worst.blogger.ever
why even have a blog if you're not going to update it?? i have a lot of good stories to share and i know i'm depriving the world of them by not writing them down, but sometimes don't you just get tired of repeating your stories?? i actually never get tired of talking about myself so i guess the only reason i never update the blog is because i'm lazy.
but this all changes with this post! (maybe). henceforth i will update this blog on a regular basis. since i started this blog i have moved to france, moved back to massachusetts, then moved to new york, then moved back to massachusetts again, and then moved back to france where i am right at this very moment. i'm in paris to be precise. the 13th arrondissement to be preciserer. strange things happen to me all the time, but even more so in foreign countries so this will be my outlet to partager mes histoires folles! (that might not mean anything in real french, but i know what i'm trying to say, and as for you - look it up!)
so after losing my job in this economic crisis (quelle horreur!) i decided that working just ain't my thang for the moment. well, really all the potential employers i sent my resume to decided working ain't my thang so i picked myself up, dusted myself off, and told myself "self, you should travel!" so i packed my bags, left nyc, and moved back home with my cat. leo has been very supportive through this difficult time of unemployment.
i arrived in the city of lights on sunday the 5th and have been doing lots of sleeping. since i'm here for a while i'm not really rushing to go out exploring. i'm going to take some french courses which will hopefully help me in landing a job at some point in the future where i can speak french which is what i've been wanting for years and years but have not yet found.
so after rising from a deep slumber around 12:30 pm on my first full day, i ventured out to faire les courses and buy some provisions. as soon as i turn the corner i'm approached by a french man "excusez-moi excusez- moi." and i'm just thinking "oh no" just because i was pretty sure i wouldn't understand what he was saying and my foreigner status would be revealed. so i think he sees the hesitation and fear written all over my face cus he says something along the lines of "no i didn't stop you for you." then i was a little offended and he says something about a tabac, i said "je ne sais pas" and i see his face light up as he realizes i'm not from here. he then proceeds to ask me to go to a cafe, i say "non merci" and he tells me that i am "tres jolie" and i say "merci" and continue on my way. i don't do well when i'm confronted by strangers. it's some sort of defense mechanism to automatically hate everyone i don't know. it's a wonder i've made any friends at all.
after another night of about 14 hours of sleep, i wake up and decide that i should get my SIM card for my cell phone. so i head to the mall at place d'italie and i just wander around the mall for a few minutes cus i'm too nervous to go into the store and buy my sim card. the last time i got a cell phone in france was a disaster. i ended up blocking the SIM card cus i was putting in the wrong PIN and had to get a new one mailed to me and i waited a week for it. lesson learned - never turn off your french cell phone, just in case! so i finally muster the courage and go into the france telecom store for my sim card. the guy approaches, i tell him i need a SIM card, i see the "oh great a foreigner" look on his face and he asks me if my phone is "debloque." i understood! this won't be so bad! i respond, "oui!" then we get into filling out the paperwork and he asks for my name, here's where it goes sour. because i'm american, i say my first name first then my last name. he then gives me a quick french lesson that "nom" would be my last name and when he wants my first name he'll say "prenom." this is all very simple vocab that i know, but he does a good job in making me feel kinda stupid. so then this random french dude comes up beside me and is all up in my biz like we know each other. he's standing right next to me! this personal space thing is going to be a problem, as it always is with me. so he's laughing at me as i have to repeat everything i say and then spell it cus the phone guy can't understand my accent. a little effort french people!
so i'm still settling in slowly. it's different being here for just a few months without a job and much tougher. i don't have a french bank account this time around so i can't buy my metro tickets from a machine and it sucks standing in line. plus when you pull out a credit card without a "puce" everyone knows that you're not european. so hopefully things will go smoothly! did i just shoot myself in the foot by writing that? probably.
but this all changes with this post! (maybe). henceforth i will update this blog on a regular basis. since i started this blog i have moved to france, moved back to massachusetts, then moved to new york, then moved back to massachusetts again, and then moved back to france where i am right at this very moment. i'm in paris to be precise. the 13th arrondissement to be preciserer. strange things happen to me all the time, but even more so in foreign countries so this will be my outlet to partager mes histoires folles! (that might not mean anything in real french, but i know what i'm trying to say, and as for you - look it up!)
so after losing my job in this economic crisis (quelle horreur!) i decided that working just ain't my thang for the moment. well, really all the potential employers i sent my resume to decided working ain't my thang so i picked myself up, dusted myself off, and told myself "self, you should travel!" so i packed my bags, left nyc, and moved back home with my cat. leo has been very supportive through this difficult time of unemployment.
i arrived in the city of lights on sunday the 5th and have been doing lots of sleeping. since i'm here for a while i'm not really rushing to go out exploring. i'm going to take some french courses which will hopefully help me in landing a job at some point in the future where i can speak french which is what i've been wanting for years and years but have not yet found.
so after rising from a deep slumber around 12:30 pm on my first full day, i ventured out to faire les courses and buy some provisions. as soon as i turn the corner i'm approached by a french man "excusez-moi excusez- moi." and i'm just thinking "oh no" just because i was pretty sure i wouldn't understand what he was saying and my foreigner status would be revealed. so i think he sees the hesitation and fear written all over my face cus he says something along the lines of "no i didn't stop you for you." then i was a little offended and he says something about a tabac, i said "je ne sais pas" and i see his face light up as he realizes i'm not from here. he then proceeds to ask me to go to a cafe, i say "non merci" and he tells me that i am "tres jolie" and i say "merci" and continue on my way. i don't do well when i'm confronted by strangers. it's some sort of defense mechanism to automatically hate everyone i don't know. it's a wonder i've made any friends at all.
after another night of about 14 hours of sleep, i wake up and decide that i should get my SIM card for my cell phone. so i head to the mall at place d'italie and i just wander around the mall for a few minutes cus i'm too nervous to go into the store and buy my sim card. the last time i got a cell phone in france was a disaster. i ended up blocking the SIM card cus i was putting in the wrong PIN and had to get a new one mailed to me and i waited a week for it. lesson learned - never turn off your french cell phone, just in case! so i finally muster the courage and go into the france telecom store for my sim card. the guy approaches, i tell him i need a SIM card, i see the "oh great a foreigner" look on his face and he asks me if my phone is "debloque." i understood! this won't be so bad! i respond, "oui!" then we get into filling out the paperwork and he asks for my name, here's where it goes sour. because i'm american, i say my first name first then my last name. he then gives me a quick french lesson that "nom" would be my last name and when he wants my first name he'll say "prenom." this is all very simple vocab that i know, but he does a good job in making me feel kinda stupid. so then this random french dude comes up beside me and is all up in my biz like we know each other. he's standing right next to me! this personal space thing is going to be a problem, as it always is with me. so he's laughing at me as i have to repeat everything i say and then spell it cus the phone guy can't understand my accent. a little effort french people!
so i'm still settling in slowly. it's different being here for just a few months without a job and much tougher. i don't have a french bank account this time around so i can't buy my metro tickets from a machine and it sucks standing in line. plus when you pull out a credit card without a "puce" everyone knows that you're not european. so hopefully things will go smoothly! did i just shoot myself in the foot by writing that? probably.
posted by Maggie @ 3:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home