Quelques Choses

I'd thought I'd share some more things I've learned about France and French culture. There's a lot i've forgotten for the moment, but here's a few things:


-They don't value customer service like we do in the U.S.
-Places to use the bathroom are not as available or nearly as nice as they are in the U.S. You also have to pay sometimes.
-Racism is alive and well among many French people. They blame a lot of problems on the young "Arab" population
-Schools (not universities) get 2 weeks of vacation about 4 times a year, in addition to 2 months off in the summer
- Food is very very important to the French. Therefore, most of the food you find in markets and restaurants is fresh and contains much much less preservatives and sugar than American food
-They really like handing out pamphlets
-They listen to a lot of American music
-Hardly anything is open on Sundays
- The French really value water and energy conservation, but they don't seem to have made recycling as accessible as in the States
-They have a lot of WWI and WWII memorials
-Some French people think it is so cool when they see a squirrel. Emily's host mom was surprised to hear that there are a bunch in Texas.
-Squirrels here have reddish fur
-The national motto is: "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité"


Other interesting news:


There's a big grève tomorrow (Oct. 12) because the French Parliament is about to vote on changing the retirement laws. All of the strikes this month have been over this issue. If parliament doesn't vote the way the unions want, the strike could continue for an indefinite amount of time. This includes schools, public transport, post, and others. It's all very bizarre to Emily.


Last Thursday in Grenoble there was a public transport strike, but for a very different reason. Apparently Wednesday night a young man was stopped on the tram by one of the men who checks for tram passes, and upon discovering that the young guy didn't not pay to be on the tram told him he either needed to pay or get off the tram. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the guy called some of his friends and they attacked the tram worker. The next day all of the trams and most of the buses went on strike, which they are allowed to do at anytime if they feel there well-being is endangered (for a normal union strike like the one on Tuesday, they have to plan it in advance). Donc, Emily and some of her schoolmates had to take a random bus/walk to school. She was about 40 minutes late to class, but her teacher was very understanding. Then, she and 2 friends waited for a bus to take them back into centre-ville, but it never came so they walked back. Emily had another class later that afternoon so she walked all the way there. It took an hour, but she said it wasn't bad because the weather was nice and at least she knew where she was going.


France is a very interesting place sometimes.

Deux Villes Françaises

This weekend Emily and I made day trips to Annecy & Chamonix with the CUEF (Centre Universitaire des Etudes Françaises) a.k.a. her school. They are both fairly close to Grenoble and absolutely beautiful! 


On Saturday, when we went to Annecy, they were celebrating the Retour des Alpages, which is when the animals (mostly sheep) would return from the mountains just before winter. It is an important tradition in Annecy and has been celebrated for many many years, however, it is now more culturally important rather than economically important. Anyway, for the Fêtes Des Alpages they have a parade and lots of "exhibit" sort of things where they show how they used to cut wood or make bread back in the day. There were also lots of souvenir and food stands and random enclosures with cows and goats. Emily and I explored the town, took lots of pictures, ate lunch by the canal, and napped by the lake. It was quite an enjoyable day.

Left: the canal in Annecy
Right: me chilling by the Lac d'Annecy




The next day, we went to Chamonix, which is a small town on the French side of Mount Blanc. It is also quite beautiful, but it in a different way than Annecy. Emily says it's similar to Vail, Colorado, but French... and with more British tourists. There wasn't much to do except wander around and eat a lot, which is what we did, but it was pretty relaxing and enjoyable. It was chilly there, but in a refreshing way. Apparently, Chamonix/Mt. Blanc is the #2 tourist spot in France. Mt. Saint Michel is #1. We did not go up into the mountains because even with a group rate it costs 35euro, but we still could see Mt. Blanc and the glacier pretty well, as well as the many people who were doing parapente.

(Chamonix w/ Mt. Blanc in the background)

Parapente is the French word for para-gliding. Emily actually did parapente on Friday (she's quite busy isn't she?). She said it was a blast, but I'm glad I stayed at home. I don't like heights very much.

Donc, I'll try to keep everyone updated on future adventures that we have coming up. Emily says she really doesn't like planning trips because it's too stressful. I'm pretty excited though because all I have to do is stay in her backpack.


A bientôt!

"Sur le Pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse..."

This past weekend, Emily and I ventured through Provence. I finally have a picture of us together! That way you know that I didn't just make her up, she exists.

 Emily and me by the Cours Mirabeau in Aix

Anyway, we were quite busy. We went to Avignon, Arles, & Aix, and visited Les Baux, the Pont du Gard (left), the Cathedrale d'Images, and a winery in Chateauneuf du Pape. Some of the best wine in France comes from that area. Chateauneuf du Pape is named so because there used to be a chateau there where the Pope would go when he needed to escape from Avignon for a while. The chateau was destroyed, but they still make great wine, some of which we  were able to taste.

In Avignon we visited the Palais des Papes (top right) and walked on the Pont d'Avignon. We also stayed at a hotel right next to the Palais which also used to be an old manor house. In Arles (bottom right) we saw an old Roman coliseum and amphitheater and ate lunch from the amazing market there. Also, we saw the "Cafe de la Nuit," from the Van Gogh painting. Oddly enough though, non of Van Gogh's paintings are in Arles anymore. In Les Baux is an old chateau/castle, cute shops, and the most amazing view of southern Provence. You can actually see the sea! In Aix, we had a short tour, visited a cathedral, visited the Musee Granet where some of Cezanne's works are, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Aix is really beautiful town! It's not too big, but has a big student population and is very lively at night. The Cathedrale d'Images, is an old cave sort of thing that this one couple bought and now use as an art display for various artists/directors. It changes every few months and can feature any number of themes. It uses projections of images and videos onto the walls and floors of the "caves" accompanied by music. It was quite strange and beautiful. The display we saw included elements of Australian culture, including animals, flowers, the Aboriginals, old artwork, and the modern Australian city.

Besides her trip to Provence, Emily has been spending her time continuing to explore Grenoble, hiking in the Vercors, eating lots of delicious French ice cream, studying French, writing postcards, drinking hot chocolate in cafes, and turning 21! For her birthday, she and her study abroad friends ate at a Mexican restaurant in Grenoble. She said it was good, but not very Mexican.