Poitiers : the beginning...

Pont Napoléon in Paris - but wait, 

I'm NOT in Paris! ;)

I first came up with the "An American NOT in Paris" idea my 3rd year in France. When I returned to the States, several people I knew at the time would always ask, "So, how's Paris?" Grrr...


From my personal experience, from what I've seen in the media and also from what I've seen in books written by Americans who live in "France" but are living the life of the wealthy of Rîve Gauche, Americans tend to have this romantic image that France is Paris, Omaha Beach in Normandy and the Côte d'Azur. 

Living here is NOT all champagne and caviar. The salaries are waaay too low, too many taxes that make it way too difficult to hire anyone for a job... BUT I LOVE having full-covered healthcare and the back-up of unemployment, just in case... BUT, the country really needs to change its perception of obtaining employment with a decent salary.








There is more paperwork that we have to do here than any other country besides China. My tiny closet space is literally bursting with paperwork that I have to keep. "Paparasse" or paperwork is so time-consuming that people have to take time off from work in order to have a "jour d'administration" - literally, an administration day where you run around to all of the different places you have to go and take care of paperwork, and organize more paperwork at home... 




And then, you have to wait anywhere from 3-6 weeks for the "paparasse" to go through.... It's a vicious circle. Once those 3-6 weeks have passed, you receive a letter stating that you did not sign a paper in the correct square or you are missing yet another photocopy of your birth certificate, or your employer did not provide the right paperwork, and so on...

The train USED to be a cheaper mode of transportation. No more. The SNCF which USED to be a 100% government institution has become partially privatized and is now a commercial, capitalized commodity. Going to Paris in the TGV from where I live USED to only cost around 35-50€ one way. It has nearly doubled in price over the past four years. I now drive my little old French car (very reliable but I definitely prefer my Honda when I go home). But when I hear my mom complaining about gas prices in the States ONCE AGAIN, I always say, "Man, that's still twice as less as it is over here." You do the math : to fill up my little Renault Clio (gas not diesel - diesel is usually about 50¢ cheaper) costs me on the average 1.50€ PER LITER. 1€ = $1.30 (on the average) and there are about 4 LITERS PER GALLON. To fill up this little car :

 

My gas is roughly = $75.

 

My point is, my dear fellow Americans, STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT GAS PRICES!!!

 
I digress.

I want to burst that bubble and open your eyes to other beautiful and historically amazing places through my photography. 

Without further ado, some photos of France - Warning: the following images are NOT of Paris ;)




Long, long ago, I lived in the Poitou-Charentes region - the heart & soul of French history : land of the first kings and land where the prehistoric cave drawings were discovered... 

The photos below are of Poitiers (pronounced Poi-tee-yay) built over a settlement established by the Romans and where some of the earliest architecture of the 9th - 11th centuries can be found. It's a beautiful town. I lived here my 2nd & 3rd years in France and worked as an English teaching assistant at the University of Poitiers. All images below were originally taken in film - I had a hard time switching over to digital...

Direct view from my 3ème étage (4th floor) apartment. My place faced a large square with the Palais de Justice (the regional courthouse) to my right. I have an entire series that I like to call "Le Peuple de la Place" or "People of the Square" - of all the movement (I once saw a man going into the courthouse in cuffs and I believe I managed to catch that with my camera) and festivals and manifestations that took place from the birds' eye view of my petit chez moi. Once I get that series organized, it will be posted! :)

Little did I know that just down the street (a little further down from the stationary store called "Paquet" that is pictured here) lived my Frenchie whom I would meet my 3rd year in France...

Le Marché (pronounced marsh-ay). Notre Dame la Grande, the church in the background dates from the 10th/11th centuries and is perfectly intact - absolutely beautiful.

People of the marché.

A very blue sky!