So I just made my first trip downstairs to the laundry, coins in hand, since I'm almost out of socks, only to find a sign announcing that the laundry is out of commission until next Monday. A peep inside revealed a bunch of washing machines being replaced - which, come to think of it, explains the delivery truck I saw the other day (I thought they were fridges, but maybe not). As such my plans for the evening have now fallen through and I'm free to recount some of the episodes of the past few days.
Yesterday began with the alarming realisation half an hour beforehand that I was meant to present at Sorbonne to complete my administrative enrolment (as opposed to my academic enrolment in my subjects, which is done independently within each department). I clearly wasn't going to make it on time, so I figured there was no hurry. I blame the boys for that - I specifically asked on Tuesday if there wasn't something we were meant to go to on Wednesday, as I'd written the date, time and room down from the orientation Powerpoint, though without an event, and Anas assured me there was nothing. He had a point, given he, Martin and Paul are Erasmus students (European inter-university exchange program) and the enrolment was for international students majoring in the LLD department (languages, literatures and something-or-other).
I rocked up an hour and a half late to the LLD office, really not sure what on earth was happening. The office lady who was triaging the students sat me down once she realised why I was there, asked for my enrolment papers and then asked me to choose from the social security companies offered. I tried to get her to explain the whole social security thing and why I had to pay another 200 euros for it after paying for an $AU1000 travel insurance policy with unlimited medical. The answer (as I understood it) was essentially that it's a French government requirement, and if I've learned one thing over the past few weeks and months it's that you don't question or mess with the bureaucracy around here, imbecilic though it may be.
It took a remarkably short amount of time and very little effort on my part, but subject to handing in a docket at the nominated social security company's office downstairs, I was then enrolled in Sorbonne and handed a student card with a copy of my passport photo in the corner. Naturally there was no-one in the downstairs office, and a quick trip to the very understanding people in the disability office yielded a personal elevator code to spare me using the stairs, thankfully.
I went to Anas's place in Montmartre last night - even though I only texted Martin to tell him and Paul what was happening as I left Le Bourget, they somehow beat me there! Anas also neglected to mention the number of stairs I would have to climb or descend to get through the metro and Montmartre...I was not impressed given the numbers was in the hundreds, I'm sure. We headed to a nearby bar for a drink and then found a little Italian cafe with amazing spinach and ricotta ravioli (note: spinach is epinard in French). I think the language of conversation for the evening was about 60% English, 30% French and 10% German (though I keep telling them they can only speak German if they teach me to speak it too!) We're slowly getting ourselves into gear on the French. I had to explain to Martin as well that since I switched the language of my phone over I can now only text him in French. It's OK, his French is about as good/bad as mine so it doesn't matter if we make mistakes!
Today was the day when I made the long-awaited, much dreaded trip to the prefecture about my carte de sejour - the residency card. My cycnical side wondered just how sincere was the sign that welcomed me to Seine-Saint-Denis, just outside the prefecture's town hall. Well, my cynical side was right. After an hour or so of waiting, half of it standing in line on my crutches, I was told that you have to go somewhere else - Raincy, I now think he was saying - to get a carte de sejour, despite being told EXPLICITLY by the people at the Le Bourget town hall to go to the town hall at Bobigny, even going so far as to write down the address and how to get there. Given I was on crutches, they eventually put me through to a window anyway, where the fellow on the other side took one look at my passport and told me that my visa WAS a valid carte de sejour, pointing to the signature from the French Embassy in Australia and some key wording. Apparently the dolt to whom I showed my visa at the bank doesn't recognise a valid carte de sejour, or maybe the prefecture lied to me - it's France, who knows.
I consoled my tired, upset self with the choice of yummies at the boulangerie - I plan to try them all over time. My tarte aux framboises (raspberry tart) was made with lovely fresh raspberries, and was pretty nice, though I wouldn't get it often. Other than that I'm now caught up on emails and have a pretty clean and tidy room, as well as being pretty bored. I'll have to see if I can rouse the boys to do something tomorrow night. I leave the rest of this entry to a series of random observations and other events from my time in Paris:
- I discovered the other day (though only after someone pointed it out to me) that you can see the Eiffel Tower from my window. Yes, the thing I'd noticed shining a spotlight on the Paris night sky is actually the Dame du fer, the original Iron Lady. I checked this morning - visible in the daytime, too! When the world's most renowned landmark, something of picture-postcard fame, forms part of your skyline, it really drives home the fact that you live in Paris. Every time I look out the window now I get a chill when I see the Tower and know it for what it is. I struggle to believe what's happening and that I'm actually here. It still feels like the two-week dream adventure from which I first remember this city, over five years ago.
- Emergency sirens in Paris are out of tune, I swear. They hurt my ears, Mum!
- I bought my cactuses! Photos soon to come of McPedro, Spiderplant and Dumbledore in their new home.
- I went to the metro station at La Courneuve on my way home today to ask about getting an Imagine-R Navigo pass for public transport. They were out of application forms, but at least I had the right idea, so I'll try a different metro station tomorrow.
- There is so much going on in Paris. Anas and I are already thinking of going to see Les Mis in the 20th arrondissement in October and Lord of the Dance near Christmas. There are music festivals and all kinds of things and I only hope I can find the time to see everything that I want to.
- Paris drivers are crazy! There are no lane markings on the road at intersections, and they get really impatient really quickly, so it's not uncommon to see traffic in crazy patterns at intersections all honking at each other!
- I screwed my courage to the sticking place today and went to the local tabac, a small store inside the local bar. 'Tabac' means tobacco, and certainly the place sells cigarettes, but they also sell innumerable other handy items, like phone stuff. I successful bought a recharge voucher today and not only proved to myself that I could do it but that there was somewhere I could buy them close to home - good to know.
No comments:
Post a Comment