Vive La France!

Mood: Still wired
Theme Song: “Quelqu'un M'a Dit” - Carla Bruni (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd4-sIRXRH4) - and if you’re interested and want to know what the wife of the French president is saying - http://nichitastanescu.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/quelquun-ma-dit-carla-bruni-translation/.

I’m currently in Paris for a conference of intensive care physicians (http://www.srlf.org/). Can I just say that I love Paris? Anyone who knows me knows that I am a complete Francophile, and so for me coming to France is always exciting. I took the Eurostar over yesterday, and ended up sitting with quite a cast of characters. My seatmates included:

• A Scottish guy with a very posh, upper-crust British accent. You could tell he either came from money or spent alot of time trying to sound like it. I didn’t hear a trace of Sean Connery, though he did have to tell me that he knew someone or other who golfed with Sean, and that he is a hell of a golfer. Thus giving me an image of Mr. Connery in a kilt holding a 5 iron. Great. This guy also spoke French “fluently and without an accent” (as he assured me), and lived with his Russian wife and kids in the Languedoc in France. He mostly watched Dexter on his PC and stayed out of the conversation, though he did piss me off by asking me why the Republicans were trying to ruin America. He, like many people I’ve met outside the U.S., seemed to think that all people who were conservative were crazed Bible beaters. And he was shocked that I was not an Obama devotee. I’m young! I’m smart! I travel! How can I not love the Obamanation? The fact that I tend to have conservative leanings shocked him, as I guess he then expected me to be toothless, carrying around unwashed children and spouting the gospel of Jay-sus.
  
• A British guy from London (with the distinctive London accent -where the “th"s become "f"s or "v"s. As in "I fink my brovver-in-law…”). He was super cool. He and his family live in a small village a few hours south of Paris. He used to work as an interior designer (though this guy was the farthest thing from effeminate I ever saw) but retired. So I’m guessing he decorated a few castles and made a killing or something. He had struck up a conversation with the Scottish guy when they boarded the train in London, although Mr. Scotland kept mocking Mr. London’s bad French pronounciation. Oh, and Mr. London informed me that Scotland really isn’t a separate country. It’s Britain. Only Americans want to make that distinction. It seems the Brits believe that unless there’s water separating it from them, they own it. Wonder what would happen if the Channel suddenly dried up (a la nightmares of Al Gore)? Would all of Europe, by default, then belong to England because its connected? Interesting to consider. This guy was really nice though and we had a few laughs about the difference between America and UK - and how while it was madness for me to get my UK visa, its near impossible for people to get into America. Unless they are Mexican, students from some strange terrorist country or have family in America.
  
• A lovely older Japanese woman who seemed a bit confused for much of the conversation. She obviously had money, as she lives near Hyde Park in London (a bit like overlooking Central Park in NYC). She regaled us with stories of her travels around the world - all in a very entertaining British/Japanese accent. She spent about 15 minutes telling us about her seat-mixup. You know how older people are. They fixate on one topic and then beat it to death.  That being said, she was pretty funny and gave me some good places to visit when I’m in Japan in March.

I arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord, which is sheer madness chock full of people roaming everywhere. I was going to take the Metro to the hotel, but it takes about an hour with all the changes and it was pouring rain. So I got into the taxi queue - which took at least 30 minutes for me to get through. What I love is that I can pop into a taxi and speak French and get myself around. I know enough of the layout of the city to know when someone is trying to scam me and not take a direct route. Its great. I don’t feel so awkward, like I did in Germany.

I went to a symposium on Tracheostomy yesterday afternoon. There was a bit of a mix-up and I didn’t get the headphones that have automatic translation in them - so I got to hear everything in French. What pleased me is that I understood about 95% of all the presentations. There were a few terms - obviously medical - that I didn’t know, but I got the overall gist of things.

Dinner was at a restaurant in Montparnasse called “Le Ciel de Paris” - bascially The Sky of Paris. It was a restaurant at the top of a business tower with a panoramic view of the entire city. Gorgeous. Did you know that every hour on the hour, the lights on the Tour Eiffel sparkle like a crazed Christmas tree? There are different colors each hour, and they symbolize different things. In 2008, they cycled through the colors of the EU to celebrate France’s presidency of that organization. Last year there were huge light shows to celebrate the Tower’s 120th anniversary.  I didn’t take the following picture (it is courtesy of http://charmcitykim.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/the-lights-of-the-eiffel-tower/), but this is what it looked like last night:

I also got to try Foie Gras last night for the first time. It was served with bread and some kind of fruit chutney. All I can say is… interesting. I didn’t dislike it, but I also wasn’t scarfing it down like the rest of the people at the table. I kept thinking “duck liver, duck liver, duck liver”. It didn’t help! I’m pretty sure that this is something that I’m not going to suddenly start craving any time soon.

I’m off to a tour the exhibition and then have a business lunch before returning on the train to the UK this afternoon. As the French would say, “Bon journee!” (Have a good day!)

***IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR MY LEFT-LEANING FRIENDS***
According to EVERY British person I’ve spoken to, the U.K. is having huge problems because it is “too soft”. This country has more social programs than anything I’ve ever seen. So much of the tax money goes to support people who game the system. That “wonderful” amnesty program that the Obamanation wants to offer the ILLEGALS from Mexico? Yeah well they have that over here and it has resulted in loads of foreigners pouring into the UK to take advantage of all the free social programmes. All someone has to do is get across the border and claim “human rights” (which covers everything from “I’m poor”, “I don’t like my home country”, “I don’t speak English”, etc) and they get a FREE house to live in, a FREE cell phone, FREE food and transportation, FREE healthcare and a monthly check courtesy of the people who actually work for a living.

What’s interesting is that a table full of French people shared basically the same view with me last night - how upset they are that their taxes are paying for this kind of “merde” (shit). The French are taxed like nobody’s business - worse than the Brits even.

I’m not against helping the disavantaged. But I am against rewarding criminals who have no respect for the American system. If you want to immigrate, then by all means do it. Legally. And if you want social services (regardless of whether you are an American citizen or a foreigner), I don’t mind helping you. Everyone gets down on their luck sometimes. But don’t abuse the system. Don’t expect me to pay for your bad lifestyle choices (i.e. you’re grossly overweight and have health problems. Not my fault, put down the fork. Or you had a baby at 16. Not my fault, exercise some class and discretion - and for goodness sake, don’t have MORE babies you can’t afford to raise.).

Yeah, I’m on a soapbox. It’s just that America tends to idealize the socialist trends in Europe as if they are so great. Some things are not bad - I like the programmes they have for the elderly (they need more) and the disabled. And I do like that there is help for people who are really struggling. But its gotten to the point over here that the inmates are running the asylum. Every shify foreigner knows that if they can set foot on UK soil, they have a really good chance of a free ride because the British are so terrified of violating “human rights” or seeming insensitive or politically incorrect.

And the supposedly great healthcare system over here? I’ve yet to try it - though I have seen two co-workers wait a few days to be able to schedule a doctor’s appointment. Nothing too alarming yet - but I want to see the actual quality of care. It turns out that the class-based system we in America want to avoid is alive and well over here. Anyone can get NHS care  (just like in the US anyone can go to the free clinic, even though they don’t like it) - but those with money purchase private plans where they get timely, superior healthcare. Guess which direction I’m leaning? I’m not rich, but as L'Oreal would say, “I’m worth it”.

Comments welcome, as well as donations for my eventual run for President ;)