Budapest, Hungary Dec. 16-18+1 extra day

When I was at UBC, together with my friends Akiko and Hyesong, I sang a few pieces by Bartok Bela. I would have loved to hear some real Bartok in Hungary, but the weekend we spent in Budapest turned out to be a rather quiet one in terms of Hungarian music. So we decided to go see the Nutcracker at the National Opera House, as we were staying only two minutes away from the venue. We grabbed one of the last remaining seats for about €30, which turned out to be the golden tickets. We really lucked out and got seated in the first row in a balcony facing the stage straight. The colours, the sounds, the movements, and the muscles! It was all beautiful and dreamlike.

Budapest has so much to offer. I truly regret that I did not research enough before we visited. Using a couple of free maps we were given somewhere, we gathered that visiting the Castle area would not be a bad idea for beginners. Got on the tram, left the Pest side and went to the Buda side across the Danube river where the castle stands, we climbed up a couple of steep staircases, and voila. We were welcomed by a superb view of the Matthias Church, a neo-gothic style architecture with colourful roof tiles (dusted with snow). It is also called the Coronation Church, and the coronation of the Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austro-Hungarian Empire took place there in 1867. Prior to that in the 16th century, the church was once transformed into a mosque by the Turks, and then back to Christian church. We believe that the circular stairs that is attached to one of the pillars near the front right is a minbar, where the Imam delivered his sermons.

Despite the bitterly cold winds, Nathan from Regina was up for some more walk outside. We wandered around the Palace, then down the hill towards the Danube, and walked across the chain bridge. This is the exact weekend when the entire Europe was hit by a winter storm and millions of travelers were stranded. Without knowing we would become one of the victims the following day, happy winter travelers experienced an outside thermal spa Széchenyi Bath. Yes, it is just like onsen in Japan, but with white Romanesque statues and fountains spitting out somewhat hot waters out. It is a medicinal bath, and is said to help various gastric disorders. Apparently, the water of the drinking well contains a substantial amount of fluoride, alkalises, and calcium, magnesium, hydro-carbonate, chloride and sulphate. Mmm, it tastes yummy!?

No mention of Chana on this trip because we left her in Grenoble with another Canadian mathematician who also loves cocker spaniel. We are happily reunited, enjoying the winter holiday.

Veszprém, Hungary Dec. 12-15

My friend Mio and I traveled quite a bit in Europe. In 1998, we backpacked throughout western Europe for one month, and two years later we were on a short bus tour to see a bit of eastern Europe. I now realize that since then I had not been expanding my travel map until this past week. Nathan had a conference in Veszprém, Hungary, so here we went, to wintry Hungry!

The city of Veszprém is the 16th largest city in Hungary, with a population of 64,000 people. Historically rich, I believe the city is full of visitors in warmer seasons. Most of the museums and galleries were closed for the year. I spent a day to explore the castle district, with an organ concert at Szent Mihaly (St. Michael's) cathedral for the finale.

On the following day, I attended a one-day porcelain painting course held at Herend Porcelain Manufactory. It turned out that I was the only participant of the day, so I had the full attention from the master painter who has worked there for 26 years since she was 14 years old. The course even included a half an hour guided tour, where the artists demonstrated their work from shaping to painting, just for me!! Incredible amount of time and energy is spent on each product, and you understand why it is so expensive. I painted a 15 cm plate, with a pattern called "Vieille Rose de Herend." You mix glass powder and serpentine oil until the desired consistency. The colour of the glass powder is determined by what type of mineral is inside. The purple we used have gold in it, so it is very pricey. Of course, the instructor did not let me do the mixing. You can also see that the finished colour is not purple but pink. This occurs during the firing process. I truly enjoyed this experience and if I had another chance to go back, I would visit Herend again.For the third day in Veszprém, I pulled a hikikomori and stayed in the hotel room. Believe me, it was cold, and the hotel we stayed at was so lovely and comfortable. Hungary, though a member of EU, still uses its own currency called forint. When we were there, 1000 forint was equivalent of $5CDN, and we were able to have a set menu (soup, pasta, and dessert) for that amount of money. The average monthly salary in Hungary is €340, which is 1/4 of that of France. So we were able to stay at a four star hotel, and reading a book in the cozy hotel room was priceless!

Tartiflette & Giada's Lasagna Rolls

I have been cooking fair amount of Indian and Iranian food thanks to Canada, and now France has opened a door to the Maghreb for me. I have yet to master Tabouli, and I have to challenge Tajine. However, before I take a big dive into the Maghrebian cuisine, I have been doing more conservative cooking. One French dish we did recently is called Tartiflette; very rich but very simple. It calls for boiled potatoes, lardon (similar to bacon), onion, fresh cream, and one entire Reblochon cheese. I only used half of reblochon, but it was still rich and flavourful. As you can see in the photo, two hunks of cheese is put on top which melts all the way down and gives off all the yumminess into the potatoes. I served it with a fillet of sea bream and green beans. Yum.

Nathan's request last week was Lasagna. I decided to make Giada's Lasagna Rolls. What a great idea to roll the cheese fillings in the noodles! Well, my plan got trashed as I could not find the lasagna noodles that were long enough. I have to check other stores, but the ones we got from Carrefour were much shorter and wider. I also could not find mozzarella cheese... I was in the "other than France" cheese section and found Ricotta, which I needed, and bocconcini (fresh mozza), mascarpone, etc, but not a sight of mozza! I used emmental cheese instead, and worked just fine.

The lasagna turned out great, and I will definitely do it again. BUT, it was missing Jason's dad's pepper! The key to my tomato sauce, it was. We miss you Jason, although you would not have liked this lasagna as it had bechamel sauce in it :P.

Immigration and integration

I attended an obligatory one-day seminar sponsored by OFII (Office Francais de l'Immigration et d'Integration) to learn about "Life in France." There were 12 attendants: a Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Thai, Pakistani, 6 Turkish, and myself, of which one person was a male.

The purpose of this orientation is to accelerate the integration process, and a strong emphasis was placed on acquiring the language and respecting the French values: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (liberty, equality, and fraternity). I guess the government has decided that the concept and the definition of fraternity is rather complicated for the newcomers to comprehend. So instead of fraternité, they employ the concept of Laïcité (secularization) and Soliderité (solidarity). Oh yeah, they made it really easy to understand.

Besides learning about the responsibility as a resident in France, various kinds of practical information and available resources on job, school, health, and citizenship was given, which underlined the fact that France is truly a social state. The number of public services is enormous. For example, I learned that we could have requested to rent kitchen equipment from CAF (Caisse Allocation Familiale) who provides housing support and child support. The CAF is not only for the socially unprivileged but it is for everyone. Being a single income household, we may get some housing support from them as well.

I have two more obligations to complete before I get to renew my carte de sejour next year: another one-day orientation to learn about the French Republic, and 105 hours of French course. What have I to complain? This is a pretty good way to get one's life started in France! Canada also provides free language classes to immigrants, but they should also offer orientations on life in Canada. Integration should not have any conflict with the concept of multiculturalism, right?

Rations

Every winter, my mom and dad would send us a box of food from Japan around this time of the year. However, it was a big surprise to receive it this morning, as my mom had just sent it a week ago. In Japan there is a service called SAL (surface air lifted), which is much cheaper than shipping by air but much faster than by surface. When we were in Ontario, I would wait around three weeks to receive the box, which gets transported by train from Vancouver.

I do not cook much Japanese food as buying ingredients for it was ridiculously expensive in Ontario. So "the flavour of Japan" in our households solely depends on this box. We usually get soba, udon, and mochi. This time, as I complained how expensive the soya sauce was at a nearby Carrefour, my mom also sent me two bottles of it. And of course, more than enough amount of anko and yokan, Nathan's favourite. The supply lasts for quite a long time, as I am so stingy.

Nathan and I are both happy eaters, and we love to eat what is in the season and most importantly what is available in the area. Our new gas stove and gas oven!! is serving us great. My quiche (lardon, spinach, cauliflower, and brebis---sheep milk cheese) turned out great, and so did Shepherd's Pie---or I should start calling it Hachis parmentier.

Snowy Grenoble

Grenoble had its first snow fall of this winter on November 26th. Most of the ski hills in the area are now open, and we can reach some of them by just taking the tram and bus for 40 minutes. I cannot wait to go check it out.

As a true Japa-nadian, I got excited with the snow. After my French test that I had to write for the immigration purpose, I rushed home and took Chana to the Bastille. The view was gorgeous, but I forgot that the snow melts. Chana came back covered in mud and bur. Luckily, now we have a bathtub to bathe her.

My life here is very close to the one I enjoyed in Vancouver. It does not have the ocean, but now I have the view of the Isere river from our apartment. I am constantly charged with what Japanese calls "minus ion" which was recently renamed as "negative air ionization" with a bit more research done. Anyway, being close to a body of water with current is essential for human happiness.

As we welcomed the 1st of December, we got more snow over night. This time the city is really covered in snow! Here is a shot of my first snow man in Grenoble, standing on the ledge of one of our balconies, with tears in his eyes as his buddy just jumped, or slipped...

Paris: Nov.14-20

Nathan was visiting a professor at the Université de Paris 13em for three days. We did not hesitate at all to make it into a one-week trip. I was excited to see La Tour Eiffel again (Wow, it has been 12 years!), and most importantly walk Chana in Paris!

We decided to stay in Montparnasse, where we found a small hotel called Hotel Acacia St. Germain which allowed (welcomed!) Chana. In Paris, dogs were allowed on the metro unlike Lyon, but as Chana got a little too excited on the moving sidewalk on the first day and left a nice souvenir, I decided that we should be outside as much as we can.

On Monday, Chana and I spent almost 6 hours staring at the Eiffel Tower, from a café, a park, underneath the tower, and another café waiting for Nathan. It was not enough tower gazing, so we went back again on Wednesday this time with Nathan, where we saw lucky Parisien dogs running off leash in the park in front of the tower. We saw a Great Dane or two from a distance. Small apartments in Paris and Great Danes do not go well together, so they must live in a mansion, they must.

Another favourite location for us was Le Jardin du Luxembourg. It is the largest public park in Paris, and to my surprise dogs are not allowed in the most of the area. We enjoyed the first walk without knowing the rule, the second walk involved some conversations with a guard, and the third time we behaved ourselves. Paris is contaminated with dog pollution, and I do not blame the most of the sights became dog-unfriendly. However, people still love dogs. Paradox.

During our stay, we were again in boulangerie heaven. The best one amongst I tried is Jean Noël Julien. We did not do much fancy dinings in Paris, but La Grande Epicerie Paris at Le Bon Marché provided us a nice take out meal one night. It was probably more expensive than sitting at a restaurant, but it was delicious. Nagoya, a Japanese restaurant, had a really good "Oyako Don (chicken and egg served on rice)," which was the first Japanese meal we have had so far in France.

Some dog-less visits were made to the Cathedral de Notre Dame and Le Louvre. We decided to do only one wing of the Louvre and we promised we will be back before too long.

Carte de Sejour

We were so anxious to receive our Carte de Sejour, which gives us not only a legal status to live in France but also to get a cell phone with some companies, as you already know ;).

1) August 17th: We applied for our Carte de Sejour. It feels like a long time ago now.

2) October 5th: Our Récépissés arrived. We were originally told that they would arrive in 10 days, but took 7 weeks.

3) October 14th: I received an invitation to the medical check up at OFII (Office Français de l'immigration et de l'intégration). Nathan's did not come, but we were in "Que sera, sera" mode, and did not worry so much.

4) October 28th: By this time, we were quite worried why Nathan has not received his medical invitation.

5) October 29th: I decided to call OFII and find out what was going on. The person on the phone says, "Oh, he is supposed to be here today." I turned blue, and I regretted that I had not called them earlier. The OFII person kindly arranged his appointment on the same day as mine, and had the letter sent to home address instead of his employer. We have not yet seen this letter which his employer "received" after we contacted them. (To clarify: Nathan works for a university at this moment, but his office is located somewhere else.)

6) October 30th: Nathan received his invitation to OFII at home. The contents of his and mine are quite different. Mine specified that I needed to show my French competency and a will to integrate into the French society, etc. Nathan's requested that he brought his X-ray. We suspected that there had been another letter that had been sent to Nathan beforehand, which is probably sitting at someone's desk.

7) November 8th - Morning: We showed up at OFII at 8:30, where I was escorted to one room and Nathan waited in the lobby. A French-English interpreter came in and offered assistance. I thought that would be a good idea, so I raised my hand. There were about ten people in the room, and I happen to be the only one who needed language assistance. After a social worker explained what we were doing that day, I was called to another room where I sat with an OFII officer and the interpreter. I agreed to attend two days of orientation sessions where I will be informed of French legal systems and so on. I also agreed to take the French test, and if judged insufficient, I would be provided with 200 hours of language classes. These three things are mandatory for me to renew my Carte de Sejour next August.

I thought Nathan was doing the same thing in another room, but he needed not to any of that. All he did was his X-ray, a check up by a nurse, and a check up by a doctor. After I got my medical check ups done, I was again called into a room to meet with an OFII officer. She gave me the document which stated my medical check up had been done, and another letter stating when I should go take my French test. She gave me a nice OFII folder with a pamphlet on French society which I will need for the orientation days.

8) ) November 8th - Afternoon: We headed to the Prefecture. There was no line up, but a lot of people had been waiting to do their business (half of them immigration reasons, and the other half vehicle registrations). First, we bought 340 Euros worth of stamps. Then we waited an hour and half for our number to be called. We presented our medical document, récépissés, and the stamps. Five minutes later, we had our Carte de Sejour. I was hoping it would be a size of a credit card, but it is twice the size. My permanent resident card in Canada is quite intricate so that it is hard to forge. I wonder if no one tries to forge Carte de Sejour...

The biggest mistake we made was that we did not bring our new home contract with us. Our Carte de Sejour had our old address. So on the next day, we were back at the Prefecture again and spent good two hours waiting for a five minute session. The officer printed out a sticky label and put it over the old address and stamped it. C'est tout.

Now we are two happy foreigners living in France :).

Hooray!

So many things have happened since the last entry, and here is a digest version.

1) We got our Carte de Sejour. It happened on November 8, which means it took less than three months all together. This means we can travel outside of France.

2) We moved into our new appartment. This also happened on November 8. We will report on our IKEA and Carrefour experience.

3) We just came back from visiting Paris for a week. Nathan was working with a prof at Paris 13th University for a few days, so Chana and I joined him and explored the city.

4) We now have Internet at home! Finally, our living standard is up to par. Oh, this feels good.

Ah, this feels good.

Lyon (Oct 30-Nov 1): Visits

The city centre of Lyon is on a peninsula, in between two rivers Saône and Rhône. Our hotel was conveniently located on the west of Rhone, it only took 10 minutes or so to get to the city centre. Despite the rainy weather, we walked everywhere on Sunday, as we found out dogs are not welcomed on the metro. The district Le Croix Rousse was on the top of a small hill. To get there, we took Montée de la Grande Côte, a long stairway. Unfortunately this was the last picture I took before the rain, before Chana turned into a wet mop.

Monday, la fête de la Toussaits, turned out to be a beautiful day. We crossed Rhône, passed the city centre, and crossed Saône to entre Vieux Lyon. The building in the far back, is Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière. We were going to take a cable car to get there, but again dog was not welcomed. So our morning hike began!

I did not grow up with Asterix, so I cannot explain who the Gaul is and what the main plot is. Well, I guess I need to read the comic as well as review my world history textbook before I visit any other cities in Europe! Lyon was founded as a Roman colony in 43BC. Hence, our visits included "Amphythéâtre Romain" in Fourvière. In the summer time, this Amphythéâtre is used for music concerts. I wonder if anyone would come wearing a toga or not. On the day before in the city centre, we also found "Amphythéâtre des Trois-Gaules," where the first Christian Martyrs were executed. Hmmm. Bloody.

After half a day of walking up and down the stairways, walking through traboules, Chana was more than happy to have a little break at a boulangerie, where Nathan and I enjoyed a awfully pink praline brioche. It was delicious!

Lyon (Oct 30-Nov 1): Food

We hopped on a train on Saturday and headed northbound. In less than 1.5 hours, we reached the 2nd largest metropolitan area in France: Lyon. We are here to eat some piggies, en français cochon, at restaurants called "bouchons."

Sunday morning, we walked about 1 hour toward the district "le Croix Rousse" where the silk industry flourished in early 19th century. We enjoyed the lively Sunday market, had a nice coffee break, joined a long queue to buy a baguette (where there is a line-up, there is always some good food!), and accidentally found a chocolatier Bouillet. As soon as I noticed they have a boutique in Tokyo as well, I again joined a long queue to get some colourful macaroons and some traditional sweets from Lyon called coussins. Japan, although it is quite far away from France, boasts finely established French culinary scene. It is not a fluke that the Japanese pastry chefs keep winning the world competitions, most recently the World Pastry Championship held in the US. So when France meets Japan, it cannot go wrong.

We then headed into the district "Presqu"île" and visited "le Bouchon des Filles." Unfortunately, they were completely booked out for lunch and dinner. Our will to eat piggies got stronger and stronger. It was raining quite heavily, and Chana was miserably wet although she had her rain coat on. We walked in search of a bouchon, and we reached "Aux Trois Cochons" not too far from where we were staying.

Nathan, bravely, started with a salad with thinly sliced pig ears sauteed with garlic. I started with a normal dish, French onion soup. Both were delicious.

Nathan bravely ordered something called "Double Gras" or double fat intestines, with a cake of potatoes, similar to Latke. I ordered "Parmentier au Queue de Boeuf" which resembled a shepherd's pie. Of course I did not know what parmentier or queue was, but it was delicious. It turns out that any potato dish is called parmentier, which is good to know, and queue is a tail, which is also useful to know.

For dessert, we ordered something called "Cervelle de Canut" literally meaning silk-weaver's brain. It was a creamy white cheese (just like plain yogurt) with some chives and garlic. If you like Dur (Persian yogurt drink) or Mast-o-Musir (Persian yogurt dish), you will like this too!

We highly enjoyed the meal, but it will take some time to recover from it. We could not even eat dinner that night, and our macaroons saved their lives from being eaten up all at once. Thanks to the end of the daylight savings, we were able to enjoy the 25th hour of the day just laying in bed, waiting to turn into cochons ourselves.

It's getting cold~!

This morning, the temperature was just below zero, and it has been a routine for the past few days that Nathan gets up and turn the heat on before we actually wake up. There are radiators in each room, and we heat up our bedroom, kitchen, entry hall, and bathroom. We keep the doors closed to the other two rooms that we barely use, but it still takes a long time to heat up the apartment. It is fine for me as I grew up without a central heating, but Nathan is constantly cold even with a thick sweatshirt on. I am knitting a pair of socks for him in alpaca, with a hope they will keep his toes toasty.

The surrounding mountains at lower altitudes are turning their colours into bright yellow, orange and red, while the top of the mountains particularly Belledonne is white. A part of the Chartreuse which I call "a cupcake," now looks like as if it has been dusted with some powder sugar. I cannot wait to go skiing. I guess the last time I skied was in Whistler in 2003!? My skiing career started with my mom and dad at the age of 13. My dad put me on the lift after sort of teaching me how to stop, and said, "Now, go down the hill." That's where I got the idea, you can kind of do it if you do it anyways. So far, so good, Dad. I am still alive!

"Les vacances de la Toussaint (All Saints)" started this Monday, and students are off school until next Thursday. In search of free internet, I am again at the McDonald's which is FILLED with children. I wish the wifi connection at the library was reliable and faster. Nathan and I are thinking about visiting Lyon for the weekend if we can still find an accommodation. The trains are still affected by the strike, so careful planning is a must. I thought about driving, but finding gas might be a problem.

Nos Droits 3 and hope no more!

Oh, this is quite interesting.

I met with Nathan for lunch to take care of the "move-out notice" business. I had already had a sandwich earlier, so I just asked for a crêpe au sucre et au citron. The server refused my order. During the lunch hours, you have to eat something before you get to eat a dessert, apparently. Luckily, I was able to order a cup of coffee. The server removed my table mat, the cutlery, and a glass to drink water as if to say I did not deserve them as I was not paying enough. Weird...Why did you not let me have a crêpe then?

This is actually the second time that happened to us. We went out one night after having dinner at home, looking for some yummy dessert. We sat down at the second oldest cafe in France :), and asked for some ice-cream dessert. The server was nice enough to let us stay there, but she hesitated when we placed the order.

We have to figure out how this works. I thought the customer can eat whatever s/he wants at the restaurant, but apparently not here.

I demand a bowl of ice-cream tonight at home.

Nos droits No. 2

I finished the second month of intensive French courses. I really enjoyed the second month at CUEF. We had two teachers who were quite different from each other. The female teacher we had was quite energetic and she focused a lot on our enunciation and articulation. The male teacher was super low key, but he focused on the topic I am interested in such as health, environment, etc. Of course the young-lings in class were quite bored with him, but we cannot always do exercises like "let's write a funny story with your neighbour and share with others." For November and December, a Brazilian classmate and I will be taking semi-private lessons with the above mentioned female teacher. I am on a mission by Thursday to be able to say "les yeux" properly.

The courses are costing quite a bit of money, but we really need it. For example, today, I had to go to Agences Départementales pour l'information sur le Logement. It is an association for tenants and landlords. You can probably guess what is going on.

Our current landlord is not happy that we are leaving only living here for three months. Here in France, for a furnished apartment, it is the right of the tenant to stay for minimum of 1 year, but the tenant also has the right to cancel the contract at any time with 1 month advance notice. We told our landlord in person of our move-out two weeks ago, and we sent him a written letter by registered mail. He has not received the letter (now waiting to be picked up at the post office), and the move-out notice comes into effect when he receives the letter. And the post office will keep the letter only for two weeks.

At the agency today, I was able to express what the problem was and to follow what the person was telling me. She said that our case is very "delicate" and we may have to go see "un huissier=a bailiff (gees, I do not know this word in English either)." I had to think to myself "Awesome, I just survived some gush of legal terms!" at the same time, "Wait, why do I have to do this!?!?"

I demand a bowl of ice-cream tonight.

Nos droits [On rights and entitlement]

So the grève (strike) is back again. It is for the same reason (the retirement age, benefit, etc.) as the one-day strike in September, but this one is continuous. Ever since President Sarkozy came into power, there is something called "service minimum" even during the strike. At first I thought it was exactly the same as the "essential service" but not quite. The service minimum guarantees that the companies or institutions have to offer their services at their minimum capability. So for example the trams are running, but not in its full capacity.

However, on October 7th, when I was trying to go home after my classes, there were no tram nor bus. The employees walked off the job that day at 9AM, following an incident that took place on the night of the 6th. When you get on the tram, you are supposed to validate your ticket or the pass, but even if you don't, you can still get on. So sometimes you run into "controllers" who ask to show your validated ticket/pass. Apparently, some group of youth who were caught by the controllers started the violence. The youth group thought they were discriminated for being asked to show their ticket, as the controllers do not necessarily ask everyone on the tram.

I feel that the demand for one's right is very strongly expressed in this country:
+Well, I am not against the strike that is happening now, but it is also true that many countries are facing the aging society and the pension problem. The argument such as "it is not fair that others only worked until 60 when I will have to work 7 years longer" is not so strong when your life expectancy is also longer than those predecessors. I am sure that there are many other reasons for the strike that I am not aware of, so I have no right to say anything.

++Well, It is sort of understandable why the trams and buses were canceled completely because of some violent passengers, but what about those who paid for the service? Isn't there a better system than having a random check which could trigger an issue of "why are you picking on me?" Why not having controllers always on the train and on the tram stop?

+++Well, I am okay with the grève. That's OK. Go for it. We live in a democratic society. I am okay that I had to walk 40 minutes from the university to home. That's OK. Go for it. We live in a democratic society. But those who acted violently after not paying the fare and claim they were discriminated? That's a bit odd, isn't it? AND most importantly (for me) people who do not wait to get on the tram while there are people getting off! Those who do not realize there is a long queue for the food stand! I don't think that is included in our rights, is it?

We need to read Thomas Hobbs again.

Annecy

On Saturday, October 9th, three of us headed to Annecy, located 1.5 hours north east of Grenoble by train. The scenery resembles somewhat like Venice with canals running through the town and somewhat like Banff with a glacier clear lake with snow capped mountains surrounding the lake.

The town was celebrating its 39th Retour des Alpages, festival featuring their traditional farming culture and society. The entire city centre called "vieille ville" turned into its venue, and the tiny streets were filled with farmers, peasants, animals and tourists like us. We grabbed a glass of traditionally pressed apple juice and a bag of roasted chestnuts, and walked through hundreds of extremely joyful and happy people. For lunch, we enjoyed a tortiflette, a potato cheese casserole from the region looking at the Lac d'Annecy. We had a lovely day, and we cannot wait to visit there again and do a proper visit of the town.

Having a dog when traveling is a bit of a pain, but it also gives you a great advantage. People will talk to you. Chana, with her mohawk and long ears, she gets commented and smiled at quite a bit, and when she wears a "Head Collar," people will not leave us alone. As some of you may know, Chana does not know how to walk properly as humans want her to. She pulls, sniffs, lunges towards some amazing discovery…and it is very annoying to walk with her particularly in the crowd. We have often used "head collar" also known as "gentle leader" which gives us a better control on her movement. Unfortunately, this tool is often mistaken for a muzzle. People do not hesitate to ask "why does she have to wear a muzzle?" or more directly, "does she bite?" Each time, we explain using our limited French, "she pulls and it is easier for us to walk, blah blah." It is a race now, whether we learn how to explain this better in French or Chana learns how to walk properly!

Here is a shot of Chana with her head collar, and her friend donkey who also wears one.

Progresses

1. Recépisée

We now have the official document that proves we have applied for our Carte de Sejour. It took seven weeks instead of ten days, but we are happy that it did not take any longer than two months. Well done! Our recépisées are valid until the end of December. We are now waiting for our medical appointment.

2. French

My French class at CUEF is going well. I still think I am in the wrong level, but one can always learn something. One thing for sure is that I am getting more and more confused. Do I capitalize the week of the day in English? When do I insert a comma?

As I usually shop at butchers, bakeries, or veggie stores (what are they called?) I get to speak with the store clerks, which is a great opportunity for me. When I was buying green beans (des haricots vers), I had no idea how to specify the amount. I said "quelques" for "some" as I showed her my hand. She said, "une poignée de haricots." I will never forget this word as I learned in real action.

The other day, I wanted to buy two pieces of sausages (is this how you say in English?) I said "deux saucisses" and the clerk said something like "deuxiéme." I made the peace sign to indicate 2, and we had delicious saucisses aux herbs for dinner. The question remains though. What did she say? I asked my teacher about this, and he thinks what I said was correct. Hmmm, I have to go back and make the same order to find out.

I remember doing this in English. a head of broccoli, a stalk of celery, a murder of crows... I need to learn counters.

3. Moving

We will be going to the real estate agency to sign our apartment contract tomorrow (Friday). Wish us luck. If everything goes well, we will be moving in mid November!!

Busy weekend for Chana

October is here, and the weather has been just lovely. Chana was groomed for the first time on Friday, and she is giving pretty eyes to everyone who passes her by.

On Saturday, we brought her along with us shopping for some (human) clothes, coffee break, and dinner at "La Ferme à Dédé." This restaurant specializes in the regional food (Dauphiné and Savoy regions). I had ravioles dauphinois, which are miniature version of raviolis filled with cheese. Nathan had Andouillette, sausages which contains a lot of things. They were both delicious and the atmosphere was great. Chana lay under our table well behaved. We would like to go back and try "tête de veau" next time.

After spending a day in the civilization, we were craving for some fresh air. On Sunday, we headed to the Vercors, the mountain which lays on the east side of Grenoble. We took a bus for one hour, and found ourselves in a small village called "Villard-de-Lans." It kind of resembled Karuizawa, Nagano or Jasper, Alberta. From the village, we headed toward Le Vallon de la Fauge, a former glacier valley. We did not make it to the peak of the mountains, but we got to see some happy cows. Chana loved hiking, but not so much the bus ride. I hope the passengers enjoyed her singing.

Oh yeah, Orange is my favourite colour!

That's it Bouygues. I am fed up with your service. I waited patiently for almost four weeks for the internet to function at our apartment. As soon as they sent us a notice of upcoming bill, the horns I was hiding came out. I am no longer a quiet foreigner who does not speak French. We are canceling what we have got. You do not deserve our money! We are switching to Orange, which is the key brand of France Telecom, and they now offer an internet and a cell phone bundle for €60, including free international calls which they did not offer before. Even if their fee is a bit more, it is better than something that does not work.

What is amazing here in France is that in order to talk to a customer's service or technical service, you have to pay for your call. And this special four digit number is not reachable by Skype. We have no phone line (as the internet does not work), and we did not have a cell phone (as Bouygues did not allow us to have a phone with contract). We finally convinced a Bouygues staff to call this number using their phone. This was after my plead in French! Now in order to cancel, we had to send them an official letter by snail mail (do we still say this?) and we have to wait for their response. Gees. Is this 1980s?

I find so many things are similar here and in Japan, particularly how the foreigners are not given any rights. And, the fact everything has to be done by a hard copy, and how tedious everything takes... I do not mind the process. I can take it. However, there is one big difference! There is no apology in this country. In Japan, you will hear some sort of apology for the inconvenience even if they do not really mean it. C'mon, at least apologize once Bouygues. For taking 4 weeks to start our internet service and not being able to realize it is not working, and for charging us for nothing...

I am reading a classic in the world of Japanese anthropology by Tadao Umesao, and he talks about the countries that developed in the centre or at the margin. China or India are introduced as the ones in the centre and Japan and Pakistan at the margin. When he traveled in India and Pakistan in 1950s, he noticed the difference in people's attitude in their superiority and inferiority. Japan, being the marginal country when Chinese dynasty was in its prosper, always seems to have a sense of inferiority to others. Apparently Germany also fits in this category as they were the marginals when the Roman empire flourished. France, obviously is in the centre.

Nuts!

Good nuts: Grenoble is known for walnuts. We bought the first harvest of the year last Saturday, and I am now drying them in the sun.

Crazy nuts: Our internet at home says, "Welcome to Bouygues Telecom! Your new line is established, but before you get to use it, we need to verify the quality!" According to their proud progress meter, we signed our contract on August 28, the creation of our new ADSL line started on August 30, the line has been established on September 20, and we are waiting for its activation. Hmmm, I was planning on bringing back the Bbox to cancel our contract today... shall we or not?

Unbelievable nuts: Nathan added some more minutes to our portable internet device (Clé 3G+) for today so that I can be online all day. I had to miss my classes in the morning and the gathering at the teacher's house in the afternoon :(. We are expecting our shipment to be delivered, but we have not heard from the company who was supposed to contact us yesterday to notify the estimate time...

Exciting nuts: We are probably moving at the end of October. We went to see an apartment in Ile Verte last week, and heard back from the real-estate agency that we are accepted. I say "probably" as we have not signed anything yet, but most likely this is a go. It is a studio, but it has a separate kitchen, separate toilet, and a bathroom with a tub. The area size is 50m2, and there are two balconies facing NE and SW. The rent is 150 Euro cheaper than the current place, and the best part is that it is much cleaner and more secure than the current place. It is unfurnished, so I am looking at IKEA catalogue right now for a budget shopping.

Coupe Icare

Nathan's boss took us to Coupe Icare 2010. Icare is Icarus in French; it is a competition and exhibition of all sorts of aerial sports from para-gliding to hot air balloons (called Montgolfiere in France) held in St. Hilaire du Touvet. It is an international event which attracts participants and observers from all over the world.

Due to various conditions, we decided to stay where the para-gliders were landing. I was happy to see Kitty-chan doing a perfect touch down.

Dans la rue ou nous habitons

I love the area we live in in Grenoble. It is a quarter (or quartier) called Ile Verte, which is close to the city centre but is very quiet. The Isere river runs from east to west, and the city of Grenoble is located on the south side of this river. L'ile Verte is almost like a peninsula, surrounded three sides by the Isere. In this photo, you are looking at l'ile verte from the west side.

This is the view from our kitchen window. You can see a part of La Bastille on the mountain and a part of the Vercors in the middle. Most of the buildings on our street are regular houses or small apartments. Just like in Japan, properties here are marked by fences or shrubs, which makes it hard for me to have a peek inside.

Many houses have some kind of fruit bearing trees, and I am hoping to run into the owner one day, and ask if they actually eat them and ask if I could have a taste of one... This one is a fig tree, waiting to be ripen.

The one on the right is a persimmon tree. When it ripens, the fruit should be bright orange. I love persimmons... It reminds me of my childhood... There are many persimmon orchards in the city I grew up, and I admit that I have snacked on some without permissions with my good friends Yoko and Yukko!

And of course there are apple trees and pear trees, and the best is the prune tree, and I might have seen an olive tree.

The vegetation here is quite similar to what we have in Japan, and the aged buildings and streets also make me feel like I am walking in my neighbourhood in Odawara...

Numbers

Nathan and I had our first hair cut on Saturday. My hair is much shorter now, and it will be easier to take care of. Nathan asked for his usual hair cut, which is "2cm at the top and 1cm on the side." We practiced how to say this phrase before we left home. As Nathan's Japanese has replaced many of his French vocabulary he learned in school, he keeps saying the numbers in Japanese. "Oh, not Ni, Deux!" Even with the review, he ended up saying the number in Japanese. It is pretty amazing how he always gets what he wants though. I guess his request is pretty universal.

Speaking of numbers, the number of working hours per week in France is 35. The minimum holiday per year is 5 weeks. The store hours here is interesting too. Épiceries (veg/fruit), fromageries (cheese), and boucheries (meat) are usually open early in the morning till 13:00, and it reopens again around 16:00 to 19:00. Many of them are open on Saturdays and be closed on Mondays. Cafés, restaurants, and bars are open when these stores are closed.

And as you noticed, the 24h clock is used instead of AM/PM. This means that we have to know how to say the numbers up to 24. Quatorze and quinze...Why are you so similar?

Day 27-31: One Month in France

It is hard to believe but we have been in Grenoble for a month already. We survived without having Internet at home, which gives us a hope that we could probably do another month! Nathan and I are self-claimed internet addicts, but we finally realized that retrieving historical information using things called "dictionaries" are possible even if we do not have Wikipedia.

I wrote about the prunes in the last entry, and I have to write more about them. We bought some mirabelles, and they are truly lovely. It is interesting to see how long the outdoor markets will last and to find out what kind of produce they will be carrying in the winter time.

The people are very friendly in this city, but wait until you meet the owners and staff of La Fromagerie de L'île Verte. They are extremely helpful and informative. We have fell in love with reblechon and conté... I have not yet gained enough courage to try much blue cheese, but will see how far I can go.

Here is my quote to sum up my observations and experiences I had in France for the first month:

"It is impossible to love France more than a French does."

Day 24-26: Autumn

Grenoble, it is the flattest city in France, it is the hottest city in the summer and the coldest city in the winter in France. My toe-rings are telling me that it is high time that I wore a pair of shoes instead of my Birkenstocks. The temperature goes up during the day, and you see people in their no sleeves and short pants. It is a very comfortable climate, somewhat similar to that of Vancouver.

As we do not have an oven, my cooking is done only on the gas stove top. There is a vegetable-fruit shop called "Au Jardin de Provence" and they are open in the morning and again at 16h. I only buy things that I need for the dinner and some fruits. Fruits here taste just amazing. We were enjoying the white peaches and nectarines earlier, and now we are in prune heaven. Yesterday, I tried something called "prune reine-claude" for the first time. I could not skip buying them as the store clerk who was refilling the basket were snacking on them. I got to the cashier and asked, "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" and the person said, "Prune blah blah blah." I had him repeat maybe three times, and I said, "D'accord." They are delicious. Similar to plums but sweet! Well, thank you Mr. Google. Now I know its full name. Nice to meet you, Prune Reine Claude!

Day 23: Manifestation! Gréve!

Hello from Häagen Dazs. It has been 7 business days since I opened the internet account with Bouygues. The ADSL device called B-Box is sitting in our bedroom connected to the wall. I decided that it was high time that I visited the Bouygues store once again and ask what was going on. I was told that I have to wait 10-15 days. It has always been like that apparently. Great!

My classes were canceled today due to the "manifestation" and "gréve." People are protesting and striking against government plans to overhaul the country's pension system. I heard that it is the largest protest of the year, so I decided to see this French spirit with my own eyes. I took the tram as far as it went (2 stops from ours), and walked toward the station where a big crowed appeared in front of me. It was pouring rain, but the air was warm. From young to old, kids to dogs, they were out there protesting in the rain. I guess this is my first protest I have ever seen in my life!

Day 21-22: The 3rd weekend=back to 3!

Nathan came back from Austria on Saturday. He had no problem getting back to France. He said that he went through the passport control but nobody was in the booth. Now it is proven that we can travel while you wait for your Carte de Sejour, as long as we are inside the EU or probably inside shengen district.

He came back with tons of chocolate as he did last time, which made me happy. But this time there was one special souvenir. It is a bottle of olive oil from Italy made by a father of a participant of the workshop that Nathan was attending. I love anything that is homemade and handmade, and the best part is that we are invited to help them make the olive oil in December! My holiday plan is now set. I will be picking olives in Rome.

To prepare for Nathan's arrival, I took Chana to her first grooming experience. I only asked for a full bath, as her last grooming was only a month ago. She came back smelling beautifully, and apparently she behaved well.

So we were back in business. Nathan's back and Chana's clean. We decided to go up La Bastille together!

We took Les Oeufs (the cable car) and walked around the fort. It was hazy and the sun was strong, but we got to see Mont Blanc in full. It might be worth it to buy an annual pass for the cable car, as the view from there is just magnificent. Instead of taking the cable car back, we took "le grand escalier" which is a long staircase that takes you all the way down to the foot of the mountain. Chana had a blast coming down the stairs off leash, and she even posed for us like a sphinx on one of the steps. People who we passed by would say, "Oh, cocker~!" and she would greet them politely. It was her first mountain descending experience and there will be many more times after this!

The only problem with her running off leash is that she collects stuff on her ears...

Day 19-20: Getting Accustomed

Unless you are on campus, particularly in Ile Verte (the quarter where I live), it is very rare to see any Asians or anyone who does not speak French beside me. I go to a boulangerie called Maison Floran quite often, and they have started recognizing my face. It is a small and close neighbourhood, and it does not take long for one to be a regular. I also go to a cafe called Le 5 at Musée de Grenoble, where I have free WiFi (pronounced=we fee) access. The server now knows me and my order: un café noisette.

I am now also getting used to saying my name in French way, which is much similar to how it is pronounced in Japanese. I do not pronounce my name properly in English, or is it the American medial T, people would write down my name often with a D. I am also picking up more words and getting a gist of what people are saying. It will be a long way though, before I will be able to eavesdrop on the conversation on trams.

French classes are going well. I love grammar! Learning the rules and following the format, it is so beautiful. When I was teaching Japanese, I realized that many students who were in engineering, math or CS did really well in the introductory classes. They pick up the system and the formula quite easily. However, when the language starts involving more of the cultural and social aspects, arts student excel in understanding the concepts such as the honorifics. I wonder which one I will be as a French learner. I will let you know when I start saying "Ouais" instead of "Oui."

Day 17-18: French classes

If you know me, you know that I am not a morning person. I had a very effective alarm clock when I was growing up (aka my mom who strips off my duvet and sometimes my pjs), and Nathan is still acquiring its skills without being injured. For the past few days, I have been managing to wake up at 6:30, and it is a miracle. I get ready, take Chana for a walk, make coffee, have breakfast, and take the tram for 15 minutes, and voila, I am usually the first one to arrive in class.

I must have done so well on the placement test I took on Monday, and I somehow ended up in the class where the first grammar lesson revolved around "relative pronouns." Yes, I did learn that 12 years ago in university, laquelle ,auquel, desquelles, etc, etc.... I understand the grammar class fairly well thanks to the grammatical terminology in French being pretty much the same in English. What I cannot do is the pair work... talking to the classmate! My default response is "OK" or "a-ha," but I do not think French say that, do they?? I think I need a TV!?

So it is September. The weather is beautiful, but it is getting chilly. I am hoping our shipments will arrive sometime soon so that I can wear a jacket.

Day 16: Examen de Niveau

I love tests. That is probably the reason I like learning and teaching. I particularly like assessment test, so that I can see my progress. Obedience classes for Chana has always been like that, and I wish I could have tried CKC Obedience or Rally-O. We applied for Chana's Performance Event Number to participate in CKC Obedience, but the application was rejected. The reason was that Chana could have had the paper (pedigree) if the seller was a proper breeder. We got Chana from a farm (a real farm, not a puppy mill), and we even got student's discount. It is amazing she turned out to be such a good dog! Her new thing in France though, is to raise one leg when she is doing her business. I really think we got a confused dog. I guess her argument is that there are smells on the wall rather than on the ground...

So I got to write a test today: a placement test for intensive French course at CUEF. The listening test and written test followed an oral test in an interview format. I will find out my level tonight, and my classes begin tomorrow. I am so excited, and I hope I can start from the very first level. My three years of French during my university years have absolutely vanished, and it will be good to start from abc.

Day 14-15: Le weekend

Chana has been sleeping in her crate these days, but I usually leave the door open as she is a great guard dog. The drawback is that every morning around five she decides that it is time to wake up. That's when I invite her on the bed, where she would sleep another few hours with the contra gravity pose. After that is her walk to the boulangerie. I usually leave her outside the store in sit-stay, and she does really well. The reward she gets is big. A micro tiny piece of bread before I take a bite.

Yesterday, Nathan's boss kindly delivered two boxes that my mom sent from Japan. I packed them when I was over there in May, and the contents show a rosy image I had about my life in France. Well, I am adamant that we will make it like that. The coffee I had this morning using the cup I sent from Japan definitely tasted better, for sure ;).

It is a beautiful day today, so the laundry had to be done. Instead of using the dryer, we have a clothes rack that I usually put out on the patio. I am still figuring out how much softener a load needs. So far, our towel ends up like a loofah.

Then I decided to grab my camera and got on the telepherique=les oeufs. The sun felt stronger up at La Bastille, the fortified mountain. Grenoble is surrounded by three mountain (ranges): Vercors, Belledonne, and Chartreuse, and La Bastille is at the foot of Chartreuse. On the clear day, you can see Mont Blanc from there, and I believe I saw a part of it behind the cloud today. My dad would be thrilled to have seen that, as he was always fascinated by the mountains, or beauty of nature.

Day 13 bis: Defeated

I was able to get the internet kit at Bouygues. This will become available in 3-10 days. Please keep your fingers crossed. It is €29.99 per month, and it includes the internet, phone, and TV.

The previously mentioned bundle with the mobile...was not available as Carte de Sejour is necessary to obtain a mobile in this country. Our path to Carte de Sejour is long, as we are still waiting for the receipt, then our medical check, and paying €300 per person. Someone I know is waiting for it for four months.

I deserve some ice cream. So this blog is coming from Häagen-Dazs.

Day 13: Internet, c'est indispensable!

Having limited internet at home is tough. Nathan and I purchased a USB internet modem called "Clé internet 3G+" from SFR for €69 (of which we will get €40 reimbursed). It came with 3H connection time, which we used up in a couple of days. I bought 8H connection time for €26. Using my very basic math skills, I counted 8H=480 minutes, but it is not really the case with SFR. After exhausting the 8H fairly quickly, I bought another 8H credit and I immediately checked my account. I had only 306 minutes left... Interesting.

Well, now I have the carte bancaire (bank card). It was last Thursday I opened the bank account, and I received a letter this Wednesday from the bank stating my card was ready for pickup. I was waiting for this moment, so that I can sign up for the internet!

There are three major internet providers: SFR, Orange, and Bouygues. Orange is the key brand of French Telecom, and it is more expensive compared to other two. We decided to go with a bundle with Bouygues, which gives us:

1) internet
2) TV
3) phone+free international calls
4) cell phone (2 hours outbound calling time, unlimited SMS, unlimited internet, mail, TV 3G)

for €50.80 altogether. This is a miraculous deal to me after paying so much money to Bell and Fido for a long time. It will take about 10 days for the internet to be set up, but I will at least have my cell phone to connect to the internet. This is exciting!

I do not have to taint my blood any more by coming to McDonald's to use the free internet. This is my third time and it will be my last. I will still go back to the French Coffee Shop though. It is a lovely spot to spend your afternoon.

Day 12: Tourist

The weather has been superb for the past few days here in Grenoble, and our apartment is so lovely with a lot of sunshine coming in. The patio faces south-east, but not too much sun thanks to the tall apartment next door. The question is whether we will get enough sunshine in the winter. Oh, Misato, que sera sera.

I am taking a break from cleaning the apartment for now other than the daily vacuuming with my new Dyson. I decided to take my friend's advice to hire a professional cleaner so that I only have to do a touch up. What a brilliant idea, Miranda!

Now I have so much free time, I decided to be a tourist. I took the Petit Train Touristique yesterday. It departs from Place Grenette, a pedestrian area in the city centre. The area resembles the painting "Terrasse" by Van Gogh, with a beautiful fountain which was erected in 1824. During the tour which lasted about an hour, I had the English audio guide. Oh boy, it spoke so fast! I guess it needs to be that way in order to cover what is said in French. I should have gotten a Japanese one. What was I thinking?

My plan for today is to go to the Musee de Grenoble, as the temperature will reach 33C. The museum is located only 5 minutes from our place, and Parc Michallon is part of Chana's daily walk either in the morning or in the afternoon.

Day 11: Espace Chien

Walking around the neighbourhood is fun. Going for a walk with Chana is no longer a chore, but it is part of my errand. Here is a shot of a happy dog, in front of Riviere Isere, which is 3 minutes away from our apartment.

You see so many dogs around here, and there must be a lot of them. They leave proofs of their existence everywhere. I had a misfortune already, and now my eyes are stuck to the ground. I guess someone thought that this needed to be changed, so they implemented sections called, "Espace Chien" in every five blocks or so. It is a designated area for doggies to do their business, and conveniently some places have bags and bins. It is convenient for people like us, but to the French, they are tilting their head saying, "What are these bags for?"

I once heard that the people from the upper caste in India are not supposed to touch anything that fell onto the ground, as the object has become untouchable. This must be it! I must be living in the caste system here in France.

I am contemplating this one really carefully...whether I should be following my motto, "When in France, do as the French do" or another motto of mine, "Be the change."

Day 6-10: Surviving

So today is Day 10, and Chana and I have survived five days without Nathan. Chana has taken Nathan's spot on our bed for the time being, or he will have to fight to have it back.

Prior to his departure, Nathan cleaned the bathroom and the laundry machine. The bathroom is now white(r) instead of blue, yellow and brown, and the laundry machine is now white(r) instead of black. I cleaned the fridge and dryer, so our basic items for daily living are in better condition. I thought cleanliness was a common value in all civilizations, but I guess it is all relative. I am just glad that I married someone who is as OCPD as I am.

As a market lover, this city is a great place to live. There are small produce vendors in various "Places" that are open from Tuesdays to Sundays. I also found a small market hall, where fresh meat, cheese, etc. are sold. Chana is welcomed into the building as well, and she has discovered the triperie!

On Sundays, all businesses were closed, except for restaurants and cafes. I found a few boulangeries that were open on Sundays and take Mondays off. I cannot wait to see this town in full operation when they are all back from their holidays. The population of the city itself is 150,000, but including the surrounding municipalities it reaches 500,000. Chana is certainly getting used to seeing more humans and cars. She is getting a hang of loose leash walking finally for the first time, and she is learning how to quietly lie down by my feet as I write this blog.

Day 2-5: Settling in

Our first few days in Grenoble were a lot of signing, even though we do not know what we are agreeing to. Thanks to Nathan's employer, we have an agent helping us go through these procedures. They found us our apartment before our arrival, which was crucial to apply for "Carte de Sejour," a resident card. They also helped us open a bank account, which we need to set up the internet. We are now waiting for the bank card to be sent by mail.

Applying for Carte de Sejour at the prefecture started by lining up at 8:30 in the morning before the building opened, but most of the people there were for their driver's license (I think). We were one of the first ones for Carte de Sejour. Things we needed were:

1) Passports and a copy of the visa page with entry stamp
2) home contract
3) convention d'accueil
4) work contract
5) Nathan's Ph.D diploma (and French translation)
6) birth certificate (and French translation)
7) marriage certificate (and French translation)
8) medical visit documents
9) ID photos (4)
10) three stamped envelops with our return address

We applied, but we did not receive anything then. We are waiting for "recepisé,"a receipt to be sent by mail. Nathan is in Klagenfurt, and hope he will be able to get back to France without paying a hefty fine (as we were told by someone).

In the meantime, I am thinking about whether I should go up to the Bastilles (the fort) taking the cable car seen in the photo above...

Day 1: Flying dog and bonjour France

(It has been a week already, but I am still without internet at home. This blog post is provided by the free wifi service by "French Coffee Shop" in Place Claveyson).

We made it. Nathan, Chana and I safely arrived in Grenoble, a beautiful little city surrounded by mountains.

Our flight from Toronto to Paris was uneventful. Chana was not sure what was going on when we left her to go through the security. Air Transat crew put a sticker on her crate which was to be filled out by the staff when she would get fed and given water. We were quite happy about this, but of course it was never filled out. Chana made it though without any issue, though we noticed her sheepskin bedding had a lot of fuzz coming off when we settled in our apartment. She might have been trying to dig an escape hole during the flight!?

Immigration at the airport was easier than anywhere in the world I have traveled to, and the officer saluted me in Japanese. When I went through the immigration in Canada on a student visa, which I experienced twice, I was taken to a special room, waited for hours for my turn. There was no such procedure this time, a simple stamp and Konnichiwa.

Clearing the custom with a dog was expected to be difficult, but again it took 30 seconds. They did not even check Chana's microchip... After the custom, Chana was out of her cage, eating at the restaurant at the station, and riding on TGV! Her hairdo is always a great attraction, and it is my mission to have it alive when I take her to her first grooming.

After 22 hours or so since we left our beloved CLEAN home in Waterloo, we arrived in our new apartment in Grenoble. I would post some photos, as soon as it is presentable :).

Applying for French Long Stay Visa

France: a country of romance, beautiful language, and delicious bread... It must be these three things they really want to protect that they make the visa application look so intimidating. Yes, it looks intimidating, but it is not. Our experience at the French Consulate in Toronto was very smooth and pleasant. Here are some tips and info for those who may follow our paths.

We applied for :

Long Stay Visas (over a year) for Scientist, and an accompanying family member: July, 2010

1) Book your Rendez-vous: You have to make a personal appearance at the consulate for any type of visas. The appointment is done online, and it is almost fully booked. You cannot make double appointments, but you can grab the earliest one available, and keep changing it if there is any vacancy sooner than your date.

2) Gather all the documents: Follow the consulate website and gather all necessary documents. The biggest challenge lies in the format of the photos. The size is a standard, but the size of the face in the photo is larger than ordinary passport size. Find a competent photo studio. Do not go to CAA!

3) Email the consulate if you have questions: It says you need the airplane reservation when you apply for the visa. We did have ours ready, but when I emailed them, they told us that was not necessary.

Our visas were issued on the same day, within an hour. On their website (Toronto), they say it takes three months. When you are waiting for your turn at the consulate, a note on the wall says it takes three weeks. My life has been shortened by three years by such exaggerated information.

Apparently, this part is nothing compared to the application for "Carte de Sejour" once we arrive in France.