Bordeaux

The streets, bordered by century-old architecture, is riddled with gypsies. They come with their sacks, pots, and cardboard signs with streaks of ink falling from the words drying since the last rain fall. The dogs are ploys--marketing directed towards the animal caring folk who really don't care for the people. And the money is short lived--spent on alcohol, drugs, and the occasional frites. Money dictates Bordeaux. The people either have it or they don't. On either side of the ATM you will find a vagabond sitting on their newspaper seat with their cup in hand and when you see it from a distance, the businessman withdrawing an immense amount next to the homelessman looking up at the transaction between this lucky guy and the god-machine-of money, the dichotomy is clear. I don't feel for them. Albeit life on the streets is terrible they have a choice. The fields of grapes with their rows stretching to the farthest limits of sight into the sun are work. The constant tourism can be a market for street performers or vendors but the lack of determination, discipline, drive, and desire lead them to the easy choice of begging and drinking the winnings away. Some signs are blatant, some funny, and some sad. But at the end of the day the lady who played crippled and crazy, who was twitching and screaming, packs up her show and walks casually and normally down the beautiful streets of Bordeaux. Timmy, a surfer I met on the train here, was just as flabbergasted as the locals by the sudden wave of palms stuck in his face for money. You will sit down to eat you frozen yogurt and if you put any change on the table in front of you, your a magnet. These gorgeous cities have so much to offer. The gastronomy, the wine, the people, and yes the work but the latter is underutilized. France, known to many as the center for foodies in Europe, has fallen behind Germany in food exportation in the last decade. To normal folks French cuisine is perceived out of reach, high class, and consequently high priced. France Trade Secretary Pierre Lel'louche stated in a press conference "We suffer from a gastronomical image that is too elitist, too expensive, and too far away from people." And with their share in the world food market falling 4 percent in the last 10 years they have made substantial steps to reverse the problem. The farmers I spoke with in Normandy are destroying the century old hedges that used to divide large plots of land into family farms and now are ready to employ cheap work for spring picking. The combination of France increasing its exportation levels, demand for cheap labor, and unemployed plaguing the streets would ideally catalyze a substantial cleanup. But its the rife laziness that steers the migrants away from the opportunity, however, new immigrants coming North from Africa will take the untouched work like many Mexican immigrants did in the U.S. and all will go on. Its just a shame to see them drinking, peeing, and defiling the remnants of the Anni Marabilis I am so interested in.


-Chad A. Dokken

Location:Rue Franklin,Bordeaux,France