When I got to france, host dad told me thy I needed to always have a book on the metro and that I shouldn't make eye contact with anyone. Sometimes I forget my book & I want to recount the various awkward encounters I've had thus far. I've got some gems.
The singing accordion player
Very often, people play instruments on the metro and people give them a little bit of money if they play well. There is one accordion player who is constantly on line 3 and we keep having extremely awkward run in's. This one particular evening he stopped playing his song and in front of the entire metro car, told me I was the most beautiful person he has ever seen. People clapped. It was uncomfortable. Every time I have seen him afterwards he has winked at me.
The hop-off
Also on line 3, a man got on the metro and sat directly across from me. He was humming and singing to himself but wasn't threatening in the least. He asked if I had a tissue, I did not (bad Au Pair) he asked several other people, eventually found one and then went back to humming his song. It came time for me to get off the metro and switch lines so I got off. As I walked through the metro station I heard a "mademoiselle!!!" and turned around to see this guy had hopped off the metro and run after me, I assumed I dropped something and stopped. He proceeded to invite me to get a coffee and told me I was really pretty and he would have regretted the chance not to at least invite me for coffee. I politely said no thank you but that it was really sweet, he wished me a wonderful night and then went to wait for the next train.
Let's get married
Staying out until 6am is always awful. It's so exhausting and taking the train in the morning is rough because there are rowdy drunk people, so you never go alone. This time, Katherine and I were taking the metro back and an extremely drunk guy heard us speaking English, and told me he really wants to live in the United States one day and proceeded to propose to me and then introduce me to the entire train as his woman. He was not bad looking. Should have let that one ride.
Naked homeless
This happened just the other night, I was sitting on the 1 and a man gets on the metro with his guitar case and he is just talking a mile a minute. I understand exactly nothing of what he is saying but immediately realize he is homeless. He sits across from a really pretty blonde girl and starts waving at her and trying to get her attention. All of the sudden he lifts up his shirt and shows her his stomach. Everyone is horrified. He then unbuttons his shirt and flashes his whole chest and everyone. Literally speechless. He then sat on the metro and played his guitar the rest of the ride. It was weird.
Lesbian dance party
Waiting for the metro one night and it finally pulls up in front of me. I should have known better when I saw people dancing on the car I got onto but I just assumed this was a rowdy group of French people who would mind their own business. Not true. I sit down and am unnoticed for several minutes, enough to get a good look at the situation. It's a group of 7 people, 2 girls dressed really fancy with short skirts and hiiiigh heels, one girl with super short hair, a sports bra and these weird pants that I can only describe as short parachute pants, then the rest were guys dressed pretty scuzzily. They had these homemade instruments that were like big sticks with strings and looked African? All of this is completely surreal to me. They are dancing and shouting and the girl with the weird pants is doing hand stands and swinging from the handle bars. I consider getting off and switching compartments when one of the guys spots me. I knew immediately I was in for it. He comes up and serenades me in a language that I didn't recognize and then dances around me. He tries to take my hand and kiss it but the girl in the weird pants intercepts him and does it herself. The two of them proceed to dance literally on top of me even though I kept saying "arrêtez s'il vous plaît" and then the girl tells me she loves me and the entire group got off the train and went about their way. Um...what?
Riding in the conductors cabin of the metro
Waiting to take the metro home from school one day, hands in my pockets, I yawn. At the moment I yawn, the metro pulls up and the conductor opens his front door and tells me that it's rude not to cover your mouth when you yawn. I apologize and start to get into the train. He tells me to come in the front compartment with him, and he will show me how the train works. I say no thank you and scurry onto the train. I sit down and the conductor then opens a door into the compartment. He tells me he won't drive the train until I get into the front of it. There were like 20 people in my compartment staring at me, looking at me like 'um, get into the front section. Now. We're late.' I'm only going 3 stops and I really have wanted to ride in the front of the train... So I go.
He sets me up in a little seat next to him and starts showing me buttons and levers and then asks if I like Tupac and plays some songs on his iPhone. He introduced himself to me (I immediately forgot his name on accident) and am just content to watch the view from the front of the train. It was actually pretty cool. Suddenly it was my stop, I thank him and he tells me that he drives the 2 every afternoon and if he ever sees me waiting for it, I am not allowed to ride in the passenger cabin, I have to ride with him.
I am the queen of the metro
Monday, December 10, 2012
Yes it's rude here too. But who are you voting for?
My first few days here were immediately after the French election. One of the first things that A said to me was "so, who did you vote for?" I tried explaining to him that I am American and that I did not vote. This was confusing to him. "Why wouldn't you vote? Everyone votes. My dad voted for XXXXXXX"
This left a big impression on me. A 5 year old knew who his dad voted for and knew that it was important to vote and although he didn't quite understand, he was horrified that I didn't vote. So naturally as November approached they grew extremely curious about our election and I learned more about theirs. Here is what I learned.
Everyone in France has a political opinion. Everyone is extremely well informed about politics of not only France but also the world (although slightly biased by their pretty liberal culture). The French voting percentage is in the mid 80's and they were absolutely horrified to hear how low ours is in comparison. There are many many political parties in France, more than 5 and each is either as liberal or more liberal than ours, even their 'conservative' parties.
They are currently voting to legalize gay marriage which is causing a lot of uproar in the predominantly catholic country but I believe will ultimately be passed. All other personal rights remain extremely open in comparison to ours.
The French are well informed of American politics but from what I discovered, they really only hear the big points of the arguments and sometimes they didn't understand them. They would ask me to explain what was meant by certain comments made by the politicians and I would have to do my best to explain them.
The first time the family asked me who I was voting for, I started to explain that in the US it's not really appropriate to ask people who they are voting for because it's a personal thing and they said that it was the exact same in France. (Note that this didn't stop them from asking me... however I take it as a sign that they see me as part of the family so it's no longer necessary to follow etiquette rules like that.)
I shared my political views with them and we actually had a nice discussion involving American politics, trying to explain the electoral college to them (this was seriously next to impossible) and comparing our two processes.
The funniest thing to me is that the French didn't seem to understand why anyone would vote for Romney. They treated the election like a formality and assumed Obama would win with flying colors. Not a single person seemed concerned that he may not win, which I also tried to explain to them. I told them how close the election was and that lots of Americans did in fact want Romney to win, to which L scoffed and said "god, Americans are stupid." (This is a typical sentiment echoed by her on a semi-weekly basis; we're stupid, fat, lazy, etc. I have learned to ignore these comments because she is 14 and I remember that everything was stupid around that age.) but it also wasn't just the French. German girls in my classes, Swedish girls and various other Europeans would just come right out and ask who I was voting for and when they got the answer it was a resounding 'ohhhhh good'.
Finally it came time for the election and despite my fathers insistence and organization and help with my absentee ballot, I didn't get it turned in on time. (Read, dad told me 1,000 times to do it and I kept saying that I would, eventually I sent it in just under the wire and was informed that it was too late. Let this be a lesson, daddy's are always right.) So I did not vote in this election and I feel very un-American.
In effort to right this wrong, I only felt it appropriate to go sit at WOS for the entire evening and watch the election from start to finish. I wore a navy blue shirt, a red white and blue hair bow and painted my nails as close to red white and blue as possible (dark pink, blue, light pink)
I watched the election with Katherine, Jen, Jo and the Swedes, by the end it was just Jo and I who made it the entire night (this was a feat and a half considering I had to take care of children the next day and that we are 6 hours ahead of the US so we had to wait that much longer.
The French were extremely happy that Obama won and think its funny, ridiculous and ignorant that people are trying to secede. Let's be honest... Because it is.
This left a big impression on me. A 5 year old knew who his dad voted for and knew that it was important to vote and although he didn't quite understand, he was horrified that I didn't vote. So naturally as November approached they grew extremely curious about our election and I learned more about theirs. Here is what I learned.
Everyone in France has a political opinion. Everyone is extremely well informed about politics of not only France but also the world (although slightly biased by their pretty liberal culture). The French voting percentage is in the mid 80's and they were absolutely horrified to hear how low ours is in comparison. There are many many political parties in France, more than 5 and each is either as liberal or more liberal than ours, even their 'conservative' parties.
They are currently voting to legalize gay marriage which is causing a lot of uproar in the predominantly catholic country but I believe will ultimately be passed. All other personal rights remain extremely open in comparison to ours.
The French are well informed of American politics but from what I discovered, they really only hear the big points of the arguments and sometimes they didn't understand them. They would ask me to explain what was meant by certain comments made by the politicians and I would have to do my best to explain them.
The first time the family asked me who I was voting for, I started to explain that in the US it's not really appropriate to ask people who they are voting for because it's a personal thing and they said that it was the exact same in France. (Note that this didn't stop them from asking me... however I take it as a sign that they see me as part of the family so it's no longer necessary to follow etiquette rules like that.)
I shared my political views with them and we actually had a nice discussion involving American politics, trying to explain the electoral college to them (this was seriously next to impossible) and comparing our two processes.
The funniest thing to me is that the French didn't seem to understand why anyone would vote for Romney. They treated the election like a formality and assumed Obama would win with flying colors. Not a single person seemed concerned that he may not win, which I also tried to explain to them. I told them how close the election was and that lots of Americans did in fact want Romney to win, to which L scoffed and said "god, Americans are stupid." (This is a typical sentiment echoed by her on a semi-weekly basis; we're stupid, fat, lazy, etc. I have learned to ignore these comments because she is 14 and I remember that everything was stupid around that age.) but it also wasn't just the French. German girls in my classes, Swedish girls and various other Europeans would just come right out and ask who I was voting for and when they got the answer it was a resounding 'ohhhhh good'.
Finally it came time for the election and despite my fathers insistence and organization and help with my absentee ballot, I didn't get it turned in on time. (Read, dad told me 1,000 times to do it and I kept saying that I would, eventually I sent it in just under the wire and was informed that it was too late. Let this be a lesson, daddy's are always right.) So I did not vote in this election and I feel very un-American.
In effort to right this wrong, I only felt it appropriate to go sit at WOS for the entire evening and watch the election from start to finish. I wore a navy blue shirt, a red white and blue hair bow and painted my nails as close to red white and blue as possible (dark pink, blue, light pink)
I watched the election with Katherine, Jen, Jo and the Swedes, by the end it was just Jo and I who made it the entire night (this was a feat and a half considering I had to take care of children the next day and that we are 6 hours ahead of the US so we had to wait that much longer.
The French were extremely happy that Obama won and think its funny, ridiculous and ignorant that people are trying to secede. Let's be honest... Because it is.
Parc Asterix; the coldest I've ever been
For the teenagers birthday, she asked me to go with her and her friend to a theme park just outside of Paris. I hear 'theme park outside of Paris' and my brain goes like this:
OMGPARISDISNEYWORLDICANTWAITTOGOIVENEVERBEENTOREALDISNEYWORLDIMFREAKINGOUTIHOPEIMEETSLEEPINGBEAUTY!!!!!!!!!
My princess dreams are cut short when she says she wants to go to Parc Asterix, a French theme park based on a French comic book about a time traveling Viking and his friends. (I think) but hey, of course I'll go, sounds awesome!
I agree to go the Saturday that they ask me to because; hey, free theme park with roller coasters? Why not. So I get up at 6:30 on a Saturday (not fun) and we take the metro to the louvre and board a bus that will take about an hour to get Parc Asterix and bring us back at 6:30. It doesn't open until 10 so we wait just a little bit until the park opens. It's a little chilly and cloudy, which was concerning but I decide to think nothing of it.
We go ride the big roller coasters first before the lines get long. There were about 2-3 big roller coasters, definitely nowhere near as big as the roller coasters that I have been on, but they were okay. Around the end 3rd roller coaster it starts pouring down rain. I go on one more roller coaster with the girls were I got drenched down to my absolute bones. Not a single inch of me was dry.
I immediately started shivering, we wandered around the park for a while until deciding to have lunch and warm up. The food at this amusement park/ the set up was really interesting. They had real food not just burgers. And there was a buffet section that came free with your meal. It was ridiculous.
I wanted to stay in that warm restaurant all day, and the teenager told me I totally could but I didn't want to leave the girls wandering a park alone so after lunch I followed them around but was uninterested in the other rides. They were all kinda lame or closed and the teens just wanted to go back and forth from one big roller coaster to the other. I basically just followed and then sat at the exits, soaking wet and freezing.
Finally the girls were cold too so we went inside and shopped around in the 4,000 gift shops and we went on a carousel possibly 6 times because it was covered from the rain. I picked a pink horse and didn't move. No one was shocked.
I have never been so cold, wet, or tired in my lifetime. Finally after the longest and coldest hours of my life, the sun came out. I am not joking when I say that I found a patch of sun and just stood in it for the duration of the day trying to warm up. The girls rode some ride 15 times in a row so it was totally fine that I didn't move. On our way out, we buy waffles with chocolate (delicious and horridly messy) and finally get onto a bus to take us back home.
We get back to the apartment and I take the hottest shower possible. When my shower runs out of hot water (spoiler alert, within 10 minutes) I get out, sit and wait a half an hour for it to get warm again and take another steaming hot shower. I somehow made it out that night to WOS for the back-to-school party, but don't ask me how because I have no idea.
The pictures: Asterix sitting on top of a mountain, my pink carousel horse, other horses on the carousel, Siobhan and I in silly costumes at the back to school party.
OMGPARISDISNEYWORLDICANTWAITTOGOIVENEVERBEENTOREALDISNEYWORLDIMFREAKINGOUTIHOPEIMEETSLEEPINGBEAUTY!!!!!!!!!
My princess dreams are cut short when she says she wants to go to Parc Asterix, a French theme park based on a French comic book about a time traveling Viking and his friends. (I think) but hey, of course I'll go, sounds awesome!
I agree to go the Saturday that they ask me to because; hey, free theme park with roller coasters? Why not. So I get up at 6:30 on a Saturday (not fun) and we take the metro to the louvre and board a bus that will take about an hour to get Parc Asterix and bring us back at 6:30. It doesn't open until 10 so we wait just a little bit until the park opens. It's a little chilly and cloudy, which was concerning but I decide to think nothing of it.
We go ride the big roller coasters first before the lines get long. There were about 2-3 big roller coasters, definitely nowhere near as big as the roller coasters that I have been on, but they were okay. Around the end 3rd roller coaster it starts pouring down rain. I go on one more roller coaster with the girls were I got drenched down to my absolute bones. Not a single inch of me was dry.
I immediately started shivering, we wandered around the park for a while until deciding to have lunch and warm up. The food at this amusement park/ the set up was really interesting. They had real food not just burgers. And there was a buffet section that came free with your meal. It was ridiculous.
I wanted to stay in that warm restaurant all day, and the teenager told me I totally could but I didn't want to leave the girls wandering a park alone so after lunch I followed them around but was uninterested in the other rides. They were all kinda lame or closed and the teens just wanted to go back and forth from one big roller coaster to the other. I basically just followed and then sat at the exits, soaking wet and freezing.
Finally the girls were cold too so we went inside and shopped around in the 4,000 gift shops and we went on a carousel possibly 6 times because it was covered from the rain. I picked a pink horse and didn't move. No one was shocked.
I have never been so cold, wet, or tired in my lifetime. Finally after the longest and coldest hours of my life, the sun came out. I am not joking when I say that I found a patch of sun and just stood in it for the duration of the day trying to warm up. The girls rode some ride 15 times in a row so it was totally fine that I didn't move. On our way out, we buy waffles with chocolate (delicious and horridly messy) and finally get onto a bus to take us back home.
We get back to the apartment and I take the hottest shower possible. When my shower runs out of hot water (spoiler alert, within 10 minutes) I get out, sit and wait a half an hour for it to get warm again and take another steaming hot shower. I somehow made it out that night to WOS for the back-to-school party, but don't ask me how because I have no idea.
The pictures: Asterix sitting on top of a mountain, my pink carousel horse, other horses on the carousel, Siobhan and I in silly costumes at the back to school party.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Halloweenish
I don't really like Halloween. It stresses me out because I always want to be something witty or funny but am neither witty nor funny enough to come up with a good costume and I end up stressed for days trying to come up with something and I always just end up saying, 'forget it' and going as something totally lame. French Halloween was no different.
When the kids lived in Singapore they celebrated Halloween so they are extremely familiar with the concept, but it isn't very popular in France. There were no decorations, big bags of candy, costumes or anything, but the kids wanted them. I'm sure if I had really looked into it, I could have found some sort of Halloween celebration somewhere in Paris for kids with candy but like I said, I'm not super into Halloween (read: I got lazy).
This year, Halloween fell during the kids 2 week fall break. (Recall that French schools run for 6 weeks and then give kids a 2 week break throughout the school year.) The boys ended up going to a camp type thing that is set up by the Mayor of Paris in each school and it ran the entire day, so my schedule wasn't really changed, I just took them to the school and picked them up each night but didn't have school myself, which was nice. H went to a friends house for a week and L always does her own thing so I didn't have much to do. This whole set up was really convenient for me to just skip over celebrating with the kids. No one seemed to mind. We played dress up in their costumes and ran around for a bit. A was allowed to dress up to go to the school but he couldn't decide what costume to wear. We're kindred spirits, I guess. He packed a backpack with both a Spiderman costume and a knight costume so he could decide once we got there.
We walked into the school and he pulled on my hand and told me that he had decided he wanted to be Spiderman and asked if I could help him put it on before he saw his friends. That little Spiderman was so cute I couldn't stand it. He ran inside and I heard all of his friends tell him how cool he looked, it was adorable.
For grown up Halloween, WOS had a Zombie themed Halloween Party and my darling friend Pierre let me borrow a costume to wear, but I couldn't find anything that was witty or clever so I picked a prisoner and planned on putting on some zombie makeup but we couldn't find it, so... oh well. Katherine went as Laura Croft, Jen went as Catwoman/Zoro and Jo just wore a skirt?
There were some of the scariest and most disgusting looking zombies at this party. Francois was dressed so scary, people were covered in fake blood, there was a guy with an eyeball falling out, and all of the bartenders wore contacts that made their eyes so scary and like 8 different colors. I quickly realized that in France, Halloween is not the excuse girls use to wear skimpy (or occasionally witty) costumes. Halloween is supposed to be scary and let me tell you, it was.
Sorry that this blog post read like it was written by an 8 year old. I'm so exhausted.
More to come!
When the kids lived in Singapore they celebrated Halloween so they are extremely familiar with the concept, but it isn't very popular in France. There were no decorations, big bags of candy, costumes or anything, but the kids wanted them. I'm sure if I had really looked into it, I could have found some sort of Halloween celebration somewhere in Paris for kids with candy but like I said, I'm not super into Halloween (read: I got lazy).
This year, Halloween fell during the kids 2 week fall break. (Recall that French schools run for 6 weeks and then give kids a 2 week break throughout the school year.) The boys ended up going to a camp type thing that is set up by the Mayor of Paris in each school and it ran the entire day, so my schedule wasn't really changed, I just took them to the school and picked them up each night but didn't have school myself, which was nice. H went to a friends house for a week and L always does her own thing so I didn't have much to do. This whole set up was really convenient for me to just skip over celebrating with the kids. No one seemed to mind. We played dress up in their costumes and ran around for a bit. A was allowed to dress up to go to the school but he couldn't decide what costume to wear. We're kindred spirits, I guess. He packed a backpack with both a Spiderman costume and a knight costume so he could decide once we got there.
We walked into the school and he pulled on my hand and told me that he had decided he wanted to be Spiderman and asked if I could help him put it on before he saw his friends. That little Spiderman was so cute I couldn't stand it. He ran inside and I heard all of his friends tell him how cool he looked, it was adorable.
For grown up Halloween, WOS had a Zombie themed Halloween Party and my darling friend Pierre let me borrow a costume to wear, but I couldn't find anything that was witty or clever so I picked a prisoner and planned on putting on some zombie makeup but we couldn't find it, so... oh well. Katherine went as Laura Croft, Jen went as Catwoman/Zoro and Jo just wore a skirt?
There were some of the scariest and most disgusting looking zombies at this party. Francois was dressed so scary, people were covered in fake blood, there was a guy with an eyeball falling out, and all of the bartenders wore contacts that made their eyes so scary and like 8 different colors. I quickly realized that in France, Halloween is not the excuse girls use to wear skimpy (or occasionally witty) costumes. Halloween is supposed to be scary and let me tell you, it was.
Sorry that this blog post read like it was written by an 8 year old. I'm so exhausted.
More to come!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The zombie burlesque show that wasn't
I have a million things to write about and I keep forgetting to write them all down and then more things happen and I get so bogged down that now I'm desperately playing catch up! So...sorry about that!
The thing I love about Paris is that on any given day/night you can find a thousand and one things to do. Movies, plays, museums, weird themed parties, bars that are open until all hours of the night etc.
This story takes place on a random Saturday night. I went to Siobhan's house and she informed me of a Zombie Burlesque Show happening near where she lived. Obviously we decide to go. We were not really sure what all it entails,and we were slightly terrified but interested none the less. We catch a bus and head to the area.
We go down the street to the address and come to two huge doors with people standing outside and posters everywhere. We assume this is the place of the show and go inside. You know what they say about assuming things... We pay a small cover and walk inside. It's an old theatre that has been converted into a club, the theatre geek in me is totally tweaking out. It's suuuuper crowded but no one is dressed up like zombies so we are a little confused. There was a band of at least 10 people on stage, wearing horrifying outfits that I am positive came from a French version of hot topic. There were 3 women singers and they kept rotating, each one wearing a terrifying outfit. Siobhan and I were the youngest people there by a solid 10 years.
After about 10 minutes, we realized that we were not in the right location. This band was apparently in the middle of an intense set of weird pop-punk French music and the crowd of middle aged french people was breaking it down like I have never seen before. We headed to an upper balcony to observe.
We let it ride for a little bit and eventually leave, sad that we didn't see any burlesque zombies and confused about why we didn't. We then realize that we walked the wrong way down the street and the zombie burlesque show was towards the other way. (A fact we realize when we see skulls painted on the ground heading in the opposite direction.) we decide to head that way just to check it out.
We immediately realize we have found the right place when a woman in a corset, petticoats and full on zombie make up is taking tickets at the door. We would have gone in but we already paid cover at the other place and poverty is a serious issue for Au pairs.
We meet up with Siobhan's friend and head out to oberkampf and just hang out for a bit until the place we went to closed. The metro is also closed but Julia and I take the night bus, a terrifying experience that I will never do alone, but convenient and free to get home instead of paying for a cab.
We had so much awkward and strange fun that night but I genuinely hope someday Siobhan and I find and attend a zombie burlesque show. It's now on the top of my 'must do while in Paris' list.
The thing I love about Paris is that on any given day/night you can find a thousand and one things to do. Movies, plays, museums, weird themed parties, bars that are open until all hours of the night etc.
This story takes place on a random Saturday night. I went to Siobhan's house and she informed me of a Zombie Burlesque Show happening near where she lived. Obviously we decide to go. We were not really sure what all it entails,and we were slightly terrified but interested none the less. We catch a bus and head to the area.
We go down the street to the address and come to two huge doors with people standing outside and posters everywhere. We assume this is the place of the show and go inside. You know what they say about assuming things... We pay a small cover and walk inside. It's an old theatre that has been converted into a club, the theatre geek in me is totally tweaking out. It's suuuuper crowded but no one is dressed up like zombies so we are a little confused. There was a band of at least 10 people on stage, wearing horrifying outfits that I am positive came from a French version of hot topic. There were 3 women singers and they kept rotating, each one wearing a terrifying outfit. Siobhan and I were the youngest people there by a solid 10 years.
After about 10 minutes, we realized that we were not in the right location. This band was apparently in the middle of an intense set of weird pop-punk French music and the crowd of middle aged french people was breaking it down like I have never seen before. We headed to an upper balcony to observe.
We let it ride for a little bit and eventually leave, sad that we didn't see any burlesque zombies and confused about why we didn't. We then realize that we walked the wrong way down the street and the zombie burlesque show was towards the other way. (A fact we realize when we see skulls painted on the ground heading in the opposite direction.) we decide to head that way just to check it out.
We immediately realize we have found the right place when a woman in a corset, petticoats and full on zombie make up is taking tickets at the door. We would have gone in but we already paid cover at the other place and poverty is a serious issue for Au pairs.
We meet up with Siobhan's friend and head out to oberkampf and just hang out for a bit until the place we went to closed. The metro is also closed but Julia and I take the night bus, a terrifying experience that I will never do alone, but convenient and free to get home instead of paying for a cab.
We had so much awkward and strange fun that night but I genuinely hope someday Siobhan and I find and attend a zombie burlesque show. It's now on the top of my 'must do while in Paris' list.
Monday, October 22, 2012
The cutest thing I've ever heard
The other night as I was tucking A and B into bed and they started asking about my family. I told them about my mom and my dad and my house and my life in the US.
They were absolutely awestruck when I explained that I don't have brothers of sisters. They did not think this was a possibility. B asked me several times about brothers or sisters, why I didn't have any, where they were, if I wanted them and mostly questions about how on earth I spent all of that alone time.
After I answered all of their questions, B said to me, Amanda, you have brothers? And I said, no sweetheart I don't. And he vehemently nodded and said, but yes, you do!
We can be your brothers if you want.
They were absolutely awestruck when I explained that I don't have brothers of sisters. They did not think this was a possibility. B asked me several times about brothers or sisters, why I didn't have any, where they were, if I wanted them and mostly questions about how on earth I spent all of that alone time.
After I answered all of their questions, B said to me, Amanda, you have brothers? And I said, no sweetheart I don't. And he vehemently nodded and said, but yes, you do!
We can be your brothers if you want.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The first French person to make me cry
French public servants are the worst.
To ride the metro, you need tickets. Tickets are expensive, so you get a Navigo pass. Navigo passes are expensive so you apply for a student Navigo at a reduced rate.
You fill out all of your paperwork and send them money and then you wait 21 days and they send you a metro pass that is way cheaper than recharging your pass each month.
So, I did all of that. And then I waited. And I waited. And I waited.
Today I got an email basically saying that they sent my pass to the address on file but it was sent back because "I don't live at the address given."
Since I do not have my own letter box, I have to put my name then underneath it: chez (name of my family). I did that. Apparently the mail man still can't figure it out. Annoyed.
So this email gave me a number to call. I called it. Please remember my dislike for the phone in general plus then my general difficulties with spoken French. After telling the man on the other line why I was calling, he asked me a few questions such as; what is your account number (I don't have one because I've not gotten my paperwork back) what is your last name? (VanOsdol) and your first name? (Amanda) how do you spell your last name (V-A-N-O-S-D-O-L)
Okay, ZANOFDOL. (no, V as in Victor, S as in Sam)
After this frustrating exchange the man on the phone interrupts me and says,
Mademoiselle, do you know anyone who speaks better French? Call me back when you find someone who speaks French.
....the rudest.
To ride the metro, you need tickets. Tickets are expensive, so you get a Navigo pass. Navigo passes are expensive so you apply for a student Navigo at a reduced rate.
You fill out all of your paperwork and send them money and then you wait 21 days and they send you a metro pass that is way cheaper than recharging your pass each month.
So, I did all of that. And then I waited. And I waited. And I waited.
Today I got an email basically saying that they sent my pass to the address on file but it was sent back because "I don't live at the address given."
Since I do not have my own letter box, I have to put my name then underneath it: chez (name of my family). I did that. Apparently the mail man still can't figure it out. Annoyed.
So this email gave me a number to call. I called it. Please remember my dislike for the phone in general plus then my general difficulties with spoken French. After telling the man on the other line why I was calling, he asked me a few questions such as; what is your account number (I don't have one because I've not gotten my paperwork back) what is your last name? (VanOsdol) and your first name? (Amanda) how do you spell your last name (V-A-N-O-S-D-O-L)
Okay, ZANOFDOL. (no, V as in Victor, S as in Sam)
After this frustrating exchange the man on the phone interrupts me and says,
Mademoiselle, do you know anyone who speaks better French? Call me back when you find someone who speaks French.
....the rudest.
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