Too Long...

How to tell that my husband has lived in France too long...he's now peeing on the side of the road with no shame what so ever...yes, that's Sparky back there in the tree...

The grocery store effect Part 1 & 2

Part 1
See, the way things are done down here in the South of France are just a little bit different. Definately different than in the US, but apparently different than Amsterdam, Munich, Barcelona, of course London, Glasgow...it's almost as if we are living in a 3rd world country down here in the South of France - some of their ways are so archaic.

We recently took a trip to Glasgow, Scotland. Upon arriving at the airport, we picked up our rental car and began our drive South to the apartment we had rented for the week. We didn't want to get caught in a small Scottish town without a grocery store so we stopped at one outside of Glasgow (see Part 2).

It was an ASDA Wal-Mart grocery store. A real grocery store.
We were both in awe walking through this real grocery store. Sure we had seen grocery stores like this in any of the above mentioned cities we had visited before, but it's always the same reaction upon entering. It's like "wow, i forgot what a real grocery store was like, this is so cool" It's hard to explain the difference really...but French grocery stores are just...different...the food is odd, the packaging makes no sense, the layout of the store makes no sense (baby diapers by the meat department, um, OK).

Part 2 - food hording.
I realize I now experience this anytime we travel...anywhere. I'll admit, we're both kind of picky eaters, not experimental with our food - especially the meats. We even went to Germany and didn't eat a single sausage or bratworst, went to China and didn't eat Chinese food. Whatever, it's who we are and we're ok with that, we don't complain to others about it we simply learn how to adjust. See we're both about a step away from being vegeterians - just without the strong moral conviction that seems to go with it. Sparky is a competitive cyclist so he relies on a low fat, high carb diet. I am completely grossed out by what all is done/eaten on animals - if it weren't for the fact that I'm a Texan and crave BBQ I could probably make it as a vegeterian (I simply just don't think about what meat BBQ is made of, same with lunch meat, and I'm OK). But you would think that no matter where we went it would be easy to stay away from odd animal parts as your only meal - not in Europe. Sometimes it's really hard to just find a sandwich or someone willing to make just plain pasta with no sauce or butter or oil (agast! they always look at us like, why bother, why eat if you don't have oil on it).

So, having been caught in these 'can't find anything to eat' situations several times when we first moved here, I feel I try to hord good food when I find it as we travel. Silly, I know, but I can't seem to get over it.

Pushing you over the edge

I have come to realize there are 4 phrases that I have heard from the French that will push me over the edge and drive me to a LePoste episode...(see previous post "Postal vs. LePoste"

1. When you are on the phone with a French person and you are trying your best to speak French to them, when you say something they don't understand they pause...then say "Ello?" as if they can't hear you...as if the phone signal is cutting out...always the same...you speak, long pause..."Ello?"

2. Generally the long pause and "Ello?" is followed by "Je ne comprend pas" (I don't understand) and the phone being hung up. I don't understand you so I want nothing else to do with you and I'm hanging up now.

3. "Ne existe pas" It doesn't exist, if a French person doesn't know/have/care to walk to the back to get what you are asking for they throw this little golden nugget at you.

4. And my all time favourite, the one that is closest to pushing me over the edge..."C'est impossible" it's impossible. You are asking me to do something I don't want to do "c'est impossible", you are speaking to me about, whatever, I don't care, why are you speaking to me in the first place "c'est impossible" I don't know how to do what you are asking and instead of asking any one of the other French coworkers I have "c'est impossible." I know that i could back my car up those 10 feet and let you pass but I don't want to so it is "c'est impossible" for me to back up.

Finland

Isn't this a cool picture.  I have a Finnish friend who just moved from the South of France back to Tempere, Finland.  They drove up, then had to take a ferry across.  This is a picture she took of the ferry on the icy Finnish waters. 

French Politics

Well here's something you won't usually hear me talking about by any means - politics.

Today is French Election day.  Mr Chirac will be out and it will probably be Mr Sarkozy.
On a side note - I find it interesting that the French won't work on a Sunday, most everything is closed, but Sundays are always their official voting days.  Smart really - nobody is working on a Sunday so it increases the chances they'll go to the poll.  Unlike our Super Tuesdays in the states.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Mr Sarkozy takes office.  It's not official yet, elections are today, Sarkozy vs Ms Royal, but he is leading in the poles by 10% points right now so it's looking pretty good for him.

Ms Royal wants France to stay the same, basically.  Mr Sarkozy has ideas of doing away with the 35hr work week and allowing people to work overtime.  And from what I've read, he doesn't intend to make it a slow transition - more like as fast as possible.  This is seriously going to rock the French world.  They don't like change. Sure, they may, possibly, after a caraffe of vino or 4 at lunch, admit that they need change, they don't like change when it actually happens to them. The unions are abundant here in France, and the known way to get anything done is by striking, and sympathy strikes are well known. The unions have publically said they would comfront the government if he wins.  France is ridiculously sympathetic to the workers, it's nearly impossible to fire a French worker. He wants to change it to balance the scale a little more.  This would also help with the huge unemployment problem.  Especially in the youth - they can't hardly get a grocery store check out clerk job because Sylvie and the other ladies have been in that position for the last 30 years slinging groceries at innocent customers then impatiently waiting for them to finish bagging their own groceries and pay so she can abuse the next customer.

Almost everything is centered around this employment contract that every French employee receives upon starting work at a job.  You can't open a bank account or get an apartment without presenting your work contract.  Dominic deVillepin tried to change that fall of 05 and riots ensued. I don't blame them - that may help to get them a job in the short term, but the new short term contract wouldn't be accepted to open the bank account or get a lease.  Thisngs change slow here - just because the govnt says they have this new contract doesn't mean everyone is going to immediately change their policies and accept it like they did the long term, impossible to fire contract that currently exhists.


I really hope Sarkozy wins and I am anxious to see what France will look like in the next year.

This may be a bad summer to visit France.  Generally if anyone strikes, the transportation sector strikes - trains and buses specifically.

If you're interested, here's a good article I came across
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=NMXKZNJEOPQPDQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/opinion/2007/05/05/do0501.xml&page=1

What you get for 15.76Euro

Yeah, you heard that right.

Ya know, all this time I've been buying my fruit in the grocery store...in France and in Texas.  And all this time I've driven by the little fruit stands and thought, geeze, I really should buy my fruit and veggies there instead.

Sure, I know there's going to be a little more expensive, but my thought is that they'd be better fruit, locally grown, and you're supporting the little guy.

Well frick that.
I stopped in the fruit stand that is right next door to the boulangerie and picked out these prize winning fruits.  OK, not really prize winning, but FRICK
8.62 for a pineapple and 7.14 for a cantelope!!

AND they're not even locally grown - the pineapple is from Benin...where the frick is Benin?

Joan Jett

Finally broke down and got my hair cut - it had been 6 months since my last hair cut (which took place on my last visit to Texas).  I don't know why it took so long, usually I'm a regular hair cut kind of girl.  

Made an appointment at the English speaking haircut place, with the lady that was recommended to me as really good.  

She was fine, and I thought for sure she understood what I was talking about.

I guess I forgot to mention that I did not like or want to look like Joan Jett when I walked out of there.  

My mistake.

Conversation with a 7 yr old

My wonderful niece recently visited me in France. We were walking down the street one day in Paris and had the following conversation:

Picture this cute little blonde kid holding my hand and bouncing all over the sidewalk.
me "ok, we're looking for a crepe stand, can you see one, help me look, we gotta find one"
Picture her bouncing all over the side walk talking about everything she sees, but not looking for crepes.
me "ok, remember, crepe stand, work with me here, we're looking for a crepe stand before we can do anything else, focus on finding a crepe stand"
her "what does focus mean"
me "it's when you're trying to find one thing and you don't let other things distract you until you find that one thing, like we're doing with the crepe stand"
her "oh, i understand, (bounce bounce) hey look at that over there at that (not a crepe stand)"

Why this happy feeling?

It's a beautiful time of year here.  Warmer than normal, no clouds, no rain, really beautiful. I rode my bike to work and through Cannes yesterday...and didn't feel like it was enough.  Heck, I even went out to the area of my yard that should be beautiful flowerbeds and cleared it out, pulling weeds and all...I may even plant FLOWERS (like the purple and pink ones, not the yellow dandelions that usually grow on their own...I don't think I can pass those off as intentional flowers anymore)...

Anyway.  I realized that I have been really content lately.  Sure, probably has a lot to do with the sunshine and warm weather - turns out I really hate being cold.  

So I started thinking about it this morning, am I really that solar powered?  Am I really just happier when I can wear capris and a t-shirt, when the sun is shining and there's no rain?  

Then I realized another factor that simply HAS to play a part in my state of contentness (is that a word?)

I have not had contact with one single French person in the last week.  

IT'S BEEN A GREAT WEEK!