Homeless no more!

So I've been in Paris for 48 hours and I now have a place to live! As you can imagine that's such a huge relief. Especially since I only have hotel reservations for one more night and after that I would have to make other arrangements. "So how did you get to this point, Lyndsey?" I'm sure you are asking yourself that right now. And since I'm so excited about my new apartment, I would love to tell you. Buckle up, cause this is a long one. But then, I don't have any people over here to tell this to, so you're it.

You already heard about the first half of yesterday. Now I had sent out several emails to people I found online renting apartments and explained what I was looking for and that I was interested in their apartment and asked them to call my cell. So about 30 mins after I sent them, my phone rings. Since no one in the entire world knows that number I assume that it is an apartment person and as I go to answer it it occurs to me that I hate talking on the phone in french and that this may not have been the best idea ever. And at the same time it reminds me of a very confusing conversation with an angry flower delivery guy when I was here last time, that in retrospect is quite funny. But anyway I answer and talk to the lady about an apartment for 900 euros in the 15th. (Paris is divided into arrondisements and they spiral out with the smaller numbers being the older, more central, areas) The conversation was actually fairly successful since i only had to ask her to repeat something once or twice and that happens with cell phones anyway. So I made an appointment for the afternoon to go see the place. Until then I went to look for a couple of the free housing agencies listed in the student info. One of them you had to pay and they didn’t have many listings, and the other, as it turns out, you have to be receiving a scholarship from the French government for them to help you. So those were dead ends although I did get more suggestions and lists of places to look from then.

Since the Sciences Po international office was due to open I decided to run up there and see if there was anything I need to take care of before orientation on Monday and to see if they had any advice and to ask a couple questions. So there were several other international students standing around there, which was nice to finally see some of the other students doing the same thing I am. I met two guys, one from Turkey, the other from Denmark, and neither one speaks French very well and the turkish guy doesn’t speak enlgish very well, so it was interesting. The lady in the international office was very nice and made me feel like Sciences Po isn’t this scary strict French university that I thought it was. We’ll see if the professors do the same come October... So anyway nothing was accomplished other than I finally made contact with the school and met a couple of my classmates. And from there I headed to the apartment appointment.

I’ll give you the short version which was, the area of town wasn’t bad, from the street you could see the Eiffel Tower. But that was about all that this place had going for it. It was in an old (and not as in neat antique historical old) building and you had to wander up stairs and down hallways and out into a courtyard and then up an outdoors spiral staircase to finally reach the very small studio. There was an embarrassing scene with the current tenant who had not been informed of the visit and who hadn’t cleaned... and who hadn’t gotten dressed either. Anyway, lets just say that it was a less than fabulous place and it ended up being good the other tenant was there because I learned some things about the place that the landlord never would have told me.

So I was pretty disheartened after seeing that place and having struck out at all housing agencies. I headed back to Reid Hall to use the internet because I was going to look up the address of a housing agency I forgot to write down. And when I was walking through the halls I saw Mr. Dressner’s light on. Now Mr. Dressner is the man who did my housing the last time I came because he is contracted to UF”s study abroad program and does the housing for all the other schools that use Reid Hall as well. I had sent him several emails beginning back in March asking if he would consider working with me even though I’m not part of a UF program this time, and I never heard back from him. So I figured he didn’t have time or didn’t like me or thought it was a rude request. But I figure it can’t hurt to at least go say hello and mention the possibility. He remembered me from before though not my name, and we laughed about a few ridiculous things that happened to girls on my program last time, and I explained why I’m back in Paris and told him I was having a hard time and wondered if he had anything to suggest. I was figuring it was a long shot since all the study abroad programs start next week and he would have already filled up most of his inventory. But he conveniently has two studios available immediately at prices the same or better than what I was finding online on my own. The other thing is that it would be so much nicer to go through someone I already know and trust. Anyway he told me about the two and gave me the key to one to go look at right then. It was much nicer than what I had found on my own and in an area I like.

The other he didn't have the key for, so I came in this morning after he picked it up, and took it for a look. It's farther out from the center than I would choose if I had my druthers, but it's just a few minutes walk to a metro line that goes straight to Sciences Po. It's a 7th floor walk-up so I'll be able to work off all the pastries, and it should be a real delight trying to get my suitcases up there- lol. Anyway it's at the top of the building and is a two room that's spacious by Parisian standards. When you first walk in the entry way, the bathroom is to your right, and then you come into the kitchen/dining area which looks out on the courtyard. Then around the wall to the left in the bed/office/sitting room that looks out on the street. It's nicely furnished, very clean and airy, plenty of space, full kitchen. Anyway, it's just a great apartment and I think I'll be happy living there. I could have moved in this afternoon, but since I have the hotel for one more night, I am going to relax the rest of today and just take care of everything tomorrow morning. So that is why I am practically giddy with relief! Thank you all who have been praying for me and the housing situation. It has been a comfort to know that so many people have been thinking and praying for me. I really appreciate it.
Better run! Take care- I miss you all!

Day 2

I hope you’re all doing well. I’m a little tired, but no real jet lag to speak of. Last night after I wrote, I walked down the street from my old school to the Monoprix that I used to shop at all the time. Monoprix is a chain that is basically the closest thing to a Walmart in France. It’s actually closer to being like a Target because it has nicer stuff and they have all the cutesy matching housewares and such. A bought a few postcards, two tubes of Prince cookies (which are these really simple but delicious sandwhich cookies- chocolate spread between two crisp plain cookies-and you can’t find them in the U.S.) and a 1.5 liter of Orangina. I was going to go out later and get a bite to eat, but once you start eating Prince cookies, well it is pretty hard to stop so that was basically my dinner. One thing I love about Paris is how there is something unexpected down almost every street. Yesterday I was strolling by a clump of police officers and thinking that they were all pretty tall, until i realized they were on rollerblades. Forget bicylce cops when you can have guys on rollerblades.

Today I got up early thinking that one of the housing agencies I wanted to visit opened at 9 and closed at noon, but I guess I read the paper wrong because they all definitely don’t open until the afternoon. So I decided to go try to find Sciences Po again and check in at the International Office. Now that is easier said than done because, unlike many Parisian universities, and very like the University of Florida, Sciences Po isn’t a building, it is housed in multiple buildings, and they are not contiguous, but rather are spread out over many blocks in whatever building the school could buy. So after wandering a bit I finally found a building labled Sciences Po and went in. It was definitley not the building I was looking for, but at least there was a man there who knew where I needed to go and was ablet o give me directions. So I finally made my way to the international office, but there is a sign saying that they only see students from 2-4 every afternoon and to please respect those hours. So that was a dead end. I had been planning on asking them their advice about the housing search and a good place to buy a cheap phone, etc. etc. But since It was 9 in the morning and I had 5 hours before I could talk to them, I figured it was best to get as much done as possible. So I walked back over to the Montparnasse area which I am most familiar with and therefore had the best chance of locating what I needed. After a little hunting I found a phone store that, if not the same one I bought my phone from last time, was at least similar in that you can buy rechargeable cell phones. That way you can just buy as many minutes as you need and you can buy them from any tabac. I figured that since I can’t figure out phone contracts in America there was no way on God’s green earth that I could understand one in French. The young guys working there were nice and I got a phone for 40 euros and the names of some cheap housing agencies that the guys recommended when I told them I was looking for an apartment. And just so you know, I’ve been here one day and I am already mixing up my french and english. I spelled apartment the french way 3 times before I realized it was wrong. So back to the housing hunt! A bientot mes amies-

Bonjour tout le monde! So this is day one of Paris and also my first time ever using a blog. Hopefully this will be easier than trying to email updates to everyone, and this way you can just read them when you want since last time a few people complained that I wrote too much. I'm running on about 5 hours sleep for the last 48 hours, but being in Paris again is exhilerating. Things have changed some since I was last here but still it feels like I have only been absent from Paris for a couple of weeks instead of a couple of years. I didn't realize how much I had forgotten about the city until now, when I am here surrounded by it. The way the wind makes the leaves dance along the Seine, the smell of the city, the sound of the metro, the sunlight slanting down between the buildings, so many little things that had faded in my memory. I am checked into a hotel and have been running errands and wandering the city since noon to prevent myself from napping and making the jet lag worse. Today I am relaxing and enjoying being in the city because I know that tomorrow it begins hard-core. I'll have more than enough things to take care of for a few weeks so it'll be a while before I am able to really enjoy just being in Paris. Finding housing is still number one on my list and since orientation begins Monday, well time is limited. But as big a deal as not having a place to live seems, I know that it will all work out fine. I surprise myself by how easily I slip back into Paris life. I've been speaking French all day, I rediscovered my look of total disinterest to keep weird people from talking to me on the metro, and I can't wait to go get a pain au chocolate.
But I am starting to yawn and it's only 5 here, so that's my cue to go wander a bit more before it gets too cold for the outfit I have on. I love you and miss you all!