Partie de pétanque

Jul 15, 12:46 PM

This is a recording of a part of a traditional south french metal ball game. On the background there are many typical cicada that immediately give an ambience. I am from the Netherlands and I moved to France years ago. But every time I moved, French people immediately hear I'm not from France. 

In the present recording from last year I remember very well how very local people, those who might be attached to their own habits, welcomed me. I sat there with my recording gear to record cicada, but when they started playing they asked me where I was from. All in all they invited me to participate, they explained the rules, of course in their local accent! They didn't mind me recording their voices. 

The welcoming kindness still gives me shivers and confidence in people we do not know and who we might judge before knowing them. Immigration can rime with integration and acceptation.

Recorded by Antonius Driessens.

Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world’s first collection of the sounds of human migration. 

For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration