Salut!
I am assuming that you’re tired of weather updates from me, but here’s a new one regardless: it snowed. Needless to say, I got all giddy and excited like when any girl from the southeastern United States sees snow. And to Carolyn St. Cyr- yes, I did wear my pajamas inside out on Monday night to ensure that it continued to snow!
I promise that I’m not trying to bore you out of your mind with constant updates about the weather, but I promise that this is leading somewhere. Namely, to an obvious example of one of the differences between the American and French governments.
The snow here in Issoudun is much like what I saw in Winston-Salem- the occasional light snow fall that get students out of school early and keeps adults from wanting to drive on the roads. So what’s the difference? The government here has allocated money in their annual budget for plowing the routes, salting the streets, and sanding the sidewalks. A novel idea for the southeastern states. I’ll admit it- sometimes taxes are indeed a wonderful thing.
So Issoudun shut down Monday evening while it snowed, but the next day everything was back up and running smoothly! Well, almost smoothly. The teachers were scheduled to strike on Tuesday. Due to the government cutting the number of classes offered at some schools, the teacher’s union has taken to striking in protest. This week is rather unusual because they will be allowed to strike on BOTH Tuesday and Friday.
Being an American and being completely ignorant of how a strike fully works, I asked the teachers to explain to me what happens. Here’s what I’ve found out. The teachers must tell the school in advance if they will strike, and they send notes home with their students saying that they will be on strike. This note is a “wink, wink, nod, nod” to the parents to keep their kids home, but if the parents do indeed send their kids to school the next day, then the school must find a class that can include this student. So theoretically, if 6/8 teachers at a school go on strike and the parents still send their kids to school, then that leaves 2 teachers to try to teach (and control) all the students. Nightmare? I think so.
This Tuesday, no one decided to go on strike from either of the schools where I work, but I know that some of the teachers at St. Exupery will be going on strike on Friday (this doesn’t affect me because I’m only teaching at Michelet on Friday). Oh, and here’s a fun fact- given that I’m on a government salary, I can sacrifice a day's pay and go on strike if I want! When I found out, however, that going on strike simply consists of sitting on the couch and watching TV rather than walking through the streets with signs and megaphones, I decided that my day’s wage is more important. So I’ll go to work for the day. All 1 hour of it.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the snow!
The tourism office with a statue that I've never noticed before it snowed
The belfry
Scenic Issoudun
The rails
The persistent grass coming up through the snow.
Maybe this will bode well for the groundhog?
Keep in touch!
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