Dear everyone,
So, here is my latest update, my latest reflective thoughts, my latest happenings:
I can’t believe it’s almost winter. It’s already November!
Time here is different. Everything is so much slower. Transportation in Lyon is quicker, but time is slower. It’s weird, when I stand in line, when I wait for the Tramway and/or Metro, or when I wait for class, it’s like time is not happening and I don’t have any deadlines. My wait and time is irrelevant.
My theory is that, I tend to cast a very careful eye and I listen constantly (as some of you may know), thus with my eavesdropping and with my want for knowledge, I am able to get through waiting lines and long train rides because I pay attention. I don’t stand there and tap my foot or bite my nails because I have so many different and foreign situations around me. It’s kind of nice ; )
I feel like I have opened my eyes and when I come back home, maybe I can take this with me when I stand in a long line at Walmart or at the post office! Maybe I’ll just daydream about “les heures fugitives” in France ; ) Who knows. I'll probably go through a lot of culture shock.
Some of you may have heard about the strikes that were (well and still are) going on in France. Now, if you were actually here and I were to mention the strikes to you, you’d immediately ask me: “Which one?” Haha. Just a little Frenchie humor for ya! No, we have actually been having three, one with public transportation, one with universities, and one with nurses. The workers have simply gone on strike, thrown up their hands and said: “We’ve had enough”.
I mean, it’s noble and all, but come on!
I mean, I like the liberty of it all, you know, complaining about whatever you want, but come on!
So, for three or four days it was pretty rough to get from here to there in France, and at one point the SNCF (France’s National Railway Company) announced that they were canceling 95 % of traffic! 95 %!!! That’s CRAZY for a France that depends very heavily on its rail system!
Mmmm, I love the lack of collective bargaining here.
I guess I’m just FOR talking one’s problems out, you know?
Seeing eye to eye and creating a solution, be it temporary or long-term.
Furthermore, I just think it’s hilarious how French newspapers can predict when strikes will happen! It just shows how deep-rooted and entrenched these strikes really are in the French lifestyle. That would grate on my nerves personally, knowing that something like that is going to happen, and then not reckoning, reconciling. Guess that’s just a foreigner’s wishful thinking though; )
On the same day that France revealed that the transportation strikes were to take place, France also revealed the eventual divorce of the Sarkozy’s.
Now, I must talk about tabloids in France. They basically don’t exist. French newspapers tell you the facts, the stuff that will happen and that did happen. They don’t give gushy details about affairs, marital problems, cuckoldry, etc. They just tell you “qu’est ce qui s’est passé”.
I was completely surprised one Thursday morning to read that Nicolas and Cécilia Sarkozy had just divorced in Paris. No questions asked it seems. No time wasted. No second thoughts.
It’s kind of nice really to just read the facts! It’s like these French just give a traditional shrug towards the ooey-gooey details, and life goes on!
At least what I have been reading is informative, right?
So, I got internet in my apartment finally. And by finally, I mean it took two FLIPPING months!!
When I first moved in, in early Sept., there was hush-hush talk about getting internet. Well, we finally got it the last week of October.
It’s funny, I have spoken with two other scholars who shared my exact frustration with all of this lack of technology and / or customer service. The workers have got their own schedule here; maybe they have too much paperwork. Hmmm.
Anyway, so one of my friends got on the phone with his provider last week because he was having trouble installing the box that they gave him. He gets on the phone, and the conclusion was that he had to send it all back and then start over. Poor guy, it’ll probably be next year before he gets internet!
I’m just glad that my apartment complex dealt with it, even though it took an Indian summer to get it.
Oh, and just so you know, we didn’t have an Indian summer here; instead, we had a Eskimo, igloo, ice cube of a transition from summer to fall. Well to winter. I think we skipped fall really. The temp here has been about a steady 45 degrees F. Now, for an Arkansas girl, that’s winter!! If I’m pulling out a pea coat, a scarf, gloves, tights, layered clothing, and legwarmers, that is winter!!
Gosh, I remember this time of year back when I still went trick-or-treating, when my mom and dad debated on whether or not my brother, Justin, and I had to wear jackets out on Halloween. Haha, not here! Gotta bundle up or your little fingers and toesies will frostbite and break off!
YES, I figured it out!! Now I know why the French don’t trick-or-treat! Because it’s too cold!!
Let me first talk about cold weather and French administration some more, and then I’ll talk about Halloween a little bit more ; )
So, it took a lot of patience and energy for me to get my VISA request. Yes, that’s right, I still don’t have my VISA, I have a piece of paper that says that I am legal until like January, and my former VISA that I got in Houston is now invalid.
And feeling like a confused invalid, I went to Lyon’s make-shift, "friendly" VISA office that had been moved twice in the past year. (And let me tell you! It was HARD to find! Oh, and it wasn’t welcoming! Didn’t know if you caught that sarcasm!) I showed up one morning at 8:30, thinking that if I were 30 minutes early, I would get a good spot in line before they opened. The office is set up on the left side of a big administrative building, and when I turned the corner, I promise you, there were 150-175 people there, (150-175 foreigners mind you) FREEZING, standing in line to get in. So, as a patient girl, I got in line, listened to about 10 languages, and then at about 9:10-9:15, minutes after they opened the doors, a man came out telling us that we had to leave:
“Il faut sortir! Vous sortez, revenez demain matin très très tôt!”.
Yeah, that translates into, “Leave this place, and come back at your own risk!”
Haha, not really, they told us to come back the next day very early to assure our place in line.
And so I did, for want of my VISA.
I showed up the next morning at 7:45, and there were still like 100 people in front of me!! OH MY GOSH. It was ridiculous! I waited until 9:00 again, and then, I was almost near the door when someone came out and said that they didn’t have any more tickets and that we had to come back next Monday ('cuz this was on a Friday). Well, some people decided that day that they wanted to protest, so they broke in through the doors, got into the warmth, and it got heated. I followed, and stood there and listened to the best fight ever!!!
Some 4 foot 11 French lady was throwing down with a 6 foot 4 African man for about 20 minutes!! Basically, here’s the gist: They have around 75 tickets per day, which is why you have to get there super early to even think about getting a spot in line. So, after they hand out the 75 tickets, they basically deal with people for a few hours, and for the rest of the morning/afternoon they process all of the requests. This was during the strikes as well, so their excuse was that they didn’t have all the workers that they usually have. So instead of telling us up front about the 75 tickets, they made us wait in a pointless line for several hours in the cold.
(So yes Simone, I was directly affected by the strikes!!)
Then, I went the following Monday at 7:15 in the morning, only to count that there were already 79 people before me. Guess what I did?? Yup! I left and got back in bed!
Tuesday morning, I woke up at 5:30, questioned whether I was too early bird for the métro (and I wasn’t), and got to the building at 6:10. I was like the 30th person. Early bird catches the worm! YAY! So, for three and a half hours I froze to death, greatly anticipating a small piece of paper that would get me in the door! YAY!
Oh man, it was an awesome experience I tell ya, AWESOME.
Wish I could do it again!
Not.
And now, on to more exciting news…I went to Strasbourg over the week-long French holiday for All Saints Day. Yes, French universities take off an entire week ! It’s pretty awesome ; ) God bless the Catholics.
I went to Strasbourg to see my friend Nathan, and I also attended one of his Rotary club meetings. I had a blast! That night a group of Rotarians from Little Rock, AR were there to speak to the club. From Little Rock! From Home!! Rotary has a program that allows clubs to exchange members throughout the year, and the Rotarians who go on these trips take with them young professionals, who are in the running for becoming future Rotarians. So, these young professionals get a chance to see Rotary happenings, and they are welcomed by all. It was really cool because it was like I got to catch up with “home” for a few nights! We talked about LR hangouts and where we worked. It was something special ; ) And it also made me incredibly homesick!!
Also, while in Strasbourg I walked over the Rhine river on a bridge to Germany!!! I got to see a little of Germany and I walked there!!! LOL!! It was all together a good experience and our sole mission was to find Nathan’s German friend Lukas a white scarf and a black pea coat. Yes, and they had to be those colors! Just FYI, we had no such luck with finding a white scarf in Germany, but he found a cozy and classy coat! In Strasbourg that same day we found his scarf ; )
It was fun, and I enjoyed Nathan’s company and the company of his friends : )
I also caught up with another Rotary scholar named Tenile from Brazil, who I had met in Paris during our orientation at the end of September. She is a real sweetheart, serving us tea and strumpets!
I ate a lot of sauerkraut “la choucroute” while I was there too! I am addicted to the stuff now! (My dad is already sooo jealous, and this will make him more so!)
And I also ate Head Cheese! Yup, that’s right! Haha, I think that I grossed Nathan out! But he was eating fatty liver, so he’s got nothing on me! It all tasted good, so...
What can I say, I’m crazy, adventurous and in a different country ; )
Oh, and I was in Strasbourg during Halloween…I saw a lot of decorations in stores (man do they like to decorate for Halloween!), but no trick-or-treaters.
If you want to see Strasbourg pictures, along with most all the other pictures I have taken, go to my website again :
http://picasaweb.google.com/BulletproofSpirit
So, in the near future, I will be an American celebrating Thanksgiving in France.
Maybe I’ll teach some Frenchies about Squanto and “discovering” American soil ; )
Also, I will hope to not celebrate Christmas alone! I just hope that I don’t end up sprawled out on my bed, watching my American movies, and eating every nummy I can find.
Gah, what a sad time that will be!! What a “woe is me” story that will make!!
Um, yeah, so I gotta make some plans! Lol!
I have a few friends who might be coming around Thanksgiving, so that’s good; and I have another friend who is coming at the beginning of December, so that’s even better; and then a friend is coming to live in France for an entire semester next semester!! He will get here around the 27th of December and we will go to England and Scotland for New Years : ) YAY!!!
So, it’s good to have plans, and I am sure these next couple of months are going to fly by, and school is flying by too. That is the only thing as of now that has gone by quickly--School. It’s pretty much been a blur.
I will end it here and give you all my best : )
So, here is my latest update, my latest reflective thoughts, my latest happenings:
I can’t believe it’s almost winter. It’s already November!
Time here is different. Everything is so much slower. Transportation in Lyon is quicker, but time is slower. It’s weird, when I stand in line, when I wait for the Tramway and/or Metro, or when I wait for class, it’s like time is not happening and I don’t have any deadlines. My wait and time is irrelevant.
My theory is that, I tend to cast a very careful eye and I listen constantly (as some of you may know), thus with my eavesdropping and with my want for knowledge, I am able to get through waiting lines and long train rides because I pay attention. I don’t stand there and tap my foot or bite my nails because I have so many different and foreign situations around me. It’s kind of nice ; )
I feel like I have opened my eyes and when I come back home, maybe I can take this with me when I stand in a long line at Walmart or at the post office! Maybe I’ll just daydream about “les heures fugitives” in France ; ) Who knows. I'll probably go through a lot of culture shock.
Some of you may have heard about the strikes that were (well and still are) going on in France. Now, if you were actually here and I were to mention the strikes to you, you’d immediately ask me: “Which one?” Haha. Just a little Frenchie humor for ya! No, we have actually been having three, one with public transportation, one with universities, and one with nurses. The workers have simply gone on strike, thrown up their hands and said: “We’ve had enough”.
I mean, it’s noble and all, but come on!
I mean, I like the liberty of it all, you know, complaining about whatever you want, but come on!
So, for three or four days it was pretty rough to get from here to there in France, and at one point the SNCF (France’s National Railway Company) announced that they were canceling 95 % of traffic! 95 %!!! That’s CRAZY for a France that depends very heavily on its rail system!
Mmmm, I love the lack of collective bargaining here.
I guess I’m just FOR talking one’s problems out, you know?
Seeing eye to eye and creating a solution, be it temporary or long-term.
Furthermore, I just think it’s hilarious how French newspapers can predict when strikes will happen! It just shows how deep-rooted and entrenched these strikes really are in the French lifestyle. That would grate on my nerves personally, knowing that something like that is going to happen, and then not reckoning, reconciling. Guess that’s just a foreigner’s wishful thinking though; )
On the same day that France revealed that the transportation strikes were to take place, France also revealed the eventual divorce of the Sarkozy’s.
Now, I must talk about tabloids in France. They basically don’t exist. French newspapers tell you the facts, the stuff that will happen and that did happen. They don’t give gushy details about affairs, marital problems, cuckoldry, etc. They just tell you “qu’est ce qui s’est passé”.
I was completely surprised one Thursday morning to read that Nicolas and Cécilia Sarkozy had just divorced in Paris. No questions asked it seems. No time wasted. No second thoughts.
It’s kind of nice really to just read the facts! It’s like these French just give a traditional shrug towards the ooey-gooey details, and life goes on!
At least what I have been reading is informative, right?
So, I got internet in my apartment finally. And by finally, I mean it took two FLIPPING months!!
When I first moved in, in early Sept., there was hush-hush talk about getting internet. Well, we finally got it the last week of October.
It’s funny, I have spoken with two other scholars who shared my exact frustration with all of this lack of technology and / or customer service. The workers have got their own schedule here; maybe they have too much paperwork. Hmmm.
Anyway, so one of my friends got on the phone with his provider last week because he was having trouble installing the box that they gave him. He gets on the phone, and the conclusion was that he had to send it all back and then start over. Poor guy, it’ll probably be next year before he gets internet!
I’m just glad that my apartment complex dealt with it, even though it took an Indian summer to get it.
Oh, and just so you know, we didn’t have an Indian summer here; instead, we had a Eskimo, igloo, ice cube of a transition from summer to fall. Well to winter. I think we skipped fall really. The temp here has been about a steady 45 degrees F. Now, for an Arkansas girl, that’s winter!! If I’m pulling out a pea coat, a scarf, gloves, tights, layered clothing, and legwarmers, that is winter!!
Gosh, I remember this time of year back when I still went trick-or-treating, when my mom and dad debated on whether or not my brother, Justin, and I had to wear jackets out on Halloween. Haha, not here! Gotta bundle up or your little fingers and toesies will frostbite and break off!
YES, I figured it out!! Now I know why the French don’t trick-or-treat! Because it’s too cold!!
Let me first talk about cold weather and French administration some more, and then I’ll talk about Halloween a little bit more ; )
So, it took a lot of patience and energy for me to get my VISA request. Yes, that’s right, I still don’t have my VISA, I have a piece of paper that says that I am legal until like January, and my former VISA that I got in Houston is now invalid.
And feeling like a confused invalid, I went to Lyon’s make-shift, "friendly" VISA office that had been moved twice in the past year. (And let me tell you! It was HARD to find! Oh, and it wasn’t welcoming! Didn’t know if you caught that sarcasm!) I showed up one morning at 8:30, thinking that if I were 30 minutes early, I would get a good spot in line before they opened. The office is set up on the left side of a big administrative building, and when I turned the corner, I promise you, there were 150-175 people there, (150-175 foreigners mind you) FREEZING, standing in line to get in. So, as a patient girl, I got in line, listened to about 10 languages, and then at about 9:10-9:15, minutes after they opened the doors, a man came out telling us that we had to leave:
“Il faut sortir! Vous sortez, revenez demain matin très très tôt!”.
Yeah, that translates into, “Leave this place, and come back at your own risk!”
Haha, not really, they told us to come back the next day very early to assure our place in line.
And so I did, for want of my VISA.
I showed up the next morning at 7:45, and there were still like 100 people in front of me!! OH MY GOSH. It was ridiculous! I waited until 9:00 again, and then, I was almost near the door when someone came out and said that they didn’t have any more tickets and that we had to come back next Monday ('cuz this was on a Friday). Well, some people decided that day that they wanted to protest, so they broke in through the doors, got into the warmth, and it got heated. I followed, and stood there and listened to the best fight ever!!!
Some 4 foot 11 French lady was throwing down with a 6 foot 4 African man for about 20 minutes!! Basically, here’s the gist: They have around 75 tickets per day, which is why you have to get there super early to even think about getting a spot in line. So, after they hand out the 75 tickets, they basically deal with people for a few hours, and for the rest of the morning/afternoon they process all of the requests. This was during the strikes as well, so their excuse was that they didn’t have all the workers that they usually have. So instead of telling us up front about the 75 tickets, they made us wait in a pointless line for several hours in the cold.
(So yes Simone, I was directly affected by the strikes!!)
Then, I went the following Monday at 7:15 in the morning, only to count that there were already 79 people before me. Guess what I did?? Yup! I left and got back in bed!
Tuesday morning, I woke up at 5:30, questioned whether I was too early bird for the métro (and I wasn’t), and got to the building at 6:10. I was like the 30th person. Early bird catches the worm! YAY! So, for three and a half hours I froze to death, greatly anticipating a small piece of paper that would get me in the door! YAY!
Oh man, it was an awesome experience I tell ya, AWESOME.
Wish I could do it again!
Not.
And now, on to more exciting news…I went to Strasbourg over the week-long French holiday for All Saints Day. Yes, French universities take off an entire week ! It’s pretty awesome ; ) God bless the Catholics.
I went to Strasbourg to see my friend Nathan, and I also attended one of his Rotary club meetings. I had a blast! That night a group of Rotarians from Little Rock, AR were there to speak to the club. From Little Rock! From Home!! Rotary has a program that allows clubs to exchange members throughout the year, and the Rotarians who go on these trips take with them young professionals, who are in the running for becoming future Rotarians. So, these young professionals get a chance to see Rotary happenings, and they are welcomed by all. It was really cool because it was like I got to catch up with “home” for a few nights! We talked about LR hangouts and where we worked. It was something special ; ) And it also made me incredibly homesick!!
Also, while in Strasbourg I walked over the Rhine river on a bridge to Germany!!! I got to see a little of Germany and I walked there!!! LOL!! It was all together a good experience and our sole mission was to find Nathan’s German friend Lukas a white scarf and a black pea coat. Yes, and they had to be those colors! Just FYI, we had no such luck with finding a white scarf in Germany, but he found a cozy and classy coat! In Strasbourg that same day we found his scarf ; )
It was fun, and I enjoyed Nathan’s company and the company of his friends : )
I also caught up with another Rotary scholar named Tenile from Brazil, who I had met in Paris during our orientation at the end of September. She is a real sweetheart, serving us tea and strumpets!
I ate a lot of sauerkraut “la choucroute” while I was there too! I am addicted to the stuff now! (My dad is already sooo jealous, and this will make him more so!)
And I also ate Head Cheese! Yup, that’s right! Haha, I think that I grossed Nathan out! But he was eating fatty liver, so he’s got nothing on me! It all tasted good, so...
What can I say, I’m crazy, adventurous and in a different country ; )
Oh, and I was in Strasbourg during Halloween…I saw a lot of decorations in stores (man do they like to decorate for Halloween!), but no trick-or-treaters.
If you want to see Strasbourg pictures, along with most all the other pictures I have taken, go to my website again :
http://picasaweb.google.com/BulletproofSpirit
So, in the near future, I will be an American celebrating Thanksgiving in France.
Maybe I’ll teach some Frenchies about Squanto and “discovering” American soil ; )
Also, I will hope to not celebrate Christmas alone! I just hope that I don’t end up sprawled out on my bed, watching my American movies, and eating every nummy I can find.
Gah, what a sad time that will be!! What a “woe is me” story that will make!!
Um, yeah, so I gotta make some plans! Lol!
I have a few friends who might be coming around Thanksgiving, so that’s good; and I have another friend who is coming at the beginning of December, so that’s even better; and then a friend is coming to live in France for an entire semester next semester!! He will get here around the 27th of December and we will go to England and Scotland for New Years : ) YAY!!!
So, it’s good to have plans, and I am sure these next couple of months are going to fly by, and school is flying by too. That is the only thing as of now that has gone by quickly--School. It’s pretty much been a blur.
I will end it here and give you all my best : )
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