Fly away

On Monday I am returning to Canada. Yay!!! All I have to do is get through the grueling journey and I will be in the home of takeaway coffee, public washrooms and refrigerated milk.

My journey isn't grueling in the way, say, it was in 1867 when you had to ride a horse to the train station, take a train to the coast, take a ferry across the English Channel and then take 2 week boat journey across the Atlantic surrounded by puking children and rats.

Rather, it's grueling in the way that I have to wake up at 5:30 am to catch the train to the airport, spend 3 bored hours in the airport, take a 10 hour flight to Chicago, spend a bored 5 hours in Chicago, take a 2.5 hour flight to Toronto and then wait in the arrivals hall for my mother, who has invariably left our house the exact time my flight has landed due to a warped sense of time it takes to get my baggage (but dear, it will take 30 min. to get baggae. NO MOM THIS ISN'T THE 1970S it takes me 4 minutes and a bathroom break to get to the arrivals hall).

Snow day??

In 1999 Toronto called in the Canadian army to shovel snow. I put on some gloves and went to school.

In 2009, it snowed overnight in the Loire Valley. It resembled a mild case of dandruff. By 3 pm it had melted entirely. All school transport was immediately cancelled, firemen were on high alert and trucks refused to drive uphill.


Culture shock event #112.

The French Brown

French women have a colour palette that they stick too. Gd forbid they diverge and add a splash of yellow or pink.

They prefer to stick to 

1. Grey

2. Black

3. Brown

4.  What I refer to as "kaka brown"

Kaka brown is not a deep rich brown, but a brown with a hint of burgandy. It's awful, but the French can't get enough.

They will wear a shiny, quilted coat in this colour over cordouroy pants in this colour. They will probably often own a few sweaters as well.

This bodes well for me at sales time, because all the actual colours are left. 

I don't know why they like this particular shade of brown, it does nothing for them. Half the time the sky is dreary and you would think that they would want to cheer themselves up. 

There aren't that many blondes also so you see French women with boring brown hair, with a boring brown coat, over boring brown pants (that are always an inch to short to cover their heels) over black pointed boots. 

These brown coats are always reflectively shiny. It makes them look cheap, but I'm sure they are expensive. And always quilted. We wear those coats in Canada too, but it is cold in Canada, and we wear them in non-shiny colours.  Why don't they buy a nice peacoat here where the weather permits it? 

While I am on this subject I might as well describe the typical French women over 30.

Her hair is short, of course, for she chops it off around 30.  That is why there are a million and one hairdressers in my tiny town, French women are in them all the time making sure their hair stays short.

She wears funky glasses.

There is also a funky scarf, maybe with pompoms on the end. Usually patterned.

Underneath the coat there is usually a turtleneck, over which there is a sweater. Usually in brown, but maybe in grey or black.

The pants are rarely jeans, or proper work trousers  but are in an interesting (unflattering) material like cordordory. Like I said before,  even though French women are short, the pant is never quite long enough to cover the boot.

To their credit, they don't wear running shoes/uggs and sweatpants out like some people I know (ahem) in Canada. 

* all pics are from Etam, a popular woman's store in Europe. (except last photos which are from Roots)

Leuven vs Sable

Today's post is a comparison between the time I spent in Leuven (2007-2008) to my time in Sablé.

Obviously they are different since I was studying abroad in Leuven and I'm working here, but they are both small towns in neighbouring countries in Europe.

Language

Sablé: I am actually trying to learn French here and knew a tiny bit before I came.  But no one here speaks English except for the English teachers. The French are Proud with a capital P of their language.  That is good if you are trying to learn French because it forces you to speak it. On the other hand it can be super frustrating and it's hard to make close friends since you can't get beyond basic subjects.

Leuven: I never attempted to learn Flemish except for "Ik sprake hein flems" (I don't speak Flemish) and "een Broodje austoblief (A sandwich if you please).  But I didn't have to since literally everyone spoke English.  This also made living so much easier since I could communicate about mundane things like my cell phone bill and I could also make friends with natives, unlike in France. 

Nightlife

Obviously Leuven wins. No need for categories. I don't think I was ever sober for a whole week. Leuven is a student town though and known for it's beer and bars.  

Transportation

From Leuven I could be in Brussels  in 20 min. for 3 euros. It takes me 25 Euro and an hour and a half to go to Paris. Neither is bad, but it was easier to travel when getting to the airport was cheaper. That said, I pretty much went everywhere I wanted to go while I was in Leuven so  I didn't really care about traveling outside of France this year.  Both train systems are nice and comfortable, but Belgium is way cheaper.

Cost 

Neither country is prohibitavley expensive, but Belgium is cheaper.  And chocolate is cheaper. That's pretty much all that matters, obviously. Cheese is around the same price, but Diet Coke is more expensive in France, but also better. (Diet Coke changes flavours in each country, trust me, I know Coke like French people know wine)

Food

I know France is known for it's food, and that's a well-deserved reputation, but I'm a vegetarian so I can't try most of it. What I have tried, the bread, cheese, bakery goods, is delicious. What isn't delicious are the sandwiches. France makes horrible sandwiches. The bread is awful- it's this white, pasty chewy thing,and the toppings are meagre, I don't really know what their thinking.  Belgium on the other hand, makes wonderful sandwiches. The bread is thick, crusty and fresh and the toppings are varied and plentiful. mmmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Also, Belgium has fresh waffles.  and O-M-G the chocolate.  And for some reason Leuven also had amazing gelato. For 1 euro you could get a huge scoop of 'Ferrero Rocher" or  10 other amazing flavours. (and miraculously I actually lost weight in Belgium, it is to this day the mystery of my life since I existed entirely on waffles, currys, sandwiches and chocolate)

Men

Belgium wins. Sorry France. I am just not into the crunchy gel that French guys put into their hair. Also Belgium guys are way taller than Frenchies. Not that Belgium guys are so great, they are all obsessed with relationships, reserved to the point of coldness  and obsessively wear striped shirts, but they are tall, speak English and friendly when drunk.

Women

This is just in my humble opinion, but I still don't know what all the fuss is about concerning French girls. Belgium girls , while not my style, took a lot of care in their appearance. They also didn't wear makeup or do their hair, but they all wore long skirts, boots, stockings and a high necked shirt- all the a grey/brown palette of course.  Again, not my style, but it worked for them.  

French girls are never sloppy, but they also never take fashion risks.  Everything they wear is a staple. Also, they don't wear makeup or do their hair, and wear really drab, depressing colours, similar to the Belgian colours. You think because both of their countries are so dreary they would wear some pink. But no.    Frankly, I'm just not impressed by either country's women, but men have vehemently disagreed with me.

And frankly, the men in both countries dress way better than the women. 

Working hours

Neither country works a lot. I guess people in Leuven worked more than people in Sablé, but not by much. In both countries banks are closed for lunch and everything is closed on Sundays.  This is probably this biggest difference between Canada and Europe. Grocery stores are open 24/7 where I live (granted in a big city) and the mall is open 10-8 on Sundays (previously 10-5, oh my).

But the French strike more, and they seem to really strive towards a "work to live" existence, where their priorities are not advancing in a career, but enjoying life.  (good for them but not for me)

+Class System

I think this has to do with the fact that there is such a class system in place in Europe, even now.  People don't often think beyond their station. So if their parents are working class, than they will be too. They don't even try anything else. I once asked my class what part of France their grandparents had come from and 28/30 had actually lived in the same town. Imagine if your grandparents, and possibly your great-grandparents had lived in the same town, working in the same profession (often brick-making or at the chicken factory)  There's not really an "American Dream" where you work hard, go to university, move to a city and get a career. They would rather stay in their region around their families and what is familiar. There is also  this intense regionalism, where French people looooooove their region (and then their country). That's why in a tiny country like France you have 10 different dialects, and in a tinier country like Belgium you also have 10 different dialects of Flemish. It's bizzare, but these Europeans stick to what they know and like it that way. 

Chronic-ism

Today I missed my train to Nantes where I was planning to shop and hang out with another assistant. Now I have to sit here and blog because there is nothing else to do.

I have serious temporal problems. Problems with time. Problems with being on time. And this problem has cost me big time in regards to money and missed oppourtunity. I think it should be my birthday resolution to fix this chronic problem, lest I be fired at my first real job.

This problem however seems to be unfixable. No matter how early I leave for something, something happens on the way and I am still late.

However, being late all the time has some major advantages. Namely that it has managed to make me pretty tough. After you miss your first trans-atlantic flight, it's hard to rattle you.

Here is a list of times where being late has cost me big time:

1. Summer of 2009. Missed flight from Israel to New York (and then New York to Toronto).


I left 4 hours early. I decided to take public transportation. I got on the wrong train. I got on the right train. I decided to get off train and take cab, throwing whatever American money I had at Shmuli, the driver. I got to the airport with 30 minuites to spare, but check in had closed and they wouldn't let me on. I cried. They didn't feel sorry for me. The flight was insured so they just moved me to the next flight. My connecting flight from New York to Toronto, however, was not insured so I had to buy a new flight. I spent the day in an internet cafe trying to book another flight listening to some Spanish guy declare his undying love for a girl over Skype.

Then I had to put my luggage back in the hostel where I had been staying, only to run into the Danish guy I had made out with the night before, thinking I would never see him again. Can you say "awkward?"

But I was so tired from staying up the whole night before drinking Israeli Ouzo and smoking hash, and so frustrated from missing my flight, and so sweaty from being in the freakin desert, that I didn't really care.

2. Winter 2008. Missing Eurostar train from London to Brussels after flying in from Toronto.

I wrote about this in my other blog, Flemish Beer, but I will rehash. Basically I spent the afternoon shopping. I didn't realize how long the buses could take in London so I missed my train and there was no later train. I was a wreck, from being jetlagged and from having to carry ALL my luggage around all day, but lucklily the very nice British ticket man said I could take the earliest train the next morning without charging me extra. This was after breaking down in gut wrenching sobs though. I had no money, so I decided to put my 24 Tube pass to use and just rode around on the buses for hours, it was like my own mini tour of London. Eventually I ended up at Liverpool station where I met some Australians and went bar hopping with them. I ended up sleeping over at one of there houses, waking up early and catcing the 6:30 train to Brussels.

3. All the time. Missing the Eurostar-
I think I have missed about 3 or 4 Eurostar trains by now. Nooooo Joke. I just missed one a month ago when I went from Paris to London. Again, I didn't miss it , but I was not a "half an hour early" so they wouldn't let me on. Bastards!!! Seriously the Paris train station is so giantic and confusing and it took me 45 minuties to even find the Eurostar check in!

4. Last month. Taking the wrong train from Paris, to Nantes instead of Sable
I already blogged about this. Worse. Evening. Ever.

5. Missing Greyhound buses from Toronto to Ottawa.
I always miss these. My dad always yells at me. Luckily, they don't charge you.

6. December 2007. Missing my flight from Marrakesh to Lisbon
This one was on purpose. I was too lazy to go all the way back up to Marrakesh since I was surfing in Agadir (I use the term "surfing" loosely. More like frantically paddling in the water). I had pre-booked a flight to Lisbon since I really wanted to see Portugal, which is Danielle's Murphys Law : If ye pre-book a flight, ye will miss it. So I just decided to skip the flight, in a fit of travelingrelaxation
(whereby the traveller becomes so overly chilled he or she ends up doing shit all and starts using phrases like "whatever man, no biggy, just chill", or in other words, acting like an Australian acts, all the time. If you want a visual aid for this term, please watch the The Beach, to see all the dangers of acting like this)
So I ended up just staying in Morroco because of my laziness, which turned out well since I love Morroco, but then I realized, too late, that I also had a flight from Lison to Brussels (where I was studying) which meant I had no way to actually leave Morrocco, and I had to start school in a few days. Another session spent at an internet cafe at an airport lead me to a ticket to Brussels. And this was before EasyJet and RyanAir had flights to Morrocco, so it wasn't easy, lemme tell you.



I am sure I am missing a million missed trains and flights, but these are the mains ones. It has probably cost me like over 500$ for my carelessness, but it has led to some pretty interesting situations. I'm also ALWAYS late for school and jobs. always always always. But I'm 22 now, I have to act like a grown-up, so I think I am going to buy a watch. Or make someone buy it for me for my birthday.

Ps: The reason I don't have a watch is because...wait for this..I'm allergic to them. Seriously. I actually break out into hives when I wear a watch. No joke. Now do you believe that Chronic-ism is a genetic things?

French Breast Racisim

I have big breasts. Fact.

It is impossible to find good bras in Canada that cost less than 80$. Sometimes in the states I can find a bra at Victoria Secret that is my size, but the quality is pretty crap there. Undergarments are no doubt the most important part of any outfit as soon as you are a C, which, I think I surpassed sometime in 6th grade. So I will spend whatever it costs, because if I don't I will end up looking like an obese midget. ( and for those girls who are reading this with big breasts and who have never spent more then 30$ on a bra, 80% chance that you are wearing the wrong size, go get fitted now. RUN. Life-changing event, I swear. )

Usually, I buy my bras from small boutiques in Toronto and always French labels because the French are one of the only countries in the world that manufacture quality, cute bras for the well-endowed.

Such as this Chantelle bra. It comes in my size. Do you know how rare that is? Read the ode to it here

So imagine how excited I was to be in France and be able to buy non-imported bras, which I figured had to be cheaper. They were. But the price depended on size.

The bigger size you are, the higher the price.


WTFFFFFFFF.

I asked my teachers about this and they acted like this size discrimination was completely normal. "eeeef you want French-made garments zen you muzt pay for ze extra material".

How much extra material could possibly be in a bra? 3 more inches? Is 3 more inches worth a 5 euro price differential?

So I could either buy cheap Chinese-made bras which will be me look the aforesaid obese midget, or I can suck it up and pay an extra five euros for my breasts to be properly supported and adorned in beautiful French lace.

My breasts have made me suffer quite enough thank you very much and I don't appreciate being asked to fork over 5 euros more than my lucky friends who have been blessed with appropriate sized chests.

Isn't enough that I can't wear button up shirts, double-breasted coats, am hit on regularly by middle-aged men, am never taken seriously in the philosophy department and NOW they want me to pay an extra 5 euros?

Birthday!

Blogging is getting VERY ADDICTING. I have to remind myself not to do it everyday so you guys don't get sick of me or thing I have no life. Just so you know, I do have a life (although its true I do have a lot of spare time here) but also I want to be a journalist (I think... we'll see) so I consider blogging to be a productive hobby!

Anyways so I turned 22 yesterday! Wahoo! I had some major pre-b-day blues :(. I think your birthday, like Thanksgiving or Christmas is one of those events that you are used to spending with people that you care about and that care about you.

It's a time where you just get homesick and want your friends and family and a Baskin Robbin mint chocolate chip ice cream cake.

But, it turned out way better then I had imagined thanks to the amazing teachers at my school!

I recieved an e-mail last week saying that I needed to come to the teachers lounge to fill out some paper work on Dec.3. I'm pretty gulliable and it took me several days to figure that there was a possibility that they would plan something. When I walked in there was 2 cakes with candles, coffees and presents!

The English Teacher, who gave me linens and took me for lunch at her house in the countryside, had a major migrane and so made her husband drive her to school and it is is so sweet that she went to all that trouble. She made this chocolate cake that is so rich and amazing; literally the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten in my life. I ate 2 slices and then a few slices more later.

All the teachers also signed a card and got me a lotion, shampoo and bubble bath from L'Occitane En Provence, which I have ALWAYS wanted to buy something from.

And then one of my students made me a cute card and they all sang happy birthday. In English!

And later that night our friends (who arere students in the technical school) came over and brought an apple cake thing, that is not a flan, nor a cake, but basically apple, bread, butter and sugar. It was good!

So it turned out fun and not lonely or depressing!

Sure, unlike last years birthday party I didn't drink 22 jello shots

and unlike the year before that I didn't grind with Sinter Klaus, but hey, I'm more mature now!

For the real celebration, this weekend I head off to Paris (pronounces Pare-eeeeeee) for some serious Starbucks'n' Lourve-ing.