Since my return from a 10 day foray to Rome to visit Aaron, I have been thinking that my impressions of Italy (specifically Rome) and Paris could be summed up as follows:
Italy - Subject to change without notice.
Paris - Watch your step.
In Rome, and my short trips outside the city to smaller cities/towns, I found that all of the hours and costs of things described in the tourist information on the web or in guide books was wrong. The hours were different by at least an hour in either direction - opening later than info said and closing later, and the cost of entrance was greater than was written. In some cases, things that were described as free admission had entrance fees. Train schedules were different when you bought the ticket at the station then they were when we looked online. Buses that dropped you off at one stop would not necessarily pick you up at that same stop. The weather in one neighborhood was dramatically different in another.
In Paris, it amazes me that the image people have of the French is of a people walking with their noses in the air, because if you take your eyes off the sidewalk you are going to step in a pile of dog poo of a color so bizarre you will be forced to ask: What are earth are they feeding that dog?? But, the Parisians seem to have developed some sort of internal radar because most people are not walking around looking at the sidewalk. Maybe that is a technique for sorting out the tourists and the new kids in town.
Italy is clearly a country holding stedfast to an anarchic character. Ignoring the rules seems to an unwritten rule unto itself. So many people in Rome are jumping the fair on the city buses that it's all over the news. Taxis drive on the tram tracks and into oncoming traffic if it suits them. They all claim there is a protest blocking whichever street you are trying to get to, that they can't get you there in time and that it will cost you an extra 25€ (until you press them and then miraculously the protest has ended). In France, you have to present your working papers just to babysit someone's kid 3hrs/day 2x/wk. No one will hire you for freelance work unless you present your special certification that you are registered as a Freelance worker. You cannot have a metro pass without having an address. People jump the fares here too, but those who get busted get slammed with a fine that is higher than a years worth of metro passes. There are rules and the French follow them.
Which leads me to today's woe: finding work. I had an interview this afternoon at a place called Konversando. It is a self-described language "club", offering groups where people come to practice speaking the language they are trying to learn. The interview seemed to go alright, until I was asked about my certification. I don't recall what the abbreviation for this thing is, but it's a card, essentially, proving that I have registered myself as a freelance service provider, so that the taxes can be taken out and submitted to the French gov't. (oops, speaking of taxes, i gotta get on those). Well, I don't have this card. Sigh. I'd been feeling very good about things until then, when things seemed to go downhill and upon the end of the "interview", which lasted approximately 10 minutes, I put out my hand for a handshake as I said: "It was nice to meet you", expecting something akin to a profession post-interview good-bye. Not only was my hand denied but my interviewer (the club's director) simply said: "Ok. Bye", turned and walked away. And that was that.
I've been fairly wound all day since then. This wasn't helped any when I arrived in class to find that, having not checked my school email account this morning, I missed the notice that we would be given our midterm exam in class today (which was supposed to be next week according to the syllabus) and should bring with us all course texts. Ah, what fun.
I'm off to climb into bed with some abnormal psych texts and a little self-pitty. Harumpf.
a la prochaine fois mes amis.
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