Laurel's Adventures in Paris and Beyond

Henri Ze Hippo

2009-08-31T20:41:00.004+02:00

I recently (via Henri) started up a new blog about the traveling adventures of Henri Ze Hippo, a blue stuffed hippo I "discovered" on a lily pad in my fish pond.

Henri "told me" he likes to travel, and so with the help of my friends, he will be traveling the world and participating in the adventures of my friends. (Now that I think about it maybe his theme song should be "Travel The World" by Superbus!)

Henri started his adventures in Florida with Jeremy and I, learning to surf. He is currently on a motorcyle in the French Alps with Nico. To follow his adventures, visit his blog Henri's Adventures.

Who knows what Henri will discover and write about on his adventures!

How to get fingerprinted in France...

2009-05-20T17:38:00.002+02:00

This is just a little story about me applying for the Oregon bar while in France. Note to all those who try...be aware and do it WAAAY in advance! (aka not the week leading up to exams).

One of the many crazy and paranoid requirements of the bar application (other than Oregon requiring 11, yes, you read right, 11 character and fitness statements -- those 11 people are relatively well defined as well, aka current and 5 pas employers + 5 personal witnesses of which at least 2 must be lawyers and no more than one a law professor and not your family or spouse) is that you be finger printed.

Great.

Can't they just call Vermont? Vermont has my prints for when I volunteered to read to kids at a nearby school...so again...fingerprints? grrr

I went to the police station yesterday to get fingerprinted. Logical place to go right? Took 10 minutes to get to the part where they said they could do it but to come back tomorrow because their fingerprint guy is only in on wednesdays. Ok, no problem!!

Here's how those 10 minutes went:
Me: Hello, I am applying for the bar exam in the United States and I need my fingerprints taken.
Them: What?
Me: I need my fingerprints taken for the bar exam in the United States.
Them: I dont understand
Me: My fingerprints (I pull out the form provided courtesy of the FBI)
Them: Yes, I understand that but I dont understand why.
Me: Its a requirement for the application to the bar (aka barreau)
Them: I dont understand
Me: one of the documents you need to submit to apply for the bar is a copy of your fingerprints
Them: I dont understand what you mean
....
Me: I am applying to be an American lawyer
Them: OH!!!!!! Ok, no problem, let me check.
It kind of felt like one of those situations where you had to find the magic word, and apparently "barreau + america" wan't it but "laywer + america"...Bingo!

Went back today around 1pm. Should have known better...the police station is closed at 1pm. These cops have to eat! Guess you can't get robbed at lunch time and expect help. I had an appointment elsewhere later that afternoon, and rushed back before they potentially closed at 5pm. You never know, and I was being cautious...the sign said open until 19h (aka 7pm for us western folks) but...it also said 8h - 19h which would imply that they were open during lunch time which they clearly were not.

So...make it back just before 5, go through the whole rigamarole again and then this guy in a pink rugby shirt comes out, pulls me outside like he has to tell me something no one else can hear, and explains that he can't fingerprint me. He is the fingerprint guy but he can't do it. Apparently the Nanterre Prefecture (again curses against that prefecture) ripped them a new one last time they did it, and so without the prefecture's express consent...its a no go. GREAT. He says "I'd really like to help, but short of you giving me a reason to put you in garde a vue..." (aka short of arresting you) there was nothing he could do.

Great.

Now I just have to wait for a call back from the people at the embassy who take your fingerprints to see when I can get that done. Either that or call the Oregon Bar Examiners people and have them try to contact the Nantere Prefecture (HA!) and explain why I need this done and thus get permission for my police to fingerprintme without arresting me. Not holding my breath.

Luckily, my fingerprints do not have to accompany the rest of my file...I just need to include a note explaining myself.

Moral of the story is...unless you go to the embassy, the only way to get fingerprinted is the criminal way.

War sirens

2009-02-05T18:08:00.003+01:00

I recently (aka monday) started my 2 month internship at a lawfirm in Paris, and Wednesday was once again reminded that things were once very different in this country than in my own. Now I know what you're thinking..."you're in France silly, of course things are different!" But really, when you get down to it, things are not really all that different. People still dress the same (a little more fashion conscious perhaps), they interact in the same ways, work is more or less the same (if you exclude those random phrases of formality they use here), and other than the fact that I am sitting in a French law office researching French legal issues and writing memoranda in French (and in English) I could just as well be doing the same thing in the states.

The same thing that is until noon Wednesday morning. It just so happens that at that time, every first Wednesday of the month, they test the war sirens (also known as civil defense sirens, air raid sirens, tsunami/tornado sirens, outdoor warning sirens, or even doomsday sirens). Yes, I am sure they are not police, ambulance, or fire sirens, and no they are not school bells. I have heard them before in Puteaux, but hearing them again in Paris yesterday morning reminded me of how strange that is. Every month, since before World War II, they test the sirens to make sure they still work.

No one seems surprised by this. Nothing changes, there is no "stop, drop, and roll" activity going on, no "duck and cover" or any other "save yourself from the bomb" kind of drill. It is just a monthly testing of the sirens to make sure they are still in proper working order.

This is when you realize that you are living in a country that didn't just fight in World War II (or in the first one for that matter) but lived it. Yes, I know we all learned this in school, and that everyone knows that the actual fighting took place on French soil among others, but it still feels like history, not something that they still -- to this day -- feel and thus continue to test the sirens just in case.

Here is a link (in French) about the national alarm system: http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/votre_securite/en-dehors-du-domicile/sirenes/view

Just some food for thought.

Todays unfortunate adventure

2009-01-28T16:33:00.003+01:00

Today is day 3 in a week that can only be described as exam hell. 5 days 5 tests each 3 hours long (plus the extra hour granted to us poor foreigners). By any testing standard it is brutal since classes ended last wednesday and we were given little time to study.

However this testing period has been particularly trying as last sunday (a week before exams) I was "fortunate" enough to come down with what turns out to have been a nasty case of strep throat. I went from being fine Saturday evening to a feverish, lung-hacking coughing, painful sore throat state of mess. Attempts to attend class monday (in the same condition plus a complete loss of voice) were thwarted by our loving secretary who quite rightly told me to go home. Three days later things seemed to be getting better but also progressively worse and sooff to the french "generaliste" doctor I go...the doctor who promptly informed me that my system was exhausted and my vocal chords shot. Medicine and bed rest it is...and absolutely no talking for a couple days. Fine by me, I need to study. Friday was the first day I got in a productive day of studying, and thus the scramble to learn 5 subjects in 3 days began.

So here we are again, day 3 (after that little digression) and I am off to school with my overnight bag packed for two days because our darling train system has decided to participate in the National Day of Strikes. Who the blazes gave the FRENCH a National day for striking when they do it all the time anyway?!?!? (how's that for the use of an interrobang) So...since the trains start their strike tonight and end friday morning and I still have an exam thursday and friday...I get to squat at a friend's.

Morning starts normally, I get up to finish the studying that hadn't been completed by 3am, get ready for the day, and head out the door. Phone call. Crap...that is NOT a good sign. What's the deal? Oh, just that the train tracks broke and no more trains out to Cergy since no trains are arriving from inside Paris. Time to try the suburb trains leaving from Saint Lazare. MASSIVE crowds at Saint Lazare...lots of angry, yelling, and pushing people. There is even some banging on the plexiglass windows to the "guichets" behind which the agents were most likely hiding. We see the train heading to Cergy is scheduled to leave in a couple minutes at the other end of the station...we'll never make it...and we didnt. The train doors were nearly slammed shut in our faces so close was our defeat.

Great. Exam now starts in half an hour...another friend was on the train when it stopped. SHE is stuck between two stations and after 45 minutes is forced off the train and told they will have to walk to the station on the train tracks. The station in the opposite direction from where she needs to go. This is NOT the way to start the day when you have an exam and cannot simply go home and crawl back under the covers.

The Saint Lazare guy is telling us to go back to La Defense, that there are trains at La Defense. I told him I don't believe him, that every time I get stuck in this situation (this is the third time this year I have heard that line) the people at La Defense say "go to Saint Lazare, there are trains at Saint Lazare" and like a fool you go to Saint Lazare where the helpful people say "there are no trains here, you must go to La Defense, there are trains at La Defense". (As I write this and as you read this please please be imagining like I am the smug little union train man with a heavy French accent calmly telling people "zere are no trains eere"). Anyway...I refused to go anywhere until this man got confirmation that "zere were indeed trains" at La Defense. Luckily I wasn't the only person who so cheekily informed him that we were tired of their shenanigans.

Several of us decide that instead of fighting our way back through the throng of people to get to the train going to La Defense we would hop on the train nearby that was going part of the way toward Cergy and then switch at a station later on. Our friend has made it out of the tunnels underneath Paris and is trying to find a way to get to La Defense to catch a train. The fastest way is to take the 8 then the 1 all the way to La Defense.

We manage to call a friend in class and explain to the professor that due to circumstances WAY beyond our control we will be late. Some of us will be VERY late. The exam has now started. Our train leaves, going in the right direction now...our friend calls again: the line 1 is closed because too many people are on it. Bloody hell. We tell her to go back to Saint Lazare and try to take a train to Cergy or to La Defense so she can take a train to Cergy from there. Trying to calm down and refocus in the train, put some of the information back in our heads. It is now 10 am and we are 30 minutes late.

Thank god for the foreigners in class who need extra time...our presence means it will be easier for the students who arrived late to make up the time lost in the train scramble. Does this mean I lose part of my extra time? Who knows for now.

We arrive in class at 10:15. A whole 45 minutes late. Two other students lucky enough to catch the train we missed arrived 25 minutes before. The one asked to treck through the tunnels is still trying to get here. Test time. The professor is nice, and has granted us all the time we needed (including the 45 minutes I lost). The secretaries have been helpful and offered to sit so the professor can get back to work. The last student arrives at noon, 30 minutes before the scheduled end of the exam. The professor is nice and arranges with the secretary to allow her to have the time needed to complete the exam.

Today's test is now over...time to study for tomorrow's. We are all squatting at Cergy tonight, no one wants to tempt fate with the trains again today.

French appeals court examines virginity lie

2008-12-29T01:26:00.002+01:00

A court decision to annul a Muslim couple's marriage because the bride lied about being a virgin discriminates against women and should be overturned, state prosecutors argued Monday.

This was in the papers a while ago, but I still found it interesting. Since then I do believe the marriage was annulled. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24971969/

Apparently in some marriages, virginity can still be considered a pre-requisite and thus be annulled on the grounds of a breach of contract:

"But in treating the case as a breach of contract, the ruling was decried by critics who said it undermined decades of progress in women's rights. Marriage, they said, was reduced to the status of a commercial transaction in which women could be discarded by husbands claiming to have discovered hidden defects in them."

There are days when I disagree with how France treats the separation of church and state, and how far they take it, but here I believe the government got too involved in something that, despite their claims to the contrary, is essentially an annullment based on religious beliefs.

Follow the bouncing ball

2008-10-18T17:28:00.003+02:00

Today is Saturday, and every saturday morning I have the great pleasure of going into class for the 6th day in a row and studying 6 hours of accounting. This particular morning things were going well. I got up on time, left on time, caught the train on time, arrived on time, all without rushing. What made today different was what I saw while leaving the train station this morning on my way to class.

I saw this little brownish ball rolling/bouncing down the side of the street going the same direction as me. Normally this would be no big deal, but there was no one behind me and no one chasing after this ball. Hence, no apparent source for the ball. The area I was walking in is underneath the "centre commercial" and is where all the busses drop off their passengers. So here, in the shade rolling/bouncing up the street is this funny brown ball with no owner. These are my initial thoughts.

Then, as I'm staring at this rolling/bouncing ball I realize it is maintaining its momentum but not necessarily going in a straight line, or one logical to a rolling/bouncing ball. It is then that I realize that it is not in fact a rolling/bouncing ball, but a really fat young mouse running really fast and trying to stay as near the curb and hence out of sight as possible while running for cover. He was so fat he looked round, neither head nor tail were visible, contributing to this furry round ball appearance, and because he wasn't rolling straight and bouncing off to the side like a ball would be when it hit something it was just funny enough to make me laugh. This poor fat little mouse was running for cover from the dumpsters he'd been hanging around and was dodging the little pebbles in his way (hence the bouncing effect) then "rolling" under a leaf propped up against the curb. This fat little guy even managed to bounce up onto the curb before rolling away into the shadow and disappearing.

It was a good way to start the morning.

Back in France and back to strange rooster men...

2008-09-07T01:54:00.003+02:00

So, here I am beginning my second and last year in France. I arrived Tuesday morning and have had 18 hours of class since thursday morning. Yuck. That's not the point of this post though. This evening, after 6 grueling but interesting hours of corporate law I returned home after stopping off at the grocery store to pick up some dinner and wine. I arrived home, turned on the computer, fully intending to watch a movie or some Bewitched while enjoying some good food and drink. The water was just starting to boil when Gretchen called. For those of you who don't know her, Gretchen is one of the two students from VLS who came to Paris this year and will be taking the Master 1 classes like I did last year.

Anyway...Gretchen called to see if I wanted to get together this evening for dinner. I said I'd be right there (which from where I live to where she is means more like see you in an hour), turned off the stove (wouldn't do to boil a pan dry, burn one of Nico's pans and leave the gas burning for several hours) and out the door I went. The usual train delays later (forgetting not for the first time today that it is saturday and thus trains are not as frequent) and I am at the pre-arranged metro stop and stepping out of the metro. As I step out I notice a homeless-looking, disheveled man with a crazy gleam in his eye intently walk toward a man half snoozing on a chair in the station. He walks right up to the man, leans over and crows loudly in his ear like a rooster!

What was going on?!?! For a moment I thought I didn't see/hear this correctly and that there must have been a rooster on this guy. But no, this guy was too thin (not overly), carrying nothing bulky, and I know rooster calls too well to think it was a real one. (Its been a long tiring week and I am not yet accustomed to the random weird people in the metro again.) The rooster man walks away from the semi-comatose man in the chair (he didn't seem to react much to the rooster crowing in his ear) and down the station toward another person sitting in a chair waiting for a train. He repeats his rooster call at the next person, and then the next, never saying a word, making any gestures or in any other way indicating how crazy he must have been. He never laughed, just got up in someone's face and crowed!

A part of me wanted to stay and watch to see what this strange rooster man did, but a larger part of me wanted to go meet up with my friends and to avoid drawing the attention of the rooster man.

So, next time you're in Paris near the Saint Ambroise station, keep an eye out for the crazy rooster man and bien venu a Paris!!!

Sometimes the French are just disturbing...

2008-02-26T23:27:00.001+01:00

Watch the video. Need I say more?

In France, the Heads No Longer Roll

2008-02-18T20:09:00.004+01:00

Long but interesting article on the French business "royalty" and their 100 Club. I had never heard of the 100 Club but its existence and exclusivity are no surprise. When many world leaders throughout history have been associated with secret societies like the Freemasons, it comes as no surprise that in France, where Freemasonry isn't as prevalent, there is a society even more elite. 100 members and 100 members only. Admittance for the elite at the death of a previous member. These men are the leaders of France and share a cameraderie and network that extends beyond their political and business connections. Yet, can they really claim that their business decisions are not in part based on this cameraderie?

Members of the group, and other French business elite claim that the decision to leave the President of the French bank La Societe Generale has nothing to do with his membership in this group or his status as one of the French business royalty. Instead they claim it is the board's decision based on business. I must say that some of their arguments are plausible -- when the bank is in such a state of turmoil it probably isn't the best idea to change its leadership. But at the same time, if such a gross oversight had occurred in the US, the president would have been on the street in a heartbeat. So why protect this man and others like him? What was really going on in that bank, and is our little French trader taking the blame for errors that were not only his? The general French sentiment seems to be that yes, this poor man is the scapegoat and that the bank turned a blind eye as long as he earned money, even though he had overstepped his bounds.

Today, because of the poor management of this trader, there is pressure to further investigate the bank's activities and understand how such a gross oversight could have happened. The loss of 5 billion euros is no small deal, but this man was trading in the 50 - 70 billion range...the value of the bank itself. In class our professor told us a joke: How are you greeted now when you walk into the Societe Generale? "Give me five!" It is very possible the banks president will eventually step down and be subject to questionning himself (despite his protective shroud of elite membership), but at the moment, pressure remains on the small trader who lost 5 billion euros.

French trader loses $7 billion

2008-01-30T19:43:00.000+01:00

Last week a French trader for one of France's primary banks, Societe Generale lost over $7 billion dollars. He had hacked into the system and was illegally trading huge amounts of money and reportedly was doing well at first but then began losing.

Here are two of many articles about what this guy did: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22839323 and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22867180/

The trader claims there is no way the bank could not have known about what he was doing, and that they never said anything so long as he was gaining money. However, once he started losing...he lost big.

Personally, it seems the timing between his losses (or at least their discovery of the losses) and the crash of the American economy and the resulting global economic instability must be in some way related. It is however questionable that just days before the bank announced this trader's "blunder" a member of the board of directors sold off $45 million and then another $85 million of his shares. Supposedly, to help compensate for the banks losses and their ensuing attempt to regain the money lost, the bank's director has generously offered to forgo his salary for 6 months. (a salary rumored to be 5 million euros per year).

There are also rumors of an OPA in the works by some of France's other banks. The French government however has promised this wont happen and that they will support Societe Generale to prevent a hostile takeover. However, some speculate how the government will be able to do this when already facing a multi-billion dollar financial deficit.

Needless to say, this will be something closely followed by those in both the financial and the legal world, and by students. Our professor for our class in white collar crime has asked us to follow this case as this trader is a classic example of the kind of people you would encounter in the world of "sophisticated" business crime. Classic example in every way except that he didn't make any money himself.

Will keep you all posted on how this case develops.

I wonder if this man, if he can avoid a prison sentence, or even after he serves time, will ever be able to find another job. Who would want to hire the man who is behind the one of the largest bank fraud in history?

Christmas in Puteaux

2008-01-27T15:36:00.001+01:00

So every year the town I live in puts out Christmas decorations. I don't know if its always the same theme or not, but this year was a circus. They also set up a huge advent calendar in the center of town right outside one of the schools (left). Every day they would open a new door with a new image on either side of the Christmas scene in the middle. The large circus decorations were set up all over "downtown" Puteaux, and each side street had circus decorations on the lamp post (lions, seals, elephants, giraffes) and hanging over the road. Our street had two elephants standing up and facing each other with a circus tent in the middle. The street decorations were accompanied by larger versions around town. The two standing elephants face eachother in front of the Mairie (see the building all lit up). There is also a giraffe standing near the entrance to the Mairie around the right side of the building. The Mairie is lit up at night year round, in different colors, but it is really beautiful to see it at night during the Christmas season.

Further down, on a little island in the street was a tent of lights complete with snow on the ground with an elephant, a cople seals, and a polar bear. There is a doorway into this tent of lights so that the children can go in and look at the animals and take pictures with them. Puteaux also sets up a series of winter activities including ice skating and sledding at the town's recreational park on the island of Puteaux at the bottom of the hill. There they have an entire "winter wonderland" for children where families can go and safely enjoy some skating or sledding without taking a trip out to the mountains.

The museum next to the Mairie had a waterfall of lights with two seals playing with balls out front. I swear, every time I got a chance to get out after dark I found some new light statue of a circus animal! We will have to see what shows up next year. Because of exams, I didn't get a chance to get down and see the winter wonderland, so I don't have any pictures of that part of town yet. There is always next year!

Versailles

2008-01-27T15:10:00.000+01:00

Early in December Ryan and I went out to Versaille to see the sights and visit the famous castle before going home for the holidays. Now, the tour book says that from the train station the way to the castle is clearly marked, but for the record it isn't clearly marked. However, there are two streets that run directly to the castle and it's so huge, that it's kind of hard to miss! When we went to go get our admission tickets, the lady thought Ryan's student ID picture was so great and that he was so cute she gave him a reduction on the ticket price! His picture was passed around to the other people working and it provoked a "RAAAR" or two in the process. All in all a pretty good way to start the tour. My student train pass got me in for free but didn't allow for the audio guide through the castle. Luckily Ryan's ticket did so we managed to hear more about the castle anyway.

Now, photos aren't allowed in the castle, even without a flash, so we did what we could by being sneaky and getting pictures when the people weren't looking. This rule really only seemed to apply in the rooms not exposed to sunlight since everyone was taking pictures in the famous Hall of Mirrors. The castle was immense, and the gardens beautiful. It was pretty cold out so we didn't stay in the gardens long, especially since there isn't much there in the winter. I can't wait to go back in the spring when everything is in bloom! It must be just incredible!

I can't imagine what it must have been like to live in such a monstrous "house". The rooms are all interconnected down a hallway, there are "secret" doors connecting adjacent rooms, and the ceilings are all exquisitely painted. If it weren't for the fact that it would have been really strange, I think I would have just laid down on the floor and stared at the ceilings for hours! The rooms without windows were dimly lit, and must have been amazing during dinner parties since everything in there was silver and the light from the candles would have reflected off the silver, lighting the place up and making it sparkle! The king turned much of his treasury (silver) into furniture, so that his desk, bureau, "file cabinet", etc were literally part of the treasury. The king of England did the same thing, and when fighting they essentially just melted down their furniture to pay for the war! It was all pretty incredible. The statues are amazing, as is the gigantic globe the king commissioned for his son to help him learn geography. The globe splits in half, and inside is a smaller globe with a relief map so the dauphin could "see" the mountains, rivers, valleys, etc. Apparently, the globe is remarkable accurate for the time.

Needless to say, this is absolutely a place I would return to see again.

Turkey Day

2008-01-27T14:46:00.000+01:00

Again, a blog long overdue but about the adventures of celebrating Thanksgiving in a country that doesn't.

Being that there were only a few of us and we were all a long way from home on a holiday typically spent with friends and family, we thought we would get together to celebrate Turkey Day the way we normally would if we were home. The invitation was extended to the French students who were with us at VLS last year and their friends. We celebrated on a Saturday though instead of Thursday since we still had class.

Recipes were found, certain ingredients brought back from the states (pumpkin pie puree being essential to any Thanksgiving meal), and the meal prepared, with each person bringing something of their own.

First thing on the list after we all agreed to celebrate Turkey Day was finding a turkey. I had seen turkey thighs and breasts at the grocery store but no whole turkey. Also per Eliza's request (one of the other Americans) we were searching for an organic turkey. Now, turkeys in France (and all their meat) tends to be more organic that what you would normally find in the states since they have laws against injecting hormones, etc. into their animals. Now the problem with finding the turkey wasn't so much that it needed to be organic, but that we were looking "early in the season" by French standards. Still, I managed to get a turkey from the butcher down the street.

Question number two: knowing how much turkey we eat at Thanksgiving, what is the biggest turkey that will fit in my little oven? Well, a not quite 6 kilo (under 13 pounds) bird barely fits in my oven. But, we got it in there, stuffed it with apples and onions, and kept that puppy juicy till the end. I don't think I have ever seen a turkey suck up that much broth/water over 4 hours!
Every time we went in to rotate the bird and baste it we had to add more liquid! The effort was well worth it though because that bird sure was juicy!

Dinner was awesome, everyone brought something with them, and we had tons and tons of food! We had yams and mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, gravy, good wine, pies, chocolate mousse...I think we ate till we were stuffed! Lots and lots of leftovers to boot! Those leftovers became turkey quesadillas a few nights later, then turkey and veggie thai not to long after that.

Thanksgiving alwasy takes a long time to prepare, but it's always fun to have friend together for a nice meal, some good wine, good conversation and some fun games at the end of the week.

"La Greve" (aka the strikes)

2008-01-27T13:50:00.000+01:00

This was a long post, but long over-due...

As you may or may not know, France has a long history of strikes. Since my arrival in September, the transit system has gone on strike (several times), the utilities (electricity and gas) people went on strike, students went on strike, teachers always seem to be going on strike, the judges went on strike, lawyers went on strike, and now recently its the telecasters. No more 5 o'clock news for you!!! Careers that I would never think would ever go on strike (namely judges, lawyers and the news people) have been going on strike over recent reforms to the French system.

The strikes that made world news were the transportation strikes, first in October, then again in November. These strikes were prompted by President Sarkozy's social security reforms. It seems it isn't only Americans who are concerned over social security as they approach retirement. In an effort to stave off a lack of funds for the baby boomers, Sarkozy is enforcing a higher retirement age, first in the public sector, then later in the private sector as well. Those who work in the transit system benefitted from an agreement which allowed those who held labor intensive jobs to retire earlier. This agreement dates back to a time when trains were powerd by coal and required seriously labor intensive work. Today no such intensity exists yet the agreement still stands, and Sarkozy's attempts to change it prompted several weeks of strikes. For a better description of the reasons behind the strikes, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2007_strikes_in_France

The transportation strikes affected people in different ways. For those who live and work inside Paris the strikes made getting to work inconvenient but not impossible thanks to Paris' Velib system -- a "rent-a-bike" system that allows people to pick up a bike from one station and drop it off at another. The impact within the city also depended on which metro line people relied on. One is completely automatic, has no conductor and continued running without a problem. Many lines stopped running at all or had very few connections. The metropolitain trains were even worse, and those who relied on them had even greater difficulty getting to work (or school for that matter). In a city whose population is near 10 million (Paris-metropolitain) taking your car to work wasn't really the best option either. Traffic was terrible and people were lucky to find parking.

For those of us here who don't live at school, I have a 30 minute train ride, getting to school became an ordeal and was sometimes not worth it. My direct route stopped running, forcing me to take a train into the city to Saint Lazare and then take another train back out to Cergy, tripling my commute. So, for days when I barely had 3 hours of class, and the train schedule would force me to arrive an hour early and leave an hour after and it took 3 hours round trip, the effort hardly seemed to be worth the result. Sometimes classes were canceled, but not always, and students had to rely on those who were in class for notes.

The train stations were a mess, people crowded everywhere during typical peak hours, and an otherwise busy station like La Defense (right next to where I live) was at times deserted. Entrances to the train or metro were taped off, or if they were running, an employee was present to prevent overcrowding. Life was exciting.

As for the other groups who went on strike, utilities joined in on the transportation strike, students were protesting a law that was passed which would raise their tuition from something like 400 euros a year to 1500 euros per year in the universities. Judges went on strike to protest a reorganisation of their districts, and lawyers protested Sarkozy's decision to allow a mutual agreement divorce to be done by a notary rather than through an attorney. Most recently it's been the newscasters who went on strike, but i'm not entirely sure of the reasoning behind it all. Will keep you posted.

The one random skyscraper in Paris...

2007-12-06T20:12:00.000+01:00

Yes. The view from my apartment is beautiful, and the second thing you notice, after the Eiffel Tower, is a tall, dark skyscraper that is MANY stories taller than ANYTHING else in Paris. The Tour Montparnasse has become a tourist attraction and offers an amazing panoramic view of Paris (much like the Eiffel Tower) and has also been a source of criticism. At 210 meters (59 stories) it is the tallest skyscraper in France and at the time of its construction was the tallest in Europe.

Two years after its construction, the building of skyscrapers within the city limits of Paris was baned because it was deemed an eyesore and interrupted the view of the city. Skyscrapers did not fit the "theme" or "image" Paris wanted to keep for itself. As a result, most of the city's skyscrapers are outside city limits, notably around La Defense. So much the better I say! Skyscrapers would prevent me from seeing the tops of many of Paris' other famous monuments.

France's Long-Secret Library of Libido

2007-12-06T19:50:00.000+01:00

So, I know this isn't something I've seen while here, but just thought that it was interesting that a country we (Americans) typically view as a very sexually open country had a "secret library" called L'Enfer.

I've included the link if you would like to read the article. Be aware, the title of the blog gives you faire warning for the contents of the article.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315367,00.html

This is still a far cry from the censorship activities practiced in the states. However, given what I have learned about the history of France this year, particularly the history of criminal law and how the severity of punishment fluctuated over time, it is not surprising that some form of censorship or another was practiced throughout the ages, particularly with a subject that has historically been "suspect" as far as a person's morality was concerned.

All the same, it was an interesting article, and could prove to be an interesting exhibit.

My train ride home today

2007-11-09T15:49:00.000+01:00

Today's train ride home was relatively uneventful...mostly. As usual, when finished with my classes, I go to the station and catch the next train heading back to Paris. When I arrive at La Defense, unless I feel like walking, I change trains for the short one stop trip to my town. Today's trip was no different, and since it is a bit blustery today I chose to take the train rather than arrive home feeling a bit thrashed by the wind. I have two "train" options from La Defense home. I can either take the train, or the tram. Usually my decision is based on which leaves first since both arrive 2 minutes after they leave. Today was the train, and therein lies the decision that changed my normal trip home into something a little more interesting.

Paris is known for its colorful people. You will find them in subways, street corners, in parks, and in all major tourist attractions. I'm talking about the living statues and walking one-man-band kind of colorful people. Now generally I have the pleasure of listening the these musical talents in the metros, but today it was a train in the suburbs. Still nothing remarkable. There was a man with an accordion, fairly standard train/subway musical instrument, and then there was the other guy...

Imagine those fake plastic teeth that come with your Halloween costume. You know, the big teeth, lots of gums, a couple teeth missing. Those teeth. Make them real and imagine the person who has those teeth. Had he not taken part in the musical talent show he was probably still going to be noticed, even just briefly, because of these teeth. Now, give this man two pop cans. Two full, unopened pop cans. And when man #1 starts playing his accordion, imagine man #2 tapping the bottom of the two cans together to the beat of the music. Now, as if this weren't interesting enough, imagine him starting to not just sway but step and slide side to side to the rhythm. Add in a bit of a dip to the step-slide, continue with the can banging and don't forget to picture the teeth. It's kind of a funny image.

My apartment

2007-10-25T14:47:00.000+02:00

Getting to my apartment requires exercise. You walk up a hill, down a street, and up many flights of stairs. However, the view at the top is quite worth the hike!

You can see many of the major Parisian monuments from my living room. Missing in this picture are the monuments further to the left like the Sacre Coeur. I will try to put up a better picture later on.

We aren't done decorating/setting up yet (yes it's been a couple months) but we're getting there! Just working on putting in light fixtures to avoid that "crack house" look of light bulbs hanging from wires in the ceiling. Pieces are starting to fit into place though, and we're pretty much settled in.

There are two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and toilet room. Lots of closet space for storage in the hall. It's in a great spot for me, being just outside Paris but still not as far out as school. That way I can visit friends and get into town easily enough in the evenings, but still not have to spend an hour or more in the train to get to class (unless we're talking about days when the transportation system's on strike...more on that to come). The stove is teeny tiny, but it fits what it needs to fit! I'm still getting used to a gas stove though. Gas burners are one thing, but a gas stove...especially one that doesn't have temperature indicators on it is difficult to regulate!

The tiny oven makes cooking multiple things a science or a carefully choreographed event since there is only one rack and limited space...we're talking 16x16x16 inches. The images you see of the kitchen are the kitchen in its entirety. There is a double window in between (you see half of it) and thats all folks!

However, for the space and what I need on a regular basis, this kitchen is great. It's the right size for two people and holds eveything I need. We've even hosted a couple get-togethers of up to 20 people so the kitchen's good even for preparing food for that many people! Space was a bit cramped in the apartment in general, but hey...that's what gatherings among friends are for right?

The Laundromat

2007-10-23T22:05:00.000+02:00

So...a couple weeks ago -- the 13th -- I went to go do laundry. I'd been here nearly a month, and it was about time I did some laundry. I gather up my stuff, stick it in a bag, get some detergent and walk down the stairs and up the street to the laundromat. When I get there, I see this guy sitting in a chair in the doorway. Now, if I had been in the States, this might not have been so surprising. But, in France this man looked TOTALLY out of place. This man, for all intents and purposes, looked like the typical overweight American redneck sitting on his couch, in his boxers, drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette, watching the football game. EXCEPT he was sitting in a laundromat just outside Paris. So, beer bellied redneck in boxers is sitting in the doorway, not about to move for the world, staring at the machines going round instead of at a football game. Fine. I walk in, put my stuff in the machines and sit down to wait.

The owner comes in, asks the man if his clothes are in the washing machine (hoping, I think that the answer is yes), and tells him he can't drink in the laundromat. So, since he's sitting in the doorway, he politely moves his can of beer to the outside of the doorway without leaving his seat. Time passes, the owner leaves, I'm writing letters, and the dryer next to me stops. The scantily clad Frenchman gets up pulls ALL his clothes, and I mean ALL his clothes out of the dryer and puts them on. Socks, shoes, pants, shirt, sweatshirt, jacket. Everything. Then he says goodbye to the other woman in the laundromat as if they were good friends, shakes my hand and leaves.

The other woman in the laundromat (I later learned her name is Sandra -- we bonded over this incident) looks at me and kind of shrugs like "that was strange but whatever" and I asked her if she knew him. "No. I've never seen him before." She then told me how she had been doing laundry when he came in and just started taking all his clothes off. Off came the jacket, the shoes, the socks, the shirt, the pants...he paused at the boxers, looked at her, then started to take them off anyway. She quickly intervened since a public laundromat really isn't the place to strip down and wash ALL your clothes and told him he couldn't do that. He seemed pretty intent, his boxers were wet, so she gave him a towel to wrap himself in while he waited for his clothes to wash and dry.

So in reality, what I had walked in on was the end of the very interesting afternoon she'd had at the laundromat. For me it had been one of a series of events in my day, but was by far the most memorable. Prior to the laundromat I had finally managed to get my bank account validated after a month of waiting, which meant I could get my cell phone, which meant I had a means of being reached when away from my apartment. While all of that was very exciting for me, that was not what I was waiting to tell my friends about that night when we met to watch the Rugby game. It was apparently not a good night for the French since they were ultimately clobbered at the last minute by the English in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup.

Bringing you up to speed (part 2)

2007-10-20T21:32:00.000+02:00

So, to quickly sum up some of the random things I jotted down which aren't worth a whole story, but to those who know me and the subject will appreciate these notes or understand their meaning:
(a) I am here for two years to finish my JD and obtain a Masters 1 and a Masters 2 in business law. In France, lawyers are called "avocats" and work in "cabinets". Now, to those of you who speak French, the irony might be dawning on you. Or maybe I'm just the dork who thinks these kinds of things are funny. Both these words have two meanings. "Avocat" could just as well mean "avocado" and "cabinet" also means, well, "cabinet". I don't think I have to draw out the explanation here.

(b) my town, Puteaux, is on a hill. Consequently I have an AMAZING view of Paris from my apartment with the Eiffel Tower smack in the middle. Now, contrary to all movies where there's an American living in Paris who has the view of the Eiffel Tower from his living room, this is NOT the norm, and any apartment with that view is insanely expensive...unless you live outside of Paris...and on a hill...and up five flights of stairs. So, because of this incline, the town has installed escalators. Yes, you read correctly, my town has outdoor escalators in green glass tubes going up the hill. None go down, there are stairs for that, but there are these weird space aged looking tubes that pop up out of a hill. Other than the space aged escalators, there is an adorable carousel in town next to the town hall which also has an amazing fountain out front, and is lit up all purple at night (the town hall, not the fountain of course). Finally, the last thing that was interesting/strange about this town was that while waiting to cross the street, because the cars had the right of way, a police car -- who, I repeat, had the right of way -- stopped and waved me to cross the street. Maybe it was just that policeman but it still seemed strange that he had the right of way and chose to stop in the intersection and plug up traffic just to let me cross.
(c) for anyone who is interested in the names of the different daylight savings zones, France is in the "Romance daylight time."
(d) People. So, this is just random thoughts and sightings that I wanted to share because I am special like that. I saw a girl at school who, for lack of a better description, had Beatrix Potter hair. The actor who plays LeChiffre in the newest James Bond does clothing ads here, and I heard a guy on the train one day who for all the world sounded like he could have been the French Darth Vader. For Phil, whose red shoes are SO red, I want you to know that as weird as I thought it was, it wasn't as strange as seeing 3 complete strangers sitting near each other on the train all wearing 3 different kinds of totally red shoes. Alison, there's a guy who looks like Max Medina who lives in my town. Kind of strange. And for all of you who watch "Sex and the City" and know about the "scrunchy" episode...there are Parisian women, and even some very well dressed Parisian women, who still sport the scrunchy. Then again there are French women who are wearing those white boots that people wore in the 80s...Some styles I will never understand.
(e) Blood drive in France. I had to include this because in all the years that I've given blood I have never ever heard a presentation like this one. Plus, I had the pleasure of hearing this presentation twice! Two guys came into the room to get people to go out and give blood and quickly laid out all the rules about how long you have to wait to give blood after being sick, out of the country, etc. The speech was the normal speech you always hear until...they started talking about users of illicit substances. "Now, if you are an occasional toker...you need to wait 48 hours before giving blood. But, for those of you who toke up on a regular basis...please wait 15 days." The speech was fast enough that I had to think twice about what I had heard, but I was pretty sure that's what the man had said, and sure enough...he repeated it later that day in another class!

Bringing you up to speed (part 1)

2007-10-18T11:23:00.000+02:00

I have officially been in Paris for just over a month now, am finally getting settled in and adjusting to my new environment. I live in an apartment just outside of Paris in a town called Puteaux. It's about a 10 minute walk from La Defense, the closest tourist attraction and the closest train station that takes you into or out of Paris.

I have been keeping track of all the things I wanted to write about so as this blog progresses I will try to add them in so that I can catch up to present time.

I guess the best place to start at the moment would be the beginning. The trip to Paris started well, got on flight one, got on flight two, arrived in Newark, collected my bags to check them in with Air India (my flight to Paris) and the first thing I notice when I arrive to check in is the sign that tells you what you can and can't have in your carry-on. This one was different. It had something new on it that I'd never seen on these signs before. Since high school I've seen quite a few of these signs, but never, never had I ever seen a sign that told me I couldn't have grenades in my carry-on! Who would have thought? Really wishing I had a picture of that.

Since then, I have moved into my new apartment, started classes and survived our first transportation strike. They have promised another strike sometime in November -- I guess when people are less willing to try to walk to work. More on that later.