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4/21/2008

Spent the day in Sophia Antipolis - technology park, incubator, "silicon valley". Morning visit of IRMA, a subsidiary of AISIN, which is under the umbrella of Global Toyota. Interstingly, the Yaris vehicle was designed in Sophia Antipolis. Visited a lab where they study atoms and saw a demonstration of the work being done to study voice recognition in cars and how to make the sound clearer by eliminating background noise. Received background information on Sophia from a member of the Cote d'Azur Economic Development Agency. Got stuck in the elevator at IRMA - ironic in a technology park, no?! Lunchtime discussion of healthcare systems in the US, France, and Canada and well as education and taxation. Afternoon visit to the CERAM business school in Sophia. Further discussion of differences in educational systems and benefits CERAM provides for interns and first-time workers. Interestingly, France does not permit part-time jobs, so people's first experience in the workplace is in university internships or upon graduation. French youth must decide at age 15 which career path to pursue and it is somewhat difficult to change careers. Therefore, people in France tend to stay with the same company and line of work much longer than folks in the US.

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4/20/2008

Day 23 04/20/08

Ahhh... our second relaxing day. There are no activities planned for today. I am spending the day alone at the house. My host family is at their restaurant. The restaurant is only open for lunch today, so I suspect they will return mid-afternoon. I got up at 10:40am, had breakfast and am now checking email, etc. I plan to spend the afternoon on the balcony reading my Swedish book and calling Monsieur Miceli in Paris to discuss possibly meeting during my visit to Paris. Tonight will be a special dinner to celebrate Jewish Easter. The son is home and a family friend is in town from Paris.

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Day 22 04/19/08

Attended annual Rotary Conference for District 1730. It felt like a very long day because the meeting was conducted in French and we had great difficulty understanding. I was able to pick up bits and pieces in the beginning. However, as the day progressed it became increasingly difficult to maintain my level of concentration and focus. We did our 10 minute presentation around 4:30pm, but many folks had unfortunately left by then. The conference was running an hour behind schedule by the time we spoke, so I was concerned that we may just be introduced and not have the opportunity to speak. I am happy to have had the opportunity to speak at the district conference in France :)

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4/18/2008

Day 21 04/18/08

Stop at the kosher butcher shop in the morning to pick up meat for Sunday evening's Jewish Passover dinner. Morning visit to pottery shop in Vallauris to see how pottery is hand-made and hand-painted. It would have been fun to try, though I'm sure it's not as effortless as it appears! Visit to the national museum of Picasso and museum of Magnelli. After lunch, off to Conseil General, the administrative center of the Department. Learned lots about the government structure. Too much to note here. We've spent the last two days with the Mayor of Antibes (she's fabulous!!). She made me copies of select pages of the Antibes city budget :)

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Day 20 04/17/08

Visited glass-making factory in Biot. We received a behind-the-scenes tour of how the glasswork made there has bubbles created by sandwiching bicarbonate of soda between 2 layers of glass. The decompressing during the 1100 degree heating process causes the bubbles. The city of Biot is built on a volcano. In the afternoon we visited the perfumery Galimard in Grasse and made our own perfumes. It was an interesting process whereby we went through five iterations of mixing various amounts of scents we found appealing. We even received diplomas certifying our ability!

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4/16/2008

Day 19 04/16/08

Today we transferred to Antibes. Ate lunch at the Little Garden restaurant owned by my host family. I'm living in my first apartment... the kitchen is very European (reminds my of my grandmotherès kitched in Sweden). Went shopping this afternoon at the equivalent of Wal-Mart: Carrefours. Neat... some of the employees zip around on roller-skates so they can quickly go find a price or make change for the cashiers! I think we're having ribs for dinner. Also went through the car wash. Before entering the actual car wash, there's a person who sprays soap on the car and wheels and washes it off, essentially a pre-wash. I'm hoping to learn more about government this week. The GSE coordinator is part of the Mayor's team and explained at lunch today that the "department directors" are elected with the Mayor. Essentially, voters elect a slate of government officials. The Mayor's team members hold office in proportion to the popular vote achieved by the Mayor. I'll have to find out more details about the logistics! I'm hoping to get a peak at a prior year budget. It seems difficult to be able to see the current year, though I'm not yet sure why.

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Day 18 04/15/08

At noon we visited City Hall and the Office of the Mayor in Hyères. The Mayor was very busy and he accommodated us on a last minute basis. Merci beaucoup! We all had lunch at my family's home and dined on salmon grilled out back. In the afternoon we visited a pottery shop and learned the technique of "raku" pottery making. Very interesting. The material is shaped, air dries for 10 days, baked for 10 hours, painted, baked at over 1000° for 1.5 hours; placed under a barrel with wood chips for 20 minutes, and finally dipped in water to remove the soot. We jumped into the process at the painting stage. During the 1.5 hours baking, I participated in a tai chi lesson. Evening Rotary meeting attended by the Mayor.

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4/14/2008

Day 17 04/14/08

Another visit to the island of Porquerolles... the weather today is much better than last week's visit. The mistral wind is in full force keeping the skies clear and blowing the rain toward Italy. Visit to a vineyard on the island. Who knew Champagne is the only white wine that can be made from red grapes? (Chapagne, of course, comes only from the Champagne region on the mainland.) Because the soil on the island is layered (hopefully Thomas will post a picture) the moisture level in the soil is well-regulated and there's no need for an irrigation system like in other areas of France. We also saw a 1150-year-old olive tree brought over from Spain. Olive oil can only be produced every other year. If yesterday's food was the best, then today's lunch location was the best. We ate in the wine cellar. I believe our host said it was/is common to hold wine tastings in the cellar. Again, counting on Thomas for picture posts...

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Day 16 04/13/08

Visited the Matyasy bakery/caterer. After a tour of the facility and taste of 100% chocolate, we had lunch there. Comparison of food is always difficult because everything is so delectable; however, I believe today's appetizer is an all-time high. We dined on a lobster skewer atop risotto with truffles. For the uneducated such as myself... truffles are mushrooms that grow underground and are retrieved by pigs. A pricey little fungus - 1000£ per kilo. The main course was lott fish followed by various baked goodies for dessert. Here's a fun fact: talking on the cell phone non-hands-free while driving is 3 points (12 points max before you lose your license). The drivers flash their lights at one another to warn of police ahead. In the afternoon, off to St Tropez! Need I say more?...

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4/12/2008

Day 15 04/12/08

Visited a monastery dating from 12th-18th century in the mountains in the morning. Refurbishment ocurred from 1969-1982 and the cloister and church were refurbished in 2000 thanks to donations. Ate lunch in the small mountain town of Collobrieres. The town is famous for anything chestnut... ice cream, candies, etc. Tonight my host mother and I will have dinner with her daughter and husband. The host father returns from skiing in Argentina tomorrow.

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