Vive le France!

I've always wondered why it is that Americans and French people seem to have such a love-hate relationship. We love their wine and their fine food (actually, I don't really like their food - work with me here), but we don't like their snobbish attitude.

French people don't like much of anything American, but they're appreciative of our help in liberating them a time or two.

I work with a lot of French people on a daily basis. In fact, my direct boss is in France, so I spend a lot of time communicating with my French buddies everyday. I actually have a lot of respect for them all and really have come to value their friendship over the years. I've kind of adopted France as my country away from home.

But, I have to say, one thing about France really annoys me. They get unbelievable amounts of vacation. As a matter of fact, they get so much of it, they're apparently running out of disposable income to spend on vacation.

This being August, all those French people I work with are out of the office, and most have been for the entire month. I freely admit that as much as I love these people, I get a bit annoyed that they're all off enjoying an entire month of uninterrupted relaxation while I'm continuing to lose a little bit more of my mind every stinkin' day taking care of all of the problems they're not even thinking about. So, right about now, I'm really not feeling all that sorry for them not being able to afford a soiree' on the Riviera this year. After all, I've taken one 7-day vacation in the past 5 years. And they wonder why I'm so grumpy everyday?

Even as grumpy as I may be, I can't hold it against them. Those French folks really know how to live.

Comments

[Scott-O-Rama]

I don't know why, but I've been obsessed with France and in particular, Paris, lately. It goes way beyond all those naked Rugby boys. I really, really want to visit and perhaps even live there. I'm trying to teach myself French since I don't speak it.

That vacation time thing would be really nice... esp. for poor overworked Buckaroo.

[Hanuman]

This may not be PC, but I love this joke!

Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?

A: Nobody knows, they've never tried!

[Phil]

Its not just the French who get lots of vacation time.

I'm a Canadian who's lived in the UK for fiften years - I get five weeks a year which is pretty standard, but not as much as France or Germany.

Its one reason I still live here instead of returning back to Canada!