The Technology Graveyard

I lost a good friend last week; one that has been with me for the last five years. We met the summer before I started college and were never far from each other's side in the years since. Together we wrote thousands of pages of essays covering a broad range of topics and languages. He never chastised me for working at the last minute but rather stayed up late and helped me until I was finished. He was more than just a school chum - he was my partner (and opponent) for cards, a movie buddy, my own personal DJ and the one I could tell my secrets to, knowing that with just a click of a button they would not be shared.
When it came time to pack for my adventures abroad I had to make a decision - take my friend or not. After much deliberation I decided to bring my computer with me. It served me well for the first six months before giving up the ghost last week, taking to the grave all of the secrets I had shared as well as the projects I was working on (hence the recent dearth of entries) and all the things I deemed worthy of holding on to. While attempting a connection to the Internet, the computer froze up. I shut it down and tried to restart but it was dead as a doornail. Subsequent attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. A phone call to Apple computers revealed that my friend is on a "vintage list" and is therefore irreparable both here and back in the States.
All hope is not lost, however. A phone call from my dad revealed a group of computer whizzes that are confident that if they can't repair it, they can at least recover the data from the hard drive for me. It's now a question of finances - is it worth the cost to repair or would I be better off just getting a new computer? Should I pay to send it home or wait until I return and just take it with me? With only six weeks remaining I'm not sure it's worth the cost of shipping home and so I am now the proud owner of an oversized coaster.

To Strike or Not to Strike

France. The land of wine, cheese and - strikes? That's right. The country of romance has another passion: faire la grève. Since I have been here, the teachers have gone on strike at least five times (that I know of). But their strikes are not like those that we have in the States. Striking is done by only those who want to, so students still have to show up. I must say that I am not a fan of this system. I had one group of students for whom that was their only class for the day. All of their other teachers were on strike. Is it really worth it to go to school for one hour?? That said, some students decide that it isn't worth it and stay home. Teachers then end up with half of a class. What kind of lessons can they teach? They would have to repeat it again for all of the students who were not there. The penalty for striking teachers is a day of pay and so they must weigh that against the reasons for the strike. Unfortunately for me the assistants are not allowed to strike and so I have to show up, strike or not. :o)
Teachers are not the only ones who strike. Last Tuesday I ran into a large group of students from local high schools who had decided to go on strike. Instead of returning to class after lunch they took to the streets with signs and chants to protest some of the school policies. For example, the end of the year exams are universal for all of the schools and the students want them to be more specialized for each school so that they are more reflective of their abilities. Makes sense to me. Even still, who ever heard of high school students going on strike??
Outside of the education system, the country is full of strikers, most notably the post office and transportation. It seems that there is a train worker's strike at least once a month. I got caught in it on my way to Lyon for a Christmas market in December and ended up spending two hours in the middle of nowhere. One of the other assistants got stuck on her way home for a wedding last weekend. About the only "good" thing is that not everyone is allowed to strike. They are required to keep approximately 60% of the trains running. So, if you miss yours, there will hopefully be another later. A few weeks ago the airline industry went on strike wreaking havoc for all of those who were travelling during the February holidays. Just what drives the French to strike so often? We may never know. Suffice it to say that their passion extends into every aspect of their life.

Frenchism Part 1

France is a country struggling to maintain its rich history and regional traditions while at the same time unifying and adapting in a world that is becoming increasingly small. Owing to a past filled with numerous stories of conquest by invaders, each region has a culture (and in some cases a language) all its own. There's Celtic Brittany in the north, the Catalonian/Basque region along the border with Spain in the south and, of course, the Germanic Alsace-Lorraine in the east. You can liken it to the United States but there's really no comparison. While all the French are French, they are quick to give their regional name as well. For example, Provençal(e), Breton(ne), Alsacien(ne). Me? I'm Berrichonne. It's like saying, "I'm a Michigander/Michiganian," but with a sense of pride seldom heard back home. These regions are fiercely proud of their heritage and work hard to protect it against another sort of invader.
Consumerism (mainly in the form of American companies) has crept into French society and you now see McDonalds and supermarkets cropping up where little family-owned restaurants and stores used to be. American bands are favored over their French counterparts and at the cinema, it's the American blockbusters that people want to see. But it's not just the foreign invaders that have been un-Frenching the French. In an effort to become more unified as a country, the French government has gone to great lengths to extinguish regional differences, going so far as to prohibit non-French names on birth certificates.
Over the last couple of decades things have loosened up a bit. Regional dialects are working their way back into the schools and the 80s and 90s saw the birth of local news reports. The damage has been done, however. Regional dialects are frequently only spoken by the elderly behind closed doors and local festivals are often moreso a show for tourists than a celebration of tradition. This is not to say that France has lost its regional authenticity but that it struggles to maintain it. As the world becomes increasingly smaller - what does the future hold for the French?

Ponce de Leon Got it Wrong

After travelling with Christopher Columbus on his famous voyage, Juan Ponce de Leon decided to stay in Hispania, having heard stories of a magical fountain in the region. He spent years touring the world in search of the elusive Fountain of Youth; that spring of water that would render one eternally young. What he did not realize was that it was here in his own backyard the whole time. He had only to try the French eau de vie (literally: water of life) to understand why the French always appear so young and healthy. This beverage finds its origins with the winemakers of the Cognac region who developed a double-distilling process for the transport of their wine. They had found that the low alcohol content of their product contributed to its going bad during long sea voyages. By increasing the alcohol content, the wine was able to endure the trip, with the intention that it would be diluted upon reaching its destination. Someone along the way discovered that time spent in the oak barrels actually improved the double-distilled wine giving birth to Cognac, the original eau de vie. Since then, the world of eau de vie has opened up to include a range of fruit products, most notably pear. In keeping with the theme of water, a good eau de vie is clear with a strong fruit scent. But be careful! Hovering around a 55% alcohol content, the "water" packs a punch! It is most often used as a digestif after a hearty meal but can also be added to coffee or various dessert recipes. No matter how you use it, keep in mind that the French respect their liquor and anything more than two shots is considered bad taste.