Killing two birds with one stone

So is this the greatest idea ever ?  Well, maybe not the greatest idea
EVER but pretty darn convenient.  I was in the Louvre yesterday and
had to use the restroom.  Part of the sink was the faucet, of course,
and then there was another fixture attached to the counter top.  If
you look closely you will see that it is a water fountain.  I have
never seen this before but it is such a clever idea.  First of all,
convenient because it is all in one place.  I also think it is great
for the environment.  If lots of places had this feature there would
be less need to wander around with a plastic bottle of water.  Saving
money and more importantly, there would be a lot more space in our
landfills..

Tuesday Tips - How to avoid strikes in France

France = wine, food, beautiful countrysides, cheese (good cheese and the moldy kind if you like that sort of thing), Paris and the Eiffel Tower, did I already mention wine? and STRIKES.

I know I've already written once about strikes, but there's so much to say about them.
First of all, I'd like to say for the record that I understand why certain strikes occur.  They are not all bad.  But, as a person who commutes to work every day, I can tell you that it can be a little unnerving at times.

So, today I'd like to give you tips (which I try to do every Tuesday even thought it doesn't always work out that way) on how to avoid anything strike-like in France.

1.  Don't take the subway
2.  Do take the bus - in towns where buses are run by private companies (like where I live)
3.  Learn to ride a bike
4.  Don't travel by plane
5.  Don't put your kid in school, or if you have to at least don't sign your child up for lunch at the cafeteria.
6.  Get a back-up plan for random days when school is cancelled the day of.
7.  Have the website www.francegreve.com handy.  It lists all of the upcoming strikes in France.
8.  Don't move to France if you can't stand strikes.
9. Or...become one of them.  A 'strikee' or a 'strikette'.

This is Lindsay, signing out.

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The French-English dictionary doesn't always have the answer

You say tomato, I say tomato.

If you don’t say it out loud, it sure seems like the same thing, right?

It took me a long time to find the equivalent of my favorite products from home in France.

First of all, I never found some of them.  Maybe some of you out there will be able to help me with that down the road.  Secondly, they’re never exactly the same, but you get used to it.

So, I’ve decided that there are so many things to discuss under this topic that I’ll need to split it up into weekly articles.  Are you as excited as I am?  Good.  So let’s get started.

So, today let’s talk yogurt, or ‘yaourt’ in French (I still don’t know how to spell that by the way).  You can generally find yogurt in the ‘cremerie’ aisle (crème/dairy), or with the deserts.

Take baby yogurt for example.  France is like the mecca of yogurt.  It takes up the same amount of space that snack food does in the States.  No, I take that back…the chip aisle.  And 99% of the yogurt in France totally fatty, made out of whole milk.  So, if you’re looking for light yogurt, you might find some.  The name of the two biggest fat-free or light yogurts are Taillefine and Sveltesse (couldn't find their website, sorry).  Anwyay, that’s not my point.

Yogurt in France is creamy and thick.  When my son was born, I fed him lots of yogurt.  I usually fed him the Dannon baby yogurt.  The stuff is creamy and delicious.  Then I went to the States to see my family when he was like 6 months old.  I searched and searched for baby yogurt.  99% of the yogurt section is fat-free.  And all of the yogurt is liquidy.  Even the baby yogurt that I found after like 10 minutes of roaming in the dairy aisle.  Why is that? 

To make a long story short, if you’re used to very liquid, fat-free yogurt, you can find it in France, but there aren’t a lot of products like that out there.  I suggest you get used to the creamy, delicious yogurt that France has to offer and deal with it!

This is Lindsay, signing out.

Happy Halloween, or not...

My oldest son goes to an English school on Wednesdays.  He's be hearing about about Halloween for the past month.  French bakeries decorate their windows with spooky spiders and cobwebs.  Disney World in France turns into a gigantic Halloweened land...But in reality, nobody in France acutally celebrates it.

First of all, the Catholic population in France is very high.  They celebrate 'All Saints Day,' 'Toussaints.'  This day is meant to celebrate all Saints that don't have their own holiday throughout the year.  It's on November 1st.  The French celebrate it by visiting cemeteries to pay respects to loved ones, and going to church.  Halloween is like the antithesis of All Saints Day.  If you're intersted in finding more about this, here's an interesting link I found.

Halloween was pretty popular in the late nineties until about 2005.  I remember it being popular when I first arrived to France.  Now it's pretty much over.

Last year, I went to an American get together, and we all celebrated Halloween at someone's house.  It was fun, but it wasn't the same thing as trick or treating, getting candy that your parents have to sort through to make sure some twisted person didn't inject them with poison (did your parents do that?).

This year there was no American party.  So, I got my kids costumes and painted my son's face.  They both had their trick or treat bags (that I obviously got in the States).  I got them candy corn.  On Saturday we 'celebrated' Halloween.  My son was like, 'OK, we're ready to go out trick or treating.'  I was like, 'nahh, what's so fun about that?' (trying to disuade him from actually wanting to go out, rather than disappointing him).  My son was like 'To get candy!'  OK, so, I told him the truth, told him we'd make cookies instead, and that was that. 

It's too bad we don't celebrate Halloween in France.  That was one of my favorite holidays (hmm, after Thanksgiving and Christmas).  Maybe it will be 'à la mode' sometime soon, before my kids get old enough to want to throw toilet paper and eggs at our neighbor's houses.

This is Lindsay, signing out.

Buy your bags in French supermarkets

Message from contributing writer, Christine

So here is something I think the French do so right, and I understand
that it it being done in the U.S. as well, just not all over.  I went
into a store today that sells nothing but frozen foods....a story for
another day...and the sign said that they would charge me 3 cents for
each bag I needed to put my purchases in.  I have a fold up bag in by
handbag at all times, so I did not spent my 3 cents...but the point
is..I had a fold up bag in my handbag  just for this purpose.  I mean,
really, at home my supermarket asks me if I want paper or plastic.
Many stores in France charge you if you want a bag for your groceries.
 This is annoying at first and believe me I complained about spending
3 cents for a bag the first time I was charged for it.   But after a
minute of thinking about it it made good sense to me.  I really never
know what to do with the hundreds of plastic bags I have at home.
Think about it.  We actually can purchase bags to hold our bags in the
U.S.  At the end of the day, a minor inconvenience because you have to
carry a bag with you at times, but I really thing the French are onto
something.  I know that I am helping save a little bit of our planet
every time I bring my own bag...a great idea for my children an my
grandchildren.

A strike, again!

What a surprise, another French company is on strike.  Air France is, yet again, on strike.
The flight attendants are on strike against possible and probable job cuts.  Ok, that sucks.  But should customers have to suffer because of this?

I'm supposed to fly via Air France tomorrow.  My flight might be cancelled.  argghhh.  All I can say is, 'The French are always on strike.  All the time.  Enough already.'

This is Lindsay, signing off.

Taking the bus in France

Hi, this is another article from our contributing writer, Christine.  She travels to France a lot throughout the year, and lives here for 4 months every Fall.

The bus system in Paris is really wonderful, really it is....but every once in a while I just have to ask myself huh??  Yesterday I was taking the bus to the Louvre.  I was meeting a friend there at a specific time.  No problem.  You can go online and check out what time the bus will depart from your local stop and how long it will take to reach your destination.  Yesterday I was on the bus reading the nice red signs, "welcome to bus route number 22.",  "Route 22 wishes you a good day." "Destination Hotel de Ville." which was perfect because this bus route takes me right by the entrance of the Louvre on its way to the Hotel de Ville.  As I am reading the signs , feeling very smug because I can actually understand them in French, I notice that all of a sudden the red sign says "Destination changer." HUH????  The destination has changed, no explanation, just that the destination has changed.  One more stop and the driver asks  us all to get off of the bus and wait for the next one with no explanation.
Now what I also don't understand is not one person said anything or even questioned it.  We all got off of the bus.  I did not wait for the next one, it was a beautiful day in Paris and I walked the rest of the way.

Paris and/or New York

I'm in New York on business.  I went to college in NYC.  I moved to Paris right after graduation.  I remember moving to Paris and hearing Parisians say "Ugh, Paris is such a busy, fast-paced and tiring city."   And I always thought that that was kind of silly.  I mean, try spending like a day working in New York.  I'm not talking about vacationing in Manhattan.  New York is a busy, loud, very faced-paced city, filled with sky scrapers, stores, taxis, buses, tourists, people, neon lights, honking, coffee to go, take-out, more stores, and offices; and all of that is mixed together without any rhyme or reason.  Mind you, there are many very beautiful neighborhoods in Manhattan.  But it's true that everybody is in a rush to go somewhere, to do something.  And that's also what makes NY so wonderful and vibrant. 

Paris is such a beautiful city.  Everything seems so put together, like it was built on a fairytale.  All the buildings match, and when they don't, it looks so elegant.  La Défense, the semi-skyscraper part of town, is actually outside of Paris.  It's like the French thought 'this is kind of ugly.  Let's push it out of town.'

So to conclude, Paris is not a difficult city to live in.  It's gentler, a little less exciting, and a little more romantic than New York, with a touch of 'je ne sais quoi.'  Paris is so très French.

Subway Stations in France

Ok, so what's the purpose of this half-chair / half-creature in the subway station?  See the guy sitting there?  Now take a look at his shoes.  That's right, you have to wear industrial shoes with thick rubber soles to actually be able to use these things.  Got heels on? Forget it.  Ballet flats? Nope.  You'll just slip and slide.  The question I have is, why don't they just put down normal chairs?  These lean-thingies don't take up less space, and they're uncomfortable.  Yes, they've got an urban feel to them, which is what I imagine they’re aiming for, but citizens don't want cool, urban things in subway stations.  They want comfortable, practical stuff.  If anybody reading this happens to work for French public transport, please pass this on to the furniture department.

This is Lindsay, signing out.

Driving in Paris

Hi, this is an article from an new contributing editor.
I'll let her write up a profile this week...But here's her first article.


So just a brief note about driving in Paris. I had an appointment
today in Paris to apply for my visa. A person drove me to
the appointment and no offence, but next time I may take the metro
home. Did you know that there are not a lots of street signs in
Paris that are visible to cars...kind of necessary if you are driving
especially when the GPS says, turn right on blvd Murat. Great, it
would be ever so helpful is there was a sign for that. Oh yes, and
then there is the road rage. We were driving, while looking for
street signs that were non existent, and this lady started to
tailgate, and I am talking within inches!!!! She tried to push us
along for about 1/2 mile. Never mind that there was a school that was
just let out and we were trying desperately not to hit any of the
children, no matter, the tailgating continued. No matter that our
left turn was blocked by not only oncoming traffic but by a bicycle in
the road. We were turning on to a major road connecting us to a
highway. What I loved was that when we finally turned onto the road
we were searching for, we got a BIG honk of the horn. Guess she was
saying goodbye! Now my driver went over the edge and wished she could
have turned around and given the other driver a lesson!!! But, I did
get my visa.

I love that French medecine!

I've got an ear infection, yuck. Anyway, the Doctor explained to me that in order to treat it, you have to treat every single cause. In other words, antibiotics are not enough. You have to get everything up and running. I won't get into the details, because it's kind of gross...

Anyway, see the picture? I have to take all of that medicine between two to three times a day for a week. But you know what? I guarantee you that by tomorrow I'll be feeling realllllllly good.

I love and live for that French medicine!!

Things are smaller in France

Things seem to smaller in France than in the US.  Take toasters for example:  A big store like 'BHV' only has one toaster oven and like 50 toasters.

Anyway, I'd like to illustrate this point today with a parking lot.  I'm sure I'll show you other examples later.  So, take a look at this video:

I am driving my Smart car (practically the smallest car you could possible drive) in France, and look how hard it is to get into the parking lot...

By the way, refrigerators  are smaller too.  Did you know that in France the biggest models are called 'An American fridge'?  What we consider average in the States is huge in France.

Coffee makers are smaller, cars are smaller, roads are narrower.

Maybe that's why the French are so thin???

That's some food for thought, and this is Lindsay, signing out.

Why are houses gated in France?

Americans love gated communities. French love gated houses.

I think it goes with the phrase 'Vivons Cachés, Vivons Heureux' / 'The less everybody knows, the better off you are' (I apologize for a pretty bad translation). Anyway, the French are pretty private. Take outside decorations for example: ever notice in France that x-mas decorations are always great inside a home, but pretty sad on the outside? People are more reserved in that respect, which also has to do with respecting others. Americans are more outgoing in that respect. Yes, I miss the open front yards like on Desperate Housewives, because that's how I grew up. But there is also something nice about coming home and the comfort of being in an enclosed, private space. If anybody can enlighten me on the sociological explanations behind this, go for it.

Local ad for a French women's basketball team...

I work in marketing and advertising in the lingerie field, so I'm always on the lookout for ads our brands that hit me in one way or another.

found this ad for a local French all women's basketball team that just came out, and also happened to create a lot of buzz, but not in a good way. Associations of all sorts are in an uproar over this 'sexist and patronizing' ad campaign that 'treats women like meat.' The head coach defends the ad (he's the one who had the idea and worked on the campaign) saying that he doesn't understand why people are shocked and that when Rugby teams do the same thing (calendars, etc.) nobody seems to care. I think he's right. But maybe I'm becoming too French.

Tuesday Tips - How to survive a French office meeting

I really enjoy working in France. But it's different from many other cultures. The French love to think over things, discuss all possible solutions, and think over all scenarios before making any decision. This is good and bad. Sometimes you should think things out, and sometimes you should just do it...

1. Show up 15 minutes late. You'll be the first one to arrive.
2. Bring coffee and water. It might take longer than expected, and you're going to talk a lot.
3. Bring your blackberry. Check your emails during the meeting. This means you have lots of work and you are driven.
4. Be as theoretical as possible when you talk.
5. Prepare to argue. If you agree too much with people, you are considered weak.
6. Do not plan any meetings for at least an hour after the meeting is planned to finish. The meeting will go on longer than expected.
7. Do not expect to come out of your meeting with conclusions; instead you will come out with 'next steps' needed in order to draw a conclusion.
8. Write the meeting minutes. Keep a record of them because somebody at one point will tell you that they never said 'that' or it never took place.

How did big buses in France drive in such small lanes?

That's a good question. Thanks. You're welcome.

So, streets in France were built like hundreds of years ago. Pavement was basically poured over existing paths. And then came the buses.

I would like to congratulate all the French buses out there (not for your timeliness) for navigating through such narrow streets. I can't even drive an SUV without my palms sweating. You drivers must have gone through a really difficult driving school to learn your moves. I'm surprised I don’t see more bus accidents. I've never seen one now that I think of it.

Now let's be mean. Why must you break all the rules that exist, like pedestrian stops and right-of-way yields? It's not because you're a bus and French that you can trample over people. And why are you always, always running late? Aren't the schedules calculated on specific time frames?
And why must you break so hard at a stoplight? Not everybody is lucky enough to sit down for the ride...On the other hand, if you see someone running desperately down the street to catch you (that would be me on a daily basis) you generally wait...So thanks for that.

This is Lindsay signing out.

You gotta love the French

This is a ad in for a magazine in the La Défense train station in Paris.
The cover of the magazine says "Paris, the most beautiful city in the world."

That's about all I have to say about that. The picture says it all.

When in doubt, go on strike.

The French are big on strikes. You can always expect a big strike or two in September. The reason is, most people are back to work after summer break, the government is in full swing, and this is one of the major months out of the year when the majority of the French population depends on government infrastructures (school, post offices, trains, etc).

Last year, there was a huge public transport strike. That was really fun for me (my commute to work takes me through every form of public transport out there). Anyway, schools like the whole striking too.

As part of the plan to lower the deficit, the government has been cutting back on public employees; school staff is part of that plan, the idea being not to replace teachers who retire.

As a result, in the past couple of years the number of teachers has diminished, and schools in small towns have closed.

So French schools went on strike this week. In Paris alone, more than 25% of the staff in 420 schools out of a total of 660 went on strike on Tuesday (ouch for the kids and the moms out there). 136 of those schools were 100% on strike, and thus shut down for the day. This year, 16 000 teacher jobs were eliminated and next year the plan is to cut another 14 000. And for the first time (in a long time at any rate), private schools have joined the strike.

You know, I understand that this creates an issue, and may the force be with you. But, the striking thing is really annoying and effects parents and children more than the government. Can't they find another way to fight this?

And now I have a cranky child who doesn’t want to go to bed, but who has the chance to go to school tomorrow…

This is Lindsay, signing out before I get too carried away.

Healthcare in France - A couple of facts

There are a lot of things that seem 'normal' to me now, but as an American or an expat, shouldn't:
I'm feeling pretty sick tonight (laryngitis), which made me want to talk about health care in France:

1. When you go to the doctors to get a shot, you have to bring the shot with you (yup, you have to go to the pharmacy to pick it up first)
2. In order to get the shot in the first place, you have to see a Doctor who has to give you a prescription - that's kind of annoying.
2. You don't have a maximum number of sick days at work. You go to the Doctor, he/she gives you a form to fill out (if you really are sick), you bring it to your office when you feel better as proof that you really were sick. If you are out of the office for more than 3 consecutive days, the French government and the company you work for reimburse you; under three days, you don't get paid.
3. If you want to consult a specialist (like a cardiologist), you have to see a general practitioner first.
4. Most medicine in France is reimbursed - you can leave a pharmacy with a bag full of medicine, for free.
5. When you get an MRI or an x-ray, the Doctor (not yours) at the hospital gives you the results right after the exam. You don't have to wait for your Doctor to get the results.
6. Doctors in France make a good living, but far from what American Doctors make.
7. Every French citizen has complete access to healthcare.
8. To become a general practitioner in France, you have to go through 9 years of school after college.

Driving in France - lesson n°1

'Priorité à droite' / The RIGHT of way

When you are driving down a street, any car coming out of a side street to your right (without a stop sign), now matter how small it is, has the right of way. See the drawing above: Car A is driving down a main road. Car B is coming out of a smaller side street. Car A has to yield to Car B. Wierd right? And I'm talking any kind of side street (except if it's a street coming out of a parking lot or a small passage parallel to the main street).

F anybody who has left/right issues (I do) this becomes very confusing.
So basically, driving down any street with several intersections is an issue for me. It's like bumper cars without the bump (at least let's hope so).

And to make all of this even more confusing, French people don't always respect the rules (I'll get into that at more length another time), meaning that even if they should stop, they don't always. So, add that to the equation and all I can say is, either don't drive in France, or slow down at intersections JUST IN CASE.