Good translation site for French expressions

Apart from asking a French person, L'internaute Encyclopédie is the best thing I've found to learning French expressions:

linternaute.com

Nothing to Read more...

Shopping in France Part 3: L'Association des consommateurs de France or Making things right!

I met Ellis on the Paris-London bus the other day. Ellis is originally from Ghana but has lived and worked in France for over a decade and so we whiled away the time discussing and comparing my fresh French experience with his seasoned one, and eventually landed on the topic of French "customer service", or the non-service. This is when he clued me in on a little glimmer of hope for millions of dejected consumers in France called: L'Association des consommateurs de France or ASCOF.

Ellis explained his theory to me: French commercial law is extremely complicated and complex (really, like any law), that many large businesses see this as an opportunity to take advantage of consumers. The average French consumer knows very little about his/her rights that s/he just accepts that the annoying, discourteous, arrogant, inhospitable business practices are just the way things are done in France. Enter ASCOF which is an organisation that exists to clarify the rights of consumers and users of public and private services in France. I guess they're like a band of superheroes who comb legislation and commercial contracts in the name of consumptive justice for all... Read more...

The Apartment Tax

In French, known as "taxe d'habitation".

What?
This is a property tax to go toward services such as garbage collection, street cleaning, schools, community facilities, and the administration of these services.

Who?
Everyone living in France, resident or not, even if you are just an occupant of the living space. Students in private residences are required to pay. However, students living in a furnished room in a student residence or student housing estate (cité universitaire) managed by the CROUS, or any similar organisation that provides housing for students in similar living and financial situations, are not required to pay this tax. Actually known as "taxe d'habitation".

How much?
The amount varies from region to region and is determined by the local authorities of the region, department and commune who receive the benefits. It is usually equivalent to about one month's rent. The tax is imposed on the principal residence.

When?
Apparently, this tax is usually due January of each year, but some students in my classes have been getting letters now.

Who can be exempted?
Basically, unless you are over 60, a widow(er), earning below poverty, or benefitting from French income assistance, as a student, you can only be exempted if you live in a residence managed by the CROUS.

What if I just don't pay?
There is always the temptation to do some things you would never at home because you know that you're "leaving anyway". If the occupant does not pay, then the owner becomes liable.
Skipping out is an option but aside from being a poor reflection of your character, in the grander scheme of things, you could be partly - if not directly - responsible for any ensuing measures that your welcoming school or Lyon property-owners might take on future exchange students to ensure payment of this tax.

What if I'm only here for one semester?
For those coming only for the second semester, I was told that you can just disregard the letter and normally, you won't hear from the "Trésor Public" again. However, if you get a second letter, you can always check with the housing coordinator of your school on how to proceed.

If you want to find out more, or learn how this tax is calculated, consult the following websites:
impôts.gouv.fr - Taxe d'habitation (in French)
FrenchEntrée.com (in English) Read more...

Shopping in France Part Two: Les Soldes

In French, des bonnes affaires means "some good deals". For example, you might say: j'ai trouvé beaucoup de bonnes affaires pendant les soldes d'hiver, (I found a lot of good deals during the winter sales).

I was at la Part-Dieu yesterday and noticed that it was eerily empty. If I have noticed anything about "the mall" it is the one place that has made me feel the most "at home", meaning that it is usually crowded with pushy people carrying three or four shopping bags and annoying in-the-way clusters of teenagers occasionally dekeing people out. However, after looking in the stores where numbers of employees were cordoning off racks of clothes sometimes covered in sheets of plastic, each piece of clothing tagged with a huge coloured rectangle or circle printed with -50%, I soon realised: LES SOLDES!!! were coming...

Today is the first day of les soldes (the sales), when retail merchandise is marked down even 70%. In France, the government regulates sales and forbids stores to have periodic major markdowns after each season, like we are used to in Canada throughout the year. Thus, every year, the mairies of each department get together to determine the nation-wide dates of the sales and how long each will allow the stores to hold their sales (the maximum being six weeks). And so, twice a year (in January and again in June), stores are given the chance to get rid of all of last season's stock, and shoppers go nuts.

If shopping is your thing, this is the time to do it. I've been told that it's worth the wait because something that might have been 80€ can be bought for fifteen or twenty during les soldes.

In your face 2€ coffees, I'm mindlessly blowing my money elsewhere these next few weeks! Read more...

Exams

The exam period at Lyon 3 occurs between the end of classes until the beginning of the new semester. The summer exams occur from the end of classes until the end of June.

Sweaty palms, rapid drop in body temperature, dry mouth, fluttering stomach, nervous coughs in poorly-ventilated rooms, intellectual black-outs... The previous are commonly my experience during exam time and this does not bode well for my success in the French system.

Taking Your Exam as an Exchange Student
The time and place of your exam is usually posted up the day before or the morning of your exam on the corresponding boards of your faculty. Be sure to consult these lists because there is assigned seating. The exam period at Lyon 3 occurs between the end of classes until the beginning of the new semester. The summer exams occur from the end of classes until the end of June.

As an exchange student in the law faculty, if it is not already written on your exam, you will be given stickers by Annie Simon - the secretary of the law faculty - that you can stick on the front of your exam (I'm assuming that outside of law, you go see the secretariat of whichever faculty is responsible for the majority of your courses).
Even though it's readily apparent that you are an exchange student, sometimes, there are foreign students who are studying in France, not on exchange, who also have bad grammar but are marked at the same level as French students. You, however, are a foreign student on exchange and thus not marked as harshly for your grammar and spelling mistakes. It's better to get the stickers.

Equal = Anonymous
In France, there is an equality rule in place that is particularly strict when it comes to exams. You are not to write your name on any other part of the exam except in the designated space at your top right hand corner, after which you fold and glue shut. Your name is revealed only after the grades are finalised.

I'm not sure how this affects exchange students but in France, since the education system is an organ of the Republic (like the health system, like the army, like the police....), if a student is caught cheating or plagiarising, s/he is automatically barred from taking any sort of exam (this includes driving exams, entrance exams for other schools) for five years.

Le carnet de notes
You are asked to bring with you to each exam a booklet (carnet de note) for your professor or the invigilator to fill out, which you then hand in to your faculty before leaving. This is where all of your grades will be recorded and then mailed to you or your school.

On a final note, I've been told that while exams are a supremely stressful time for French students (I've been told that France has one the highest failure rates in the Union), as an exchange student, you need not be as worried because they understand that things are more difficult for you. As long as beneath the bad grammar and spelling mistakes you reveal a fundamental understanding of the course material, you should be fine.
And when that doesn't happen... It was nice living in France for a while, wasn't it? Read more...

Really Caveat, Emptor: Shopping in France

I recently watched the movie A Good Year (or Une grande année) with Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard (she will also be seen very soon, February 14 to be exact, in La môme a biopic on the life of Edith Piaf) in which Cotillard's character - the owner of a café in Provence - offered this bit of advice to Crowe: "in France, the client is always wrong". And you really can't imagine how true, and not funny, that is.

A good rule to have when shopping in France is not to buy anything you aren't 100 percent sure about (really, a good rule anywhere), because the chances are that you will have a hard time returning it if you discover that you aren't entirely satisfied. Don't pay any attention to what it says on the back of receipts because it doesn't mean anything.

I bought a cell phone a few weeks ago and upon discovering that it was entirely the opposite of what the salesperson assured, naturally, I wanted a return. Since the back of the receipt stated clearly and separately that in the case of returns for pre-paid cell phone packages, the product is accepted minus the cost of the SIM card. I was looking at receiving a fraction of what I paid but I still returned the next day intent on a refund or exchange. Unfortunately, all I got was condescension and rejection.

Apparently, contrary to what it states on the receipt, it is "impossible" for them to accept returns for pre-paid cell phone packages because the SIM card is attached to the phone. Totally bogus answer because everyone knows that the SIM card can be removed and put into any phone. However, the girl behind the counter sensed that I was not satisfied, but seemed to have felt that her answer was enough, and left me to attend to another customer.

On a homesick note, my French roommate told me about how surprised she was by the ease of returns of purchases in Canada. She had bought a tent at Canadian Tire and upon discovering that it was of terrible quality and not warm at all, she returned to the store completely prepared to be forced to justify her case. Needless to say she was more than pleasantly surprised (and totally shocked) by the fact that the cashier took the tent upon presentation of the receipt and asked no questions This does not happen in France was her conclusion on this cross-cultural consumer difference. Read more...

Medical Visit with "Dr. de Lyon"

You can avoid the medical visit by going for a checkup with one of the doctors approved by the consulate in your own country before your arrival.

Today, I went for my scheduled medical checkup at the A.N.A.E.M (Agence Nationale de l'Accueil des Etrangers et des Migrations). The prefecture made the appointment for me and I received a letter in the mail with all the particulars.

The ANAEM is located at 2, rue quivogne in the 2e arrondissement. I got off at Perrache station and walked south, past the Prison. This medical checkup is mandatory for any foreigner legally staying in France for more than three months.

I learned:
-Bring it, if you have an updated booklet of your vaccinations.
-If you wear glasses, make sure you bring with you either an extra pair of glasses or your prescription. There is a three month waiting list to see an ophthalmalogue.
-There are also waiting lists for dentists. The doctor suggested that for non-serious matter, such as check-ups or cleanings, to see the dental students located near the Institut d'Etudes Politiques on ave Berthelot.
-AIDS tests are free and confidential for everyone.
-There is a vaccination centre on Rue de Marseille in the 7e.

Click on the link to create a search in greater Lyon for medical treatments by theme (site in French). Read more...