Travelling on a bus is generally a better, if slightly slower, way to get from one area in Paris to another.
But occasionally, one runs into a nasty bus driver, like the one that we had today. Shutting the door quickly, shoving his foot onto the accelerator (pushing on the mushroom, it's called here,) swearing at any car or taxi that dares to pass (legally or not), and finally, coming to a sudden halt, throwing half of the standing population into the laps of those fortunate enough to have a seat.
Drivers like him need to be fired. Unfortunately, it seems that job protection is so great that this is a Herculean task. So, I tightly grab the steel bar, flex my knees, pretend that I am a circus acrobat, and pray for equilibrium to last until my ride is ended.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Lease is signed!
Finding an apartment in Paris has been a consuming task for the last two months.
Telephones in France
A couple of years ago, my husband convinced me to get a smart phone. Honestly, I never thought that I would use it the way that I do. Camera, gps, metronome, skype, web-surfing... just about everything except actually calling people on the phone.And since then, I have become firmly attached to my portable web.
This is a challenge while travelling abroad: roaming charges would break the bank very quickly, and most phone plans call for a 12-24 mo. minimum commitment in order to get a subsidized phone. UGH.
A quick question: am I the only one to not really understand what it means to have an unlocked phone? I have many uses for the money that it would cost to buy one (think travel, restaurants, museums, books...) .
I honestly believed that I could use my HTC Incredible while abroad. To my great chagrin, I have discovered that most of Verizon's phones are proprietary (eg no SIM card,) and not able to be used outside of the US. Even after the 2 year contract period is over!!
Fortunately, when I left ATT a couple of years ago, I kept my phones -both Sony Ericsson- and a quick phone call to customer service gave me the codes to unblock them. Once here, a quick stop at the grocery store allowed me to buy a sim card and get a phone number that is good for 6 months (renewable), and voila, almost instant communication.
The new problem is that my old phones are not smart phones. But I have found a use for my not very incredible HTC: I have turned it into an expensive wifi camera. (So, I still don't need to buy a tablet!) I have WIFI connection when I'm in the apt. (FWIW).
AND I just found out that the city of Paris maintains over 400 free hotspots, through the provider "Orange."
Here is how to get access in English: http://www.paris.fr/english/english/how-to-access-the-wi-fi-free-of-charge-in-paris/rub_8118_actu_109289_port_19237
And here is more detailed info in French: http://www.paris.fr/wifi
Problem almost solved. The moral of the story - make sure your phone accepts SIM cards before travelling. Enough with this proprietary bs!
This is a challenge while travelling abroad: roaming charges would break the bank very quickly, and most phone plans call for a 12-24 mo. minimum commitment in order to get a subsidized phone. UGH.
A quick question: am I the only one to not really understand what it means to have an unlocked phone? I have many uses for the money that it would cost to buy one (think travel, restaurants, museums, books...) .
I honestly believed that I could use my HTC Incredible while abroad. To my great chagrin, I have discovered that most of Verizon's phones are proprietary (eg no SIM card,) and not able to be used outside of the US. Even after the 2 year contract period is over!!
Fortunately, when I left ATT a couple of years ago, I kept my phones -both Sony Ericsson- and a quick phone call to customer service gave me the codes to unblock them. Once here, a quick stop at the grocery store allowed me to buy a sim card and get a phone number that is good for 6 months (renewable), and voila, almost instant communication.
The new problem is that my old phones are not smart phones. But I have found a use for my not very incredible HTC: I have turned it into an expensive wifi camera. (So, I still don't need to buy a tablet!) I have WIFI connection when I'm in the apt. (FWIW).
AND I just found out that the city of Paris maintains over 400 free hotspots, through the provider "Orange."
Here is how to get access in English: http://www.paris.fr/english/english/how-to-access-the-wi-fi-free-of-charge-in-paris/rub_8118_actu_109289_port_19237
And here is more detailed info in French: http://www.paris.fr/wifi
Problem almost solved. The moral of the story - make sure your phone accepts SIM cards before travelling. Enough with this proprietary bs!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Oh, the anxiety
Sitting on the porch, having a lovely salad with the boys. The weather is stunning: the humidity broke last night, and we are left with a summer day that encourages reading after the chores (packing, mowing the lawn) have been finished.
I look over at my flower garden and wonder if the boys will remember to water it, and to take in the plants before the first frost. To remember to overseed the new lawn that we've worked so hard on this spring. I wonder what I will find when we come back this winter.
Yesterday, I spent far too many hours online searching for a cell phone solution. I think back to the time that I used to make fun of my husband for his need to be connected all the time. Then I got a phone. Whoops. Now I am scared by the simple idea that I could be somewhere without being able to call and say: "I'm late, I'm lost, How are you?"
There are many providers in France - Sosh, Free, B-and-You, Bouygues, Orange - and the list goes on. How interesting it is to see the plethora of choice here. I wish we had the same. In a way, it feels like the wild west, and to an outsider, it is a bit difficult to find the key to the best solution to your needs. Anyway, apparently you choose your plan, and then you choose your phone. If you have a phone for more than 3 months, you can unlock it. If you want a phone, just for 60 min/month with no contract, it will only cost 2euros. Unbelievable.
I have a couple of old Sony Walkman phones that work on European standards. My original plan was with Cingular (which no longer exists), then ATT and now I'm w/ Verizon (smart phone.) I called ATT, and they gave my the unblocking code and the directions (which are rather complicated!), and now I have 2 phones that work in France. Tada!!
I look over at my flower garden and wonder if the boys will remember to water it, and to take in the plants before the first frost. To remember to overseed the new lawn that we've worked so hard on this spring. I wonder what I will find when we come back this winter.
Yesterday, I spent far too many hours online searching for a cell phone solution. I think back to the time that I used to make fun of my husband for his need to be connected all the time. Then I got a phone. Whoops. Now I am scared by the simple idea that I could be somewhere without being able to call and say: "I'm late, I'm lost, How are you?"
There are many providers in France - Sosh, Free, B-and-You, Bouygues, Orange - and the list goes on. How interesting it is to see the plethora of choice here. I wish we had the same. In a way, it feels like the wild west, and to an outsider, it is a bit difficult to find the key to the best solution to your needs. Anyway, apparently you choose your plan, and then you choose your phone. If you have a phone for more than 3 months, you can unlock it. If you want a phone, just for 60 min/month with no contract, it will only cost 2euros. Unbelievable.
I have a couple of old Sony Walkman phones that work on European standards. My original plan was with Cingular (which no longer exists), then ATT and now I'm w/ Verizon (smart phone.) I called ATT, and they gave my the unblocking code and the directions (which are rather complicated!), and now I have 2 phones that work in France. Tada!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Two more days
Four years ago, I met a couple of expat Americans living in Buenos Aires. They had just written a book detailing their decision to sell everything and move south with only a couple of suitcases and a couple of teenagers. Their experiment, if you want to call it that, was wildly successful on many accounts. Their children learned, and learned, and learned some more. They became, if not bi-cultural, certainly bi-lingual, and bookwise, were so advanced that by the time they were 19, they skipped college entirely, and headed off for their masters back in the US. Today, they are healthy, independent adults, and their parents are still living the dream in Argentina.
From that point on, I began to plot my escape from my suburban town. It wasn't until I announced, first to one or two close friends, then the school superintendent, and finally the world, that we had decided to take a semester off, that I actually made the decision to spend time with Alexandre in France, that we actually went ahead and got plane tickets, found an apartment, and found out how to enroll in school.
It has seemed like a dream. But now, now that we are actually to board in less than 48 hours, I am starting to panic. What if the pollution causes an athsma attack? What if Alexandre's egg allergy becomes worse? What if Nicholas hates school? What if WWIII breaks out? The more I think, the more my questions become absurd. I hope that by this time Saturday, the major doubts will have vanished into the bright Burgundy sun.
From that point on, I began to plot my escape from my suburban town. It wasn't until I announced, first to one or two close friends, then the school superintendent, and finally the world, that we had decided to take a semester off, that I actually made the decision to spend time with Alexandre in France, that we actually went ahead and got plane tickets, found an apartment, and found out how to enroll in school.
It has seemed like a dream. But now, now that we are actually to board in less than 48 hours, I am starting to panic. What if the pollution causes an athsma attack? What if Alexandre's egg allergy becomes worse? What if Nicholas hates school? What if WWIII breaks out? The more I think, the more my questions become absurd. I hope that by this time Saturday, the major doubts will have vanished into the bright Burgundy sun.
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