We have been in France for five months and it was well before then that we started the visa process. We’ve had appointments at government offices, filled out mounds of paperwork, paid fees and finally, yesterday we took yet another step in the process- hopefully the last. Although have officially been issued our cards, we were still required to travel to a nearby town for a physical.
Almost all of our fellow students were given an appointment at the same time and at the same place, so at first things seem like they were going to be simple. We would just leave school as a group after lunch, catch a train to Chambery, have our little checkup, and get back in time to pick up the kids from school.
Well, thing didn’t quite turnout that way. First, we caught wind of a strike in Albertville for all the teachers that was to take place the same day. When that happens, Hannah and all of her friends do not have school and all the parents organize what to do with them while we’re in class. Amanda took this responsibility on the first time there was a strike in the local school and did a great job, so she was given the task again. After making all the plans for a group of 15 kids, we found out Tuesday afternoon that there had been some confusion. It was only the primary school that was going to strike, not Hannah’s school. Oh, the joys of living in a country were you don’t understand much of the language.
The second problem came with the plan to take the train to Chambery. In general, France has a very good public transportation system…that is when they are not on strike. On Thursday, January 29, guess what? The regional SNCF train employees were on strike, too. When we learned this, we began planning how to get us all to Chambery (only 2 families here have cars).
With quite a bit of ease, thanks to the help of the staff here at the school, we loaded up and headed off. We made it to the doctor’s office without too much excitement and we were all seen quickly. While we were waiting in the doctor’s office we began to hear music coming from the street outside and also what sounded like the voice of a man shouting over loud speakers. Know what? It seems that yesterday was not only a good day for teachers and train workers to strike, but it was also a good day for the communist party of France to put on a demonstration.
It would have mattered little to us if the communist party’s demonstration had not been right next to the doctor’s office we were in and blocking the route we need to take to get to our other doctor’s appointment.
Now before you begin thinking we were in some great danger, it would probably be good to inform you that demonstrations and strikes happen a lot in France and they are almost always peaceful. In America, if things get to the point of a strike it means things are bad and a strike can turn into a riot at any time. In the States, a strike is at the end of the process, when all else has failed and communication is not working. In France striking or demonstration is the first step in the process. It’s how they say, “Pay attention. We are unhappy and we want to talk about it.” All this to say that we were not in any physical danger.
Even though we know there was not immediate threat of physical danger, it was still a little scary to have to cut straight through the middle of the demonstration for the Communist Party. As far as we knew, we had no other choice because our second doctor’s appointment was a few blocks down on the other side of the demonstration.
Crossing the demonstration turned out to be not a big deal and we made it through, not withstanding a few stern looks. Rather easily, we made it to the next appointment in time, saw the doctor and walked away with yet another piece of paper from the French government (that, of course, we now have to take to another office at a later date to be stamped by another person).
The really interesting part of our day came when we tried to leave the parking garage where we had parked. The rest of the group left about an hour earlier and there was only a van full of us left, so we all loaded up into the van and headed for he exit. I think most, if not all, parking garages in France are underground (and nicely maintained)- a good idea if you’re short on space. We paid the parking ticket went through the bar thing and began the steep climb up the hill to street level. As we came to the top of the hill we all felt a quick jolt as the driver slammed on the brakes That demonstration that I mentioned…well, it moved directly in front of the parking garage and the road was completely packed with people who were in no hurry to move.
There were two problems now. The biggest problem was that we had stopped on a steep hill and, let’s just say that the van we were in was far from new. Rob, our driver and the van’s owner, tried to get going again on the hill, but first gear would not catch. We are very thankful there was no one behind us because each time we rolled further and further back down the hill. Finally, Rob was able to back down the hill to a level place and get the van into first gear again. Praise God it worked and we climbed uneasily to the street.
This time we did not stop on the hill. There was just enough space between the hill and the street full of protesters for the van to stop on level ground. So there we sat. After a few minutes a man came up to the window and kindly informed us that we may want to just park our van again because the demonstration would take over an hour to pass by because of the large turnout of people. For us, this was not really an option because everyone in the car had kids waiting for us in Albertville.
After a little waiting and considering our options, there came a break in the mob of people in the street. Rob, adventurous and unashamed, decided this was our chance and just eased the van out into the street and into the middle of the demonstration. Oh, the looks we got! It was pretty funny. We had not gotten very far down the road when the crowd in front of us stopped moving, but thankfully by this point we hand been spotted by one of the organizers of the demonstration. He waved people out of the way and led us to the other side of the demonstration. On our way Rob, our driver, thought we would make the most of the situation. He kept honking the horn and hanging out the window giving a ‘thumbs up’ to the demonstrators. If you knew Rob, you would realize this in just normal behavior for him.
Well, we made it through and all the way back to little Albertville just in time for dinner. It was an exciting day full of memories and a first-hand experience of French culture. While looking back it is a lot of fun and make for a good story, I hope that next stage of getting our visas is not nearly as exciting.
1 comment:
Don't forget to update your resumé to show your involvement in a Communist Party demonstration. All things to all men, right? We miss y'all and continue to pray for your classes, studies, and all the little nuances that come with living in a foreign culture and country. Like Abraham, who sojourned in a land not his home, I pray that you'll keep looking toward that Lasting City whose builder is God and where all His elect from among the nations will receive the fulfilled promises purchased in Christ. Endure; we miss and are praying earnestly for all of you.
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