L'orientation: 3eme jour

I didn't have to be at school until 10:30 today, so I decided to clear things up with the bank. It didn't quite work out that way -- they told me I still needed a mailbox at mon domicile (my residence) -- but I figured out a plan that will keep my money safe and sound until my landlord and the building manager have a coffee and decide to hand me a mailbox key. We decided that I would withdraw my money and close the account until I receive a mailbox, at which point I will re-open the account (complicated, I know).

Then I went to Reid Hall where we learned about our carte de sejour (yay! another fee!), how to use French computers (it's difficult), and various tips on "good maners" in France.

For lunch I went to Pomme du Pain for their 4,95 lunch special with 1 girl and 1 boy from my program. The special includes 1 sandwich (today was "le lyonnais"), 1 drink, and 1 dessert (today was chocolate cake). 5 EUR was not bad for a complete, delicious meal and a place to sit down on blvd. du montparnasse, but I think I'll start going to the Resto U (C.R.O.U.S.) since we'll have more time for lunch in the future.

The Resto U system is very handy -- I haven't been yet, but it's basically a cafeteria system for students in Paris. It costs about 2,90 EUR for a meal (about as much as a sandwich from a cart) but you get entrée, plat et dessert (and probably some beverages, too, I imagine). The one by our school is open for dinner, too, so if I like it, I may go there a lot.

After our class on "French manners" let out, I went with 3 other students to a librairie (bookstore) on the other side of les jardins de luxembourg: Gibert Joseph. Much cheaper than the neighboring Monoprix and other tourist traps, this librairie is close enough to la Sorbonne that it knows it needs to keep it's prices down for us students. I snagged an "agenda," or pocket calendar, for 2,89 EUR.

Before heading back home, I walked through les jardins and around St. Suplice for a while, just to take in the sights. I'm really so impressed by all the architecture here.

A couple metro stops later and I was back at the local ED to pick up an apple at ,48 EUR.

Perhaps I will go out again tonight? I still have my chocolate cake from lunch to devour...




Total Damages today:

1 lunch at pomme du pain: 5 EUR
1 agenda: 2,89 EUR
1 pomme (apple): 0,48 EUR

1st Day of Orientation!

I'm EXHAUSTED but a lot of good things happened today.

1. I got a cell phone that I pay for in DOLLARS for -- yes, dollars! Instead of a regular pre-paid card, the phone is basically a "short-term" plan that only charges you for the minutes you use during the time you indicate that you need to use the phone. All incoming calls (while I'm in France) are free, and all outgoing calls to other students who have the same plan (pretty much everyone on the Sarah Lawrence program buys this phone) are also free. Local calls are also cheaper than they would be on pre-paid cards and the whole phone plus sim cost me a mere 25 dollars. That's right, folks, DOLLARS.
I set it up so that it charges my Wells Fargo account and converts all Euros into dollars prices -- and since the telephone company is an American company, there are not extra fees for international charges! I'm glad there's one company out there who's target is poor study abroad students.
How can they do this for so cheap you ask? Well the sim cards are used, so you're really only paying for the service and not the hardware (you don't get to keep the sim). But since the company is based in the US, when I leave Paris, all I have to do is ship off the sim card from Los Angeles.

2. I may have worked out the issue with the bank. I wrote the "Conseiller des particuliers" a quick email regarding my lack of a boite de lettres offing an alternative that the people at Sarah Lawrence suggested to me. I hope this works out :: crosses fingers ::

3. Free breakfast! Yes, I ate 2 croissants because really how can you waste them?

4. I ate French macaroons! Pistache (wow) and nutella (oh my god). Pia (another French student from Scripps) arrived last night and today we stopped by a cute little patisserie by the school for lunch. The macaroons just asked to be eaten, so we split a box of 4.

5. The director of the SLC program, Monique, is quite possibly the cutest person in Paris.

6. Free samples of wine and meats and cheeses at Monoprix = win!

Total Damage today:

2 Macaroons and 1 can of Orangina at the patisserie: 3,80 EUR
1 pair of ballet flats (I swear I had no idea it would still be summer here): 7,50 EUR

Now all I need is a pair of sandals for the côte d'azur and I'll be set for every season (I really should have listened to my mother and tucked along an extra pair).

"Um, oui?"

So I just had the most embarrassing experience trying to communicate with the man who works at the bank where I just opened up an account. His very limited English and my very limited knowledge of French financial vocabulary combined to create one of the most interesting conversations I've had in years. After a while, I got used to just miming things and nodding my head. He must have thought that I was a complete idiot.

Other fun news. Apparently in France, when you open an account with a bank, you have to go to the post office to sign something after a week in order for them to open the account. I asked the man which post office to go to, he smiled a little and basically said the French equivalent of "good question." I'm beginning to wonder if this whole bank account thing wasn't a good idea after all. I really wanted to be able to write checks for my rent, but I wont even get my checks until 2 weeks after I sign that paper at the mystery post office...

I've contacted my landlord for some help... we'll see :)