Real life updates

After having just read a few of my own blog posts, as I have ample time that could be used productively but is instead wasted on meaningless activities such as reading my own posts, I have come to the realization that I have been writing about traveling... and only traveling. Little be known, I'm actually doing much more than just traveling... and here is what I've been up to:

Work
I'm still a full-time intern at a magazine company. Due to some internal conflicts, things in my department have been slowing down significantly. I have a few projects that I'm working on, one of which is quite interesting. Essentially, I am responsible for doing an entire marketing presentation to propose a new magazine. Is it the content that is particularly interesting? No, not particularly. What really has grabbed me about this project is that I directly apply what I have learned in school as a marketing major. I'm doing market and industry research, developing positioning strategies, product development, and using impressive sounding jargon like "the 4 Ps", "SWOT analysis", and "brand mission statements." It's not that these terms are particularly difficult to understand, and they seem rather banal after having taken countless marketing classes... but had someone used them in conversation while I was in high school, I would have absolutely no clue as to what language they were even speaking. I'm also working on writing my "rapport de stage," a 20 page paper about my company, internship mission, and self-evaluation... entirely in French. Lord, help me. That's about it in terms of the "work" section of my life.

Apartment hunting
After having received written confirmation that I would be able to stay in France this upcoming year, it was time to find an apartment. Awful, awful experience, let me tell ya! I'm going to be living with two of my Spanish friends, and so we needed to find a 3 bedroom apartment. One of my friends and I started looking months ago and found THE perfect place. We try to reserve it, but the agency tells us that we need a French guarantor. Naturally. It took us a long time to find one, but we did. The guarantor was a family friend of one of the girls. He tried calling the agency 10 times a day for a week, but no one answered. He then had to leave the country for his 2 week vacation. The agency said we could reserve the apartment and have 6 days to give them all the paper. My friend and I go to Reims exactly 4 days before his expected return and immediately visit the agency. They say the apartment is still free, but apparently the landlord didn't want to lease to students. We had previously had an agent confirm that they landlord would be okay with renting to students, but because she was an idiot, she didn't write down this confirmation. So, the agency tells us that they need to speak with the landlord. Fine. She calls him, but no one answers. She takes our phone number and says she will call back as soon as she hears something. Perfect. My friend and I leave, and make our way to the first of our appointments to view apartments.

We had made 11 appointments for the afternoon. The afternoon was awful. We only ended up having 3 actual appointments because apparently the 8 other apartments had already been rented out and nobody told us. Professional, right? So, we saw 3 apartments... all of which were inhabitable. Mind you, my standards aren't particularly high, but these apartments were filthy, atrocious, and expensive. After that major disappointment, we receive a phone call from the agency with the apartment we really want and have been trying to get for a month and a half. They say that the landlord agreed to rent to students, and it's great that we found a French guarantor, but the NIGHT BEFORE we came, three other girls reserved it. Really? Why would you even tell us that the apartment is still available? I found it very difficult to believe they were telling the truth. We walked back to that agency and pleaded for a solution. We talked with the same woman we met with earlier that day, and also the girl that had initially showed us the apartment and knew the situation perfectly. She just stood there, literally smirking at us. I was so close to slapping her in the face, but I held my cool. They were extremely unhelpful and highly inefficient.Word of advice- don't use Sergic real estate.

We left the agency in close to tears. We headed back towards the train station, but since we had about an hour to kill, we tried one last time to find an apartment. We stopped in a random agency and asked if they had anything that fit our criteria. They had one place to show us. The agent grabbed the keys and off we went. We walked and walked away from the city center, past the train station, and a little further down. As we continued walking, we became less and less thrilled. We wanted to live closer to the center. We finally got to the apartment and it was great... except for the fact that there was only two bedrooms. Fail. At that point we really were tearing up, when all of a sudden the agent remembered that there was a three bedroom apartment in the same building! Apparently it wasn't even listed yet. He described it for us, and I was ready to sign on the spot without having seen it. Unfortunately, we had a train to catch back to Paris in 15 minutes. He told us to run and change the tickets. We literally ran to the train station, arriving just in time, sweaty and panting. We changed our tickets, and walked back to the apartment where he was waiting for us. He showed us the flat, and it was truly perfect. High ceilings, well-lit rooms, two bathrooms, three separate bedrooms, a huge living room.. completely renovated and at a perfect price. Sold.

The process of getting an apartment as a foreigner is painstaking. They wanted a French guarantor, but then said that an international guarantor would suffice. The criteria is that the guarantor must either rent or own property, and earn three times the rent of the apartment per month. Unfortunately, my father doesn't fit that criteria as he lives with his fiancé at her house, thus disqualifying him. His fiancé generously agreed to sign for me. She and my dad worked super fast and emailed me all of the necessary documents. Communicating with the agency was difficult because the woman who is processing all of the paperwork is extremely busy. It then turns out that because we have international guarantors, we need to do something known as a Caution Bancaire. Essentially, we would each have to put the entire years worth of rent, 4000 euros, into a bank account that we wouldn't be able to access at all for an entire year. This money can't be used for paying rent or bills or anything. This means that I would need to have 8000 euros just for an apartment, completely excluding all other expenses like food, phone bills, entertainment, and travel. Absurd! After weeks of frustrating communication, we just found out that evidently we don't need to do a Caution Bancaire. Thank the good Lord! This weekend two of us are moving our stuff into the new place, but we still can't keep the keys because we need to do an inspection of the apartment and sign documents, and naturally the agency can't do it on Saturday. This means I'll probably have to go back to Reims just to get the keys before I leave. Blech. Whatever, at least we definitely have an apartment to call home for the upcoming year.

Renewing my visa
Appointment this Friday. Super scared. I just know something won't be right and I won't get my renewed visa.... I am certain. I'm already starting to formulate a game plan as to how I could possibly renew my visa in the States just in case... I'm really really worried.

Other stuff
I still LOVE Paris. Parts of French culture really bother me, like anything requiring paperwork... but I love this city. I'm constantly discovering new places to go, new historical facts to learn. There are so many stories in this city that I want to know. It's going to be a difficult transition loving back to Reims. I'm starting to think about what I am going to do once I graduate... Could I see myself living abroad? Could I see myself moving back to the States? One thing is for sure- I need to get a job. My pockets are pinched, that's for sure.

I come back to the States on September 1st. I am sooo excited. Words truly cannot express it. I can't wait to see my family, and hopefully some friends. My future Spanish roommate Victoria is coming to visit. We're planning a super mini road-trip. We haven't figured out the dates yet, because unfortunately the Jewish holidays fall smack in the middle of everything. Speaking of which, I am SO happy that I'll be home for the holidays. It makes me think about my experiences last year in France, when I felt truly removed from everything and everyone I knew. I can't wait to be comfortable... to not struggle for just a little bit... to understand the temperature outside (I still don't understand Celsius)... I can't wait to be home :)

Aiiiiiiiiiiiiight, back to work I go. I've got proposals to draft, essays to write. No big deal.