Life in France

I have lived all my life in the US with many visits to Mexico visiting relatives.
I knew very little about socialism, besides that it sounds like a good idea "Everyone being equal" Now that I live in France I can see how it really doesnt work. We are not all created equal. We all have to work for what we have. Things here all go back to the Revolution.
This is what I have learned so far....

You have 3 months from date of hire to decide whether you want to keep employee, after that it is virtually impossible to fire. You have to do 6 months of paperwork then go in front of a board which always side with the employee. They decide it you can fire them.
If you do fire him you still have to pay his wadges until he finds another job. Which in most cases they dont look for another job just live as long as they can on a free paycheck.

If you are poor you can apply for a TV, Fridge, Car, Food, Clothes, House, and the government will give it to you. The governments thinks that if you have nothing you will steal so if they give it to you then you wont steal......... so who stole the GPS out of my car!

You have 7 weeks of holidays all must be paid for by employer.

The French love paperwork, you even need to give the local mayor paperwork if you want to change the color of your shutters.

The school system is excellent except if you have any kind of handicap, mental or physical. They dont know what to do with you. It has been hard enough for the teachers to understand that Tatiana came from a different schooling method.

In France when everything is running normally its great but if you have some sort of glitch
(phone line down, strike, road shut etc..) it is total chaos .

Things here are very formal. Meeting people through introduction at dinner parties.
You must establish friendship first before even discussing business or religion.

French have private and public room in their house. Public rooms are the salon and dining room all other rooms are private. You can never ask for a tour of their house. It is also considered bad manners to use the toilet. I have noticed that when French people come over they NEVER ask to use our bathroom. Most men will go outside to have a smoke and take a pee. I have not knowing been rude and have asked to use the toilet when I am at dinner parties .

The idea of capitalism is impossible here, with the amount of tax you have to pay and the fact that you cant fire people.

Now you know why when you fly on Air France you are treated so badly. They cant get fired. The employees dont take any kind of ownership or pride in their job. They dont even have to wear name tags. But they will sure strike if they dont get their way.

It seems to me socialism gives you a feeling entitlement and turns you into a two year old who has to have their way.

There are many French that dont believe in this system and were really hoping that Sarkozy would change things. I really hope he does.

Ullman Circus

The circus came to our little village. It was the Ullman family. They seemed more like gypsies. I was heartbroken to see how the lions were kept. After seeing them in South Africa roaming free, fierce and commanding respect then seeing
them here meek, tamed, dirty and unhappy it was too much for me.
The circus was free, they hoped you purchased something from the snack bar and in the end made a donation. They did really dumb pet tricks. Unskilled acrobats and silly clown acts. Tatiana couldn't get enough. She cant wait for them to come back next year.

I am going with Tatiana to the next town where they will be today and give them some pictures. I don't think they have ever been photographed.

The ringmaster had a bit of meat at the end of the stick.
The lions would follow him around.

He made the monkey disappear

A future acrobat

Tatiana and I did go and give them a copy of these pictures.
They were so happy, they just kept looking at the photos over and over.
The father asked me with a big smile on his face
"Did you like the show?" I couldn't bear to tell him what I really felt so I just said "oui"
As I drove away and looked through my rear view mirror and saw them in a circle looking at the photos, I realized they are just a family trying to survive. All the ugly thoughts I had of them were washed away.

Marilyns dinner

We were invited to a dinner party by an English lady named Marilyn. She invited English speaking people to the party to get to know each other. There were New Zealanders, Australians, South Africans, British and I was the only American. All from different
walks of life and all moved here because of their love for France.

Dinner was amazing all 5 courses cooked by Marilyn.

The cocktail hour

A beautifully presented table in a fabulous outdoor dining room.

Troy and Yuri

Our Friends Troy and Yuri came to visit us. We met them in Paris then brought them back to St Emilion with us. We took the TGV to get to Paris it took us 3 hours.








Notre Dame my sisters favorite

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This was taken outside our apartment.
It was labor day and every year there is a march


The unions marching




A Mexican Restaurant, Tatiana's favorite is a bean taco.



Our first sighting


Had to have a photo of the Tour Eiffel


Cheerleaders hanging out






Beautiful bridge


One day I will do one of these tours


cops everywhere

When you get out of the metro at the Louvre stop, you see this.....









Free!! My mom would have been all over this :)






What is Paris with out some yummy chocolates




Tatiana bought an Eiffel tower key chain and put on her belt loop


He has mastered his look







say fromage :)







Awesome Moroccan chocolate shop




Yuri, doing a bit of shopping












Did some wine tasting

Of course we fattened them up before we sent them home

Thank you Troy and Yuri for your visit!!