8. GO-SLOW CONTINUES SUNDAY & MONDAY
RER B had some trains on Sunday. Hoorah! Go-Slow continues on Monday. Just our luck to be on this more militant line! Transport is somewhat back to normal in the city we are told, but the negotiations between the Syndicats and the Government continue, and the main issue is still unresolved. A further strike is planned. what to do?
7. STILL STRIKING SATURDAY 20TH
In the city, apparently, trains, metro and bus are ’sort of’ running, but the RER B line is totally stalled still. Here at Lozere, our station was locked all day and night. No trains. Nothing. Zip.
Very frustrating. And even more frustrating is that it’s impossible to get any accurate information about what’s going on. More strange silence.
OCTOBER 19, 2007
6. STRIKE CONTINUES
3pm: The strike has continued today, although some trains are running (about 1 in 4, they say).
Our station, here at Lozere, is still locked up, so no movement at all.
On the news they are saying that later today there will be a resumption of traffic “to almost normal”, so we’ll keep checking.
(the gates at our station, definitely locked up!)
OCTOBER 18, 2007
5. STRIKE
Today, Thursday, the strike was major international news and it caused major traffic upheavals, with an almost complete shut-down of trains, metro, buses. It was a huge problem for commuters, but the ripples extend out far—traffic jams and grid-lock as people try to move around by car; some schools were affected, as teachers/students couldn’t get there; ditto with some of the museums etc. It’s a big problem too for the rugby fans trying ot get to Paris for the final games on Friday and Saturday nights (that’ll sure get some people upset!)
Our station in Lozere was totally locked up—we can’t get onto the platform at all and no trains come by all day. A strange silence!
The strikers have voted to extend the strike to another day. So, we’ll see. For a short while it’s interesting for us from an academic point of view, but I can see it’ll get old quickly. Rod couldn’t get to work at all and we are rather trapped here without a car. But, we could walk to our local shop and the local cafe, both open.
OCTOBER 17, 2007
4. STRIKE!
Today is October 17 and a big transport strike (Greve) is planned for tomorrow—signs up at stations, talk on the radio, TV and in papers etc. The various unions and groups are planning the strike as a way of testing Sarkosy and the French government on their proposal to make changes to some of the benefits, notably some special retirement benefits.
Lots of planning about what everyone should do as an alternative. There are many rumors and conflicting information, other than that something will happen, so I’ll keep you posted tomorrow.
Already today, however, traffic is disrupted (“le trafic is tres perturbe”) due to a “colis suspect” (a suspicious package). Some trains are late, or don’t run at all, and there are many police around.
Transport strikes here are not unusual, but they are very disruptive. We’ve had a small taste of what it could be like: by the jam-packed trains today, and by what happened when a line had to close between 2 stations for maintenance and all the people had to be bussed. What a confusion, plus you realize just how many people are on the trains. When the system works, it works really well, and as you speed along it’s hard to imagine this chaos.
September 3, 2007
3. FIGURING OUT THE FRENCH TIMETABLE
One of the big adjustments here in France is to French timing—offices, dining, shopping and sightseeing all have schedules.
It takes a few days (or more!) to get into the rhythm. At first, we were trying to go to the bank, shop or visit a museum when they were closed. Then, by the time we decided to eat a late lunch instead, all the restaurants were closed.
In suburbs, towns and villages, French services (including the bank, post office and pharmacy), shops and attractions tend to be open in the mornings until around noon, and many close for two to three hours for lunch, reopening at 2:30 or 3 p.m. So, you must time it right, otherwise you might arrive at a shop or museum just in time to wait for a couple of hours. Until I worked out our small supermarket schedule, I did just that: arrived just as it was closing for lunch, so had to walk back home again and return a few hours later!
During the lunch hours, the restaurants and cafes come alive, as lunch is a very important meal. In smaller towns and villages, lunch is served between 12-2 or 2:30pm and if you miss this time you probably won’t be served. On a number of occasions when touring we’ve been told “désolé” (sorry) and directed to a small supermarket (if it was open) to buy a packet of biscuits or something. It could be a long wait until dinner, as the French typically eat late, around 8pm (and that’s early!).
So, on a sightseeing day (usually weekends for us), especially of we are traveling to another town or village, this is how we do it:
We’ll buy something for breakfast in the morning at one of the plentiful, wonderful bakeries (‘boulangeries’)—fresh croissants or a ‘pain au chocolat’ (croissant with chocolate filling) and find a café for a cup of tea of coffee. Then, we walk around and visit attractions until about 1:30pm when we stop for a long, leisurely lunch—often a regional salad and bread and perhaps a ‘pichet’ (carafe) of local wine. Afterwards, more sightseeing, followed by a beer at a sidewalk café and people-watching, then dinner.
Other factors we’ve learned to take note of:
—most shops and services are closed on Sundays (except restaurants, some food shops, and perhaps one of the pharmacies)
—many museums, shops and services are also closed on Mondays, so Mondays are very quiet days. Don’t plan on doing any banking on a Monday, but the ATMs are open for withdrawing money.
—some shops and restaurants have the phrase “non-stop” in the window. This doesn’t mean it’s always open, but that it doesn’t close between lunch and dinner.
—lots of delis and small cafes sell take-aways. So, often we buy a great baguette sandwich (and maybe a bottle of wine, depending…) and find a park to have a mini-picnic lunch.
I lined up at this bakery
so we could get a warm croissant
a great place for an afternoon beer
this was in Versailles
a very casual picnic in the gardens of Rambouillet Chateau
we bought a few things at the local MonoPrix (supermarket) on the spur of the moment, when we saw how gorgeous this park was
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August 21st, 2007
FINALLY, we have internet connection, so I can add to this!
2. AUGUST SHUT-DOWN
Many French people are ‘en vacances’ in July and August, especially because of ‘les vacances scolaires’, and they really like to go away somewhere. Favorite places are the coast anywhere in France, but especially in the south of France, which becomes horribly crowded.
So, for most of July and August many businesses and small stores are shut. The French population splits into two groups, the ‘juilletistes’ and ‘the aoûtiens’ (the July and August vacationers). The hand-written notes posted on the door tell the period the owners will be away. For example, “de 4 août à 27 août, inclus, fermé pour les congés annuels” (from 4 August to 27 August inclusive, closed for annual leave). Completely acceptable and no-one questions that a certain business will not be open.
In smaller towns and villages, it does seem that businesses try to co-operate with each other, so for example, one bakery will close in July and early August, while the other stays open, then they switch. 
(This sign is for the bakeries and bread depots in our general suburb)
This is especially important for essential services for the French people, like bakeries, butcheries, and tobacconists (‘les boulangeries’, ‘les boucheries’ and ‘les tabacs’), as they really prefer to buy certain items, such as bread and patisseries, or meat, in specialized shops rather than in a supermarket, while the ‘tabac’ is a place to get all kinds of small items. ‘La librairie’ (bookseller) and ‘la papeterie’ (stationer’s), which are often combined in one shop, usually have limited hours when school holidays start in July, then close completely in August.
In our Parisian suburb-towns it’s been interesting to watch how one place after another closes—from a coffee shop, to a brasserie, to the electrical shop. The bakery that was open yesterday is closed today with a new hand-written sign on the door, as is the hairdresser’s. But, one butchery has opened again today, and the long lines of people waiting to be served show how much that’s appreciated. In Lozere, where we live now, even the small local post office is closed! If we need anything other than stamps from the machine, we must go to the bigger branch in Palaiseau, two train stops away.
Now, we wait for ‘la rentrée’, the great return from vacations and back to regular routine.
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1. EXPECTATIONS & REALITY
July 31st, 2007
End of our first week here
Paris is not new for us but this time we are approaching with new eyes, long-term eyes. Will the reality be different, and change, because we are not short-term tourists but more long-term visitors—because we will still be visitors, as we’ve heard that France is notorious for not easily accepting outsiders.
We arrive and it does feel familiar, as we’ve been here many times before, but it’s also a strange feeling to know that this will be our home for the next 6 months. And coping in French on a daily basis (as opposed to on a tourist basis) is proving to be harder than we thought.
A SERIES OF STEPS
All necessary steps are related. Rod won’t be paid here until the authorization is organized, but that person is away on summer vacation until August 15th. He also won’t be paid until he has a bank account. He can’t have a bank account until we have a permanent address, which we won’t have until August 1st. We try to untangle all that with my tourist French, not easy.
After our first night in a hotel, we stay in a studio at the research institute in the suburban village of Jouy en Josas. Very basic, but very convenient. Towels are not provided, so I venture into the city to the summer sales (‘soldes’) to buy some. Test my basic French and do okay, but couldn’t find an all-purpose sharp knife. So, we are chopping vegetables and meat with Rod’s trusty Swiss Army knife!
Our studio is in this block, top windows
a typical sales sign—’coup de balai’ means ‘clean sweep’
HOW DID THEY KNOW?
Rod and I walk to the local supermarket the first afternoon at Jouy. We are not talking when 2 kids of about 8 or 9 pass us, so language is not a give-away. One of the kids greets us with “Good morning”! How did they know we are foreign? Do we actually look different to the locals, or is it just that we are obviously new to the village?
SHOPPING
Doing the grocery shopping is a big adventure, partly in working out how to do things like weigh the fruit and vegs, and partly in carrying it back in plastic bags (‘sacs’) to the studio. We see other people with a provisions bag on wheels and decide we need to find one of those, especially as Rod battles with a bag of beers. The adventure continues as we walk back in rain ponchos through puddles.
UNWIRED IN A WIRED WORLD
Our world and our lives today are so dependent on doing things online that when we don’t have access to the internet we feel adrift, cut off. On a few days for a few hours I can use the lab computer, with its French keyboard, and make basic connections with family. But, I haven’t heard the news for days, can’t get to any of the information on my computer, and feel like a derailed train: Going nowhere.
Hopefully, when we have our permanent place, we can arrange something—let’s hope that process is not another series of steps!
