Journal Entry Examples

What is a typical day in the life of people, events, buildings, places, products, sayings and habits here at the Centre Azur? What is the difference between people living in Sanary and the staff working at the Centre Azur? The answer is vast, possibly impossible (and possibly racist in nature to define).

Many Americans, as we think if you are not walking around with a smile all day you are unhappy. The French have a reserved social stance. The way they show respect is by leaving you alone... respecting your life.

This is the attitude of Laissez-Faire.

At the Centre Azur the working class of the region surrounds me. They tend to complain much of the time about work, the heat, the price of real estate, food, gas, cigarettes and so on.

"The young people are leaving, moving to the interior of the country as they simply cannot afford to live here". True the life in the south of France is expensive.

It is general not allowed to take photos of businesses or people on the street in France. Not sure if this is law or a cultural construct. Possibly it is the same in the USA? I know that when in public you have no guarantee of personal privacy. I had one confrontation with a proprietor of a store in Sanary. She really did not want me photographing her store or products.

So rare to find a French person that will speak English. Many of the French say that they do speak English, but are afraid to as speaking a language poorly is a huge insult to that culture. This of course is dependant of the person. I have found French citizens who speak English very well. I will say that overall, as a generalization the French rarely learn English. Those living in Alsace often speak German and those living near Spain speak Spanish.

Le Mistral: wind, dry and dusty. It is symbolic to the south.
Le Cigale: VERY noisy insect (Cicadid in English). Ranging from 1 to 2.5 inches long. Makes a screening, grating and ear piercing sound all day.
Les Pins: A beautiful variety of pine tree covering the area. Also, they are home to the cigale.

Nathalie seems that she doesn't like me... but is most likely a misunderstanding. Attempts at civil conversation usually fail, although we did speak about her ex-husband the other evening and it was quite interesting.

How different is another culture? If we all have our own set of "norms" (which can and can not define a culture), then we are all unique... like everyone else. The entire world has people with class, trash, rich, drunks, good, bad, loose, funny, jerks... hmm, what to make of it all?

What defines a culture?

This is an exercise in stamina. I am going to see just how much can I take before collapsing or stabbing someone. I am tired. Hard to struggle to, search for words... to listen and read.

Everything here is sticky and dirty. Even as the air is completely dry, with most likely the nicest weather I have seen in a long time. Warm days (hot) and cool nights where you need a jacket to walk outside and blanket to sleep. When one cleans here, they really are just pushing dirt around. Since it rains probably 4-5 times a year, the dust seems to inhabit everything. It invades the surface of about everything.

The French think that A/C should only be 5 to ten degrees cooler than the outside temperature. That is when you can find it. Four or five months a year in this region are blisteringly hot during the day. This would alert the need to A/C in the states. If not A/C, I would imagine that a ceiling fan would be a bare minimum. Yet, ceiling fans do not exist in France. For most of the day (and night) my clothes are stuck to my body. My armpits and crotch fluctuate between damp and irritated... usually both.

I was told that the Swiss "eat different". They prefer all courses at once (like Americans). They eat 25% less bread than out French guests. The French like their meals one course at a time... often allotting 75% of the meal to dessert and coffee (and smoking).

Good gracious, everyone smokes in France. Yes, everyone. It's a bit much.

The French don't like (in fact they often refuse) to use ones god given name. Claudio becomes Claude. They search for the French equivalent for Cameron... they find nothing.

I offered to design for the Centre. To re-design the website. Why do they have me in the kitchen washing dishes? So weird! One would think that maybe I would work 1/2 in the kitchen, 1/2 in the office designing. Nope.

Ice simply doesn't exist here. And for the matter, drinks need not be big enough to quench your thirst for the duration of a meal. Instead they prefer to refill a glass a bit bigger than a shot glass several times.

No France, No World, No EU, No Me, No You... only the Centre.

The cast. The life. The meals. Beach. Cigale. Pastis. Ménage. The good. The conards. THE CENTRE.

This is of course with respect to the fact that many of the people here have no idea of a world past Toulon. Nathalie asked if we had green beans in the USA. I also have been asked if we have various cheeses, all carry guns, everyone asks if I like George Bush, eat MacDonald's daily, drink Coke daily.

I have a new found appreciation for the USA. Sure, we have problems and a spotty (at best) history... but man, making a living in Europe can be tough. Possibly I am only hanging around people who have trouble with this. The taxes here are very high. The price of life here is high.

Benno had the nerve to sit me down and talk to me about my work habits today (in front of people I might add). It seems that when anything goes wrong here, it is for sure the American (I know this as they say, "it was the American"). It's basically racism in the form of jokes. There are 50 things that have to be done daily in the kitchen. Unless you can remember and perform all of them without flaw, watch out, you will be made fun of.

This has been a very tough experience that I hope yields positive results. Make no mistake, I love the area, love the people who are lovable... it's the Centre Azur that is making me a bit crazy. This is a good thing as I will be much more honest in the analysis (instead of defending and sugar-coating it).

Amazing that with my bad French language skills, and the limited time I have with clients (other than serving them food)... that some of them get very attached to the team. Mathilde, a very sweet 7 or 9 year old gave me all sorts of hugs and kisses today and her mom asked for my e-mail address so we can stay in touch. She didn't even know my name before today... nor had we any conversations. I suppose the mom could tell that Mathilde found me agreeable and that was enough for her.

Laissez-faire. Hands off. Leave it alone, the life of another. The non-puritan, non-confrontational style of life I have been in France from the 24th until now (the 2 august) and have seen maybe 10 cops, airports excluded. On the streets i have scene one cop car, the police I saw were guarding the pedestrian zone.

Unintentional / Inadvertent Spirituality: imposed passion from society? True love? The French truly seem to feel this is the best possible (highest pinnacle) of civilization. I tend to agree with much of it. Why? New, different? Because I was told it's good?

Assumption of culture: Do we take on characteristics of a place we are visiting? Germans and Americans kiss on the cheek here. The answer is yes, but then the next question is how much? The Kielings have lived all over the world (USA, Philippines and Europe) and are now retired in Sanary. They now eat like French... the food and eating habits. One course at a time, an aperitif before lunch, pastis, bread, olives, tapenade, Provencal (y) prepared fresh caught fish from Sanary, wine from Bandol, French fruit dessert. Is this consuming or assuming?