mardi 11 septembre 2007
Have not yet seen this movie yet. I don't think it has come out yet here. Maybe it will come out soon, or just be in art house theaters, I don't know. Not really looking forward to it. My first thought was "Great, another awkward topic of conversation for dinner parties where I am put in the spotlight and bombarded with comments about how horrid my country is." (from people who have really no idea what they are really talking about, have never been to the US, and can't admit that every country has flaws).
Let's face it- France is not the shangri-la of health care either. Sure, it is great paying nothing for many things, but we do have a monthly mutuelle that compliments the rest of what social securité won't pay. There is a lot of fraud. And how about having to bribe certain experienced surgeons to work on you instead of their fresh faced 26 year old colleague?
I must admit I think the doctors here do a lot more of the work that nurses in the US do. Go to a gyno. appt and there is no nurse to take your weight, blood pressure, etc. The doctor does that. Which probably accounts for the enormous wait times.
Given the choice between France and US health care systems, I would most likely choose France for the yearly coughs, sniffles, baby-having, eyeglass-needing, teeth-cleaning, etc. but would (most likely) hightail it back state-side for open-heart surgery or brain tumors.
Let's face it- France is not the shangri-la of health care either. Sure, it is great paying nothing for many things, but we do have a monthly mutuelle that compliments the rest of what social securité won't pay. There is a lot of fraud. And how about having to bribe certain experienced surgeons to work on you instead of their fresh faced 26 year old colleague?
I must admit I think the doctors here do a lot more of the work that nurses in the US do. Go to a gyno. appt and there is no nurse to take your weight, blood pressure, etc. The doctor does that. Which probably accounts for the enormous wait times.
Given the choice between France and US health care systems, I would most likely choose France for the yearly coughs, sniffles, baby-having, eyeglass-needing, teeth-cleaning, etc. but would (most likely) hightail it back state-side for open-heart surgery or brain tumors.
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.
mardi 4 septembre 2007
Working in France has taught me so many things about crazy rules. This is a General French Job Rule, not a Specific My Job Rule, so I feel I can safely mention and complain about this one. Everyone knows about the five weeks of vacation per year in France, which works out to 2.5 days per month, which works out to surprisingly 30 days per year. Then, divided by five days per week, you get 6 weeks, not five. Yet the French have come up with an ingenious way to work out this little dilema.
For the week of August 15th (Ascension Holiday here in France, which I happily spent removing wallpaper), I figured I would have 4 days deducted from my vacation account. Let's count them now together, shall we? Monday- one vacation day hahaha (à la the Count from Seasame Street). Tuesday- two vacation days hahaha. Thursday- three vacation days hahaha. Friday- four vacation days! hahaha! Four vacation days!
Only to my surprise when I received my paycheck that five days had been deducted. Huh? I went to the accountant and asked what happened, and she said that they deduct one extra day. That way, when you take your five weeks of five days, then the extra 5 days are removed for a total of 30 days. Hmm. So if I take fifteen individual days (such as to do le Pont between a national holiday that falls on a Tuesday or Thursday) they would take two, for a total of 3 weeks not five per year? What a fabulous idea!
How about giving 2 REAL days per month, for a total of 24 days, then give one more day as a great Christmas/whatever present per year?! Wow!!
For the week of August 15th (Ascension Holiday here in France, which I happily spent removing wallpaper), I figured I would have 4 days deducted from my vacation account. Let's count them now together, shall we? Monday- one vacation day hahaha (à la the Count from Seasame Street). Tuesday- two vacation days hahaha. Thursday- three vacation days hahaha. Friday- four vacation days! hahaha! Four vacation days!
Only to my surprise when I received my paycheck that five days had been deducted. Huh? I went to the accountant and asked what happened, and she said that they deduct one extra day. That way, when you take your five weeks of five days, then the extra 5 days are removed for a total of 30 days. Hmm. So if I take fifteen individual days (such as to do le Pont between a national holiday that falls on a Tuesday or Thursday) they would take two, for a total of 3 weeks not five per year? What a fabulous idea!
How about giving 2 REAL days per month, for a total of 24 days, then give one more day as a great Christmas/whatever present per year?! Wow!!
Or, even better, have 30 days per year, but give people the option of taking the extra five days as SICK DAYS. Oh if only I were the President of France....
lundi 3 septembre 2007
A few weeks ago, Alain and I bought some rollerblades for me at the sporting goods store Decathlon (with plenty of protection). Alain already had some from awhile ago. I have done rollerblading before (a long time ago) and also some ice/roller skating. Still, I was nervous to try them out. Yesterday we went to a park called the Parc du Griffon, near Marignane. There are lots of playgrounds, some tennis/soccer courts, and an area to bike/do other wheeled sports. This does not include riding a dirt bike around and around and around on the grass making tons of noise and chewing up the grass, like some annoying teenage boys did. Someone must have called the police, or else they were in the area and heard the noise, because they came over and gave the boys a warning or something and told them to leave. I was happy.
Anyway, back to rollerblading. For my first time, it wasn't too bad. Didn't fall, but did make some amusing windmill motions with my arms. Didn't run over any small children, which is always a plus from the parent's point of view. We stayed for a little over an hour. In Marseille, every Friday night in summer I think, they close off some streets to car traffic and tons of rollerbladers come out to do a circuit. Not quite ready for that. samedi 1 septembre 2007
Person 1: You look like you have lost some weight.
Person 2 (pleased): Why, yes I have, thank you for noticing.
Person 1: Because you had really big hips before.
Person 2 (less pleased now): Uh, thanks.
Different cultures have different standards on what is okay and what is not okay to say to other people. I find the French to be less effusive in their praise. Alain feels that Americans give a lot more praise, such as work: Oh what a great job you did! Whereas in France, if you did a good job, no one will really comment on it because you are SUPPOSED to do a good job. The French, in my opinion, are a lot more ready to criticize. Hmph.
Person 2 (pleased): Why, yes I have, thank you for noticing.
Person 1: Because you had really big hips before.
Person 2 (less pleased now): Uh, thanks.
Different cultures have different standards on what is okay and what is not okay to say to other people. I find the French to be less effusive in their praise. Alain feels that Americans give a lot more praise, such as work: Oh what a great job you did! Whereas in France, if you did a good job, no one will really comment on it because you are SUPPOSED to do a good job. The French, in my opinion, are a lot more ready to criticize. Hmph.
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