Bastards!

I was in a bad mood today (starting at noon). First, I found out Gina's French class has been canceled today, tomorrow, and probably the day after because the teacher and the substitute teacher are both on strike. Gina was told to come back on Thursday, but then was also handed a leaflet which seems to indicate that the striking teachers want the students to come back on Thursday to join them in their protest. Considering that the only people losing out here are the students (who are paying $27.50 per class and probably won't get payed back for missed class), I'm not sure how much support they'll be getting.

Second, we received a bill from a shipping company for $225. We shipped a bunch of my old books + my old clothes, underwear and socks from China to France. We were already annoyed because we had asked the company (TNT Express International) to ship "Economy Express," but they shipped at the next more expensive rate ("Global Express") and refused to lower the charges because of their fuck up. Now, they're also charging us $225 in import duties and other administrative fees. Apparently, tourists coming to France now have to pay $2 per underwear. I guess it's a way of encouraging tourists to leave their underwear at home and buy new ones in France.

Anyways, since I was in a bad mood, we went for a walk (instead of me studying). The Promenade plantée is a charming two- or three-kilometer long stretch of greenery. There was a little delay getting there (due to striking subway workers), but we made it and had a nice walk.