This was a struggle. Quite a struggle.
I wanted a cell phone that will be usable throughout my stay here - this way I can text/call people in my program, and in cases of emergency my parents can call (all other 'catching up' can be done in wifi). So I looked into this before I left, and we got some recommendations from our program director, such as Orange, Shosh, SFR, and Free.fr.
Free.fr has a "2€ par mois sans engagement" option, which is pretty similar to Cricket in the US or Virgin Mobile probably - I don't really know the comparable US options... Anyways, 2€ per month, unlimited texting and "Free wi-fi", free incoming calls, and 2 hours of outgoing French-line calls per month. So that is a really good deal. The downside is that the website is all in French, and hasn't taken 3 of our group's US Visa credit cards so far, and there are no physical locations to go to. So this option didn't really work out for me. Just for clarification purposes though: the "Free wi-fi" they boast sounds confusing at first (all free wi-fi is free to access, right? I don't pay for the ability of my laptop to connect at Starbucks?). What this actually means is that all throughout paris there are wi-fi locations CALLED Free wi-fi. So that actually is pretty awesome to be able to access the internet throughout Paris - this also means that if you have a smartphone, you can just use your wi-fi login and password with that! Other locations are few and far between from what I've found, though I haven't exactly gone on the hunt for any wi-fi spots yet.
So what I actually ended up going with is a phone by BIC - the pen and razor and white out pen company - which has a pay-as-you-go contract through Orange. It cost me 30€ initially with 5€ of credit on it already and the sim card loaded, and I picked it up at a random Café/Tabac on Bd. Saint-Michel.
It's not the most economical option available - but it saves a lot of trouble. The people at Orange and SFR generally speak French. The language barrier is tough in regards to cell phones, even if you do know French pretty well... Going this route, you just buy it and sort it all out yourself. It even comes with English instructions. The only semi-down side is that you have to mail in a copy of your passport as a form of identity (licenses are not considered proper identification in France) before you can reload it.
Anyways, it was simple enough and I now can be contacted in France.
À bientôt
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Ups and downs
We met with our program director today, and had our first 'class'. Celine was helpful and knowledgable, and very nice. She pulled us aside to talk about our prospective apartments - we told her about the one in the 9th, and she advised us that its a good area with a safe métro, and that we should absolutely book it right away (and proceeded to send us out of class early to do so).
So we went back to Delph's. When we came in, we saw there was a cleaner there - something she advised us would be happening earlier in the day, explaining why she wouldn't be hanging around the house. We looked at the apartment listing, contacted the host a bit more, and booked it after calling and emailing our parents to let them know about the money transfers they'd have to ensure happen each month. We then proceeded to check out cell phones and various other things, knowing we only had a little bit of time before meeting our group and Celine for a boat tour of the Seine.
We left and arrived at Pont-Neuf, looked around for our professor, and eventually saw the 3:00 boat pull away leaving us behind. Saw someone waving on the boat, holding up 4 fingers, and decided that perhaps we should hang around the area until 4:00 in case that was Celine.
Luckily, it was Celine! We met everyone after the tour, and Celine gave us two tickets to go on the next tour ourselves. We had a good time, and got to take pictures of many of Paris' monuments and bridges before heading back to Delph's for the remainder of the night.
All downhill from here!
Delph came home, and got very mad. Apparently it is important to NOT be home while the cleaner is. This is something we had no idea about, that she didn't explicitly express. I apologized repeatedly and continued to tell her we wouldn't do it again, but this hasn't seemed to change anything. She told Audrey that we now have to vacuum and clean our room, and has been marching around the house grumpily ever since, not speaking to us at all.
Needless to say we both feel upset and uncomfortable, and very stuck. Only two more weeks...
So we went back to Delph's. When we came in, we saw there was a cleaner there - something she advised us would be happening earlier in the day, explaining why she wouldn't be hanging around the house. We looked at the apartment listing, contacted the host a bit more, and booked it after calling and emailing our parents to let them know about the money transfers they'd have to ensure happen each month. We then proceeded to check out cell phones and various other things, knowing we only had a little bit of time before meeting our group and Celine for a boat tour of the Seine.
We left and arrived at Pont-Neuf, looked around for our professor, and eventually saw the 3:00 boat pull away leaving us behind. Saw someone waving on the boat, holding up 4 fingers, and decided that perhaps we should hang around the area until 4:00 in case that was Celine.
Luckily, it was Celine! We met everyone after the tour, and Celine gave us two tickets to go on the next tour ourselves. We had a good time, and got to take pictures of many of Paris' monuments and bridges before heading back to Delph's for the remainder of the night.
All downhill from here!
Delph came home, and got very mad. Apparently it is important to NOT be home while the cleaner is. This is something we had no idea about, that she didn't explicitly express. I apologized repeatedly and continued to tell her we wouldn't do it again, but this hasn't seemed to change anything. She told Audrey that we now have to vacuum and clean our room, and has been marching around the house grumpily ever since, not speaking to us at all.
Needless to say we both feel upset and uncomfortable, and very stuck. Only two more weeks...
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Using (and charging) technology in Europe
So some of the things we've been learning (slowly but surely) are staple differences - like how to charge your computer and cell phone. How to safely use a hair dryer and straightener. How to flush a toilet, open a lock, use an oven and a microwave. You'd be surprised how different things can be from what you'd expect.
The scariest learning experience was the charging of the laptops. We arrived, and were happily charging our dead laptops, and in the mean time multitasking and doing some internet searches for apartments. Mine had charged up from about 5% to maybe 75% before it spontaneously shut off and wouldn't turn back on for a few seconds - and trust me, a few seconds felt like a lifetime. We gathered that it's most likely because the converter was overheating. I have an early 2011 15" Macbook Pro - so that white box on the charger actually does the converting for you. It hadn't been plugged in for LONG, but we can infer from this that its important to feel your converter. If it's too hot - unplug it. Try again once it's cooled down. It's also helpful to shut your computer off and charge it, since it charges faster and uses less power. Same goes for cell phones, just to be safe.
Hair dryers and straighteners - before I left, I had read everywhere that it was better to buy one in Europe once you arrive. I wasn't really fond of this option, considering the rather high exchange rate and the rather high prices of Paris in general. So I bought a cheap set of straighteners (a big one and a little one!) and a cheap hair dryer which were both dual voltage from Walmart, probably totaling at about $30. They're working well so far, and don't have to be used with a converter - just adapt and go at it! The ones I purchased were the Revlon Perfect Heat 1" Ceramic Straightener, and the Revlon 1875 Watt Travel Dual Voltage Dryer. The straightener converts itself, the dryer needs to have a little switch turned to the 240V position. They may not be top notch, but they do the job and are much cheaper.
The toilets here have HUGE, plastic buttons to press instead of any kind of silvery knob to push down. Sometimes the button is on the wall. Sometimes the button is on the back of the toilet. Sometimes it's on the side. It's like a scavenger hunt every time you use the bathroom. Another thing to get used to is the shower heads not being mounted on the walls. It does cut your shower time in half though, perhaps saving your water bill from being enormous?
One thing that has been a leap every time we try to cook, is understanding the appliances. Besides the fact that they are in celsius by default, they also don't seem to have any words on their buttons. Just pictures. And they are not exactly instinctive pictures either.. we've kind of leaped this hurtle through trial and error, and occasionally asking for help when Delph is available.
Anyways, we're kind of getting our bearings here a bit more, and have ventured into the city to do some sight seeing and just generally getting out of the apartment for a bit. À bientôt, "bisous"!
The scariest learning experience was the charging of the laptops. We arrived, and were happily charging our dead laptops, and in the mean time multitasking and doing some internet searches for apartments. Mine had charged up from about 5% to maybe 75% before it spontaneously shut off and wouldn't turn back on for a few seconds - and trust me, a few seconds felt like a lifetime. We gathered that it's most likely because the converter was overheating. I have an early 2011 15" Macbook Pro - so that white box on the charger actually does the converting for you. It hadn't been plugged in for LONG, but we can infer from this that its important to feel your converter. If it's too hot - unplug it. Try again once it's cooled down. It's also helpful to shut your computer off and charge it, since it charges faster and uses less power. Same goes for cell phones, just to be safe.
Hair dryers and straighteners - before I left, I had read everywhere that it was better to buy one in Europe once you arrive. I wasn't really fond of this option, considering the rather high exchange rate and the rather high prices of Paris in general. So I bought a cheap set of straighteners (a big one and a little one!) and a cheap hair dryer which were both dual voltage from Walmart, probably totaling at about $30. They're working well so far, and don't have to be used with a converter - just adapt and go at it! The ones I purchased were the Revlon Perfect Heat 1" Ceramic Straightener, and the Revlon 1875 Watt Travel Dual Voltage Dryer. The straightener converts itself, the dryer needs to have a little switch turned to the 240V position. They may not be top notch, but they do the job and are much cheaper.
The toilets here have HUGE, plastic buttons to press instead of any kind of silvery knob to push down. Sometimes the button is on the wall. Sometimes the button is on the back of the toilet. Sometimes it's on the side. It's like a scavenger hunt every time you use the bathroom. Another thing to get used to is the shower heads not being mounted on the walls. It does cut your shower time in half though, perhaps saving your water bill from being enormous?
One thing that has been a leap every time we try to cook, is understanding the appliances. Besides the fact that they are in celsius by default, they also don't seem to have any words on their buttons. Just pictures. And they are not exactly instinctive pictures either.. we've kind of leaped this hurtle through trial and error, and occasionally asking for help when Delph is available.
Anyways, we're kind of getting our bearings here a bit more, and have ventured into the city to do some sight seeing and just generally getting out of the apartment for a bit. À bientôt, "bisous"!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Our arrival
I left the United States feeling nervous and excited and sad. I knew there was a ton to look forward to, which turned out to be very important. If we didn't have high spirits and the ability to laugh at ourselves, we would've been much worse off than we were!
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle around 9 or 9:30 am, after a relatively smooth 8 hour flight. We got our bags, took some cash out at an ATM, and walked for what felt like forever to the RER station, with plenty of stops in between. For inexplicable reasons, it felt like it was scorching hot inside the airport and we were dying of thirst and sooo tired from carrying our 100 lbs worth of luggage. Eventually, we made it to the automated ticket booths, and we couldn't find the specific ticket we needed (one stopping at Laplace). We spoke to a very nice man at the desk, who provided us two maps and told us which platform we need, and invited himself out to dinner with us later.
We got on the train, and were thankful to finally rest after our hour long airport fiasco. About 30 minutes into the ride, it started to fill up quite a bit in there, which only made it that much more difficult to get off with our luggage. The doors started to close before I was out of the subway with mine, so I just sort of jumped out and dragged them with me (with some help from a boy who quickly became my only french, long lost friend). We then were leaving the train station, and once again, my luggage got stuck in the exit doors, leaving me at the mercy of the people behind me (who were not thrilled nor amused). Finally, we made it out, and proceeded to be very, very lost and confused for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Even asking directions didn't help, since people were not very warm to english speakers. It was hot. Our luggage was heavy. And we were wheeling it behind us for a LONG time, over cobblestone sidewalks, following iffy directions by google maps.
We caved and got a taxi once we reached Paris' Port d'Orleans with no luck. Once our luggage was in the trunk, our driver began to search for our address. According to the previous people I had asked, Avenue Henri Ginoux was in Paris - which we then relayed to our taxi driver. He, however, informed us it was actually in Montrouge, a Parisian suburb, and proceeded to yell and scream at us in French during our entire 5 minute ride. We were terrified, tired, physically exhausted, and very disheartened to have met so many mean people in just one day. He did bring us to our housing though, so we were happy to finally be somewhere that we could relax.
Delph paged us in, and we then had to walk up 5 flights of stairs with all of our luggage (technically the 4th étage here). She shared her lunch with us - the best quiche au jambon that I have ever been blessed with eating in my entire life, and gave us water, and showed us our room. We called home, and ended up passing out for much of afternoon/evening.
We woke up in the evening for a few hours, and embarked on our internet apartment search. We are able to find apartments, however, after our short amount of time in Paris we learned quickly that it's really important for us to have an english speaking landlord. After doing some research, it seems as though our only real option is to go through a rental agency and just suck up the agency fees. We found one we love in the 17th arrondissement, and are waiting to hear back right now.
In the mean time, we went to the mall for some much needed retail therapy at H&M. It is oddly comforting to know that the prices are nearly the same and the clothing items are international. We also gave directions to a man in french, which is ironic considering we were lost on the exact same street the day before. We returned to our temporary home and made a shopping list, and completed our grocery shopping for the week (about 45€). Now we are just vegging out until we can think of something else to do. Tomorrow we will venture into Paris!
À bientôt!
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle around 9 or 9:30 am, after a relatively smooth 8 hour flight. We got our bags, took some cash out at an ATM, and walked for what felt like forever to the RER station, with plenty of stops in between. For inexplicable reasons, it felt like it was scorching hot inside the airport and we were dying of thirst and sooo tired from carrying our 100 lbs worth of luggage. Eventually, we made it to the automated ticket booths, and we couldn't find the specific ticket we needed (one stopping at Laplace). We spoke to a very nice man at the desk, who provided us two maps and told us which platform we need, and invited himself out to dinner with us later.
We got on the train, and were thankful to finally rest after our hour long airport fiasco. About 30 minutes into the ride, it started to fill up quite a bit in there, which only made it that much more difficult to get off with our luggage. The doors started to close before I was out of the subway with mine, so I just sort of jumped out and dragged them with me (with some help from a boy who quickly became my only french, long lost friend). We then were leaving the train station, and once again, my luggage got stuck in the exit doors, leaving me at the mercy of the people behind me (who were not thrilled nor amused). Finally, we made it out, and proceeded to be very, very lost and confused for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Even asking directions didn't help, since people were not very warm to english speakers. It was hot. Our luggage was heavy. And we were wheeling it behind us for a LONG time, over cobblestone sidewalks, following iffy directions by google maps.
We caved and got a taxi once we reached Paris' Port d'Orleans with no luck. Once our luggage was in the trunk, our driver began to search for our address. According to the previous people I had asked, Avenue Henri Ginoux was in Paris - which we then relayed to our taxi driver. He, however, informed us it was actually in Montrouge, a Parisian suburb, and proceeded to yell and scream at us in French during our entire 5 minute ride. We were terrified, tired, physically exhausted, and very disheartened to have met so many mean people in just one day. He did bring us to our housing though, so we were happy to finally be somewhere that we could relax.
Delph paged us in, and we then had to walk up 5 flights of stairs with all of our luggage (technically the 4th étage here). She shared her lunch with us - the best quiche au jambon that I have ever been blessed with eating in my entire life, and gave us water, and showed us our room. We called home, and ended up passing out for much of afternoon/evening.
We woke up in the evening for a few hours, and embarked on our internet apartment search. We are able to find apartments, however, after our short amount of time in Paris we learned quickly that it's really important for us to have an english speaking landlord. After doing some research, it seems as though our only real option is to go through a rental agency and just suck up the agency fees. We found one we love in the 17th arrondissement, and are waiting to hear back right now.
In the mean time, we went to the mall for some much needed retail therapy at H&M. It is oddly comforting to know that the prices are nearly the same and the clothing items are international. We also gave directions to a man in french, which is ironic considering we were lost on the exact same street the day before. We returned to our temporary home and made a shopping list, and completed our grocery shopping for the week (about 45€). Now we are just vegging out until we can think of something else to do. Tomorrow we will venture into Paris!
À bientôt!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Departure
We left today. It's a bittersweet process, leaving behind everyone you love for such a large journey. The only thing I can say to this effect, the only thing that is keeping me together, is that I keep reminding myself its only temporary, and praying for everyone to stay safe, healthy, and well.
Thinking of Parisian boulangeries helps too.
We left around 9:30am (arriving at the airport at 10). Our flight left Buffalo at 12, arriving in Chicago about an hour or so later. Now, we're just hanging out through the five hour layover. We should be arriving in Paris at about 3:10am EST - 9:10am local time. There isn't much to say about today. It has been an extremely average airport day, and I hope it will remain extremely average for the rest of the night. I will say, though, Chicago O'hare is one large airport!
Quick flying tip:
For students, teachers, and people under 26 - check out STAtravel.com for international flights. Their rates don't show up on other flight comparison sites like Kayak or Cheapo Air. And they are far, far better. You will be required to buy an International Student Identity Card (or the equivalent for teachers/under 26), but that is a small ($25) sacrifice for the hundreds you save with their flights.
Au revoir mes amis et ma famille!
Thinking of Parisian boulangeries helps too.
We left around 9:30am (arriving at the airport at 10). Our flight left Buffalo at 12, arriving in Chicago about an hour or so later. Now, we're just hanging out through the five hour layover. We should be arriving in Paris at about 3:10am EST - 9:10am local time. There isn't much to say about today. It has been an extremely average airport day, and I hope it will remain extremely average for the rest of the night. I will say, though, Chicago O'hare is one large airport!
Quick flying tip:
For students, teachers, and people under 26 - check out STAtravel.com for international flights. Their rates don't show up on other flight comparison sites like Kayak or Cheapo Air. And they are far, far better. You will be required to buy an International Student Identity Card (or the equivalent for teachers/under 26), but that is a small ($25) sacrifice for the hundreds you save with their flights.
Au revoir mes amis et ma famille!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Things I wish I had known (at least) a month before leaving
So it's down to the nitty gritty, and of course, 4 days before my flight takes off is right when I start thinking about those last minute (important!) things. I have a credit card - but how will I affordably get cash while I'm away? How will I secure my laptop? My passport? My camera? Should I bring cash? Does the airport have ATMs? Since hitting the single digit count down, almost every other thought has become a new question or concern. With a little research I found answers to most of my questions... the rest I'll just have to chalk up to "learning experiences" I suppose! Luckily for my *future* readers, I have compiled my regrets into a handy list, which will hopefully be of use to someone else down the road.
1.) The number one thing I wish I had known about is Charles Schwab Bank. Now, this bank is recommended on many travel sites, and for good reason. There are no foreign ATM fees, and they even go so far as to issue you a rebate once a month on the cumulative total of ATM fees other banks charge you. Furthermore, there is no minimum balance! Victory for us frugal students! Another great benefit is the ability to link your Charles Schwab account to an account elsewhere, making it easy to transfer between the two. I love this feature, as it allows me to avoid the $5 + 3% fee my bank would be charging me, by simply transferring a moderate amount into the Charles Schwab account each week.
The only downside I have found so far, is that the "Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account" is ONLY available in conjunction with a brokerage account. This isn't a major issue, since the brokerage account has no minimum balance, and can simply remain a 'ghost account' until the time you wish to use it (if ever). I don't intend to use mine, and know little to nothing about brokerage accounts, but from what I have read, its not easy to get your money back once you start "investing" at this bank. Stick with the checking account!
2.) Another thing I wish I had invested in with time to spare is some Pacsafe gear. It's not cheap, but they have great reviews and would make me feel so much safer. I've grown up in an extremely cautious household, so I'm trying to brace myself for the worst. The Pacsafe TravelSafeTM 20L (or any other size) is about $90 on Amazon. It's a wire-lined mesh bag with a lock. Try getting into that without a key! The other one I would've liked is the Pacsafe Luggage Rfidsafe 50 Passport and Credit Card Protector. This prevents your information from being stolen magnetically, I believe. Either way, its proven to work. These two in conjunction would be best for someone whose planning on living a bit of a nomadic life, with nowhere to safely keep valuables. I think they'd be useful just for subways and airports though.
3.) My laptop is a very important item for me. It was my first large investment with no (or maybe minimal) help from my parents, and I paid for it with my very first scholarship earnings. It is also my most convenient networking tool, and has all of my important editing programs for the digital side of my education. For this reason, I think it would have been worth it to invest in a Kensington Notebook Lock. They run about $50, and look just like those things you see in most colleges holding the projector to a table. They're not pretty, but that would be devastating to have my apartment robbed and lose it!
I could type for hours on things I wish I'd thought of, but I'll leave it at these three for now. Until I think of 20 more things tomorrow, that is.
1.) The number one thing I wish I had known about is Charles Schwab Bank. Now, this bank is recommended on many travel sites, and for good reason. There are no foreign ATM fees, and they even go so far as to issue you a rebate once a month on the cumulative total of ATM fees other banks charge you. Furthermore, there is no minimum balance! Victory for us frugal students! Another great benefit is the ability to link your Charles Schwab account to an account elsewhere, making it easy to transfer between the two. I love this feature, as it allows me to avoid the $5 + 3% fee my bank would be charging me, by simply transferring a moderate amount into the Charles Schwab account each week.
The only downside I have found so far, is that the "Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account" is ONLY available in conjunction with a brokerage account. This isn't a major issue, since the brokerage account has no minimum balance, and can simply remain a 'ghost account' until the time you wish to use it (if ever). I don't intend to use mine, and know little to nothing about brokerage accounts, but from what I have read, its not easy to get your money back once you start "investing" at this bank. Stick with the checking account!
2.) Another thing I wish I had invested in with time to spare is some Pacsafe gear. It's not cheap, but they have great reviews and would make me feel so much safer. I've grown up in an extremely cautious household, so I'm trying to brace myself for the worst. The Pacsafe TravelSafeTM 20L (or any other size) is about $90 on Amazon. It's a wire-lined mesh bag with a lock. Try getting into that without a key! The other one I would've liked is the Pacsafe Luggage Rfidsafe 50 Passport and Credit Card Protector. This prevents your information from being stolen magnetically, I believe. Either way, its proven to work. These two in conjunction would be best for someone whose planning on living a bit of a nomadic life, with nowhere to safely keep valuables. I think they'd be useful just for subways and airports though.
3.) My laptop is a very important item for me. It was my first large investment with no (or maybe minimal) help from my parents, and I paid for it with my very first scholarship earnings. It is also my most convenient networking tool, and has all of my important editing programs for the digital side of my education. For this reason, I think it would have been worth it to invest in a Kensington Notebook Lock. They run about $50, and look just like those things you see in most colleges holding the projector to a table. They're not pretty, but that would be devastating to have my apartment robbed and lose it!
I could type for hours on things I wish I'd thought of, but I'll leave it at these three for now. Until I think of 20 more things tomorrow, that is.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
A little bit about me
My name is Holly Norris, hailing from the beautiful Buffalo, New York - where we have amazing chicken wings and cold, snowy winters. I am a junior in college, spending my semester abroad at La Sorbonne Université in Paris. I'm currently spending much of my time packing and preparing for my journey, and will document my progress here, along with tips and information I've gathered through my experience. While this blog is mostly for friends and family, I invite anyone to follow along with me!
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