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 Jeff Steiner's Americans in France.Resource for people that would like to live or travel in France. |
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NewsletterOctober 2003
La Rentrée
The end of August means La Rentrée, back to school or work. This year my Rentrée was easy unlike my wife and son. My wife started a new job teaching high school biochemistry. This is the reason why we moved to Dijon (See settling-in below). She never taught before and even if she does have a PhD in biochemistry still she was very nervous her first day.
My son also had his first day of school; in France children can, as soon as they are potty-trained go to school. He goes to a local public school three hours in the morning and seems to like it, but of course who really knows?
Vendage 2003
The grape harvest, Le Vendage, due to hot weather was a month early in France. The grapes were ripe and ready for picking in August. The hot weather also meant that the amount of grapes harvested was less than usual, lack of water retarded the grape growth.
My brother-in-law's son winery Domaine de l'Echelette harvest was down by 30% compared to last year's because of the heat and lack of rain.
I stopped by during my brother-in-law's Vendage and took some photos. I have used them to put together a step-by-step explanation of the Vendage process.
Settling-In
We just made the move from Strasbourg to Dijon. In general the move itself went smoothly. Fortunately we were able to borrow a van, which along with my father-in-law's horse trailer was enough to transport all our belongings. We also had some young family members offer their muscles and that really made things easier.
Our main problem in this move was finding a place to live. As stated in another article on my web site, see Apartment Hunting, French landlords often demand lots of paperwork. We had to supply over 10 different documents. Most of the documents required, I could understand but I still don't know why we had to supply a copy of our marriage certificate.
Weather
France's heat wave has given way to a relative cold September. After all, two months of 100-degree temperatures, makes 60's temperatures feel cold. Though I can't complain as the end of the heat wave has brought badly need rain and relief to Frances' farmers.
France is still experiencing hotter than normal temperatures but nothing like the summer months of July and August.
Coming next month, I promise a classic French wedding with photos!
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