… there are times when I do miss France!
At the moment I am on holiday in Central America and to get here meant transiting through the USA. I had a 3 hour wait at Houston, and decided to get something to eat as a) I was hungry and b) I thought it would kill some time.
There wasn’t much choice beyond fast food so I ended up at a themed American Diner restuarant and was welcomed by Cindy, who showed me to my table. I was then greeted by Sandra who explained she would be my server as she handed me my menu. She left me to make my choice but was back within seconds to see what drinks I wanted. I asked for a beer and continued to look at the menu. She came back shortly with my beer and asked if I was ready to order. I felt a bit rushed but told her what wanted.
In no time at all Sandra was back with my food and hoped I would enjoy my meal. I was still hunting through my enormous plate to see if the chef had decided to put any lettuce leaves in with the salad dressing when she was back asking me if everything was ok and did I want anything else? To be honest it was all getting a bit intimidating and I just wanted to be left in peace to eat. However she returned a couple more times to check the food was ok and top my water.
As soon as I had put my knife and fork down, she was back asking if I wanted dessert. I couldn’t take the constant attention, so beat a hasty retreat. All in all I was in the restaurant for 30 mins top, so much for killing time.
It was a strange meal experience and not only was I amazed by the difference in quality and quantity of the American ‘food’ but I really missed the complete and utter indifference of French waiting staff.
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Thursday 14 July 2011
Caught any good sins recently?
Not my story but too good not to post!
My friend was telling me that he had answered the phone recently and it was obviously someone trying to sell something as they were asking him about his household composition.
They then asked
'Has anyone fished recently?'
to which he replied
'No, it's not something that interests us.'
Said goodbye and put the phone down.
He later realized what they had actually asked and is pleased that he confused a Jehovah's Witnesses!
péché - sin
pêche - fishing
My friend was telling me that he had answered the phone recently and it was obviously someone trying to sell something as they were asking him about his household composition.
They then asked
'Has anyone fished recently?'
to which he replied
'No, it's not something that interests us.'
Said goodbye and put the phone down.
He later realized what they had actually asked and is pleased that he confused a Jehovah's Witnesses!
péché - sin
pêche - fishing
The day before La Fête Nationale
Now I know it had been a tough day at the crèche:
- it had been raining, so couldn’t get the children outside
- a leaving party, where all the parents seem to have contributed sweets
- being short staffed
- settling 2 new babies
- my yearly meeting with my boss, where I had to justify any potential payrise
However I didn’t expect to see 4 tanks (I think APC is the correct term) and 2 missile launchers pull up outside.
Top marks for the French army for being so thoughtful!
- it had been raining, so couldn’t get the children outside
- a leaving party, where all the parents seem to have contributed sweets
- being short staffed
- settling 2 new babies
- my yearly meeting with my boss, where I had to justify any potential payrise
However I didn’t expect to see 4 tanks (I think APC is the correct term) and 2 missile launchers pull up outside.
Top marks for the French army for being so thoughtful!
Tuesday 12 July 2011
Back to Bac
The Baccalauréat results were out last Tuesday, commonly know as le Bac, and taken at the end of the Lycée, they are actually university entrance exams. I learnt a lot about them this year as two of the staff at work had children who were waiting for their results.
I won’t go into long facts about the exams as there is helpful page on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalauréat
However there was great relief from Parent 1 when her son called to say that he had got his Bac. She immediately texted all known relatives and friends to pass on this news and was promptly inundated with congratulatory messages. Her son was ‘Mon cheri’ and could do no wrong.
During the lunch break the conversation turned to everyone’s Bacs and what marks they had got and in what subjects. Here I learnt the interesting fact that French exams are scored out of 20 and to pass le Bac you have to get a 10. This mark is the average of all the exams taken.
I was then asked to explain the UK exam and university entrance system. This was interrupted by the son calling his mum to ask if his celebrating friends could stay over that night. The son could still do no wrong and was told yes, of course they could. To which one of my colleagues dryly commented to Parent 1 that she should start getting prepared and put a sick bowl by each of the beds.
This whole conversation was watched by Parent 2, whose daughter had to wait till the evening to find out her results. This meant that Parent 2 could not take part in any of the glory of having a child who had got their Bac, though she did get as many comments in as she could about how confident her daughter was about passing.
We had staff meeting that night and Parent 2 arrived late and as our Directrice was in full flow, resorted to gesturing to everyone that her daughter had got her Bac too. Our Directrice still did not seem to think that this was a reasonable enough excuse for being late to the meeting though.
One thing about the results is that they are pinned on notice boards (or onto windows in the case of the Lycée up the road from me) for everyone to see. I think (being someone who struggled with dyslexia at school) that I prefer the envelope system, though that didn’t stop me having a look the list of results on my way to the market this weekend.
I have to admit to being impressed by the speed with which the results came back. The exams were taken during June around the same time as the UK ones, but the students (and parents) don’t have to wait so long in a state of anxiety as we had to (mid August). In a very a very French way, I guess this is so the students (and their parents) can go off and enjoy their long holidays in a state of glory or for the unlucky few – in the doghouse.
I won’t go into long facts about the exams as there is helpful page on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalauréat
However there was great relief from Parent 1 when her son called to say that he had got his Bac. She immediately texted all known relatives and friends to pass on this news and was promptly inundated with congratulatory messages. Her son was ‘Mon cheri’ and could do no wrong.
During the lunch break the conversation turned to everyone’s Bacs and what marks they had got and in what subjects. Here I learnt the interesting fact that French exams are scored out of 20 and to pass le Bac you have to get a 10. This mark is the average of all the exams taken.
I was then asked to explain the UK exam and university entrance system. This was interrupted by the son calling his mum to ask if his celebrating friends could stay over that night. The son could still do no wrong and was told yes, of course they could. To which one of my colleagues dryly commented to Parent 1 that she should start getting prepared and put a sick bowl by each of the beds.
This whole conversation was watched by Parent 2, whose daughter had to wait till the evening to find out her results. This meant that Parent 2 could not take part in any of the glory of having a child who had got their Bac, though she did get as many comments in as she could about how confident her daughter was about passing.
We had staff meeting that night and Parent 2 arrived late and as our Directrice was in full flow, resorted to gesturing to everyone that her daughter had got her Bac too. Our Directrice still did not seem to think that this was a reasonable enough excuse for being late to the meeting though.
One thing about the results is that they are pinned on notice boards (or onto windows in the case of the Lycée up the road from me) for everyone to see. I think (being someone who struggled with dyslexia at school) that I prefer the envelope system, though that didn’t stop me having a look the list of results on my way to the market this weekend.
I have to admit to being impressed by the speed with which the results came back. The exams were taken during June around the same time as the UK ones, but the students (and parents) don’t have to wait so long in a state of anxiety as we had to (mid August). In a very a very French way, I guess this is so the students (and their parents) can go off and enjoy their long holidays in a state of glory or for the unlucky few – in the doghouse.
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