Two months in

June 3, 2016

Two whole months here.  I haven't written anything in a while.  I think this is a good sign actually.  It means I've settled in.

The month of May has been great!  I've managed to establish a bit of a social circle. I've added some new friends to my existing group and now have lots of opportunity to do different things depending on who is interested in what and when.

I was also blessed with a visit from Charles and Ros (my aunt and uncle from the UK (my mother's brother and my Godfather) for a few days.  We packed a lot in and it was fantastic! We saw Carcassonne and Pont du Gard and we ate some amazing meals together (and drank some wine too!).

Carcassonne is a world heritage site and its designation is well deserved!  Dating back to Roman times, this castle and walled city has been beautifully maintained and restored.  But not restored in the Disney sense, you really do get the feeling you are walking back in time as you pass through its gates and into the main courtyard of the castle.  The streets of the town are narrow, cobbled with little shops on either side.  As you wind your way through the halls and rooms, the walls and towers of the castle, you get not only a great sense of history but are able to capture some amazing views of the countryside.  We had a glorious day, lots of sun, not to hot, and the view of the mountains in the distance was lovely.

The second visit was to Pont du Gard.  A Roman aqua duct that crosses the Gard river.  Also incredibly well maintained, it stands as a monstrous piece of architecture and engineering in the wilderness.  They have maintain the site in a very natural setting, you can sunbath on the rivers edge, swim, kayak in the river as you pass beneath this amazing site.  The museum and visitors centre gives you all kinds of great information including pictures and video of remaining aqua ducts that connect to this one as they meander through the French countryside to Nimes.  Again, the French need to be applauded for the sense of preservation and appreciation of their history.

As I said farewell to Charles and Ros and settled back into my 'regular' life here, I realized that I have really settled in nicely.  The move to my new location was a very good decision.  George, Nicole and their neighbour Mark are wonderful! Incredibly welcoming, friendly, warm and generous!

As May drew to a close, I came to realize something that I will have to get used to.  While I'm here for 6 months, that is the exception not the rule.  So I had to say goodbye to two friends as they ended their tour and headed off on their next adventures.  It was sad to see them go as I really enjoyed their company.  Another friend headed off on a week's vacation also and I suddenly felt my little circle close in. In short I started to feel lonely again.

New students arrive every week but so far those that I've met, I haven't bonded with in quite the same way.  I will have to get used to people leaving all the time I suppose.  I imagine this is what it must be like for people who are part of the Armed Forces.  Always having to say goodbye as you move onto the next place.

The other thing that I have noticed is that my french seems to be going backwards!!!! I have found myself making mistakes.  Little errors, but errors that I shouldn't be making.  In the last week in particular I have struggled to speak in general and it was even pointed out to me that I sometimes even forget to conjugate my verbs!

Perhaps it is over confidence?  Perhaps I'm feeling a bit overloaded after two months?  The classes do move very quickly.  Maybe I need to just slow down when I'm speaking, literally. The other thought I had was whether the events of the last year are not yet properly dealt with.   Either way, Dan says that I should just take a deep breathe and stop being so hard on myself.

Funny how that theme rears its head time and time again.

Perhaps that will be my focus for June.

It's nice this life.  A very short to-do list, lots of time to do it in.

If this is what retirement is like, sign me up!

Demonstrations are a regular occurence

During my first couple of weeks here in Montpellier I was confronted with public demonstrations and protests.  In fact, I was just strolling in the main square one day when I found myself suddenly engulfed by hundreds of protesting students.

As a nice law abiding Canadian, this was pretty confronting, unusual and a bit scary frankly.

What was even more shocking was the number of police that were on the scene. In France they are equipped with not only hand guns but semi automatic rifles too.  They were everywhere and after a while started shooting off tear gas.  I was well away by that point, but I read it in the French papers.

What I came to realize, and appreciate, is that it is quite normal for the french to speak up like this.  To take to the streets to make their voice heard, loud and clear.

It is also quite common place for some people to take advantage of the situation and add a bit of violence to the situation. Breaking store windows, looting and vandalism.  Unfortunately this means that the police are prepared to use tear gas and sometimes do.

What we learned in class here at school is that this penchant for demonstration is part of the culture.  It goes all the way back to the French Revolution. It was emphasized by the riots of 1968 that took place not only in Paris (and all over France) but in the US, Canada and the rest of the western world.

These demonstrations in April, May and June all had to do with the new work laws (loi de travail) that the government here has been trying to put in place.  They have been strong arming it frankly too which doesn't help, bypassing the normal debate process.  As we moved into June and July, the large unions started to strike on a regular basis.  The SNCF (national trains), the garbage workers in Paris, the workers at all the oil refineries, even the Air France pilots got in on the action (although for different reasons).  They strategically took advantage of the Euro Cup (football) that France hosted through July trying to force the government to back down on this reform.

This level of strike activity and activism is big news for a Canuck like me! I was fascinated by it.  Reading and listening to the news to try and understand what was going on.  As I asked the French here about it and their reactions to the strikes, the response I got was very much "business as usual".  Strikes are common place here, to the point of almost boredom.  It's just a way of life.  The trains still managed to run, people simply lined up for gas and others just made other arrangements in their life.

I can't say I'm used to it just yet, but I am far less agitated now when they announce another workers action.  :)

Was I excited?

As word began to get out among my friends and colleagues about my pending sabbatical in France, the most often asked question was "am I excited?".

My immediate reaction at the time was actually "no".  That isn't to say I was excited or that I was dreading my adventure, of course not.  It just wasn't the emotion that was top of mind for me.

Of course not being able to live up to expectations gave me pause for thought. :)  Even Dan seemed to be more excited for me than I was.  After some discussion one evening I landed on the word trepidation.

Trepidation: Merriam-Webster defines the word as a nervous feeling of uncertain agitation.  Ok, thats a bit more negative than I felt.  But the idea of uncertainty and agitation resonate with me. The agitation is the positive part, the exciting part for me.  A new adventure for sure and the fulfilment of a dream.  The nervous feeling is self explanatory and not altogether foreign for such an adventure.

So all in all, not the expectation of most people.

So I peeled another layer.  By the time people were finding out, the plan had been in motion for months.  New news to you, old news to me.  When I first decided to bounce the idea around with the HR team, that was nervousness.  What if they said "no"?  What if they said "yes"?  That was the exciting part, leaving the office that day knowing that it was a possibility.  I had to finalize and fine tune the plan I had presented, but the idea itself was met with support.  This is good news!  That was exciting!

It reminded me of when I decided to leave Ford all those years ago to join Nissan.  Making the decision, during the interview process with Nissan, that I would say "yes" if they offered me the job; meaning I had to then turn around and tell Ford that I was leaving. That was the hard part.  The opportunity then became very exciting.  The time after that was relatively easy as the machine was now in motion.

Once all was set and the plan agreed to with work for my sabbatical in France, it was simply a matter of following the plan. The ship had left port so to speak.  For me it was old news.  Something that had been going on for months.  For all of you it was brand new and exciting!

Just like it was for me once I asked and once a plan had been agreed to.  So yes, it is exciting!