To Be or Not to Be... a Tourist.

In the world of travel, there's a movement away from tourism, encouraging us to be "travelers" instead of "tourists," to seek the hidden parts of a city instead of facades erected for the masses.  For the most part, I buy into this philosophy.  For example, it's better not to rely heavily on guidebooks lest you see a place through the authors' eyes instead of your own  (of course, with a city as prominent in film and literature as Paris, it's impossible to visit without preconceptions).  I also avoid tacky souvenir shops 100% of the time.  Some people, though, take anti-tourism to the extreme: they skip the major sites altogether.  I don't think it's necessary to avoid going to monuments just because they're popular-- they're popular for a reason, and in Paris I found, for very good reason.  The monuments and museums are steeped in history, their architecture is magnificent, and they are a pleasure to visit, even if you are secretly checking off the "must-see" places in the back of your mind.

The most-visited site in Paris is not, as one might think, the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, but La Notre Dame.  I climbed the 400-something spiral stone steps up the towers to view the gargoyles and the city (and the huge bell):

I didn't even get close to the Eiffel Tower on my first day, there was so much to see in other parts of the city.  But the second night, I did.  The fog made it look like the top was lost in a golden glow:

I crossed the Seine and walked to Les Champs Elysees-- where the Arc de Triomphe stands in the middle of the busiest intersection and the street is lined with fancy stores, restaurants, and a Christmas market. Later in the week, I climbed to the top of the Arc.

I spent half a day in the gargantuan treasure-trove that is the Louvre (got lost inside even with my printed-out self-guided tour), saw the Mona Lisa (and the perpetual crowd surrounding her) and other masterpieces that impressed me even more. 

So I saw most of the "must-see" things in Paris-- that type of sight-seeing was tiring, even pacing myself as I did.  I gave in on day four and swapped my fashionable black boots for sneakers, to save my brutalized feet. So what if I look like a tourist?  At least I speak lovely French (to the surprise of all the Frenchmen that approached me ;)

Mon Premier Jour

I arrived in Paris at 11pm on a Sunday night and, after navigating the gargantuan train station with only a few mishaps, headed toward the apartment of an acquaintance, where I was to stay while he was away.  It was in the suburbs of Paris and a 30-minute walk from the train.  On a snowy night, with a heavy duffel, the up-hill walk was more of a trek.  On the crest of the hill, I correctly thought that if I turned around, I would have a view of the city.  Just as I turned, a spotlight spanned overhead, coming from none other than the Eiffel Tower.  There it was right there in front of me!  And as I looked on, the Tower suddenly burst into sparkles, like little stars, a sight confirming all the ideas of Parisian glamor and magic floating in my mind.  It was sparkling because it was exactly midnight.. I couldn't have timed it better had I tried. 

They say one is lucky to see Paris at Christmas under snow.  I must be lucky because I awoke the next morning to find a winter wonderland of fresh powder.  Me heading out on my first morning:

 I took the subway into the city, without a plan, except to get off somewhere downtown.  My wandering took me to the Seine:

 The Louvre:

  Les Tuileries (above and below) where I bought breakfast from this pastry shop. A thrilling first day.

PARIS

The most beautiful city I've ever seen-- everywhere I look there are architectural wonders, statues aestetically placed, bridges spanning the Seine, people straight out of fashion catalogues walking down the street, immaculate window displays.  There are more sidewalk cafés and crèperies than could ever be tried.  Every building I enter has soaring ceilings or collosal pillars or stained glass windows.  And at night-- the lights!

I'll tell you more about my trip day by day, but for the moment I don't have Internet access where I am staying and I'm paying out the nose for these few minutes at an Internet café.  Details to come-- Merry Christmas everyone!

Stereotypes

In the French imagination, Americans are sloppy fast-food eaters.  In the American imagination, the French are rude wine-drinkers with mistresses.  The wine part is true, I don't know about mistresses, but today I'll share my view on the "rude" stereotype (just as I contradict the American fast-food stereotype every chance I get).    

I have yet to come across a rude person in France.  I've been around the city, asking for directions, buying things in broken French, dining out, and everyone has always been cordial.  In fact, French people tend to be more polite than the average American.  They follow a set of courtesies.  For example, every time you get on the bus, you greet the driver with a "bonjour" or "bonsoir."  Every time you get off the bus, you say "merci, au revoir."  Every time.  And they always bid their passengers a good day.  Likewise, when entering a shop, always greet the salesperson, even if they're occupied.  They claim that to not do so would be like entering someone's house and not saying hello.

I spend a lot of time on public transportation so I've had the chance to observe the following: it's still commonplace for someone to give up his or her seat for an elderly person or someone who looks like they need it.  It still happens in the U.S. (right? I hope?) but I'm impressed with the consistency of it here.  Should an old lady get on a bus, she's offered a seat without fail.

Living in the south of France might skew my perception of French manners.  Apparently France is composed like the United States, with the "friendly" people living in the south-- maybe the warm air puts them in a better mood than their northern counterparts.  That makes New York City analogous to Paris-- home to the rushed, rude, tourist-sneering city-dwellers.  Maybe there I will run into the stereotypical Frenchman.  I'll let you know because I'll be there in two days!        

Noël

Today my freshmen and I compared Christmas in the U.S. with Christmas in France.  Here are the generalities we came up with:

Similarities include:  Santa (Père Noël), decorating Christmas trees, opening presents on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve...

-The main dish on Christmas day might be turkey, but it may very well be roasted chapon (a castrated chicken which allows it to grow more muscle and fat than the ordinary chicken). And always foie gras (duck or goose liver that everyone claims is delicious!).

-They drink champagne, but haven't heard of eggnog.

-Instead of Christmas cookies, they have bûche de noël.  We call it the "yule log" and they can look like this:

-As in the U.S., Christmas lights vary by neighborhood.  Lyon has une Fête des lumières, which draws crowds of spectators.  While there are city lights in Toulouse, I haven't seen any on private residences, though they tell me that's more of a countryside tradition.

- Instead of stockings on the fireplace, there are shoes left under the tree.

- Some carols have trickled over--- jingle bells was playing over the school loudspeaker in between classes--- but not to a great extent. Definitely no radio stations playing only Christmas songs.

That's a summary of my classes today; the students were particularly uncooperative and I'm glad to be rid of them for three weeks.  More French Christmas insight in the days to come, I'm sure!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Toulouse is decked out in Christmas spirit-- decorations in the stores, lights strung over the streets and hung from buildings, a big tree.  As in New York, there are carts selling roasted chestnuts (chataignes grillées ou marrons chaud) on the corners.  A guy on the sidewalk plays the accordion (granted he's always there, not just at Christmas, but he still adds to the ambiance).  And fire jugglers seem to come out full force: I watched one man twirl a fire baton around, walked a quarter of a mile, and found another fire-dancing group.  They perform nightly, probably to take advantage of the crowds milling around shopping, eating, and ready for a spectacle.  But the biggest deal at Christmas in Toulouse is le grand marché de Noel -- the Christmas market.

 Unlike the normal French markets that are set-up and taken down every day, the Christmas market is a permanent fixture in the Capitol square throughout December.  The stalls are little wood cabins strung with lights, open everyday and every night.  They sell gifts like scarves, games, jewelry, berets, bonsai trees... Here's one with Russian nesting dolls:

 

But like most things, the big draw of the market, the main attraction, the specialty of most of the cabins is: FOOD. 

 

Sausage-filled baguettes.

 Foie Gras-- the French Christmas delicacy-- duck or goose liver.  Expensive stuff.

 VIN CHAUD- hot wine with cinnamon.

 Dried sausage, also a specialty.

 Gourmet Cheese.

Tartines: fresh bread with cheese melted on top.  They smell amazing.

Candy.  Chocolate, of course.  Pastries. Hot chocolate. Churros. Special Christmas bread. There was only one stall that had tacky Santa things. 

Christmas markets happen all over France-- huge ones in Paris.  The oldest one, in Strasbourg, has been happening for 431 years.  It almost reminds me of a summer fair in America with all the crowds paroozing the aisles, indulging in fattening, seasonal food...  The lights:

    That's Christmas-time in the city!

Les Toilettes

Public restrooms in France are exceptionally rare.. I don't know why. (same goes for drinking fountains; I've yet to see one).  Even in heavy-traffic areas like train stations, finding the bathroom is like a finding the hidden tomb inside the pyramids.  And when you do come across one, you'll probably have to pay 0,30- 0,50 € to use it.  If it's free, don't expect to find toilet paper, so if you're doing a lot of traveling, carry a roll with you.  It takes a while to get use to how to flush-- buttons and pulley-things instead of, well, a normal flusher.  There's also the possibility that there won't be a seat and the bathroom will look like this:

I had read about their existence but had never actually used one...

The Streets of Toulouse

Picture Time:

C'est très jolie, n'est-ce pas?

The Art of Entertaining

Is entertaining at home becoming a lost art in America?  When's the last time you were invited to someone's house for a meal (aside from big holidays and the awesome poolside fests that exist in my family)?

The practice still seems to be common in France.  I eat at least two meals a week at other people's houses. Last Sunday I was invited to eat with the family of the girl I tutor.  We had a nice lunch of salad with duck, potatoes, steak, chocolate cake... followed by a stroll around the city.  Not all the meals I'm invited to are fancy, most are casual, with unpretentious hospitality.  The French don't seem to need a formal reason to invite someone nor do they make a big deal out of it; maybe some Americans over-dramatize the affair or maybe we're just too busy.  Not a judgment, just a thought.  Your opinion?..

My invitations have allowed me to observe the French way of life in different families and to try food as they make it at home, not only in restaurants. So I'm thankful that my acquaintances welcome me in their homes.

(Side-note: In my own kitchen, my two latest endeavors: pears poached in white wine; pumpkin risotto.  Improvised risotto because I didn't have any Parmesan and I couldn't really taste the pumpkin, but it was still really good. Major comfort food.)

Two Itty Bitty Inconveniences

Two things I find slightly inconvenient about the French: 

1) They take a TWO HOUR lunch break from 12-2pm, a big gap in the middle of day when everything shuts down: little bakeries, big bakeries, museums, Apple stores... If the hours say it's open from 9-6, you should assume they mean from 9-12 and 2-6, just to be safe.  There's a large public library in Toulouse that closes down in the middle day like this.  If you're in the middle of a project at lunchtime, they kick you out to do who-knows-what until they re-open.  You'd think they'd be able to give the employees lunch breaks in shifts so that they wouldn't have to close.. but no.

2)  Restaurants don't serve dinner until 7:30pm.  This goes for most of your middle to upscale restaurants, even bistros in bars.  I discovered this when, after a tiring day of sight-seeing, I was ready to eat at 6:30-- a totally reasonable dinnertime, one would think... but my options were to wait it out until 7:30 or to buy something on-the-go from a boulangerie, snack bar, or sandwich shop.  Keep this in mind when traveling in France. :)

Sign Language

I had an interesting encounter on the bus today, when I noticed two people sitting behind me signing.  Now, contrary to popular belief, sign language is not universal: American Sign Language, which I took for four years in college, is only used in the U.S. and Canada.  So I figured that these people were probably using French Sign Language-- and they were, I came to find out, when I interjected.  Thankfully, ASL is a direct descendant of French Sign Language, meaning they have more in common than say, ASL and British Sign Language.  Still, even the manual alphabets differ.  Nonetheless, I was able to introduce myself, tell them that I was American, learn their names, that they were both deaf, mother and son, etc.

When I sign I unconsciously mouth the words, from the habit of speaking and to help myself be understood.  But it was funny-- I found myself mouthing the words to these people, but it not helping at all-- because I was mouthing in English when I should've been mouthing in French! It probably made it even more confusing for these nice people.  It was like a 4-way language jumble: English, French, ASL, and FSL, all criss-crossing each other.  It was fun though-- my first conversation with deaf French people-- and it made me want to sign again!

*On a related note, when I speak French and am trying to be understood, I often throw in sign language unconsciously, as if that would somehow make it obvious.  It doesn't, of course, since none of my listeners know ASL; it probably just looks like bizarre miming.

A Walk in the Country

It snowed this Saturday!  I woke up and there were big flakes coming down, which I wasn't expecting at all.  It continued for close to an hour, but nothing stuck.  It warmed up enough that afternoon for a country walk with Francoise and Lucien, the French couple that I stayed with my first week in France.  I enjoy their company because I learn more French in two hours with them than I do all other days combined.  They're great about explaining interesting things or telling me what things are called; Francoise takes English classes and likes to practice with me, so it's a two-way vocab-exchange.

20 minutes outside of Toulouse, you find yourself in the typical landscape of the Lauragais region: rolling hills and fields:

We passed a llama farm:

The best part = the view: on certain days we can see the Pyrenees, a whole range of snowy mountains 80 miles away, but that look so much closer.  My camera can't capture it; you can barely see them in this picture, but in real life they were magnificent.

Last month I posted a link to a video of another outting with Francoise and Lucien, when we stayed in a rural village, at Francoise's mother's house.  I don't know if the link worked so here's the video again, if you missed it.  It was a hike in the Pyrenees:

Thankful for France and Fluency (and Friends.. And Food!)

All week I had been looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night and in no way was I disappointed.  It was as delicious and festive as any Thanksgiving in America-- two long tables, beautiful centerpieces, hot cider, a fire pit, and more food than we could eat.  The only thing missing was my family :(  but it was good company nonetheless.

I was one of a dozen Americans (the hosts were American, so they got all the dishes and traditions right!).  There were about 50 people my age and we counted 21 nationalities!  I sat next to people from Greece, Colombia, China, Malaysia, Switzerland, Germany, Tajikistan, and it goes on.. (most were international students)... "Where are you from?" was the perfunctory second question in any introduction.  And how nice that English was the language of choice!  Fluency (and the power of language!) is often taken for granted.  To be one of the fluent again was to regain the power to be charming, witty, polite, and intelligent...Words can make you whatever you want to be, when you know how to use them.

Rendez-vous like this also boost my French self-esteem.  When I'm constantly surrounded by Frenchmen, and I misunderstand simple questions, or lack the vocabulary to make a simple point, it's sometimes discouraging.  I feel like I should be learning quicker and picking it up more easily, but when I'm with non-native French people or foreigners like myself, my French sounds darn good compared to some.  I've even gotten a couple compliments on it, having only been here two months. 

So, I was happy when I left the party at midnight, with a plate of leftovers and a healthy ego, after an evening of cheerful conversation. Just wonderful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm celebrating by teaching my students all about Thanksgiving and probably by whipping up some special foods myself.  I'm attending a big Thanksgiving gathering on Friday night-- really looking forward to it, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Today I shopped at the cheapest market in the city!  Look at all of the produce I got!:

Oranges, apples, tomatoes, bananas, cauliflower, three zucchinis, some shallots, celery, two grapefruits, a slice of pumpkin, a big spaghetti squash, and three "kaki-pommes" (persimmon, a tropical fruit that looks like an orange tomato but is deliciously sweet)... all of this for only 10 euros!!

I went to a chocolate exposition over the weekend.. lots and lots of chocolate. In all shapes and sizes. A chocolate fountain.  A fair amount of free samples.  I've never liked chocolate, but I'm slowing acquiring the taste..

As for my own cooking, I've recently made: Emincé de Volaille sauce Roquefort, which is chicken in a creamy Roquefort sauce (Roquefort being a sheep milk bleu cheese with a unique flavor), with sauteed potatoes; spaetzle with knepfla de porc foie (German! not French); homemade applesauce; and different variations of sauteed vegetables, pasta, rice, homemade spaghetti sauce.  I have a feeling I'm going to experiment with some new delicious food tomorrow...

Sunday Lunch

If you ever get invited to eat with French people, expect to stay for a long time.  This Sunday a couple invited me and others over for a quick lunch after church-- I didn't get home til 6pm!  Not that I care, I happen to be incredibly rich in spare time.  It simply seems that no one is in any rush.

First, a vegetable soup-- puree style, not chunky, made in a pressure cooker, which seems to be common in France.  Finished. Then the main course needs more time/preparation so 15 minutes later that comes out.  Roasted pork and potatoes in a Dijon mustard sauce and a side of vegetables. White wine.  How does a young couple with a baby and a toddler invite people over *spur of the moment* and just so happen to have enough food for 5 people?  And in the oven during church so that it's ready afterward? Odd.

Several minutes later, an endive salad (also popular in France).  I've noticed a strange thing: they rarely use cutting boards.  I've seen more than one French person make a salad (cutting endives, or onions, or garlic, whatever) by holding it in their hands when I would've whipped out a cutting board for convenience.  They also customarily don't use store-bought salad dressing.  Everyone seems to have his or her own way of combining olive oil, vinegar, mustard, etc, into a dressing.

Then le fromage.  I watched as they brought out their cheese board with five different kinds of cheese on it and asked their 2-year-old which one she wanted.  Only in France.... Then dessert.  An assortment of a fancy little store-bought cake, ice cream, fresh fruit, apple sauce, rum-soaked cherries... When you think about "eating in courses," you often think about feasts or fancy dinners, but I've found that it's just a slow-paced way to eat a relatively normal amount of ordinary (to the French at least) food.  And it's their way of life; they probably think nothing of it.

Oh, and that whole procession was followed by coffee and tea and another hour of chit-chat.  That was my Sunday!

An Evanescent Paradise

Take a look at this chart... It shows the average years spent in retirement... the recent French strike protested the increase in the retirement age, from 60 to 62, but we see that the French can expect more retirement time than most people.  Notice also that France is second in terms of government spending on pensions:

Granted, the French aren't really protesting a decrease in their retirement years-  the youth are concerned that if people don't retire, new jobs won't open up, and the high unemployment will be perpetuated...  You can also see the U.S. there on the bottom.  For people age 55-64, only 38% of Frenchmen are working, while 62% of Americans of the same age are still kickin' it.  But retirement is only one example of the gulf between Europe and the U.S.: the whole approach to life, money, and work is different.

"It is time to stop pretending," writes Robert Kagan, "that Europeans and Americans share a common view of the world."...  For example, "as tourists throng the streets and summer temperatures hit their peak, Paris’ most popular ice-cream parlor is closed for a whole six weeks" while the owners take their vacation.  Can you imagine?  To any American businessman this is total idiocy!

"The average American produces 43% more than the average Frenchman... citizens of America's poorest state, Mississippi, have a higher GDP than Italians; and Alabamans beat the Germans, French and Belgians...  Why?  In productivity, or output per hour, Americans have only a tiny edge over Europeans, but the average American works 400 more hours per year than a German and 300 hours more than a Frenchman."

But before you go begrudging them their 2 months vacation, 35-hr max work week, and dozen public holidays, consider the cost of putting pleasure before profit:

-- just because they have a vacation, doesn't mean they have the money to take advantage of it.  The increased leisure time in France correlates to more time spent in front of the TV, not on the Riviera. 

--the infrastructure of less work/more leisure can't support itself.  Other European countries have turned the tide and are cutting their leisurely benefits.  However, no French politician is going to try to take away what the French now view as entitlement.. It's a downhill train. 
 

I hope you don't mind the didactic post today.  I was even tempted to craft it into a college-worthy essay to make it more coherent for you, but there are lots of interesting articles on the subject, so why re-do what others have already been done so well?  Here is one that links the decline of work in Northern Europe to the decline in religion, (the "secularized sloth" has "finally slain the Protestant work ethic.."):

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/08/weekinreview/the-world-why-america-outpaces-europe-clue-the-god-factor.html?pagewanted=3

I'll leave you with this:

 "Europeans have traded leisure for wealth.  The only problem with this formula is that Europe has tried to have its gâteau and eat it too.  Creating wealth, if only to redistribute it, ultimately requires hard work.  But Europe's welfare state, and its incentives for leisure have continued to grow. (Never mind that America has subsidized Europe's domestic benefits for decades by bearing the lion's share of its defense costs).  Europe [is portrayed] as warmer, fuzzier, fairer, more intellectual, more healthy and less stressful than America.  Perhaps so.  But if Europe is a paradise, it is an evanescent one."

La Grève

Perhaps you've heard about the strike in France, depending on how up you are on the news.  Well, the strike, or "la grève," is dissipating.  It was going full force in October, but I didn't see any marches or torch-throwing crowds.. Most of those demonstrations took place in Paris.  I was affected by the strike a few times when I couldn't get to work because the buses and metro weren't running--a real inconvenience that left a lot of people standing at the stations... The other most obvious indicator was the trash.  Apparently the trash guys were in on the strike because nothing was picked up for a couple weeks and the trash began to accumulate on the corners and sidewalks.  I saw it in Sète and in Toulouse.  It's been picked up now, though.  Here's a picture of the trash in Marseilles, where it was the worst:

Whenever I mentioned the strike to anyone, the usual response was "Welcome to France, the country of strikes."  They've been striking ever since the Revolution, they say.  This particular strike was over the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62, and over the economy and high unemployment. But, it didn't work!  It just cost the country billions of dollars... The President signed the new law into action anyways.

High School

My class of nine sophomore boys left us laughing today-- they're all friends, so they constantly crack jokes at each other, which I don't mind as long as they explain it to me in English, which most can do quite intelligibly.  They're much more willing to talk than my other classes, where it's like pulling teeth to get the students to elaborate on a question or subject.

CRAZY DIFFERENCES IN FRENCH HIGH SCHOOLS:

- Extracurricular activities DO NOT EXIST: there are no school sport teams, no clubs of any kind.  It's true all over France.. Schools are soley academic. Some of the kids play sports at unaffiliated clubs, but only practice at most three evenings/week.  No two-a-days like in Texas.  No missing class for an away game.  No school rivalries.

-not-so-crazy, but still a difference: The students travel around as a class; for example, my group of nine boys also has science, math, french, etc, together.  This is true in American middle schools for the most part, but in my high school every student had a unique schedule...

-School doesn't end until 6pm! They're in school from 8-6!  Such a long day.  It's practically getting dark by the time they're getting home.  This being the case, they don't eat dinner until 8 or 9 pm, which is common among the French.  They might make up for the long hours with longer holidays, but I think I'd opt for getting out at 4:00 everyday instead of a few extra days of vacation.

Writing this made me hungry...

How anyone in France can not be passionate about food, I just don't know.  Especially the south of France-- it's the country's gastronomical heart!  This is where the wine and cheese and truffles come from! This is where eating duck is more common than eating chicken, where there are top-class chefs in the restaurants creating filet mignon aux oignons, Rognons au de Veau flambés au Madère (veal), pate du lapin (rabbit), and so much more!... With all the farms in this region, you can get the freshest of everything.  That's why French people shop at farmer's markets regularly: because they know that in order to make the most delicious food, you need to use the finest ingredients.

Maybe the French give off a passionate vibe about food just in the way they approach it.  They put time into it: lots of famous French dishes take hours in the oven and meticulous care.  The French also take time eating it: in courses.  They drink the right wines with the right foods, serve the right kind of cheese... Of course, it's not everyone, and it's not everyday. There's fast food and microwave meals and of course families don't linger over wine and cheese every night, but as a whole, the French seem to take a lot of pride in their food.

It's doubly enticing because there are so many things that I've never tried, things that I've never even heard of... Like all the little treats in the boulangeries:

And presentation is everything, everything laid out so nicely... some of the desserts are so exquisite that I wouldn't want to eat them.

Even some of the stores themselves are beautiful, like this one.  It was a biscuiterie in Sete with ornate walls and mirrors and rows and rows of Madeleines.

 

Now, I like to cook under normal circumstances.. and being surrounded by these titilating foods makes me want to become the next Julia Child even more.  I don't have an oven, so my options are limited-- I won't be making any quiche lorraine, flan, or tartes. But plenty can be done stovetop.  I've only just begun...  I made crepes!  Yes, it is possible to make crepes without a measuring cup, whisk, or crepe grill... And they are SO versatile! They can go in so many directions! Savory: meat or veggies or cheese. Sweet: sugar, fruit, jelly... I tried a cheese one: two kinds, Roquefort and Camembert, melted. Really good. Another I tried with tomato, cheese, and herbs.  And for my dessert crepe I sauteed a pear in white wine and cinnamon.  SO many things still to be tried...

Naked Men

My first week in Toulouse, I met some of the other language assistants at a cafe where we had some free entertainment!  There was a group of college students doing some sort of challenge/relay race.  It had to be fraternity/sorority hazing... they were running around half-dressed (or not dressed), stopping traffic, doing lewd gestures on the hoods of people's cars... the grand finale was the boys streaking around the square. Naked men in the streets-- welcome to France!!