Big Brother

No, this post has nothing to do with the TV reality show (which, by the way, the French have morphed into about 5 trashy spin-off shows) but about actual real-life big brothers. I don't have an older brother (I have 2 younger brothers) and, when I see how over protective older brothers can be, am usually grateful that I was the one bossing my brothers around and not vice versa.

But sometimes, on rare occasions, I wish I had had an older brother. And today, one of those occasions presented themselves in the form of a delightful little 14-year old boy. At about 9:30 am, a pretty little girl (who was probably about 5 years old) dressed in a turquoise frilly dress traipsed into the store in the obligatory hip-jiggling way that little girls in frilly dresses do, followed by (what looked like) her older brother who seemed to be about 14. She became all over-excited as any 5-year old would in a candy store, and he just stayed calm, giggled a bit and asked her in the sweetest, most patient way ever which sweets she wanted. She took ages to decide (which I'm now used to) and inspected each jar as if she was making a life-changing decision. And throughout all her hesitation, deliberation and changing her mind, her older brother just stayed calm and spoke to her in the kindest way. But, what melted my heart the most was when he took her in his arms and lifted her up so that he could show her what was on the higher shelves so she could get a chance to see everything.

Okay, while I understand that this may not be a tear-jerking anecdote, I must say, it was seriously refreshing and heart-warming to see an adolescent being so patient and humouring his younger sibling the way this 14-year old did. Usually, such visits are filled with "hurry up and just take anything !" or "i'm never bringing you back here again !" or, my personal favourite "come ON, you're making me swell up" (in French, of course !). So, just to say that the 14-year old that came by today is the kind of big brother I would have wished to have. But, I'm quite happy with my two younger brothers whom I happily annoyed the crap out of as we were growing up (I particularly remember how irritated they were when I got to high school because they kept saying "you just think you're so cool now because you're in high school !").

PS : Might I just add that the sweet 14-year old also "congratulated" me for working so hard (yes, being a candy taste-tester is tough job but someone's got to do it...) and that I really should take a break. Awwwww

The Green-eyed Monster

Sometimes in life, when you least expect it, that ugly green-eyed monster rears his head somewhere in your vicinity... Which green-eyed monster you say ? Well, the one that comes in the form of a jealous competitor.  Today, I've decided that I'm going to introduce you to my green-eyed monster.

Now, when we were looking for a shop to rent, there were several factors that we had to take into account, the most important being that we had to be easily accessible to children (being a candy shop and all...). So, we decided to take one in a small shopping centre that was close to schools, the local library and walking distance from a huge apartment block. It was the "perfect" location at a reasonable price. Also, there was a pharmacy, a sandwich shop (or a sandwicherie as they say), a screenprinters owned by a rather unlikely couple (more on them later), a hair salon and a Presse. Now, a Presse is how you'd describe a kiosk or a newsstand except that they are actual stores and they're peppered all over French cities. You can usually spot them from a distance because they all have this sign :

They sell magazines, newspapers, lottery cards, postage stamps and, often, they also sell a small selection of sweets. Mmmm-hmmm, you're starting to get the picture ? Now, let me be very clear by saying that sweets are NOT their primary source of income and at the Presse in our shopping centre, it looks more like an afterthought product. And, in all fairness, the sweets we'd planned on selling were NOTHING like the ones they had.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, let me introduce you to my green-eyed monster : "P" (I promise it has nothing to do with privates or "number 1") who is, rather coincidentally, the owner of the Presse.

It didn't take him (or his snobbish wife) long to show us exactly how much they "disapproved" of us opening our candy store in the shopping centre. Firstly, they told my husband that it'll never work out for us because they hardly ever sell any sweets. Then, they sent the janitor to try to convince us to rent a shop on the other side of the shopping centre where NO ONE dares to venture. And, the cherry on the top, about a week after we'd opened, they started asking kids (who'd bought at our store) what kind of sweets we sold and at what prices. The kids (being kids) came right back and told me and added that they much preferred buying from us because we were much "nicer people" (of course, at that point, they hadn't seen my at my PMSing worst !).

And then, a week later, after some candy detective work on my side, I found out that they'd started selling certain items that we had. At 5 cents CHEAPER than us ! I was livid - I could actually feel the bubbles in my boiling blood ! But, being the spineless jellyfish that I am, I decided to let it go. Or maybe I just didn't want to have a confrontation in French. (Or maybe I just didn't want to have a confrontation AT ALL..?) But, this was WAR ....

(the saga will continue in further updates)

How it all started...

A South African, with a qualification in teaching French as a Foreign Language, living in France. That's me. A dream life ? Perhaps. Except for one teeny problem, there aren't that many people in France who need to learn how to speak French as a foreign language ! So, I decided that a radical career change was necessary. And then, all upon an autumn evening, an idea blossomed...

"A candy shop ?!" said my husband.

"Yes, a candy shop. I want to open a candy shop", I replied.

And that's how it all started. Okay, not so fairy-taleish because we had to check our savings, do a market study, find candy suppliers, find a shop to rent, make about 8000 photocopies (the French are not that into trees) for the Chamber of Commerce, and go through all the required bla bla before I could finally say that I was the proud owner of a candy shop in Marseille, France.

It's been six months and I can't say I regret anything (except certain snotty kids like the Lumbergs* - more on them later). I don't know if I'll do this for the rest of my life, but it's what I'm doing for now and am enjoying it.

Anyway, I decided to write this blog for several reasons :

a) i love writing
b) i like making fun of the French err... everyday is an adventure at the shop and i want to share it with others

Okay, so it's only 2 reasons, but I suppose they're good enough reasons. So, I hope that you enjoy my stories and I love comments so please feel free to leave any number of comments !

Thanks & have a "sweet" day ! (sorry, couldn't resist the corny pun !)

*names have been changed to avoid me being sued by the equally snotty father