So for the past 16 days there has been an on-going strike different than the yellow vests strike that had been plaguing France since October 2018.
How is this strike different? It is different because for the first time in my ten years of living in France the metro is on strike. Specifically the metro near my apartment has not been running at all for the past 16 days. Things I have learned:
1. Like where you live. You will spend a lot of time there. Like a prisoner.
2. If ever you have a chance to change your drivers’ license the first year you come to France DO IT even if you don’t plan to stay in France anyways and even if you live in Paris where the metro is awesome and never on strike. IT CAN HAPPEN.
3. Always smile and be polite even if the person in front of you is telling you the day of that the day care/school is closed or if it’s not closed it’s closing early so instead of leaving two hours early from work you will have to leave three hours early from work. Seriously. These people are at their wits end trying to get to work to take care of your kids. Be nice and tell them you understand.
4. Get a job where you can work from home.
5. If your boss starts to hint that you are working from home too much make the effort to come on but don’t kill yourself trying to respect office hours. Instead get in two hours late and leave three hours early and in between sit in front of your computer like you could have done at home because YOU WORK IN IT. Make it a point your boss sees the ridiculousness of the situation.
6. If you can work from home DO IT. Anyone trying to go anywhere during these times can tell you less people need to be out there. Not more. It’s a public health issue.
7. Be ready for anything. An example day: Get up early to get daughter to school because school isn’t on strike today except daughter can’t go because she’s caught some kind of virus from her brother due to fact that we’ve been quarantined together for the past week. I eventually get as well because it’s hard to wash your hands when they cut the water during the day in order to repair the pipes for a fire in the garage that happened three years ago. Managed to get a doctor’s appointment but it corresponds with the Christmas holiday party at the day care requiring you to pick you your child up early not because of the strike but because they want to give you holiday cheer. You go to the doctor’s appointment anyways because it’s hard to heal naturally due to the sleep deprivation you experienced taking care of your sick son that you will now have to repeat with your sick daughter. All this while working from home and seeing emails about is Thursday a good day for everyone to come into the office for “Secret Santa”?
8. Be nice to everyone because everyone is experiencing some form of the above day for the past16 days and is ready to crack.
Vive la France.
How is this strike different? It is different because for the first time in my ten years of living in France the metro is on strike. Specifically the metro near my apartment has not been running at all for the past 16 days. Things I have learned:
1. Like where you live. You will spend a lot of time there. Like a prisoner.
2. If ever you have a chance to change your drivers’ license the first year you come to France DO IT even if you don’t plan to stay in France anyways and even if you live in Paris where the metro is awesome and never on strike. IT CAN HAPPEN.
3. Always smile and be polite even if the person in front of you is telling you the day of that the day care/school is closed or if it’s not closed it’s closing early so instead of leaving two hours early from work you will have to leave three hours early from work. Seriously. These people are at their wits end trying to get to work to take care of your kids. Be nice and tell them you understand.
4. Get a job where you can work from home.
5. If your boss starts to hint that you are working from home too much make the effort to come on but don’t kill yourself trying to respect office hours. Instead get in two hours late and leave three hours early and in between sit in front of your computer like you could have done at home because YOU WORK IN IT. Make it a point your boss sees the ridiculousness of the situation.
6. If you can work from home DO IT. Anyone trying to go anywhere during these times can tell you less people need to be out there. Not more. It’s a public health issue.
7. Be ready for anything. An example day: Get up early to get daughter to school because school isn’t on strike today except daughter can’t go because she’s caught some kind of virus from her brother due to fact that we’ve been quarantined together for the past week. I eventually get as well because it’s hard to wash your hands when they cut the water during the day in order to repair the pipes for a fire in the garage that happened three years ago. Managed to get a doctor’s appointment but it corresponds with the Christmas holiday party at the day care requiring you to pick you your child up early not because of the strike but because they want to give you holiday cheer. You go to the doctor’s appointment anyways because it’s hard to heal naturally due to the sleep deprivation you experienced taking care of your sick son that you will now have to repeat with your sick daughter. All this while working from home and seeing emails about is Thursday a good day for everyone to come into the office for “Secret Santa”?
8. Be nice to everyone because everyone is experiencing some form of the above day for the past16 days and is ready to crack.
Vive la France.
