Report continued — A different pace of life

the number depends on the city. What a
great custom! Vive la France!

I found that at the hotel, because I spoke
English, people who knew a little English
were always trying to speak to me in
English. When I was really tired or fed
up, it was nice to be able to relax in my
own mother tongue. Every day I wrote down
all the new words I needed to know on a
small note pad which I carried with me at
all times. This helped a great deal. I
read French newspapers, watched French TV
(just for the World Cup Soccer series) and
even bought a French novel, but this was
tough going. I struggled through the first
part before giving it up until such time
later as my French will have improved. I
listened to French radio stations most of
the time, but heard a great deal of North
American music. Songs in French seem to be
repeated five times per hour—the curse of
the auto-reverse tape deck.

Fashion in France is an important concern
for the people who can afford to move with
the styles. Everyone is trying to out-do
everyone else. Clothes are really nice but
the price-tags definitely put a damper on
things. For example, items made in France
(Daniel Hechter and Varnet sunglasses) are
more expensive there than in Canada. What
a joke! When I walked down the street in
Strasbourg in my pink panther shorts, my
"Save the Whales Maui" t-shirt and my
Reeboks, the native French must have
slapped their foreheads and said "Tourist!"
When the weather was really hot or stuffy
(which was quite often) I lived in my
tacky shorts.

All prestigious restaurants have a very
distinct dress code for waiters/waitresses.
Even cooks wear their chef hats and proper

attire: white double-breasted jacket with
name tag. Servers wear black pants, black
shoes, white shirts with black bow ties
and white jackets. The same exists in
Canada but only in high class restaurants.

It adds a great deal to the presentation

and style of a restaurant.

Taking care of oneself is a lot different
than living with all the creature comforts
of home. For example, I did not have a
place in the fridge for a month; it was

hot food or canned ravioli every night and
no cold beer! When I eventually did get a
place, some nights I would go to the
fridge to look for my dinner and find a
bottle of cheap wine and a ‘danish'—
voila, dinner is served! In actual fact it
was a lot of funsurviving by myself. There
was no one to tell me that my music was
too loud and no getting up at 8:00 a.m. to
mow the lawn. But once I reached the hotel
I had to be very well behaved. The clients

“When I walked down the street in
Strasbourg in my pink panther shorts,
my ’Save the Whales Maui’ t-shirt
and my Reeboks, the native French
must have slapped their foreheads...”

demanded a lot and the presentation and
manner had to be top notch.

The area of the hotel that I enjoyed most
was the restaurant. Here I spent much of
my time, be it in the bar, the kitchen,
serving breakfast, lunch or dinner, or
working on the terraces; it was my
favourite. A hotel without a restaurant is
like France without a Paris. A good
restaurant adds a great deal to an already
popular hotel. To understand the calibre
of the restaurant, a menu is essential.
Every day there was a different menu in
the restaurant. The dishes included
seafood, many different meats, salads of
all kinds and much more. There was also an
ice cream menu showing a fantastic variety
of ice cream. Ice cream in France is
incredibly rich in cream and fruit and is
very addictive. If you hear someone say
that in France food is a religion, believe
it—it's true. I'm a new member for life.

My stay in France was marvellous—nothing
but “thumbs up". The best expression (to
describe my overall impression) is “laid-
back", not to the point of laziness, but
completely relaxed, and I loved it.
Sometimes it was too"laid back", but then,
who is to complain? I am used to fast
meals and a hustle and bustle not found in
France. French culture is a must for those
who like long meals, accompanied by lots