Moving Day, Job, and other observations

    So we finally moved into our new apartment. I thought I was going to hate it. After the brief look at it we got when we saw it in June, filled with the old tenant's stuff, made me have a bad feeling about it. But once we got our own stuff in and unpacked, I actually love it. Its a 320 sq ft studio with a little balcony. Its the perfect size. We try to live modestly and minimally, its harder for me than for Adam. We've got extra stuff in the storage locker in the basement or else I don't know what we would have done. We made 3 trips to IKEA, each time carrying a big box back on the train with shelving units and dressers to build, among other things. Before this, the only furniture we owned was a bed, a kitchen table, and a small twin sized futon. Our French apt was furnished.

     The move-in process was a slight disaster though. We met at the apartment on a Thursday, the 15th, to get the keys and do an "etat de lieu" (walkthrough) with the previous tenant and the apartment building agency. Upon entering the room I immediately sensed tension in the air and could tell the previous tenant and the apt agency guy were having some sort of disagreement. Apparently she paid the whole month of September on accident and wants half the month back, since shes moving out the 15th. Understandable. Well the apartment guy says something about not being notified, they cant get her money back for some reason, she didn't notify them, she says she called for the past 3 weeks, its all in rapid french spoken by people with accents and i'm having a hard time understanding. This lady starts getting really angry and raising her voice. She's yelling that she won't give up the keys, because she hasn't gotten her money back, so shes not going anywhere until the end of September and we might as well leave because we're not moving in because shes not giving up the keys. He says that they will just change the locks if she wont give up the keys. They're going back and forth and I tell Adam we should go downstairs because I dont want to be a part of this. A few minutes later the agency guy comes down to review the walkthrough papers to sign, noting the crack in the tile and the holes in the wall, none of which I have seen to be able to verify because I was caught up in this arguement. Then the lady comes downstairs with a bloody hand, apparently she has hit the door trying to slam it or something. They have called the cops on her now. She starts yelling at us "Don't sign anything! this is a dishonest company! they were nice to me too at the beginning and now look, they will do the same to you! You'll see! Don't sign anything! you will benefit and I will lose!" 

     So we decided not to sign. One, because we didn't get to really walk through the apt ourselves. Two, I wasn't about to sign anything in front of her. We didn't know who to believe at that point. We were told a locksmith was on his way to change the locks right then. Luckily we had a few nights booked at a hotel and stayed there until the locks were changed, and the bathtub re-enamled, which they did 2 days late, so we had to wait to move in. So the process started on a Thursday, I spent my first night in the apt on Sunday. 
     Oh and she ended up giving the keys up and getting her money back that same night of the fiasco. But we still had the locks changed. Just in case

They have a very strict recycling system here. EVERYTHING must be sorted. paper, aluminum, plastic, and then the rest. You have to pay a special extra tax on the trash bags for everything else. Which makes you want to recycle because that's not an extra cost. I like it. I've always been big on recycling. Ask my parents how many times I yell at them for throwing away milk gallons and boxes, even wrapping paper at xmas.

They also have laundry schedules, we learned this when we looked at the other 17 apartments. Luckily, our building doesn't have one. I'm so relieved. In most buildings you get a specific time for laundry, for example, only on tuesdays. Or, even worse, every other tuesday, or only on tuesdays between 7am and 3pm. It would be annoying but I guess its nice to know there's a time where the washing machine is 100% yours, and you don't have to wait for other people.

Another interesting nurse fact I learned from my friend: They don't have to be CPR certified! WTF?! everyone gets it when they get a drivers licence, but you never have to re-do it, its optional. that doesn't make me feel very safe. Especially since every time I've taken it in the past 10 years, they change something. I can't keep it straight.

Oh my new job. My waitress job. I really like it. Its a small restaurant right on the lake at a marina. People pull up in their sailboat on the weekend, get lunch and head back out on the lake. The food is really good and I get free lunch every day. Its a small town and there's lots of regulars. Lots of nice people. The owner is the nicest guy ever. He's obsessed with classic American cars and shows me pictures of the 15 mustangs and Shelbys he's owned. I'm helping him plan his trip to California this winter. 

     Its good for my french practice. I speak it all day. Except when the occasional American or British customer comes. Which is more often than not in this region. Every Swiss person always asks me what my accent is. Where am I from? Sometimes I make them guess. Usually they guess right. Sometimes they think its British English (the american and british accents in french are pretty different) A few people have said German, one said Czech. Then the next question is almost always about the election. And I roll my eyes.  

     I've made a few language mistakes, ordered the wrong thing. Even though I repeat every single thing they order, some words are so similar and my accent makes them think I've said the right thing. Like once someone asked me for an ashtray, in french its cendrier (pronounced sahn-dree-ay). Well I thought she wanted a sangria, I repeated sahn-gree-ah? Oui, she said. I put down the sangria and she says "I didn't order this" and then picks up the ashtray and says "cendrier" and we all laughed and I probably turned a little red. 

     The best part is not having to worry about tips. I've read things before that are anti-tipping culture, and that the US needs to change and I never understood why it was bad. But now I do! It is soooo nice to be paid a real salary and not have to worry at every single table what my tip will be, aka my only income. Tipping isn't common in Europe, but this is a small town with generous customers and I get a tip about 70% of the time. but its minimal. its usually between 5-10% but I don't care. I appreciate the tip more now because I know they didn't have to do it and it means that they truly appreciated my service. And when I don't get a tip I don't care, because I'm making $21/hr. (keep in mind the cost of living here is outrageous so $21/hr is not the same as it is in the US)

     Food culture is different here, obviously, but i'm learning the differences more now. nobody likes ice cubes here, and when they do want some they just want 2 or 3. The owner had to tell me to stop filling the whole glass with ice.

      When you reserve a table it is yours all night. France too. and when all the tables are reserved we turn people away, because most people will sit at their reserved table all night. because a meal in Europe is never quick. A meal is a time to spend with friends and family and relax. People even come at 3pm, alone or with friends, order just a drink, as simple as a bottle of water, and just sit, for 1 or 2 hours, reading the paper or talking with friends. Its nice, slow, laid back. Not so hurried and rushed like in the US. 

     Speaking of water they usually only drink carbonated water here. You have to specifiy if you want still water. 

     They loooove their espresso. Everyone gets an espresso or coffee after a meal. Its just what you do. And usually dessert too. I had a table of 3 Americans and they didn't order any dessert or coffee and when the owner saw me give them the check he was like "what? they dont want coffee? no dessert?" I said "no they're american we don't really do that very often" People must think Adam and I are crazy when we go out to eat, we don't drink wine (another big thing here), we don't get coffee, we don't get dessert. Such weirdos. 

     Also, to them, normal apple juice is carbonated. I had no idea our apple juice at the restaurant was carbonated so when a mom asked if we had non-carbonated apple juice I said yes, because why would you have carbonated apple juice? I gave it to her kids and they drank it and made a funny face. She said "I thought it wasn't carbonated" I said I had no idea that it was. The next day someone asked the same thing, when I said it was carbonated she said "so its just normal apple juice." Apparently that's their normal. Strange to me.

Anyways. While I'm off facebook, just a break, just a couple months, I might still post in here so if you're interested check back every few weeks to see if I've found any more random observations or crazy stories to write about. That's what traveling is though, random cultural observations (my favorite) and the occasional minor crisis and annoyance. But I love it.