differences « Vegemite Croissant

Is France behind when it comes to the internet?

4 08 2010

Here’s a question posed by a French-English newspaper on Twitter. I saw it and instantly felt obliged to rant a little. I love France, but I do sometimes wish there was a little more internet usage around here.

> Is France behind when it comes to the internet? Do you find it frustrating trying to find information online?

Hell yes!

Take for instance my local public library. A thorough look at the Mairie website and tourism website will tell you where the library is and the opening times. In fact, the Mairie has several different pages with slightly different information about the library. None of these pages mention that the library has a website. In fact, when I signed up at the library they didn’t tell me there was a website either.

But there is one. A quick search of Google tells me that the library has a blog! It’s outdated and discusses recent renovations. From there I find the actual library website. There’s no URL, it’s just an IP address. The library website is actually fairly useful – I can search the database and reserve books with it. I don’t know if these reservations worked or not, since there was never any email or SMS sent to me to say that the books were ready for me, though. In fact, given that the staff didn’t tell me there was a website I’m starting to wonder if they know it’s there. *sigh*

And yes, generally French businesses and clubs have awful websites, no SEO, very little information and generally point you back to a phone number you need to call before you can get more information. And since the websites are all out of date, you can bet that phone number is entirely useless (plus, phone numbers are evil nightmares to people new to the language).

My husband wanted to start a tech support wiki to help his customers and colleagues to sort out problems with equipment, but he couldn’t even convince the other staff members to warm to the idea.

Oh, and don’t get me started on Tourism Offices creating Facebook profiles in order to get with the times. You’re not a person – Make a page or a group!

On the flip side, there are a couple of websites doing really well. LeMouv, for instance has radio streaming, a Facebook page, podcasts and all sorts. Larger businesses often have decent websites and there are a few great government websites. But, the good websites are far from the norm – there could easily be plenty more and no-one would complain.

I’ve had the France-and-the-internet chat with a few people now. Here’s some thoughts I’ve heard:

According to a French kid, there’s too much English on the internet – she wants more French. This could be the main reason younger French people aren’t very interested in the internet. She’s all excited when she gets online, then she finds out most things she wants to do are all in English. And since she doesn’t know how to use a computer very well, it all gets too hard. TV is easier because it’s all verbal and there’s an army of translators ensuring she can hear it in a language she understands.
One Aussie guy I spoke to says he thinks the schools should be teaching computer literacy from an early age. Apparently, assignments are still expected to be handwritten, so the kids don’t get practise using a computer even for assignments. I feel sure that this probably isn’t the case in all schools – surely some have moved to computers now?
Most French people I know use the internet at work and will stay half an hour late in order to send personal email (from their work email account, because they don’t have a personal one). It seems that in France, internet access just isn’t something most people feel they need at home.
Geeks, young people, English-speakers, expats, freelancers, small business owners and people who work from home all seem to have internet access and use it regularly.
Plenty of French people over 40 don’t have internet access at all and just don’t want it.
Most English people I know in France have broadband and couldn’t possibly live without it.
Most ISPs in France find the bureaucracy is just too damn difficult to give you internet access.

Personally, I think most kids have taught themselves pretty quickly, because there’s definitely plenty of French under-30s on Facebook. Generally, to me, internet usage in France feels like it did in Australia in the late 90s. Some people understand the internet and are using it in the best way they know how. Others just haven’t caught on. There are black holes of information. The problem though is that those that do understand the internet in France are now 20 years ahead of the rest. It’s time to get the others to catch up!

What we need to do (this probably isn’t just for French people, but for all non-English speakers):

Get more French people to create stuff online.
Try to convince more people to add translations (or at least translator buttons) to their sites.
Teach more non-English speakers generally about Google Translate, so they can use the English pages they find.
Teach SEO skills to more non-English speakers so that things can be found!
Make websites more intuitive and less dependent on text found in pictures (which don’t get translated).
Ensure kids get computer training, either at school, in clubs or at home.

So people, are we up for helping non-English speakers get the most out of the internet? It needs to be done!

Comments : 7 Comments »
Tags: Entertainment, france internet, france internet access, internet in france, Technology
Categories : annoyances, communications, daily life, differences, education, France, internet, issues, kids, website

French Handwriting

3 07 2010

So, French handwriting is gorgeous. No, really. Everyone here has beautiful handwriting. Look:

I was doing a little reading up on this and it turns out that the French have dedicated handwriting lessons throughout primary school. Plus, art lessons tend to focus a lot on calligraphy. It’s a big deal.

It’s such a big deal that apparently some high school teachers won’t mark work that is handed in with poor handwriting. I guess it’s a good lesson in presentation.

I found this video on how the French teach handwriting. It’s pretty interesting. It explains how they use dance to teach young kids the large flowing movements they will need to know when they write (and all sorts of other interesting things).

Apparently the font they learn is called “La Ronde”, but I can’t find mention of that anywhere but that video. Basically, the handwriting style looks like this. The single letters shown don’t really show you how it looks when put to good use, but it will give you an idea of the font.

For those of you wanting to read a little more, I also found this article comparing French and English handwriting and how that relates to other areas of study.

I’m certainly finding this all rather interesting and certainly a positive shift in beliefs from my own Aussie schooling.
Image Credit: SophieG

Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: french preschool, french primary schools
Categories : art, communications, culture, differences, education, French, kids, schools

Pizza Vending Machine

20 05 2010

Our town just got what I believe to be its first pizza vending machine. I’ve never seen one of these before and I’m kind of excited.

Firstly, it’s one of the better pizza bars that’s in charge of the machine. This is a good thing. Cheap pizza varies pretty wildly in France. I have high hopes for this vending machine.

Secondly, these pizza vending machines seem to have been tested elsewhere and have been found to be a success. Which means it’s not likely to close down in a hurry.

Thirdly, this means that finally we can get takeaway on Sundays and public holidays. Gold! It sometimes drives me crazy when you want a night off cooking and unfortunately so does every single person in the town who could potentially sell you cooked food.

Along with the DVD vending machines (which I haven’t yet written about – sorry), this could prove to be an excellent Sunday night treat. Here’s a photo of a DVD vending machine next to a Pizza vending machine.

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Tags: pizza restaurants, takeaway pizza
Categories : benefits, cooking, differences, food, France, fun, movies, shopping

Buying a car in France

11 05 2010

Buying a car in France seems to involve a lot of unexpected steps, so I thought I’d share what we’ve learned about it.

Step 1: Car must be checked by garage
The people selling the car need to take it to a garage and get it checked over sometime in the 6 months prior to the sale. No-one seems to check this on any of the forms, but it’s known to be required.

Step 2: Get insurance cover before you buy the car
Get hold of a copy of the seller’s Carte Gris so you can quote the license plate number, car number and other details. Get your insurance sorted before you drive the car. The insurer should then give you a month to get your new Carte Gris information to them.

Step 3: Fill out prefecture forms when sale is made
Don’t expect the person selling you the car to know this step – I think it’s one of the changes to the Carte Gris system in the last few years.

Before the sale, go to the prefecture and get two forms:

“Declaration de cession d’un véhicle”
Application for “Certificat d’immatriculation” (Carte Gris)

The first form needs to be filled out by both parties and the other just by the buyer, but both parties will need information from the old Carte Gris. So, it’s better to fill them out together while all the information is in front of you.

Note: There’s usually a counter in the Prefecture where you can get the forms without waiting.

Step 4: Take forms to Prefecture
The buyer has one month to ensure these forms are taken to the Prefecture. Any later and they’ll be fined for driving the car. Technically, I think the seller is responsible for the first form. However, the prefecture had no problems with the buyer bringing in both forms. Also bring ID, proof of address and some money for payment for the transfer (in May 2010 the fee was 94 €).

The Carte Gris system has changed in recent years, so the Prefecture helpfully supplied me with a step-by-step guide for what happens next. Basically, it involves waiting patiently and not bothering them unless two weeks goes by without your Carte Gris arriving in the mail. Strangely though, in an entire A4 sheet of helpful information, it didn’t bother to mention the next step because it’s so obvious to French people.

Step 5: Get new number plates
When cars are sold in France, the registration number/number plates need to be changed. The new number is printed on the Certificat d’immatriculation. So, with the provisional Certificat d’immatriculation, you can get new number plates made for the car by going to any garage/mechanic (in May 2010 it cost me 23 €).

This last bit really surprised me. I knew that the plates would be changed, but I thought there would be some sort of centralised process for it, eg. the plates being sent to me. If mechanics in Australia started printing their own number plates they’d get investigated by the police. So, I never expected that the next step would involve casually strolling into a garage with a photocopy and getting new number plates made for the car. I still wouldn’t know if I hadn’t happened to have spoken to someone who knows I don’t know the process here.

On that note, I also noticed that you need to apply for an updated Carte Gris if you ever move house. Wouldn’t have expected that either. Hope it doesn’t cost as much as when you transfer in to your name!

Image Credit: Karol Siedlaczek

Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: car france, car in france
Categories : bureaucracy, daily life, differences, difficulties, legal, transport

Jour des crêpes: Chandeleur

2 02 2010

: Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday we had an unexpected plate of crêpes at choir. The French people there said they always do crêpes on 2nd February and thought that it was funny that we couldn’t quite explain when the Australian pancake day (Shrove Tuesday) was, since it moves around each year and neither of us had any idea when it was this year (Day before Lent, which starts 40 days before Easter. Apparently in 2010 Shrove Tuesday is on the 16th Feb).

Anyway, the pancake days aren’t quite the same. Same result, but different reasons (oh, and crêpes are better). The French celebration is from the Catholic Chandeleur in France. There’s a little speculation as to whether it’s also related to a pagan festival. There’s also lots of superstition involved. It’s an interesting celebration, for sure.

What’s also interesting is that Shrove Tuesday is an entirely separate event, held not long after Chandeleur and celebrated in much the same way in other parts of the world. My browsing on the subject of Chandeleur led me to find out a few other nifty, unexpected things about Shrove Tuesday.

The whole point of Shrove Tuesday is to stuff yourself full of rich foods before Lent. So people had/have huge parties, festivals to celebrate and fill everyone up to excess before the 40 days of behaving. This is supposedly the reason for words like ‘Carnival/Carnaval/Carnevale‘ (reasons given if you follow the link) and Mardi Gras, which literally means “Greasy Tuesday” and is commonly translated as “Fat Tuesday”.

: Image via Wikipedia

It seems that the English, using the name “Shrove Tuesday” are the only people not naming the day along the lines of “Stuff yourselves silly and say goodbye to meat”. As for the name “Mardi Gras”, I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen those words and never translated the French. I also never once connected the carnivals and mardi gras festivals and thought that they had anything to do with religion. Go figure. :D

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Tags: crepe pan, crepe pans, crepes pancakes
Categories : cooking, culture, differences, events, food, France, history, oddities

The French Paradox

13 01 2010

I have put a little thought into the French Paradox since arriving in France. Michael Pollin’s book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto has prompted me to articulate a little of what I’ve learned (but don’t always practise). Theories why the French, while living on rich foods, lots of oils, meats and wine, manage to stay healthy are varied and numerous. My own theory has perhaps been solidified by this book’s musings on omega-3s and leafy vegetables.
Michael Pollin - In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (Book Cover)
Personally, I like my veggies, dairy, pasta and rice. I like a bit of meat and fruit too. I’m not big on breads or desserts. I like wine and beer. I like to cook things myself and do so almost all the time. The French way of eating isn’t too far removed from my habitual one, but just enough so that I noticed a few things.

The French adore dessert. Dessert is a highly anticipated and somewhat revered part of most dinners. The desserts aren’t always sickly sweet – mostly they’re carb-heavy and slightly sweetened. I think the anticipation of dessert is what stops French people from over-eating throughout the meal. I mean, you don’t want to eat too much of the main course only to find you can’t fit in any dessert (as I do). It’s not only rude to the chef, but you’re missing out on something fabulous. There’s also cheese and more bread at the end of a meal. So, a French diner will happily graze on the meal with the full knowledge that dessert, cheese and more bread will fill any ‘gaps’ and ensure they’re not left hungry. Often when it comes to dessert you can only fit in a tiny bit anyway, but I think knowing it will be eaten changes the mentality of the diner for the rest of the meal.

French meals (both lunch and dinner) will start with an entrée of either salad or soup served with bread. Practically speaking, this gives you something to eat while the main course finishes cooking (salads are quick and soup can be re-heated). Nutritionally, both are vegetable and/or leafy-green heavy (in restaurants, you often get a little cheese, terrine or seafood in an entree too) and are often laden with oils or salt, so your body gets food it desperately needs (leafy greens and other veggies) before other things. The oils and salt help to tell your body that it’s eating and no longer hungry any more. Often I feel full after an entrée – this is the point. Your body has been tricked into eating all the most healthy stuff “just while you wait”. Depending on how many young kids are at the table, the main course can cook for quite a while longer while you eat the entrée. When you finally eat it, your stomach is settled. You’re no longer ravenous and you’ve gained some important nutrients. When a modest portion of main course arrives (usually meat-heavy with some veg – very rarely pasta or rice), you are left wondering if you can eat it all, rather than thinking it’s not enough. And then there’s still dessert.

Oh, and one only drinks wine with a meal. When the meal is done, French people don’t tend to sit around drinking wine into the night (as Australians do).

So, in summary, my personal mantra for which parts of the French diet are most beneficial to health:

- Always eat a large plant-based entrée (every meal) with enough flavour to stop yourself feeling ravenous.
- Only drink wine while eating the meal.
- Always plan a dessert just so that you know it’s there (even if it’s just yoghurt).

This post is an excerpt of my full review of Michael Pollin’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto on Goodreads (a social network for book reviews). If you’re interested in the book, see my full review here.

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Tags: french diet, french women dont get fat
Categories : benefits, books, buying stuff, cooking, culture, daily life, differences, food, France, health, markets, wine

Do you really need to bring the kitchen sink?

26 05 2009

It should come as no surprise to you to find that the French rely on a completely different set of kitchen appliances to the ones used in other parts of the world. But knowing that doesn’t answer the question of what to bring with you when you move here.

If you have a crockpot (and like using it) then bring it with you. It’s extremely difficult to get them in France. Flat sandwich presses/grills (without grill lines) and jaffle-makers are impossible to find too. Microwaves, kettles, toasters, coffee-makers and rice-cookers can be found, but they will cost you a fair bit. Australians get electronic stuff very cheap. My advice for most things – If you can spare the space then bring it.

: Image via Wikipedia

Check power guidelines for each appliance and compare with the French electricity standards. We brought lots of 4-point electrical plugs then bought French fittings for them from a hardware shop (wired by us). It’s a cheap and easy way (still safe) to easily keep using Australian appliances. Don’t do anything stupid. Get proper converters if the appliance will need it.

But it’s not all about bringing the old with you. We’ve happily discovered a dish which is a French favourite, the Swiss Raclette (read up on restaurant Raclette here). The French households generally use a dedicated appliance (shown) but it’s well worth the investment. This machine is a crispy meat-making, cheese-melting haven of deliciousness. That’s why almost all French homes have one.