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.