It's tough but it's life

Some friends have started to feel concern for my sanity here. Admitedly, my last few entries sounded rather pessimistic and bitter.

Let me clear things up: yes, things could have been much smoother, but they were not much tougher than I'd expected. It is part and parcel of the charms and challenges of living in a foreign country. And make no mistake, even having lived in 4 countries in 3 continents, France is the most foreign of them all.

They are in fact a very formal society, with specific etiquette for everything from greetings, to meals, to networking, to shopping, to...well, just take my word for it - everything. These things I can accept, because they add flavour and colour to the experience.

But some, no, most, ways of working here - whether at work, at home, or with the government - are simply too convoluted, too banally time-consuming and drowned in bureaucracy. I was not paid last month, and after 3 full days of calling 11 different people sitting in 4 different offices in France and abroad, we still don't know why. No one was willing to own the task, no one wants to admit that it was their job. When my manager wrote a scathing complaint email, one of the recepients retorted that "if you had written a more polite note, we would have rectified it immediately". So we gritted our teeth and begged them very nicely to do their job. There are more examples I can give, but let's keep it for another day.

And as any foreigner will tell you, you quickly learn to settle for things. A colleague here told me that she has tried, unsuccessfully, for 6 months to get someone to help her access the voicemail on her Blackberry. She gave up, and heck care if anyone bothers to leave her a voicemail. When my own Blackberry broke down after 3 days, I was elated that the IT guy was willing to talk to me; never mind that he knows nuts about the problem and tells me that the replacement will come in 2 weeks or maybe 6 months. I was simply praying that he would pick up the phone. The coveted reply "OK bring it here - I will have a look at it" brought me to tears. This would have NEVER happen if we were in Singapore. I would have hounded the guy to death and to get him to commit to a solution.

Hmm....the tone of this email is veering dangerously back to the pessimistic and bitter mode....

In a nutshell, what I lament is simply the inability to communicate with people around me. My independence is somewhat compromised. I lose some of my resourcefulness. Everyday reveals new and perhaps dangerous discoveries. There were 2 new posters put up at my apartment building a few days ago. It could have said "Get out now! The building will be demolished TODAY!" or it could have said "Spring jumble sale on Saturday!", I would never know better. Turns out it was to warn us about technicians coming to read our water meter and asking residents to be prepared to let them in. But you see, if I didn't know this and no one was home, I may end up with no water for the rest of the month. It is very possible in la belle France. So to parrot the Monty Pythons, I just have to always look on the bright side of things. And at least there's this bright thing to look at everyday to and from work.