Performance Review: Sort Of

I was just thinking that I do not miss those annual employee performance reviews. Most of them, most of the time, were a joke. Of course the outstanding reviews I earned were completely *cough* accurate.

And then, today, as I sauntered through the village it occured to me that I have a performance review nearly every day. Each time I go ''out there'' I encounter a French person or two that I know.

Standing in line at the bakery, I conversed with the mayor. At the grocery shop, I conversed with an acquaintance. I always say bonjour to others walking by me.

I have moved from quick eye contact and a cheesy smile to a simple (but enthusiastic!) bonjour to struggling through some resemblance of a conversation. It's not much, certainly not outstanding, but the scrap of progress gives me a shot of gusto to keep going, keep trying.

Tonight we begin hosting a weekly intermediate French lesson group. Tony is participating but I'm not quite at that level, not yet. Meanwhile, I have another review at the hair salon soon and there's always the butcher, the baker....and, hey, où est le fabricant de baton de bougie ?

Token American?

This evening a newspaper reporter came to my home and interviewed me: Token American. Are there no other Americans in this 'hood? Apparently not. Or, unknown. Word has, apparently, gone around that I am here. hmmmm.

The interview lasted nearly two hours. I was questioned about American politicians and, of course, The Election.

The article will be printed in two weeks. Below are a few interview questions. The answers may or may not be actual responses. You will have to wait for the published article to find out! Until then, I give you this:

Q: Who do you think will be the next President?

A: Do I look like a Fortune Teller?

Q: In France, at the last election, many people stated they would vote for Ségolène Royal but changed their mind at the last moment and voted for Nicolas Sarkozy. Do you think Americans will do the same thing - Obama supporters going to McCain or vice versa?
A: Are you serious?

Q: Is Bush truly stupid?

A: You have to ask?

Let's hope my photo is good............................

Moving a Paper Mountain

Sometimes I wish moving to France from America was as easy as boarding an airplane with a one-way ticket. Those times occur each year when we have to renew our carte de sejour for long-stay visitors. Admittedly, the first time we applied for the carte de sejour was the most tedious and challenging. We knew of a few Americans who had moved to France to work, or to study, or who had French partners, but no one that had simply relocated from America.

We relied on the internet and the French Embassy in Chicago to lead us through the application process. We also relied on an empty room in our house that quickly became the Carte de Sejour Room; filled with wobbly stacks of paperwork that all too often tumbled across the floor, a fax machine that only occasionally functioned and a computer with French Embassy as the homepage.

We completed forms in triplicate and in both English and French. I will always remember the enormous help from our French teacher and friend, Ann Wolff, for not only her translation work, but also her support along the way. I will also remember that at the time we were requesting police records, someone in my family got a speeding ticket. I’m not saying who got this traffic violation, but, Elsie is too young to drive and it wasn’t me.

Later on I needed my employer to complete a letter stating details of my employment and, most importantly, that I was currently employed. Can you imagine the conversation I had with my boss over that one? It was then that my two week notice became a nine month notice. A promise to my boss for a France vacation chez nous and voila, said letter written.

It took nearly a year to reach our goal to purchase those one way airline tickets. The first part of the carte de sejour application was merely to gain authorization to enter France. Upon our arrival, we had medical exams and immunizations, paid the timbre fiscal and our paperwork trail continued. Our determination heightened (as did our blood pressure) until we had our carte de sejour in hand several weeks later. Our relief could only last for the next 10 months or so, when the dreaded time to renew arrived.

Basically, France needed reassurance that we were not criminals, that we would not take employment from a French citizen and that we would not seek financial support from the French government. And they need this reassurance every year for five years. In 2010, we will be eligible to apply for French passports. No matter how absurd the hoops are to leap through or the red tape is to untangle, I intend to stay here for that passport.

If you are an expatriate in France, and from the EU, considerez-vous chanceux. If you are an American wanting to reside in France, I hope you have a sizeable space for your Carte de Sejour Room, a spouse that drives within the speed limit and a boss that dreams of a vacation in France. Bonne chance!

Coffee Breaks Are The Best

I went to work today. Well, not exactly work work. It may be more accurate to say I went to a place of work.

Our main computer has been taken away (I'm still in a state of trauma from that) for clean up and whatever they have to do to make it all okay....technical stuff. I'm left with internet connection but even that remains questionable and this laptop is just barely functioning. Be still my heart!

Meanwhile I have an article to write and a deadline is staring at me. What to do? I did the logical thing (is that a surprise?) and went to the magazine office to write my piece.

I arrived around 10 am. I believe all work should start around that time. I discussed my assignment with the editor and guess what happened after that....hurrah! coffee break time! (this of course supports my rationale for starting work around 10 am: just in time for the 10:30 break)

After our break, we situated ourselves at computers and quietly went about our business. It was really really really quiet in that office. I wanted to clear my throat or cough or something like that but I didn't dare. (said noise might have scared the staff, or me)

Luckily I forgot about the quiet rather quickly and got into writing. I did, however, feel a sort of pressure bubbling up around me as the realization that I was sitting in an office, a place of work, took hold of my thoughts. Has it not been an eternity since I sat in an office? I was just starting to think about the strangeness of it all and YAY, coffee break! Never mind that I was already feeling a wee bit too much caffeine in my system...workers need their coffee breaks and who am I to not join in on that?

Okay, after that break, I definitely needed to focus. And I did. I was feeling great about my progress, nearly done, just a bit more and OOPS. I lost the article. Lost. Deleted. Wiped Out. Gone gone gone. Words flew freely from me that I didn't even know I knew. Not very lady like words. So much for the quiet. I kicked up a storm and when it blew over I tossed it around some more. Everyone else kept working. My request for a coffee break broke their silence and off we went for another coffee break.

I ended up staying for lunch. Something I hadn't planned on but I also hadn't planned on losing my document. Oh, lunch at work...we had a 3 course meal and a glass of wine. Coffee and dessert followed that. Much better than the sandwich I would have had at home. I felt guilty for awhile about having such a fine lunch knowing that Tony, Brian and Rosemary were at home probably picking at sandwiches. (I wonder if a minute counts as ''awhile'')

Fortified from such a fine lunch - and the glass of wine might have helped too - I was able to complete my article fairly swiftly after lunch. I took care of the necessary (but only two!) corrections from the editor, joined everyone in a coffee break, and called it a day.

Driving home from the office today, I concluded that I do not miss going to work, or even being at work. An occasional work day is good and coffee breaks are without a doubt the best. When I do have work days, I will always start around 10am and end around 3pm and I will always enjoy a 90 minute 3 course lunch. I will remember to press Save every two seconds. And next time I will most definitely positively for sure maybe remember to drink decaf.

Good Stuff

The Hedgehog House gave us a wonderful holiday...no alarm clocks or church bells and nothing To Do except Enjoy!

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Elsie and Michelle picked over 2 kilos of blackberries, which, by the way, turns itself into 6 Bonne Maman jars of the most delicious jam! We watched Michelle with great awe as she spun those plump juicy berries into a thick smooth jam. I even had the pleasure of taste testing through the process. It was easy to slip back into the childhood years; licking spoons and bowls and leaning into the counter for optimum viewing. Actually, I used to sit on the counter but with age, weight and gravity, leaning has become the better choice.

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We went to Rennes one day to do a food and school supply shop. Much to my delight we ended up buying a tumble dryer. (I slipped that in on the Food List...heh-heh) I have been without a dryer for three years. THREE YEARS! Hurrah for moi et vous aussi because no more schlepping to the laundromat when the B&B is heaving with piles of sheets and towels and we will always have soft fluffy towels from this day forward. Amen.

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Note to Min: We played an intense game of Monopoly and Momma won! YAY! The Shoe was my piece, coincidence? I say no. The Shoe is clearly the winner. I must claim it, Min. Really. Let it go...xoxo

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So. I have 6 jars of homemade jam, a shiny new tumble dryer and a recent win at Monopoly. Could life get any better? YES! We came home to a cleaner-than-I-left-it house and an awesome evening meal done and prepared by DIY B&B guests. I'm telling you, this DIY B&B business is fantastic. Who knew?

Good people and good stuff...church bells and all.