I had caught a cold in Aix en Provence and I was coughing one of those uncontrollable coughs. Ben of couchsurfing.org let me stay in his apartment in Toulouse, France for six days.
 |
| Ben of Toulouse, France |
I coughed all day and all night for most of my time there, but Ben said several times, "Don't worry: my son and I sleep like babies."
On my final day there, Ben accompanied me to the train station to help me purchase a ticket to Cadiz, Spain -- something we found out could not happen for several days, which seemed odd, considering the train culture of Europe. (I ended up hitchhiking, after taking a bus to the outskirts of the city.)
 |
| train station in Toulouse |
At the station, Ben noticed someone sitting on the floor and went over to him. It turned out the man was both exhausted and disoriented. When the train station clerks exhibited significant disinterest, Ben gave them a piece of his mind: a rather large, loud, well-articulated piece.
Up to that point, Ben had been as mild-mannered as any out-of-work artist in the South of France. So it was educational and impressive to see him stand up for those who could not stand.
Ben had also done quite a bit of improvisational training when he was younger. I found this out after I turned the videocamera on him in his apartment and he went into a ten-minute comedy routine about French wine, smoking, a motor-powered French bicycle, and other things French. Here's the video.
 |
| a French motor-powered bicycle |
 |
| Ben |
No comments:
Post a Comment