Bienvenue sur la Côte d'Absurd

Welcome to my blog! This is my first foray into this online expression, and I hope you find it entertaining to read about life in France (and elsewhere) from my perspective.

I'm an American living in Antibes, France, which is situated on the Mediterranean between Nice and Cannes. This area of France is known as the Côte d'Azur, hence the funny name of my blog. (Insert laugh track... here.)

How can an American live in France and not go crazy? I'm glad you asked. For starters, who said I wasn't already crazy before I got here? (Gotcha!) But, before I moved here, a very good friend gave me two useful pieces of advice:

• You might see things done in France that are done better than in the US and done worse than in the US. But, this is France and this is the way things are done, so there's no use in arguing why. Just accept it and move on.
• No matter what happens, don't take anything personally. If the cashier at the supermarket is rude to you, it's not because you're an American. If you notice, he or she is probably rude to everyone.

Whoa! Wait a minute! Things in France done better than anywhere else in the world? Impossible! Well, for starters, the government has a website where you can download every form you could possibly need -- and they have tons of forms in this country -- so you don't need to go from place to place, only to be told you've been waiting in the wrong line.

Is that the only reason to live in France? Well, no... Fresh food -- bread, cheese, wine, vegetables, meats -- prepared by innovative chefs. You leave the table after a 2+ hour meal feeling very well-fed. Plus, fashionable clothes and wonderful perfumes and soaps. Beautiful countrysides, breathtaking mountains, and bright seas and oceans.

OK, OK! So these are not unique to France, but I get 6 weeks vacation, plus tons of other bank holidays and saint's days, so you learn very easily to put up with all the rest of the crap! And, to be fair, "the rest of the crap" isn't all that bad. There is always an adjustment period when you move to a new location, whether or not it's in your own country or your own language.