From Geneva to Grenoble

I am back at school today, after a two-week vacation. I spent a weekend in Geneva and several days in Grenoble (as well as several days doing next to nothing in my quiet town).

Geneva:
La place de Jean-Jacques Rouseau
La Musèe d'histoire et d'art
La Musée de la Croix Rouge - Museum of the Red Cross
Le jardin botanique (botanical gardens - complete with freely roaming peacocks)
Indian food for dinner! (As you can well guess, that doesn't exist in my neck of the woods)


Grenoble:
House parties, bars, Halloween festivities
Relaxing on a rainy Sunday
La Musée de Grenbole - lots of art here
A burger topped with Canadian bacon and chevre cheese - yeah, it's worth talking about

What did I learn in these places? A lot about art, including the discovery of some new faves. Ex. Georgette Argutte - http://www.aguttesembat.com/page08.html

Also, I tried a yummy digestif called Chartreuse, which is a specialty of the Grenoble region: http://www.chartreuse.fr/

Okay, but I prefaced this post with a promise to do truths and myths about the French.
So here we go.

The French smell bad: Myth. Every French person I've met seems to shower on a very regular basis. Beyond that, there are copious amounts of cologne, perfumes, sprays, deodorants, and other such things at the store to make yourself smell even better.

The French are communal: Truth. In the professor break room, there is always coffee, and a dish rack with loads of cups in it. Thinking these cups belonged to individual people, I was sneaky about only taking coffee when no one was around and then walking into a computer room, in case the owner of the cup I was using saw me. Then I brought my own cup, only to discover someone else using it. Turns out, the cups are for everyone.

French people are rude: Myth. People here are overwhelmingly nice to me. Granted, I'm in the country and that means that same thing it would in the US countryside, but still...People drive me around to do errands, explain everything from how to cook certain things to bank accounts in English, give me old appliances, furniture...it's awesome.

French people like to smoke: Truth. A lot of people smoke. Even the kids - lots of students at the high school take cigarette breaks.

French food is delicious: Truth and Myth. French cuisine is fantastic (and don't the people know it!) but it's not the end-all, be-all. Give me some hot wings and a pint of Goose Island 312 anyday of the week over a croque monsieur.

Lastly, the French are lazy: Well, as Matt recently put it, the French like to work hard to ensure they don't have to work too hard. Yes, they are fighting the retirement reforms like crazy, but they aren't lazy. They take their time and need a bit more prompting perhaps than other cultures. But who can blame them for not wanting to work? Who sincerely enjoys working? At least they're honest with themselves... Right? Maybe.