An American in Provence

Well, I am still pretty much at the "A wine is a wine is a wine" phase, where pretty much all I can taste is "um, I'm going to with grape here?"

There was an embarrassing moment when I exclaimed to Alain "Guess what!? There are different TYPES of grapes!" Uh, yeah, didn't you know that? Well, no, I thought it was pretty much limited to red grapes and white grapes.

And Cabernet and Merlot are actually, get this, THE NAMES OF THE GRAPES.

Amazing how much we can learn when we read.

Being pretty much a wine novice, when faced with the large number of different Beaujoulais Nouveau bottles to choose from, I did what any self-respecting woman would do when faced with such a dilemma,

and after a careful reading of the descriptions, chose the one with.....

The pinkest, prettiest label.

Wine aficionados everywhere are screaming in pain upon reading this blog entry I am sure.

The wine itself you ask? Very purply-red and best drunk after about 3 glass of some other wine.

In other news, today is my 3 year blog anniversary. You poor people.

One of my new French Christmas traditions is to go every December and buy one (or more) small Santon figurines for our nativity scene or "creche". In Marseille, every year from the end of November to the beginning of January, there is a Santon market, where all the local artisans come and display their creations- large, small, clothed, painted, unpainted, (the Santons, not the sellers) small buildings, etc. are available. This year, I went at the beginning of December to the usual spot near the ice skating rink and there was no one! I was quite confused, but then found out that they had moved it to the Canebiere. Alain and I went together last Sunday, and together we decided on what to get. After considering some camels and a few angels, we finally decided on a donkey. We got the lying down donkey because Alain said of the standing-up donkeys "Oh poor donkey, he has to stand up the whole time." So we bought the donkey and brought him home. Next year, I am holding out for a camel.

France is, as many people know, a place where a lot of people smoke. I am not sure if the percentage is different than in the US (I am guessing higher). What struck me when I first arrived here is the places that people smoked, where no one would ever smoke in the US, such as in national government office buildings. Thankfully Alain doesn't smoke.

However, when the French government decided to make all public places smoke free, starting February 1st I just had to laugh. Right- because people are actually going to OBEY the no smoking signs. I feel like asking people in the Metro "Excuse me, would you mind moving over to the left so I can get a picture of you smoking in front of the no smoking sign? Thanks so much." Whether restaurants will ever become smokefree remains to be seen. I highly doubt it.

I am not sure if these exist in the US or not, but over here in France there are a lot of these automatic video machines (not sure what the real name is). Sometimes they are independant and sometimes they are attached to a walk-in video store (for after hours use and adult videos I suppose). They usually don't have a huge selection, but are pretty easy to use.

First you insert a credit card (carte bleu) or the store card (which is usually cheaper). Then you scroll through the menus, choose a video, type in your code (hopefully correctly), and out spits your video. For the machines above, you have to choose your selection from the machine on the far right, then go to one of the ones in the wall to get and return the video. If a different one comes out than what you wanted, you are SOL.

There are normally different prices depending how long you want to watch it- less than six hours, less than twelve, less than 24. At our old apartment, there was one in the building next to ours, so we usually managed to return it in under six hours. (usually I made Alain go return it 10:30 pm). Now in our new apartment, the closest one is across the street and down a block, so we are usually too lazy to return it before 24 hours. The fee is usually 4.50 €. I would still prefer Netflix though. There are some French companies that are starting to copy Netflix, but they don't have much of a selection and the shipping takes a long time. We used to have a subscription, but stopped after a few months.

As I have been going to the gym on a fairly regular basis, I have been able to observe the differences between Americans (okay, well me, which is admittedly not a very large sample group) and Frenchwomen. Now granted, I don't have much experience with the typical American gym, but being from a military school along with the combined motivations of "let this be over with as soon as possible" and "I am not paying 49 euros a month to diddle on the step machine for five minutes" makes me want to be as efficient as possible. Now, I realize that some women and men go to the gym for the express reason of trying to pick up a member of the opposite sex, and therefore spend as much time as possible flirting among the weight machines. That is fine, but if you are going to just sit there, would you mind not sitting on the machine I would like to use and going down to the snack bar?

I have not seen one other women and thought to myself "Now she is getting a good workout" as I huff and puff at RPE 9 with rivers of sweat pouring down my face. They bring towels which they use to place between them and the machines (why, you aren't sweating?) and to dab at themselves carefully after each workout, but really it isn't necessary.

On the contrary, I have quickly realized that I can no longer wear pink or red shirts to work. The reason? Because here is what I look like in the afternoons.

Yep, that's right. Pink from hair line to navel. It is mostly due to my coloring, but if I spent my 45 minutes in Advanced Flirting instead of Body Step, I wouldn't be pink for the rest of the afternoon.

Americans also seem to take their workouts much more seriously- following plans, writing down what they did each day, wearing heart rate monitors, etc. I have seen no else at the gym do this.

Finally, one last thing. After the gym sessions, French women shower but don't usually wash their hair. This kinda grossed me out until I realized, they don't need to, they don't sweat. Whereas my hair has turned brunette and I desperately need to wash it. Even when not going to the gym, frenchwomen don't seem to wash their hair every day. If I don't wash my hair every day, one can definetely tell.

Once I didn't have enough time to workout, so I went, ate lunch (to take advantage of their microwave), and took a shower. They must have been wondering, What the heck? These Americans are weird.

Today, we celebrated the "Holiday of Work" by "Not Working". As it fell on a Tuesday this year, about half of my workplace took Monday off to "faire le pont" (make the bridge) and have a long weekend. We had great plans to visit the Pont du Gard or Saint Remy de Provence, but it was rather overcast today, raining off and on, so we didn't. Instead we went over to see his grandparents, stopping to buy Lily of the Valley at the many flower shops/roadside stands on the way. I guess this is the only day in the year where anyone can go and pick the Muguet and sell it, without having a license to sell flowers. We stopped at one place and bought two groups of three stems, wrapped in clear plastic paper with lilys and butterflies on it. On the way there, we thought we might need more (for each of the womenfolk) so stopped at another place. I bought two, and was given two free (hmm, perhaps they are trying to get rid of them at the end of the day?) So we gave one to Meme and one to Alain's mom, who in turn gave us a small pot with two planted. We have quite a bit of Lily of the Valley in the apartment now. It is okay, because it smells nice. I reckon the cut ones won't last long either.

Unlike last year, we didn't go to the Community Fete. We have changed communities, by about three blocks, from Les Chartreux to La Blancarde. This area feels less neighborhoodly, so perhaps they don't do a community party. Ah well. Back to work tomorrow.

(the trains are still on strike BTW). Vive la France!

I haven't been following too closely the campaigns. They do seem however to be less about putting down the other candidates. Haven't seen any of those Kerry/Bush '04 type of signs on private property (in front lawns/in windows). People seem to keep their political leanings a bit more private.

I can't of course vote. I know who I would have voted for. I can become French after five years of marriage.
I went with Alain and his parents this afternoon to vote in Lançon. Everyone has an assigned voting place where you must go. I guess some places have electronic machines, but this was just regular ballots. You go in, show your electoral card and ID, then they give you an envelope and 12 slips of paper, one with each name. You go into a cabinet, put one of the names into the envelope, (throw the others away I guess, I don't know). Then you go out and put the envelope into a box. As you put it in, the person in charge of the box clicks a lever or something to count the number of envelopes put into the box. Hopefully the numbers match up at the end of the day.

So we shall see tonight who the final two are.

April 1st, or le premiere d'avril is also celebrated in France.

From Wikipedia (french version)

"An April fish joke is done on the 1st of April of each year to friends and acquaintances. It is also custom to do jokes in the press, such as newspapers, radio, television, and on the internet.
For children, it consists of attaching a paper fish on the back of people one wants to mock. "April fish!" is also the exclamation as one is discovered, or to warn the victim of a joke, or that the story that has just been told is false.

Legend has it that this tradition originated in France, in 1564. Then, the year would have begun on the 1st of April, but the France king Charles IX decreed, by the edict of Roussillon, that the year would begin henceforth the 1st January following the Gregorian Calendar, marking the lengthening of the days, instead of at the end of March, (Solstice). Those who didn't follow the new calendar were called "fools" and sent invitations to fake parties and the like.

But indeed, the civil year never began on the 1st of April. If the exact origin of the usage of the fish remains obscure (perhaps because of the Christian symbol), the legend says that several of the subjects continued to celebrate around the 1st of April. Thus was born the fish, the April fish, the day of fools, the day of those that do not accept reality or see it differently.

It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations

This custom to do jokes is found in many countries, although not always with fish:
The British preserved their April Fool's Day (certain Scottish speak also Gowk or of Cuckoo), the Germans have their Aprilscherz, and this custom exists also in Belgium, Canada, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, and even Japan.

Nevertheless, the conjectures remain: was it to mark the end of zodiac period of Pisces, or to extend the period of lent, where it is forbidden to eat fish, or that one wanted to confuse the simple-minded with the offering of a fish? Or that fish are dumb and easy to catch?
In France, at the beginning of the 20th century, one sent oneself pretty post cards all decorated with fish. One wrote oneself, for this occasion, warm messages and wishes."

As many people know, French people in general, are a lot thinner than Americans in general. After living here for over a year and a half, I think I have discovered the secret to why.

Prepare yourself for a shocking revelation.....

Ready?

It is a very complicated, controversial diet....

I will try to explain the different tenants of it as best as I can.

Okay, here is the first one.
Eat when hungry.

Whoa!!! Shocking.. Okay, now we have that one out of the way, it was a warm-up for the second rule.
Don't eat when not hungry.

And finally, Rule 3
Move a little more.

It is true. I haven't read the book "Frenchwomen don't get fat" but here are some of things that I have noticed. The French
1) Don't drink as much calorie drinks- especially soda. In general, it seems to be water, water flavored lightly with syrups, water mixed with juice, and wine. Soda is generally regarded as a drink for kids and/or when you are sick (carbonation for the stomach). It does seem to be growing in popularity, but definetely not up to the 1 a Day standard in the US.
2) Don't snack. There are a lot less snack foods- chips, pretzels, etc. in the aisles. When you go over to someone's house for dinner, they may be offered as an appetizer but most French do not seem to eat them in the afternoons/early evenings, or after dinner. When watching TV you do not need a bowl of potato chips by your side.
3) Have a well-rounded meal. "Dessert" often is a yogurt or a piece of fruit.
4) Save those special foods for those special times. Enjoy them during the holiday. Don't eat them the rest of the year. Look forward to having them again.
5) Move! Walk to the grocery store and the bakery. Haul those grocery bags and baby carriage up the three flights of stairs.
6) I also believe that French society does not, in a way, make it "easy" to be overweight. Seats are small. Clothes are small. Really, in a country where if you are over a size 10 you feel to be on the heavy side, it has a large impact. I have not once seen an obese French person.

“The French fashion industry found that the average French woman today is just over 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 137.6 pounds. (BMI 24.4- normal) In comparison, the average American woman is 5 feet 4 and weights 164.3 pounds (BMI 28.1- overweight). ”

7) Take time to eat. While this can be maddening for Yours Truely at the 8 hour long family dinners, it gives you a time to digest and re-assess your hunger level.
8) If you do eat too much one night, have a light soup the next night.

What about the other side?
Does this thin culture create more anorexia or bulemia? I was curious, so I tried to find some information on the web. I found a lot of conflicting things and nothing very precise. The best I found was this.

"In the United States, somewhere between 0.5 percent and 3.7 percent of women will be anorexic in their lifetimes, while 1.1. percent to 4.2 percent will suffer from bulimia. Between 2 percent and 5 percent of Americans binge eat. Among young French women, an estimated 1 percent to 3 percent are anorexic; 5 percent are bulimic; and 11 percent have compulsive eating behaviors."

So I guess they are roughly the same. Who knows. Perhaps what keeps the population from being overly large doesn't help any as far as being too thin is concerned.

Here is my Handy Dandy Size Perception Conversion Chart

There is a restaurant chain here in France called Flunch. It is usually found in malls. I guess it based on the basic American all-you-can-eat, but it isn't. I was quite excited for my first flunch experience, as I had been wanting to go for over a year. (Yeah, okay, just one of those things.) Alain and I picked the absolute worse time of the week to go for my flunch initiation- Saturday at lunch time. Basically you go and grab a tray and silverware, then wander through a first part picking out whether you want cheese, salad, fruit, bread, soda, or dessert. Then you pay for the things you have picked out and you can also pay for one of the meals- things liked grilled steak, hamburgers, etc. Then you take your ticket over to the grill and wait forever for them to cook up your main dish. (A few well-placed elbows help). You then fight for a table and eat your meal. Eventually someone comes around to clear the trays, but not usually at the pace that the tables are vacated/refilled, so the new people pile all the trays on another table. Last time I went, we sat outside. It was a nice day so a lot of people were sitting outside, but the wait staff hadn't come by for awhile. There was a huge pile of trays on one of the tables. A lady with a stroller bumped it and they all came crashing down. Miraculously, only one plate broke.

From Wikipedia

There is one near where I work. The guys go there almost every single day. Main dishes are about 5-10 euros. I just find that eating lunch at any restaurant gets expensive if you do it every single work day, so have started bringing my unflunch lunch and only go once a week with them. Oh and the Unlimited Vegetables are really great choices like french fries.