Well I survives two nights in Paris and made it the INSEAD Q&A session (10 minutes late) so I'm happy to say I acomplished my goal for the weekend. It also looks like I'll even be making it back to the farm without too much adventure. I really should have figured out today's travel schedule yesterday while I was at the station so I could guarantee my seats, but I was too tired at the time. Today when i arrived I checked the bus schedules from the two towns I could travel through and realized I was actually cutting it quite close. Fortunatley I made it through te long reservation line in time and there was still a seat available.
Now here's where the obligatory ranting and raving comes in. I hater the french train system. To be fair, the british system is probably even worse - for some reason there seats are smaller than most planes - I seriously couldn't sit in them without facing some awkward diagonal direction or amputating my legs. The french trains are much better in that regard - unless, as so often happens to be the case for me, you're assigned one of the table seaats where four people share a little table and the same legroom. The other day I had the misfortune of having to upgrade to first class to get where I wanted to go. But I still ended up in a table seat. Being in first class it was just two people facing each other, not four. Even so, i'm not so sure wha was first class about it. There was no water in the bathroom (no spiegs, i didn't soap up before discovering that ;-) and I had to sit sideways to fit in my seat. The table was to low - my legs didn't fit under it. At least not if i didn't slide my feet all the way under my seat at an uncomfortable angle.
One day i'm going to build scale model furniture exactly 10 percent smaller than normal so that people who are 5'8" can see why those of us who are 6'3" are always squirming in our seats and inevitably develop so mant back problems.
So today is like any other. I'm across from another relatively tall guy who was kind enough to trade seats with a short girl that wanted to sit next to her friend. These seats should be reserved for couples because in order to fit across from each other we've both had to spread our legs and precariously weave them together with each of our knees in the other's crotch. Couples or short people. The ticket people need a bi button to say 'tall passenger' avoid seats 51-58 at all cost.
The real problem with the train system here though is the sevice. It's not limited to the train system either. The other day I walked up to the information desk at the toulouse bus station and said I wanted go to cazaubon. The attendant plays with her computer for a minute and the asks me which bus line that is. I look at the sign that says information and think, "why would i be talking to yoiu if i knew that?" I pulled out the slip where i had written down which towns the bus stopped at. They said there was a bus that left at the time I expected abd went to the first town on my list, but they didn't know if I could change to another bus there. I asked another person. Same response. So then i tried to buy a ticket. No. This wasn't a sails desk, just travel information. You buy the ticket on the bus. When the bus arrived, the sign on the front of the bus listed all the towns i had expected. S somebody tell me, what was the point of the disinformation desk? Job creation i suppose.
Everywhere seems to be the same though. The bus drivers and train conductors seem to know what they're doing. But once you get into the station they're really mostly all useless. It'd like the stereotypical dmv worker in the states. Any little thing you ask is greeted with an agonizing sigh of, "oh no, you can't be serious. You want me to do my job?" YES! That is after all why you're here, isn't it?
I was hoping it would be a bit diferent now that I can speak a smattering of french. Clearly there's much more o infiltrating the system than just that. Maybe one of these days.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Uexpected diversions
I've decided to take a sudden detour on my way to staying where I was. I've spent almost a week at the most recent farm/country cottage and I had no intention of leaving for another week or so, but then yesterday morning I finally got around to looking up some information on a university near Paris that I was hoping to visit while I was in the country. That's when I discovered they give guided tours every friday afternoon. I fly out from paris a week from wedesday so that only leaves tomorrow and next friday. Unfortunately next Friday also happens to be a national holiday so that really just leaves tomorrow. I could also call to arrange another time, but I'd rather go at one of the standard times in the hope that I won't be the only obe there. It would be nice to see who else is interested in going as well as size up the competition so to speak.
So this morning after moving some gravel, I took a quick shower and packed a few things in my day bag. My host dropped me at the bus station and now I'm on a train to paris. It took me forever yesterday to find a place to stay - one of the many downsides to traveling during peek tourist season, but I finally did. So I'll be spending two nights in Paris and taking a day trip into Fontainebleau tomorrow.
The gite (a french word for vountry cottage pronounced jeet only with the j sounding more like the 's' in measure) is beautiful. There's a big barn, some wooded area, some prairie, a large set of vegetable gardens and a small natural pond which is continually filled by an underground spring flowing out of an old well. She's building a half court basketall court next to the barn for when her son (and any other fans) visit - that's where i was moving gravel this morning. She's also renovating and fishing the interior of the barn to make a workshop/art studio. Yesterday we spent part of the morning painting the masonry exterior wih paint made from water, lime, dye and fermented pee :-) Talk about marking your territory! I've also spent some time weeding, mulching and picking vegetables in the garden as well as demonstrating my new found skill at cutting down blackberry brambles with the oversized weed wacker.
It's been fun and relaxing though and the food albeit not particularly french, is delicious. Most of it comes straight from the garden. I do regret not being forces to practice my french more, but at this point I was greatful for the opportunity to save some money and I'm enjoying my time.
Take care all,
J
So this morning after moving some gravel, I took a quick shower and packed a few things in my day bag. My host dropped me at the bus station and now I'm on a train to paris. It took me forever yesterday to find a place to stay - one of the many downsides to traveling during peek tourist season, but I finally did. So I'll be spending two nights in Paris and taking a day trip into Fontainebleau tomorrow.
The gite (a french word for vountry cottage pronounced jeet only with the j sounding more like the 's' in measure) is beautiful. There's a big barn, some wooded area, some prairie, a large set of vegetable gardens and a small natural pond which is continually filled by an underground spring flowing out of an old well. She's building a half court basketall court next to the barn for when her son (and any other fans) visit - that's where i was moving gravel this morning. She's also renovating and fishing the interior of the barn to make a workshop/art studio. Yesterday we spent part of the morning painting the masonry exterior wih paint made from water, lime, dye and fermented pee :-) Talk about marking your territory! I've also spent some time weeding, mulching and picking vegetables in the garden as well as demonstrating my new found skill at cutting down blackberry brambles with the oversized weed wacker.
It's been fun and relaxing though and the food albeit not particularly french, is delicious. Most of it comes straight from the garden. I do regret not being forces to practice my french more, but at this point I was greatful for the opportunity to save some money and I'm enjoying my time.
Take care all,
J
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Disoriented in Dijon
As usual I haven't even come close to keeping in touc nearly as much as I'd hoped. From a blogging perspective that is. On the other and I've spent a lot of my time everday keeping in touch with my girlfriend back home. Skype and google chat have beek great for that. Still, a number of people have asked what's the point of being away from home if so much of my day is spent online? I could pose the reverse question though - what's the point to staying home? This time that answers obvious - my girlfriend...
I guess you could also argue though that in this day in age life is simply a matter of what you do between the times you're online. And from that perspective I've done alright. Had i stayed home it's unlikely I would have scraped the bark off any logs to make posts for fences. I probably wouldn't have taken the goats out to pasture or had the fun of nursing the enthusiastic little calibo with formula mixed in a wine bottle or helping steady justine while we put a cast on her sprained or broken front limb. Nor would I have learned to identify stinging nettle (unfortunately although i can now identify it, i still could work a bit on learning to avoid it).
None of it was particularly hard work. Cleaning out the stable wasn't exactly pleasant, but it was all new and interesting and definitely a learning experience. And after two weeks I could see a clear improvement in my french (not that i'll maintain any of it).
So I'm glad I came. Since then, england and ireland were fun but expensive. Karen didn't have the same luxury of time so it didn't make sense to sacifoce time for money. I hit a few roadblocks witth my eurail pass. It would have been much better had I taken the time to get that before I left. After all the money spent in the UK i've decided to tighten the belt and save money by spending some more time on a farm. That left me with too little time to make over to germany in between to visit friends (believe me, i tried). Instead I stayed a day in Strassbourg and two nights in Dijon - which leads us to the title. I booked my hostel in the morning before leaving Strassbourg so I would't have to hurry out of town or worry about showing up somewherw without anywhere to sleep. Before leaving my wifi connection i made sure to write down the directions:
In 30 minutes, from the S.N.C.F. train station, we propose you to reach Éthic Étapes Dijon:
So, walk to the "SÉVIGNÉ" bus stop (3 minutes) / Take the L7 bus to "Toison D'Or" then get off at the "CLÉMENCEAU" bus stop / Wait 10 minutes for the bus connection / Take the L4 bus to "CAP NORD – CRAM" then get off at the "ÉPIREY – CRI" bus stop / You've just arrived!
Sounded a bit far, but simple enough. Now let me preface this next part by saying i never again took the bus. The train station was only a half hour walk from the hostel, but it took me two hours to get there my first night by bus. Here's why. First problem - find the bus stop. Should be easy enough. I walk out of the train station and there are huge signs saying "Orientation." They should have said "Disorientation!" I look on the map and see 'you are here.' Just below that I see Sevigne and the number 7 bus line. Great. I look at my compass and start heading south. Half an hour later I'm back at the train station looking at the map again. My compass must be broken! Actually i'm starting to question the map. I eventully find the bus stop but the next day when i return on foot i compare the station's map to the one they gave me at the hostel. Sure enough, the station map is turned sideways. Somebody in there infinite wisdom went through a lot of trouble to have maps printed up with north being to the right. They unfortunately failed to include a north arrow.
Problem two - by the time I find the bus stop it's already after hours and there are only two busses per hour. I waited 20 minutes. There was a schedule so i knew how long i had to wait and i was tempted to walk to the next bus, but i was also afraid i'd get lost again (bare in mind i didn't know at this point why the maps were so confusing - that and the bus stop maps were fine so they contradicted my current disorientation).
Problem three - apparently after hours the busses follow an alternate route. When I see my stop appear on the bus monitor, I hit the stop button and get off. According to the directions, "I'm here." Great. Where is here? No sign for a hostel anywhere in site. I walk around a bit and finally go back to look at the bus stop map. Interesting. The name at the bus stop isn't the stop I wanted to get off at. Even more interesting, the bus i was on doesn't service this stop - or even go down this street. I'm beginning to hate Dijon. I make my way up to the street and bus stop where I was supposed to get off and start looking again.
Problem four - with a name like ethices etapes and directions like that, you'd think they might want to have a sign that was visible from the bus stop. No. They don't even have a sign. And the main entrance is around the corner. At this point i'm regretting that i failed to write down the address or phone number. I start looking around for an open internet connection and thankfully find one. When i find the address it turns out i'm standing at the door. Nice! But it's locked. I ring it and wait. Fnally I walk around the corner and see the main entrance. Only after entering do i see the name written on the welcome matt inside.
Somebody really needs to fix those directions!
I guess you could also argue though that in this day in age life is simply a matter of what you do between the times you're online. And from that perspective I've done alright. Had i stayed home it's unlikely I would have scraped the bark off any logs to make posts for fences. I probably wouldn't have taken the goats out to pasture or had the fun of nursing the enthusiastic little calibo with formula mixed in a wine bottle or helping steady justine while we put a cast on her sprained or broken front limb. Nor would I have learned to identify stinging nettle (unfortunately although i can now identify it, i still could work a bit on learning to avoid it).
None of it was particularly hard work. Cleaning out the stable wasn't exactly pleasant, but it was all new and interesting and definitely a learning experience. And after two weeks I could see a clear improvement in my french (not that i'll maintain any of it).
So I'm glad I came. Since then, england and ireland were fun but expensive. Karen didn't have the same luxury of time so it didn't make sense to sacifoce time for money. I hit a few roadblocks witth my eurail pass. It would have been much better had I taken the time to get that before I left. After all the money spent in the UK i've decided to tighten the belt and save money by spending some more time on a farm. That left me with too little time to make over to germany in between to visit friends (believe me, i tried). Instead I stayed a day in Strassbourg and two nights in Dijon - which leads us to the title. I booked my hostel in the morning before leaving Strassbourg so I would't have to hurry out of town or worry about showing up somewherw without anywhere to sleep. Before leaving my wifi connection i made sure to write down the directions:
In 30 minutes, from the S.N.C.F. train station, we propose you to reach Éthic Étapes Dijon:
So, walk to the "SÉVIGNÉ" bus stop (3 minutes) / Take the L7 bus to "Toison D'Or" then get off at the "CLÉMENCEAU" bus stop / Wait 10 minutes for the bus connection / Take the L4 bus to "CAP NORD – CRAM" then get off at the "ÉPIREY – CRI" bus stop / You've just arrived!
Sounded a bit far, but simple enough. Now let me preface this next part by saying i never again took the bus. The train station was only a half hour walk from the hostel, but it took me two hours to get there my first night by bus. Here's why. First problem - find the bus stop. Should be easy enough. I walk out of the train station and there are huge signs saying "Orientation." They should have said "Disorientation!" I look on the map and see 'you are here.' Just below that I see Sevigne and the number 7 bus line. Great. I look at my compass and start heading south. Half an hour later I'm back at the train station looking at the map again. My compass must be broken! Actually i'm starting to question the map. I eventully find the bus stop but the next day when i return on foot i compare the station's map to the one they gave me at the hostel. Sure enough, the station map is turned sideways. Somebody in there infinite wisdom went through a lot of trouble to have maps printed up with north being to the right. They unfortunately failed to include a north arrow.
Problem two - by the time I find the bus stop it's already after hours and there are only two busses per hour. I waited 20 minutes. There was a schedule so i knew how long i had to wait and i was tempted to walk to the next bus, but i was also afraid i'd get lost again (bare in mind i didn't know at this point why the maps were so confusing - that and the bus stop maps were fine so they contradicted my current disorientation).
Problem three - apparently after hours the busses follow an alternate route. When I see my stop appear on the bus monitor, I hit the stop button and get off. According to the directions, "I'm here." Great. Where is here? No sign for a hostel anywhere in site. I walk around a bit and finally go back to look at the bus stop map. Interesting. The name at the bus stop isn't the stop I wanted to get off at. Even more interesting, the bus i was on doesn't service this stop - or even go down this street. I'm beginning to hate Dijon. I make my way up to the street and bus stop where I was supposed to get off and start looking again.
Problem four - with a name like ethices etapes and directions like that, you'd think they might want to have a sign that was visible from the bus stop. No. They don't even have a sign. And the main entrance is around the corner. At this point i'm regretting that i failed to write down the address or phone number. I start looking around for an open internet connection and thankfully find one. When i find the address it turns out i'm standing at the door. Nice! But it's locked. I ring it and wait. Fnally I walk around the corner and see the main entrance. Only after entering do i see the name written on the welcome matt inside.
Somebody really needs to fix those directions!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Hello world!
Ha! Ok i suppose that's one of those jokes only my dorky programmer friends will have any chance of appreciating that one.
Anyway, i'm back! And let me just take a moment to complain about this keyboard ;-)
Sorry, couldn't help it. Actually, no complaints. I'm sitting in a starbucks near times square writing this from my nokia n800 (affectionately known as nate). This time around i'll be able to stay in touch with skype - something i couldn't do last time with my palm.
I haven't actually left the country yet, but i feel more like out on the road on my own. My friends aunt and uncle were gracious enough to put me up for two nights after their daughter's wedding. This morning they dropped me off at the train station leaving for new york. When the train arrived (right after i got there) i hadn'r yet purchased my ticket. I was in no hurry and didn't want to get on the wrong train so i let it go. When i finally bought my ticket and found the train schedule i realized the next train wasn't coming for two hours. I decided to go for a walk. That's when i realized the train was only a fifteen minute walk from their house!
So i stopped back in and had indian left overs for lunch :-) then i walked back and caught the next train.
Now i'm just killing some time and chilling (and IMing with my girlfriend...) Before my flight to paris tonight.
Must go now though before rush hour pedestrians!
A bientot
Anyway, i'm back! And let me just take a moment to complain about this keyboard ;-)
Sorry, couldn't help it. Actually, no complaints. I'm sitting in a starbucks near times square writing this from my nokia n800 (affectionately known as nate). This time around i'll be able to stay in touch with skype - something i couldn't do last time with my palm.
I haven't actually left the country yet, but i feel more like out on the road on my own. My friends aunt and uncle were gracious enough to put me up for two nights after their daughter's wedding. This morning they dropped me off at the train station leaving for new york. When the train arrived (right after i got there) i hadn'r yet purchased my ticket. I was in no hurry and didn't want to get on the wrong train so i let it go. When i finally bought my ticket and found the train schedule i realized the next train wasn't coming for two hours. I decided to go for a walk. That's when i realized the train was only a fifteen minute walk from their house!
So i stopped back in and had indian left overs for lunch :-) then i walked back and caught the next train.
Now i'm just killing some time and chilling (and IMing with my girlfriend...) Before my flight to paris tonight.
Must go now though before rush hour pedestrians!
A bientot
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Amazonian savages!
Yes, I know it's been a while, but I have a really good excuse! Three months ago I was kidnapped by a group of amazonian peasant refugees and held captive in the jungle with nothing to eat but mushrooms and tree bark! They were holding me ransom but as they were a primitive tribe, they had no familiarity with modern day technology and the ransom letter was rolled up and thrown down river in a bottle. Luckily it was eaten by an anaconda which was later caught by a poacher, slaughtered and made into boots which were subsequently bought by a visiting New York celebrity. Unfortunately as she was also a well known spokesperson for PETA, she obviously couldn't come forward and reluctantly threw the ransom letter in her recycling bin. Fortunately she was also the target of an identity theft ring which had been monitoring her recycled mail for months to gather credit card information. In the midst of a moral epiphany, one of the white collar criminals repented from his ways and decided to turn over a new leaf and redeem himself by saving me. The unnamed celebrity has graciously offered not to press charges against him in exchange for her continued anonymity.
Ok, I confess, that's not the real reason I've been absent from my post. Would you believe I was hitchhiking with Peruvian midgets along the Panamerican highway when....
Actually it's much simpler than any of that. It's also slightly more embarrassing, yet most of you probably knew it was inevitable from the start.
I met a girl.
Here's the less likely part. I met her while I was in Chicago. Two nights before I left for Costa Rica I met her out at a bar. We kept in touch while I was on the road (for all of three weeks) and I finally decided to high tail it back home and get to know her better. I really was having banking complications, but if I'd wanted to, I'm sure I could have sorted those out remotely. As an epilogue to the banking story though, Citibank never sent my new ATM card to San Jose. They sent it to Chicago. After returning I immediately proceeded to open three bank accounts and yet somehow I still have as yet to close all my accounts with Citibank as I promised them I would... Idle threats I guess.
So what have I been doing with myself for the last three months in Chicago? Pretty much enjoying the same lifestyle I enjoyed on the road. Mostly relaxing. I got a job at Starbucks and signed up for classes at UIC. The semester started last week, so things have started to get a little busy. I'm taking french, economics, statistics and linguistics. All for fun.
I do miss being on the road, but I'm happy and don't regret my decision to come back. I don't expect I'll be keeping up this blog much anymore, but you never know...
Take care all,
Jf
Ok, I confess, that's not the real reason I've been absent from my post. Would you believe I was hitchhiking with Peruvian midgets along the Panamerican highway when....
Actually it's much simpler than any of that. It's also slightly more embarrassing, yet most of you probably knew it was inevitable from the start.
I met a girl.
Here's the less likely part. I met her while I was in Chicago. Two nights before I left for Costa Rica I met her out at a bar. We kept in touch while I was on the road (for all of three weeks) and I finally decided to high tail it back home and get to know her better. I really was having banking complications, but if I'd wanted to, I'm sure I could have sorted those out remotely. As an epilogue to the banking story though, Citibank never sent my new ATM card to San Jose. They sent it to Chicago. After returning I immediately proceeded to open three bank accounts and yet somehow I still have as yet to close all my accounts with Citibank as I promised them I would... Idle threats I guess.
So what have I been doing with myself for the last three months in Chicago? Pretty much enjoying the same lifestyle I enjoyed on the road. Mostly relaxing. I got a job at Starbucks and signed up for classes at UIC. The semester started last week, so things have started to get a little busy. I'm taking french, economics, statistics and linguistics. All for fun.
I do miss being on the road, but I'm happy and don't regret my decision to come back. I don't expect I'll be keeping up this blog much anymore, but you never know...
Take care all,
Jf
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