Pigeons... and other things.

I've been wanting to write about this for a while now. French (or atleast in Grenoble) pigeons are a spectacle. And here is why...

Firstly:
1 French pigeon = 3 Indian pigeons

Yes, these birds are huge, and round, and fat. They're well fed, and they fear nothing and no one. You can walk upto them on a pavement, stand beside them and take a photograph, and they probably wont move and inch. In fact, they may even pose for one !! (ok ok, i'm exaggerating).

And you find them in every street. They're there on the windowsill of the apartment i'm going to rent next week, and my landlord claims that "i'm doing something abt it". At a busy interesection, you will see pigeons walking (yes walking) in the centre of the street, even with a bus bearing down at them. I have hardly ever seen them fly. I dunno whether it is because they have nothing to fear, or the above mentioned corpulence. Occasionally, you will come across the odd pigeon run over by a car, pasted across the road....

Talking about buses, I might as well go off on an unrelated tangent. Traffic in Grenoble. It's almost non-existent (by Indian standards). Very very well organised, drivers who respect the rules, and pedestrians. If a light is green, and a pedestrian (albeit stupid) is crossing, the car will invariably stop and let him go. Why, there have been times when i was waiting to cross the road, with a red pedestrian light, and cars have stopped for me to go first. And all they expect in return is a polite nod of the head. In short, i dont think there has ever been a pedestrian being run over in Grenoble. Maybe there has, but i'm sure it was a crazy Indian trying to jump across the road, being run down by an equally crazy Indian trying to get past the light before the pedestrian can cross !!

In the past 2 weeks that i've been here, i have heard a car horn ONCE !! No, i'm not kidding. Just once. And i distinctly remember the incident. I was in a Ford Fiesta, with my relocation agent, and we came up to an intersection, and a mercedes almost hit us from the opposite side. My friend honked, and both cars stopped. Later, my agent said the other guy was "a tourist". I thought it was some kind of insult, but actually, he WAS a guy from the neighbouring state, and was driving through Grenoble. My agent could tell from his number plate.

Anyway, the point is that the horn is a mere formality in cars out here. Maybe some cars are manufactured without any, for lack of use. We have some lessons to learn in driving. Out in Bangalore, if a car brakes in front of you, you have to honk and say "aeee, side ge hogo ley" !!

I plan to make chicken fry tonight. Got back a bit early from work, so have prepared the chicken, and it's marinating right now. So i'm taking this chance to write a bit.

Oh yeah, i'm going to Nice this coming weekend. A friend n colleague from another part of France will meet me there, so we plan to hit the Cote d'Azur for 2 days. I'll fly from Lyon to Nice on Saturday morning, and take the TGV back to Grenoble on sunday evening. It's my first time in the TGV, and i hear it's quite an experience. Will report on that. Will also report on French pigeons from another part of France.

Another thing i did not expect. Rather, a notion that has been busted (so far atleast). Most people say that English doesnt work in France, or if you speak English, you wont last long. On the contrary, people i've met so far have been very very accomodating. Maybe it's a bit early to say this, but i'l say it anyway.
Some of my French colleagues at work try to speak to me in English. I try my best to speak to them in French. Works both ways i suppose. One lady asked me if i would prefer if she spoke to me in English. I said no, French. She was surprised, but continued in French anyway.

Even outside work, many a time i've felt very welcome by people who dont speak English at all, and pardon my absolutely pathetic French. Like waiters, shopkeepers, bus drivers. What i really like is that an attempt is made to make you feel as comfortable as possible, even though you're a foreigner. But i suppose France is such an Eclectic society, that you're bound to be treated as "French", rather than "outsider". Again, maybe too early to say, but saying it anyway.

Of course, it's funny when I speak my broken French, in present tense only. It's also funny when the French speak to me in English. In fact, today i went to the Air France counter to book my flight to Nice. I resolved on my way there that i would carry out the entire conversation in French. So there i was, trying very very hard to speak French with the pretty lady at the counter. And she was trying equally hard to speak to me in English !! The flight to Nice was 65 euros, but when she spoke in English, she said me it's "65 hundred" euros !! For a moment, my heart was in my mouth, and i thought "For that price i can go to the Moon".

So... thats it for today i guess. My chicken is looking good from here, and i think today is a day for a good meal. Chicken and Rice, with some Haagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert (my first ice cream in France) !! Hope the chicken fry turns out good. Maybe tomorrow i'll put up a nice picture of what i hope will be a great culinary triumph.