The French strike back

My dad sent me this article this morning.

Apparently the train workers have been striking because "French protesters are angry about the government's plan to do away with the near-sacred promise of retirement at 60, forcing people to work until 62 because they are living longer."

My feelings about the issue itself aside, the strikes are leaving commuters in Paris out of luck. People in Paris don't all drive to work like we do here in the States. Most of them rely on the Metro system, which is a beautiful thing when it's functional. The article predicts that the strikes will continue in the fall, and that leaves me wondering what this all means for me. How do employers deal with it? Are there "strike days" like our "snow days" where I can gratefully go back to bed when I hear about it, or will I be penalized for not getting to work if the Metro and RER shut down?

According to the article, Parisians have been getting resourceful:

Some Paris commuters had to resort to the city's rental bicycle system, Velib, and not all were happy about it. One commuter, Antonia Gilles, tried it for the first time: "It was a success but it was dangerous."

My commute to Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois where I will teach consists of the Metro, RER, a bus, and even a bit of walking. I really don't want to bicycle 25.3 km (about 15 miles) each way. What is a girl to do when a strike strikes?

Commuters walloped by strikes in France, London
By JEAN-MARIE GODARD
Associated Press
August, 2010
Full Report

Everywhere I want to be

My visa came yesterday! All that for a piece of paper stuck inside my passport! But, now I'm France legit. I also got my OFII papers back, which I have to continue filling out once I arrive and get a medical checkup. That was the fastest turn around I've gotten on ANYTHING for this program so far. So, now I am officially done with red tape (that I have to do in the States anyway), and ready to go. Let's just hope I hear back from my school and that I don't end up teaching math! ;)

Reasoning

I don't think I explained why exactly I am doing this in my last post. Let me back up a little bit here. I am graduating from GVSU at the end of this month. My major is English, my teachable minor is French, and I studied these to get certified to teach them in a secondary education (6-12) setting.

I have studied French since my freshman year of high school...which, holy crap, is now NINE years ago. I have just always really enjoyed the language and the culture.

I finally made it to France for the first time last summer. I did a study abroad program through Grand Valley, and spent one week in Paris, and four weeks studying in Nice (plus a couple weeks of CouchSurfing on my own and with my cousin). I knew I had to go back. I was in love with France.

That, and I didn't manage to pass my certification tests for French. Whoops.

Therefore, spending seven more months in France will satisfy my France craving and hopefully boost my fluency to where I can become a certified French teacher when I get back. That is all.

Also, I found a "Meeting Planner" so that I could figure out when would be good times for Dave and I to talk. After being in a long distance relationship for this long we know that communication is key. Although our schedules will be the exact opposite, there will be a few times a day when they do intersect at convenient times. :-) Whew!