France Tales

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Before we moved to France, many people told us the stories about how everything is closed on Sundays in France. While it is not necessarily untrue, it is not as true as I had thought.
Just this morning, despite the rain, despite being sick, despite not feeling like it, I went out to get some food. [...]

We are leaving on our mini vacation tomorrow. I just checked the weather. It is supposed to rain and be relatively cold the entire weekend we are in Biarritz. I was really hoping for some sun and to go into the ocean. Then in Bordeaux after that it is supposed to continue raining. I’m all [...]

Each week brings lots of new things including strikes. Now I am not against strikes in principle, but I am against strikes that make little sense.
Tomorrow there will be a strike in France. There are all kinds of rules about who goes on strike. For example some students will be on strike tomorrow but some [...]

There is a longstanding stereotype about the French that they don’t like to wear deodorant and hence they tend to smell. While it is probably an oversimplification, it is not entirely untrue. As the weather warms up going to the gym can be a bit of an ordeal.
Now all gyms smell a bit, but [...]

I haven’t been working very much lately. There have been a slew of French holidays coinciding with the days my class falls on. School holiday, May Day, also an article on Hub Pages, Victory Day, etc. Today I went to work for the first time in 3 weeks, no I don’t get paid when I [...]

Today is my birthday, no big plans, except for going to the ENAC, where I work, but not for work related things. I am thinking of applying to a Master’s program in User Interface Design. I don’t think I have the prerequisites but I am wondering if I can apply and be accepted provisionally, ie [...]