Jaja has arrived!

The 3rd Thursday in November is when the new batch of Beaujolais (Beaujolais nouveau) wine is officially put on sale to the public. I know nothing about this but there's a fair bit of fanfare. In many stores I saw signs proclaiming, "the new Beaujolais has arrived!" Beaujolais is the most popular of the "primeur" wines, which are wines harvested in the fall and sold before spring (much sooner than they could be produced through normal fermentation). Here in Toulouse, you can also buy Gaillac primeur which is produced about 30 miles NE of town. So it's a popular alternative to Beaujolais.

Anyway, I was in the supermarche when I came across a large display of Gaillaic primeur. It caught my attention because of the label: Laurent Jalabert. Could this be the very Laurent Jalabert who finished 4th in the 1995 Tour de France?? I took a closer look and noticed a silhouette of a cyclist. Indeed! Back in the mid-90s when I was following the Tour de France on TV (pre Lance; and yes, I'm a bike geek), I became a fan of Jaja (as he's known). Not sure exactly why, but he is actually a well accomplished pro cyclist, now retired. Apparently he grew up on a vineyard in Gaillac. How exciting. So of course I bought a bottle and drank a glass in Jaja's honor. I'll have to keep my eyes out to see if any other cyclists (obscure or otherwise) have their own labels. Vive le Tour!

One final note: upon reading a little bit about Jalabert on Wikipedia, I discovered that he ran the 2005 NYC Marathon in 2:55:39 (crushing Lance Armstrong's time of 2:59:36).

Brian's First Haircut (and more Evangelists)

I've been in France for almost 2 months now. I finally reached the point (at least in my mind) where I really need to get a haircut. So this morning I went to the salon just down the street which is, in fact, a hair styling school. I figured I could get a decent haircut at a very reasonable price (9.90 Euro including a shampoo) and maybe get a more up-to-date hairstyle to boot; the tradeoff being that it might take a little longer, but these days I'm not generally in a hurry. I went into the salon around 10:30 am. As is the case with many places, I had already scoped out the salon during the week to see when it wasn't crowded. With my very limited French, I tend to avoid crowds or situations where I might be rushed.

[change of thought: the doorbell just rang and I answered with an American hello instead of a French allo. The guy buzzing responded to me in English (think he was actually British). This was great because he was a Christian evangelist so I politely told him I wasn't interested without leaving the apartment. The last time this happened, I didn't understand the person's French very well so I went downstairs to open the door and find out more and I had a very bizarre conversation in French (they spoke French, I was attempting to) with 3 evangelists regarding God and the bible. Today, however, awkward front door situation #2 avoided!!]

Okay, back to the salon. It's a very interesting place. There are about 10 or so stations each manned by at least 1 stylist (often with 1 or 2 others observing). It all started off quite nicely. The stylist washed my hair--a new experience for me since the barbers I go to back home don't do this. She then asked me what kind of haircut I wanted. I first told her I didn't speak much French and that I was looking for a new hair style... perhaps she could recommend something? Not sure exactly what she said but she proceeded to start cutting. At this point, I should mention that I have very coarse hair which is not that common for many barbers--including, as I learned--the stylist I had today. For most haircuts I have, the barber will just take an electric razor and a comb and quickly trim the sides, then use scissors on the top and to blend in the top and the sides. In this salon, they used scissors only so tasks like trimming sideburns and around the ears took some time. And at several points, the barber would actually stop and then go seek advice from what must have been one of the professors roaming around. It would often take at least 5 minutes for the stylist to go and come back! Part way through she then took a blow dryer and dried the heck out of my hair. Another 15 minutes later (and after a futher consulation) she then sprayed my hair with water. Later on she blowed dried it again. It reminded me of dealing with the French bureaucracy... patience is definitely required. And on at least two other occasions the professor came by and gave additional instructions. Honestly, I felt bad because it was probably a horrible combination for someone learning to cut hair: not your typical hair and a customer who can't speak French. At one point I commented, mes cheveaux sont dificiles, non? (my hair is difficult, no?). To which the stylist replied with a somewhat defeated smile, oui. After another lengthy session of cutting followed by consultation followed by more cutting, my haircut was finally through. It actually turned out much better than I was expecting had you asked me halfway through and is similar to what I had before (so no radical before and after pictures). Maybe next time I'll have to bring in a picture or something to really get something different. At the very end, I told the stylist (who wasn't exactly outwardly showing a whole lot of confidence at this point) in my broken french that she was very good considering my type of hair (clearly new to her) and the fact I didn't speak French. She was probably ready to call it a day at that point. I finally left the salon at 12:30. A haircut that would normally be 15-20 minutes tops had taken 2 hours! Oh well, it was certainly an experience.

Thanksgiving Chicken

As you can imagine, Thanksgiving is not a holiday here. But given its importance back in the States, Katie and I wanted to have our own Thanksgiving dinner. We invited our friend Heather, whom we had met in our French class, and her husband Nick. They're both here in Toulouse for 3 months by way of NASA and the fine city of Houston, Texas, home to none other than my alma mater, Rice University. Whoo hoo! Nick actually works with a friend of mine from college who'll also be coming to Toulouse shortly. Also coincidentally, Nick and Heather both grew up in the Puget Sound-area (though it saddens me to say that they are Huskies). Along with Tom and Katie, I was actually the only non-Husky in attendance. Damn dawgs. But as my brother says, the Huskies put the 1 in stanfurd's 1-10 record. Wait, probably shouldn't jinx things before the Big Game... Go Bears!

Anyway, as most of you know I'm currently a man of the house (homme au foyer) so it was up to me to do most of the meal planning. It wasn't especially difficult since Heather and Nick brought salad, Katie found some nice wine, and Tom got a delicious apple tort and ice cream for dessert (don't think you can buy pumpkin pies). And making a turkey was out of the question since we don't have an oven. I bought a couple of roasted chickens from the local market instead and combined that with some stuffing, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and gravy. Unfortunately I could not find cranberries or cranberry sauce anywhere (went to at least 5 supermarkets of various sizes in addition to the multitude of vegetable stands at our local public market) so we had to go without. I did buy some cranberry juice and dried cranberries to keep with the spirit--a weak substitute I'll admit, but what the hell (I did contemplate trying to heat up the cranberry juice, add some dried cranberries, and then thicken it but good taste got the better of me). On the plus side, I did find some American-style sliced white bread for the stuffing at the supermarket (I also saw some hamburger buns... will have to remember for 4th of July). Call me uncultured but I do not like stuffing made with corn bread or whole wheat bread. I suppose I could have cut up a baguette but I somehow suspect that even our newly-elected Democratic congress (uh-huh) wouldn't approve of such a culinary faux pas. Since we didn't have a turkey for gravy, Katie (resident gravy expert) got creative and purchased a jar of duck fat (which you can buy even at the local quickie mart) to mix with some chicken stock. The gravy was probably the most complimented dish of the evening! So all in all it was a good meal, plenty of food, and very enjoyable to share the evening with some fellow Americans--and Tom (he knows I'm just kidding). I'm also glad I didn't have to resort to the backup plan which was to hit the local McDonalds for dinner.

This morning, Black Friday, I woke up at 6 am and lined up in front of my favorite boulangerie, frantically dashed to the counter upon its opening, and demanded 3 for 1 baguettes!

Hope you all had a good holiday weekend! In the photo are: Tom, Heather, Nick, and Katie.

Supposed Christmas Lights

Katie and I were pretty excited about the lighting of the local roundabout near our apartment. The city had sent us a postcard inviting the immediate neighborhood to watch. Excellent... our first community event! For the week or so leading up to the event, the city had been putting up Christmas decorations and lights above the main roads around town. I assumed that the lighting ceremony would mark the lighting of all of these lights so I was pretty excited (btw, these things are put up well before Thanksgiving... America has nothing on the French in terms of buildup to Christmas). Anyway, we go there and there's a podium for the mayor and a little swing band playing. Very festive. The mayor then comes out and talks about all of the various spots around town where there'll be lights... the main squares, cathedrals, the banks of the Garonne River, etc. Or at least that's what I think he said. I even believe he said the Garonne with all of its lights would give the Seine a run for its money. By that point I was really pumped up. After the speech, the mayor brought up a few kids (of course) to push this big switch that would turn on the lights. 3-2-1.... voila! The switch apparently turned on an astonishing 60 or 500W (depending on mine or Katie's translation) of power. Either way, that's not much electricity--which explains why the sculputure in the roundabout only had a very faint blue glow (as did the doorway of the church facing the sculpture). Perhaps it's that subtle European sophistication. Regardless, the switch didn't turn on any of the Christmas lights either; frankly, the store signs around us were far brighter. HOWEVER, and this seems very French to me, there was a small reception in a nearby courtyard for all in attendance where they served pastries, chocolates, appetizers, wine, and champagne. In Seattle, the city would never hand out free alcohol. Craziness! They clearly spent far more on the food than the lights. I thought it was really cool to drink champagne in a little plastic cup with the city's logo on it. I'm still hoping they turn on the other Christmas lights soon... will have to keep you updated.

My #1 Complaint

Based on talking to other Americans and from what I've read about foreigners' experiences in France, I think the top complaint about France is that people let their dogs do their business pretty much anywhere. And I have yet to see one person pick up after their dog. I guess it's part of French culture. Before I go on, though, I should say that the sidewalks and streets are quite clean here. I think the city cleans just about every single day including spraying the sidewalks with water (which probably explains why no one picks up after their dog--not exactly something anyone wants to do). So most messes are in fact cleaned up right away. However, dog crap is still pretty common. I wish I could have taken a picture the other day of a particularly large pile right in the exact middle of the entryway to our apartment building. I think even French people found that a bit much. Anyway, whenever I go out (this is particularly interesting while running) I always have to be conscious that I don't step somewhere I don't want to. It gets a bit old and I've only been here 5 or so weeks.

Given all of that, you can probably imagine my surprise when I saw a new campaign by the city (it's in newpapers, on billboards, and on TV) to encourage dog owners to be more responsible (supposedly it's a 38 Euro fine). Anyway, here's the link to the ad--it's quite amusing (and a little gross, I'll admit):

Click Here to See the Toulouse Public Service Announcement
(http://www.toulouse.fr/fr-32/actualite-206/echos-logiques-275/propre-nous-1528.html)

I think we're officially moved in

Today was quite a momentous occasion. Still fresh from receiving our Club Internet box, I was lucky enough to take our very first telemarketing call this afternoon!! This call in addition to receiving our 2ND set of Dominos Pizza coupons yesterday makes us--in my mind--officially moved in.

As for the call. I answered "hello" in English (rather than "allo" with my very best French accept) so the caller was immediately suspicious which led him to ask if I understood French. I said (in French this time), "a little". From there he went into his big spiel... something to do about bathrooms, kitchens, catalogues, designs, and being able to pick designs. Some sort of home improvement consulation thing; or at least I think--so far I'm generally correct about 10% of the time. At the all of this, I told him that I rented the apartment which immediately led him to wish me a good day. So I think I actually understood why in the world he was calling! Amazing. At least it wasn't as embarrassing as the time I actually went down to the front door of the apartment to talk to come Christian evangelists (I had no idea who they were when then rang the bell).

Today is also the mid-term elections in the States. I hope they go well. I called my dad to see if he could vote for me (which I suppose is technically illegal) but the county hadn't even sent my absentee ballot. They are so reliable.

The Club Internet era has begun.

After about 2 weeks without any phone or internet we finally received our Club Internet box!! Hence why there hasn't been much of a peep until now. To be quite honest, it was like Christmas... a Christmas that I wasn't sure would ever come. Having to hang out at the phone booth when you really need to make a phone call or having very limited internet time at the local internet cafe (and sometimes the public library) gets really old really fast. Now that the saga is over (for the most part), I have to say that the service we got (Club Internet) seems to be quite a good deal. For about 30 Euro/month, you get phone (voice over IP), broadband internet (with WiFi), and TV service. Not only that, but I **think** (after consulation with Katie and our roommate Tom--all debutantes when it comes to French) we can call the US for no extra charge. I think calling Japan (i.e. Josh) is like 0.03 Euro/minute--also a great deal if you ask me. It will be very difficult to go back to Comcast where the same service is over $100. Everything works quite well so far, although I think we still need a separate box for TV--will keep my fingers crossed.

As for the saga in getting Club Internet. I'm not sure what the "proper" procedure is for getting all of this setup but the way it was explained to us, you first had to get a phone line (land line) from France Telecom (the traditional phone company here). We had to get the phone line even though we had no intention of even using it--you need to get a phone number before you can switch providers is the way I understand it (for a nice fee of 55 Euro... which may end up being around 95 Euro. Damn). I say it might end up being 95 Euro because we keep getting bills from France Telecom and I can't understand all of the fine print. While I'm a newby to French, I can usually understand most things but the technical verbiage that accompanies most bills and contracts is difficult. We'll have to consult some French people. Anyhow, once you have a phone number you can then sign up with another service provider of which Club Internet is one of them. You then fill out the application and send it into some office in Paris. Club Internet then contacts France Telecom and tells them to shut off the line. However, there is some transition period where you have no phone service (and so we couldn't even use dial-up internet access). This was the 2 weeks or so we had to wait. At least it was only 2 weeks. We've heard stories of people waiting over 1 month. I told this to a guy I've been in contact with at Volt Temporary Services, and he said "welcome to France"! Oh, I have to say that this experience has been the exception and not the rule (knock on wood).