Calais

I awoke early. 

It was my first real day in France and I was in a good mood. Me and Iurii (sounded Yuri - he was the first person I had ever met with this name before, and I had always associated it with a Soviet spy until I met him, which I think I'd blame on James Bond ) had planned to spend the day together around Calais, I wasn't sure what we were going to do, but I was excited all the same.  I showered, did my bit and waited for Iurii to come pick me up.  At about ten he walked in the door and we took off.

Directly in front of Jonathan's apartment is a monstrous beach.  They say you can see England on a good day, but it was obviously not a good day, so instead I just stared at the low clouds and told myself it must be foggy in England.  Iurii was moving to Paris in a few weeks and wanted to say goodbye to the town (and the beach) so we spent the morning strolling around and pretending it was warm out.  It was incredibly windy, which was uncomfortable at first, but it soon became attractive since there was a wind powered go-kart (which is pretty much a sailboat on 4-wheels) cruising the strip, something I thought was brilliant, and highly amusing -

'oh oh oh! ooh! oooh!'

SPLASH!!

'Medere!' (shit in french) 

 - the guy kept on losing control as he was try to turn and ended up driving straight into the ocean, soaking himself, cursing, and then continuing on until he did it again.

Europe had put me into a historical perspective.  Standing on that beach thinking about how many men have stood there before me, the Vikings, the Norsemen, the Romans, Julius Caesar, the men of WWI and WWII , and everyone else.  It was illusive, and odd.  I felt both very small and very big at the same time.  But mostly I felt unbalanced from the wind. 

It was a pleasant morning. 

Iurii took me to his house for lunch and made me a proposition for the afternoon.  

'I have an idea for this afternoon'

'oh ya...'

'yes, I, well, I have these, these mushrooms from Holland...'

pause

'and, well, I, I only have enough for me, and, I was wondering if, if you'd like to spend the afternoon with me in the forest...?'

pause

'Iurii...'

'yes'

'I'd love to'

Off we went.

(Iurii)

I was beginning to really like Iurii.  He was a smart guy who read alot, a philosopher in his own right, and I admired him because he was older then me and had already done many of the things that I planned to do in my life.  He also had my same perspective on people and things in general.  We got along. 

'You've done these before jeremie?'

'Ya'

'Ok good, because I never have'

'really?'

'ya'

'haha perfect ... ok eat them right now and then we'll drive to the forest.'

'Ok'

It turned out that the forest was a little ways away, and Iurii didn't actually know where it was, so it took us alot longer then I thought it would to get there; the point being that by the time we got there Iurii was already high and talking like all of us do on mushrooms, and he was driving. 

'This is, this is unbelievable'

'what is?'

'That I am driving in this reality right now'

'haha just get us to this forest'

  (the forest)

The forest turned out to be unbelievable.  Big and bold, bright and lush and very French.  I was happy enough just walking around and see everything, soaking up France and its spring air.  Iurii was - and to make an obvious understatement - a happy man.  It was a beautiful afternoon.  There wasn't much conversation, but it was fine just that way, Iurii had hooked me up with some of Amsterdam's best, and I had hooked Iurii up with a supervisor, and things were great.  I spent most of the time dreaming about ancient man, tribesmen, medieval men, and wondering if there had ever been a barbarian battle in this forest before.  I could imagine it in precise detail.  Amsterdam's best.  Iurii spent most of his time walking until something on the ground caught his eye, and then he'd stay there staring at it until I called him out of it, which is where he'd suddenly start giggling and asking himself 'what is reality?' and in no way was it rhetoric.

It was a special afternoon, one of those ones that you walk away from feeling, like, 'yes!'. 

Iurii taught me how to eat an apple whole, which is something that I cannot believe I have never done before.  How many of you eat around the core and then through the core out?  It seems absurd to eat an apple that way to me now.  But then again, I am starving over here.  

We left the forest feeling better, found ourselves back at Iurii's. 

'Jeremie'

'Ya'

'I usually let couchsurfer's sleep on my floor'

'ya thats fine'

'but, I've come to like you alot... so you can share my bed with me'. 

'haha thanks man'

goodnight.