When I first arrived in Paris, I decided I wanted to get a job. Although I have my internet work, it's nice to have some actual human contact. Since I had read that English teachers were in high demand, and since I not only speak English, but also studied it, I figured that was perfect.I asked around about how to find these types of positions, and a few people mentioned FUSAC, a classifieds advertising magazine for English speakers. Lo and behold, there were tons of positions for native English speakers to teach at professional, business and conversation language schools. I applied to most of them. Being the naïve American, I decided to ignore the fact that the majority of them required 'working papers'. I mean, how hard can those be to get?Sure enough, I wound up with plenty of responses to my queries, but all ended the same way -- nothing happens without working papers. So I looked into getting this French requirement - la carte de séjour. But once I discovered that it can often take over a year for an individual to get one, it didn't seem worth the effort since we might not stay in Paris that...
Recently in Work Category
My first order of business this morning was to call the front desk at the hotel and book one more night. My head cold had worsened, which made me lazy about speaking French. Since I knew the hotel staff spoke English, I cut straight to the point. "We'd like to stay an additional night, if possible," I informed the receptionist on the phone. But he replied that there were no rooms free that night in the hotel. Hmmm, great. I hung up. Then I realized I didn't know the time for checkout. So I called back and this time he answered with a drawn-out "Oui?" to ensure I could detect his annoyance. More hesitant, but still in English I asked about checkout. Instead of answering, he told me that in fact there was a room available tonight, just a different one. Apparently, one became available in the last 30 seconds. But I didn't complain. I put together a list of the apartments that were my favorites so far. It didn't take long since there were only two of them. One was from the NY Habitats site which we probably couldn't see before renting and the other was the loft with...
