Monday morning when I entered the teacher workroom, Olivier told me to get ready for les giboulées de mars. Later in the day, Catherine told me the same thing. Get ready. What the heck is a giboulée, I wondered. And then yesterday, I got to see it with my own eyes. It was much colder than it's been lately, and when I got to work I noticed snow on a few cars. During our mid-morning break (oh, how I love that we have a break!) it suddenly started to hail. Not the huge, golfball-sized hail we get at home; more like pea-sized. A bit later, it snowed. Huge, soft snowflakes that melted on contact. An hour or so later, more hail. And as quickly as it started, it stopped; we had patches of blue sky in the late afternoon. On my way home from dinner chez Véronique, I encountered more snow. The first we've really seen all winter. And it's March!
Une giboulée can be defined as a sudden downpour. My dictionary says it's the equivalent of "April showers," but aside from the fact that it's March, it's not the same as the weather we encounter in Oklahoma. While my friends and family back home are taking shelter in their 'fraidy holes, I just dress warmly and make sure I have my umbrella.
Rain in northern France, you say? Why of course! It's northern France. What else do you expect? There's a new movie here called Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, about a man from the sunny south of France who is transferred to Berques, near Lille - just about as far north as you can get without crossing into Belgium. Besides the dreary weather, the movie pokes fun at the local language. Everyone here is really excited because it's set in neighboring Nord Pas-de-Calais and most people who have grown up here understand a bit of picard as well as ch'timi. I've yet to see the movie (it's been sold out!) but on the trailer, as soon as the guy from the south crosses into Nord Pas-de-Calais, it starts to rain.
Today, by the way, the forecast is partly sunny with a high of 39°F. Out my window, I can see a clear, beautiful blue sky. But according to the saying, that can change at any time.
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