Weekend Event: Le Pardon des Mariniers

If you are from any port-city, like myself, the summertime always marks the beginning of a few things :

• summertime weather
• ability to wear shorts
• slew of sailors coming in for the awesome festival known as FLEET WEEK in my mother tongue.

How joyous was I when I unlocked my boite de lettre and out popped a flyer that stated, “Le Pardon des Mariniers”, or the forgiving of sailors. I could only assume, as Lyon is also a port city, that this meant Fleet Week!

Well. It does. It apparently is a yearly event put on by Lyon in the 2ème arrondissment and celebrates the mariniers, the sailors. It’s only this weekend, so with the beautiful weather, hot sailors in outfits and some time to kill why not check out the weekend events??

First off, today, starting at 2pm, there will be the following (all along the Quai Rambaud, next to Perrache), look at the map in regards to WHERE exactly the find the events:

(1) 2PM - Welcoming Ceremony at 21 Quai Rambaud

(2) 8:30pm to 1:00am – Sailor’s Ball… also at 21 Quai Rambaud.. if you can find a sailor alone, you could get invited!

Now onto the SUNDAY events…

In the Morning (Specific Agenda)…

(1) 9:30am – Competition for boat decorating.

(1) 10:00am – Mass (catholic service) by Father Gréa, accompanied by the Choir of Saint Blandine.

(1) 11:00am – Blessing of the boats along the quai.

(1) 12:00 pm – ‘verre d’amité’ or a glass of friendship by the Mayor of the 2ème.

In the Afternoon…

(5) 12:30pm – Lunch under the trees, drink and barbeque for 6-13€. PLUS Barbarian organs by Jean-Marie Nicollet.

(4) 2:00pm – Race of wherries (little boats) presented by Association of Battalion Families

(4) 2:30pm – Demonstration of the joutes or long boats that joust, resembling Viking boats. Accompanied by music presented by La Barquette de Givors.

(4) 4:00pm – Demonstration of rescue dogs.

(2) 4:00pm to 6:30pm– A presentation by the Folk Lore group, Estrelas douradas, of the 6ème.

(1 & 9) 4:30pm/5:30pm – Presentation (like a fashion show) of the musical decorated boats presented by Grand Lyon.

Offered ALL DAY LONG…

(1) Commented visit of the Chapel Boat “Le Lien”

(2) Wooden toy creation by “Billy the Kit”

• Fun area and toys for children.
• Reduction in prices for the decoration of the boats

(6) Large commercial boats and artisanal floats

• 3 free shows with the famous Lyonnais Guignols.

(7) Discover the Canoeing/Kayaking and initiation of Baby Ski for 4/13 years old, free, please bring a swimsuit.

(9) The boats of plaisanciers

• Racing games

Enjoy your SUNDAY and happy Fleet Weekend!

What-What: Paul Bocuse

After dinner with my French family last night we watched a documentary on the life and current state of Paul Bocuse.  I recall that the moment I arrived in France I had no idea who Paul Bocuse was and why he was so important.  Interestingly enough he's definitely a famous personality in our little region and our city of Lyon- but he's also got a bit of a juicy history!

Paul Bocuse was born in the 1920's in the mountainous area of Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or near Lyon.  Born into a family of chefs, he began cooking quite young and helped to run his family restaurant "l'Auberge de Collonges".  Bocuse was involved in WWII, and following this went on to achieve a series of Michelin stars in his restaurant before beginning his last 30 years of marketing and branding.

Now, an old man at 85 years old, Bocuse sort of just panders around for money... I say this with a sort of 'gentillesse' but, in reality, the guy knows how to get money.  Once one of the most innovative chefs, now a man who utilizes his name to make as much as a profit as he can.  I'd like to highlight two of his most famous creations:

Soupe aux Truffes:  A simply delightfully rich soup that is composed of those oh-so-expensive truffles.  I probably will never make this at home, but I would love to try it when I have enough cash to eat at his establishments.  RECIPE: http://www.bocuse.fr/recettes/ficherecette.asp?id=199

Loupe de Méditeranée en Croute:  How can anyone go wrong with a sea bass bundled into a feuillité and served with a decadent sauce?  Always the one to push from 'fatty' to 'cardiovascular destruction' this takes a healthy dish and twists it into a buttery delight.  RECIPE: http://www.bocuse.fr/recettes/ficherecette.asp?id=194

However... there is more to this 85 year old dude, not only is he a keen marketer, a top chef and a legend to Lyon.. the guy is a virile as we say in French, or basically a love monkey.  Bocuse has three women that he has been seeing similtaneously for the last 30 or so years, officially married to one, he keeps three houses in order to satisfy his craving for different personalities... way to balance the love boat.

Raymone, Raymonde and Patricia.  Somehow we never truly hear about the fact Bocuse is a polygamist, most likely because his amazingly talent in the kitchen leads us to sort of forget the three-women syndrome.  Why 3?

One of them is his hunting/outdoors partner.  Every day, after waking up next to his wife (Raymonde) he wanders out to his forest home to see his lover (Patricia).  Together they walk around the lake, slowly taking in the scenery.  He makes open-fire meals from the animals they fish or hunt together... a parade of hunting dogs following behind.

Once this gets boring, he heads out with the other one for his foreign affairs, her with her coiffed up hair and pristine young look, perfect for photos and the superficiality.  She loves to travel, so she comes with him oftern around the world.

What about his actual wife?  Well she's there for any official 'local' publicity.  Taking photos with the chef dressed in his toke, smiling and still looking as though none of this is abnormal.

It's strange.. but yet so French?  It seems more of a parisian attitude to have mistresses and lovers, and the Lyonnais tend to be more on the 'stick to one' type of relationship.. but Bocuse opens that for discussion.

Outside of Bocuse's private life he runs a few restaurants in Lyon.  Le Sud, Le Nord, L'Est, L'Ouest.  He also has the original restaurant located on the collonges-au-mont-d'or... for a price.  By far, L'Est is the best restaurant out of his collection.

Want to catch a glimpse of the master?  Try mornings at Les Halles next to La Mère Richard.. that's an old French and cheesemaker so he oftens makes visits to share a coffee and a laugh.

Now I wonder if anyone ever noticed this...

BOCUSE = GUSTEAU?  Perhaps....

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Current Event: Tunisia is Free!

If you were in the center of Lyon yesterday you would have seen two things: A huge amount of people raiding 'les soldes' and a large amount of Tunisian immigrants marching through the street.  The soldes is normal, considering the drop of prices in products, but the Tunisians is a celebration of the end of a regime in Tunisia.

Since the 1980's, Tunisia has been known for their strict rules/dictatorship government.  People in Tunisia didn't have many rights allowed to them and outsiders were often harassed or harmed when trying to photograph/film these issues.  Things only got worse when their 'dictator' decided that he would not relenquish his power over the state until 2014, meaning, he would stay in power with his strict rules, for another 3 years.  Outcries began when Ben Ali instated a strict curfew of 6pm to 6am (no one in the street).

Following this event, two days ago, the country rose up against the ruler and threw him out of power... more like he decided to concede his ruling and run away.  Right now, Tunisia is finally free; which is why yesterday thousands of immigrants from Tunisia were in the streets of France celebrating the freedom of the country.  If you see 'Tunisian' flags or pride around- now you know why... and it's a big issue in France because this country used to be ran by France (much like much of Northern Africa and Algeria) so the politics are tied into the country.

Now you know, so if anyone asks you if you heard what happened in Tunisia you can nod and say, 'Mais OUI!'

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Advice: Les Soldes

50% off!  Discount Discount!

In the States we are constantly bombarded with discounts and reductions; even moreso we have speciality stores that are ONLY for discounts.  Not in France.  Not in Lyon.  In exactly 4 days 'Les soldes' are going to start in Lyon.  In stark contrast to the capitalist tendancy for the sales in the States, France has stricter regulations according to when sales can happen; there is always a sale (or 'solde' in French) following Christmas.  Much like a celebratory event, all the Lyonnais trapse into the streets of Bellecour hunting for a bargain.

Bri is excited as if it is Christmas, he keeps saying, "The soldes are next week!" as if he's shouting an oncoming Santa visit.  I have a difficult time getting excited for the soldes because I personally will be doing no shopping this year.  Think of it like a French version of Black Friday.

So.  Briefly telling you:

Les Soldes will be starting on January 12th, Wednesday.  If you have the guts you can get your gear out and elbow through the crowds.  A simple word of advice from an American living in France:  never open the door for someone else.  As rude as it sounds, if you do this you will be stampeded.  The French tend to push and shove, not wait and allow you to pass.  It's a cultural thing.

Enjoy shopping!

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What-What: Marché de Noël

Since 1996, Lyon has opened Place Carnot (near Perrache) as the area for their yearly Christmas Market.  A Christmas Market in Europe is truly an experience for all ages.  In our home, Bri & I have what we call the Christmas Spirit.  We love Christmas, and the Marché is like walking into a small world of Christmas... the lights, the children laughing, the père noël... all amazing and brings out that bit of spirit.

Each shop offers specialities for the Christmas season, some are decorations for the Christmas tree.  Some are snacks or candies that only arrive for the winter holidays.  A personal favorite is the 'vin chaud' or hot spiced wine.  As America is so stingy on their 'alcohol laws' this is something that will never exist in the public- but here anyone from 16+ can drop 1€ and get a cup of the warm stuff.  It's also wonderful to find unique artisinal gifts... I once bought a package of 'spiced wine mix' and now I make my own vin chaud 'a la maison'.

November 26 marks the opening of this market in Lyon.  It's the final weekend in November and it represents the welcoming of the winter season.  This weekend the market will have specialities and deals on the seller's products, even a cheaper 'vin chaud'.








For anyone who is spending their first year here, I recommend bundling up in your warmest and making the trek to the marché, especially in the evening.  It's located right in front of Perrache in the 2ème, in 'Place Carnot'.  Little cafés are dotted around the area, in case of a need for cocoa or coffee, and it's just large enough to spend about 2€ on some Vin Chaud and wander through.  Many times there are also crêpe makers and marrons roasters for a warm snack.  It's open daily until 20h at night.

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Culture Shock: Capitalism in France

Capitalism is such a complex thing- in America it's over run our streets with red-headed clowns screaming out for you to buy sugar laden food.  In America it's raided our radio stations with the same music.. because it's owned and bought by a huge investor of Universal Music and Timer Warner (which are actually owned by the same.)  In America, capitalism has flooded our television with images of a glorified Tea Party candidate who would actually end up destroying our freedoms and taking away our choices in a pseudo fascist regime.

Captalism is something I am really bothered by but yet feed into.  France has started to open her arms to allow it to roam in the streets... unfortunately.  What are the signs?

Super Markets:  From Carrefour to Marché U, this way of food shopping has only existed for the last 40 years.  In the 1950's when American housewives had fake plastered smiles and perfect hair, shopping in the frozen food aisles and kissing her husband good night with a brandy in the hand... France was still heading to their marchés, buying their daily bread and vegetables.  Making extravagent home-made meals from the things they bought from the marché.. that's why their food is so diverse; they didn't destroy gastronomy with frozen replacements.  If you ever want to learn about why our food in America is 50% on average.. look into these key words:  slotting fee, distributor handling.  They pretty much mark up a cheaper produce.. if there were marchés in America (not the Farmer's Market, which is just glorified and overpriced) then the produce would be cheaper.

Fast Food:  McDonalds, or 'MacDo' as we lovingly call it here.  They are really making a profit of the people of France, with the same sickeningly quality and ingredients as we all remember in 'Supersize Me',  but packaged much smaller so it's more 'European'... and worse, marked up about 50%.  In France, you can buy a tomato for .10, but a medium sized chicken nugget meal costs €6; or $8.20 for those who are counting.  To put it in perspective, this meal costs the same price as 3 crêpes in the street... or in America as an entree at a restaurant.

Clothes:  Abercrombie & Fitch recently made their move into France, July 2010.  Not sure how their controversial employment practices are fitting into the highly protected French employee... needless to say, a great market to 'mark up' the clothes and turn a profit... because in France, anything American is 'fancy'.

American Way:  Big cars, American music, MTV.. television shows.  This is such a big industry here, the voice-over actors for movies and television shows are popular and well known. It was strange to me when I was watching 'Le Grand Journal' and a voice actor was the guest.. I was confused and thought he was the actor- until I saw a familiar American actor and I realized... French voice over.

English:  Now it is becoming a universal language.  Everyone needs to speak it, and most everyone does.  Lucky for me, the French often have notorious accents- so I don't feel so 'American caught in public' when speaking.  It's still strange to speak a language EVERYONE speaks, but to be learning a language only a few speak... of course Italian would be more unique.


It's sad, much like how Julia Child described in her memoirs, to see a culture becoming uniformed and losing her beautiful identity.  The France we see in the films is the France from 1950's and 1960's.  Now it's slowly decaying into the culture we so often embrace in America.

I think I'll be the last generation to see France as a unique culture... which is why I write to remember.

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Current Events: Who are the Extreme Right?

Yesterday, all was calm in Place Bellecour.  Calm, peaceful... quiet.  It seemed as if everything was returning to normal- but suddenly the helicopter began circling overhead again.  Another riot?  More breakers in the street?

Upon research it turns out that a group of 150 of what are considered the 'Extreme Right' in France gathered at Place Bellecour.  Intent?  To destroy, mar and 'reprends la ville'.  The destruction from the 'casseurs' caused an uproar in their minds and they decided to gather and march down the street proclaiming their anger as French citizens.

The Extreme Right are considered close to Facist in France, are typically (and carefully) prejudice against any outsiders moving into France; they tend to express their ethnocentrism with pride.  Resembling a very modest version of the Tea Party in America- they are often in their own world and never come out to face opposition.

Both moving and disconcerting, this group marched from Bellecour to Place Ampère singing the 'Marseillaise (French Anthem)' and shouting, 'Les lyonnais avec les commerçants' or 'The Lyonnais with the store owners'.  The police descended back into the streets, blocking path after path towards the Place Ampère, simply to protect the group from and backlash of their actions.

Afraid of having a form of civil war in the streets of Lyon, the Police blocked the Extreme Right and forced them onto buses to transport them safely to a secure area.  There was no gas (thankfully) this time, but the tensions were high.  People in the crowd were debating with each other, we overheard one conversation...

Man 1:  This is ridiculous, this type of racism shouldn't exist.
Man 2:  Are you kidding?  These people don't even belong in France, they aren't even French!
Man 1:  Not French?  Sir I am French.  I was born in France.  My mother was not, but I was, so I am French.
Man 2:  This would never happen if we didn't have so many immigrants running the street.

Later a conversation between a Policeman and an observer...

Observer:  This is crazy, the Police are protecting them and taking them home even though they have caused a disruption?
Policeman:  You think we are a replacement for TCL?  We're not taking them home.
Observer:  Well where are you going to take them then?
Policeman:  Read tomorrow's news and you'll see.
Teenager:  Officer, I think it's ridiculous all this stuff, it's crazy!
Policeman (to teen):  You talk too much.

 That was the end of THAT conversation.  The funniest thing was that the observer was sipping a beer while discussing this.  I was tempted to snap a picture, but in reality that would have been dumb.

Mixed emotions in France right now, we all feel a little anger towards the 'breakers' but it's important not to generalize and assume a certain group did it.  In any riot or hostile situation in any country there will always be those types of people who will take the opportunity to use the chaos to gain something.. looting or not.

Here's the video of the event we captured from yesterday:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtMrnusuiV8

Be careful out there...

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Story Time: Involved in a Riot

I live next to Place Bellecour in Lyon, and yesterday was one of those days that I look back and say to myself, self, did that actually happen?

The day started normal, coffee and some oatmeal, watching some news.  My school was closed from the foreboding warnings of manifestations; apparently the previous manifestation in 2005 caused enough damage to take the warning seriously and stop the courses for the day.

Brian and I watched images flicked on television of riots, burning cars- and the ticker under the news; "URGENCE:  Incedencie à Place Bellecour en Lyon"

Holy Crap.  Instantly we got dressed and wandered outside- this was around 12:40pm mind you- and nothing much was happening.  The rioters were surrounding the police, pelting them with rocks.

Right outside our door, 12:45pm...

We decided to go ahead and get Brian to work.  I sat around and tried to study, as the sirens and the helicopters passed.  I wandered to my little market in the 7ème... and as I began my trek back on Velo'v I saw a black plume of smoke floating from the sky... I didn't have my camera but I snapped a photo with my Blackberry to send to Twitter...
 
Not very good quality, but the black smoke in the picture represents a car burning down the street.

I went home, marched upstairs and locked my doors.

Around 4:30 pm, Brian returned home and was very excited.  He told me there was some "Crazy shit" going on outside, and that "Rue Victor Hugo was absolutely massacred".  I threw on my shoes, my jacket and ran out the door with him.  We managed to snap these photos of the damage...

 







A lot of broken glass and cell phone cameras.  It was like walking into a war zone.  It only got worse when we returned to Place Bellecour to film some of the action... as the Police started gathering we realized it's because they planned to 'Gas Bomb' the entire square, which meant that they were going to pelt everything in sight with gas to get everyone out of the square.  We were in the square and yes, we got gassed.  What does it feel like?  It feels like someone took jalapeno peppers and made it into dust and blew it all over my face.  My eyes teared up, my throat burned, I couldn't breath... we ran.

Add caption

We decided then it was time to head home... but the street we were on was blocked by the Police..

No one could pass. We had to walk around the block towards the Quai to get to home.. and then we saw this outside of our door...

Yes, that's a trashcan in the fountain...

Leftover Gas Pellet... see the scorch marks?

Standing on Rue des Marronniers- incredibly it's locked up.. empty..

Today is a new day.. but what a clean up the city of Lyon is gonna have to do. I've been hearing it was one of the worst riots in a long time- all we can do is wait. Gas is running out around France due to the gas workers on strike, SNCF is running part time, same. Public transport is unreliable. Schools are closing.

It's truly an incredible time to live in France.. and I don't regret it one bit. I'll keep you posted if anything new happens, until then, here's the video I made showing the events of October 19, 2010 in Lyon.

Video of October 19 2010 in Lyon

Current Event: Grève Against Retirement

Once again, France is organizing together to protest the change of 'retrait' this Saturday.  Since the beginning of September there have been several of these protests.. and I didn't have a clue as to what and why so many French people were so irritated.. until today in my Business Class...

Retirement in France
Retirement in this country is done by something they call 'réparation' which basically means the taxes paid by society pay for the retirement.  The issue though is that France has much more older generation (just about to retire) then the younger generation.. this has been causing a huge defecit in the government and thus Sarkozy has decided to propose some changes.

Original Retirement Age
French citizens are allowed to retire after 60 years old and after 40 years of work, all individuals are allowed to retire at 65 years old, and the government will pay a percentage based on the number of years worked.

Special Circumstances for Early Retirement
Called 'regime spéciaux', certain positions allow French citizens to retire at 55 years old.  These people are workers such as, SNCF, or the flight trackers that help land planes.  What's interesting is that even though SNCF is considered an easier job now-  they keep the benefit to retire early because any time it's brought up- they protest.

Sarkozy Proposes...
The French President is proposing to change the retirement qualifications from 60 to 62 years old, must work for about 42 years and you can't retire officially (if less than 42 years worked) until you are 67 years old.

Citizens are Protesting because..?
Work isn't equal
French people realize that not all work is equal, for example, the profession of being a teacher is not as risky as being a construction worker.  Therefore it's not fair for someone of one profession that's harder than another to retire at the same age- especially at 62 or 67... it's dangerous and could be hazardous to the work.
Women in Work
Because many women have children, or even men, the citizens realize that if someone must stay home to raise children, they won't be able to work 42 years in a certain amount of time.  This can cause a lot of problems because then a person can't retire until 67, which again is a very old age (according to the French).. and unfair to those who can't get all 42 years by the time they are 62.

What the Grève Means..
The French people are trying to come to a solution with the government that is fair for everyone.  In France, grèves, or protests, are a common way to hash out a problem with a reform.  Unlike in the United States, the Government respects the people and listens to these grèves very carefully- especially because so many people are involved. (much more than in the United States)..

Now you know about the protest for retirement, and an idea why people in France are so irritated!

Advice: French Slang Week 2

Once again I had my slang class- and today we focused on 'sayings that use the body'... common things French people say that often have to do with body parts.. here goes:

• Mettre le pied sur plat OR rater une bonne occasion se taire: english equiv- 'to put your foot in your mouth' literally to say something that you weren't supposed to say.

• Casse-geule: unstable, (fr soutenu: pas stable)

• Avoir une grosse tête: someone who is full of themselves.  (fr soutenu: se croire superieur)

• Être une tête: 'to be a brain', smart, (fr soutenu: être intelligent)

• Se manger des yeux:  to eat someone up- be very attracted to someone. (fr soutenu: desirer qqn)

• Mon oeil: 'Yah, right...', to not believe someone.. usually you touch just below your eye.  (fr soutenu:  ne croire pas qqs)

• Garder la tête sur les épaules:  to stay calm, keep your head on your shoulders.. (fr soutenu: rester calme, lucide et raisonnable.)

• Avoir la tête: to be smart or intelligent, (fr soutenu: d'être intelligent)

• Coûter les yeux de la tête OR coûter la peau des fesses:  something SUPER expensive, (fr soutenu: qqs hyper cher)

• Casser les pieds à quelqu'un: to bore someone, or annoy someone, (fr soutenu: ennuyer qqn)

• Être bouche bée OR rester bouche bée:  Left with your mouth open, (fr soutenu: être supriser)

• Avoir un verre dans le nez:  to literally have the glass to the nose- to be drunk. (fr soutenu: être bourré)

• Tenir la jambe de quelqu'un:  to hold someone back; often if you need to get somewhere and someone is 'holding you up'... making you late.  (fr soutenu: retenir qqn)

• Manger à l'oeil OR Boire à l'oeil: 'dine and dash', or even a freeloader- it's someone who tries to eat for free. (fr soutenu: essayer ou manger gratuitement)

• Mettre sa au feu: to have serious trust, 'i bet on it', (fr soutenu:j'ai confiänce à qqs)

• N'en faire qu'à sa tête: to be stubborn, bull-headed, (fr soutenu: n'ecouter pas aux autres, être têtu)

Hope the slang helps, remember keep your ears open..!

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What-What: Le Grand Journal

Le Grand Journal.. le Petit Journal.. les Guignols-

If you have no idea what these three things are, it's about time you did because it's the #1 news show that French people watch daily.

Le Grand Journal is a television show which is live every night (Monday through Friday) starting at 7pm (19h) on Canal+.  Normally one needs to have cable in order to watch Canal+, but luckily, this show is publicly financed, therefore during the show it is free for everyone to watch.

It begins with about 45 minutes of political/informative news with the host Michel Denisot- he's like the dad of the show, sitting at the head of the table.

About 40 minutes into this show is the 'petit journal' which is hosted by Yann Barthès- who I must mention is absolutely a knock out.. hot hot hot. 

His section is about 15 minutes, and hilarious.  It's packed full of 'Français Familier' so sometimes it's difficult to understand, but trying to is a great practice.

Much of his section is political life, satire and the like.

Following we have 'Les Guignols' which are large puppets that represent newscasters that tell the news.  This lasts about 10 minutes, but is very amusing and yet incredibly weird... all the same it's more Français Familier and kind of helps to understand the culture in a relaxed way.

Their representation of Nicolas Sarkozy is one where he's pretentious and not very intelligent... while the presentation of Barack Obama is one of a black man who constantly says, 'ce quoi ça mec?', 'what's that man?'... very amusing.


Right after 'Les Guignols' we have a special musical guest, who plays a song... then comes the 'pop culture' guests, often actresses, models, singers or well known names in France.  They interview them, kind of entertain them.. etc.

Mouloud Anchour and Seth Rogan on the RIGHT -->

During this time they also mention some current pop culture, show a short interview usually done by Mouloud Anchour... who really reminds me of Seth Rogan... ANYWAYS.

Then we have the 'Météo' with a tall Quebecois named 'Charlotte', and on the show 'Charlotte le bon'.  She's incredibly hilarious and has an insane Canadian accent- and has no idea how to tell the météo.. They often play some practical joke on her, like dressing her as a 'tree'... etc.


Finally, one of the best parts of the show is 'SAV Emissions: service après vente'.  These two comedians (Omar and Fred) have about 4 minutes to go back and forth.. the idea is a customer calling customer service.. and it's always hilarious.

See a clip of them here:  Clip of Omar et Fred

That's a brief synopsis.. but watch the show- it's great practice for French and keeps you updated- also it's incredibly POPULAR in France.. and it's a great conversation starter!

Enjoy!

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Advice: The Things you SHOULD Know About France

France is a very interesting country full of ton of historical information- but it also has a lot of current affairs that I notice many expats, students and even tourists may not know about.  My goal is to share some things I've had to learn (some learned through mistakes I've made) about France that are very useful.

Population: 65 million people..

Within this number, 5 million are immigrants and 3 million are foreigners (students, etc).

What is France (geographically speaking)?

France is actually comprised of four different things.  Metropolitan France, DOM ROM (which used to be DOMTOM, but changed in 2003), COM and POM. 

Metropolitan France are the cities directly in the country, as in Lyon or Paris, there are 27 regions in France (i.e. Rhône-Alpes) and about 100 departments (i.e. Rhône).

DOM ROM (departement et region outre mer) are the places that are considered French areas, but not directly in the country.  There's 'Martinique', 'la Guadeloupe',  'la guyane' and 'la réunion'.  They are considered both a department and a region, due to their size.

COM (collectivité d'outre mer) are more like territories of France.  Often when you go they speak French, but aren't considered within the departments.

POM (paye d'outre mer) are the countries that were occupied or are occupied by France, but due to political struggle are now on the way to liberation.  Polynesie and New Caledonia.

 Here's a great resource for more of the whole 'outre mer' stuff.

First Religion: in France, we are considered 'laïc' or secular... which means the government and public facilities are not represented by any religion.  However- the most common religion practiced in France is Catholicism, followed in close second by Muslim.

President & Prime Minister:  Nicholas Sarkozy is the French president, François Fillon the prime minister.  In France, when there's a big political thing, the president tends to step back and the prime minister becomes the scapegoat... which is exactly what is happening right now during the 'grève for retrait'.

Some Random Facts...

• French used to be only spoken in the center of France, before 1940 every region had their own dilect which was actually closer to it's own language.
• Champagne is only called champagne if it comes from the Champagne region.. otherwise it's sparkling wine.
• The order of eating is simple:  aperitif, entrée, main plat, fromage, fruit, dessert.
• As long as there's bread, cheese will be eaten.
• Le Grand Journal is a television show on Canal Plus, because it's a public show it's free to watch, even if you don't have cable.  It's on Monday through Friday, 730pm to 9pm.. Very interesting and funny.
• The first Wednesday of every month there is a giant alarm testing that sounds like WW3 started- it's simply to test and make sure it works.
• Sunday church bells ring around... and if there's a wedding it's common in the culture to follow everyone by car and honk the horns.
• There are over a thousand type of cheese that are created in France... from sheep, goat and cow's milk.
• 65% of employment comes from the service industry in France.

I'm learning so much through my CIEF program, I am glad to be able to share it!

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Advice: French Slang Week 1

In France, there is slang.  There is a lot of slang.. and I get to take a class all about French 'argot'.

I want to share my knowledge...

To start, there are two types of French that are commonly spoken- there's 'Français Soutenu' which is like the stuff that comes straight out of a rigid French teacher's books and mouth... and then 'Français Familier' which is the common spoken language.

Even presidents and lawyers use the familier.. that's why often a person is fluent in French but may not understand or even know all the argot (slang).

Here's what I've learned so far:

un mec: A man, (français soutenu:  un homme)

plein des tunes: full of money, (français soutenu:  riche, plein de l'argent)

le fric: money, (français soutenu: l'argent)

Vachement: vraiment, très

du coup: The ability to live well and spend lots of money, 'well-off' (la cabilité d'acheter ou vivre bien)

bagnoles: a car, (français soutenu: une voiture)

bouffait: food, also, to eat...  (français soutenu: manger ou choses a manger)

branchés: really classy, super expensive, (français soutenu: Super classy et chèr, luxe, meilleur)

un canon:  A very beautiful woman, (français soutenu: une fille, femme très jolie)

un boudin:  A very ugly, fat woman, (français soutenu: une femme ou fille très moche et gros)

une meuf:  Chick, 'my woman', (français soutenu:  Ma copine, c'est comme ma voiture)

tranche/mouille: The face, (français soutenu: la visage)

trancher: To kill, or to cut, (français soutenu:  tuer ou couper)

je te kif:  I like you, (français soutenu: je t'adore)

bourré(e):  drunk, (français soutenu: ivre)

sacré descente:  high alcohol tolerance, (français soutenu: la capacité pour boire beaucoup)

la nana:  girlfriend, woman or lover of a person, (français soutenu: une fille/copine/fiancée)

se casser:  to leave someone, or something, (français soutenu:  partir, s'en aller)
   être cassé:  very tired, (français soutenu: fatigué)

sacrément torché:  incredibly, incredibly drunk, (français soutenu: très, même, trop bourée)

péter: explode, break, destroy, also means 'to pass gas', (français soutenu: exploser, expulser des gaz par les fesses, casser, briser, même destruire)

les flics: the police, (français soutenu: la police, les policiers)

se faire embarquer: to be stopped, like stopped by the police, (français soutenu: se faire arrêter)

la taule: prison, (français soutenu: la prisson)

les taulards: prisoners, (français soutenu: les prissoniers)

frimer: to show off, to flaunt, (français soutenu: s'exhiber)

un frimeur (une frimeuse): a person who shows off, flaunts, (français soutenu: une exhibitionniste)

un fauché: a poor person, a person without money, (français soutenu: un personne pauvre, sans de l'argent)
  être fauché:  to be a poor person, or temporarily without money, (français soutenu: d'être pauvre ou sans de l'argent temporairement)

I'll keep posting my 'argot' that I learn every week.. it helps.

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Current Event: What’s all the Grève about?

If you were in Lyon on September 7th, you heard the pounding drums, the smokes machines, the honking pissed of drivers and lots of people shouting lots of angry things and sometimes the name “Sarkozy” would pass by.

Grèves are also known as protests in English and they are fairly common in France.  In fact, so common, on the day of the 6th, Bri looked at me and said, “Yah, there’s a grève tomorrow.”  And it’s not like in USA where 15 people wander around with picket signs, it’s like 100-2,000 people shouting and cheering and yelling.  Apparently 50,000 people got out to protest (around france) for this one. 

What’s going in is Sarkozy, in order to try to help the fiscal budget, wants to increase the retirement age from 60 years old to 62 years old.  This means people looking to retire at 60 (or were close) won’t be able to, which in French terms is like saying, “I can raise the age to any age I want and your retirement means nothing to me.”  French people love their vacations and retirement, if you mess with that you’re a dick. 

The reason it’s such a big deal as well, is that it’s following a big scandal involving L’Oréal’s old founder and Sarkozy… people say because she’s old she was tricked into giving him the campaign funds that pretty much bought his vote.  Either way it was given in cash so it wasn’t considered illegal- well.. people don’t like being lied to or tricked in any country, so France is in a bit of an upheaval about it. 

So pretty much, people who want to retire won’t be able to for two more years, people who don’t like Sarkozy don’t like him even more and it’s just another day in France.  Seriously, grèves are ‘pas grave’ it’s just a part of who they are.  

Y’aren’t happy?  Stage a protest.  You want some more wages?  Create a grève.  Even the national assembly shouts and hoots during speeches from ministers if they don’t like something.  It’s cultural.

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Advice: Things to Do in Lyon pt. 1

I remember hearing someone tell me last year:  There's never anything to do in Lyon.  It's so boring.

Well.  Poppycock.  I came across a few different papers with a buttload of completely free and interesting things to see and do, and so I will share this right now:


#1)  491:  Newspaper of the culture and things in LyonThis is a monthly paper that comes out that has about 4 pages of agenda and things to do, about 60% of these things are absolutely free.  And example is:

Classical Music (Free)
September 19th @ 2pm
Auditorium Garibaldi in 3ème

149 Rue Garibaldi

69003 Lyon, France
Music of Mozart, Gershwin... etc

 The paper is filled with different festivals, music presentations, "plays in the grass" and otherwise free and interesting things to see.


#2) A Nous Lyon
Kinda reminds me of the Willamette Weekly in Portland, Oregon, except it's monthly.  Free things to do as well as movie reviews, places to visit and the best places to shop.  Available to download as a PDF on their website.

#3) English Movies (movies in original state)
Pathé Cinémas in Bellecour offers the ability to see American movies in their original versions.  On the website look out for things like "VOST" next to the name of the film.  This stands for "Version Originale, Sous-Titres" or original version with sub titles.  If you miss home or really wanna see an english speaking film, that's the place to go.
Note: Pathé Bellecour is currently renovating, so morning showings are currently out during the week.  Nightly showings and all day weekend showings are still going.

#4) Go Exploring
Sometimes, as I know, it's really freaky to wander off in Lyon all alone... but sometimes getting lost finds you the best treasures.  Yesterday we took off on a long hike around and we found some interesting stuff, I marked it on my Visit Lyon map in Googlemaps...

View Visit Lyon in a larger map

The wall we ended up finding was pretty much the old city limits.  Very cool.  There's a beautiful park that has the same view as Fourvière except 10x less people.  Pack a crispy baguette, some cheese and a cool beer and hike to the top.  It's worth the mini hike and picnic.. as you can see from the crappy Blackberry picture I snapped at the top before descending the stairs.

#5)  Join a Class for Dancing or Sports
I thought that joining a gym would be expensive- well it totally is way too expensive.  Fortunately I found out there is a place called "MJC:  Jean Macé"  in the 7ème that offers "seasonal sport classes" for €185 euro.  One season lasts from September 2010 to June 2011, with some mini breaks in between.  They also offer things for children, music, artsy stuff and dance.  The break down is about €20 euro a month for a weekly lesson... not too bad.

#6)  Check out the Biblotheque
€6.00 (for students, reading materials only), gets you the ability to use any of their books and take some fascinating things home.  Not only will it améliorate your français, but it will allow you to read in English too!  They have English (British and American) books in their bibliotheques, the easiest to find them is the Part-Dieu municipale bibliothèque.  I could spend hours in the library... which reminds me.. I have some books to return... :)



For now those are the things that I can think of, I'll add more as it comes to me.  Until then, enjoy and try to have fun in Lyon!

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Solutions for Problems..

I've delegated with myself on some of the issues that I've experienced around Lyon.  I've already understood that customer service is something that will not be changed- unless prepackaged with MacDo or Starbucks (even then, no smile, no 'have a nice day').

I think it's best to say that a majority of people I see are bitter; with rightful reason.  France has a long complicated history full of angry mobs and destructive behaviors to change things.  Right now everyone wants change to happen, but they are afraid to do anything about it.

I can't go too deeply into the topic suffice to say a 10 minute walk alone as a girl showed me the disrespect for people, especially the French people, in France.  This contempt has led to other attitude issues that I will brief on:

Old Man Seller in the Market
His leathery skin and set back eyes told me he was around 70 years of age.  I could not imagine what events he had seen, but I could tell it was his family's wellbeing to be a produce farmer.  He was used to haggling, bartering, people stealing, destruction.  I am positive he had experienced the Algerian crisis in the late 50's, and then saw France drag into a new generation with Westernization and Capitalism.  Tourists who snap pictures of his façade and his fruit cart, angry poor youth coming to harass and potentially steal what is the equivalent to his week's profit.  Once a week at Place Carnot his family and himself pull out their pickings, set it out, sell it and hope people will continue to cruise the markets; despite the higher prices- he assured himself people would see the difference.

My own personal experience was one that was close to disaster.  Via representation of Julia Child in the film Julie and Julia I smiled as I cruised the market.  I walked with a slight bounce in my step, delirious with both heat and joy for the market.  I glanced over the peaches, picked a ripe one and he swooped in with a plastic bag.  I placed it in the bag and began gently touching other peaches to decide which I wanted- except I was stopped after I touched the next one.

'Faut pas touché, c'est pas une supermarché.  Si tu la touche, tu l'achete.'

Don't touch because it's not a supermarket.  Contempt.  He obviously lost some business to super markets.  If I touch it I buy it?  It was strange for me after reading glorious reviews of French markets and the delights in bartering and shopping to hit this wall.  It's not the old man's fault, you see, it's the fault of the past 40 years of changing France and the onslaught of consumerism and capitalism.  He's just as bitter as I am that things aren't the way they were, because they were once that way.

As I continue on my journey through life in France, I realize much of the portraits and dreams painted by Francophiles and capitalistic travel books are false.  It's as if France has been airbrushed and all the disgusting pieces are hidden behind the paint brush.  My intent is to be as honest as possible as to show "current France", for I am not naïve, nor do I want to falsify and glorify.

More later.

Customer Service Woes..

One of the biggest things that I miss about Portland and the United States is smiling waiters and happy customer service representatives.

In France it feels that everyone is scowling, angry or wanting to be somewhere else.  I find it ironic that in a country where healthcare is free, education is cheap and the government offers public aid as needed anyone could be unhappy.

Maybe it's the high heels that cause the scowl?  Even little old wrinkled ladies in France strap on their skin-colored high heels to trek through the park.

Servers in France are among the angriest people I've come across.  Every restaurant or grocery store I go to I receive a scowl, a simple and brief statement of the cost and a "bonne soirée".  Bri and I even got crap from a sushi restaurant just yesterday for wanting to split a menu together- because as the server said, "it's abnormal" and "he's never heard that" and the best, "next time come in and eat normal,"

My goodness, I mean, we go to your restaurant to eat and we should have the freedom to eat as we wish!

I only found one restaurant called, "Le Caveau" that has a smiling server.  It's almost worth it to pay 13 € to sit and enjoy the smiles and jokes of a server for once.  I wonder when France became a place of sadness or anger instead of an idealized place of beauty?

I notice also the fact that the 1950's France that everyone idealizes and paints in books is disappearing at a rapid rate.  The streets are losing the typical boulangeries and fromageries and are being replaced with "American Fast Food", Starbucks, Halal butcheries and lots of Kebab shops.  The sides of buildings built in the late 18th century are marked with french graffiti like:  "fuck the police", or, "fuck your mother".

Hostility in France in growing at an alarming rate and sometimes I turn down a road and am led to ask myself, Am I Still In France?

I was shocked to see the following events during the last few weeks:

July 17th:  Riot in a small French town near Grenoble after an armed robber shoots at Police.  In the end the police had to shoot the suspect because he would not cease firing at the police (it's rare Police are violent in France).  Link to Article Here  After the suspect was shot entire groups of people rose up and began a series of destruction.  60 cars were burned, innocent people on tramways were terrorized... it's hard not to hold a grudge against people that act like that.  I mean, look at the video, it doesn't even LOOK like France.

Just outside of my own home a car was burnt following July 14th... and it was shocking.  Video of Car Burning outside our Apartment

Romanticized France is slowly disappearing.  The only place I could find that made me feel like I was in a beautiful countryside was near Bri's parents in Genas.  We hiked up about 20 minutes into the local woods and found ruins that were left from 700 years ago...

I'm in the center of the ruins in supposedly what is the entrance.

I am still waiting for the France I grew up learning about.