France Doesn't Make It Easy

A lot of things are happening right now that are not fun. We're here in France to have fun. France isn't making it very easy.

First the Euro is very high against the dollar, making our expenses skyrocket. This isn't France's fault. The rest of this stuff is.

Our Taxe Fonciere (property tax) bill arrived about a week ago. It was increased by 28% from last year. While the average increase, we've heard, is 30%, it still isn't a good sign and in combination with the cost of the Euro, the increase is even larger for us.

Our neighbors are inconsiderate. We've had an almost constant problem with the neighbors below us. First they installed a flood light on their kitchen window that pointed up into our apartment. It took several letters (some threatening and a verbal show-down) before the light was turned off. It is still turned on from time to time when they think we're not around. They also have a terrible habit of opening the windows and playing the piano right at our dinner time. They play the same thing over and over and over. Not even a complete song. Now, a man, who I think is just visiting, has started playing Barry Manilow-type songs and singing off-key in French accented-english, also during the dinner hour.

Another neighbor was feeding the pigeons. There were at least 10 pigeons in our courtyard at all times while she was doing this. Of course, they left behind a lot of bird poop to remind us of this neighbor's activities.

Then, there's the threat of H1N1. We have no idea how to get a flu shot for this or if it will even be made available to us. It would seem that if there's a shortage of the vaccine, we will be very far down the list of possible recipients. With traveling on public transportation all the time, we will have a hard time avoiding the flu if it becomes rampant in Paris.

Last, but not least, there's the Carte de Sejour issue. We just had our meeting and got the same "fonctionnaire" that denied our card last time. She pulled every form of technicality, many of which she had to retract. We still did not get a complete sign off and we would have if we'd had another person.

All I want to do is have fun, enjoy Paris, learn to speak better French. I don't want any of these hassles. Perhaps an attitude adjustment is needed.

Someone Is Feeding The Pigeons

Few things are as bad as pigeons. Flying rats. After one built a nest in my window box last summer, smashing and killing all my plants, I have an even more negative attitude toward them.

I recently noticed that the pigeon population in our courtyard was increasing. There were always a few hanging around it seemed. They were on our window ledges and milling around outside all the time. Then, I noticed the bread crumbs on the ground.

SOMEONE IS FEEDING THE PIGEONS

Terry went down to the courtyard and hosed the bread crumbs away. The next day there was rice on the ground in the same spot. Lots of rice. Rice is insidious because it sticks in the little cracks in the cobblestones, making it almost impossible to get rid of. He hosed it off again.

More and more of our neighbors were now noticing the pigeons and the pigeon food. Everyone was furious, but no one would do anything.

Finally this afternoon, we spotted the woman who has been doing it. A "locataire" (renter) of course. What is she thinking? Pigeons aren't starving in central Paris, in fact they're happily reproducing at an astonishing rate. Faster than some ethic groups.

So, Terry went to talk to her. She wouldn't open her door, so he had to explain through the door that we don't allow feeding pigeons in the building. In fact, the food could also attract rats. She agreed not to do it any more. We'll see.

The Smokers

The "smokers" live in the building across the street from us. We only know this couple because they lean out their window, always together, and smoke.

We see them night and day, in all kinds of weather.

It's funny that, even though they both smoke, they still don't want the smoke inside their apartment.

They don't know that the smoke travels up and into other people's apartments. We have several windows that remain closed a good deal of the time because the people below us smoke out these windows.

We've seen our neighbors, the smokers, since before we moved into this apartment. They are always out there. They seem to be looking right into our windows, too. I worry that they can see past our sheer drapes. I was just changing clothes when I looked out the window and there they were, looking back. ICK! Are they watching? Or are they just smoking?

Now La Poste Is On Strike

We needed to do some business at the post office (La Poste) this morning. We arrived, mid-morning and the doors were open but the lights were out. There was a line, so except for the lights, everything seemed normal.

Standing in line, trying to figure out why the lights were off, it suddenly dawned on me that I'd read something about La Poste going on strike.

In the US, there is a small movement to leave lights off, or dim, in public places. Before we left, on my semi-annual shopping (pre-Paris), our local Nordstrom was almost pitch black in the middle of the day. When I asked, the clerk said that it was an attempt to be more "green". I am skeptical about this answer.

Everyone at La Poste was waiting patiently in the dark. There was one clerk, but she was working on the customer's side of the guichet. When we got to the front of the line, she politely explained that she couldn't help us with anything that required money. If we wanted to buy something, we had to use the machine installed in the wall. But, she did help us to understand that our outbound mail would be delayed, perhaps for a long time. The computers weren't on, the mailman wouldn't be coming by today to pick up the mail or drop any off. What normally takes 5-7 days might take twice this long, since even if the workers come back from the strike, there will be an accumulation of mail...

I haven't done a lot of research about the postal workers' issues, but from what I see, they are protesting against privatisation. But, the French government denies that plans are in the works to make La Poste partially or completely private.

While we rely less and less on postal services, both in the US and in France, there are some things that seem better if they come by mail. Birthday cards are much better when they are waiting in your mailbox, pretty envelope and personally written. Bills are nice to get in the mail. You don't forget a piece of paper as easily as a little notice in the email.

But don't the postal workers know that if a strike continues, we could get used to being without them and they will all be out of jobs, whether they are a public or a private entity.

Chestnuts

Every fall, like a crazy person, I walk around the Luxembourg Gardens looking toward the ground. I'm on a mission. I'm harvesting chestnuts for my fall decorations.

I do this every year and every year I get just as excited about my "finds". It's like an adult version of an Easter Egg hunt.

I'm picky. I reject all but the most perfect or interesting specimens. I prefer the new, shiny ones with smooth dark skins.

Day after day, new ones appear on the ground. Yesterday, I heard a crack and a pod fell right in front of me and broke open, exposing the most beautiful new nut. The outside pods are large, green, spiny things. Impenetrable. But, when the time is right, they fall to the ground with extreme force (maybe they're heavy) and break open.

I don't know why I enjoy this so much, but I do. I save the previous year's chestnuts and add a few to the collection every year. I have about 20 or 30. They will grace my Halloween decorations and then will move perfectly into the Thanksgiving/Fall (no Thanksgiving in France, except at our house) displays.

The Ampoule

Every time I return to Paris, I get blisters on my feet.

During the summer in California, I wear either sandals or my tennis shoes (with socks). My feet get used to being free and comfortable, with nothing rubbing on them.

When I return in the fall, I put on shoes immediately. Walking around town in sandals is not smart. First it is dirty and second it seems like I could smash my nearly bare toes on something. But, it's still pretty warm here so I don't need socks. Warm weather and no socks combine for an automatic blister or blisters. I never learn.

This time, I got a big blister on a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens. The blister is small and it's all bandaged up. But, there's still time to get more.

The translation for the word "blister" in french is ampoule. It is a feminine noun. I like this word because it has two definitions in one. It means both blister and light bulb. Makes sense to me. I wish there were more words like this in french.

I'm Usually More Sensitive

I dislike the typical "ugly American" questions I sometimes get from people in the US.

Examples include:

"What Do You Do There?"
"Do You Like French Wine?" (Implied that this person doesn't)
"Have You Been To The Moulin Rouge, It's Fabulous..."
"Have You Seen The Mona Lisa"

I think you get the idea.

But last night, I did this to someone else. The minute it came out of my mouth, I regretted it. The woman didn't take offense at the question, and she answered the question. Nonetheless, I feel really dumb.

She and her husband have a second home in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. They spend a month or two at a stretch there. I've been to Mexico many times and always worry about getting "tourista" although I've never been sick there.

The question was, "Do you grocery shop and cook in PV?" Dah! How could they possibly eat every meal in a restaurant for two months? And, I'm sure it's just as easy, if not easier to get sick from a restaurant than from home-cooked food.

The woman was very nice and poised and explained what she did -- a combination of cooking at home and eating out.

So much for the worldly me, that self-image has been shattered.

The Mismatches

Before a departure in either direction, we have a day or two of cleaning out.

This involves mostly the refrigerator and the closet.

About 10 days before we leave, I stop buying all perishable food that we won't need immediately. I usually stop grocery shopping almost completely. For a few days, it's OK, we have everything we need.

As the departure date gets closer, things get a little bleaker. We have lettuce but no tomatoes. Or worse, celery but no tomatoes, lettuce or peanut butter. I have to get creative to use up the celery and it usually ends up in some mismatched dish.

Last night we had guests over for cocktails. We had pita chips but when I checked the pantry, there were only four Triscuits left in the bottom of the box. I didn't want to see the guests fighting, so I only served the pita chips. The mismatch here was the herbed goat cheese on pita chips. Luckily we haven't run out of wine yet.

I always end up throwing something away, which is sad. This time, I think it's going to be lettuce. I tried to calculate the number of days left vs. the amount of lettuce needed per day, but we must have skipped a planned salad or two, I have three heads of romaine lettuce left.

If we have eggs left, I hard boil them and Terry eats them in-flight.

Sometimes I freeze things. When we get home after a long flight, there's a surprise waiting in the freezer. Last time, I'd made spaghetti and had leftovers which I froze. An easy four minutes in the microwave and we had dinner.

In Paris, it's a little harder to do this because we have an electrical ghost. For no reason, many times when we're not even home, the electricity in one of the two electrical boxes shuts off. Unfortunately, it's the box that the refrigerator is hooked up to, so I've been scared to freeze things in Paris and leave them. We've tried to get this problem fixed but we haven't been able to find the source of the problem.

So, in Paris, I am very careful to try to get rid of all the perishable food. We normally have so little food left that we eat out the night before we leave. Once, though, we ended up with a whole camembert. We couldn't bear to throw it out. We thought that we could enjoy part of it during the 11-1/2 hours of flight time so we took it with us in our carry on. Guess what? It was confiscated at CDG. Maybe it looks like explosives to the x-ray. Or, the guy at the machine was hungry. We'll never know.

In terms of clothes it's a different but also weird circumstance. If I decide to pack one part of an outfit but not it's mate, I have an un-wearable outfit. If I realize this error too late, the one piece is always at the bottom of the suitcase.

I like to take the opportunity of a departure to weed out clothes that I haven't worn in awhile. A few years ago, I thought that I might wear some of the things I don't wear in California in Paris. Suits from my previous working life for example. I packed them and took them to Paris only to realize that I didn't wear the outfit there either.

Unfortunately, I don't know how or where to recycle/give away clothes in Paris, so I now have a bag of clothes in the cave, waiting for me to find The Goodwill of Paris.

Seven Years

I wrote this, then took it off the blog for a day. I wasn't sure I should publish this in the first place. Some people will read this and understand what I'm trying to say. Others will question my sanity and still others will try to inflict guilt. Just so everyone knows, I never feel guilty, it is not in my emotional constitution.

You have to read this carefully and remember that it is coming from my point of view, not yours. It's my blog and my theme is "Aller Retour".

This month it will be seven years that we've had an apartment in Paris. In some ways, it seems like a long time and in some ways it seems like yesterday.

In September 2002, the US was making noises about war in Iraq. The French didn't like us very much, and vice-versa. I couldn't speak French so I kept my mouth shut most of the time. I think this was a wise move.

We finalized the purchase of our first apartment on rue de Seine and ran out to buy the basics since it was empty. In one day, we went to Darty and bought a refrigerator, a washer/dryer (one unit), a TV, stereo and two phones. I think we continued on and ordered our bed on the same day.

Since the bed had a long lead time for manufacture, Le Bon Marche lent us a bed which was delivered promptly. The TV came and for a long time, we used the box for our dining table/desk.

In the next few days, we bought a small dining room table, four folding chairs, a small couch and chair for the living room, a small armoire and a dresser. A few tables and lamps followed and by the time we were ready to leave in mid-November, all the furniture had arrived. We were so excited. Never mind that the apartment was so small that the only two doors in the place were the front door and the bathroom door. We had a shower, no tub, one window and one skylight. But it was ours.

Now in September 09, we've been in a new (to us it's new, it's really 200 years old) apartment for three years. Much of the original things we bought have been replaced for one reason or another.

What's changed in seven years? Our original plan to stay in Paris for a month or two every year and travel never came to fruition. We were going to rent the apartment the rest of the time.

We started making friends in Paris, finding activities. It started to seem like home. I learned French. We traveled a bit and it was always hard, dirty and not as interesting as we expected. Our time in Paris no longer seems like a vacation, it became part of our life.

We still suffer from frustrating situations from time to time. The cultural differences of how things are done continue to annoy us/drive us crazy. We try not to change anything that's not necessary (like phone or internet service). Banking is an astonishing new world.

Our friends and family don't completely understand. We keep coming home (US) and then leaving again for France. In France, we usually don't miss much because we are in the US during the many and extended French holidays.

Some people understand more than others. We get people that ask, “what do you do there?” implying that after we’ve seen the big monuments and had a cursory view of some of the key museums, there’s not much more to do in Paris. Some people, when they hear what we do, look toward the horizon with a smile and ask a more specific question such as “what is your favorite neighborhood or restaurant?” The latter group of people are the ones that get it.

There are lots of people in Paris that do just about the same thing that we do. They may change the months they’re in Paris, but they go back and forth. They are happy with their lives, too.

Living between two countries has been one of the most educational, interesting and life-changing things I've ever done. Yes, when I look back, it seems like it's been seven years. I’ve changed in many ways, learned a lot, become stronger, more courageous, more curious, happier with the small things in life.