Bureaucracy, je t'aime

So yesterday Alex and I went to the university, and we found it closed just like before, but this time with a sign on the door that said "Nous sommes exceptionellement fermée aujourd'hui". I saw it and started laughing, because literally I took it to mean "we are exceptionally closed today". I think what it meant was that there was an exception to their regular hours, but still amusing after two days of failure.

We went back this morning, hoping to catch them before lunch because they're closed each Wednesday and Friday afternoon. We found the same sign on the door. After sort of wandering around campus, we came back to check again, and there was still the sign. Luckily for us there was a French person showing some newly-arrived Asian exchange students the door and explaining that it was closed -- when someone exited the "closed", but well-lit and transparent, office. She walked upstairs and we all sort of followed her.

I explained that we needed to get student IDs and do any other necessary things that she might be able to explain to us. She told us to come back that afternoon. To verify, I told her I thought they were always closed on Wednesday afternoon. She said yes, they were, but to come back in the afternoon.

So, skeptically, we did. Finally we got someone to talk to us, who verified that we were in the computer, at least, before telling us that she could do nothing in the way of student ID cards yet, but we should go talk to DEFLE, which is the French-as-a-second-language sort of program. She told me that I was not actually enrolled in DEFLE, which I knew, and looked confused when I told her I wanted to take the language placement exam before committing to classes. So we went over to DEFLE and asked around for Alexendra or Elodie, and we found someone (who may or may not have been either, she didn't introduce herself) who told us that the exam is Monday at 9 a.m. and that it is impossible to get IDs until next week, to please come back.

And after four trips to the university in three days, I have come up with this information: you cannot have a student ID card. I wish they would have posted somewhere when such a thing could be picked up.

Without a student ID I cannot buy a tram pass at a student discount, which means I have to buy one ticket at a time. I cannot open a student bank account, which means I don't qualify for really cheap student housing insurance. Since I cannot have a bank account, I also cannot have a debit card. No debit card means no cell phone, and no cell phone means I can't call the electric company before the 5th of September to change the bill into my name, because for some reason my phone absolutely REFUSES to dial the number, with any combination of country code or exit code or inclusion or exclusion of first zeros. And I also cannot register with immigration, or apply for a Carte de Sejour, which would be nice to have because we could apply for assistance with housing.

Long story short, I'm really frustrated with this bunch of events that are all dependent on one thing that I cannot have. I'm also really frustrated at how no one could simply tell me that I could not have it BEFORE I got all worried about it.

I emailed Bernadette about my phone/electricity problem, so hopefully she'll help me either figure out how to call (the internet has been of no help, for once), or just call for/with me, so that I don't have to worry about it anymore.

At any rate, Alex and I left the university and just kind of walked around the city, looking at interesting things. We found a lot of different guitar shops, plus a luthier and a drum-maker (I don't know what you'd call that) and any number of interesting landmarks.

Maria is supposed to arrive tonight, but she may not be joining us until tomorrow. It's her birthday, so I hope she really likes long plane rides and probably crying babies.

Things I have learned/marveled at since I arrived:

• No sales tax (or, sales tax included) - the first time I was trying to buy a power converter at Fnac, I stood in line trying to figure out whether I had enough cash, and what French sales tax would be, since it occurred to me I had no idea. I figured tax for 16%, figuring if it was even twice as much as OK sales tax I'd still have enough cash on me. And then I got to the register and realized the brilliance of things actually costing what they say they cost. Amazing.
• Escalators go up the wrong way. That is to say, if you're trying to go up on the escalator, choose the one on the left, because the one on the right will be going the wrong way. I'm not sure why this is, since people in general walk on the right and drive on the right. But escalators? Backwards.
• Lightswitches. Up means off, and down means on. It doesn't really matter, I guess. I just still walk up to light switches and try to push them the wrong direction.
• PDA. People are much freer with the affection they display in public. I think this is largely a good thing, and I am trying to keep my American awkwardness out of it.
• People aren't homophobic. Or at least in the way many Americans are. I guess maybe that's because kissing is such a social staple, but it's refreshing.