Busman's Holiday

It takes time to settle into a new country; even one so similar as is France. It is not just the language and currency that are different, but the customs too.
For example, I have just started a new job. Now that has its complications but I assumed when they said I accumulated 2 days holiday per month, that I might be able to use the holiday.
Wrong!
That is, I can use it next year, but not now.
You see, in France you store up holiday for use the year before you use it. It is measured from May to May. My business engineer, Natalia, explained it to me. It took her a while to get her head round it too, as she is Spanish and had to learn the ropes in the same way I am.  So as I joined in April, I have 4 days from 2012/13 to use in 2013/14. An I have already used most of them!
So what about the 2 weeks in August when the client company shuts down?
Ah, well then we borrow holiday from next year (but not, as I recall, if it happens to be in May). So since the 2 weeks are forced on me, they can be borrowed. I found this out only when I booked another weeks holiday in August, and I did that, only because it was a mandatory condition of my company to take 3 weeks before October (another bit of French law).
The holiday I wanted would have had to be unpaid.
But what about the legal requirement? Well that is only for people with enough holiday to take three weeks in the summer. Then you have to. I don't have to, so that 1 week holiday got quickly cancelled.
And the 2 mandatory weeks? Oh, well Altran want an engineer for a couple of weeks to do some analysis of a customer project resourced internally. Conveniently, these 2 weeks would do very nicely; or have I already booked holiday? No, I was expecting to look for flats, perhaps move in, perhaps visit the cottage, but nothing booked. And so, since the work sounded interesting, and I will need to 'borrow' a week for the Christmas shutdown, I agreed to a busman's holiday.
They say a change is as good as a rest, and the offices and work will be different for 2 weeks.
I feel rested already.