Viva la docu!!! a little update...

OkAY. so i think it would be a nice time to post a summary of my Free schooling quest so far, cuz..I'm really stoked about it, and i hope that maybe somewhere out there someone else will be too.
In life we are always learning, and no teacher, grade, class, or exam should ever discourage you into feeling otherwise.
Love*Live*Learn
To briefly explain my journey through the wonders of alternative education, here is part of my initial statement for the documentary which outlines my intentions for the project...

check it out:
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=b4c8d8ec3e&realattid=f_ffgwn2zp1&attid=0.2&disp=vah&view=att&th=119862816a0ee708

I planned a few visits to some of these inspiring free-learning spaces before leaving, and find myself continuously stumbling upon new and exciting ones as I roll along. Here are a few of the ones I have discovered so far...

PARIS: After a few days of feeling lost in seas of tourists, museums, and pretty cafes I finally came across an area of Paris chockful of community resources, leading me to le centre Cerise, a beautiful community cultural space offering activities such as after-school arts classes, language courses for recently immigrated families, day-care and homework tutoring for young kids, and much more. One of the head coordinators of the centre was this inspiring man with the widest, most welcoming smile you've ever seen, named Abdellatif who really believed in finding the most creative ways for kids to spend their free time...

PARIS:Le lycee Auto-gere..sadly I did not get to visit this one since it was a holiday week in France:(

LONDON:56a Infoshop/Freedom Books in Angel Alley, two great grassroots activist centers with a bike workshop, excellent library, and a truly impressive squatters resource network. By scanning through their message boards & zines I was surprised to find how popular the squatting lifestyle was in London( they also had A.S.S.-Advisory Service for Squatters)

LEISTON, SUFFOLK, UK: SUMMERHILL FREE SCHOOL! i didn't want to leave.
I think it deserves a thorough portrait, so i'll save this one for later...

WERKENDAM, NL:Vincent Loosjes. WOW-this man is an infinite fountain of wisdom , courage, and integrity. I randomly contacted Vincent from chatting with a girl in Rotterdam, who excitedly told me that this man was the perfect person to learn from about education in the Netherlands.

HANK, NL:Merel Bolding and the Vrije Hogeschool.
It's hard for me to be unbiased about my experience with Merel and her schooling since I am convinced we are sisters separated at birth and are meant to create a magical freedom-school together somewhere in rainbows...
The Vrije Hogeschool is a free school(though privately funded), set in a pittoresque garden campus, that provides a year of spiritual-creative orientation to students between roughly 18-21 who are exploring themselves before choosing an educational direction. It consists of about sixty students at a time and provides them with open opportunity to create independent "projects" that seek to develop their creativity and autonomy. Coupled with seven-week art courses of all kinds-such as theater, drumming percussions, musical performance, etc.

NIJMEGEN, NL:Vrije School Meander( a Waldorf Public School)Just visited this beautiful artsy school this morning, and am once again radiating with joy at the passion and creativity these kids demonstrate. The great part about Meander primary school is that it is actually accessible to anyone who wishes to attend, since it is a public, partially government-funded school.
Today was a special day as they were presenting their Bike-city Safety Project to a city jury in light of a inter-school competition to encourage good road safety amongst children. The quality of the kids projects, such as bike sculptures, road panel pictures, songs, etc. was genuinely impressive, especially coming from their own initiative.

aaaaaaaaaaah, la mer...

Ouf. les derniers jours ont ete assez intenses. Se resumant a velo-velo-dodo:)
Kilometrage(Chelmsford-Leiston): environ 155km
Toune la plus joyeuse chante en chemin: The Moldy Peaches( you know the one..)
Tasses de the consommees: cinq(modeste!)

Vendredi matin je me suis reveille tres tot, mais(haha) plusieurs chocolat-cafes & conversations captivantes plus tard en compagnie de Jay(le pere a shasta), midi sonnait deja. Donc, j'ai triche en prenant le train de banlieue pour me rendre a Chelmsford, m'evitant ainsi la laideur des autoroutes achalandees entre Londres et ses bourlets infinis de maisons-en-canne. De ce lieu, j'ai pedale jusqu'a Stowmarket, un p'tit village tres agreable. il faut preciser qu'en Angleterre, chaque deux miles a un vieux petit village charmant a offrir, donnant l'impression de ne jamais etre tout a fait seul. Et la circulation intense te garde toujours aux aguets, malgre les petites routes semblant plus discretes. J'ai campe dans un parc a caravanes a deux pas du village. hehe-admettons que le luxueux pays "sauvage" du Winibago me faisait encore rire, lorsque j'observais des familles en visieres, shorts hawaiennes et aux visages oranges se pavaner autour du soi-disant "lac", un bain brun rempli de poissons intoxiques( je n'ai jamais vu des campeurs si passionnes par la peche aux crapets soleils..). Le lendemain matin, je me suis(encore) levee tot, et puis, seduite par le charme d'un salon de the traditionnel ensoleille(a stowmarket), j'ai rencontre trois personnes ages absoluement adorables nommes Sadie, Peter et Frank qui m'inviterent a me joindre a eux pour un delicieux the et gateau aux carottes. J'ai ainsi reelllement pris la route a midi, et me rendit jusqu'au chateau medieval de Framlingham, ou je m'arreta pour un pique-nique sur l'herbe devant ces grandes tours de pierre majestueuses. Mon premier grand chateau visite de l'interieur depuis celui de Dieppe(ou j'ai seulement pu grimper les falaises qui entouraient..)! Tout detours consideres, je suis arrivee a Leiston avant l'heure du souper, me permettant d'explorer ce petit village, hote de cette ecole legendaire... trop curieuse, j'ai tout de suite visite le campus de summerhill, et apres y avoir bavarde avec le prof d'art(une canadienne de Duncan, CB!) j'ai realise que camper sur place serait impossible. Heureusement, car sinon je n'aurais pas decouvert le plus superbe coin de camping, un peu plus loin, donnant sur la mer! Je me suis reveille ce matin au son des vagues, et instinctivement, courut de mon sleeping(encore endormie, bien sur) et me jeta a l'eau glaciale salee! Quel rigoureux reveil fantastique, suivi de multiples salutations au soleil sur le sable chaud...bref, un matin de reves. Tous les vacanciers aines rencontres au camping sont si adorables, et si chaleureux et serviables. tous veulent s'assurer que "la petite canadienne" avait son souper du soir, du the chaud le matin(on m'a meme prete un mini-poele en attendant de trouver des combustibles..les feux sont interdits:(). Je me sens bien ici. Pis, le paysage fleuri de Suffolk est vraiment merveilleux.

Demain, je visiterai officiellement l'ecole libre. je n'ai aucune attente.
je relis Summerhill ce soir, un sourire en coin

tiddlywinks:)

ps. svp excusez le manque d'accents..

SUMMERHILL!!!

hURRAY!
This morning i leave for Summerhill in suffolk on the east coast, after which I will most likely join Dave to bike the gorgeous south-western roads of britain.
after a week of art busking,rad bike messengers, jaded musicians, and sahaj marg yoga, i've had enough of London . the city is way too much for me at the moment. i look forward to the simplicity of off-road camping and discovering the greener side of the uk.

a la prochaine...

London is an airport.

Sunny morning in Dieppe, before finding out I've missed the only day ferry, and must wait till midnight to catch the next one:P
Ashdown Forest, home of that silly old bear...
England's most noble creatures, apparently
I AM ROBERT
the prettiest face down brick lane..

London. you are waiting anxiously not knowing which flight gate to take, yet surrounded by the promise of unknown adventure.

Friday, May 2
After an amazing 48h hour adrenaline trip from Dieppe to Newhaven, I finally completed my first big biking day into the crazy chaos of London. When I finally managed to clumsily manoeuver my way through the mad rush hour traffic through the burbs of Croydon-London my restless but eager body was ready to collapse.
That evening I rolled into town to be sweetly reunited with my darling Shasta in Aldgate East:)

Kilometers today...
(after purchasing an odometer from a really friendly bike shop named Future Cycles in Forest Row) I estimated my mileage to be roughly 120km.

Interesting highlights...
Finding The Enchanted Place and Pooh Bridge in Ashdown Forest. Me and Winnie played Pooh sticks, and our branches raced together under the bridge, but came out intertwined as one on the other side. A good omen, me thinks.
*
Stumbled upon a delightful hippie-organic store in Forest Row, where I gorged myself on he tastiest yogurt ever, and learned from Janita, the kind shop lady, many helpful clues. That a certain Steiner School(!!!) named Mike Hall existed just up the road, AND that Lower Road was not just a figment of my imagination, but actually the back lane behind the store.
*
Why Lower Road? Why it just so happened to be the adress of a magical faery i hadn't communicated with since we met almost 8 yeas ago, but for some wierd unexplainable reason I felt was close on my path.

Saturday, May 3
twas a sunny romantic day which, decked in glamourous dresses and silly shoes, Shasta and I spend fluttering aimlessly around London from Harrod's(solely to use the most luxurious loos of Europe and sample all the finest Olive oils they could offer:P) to Hyde Park to visit Peter Pan in Kenzington Gardens. and then to dillydally under a shower of pink petals.
Lipstick painted walls and nipples highlighted my second nite in shasta & roberts's charmingly snug little flat.

Sunday, May 4
Brick lane. Raja yoga sitting at josh's mansion(random tidbit: this actually happens to be the house of the first lead singer of Genesis) in shepherd's bush.
Shasta and I went busking at the Sunday market down Brick lane-a colourful, eclectic circus filled with street art, junk lairs overflowing with anything from old records to stuffed ferrets, street musicians, tasty food from all around the globe.

highlights today...
*meeting Dave "Harry P" Franklyne at the brick lane bike-polo courts!!!
*somebody asking me if I was secretly Banksy after admiring my artwork..haha.

Velorution a la parisienne!

J'entrevois enfin un cote authentique de cette ville incroyablement velorutionaire! Ici les voitures sont allies egaux aux velos & motos, et partout on est entoures des cyclistes Velib dechaines. Le Velib est un systeme de pret de velos instaure l'an dernier par la mairie de Paris.
Tous, jeunes et vieux, punx et gestionnaires prennent ces velos argentes(et, dois-je ajouter, tres bien equipes de phares avant et arrieres, d'un panier avant, d'une clochette, etc.) pour envahir le labyrinthe de rues fourmilieres de cette metropole funambulesque.