Winter in France, Change, and Being Grateful.

The fact that this wasn’t sent last month should be your indication things have been off kilter.

Read on for:

• Life updates, some of which is sad

• Winter in our beautiful region, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

• The $%^%$$# French driving test

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Uncomfortable and (Sometimes) Uncontrollable Change

It’s no doubt that 2025 has brought a lot of change and a good deal of uncertainty. It has always been surreal to me having to balance jarring change or loss and then still go about a daily routine because that’s life and you have to. On one hand habits and mundane needs are comforting; they’re a nicely packaged system of distraction rooted in basic survival instinct. But at times it also feels like walking into a burning house and willfully ignoring the fire. I don’t like ignoring potential catastrophe, I’m more comfortable fixing it. That said, given the suddenly changed funding landscape that directly impacts my work and potential clients, I’ve been in reorganization mode from a business perspective and in dismay as a decent human being.

On a deeper level, I think we all find comfort in stability and I’m no exception. That alone has added a higher than normal baseline of stress to kick off 2025 (in addition to forced reflection, priority setting, and making a few extra contingency plans for the foreseeable future.)

It is against this already shitty backdrop that last month we had to say goodbye to Zoe, who I adopted from the pound in Knoxville in 2011 and has been with me/us ever since. To say there’s a hole in our lives, schedules, and spaces now would be an understatement. She traveled with us, went out with us, was the best hiking buddy, and the sweetest, spunkiest dog. Her personality really was like a little human—super expressive, very communicative, and an absolute boss.

An image that captures something we’ve done 1,000 times. Zoe and Etta at Shelby Bottoms ~ 2022 for a walk in the park.

The fact that she led a long, healthy, active life that was full of love, adventure, and pizza consoles some, but it doesn’t blunt the palpable absence. Having been in our lives for almost 14 years (she was at least 15 years old), I’ve rarely been an adult without her. Justin and I have barely had a relationship without her in it. All of my plans and decisions throughout my entire adult life factored her in. It will take time to adjust to this massive change.

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Soaking Up Winter in France

Despite this, we’ve been enjoying a cold but snowy and pretty winter (ironically I’m sending this as we wrap up 3 days of temps in the high 50sF for the first time in ages). Of course it will depend some on where in the country a person lives, but for many here in France winter means skiing. You’ve heard me talk some about how happy we are to be so close to the mountains for a number of reasons, and this is one of the big ones. Skiing here is a bit of an every-person activity, which gives a special charm to many of the ski areas. We went 3 times in January and are going once more before we shift towards spring activities. Since we’ve been to several areas now, I wrote a more in-depth article on my fledgling travel account, Near Far and Away.

Skiing in the French Alps: A Digest

Now that the January dust has settled and I’ve recalibrated I’ll actually be writing more there, too.

Wide open slopes in my favorite place to ski so far, La Plagne.

Even though it has been cold since seemingly forever (seriously, it’s been cold since the end of September), we wanted to get outside of the city more this year. Thanks to the fact that Auvergne Rhône-Alpes is an absolute bombshell of outdoor activities and the fact that Lyon itself is immediately abutted by hills to the west and south, we’ve taken Etta (who is also still depressed) on hikes and long walks we couldn’t do with Zoe in her old age.

The really great part is that so many of these places are reachable by city bus, and they allow dogs. So after a 20 minute bus ride, you’re in the countryside on hiking trails that have 1,000 ft of elevation gain and views over the snow-covered Alps.

Particularly these last couple of months, and even back in December when we got back from the US, I’ve been so thankful for our new home here. There is an ambient calm that simply doesn’t exist in the US, at least not anymore. Even in times of chaos people are more mild-tempered, they’re genuinely interested in helping you and they don’t assume the worst—you can tell this in the way they react to things that would make most Americans erupt. Just don’t expect their good graces if you yourself are the asshole. Yet another thing I appreciate.

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Ze French Driving Test—possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever contended with

God help me, y’all. The process for a driver to get a license here is ridiculous.

US drivers have a year to get their French license

If our US driver’s license had come from one of ~ 18 states, we both could have simply exchanged them for a French one within the first year of our time here. No test, no questions. However, these exchange agreements are between individual states and the French government, and as TN is not one of those states, naturally, we have no choice but to take the test. In order to keep driving legally, we have to take the written and practical test to apply for the *beginner* license…there’s no exception for someone who’s been driving for 20 years under very similar driving rules.

The driving test/school system here is nothing but a racket.

Because you have to take the practical test in a dual-control car, and the only people who have these are driving schools, you basically have to enroll in driving school. Unfortunately, many schools have a minimum number of hours they will “teach” you, like 15 hours. I refuse to do that, because I don’t need it. Additionally, it’s very hard to even register for the practical test without your driving instructor doing it for you AND they have to be in their dual-control car with you while you take the practical test. As you can see, this turns into a huge waste of time and money. I am currently still looking for a school to take me on as a “student” since I am not in need of 15+ hours of driving practice. Most people spend ~ 700-1200 euros getting their license. I’m not doing that.

La Code—a phrase that strikes fear in the heart of every French person.

Before you proceed to the practical component, you must take the written test, La Code. It is notoriously difficult to pass, even among native French speakers, with something like ~ 50% of exams receiving a passing score last year. You have 40 questions, 20 seconds per question, it’s only in French, and some questions have one correct response while others have multiple correct responses. A passing score is at least 35/40 correct responses.

Topics covered include:

• Reasonable basics like safe travel distances, speed, road signs, etc.

• But also include mechanical things like how to check oil and the right sequence of steps to change tires (Me? Don’t know, don’t care, call AAA.)

• Very detailed first aid (difference between arterial and veinous bleeding and how to stop each one)

• A whole section of eco-friendly driving behavior

• And a grossly in-depth explanation of all my braking options (engine breaking, using the actual break, others I got so bored reading about I don’t remember. Again, IDGAF.)

The material is not difficult. The wording and type of questions, the time crunch, and the breadth of topics covered on the test make it difficult. As do the grainy, small and otherwise low quality photos you’re supposed to analyze as part of answering these questions.

Examples of what’s on the test

One particularly annoying and recurring question lists the stepwise process you should take to properly adjust your seat for optimal safety, visibility, and fatigue prevention. You have 4 choices, each with some sequence of backrest, headrest, steering wheel, seatbelt, and seat distance written out. First off, I strongly argue it doesn’t matter. Second, mentally processing these 4 sequence options in less than 20 seconds, even in English, and then selecting the correct one and submitting it before it flips to the next question asks a lot for a question with no significant point.

Another example of this lunacy is that, apparently, you’re not “supposed” to downshift from, say, 4th gear into neutral when coming to a stop. You will get points taken off your practical exam if you do not downshift from 4 to 3, to 2, to 1. As someone who has driven a manual car for the last 9 years, this is asinine.

I took my written test yesterday—results take 24 to 72 hours to get back. We’ll see if I passed lol.

Ciao!