Je voudrais ouvrir un compte de cheque, svp.

After much procrastination and bad luck, I put "Go to BNP" on the top of my priority list. BNP Paribas is a big bank here. We happen to have one at the corner of our street, next door to Proxi. Before I left, I made sure to get on to Google Translator. I typed "I would like to open a checking account." I clicked "English to French" and it said "Je voudrais ouvrir un compte de cheque." Perfect. After repeating it appoximately 16 times, which I was told is how many times you have to repeat something before it will go into your long term memory. "Je voudrais ouvrir un compte de cheque." Got it. Off I went. I walked in and greeted the lovely lady with the usual "Bonjour Madame" but added "Parlez-vous anglais?" Her answer was a negative one. No luck. Good thing I repeated "Je voudrais ouvrir un comte de cheque" 16 times. I said it and she said "d'accord". Success! I did it, I did it!

In my mind, I didn't go any further than that moment. I don't know what I was thinking. She asked "blah blah blah Carte de Sejour, blah blah blah, Passeport, blah blah." I took out my carte de sejour and passport. That was easy. She looked them over and typed something on her computer. She continued on with the "blah blah blah" and looked at me questionably, as if I was supposed to respond. Then she pointed to her little desk calendar and very quicly said "Blah blah blah" and kept tapping her pen on the calendar. I thought I kept hearing her say September in French, so I tried to say it, but all I got out was "sept" which sounds like "set". She said, "Ah oui, says ur." I had NO idea what she was talking about, but I said "oui" anyway. She typed something on her computer again, then wrote something on a business card and handed it to me. I looked at it and it said "27/08/2007 @ 16h". Then I realized that I made an appointment with Dominique Papillon at "seize heure" which is at 4:00pm.

The hours went by slow. I received a call from Jacky saying that the children, minus Zac, would be home between 13h and 14h. That would work out perfectly. I could have one of them go to the bank with me to translate. Time ticked by. Basile got home from NYC, then quickly headed out the door to work. Before leaving he said "The children should be back around 4:00". Panic set in. Would they be back in time to go with me to the bank?

I rushed back to my apartment to study a little more French. I was overwhelmed, so I quit. It was 3:45 and I hadn't heard from any of the kids yet. I was on my own. I wasn't dressed too Parisian. If I don't speak French and frustrate them, at least I should look nice, right? I would be an annoying-non-French-speaking-nicely-dressed-person, rather than a lazy-sloppy-dressed-annoying-non-French-speaking-American. I took off the athletic attire and wore a white skirt instead.

Deep breath and a long prayer. I walked in and said bonjour to the same lady. She remembered me. I sat for a good twenty minutes. More prayer. A women walked out of an office and greeted me with a handshake and smile. I felt like I was at home in Texas. Once in her office, I started off with "Je suis tres desole. Je ne parle pas Francais." She said it was okay, since she speaks a little English. Amen.

We go through the long process. I didn't know it could be such a long process to get a checking account. I had paper after paper to sign and "read". You'd think I was closing on a house or something. Mme Dominique was so amazing and nice. She explained everything and even signed me up for a savings account. I don't know if I will ever have a chance to use it, considering my salary, but it's nice to know I have it. I still have to get the family to fill out a form and I have to show them the letter of enrollment from my language school. After that I will get my Carte Bleu. It's hard to get by in Paris without it. Many places don't take regular credit cards or American debit cards. You have to have a "smart card" which has a microchip in it. The day was a success. I was satisfied. The motivation to learn French is definitely renewed. Nose in the books. I left BNP with a big folder full of signed papers and manuals that explain the account, en francais. She said it would be good to read so that I can better my French. We'll see about that.

I came back and cooked. Earlier in the day I checked the freezer to see what meat we had. Two LARGE pieces of meat were in there. I do not know what they are, so I don't know what recipe to look for. I made an executive decision to purchase chicken at the store. I found a good recipe online that doesn't include American ingredients (which is almost impossible to find here at a reasonable price). I couldn't eat any of it. Six more days left on the fast. However, I did take a taste of the sauce and it was so good. I almost had a plate full of "tastes", but I remembered why I was fasting, so I put the spoon in the dishwasher and bid the sauce adieu. I'm glad that's over with, but now I have to do it for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.