Keys!

We're moved in! I can't talk for long. We're at Christophe's cooking dinner and to take a quick shower because we can't figure out how to turn the gas on for hot water. Isn't he like... the best person you can ever imagine?

Just wanted to update, but pictures to come!!

Quick update!

Hello all!

So yesterday didn't go quite to plan. We didn't have all the necessary documents and the landlord gave us more things that we needed to get done, so we did not get the keys yesterday, unfortunately. However, we got all of the other documents and stuff taken care of. I was even able to get the insurance stuff taken care of at the bank early this morning. We're meeting her at 3:30 this afternoon to give her the rest of the paperwork and hopefully sign the lease. And get the keys. And move in.

That last part is important because Anna's allotted time at the hostel is up so and Brian told the family he's staying with that he'd be gone yesterday... so... yeah.

Last night a lot of the assistants got together in town and it was a great time! We hopped around to a few different bars and actually got to talk to people in person that we've been communicating with on facebook for the entire summer.  I didn't stay out too late because we had to catch the last metro, which is at 1 AM on the weekends, but I was really tired anyways.

I got up bright and early this morning to take care of the insurance. I seem to have become the secretary/coordinator of the group. As usual! But, that's okay, with stuff like this I do kind of like to be in charge.

Then, I went to Anna's hostel to help her transport her suitcases across town. Her hostel is at the end of the metro line and when I get there the guy told me that there was no Anna there! So I went back to le Capitole and then Anna called me and I went all the way back to the hostel, where in fact, there was an Anna. So we lugged her suitcases into the metro and onto the bus and up to the 5th floor. And now we're sitting in my room at Christophe's. (Brian is here now too!) We're going to go to town soon and I'm going to try to find a thank you gift for Christophe and Anissa.

Our bags are packed and we're ready to go!!

Wish us luck for this afternoon! I'm not sure if I'll be able to update tonight or not since our internet isn't set up, but I'll try my best! Au revoir!!

Let's all sit down for circle time!

Now listen up, kids!

So, let me explain to you how relatively simple things work in France (as far as I've gathered thus far): make them as ridiculously complicated as possible. My day started simply enough. The plan was to head into town around 13h to meet up with Anna (who will now be filling in the spot of 3rd roommate!) and get lunch. She would accompany me to get a phone. Brian would meet up with us. We'd get to know each other some more and call it a day. Sounds reasonable, right? I thought so.

As you all know, I've been waiting until I got my bank account set up in order to get a phone here in France. Well, yesterday I set up the account and I was really excited to buy an inexpensive plan that would let me talk to people in France and stop relying on facebook messaging for all forms of communication. Anyways, today when I went to get a phone, they told me I couldn't get a plan without a bank card. I told them I didn't have a bank card yet, but I had my account number and all of my bank information/ID with me, but they can't do the plan without the card.

However, I can't get the bank card until I have documentation of a residence to show the bank. I'm lucky they even let me set up an account in general using a temporary residence. "But this is easy, Tori!" you say. "You have an apartment, just ask your landlord for some proof of residency!" Great idea! However, the landlord can't give us proof of residency until we give her a bank statement and renters insurance (which is also done by the bank). I need the proof of residency for the bank, but I need the bank for the proof of residency! Luckily, I do have a bank statement to show the landlord since the banker was kind enough to set me up with just a temporary address. However, the banker obviously cannot sign me up for renters insurance without having proof of where I'll be renting.

So this cycle essentially ends up with me standing in front of a basilica arguing with the landlord on the phone. After what was I'm sure a pretty amusing conversation to listen to, she agreed to give me the proof of address when we meet tomorrow and I'll get the renters insurance to her ASAP. I win! (Do you now understand the circle time reference? haha)

I actually was standing in front of a basilica though! This is la basilisque Saint Sernin. It's absolutely beautiful, so I suppose if I have to be arguing with my landlord, in French nonetheless, in front of this gorgeous parish isn't a terrible place to do it.

But, I digress. I was eventually able to break the vicious cycle with my stubbornness calm and straightforward demeanor. Now let's take the time to unravel this web of confusion. My landlord WILL give us the proof of residency, which means that I can now get renters insurance for the apartment. It also means that I will be able to not only have a bank account, but I will be able to have checks and a bank card to go along with my account. And once I have this bank card, I will be able to sign up for a phone plan!

 So, in the meantime I finally caved and bought a go phone because getting the bank card could take another week and I just can't rely on facebook chat to make plans for that much longer. So now, I at least have a phone that I can call and text my friends, even if I have to buy the minutes. But, I was assured that when I go back to get my plan I can use the same phone and keep the same number, which does simplify things a bit at least. It's such a dinky little phone, but I didn't see any reason to buy a nice, fancy one when I'll only be using it for 7 months.

The plan for tomorrow is to meet with our landlord at 16h with all of the documents and money she requested. Hopefully we'll be able to sign and get the keys (AND the proof of residency) right there tomorrow. We're already receiving news about people having extra furniture and things for us to borrow, so hopefully it will only be unfurnished for a very short period of time.

That's the plan anyways. It's very possible that in the morning I could have a potential plot twist, but you'll have to wait and see!

Time for school!

School 1: The first school I visited was great! I talked to a few of the administrators for a while as I filled out some forms. They were so incredibly friendly! They offered me a cup of coffee and we chatted for a little while until I was brought upstairs to meet some of the English teachers that I'll be working with. When I walked into one of the classes, the coolest thing happened- the students all stood up! For me! Needless to say I am NOT used to that. I've learned today that that isn't standard for schools in France, but was likely just an individual school rule. I couldn't stay for too long since I had to head to the next school, but the teachers are really excited to have me there. 

School 2: The next school was about 5 minutes away from the first, which is really convenient. This school is the one that will be managing my hours and setting up my schedule between the 3 schools. I was hoping I would find that out today, but I guess it isn't quite settled yet. I need to go back and hand in some more paperwork, which seems to be a great way to test if I can find the way there by means of public transportation! After filling out some paperwork, I was given a tour and brought to the teachers lounge. There was a bit of a break between classes, so there were a ton of teachers in there who were all really friendly and happy to talk to me, even though I won't really be working with them. The English teacher I'll be working with at this school is great! She is really kind and funny. She brought me to her classroom and her students asked me questions (so they can practice their English) and although their language isn't very advanced, it will be really fun to work with them. They seem excited to have a new face in the classroom. 

School 3: The third school is much closer to where I'll be living, which is convenient. This school is much smaller than the other two. I met the principal and he showed me around before introducing me to the one English teacher who was there at the moment. She was really friendly and introduced me to a few other teachers. I didn't stay at this school for too long because my appointment was relatively close to lunch time, but I'm still glad I got to see it and introduce myself. It'll be cool to see how a smaller school is compared to the larger two. 

**But, can we talk about how Christophe drove me to all of these schools and waited for me while I was inside? He doesn't have to go into school on Wednesdays and took his entire morning away from lesson planning and grading to help me. I swear he is an angel. We got home and he made lunch, which was very yummy as always. We always seem to have interesting talks when it's just the two of us at lunchtime. I always learn so much from them.** 

After lunch, I checked my email and saw that the bank I had contacted yesterday had an opening at 4:00 this afternoon to meet with me. So, I took the metro to town and found the bank really easily. This is a branch of the bank where everyone speaks English, so I felt really comfortable going there. Even though I'm feeling much more at ease with my French, money is something where I don't want to miss a little detail, so having the option of speaking English was amazing. So I got my bank account set up! Now I can get my phone! Which I will hopefully be able to do tomorrow or Friday. That'll make getting in touch with people much easier while we're trying to meet up in town. I'm slowly gathering the documents and things needed for the apartment, so hopefully by this weekend we'll be able to get the keys!

More things I've noticed since I've been in France:

• teachers are MUCH less formally dressed in France than in the US. I didn't feel that I was overdressed necessarily, but I was fancier than the large majority of teachers I saw today and I tried to be relatively casual. I brought over all of my teacher clothes from the US and I'm worried I'm going to look funny. But, I guess it's better to be overdressed as an assistant than look like a slob. 

• If you intend on standing instead of walking on an escalator, you should stand to the right so that people can walk past you on the right. Unless there are two escalators, then the one on the right is for standing and the one on the left is for walking. 

• I have no idea how people have any idea where they are supposed to be when they're driving. The lanes are separated by a white dotted line, which seems normal enough to me. Until I realize that the lanes are separated by a white dotted line regardless of if it is a one way road or if there is oncoming traffic. I would be going into the wrong lane trying to make a left hand turn constantly! I guess you're just supposed to follow the arrows, but the roads aren't marked very well and motorcycles are passing you everywhere and there are crazy roundabouts every 50 feet that each have different rules for who has right of way. I think I'll leave the driving to other people.

• Even relatively fit women like myself will feel absolutely ginormous when they live in France. Every single woman (pretty much) Is about the size of my left thigh. And there aren't very many natural blondes that I've seen, so I stick out even more! I've also seen a lot less tattoos here than I'm used to in the states, but no one gives me weird looks for mine, so I guess it's fine?

This has become far too long of a post- I hope I didn't bore you too much. I'll update soon! :-)

No longer homeless!

Okay, so I've never really been homeless. Christophe and Anissa have been amazingly accommodating. But, the point is- I HAVE AN APARTMENT!

YAYYYYY!!!!! 

Okay, that's enough of that. Although, I do hope you all sang that out loud, because I know I did. 

We actually decided to go with the first apartment that we saw yesterday. The second apartment was incredible, but Brian and I decided that it was more important for us to get situated earlier so we can settle in  instead of having to wait around for another month, living out of our suitcases. It's been great staying here, but I'm definitely ready for my own place. The landlord had actually called Elizabeth this morning and she told her we didn't want it. We looked around for other places this morning, without much luck. Elizabeth found an AMAZING place, but once again it wouldn't be available for a month and it wouldn't be guaranteed to be ours if we liked it. So, we chatted and Elizabeth is going to wait it out and find some other people who would be interested. Brian and I called back our future landlord to see if the apartment was still available. Obviously it was since I'm typing this now, but still... YAY! 

So the next couple days are going to be crazy. I'm visiting the schools tomorrow morning and hoping that we can get all of the paperwork together between tonight and tomorrow and hopefully be able to move in before the weekend! Brian wants to be able to move in tomorrow, but there's a lot of stuff to be gathered up, so we'll see. But, it should be soon!

The apartment is actually the building next door to where I'm staying now, so I don't have much of a commute to move my bags over. Plus, I can still pop in and see Christophe and Anissa really easily! It's an a safe area, close to 2 bus stops, which take you to the metro easily. It has a bike rental station right at the corner (if I ever pluck up the courage to try that again...) and it's a family oriented building, so we won't be trashing it by having parties... just doing that at other people's places. Smart, huh? 

There are a few downsides to the apartment, but they're easy fixes. For instance, it isn't furnished, but there are loads of things for sale reallyyyy cheap online that we can pick up with Brian's car. We'll be able to find things easy enough and we can sell it back online before we leave! We can also talk to our teachers when we visit and see if anyone has extras of anything (like a microwave, table, etc.) It'll also be really easy to find a third roommate considering a lot of other assistants still are looking. I just feel a lot more relaxed knowing I have something lined up that I felt it was worth the little extra money for some cheap furniture. 

You had better believe you'll be seeing pictures once I get moved in and then again once we start decorating!

I might be going out tonight, so maybe I'll have more to update on later, but we'll see. It'll be an early night for me so I can wake up and head out to my schools bright and early! I'm so excited!!

and just in case you still feel like dancing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12VUjgYMm1U 

Apartment hunting is exhausting!

We had better luck than yesterday, but still no apartment yet. We found one GREAT maybe though. It's on the 11th floor and has 3 balconies over looking the city. The rent isn't too bad either! The only problem is that it isn't available until November 1st and I would personally like to get settled in somewhere before that. There's also the fact that a few more people had appointments to see it after us, so we need to wait a few days to even hear if it'll be offered to us. So, we're going to keep looking tomorrow.

Today was still productive though because we were actually able to have conversations with people that lasted longer than them telling us it was already rented. We made a few appointments and went and saw 2 different apartments. We drove by all of the apartments earlier on in the day to check out the area and decided that we weren't even going to go to the 3rd appointment. As my English/Irish future roommates would say... quite dodgy.

I'm really getting along with Elizabeth and Brian, so I am looking forward to having them as roommates. Maybe each day we search we'll have better luck. Who know? Maybe tomorrow we'll find something completely incredible that we can move into ASAP. It's a long shot, but it can't hurt to be optimistic, right? 

I'll move onto other things shortly, since I'm sure my unsuccessful apartment hunting isn't all that exciting, but I just can't believe how tired I am! Sure I called a billion places, which is exhausting in it's own way trying to understand people over the phone. But, we only went to see two places! It might have something to do with the fact the Brian and I got kind of turned around today and ended up walking for quite a while, but I think that was a good thing.

So, we were going to look for some agencies to see if maybe they could help us despite the ridiculous fees they charge. We couldn't find any and we ended up making a few too many turns. However, I think it was pretty great because I felt completely comfortable. Normally, if I'm not positive where I am, especially in an unfamiliar city, I get really nervous and frazzled. Ask anyone who knows me. But, today I knew that if I kept going and followed the street signs/my own instinct I would get back to a place from which I could at least get myself in the right direction. Plus, I'm not as nervous to talk to people now, so there's always the possibility of asking for directions.

I will be zen!

So even though I don't have a permanent place to live, I'm meeting new people, getting comfortable with my surroundings, and starting to realize that I'm actually capable of doing this. I feel like I'm starting to come into my own. That's not to say that I won't ever get frustrated or lonely, in fact I'm sure I will. I've got A LOT more annoying paperwork stuff I need to take care of. Not to mention I still have to get a phone and open a bank account... But, it'll all come together. I'm realizing that although I do have to put in an effort to get things done, I don't have to freak out. Everything is going to work out and it will all be okay.


In other news, I've officially made appointments to go visit all 3 schools this Wednesday. I'm really excited to meet the teachers/staff that I'll be working with. Maybe some of them might even have some ideas for possible accommodations? Plus, it'll help to see where they are and what I'm going to need to do in order to commute. Hopefully I'll be able to find out my schedule as well. So, Christophe is going to drive me to the schools on Wednesday (he is a saint, I swear). It'll be a very busy, exhausting morning I'm sure, but we should get home just in time for lunch. Which will probably be followed by a nap. 

Speaking of a nap and being exhausted, it's time for this lady to catch a few z's. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be posting with some more exciting news! Au revoir!

Melting Pot

Today's is just going to be a quick post because I've been busy all day and it's 1:30 AM and I need to get up early.

The day started by Christophe trying to kill me. Not actually, but we biked to the market and it was uphill both ways. Once again, I exaggerate, but I was seriously huffing and puffing. The bike system is really cool though. You can pay to rent a bike for the day and you get a piece of paper with a code on it. Then you can put the bike away at any station, which are located within a 1,000 ft radius I think. Then you can punch in the code and take a new bike and park it at any other station. It's really cool and is called Velo Toulouse.


Even if it was almost the death of me.

The market was great as well. There were musicians and food and shops and a ton of books. I'm definitely going to have to go back once I start getting paid.

After lunch, Brian picked me up and we met with Elizabeth to start our apartment search. Well, on a Sunday we didn't have too much luck, but we're going to try it again tomorrow and hope for a better response.

The afternoon wasn't a complete loss though! Brian and I met up with the girls that we met yesterday in le Capitole. We walked around for a while, got some coffee at a cute cafe (one of the few that are open on Sunday), and talked about various things. We went to their apartment for dinner and they made us pasta. Italians making pasta, who would've thought?  It was really delicious and a great time. We laughed and joked around, all in French.

I'm definitely finding that after only being here for 5 days, my French is already improving, or at least I'm getting less self conscious about using it. I have come to realize that it's okay if I make mistakes. I'm still able to understand and get information across, which is what communicating is all about. Although, sometimes it's just as hard to understand my fellow English speakers! Brian is from Ireland and Elizabeth is from England and let me tell you what- it may be English, but there are some definite things that get lost in translation!

But, I'm really looking forward to spending time with them and I think they're going to be a blast to live with, granted that we ever find a place. Which, will hopefully happen tomorrow, so this wanna be Frenchie should get to bed.

 Bonne nuit!