Amuse-Bouche No. 13: : The Opposite of Vacationby Julia FreyIn France, the new year begins on September 1.September in Paris. So many parties. We go to a cocktail for Laurent’s new novel, due out for “What exactly,” I wonder, “is a ?” (re-entry). He says you have to begin with the end. End of the holidays, that is.A year has only nine months in France. It’s over in May, when the universities are already on strike and virtually each week has a four-day weekend. By this time the schoolchildren are singing: (Long live vacation, down with going back to school. See Note 1, below).Summer is not part of the year: It’s . Vacant classrooms, empty offices, closed boutiques. Employees are absent, stretched out (under the sycamores) or (at the beach), savoring , more poetic than (“doing nothing,” not to be confused with “Nothing doing!”—). During the minimum five weeks of (paid leave), nothing is exactly what gets done in France. But who would want it otherwise? Even our , the professionally unemployed and homeless, leave their sidewalk for six weeks, to greet us on their return with (How were your holidays?) Asking is a conversation-stopper. (from : to be busy with something) is a , its meaning just the opposite of the English word. It signifies work, frequently a short-term job, as in (a two-month contract)., the antonym of , comes with a bang. The last weekend of August, the (final deadline) for getting back to work, is always marked by the (return), with its nightmare (red traffic days). Everyone waits until (last) . The phenomenal bumper-to-bumper is so predictable that the French didn’t bat an eye when Jean-Luc Godard made the 1967 movie Weekend, consisting almost entirely of an endless traffic jam. The bang comes when a car (collides with your car), or worse, a driver with road rage (punches you in the face).Once home, people calm down and seem almost cheerful. (everything is back in place). means both returning and starting afresh. It’s : Schools reopen to (force some learning into little heads). It’s : trade unions start functioning again; and : so does the government. Everyone’s back to work, even if only for 35 hours a week, although this is a situation to watch. Mounting economic pressures may push France back to working 40 hours a week like the rest of us.In France, September has no romantic tinge of the dying year, falling leaves, cold wind sweeping through your hair. Psychologically, if not in calendar terms, it’s now that the French year begins, clean and fresh. Everybody’s energized. (advertisements) are touting : A new beginning needs new pencils and notebooks. is a chance to start over, , a new (challenge).Fall also means , with new plays and movies, making for lots of (tickets sold). is a fresh crop of books, candidates for the year’s literary awards. You wouldn’t want to (come back without any). A literary prize-winner can sell 100,000 copies -- a good way to (increase your income). If your book fails, (stifle your tears) (your anger). Buy yourself a new dress. Of course is designed to make new . Can't afford it? Here’s a cheap alternative: (suck in your stomach) (tuck your hair under your hat). You'll look great.Note 1. This ageless children’s song continues: (workbooks into the fire /toss the teacher on the pyre).© Julia Frey 2009
