les grèves nationales

well, this is yet to get better here.

before my inbound trip to france, workers at la sncf went on strike for a few days.

luckily, when i got here, everything returned to normal.

(touch wood)

now, it's been barely a month, everybody's striking again as the bill is going to be put forward (and highly like to be put through) at the legislature at the beginning of november.

usually i'm often with the strikers, whatever they're asking for, they should get it.

but this time, it's getting on my nerves as i'm planning for a trip to paris the following week.

not knowing how to get there by car (or in fact, it's just me not wanting to rent a car and drive in/on the famous 'parisian traffic' and/or french highways), i had to use public transportation - the friendly and effecient tgv and regional train services.

unfortunately, they are the boldest strikers amongst all.

at one of my schools, a teacher was filling in a form to inform the authority that she's going on strike this past tuesday last friday (that's a 48 hour notice?).

and i thought it was just a one-day thing.

hell NO.

it's been on for a week now and is still going strong...

fingers crossed that it'll come to an end before my departure.

from what i've learned, read and heard, the french simply do NOT do reforms.

i dunno anything about management skills or politics, but why can the french just be left alone and just do what they're good at (okay, maybe not strikes this time)?

i don't know how people who don't own a car or a bike or friends who want to do car-pooling and live far away from work get to work on days like this.

from the experience i had, it was just a pain in the A.

i had to take a cab to work and obviously it wasn't covered in the end.

i couldn't call in sick either cos i was up to my neck in work, too.

so i just had to drag myself to work on time by all means.

it's amazing how the government is still standing strong by its stance leaving its citizens in chaos like this.

but i guess they all grew up with this kind of sh*t.

so to them, it's just one of those days.

maybe you just go out, have a ciggie break, and take it easy.

i'm yet to master this just-calm-down-on-days-without-any-kind-of-transport-to-work skill.

though i am sure that this is a very fine example of the french culture and am proud that i'm having some authentic experience living like a french person.