Friday at last! Who would have thought that it could be so much work to not work, but so it is. This week has been a pretty busy one. Primarily due to the multiple trips – often in the same day – to various government ministries, offices, bureaus, etc., I’ve gotten a good taste of old fashioned bureaucracy and red tape. I have to admit though, that despite all the running around, it is a fairly straitforward process considering that I’m trying to get a work permit in a country being a foreign national born in yet a third country. In all, the process is reminiscent of the old walk-through enrollment procedure in college (without the long lines at the PMAC). It remains to be seen how smooth this transfer goes when moving on to Spain, but so far it seems decidedly more pleasant than my dealings with the folks DHS (sorry, but I want to limit the number of times phrases starting with “department” and ending with a word that sounds like “surety” appear on this site).

So anyway, here we are passing our “fin de saison” with trips to the French countryside, strolls downtown, and indulging in wine and all kinds of stuff that’s really really bad for you. I’m determined to put this famous “French Paradox” to the test. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we’re also busting ass looking for work. Right now we’re working on getting a DSL line installed so we can set up a home network and work simultaneously without tying up the phone line. Ironically enough, this seems to be more of a hassle than arranging for a work permit. Hopefully, we should have it in the next week or so. Until then, it’s dialup as usual.

The other day one of Steph’s cousins dropped by and taught me to play chess, or at least the basics. I figured that if I’m to be a true man of leisure, I need to know how to play. If I’m not careful, I could end up taking up petanque, equestrian sports, and all manner of old-world pastimes. One thing I figured out pretty quickly is that French Paradox or not, I gotta watch the pounds, err, kilos with all cheeses, pates, and other fatty substances about. To that end, I decided I’d start swimming again since I haven’t done so (other than for recreational purposes) since Big D. However, it’s not so simple. You can’t just show up at the gym, pay your way, put on your trunks, and start doing laps. It would seem there are strict guidelines and regulations concerning the type of swimwear permitted in the pool. So I now own (if you can picture this, you have my deep and most sincere apologies) a pair of skintight lycra speedo-esque swimming shorts.

While the thought of that might be amusing at best, that’s not the point. The point is that it’s funny how stringently so many aspects of life are regulated here. For example, last Saturday we were doing some yard work – you know, trimming hedges and the like, as any man of leisure would – and we had to get rid of the leaves and branches and stuff. Now, in the US, you just drop the stuff at the curb and wait, or better yet call, to have the city folks come by and pick it up. In Honduras it gets more interesting. The more popular option would be to burn it right there in your yard (preferably with any other household rubbish you might be hesitant about just tossing in the garbage). Some folks actually go as far as lauding this method for keeping away the mosquitoes. Other options involve tossing it in a nearby empty or unoccupied lot or simply dumping it by the roadside. Here on the other hand you have to carry it, that’s right, carry it to a designated dumpsite. There you are instructed into which of the different bins and dumpsters you are to deposit your cargo.

It all seems like a hassle and you wonder why people bother. But that’s just it; people seem to not mind simple inconveniences (like not having plastic bags at the supermarket) if it’s for a good cause. And around here, it’s hard not to notice that the environment is a very important cause in most people’s minds (yard waste is mulched and re-used by the authorities). What does that have to do with me doing laps in one kind of trunk or another? I don’t know, but it illustrates how willing people can be to make do with small inconveniences for the sake of what is generally perceived, or at least accepted, as the greater good.

This discussion on socialist principles and the role they play in the social organization of post-modern Europe will have to be deferred for a later post when I’ve had more time to observe. In the meantime, I can say that the subject is of particular interest to me and has a strong chance of becoming a major theme. This is even more so because of all the ways in which this relationship manifests itself and the many contradictions, both real and apparent, that surface from within.