WOO-HOO!

i got my work visa today! life is good. french administration is still silly though, as they are asking for proof that there was no "rupture" in my marital life from 2005-2010. nonsense. from now on though, it should be smooth sailing...providing that i can find a job in an economy with 9.7% unemployment. here we go!

vega-whatta-tarian? in france? are you SERIOUS?

i have now been successfully unemployed in france for three months. vive la france! vive la revolution! but i still refuse to become a country wife who spends her days doing cross-stitch and making jam...i do however, need to think about supper for the evening which brings me to this carence alimentaire-induced post. i feel like i have lived on nothing but cereal, yogurt, zuchinni, and tomatoes for the past 90 days.

i am still desperately trying to remain a vegetarian in france (despite duck filet *drool*, free-range local meat, etc.). i've read "eating animals." i have a social conscious. i feel that i am doing the right thing for the world and for animals. however, i'm hungry. and i am constantly met with comments like "yeah, i knew a guy who was a vegetarian for 25 years. then he moved here. now he eats meat. it just turned out to be easier on everyone." or better yet, the wild-eyed look i received from the woman in the supermarket the other day when i asked if they carried tofu. "quoi?" she replied, looking at me as though i had just stepped off of an alien aircraft carrier. i then tediously explained to her that tofu is a soy-based product often used in eastern cuisine as well as being a meat substitute for vegetarians. MEAT SUBSTITUTE? VEGETARIAN? the look of contempt and suspicion was all over her face. my quest was to no avail (in this particular shop).

furthermore, vegetarianism appears to be some sort of strange line that is walked in europe and acknowledged semi-knowingly by fellow europeans. in a restaurant a few weeks ago, after having ordered a vegetarian platter, i was brought the same amuse-bouche as my convives: foie gras. when i offered up said platter to my fellow table mates, raised brows and wrinkled foreheads looked at me as though i were yet again some crazy alien being. "you don't like foie gras?" i was asked. i then had to mention (again) that i was vegetarian. long pause. silence. "i don't eat any part of a dead animal," i said to clarify. blank stares. "it's just the liver," someone said. just the liver. this is like my good friend who lived in spain (also a veggie) being served some spanish salad with crispy toritilla bits in it. only she found out that the crispy bits were in fact pig skin. apparently in europe as long as no muscle (?) is being consumed it is a matter of no-harm, no-foul. this is at least my assumption thus far.

this is not to say that my veggie ways have been scrutinized by all here. some family and close friends are enlightened enough to realize that i am doing this for reasons other than my waistline or simple calorie-counting. it is therefore, quite enjoyable to sit down and have a meal with them. nonetheless, i find that i am struggling with being a vegetarian here in the land of 400+ cheeses (thank god i am not a vegan!). life (and produce) tends to be much more seasonal here, which is a big change from supermarkets in america where virtually anything was available almost virtually anytime. i am not, however, attempting to mold france to follow my lead, but perhaps just to fit my needs slightly more than currently.

i intend to bend and not break under pressure. as for tonight, it'll be boiled artichokes and pasta with tomato and mozzerella salad. we'll see how this gois. to be continued...