Let me introduce myself. My name is Jen and I hail from Vancouver, Canada. This summer my partner Colin and I have decided to take a grand adventure by spending three months in France. He will telecommute and my big plan is to walk the countryside.
Most of my walks will specifically be in the French countryside, particularly in the Rhone-Alpes, but also in a few other regions like Auvergne and Brittany. There is a chance I will be able to hike in England... we'll see!
I named my blog "foot to earth" because I love the layers of meaning it holds. First, walking is literally putting foot to earth. Second, I am in serious need of some grounding: I have been immersed in Academia for over a decade now, which means I have been a little too much "in-the-head" of late, and am looking forward to connecting to the earth and getting back in touch with my physical body, which has been a little neglected. Third, I am a Pisces (a pretty typical one, I may add). According to that astrology, earth can help me bring some of my dreams into concrete reality. That sounds fantastic! Plus, there is something about Pisces being obsessed with feet?? I don't know, but it fits the "foot" motif. lol.
Finally, "pied à terre" (lit: feet on the ground) is a French expression that refers to a small flat or condo in the city that a rural-living person would use temporarily or part-time. For example, your primary residence would be in the countryside, but you could go stay the night at your pied-à-terre whenever you catch a late-night concert in the city. Now my brain has a very subversive sense of humor, and I love playing with words and concepts and turning them inside out. So first of all, I love the image that my Vancouver condo becomes my "pied à terre," while my gite in Rhone is my "primary residence." Ok, maybe it's a little far to go for the weekend, but the idea gives me the sense of flipping my usual lifestyle completely upside down. ;) Next, there is also so much that my brain loves about twisting this phrase around in English to suit my purposes. For example, physically, a pied-à-terre is a building, a structure, something permanent and unmoving. But my goal is to be moving all the time... hiking around the countryside. So while pied-à-terre is usually literally translated as "feet on the ground," by changing the "on the" to "to," it becomes an action statement.
On that note: Allons-y!!
GO Jen! Congrats on your first blog! Hope you and Colin are enjoying France. :) Susan
ReplyDeleteMy first comment!! :D Thank you Susan. So far, I've only taken 2 hikes, but they have both been grand! I couldn't stop smiling the entire time.
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