Anyone living in Lyon will have noticed the signs that have been up since the beginning of the summer informing us that on the 29th Aug the bus routes are changing. To be fair, there have been a lot of signs informing us these changes will be happening however very little in the way of information about what the changes will be.
The week before the big change, I noticed a little stall set up by the Croix Rousse metro, all decked out in red and manned by a couple of people wearing fetching 'Le Bus Change' red T-shirts. It was about 8 in the morning and as I was on the way to the gym I didn't stop. Fortunately it was still there on my way back, this time manned by 4 people. I had a little laugh to myself thinking that only in France could they think that 2 people could cope with the rush hour commuters and 4 people with the day time shoppers.
I went over and was asked if they could help. I requested a new map of the bus routes. This was met with some pursing of lips and a suggestion that she could tell me information on specific bus routes (and even recharge my monthly travel card) but she didn't have a map to give me. I pointed that it would be good to have a map that I could refer to when needed and she went off and asked the supervisor, who had a thick timetable of all the bus routes for his own personal use, but no maps. The only suggestion they had was if I wanted one 'urgently' I could go to the nearest travel office in Hotel de Ville. (The travel office in Croix Rousse being helpfully closed during the summer 'Vacances scolaires'.) I pointed out that it seemed a little bit strange that they had a stall offering verbal information but no maps or time tables and, in true French fashion, received a shrug in reply.
I was not really sure what they meant by 'urgent' but as it was only a few days till the big change, the next time I was passing an open travel office I picked up a map and, after studying it, found out that the bus I used the most often (the no 18 for anyone who is interested) as it formed part of my route to work, was having it's route cut and is no longer of any use to me. Hmmm
Since then I have noticed more of these little information stalls outside of metro stations and major bus stops and now they seem to be equipped with a steady supply of maps and relevant bus timetables. Obviously I was not the only one who found their method of information distribution rather odd and there have been changes.
Then the other day I received in my letter box, a new map and 4 free tickets. Fantastic. The only thing is, I got these on the 2nd September, a full 5 days after the new changes came into place..... ?????
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Feeling hot, hot, hot!
It has been hot in Lyon ever since I got back from my holiday and I have not been able to much more than moan about how hot it is and debate whether I should move into the fridge.
A good indicator of the temperature is the chicken man in the Croix Rousse market. He has one of those rotisserie stalls that you buy ready roasted chickens from. In the winter he is Mr Popular amongst the other stallholders who seem to all drop by and have a chat with him. I'm sure the length of the chat is in direct ratio as to how cold it is. However if you walk past the stall in the summer it appears to be unmanned. Then you notice him about 3 stalls down having a chat with the cheese man or the fish man, who have refrigerated trailers for their products! Yesterday he appeared to be having a long chat with one of the meat guys so it must have been hot.
The French seem to have an aversion to aircon though and maybe for good reason as it is always rumoured that the machines are great breeding grounds for nasty things that can make you ill. 'La clim' is a constant source of debate in the gym between those who want it and those who don't. However doing Body Pump or Zumba when it's 37° without aircon is most unpleasant, so you can make an educated guess as to which side I am on!
This afternoon my friend and I met at the ice cream place in Place Sathonay to cool down with an ice cream and catch up on the summer news. We managed to cool down a lot because as we sat and chatted(and had our ice creams) the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and the rain started to fall.
A good indicator of the temperature is the chicken man in the Croix Rousse market. He has one of those rotisserie stalls that you buy ready roasted chickens from. In the winter he is Mr Popular amongst the other stallholders who seem to all drop by and have a chat with him. I'm sure the length of the chat is in direct ratio as to how cold it is. However if you walk past the stall in the summer it appears to be unmanned. Then you notice him about 3 stalls down having a chat with the cheese man or the fish man, who have refrigerated trailers for their products! Yesterday he appeared to be having a long chat with one of the meat guys so it must have been hot.
The French seem to have an aversion to aircon though and maybe for good reason as it is always rumoured that the machines are great breeding grounds for nasty things that can make you ill. 'La clim' is a constant source of debate in the gym between those who want it and those who don't. However doing Body Pump or Zumba when it's 37° without aircon is most unpleasant, so you can make an educated guess as to which side I am on!
This afternoon my friend and I met at the ice cream place in Place Sathonay to cool down with an ice cream and catch up on the summer news. We managed to cool down a lot because as we sat and chatted(and had our ice creams) the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and the rain started to fall.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Parlez-vous espanaise?
Whenever I go abroad my brain registers that I need to go into foreign language mode and due to a 6 month stint of working in Madrid when I was 20, the default language used to be Spanish. Since moving to France it has obviously become French and Spanish no longer gets a look in. Also since moving to France my holidays have mainly been going back to the UK and a trip to Morocco, where the default setting of French worked well for me, the friends I was with (Can you get them to sort out our aircon please? Can you ask the waiter if we can buy a bottle of wine to take back to the hotel?) and the locals.
However this default setting proved to be hard to overcome when traveling round Central America. I would start in Spanish and then end up in French, as well as try and pronounce Spanish words with a French accent. Towards the end of my trip I went to a lovely beach town and was looking for accommodation. I came across a promising looking place and asked (in Spanish) if there were any rooms available. The charming man showed me round and while we were negotiating a price for a week long stay and I thought to myself “Wow, well done, you’ve been conducting this whole conversation in Spanish!” Then came the realization that actually we were both talking in French. So much for my improved language skills!
His name was Franck and he was from Vichy.
However this default setting proved to be hard to overcome when traveling round Central America. I would start in Spanish and then end up in French, as well as try and pronounce Spanish words with a French accent. Towards the end of my trip I went to a lovely beach town and was looking for accommodation. I came across a promising looking place and asked (in Spanish) if there were any rooms available. The charming man showed me round and while we were negotiating a price for a week long stay and I thought to myself “Wow, well done, you’ve been conducting this whole conversation in Spanish!” Then came the realization that actually we were both talking in French. So much for my improved language skills!
His name was Franck and he was from Vichy.
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
I never thought I'd say this but....
… 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.
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.
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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