June 22, 2001, to June 29, 2001
The first thing I noticed was how late the sun sets here. My first night, it did not get completely dark until 11:15PM. It was a little strange, but I'm used to it now and it makes this place seem that much more special and/or magical. The days are getting shorter of course, but it's still amazingly light out at 10:30. The weather has been wonderful all week - in the 70s to 80s(F) with beautiful high skies and only one semi-overcast day. I was afraid my apartment would get too hot this summer with no A/C but apparently it being on the first floor keeps it relatively cool all day.
The apartment is better now that it is better equipped.; still have a spider and ant problem though. The flying insects I can handle because they go in and out the window no problem. The others like to take up residence... I've been sweeping them out the door, hoping they take the hint and tell all their friends SOON. :) I've tackled the task of buying supplies (like a bathmat and cleaning stuff and so on) with enthusiasm now that I've figured out that getting around isn't as bad as I thought originally. I am a 5 minute walk from a major train station, which can take me directly to Paris. A little more indirectly to work, but that problem is solved by a friendly coworker coming to pick me up every morning since she passes my place anyway. In the evenings, I can ride with one of 3 carpools, or if I stay late (as I am tonight, to write this), I can take the bus/train combo in about 30 minutes.
Speaking of work, we've finished my first week of training now. I learned all about their 3D modeling software (OpenCASCADE) and how to do simple modeling tasks. Next week I am giving a short talk on my work at GICL and then I will start to work more closely with two people on the data exchange problem, while exploring the OpenCASCADE software further. It's interesting work; I prefer AI, but this is definitely something to round out my experiences, and the people are all friendly. They enjoy practicing English with me, but are patient when I falter in French. The townspeople are all quite French of course, but I manage to do ok, if I can get them to speak a little more slowly than usual. :)
The complex where my office is located is an industrial park type place. Microsoft's European headquarters is right across the street from me, as well as a GlaxoSmithKline office. Everyone who comes out of the MS office is wearing little MS backpacks - creepy. The French seem both more laid back and more formal than American businesspeople. When they arrive in the morning they all take a 10-20 minute coffee break in the smoking area. Not everyone smokes but you can smoke in your office or in the public smoking areas which are actually inside the building instead of outside. Then, they take 2 hour lunch breaks at the on-site cafe, lingering to chat for an hour after they finish eating. However, they have a strict firewall, forbidding any outside Internet access at all, and which I had to get special permission to pass through.
As I said they've been more than kind to me at work. After hearing my respectful dissatisfaction with the initial state of affairs, they've given me a mobile phone (the calls I pay for, but it is in the name of the company), and worked out the Internet access thing so I can not only check my home email but also do the homework for the class I am taking remotely this summer. So I'd say all of my issues are resolved, aside from making friends. However, they've pointed me in the direction of places Americans hang out in Paris and perhaps that will be one avenue for me to meet people to hang out with. There are also some interns my age here at work which I am trying to get to know better.
The first weekend I was here I spent exploring my town of Palaiseau. I found the community pool and a medium-sized park right by my house. 10 minutes from me is the "downtown" area, with a movie theatre, post office, bakeries (boulangeries), French pastry shops (patisseries), the Internet cafe, many ATMs, 3 grocery stores, a couple laundromats, and other sundry shops. France is the land of specialty shops, although large department like stores and malls do exist, though they are rarer, getting more common now. Every Sunday morning there is a sizable open-air market in the town square thingie... You can buy farm-fresh fruit or freshly made bread from the shops anytime during the week, but it's extra special on Sunday because they set up outside instead.
A small problem I've had was the change in electrical outlets/voltages. Silly me, I got plug adaptors but failed to realize they are NOT also voltage adaptors. I blew out my god-knows-how-old clock radio the first day... Luckily I managed to get a battery operated one on short notice downtown, so all's well that ends well, I suppose.
A minor piece of trivia about French habits - in the US all default toilet paper is white. You go to any public restroom and it's white. I have not determined if it is really a national phenomenon, but the default toilet paper color here seems to be pink. And it's not scratchy. Like I said, just a bit of trivia.
This weekend I am taking the trip to Paris on Saturday to find an English travel book on France/Europe so I can plan future weekend trips. I'll probably head down to the Cite Universitaire where the foreigners hang out, and/or find a cafe where I can hop on the Internet and drink espresso. I've seen much of the monuments in Paris already so I'm not in a big hurry to run back, although I will no doubt revisit them during my stay here. Sunday is laundry day, and perhaps another foray into Paris - as it is only 20 minutes away by train, it's not unrealistic even to go in evenings after work...
I've been reading a lot, writing in my journal, and seeing movies in the evenings, to avoid hanging out alone in my apartment. I figure movies in French are a good way to improve the speed at which I comprehend spoken French. So I've seen "The Return of the Mummy" (La Retour de la Momie), and last night "Mortelle Saint-Valentin" which is that movie from earlier this year with David Boreanaz and Denise Richards (not particularly good, even in French, I might add). I also have a radio which the cleaning lady (Eugenie) I met last week let me borrow... Most of the radio stations actually play American music - the good stuff too, old 80s and modern alternative, which is more my style than contemporary pop - so it's just like being at home. Except the DJ's all tell French jokes which I am only beginning to be able to understand. :)