Week of 11 Mars, 2024
Lundi
The French are known to be professional protestors, and it was only a matter of time before we experienced the effects of our first grève (strike). Farmers have actually been protesting across France since January — they say they’re not being paid enough, and they’re being choked by environmental regulations. Today the protests reached Bordeaux, as dozens of tractors formed a rolling barricade around the city. It got a little wild — they dumped manure outside of a government building, sprayed sludge across the miroir d’eau, set off loud fireworks, and started a roaring bonfire with piles of hay. While it was inconvenient to have to walk Oli all the way home from school with the trams shut down, and to avoid the chaotic area around the river where the protesters were gathering, we didn’t feel unsafe. I appreciate how organized the French are with their protests, and that they are even scheduled out so people can plan ahead. And you have to give them points for drama! They definitely know how to get their voices heard.
Mardi
We arrived to school pickup a bit early today, so we grabbed a table at a cafe across from Oli’s school and ordered a couple of glasses of mint tea while we waited. Saint-Michel, the neighborhood where the school is located, is home to many North African and Middle Eastern immigrants, and the square is surrounded by cafes that specialize in fresh mint tea served in tall glasses with heaps of sugar. After collecting the kiddo and finishing our drinks, we hopped on the tram back to Quinconces, one of the stops that’s closest to our apartment. It’s also home to one of the largest squares in Europe, which is currently hosting a massive fair. We walked around a bit, scoping out the rides and games, feeling really impressed with the scale of it all. Some of the rides are as big as anything you’d see in an amusement park in the U.S., while there are also quite a few things you’d never see back home — like a shooting game using real shotguns and live ammunition, airbrushed paintings of busty, scantily clad women on various rides, an over-the-top gory haunted house, and a carnival game touting a “crepe and raclette party” machine as a prize.
Mercredi
Things are starting to get a bit busy around here, which does help to make France feel more like home. Oli had a guitar lesson this morning, then a skateboarding lesson this afternoon. We met another American family at the skatepark, and we spent a long time chatting and petting their sweet, massive dogs. I was in desperate need for some puppy love, so I was grateful for it.
It was a gorgeous day today, nearly 70 and sunny, and it gave me hope that this funk I’ve been in is seasonal, that it’ll start to fade away with more vitamin D in my life. The truth is, this move has done a number on my mental health. I was warned that moving abroad can be difficult, but I didn’t really believe that something I wanted so much could be negative in any way. And yet here I am, still struggling some days. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on expat anxiety and depression — it’s fairly common, apparently. An excerpt from this article really hit the nail on the head for me: “In addition to cultural changes and language barriers, expats are often required to rely extensively on locals to help them navigate the simplest of tasks … something that over time can damage one’s sense of competency. Identity losses and changes can also create immense internal turmoil." Yeah, it’s a lot!
Jeudi
I had my first solo French class today, which I was very nervous about. In an effort to reach the next level of French competency, Todd and I are taking one joint class each week that will focus on grammar and vocabulary and one individual class weekly that will focus on conversational skills. The school was recommended by an expat we met at the park; it’s small and intimate, with only two cozy classrooms and a small handful of instructors. Todd had his solo class earlier this week and he warned me that it was exhausting — an entire hour of conversing in French! It’s something I haven’t done before, but it went surprisingly well. I understood the majority of what my instructor said and managed to communicate almost everything I wanted to say. She offered gentle corrections when I made mistakes (usually mixing up the gender of nouns or using incorrect prepositions). By the end of the hour, I could feel my confidence growing by leaps and bounds. I know it’s silly — I am so worried about making mistakes speaking French that it’s keeping me silent. I’m finally accepting that A) nobody cares if I use the incorrect gender for a noun, and B) I will never improve if I keep my mouth shut.
Vendredi
Maybe it’s the strong mai tai I had at dinner talking, but I had a moment walking back to the apartment tonight when I felt like something clicked. It was a normal Friday — and maybe that’s just it. It feels normal for me to walk across Bordeaux to pick up my son from his French school, to swing by the boulangerie for a snack, to ride the tram back to our neighborhood, enjoying the scenery while his nose is buried in a book. To watch TV with him for a bit and then walk to the playground beside our 11th-century neighborhood basilica and let him play futbal with some French kids, then to stroll over to a new Chinese restaurant for dinner. And when the boys decide to go to the fair afterward, I opt to return to our apartment alone, walking through the quiet streets lit only by the glow of the copper lanterns strung overhead, a soccer ball tucked under one arm and a bag of leftovers in the other. And for the moment, I don’t feel like an outsider here.
Le Week-end
It’s easy to live without a car in Bordeaux — nearly everything we need is within walking or biking distance, and the tram service is super accessible. But every now and then, we do miss having the convenience of a car. So we signed up for a car-share service called Citiz, which has locations all over France. Pretty much we just pay a monthly subscription fee, and when we want to use a car, we pick one up from one of the reserved parking spaces around town and then pay for our time and the kilometers used. We don’t have to pay extra for gas, maintenance, or insurance. I think it’s a brilliant idea for city-dwellers, and our first time using it went really well. For about 20 bucks, we were able to pick up a car near our house and use it for the better part of the day. We explored a new park and stocked up on groceries at a big supermarket. I’m really happy to have this option now, especially because the warmer weather always makes us restless. I see a lot of day trips in our future!