Back from Switzerland; home of swiss cheese, yummy chocolate, snow covered mountains, swiss army knives, watches, St Bernard dogs and many many banks

Hey guys sorry for the lack of updates. Nothing really new went on for a while so I didn't have any news. Now, I have something to write about. I just got back yesterday from my trip to Switzerland with my friend Ashlie.
So here we go: we first stopped in Geneva where they spoke French. It was lunch time so we went to McDonalds thinking that it’s the cheapest but it cost us 12.90 CDN for one meal. After that we vowed to never eat it again but honestly things didn’t get cheaper. In Geneva we took a little train ride through the city and then we walked around the rest of the day. The next day we were off to Lausanne (French city again) at 12noon and we arrived after 45mins on the train. Once we got there the people at the Tourism office told us that everything is booked in terms of hostels and hotels cause there is a big conference all week. She said that there might be one room available at the ‘Swiss Backpackers hostel’ so we tried there and we each got a bed in a dormitory. It was nice and not too badly priced AND very close to the city. Turns out that Lausanne is the Headquarters for the Olympics so we went to the Olympic Museum. We then decided to change our train ticket since there were no rooms anywhere for the next night (suppose to stay two nights). We went to the train station and asked the ticket office woman where we should go instead and she suggested Bern (the capital…who knew?) So we went there the next day. And I am so happy that we did cause it turned out to be our favourite city. So many nice buildings and monuments, we even saw a bear pit (in the middle of nowhere) with two bears in it…so cute!! We stayed at the Backpackers thing again cause it was right in the downtown and the guy booked one for us for Zurich for the next night. Zurich and Bern were completely German and most people spoke English and NO French…weird!!! Anyway we had a lot of fun there and the next day we were off to Zurich. I happened to get paid on my last day in Switzerland so I finally got to buy a few things. We spent most of our day there shopping and I bought some chocolates for Steve and his family and Karen’s B-day gift (Steve’s sister) since her B-day is on Monday (Halloween).
Basically, I just wanted to let you know a bit about my trip. I still have one week off...yay!! Unfortunately I have a lot of lessons to plan but at least I get some time off. I love France and all the holidays that we have here. Fun times.
Thanks Ash for traveling with me...we'll always have Switzerland!

Happy Birthday Natalija

Hope you have an awesome day.

Mom, hope your Birthday was fun and that you got everything that you wanted!!!!

Love and miss you all

I want a Swiss kid

Having lots of fun in Geneva. Switzerland is awesome (expensive but beautiful). Off to Lausanne in an hour and to Zurich in two days!
P.S. Swiss kids are so cute!

Meeting the teachers at Collège La Grange aux Belles

Here is part of a conversation that I had with Monsieur Philippe Martin (the head English teacher at Collège La Grange aux Belles). It is translated by yours truly:

Me: So, are the kids really that difficult here?
M. Martin: Yes
Me: (trying to find how bad they are) So what kind of things to they do?
M. Martin: Just wait, you'll see....
End of conversation

Ok so does that mean they are bad as in they yell, spit, punch? Or do they have guns and other weapons? Who knows. I guess I will soon find out!

Differences between Canada and France (from a Canadian's perspective)

Here are some differences that I have noticed between Canada and France. I’ve already spent a year in France so I am use to the life here and might have forgotten a few things. For those who have already been here, please feel free to add anything by posting a comment on this entry. Sorry that this is such a long blog!

Here we go:
-Look down when walking since dogs are allowed to poop anywhere and there is no law that states that one must clean up after their dog
-Don’t leave tips at restaurants because it is already included in the price (that is why all meals are so expensive)
-If you walk around smiling at everyone in Paris they will think that you are mentally retarded (very hard to do when you are Canadian)
-Many places close for lunch (for example: all areas of administration, meaning banks, post offices, etc.)
Note: Some banks/post offices are open on Saturdays which means that they will be closed on Mondays so that they get their two day weekend
-Stores tend to close around 7:30pm and are not open on Sundays AT ALL
-If you have even a tiny accent when speaking French, people will try to speak to you in English right away (even if you are German, right Corinna?)
-When ordering beef, it is automatically served bloody unless you ask them to cook it longer (however at most restaurants even if you say REALLY REALLY well done, you will still get meat that is slightly pink….you get use to it!)
-When you tell people that you are from Canada they will automatically ask “Quebec?” once you say no, then they will ask where you are from
Hint: If you are within a 600km radius of Toronto, just say Toronto. Otherwise you will have to start explaining and it gets long and annoying. French people seem to know Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver (so pick which one you are closest to out of those cities)
-If someone asks you if you are “English” they mean from England; you must state that you are Anglophone for them to understand that you speak English and aren’t from England
Note: French people love Canadians but hate the English (they call them ‘roast beef’) and Americans
-All paperwork (ie. getting a visa (carte de sejour), opening a bank account, etc.) takes longer than in Canada. You might wait up to three weeks to get a debit card
-You have to make appointments for everything (even to close a bank account or to get your haircut (no walk-ins!))
-It costs money to make a phone call from a home phone (even if it is not long distance) so most people only have cell phones
Note: It does not cost money to accept a call on a cell phone. Cell phones are highly developed here (more than in Canada) and EVERYONE text messages everyone
-Internet is slower and not many people have it in their homes
-Water is very cheap (as low as 17 cents (in euros) a litre) whereas coke is very expensive (about 2 euros for a 1.5 litre bottle)
-It tends to rain here often, however, it rarely snows
-There are lots of Black and Arabic people in France and there is a lot of discrimination towards them
-Paris is known as the capital of fashion, so basically they accept anything. You can wear whatever you want and no one will criticize (believe me, I’ve seen something interesting outfits!)
Note: In small cities such as Tours or Rouen, you may stick out a little when wearing a purple/blue Columbia jacket since everyone tends to wear black coats there
-When traveling by metro in Paris you must always watch you wallet/purse
-You can buy liquor in any store and no one will ever check your id anywhere!!!
-When taking the train/metro you must punch your ticket before getting on and people will go around and check that you did it (you get a fine if you forget!!)
-When taking the bus you can sneak on but if they control the bus and you don't have a ticket than you will get a fine
-France is known for good food and especially their cheese and wine. You can eat delicious croissants, baguettes and ‘pain au chocolat’ every morning
Note: There are no doughnuts or Tim Hortons!!!
-Milk here is different than milk in Canada; it can stay in the cupboard (unopened) for up to a month and once opened it must stay in the fridge and is good for a week or so (like in Canada)
-Most people in France do not have cable but they get 6 channels. The plus side is that they don’t have many commercials at all so shows like ‘Friends’ are only 20 minutes
Note: TV programs don’t start on the hour of half hour like in Canada. They can start at anytime such as 8:50 or 9:20
-You cannot buy DVDs here if you are from Canada since France is in a different zone; which basically means that they will not work when you get home
-When ordering at McDonald’s a medium portion would be equivalent to a small one in Canada, etc. etc. (basically portions are smaller here)
-French woman are very skinny and it’s hard for me to find pants/skirts that fit
-French people eat lunch from 12-1pm and then they have a little “4 heures” (a 4 o’clock snack, such as croissant, etc.) and then they eat supper around 8pm
-Supper usually consists of four or five dishes (the appetizer, the main meal, the salad, the cheese and the dessert)
Note: French people tend to snack less than us so that may be why they are so skinny
-France has a very good transportation system so it is very easy to get around
Note: The trains run often and are on time!!! There is even a train called the TGV which is the fastest train in the world and runs all over France
-France is divided in departments. You can tell where someone is from when looking at their car license plate since the fist two numbers are the department numbers
-France is also divided in regions and most regions have their own language which is a big part of the culture here
-Paris is divided into 20 districts and each district is known for something. For example district 13 is where you will find Chinatown and all the Chinese people in Paris and the 16th and 8th districts are the expensive and ‘chique’ ones
Note: I work in district 10 which is apparently an ok one! I’ll give you my opinion once I start working more!
-French people love to strike (today all transportation is on strike and tomorrow the elementary schools will be on strike)
Note: I believe that striking is one of their favourite passtimes!
-Students (elementary and high school) don’t have classes on Wednesday but they sometimes have class on Saturdays. They usually go to school from 8am to 4:30pm even in high school (more to come on differences between school systems once I really get into teaching here)

There you have it folks. Feel free to add more if you think of anything else!
I will blog soon about my first days at work.....let's just say that the school system is very.......interesting......