My Birthday/OFII

I've never had a vacation during my birthday, it was definitely bizarre but in a good way.
On the 23rd, the girls from Charleville (the next/biggest town in our department) met up for my birthday. I had decided that since we're in the Champagne-Ardennes region, we should do a champagne cave visit/tasting. I chose Pommery and off we went. It was a wonderful day spent drinking LOTS of champagne (after the Pommery in the afternoon we bought a bottle of Mumm) and eating good French food. All in all, quite lovely birthday.

Then, on the 29th was my OFII appointment. My original message about this appointment somehow never got saved (written en route to Switzerland on my tablet) so I'm re-writing it. I spent the 27th-29th in Reims (it seems that so far I've only gone to Reims and Paris, lol) exploring Reims and hanging out with the other assistants. The friend who I was staying with also had her OFII appointment on the same day. My friend back in the States who had done this program the year before told me that I should get to my appointment an hour early, to be the first one to get in. Well, my appointment was scheduled for 9am which meant leaving Anna's at 7am (she lives on the outskirts of Reims, so getting to the center of town takes half an hour, and getting to this x-ray appointment, 45-1 hour). We decided that it would be best if we walked since she didn't have internet at her place and the mediateque is closed on Mondays (awesome). I printed out the walking directions before I arrived and off we went, at 7am. Luckily we didn't get lost en route, in fact it was a wonderful little stroll where we passed THREE champagne caves! Upon arrival, we got a little lost since we couldn't find the right building on the street (where are the street signs/numbers France?!?!). After 5 minutes of debating if the building we were standing in front of was indeed the correct x-ray lab, we went inside. The building next to the office was an apartment complex that looked like a sketchy motel where some drug dealers and prostitutes hung out. After we went inside the xray lab building, we found two other people waiting, they came from a small town in the Champagne region where one of their neighbors made his own champagne (what?!?! Super jealous!) and she proceeded to tell us how amazing her small town of 2,000 people is and what a culture shock it has been. People drive their tractors on the roads and during harvesting season the air smells of champagne. Sounds delightful. She even has a French boyfriend, the guy who does IT at her school (they had been going out for 1 week) and he had driven her to the appointment- an hour and a half drive North.
Anyway, they proceeded to say that the building won't actually open UNTIL 9am, so there was no point in getting there early. So, we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, at around 9am (more like 9:05) people began taking the elevator up to the 5th floor (where we were scheduled to do our chest exam). We all took a number and waited in the waiting area. Then, when they called my number, they took my passport and paperwork. After doing the paperwork, I waited some more and finally around 9:30 was taken to a little room where I dropped my coat and things off before heading into the lab for the xray. The x-ray exam was to make sure that you didn't have tuberculosis (because apparently that's still a thing here). Luckily I passed, wohoo! And they handed me my x-ray and told me how to get to the second building for the medical exam.
Off Anna and I went to building number two, but of course, since we're nice people we waited until EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE was done with their appointment so we could all go together (clearly nullifying the entire point of arriving early). After a few debates about which bus to take, we were all on the right bus and headed to our next appointment.
When we got to appointment number 2, we wrote our names on the attendance and waited until we were called. After 15 minutes of waiting, the receptionist informed us that there was going to be a shift change (because why would a French doctor work for 3 hours without getting a break). 15 minutes turned into half an hour which turned into 45 minutes. Luckily, after waiting for 45 minutes another doctor showed up and we were able to get this process started. Since Anna and I waited for everyone, we ended up being the 4th to last people getting seen (urg) AND we had a time table since we needed to catch a train to Switzerland at 3pm. My appointment went well, the doctor apologized for me being in Sedan (a common theme) and told me I was in tip top shape and gave me my resident stamp and wished me well. We were done around 12:30 and went back to Anna's to have lunch/get ready.

I couldn't be more ready for this vacation to begin.

Sedan, Sedan, Sedan

I know I keep apologizing for the lack of updates but it has been difficult here in Sedan-almost from day 1. Writing is difficult when you live in a depressing and desolate area. My window overlooks a factory and an elementary school and our kitchen/living room window overlooks the ZUP (the Zone Urbaniser en Priorité) which is the equivalent to public/social housing. The landscape is dull, the sky is constantly gray, there are no stars at night, and on most days on average there are 2 hours of sunlight. Sounds like a great little oasis in Eastern France?......If only I could say that. Sadly, I'm 100% sure that once this program is done, I will never return to this town again (unless for some odd reason I end up working on a show that tours in the Ardennes).

But, I've been growing more frustrated since returning from the Salon Du Vin and experiencing the amazing Parisian life. We have more than 1 Parisian friend, something we can't say here. Our only friend in this town is one of our neighbors, he is 27 and lives with his father and younger brother. The people here are very nice, but they do not speak proper French (let alone a word of English). Whenever we travel, everyone is sympathetic or scours when we tell them where we live and they respond with "I'm sorry, why do you live there?" Or, "I'm sorry, why don't you move?" 
This is why I haven't spoken much about Sedan since my arrival. It is almost exactly how I expected it to be, but for some reason I thought it would be tolerable. The only tolerable aspects of living here are my colleagues, neighbors, and 12 hour work week. Recently when attempting to describe Sedan to others in the Academy of Reims, someone had come up with the clever notion that Sedan is "the Detroit of France". Everyone laughed, but then the two of us American assistants actually thought about it, and yes, Sedan IS the "Detroit of France."

This is a panorama taken from the street corner where I live/work. I live in the building to the right of the lamppost 

Ever wonder where sedans came from? Well, they were invented right here in Sedan, France. Unfortunately since the recession hit France, the economy here has dwindled significantly. The Christmas lights (not even on every street in down town Sedan) stays on for less than 5 hours......what?!?!?! Why even have them up if they turn off after 9pm. There are more for sale signs than rented/owned space.

Taken on Armistice Day, Place Alsace-Lorraine

This is where all the delinquents hang out. 

Fun Fact: we have to pass this to get to the closest grocery store 

 Taken from the corner of our building

At least the trees are pretty in Autumn 

Blanche Nuit; The only night out of the year where Paris doesn't shutdown after 2am

Nuit Blanche, the only night where everything in Paris theoretically stays open all night. But, just as when Chicago tried to do the same with "Looptopia", things closed as 2am. The nifty thing about Nuit Blanche is that you can get a map/program of the night's event at almost every train station. Unfortunately, the few times I tried to get one at Gare De L'est they were out or no one knew where I could find it when I asked. So, we were left to search for things (without smartphones) via their poorly laid out website. Luckily I found some cool things on their site and printed some maps and saved some screenshots on my iphone. Today was also the day that I finally had a working phone! SFR has a pre-paid weekly plan for 5 euros you get unlimited texting and calling (within France) on nights and weekends and unlimited texts and 2 hours of talk during the day. This plan was perfect for our evening (minus the no 3G) but, since Paris is big and there was a lot of us, we needed a working phone to get in-touch incase one of us got lost. We saw some pretty cool things that night, but the highlight of the evening was the 3 hour fireworks display. While they were re-stocking the fireworks, they had a water and lights show (the fireworks were being set off from the Seine). It was amazing, and something I will probably never experience again.

 Me at the Myth of Olympia 

 At the Place De La Republique 

 The first thing we experienced 

 In front of the Centre Pompidou

 A garden in the Myth of Olympia

 The Louvre at night

 The three amigos at the Louvre 

 Fireworks on the Seine

 Video of the fireworks

We ate dinner at a creperie called "Camille", they had wonderful crepes and salads (for some reason I was craving a salad). After we ate, we kept going down the Rue De La Republique and ran into some unique things like an outdoor short film festival, a "mythical garden", and a mist spectacle. Around 2am, we hit up a cafe close to the Bastile and leisurely sat in the warm cafe people-watching. After our coffees, we headed back outside and tried to look for something to do, unfortunately 3am is about when the performers abandon their station so by the time we made our way to something that looked promising (from the piece of paper I had printed) no one was at their post and the station was desolate. Since we hadn't eaten since 9ish, we found one of the only things  to eat,  which was Kabab. Then, we strolled the streets of Paris until Gare De L'est opened, which was 5am. Co-incidentally, that is the same time a scrumptious boulongerie opened. Before heading the station, we grabbed a yummy pain au chocolat for breakfast and waited in the station (our train left the station at 7:44am).
Of course right as we entered the station, there was an entire row of pamphlets/programs for "Nuit Blanche". I don't know how I missed that when we arrived, but I took one nonetheless and wrote down the exact location where I found it. I will get one for next year!

All in all, it was a successful evening.

What have I been doing for the past 90+ days

Let me tell you folks, getting internet was both amazing and horrible at the same time.

 Omg, we finally visited the castle (the only tourist attraction in Sedan)!

I've been so busy I have no idea where to begin, so let's start off with Nuit Blanche.....yes, I am aware that it took place October 5th but between then and now I've been dealing with alot- a new roommate, an actual class schedule (which is quite ridiculous- for example on Monday I teach at 9am and 5pm), and lots of daily life/travel organizing/planning/auditions.
Before I recount Nuit Blanche (which could have 1,000 times better had our smartphones been able to be smart, Paris where's your free wifi!) Let me just say that I definitely COULD NEVER BE A TRAVEL AGENT. Planning trips for one person is difficult, but when you add more than two people things get complicated. Needless to say, I took on the responsibility of booking hostels, creating itineraries, and accessing/taking screenshots of maps (of course the printers at the school weren't working) all while creating lesson plans and teaching. Also, right after my birthday I got the flu for four days (not fun while you're trying to plan a vacation). I say this because I've just finished booking everything for my up-coming winter vacation- Rome during Christmas, Vienna on New Years, and home to England to see family (with a trip to the Harry Potter set tours somewhere in there). Luckily, I have three and half weeks to plan this trip (whew), yay! Let's hope this time I won't get sick *fingers crossed*

Cracks in French public transit

For the past month (it'll be a month in 2 days) I've been all over the East of France and taken several trains to and from Paris without a problem. Of course there were a few close calls but that was mainly because we left too late. The conductors have been nice and everyone always wait while you are getting your tickets or looking for the correct platform. 

Today was the first day where something didn't go right. Granted France is allowed to have those days, but the TGV and SNCF in general is praised as having awesome transit-maybe that only applies to the trains, My bus (or autocar as its called here) was 15 minutes late!!! Normally, I wouldn't care but this was a bus that was connecting me to Reims, and I have an appointment (for a champagne cave tour and tasting) later this afternoon. So, I need the time to put my stuff down and get a few things before heading to Pommery. 

We arrived in Charleville (where I had my connection) with one minute to spare. Luckily, I flagged down one of the workers on baord the train I need to take, and they held the train for me and a few other people. Yay! Crisis averted. Now, to enjoy some fresh champagne straight from the source. ;) 

Foreign Banking Parts 3-5

I'm taking a break from writing about my daily life here in Sedan to re-surface the theme of "Banking in France"

Banking in France

There are many banking options in France.

The banks I'm going to cover are:

La Poste ( yep, you can do everything at the Post Office-banking; phone services-they are a service provider that offers prepaid and no contract plans; and of course, sending your mail) 

Open from 9am-12pm, then 2:00pm-4:45pm  

To get an appointment: go to the LaPoste and ask for an appointment. It can take up to five or six days to receive your appointment if you go during the weekend. Otherwise, it can be the same week but keep in mind that it depends on the time of the year (beginning of the school year, holidays, etc...) you are attempting to set up your bank account.

To open the account:
Visit the receptionist, the banker will get you at the reception area. He or she will ask you many questions that will inserted into their database (name, salary, when you arrived in France, why are you in France, etc)
Then, the banker will ask you what kind of bank account you wish to open. THERE ARE LOTS OF OPTIONS. If you have no idea, he or she will go over each option with you. I'm going to explain the simplest/most basic account.

For the basic account: you pay a fixed amount every 3 months-10.76 euros every trimester, have no other fees, the carte bancaire and insurance is included in the price.

You will need the following paperwork:

• Proof of housing
• Copy of ID/passport
• Work Contract
• Salary Statement

You do not have to pay to open or close the account 

You will receive two very important letters in the mail, one is about online banking, and the second is your secret code to use your debit card.

Online banking mail arrived 3 days after opening the bank account. The letter was very straightforward and easy to understand

The second letter arrived one week later and contained the secret code needed to pick up and activate the debit card. The secret code is also the PIN.

ATMs:
Surprisingly enough, there are bank postale ATMs located in every city/town in France. If you use the bank postale ATMs it's free
Regarding other ATMS, there is no fee for the first three withdrawals, after that, it's less than 2.00 euro fee. Be wary when traveling internationally as there are hefty fees when using the ATMS abroad.  
Total days: About 7 days (from opening up a bank account to activating your debit card)

LCL (Le Crédit Lyonnais)

Things to note with LCL:

You don't need an appointment to open a bank account, but IF by some chance you do, you can usually get the appointment for the same day or at the very latest, the next day.
In order to open your account you will need these very important documents

• Passport
• Visa
• Proof of housing 
• Work Contract

Voila, that simple!

The steps for opening the account are as follows: 
When you walk in, head towards the receptionist and say you'd like to open a checking account.
Then, she or he will check something on the computer or call one of the bankers.
Next, a banker will greet you in the lobby and take you to his or her office where he or she will ask you a bunch of questions such as where do you live (both in France and in the States), your social security number, and birth certificate number. This part can be quite laborious as you have to spell everything out letter by letter or in most cases, write everything down then hand the banker the piece of paper. But, if you have a nice banker he or she will offer you some type of beverage such as coffee or tea. Another question he or she will ask you is why you chose this bank. For most people the answer of "you offer renters insurance for 1 euro" is most common as you need to obtain renters insurance for any type of accommodation in France.
The questions are part of the online process the banker needed to complete in order to open your bank account.
After all of that, they take your documents and make photocopies of EVERYTHING
Then, the mounds of paperwork begins, you sign what seems like an endless pile of papers, pick which type of bank card you'd like (they offer three). The cheapest is the carte bancaire, it's the no frills card but it works internationally. If you want more info on the carte bancaire, click here:
http://www.cartes-bancaires.com/spip.php?rubrique49


After that, you're done. Congrats you've just completed the steps for opening a checking account with LCL. Now, you get to play the waiting game.

You will receive two very important letters in the mail, one is about online banking, and the second is your secret code to use your debit card.

The first piece of mail you will receive is your online banking information. This letter will include LOTS and LOTS of numbers for account passwords and other useful numbers.
At first, this can be a daunting process because you have no idea what set of numbers belongs to what piece of information the website is asking.

You can log into your account two ways:
The first way- Plugging in your bank account number AND this secret password. Note, it is NOT 4 numbers which is associated with your debit card. It should be a 6 digit number that can be found on the letter you received.
The second way: enter the 2 different banking numbers that are assigned to your account (given to you when you opened the account AND  the 6 digit secret password)

You must take special care not to lose this paper as you will need the above information EACH time you log into your account.

The second piece of mail you will receive is the debit card letter. This letter states that your debit card has arrived and you can go to the bank and pick it up. Somewhere in the letter will be your PIN. In France, YOU DO NOT CHOOSE YOUR PIN, it is assigned. You will need to memorize this number as every time you visit the ATM, you will prompted for the number.

Steps for activitating your debit card:

Go to an ATM (surprisingly, you don't need to go to an LCL ATM to activate the card, any ATM will suffice)
Insert the card into the ATM, plug in the PIN number that was given to you
Withdraw money

Congrats, you're debit card is now activated and ready to use!

Helpful Info:


You can open the bank account without putting any money into your account
BUT
It is important that you put in at least 10 euros into your account when you open it, because you need to withdraw money from the ATM in order to activate it
  
The bank is closed from noon  to 2:25 on weekdays  


It costs 3 euros to open the account
Monthly fees: very low, less than 5 euro a month
Total for opening account: 5.60

Total days: About 10 days (from walking in and opening up a bank account to activating your debit card)

IT IS IMPORTANT TO LIKE YOUR BANKER, YOU WILL BE DEALING WITH THIS PERSON ALWAYS, THEY HANDLE YOUR ACCOUNT. My friend who is with LCL, highly recommends it because of her banker, The banker did a good job at making my friend feel comfortable and made setting up the bank account a smooth process. If you feel that the person can't understand your needs (or accent), do not open the account. You could inadvertently sign-up for things you don't need/be hit with multiple fees. Wait until you find the person that can assist you properly.


BNP Paribas

The paperwork you need is:

• Passport
• Visa
• Proof of housing 
• Work Contract

I have personal experience with this bank, as it is the one I chose (mainly, again because it's a partner with BOA and you don't have any fees when you withdraw from partner banks which are located across the world). The day after I arrived in Sedan, I went to open my bank account. Unfortunately, you need an appointment to open an account. The receptionist said the earliest appointment was next Tuesday. After several minutes of negotiation, I was able to receive an appointment for the next day at 11am. Since I'm under 25, they have a special account called "Esprit Libre" in which you don't pay any fees and you get your carte bancaire at a reduced price (in France, you will normally pay for the card, even the most basic-carte bancaire). They will give you a set of RIBs (4 per page, you get 2 pages), which you use EVERYWHERE-from setting up your direct deposit (you handover a RIB to paying for your housing. You will definitely want to make photocopies, especially if you are a language assistant and plan on having two jobs.

After signing a bunch of paperwork, I was ready to open an account. Again, you can open an account without depositing anything into it-but, I prefer to have some money in my account so I know that when my debit card arrives I will be able to stop withdrawing from my US account.

The process was simple, and luckily the banker spoke some English, so if I didn't know the word in French she was able to figure it out and explain it in half English/half French which was nice.

Just as LCL and La Poste, you will receive three documents.
The first piece of mail you will receive is your online banking information, it includes two pages. Luckily, this letter does not include as many numbers as the LCL letter.
In the middle of the page on the first page, you will see Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle YOUR NAME followed by a 10 digit number, this is your account number
On the second page is your secret code, it says code secret: 6 digit number
You will need both these pages in order to log onto your account.
Once logged on, you can view your messages, see your balance, and do online banking.
You also have the option of going paperless

You must take special care not to lose this paper as you will need the above information EACH time you log into your account.

The second piece of mail you will receive is the debit card letter. This letter states that your debit card has arrived and you can go to the bank and pick it up. Somewhere in the letter will be your PIN. In France, YOU DO NOT CHOOSE YOUR PIN, it is assigned. You will need to memorize this number as every time you visit the ATM, you will prompted for the number.


It is free to open the account
The cost getting the carte bancaire is 5.50 euro
You must get insurance for the account which is 1.50 euros
Total for opening account: 7.00 euros

Total days: About 16 days (from walking in and opening up a bank account to activating your debit card, my letter with my PIN got "lost in the mail" so while I had my debit card, I couldn't activate it until I received my PIN) This is very long and abnormal, normally it only takes 5-10 days.

Paris Days 1-2-September 24th/25th

Hello! I finally have internet. In France, it takes 12 days from when you sign up for a router/wifi to actually get it activated. I will go into further detail in a later post. Therefore, I have been keeping a journal for the past 2 weeks and will backlog these posts.

I arrived in Paris on Tuesday at 9:25am, with only getting 3 hours of sleep on the airplane. They were showing “Beautiful Creatures” dubbed in French, it was NOT very good, so I decided to watch “Midnight in Paris” and “Modern Family”. Customs or more like boarder patrol, looked at the wrong visa (he looked at my study abroad one, from 2008) and said, have a good time studying, and stamped on the page after the visa. I was confused when he said “good luck with your studies” but I thought I misheard him. Then, when I was on the escalator to baggage claim, I debated about going back and saying you stamped in the wrong place but hopefully it won’t be that big of a deal, I’ll have to wait until orientation (October 1^st) to find out. My bags ended up being way heavier than I anticipated, so I took a taxi, which ate up about a fourth of my allotted budget for the trip to Paris(meaning no awesome gastronomy experiences, hopefully next time). I arrived at my B&B around 11:15am, unpacked a bit and headed off to the first destination, the Latin Quarter-I swear I missed it the first time. So, first stop was the Luxembourg Gardens for a relaxing lunch by the fountain overlooking the Eiffel Tower. With no cellphone and a weird map of Paris from my Frommers Paris Day By Day book (circa 2008-my study abroad trip), I went to explore. First, I went over to the Sorbonne and sneaked a peak of a group meeting in the corridor and talking with a professor, a very French scene. I tried taking a picture but it turned out very shadowy.  As I passed that entrance, I found their library. Apparently in order to get into the library you need your student id and class schedule. There were at least 10 people in line- I have never seen a line to enter a library at a university. Then I went to the church across the street, which was pretty, but it was definitely a typical Parisian church.

The best part of the day was that I didn’t get on the wrong metro, yay! It really does remind me of the EL but super fast and you’re never waiting for more than 5 minutes for a train. I ended the day by stopping by the Eiffel Tower and taking a few quick pictures. I totally forgot the purpose this day, to scout potential locations for my moving audience "La Boheme" that I want to do this summer. Bah! I must remember to do this tomorrow!

Day 2 

I went to SFR today to get my phone; unfortunately they said I couldn’t do it because I needed a bank account. Wtf, I just wasted 15 minutes getting here to be told I can’t have a phone yet. This doesn't bode well for the rest of the day. 

Next on my list was to explore Montmartre, the Gare de l’est, get my carte de jeune, book my train to Reims/Sedan, and explore the arrondisment I was staying in  (19^th ). I found a fromagerie that won a M.O.F.!! Definitely the highlight of the morning and much needed after SFR. A M.O.F. is a highly skilled prize given to the best workers in France (there isn't a limit on how many people can win, but the exam required to win the prestigious award is quite rigorous). 

Last night, I read that the TGV can have your luggage delivered to you if you give them 24 hours notice. At around 12:00pm, I arrived at the train station, had to ask a few times where to buy the SNCF tickets, and finally after about 10 minutes of wandering, found the booth. The woman behind the counter kindly explained that even though the website says 24 hours in advance, they require a minimum of two days in advance. URG! My bags weigh more than I do, so having to take yet another taxi to the train station was a daunting prospect. Oh, and due to theft, the train station NO LONGER HAS LUGGAGE CARTS. Meaning, unless someone takes pity on me, I have figure out a way to lug three suitcases (2 checked bags and my carry-on) onto the train plus my 15-inch laptop bag. You might be wondering, why do I need so much luggage- well Sedan is like Chicago, one day in Fall it might be 80 degrees and the next it’ll be 52.  Since I get the pleasure (not really) of experiencing 4 seasons during my time in France, I packed 7 of every type of top: t-shirts, tank tops, long-sleeved shirts, shirts for winter, and dresses; 2 dress pants, my winter jacket, fall jacket, a few cardigans, several scarves, boots, etc…. now, I can spend my money on traveling, NOT on clothes (as the season ends I’m going to ship the clothes back, mainly winter because that is really what weighed the most but also is the most important-it snows from November-March in Sedan).  After the gare de l’est it was off to Montmartre.

It didn’t go so well in Montmartre, I literally explored practically half of the town. When I got off the metro at the “Abesse” stop, you have to walk up a lot of flights of stairs, after flight three, I saw no end in sight and walked back down and waited for the elevator. I don’t know how people can walk up all those flights of stairs. I wandered for a bit, my google maps GPS wasn’t cooperating so I just went whichever direction I felt like going. I ended up getting lost and couldn’t find where Degas had his garden, L

I ended up going back to the B&B and made some pasta for dinner, then I went out for a nutella banana crepe and came back and went straight to sleep.

that the TGV can have your luggage delivered to you if you give them 24 hours notice. At around 12:00pm, I arrived at the train station, had to ask a few times where to buy the SNCF tickets (it's really not clearly marked anywhere, I swear) and finally after about 10 minutes of wandering, found the booth. The woman behind the counter kindly explained that even though the website says 24 hours in advance, they require a minimum of two days in advance. URG! My bags weigh more than I do, so having to take yet another taxi to the train station was a daunting prospect. Oh, and due to theft, the train station NO LONGER HAS LUGGAGE CARTS. Meaning, unless someone takes pity on me, I have figure out a way to lug three suitcases (2 checked bags and my carry-on) onto the train plus my 15-inch laptop bag. 

You might be wondering, why do I need so much luggage- well Sedan is like Chicago, one day in  it might be 80 degrees and the next it’ll be 48.  Since I get the pleasure (not really) of experiencing 4 seasons during my time in France, I packed 7 of every type of top: t-shirts, tank tops, shirts for winter, and dresses. Then, 2 dress pants, my winter jacket, fall jacket, a few cardigans, several scarves, boots, etc…. so that I can spend my money on traveling, NOT on clothes (as the season ends I’m going to ship the clothes back, mainly winter because that is really what weighed the most but also is the most important-it snows from November-March in Sedan).  

I got my carte de jeune with no problems, booked my ticket to Sedan, and dropped off my ticket, carte de jeune, and passport at the B&B.

After the gare de l’est it was off to Montmartre. 

It didn’t go so well in Montmartre, I literally explored practically half of the town. When I got off the metro at the “Abesse” stop, you have to walk up a lot of flights of stairs, after flight three, I saw no end in sight and walked back down and waited for the elevator. I don’t know how people can walk up all those flights of stairs. 

I wandered for a bit, my google maps GPS wasn’t cooperating so I just went whichever direction I felt like going. I ended up getting lost and couldn’t find where Degas had his garden, the Moulin Rouge, or even the same Metro stop. 

I ended up going back to the B&B. But on the way, I stopped for a nutella banana crepe (I have to get them while I can, Sedan certainly won't have any creperies) and came back and went straight to sleep.

Long Overdue

This post is about four days overdue, but I haven't been in the mood to write (and when I'm not in the mood to write my posts would either be terribly boring or maybe a bit depressing). Also, I've been remembering why I stopped acting, because for about every one "yes' you have to experience ten+ "nos". Not getting cast just puts me a sad and mopey mood, especially after being called back and not getting a role. But, c'est la vie and that's why I switched to directing. 

This past weekend I went to the 'burbs and hung out with a college friend who did the TAPIF program two years ago. She warned me about the French people and told me that contrary to popular belief they all don't wear scarves. But, um, I definitely don't believe that as we wore many scarves in France and you can spot someone wearing in scarf in every recent French movie. We checked out an Art Fair, where a man who owned an ESL school in Florence told us about the amazing trips he took across Europe courtesy of EasyJet. He flew from Marseilles to London a few times for only 8 euros! That's so crazy! I hope to find these great EasyJet deals (oftentimes you have to fly some ridiculous hour like 4am but it's worth it for an 8 euro plane ride). She told me I would be fine in Sedan and that it can't be as bad as I've been told. It's actually not that terrible. I took a virtual tour of what I think is downtown, and I even found a bakery! HA! The American assistant from last year told me there were no bakeries in the town. I intend to buy a few macaroons and pain au chocolat and report back with my findings. So, Sedan I have some hope you yet; I might actually be quite surprised by what you have to offer. 

Onto the Art Institute outing: 

The Art Institute is catching on to the 21+ after hours events. They have a new exhibit called "Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity." Sadly, you couldn't take pics inside but I did get a cute little postcard book filled with some of the prominent pieces on display. For example they had the green and black striped dress worn by Camille in Monet's painting of "Camille" next to the painting which hung on the wall. They had shoes, books, corsets, suits, and dresses displayed in the exhibit. My favorite was they re-created the "Sunday in the Park with George" painting-they had some of the outfits worn by the models on display next to the painting. The theme for the evening was "dressed to the nines" and inspired from the "July: Specimen of a Portrait" by James Tissot. So, I took my lead from that painting. Overall I highly enjoyed the exhibit and recommend seeing it if it passes through your town.

The Book of postcards I bought

Gorgeous hats for sale 

Me standing in front of my inspiration

Artsy pic with the title of the exhibit in the background 

Draped from one of the entrances

So you don't get lost. ;)

Another blown-up reproduced painting 

It's so pretty

  

SO MANY FIMING OPPORTUNITIES (in Chicago, NOT France)!!!!

Why is this year the year that the film and television industry finally realizes that Chicago is an amazing place to film!?!?! This year, there have been so many things filming in Chicago, one of which I am extremely grateful to have had my first experience as an extra (good news is that this film is part of a trilogy and last I heard the sequel was either going to stay in Chicago or go to Toronto, I'm hoping they just keep it in Chicago and not mess with it anymore). "Jupiter Ascending" just wrapped, "Transformers 4" just began Monday, and there are 6, count that, 6 tv shows filming September-January.  And of course, because I leave for France in 32 days, my availability sucks. I was asked to be part of the core group of extras for one of these 6 tv shows-those are the people that are on set for the majority of filming. I was told we would be featured in practically every episode, but because I leave for France a month into filming, I couldn't do it as they were looking for people with more availability. I just submitted for another show that needs people this Thursday and Friday. *Fingers crossed* that they pick me to be a patron at a downtown diner!

Sweet Home Chicago-French Consulate time

I landed into O'Hare airport a couple of days ago, the flight even arrived a whole 15 minutes early! Nothing too exciting about the flight or O'Hare.

Yesterday was my French Visa appointment day, wow, it was not what I was expecting. It did go a lot better than last time, where they forgot to call my name and I waited for two hours. This time, it was 45 anxiety filled minutes. I kept doubling checking all my documents and kept reminding myself to remember to tell the woman behind the counter that I didn't fill out my address in France (why has the school not told me where this apartment building is?!?! They just keep saying, oh don't worry you'll be housed in an apartment complex on-campus with other teaching assistants), occupation (for the past 6 months my pay checks have been coming from theater gigs, so do I put Artist or Teacher-what I'm actually going to be called during my time in France, the French don't really want to invite any type of artists into their country, will my visa get denied because they'll figure out my ulterior motives), and employer's name, address, and phone number (I have not even emailed the Principal of the high school so I had no idea what to write). Then, after the first person had been called up to the desk, that's when I heard ONLY FRENCH. UM, WAIT, WHAT?!?! I have no idea how to ask my questions in French. I didn't even take my dictionary. I guess in their mind it's like, you better get used to answering in French because NO ONE in your department speaks English. But, I HAVE ONE MONTH! Of course I'm going to finally attend all the meet-ups I've been too lazy to attend. I even have two French friends (and believe me, when they are not in rehearsal, we will be going out for coffee). I'll be fine by October 1st.
Then, after this one mec whose appointment was 11:15 was called up to the counter before myself whose appointment was 11, I began to worry a little. Then, the girl across from me turned to me and asked what my appointment time was, turns out we both had 11am appointments. How did this guy get to go ahead of us?!?! No idea, but we started talking. Turns out she'll be teaching in the 7th arrondissement (of Paris), know what's in the 7th arrondissement-THE EIFFEL TOWER! I was in shock that someone actually got what most likely was their first choice in the best district EVER.  She then asked me where I was going, I told her in the Champagne region, in a small town 6 miles from Belgium. She said that Reims was gorgeous and I'd have a great time. Um, neeedless to say I didn't tell her the same as we both knew a year in Paris would be AMAZING. Instead, I added this lovely blague "Epernay grows the grapes for the champagne, Reims bottles it, and Sedan drink it." That's how I've been describing Sedan to everyone, then to get the point further across I said "75% of the population is on welfare". -That's when my name was finally called.
The appointment went rather well. We started in French but ended in English. She told me to put Artist on the form (as this was my current occupation) and to leave my address and info about my employer blank, woot! I was also told that I could apply for jobs with the Cannes film festival, since my work visa will be valid until June and it's only two weeks, yes! Now, I just have to remember to check the Cannes employment website daily in April. I thanked her in French and wished her a good day.
The trip ended with an afternoon spent at Barnes and Noble where I found 5 books on France and settled in to begin my research. Now is apparently the time where I *should* draft some itineraries, according to three out of the five books. Unfortunately I still haven't decided how long I should stay in Paris before making the 3 hour trek to Sedan, which includes transferring trains at Reims (I don't know how I'm going to do this with two suitcases and a very heavy carry-on). 

Stay tuned as updates will become more frequent now that I'm back home and getting ready to leave for France!