Thursday, January 31, 2013

Some Pro & Cons of life in France - in this moment.

Life  - presently..... 
I can't believe it's the end of January - (and my New Year's card are still not out!).  It's the end of January and we are still without Internet service, television and phone at out home.  It's the 21st Century and we are technology "free" by default.

Each week that goes by we are promised the next step, we wait, we call and another technical team shows up and "oops" it's the wrong team.  They can't do what needs to be done and will contact France Telecom to  get the right team here....and we wait, we call and repeat.  That is the short version of our technology problem - bottom line here is that a trench of about 4 meters needs to be dug from the base of our driveway (our connection) to the utility pole and then a new cable needs to be placed and attached to our connection.   (I won't go into the story of why this needs to be done, or how long and how many technicians it took to figure this out!)  Not rocket science here - but my goodness, one would think we live in a 3rd world country as we wait for this to get done.  Each week we are given a little hope and then it's dashed.  After the Christmas holidays, I began calling Orange/France Telecom and was actually connected to an English speaking help line (this is actually a good thing!) - and I keep calling.  Their customer service reps are wonderful on the English line and don't understand why the technician teams can't get it right....



This whole experience gets me thinking about the Pros and cons of living here in France.  It's not always a bed of roses or the romantic, beautiful place that people dream it to be. I often hear - oh, how wonderful - I would love to live in France.   It's actually rained here for the past 5-6 weeks non-stop and has been gray.  The field next to our house has been flooded for almost a month now, and our septic system constantly needs to be pumped out....This involves turning on a separate pump that we can only leave on for 20-30 minutes or it will burn out.  But this needs to be done several times a day...or the downstairs toilet doesn't flush well, the shower in our downstairs bedroom will begin to smell of sewage and even our kitchen sick will easily back up.  No, life here is full of little challenges that we are not use to.....

It seems everything here is full of bureaucracy and its overly complicated.  Like a couple of weeks ago, when I went to the Prefecture in Bordeaux (France's equivalent of immigration, DMV and governmental offices rolled into one..).  I had received a letter that I needed to present myself there to pay for my renewed VISA.   I needed to show up at 8:30 am - which I did - (along with the 200 other foreigners who needed to do something regarding their resident status) I waited in a long line for 2.5 hours to get to the window and present my letter and payment - only to be told here's your number - please go wait over there.  Luckily, it wasn't too much longer of a wait - but I loved the news that my VISA can not be completely renewed until I have my mandated medical appointment - my temporary VISA is good for 2 months...but it may take 3 months to get my medical appointment - if this is the case, I have to go back to the Prefecture and renew again - this is automatic but I would still need to wait in that line again...now, come people, you think the 2 can be coordinated to save time...but not in France!  Lots of expats have many, many stories about their Visas and how frustrating the system is.

Then there is on-going strikes that will effect the trams, the buses and even the traffic.  French employees love to strike - it's how they air their grievances - how they show they are unhappy.  (They seem to be unhappy quite a bit!).  Never fails, a day I need to go downtown on the tram, there is some kind of strike happening...trams can spread out more, run late or even just stop and not run in certain areas.  Buses and trains can be effected just as much.  I'm sure many of you from time to time have heard when there is a strike going on at the airports or trains in France - that always seems to make the news.

And don't forget about the bus and cafeteria assistants - they love to strike too.  This means that on that particular day, one needs to go pick up their children at lunch-time and bring them home to eat and then return back to school 2 hours later.  That was today - a National strike - affecting most all schools.  For me, it meant rearranging my day to shuttle kids back and forth.  For families who have 2- parents working, this means readjusting schedules or relying on a grandparent or friend to take care of the kids at lunch time.    So at 11:20 this morning - I drove to the Maternelle to pick up my daughter and friend and then fought all the traffic in town and headed like everyone else over to the elementary school - and picked up my 3rd grader (CE2).

Life is life no matter where you live....I know when we lived in New York - we both worked full time.  I know it was a constant challenge to juggle kid sick days, parent/teacher conference days off and conference days where we had to work, but the kids didn't have school.  We had the challenges of trying to fit everything in and both of us working 50 hour plus work weeks.  Families have the same challenges here - work, kids & activities and then when certain events interrupt the normal flow, we all have to adjust.





However, I have come to appreciate quiet Sunday afternoons when everything here is closed.  Evenings together and not rushing around and feeling you have to do the last minute errand at 10 pm....stores close here in general by 7 pm!  I love how the French love to enjoy good meal with good wine.  I love all the choices of cheese!  I love how the French people love to have coffee together and chat easily for an hour over a small cup of espresso.  I love walking around with such history around me...I still feel an awe when I shop in downtown Bordeaux.  The beauty of all the buildings.  I love how we only live 45 minutes from the ocean.  I love also that I can drive 20 minutes and walk through a medieval village.




So life here, like anywhere has it's ups and downs - it's frustrations, its adjustments - but overall I would not trade this experience for anything.  My kids are now bilingual, my French has improved, we have met some wonderful people, and we have all learned to look at things differently.  The last few months without WiFi and television has meant more family games, family dance parties and DVD's on my laptop.  It is nice to have quality family time.  Look forward to postings about my daughters' birthdays, my recent trip to Vienna and hopefully good news that we have returned to the 21st century!




16 comments:

  1. Oh my - no internet - I could live without the tv or phone. But the cheese would make up for it for me.

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    1. It's definitely not easy living without the internet, believe me but short of digging the trench myself...we just have to wait....(and of course keep calling!) Enjoying good wine is helpful also - along with the cheese!

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  2. VIENNA? Can't wait to hear about that trip.

    Re.: Life in a third world country....I always tell people when they express envy, to keep making their money in America and spend it here. It seems to me that is the best way to love France.
    Full time life in France is not for everybody and sometimes so surreal, as if taken from art house movie...

    I catch myself frequently drawing comparisons between living here in rural France and in China. Yes, it is that backwards at times. But then, I LOVE China. And I love France. Ugly warts and all.

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    1. Surreal is definitely the word for it....sometimes things are so backwards. I agree, life here is not for everyone - it takes patiences, adjustment and willingness to see things differently. But I also love it here - there's a quality of life here that is hard to match. Thanks for commenting - always good to hear from you - How is your daughter doing in French school?

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  3. SO FRUSTRATING!!!! I feel your pain... An experience I wouldn't trade for the world, but one that doesn't come without complications, issues, and annoyances! Lovely post :)

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    1. Thank you Abby - you are so right...to experience another culture, another way of doing things, another country is something I wouldn't trade either. I feel so privileged to be able to experience this as a family. I also know, often what we endure makes us stronger. Thanks for commenting.

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  4. Isabella is doing OK, loves it all, except french, mais bien sure....
    Thanks for asking.

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  5. chez Orange mieux vaut aller exposer votre problème "live" dans la Boutique de votre ville ou de celle d'à côté si vous n'en avez pas sur place ;
    prenez rendez-vous la veille à la boutique même (pour ne pas,le lendemain, attendre comme à la Préfecture),apportez tous vos documents écrits et ne partez pas avant d'avoir une réponse écrite elle aussi.

    Cessez de téléphoner : vos interlocuteurs se trouvent n'importe où en France et ne savent même pas où vous habitez : c'est pour cela que vous avez des équipes qui défilent chez vous sans avoir la moindre idée de vos ennuis.

    Déplacez-vous,parlez avec les locaux -beaucoup comprennent et souvent parlent l'anglais-,demandez le ou la comptable pour avoir un geste commercial,ne quittez pas la boutique avant d'avoir la réponse du ou de la responsable ;
    recommencez jour après jour et en même temps allez voir un autre fournisseur qui sera trop content de gommer l'absurdité de votre situation.

    Et bon courage car c'est le parcours du combattant !

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  6. Jennifer
    Hang in there. It is a process and a frustrating one at that. I moved from California to Germany 18 mths ago and let me tell you it does get better and easier. Can't guarantee the sun, but you will settle in. Take a look at my blog and you will see, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
    Thinking of you
    Dena
    http://itsabouttakingthejourney.blogspot.de

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    1. Thanks Dena - it's nice to have support and understanding. Most of the time, I really love it here - but (he name of your blog captures it correctly) - It's about taking the journey! Take care and thanks for commenting.

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  7. Sending you a hug, but I know what you need is a little bit of sunshine and working technology. I would have lost my mind by now. When we live in Switzerland we had a similar problem. The apartment owner kept promising us internet and it never happened. You are stronger than me! By the end of my 4th stay I was ready to go home. I was so terriably lonely. Hope something goes right this week for you! One thing I enjoyed about living in Europe was the backeries! Amazing bread! Not having to drive a car! The schools! My children got an amazing education. However, I did not like the crazy schedule of each day they came home at a different time. It was hard to plan out my day. However, had I lived there longer I am sure I would have gotten used to it.

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    1. Thanks for the support - it's nice to know there are people out there who really do understand! Yes, for the most part, I really love it here - and it's all about adjusting to things being done differently. Most days are great - and I really wouldn't trade this experience for anything. & yes, the Bread!! We love our baquettes! It's a daily stop for fresh and (usually) warm bread! My girls often argue whose turn it is to go in to buy it!

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  8. :-) You have a great outlook & are going to do just fine. You are sooo right.. there are so many days I get on my USA USA soapbox... but most of the times I am thankful I do not have to work 50 hours weeks.. (sometimes.. but not often) I love my 6 weeks of vacation & not feeling bad about being sick. I also love all of history that surrounds us..
    Chin up... it will all work out! :-)

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    1. Thanks for commenting - yes, for the most part - I do love it here. It's so nice for the girls to experience a new perspective and new ways of doing things. I know at some point this will work out...the sun has already come out!!

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  9. Thank you, Jennifer, for offering the "big picture" of your life in France! It is so easy to romanticize any situation that is different from one's every day -- so a balanced perspective is good to read. It sounds like the long-term benefits (time spent together as a family and a shared adventure) will outweigh the inconveniences. How wonderful that you and your girls are now bilingual!

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    1. Thanks for commenting - so nice to hear from you. Yes, life is in many ways "normal" here just like in the US - day to day frustrations along with the fun of just living and enjoying each day. Shared adventure is so true - there will be a day ahead when I'm sure the girls will say "Remember when we had no internet....." -

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