Stereotypically, France is known for its love of strikes. I would say the French just like to express themselves by taking to the streets. There have been tons of protests since my arrival, ranging from the engineering students at the university to support for Palestine, but the biggest ones are the lycée students and the recent garbage worker strike.
Lycée Students
The education minister has proposed some serious changes to the secondary school system and it hasn't boded well with the high schoolers. In France, upon entering high school, one must select a track to follow through the course of the 4 years in lycée. These tracks are either vocational or academic oriented, and within those tracks there are others, such as economics, business training, the humanities, science and math, and technology. This decision affects how many hours of different courses you are required to take; obviously someone in the economics track will take more math classes and fewer literature classes than someone in the humanities track. Apparently, the education Minister, Darcos, wants to change the number of hours of general studies and also the whole track system. It of course has its pluses and minuses: what if you decide you hate humanities and you have already chosen this path? Either way, the students are not happy and right before Christmas vacation they took to the streets in protest. Then in the first weeks of January they were at it again (perhaps they just wanted an extension of their holidays...). Their anger with the decisions have caused Darcos to change some of his ideas, or at least the way he words them, so perhaps they will be successful in their endeavor.
Trash Workers
Imagine all the garbage that Christmas produces: wrapping paper, foie gras cans, spoiled meat, turkey carcasses, plastic that once covered a brand new wii, Christmas trees, cardboard boxes... now imagine the garbage that New Year's brings: broken champagne bottles, discarded party favors, plastic champagne flutes, oyster shells...
Now imagine a month's worth of garbage plus Christmas and NYE stuff, and you have the streets of Orléans. Since December 25, the garbage workers have been on strike and it's not a pleasant sight. A once pedestrian friendly city, it is now nigh impossible to walk on the sidewalks thanks to the overflowing trash bins. Health hazard? The leader of the trash workers union doesn't think so. He said that you don't have sanitary issues when it's cold (what about rats, and recently the temperature went up, what now?) They are striking for pay raises and changes in policy. And apparently they are serious and negotiations aren't working because there's still garbage everywhere.
When one of the 3ème's fathers was getting kicked out of France for not having papers, my students protested for two hours. Barely 14, they have been engendered in the ways to let your government know that you are not happy.
The 29th of this month is a major teacher strike day, but since I am not part of a union and I want to get paid, I will still be teaching. The question of course is whether or not the students will actually show.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A Desert Christmas and a Parisian New Year
PHOTOS
On December 22, I flew from Paris to Marrakesh, Morocco. I arrived around 6pm, took an extremely expensive cab into the city center, and was given horrible directions to my hostel by the cabdriver. So of course, I got lost, wondering around in this huge medina that was packed with shops, motorcycles/scooters, donkey carts and tons of people. Thanks to the help of a French guy at another hostel, I finally found where I had reserved a bed. Boy, was I in for a surprise; the bedroom was 18 beds lined up in rows with no lockers or any privacy to say the least. I headed downstairs to check out Marrakesh when I met a British family on their vacation. They were very kind, and sort of “adopted” me. I went to eat with the son and daughter, and here we met some friendly Moroccan gents who took us into the nicer part of town where we could find bars and clubs. I suppose the reason that a bottle of wine exceeded 25 euros was due to the fact that Morocco is a predominately Muslim nation and also perhaps because the bars were in the rich part of town. And for the record, Morocco in December is not hot, far from it actually. I was freezing the whole trip, and the hostel of course didn’t have heat.
The next day we had a lovely breakfast on the terrace overlooking the medina. We then headed out to do some hardcore bargaining for Christmas gifts in the market. The moment I stepped off the plane and smelled that diesel-ly, oh so African scent, I knew I was back on the motherland. Of course the people looked a bit different from sub-Saharan Africans, but the lack of traffic lights, the overabundance of bicycles, motorcycles and donkey carts on the roads, the harassing men, and the bargaining in shops brought me back. After hours in the shops, we stopped for coffee and tea in a terraced café overlooking the square called Djemma el-Fna. Here you could find snake charmers, dancers, acrobats, women wanting to give you henna tattoos, freshly squeezed orange juice, spice carts, dried fruit carts, and men with monkeys. All of my senses were overwhelmed by this small, but bustling square. After our break, we found a palace with beautiful architecture, explored the markets some more, before heading back for couscous and tagine for dinner. After dinner, we decided to try out a Hammam, a Moroccan style bath. For 13 euros, we relaxed for 45 minutes in a hot sauna lit by candlelight, got a scrub down with black (smelled minty) soap, and an oil massage. It was absolutely fantastic and was totally worth getting my hair messed up.
Christmas Eve, Lizzie and Megan, two American friends from France met me at the hostel and we headed for the bus to Ourzazate (pronounced WAR-ZA-ZAT). From Marrakesh we had to cross the high Atlas Mountains, and I have never seen such landscape in my life: Red clay and dry scrub with the backdrop of snow capped peaks. We drove up and up through forests, small villages, along windy roads with the threat of falling stones or snow. On the other side of the mountain range is what I was told is landscape similar to Arizona, with red clay plateaus and hillsides. Ourzazate is famous for its movie studios; if you have seen Gladiator or the Mummy, this is where those films were made. Once we arrived, we explored the city a bit, then found a restaurant to have our “Christmas” dinner: vegetarian couscous, chicken tagine, and lamb chops with French fries. We hit the sack early, because Christmas day had the promise of desert tours that started quite early.
Christmas day, we parted our ways, the other girls headed on a two day trek in the desert and me headed on a shorter trip to some cool sights around Ourzazate. In an SUV, I and a tour guide named Nacir headed to three Casbahs, Moroccan villages on hilltops that have been around for many centuries. The three Casabahs were : Tifoultoute, Ait Ben Haddou, and Tamdakht. I just saw the first one from a distant, but quite a beautiful sight with a walled town and a huge lookout tower on top. To get to Ait Ben Haddou, we strayed off the main road, crossed a river by foot, and climbed to the top of the Casbah to see the gorgeous view of the mountains and village below. This particular casbah was very important during the spice trades from Timbuktu. In fact, if you so desire, you could take a camel ride from Ourzazate to Timbuktu, to have the experiences of those merchants from the 12th century. It only takes 53 days. the final casbah I saw was a bit smaller, but it was here that I got to ride a camel (albeit only for a few minutes, and at a cost of 4 euros, but definitely worth it). It was a bit rocky, like riding on a boat in the ocean, but whoa was I high up, I never thought about how tall camels are! Though that tour cost me a pretty penny (75 euros including tip, access to the casbah, camel ride, and tour) I am glad I did it and didn’t leave Ourzazate without seeing anything.
The bus ride back to Marrakesh was horrendous. It was a very smooth, fast ride, but apparently it wasn’t so smooth for 75% of the voyagers, because they were all puking. I am not normally thrown off by vomit, but when the whole bus is busting out plastic bags to throw up, and then they have to keep it for the rest of the 5 hour drive…. Well I can say I was very happy to get to Marrakesh!
On the bus I met a French/Lebanese science teacher who hails from the town where Evian is produced. He needed a hostel, so I showed him my “lovely” one, and we hung out, talking about American politics, the Middle East situation, the French education system, and a host of other topics. The next morning I said farewell to Morocco, arrived in Paris around 2, took the train back to Orleans (it was a good 30 minutes late), went to a small party with some French friends, slept for like 3 hours, left Beaugency at 6:30, got to Paris at 8:15, killed time in a café, took the train to the Airport and finally met Aaron and Dad at 12ish on the 26th. It was quite a whirlwind of traveling, and it wasn’t even over yet!!
We checked into the hotel, then headed south to Paris. We searched out the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and explored the left bank around Fontaine St. Michel. We were all exhausted, so after dinner and all that walking, we crashed at the hotel.
Sunday, 28th December: The Louvre. I am certain that this was the highlight of both Aaron and Dad’s trip. Aaron kept asking if we could find Mary Magdalene’s tomb (reference to the Da Vinci Code). We spent two hours in the French statues and bronzes section, before we realized that there was no way we could see everything in this huge museum in a day. We saw Hammurabi’s code in all its glory (did you know it says that if a child is disrespectful to his parents, he loses a hand?) before joining the crowd to see the most famous item of all, good ol’ Mona. What’s so great about her anyway? I bet she was just some rich lady that asked Da Vinci to paint her and over the years we have made such a big deal over it. We also saw some other famous paintings by Delacroix and of course a Joan of Arc portrait. After the Louvre, we found a small pizza restaurant near a statue of Moliere, then headed to Musee d’Orsay for some impressionist paintings by the likes of Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh. After that we headed to St. Germain area for a very French dinner (escargots, frog legs, fondue, duck breast, and wine of course) before heading back to the hotel.
Monday, 29th December: I guess this time of year is the tourist season because all the touristy spots were packed. We entered Notre Dame in all its glory (p.s. there is a Joan of Arc statue here too!), the Concierge where Marie Antoinette and Robespiere were held during the revolution and before their deaths by guillotine, and Saint-Chappelle cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows. We ate sandwiches while sitting on the Seine River and then headed to the area around Chatelet and Centre Pompidou, where we did a little shopping (didn’t buy anything though).
Tuesday, 29th December: Headed out of town a bit to go to Versailles. I studied this palace in a fine arts class freshman year, but it was a bit disappointing, mostly because of the overwhelming crowd and the dreary rain. Once inside, you couldn’t pause long to look at any piece of art because of the pressing crowd, but I did get to see the glorified portraits of Louis XIV (it was his chateau) and Napoleon. There was also this modern art exhibit that was interspersed throughout that was extremely bizarre considering the beauty surrounding it. By modern art I mean a display case full of old vacuum cleaners, a statue of Michael Jackson and his pet chimp, and other strange stuff. Lunch at McDo’s (sad I know) and then to Orleans for the afternoon. Aaron said he liked Orleans, and that made me happy. We just pretty much explored my stomping ground before eating dinner at a local restaurant and heading back to Paris.
Wednesday,31st December: Made a fat morning (gras matinee) because we knew it would be a long day. Met Kether for lunch at a Senegalese restaurant in the 11th (p.s. Aaron and Dad were both thrown off, because this part of Paris is very “ethnic” i.e. a lot of black people on the streets and in the shops). We checked out Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, saw Moulin Rouge and all the sex shops. After a brief stop at the hotel to drop off our stuff, we headed to Chatelet for dinner (a long one) to await the coming year. Cops were everywhere. The metros were free starting at 5, so you can imagine the crowds. I got first hand experience seeing the “hoodlum” youth of Paris, boys lighting cigarettes on the metro (big no-no) harassing people on the train, shaking the candy machines for free loot, running through the halls and getting apprehended by the police. After dinner, we met Kether and her friend Jamela for champagne before hitting the metro (no champagne on the Champs de l’elysees, the one thing the cops actually enforced). After fighting through the crowded metro, we arrived on the Champs at 3 minutes til 12. We check our watches, 11:59… 12:00… NOTHING. We turn towards the Eiffel Tower, nothing. We wait, 12:15, still nothing. Talk about disappointment. Despite the fact that the streets were packed with people, there was no fireworks show, no countdown, no ball drop. Just a bunch of drunk people, cops, and us. We tried to make it fun by singing patriotic American songs before headed to the metro to wait an hour for the train. We got back to our hotel at 3am.
Thursday, 1st January: Took the TGV to Le Mans. The TGV is a very fast train system in France and Aaron and Dad were really excited to take it. We kept going through tunnels and my ears kept popping. Le Mans was DEAD on the 1st, so we took the tram out to the racetrack where they have the 24 hours of Le Mans race every year. Then we just headed back to Paris, ate dinner at the same restaurant we had the night before, and then to the hotel to pack.
Friday, 2nd January: I accompanied Aaron and Dad back to the airport where we said our goodbyes. It was great having them visit, show them around, pretend like I knew what I was doing. I left the airport and headed straight for Orleans where I spent the weekend with Charlotte, hanging out, watching Top Chef and planning lessons (ugh, gotta work next week, no fun!).
So the new year in Orleans started splendidly, i.e. three inches of snow and -4 degree weather. It snowed all day monday, the day I moved into my new apartement (read sliding on ice/snow with luggage is not fun). But now I live in the center of town and have heat and internet, yay!!!
On December 22, I flew from Paris to Marrakesh, Morocco. I arrived around 6pm, took an extremely expensive cab into the city center, and was given horrible directions to my hostel by the cabdriver. So of course, I got lost, wondering around in this huge medina that was packed with shops, motorcycles/scooters, donkey carts and tons of people. Thanks to the help of a French guy at another hostel, I finally found where I had reserved a bed. Boy, was I in for a surprise; the bedroom was 18 beds lined up in rows with no lockers or any privacy to say the least. I headed downstairs to check out Marrakesh when I met a British family on their vacation. They were very kind, and sort of “adopted” me. I went to eat with the son and daughter, and here we met some friendly Moroccan gents who took us into the nicer part of town where we could find bars and clubs. I suppose the reason that a bottle of wine exceeded 25 euros was due to the fact that Morocco is a predominately Muslim nation and also perhaps because the bars were in the rich part of town. And for the record, Morocco in December is not hot, far from it actually. I was freezing the whole trip, and the hostel of course didn’t have heat.
The next day we had a lovely breakfast on the terrace overlooking the medina. We then headed out to do some hardcore bargaining for Christmas gifts in the market. The moment I stepped off the plane and smelled that diesel-ly, oh so African scent, I knew I was back on the motherland. Of course the people looked a bit different from sub-Saharan Africans, but the lack of traffic lights, the overabundance of bicycles, motorcycles and donkey carts on the roads, the harassing men, and the bargaining in shops brought me back. After hours in the shops, we stopped for coffee and tea in a terraced café overlooking the square called Djemma el-Fna. Here you could find snake charmers, dancers, acrobats, women wanting to give you henna tattoos, freshly squeezed orange juice, spice carts, dried fruit carts, and men with monkeys. All of my senses were overwhelmed by this small, but bustling square. After our break, we found a palace with beautiful architecture, explored the markets some more, before heading back for couscous and tagine for dinner. After dinner, we decided to try out a Hammam, a Moroccan style bath. For 13 euros, we relaxed for 45 minutes in a hot sauna lit by candlelight, got a scrub down with black (smelled minty) soap, and an oil massage. It was absolutely fantastic and was totally worth getting my hair messed up.
Christmas Eve, Lizzie and Megan, two American friends from France met me at the hostel and we headed for the bus to Ourzazate (pronounced WAR-ZA-ZAT). From Marrakesh we had to cross the high Atlas Mountains, and I have never seen such landscape in my life: Red clay and dry scrub with the backdrop of snow capped peaks. We drove up and up through forests, small villages, along windy roads with the threat of falling stones or snow. On the other side of the mountain range is what I was told is landscape similar to Arizona, with red clay plateaus and hillsides. Ourzazate is famous for its movie studios; if you have seen Gladiator or the Mummy, this is where those films were made. Once we arrived, we explored the city a bit, then found a restaurant to have our “Christmas” dinner: vegetarian couscous, chicken tagine, and lamb chops with French fries. We hit the sack early, because Christmas day had the promise of desert tours that started quite early.
Christmas day, we parted our ways, the other girls headed on a two day trek in the desert and me headed on a shorter trip to some cool sights around Ourzazate. In an SUV, I and a tour guide named Nacir headed to three Casbahs, Moroccan villages on hilltops that have been around for many centuries. The three Casabahs were : Tifoultoute, Ait Ben Haddou, and Tamdakht. I just saw the first one from a distant, but quite a beautiful sight with a walled town and a huge lookout tower on top. To get to Ait Ben Haddou, we strayed off the main road, crossed a river by foot, and climbed to the top of the Casbah to see the gorgeous view of the mountains and village below. This particular casbah was very important during the spice trades from Timbuktu. In fact, if you so desire, you could take a camel ride from Ourzazate to Timbuktu, to have the experiences of those merchants from the 12th century. It only takes 53 days. the final casbah I saw was a bit smaller, but it was here that I got to ride a camel (albeit only for a few minutes, and at a cost of 4 euros, but definitely worth it). It was a bit rocky, like riding on a boat in the ocean, but whoa was I high up, I never thought about how tall camels are! Though that tour cost me a pretty penny (75 euros including tip, access to the casbah, camel ride, and tour) I am glad I did it and didn’t leave Ourzazate without seeing anything.
The bus ride back to Marrakesh was horrendous. It was a very smooth, fast ride, but apparently it wasn’t so smooth for 75% of the voyagers, because they were all puking. I am not normally thrown off by vomit, but when the whole bus is busting out plastic bags to throw up, and then they have to keep it for the rest of the 5 hour drive…. Well I can say I was very happy to get to Marrakesh!
On the bus I met a French/Lebanese science teacher who hails from the town where Evian is produced. He needed a hostel, so I showed him my “lovely” one, and we hung out, talking about American politics, the Middle East situation, the French education system, and a host of other topics. The next morning I said farewell to Morocco, arrived in Paris around 2, took the train back to Orleans (it was a good 30 minutes late), went to a small party with some French friends, slept for like 3 hours, left Beaugency at 6:30, got to Paris at 8:15, killed time in a café, took the train to the Airport and finally met Aaron and Dad at 12ish on the 26th. It was quite a whirlwind of traveling, and it wasn’t even over yet!!
We checked into the hotel, then headed south to Paris. We searched out the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and explored the left bank around Fontaine St. Michel. We were all exhausted, so after dinner and all that walking, we crashed at the hotel.
Sunday, 28th December: The Louvre. I am certain that this was the highlight of both Aaron and Dad’s trip. Aaron kept asking if we could find Mary Magdalene’s tomb (reference to the Da Vinci Code). We spent two hours in the French statues and bronzes section, before we realized that there was no way we could see everything in this huge museum in a day. We saw Hammurabi’s code in all its glory (did you know it says that if a child is disrespectful to his parents, he loses a hand?) before joining the crowd to see the most famous item of all, good ol’ Mona. What’s so great about her anyway? I bet she was just some rich lady that asked Da Vinci to paint her and over the years we have made such a big deal over it. We also saw some other famous paintings by Delacroix and of course a Joan of Arc portrait. After the Louvre, we found a small pizza restaurant near a statue of Moliere, then headed to Musee d’Orsay for some impressionist paintings by the likes of Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh. After that we headed to St. Germain area for a very French dinner (escargots, frog legs, fondue, duck breast, and wine of course) before heading back to the hotel.
Monday, 29th December: I guess this time of year is the tourist season because all the touristy spots were packed. We entered Notre Dame in all its glory (p.s. there is a Joan of Arc statue here too!), the Concierge where Marie Antoinette and Robespiere were held during the revolution and before their deaths by guillotine, and Saint-Chappelle cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows. We ate sandwiches while sitting on the Seine River and then headed to the area around Chatelet and Centre Pompidou, where we did a little shopping (didn’t buy anything though).
Tuesday, 29th December: Headed out of town a bit to go to Versailles. I studied this palace in a fine arts class freshman year, but it was a bit disappointing, mostly because of the overwhelming crowd and the dreary rain. Once inside, you couldn’t pause long to look at any piece of art because of the pressing crowd, but I did get to see the glorified portraits of Louis XIV (it was his chateau) and Napoleon. There was also this modern art exhibit that was interspersed throughout that was extremely bizarre considering the beauty surrounding it. By modern art I mean a display case full of old vacuum cleaners, a statue of Michael Jackson and his pet chimp, and other strange stuff. Lunch at McDo’s (sad I know) and then to Orleans for the afternoon. Aaron said he liked Orleans, and that made me happy. We just pretty much explored my stomping ground before eating dinner at a local restaurant and heading back to Paris.
Wednesday,31st December: Made a fat morning (gras matinee) because we knew it would be a long day. Met Kether for lunch at a Senegalese restaurant in the 11th (p.s. Aaron and Dad were both thrown off, because this part of Paris is very “ethnic” i.e. a lot of black people on the streets and in the shops). We checked out Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, saw Moulin Rouge and all the sex shops. After a brief stop at the hotel to drop off our stuff, we headed to Chatelet for dinner (a long one) to await the coming year. Cops were everywhere. The metros were free starting at 5, so you can imagine the crowds. I got first hand experience seeing the “hoodlum” youth of Paris, boys lighting cigarettes on the metro (big no-no) harassing people on the train, shaking the candy machines for free loot, running through the halls and getting apprehended by the police. After dinner, we met Kether and her friend Jamela for champagne before hitting the metro (no champagne on the Champs de l’elysees, the one thing the cops actually enforced). After fighting through the crowded metro, we arrived on the Champs at 3 minutes til 12. We check our watches, 11:59… 12:00… NOTHING. We turn towards the Eiffel Tower, nothing. We wait, 12:15, still nothing. Talk about disappointment. Despite the fact that the streets were packed with people, there was no fireworks show, no countdown, no ball drop. Just a bunch of drunk people, cops, and us. We tried to make it fun by singing patriotic American songs before headed to the metro to wait an hour for the train. We got back to our hotel at 3am.
Thursday, 1st January: Took the TGV to Le Mans. The TGV is a very fast train system in France and Aaron and Dad were really excited to take it. We kept going through tunnels and my ears kept popping. Le Mans was DEAD on the 1st, so we took the tram out to the racetrack where they have the 24 hours of Le Mans race every year. Then we just headed back to Paris, ate dinner at the same restaurant we had the night before, and then to the hotel to pack.
Friday, 2nd January: I accompanied Aaron and Dad back to the airport where we said our goodbyes. It was great having them visit, show them around, pretend like I knew what I was doing. I left the airport and headed straight for Orleans where I spent the weekend with Charlotte, hanging out, watching Top Chef and planning lessons (ugh, gotta work next week, no fun!).
So the new year in Orleans started splendidly, i.e. three inches of snow and -4 degree weather. It snowed all day monday, the day I moved into my new apartement (read sliding on ice/snow with luggage is not fun). But now I live in the center of town and have heat and internet, yay!!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tis the season…
France is pretty serious about the holidays. Shops are allowed to be open on Sundays two weeks before Christmas, which is kind of a big deal. As aforementioned, there is a cute little Christmas market in the center of town. Stalls selling food exhibited their wares of foie gras, assorted sausages (bull and deer meat sausages; hazelnut or mushroom flavored sausage, anyone?), tartiflette (cheese, potatoes, bacon served up hot), vin chaud (hot, spiced wine), churros, crepes, waffles, candy, and chestnuts (yes, roasted over an open fire, how cute). Hand-made jewelry, pottery, and trinkets are also sold at the market. I got many Christmas gifts here. The center of town is packed, as can be imagined. It’s not much different from the states, with the sole exception being the total exclusion of religion in the holiday festivities. In Winston, on Reynolda road, there is always a nativity scene set-up at a major intersection. I have yet to see a nativity scene and was hard pressed to find a card that said “Merry Christmas” instead of the secular “best wishes.” I have several Muslim students in my classes and a few weeks ago, many were absent. They were allowed to miss school to celebrate the end of Ramadan, eid-el-fitr. When we discussed Christmas in class, I asked some of the Muslim girls if they had it at their home. They said no, they got presents at their fete at the end of Ramadan. I thought it was interesting that they were allowed to miss school; I don’t know what the policy is in the US but I think it certainly meshes well with the French education system, reserving Wednesdays for “religious education” so that it doesn’t occur in the schools and treating everyone equal, even to the extent of religious holidays. Staying with this secular notion, I haven’t seen a single Jesus around. In teaching about Christmas, I discovered that Christmas dinner is quite different from in the states. The one commonality: turkey. The French accompany that with oysters, smoked salmon, foie gras, and escargots. They wash that all down with Champagne and eat a buche (log) of chocolate ice cream/crème as dessert. And they eat this the 24th, 25th, and 31st. And they call thanksgiving the food holiday, yeah right. Some families might eat frog legs, but surprisingly, that whole idea is a false stereotype. I know many Frenchies that have never tried them.
This next comment is completely un-related to Christmas, but I found it interesting recently. In the US, we make a lot of movies and they are in English, obviously. When we get another country’s films, it’s pretty rare that we dub it and thus we are used to watching foreign films with subtitles. Foreign films, however, are not that popular in the US, so maybe that’s why we don’t have a huge dubbing industry. France loves to dub movies and French people love dub films. In fact, I had a French person tell me that they preferred the dubbed Harrison Ford voice to the original (blasphemy). “Version Francaise (VF),” as these films are called, are beyond annoying. First, the voices don’t match up with the mouths. Second, you lose a lot of the character when you take away their voice. Third, I understand dubbed films much better than original French movies, and I think it’s because they dumb down the translations or something. I ask French people how can they watch classics like Forrest Gump in French? It’s appalling. Maybe it’s my American pride coming out, but I refuse to watch a VF. Luckily, there is a theatre that plays the films in VO (version orignale). But in the French people’s defense, it would get annoying reading all the time, since a lot of the movies do come from the states.
I am ready for the vacation; Morocco and Paris here I come!
This next comment is completely un-related to Christmas, but I found it interesting recently. In the US, we make a lot of movies and they are in English, obviously. When we get another country’s films, it’s pretty rare that we dub it and thus we are used to watching foreign films with subtitles. Foreign films, however, are not that popular in the US, so maybe that’s why we don’t have a huge dubbing industry. France loves to dub movies and French people love dub films. In fact, I had a French person tell me that they preferred the dubbed Harrison Ford voice to the original (blasphemy). “Version Francaise (VF),” as these films are called, are beyond annoying. First, the voices don’t match up with the mouths. Second, you lose a lot of the character when you take away their voice. Third, I understand dubbed films much better than original French movies, and I think it’s because they dumb down the translations or something. I ask French people how can they watch classics like Forrest Gump in French? It’s appalling. Maybe it’s my American pride coming out, but I refuse to watch a VF. Luckily, there is a theatre that plays the films in VO (version orignale). But in the French people’s defense, it would get annoying reading all the time, since a lot of the movies do come from the states.
I am ready for the vacation; Morocco and Paris here I come!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Bienvenue, l’hiver (welcome, winter)
So what’s been going on here since the last time I wrote (click on the links for pictures!!):
I went to Toulouse the weekend before Veteran’s day. Toulouse is in Southern France, about a 6 hour drive from here. I went with my French friends, Julien, Clara, and Foufoush. We left late on Friday night because they had to work, so we got to Toulouse around 3am, went to a party until around 5am and then finally slept. The next day we checked out Toulouse, dubbed the rose city because of the color of the bricks on all its buildings, which was pretty cool to see. We then went to a friend’s house for a birthday party (before that we helped him pick out a motorcycle jacket for his birthday). Unfortunately, Clara and I both had to work Monday (the others were taking off Monday and making a four day weekend until Veteran’s day, lucky) so we took the train back to Orleans on Sunday. It was a quick trip, but I had a really good time. I got to hear a “southern” accent in French, which was cool (Orleans is supposed to have the most neutral accent in the country, whereas the north and south have very strong accents).
Two weeks ago, my friend from high school, Christina, came to visit from London. We went to Chambord, a chateau about an hour from here, with two other Americans and a handful of French friends. It was cold, but gorgeous and really fun to see. We also had a raclette party (very popular here; it’s easy to accommodate a lot of people with unlimited amounts of ham, cheese, and potatoes). It was a good weekend, full of reminiscing about Winston-Salem good times.
Thanksgiving was an absolute hoot. We decided that we Americans would cook up a real thanksgiving dinner. There were 5 Americans that participated, and we made loads of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and green beans. It’s a good thing we made a lot of food, because 25 French and other nationalities came to eat with us. We barely had enough space in the kitchen to accommodate everyone. No, we didn’t get a whole turkey, but we loaded up on breasts and legs and baked them. After dinner, we all made hand turkeys describing all that we were grateful for. It was awesome, having all my friends there, American and French, enjoying our lovely “food” holiday.
Christmas here looks promising. They started decorating the streets in the middle of October, and apparently the Joan of Arc statue will be surrounded by an ice skating rink to open soon. Additionally, tons of little stalls are going up that will sell Christmas wares. Every street has huge lights hanging across, wishing everyone happy holidays. The commercial center has bright lights and Christmas trees that are already lit.
As for me, the residence is shutting down for the holidays, but no worries, I am going to Morocco! It was kind of a spur of the moment decision, as I desperately searched for somewhere warm to spend the holidays (though Morocco isn’t that much warmer, it’s in the 50s). I will be going the 22nd through the 26th with a friend (Lizzie, I went on spring break with her in Senegal) and coming back to Paris to meet Dad and Aaron the 27th through the 2nd. I am very excited about the holidays, but I gotta teach the students Rudolph and other Christmas stories/songs over the next two weeks first.
p.s. If you leave comments on my blog, could you be so kind as to leave a signature? I would love to know who you are!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Bon Appétit!
I’m in France, how can we not discuss the cuisine? I have mostly been cooking for myself (way cheaper) but I will indulge you in some of my experiences with French food.
1. Baguettes – Perhaps you have an image of a French person crossing the street with baguette in hand. That is a reality… every day, French people visit the Boulangerie (Bakery) to get a baguette for breakfast, lunch and dinner (ok, maybe they don’t go 3 times, but I assure you they go at least once a day). Baguettes don’t keep very well, thus the daily ritual. Bread is important at meals; it can help you get the last bit of meat off your plate, and it is totally appropriate to use it to mop up the sauce (yes, clean your plate!). And without baguettes, where would you put your cheese?
2. Cheese – if you remember me as the child who loved American cheese and cheesewiz, you must know my reaction when encountered with the cheese section at the grocery store. Cheeses that are usually quite expensive in the US (Roquefort or Gruyere, to name a few) are locally produced and cheaper. Goat cheese, sheep cheese, cheese that is black and smells horrible (stinky cheese, anyone?), yes you can find it in your local shop.
3. Sausage – also known as Charcuterie, sausage is very popular here. Not your breakfast patty, and quite frankly I don’t want to know how it’s made, the sausages here come in all kinds of variety. I tried andouillette which was described to me as having a “strong smell” and I thought it was quite good. You can imagine my surprise when I read the English translation (chitterlings). Lardon, which some say is just bacon in a fattier form, is also very popular in cooking. Honestly, I don’t know how French people stay so thin, because between sausage and cheese, they are pretty much consuming 100 percent fat.
4. Game creatures – at a Saturday market, I watched a child with amusement as he passed a basket full of life rabbits, tapping his mother’s shoulder and pointing. The next stand was butchering rabbits, and I think the little boy got a dose of reality. Duck and goose is also popular (foie gras is good, though my love of waterfowl may outweigh my desire to eat their livers) along with horse (…. Yes, not kidding). Sorry to break the stereotype, but apparently snails and frog legs are only popular dishes for Christmas dinner or other special occasions. Mussels and oysters can be eaten any day, however.
5. Wine – yes a glass of wine in a restaurant is cheaper than soda. And you can find very cheap bottles of wine in the store (I’m talking 2 euros for a Bordeaux!) Wine is often used in cooking, and don’t let a French person tell you they don’t know anything about wines. Order foie gras and a glass of red and expect their disapproval. Two weeks ago, the Beaujolais came out and flooded all the stores and bars. The Beaujolais tradition is essentially a bunch of vineyards racing to get their wine out first. Now, if you know anything about wine, you can guess that a wine from 2008 isn’t going to have the best taste (it hasn’t had enough time to really develop its flavors). The French people talked about how “degueulasse” (worse than disgusting) and I can’t say that I was particularly impressed either. But it’s a tradition so…
6. Coffee – order a coffee, you get an espresso, in a tiny cup, served very hot and requires a lot of sugar. But I am a total coffee addict. Normally served after you have finished eating (not while you eat), it is very popular in France. Picture this, sitting in a café wearing your beret and sailor shirt, sipping your coffee and discussing existentialism. (ok, that never happened, but doesn’t it just seem so French?) I’ll never go to starbucks again, mark my words.
7. Desserts – Pastries (chocolate croissants, tarts, crumbles) can be purchased at the bakery. One popular item is the tarte tatin, an upside down apple tarte. Ice cream appears on most menus, along with chocolate mousse and crème brulee. Actually, desserts are probably the easiest things to order in France because they are called the same in the U.S. Cheese is often a dessert (an assortment plate). And of course waffles and crepes drenched in chocolate are good too.
8. Non- GMO – in the US we often get a lot of disapproval from Europe about our use of Genetically Modified Organisms. If they do cause cancer, 22 years of consuming those means I am doomed. I will say though I think there is a difference in the tastes of some items, like beef, chicken, and fruit (as in they taste a lot better). You can even order a burger raw here… wouldn’t suggest it though.
9. Health Warnings? – When you see an advertisement in the US for cigarettes, it is always accompanied with a health warning, albeit brief (consuming tobacco may lead to addiction or something along those lines). Well here, coca cola, cheese, cookies, all have warning labels. “Avoid eating too much fat and sugars and get lots of exercise” marks both print and tv ads. This is new in France following concerns about obesity and you can imagine the difficulties that could follow (how do you tell French people to stop eating their fatty cheese?)
10. Meal Times – Lunch is traditionally between 12 and 2:00. If you don’t want to eat during this time, that’s ok, but don’t expect to get anything done. Banks and some stores close during lunch hours. If you are hungry between 2 and 6, don’t expect to eat. Restaurants, bakeries, even some groceries stores close during this time. Though they re-open at 6, dinner usually isn’t until 8. And Sundays, most stuff is closed and if it’s opened it has limited hours.
11. Restaurants - it’s often a better deal to order the MENU or a set price menu, with entrée, main dish and dessert, so expect to be sitting there enjoying your meal for a while. Aperitifs are often served before dinner; pastis (licorice flavored liquor mixed with water) and Kir (champagne-like white wine served with a fruity syrup) are popular. Finally, servers don’t get paid based on tips, so the good thing is they don’t harass you. On the other hand, if you want your check, you have to flag down the server because it would be rude for him/her to bring it to you before you asked.
12. Random etiquette – Salad is eaten after meals (though it is okay to eat it first too). It is totally appropriate to put your bread on the table. You eat your fruit with a knife. And I think French people eat really fast, but maybe I eat slow.
13. French Fast Food – consists of Crepes (salted with cheese or sweet with Nutella), sandwiches (tuna and ham are popular), Shwarma (lamb, Middle Eastern sandwich), and Panini. These you can get on the go and during non-traditional meal times. French fries are served with either mustard or mayo.
14. American Food – if you were worried about eating duck liver served with snails, don’t worry. If you visit, you will find some of your American favorites. Downtown there is a McDonald’s (MacDo’s) with the infamous Royale with cheese (pulp fiction, anyone?). Pizza Hut is on my street, and a little bit further down is a Domino’s. There are plenty of KFCs in Paris. And to top it off, there is a Tex Mex restaurant in town, complete with country music, burritos, and margaritas. And it is way popular with French people on their lunch breaks.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Toussaint: Chateaux et fetes
I apologize for not posting a bit earlier. The weeks of October 25 until November 6 marked the vacances de Toussaint, a vacation from school in celebration of All Saint’s Day. I decided to group this post around the things I did in two groups, Chateaux de la Loire and Fetes.
| Toussaint |
Chateaux – Castles
This region is known for its castles, hundreds doting the Loire river valley. If you didn’t know, France has had a lot of kings and queens, who of course had castles, and they themselves had lovers/mistresses that had castles, and dukes and duchesses who also had castles. The original castles were less for living and more for protecting and resemble medieval fortresses. During the Toussaint holiday I visited two chateaux and a few cities outside of Orleans. I hope to soon see at least the most famous chateaux before I leave.
Beaugency – October 19
I went to Beaugency with a few other Americans, Charlotte and Nancy, and a Croatian girl, Mirta. Actually, we had the intention of taking the bus to get to Meung-sur-Loire, a small village with a chateau about 20 minutes outside of Orleans, but since it was Sunday, there were of course no buses running. Instead we headed to the train station, enquired as to a cheap ticket to visit a interesting city, and voila, we wound up in Beaugency. It is a pretty little town on the Loire. Guess who liberated the city in 1429 on her way to Orleans? Crossing the Loire in the direction to Orleans is a 26 arch bridge that has stood since the 15th century. There’s also the Tour de Cesar, which was once part of a chateau, and of course a large cathedral in the center of town. As you can see from the pictures, it is a very nice view of the river. On the 1st of November, I had chance again to visit Beaugency for a birthday party of a friend of a friend. Through my professor I have met a number of French young people and have spent a lot of time with them. This birthday party was held in a meeting hall of Beaugency, where we ate Raclette (kind of like fondue, except you dump melted cheese on top of potatoes, ham, and salad; quite good for a cold evening), drank wine, and danced up a storm to disco music. The best part of the evening was the brief English lesson I gave (French people always want to know how to curse in English…)
Blois – October 26, 2008
Kether, my American friend from Paris, came to visit so of course we had to check out a chateau. The chateau used to be the seat of the dukes of Orleans, but the most interesting aspect is the fact that it is actually 4 different buildings all from different periods in history. It was first a medieval fortress, made up of a meetings hall for the counts of Blois during the 10th century. The next section, a brick and stone wing, was added by Louis XII between 1498 and 1503 and exhibits an architectural style called “flamboyant.” The next section is from the Renaissance period and was built by Francois I. Finally, the last section exhibits Greek classicism styles, was constructed between 1635 and 1638 for Gaston d’Orleans. Most of the architecture was commissioned by Francois I and his wife, Claude de France. This can be seen by the prevalence of salamanders (which look more like fire breathing dragons to me) and minks, the royal symbols of Francois and Claude, respectively. The porcupine represents Louis XII. If you know anything about renaissance royalty in France, you have certainly heard of the all powerful Catherine de Medici. She actually passed away at this chateau in 1589. In the city of Blois, there was a funny museum of magic with huge dragons that sometimes appeared in the windows, and a church with a tribute to Joan of Arc.
Tours – October 29 and 30th
Mirta and I took the 1.5 hour train ride to Tours, the larger city in this region. An island of sorts, the city lies between the Loire river and the Cher river. In the center of town is an enormous cathedral, and was once a famous point for pilgrims attempting to see St. Martin’s tomb. When we arrived in Tours on Wednesday, we immediately took a train to Azay-le-Riddeau, a chateau surrounded by a moat. Upon arrival the chateau was unfortunately closed (during lunchtime), but we soon joined the crowds to enter the grounds. The construction of the chateau began in 1515 by the Treasurer of France. However, he and his croonies were accused of corruption and thus fled the unfinished chateau. Francois I (aforementioned Salamander) gave the chateau to a friend, which was then passed on to an aristocrat during the French revolution. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures inside of the chateau, but it was filled with art from those periods, salamander adorning fireplaces, statues, even a pool table. We headed back to Tours, dropped our stuff at the hostel, and then went out into the town. Place Plumereau, the old quarter of the city, had cute medieval style houses and buildings. The cool thing about Tours is that the university is right in the center of town, so young people of all types abound. As you can see from the pictures, it rained a lot on Thursday (and snowed!!) so we didn’t get to do much outside of visiting a museum of fine arts and the cathedral.
Fetes – Parties
The week before Toussaint our residence decided to have a festival of foods of the world. Monday night, Nancy and I made pancakes with maple syrup, Tuesday Mirta made a flan-like dish from Croatia, Thursday Leonor from Columbia made a dish of plantains, and Claude from Cote d’Ivoire made some rum drinks for the fete. The Americans ordered pizza that night, then we all headed upstairs to dance up a storm to music from all over the world. It was quite fun. We are still waiting for the French people (by far the largest group) to make something. I think that will be tonight as we celebrate Mirta’s last days in Orleans. The other fetes were more like dinners that I had with some French friends. The first was dinner at Madame Richer’s house with her husband, brother, Sylvan, brother’s friend, Tichou, and his girlfriend, Noemi. Everyone was very nice to me, and I applauded my ability to follow the conversation (though it was tough for me to participate as by the time I thought of a response in coherent French, the topic had passed). It was a truly French evening, first with aperitifs (before dinner drinks) of Kir (champagne-esque – can’t say champagne unless it comes from Champagne - white wine mixed with fruity syrups), followed by dinner of buerre blanc sauce (white butter sauce with shallots), fish, shrimp, and sauerkraut (and white wine). This was followed by a cheese plate and red wine, and then dessert of home-made mousse and coffee. The dinner started at 8:30 and didn’t finish until well after midnight. The following week, Noemi and Tichou invited me out to a friend of theirs’ birthday dinner at a restaurant a little outside of Orleans. The restaurant had live music and the group played songs from the 80s, classic French songs like “Champs d’Elysée,” and random American songs, O happy day, YMCA, and rollin on the river, to name a few. It was funny to hear them attempt to sing in English, getting a lot of the lyrics wrong and with funny accents. Nonetheless, we danced and had a good time, again until late in the night.
In addition to fetes, I have seen three movies in French: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Le Crime est Notre Affaire, an Agatha Christie novel, and Mesrine, a film about a French criminal who broke out of jail in Canada, robbed a few banks and killed a lot of people. I also saw W, the movie about George Bush, and thought it pretty horrible, for the story but also for the weird scenes of the President (one of him chocking on a pretzel, another of him fighting his father in the oval office) and the horrible job of casting the director did. I got a bike for 50 euros, it’s cute and very French, though I would warn against attempting to bike with a baguette in your basket (my baguette fell out, sadly). The 4th and 5th I am headed to Paris to follow the US elections. Should be exciting for sure.
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