Some reflections on the French mindset

[pphaneuf]

A few days after arriving here, hunting for wireless access nearby, and not having too much success, I thought it was pretty ridiculous that there was all these neat little cafés, but there was Internet access nowhere to be seen. When I did find some, it was rather poorly, with a WPA password that the Internet café attendant (because I had to go to an actual Internet café, rather than just the corner café) typed into my computer (and I hit "save this password", of course). Or the completely widely open access point that seems to be running not too far from the apartment we're at and seems to work (most of the time). No easy to use "captive access point", or anything like that.

But really, it's pretty simple. They just don't care. Nothing more to it. They go to the café to enjoy a beer or a coffee with their friends, and chat. Taking your laptop there would be quite silly! So there's just no demand for it. There goes sfllaw's ubiquitous wireless access (yes, there is 3G coverage, but it's kind of tricky, and confused the hell out of two of the three cellphone salesperson I talked to up to now).

And peach-scented toilet paper, now, that's just totally retarded. No excuse for it.

Comments

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

When I was in France, I found myself using internet cafes a lot. They're expensive, but they seem to be fairly common. Or at least that was my impression. I didn't get to Toulouse, so it may be different there.

Hugs!

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

It's not so bad, because I have my Powerbook. The nearby Internet café has a "one hour of wifi per whatever you buy" or something like that, so you can just get a coffee and do your thing for an hour (and the coffee isn't brutally expensive).

[phrawzty.livejournal.com]

When jul3z and i were in Sête, the only internet-café type place we could find was a gaming centre (which are usually even more expensive than normal cafés, of course). Luckily, the people running the place were mired in an Counterstike competition, and had no time to bother with charging us for our usage. :)

Our only lucky break in the world of paying for internet access though, because - as you mentioned - that sort of thing is expensive once you leave Paris...

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

Yep, and it's VILE.

[azrhey.livejournal.com]

and THAT doesn't explain the 45 minutes you spent in there the other day!

[sfllaw.livejournal.com]

Is it just that I only visit places that have free Internet everywhere?!?

I find it highly uncivilised not to have it around, these days.

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

It's rather interesting that, from their point of view, it would be uncivilised to have it...

[sfllaw.livejournal.com]

How could it be civilised to have Internet than you have to pay for? What kind of socialist country are they running, anyway?

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

No, no, no! It would be uncivilised to have wireless Internet, period, free or not. It would distract you from enjoying your café crème and croissant properly, and that would be uncivilised!

Note that I didn't see much students studying in cafés, unlike here, even though Toulouse is an university town. It's just not the kind of thing you do in a café.

[sfllaw.livejournal.com]

That's a terrible excuse.

If one can't enjoy a café crème and croissant properly, then one shouldn't be allowed to enjoy them at all. But without wireless Internet, one has to rely on barbaric means to book tickets and find one's way around.

Nasty.

Besides, students studying in cafés is a phenomenon encouraged by shopkeepers in America. Where profits are more important than lifestyle.

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

I don't know about booking tickets, but the proper way of finding one's way around, is, of course, to ask someone else in the café, chat them up, and either discuss politics until the wee hours or take them to bed, it would seem. Or something like that.

[sfllaw.livejournal.com]

That will get you somewhere exciting, but it won't get to you where you wanted to go in the first place.

Trust me, I do it all the time.

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

Apparently, going where you wanted to go in the first place isn't valued very much over there!

[pdage.livejournal.com]

It's still better than the oh so wrong CHOCOLATE SENTED paper I came accross when I was in Britain. Then again, it was probably the most amazing fluke ever since I was only there for a few short hours.

Just like how I just HAD to see WonderGino during my one hour stop in Italy.

Yeah, I travel hardcore style :)

Heh...

[kyotto.livejournal.com]

... sounds perfectly delightful to me. However, this is coming from someone who can live without much internet, and has, for what... 8 months or so? And I quite loved it, even though my friends didn't always remember that I didn't log onto the net to find out about lives lol. *superhugs*

C.

[peaceful-dragon.livejournal.com]

I still have trouble finding wireless internet access in downtown Montreal, even.

And when I do find one, it's usually not free. ;-)

[pphaneuf.livejournal.com]

Any Second Cup will have some, for a fee, though. Ile sans fil will also show you a bunch of places you can get wireless for free in Montreal.

[peaceful-dragon.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately Ile san fils haven't been established around the areas where I hang out; basically St. Catherine downtown. :(