Things are getting hostel

This apartment hunting thing is proving to be harder than I thought it was going to be. So far, everything I’ve tried on craigslist, pap.fr and other such websites have dried up and/or have been rented out. I recently paid money for a website called appartager.com and even though I get a lot of leads, no one has replied to my requests. One went up last night, actually and I quickly called them but the lady on the other end told me, “Sorry, it was just taken.” Because I didn’t foresee this hunt to take so long, I only booked 3 nights in the hostel and there’s no room for me after that. Not that I want to stay here much longer anyway. I’ve been sharing a room with five other guys, two of whom snore like my grandmother and who think it’s a good idea to keep the windows closed all night long so it feels and smells like used, warm gym socks in the morning. Then there’re the showers that you have to hold a button down with one hand to get any water so you’ve got to rinse, soap, rinse, soap, rinse, etc. On top of that, there’s no hooks for a towel in one of the showers so my towel got all wet yesterday. :(

Oh and have I mentioned that the public transportation system is on strike here? Making it impossible to get anywhere quickly?

So now that I can’t rely on the hostel does this mean I will I be living out of a bus station locker? Nope. Luckily a friend from High School, Aliénor, lives in Lyon and has gladly invited me to stay at her place for a time. I’m happy that I at least have a roof over my head, but I’m at the point where I’m tired of living out of a suitcase and I would really like to get settled in now. Especially since I start work tomorrow.

That brings me to my next topic. Yesterday I got up bright and early and visited the schools I will be working in. I’ll go into more detail later since I have another meeting to go to this afternoon after which I’ll know more about my obligations so come back for that. I will say that after having visited the schools, I’m getting excited to start work and excited to begin this new adventure ahead of me.

Lyons and Tigers and Bears...

Vacation is over. I arrived in Paris about 10 days ago and I kicked off my shoes and let myself forget that I had to find an apartment or that I had to start working. Nope, I just let Ashley take me by the hand and show me around the Paris she lived in for two years. In short all we did was walk, watch Arrested Development and eat, eat, eat. Oh dear Lord we ate so much. Our last night was especially gourmand when after having spent €65 eating a 3 course meal with coffee, we headed directly to a bar and ran a €52.80 tab on beer. Empty wallets aside, it was probably our best evening that whole week.

It was just too bad that our bodies really hated themselves that next morning and there was a list of things I’d rather have done than catch a train.

I arrived in Lyon today at around 2 today and found out that the public transportation in Lyon is on strike. I decided to walk to the youth hostel, which turned out to not only be on the other side of town, but required me to walk up the Fourvière hill - definitely not for the faint of heart. Drenched in sweat and my arms and shoulders aching to high heaven, I got my room at the hostel that I’m sharing with 4 other guys, only two of whom I’ve actually run into. In any case, it’s clean, the guests seem friendly and they have wifi and serve beer. Can’t beat that.

A few quick words on Lyon: it’s a very pretty city at it’s heart. It’s not a massive beast that is Paris or London and it seems like a perfect sized place to get around exclusively on a bike. It has this weird mix between stuffy Parisian and laid-back South of France. So far I’m really happy with my choice. I just wish I could have my own place so I can call this place home.

Let me be franc here...

After I’d left, France, along with 11 other European countries, managed to change their entire currency. For the five years I was living in France I paid all my meals, CDs, drinks and rent in Francs. After spending more time with the Euro I find myself missing the old monetary unit despite the conveniences it offers especially in traveling.

First, I can’t stand all the small denominations the euro has. The smallest denomination the Franc had was .05. No pennies. It was wonderful. On top of that you rarely ran into prices that even had centimes in the price. I would pay 10 francs for a coffee. I would pay 15-20 for a beer. 100 for a CD. None of this 1.40 / 3.55 bullshit I’m seeing now which is filling up my wallet with useless 1, 2 and 5 cent pieces. Can I also mention how much alike the 1 and 2 euro pieces are? Back in the good old days, each franc coin was a different size (the 2 franc piece was a different shape) and everything was easy to spot out and find in your wallets.

Alas, times have changed and this old man’s got to suck it up and change with them.

Oui, oui

I’ve been in Paris for about a day now and so far it’s been a rather weird awakening. I didn’t feel foreign or emotional during my return to France, but it definitely feels like those times you spend the night at a relative’s place you haven’t seen in a long time, and you wake up the following morning and think for a second, “Where the hell am I again?”

Eight years without speaking much of the French language leaves much to be desired in your brain. Things that are hard-wired in you like saying “excuse me” when someone bumps into you instead of the French “pardon” is an example. Or going into a store and asking people stuff and trying not to come off as a complete dork when you ask them, “Uh...répétez s’il vous plaît?” You’d think that after spending 5 years of high school in France, I’d be perfect...well you’d be wrong. I definitely have some gaps in my linguistic capabilities. Gaps that embarrass me sometimes when faced in “unrehearsed” situations. In any case, I do hope this trip will help me fill in those holes.

Otherwise, France is great. The food is still amazing. The wine is delicious. The dogs are still tiny and cute. But I have to remember that I am not on vacation. I start work in a couple weeks and I still need a place to live in Lyon. Damnit. I got used to being lazy.

The waiting game.

The worst thing about airports isn’t the waiting in line or going though security or any other typical airport issue. The absolute worst thing about Airports is the abysmal state of wifi. I’ve been to a lot of airports around the world and there is only one airport I know of that offers free wifi for the masses: Columbus International Airport.

Thinking about it, I have to agree that it is a smart business move to make people pay for wifi throughout these winding gates and terminals. The internet is such a wonderful time waster and what is it people have lots of in airports? Time. As I’m typing this right now, I have 2 hours before the plane even starts boarding. I would love to log on and let people know that I’ve made it through a third of the way all right with both bags barely going through (they each weighed a few ounces over 50 pounds - it was close). I’d love to inform Ashley in case my flight was delayed, I’d love to screw around on Facebook. But no. Unless you’re catching a plane in Columbus, Ohio, you’re forced to pay for some crappy Boingo subscription service. Oh they do have a pay as you go option: $6.95 gets you 24 hour internet service! Yay! Well, I’m not spending 24 hours in O’Hare and I don’t feel like dishing out my credit card and paying you 7 bucks to check my email.

In short, Columbus, I salute you. You’ve put people before corporations. You’ve put the little man first. The little man who just wants to check their email, or write a quick IM to a friend, or torrent the latest episode of Weeds. Times are rough and letting people do a simple thing like surf the web, especially when the status quo seems to be the opposite: thumbs up.

PS: I just had people ask me if they could use the internet I’m apparently “using”. Had to tell them that I’m doing everything you can do with a computer except internet. I suppose on the flip side, I’m being more creative.

Counting down.

It was almost 13 years ago that a young 14 year old version of myself packed his bags in Lancaster, Ohio and headed to France with his family for a then undeterminable amount of time. Five years later I packed my bags and headed back to the states for college.

I did my obligatory 4 years of undergrad and then an additional 4 years of teaching, waiting tables, transcribing phone calls, installing/disassembling corporate conference AV equipment, dabbling in special education and property maintenance. Come October, you can add English teacher in France to that list.

In two days I'll be getting on a plane and flying back to France to live for another year. This time I'm not a naïve 14 year old whose only foreign language experience was 3 weeks of French lessons at the local university. I'm a grown adult with responsibilities, experience and a few wrinkles here and there. I am tempted to take a stab at hypothesizing how this year will blossom but that would mean having expectations, and if there's one thing I've learned: life is much more complex and random for one person to try to predict an outcome to.

Instead, I'll just concentrate on what I do know: all of my belongings are either in storage or in a couple of suitcases to my right. My Dad is kindly driving me to Chicago to catch my flight and I still have no place to live when I get there. That latter part might drive a few people insane but I'm taking deep breaths and concentrating on baby-stepping my way to Paris - to Ashley - and then figure it out as I go along from there.

PS: Man, I am suddenly really looking forward to crème fraîche....