Link to some pictures

http://www.rhone.fr/education_culture_loisirs/evenements/fete_des_lumieres/fete_des_lumieres_2009

So since I won't have time to post some pictures of the fete now, check these out - they are from a professional photographer...I think.

Quick Update

As I had mentioned before, I try to keep this thing updated as much as I can. But, with not having internet all the time, its a little hard to do...Actually, to tell you all the truth, its probably due to the fact that I do not want to spend my time in front of a computer when I can be walking around Villefranche trying to talk to people or sipping on a café au lait or chocolat chaud on the Rue Nationale.

December has been pretty hectic. With the holiday season approaching, there has been a lot to see and do here. It is good, however, that I have been busy because it has helped me ignore the fact that my grandma passed away. My family had just started to accept that fact that my grandpa was gone but now we have to start all over again. Its a terrible feeling to not be told what is going on and finding out. The distance didn't help either. It wasn't until last night that I was able to hear the full story. My mom was in Mexico for 2 weeks so I wasn't able to talk to her about it. Turns out that it wasn't a surprise to her because she knew something was wrong, but didn't think I had to worry about it. Still it hurt to find out that my grandma had a brain tumor. Yet; we're all happy that she didnt have to suffer for very long.

On a happier note, I was able to witness my first French soccer game (St: Etienne v. Sochaux) and the Fête des Lumières. The game was just as I had imagined - fanatic people and endless chants. It was pretty cool.

The Fete des Lumières was definitely something else. I had only heard of it from people. They described it as the one weekend when there are light shows around Lyon - woohoo.

But, in reality, it has got to be one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! There were light shows, yes, but they were projected on the buildings and churches...simply amazing. I will post pictures soon.

Christmas in France has been really enjoyable so far. I can't wait to celebrate it the French way with Guillaume's family.

But before then, I need to host some friends from Mexico for 4 days. I love guests!

Happy Holidays!

Finally Legal

I went to the mandatory medical visit this morning in Lyon. It was actually a very short process, but everything that went on during that hour and a half served as another reminder that I will never understand how the French way of doing things works.

I was able to find the office easily. I got off the train at Perrache and walked to the office in 5 minutes. I walk in and I'm directed to go to the 1st floor (2nd in the US). I get there and see some of the other assistants waiting in the lobby. I give my passport and paperwork to the lady at the desk and I take a seat. Its after I sat that I noticed that there was no electricity in the building. All the lights were off. How I didn't notice before, I dont know, but when I did, I was shocked. How is it possible that of all places, a medical center does not have a back up generator or something... I will probably never understand the logic behind that.

So, the secretary did a good job collecting the paperwork and making us wait in the lobby, worrying that we were not going to get our titre de sejour ( she told me that I was missing a document and therefore I wouldn't be able to get my titre de sejour - LIAR!), before we got called in. I got there at about 9:10 am and even though my appointment wasn't until 9:30am, I was back in the lobby again at 9:25am after being asked if I had ever had surgery, had been vaccinated for Hep B, Tetanus, and yellow fever, and if there were any health problems in the family.

According to the visit, I am 1m 71 cm tall and I wiegh 96 kgs (FUCK!). The nurse was very nice and told me that being overwieght was bad and that I should work on losing wieght. It was actually kinda funny to see her look at the scale not once, but twice, and then look at my feet to see if maybe my shoes were too heavy or something. She then proceeded by pricking my finger and checking my blood sugar since I said that my mom is diabetic. Blood sugar was normal (Thank God!).

So as I and all the other assistants sat in the lobby, we all laughed at the situation around us. The only reason we could not continue to the next step was because we needed to have an Xray taken before we could meet with the lady downstairs. Then, all the lights come on and they start calling out our names in order. They would take us to the back to at a time, put each person in a separate room, tell us to take our sweaters and shirts off (quickly, mind you), and then they would open the door at the other end of the room to take us into the xray room. The nurse taking the Xray was not nice at all! She told me to put my chest against the scanner and then told me how to position my arms, but as I was positioning them how she told me, she just grabs them and says "laissez-moi le faire, c'est plus vite comme ça" = Let me do it, its faster that way.

She then told me to take a deep breath, hold it in, and as soon as the xray was taken, told me to get dressed and go wait outside...without a please or thank you.

I get my xray 5 minutes later and then go downstairs where I reunited with the other assistants. As we waited downstairs, we laughed at the fact that there was only 1 lady who was seeing us individually when there were 4 other people with the same job sitting in one office, drinking coffee. WTF?!

But, c'est la France! We all laughed out loud when the man came out of the office with an empty coffee pot, refilled it with water, and made some more coffee.

I finally went in and walked out with my titre de sejour.

Next step in the process is sending a photo copy to the social security office so that I can get my French healthcare card.

What a day...