annot, you won't understand the surreal idea of housing college students from South Carolina in what is essentially a forgotton, insular and not exactly stranger welcoming part of france. This is the France of LePen, Wild Boar hunters, diesel four by fours and Pastis, and would be one of the last places I would have expected to find a european campus of any american college. I found a news clipping in French regarding the installation of the campus:
Des étudiants américains dès cet été à Annot
A l'occasion de l'arrivée à Annot, le 6 juin prochain, d'une vingtaine d'étudiants nord américains et de leurs professeurs de l'Université de Charleston (Caroline du Sud), une réunion d'information a eu lieu à la mairie. Cette réunion avait été organisée à l'intention des volontaires ayant manifesté leur intention d'héberger ces jeunes chez eux. La réunion a été animée par le docteur Yves Bono maire d'Annot et par Mme Roux coordinatrice de l'opération qui ont fourni des précisions et répondu aux diverses questions concernant l'accueil dans ces familles.
L'Université de Charleston a été fondée en 1740, bien avant donc la Guerre de sécession. Cette université à pour particularité d'être libre, municipale et laïque et en outre très ouverte à l'humanisme et aux sciences humaines. On y étudie la littérature classique (latin et grec) la philosophie, la psychologie et la musique baroque. On y trouve même un département d'études méditerranéennes délivrant un diplôme.
Avec Annot, le contact a été établi avec cette université depuis quelques années, par la fondation Fabri de Peiresc lors de la venue dans notre région du groupe musical dirigé par le professeur Rosenberg qui avait donné alors quelques concerts.
En ce début d'année 2000, la fondation Fabri de Peiresc a acheté une partie de l'hôtel Grac d'Annot. Cette partie de l'édifice sera surélevée, tout en conservant le style architecturale, afin d'y aménager des locaux de travail, lui permettant de devenir un centre d'études annexe de l'université de Charleston, qui s'est engagée, par contrat, pour une décennie.
En majorité
des jeunes filles
Parmi les étudiants de ce premier contingent, en majorité des jeunes filles de 19 à 25 ans et quelques garçons, trois d'entre eux étudient actuellement à Sophia Antipolis Leur séjour durera cinq semaines jusqu'au 15 juillet. Ultérieurement, si cette période de rodage s'avère satisfaisante, les séjours d'études seront portés à six mois.
Les étudiants qui ont choisi de venir à Annot sont motivés par la découverte de la culture française dans la richesse de ses diversités et particularismes régionaux. Ils suivront des cours de 9 à 16 heures du lundi au jeudi et seront libres les trois derniers jours.
Pour loger tout ce monde, la commune recherche encore 4 foyers d'hébergement Le maire a rappelé que les familles d'accueil recevraient une indemnité journalière de 150 F pour fournir l'hébergement, le repas du soir, le petit-déjeuner et l'entretien du linge
Les personnes désireuses d'héberger un étudiant sont priées de se faire connaître auprès de Mme Marie Thérèse Roux, au clo de Platel Tel 04.92.83.22.58 ou à l'office de tourisme Tel 04.92.83.23.03.
Ce qui est certain c'est que la qualité de l'accueil fourni à ce premier contingent sera déterminante pour le succès de l'expérience à suivre.
Le maire avant de clôturer la réunion a indiqué que le 6 juin prochain une manifestation de sympathie sera organisée pour accueillir ce premier groupe.
I won't translate it all, but the funny parts are the sub-heading "The Majority will be Young Women", and that they are searching for families to welcome these fine young Virginian girls into their homes. When I read this PR, I picture a little bit of 'The Simple life' a la Paris Hilton in hilariously convervative and incongruous surroundings, and a little bit of 'Girls gone Wild'. But maybe that's just me. I also found this bit of PR:
Think back to those endless high school history classes, where you would flip through your book while trying to stay awake, occasionally eyeing that oh-so-cute quarterback in the back of the room. Your teacher's voice would slowly turn into a mumble, some kind of strange foreign language that just didn't make any sense to you and you wonder why in the world you should care about history anyway.
Now think about today, when you might actually be interested in visiting a place that looks like those pictures in your old history book. A place where the mumble in the back that sounds incomprehensible is in fact a foreign language, French to be precise.
This is what your life could look like pretty soon if you should decide to be among the first C of C students to go to class on the new campus to be opened next Fall in the small town of Annot in the southeast of France. Located 65 miles from Nice, with population of roughly 1,500, the place looks like time stopped at some point a few centuries ago.
This is not just another summer language program at the college. Of course French classes will be offered, but the idea is to have all five schools give all kinds of classes just like those offered in Charleston.
The director of this project, professor Abdellatif Attafi, likes to call it "a miniature C of C" that will work year round and will have up to 100 students at a time.
Building of the facilities is scheduled to start next week. Apart from the classrooms, there will be dorms and faculty housing on campus. But don't pack your mini-fridge just yet, because French majors who go to Annot will be required to live in French homes.
"We are looking for total immersion," said Attafi, "and there is already a network of local families who will be offering housing for C of C students."
Some professors will travel to Annot for a semester at a time, and some will be there for just three weeks to teach express courses. There will probably be one or two class options from each school every semester, with French being offered at all times.
The town is small and it is not a tourist spot at all. There are no major highways across it, so it's not disrupted by passersby. Attafi explains that the reason Annot was chosen was that the college was looking for authenticity, which is a big part of what the place is about. The buildings and the environment are practically intact, and the region is a protected zone, where 80 percent of all European vegetation is represented.
The area also provides the opportunity to engage in various sports, such as sailing and skiing. Also, there is a possibility to visit other parts of Europe conveniently because distances are so short. Nice is only an hour and a half away, and Italy is close enough for a weekend escapade.
"It's always challenging to move to a place where you don't have any references, but that stimulates you to work hard and find new ones," said Attafi.
Strangely enough, on subsequent trips we discovered that the very official University of Virginia brass plaque had been removed, and there was no sign of the gaggle of southern college women! I assumed that there must have been some kind of scandal which forced the University packing, never again to do business in the not-as-picturesque-as-they-thought south of France, but it turns out that it was simply a question of finances(or so they SAY!).
Dinner was an excellent scallop and risotto followed by filet de boeuf with a nice 2003 bordeaux.
