Backto school in France : la "rentrée"

I confess, I'm afraid  I'm that mum after two holiday months !

Today, my daughter is back to school. I don't how it goes in other countries, but the first sign that holiday time is over is that we received at home the amazing list that specifies all the school things I have to buy for her. "Amazing" because there are about thirty different items, pencils, pens, felt-tip pens, colored pencils, notebooks in different sizes and colours,two pencil bags and it goes on and on for a whole page...

This year, she's going to be in what people call "la vraie école" or "chez les grands" which translate something like "the real school" or " with the big girls and guys".

It means that she's going to do her CP class (cours preparatoire), first year of primary school for the 6/7 years old, which is the class during which they are supposed to learn how to read and write perfectly, among other things.

This year, even though  school starts at 8.30 and finishes at 4.30, she'll be at school from 7.45 to at least 5.15 because of my working hours, and we're "lucky" my job is right next her school ! The truth is I couldn't find anyone to look after her and drop her to school : many women are in this situation in France, depending of course on where you live and how much money you can spend on the whole thing. Not surprisingly, the more money you have, the easier you'll find a nanny. The persons I contacted either were simply not interested in the job because my child would spend too little time with them, AND going to her school was too much trouble for them ;  or were presumably undocumented and did not want the job to be declared legally.

So, I am glad I chose to send her to a private school because they offer  supervised before and after-school child-minding facility, for extra cost of course.

School hours depend on the school your child attends, but I think hers are typical:

8.25 the bell rings, children have to get in line in the school yard to go to their class.

8.30 the class begins

10.00 /10.20 Morning break

12.00 Noon break ( and school dinner in the self-service dining hall, which is a mess for the 6 years old)

13.30 Class again

15.00/15.20 Afternoon break.

16.30 The ring bells, kids go back home "mummy time"

Children in the primary school go to school four days a week: Wednesday is usually devoted to sports, dancing, arts, whatever your child is into.

I don't know any primary school with a lunch box concept, children may not bring their home made lunch at school. Either you pay for the dining hall service and supervision or you take your children at 12.00 and bring them back at 13.30. 

Of course, there are pros and cons with both systems, but I got to pay almost 6€00 a meal, which most of the time does not meet my standards about food: regarding balance (viva the pasta/fries/rice! apparently these are veggies at school), quality (never had a proof, but I am highly suspicious) and quantity.

The 6€ meal probably explains the fact that now people at school talk about "school restaurant"....

On the contrary, most adult people I know ( those who work I mean) bring their lunch to the workplace with them. That's why bentos are so trendy at the moment! I even gave in buying two cute (but not ridiculously kawai) boxes for my back to work treat lol.

God, I hope I put everything the schoolteacher "ordered" in my baby's backpack and that she had a good day with the other kids ! I hope she's fine and that she'll be glad to go back to school tomorrow!

French Breakfast

In French breakfast is called "petit déjeuner" which loosely means "a small meal to break the fast (of the night)". its name reveals the small variety and quantity of what is eaten by a French person  early in the morning. The big meal to break the fast being of course the "déjeuner" !
In fact, many children and adults eat some more around 10.00 am, although it is not  nowadays advised by doctors and nutritionists, all the more so as many people just have coffee and nothing else.

a biscotte

What we eat at home is comparable to a continental breakfast in England: cups of strong black coffee, a bit of the day-before baguette or  biscottes (which is a sort of dried sandwich loaf slice) wth unsalted butter and/or jam ( the most common would be apricot and strawberry)and a glass of orange juice. Children, of course do not drink coffee ! usually they have a hot chocolate milk and on their brad they do enjoy nutella very much !

Ajouter une légende

The most famous brand ever in France is "banania", it dates back from the 1910s, and brings us back to the colonialist past of France.Chocolate was brought back from our colonies. The slogan, as well the original picture on the packets are now considered as racist stereotypes" and could not be used today.
The slogan was "y'a bon, banania" which could be translated by "Is good, banania"

Puffy, buttery, yummy !

Breakfast on week-ends is for many of us quite a different thing: we then have the time to go to the nearest bakery and enjoy several croissant and or pains au chocolat and/or pains aux raisins ! Nowadays, supermarket sell those in pckets, but they have nothing to do with a real baker's ones !





These last years, Many compagnies have appealed to children to sell greasy, sugary cereals on the grounds that it was good for their health. Nowadays I would say that people still have them, but globally the trendy effect has worn out ! Yet, as more and more people in France are weight and health conscious, more and more people make sure they have fruit, a dairy product and protein in the morning.

MY city is the best !

I don't know if all the French think the way I do, I should say the way we do, because I am from Marseilles, and like most people living here I am quite happy and proud of my city with all its defects included !

Indeed, most of the time, when Marseilles is mentioned on French television it's only either to relate some bloody criminal case in the news or a strike (the city is reputed in France for having very strong town unions which paralyse transports and/or garbage collection at least once a year). Sometimes, it is to convey an old-fashion cliché about men with a strong unintelligible accent, drinking pastis by the sea, playing the petanque bowl game. 

We, inhabitants of Marseilles, attribute these terrible reports to the fact that the inhabitants of Paris are our natural "enemies" ( this trend is very much present in football, in the season, the most important thing for the local team O. M. is to win over Paris team.). 

What is never virtually mentioned about my city:

the "calanques"

• There are beautiful sites within the city itself, though the "cannebière" is highly overrated IMHO, as well as splendid small isles nearby, not to mention the savage seaside the "calanques". 

• If you have more than hour for your lunch break and enough energy, you'll probably be able to go for a swim in the sea every day!

• The city is constituted of many neighbourhoods, almost villages , in which the atmosphere, the landscape , and people are very different. In each of these villages, you'll find food markets some of which reflect the multicultural quality of the city.

• Becoming a "Marseillais" is quite an easy task, we don't need an integration policy, here nobody will ask if you're from French descent, and certainly not for how much time your family has been here. We just assume that whatever the origin, you're now here and you're a Marseillais. The only thing is to never proclaim your love for another football team in public and certainly not in the street !

 
 This video was taken before the match had started, the players were just warming up.

• Whenever someone asks "what"s the weather like?" the answer will be "sunny"

• The city is over 2000 years old, so it is quite rich historically !

• The Alps are just about an hour away.

• In the morning, you can buy fresh fish right from the fisher's boat in the port located right in the city center.

• Notre Dame de la Garde !

Notre Dame de la Garde by night seen from le vieux port

• You can witness a whole comic sketch in the street at any time for a disagreement on a parking place, or a driving violation.

If you are ever to visit my city, a few things need to be said (among the defects) criminality IS an issue by night, but also during the day, in the city centre, but also at the beaches (thieves go to the beach too).

This being said, and even if I was once robbed from my purse (taken into my bag without violence: I  did not realise it was gone until a few minutes later), I have never been assaulted, nor witnessed any assault myself. Maybe because I do may attention to where I am, and who to carefully avoid. 

Maybe, you've guessed it, I feel more Marseillaise than French, yet, when I spend time abroad, I start to feel French again !

Matefaim: the first dish I learned to cook when I was a child

A simple meal if there is one, this is the very first dish I learned to cook when I was about 6.
My granny taught it to me, and I enjoyed it a lot with a little bit of tomato sauce on the side ( or even ketchup). You need:

• 2 eggs
• Flour
• Oil ( I use olive oil, but I use it pretty much all the time because I am from Provence, feel free to try with your favorite)
• Salt and pepper
• A pan (small)
• A very flat lid which matches the size of the pan.

Break the eggs in a bowl, just beat them with a fork until white and yolk are mixed, add up two /three spoons of flour, beat some more, add salt and pepper.

The mix must be homogeneous and thicker than the one for crêpes.

Heat on low heat a pan with a little oil in it, then pour on the eggs in it. After two or three minutes, check with a spatula if the edges are cooked and golden. If they are, make sure your matefaim is not sticking to the pan with your spatula.

Then take lid which must be the size of your pan, a lid which must be very flat.

Place the lid on the saucepan then turn it over, lid on the bottom and pan on the top,  to cook the other side of your matefaim. Put the pan back on the heat. put back the matefaim from the lid back to the pan.(the golden underside of the matefaim must now be visible, and the yet unccoked part directly on the pan bottom).

Finish to cook, the two sides must be golden brown.

The name "Matefaim" is derived from two French words: "mate", put down or subdue and "faim" hunger; so that this dish is supposed to make one feel full !
In some regions , the same dish is called "matafan", a small deformation of the name I use.

Variations:
My granny used to add some chopped tomatoes or red pepper to mix before cooking. I like it with some sweet corn grains.
You can add up about anything you want to the mix as long it is either already cooked, or cut into very small bits which will be cooked very quickly. Traditionally, it can't be meat or fish but veggies or even fruits for the sugar version.

In some regions, it is served as a dessert, it is then prepared with sugar instead of salt and pepper, and some cooked fruits are added to the mix ( like apples or pears).