"Cultural differences" vol. 1: my first trip to a yoga studio

Bonjour!

I was going to wait and put a clever list together of all of the cultural differences I find from the mildly inconvenient to the outright hilarious, but what happened to me just now is truly the icing on the cake and I have to share.

Here I was, first day back after vacation, hoping to get back into the swing of things with a routine of eating more healthily, and actually going to a yoga studio (instead of seeming antisocial and practicing by myself in my own apartment).  I have to say that I was actually ready to take the plunge and be completely uncomfortable in a new studio practicing yoga in another language last week, but of course when I was ready, the studio was closed.  Surprise surprise.

Anyhoo, I had waited all day (and I suppose all week) to go to this studio tonight for a class at 6:30 pm.  I got dressed early and was all giddy waiting for it to be time for me to walk over to this place.  I arrive, and the man, who I assume was the teacher and studio owner welcomed me, and told me that he wasn't sure if there would be enough space for me.  I thought to myself, okay, I know at the studio that I go to in Hawaii, we never turn anybody away, which can ultimately be annoying to practice in such close quarters, but this studio had a limit of 14 people.  I took a peek into the studio and 14 mats were arranged, with ample space between each one, they could have easily fit another one, seeing as how I brought my own, and yet it was going to be a toss up of whether or not I could join, depending on attendance.  I thought that dropping in would be no problem, as it usually isn't in the states, but of course it is different here.  I asked if it was necessary to reserve a spot and he said no...but the spots are "saved" for members who have already purchased either monthly or annual passes.  I was mildly annoyed at this point to say the least but the teacher was really nice and took my name and number down to call me in case he knows in advance whether or not there will be space available in the future...EVEN THOUGH THEY ONLY HAVE 8 CLASSES A WEEK.  Okay, that's my little rant for today.  It just seems so FRENCH of them to have such a peculiar way of running a studio, with only so many spaces available, but with SO MUCH SPACE left where they could have fit at least ten other mats, granted with much less personal space in between.  It still wouldn't have been as squished as I've seen at home.  I guess they value personal space, comfort and convenience more than making money, something that I'll get into later when I do get into the real cultural differences.  It's just another lesson learned, things don't always work out the way we want them to, and hopefully I'll get to go another time this week...

Macon + wine tasting

Bonjour!

During the break of "le Toussaint", I went wine tasting with a few other assistants from my program.  We rented a car and drove to Mâcon, about two hours north of Saint Etienne.  Driving in France was an adventure, their stoplights are strangely where you would stop at a normal intersection in the US.  You're not looking across the intersection for the stoplight, instead, it's a small set of lights where pedestrians normally wait to cross the street.  So that was the first weird thing, the second was les ronds points or roundabouts.  Europeans love their roundabouts, they are supposed to help traffic flow "naturally" and they eliminate the need for coordinating traffic lights.  I guess they're okay, just slightly terrifying for the first few times.

Anyway, back to wine tasting and wine country.  The region of Mâcon is absolutely breathtaking, grapevines and vineyards as far as the eye can see.  It is the southernmost part of Burgundy, and borders Beaujolais, two of the more well-known wine regions in France.  The difference between Burgundy and Beaujolais wines lies in their soil, one is more like clay and the other I can't really remember, nor do I remember which one is which, but the wine was really good!

We went to Chateau Chasselas, which I would definitely recommend to anybody looking to do a wine tasting.  It is so cute and quaint and dreamlike, and we were lucky the weather was so nice!

During our tasting they fed us charcuterie and bread and cheese and escargot.  

I'm hoping to do more wine tastings as Saint Etienne is in a good spot, but back to work for now until Christmas break!