Dans grève il y a rêve

Just as I was starting to get used to daily life in France, la grève (strike) disrupted any trace of an established routine. People young and old throughout France are going on strike to voice their grievances against the government’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 by 2018. From an American perspective this is completely ridiculous considering how good the French have it. They have a 35 hour work week, social security pretty much covers any medical expense they could ever have and they’re able to enjoy 5 weeks of paid vacation. Conversely, my Mom will have to work well into her 60s and my Dad will essentially never be able to retire since he’s self-employed. Furthermore, my generation can pretty much kiss social security benefits goodbye. Here in France la grève is a normal part of French life. This particular strike, however, is different than most in that it is indefinite. Upheaval of both public and private transportation is the most widely felt impact of the strikes; trains and buses run less frequently and now a gas shortage has become so serious that President Sarkozy has sanctioned the use of the National Guard to control riots at gas stations.

Even here in Louviers I’ve experienced a taste of the grève. On Tuesday morning I got up at 8 only to get to class and be told it’s not worth observing because they’re not going to do anything today. There were only 4 kids in a class where normally there are about 20. Similarly, on Wednesday I was scheduled to be in classes from 8.00 to 12.00, yet the professor never showed. That afternoon, however, I was able to attend cuisine moleculaire again where I watched students use a nonconventional way of making Hollandaise sauce – the sauce, which would normally take around 30 minutes to make, took less than five because they use gas to whisk the mixture instead of doing it by hand. I helped make quenelles (used in haute cuisine as a garnish, but can be served by themselves) made of salmon, butter, crème fraîche, salt and pepper, and watched as students prepared a pear flan with a chocolate center, and a kiwi sorbet. Both the flan and the sorbet were unique in that the flan contained methylcellulose to help the flan hold its shape and eliminate the need for fat in the mixture. The sorbet was made using a machine similar to the one that makes Wawa milkshakes, which makes it possible to get 1-10 servings from a single container.

Salmon quenelle

This morning I finally went to the “typically French” open air market, held every Saturday morning. Simply put, it was amazing. They had everything, from fresh scallops and fish to all kinds of fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, and flowers. I had already been to the supermarket earlier in the week, but I bought some grapes and a half of a roasted chicken to eat for lunch. After lunch I did some serious cleaning in my room, which I’m sure will merit a comment from my Mom considering that when I left for France I still had not completely unpacked from college.

For the rest of the weekend I’ll be busy making collages and posters to deck out my classroom and planning for next week’s lessons and my upcoming vacation.