A lire tout en dégustant un Thé rouge Rooibos d'Afrique du Sud bien sûr ! (disponible chez Petite PLANET)
Au lendemain de l'inauguration du Mondial de Foot, nous avons souhaité mettre à l'honneur l'Afrique du Sud.
Renée Greyling, sud africaine, vivant en France depuis une dizaine d'années nous a parlé de son enfance, où la mixité culturelle était alors insouciante et où, élevés dans une ferme gigantesque, jouer entre enfants de couleurs de peau différentes, était naturel, ou tout du moins on ne se posait pas de questions. C'est avec franchise et humilité que Renée a partagé ses questionnements sur le fait de ne pas avoir pu voir les dysfonctionnements de son pays avant la libération de Nelson Mandela.
Une belle leçon de vie, où on est en mesure de s'interroger sur l'impact des politiques internationales et des carcans culturels dans lesquels nous sommes tous moulés…… sans nous en rendre compte…. à moins d'ouvrir notre esprit !
Many thanks Renée for this wonderful and interesting afternoon !
I was very happy when Marie asked me to participate in the “Anti foot” get together on South Africa since I am so busy on a day to day basis with my life in France that I rarely allow myself the luxury of going back into the past and recalling my life as a child and young adult in that splendid country. Memories that are beautiful and painful at the same time, memories of events that have shaped me into who I am today, and irrevocably part of me.
Books on the history of my country that have given me insight into what had happened, and especially why, include Dominique Lapierre’s “Un arc-en-ciel dans la nuit” and obviously Nelson Mandela’s “Long walk to freedom”. André Brink, an Afrikaner whose political consciousness was awoken in France while he was studying at the Sorbonne, wrote the acclaimed “A Dry White Season” (“Une saison blanche et sèche”) in 1979, and many other masterworks were to follow.
Another renowned writer, Breyten Breytenbach, who himself, due to his anti Apartheid combats, spent several years in prison, has written numerous novels and poems over the years, all of which are translated into French too. Breytenbach’s latest publication is “Notes from the Middle World: Essays” (“Le monde du milieu”). And of course, South African born Marita van der Vyver now living in France wrote “Entertaining Angels” in the early nineties, a novel that touched on all taboo subjects for once and for all, and a novel that cooked up a storm in a country where everything had always been strictly censored.
A delightful afternoon in the company of the Petite Planet and the generous people I met who were truly interested in my country and with whom I could share my experiences.
Cafe Expat
Living in France : easy or not easy
Friday, June, 4th from 10 am to noon
in English and French
You are a newcomer in Manosque,
it is your 1st expatriation,
your first time in France…
Are you a bit lost, missing your friends, feeling home sick…
Is speaking French for you more a case of sign language ?
Come and talk to us about your experiences,
and benefit from our advices and tips.
Run by Marie Ravoire, former expatriate, founder of the website expatclic.com
and Petite Planet, the intercultural meeting place in Manosque
and Franck Scola author of publications on specific medical and social issues facing expat families.
Families welcome ! Entrance is free.
Let us know by e-mail if you will join us
Petite PLANET, is much more than an international bookshop
more than a tea shop
and even more than creative activities,
arts & crafts workshops
or language workshops.
In fact, a lot more than it may seem….
Petite PLANET is a universe where events and ideas from all horizons gravitate.
Petite PLANET, There are 'get-togethers', exchanges, friendships woven into a beautiful constellation.
Each little star in turn will proclaim its love, its little flame for Petite PLANET.
And then we will have a beautiful Constellation, rich in thousands of sentiments…..
If you know Petite Planet and you want to light up our constellation a little more, write here : contact@petiteplanet.net