DMV

today I went to pass the knowledge test for the driving licence; the nearer DMV, Department of Motor Vehicles, is in New Britain , 10 minutes by car from Farmington, they open at 8 I was there at 7 45, with a little crowd of 20 people. Yesterday it was closed all day for the anticipation of some sort of public holiday, Washington Birthday that is next Monday (the third of February), thus I am entitled to presume that today there is a bit more people than the usual. It is a fine morning but a chill wind is blowing and everybody is shivering. There is not a cue in the English sense of the term but people gather in a sort of sequential way respecting more or less their position. The lady near me interrupts her conversation with her friend with a series of "cogno, cogno cogno, cogno..." each time that a chilly gust of wind caresses our backs. At 8 02 the building opens, the crowd has in the meantime grown to the hundredth. Get the number and wait for it on the screen. As proofs of residence I've got two netflix envelope and one from the driving school. They are accepted. My requests remains for a while there, checking the immigration status, they explain me, finally after about 1 hour I get called and brought before the computer, 25 question I am allowed 5 mistakes. Difficult to fail. Next riddle to be solved... find a car to pass the driving test ....

d(r)iving deeper in US

as part of the requirements for a new driving licence, the state of Connecticut asks anyone unregarding of their experience to take an 8 hours course of theory of safe driving. Thus I spent yesterday and today, saturday and sunday 9 am to 1 pm sitting in this driving school in the nearby small town of Plainville to get this certificate. We were six "pupils" all male, starting from the back rows these were : 2 teenagers brought by their mothers, one round and with acne wearing a black sweater with stars and skulls, the other long and fair-skinned had a sort of pine-nut face, a 19th years old guy looking older and very crossed, The a guy in his late forties, a second hand car dealer,who had lost his licence because of drunkness at the wheel, and had then taken another two years because of being found driving, then a 26 years old, latino looking guy with his entire body -as we learned- covered in tattoes and who in the past stole cars, lastly in the second row, your affectionate friend. The school itself was unpretentious to say the least, like the guy running it, who started the first class with a daring statement, "you wouldn't want to be here, I would not want to be here, thus let's take this easy". What followed was a mix of videos, tips about the test and lots of casual conversation about cars and cops. The instructor was really taking it easy, for instance the same second he distributed one test he would start a casual conversation affecting everybody's attention. In terms of road regulations, difference are of course scarses, some however are worth a note. Pedestrians have always the right of way. Not just on crosswalk but always. What is the rationale? I speculate that this comes from two things, first not many people walk , second those who walk are mostly adoloscents old enough to go on their own and not old enough to have access to a car. The second difference is again about children, schoolbuses have lights to signal you to stop.
The two adolescents at coffee break would reappear with a obscene quantity of crisps and pop corn to be consumed in the second haf of class. The best line of the weekend however belongs to the tatooed car thief! On the second daywhen the instructor said that in Febraury there is not much queueing and that we all could be all driving next week, he commented
"oh, my Mum will be so happy"!!!!
isn't life wonderful?

coffe breaks

The Lewis Walpole Library (the picture is actually of the Root House the other 18th century house of the complex, the one reserved to fellows and researchers) is a sort of alpha and omega of the collectors world, its name comes from the name of Horace Walpole, on of the great British collectors on first half of the 18th century and Wilmhart Sheldon Lewis an American collector passionately in love with Walpole's collection or Walpoliana. The beginning and the end of the great age of collecting? The library was his house a 18th century (what else?) house. In 1928 He and his wife (It's her in the portrait over the fireplace, she was the one with big money) built another wing, or annex, a large beautiful room, that was then calle the New Library, and has kept its name even after that another building has been recently added to house the modern library. Books have been moved and now the New Library is a place for meeting and coffee breaks.

Walmart

my first visit to Walmart, I had a precise idea, drive on route 6 till you find it. My mission to buy patches to repair my raincoat I teared falling on ice about a week ago. I thought it would be so big I would not miss it and instead I missed it. After about half an hour driving southwest, the third Dunkin' Donuts, a Burger King and one McDonald, I made an U-turn and then I found it, it is relatively close to where I live. It must not be a giant one, I would say the size of a big European one, like a Carrefour in France. This is just an overview, I was tired after swimming and searching, and did not want to be too analytical.
Anyway just right after the entrance there is a Subway, which is a cheap version of fast food, then starts the clothing section. basically you have to put together, a large clothing supermarket, with a children toys shop, a pharmacy, a warehouse of house equipment, car and other toys for men and women, a gardening section, the food area is small, just to get together a quick meal. Prices are low, but now I do not remember them, I had a look in the men section. There are very few long socks, the majority of more elegant socks seems to be just at calf level. You find nylon socks for men, I remember I first saw them in Spain, they have them here too, knee-lenght only blue one made in china. The underpants section is dominated by boxers, for about 70 % then very large slip high on the waist. Funny colours on offer, red or bright blue, as if superman had gone schizophrenic.
I could not resist looking if the weapon section was present, the one that shocked European public opinion. Near the fishing section there is a section with some toy guns, in the section nearby three male adolescents with their hood on are talking in a section nearby, a little shiver runs on my back, a father and a son are nearby, the son, about 13 years old is looking at gun's padded covers, the father seems a little embarrassed at the son's enthusiasm. I peek further, there are some kit for simple guns, no serious weapon, nothing like in Micheal Moore, no automatic guns. I am thinking of heading away when a male shop-assistant asks me if I am finding what I was looking for... I answer that actually I am looking for those patches to be used instead of sewing, near the sewing machine maybe? he looks at me strangely, the combination of question and accent must be at least puzzling but possibly self annulling . I tour another while, find the sewing machines, mission accomplished. I can go back home.

a bit colder please

- 17 c° uau!! I think I have never seen the thermometer that low! Yet the sun is out and it looks beautiful. I was actually feeling cold yesterday walking to the dray laundry, but thought I was just tired and that it would be around -8 or so. The lady in the launderette, as soon as I opened my mouth, started to speak me in spanish.
I got a first answer about the issue in my previous post. Schools close, so that parents that live far, where road condition gets very bad, can get home. On another tone, I discovered that there is a Wall Mart quite close, thus soon I will have this ultimate American experience. Maybe tonight after the pool.

how do parents cope?

Over lunch break, I met with the housekeeper, he really seems out of a novel, tall and slim, he told me the funny anecdotes of the other fellows, like cooking a steak and the fire alarm going off. It is snowing intensely, today we expect 3 inches of snow. Nonetheless I was surprised to see broadcasted the announcement of early closing of the school because of that. 3 inches of snow are sufficient for school to close? in New England, not in Egypt. Besides, how do parents cope with that? This opens a number of interesting questions....

first day of routine

Last night has snowed, not much but this morning a new layer of snow has covered walkways and cars. Yesterday first workday in farmington. The Lewis Walpole Library was renovated recently with the building of a new section with a modern reading room, the customers today are the three fellows, none else; however, the doors are locked and you can ring to entry. Both at the entrance door and at for the reading room. Apart from that, we have our kitchenette with coffee maker and a beautiful other room, called by its old name the new library, where to sit and chat or read something else. The reading room is very comfortable, the table is designed for people who work on books and not computers, however there are retractable panel that you can use for your laptop. The staff is helpful and knowledgeble to say the least of it. It is cold in there, at lunchtime I had to come back and add a couple of layers under my shirt and sweater. I spent the mornng studying the card catalogues and their mutual relationship and with the online catalogue and digitalized image catalogue. You can do a lot between 8 30 and 4 30, and when you are done, you are weary, yet there is still lots of time before you. if you do not have to drive home, you can just collapse on the sofa, I resisted the temptation and went swimming, relaxed in the giant jacuzzi, then bought some stuff at the supermarket, cooked dinner, black long rice and asparagus, and watched a classic soviet movie I received through Netflix in the morning: Ballad of a soldier, a 1959 war drama, very romantic, tearful, and intense. Exactly what I needed. Then I went online and saw Little Britain, series 2 episode 6, excellent episode, to end the day with a laughter. I think I will cook dinner for my flatmates one of this days, maybe wednesday.