An American in Provence

Ever since moving here, we have been on the lookout for a garage or parking spot for sale. It is a bit easier to find parking in this neighbor than others, but it is still impossible after say 8 pm. Several weekend mornings, when I would much rather NOT be getting up at 7 am to move the car, have had to get up and move the car. Sigh.

Anyway, the problem here is that there just aren't any for sale. Those that have a parking spot/garage hold on to it zealously.

I have email alerts set up on several different websites for parking/garage in this arrondisement.
I usually get about one a month and click on it eagerly, only to be disappointed in that it is a kilometer or so away, or for a 200 m2 space for 200K +.
Last night I received one, Blvd (ours) 14,400€. Hallelujah!

I started calling the agency this morning at 9. As these puppies are rare, you have to jump on the opportunity.
Not open yet. 9:30. Still not open.
10. Finally someone answers!
I eagerly ask where exactly the parking spot is.
(These agencies could filter out about 90% of the calls by just giving more precise information as to where it is located, say, narrowed down to a block instead of just "on blvd X")
He explained where it is, which is unfortunately a bit further than is useful for us. For that price, I want something within about 50 m because we can usually find a parking spot that is only semi-illegal (crosswalks, sidewalks, etc) and for the occasional 35€ ticket it works out to be worth it.

Sigh. Pass.

I gave him our name, phone number, and where we were looking for. Price range?
Well, I don't know, what is the going rate for firstborns lately?

I seem to be making a habit lately of getting locked out of my apartment in various cities of France.
Last time, our apartment, Marseille, totally not my fault.
This time, my studio, Strasbourg, totally my fault.

The door has three locks, and the middle one you have to have the key to open it, even if it is not locked. (I hate these kind of doors- just begging to get locked out when you say, go get the mail.)

At night, I put the key in the middle lock, lock the door, and leave the key in the lock. This morning, I got ready to go (thinking about my practice test which went okay, thanks), unlocked the locks, went to put on my coat and get my bag, opened the door, walked out, closed the door, OH NO! Yep, had left the key in the lock on the inside.

There was nothing I could do about it at the time, so I went to my class, and quickly sent an email to the owner, telling her I was locked out and could she please stop by and either meet me at the apartment or just leave the keys under the mat or something?
I noted her cellphone number, in case I needed to call her.
By noon, she still had not emailed me, so I borrowed one of my friend's cellphones to call. Yes, I don't have a cellphone. Yes, I know it is highly unusual. I just don't like the things. I don't WANT to be joinable every second of every day. The few times you really need one, you can usually find a payphone nearby or else use someone else's. The human race somehow managed to survive 10,000+ years without them. Anyway.

I called and left a message, leaving my friend's cellphone number. I called back after class and the owner said she could stop by after her work, about 7 pm. Sure great, thank you so much.

Had a conference at 5:30 with a speech that was supposed to last about 45 minutes, followed by another 30 minutes or so alloted for questions. Come 6:50, the questions still weren't finished, so I tried to slip out as unobtrusively as I could. Raced home, found my landlady trying to open the door. No success. As I had left the key in the lock on the other side, we couldn't open it with the spare set of keys from the outside.

We tried to think of ways to get in. Credit card? No luck. Thought about going through the window, but no ladder and don't think that would have been much easier either. My neighbor came home (young college kid) so we asked him if he had anything like a screwdriver or nail file. He said no, but got some plastic cards and a paperclip, and had a go. Couldn't push the key out, couldn't get the latch to slide open. Another neighbor came home (young, college student) and we asked her the same thing. She tried to find something to help, and the two of them worked on it for about twenty minutes.

By this time, my legs were aching (stress and tiredness) and all I wanted was to take a hot bath and crawl in bed. Also had to pack my suitcase, and if possible, study for my second practice test tomorrow morning (5 hours long). I would have given up a long time ago and called a locksmith, but it is hard to suggest such a thing when half the building is trying to fix YOUR mistake, yet you feel bad for them getting bruised knuckles and surely they have SOMETHING better to do on a Friday night?

After about an hour, my neighbor finally managed to get it open! yay! Very glad because didn't have to wait another hour for a locksmith to arrive, and I didn't have to pay the locksmith (which would have been at least 100€). My landlady said she would bring him some eclairs on Sunday afternoon. I would have invited them in, but don't think being invited into my messy studio and being offered Pineapple juice really interested them, as they were both in their early 20's (ah! I'm no longer in my 20's!! ahh!!) and it being a Friday night and all.

Thank goodness. Now only have to remember not to do the same thing when I leave tomorrow....

On yet another sunny Bretagne day, Alain and I went with his parents to visit the nearby Chateau de Kerjean.

We waited around, enjoying the sun, (it's a joke) then went on the tour. They had a temporary exhibition about festivals in the way-back-when, then we toured the rest of the castle.


All I can say is, seeing the temperature in August, I wouldn't want to live here in January 200 years ago.

The bed? Looks like it sleeps about two right? Wrong! Try cramming four people in there. The tour guide asked us where we thought the baby bassinet was placed. Hmm, on the floor? No. In the trunk? No, quand même. We gave up.
The baby bassinet was suspended by ropes in the lit-clos above everyone. Well, guess they were warm, but maybe a bit stunted in their growth.

We visited the subterranean kitchens, the guard house, the chapels, the dove cote, but decided against touring the grounds.

I don't have much more to say about it. Mainly because it was many moons ago, and also because my brain is too full of French Intellectual Property Law in preparation for my practice test tomorrow, that I can do little more than eat pretzels and wish I was getting a foot rub.

Here's a little bit more about the place (in French only, sorry)

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Kerjean

I interrupt my Bretagne series (oh yawn) to talk about how the French can put a truly French spin on something as basic as voting.

Several weeks ago, all the students in my law class were informed that elections would be held to elect the students who would be the student representatives for the school (I guess for the Board of Administration or something like that).
Anyone who wanted to run had to submit their name, and then the rest of the students vote today and tomorrow for the student representatives.

Last week, we received an email with the names of all the students who were presenting themselves for election. There were two lists, List 1 with the names of eight students (only two of which I recognized) and another list, entitled "Les Coulotés". What in the world is a couloté? I looked in several French-English dictionaries and couldn't find any explanations.

Anybody? No?

Oh well. Must be a French thing. I'll find out when I get up to Strasbourg.

Today, we were given two sheets of paper (List 1 and List Les Coulotés) and an envelope to put our ballots in (after going behind the requisite curtain of course).

Each sheet had eight names on it, and it was written 4 candidates and 4 runners-up (suppleants). I couldn't figure out what was supposed to be done. I circle two on each paper? Two in total? Four in total from either paper?

It took four times to explain to me that no, we just choose one sheet of paper. That's it. You don't choose names on each paper, you just decide whether you want List 1 or List Les Coulotés, put the appropriate list in the envelope, show your student ID, sign your name, then drop the envelope in the ballot box (whereupon the person in charge says "A voté!", slides the piece of paper covering the slot so you can put in your envelope, then slides the piece of paper back over the slot.)
Good grief. Why couldn't they just have 1 list with ALL the names, and then you select the ones you want, like most normal democracies?
But instead, you have to choose which list you want, and you are stuck with all the people on that list.

Oh, and Les Coulotés?
Get this- it was a play on the name of the first person on the list- Coulot.

Oh those Funny French!
They get me every time.

Way to confuse the foreigners.