Finally Here

Hi Internet, I have not quit blogging just yet.  I've just been a bit busy and I have my hands full with my baby. She was born on November 21st.  She came a month in advance.  I was a little worried about that but she is in good health and was not considered premature.

The diabetes specialist told me that she could come out 2-3 weeks in advance.  I had an appointment on a Monday with the doctor and on Friday, the baby was born.  My blood pressure was so  high on Monday.  The delivery went really fast.  I was glad it happened in the morning.  At 7am I have experienced back pains and some discomfort and at 9h30 we rushed to the hospital.  At 10h51 my little Camille was born.  I have asked for a peridural and the midwife laughed and said it as a bit too late.  I pushed 2-3 times and she was there.  The midwife told me that if I have waited longer I would give birth at home.  I even called the maternity ward around 9am if the pains were signs of labour.  Midwife on the phone said not to rush, because giving birth the first time can take up to 10 hours.  Glad I didn't listen to her.  My pregnancy was a little bit hard, especially during the last trimester.  I couldn't bare the insuline injections no more.  But the delivery was easy and I recovered very fast.

The  baby is almost 2 months old, and I still feel tired.  The first weeks were really tiring.  I am so glad that the hospital made me stay 5 days.  This is common in France to stay that long.  They "trained" me to take care of the baby.  I was grateful for that, because I don't have my family around to help me. Pediatric aids were there to help me to nurse the baby, showed me  how to change diapers, etc.  I had 3 meals a day, and the 5 days were a blessing.  Being back home was hard, no one to prepare the meals and clean up for me.

I have also to take care of the Canadian citizenship for the baby.  She is automatically Canadian but I have to get an citizenship certificate from the Canadian Embassy since she was not born in Canada.  I have to wait a little, on the form they even ask for the colour of the eyes of the child.  Hum, we still don't know.  For now they are blue, but they will turn brown eventually.  I would never thought that eurasian babies would have blue eyes at birth.  This is unlikely that they will stay blue though.

About to Burst

On the 31st of October, I had an appointment with my new OB/GYN, since my old hospital transfered me to another one.  It was a routine check, but it turned out that  the Doc decided to hospitalized me.  The same scenario as last time.  Routine check = hospitalization.

 The cervix was open (I was at 34 weeks), open enough that I had to stay at the hospital for 6 days.  I couldn't really hold it together, I burst at my husband and thought the baby was coming anytime, since I have also experienced painful contractions while they did the monitoring of the baby. She decided to pull a "trick or treat" on me.  The contractions stopped rapidly after I have taken some pills.  They also gave me corticoid 2 days in a row, it was supposed to help mature the lungs of the baby if she ever comes out too soon. 

 It is a relief that everything got back to normal, they were worried that I had eclampsia, since I have high blood pressure, diabetes, proteins in urine, etc.  They treated my urine infection for a few days and I was good to go.  But they insisted that I had to lay down, and doing NOTHING.  I told them I was working at home and even that, the doc has forbidden me to work, "no stress" whatsoever. 

Back at home, I managed to stay still one day, then the next day I was so annoyed that the house was a mess, that my desk was a mess, with invoices pilled up.  I really thought I had it easy, working from home, no significant amount of stress, doing some household chores whenever I want. Looks like I have to control myself a little.  My husband is doing his work (working from home too), while cooking, and doing all the chores.  I even ask if he was guilty when I was "serving" him, because I felt guilty for not being able to help out.  He also has to deal with my bad mood.  I really have to be patient, and suck it up for a few weeks. 

Overly careful

I just got back from the hospital for my diabetes follow-up.  The doc took my tension, and she was alarmed once again that my blood pressure was high.  She sent me right away to the emergency consultation at the maternity unit.  This time, I knew the drill, baby's heart rate and blood pressure monitored.  Turns out, the blood pressure dropped, low enough that they sent me home after 40 minutes.  I have mixed feelings about their methods.  I am glad that the baby is fine and that they go out of their way to check the wellness of my baby, but at the same time they stress me out.  I am also grateful that I had to pay nothing for all of this.  Last time they kept me for 4 days.  They could have only checked me a day and send me home already.  I was in any way in danger and the baby was fine.  I understand more how the health care in France is in chronic deficit.  

This makes me wonder if I can handle another pregnancy.  Even if 36 years old is not that old, I do carry a baggage : age, ethnicity (Asians are more inclined to do gestational diabetes), and being overweight, a sick mother in law, etc.  If I ever have another baby, I hope that it will be in less stressful conditions.

Homemade Kimchi

With more time in my hands, I've decided to make some kimchi.  We could spend a fortune for a jar of kimchi in France.  I have discovered korean food 10 years ago, when one of my friend introduced me to Korean cuisine.  At home, it's usually cambodian/Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese cuisine.  But Korean, we didn't know nothing about it.  In Canada, we can find easily Korean restaurants.  I haven't found any in North of France, but there must be some in Paris.

Last summer, my sister brought us to get some Bibimbap.  Ever since, my husband and I are hooked on this dish, so we try to make it every two weeks.

Here's bibimbap dish at a restaurant in Montreal:

My first homemade kimchi:

Next time, I will put more hot pepper.

Here's a link learn how to make your own kimchi:

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tongbaechu-kimchi

Held Hostage

I know, I haven't posted much since last summer.  I wanted to post about my trip back home and the U.S. but I never came up with something to write.  Anyways, now I am back in France, trying to have a quiet last trimester for my pregnancy, but things didn't turn out the way it should be.

First, my MIL called a month ago, asking her son to bring her to get a MIR.  I was quiet worried but we didn't hear from her for 3 weeks.  Then, she was hospitalized  for her gallbladder.  I was right to be worried, it is something inoperable.  Let's just say that she will not be around to see her granddaughter grow.

I tried not to be too upset about her condition.  I had to focus on the baby and my driving exam.  I was pretty zen and finally passed the damn exam.  A week later, I had lots of appointments with the hospital and one thing led to another, they kept me for 4 days.  I felt I was in prison.  All I did was waiting, between tests and the meals.  They ran me a lot of tests, blood tests, monitoring the heartbeat of the baby and took at least 20 times my blood pressure.  They finally let me go yesterday evening.  My blood pressure was quiet high and with the diabetes they don't want to take any chance.  Also, they decided to transfert my file to another hospital for the delivery.  Another stress.  I just hope that things will work out and I'm trying to stay calm despite all of this.  I will try to take one day at a time now.

Third Time's a Charm

Maybe you have guessed? I have received the precious piece of paper today, "avis favorable" for my driving permit today.  Now I will have to wait approximatly 4 months to have the real permit.  I don't understand why the Prefecture would take that long to print me out a piece of plastic.  So for now, driving outside France is  not allowed.  I went straight away to purchase my "A" magnet to put it on the back on the car. No more driving courses, no more painful checks to sign.  I admit, I don't feel comfortable driving alone just yet.  It will take me weeks to be confident to drive alone but I have finally reached my goal.      

A quick update

I have finally bought the tickets for Canada.  I'll be in Montreal this Friday.  Our suitcases are not even packed yet.  I'll throw some basics and 1 or 2 pants, and buy new clothes in Canada. I've done a lot of clothing stores in Lille, and I haven't found anything that I like.  Eight years in France, and I never found women clothes here that suit my taste.  When I boooked the tickets, I have only checked for the dates that are affordable, but didn't noticed it was 25 days on vacation.  I hope we won't get bored.  We are planning on visiting Boston and New York.  My husband never went.  

On Monday, I also took AGAIN my driving test, and I failed.  I try not to be annoyed by this, but I had insomnia after I took the test.  I did an overtake and the examiner grabbed the wheel.  He let me continue the rest of the exam, and I didn't think it was a big deal.  The next day, on the comments he made : Queue de poisson dangereux.  I feel such like a failure.  But then again, a lot of people I know in France took the test 3 times.  Don't know how is this productive.  I also learned that examiners are on strike today, because the government will ask polimen and some retired examiners to monitor the theory tests, instead of regular examiners.  They will keep the same amount of examiners, no more hiring.  So of course, those fonctionnaires are against any reform.  If they let me pass the test again, I'll be at 5 or 6 months of my pregnancy.  I really hope I can deal with this without too much stress. 

Also, I have other visits to the hospital, one with dietician and one a the diabetes specialist.  The dietician told me not to eat fruit outside meals and insisted I eat more carbs, i.e. bread, and 6 full table spoons of rice and I am allowed to 150 g of meat, which is only once per day.   She also said that tofu and soy products should be avoided.  I have cut down on these already, and researched about it a little, but then again, Asian women have been eating soy products for ages and I don't think their babies have health issues.  Ever heard of this?

I don't know how to handle my eating habbits when I'll be in Canada.  There's so much food and restaurants that I want to try.  Oh well, I will need willpower.  I will have to see the dietician and diabetes specialist every month.  I really don't know how much it costs, but I find that France is really intense when it comes to prenatal care.  I'm sure they would prefer babies in good health than babies with health problems, which could costs a lot more to the government.

An unexpected visit

Couple of days ago, a person from the Interior ministry called to set up an appointment at my house, for my naturalization application.  He didn't say his name and when I asked what was the purpose of the interview, the man answered vaguely that he wanted to ask me some questions.  He didn't say what documents I would have to provide.  Luckily, I kept every document in a binder and just needed to have it nearby.  He showed this morning, and he showed his police badge.  Gulp.  He stayed 30 minutes, and asked roughly the same questions as the other policeman in April.  This one though, is from another service.  More like "secret agent" or something, he asked about a petition that I signed on the net in 2003, about Ca m b o d i a.  He said your parents and your sister signed it too.  Then asked if I were involved in some political party, I said I couldn't even vote, why? lol  I guess he doesn't want a trouble maker in the country.  He also asked how I met my husband, where my parents and sister live.  He went into more details than the other policeman.  He really wants to see if I was a suitable candidate for French citizenship.  That was pretty much it. I guess that he found it suspicious that my home address is the same as my work address.  I have applied in February, and heard from the Interior ministry only in June.  The préfecture said they have one year to give me an answer.  At least, I know they have treated my dossier.

 I freaked out the whole morning.  Not only because of the interview, but also I was waiting for the results from my doctor, I decided to take the screening test for down syndrom, and the doctor told me this morning that it was all fine.  I was more preoccupied by this than the policeman.  Next week, I will have an appoitment with the midwife, and only then I would purchase my  tickets for Canada. 

Pregnancy part 2

My intention is not to talk about baby stuff all the time in this blog (and annnoy the hell of those who are not interested in babies), but bear with me, it's been only 2 weeks since I really "understood" that I am having a baby.  

It's been a whirlwind of medical appointments since.  I have contacted the hospital where I would give birth.  They gave me an appointment with a midwife.  My cousin who lives in the States is shocked that I have been followed by a GP only.  She said that in the U.S. it is an OB/Gyn from the start of the pregnancy.  I was annoyed and scared when she told me that.  But France is baby-land and it is not the first time they deliver babies.  I think that specialists are way more expensive than midwives and GP's, so specialists are not a necessity at this point.  Besides all the medical expenses are covered by the social security in France, so this must be a way to cut down on costs.  I really don't know how it would be if I were pregnant in Canada. 

 In the past 2 weeks, I've done a little research on pregnacy.  The doc told me I was not immunized to Rubella and Toxoplamosis.    Those diseases aren't not dangerous for "normal" people, but for pregnant women, it could cause harm to the unborn baby.  I was wondering at first why in hell can't the doc just give me a vaccine already, it seems that once you get pregnant, you can't get vaccinated.  They can only monitor with blood tests each month.  

Last week, I also had my first echography.  At only 2 months and a half, I saw the baby swimming in my belly, rotating and it was a challenge for the doc to take pictures, because he/she can't stay still.  With the baby on the tv screen, and pictures in hand, this is for real.  There is a real baby in there.

I also learned that I needed to watch my glucose, if it gets high, I could have gestational diabetes which can also lead to complication, a baby that would grow too fast and prematurely. I don't have anyone around in France to tell me what to do with a baby.  I am clueless.  I rather not have my French mother-in-law around me to tell me what to do.  Mothers-in-law are what they are....annoying. 

I think my trip to Canada would be a great break from all this.  Besides, most of my friends had babies, they will give me some advices I hope.

Having kids was not my priority in life, plus I was constantly nagged by my MIL for not being pregnant.  Because of her, I was even more reluctant. I thought I wasn't made to be a mom, and my periods were not the most regular. (is it TMI? lol).  I guess things happen for a reason.  I have to ajust to this now, and prepare to be less selfish and less careless. lol  If things go as planned, by mid-December I would finally meet the baby.  I admit I can't wait.

36

I just turned 36, and also "learned" that I was pregnant.  I was in denial for a couple of weeks, but the tests were positive.  At that age, I feel I was too old to have children, plus after being married 8 years, this came as a shock.  The doc said I was at 2 months and a half.  I am not prepared for this, and my husband and I are freaking the hell out.  I have always wanted to keep my blog semi-private, but I guess this is too big news to keep it a secret.   I was planning on going back to Canada for summer, but I am concerned about flying in my condition.  Any thoughts and advices to share?

Farewell Cookie

When we first arrived on the Farm, 6 years ago, there was a white cat.  A week later, she gave birth to 2 cats, on July 1st.  One was left alone, he wasn't meant to live.  We saved him and he lived 6 months, before he got hit by a car.

The other one, Cookie, had long hair, and was the most beautiful cat.  Since he wasn't fixed, he could dissapear for days and always returned on the farm.  We brought him a few times at the Vet, he was saved in extremis 2 times.

Last September, a new cat came at the Farm.  He had a collar and was abandonned here.  We noticed that he didn't get along with the other cats of the Farm.  Two males dissapeared, and the last one, Cookie, died a couple of days ago.

While, looking at my plants, we discovered Cookie, with flies all over him.  It took me a second to realized that he died.  He was attacked numerous times by the "new" cat.  He had holes in his flesh.  A couple of weeks ago, Cookie wanted to stay inside the house and I thought he was burning hot compared to the other cats.  He still had his appetite so I didn't worry too much.  A couple of days ago, I was looking for him, I thought he left to seek other female cats.  In fact, he layed in the ground near the house, and we didn't find him until today.  We digged a hole on the farm and burried him with a blanket.  He was sick for a leat 2 weeks and we didn't take it seriously.  He must have died of infection due to the wounds. 

Note to self, when a cat has a weird behaviour, chances are that he is sick and tries to tell you that he is not well.  I will miss you Cookie.

 

Naturalization Process Update

Last Friday I went to the police station! yes, I received a convocation from the Police department.  I was really stressing out before the meeting.  When I received the letter the date was wrong, it was written Thursday 18th of September.  I called to check if the date was right and they admitted over the phone that the policeman was distracted and the meeting was actually scheduled on April 18th.  They asked once again for documents and identity cards.  My husband came also.  It took 20 minutes and the poliman was dressed casually without his uniform.  I admit, my first encounter with a police officier was stressful, but since he wasn't in uniform I felt more at ease.

I had to bring my "lettre de motivation" (motivation letter), describing my journey since the day I first arrived in France, jobs and school.  I didn't know what to write, so I googled and found some examples.  I had to search a little on the appartments I lived in France, etc. The interview was casual, he asked for my papers from the start, then proceeded to ask me questions on my life in France.  He tried not to ask too much private questions, must the subject of having (or not) children came up as I was expecting it, the activities that I do with my spouse, and how we met.  Then, we felt enough at ease to ask him questions on the process.  We were wondering why he needed all those documents since I have already submitted them to the Préfecture, a couple of months ago.  He said that it is a way to see if the person is motivated enough for naturalization process.  He prepared his speech for a person who is from C a m b o d i a, but he was surprised that I was actually Canadian.  He immediatly changed his interview and was more casual.  Usually he interviews people who have difficulties speaking French.  Then he gives me an approuval opinion (avis favorable).  He said you speak French fluently, have a job, you are not a difficult case, plus you come from North America.  He told us that people from North Africa are easily granted French citizenship, due to their mutual past history.  The ones who have more difficulties are from Eastern Europe, even if they speak French fluently, they have more difficulties to gather documents for their naturalization dossier.  Another important question was "what motivates me to ask for citizenship".  I did not say that is it because I didn't want to stand in line for hours at the Préfecture to renew my carte de séjour.  I just said I wanted to be more part of this country, since I've been living here for a while and that I wanted to vote.  I don't know if they will grant me citizenship, but the hardest part was to gather all the documents they wanted.  I don't know what is next, I think the Préfecture will send my dossier to the Interior Ministry and will start to examine my application.  

Little update on Q u é b e c Elections

When I woke up this morning I was pretty happy about  Quebec's election results.  They got rid of P. Marois and the péquistes.  The political strategists didn't chose the right tactics to win.  It was a mistake to copy right wings ideas from Europe.  

La belle p.r.o.v.i.n.c.e

This Monday, I returned once again to the Préfecture to sign another document (my name, husband's name, our parents names), the presence of my husband was mandatory, since it is a naturalization by marriage.  It took us 5 minutes top.  Then the fonctionnaire told us they will launch the precedure for investigation, and told us to not to be surprised if a policeman shows up at our house.  It was kind of shocking to hear that.  Who knows how long this process will last and if they will grant me the French passeport or not.  

Deep in my mind, I would really like to return home, but then again, I'm still here, because of this business we run in France.  

Sometimes I wonder how things would be if I return home.  Where would I live in Canada?  I grew up in Québec, in Outaouais, a region that is mainly "federalist", where a lot of people work for the Federal Government.  In Québec, the hope of forming a country still exists.  As immigrants, my parents never adhered to this concept.  Quebecers have the right to feel this way, it is part of their heritage. Then there was an opportunity for my parents to move to Ontario, just across the province border and they really like their new province, I followed them.  My sister, who chose to live in Montréal, wanted them to move closer to her when they will retire. 

I can help but watch regularly on TV5, the news from Montreal.  The ones who are in power in Québec, are the ones I hated so much.  After only one year and a half in place, the current prime minister of Québec (P.a.u.l.i.n.e M.a.r.o.i.s) is launching new elections for the province, to obtain majority.  She wants to create a "charter of values", I don't know if  this is the right term, but this charter mainly targets minorities.  All provincial public servants will not be allowed to show any regilious signs when working, i.e. hijabs, cross, kippas, etc.  This chart goes even against the "Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms".  I don't live in Québec anymore, it's been more than 15 years since I left, but I grew up there, I am Québécoise, I have the accent. Québec, like the rest of Canada, has a lot of immigrants, they just want to be treated equally, like other citizens.

Verts de rage

These days I'm pretty obsessed with House of cards.  If you haven't heard of it, it is a politic series. There's a another show I enjoyed a lot, is Borgen, a danish serie.  The recurrent themes of those shows are lobbies, media, rumor, manipulations, schemes.  I think this isn't too far from reality.  

Our business is still suffering from the French government decisions, we are victims of political schemes and nuclear lobbies once again.  The state-owned energy  provider is taking action to suppress any growth of green energy in France.  French authority likes to say that our energy is the cheapest in Europe.  At what cost you think?  By preventing green energy to develop, and de facto destroying jobs.  Also, French government often deploys armed forces in Africa, not so much for freedom and helping out Africans, but to secure their uranium (for nuclear plants).  

Whether we vote for the left or the right wing here, the story repeats itself.  We had so much problems with governement laws for solar energy, since we have started, and now Holland has decided to cut off incentives without any notice.  To sum up, last year Holland decided to protect French solar panel industry, by limiting chinese solar panels imports.  He decided to give incentives to the ones who decide to buy european solar panels.  All solar installers and manifacturers followed, but we knew that they are playing with fire by not playing the rules of World Trade Organization, but now we are facing a back-out of the French government.  

The truth is that we are reaching a point where green energy costs less than nuclear energy.  Nuclear lobbyists don't even have to convince the government to cut off subsidies for green energy.  The governement owns partly E.D.F.  Lots of studies have shown that green energy costs less than nuclear, plus, the impact on the environment is less destructive.  If a wind turbine is defective, it only takes a day to take it down.  How do we demolish a nuclear plant? The French don't have the answer.  They take down one piece at the time, put the pieces in bins, and dig a hole and throw the bins in it. 

Other european countries, like Germany took a green turn, since the Tchernobyl catastrophe. France on the other hand, prefers to pursue this nuclear madness.  The environmental party in France is too weak, and have no power whatsover.  We foolishly believed Holland when he said  that he will close down the oldest nuclear plant in Alsace, and he hasn't done anything yet.

If you read French, here's some infos:

http://www.liberation.fr/terre/2014/02/12/dechets-a-bure-le-debat-s-enfuit-sur-internet_979847

http://tecsol.blogs.com/mon_weblog/2014/02/-hollande-fera-t-il-plus-de-mal-%C3%A0-la-fili%C3%A8re-photovolta%C3%AFque-que-sarkozy-.html

Appointment at the Préfecture

Hi, just a quick update on the naturalization application.  I went today for my appointment at the préfecture and it went relatively quickly.  My husband had to be present.  The fonctionnaire took all my papers, but she wasn't enthusiastic about the photocopy of my father's birth certificate.  I told her that I have asked her colleagues by phone several times about not being able to provide an original copy, and it was also mentioned on their website that in some cases, photocopies of parent's birth certificates are accepted.  You can expect different informations from each fonctionnaires.  The other lady scratched one document off the list (of application dossier) and today this document was needed, our last income tax return.  I don't know if I've done enough so far, but it was a long process for me.  If I was born on a country where there was no war and easy access to civil registration, well the process would be a lot easier.  

Not a long time ago, you would have to hand in documents that are less than 3 months-old, which is impossible to do if you were born on a third world country.  Although things in Canada were not really fast either, for my criminal record, it took me more than 3 months to get it. (from finger prints at the Embassy and the waiting period from Ottawa). I'm glad that I made my application through a small "sous-préfecture".  The Préfeture in Lille is too crowded.  I can't imagine applying in Paris.  The fonctionnaire told me that they have only one naturalization application to process and it was mine, that's how small the sous-préfecture is, or maybe people are not in a hurry to apply for citizenship.

That's it for now, I will have to wait several months, or years?!  En tout cas, le sort en est jeté.

*fonctionnaire = public servant

It's about time for an update!

My husband asked when I will post something on my blog.  I've tried several times unsuccessfully.  Let's start with what I was up to since last December.  

A quick overview :

-A little get-away in the Netherlands for the new year.  My husband suggested Germany, but instead we went with "familiar", so Amsterdam it was.

-Then, we had a one-day trip to Paris to legalize my birth certificates, mine and my parents.  I got to visit the C.a.m.b.o.d.i.a.n embassy.  I can't believe that there was so many people lining up for a visa.  We then headed to the Canadian embassy, there was nobody and the security check was ridiculous excessive, similar to an airport.  I had to wait 30 minutes because some girl needed her birth certificate to be legalized.  She seemed in distress because she only had a copy of her birth certificate and not the original. Apparently, she wanted to apply for health care in France and they needed the document to be legalized.  When I first arrived in 2005, nobody asked for a legalized document, just a birth certificate and I had the "carte de séjour" rapidly.  We also slashed a tire on a sidewalk in Paris while parking (I was not driving), but managed to return home without a problem. Let's just say that my trip Paris didn't come cheap. And now our car needs to be checked too for its 65 000 km. So January is the month of spendings, with "les Soldes" (sales clearing), so I'm totally broke.  What a great way to start a year.

-The winter is really mild so I'm not complaining.  

-I drove 700 km so far, with my husband.  Two more months, and I can pass the driving test.  I am still struggling to park.  I have to stick a logo behind the car to let everybody know that I am a "learner".  And that encourages other drivers to be aggressive.  In Canada, we don't have to put a "learner" sign. 

-I have an appointment this Friday with the Préfecture to drop my naturalization application.  My husband has to come too because it is a naturalization by marriage. I'm annoyed by the whole process and I'm pretty sure they will ask for another ramdom document. 

So, that pretty much it for now.

ps: Here's a few pictures of Amsterdam, it was rainy and grey, but never boring.

Another Painful Visit to the Préfecture

Today I dropped by the sous-préfecture of Dunkerque.  I didn't wait too long, because it is not Lille.  Just ahead of me was a person who wanted to apply for French citizenship.  He said he couldn't provide any of the document that the préfecture wanted.  The two ladies looked really annoyed by him, because he wouldn't leave and he hired a lawyer for his application.  He was sent off and that was it.

 Then it was my turn.  All I wanted to do is get the list of documents needed to apply to the naturalization.  A lot of the documents were not even listed on the préfecture website.  I thought I have gathered even single stupid document, but now I have to "legalized" the documents (Birth certificate).  What on earth is a legalized document, well having a birth certificate from C.a.m.b.o.d.i.a is suspicious, so I would need a stamp from the C.a.m.b.o.d.i.a.n embassy in Paris to prouve that the document is authentic.  Of course, they will do it, for 35 euros, and I need to "legalized" 3 birth certificates, not only mine but my parents too.  And I have to "legalize" my canadian criminal records too.  

I have searched a bit on document legalization and only European applicants are exempted from this crap. Great, another unexpected spending ahead.  I hope they will not reject my application because the documents will get older by the day by the time I will submit my application.  French Government is so suspicious that they would ask as many documents as possible.  And to top it off, they also want birth certificates from my French In-laws.  I am this close to throw the towel, but I have spent a few bucks already and this is the final step before handing the dossier.  The Préfecture also wants a 55 euros fiscal stamp, which was also not mentioned on the Pref's website.  Seriously, I hate French bureaucracy.

December Update

Time passes too quickly, especially on December.  We had plans to go to Canada, but I decided not to go.  Because my budget went somewhere else (see last post).  In fact, I'm just back from an hour of driving, with an automatic car.  It was heaven.  I just want to kick myself for not starting with this driving school from the beginning.  I have to drive with the instructor for a couple of hours and I will be good to drive with my husband for 3 months.


December is nice here in Lille, with all the Marchés de Noël.  There always the Big Wheel in the Grand' Place.  And lots of chalets.  Alsatian bretzels, hot wines and ciders, it smelled good.

Bonnes fêtes de fin d'année.

Forever pedestrian?

Warning : long post and lots of whinings to follow

The topic speaks for itself, you may have guessed that it is about driving.  This is my most shameful secret ever : I don't have my driver's license.  I must be a rare case.  I tried to get my driver's license in Québec, when I was 18 years old.  Most of you know that in North America we can get a driver's license at 16 yrs old, without spending a fortune on driving courses, since we are allowed to drive with our parents and most cars come with automatic transmissions.  I've learned to drive with my father but gave up quickly.  My "lessons" were mostly yelling and nausea (from my father).  As for my mother, she refused to assist me with my driving.  I failed miserably the driving exam because of the lack of pratice.

 I got by just fine without driving, as the public transportation in Outaouais and Ottawa were efficient and not too expensive.  When I moved to Ottawa, my father urged me to get my driver's license before leaving the country.  Thing that I completly disregarded.  When I left Canada, I thought naively that I can get it in France.  I didn't take the matter seriously and thought that driving with a manual transmission shouldn't be a big deal or that they teach automatic transmission too over there.

Years went by and I was still not interested in having a driver's license.  I thought that I would be returning in Canada and get it there.   2 years, 3 years, I still live in France...and I really feared the manual transmission.

Last year, I finally decided to kick myself in the ass and do something about it before I get really old.  When I finally went in the driving school in my village, I was mad.  Not only it is costly but they only teach with a manual transmission.  I reluctlantly signed the cheque and swallowed my anger.  I opted for the "quickest way", driving courses with the driving school.  The other option was to drive with my husband for a year, but I thought it was too long.

They asked 800 euros for the theoric exam and administration fees, which also included exams fees and 40 euros per hour for a lesson. The Préfecture demands that a candidate must drive at least 20 hours before trying for the pratical driving exam.  But the catch is that nobody is completly ready with so little hours of driving.  The driving school charges 40 euros to evaluate how many hours of driving you must do in order to be really for the exam.  The average is 30 hours, but the guy who evaluated me said that I needed at least 45 hours.  For the theoric test, it took me a few months to get it.  Got it the first time but spent hours studying for it.  The multiple choice exam is not too hard but the ones we do in the driving school are ridiculously hard.  The questions are tricky and twisted.  That was my only preview of what must be the school system in France.  We had to say outloud our marks in front of everybody.

Then I got to drive.  My driving courses were a pain.  My instructor was a 50 something yrs old man.  He was talking 80% of the time (while I was driving) on the "driving school radio" (with his colleagues and boss).  He was doing his schedule the rest of the time.  And when he was done with the radio talking, he would yell at me like I was a kid, while using "vous" and being formal by calling me Mrs. T.  I thought that being treated like crap and being yelled at is a bad moment to endure and that I have to tough it out and wipe my tears.  I thought that maybe this is how they do it in France.  After 30 hours of driving, I haven't made any parking maneuver and started to worry.  I felt like I was ripped off because the old instructor was "old school".  I did a research on the net and learners must run away from barking driving instructors who treat their students like dogs in training.

Luckily, I had a new instructor because the old man had to teach truck driver's students and was overbooked.  I wanted to complaint to the boss about the yelling and the lack of progression after the numerous hours, but I didn't have to.  They hired a young person who was freshly out of driving instructor's school.  She was really helpful and we got along really great but I felt like I had to learn all over again because the old man wasn't at all efficient.

After 55 hours of driving, she had to let me pass the exam.  I can sense that she wasn't really convinced that I could pass the test but gave me a date for the exam.  Yesterday was D-day.  Naively, I thought that I could pass it.  I practiced so much.  Most of every French person I know passed the test 2-3 times.  What  was I thinking, that I could be better than them.  The examiner seemed friendly.  He arrived 30 minutes late, started to "bise" my instructor.  I found that odd since they've never met and thought it was inappropriate. We got in the car, the 3 of us.  He said you may begin.  Then he started to talk to my instructor like he was an old lost friend.  In 30 minutes (the duration of the exam), I got to learn that he used to be an instructor in a driving school for years and passed the "fonctionnaire" exam.  He worked as an examiner 3 years in Paris, got divorced, remarried with a driving school owner and so on.  Then asked about my instructor's life.  With all this nonsense-crazy talking, he managed to yell at me and insulted me and said that I couldn't control the clutch and the gear.  He also braked abruptly while I was already slowing down. My instructor said that when the examiner brakes, you're cooked.  Even if you drive ok the rest of the exam, you're done.  The guy who passed the exam before me, only got to drive 15 minutes.  Even if he did a big fault, he should have had let him drive so he can experience the rest of the test.  I almost cried when I finished.  I knew I failed it.  I admit I didn't do great but his behaviour was innapropriate, talking about his personal life and "examine" my driving skills at the same time.

While I got questionned with a quick question about the rearview mirrors outside of the car, I answered and he totally ignored my answer and continued with his personal discussion with my instructor.  I didn't have a coat on and it was pouring rain.  The yelling, the insults and his constant talking got the best of me.  I got distracted and failed.  I don't understand this kind of behaviour.  How can a public servant can act like terror and get away with it.  The fonctionnaires are on their own and can act like jerks without ever fear to lose their jobs.  What a constrast with the Canadian public servants who are most of the time helpful and polite.  Of course, I had to search on the net again and checked if I was the only one treated like a piece of crap.  Apparently this is common behaviour.  Terrorizing the driving candidates and testing their stress level is part of the game.  They are also protected by their union and the Interior Ministry.

The Interior ministry instructed to the examiners to only give out 57% of the driving lincense to candidates.  1,5 millions candidates try to pass the exam every year in France and only 1 out of 2 gets it.  At the same time, the Interior minister prides himself that a lot of lives are saved because of his politics on tough driving permits.  His theory : less drivers, less potential deaths on the French roads.  Getting the "papier rose", pink paper, (that's how French people like to call their driving license), is a uphill battle.  You gotta sweat it, empty your wallet to have the priviledge to drive.  A lot of middle class or poorer people are unable to drive because of this stupid mentality.  Not being able to drive is another obstacle to get out of poverty.  This is another example of lack of common sense of  this country.

I got my exam's result today by mail.  They have decided not to give the result right away, because some candidates got aggressive on the examiners.  Too bad I didn't get the courage to punch my examiner too.  (will I be deported if I did it? lol).

After speaking with my instructor, she insisted that I continue with "la conduite supervisée", which allows the candidates who failed their exam, to drive with a family member for 3 months and drive 1000 km before passing another time the driving test.  I have made a few calls at the préfecture and another driving school.  My instructor told me that the examiner said that I was made to drive with an automatic transmission and that I should try to pass another exam with this kind of car.  Why fight it, I'm not made for manual transmission.  A very few driving schools offer this service.  My best bet is to try this conduite supervisée with my automatic transmission car and have a few more lessons with a new driving school. It is a shame that I have the coolest car, a toyota hybrid, with automatic transmission and I can't drive it.  I would have to be patient again.  To be continued.