When you tell people that you are moving to Paris, the response is always "that is my dream." And why wouldn't people dream of living in a place where pastry and chocolate shops are no more than a block away; good wine is as plentiful as water; where you can visit the Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, paintings by Vermeer and Gauguin all under one roof; and where there is a whole museum dedicated to Picasso that is set up like a Picasso painting. Just walking down the street for something as mundane as my morning commute makes me feel worldly and cosmopolitan.
But moving to Paris is not like moving from DC to Arlington. Sounds obvious but I don't think people know the details and frustrations of moving to another country. First- they speak a different language here. Again obvious, but this means doing things like online banking, getting a prepaid SIM card for the cell phone, asking how phone credits works, or looking for an apartment has a another layer of complexity that you don't need when you are already trying to adjust to a new life. Even grocery shopping is not always straight forward. I bought a zucchini squash the other day that I had to weigh it myself to get the price sticker to scan. Even though the scale uses pictures, the cucumber and zucchini photo looked the same so I had to figure out what the french word was for zucchini --la courgette. All of this of course is a learning experience. But the last thing you want to do when you need to transfer money among your bank accounts is to look at the online banking screen where 80% of the words are unfamiliar (Libelle, Solde, Virements.... huh? ). Second- they do things differently here. I can't really identify anything specific, but I'm just starting to get a sense that my expectations are going to have to change. For example, if you need something done or for someone to do something for you, it is not enough to just ask and then wait. You have to push and push some more and check on them. I've witnessed colleagues at work dealing with property management companies to fix a water heater or a leak. Let's just say there are lots of calls and lots of arguing. Not looking forward to that.
I am looking forward to finally knowing where we will be for the next year. We contacted a relocator to help us find and get settled into an apartment. Not knowing the language, the neighborhoods, or the system was enough for us to realize that it would just be easier to hire someone to help us through this. We have been communicating via email, but we haven't heard from her in a week. We asked to start seeing apartments on Monday. Umm, when are you going to call me, give me a schedule, let me know you are willing to help us.... Is this normal here? She will get a lot of money from us. I would think that is enough of an incentive.
So this week has been an up and down week. Monday I was invited for an aperatif by the women who owns the apartment I am renting. I got to practice my french since her husband doesn't speak any English, and I got to see what a "big" apartment in a nice neighborhood looks like. The flat was beautiful. It had high ceilings, tall windows, and lovely molding everywhere, but it was smaller than I imagined it would be. The living room was probably just 3 times our walk-in closet in Arlington. Space is certainly a premium here in Paris. The aperatif was an up. The re-locator not contacting me. That is a down. Realizing how poor my french is- a down. Having the toilet issues - a down. Having Thomas here to fix it- a big big up (having Thomas, the fact that he is handy, and the fact that he is on this side of the Atlantic- all ups). Getting an invite to the US embassy bar for a happy hour to celebrate July 4th. Another up.
Having a life you want to live takes effort. You have to persevere. You have to be fearless or at least acknowledge the fear and put it behind you so that you can move forward. You have to deal with the details so that you can live the dream.