Résidente Parisienne

I lead a fascinating life.
Let's begin, shall we?

The toaster oven ticks the 25 minutes away for the quiche I placed inside for dinner as TV1 plays a French film in the background here in my studio on the 6th floor of an historic building in the 16th arrondissement. My legs are becoming stronger and my mind is expanding as I cross the street to peek at the arc de Triumph on my way to catch the metro in the morning. Now granted, this is my 4th voyage to Paris, but I find a new kind of reality to the city as it literally becomes mine in the "new Paris resident" type of way.

What it takes to become a resident of France and how to avoid crying over French beurocracy (with bizarre stories interwoven) -

1. Problem: Get from the Charles de Gaulle airport for under 20 euros. Solution: Take the Air France bus and speak English to your friendly Australian neighbor who helps you with your suitcases up 6 flights of stairs.

2. Problem: Get a bank account in order to receive a salary that might not even come until the end of NOVEMBER. Solution: Go to HSBC where the very enthusiastic banker works, fill out an entire tree's worth of paperwork for over an hour, and realize that you have yet several hoops to jump through to prove your place of residence and be 100% in the system.

3. Problem: Find the high school in which you are assigned to teach English. Solution: Take the PROPER metro train that stops at Bagneux, listen to the announcement over the loud speaker that says GET OFF, SANS VOYAGEURS and wait for the next. DO NOT stay on the wrong train, bang on the windows yelling "'ello??? 'ello??", and pull the emergency lever so the conductor can walk you along the tracks to the next station where you can back track to where you need to go.
Once I got to the high school I was met by very friendly French office workers who then guided me to the professors lounge where I met 5 even more friendly English teachers, got a tour of the place where I can take out French books to read in the library (!), received a little professors mailbox, learned that I might not get any paycheck at all until the end of November, and joined a class of 25 teenage boys for a question and answer session to practice their English. Number one question asked, (with accent in tow), "Do you have a boyfriend?" Response, "Yes, he is in the United States." "Merde." *haha*

4. Problem: Find extra jobs in the city to make up for the minimal salary the embassy pays language assistants. Solution: Land a babysitting job and have a chance rendez-vous with a girl who posted a need for an English tutor online. I'll most likely begin the daily babysitting job in a week and a half for a little 6 year old girl named Juliette whom my Paris roommate Isabel watched all last year. Regarding the English tutoring, I ended up chatting it up with my new Saudi friend Abeer who is studying psychology at the American University, speaks English, French, and Arabic and wants me to help her with her research papers in order to learn how to write properly. Karen, all of your Writing Center sessions are coming in handy right now!! :) And Dr. J, all of your endless research updates are helping me explain to her how to effectively summarize articles she has read! I thank you both for your knowledge and challenge to my learning.

The first couple of days of this new adventure were hard. I cried a lot and asked myself why I was here for seven long months, but my dear friend Cassie who traveled with me stuck through it all, gave me a hug when one was needed, and was (and still is) with me as we tackled French paperwork, confusion, disorganization, and the continued process we need to get our 'carte de sejour' in order to be legal in the country. Being that we are flat broke, we enjoyed the city and the weather that was granted us in the first few days, and complained, laughed, and admired together...life in Paris...as residents.

What does life in Paris as a resident really look like? Here's a story with which to close my entry:

We were standing on the bus on our way to another quarter of the city when we noticed an elderly woman speaking with a blind man who had to have been at least 75 years old. She needed to get off at the next stop, but she tapped the shoulder of a middle-aged man who got on with his wife and daughter and explained that the blind man needed off in two stops and could he please tell him when to get off and assist him in the process. He wholeheartedly agreed and sat across from the man until his stop. Now, not only did he help him off of the bus when he needed off, but he kept walking with him on the sidewalk and asked where he was going...all the while arm in arm with the hunched-over little man wearing a tattered hat and gripping a walking cane. The younger man's smile, caring attitude, and lack of concern for his own personal affairs put me in a state of awe and gave me some insight into the surprising compassion of the French public, their concern for the elderly, and the reality of their humanity that I am excited to dive into for the next seven months...as a resident.

Paris, chez moi encore...

Bonjour tout le monde!
It's been 5 days since I arrived, but I want to sit down and update everyone with a fabulous first entry into my life, emotions, stories, frustrations, and 6 story move-in back to the city, but I'm going to have more time to write in the next couple of days, so keep checking back! For now, I'd love to hear from you either by internet or postal mail, so here is the address:

Mallory Fisher
9 rue Chalgrin
75016 Paris FRANCE

It will be good for 7 months, so please keep in touch!
A très bientôt, Mallory

"Live the dream, potato."

Since my last post, I have managed to visit my lovely Paris roommate Isabel in Mexico, celebrate the wedding of two of my favorite people - Nathan and Jenna Washatka, travel to Boston to take Jill to college (see Isabel again and go to the beach with Aunt Beth, Uncle Mike and Anna!) and spend the longest period of time with Ben that I have since we started dating.....5 days. My days are flying by as I prepare for the next adventure in my life - moving to Paris to teach English for 7 months! The voyage begins on September 24 and while stresses have been realities, things have slowly fallen into place and I know this is where I am to be. Look for more stories from abroad as I voyage across the sea to my favorite city....Paris!