My morning clusterfuck

What a day! So, to get to work everyday, which is outside of Paris, I take the Transillien train from the Gare Montparnasse. It's a quick 9 minutes from Place D'Italie to the Gare, and from the Gare it's 30 minutes. I had a class this morning at 9am. I typically take either the 7:56 or 8:26 train to arrive on time. I got to the Gare at 7:45, and lo and behold, the next train listen on the screen was at 8:58. I checked my schedule both in a hard copy and online to make sure that I hadn't made some mistake or misread the schedule. Nope, both earlier trains were listed. I looked for someone to speak to, in case the electronic screens were wrong, but no SNCF personnel were around. I figured they just got there later in the morning, as many businesses don't open until 9:30-10:30 here. I called my superior at work and sent emails. I felt utterly horrible. What had I done wrong? I didn't want my students to think of me as a flake for missing my class! Well, what other option did I have than to take the train listed? None. When I got on the train, there were a LOT of other people getting on; far more than usual for that train. As I got on, I discovered why I had been unable to catch the proper train or find any personnel to redress the issue: the SNCF were on strike! My superior ended up calling me back and saying there was a strike, there was nothing I could do, and I'd get there when I get there. It's no joke when people say there are strikes ALL THE TIME in France. It's true. Every day, some group or organization is striking for something. I was a little shocked though that people here just accept it. How does anybody get anything done around here? The strikes are a major inconvenience, which I understand is the point of it all. Still though, how are people expected to keep regular professional and academic commitments when suddenly there are strikes without warning? It's crazy! There was, it turns out, a notice I had missed on the Transillien site that read, "Mardi 11 octobre : un mouvement social perturbe l'ensemble du trafic sur le réseau Transilien, à l'exception des lignes A, E et K, où le service est normal.". In new York, if the MTA wrote, "a social movement will be disrupting all traffic on the L train today, excepting the stop at Rockaway Parkway", people would be PISSED. they would make a fuss and not tolerate it. Furthermore, there would be grave consequences for their personal, academic, and professional lives. You missed the LSAT because the train conductors were on strike and you couldn't get there? Too bad. You missed that super important job interview with Goldman Sachs? Passed over to the next qualified applicant. What's that, you couldn't make your anniversary dinner and left your wife stranded at Per Se all by her lonesome? Divorce. It is asinine to me that these strikes occur with such frequency, and that they are simply accepted as a part of quotidian life.