Imprinting Like A French Duckling

As I near the last day of vacation, Montpellier is still tops. The weather, and the proximity to the Mediterranean, the pedestrian-only, vibrant downtown make it a great place to live. That's what I tell myself, but I wonder if the underlying reason is imprinting.

When I arrived in Montpellier on Sunday and exited the TGV, and walked to the tram station, I felt I was back home. I recognized the bike rental stands, the Place de la Comédie, and the sycamore-lined esplanade. They were my visual anchors from a year ago.

Last year was my first solo vacation to France, and I made Montpellier my base. Maybe because of that, now I measure every French town against it. That's not fair, but that's my standard, and I stick by it. I think of it as a type of behavioral imprinting, where a newborn duck born in front of a human instead of its duck mother naturally assumes the human is its natural mother and uses the human as the imprint for what a mother duck should be like.

A more plausible explanation for why I love Montpellier and feel like it's the best place in France are my friends, Charlotte and Manu. I met both of them last year at an English circle in Montpellier. When I was planning this trip, I wanted to see other parts of southwest France, especially Toulouse and Albi. Charlotte encouraged me to visit Montpellier again, and I was reluctant until she offered to let me stay at her place. It makes such a difference knowing someone in a town to make the experience unique. There was also the rowing, which I really enjoyed last time at Club D'Aviron Mauguio-Carnon.

Charlotte works at a language school in Montpellier. She has lived in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, and possibly other countries I don't know about. She speaks and reads French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Her bookshelves are a survey of Western European and American literature.

Manu works for a software company specializing in messaging applications. He's an entrepreneur who sold his company to the one where he now works, and he mainly does database programming and accounts payable for clients all over the world. He's fluent in French, English, and Hebrew, and possibly other languages I don't know about.

Charlotte and Manu took me to try elaborate, over-priced Asian-themed cocktails at Le Parfum and Mali-themed takeout food at a hopping African restaurant. More importantly, though, they shared the perspectives of locals. Both spoke English whenever I was around, and I got a better feel for daily Montpellier life.

Charlotte and Manu are relaxed, fun, and brilliant. We can talk about most any subject, because they usually will already have read something about it to have a conversation. I was really lucky to meet them last year, and I am grateful for their generosity.

Now, if I can only find a way to come back next year...