A Month of Sales!

The French are brilliant! Tomorrow begins a month of sales throughout the country. Stores selling clothing, perfume, and housewares (among other things) are offering discounts between 20-70% off. I AM EXCITED.

No Drivers License? No Problem!

Yesterday Robin and I went downtown. The weather here has improved significantly from last week (wind, rain, and temperatures in the 50's--yuck) so we took advantage of the sun, walked around, and got smoothies. After we parked the car, I noticed an adorable little blue car nearby. "Oh, it's so cute!" I told Robin. "No it's not! You don't need a driver's license to drive that kind of car. It's too small for my taste."

Well, I was shocked. You can drive a tiny car like that without a driver's license? Strange! Apparently in France obtaining a driver's license is a difficult process. Only upon turning 18 does one have the possibility of taking the driver's license exam, but it is very difficult to pass and very expensive to have a car here. Because public transportation, walking, or riding a bicycle is cheap (or free) and accessible, many people choose those alternatives rather than owning a vehicle. For those individuals who don't have a driver's license for whatever reason, but still want a car, they can purchase one like in the picture. The motor in cars such as this one is so small that the driver can't achieve high speeds--usually only about 45 kilometers per hour maximum. I think cars like this are really cute!

I'm Tired of Wine!

I never thought that I would say this, but I am tired of drinking wine. Those of you who know me well are probably shocked right now. Here's the reason though: we drink it so often here (usually at lunch and dinner) that wine is no longer a treat!

Lately I have had a hankering for Mexican food and a margarita, but those things are nowhere to be found in this country. I guess I know what my first meal will be when I return to the U.S. at the end of July...

French Toilets

If you go into any French home and ask to use the bathroom, you will be directed to a little room with only a toilet. Why? The French keep the toilette and salle de bains separate. The American notion of having the toilet, bathtub/shower, and sink in the same place is a completely foreign idea here!

At school a couple of days ago we were learning the vocabulary associated with houses and apartments. One of the students asked why in France the toilet was not in the bathroom with the sink and bathtub. Our professor simply pinched her nose, indicating that the French prefer to keep the toilet and its, uh, unpleasant odors, separate from the rest of the house. Très intéressant and it makes a lot of sense.

An American in Paris

Last week, my friend Tiphanie and I went to Paris for the day. We woke up at 5 A.M. in order to catch the TGV (high-speed train) at 6:22 A.M. The TGV is really fast--we arrived in Paris a little after 9 A.M.! Tiphanie's friend from Truman, Maricruz, was visiting La Ville-Lumière (The City of Light) for a couple of days with her friend and cousin, so Tiphanie and I went to meet up with them. Our group was very multicultural--we represented France, Mexico, and the United States!

We spent the day visiting the sights of Paris: Le Louvre, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe,

Tour Eiffel, Montmarte, Sacre Coeur, and Notre Dame. It was fun! As you can tell from the pictures, the weather wasn't great. We spent the majority of the day fighting to keep our umbrellas from turning inside out.

By far, the most exciting event of the day occurred when we were near the Arc de Triomphe. We were standing around trying to find a metro station when we noticed a camera crew filming with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. Maricruz, Jorge, and July started freaking out--the camera crew was from Azteca TV, the biggest television network in Mexico (and equivalent to CNN in the United States). The correspondent was reporting a segment about France, as the France-Mexico game of the World Cup was that evening. In fact, Maricruz, Jorge, and July had all worn Mexican jerseys

while sightseeing around Paris that day. The reporter interviewed them about the game and who they expected to win (Mexico, of course). He then interviewed Tiphanie about who she thought would win (tough, because she is French but she was with her Mexican friends. Oh and also because the Mexican team is really good). Finally he asked me what I thought. "I don't really care, I'm American. We don't like soccer. I want France to win." I replied. Ooops. Only afterwards did I realize how dumb I sounded! Oh well, hopefully the reporter edited my thirty second segment out before the broadcast aired all over Mexico...

Visite chez le Docteur Gregoire

For the past couple of days, I have had a sore throat. I didn't really think much of it because the weather has been fluctuating a lot over the past week and I've also been really tired. To alleviate some of the pain, I've been taking aspirin and sucking on lozenges. Yesterday morning though, my sore throat worsened. It hurt so bad that I knew had to skip school. I couldn't face the idea of sitting in a classroom for four hours working on pronunciation--the act of practicing guttural consonants would be too painful.

When Robin's mom came home from work and realized I had skipped school, she grew worried. She didn't want whatever I have to begin affecting my asthma, so she scheduled an appointment with the doctor. Today was my appointment. I was a little nervous because I didn't know how it would work without having French health insurance. In France though, unlike the U.S., a visit to the doctor is not expensive--mine only cost 22 €. After the appointment, I received a form to give to my insurance company documenting that I went to the doctor. After the insurance acknowledges my appointment, I will be reimbursed for the cost of the appointment. All in all, it only cost me 2 € to get medical attention.

I like the French medical system far better than the American one. When we arrived at the doctor's office, there was no wait. We walked in, and Dr. Gregoire (Gregory) was waiting for us. Here it is not customary to have multiple patients at the same time, therefore I had his full attention. Dr. Gregoire speaks a little bit of English, so I told him about my sore throat. "Oh, zis is not a problem! I will give you medicine and you will be better. Zis is not serious, do not worry!" he told me. Then he checked my throat. It turns out that I have tonsillitis. Apparently my right tonsil was large, swollen, and had white spots on it. The tonsillitis also caused my right ear to be sore and swollen. Dr. Gregoire wrote me three prescriptions and told me I would be feeling better by this evening (he was right). In total, Pascale and I spent ten minutes at the doctor. After leaving the doctor, we went to the pharmacy to pick up my medicine. That only took about ten minutes also, even though the pharmacy was very busy today.

Although being sick is never fun, it is nice to have quick medical care. I like France even more now.

The French Eat What?

This post is dedicated to my best friend Roxane Spann, who is by far the pickiest eater in the entire world and will probably hate reading this entry.

Every culture enjoys unique dishes, and I believe that most people are semi-aware of different gastronomic specialties around the world. Here in France, among the most well-known specialties are escargots and cuisses de grenouille (snails and frog legs). Now, I know what you're thinking: "What!? Gross! How can the French eat those things?" I used to have the same mentality. In the U. S. it is a completely foreign notion to eat the legs off of a little amphibian or even consider swallowing a snail! Well, the French observe a similar incredulity towards Americans and our consumption of fast food.

Now, the image on the right does not do the French delicacy justice. The escargots pictured are in the process of being prepared for dinner and are far from the final result. Escargots are prepared differently, depending upon one's location within France. In Savoie, the region of France that I am currently in, escargots are cooked in a sauce made from garlic, parsley, pepper, and oil. The final result is very delicious. Imagine the taste of typical garlic bread--that's what Savoie escargots taste like. I'll be the first to admit that the texture of the snails is a bit unnerving, but you get used to it after a while. Oh, and if you think that these dishes are commonplace at every meal, you're wrong. The French typically only eat specialties such as escargots a few times a year, usually during the holiday season.

A few weeks ago, Robin and I were running errands in downtown Chambéry. We walked by a fish market (it smelled horrible, by the way), and I noticed that there were

stingrays for sale. Stingrays! To eat. I had gotten used to the idea of eating escargots and cuisses de grenouille--no problem. But stingrays? You can visit the St. Louis Zoo and pet them. You can even buy a button that says "I touched a stingray at the St. Louis Zoo." Why would anyone want to eat one? I noticed that each stingray cost 19,80 Euro--a pricey delicacy indeed! (Roughly $24.27 in U.S. dollars). I immediately asked Robin if eating stingrays is common here. He said no--he'd never heard of anyone wanting to eat a stingray. Interesting to me, because if this market sells them, obviously there is somewhat of a demand for these weirdly shaped sea creatures. Oh well. I'm not that interested in trying stingray anytime soon.