Is the grass greener elsewhere ?

Our Love Story with Cadic Needs a Specific Set

Sun, 5 Oct 2008 11:48:14 -0400

The Greener Grass feed was supposed to tell my students our small, or not that small, adventures in our new country. Since the disappearance (magics?) of our nest egg made things somewhat harder (I'm fully for understatement, today), I started telling you about it, and for fun, I asked you to give us some ideas to get our money back.
The answers were mostly about retaliation. The Monte-Cristo complex spread like fire. Obviously, I and Pierre were not the only people in the world who would have liked to take revenge against someone.
Then came testimonies from other providers about how difficult to get paid had been. (No one has been as silly and stupid as us, with Pierre going on working one year without getting paid!) And recently enquiries from clients have started to reach my email box.
It is time for the société Cadic Hate Story (I'm fed up with understatement) to leave the family house and get its own (my)space.
I'll tell you when it's set up. If you have ideas for a great, resounding name, drop a line.

How much does Cadic owe you? Combien la société Cadic vous doit-elle?

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 18:02:14 -0400

It looks like some people are worrying about the finances of the company Cadic, rue Bernouilli, Paris. At first, when I told the story and asked for ideas to get our money back, I received many plans to take revenge against Cadic. Most of them funnier than useful.
But then I started receiving specific questions.
And recently, fearful questions. The general idea being:
- If they can't pay 50000 euros, how could they pay... ?
Good question. But what I do not understand is the reason why they ask me.

Who's afraid of French Verbs?

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 15:05:33 -0400

A lady interested in learning French told me about two French courses. One of them I did not know, so I turned to Google. I read enough about the course to know that is was not interesting, so enough on the subject.
What surprised me was that many books entitled "zillions of French Verbs fully conjugated" were sold. What is the point? Do you imagine a book that would list hundreds of English verbs because of the handful of them that are fancy? Of course not.
For some reason -I suspect it is to sell their books- there are people who are eager to make believe that each French verb belongs to a category of its own. I understand how scary the idea may be. But it is no more than a lie. If you do have such a book within reach, open it at any page. What do you read? Some lines about a verb, and hundreds of lines that display the conjugation either of etre or of avoir. And it is the same, page after page.
I do not tell you that French conjugations are a piece of cake, but frankly, they are not that hard. Let's suppose that you already know etre, avoir, faire and aller (they are the pillars of the language, you cannot do without them), you only need to learn five forms of 50 verbs, at the very utmost, to be out of the woods. And I count apparaitre, disparaitre and paraitre individually, or venir, devenir, revenir, or prendre, comprendre, reprendre, surprendre, etc.
The next time people tell you how difficult French conjugations are, ask them the titles of their books.

Free commercials?

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 15:04:29 -0400

Below is the link for my last video to learn French on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF4D_Vo5DKo
I think that the quality is better on:
http://www.spike.com/video/learn-french/3042142
but for some unknown reason, the video, and the previous ones, are in the "commercials". But they are free.

The 40-hour French Course

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 13:38:53 -0400

Yesterday evening, while I was teaching at the Art and Culture Community Center, a young man came with a neat plan:
- "I want to speak French within 4 months."
I calculated and replied:
- "You will have to study with me for an hour and half, twice a week, until your departure. And never skip your homework."
Since he was determined, we started on the spot.
With private and half-private lessons, it is possible to get by with French within 40 hours. Of course, I warned him that he would not be able to speak of high theology or any specialized subject. He swore he was not interested in theology anyway.

Peels and Wriggling Worms

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:39:38 -0400

Our garden is no more than a small part of the desert of Atacama surrounded with railings. To amend a poor and sandy soil, I thought of making compost with our food scraps. I read that the best time to start composting is in the spring. It's the spring down here. I also read that anyone who has a dry (the desert of Atacama is the driest place of the planet) and shady space (the house is not transparent) can just dump compost in a pile with a handful of red wrigglers. But these pets need water to survive. The soil is too sandy (dusty?) to retain water. I have to amend it first. And to amend it...

Copa Davis

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:06:36 -0400

Yesterday, in a meeting for the Davis cup, Chile won against Australia. That's may look like a piece of news, but the most important is elsewhere: for the first time since we have been living there, the Mercurio of Antofagasta did not read a disaster for its headline.
I bet that they wondered if they should not rather print the sad story of the Australian team.

Humitas y Churros

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:02:54 -0400

Yesterday, we woke up with Violeta Para on the radio. We went to the fair. There were a food stand for every other stand: whirligigs, tombolas, skill games, swings (the kind that makes a complete revolution, to be used before stopping at a food stand), etc. No divination stand. I wondered if I could start mine. But my Spanish is still to poor to reveal people their destinies. Never mind. I am used to keeping for myself what I know about someone else's fate.
Pierre and I stopped at as many food stands as we can and ate our favorite Chilean specialties: humitas and empanadas. Of course, we added churros and things whose names I do not know. We drank dubious mixtures, bought chocolates and a puppet for Marco.
It was our first 18th September in Chile: we did not want to spoil it.

To start the festivities

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:25:12 -0400

Yesterday, to start the festivities that go with the Country Day, there was dance exhibitions, among other cultural activities. There were not a lot of people since on the same day there was a football match: the local team against Colo-Colo (the best Chilean football team).
I fulfill the first condition to be disappointed: I like dance. I wished someone had told the choreographer apprentices that dance is not a matter of ideas but of movements.
I'm sure the footballers' moves followed better patterns. No one of these dancers would have been able to score a goal.

Teaching French without quoting authors

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:15:21 -0400

If you did not know, you will: to teach French I also use a virtual theater. Students act or listen, according to their tastes, or their shyness. To make it known, I had prepared elementary videos -around 3 minute duration- in which I showed how it worked.
It may look strange, totally unexpected, but to explain how the rehearsals work, I needed to write (display) a dozen lines of a play.
Some sites rejected my videos because of copyright infringement!
I wonder how Amazon has not been shut down, since they display a dozen pages of works.

Flags and banners

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:42:02 -0400

Chile is preparing the Country Day, understand: the Country week. Shops and streets are blue, white, red: French people feel at home. Each house has to have a flag hung at the top of its mast.
Pierre almost made us stoned to death. He remembered that September 11th was an important date in Chile, but had forgotten the reason why, and asked if we should hang the flag on that day. Pierre's question was received without much enthusiasm, to say the least. It's also the date of a disaster down here: the Pinochet's coup d'état.

Is a pandemic starting?

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:57:20 -0400

The Monte Cristo complex may be viral! I receive many ideas of ways to take revenge against Cadic (though I'd rather get my money!)
Someone would like to see an old-style hearse, with the plume on the heads of the horses, the silver tears on black velvet, the men in black (no, not these ones, the other kind), the coffin and a wreath that would read: "Pierre Guichard's 55000euros, the grateful Cadic team" parking rue Bernouilli, just in front of the entrance of their offices.
Yes, I would like to see that as well, but, except around the racecourses, I'm not sure horses would be allowed in Paris.

The World Wide Moronship

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 15:38:02 -0400

I am a moron. That's what every big shoe thinks of me. Do not be so proud: they think the same of you.
I wanted to create a myspace account. It displays the page in Spanish, whatever the preferences I indicate in my browser. At the bottom of the page I click on "MySpace International" and choose another language. I log in and it displays my account in Spanish. I have to click again on MySpace International and change the language for the second time. This time, I'm proposed to tick the language so that my choice will be kept for ever. Good, I tick. I read some news, watch some videos, and logout. When I come back, guess what. Yes, my account is in Spanish again.
I'm in Chile therefore I want everything in Spanish. I'm a moron, and they just want to help me. They choose for me, so that I have no problem. They are so good. And so humble.

I'm mean, and I like that!

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 10:18:30 -0400

This morning, a client of Cadic with whom Pierre worked last year wrote him that a bailiff was due to come today, to check and testify that Cadic did not fulfill the contract requirements.
These requirements were very precise and asked for a lot of time to be implemented: the overtime that Cadic refused to pay Pierre for. They stopped the specific implementations when they realized how much work and time it took. And now, they themselves will not be paid because the job has not been done.

Monte-Cristo complex

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 17:07:15 -0400

I heard about the Oedipus complex. I can testify there is a Monte-Cristo complex. So far, none reader has given us an idea to get our money back, but many have given ideas for means of revenge.
I like the liquid-manure cannon, but farmers usually make their protest marches between La Bastille and La République; they seldom demonstrate in Bernouilly street, and still more rarely at La Bourse.
Of course, if you are a demonstrator, with your own liquid-manure cannon, and want to go out of your way to "water" Cadic head office, who am I to prevent you from doing so?

Arrête ! Rends-moi mon argent, coquin ! (L'Avare, IV, 7)

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 21:32:20 -0400

So far, we have not been able to get our money back. The main -and sole- argument that the company Cadic, the debtor, develops is: "Our contract allowed for 10 days a month. We recognize that we gave you work for more than 20 days each month, but you should have refused to do it. You did it for free! There is nothing like an oral agreement, since you cannot prove it."
That's true. Pierre cannot prove anything, even if it is very doubtful that he agreed to work for peanuts.
Anyway, the 55000 euros miss us a lot. Now that the school could start, from an administrative point of view, we can afford neither computers, nor advertisement.
If you have some idea to make them pay, we take it.

The Vernissage

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:49:19 -0400

The vernissage took place yesterday night. There were many people, and many who liked the works that were exhibited. We also displayed the poster of the Institute.
Among the visitors was a French man who teaches technology at the Universita Catolica. We chatted. He told us he was looking for someone to teach French to his students: they will have to go in France at the end of their degree course for a period of work experience. I applied. Cross your fingers.

The Engraving Workshop

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:22:07 -0400

All day long, Pierre and Marco have been working in the workshop, to prepare the exhibition that starts on Monday at the Community Art Center. Since we have been living in Antofagasta, it is the first time that the engraving workshop deserves its name.
In the beginning, it did not exist.
Then, it has been used as anything, even as a dance studio, but most often for DIY activities.
At last, it meets its fate.

The Chicest Chic

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:57:13 -0400

Since Marco is more or less the official photographer of the Antofagasta ballet, he had to take snapshots of the young dancers. A class of 83.
It is funny, but difficult to take photos of six-year old ballerinas. Pierre helped Marco. (As for myself, I did nothing. I stood there. No more.)
... blah blah blah, you know, the photographer, with 2 French assistants...
The chic of the chic.

First Lesson of French

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 18:13:38 -0400

Despite all the problems to open the Institute, yesterday, I did what I wanted to do: I taught French.
My first student, a young woman called Andrea, knew how to count from 1 to 8. Not much, but almost the half of the French vowels. There are 5 vowels in Spanish. It is not an easy task to start to learn a language with 15 vowels (purists would say 16, but I teach French as it is spoken today in France, and more specifically in Paris).
She was surprised to be able to learn so much in so little time. But I was not: since I discovered the "cloud approach", I have been using it with success.
But it takes time to spread the word that there is a way far more easier than the traditional one to learn French.
Never mind! I do what I like to do.

A la Casa de la Cultura

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 20:59:53 -0400

Pierre is printing the small posters that read ( in Spanish!) that tomorrow my French course begins at the Community Art Center. It may look like "last minute" advertisement. It is. But since there are already 2 students who have registered, some others may register as well before 6:30pm.
Tomorrow morning, we'll go to tape one outside and the other inside the building. We'll also hang a whiteboard in my future classroom.
All day long, I have been preparing the first clouds of words I am going to use.
Can't wait.

Bus With Vitamins

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:10:07 -0400

In Chile, you're quickly accustomed to see people getting on buses to sell candies, ice-cream, candies, cakes, candies, sodas and candies.
But yesterday was a premiere (for Pierre and me): a man sold vitamins. Which ones? I doubt he knew enough of the alphabet to answer the question. But the most surprising was that people bought. OK, we are rather trusty persons (alas! if we were not, we would have asked for our money as soon as the debt had added up to 1 euro), but we are cagey when it comes to our health.
We are not ready to buy medicine on a bus. Nor candies.

Opera

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:48:46 -0400

Yesterday, opera artists from the musical theater of Santiago sang in Antofagasta. The recital was outstanding. Of course, there were some famous arias to make sure to please anyone, but who did not want to listen to Carmen, anyway?
The way some verses were pronounced gave me an idea. In the membership area of howtopronouncefrench.com, I'm going to add a section dedicated to opera artists, to help them to rehearse the pronunciation.
Spread the word, please.

To ship or not to ship

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:45:58 -0400

Marco wanted to make his own soft-box, because the items he found at the photographer's shop were too expensive. To line the box, we thought of using a survival blanket. It is cheap and light, and, of course, reflective. We could not find one in Antofagasta and turned to Amazon.
First, I had to change everything in my account, since I live no longer in Versailles. I wasted 10 minutes to get through their doorways, and be able to order a survival blanket. I hit the buy-in-1-click button and read that there were no delivery to Chile. Hey, they could not say it when I typed in my address?
I thought I was going to order one blanket from France. The site sante-voyages, that actually appears as astrium.com in the browser, was eager to sell a 7€ blanket, as long as I accepted to pay 94€ for the delivery!
I wouldn't say yes.
The soft-box is still waiting for its lining. We are waiting for a new idea.

Pierre Potter, the wizard

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:43:30 -0400

We have got a mail from the company who owes us 55000 euros. They say that they owe nothing because the invoices we sent them are about jobs they had never ordered. At least, they do not dare to say that the tasks had not been done.
If the jobs were not ordered, how did Pierre know the clients and their demands? How was he introduced to them? Magic! Pierre I Potter, the one who was allowed to enter the atomic center of Saclay without being asked anything, without having to get a special pass and all the security stuff.
Of course, there was a secret. The I, in Pierre I Potter, stands for "invisible".

Washing

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:07:26 -0400

You already know that when we take a shower we fill a big bottle with the first 2 or 3 liters of cold water instead of wasting it. We fill too many bottles to empty all of them in the garden (it is winter here, the plants are not thirsty). I pour what is left in the washing machine, to rinse the linen.
The washing machine is in the back yard, which can be seen from the next building. And so, the neighbors who do not believe that we water the garden with bottled water, because they do not see the garden, believe that we wash our clothes with it.

Volume n of our series on Banks and Bankers

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:06:17 -0400

We have been waiting for 2 months 3000 euros sent by my sister in law. You may remember that, during the first month, her banker had simply frozen the transfer and used our money for himself. At last, he released it. It traveled across the Atlantic ocean, seemingly by its own means.
This morning, we received a letter, posted 8 days ago (July 11th), but hey, the bank stands at the other end of the street! that read: your money (the amount was not specified) is here.
Our card in hand, we go to the first wall with a slot, to know how much of our money has managed to cross the pond. We slip the card in the machine and type in the code.
- "Hello Gabrielle. It is your first operation. You have to change your code."
I type in a new code. Twice. The second time to check the first one.
- "Hello Customer. Enter your code".
I type in the new code.
- "Hello Gabrielle (theses machines are quite familiar), which operation do you choose?"
I press the check-my-account button.
- "Sorry, this code is invalid."
How to strangle a machine? I have to wait until Monday to go and strangle the banker.

Apple donuts

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:46:09 -0400

Yesterday night, I made apple donuts. It takes time to prepare but it is so yummy that it is not a waste of time.
As usual, to broaden my vocabulary, I asked Marco:
- How do you call "apple donuts" in Chile?
- We don't. There is nothing like that here. It's the first time I eat them.
Yippee! In some months, when it is time to renew my visa, I will be able to say: "Of course I'm useful to the country: I've brought in the apple donuts!"
Marco hastened to add:
- They will do well in the French café.
The opening of a French café is Marco's hobby horse. The idea came to him when he ate the pears in wine I had once prepared. He is sure that in a city like Antofagasta, it would work and we would make a lot of money. He is not alone to think so. A lawyer is ready to fund the café.
Hey, I came in Chile to teach French, not to cook French.

Talkative Workers

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:52:37 -0400

1- We live at the corner of two main streets where the men who have cars (or the cars of their companies) stop to pick up the others.
2- There is a low wall along the railings.
1+2=Every morning, a dozen workers sit down on the wall while they wait for their mates to drive them, and they chat.
Yesterday, we thought that this morning would be quiet, since it is holiday in Chile. Somewhat optimistic! Except for May 1st and the national day, there is no such thing as a holiday in Chile. The waiting workers were as talkative as usual.
Chile seldom stops. Antofagasta hardly slows.

My booklet of recipes of Pastry Making is now published in a new bilingual version: Spanish-Arabic. It is offered at a special price ($11.75 instead of $14.70) until August. Enjoy!

Recycling

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:08:55 -0400

When it comes to recycling, Chile is a beginner. To deposit the glass, there is one spot for every 100.000 inhabitants. And each spot is no more than 2 green containers. As you may guess, they are filled in less than an hour. So, you have to walk a lot, loaded with empty bottles and jars, to reach the nearest recycling container, which will be full. Here, taking care of the environment requires more efforts than speeches.

Fire

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:11:13 -0400

This afternoon, a house was burning. All the usual sirens were yelling -which did not make a big difference. The difference, in case of fire, is in the owner's attitude. Is his house worth the price of the water?
In France, the firemen are very generous when they handle the fire hose nozzle. What the fire has spared is ruined by the water. In Antofagasta, they prefer to throw sand if the neighborhood is no in danger. It takes longer to extinct the fire, but what has no been burnt remains.

Healthy Economy

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:03:43 -0400

It seems that everybody and their brother agrees to say that the Chilean economy is healthy, despite the inflation (that does not spare Chile more than any other country). What a discovery! You do not have to be a financial guru to say that. I'm not, and Pierre is not one either. Nevertheless, we were clear-sighted enough to see the disaster coming and to spot the countries where it will be the smoothest.
Here, opportunities pop everywhere. I suppose that the specialists will tell you in a decade or two.

Turbus vs Pullman

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:20:21 -0400

Marco is back from Santiago. He has come on a Pullman bus. When you come in Chile, except if you want to waste your money on flying, or are in a hurry, you will have to go by bus. The two main bus companies are Tur-bus and Pullman.
Tur-bus is more expensive, but you know the time you arrive. They allow for a margin of error. The percentage is rather small but of course the longer the journey, the bigger the difference.
The Pullman fleet is not new: it's not rare that the bus breaks down. The bright side is that they stop more often and more longer: you can walk for some minutes and even have a cup of coffee. For the longest journey, they give you a soda and a tiny (and insipid) cake, that is to say: just enough to keep you alive.
Tur-bus provides you with rather decent sandwiches. Sometimes, the driver allows a cake-seller to come aboard and she goes out some thirty or fifty kilometers further, where she will take another bus to sell her cakes while coming back.
Both companies rerun old movies. The sound is terrible.

Dematerialized paperwork

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 11:24:47 -0400

In order to get our money back, we have to lodge a complaint at the bankruptcy court that is the nearest to our debtor. As you may think, it is in Paris. Not truly convenient for us to fill the forms.
Fortunately, there is a way to send your file through the internet. A French way. You ask for a certificate: a digital key that proves you're yourself. Then, after the online registration, and after you have sent a form with your signature, the key is ready for you to get it at the court!
Of course, once you are on the spot, why would you need the digital key? Since you are there, better you submit your file!
I fear that very soon the kind of approach will be the norm: both offline and online forms will be required, which will led to a double risk of hearing the employee telling you: "A piece is missing. Come back later."

A Ticket to ride

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 15:33:04 -0400

There are some bus-stops along the streets, but not that many. Why would the city dilapidated its money? You raise your arm and the bus stops. There is no need for you to walk to the next station, for the next station is right where you stand. The buses are not comfortable, but since they go fairly fast, you do not suffer for long.
Almost all the lines cover all the streets. Is it economical? The fare is the same, whatever the journey. Better you walk if you have no more than some blocks to go. Is it convenient? Yes. Raise your arm, go on the bus, and stay inside until it passes in front of your house.

One more shot

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 12:36:32 -0400

You may remember (my shoulders have not forgotten) that we underwent a lot of injections to be up to date with several immunizations. The booster for the vaccine against meningitis has to be received 6 months after the first shot. We received it yesterday: we were a little late according to the medical schedule. It has been very difficult to get the vaccines. You cannot find them everywhere, because in Chile, it is not mandatory to be vaccinated against meningitis... except for the foreigners who ask for long-term visas.

The train you can't take

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 08:57:55 -0400

There is hardly any trains in Chile. It is a bus country. There is a railway between Santiago and Conception and Santiago and La Serena, but the trip is more expensive than by bus. And there is a train between Antofagasta and Chuquicamata: the copper train.
There is nothing in the desert to stop it. There is nothing in town either. It has priority. It leaves the mine loaded with copper plates and carries them to the port. The copper is sent everywhere in the world while the train rushes back (it runs quicker when it returns) to take off another load. It goes forth and back all day long, all night long.
Everyone in the town, looking at it as it passes by, knows, though often subconsciouly, that it is the life-blood of Antofagasta. The day the train stops, the life stops.

Receiving the world

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 18:46:03 -0400

Regularly, we receive couchsurfers (if you do not know whom I write about, check CouchSurfing). Our couch is no more than an inflatable mattress (I remind you that a bed is quite a luxury in Chile) in the (future) drawing studio, and nevertheless travelers volunteer to visit us. Right now, a Chilean man and an Australian woman, both musicians, are at home. They visit Antofagasta on their way to Bolivia.
We are also receiving the plumber (once more!) but I hope he will not have to stay and sleep at home.

The Egyptian castle

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:01:10 -0400

The sanitary office asked for a plan of the house. Pierre drawn it and taped a copy on the wall. It is rather funny to look at it. The house is 27 meter length, that is not bad, but less than 5 meters at the widest. A castle outside, a closet inside.
I think I understand why ancient Egyptians represented themselves from the side view: they lived that way.

Strolling along the Pacific Ocean

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:55:46 -0400

Today, as I and Pierre walked, and stopped regularly to look at a sea-otter, at a seagull dropping a mussel again and again until it breaks, at a pelican lazily floating past, we thought that we would not have changed our plans, even if we had known that it would become so difficult to get our money back.
It is said that Justice is slow. When you sunbathe in Winter under the Tropic, you feel you can wait a little longer than many.

We pay for nonpayment

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:24:03 -0400

We did not leave France with a lot of money. A client owed us more than €60000; we thought the amount made a rather comfortable nest egg. We are not the kind of people that beat up debtors or break kneecaps. Instead, we agreed they sent us a part of the debt every month. We even did not ask for interests. Not very clever, I admit it.
The money came on time in January. In February, we received it two weeks after the day it was due. Since then, nothing. I mean, a lot of excuses and explanations, but not a cent. And now, even no talks.
Not only most part of our project in Chile depends on the money, but pretty soon we will not be able to afford a knee breaker's services.

How much do you charge for leasing your drill?

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:24:50 -0400

Pierre was drilling here and there in the patio when a neighbor hailed him through the railings.
- "I want to hang a painting, but the sticking tape does not work. (Even I could have guessed it!) Could you let me your drill?" the neighbor asked.
- "Of course", Pierre said.
- "How much would you charge?"
A silence. Not because Pierre was making some quick calculations, but because he was so surprised by the question that it left him mute for a second.
- "Nothing," he replied at last.
The man came back at 6pm to take the drill, and came back again a quarter later, to give it back.
We have a lot of tools of all kinds. We should publish an ad and make some money.

Gardening

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:06:54 -0400

In Antofagasta, the water is precious. We do our best to spare it (and our money as well). For example, when we take a shower, 2 or 3 liters of cold water have to flow before it becomes warm. We filled a big bottle, instead of looking at the water running down uselessly. Then, we use it to water the garden.
And half of our neighbors think that we water with bottled water.

Ashamed though clean-handed

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:48:56 -0400

South America countries are rather upset about the tighter and tighter rules Europe is setting up to limit immigration. They say that they pave the road for European people who want to come (I can testify that it is true), and argue that it should work the same way on the other side of the ocean.
The rise of nationalisms, to say the least, was among the factors that pushed us outside of Europe. We could not stand being confused with people we did not approve. We left. We should feel clean-handed. We don't. We often feel ashamed.

Bad news is worse when you are far away

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:04:53 -0400

This morning, we learnt that my mother-in-law had an accident yesterday and broke her femur. Of course, if we were at the hospital, we would be absolutely useless. Nevertheless, we'd rather be useless near her than far away. I hear Pierre hammering in the workshop. To put his hands at work has always been his way to appease his mind. I am not good at hammering, except for hammering the keyboard.

Shoe Tuning

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:10:24 -0400

There is a distinguishing trait in the Chilean fashion. I would never have guessed it existed: shoe tuning. It is impossible to buy a pair of shoes, or boots, or of whatever you put your feet inside, deprived of "ornaments" of all kinds; of all kinds on the same pair of shoes! You could find strass on one, pleated leather on the other. It would not be really finer, but at least less visible. No way! I think my feet will never be Chilean.

No Sensitive Information

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:52:03 -0400

This morning, while Pierre and Marco were at the municipality hall, I stayed at home, waiting for the plumbers. It is true that a leak has been stopped last week (though, despite our complains, not before the pavement was inundated), but the water meter has been running on since then.
They came with a kind of stethoscope and listened to our walls. I am not sure if walls do have ears, but the plumbers thought that ours had mouths. Either the wall were mute, or they did not feel like talking, or the plumbers were deaf, or they were the worst spies ever, or deaf spies, but they reported nothing.
The leak does not know the results of the plumbers' conference and the water meter goes on turning even when no faucet is opened.

Other Banker, Same Nuisance

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:17:12 -0400

You may remember that we had asked my sister-in-law to make a transfer to our Chilean saving account, because our banker did not want to make international transfers (more specifically: he wanted us to pay €17 a month). So we had transferred €3000 to my sister-in-law's banking account and she told her banker to transfer the sum to our account in Chile.
She did so on May 2nd. I knew I would have to wait, but last week, since nothing had happened after a month, I asked her to ask what was on. Nothing! Her banker kept our money for a month, that's all.
I suppose that he acts the same way with hundreds of requests. A small percentage of millions of euros each month may be not that bad.

The Ticket machine

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:25:09 -0400

It is said that the Englishman, when alone, can make a queue of one person. The Chilean has no idea of what a queue is. The notion of standing behind the person who came first is unknown. So, to avoid crushes, most shops, banks, offices, even the Notary office! have a machine that gives away numbered tickets. You take a ticket when you enter the place and wait for your number to appear on a screen.
At Kar's, the largest butchery of Antofagasta, there is no ticket machine. You enter, squeeze yourself along one of the counters that line the sides of the shop, and wait for a butcher to take care of your order. That's the theory. The reality is slightly different: if you weight less than one hundred pounds, you have no chance. You will simply be ejected, except if you can figure out how to anchor yourself at the counter... what I have not yet.

Coin-coin

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:07:30 -0400

The most difficult thing we have to face in Chile -in Northern Chile, is the lack of variety in food. OK: that is a French point of view. But I was very pleased when I found a frozen duck. No duck had ever been dethawed with so much care. Had not its innards been removed, it could almost have been upraised. Fortunately, that did not happen. Chilean wine is a fine partner to prepare a casserole of duck. Try it. You won't be disappointed.

The Ballet Photographer hires an assistant - Sat, 14 Jun 2008

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:32:30 -0400

Last week, Marco had booked the largest reception hall in the culture house. He had also invited the dancers -in a rather authoritative manner- to be there this morning.
Yesterday night we went to the culture house to move one hundred or so chairs (the reception hall is used as a conference room, a movie room, a whatever-that-gathers-people-who-sit room) and to vacuum clean. Did Marco ask if we could use their vacuum cleaner? No. He made us carry ours.
This morning, loaded with big bags full of spotlights, wires, notebook, Cds, loudspeakers, etc, Marco and Pierre went to the culture house to take pictures of the ballet.
Since the room is carpeted, I'm not sure about the performance. The goal is rather to take photos in a majestic though dilapidated set. (From September -after Pierre and Marco's exhibitions- the house will be closed for months for renovation.)
And why am I not with them? I'm the lucky one: I am waiting for the Antofagasta Water Company to look for a possible other leak.

From hobbies to part-time activities - Fri, 13 Jun 2008

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:54:25 -0400

Since things go very slowly we have time enough to change hobbies into part-time activities. Pierre is a born do-it-yourself man and, after having fixed everything needing his intervention in the house, he is now starting the making of the printing press. Marco has become the official photographer of the Antofagasta ballet. As for me, I have labeled a repertory "cuisine" in the website of the Institute, and plan to regularly add recipes to help you learning French vocabulary.
I agree that these activities do not pay for the rent, but at least they are pleasant.

Thu, 12 Jun 2008

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:49:04 -0400

Thirty three years ago, I and Pierre got married. Porphyry wedding! Till this morning, my whole knowledge about porphyry was that this red stone was used to build the edges of pools. If you are like me, you do not know a lot about porphyry. My science on the subject is still limited but more colorful thanks to the University of Oslo: http://www.toyen.uio.no/geomus/nettutstillinger/Osloriften/rombeporfyr-eng.html
As you see, the red stone happens to be green!
So, it is a red and green stone wedding.

Mon, 9 Jun 2008

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 17:07:43 -0400

As you may guess, for months I and Pierre have been doing our best to learn Spanish. The most difficult thing to do is to answer the phone. When we talk directly with someone, he sees if (that!) we don't understand, he looks for another word, makes gestures (the world is crowded with born actors), repeats, etc. But on the phone, we are still trying to understand who stands at the other side that he is already asking: "OK?" For sure, I will add phone calls to my French teaching.
If it were only the phone! We watched two Finnish movies, subtitled in Spanish, an Italian one, also with Spanish subtitles; and we went to the theater: a Spanish play, without any subtitles.
The most astonishing is that we manage to be understood.

Tue, 27 May 2008

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:03:02 -0400

Last Friday, it rained. What a piece of news! Yes! It was the first time since 2 years. Not a tropical, almost warm shower; a freezing rain. Nothing is planned for such a weather: the heater and the washing machine are outside.
And in May, the region has been registering the coolest temperature ever registered at this time of the year. Ah, tell me about living under the Tropic! There is no means to heat the house. We have had to buy pajamas and I wear a scarf in the house.

Tue, 20 May 2008

Tue, 20 May 2008 20:00:43 -0400

You may remember that I told you how expensive beds were in Chile. Marco had bought second hand head and foot bed for us when he had gone in Santiago, but a bed is more than a head and a foot. This week, Pierre has had time enough to build the frame and join the different parts together. So far, we have not found a 2 place foam mattress. There are 1 place and 1.5 (don't ask, please, I don't know what that means!) ones, but if you want to sleep with somebody else you have to get a spring mattress: heavy and expensive.
Meanwhile, we have put the air mattresses on our new bed frame. Now, the phrase is real: we are truely living a "semi-cama" life.

Sun, 18 May 2008

Sun, 18 May 2008 16:31:53 -0400

I have been asked in which way the grass is greener here.
For example, last week, we went to a ballet; this week we went to a concert. Of course, there were ballets and concerts when we were living in France, though not a lot in Versailles, but had we had time enough to go to a show, we would not have been able to afford it. To say nothing about the cost of the taxi to come back. Here, life is affordable and does not run so fast. Because the town is an oasis, its limits cannot be outstretched too far: everything is within reach.
Is the theater a world-class theater? No. But the performance Pastenes Gomez gave there was as good as anywhere else. The difference is that we would not have heard it anywhere else.

Sun, 11 May 2008

Sun, 11 May 2008 10:10:03 -0400

One year ago, I wrote my first article. One year ago, we did not know where we were going to go. And here we are, telling how the life is in semi-cama.
After having read my last post, Pierre told me that I had overlooked a detail: you have to line up to pay a bill. It is true. You may even have to wait for long if you go at the payment center at any time, but if you manage to go in the morning -and keep in mind that the morning, here, does not start before 10- you are off in minutes. It is a cheap price to pay for your privacy.

Fri, 9 May 2008

Fri, 9 May 2008 11:49:24 -0400

This morning I went to a center of payment, to pay for our internet and water bills and I realized that I had not told you how it worked here.
In France, to get a banking account is compulsory, and costly, but Chile is a cash country: no recurring banker's order here. There are places of payment every two blocks. In Santiago, you can also find them in the tube. You show at the counter with your commodity bills and some banknotes. The employee types in digits, takes the money and hands you a receipt. That's all. You have to keep neither the bill nor the receipt for 5 to 10 years. Just keep them until the deadline, in case an error would occur and the electricity would be switched off. Since Chile is a 99.99% connected country, there is little risk.
Of course, you may also pay using your credit card, if you do not mind the fees.

Fri, 2 May 2008

Sat, 3 May 2008 08:49:18 -0400

In Chile, a bed is a luxury object. We cannot afford one. The result is that we sleep on inflatable mattresses. When Marco came back from Santiago with furniture for the institute, he also brought his bed and second-hand bedhead and footboard for us to complete. When we have got a springer to combine the two pieces, we will sleep almost cosily.
Anyone with a second-hand springer?

Sat, 26 Apr 2008

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:14:38 -0400

You may remember that yesterday we had to go back to the bank. We went. The lady who had appointed us was not there.
-"Something expected," I thought.
The lady who replaced her knew nothing about the appointment (bis) and, since actually we were there to open a saving account, she sent us to the second floor.
We went down, took a ticket, and waited.
A few centuries later, our turn.
-"We want to open a saving account, please."
-"No problem," the man replied. "Do you have your RUT (or RUN, I'm not sure) number?"
We proudly handed out our cards. He looked at them, made a little face and said: "I'm sorry, but there remain only eight months out of your one year visa. You cannot get a saving account for less than a year".
-"Something unexpected," I thought. "A bank that does not want money."
Pierre insisted. The man stood up and walked to his colleague's desk. The colleague shook "no" with her head. The man came back to his desk and repeated "no".
-"But last week, had not it been for a bug in your system, we would have got the account," Pierre argued.
He added:
-"The lady upstairs had started the process when the bug appeared."
It worked like magic. The hierarchy may be reflected in the geography of the building where the working ants are downstairs while the aristocracy breathes the air of the highness.
We do have our account and will be able to receive bank transfers. At least, it is the theory.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:50:11 -0400

We knew that it was difficult to get a banking account in Chile. That was the main reason for us going on struggling with our French banker. At the Banco Estado, when Marco was trying to get the Swift transfer, the man at the counter had said that we only needed our RUT numbers to open an account. So, last Friday, we went to meet the man with our brand new identity cards.
- "Unfortunately, since you are not wage earners, you cannot open an ordinary banking account. You have to go to the small business division, on the second floor."
We went up.
- "Unfortunately, you need a permanent visa to open a small business banking account. The only kind of account you can get is a deposit account. On the third floor."
We went up, with the feeling we were trying to enter a nightclub.
- "Yes, you can open a deposit account," the woman said. "Give-me your RUT numbers."
We gave our cards and she typed in the numbers. She looked up; typed in again. I felt that the guard would not let us go into the nightclub.
- "There is something wrong with your cards," she said while I tried not to laugh. "Whatever the number I type in, it is Gabrielle's picture that appears. Better you go at the Civil Registration and fix the problem".
We went down.
Fortunately, the Civil Registration is neither far nor closed. We join the file. Our turn. We explain what happened at the bank. The employee types in our numbers. Everything goes well: Pierre's number makes Pierre's picture appear and mine makes mine appear.
Back to the bank, third floor (we know the building better than customers).
- "Ah! If everything goes fine at the Civil Registration, it may be a bug in our programs. Can you come back next Friday?"
Of course, I will. I still do not know the fourth floor.

Sat, 12 Apr 2008

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:00:01 +0200

We have got a washing machine. A Chilean one. That is to say if you want to wash with hot water, you have to connect the washing machine pipe with the hot water pipe of the heater. Don't forget to switch off the heater before the rinse! As for spinning, you do have choice between full speed spinning and no spinning. And there are only 3 programs. Better you don't use the machine to wash the silk blouse you prefer. But such a washing machine is affordable and anyway, it would not be a good idea to wear silk clothes on a semi-cama bus.

Fri, 11 Apr 2008

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:47:52 +0200

We have got our definitive RUT numbers and our Chilean identity cards. The first is printed on the second.
Piece of advice for candidates to expatriation: do not forget to tell the police you are in Chile within the first month of your stay (the airport police does not pass on the information) and ask for your RUT number as soon as possible. You will avoid to have to redo the (almost) complete circuit you did to get the visa.
To get the card, you do not have to come with photos that never follow the last official requirements: the employee takes a snapshot with a webcam. The result is not better but it is free. As for the signature: you do not have to make it fit into too small a rectangle, like in France. (I had to change my signature, which was almost vertical and could not fit into an horizontal rectangle. That is to say: the signature on my French identity card is not mine. Tell me about security!) You sign onto a scanner and the signature is scaled down until it gets into its place. But, hey! Chile is a remote country. They know nothing about manual fittings and rely on technology.
With a RUT number, a lease and some money to start the pump, we should be able to open a banking account. I am not sure that I am going to look for a Banque Populaire branch office!

Mon, 7 Apr 2008

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 08:48:32 +0200

At last, the transfer has reached Marco's banking account. It is true that it takes time but the method is cheaper than any other, by far. And to tell you the truth, I am not absolutely sorry of having bypassed the bank employee who wanted us to pay more than 200 euros a year only to buy the right of moving our money; the fees for the transfers were not included.
Right now, Marco is in Santiago with half a million pesos to buy university chairs, easels, etc. In Antofagasta, wood is rare, and therefore expensive (and I have never heard of easels made of copper). It may be cheaper to go and buy wooden things in Santiago and then make them move here.
It might be... but since Pullman had a special offer on couchette tickets (cama tickets), Marco bought one and even found a good reason not to have booked a semi-cama: there are fewer people on cama buses, there are fewer risks of being robbed.

Tue, 1 Apr 2008

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 18:57:01 +0200

Since we were in Santiago for Easter, we decided to make move our 75 cardboard boxes (6 had already been opened and emptied) to Antofagasta. We went at Tur bus on Sunday to ask them what to do.
- "Just bring the boxes here", they said.
On Monday, Marco called a mover who promised to pop in next morning to estimate the load (that is to say: the price) and move it to the terminal of Tur bus.
Tuesday at noon, nobody. We had our tickets to leave Santiago at 8pm. At a quarter past twelve we decided to go and see a mover who lived the next block. We rang. Silence. Two men were delivering something at the next house.
- "Could you bring 700kg to the terminal of buses right now? "
- "OK!"
At 10 past 1, the boxes were in the lorry. They were registered, weighed and wrapped at Tur bus before half past two.
Yesterday, Luciano helped us to fetch them at the terminal of Antofagasta. We had to go twice, since his pick-up could not contain the whole. At the second trip, a bad bend sent the upper boxes out of the car. There had never been so many French comics spilled on a street of Antofagasta.
Now, with all our books (only one has been damaged), we feel at home.

Sat, 22 Mar 2008

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:47:40 +0100

I try to make it short. To do international transfers through the internet we should have filled a special form. You know what? The moron at the bank told us nothing about such a detail. Why! We were leaving for less than a couple of centuries! Now, not only does he want us to pay 17 euros a month to have the right of spending our money but we'd also have to provide him with the list of the payees of our tranfers. Stakeout, the love story of France.
Right now, we cannot get more than what we can take from cash machines with our visa cards. That is to say, once we have paid for the rent and the daily expenses there is not much left for the business.
What to do? At Western Union they do not allow to send more than 500 euros at a time and take 7% fees!A round trip to France would not be cheap either but at least we could come back with 7000 euros each.
We have done a transfer to the banking account of my sister-in-law (from France to France) for her to do an international transfer to Marco's banking account, and another later to ours, when we have one. Easy? No. To transfer money through the Swift system (Chile does not use Iban) my sister-in-law's banker asks for an invoice. Of course, Marco could say he charges 3000 euros for one of his prints but then he would have to pay taxes on earnings he would not have got.
I start wondering if all these people whose emails promise to pay me to get their money out of their country are swindlers. They may have a banking account at the Banque populaire.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:47:40 +0100

Yesterday morning the company that takes care of our mail sent us the scan of a letter from the tax center. They said they had not been able to debit the amount we had to pay in January because the banking account did not exist. They did not explain how the banking account did not exist for them to debit the local taxes but existed for them to debit the VAT. We have some kind of twinkling account I suppose!
However that may be they sent the letter the 16th February to urge us to solve the problem before the 15th, the date of the next debit. Otherwise, the usual late payment penalty of 10 percent blah blah.
Though it was already too late, we hurried up checking our banking account, only to discover that the February debit had already been done without any incident.
And the best of all is that, since we left France before 2008, we should not have to pay local taxes.

Sat, 16 Feb 2008

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:43:54 +0100

We are going to publish a newsletter to tell the story of the Institute. You can subscribe at : www.aprenderfrances.cl. Of course, I will go on posting more personal news through this rss feed.
As you already know, it will be an institute of arts and languages. In Spanish: Instituto de artes e idiomas. Could you tell us what you think about the name? Do you have any idea of how to make known that the 4 main languages spoken in America (and I don't mean USA only), English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, will be taught?
Any idea for a favicon?
You can send suggestions either through my question box (remember: no more than 300 characters) or email to: bulletin@aprenderfrances.cl
Thank you.

Fri, 15 Feb 2008

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:12:20 +0100

To download the file with some pictures Pierre click First steps in Chile.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:25:20 +0100

Many people ask us: why Chile?
The following may give a hint.
I met Marco through the internet. He had written about himself: "Ma mission c'est faire la gravure". An engraver who could speak French! I wrote; he replied; etc.
We have been living with his family since our arrival in Chile. Tell us about kindness! Not only have we met new friends but we have also saved time. It would have taken months to learn what we have learned in days about the Chilean way of life and thought.
At the end of 2007, Marco had sold a watch through the Chilean version of EBay. On January the 2nd, he sent it to Luciano, the buyer, who -pure chance! was living in Antofagasta.
Three weeks later, as we were preparing our visit to Antofagasta to look for a place for our institute, Marco called Luciano.
And Luciano, who knew nothing about Pierre and me and less than little about Marco, came to fetch us at the airport, spent hours looking for something to rent, found the owners, their phone numbers, etc.
Why Chile? Because of the Chilean people.

Tue, 29 Jan 2008

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:19:53 +0100

Since LAN proposed a special offer, we decided to fly to Antofagasta. The day before yesterday, Marco read their website thoroughly and ended with a selection of flights that fitted what we were looking for. He started the booking process. Everything went right till the last step: the evil machine refused the order but not before Marco had filled all the fields of all the forms. It refused twice. We decided that we would go to the LAN office.
Yesterday, at the LAN office, the receptionist invited us to use the website (and save 30000 pesos). Marco complained and she explained that, for sure!, it did not work because there were no seat left. I thought: "And what about a message telling the customer that the plane is full?" but my Spanish does not allow me to give my opinion.
When it was our turn, Marco asked for the very same flights and, of course! 3 round-trip tickets were waiting for us. As you may guess, we could not get the discount meant for online customers. Not sure that LAN has got 3 loyal customers.

Marco, when he learned that I happened to write about him asked me to add some details: he is 28 years old, 1,80m high, weighs 65 kg and is single. It is done.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:55:13 +0100

Had we gone on turning further round the globe we would have come nearer again. Anyway we thought we had left French administrative trouble behind us. You know what? We were wrong.
For example, France Telecom want us to give back the LiveBox (their connection kit for the internet) within 5 days or we will have to pay a 100 euro fine. We gave it back on December the 31th. Fortunately, we had kept the receipt, but to scan it, to email the scan to the people who care for our mail for them to print it and send it to France Telecom takes time and money for no reason at all.
Gaz de France charges a little more than 1 euro for the gas we used between January 1st and January 2nd.
- "But we left France in December?"
- "And then?"
We don't care paying 1 euro, but it costs around 3 euros and 1 hour to pay 1 euro we do not owe.
As you may guess, it goes that way with almost all organizations. Until now, we have spent more time solving problems that had no reason of appearing than studying which kind of company we should set up. And there are people who think that red tape is meant to protect them! How to get protection from red tape?

Sat, 19 Jan 2008

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:44:17 +0100

We have got back our boxes, all the 81.
First, we got a mail from Iberia. It read that we had to come at the airport, with 10000 pesos (not a lot), to fetch our belongings. At eleven (in the evening!) we looked for a lorry for the next morning. We got one!
We went at Iberia. We paid them. They sent us at the Customs. The customs officer was very kind and asked us the smallest possible sum. With all the books we imported, he was allowed to think that we were going to sell them, and thus, he had ground to set an higher tax.
Then, we went at the docks. We paid for the room our boxes occupied and we paid to have a fork-lift truck to move the 3 pallets to the lorry. We came back to Marco's flat. Oh, I have forgotten: we paid for the lorry and the driver. Pierre and Marco took up to the fourth floor the 81 boxes (think of 7 or 8 washing machines). Nobody paid them. I dispatched the boxes everywhere in the condo. There are around 30 boxes full of books under our bed. If its legs break we will not fall from high.
Now that the problem of getting back our belongings is solved -from our point of view, we are not sure that Marco's mother shares it- we are ready to go to Antofagasta and see if we can create our school there. Eighteen hours on a bus or two hours flying. We have to compare prices.

Mon, 7 Jan 2008

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 16:04:51 +0100

In Chile, a private school can be accredited by the education department. Then other laws allow accredited schools to receive donations. Of course, in both cases there are rules to follow.
Marco, our partner, is studying this part so that we will start on the right foot. For example, it is possible that not all locations are equal so before we go to the third region, Marco is checking everything.
In the meantime we improve our Spanish. Let's be honest: our Spanish is so poor that we could not lessen it even if we wanted to.

Mon, 31 Dec 2007

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:26:01 +0100

There is nothing left in the flat. We are sitting cross-legged on the floor, our laptops in front of us. Pierre tries to finish a job for a client and I am writing the letter you are reading to tell you our (hopefully) last misadventure.
On Saturday morning, Pierre wanted to log onto the bank, just to make sure everything went well. The password did not work. Our bank being opened on Saturdays, Pierre ran there to ask what was happening. No, he could not wait for an appointment. He wanted to see the person who took care (so to speak) of our account at the minute.
- "I changed your password," the man in question said. "Haven't you received the new one?"
What a question! Of course, we had received the new one and used the old just for fun!
- "No, where did you send it?"
- "At the new address you gave me."
- "But you know we don't leave before the 31th. Moreover, you didn't want to take it into account until you've got a certificate! By the way, have you got it?"
- "Not yet. Can you send it again?"
We had not enough time to get one another.
How so cautious a banker can lose a letter that is addressed to him personally?

We have no idea when we can send news. We wish you a happy new year and we will do our best to make it funny by telling you our adventures and misadventures because, you know, we are going to have to unwind there everything we have winded here.

Sat, 29 Dec 2007

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 19:23:19 +0100

As you know, our long term visas have been granted to us. So, yesterday morning, we went to the consulate at half past nine to get them. We signed, gave our fingertips. The stamp was at some millimeters from the paper when the clerk interrupted his gesture. The stamp levitated for some seconds. Then it came down onto its pad. Aarggh! Obviously, neither Pierre nor I are marked out to die because of a stroke. Calmly, we looked up at the man; mainly because we were knocked out. He had realized that our names on the documents were slightly different from our names on the passports.
- "When does your plane take off?"
- "On Monday."
By luck, the consulate was due to be closed on Monday.
- "Ok, come back at noon. The visas will be ready. Don't come back after the half-hour, it would be closed."
We were back at a quarter to 12. We signed again, again we splashed about in the ink. And bam!bam!bam! Triple stamp on my documents. A second of silence. And bam!bam!bam! Another triple stamp on Pierre's. What a rhythm!

Fri, 28 Dec 2007

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:52:57 +0100

Yesterday afternoon, the moving company came to take our boxes. 81 boxes, less than 3 meters cubic. Hardly a moving. We had prepared a twenty euros note to tip the chief mover who (usually) shares out the booty.
The lorry driver, or rather the small van driver came alone. Pierre helped him to bring down the boxes and to carry them to the van in which I arranged them so that they all fit inside. The job was quickly done. Pierre did not have a lesser note and gave the driver the tip we had prepared.
He did not share it out.

Thu, 27 Dec 2007

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:16:22 +0100

Good news first: long-term visas are granted to us. We will get them tomorrow morning.
Other news.
You may remember that we had an appointment with the gasman. According to what had been planned with the lady on the phone, he was due to note down the cubage we had used and report the number as the starting point for our owner. Yesterday morning, the gasman came, as expected, and said:
- "Hello, I'm coming to switch off the meter"; not as expected.
- "You can't turn off the gas: it's freezing. You were supposed to cancel my subscription and open my owner's, so that there was no power cut."
- " It works no longer that way. We are no longer in a monopolistic situation. We have to cut off for your successors being able to choose their provider."
- "But the successor is the landlady and she wants to go on with GDF."
- "No way. I must turn off the gas first."
I did not allow him to enter the flat. I suddenly disappeared.
- "I note that you are not here and thus I cannot get to the meter. What a shame! When you are back, you should have to ask for another appointment. Better you wait for the day you leave."
Obviously, I was not the first victim of the new rules.
This morning, a GDF employee called at dawn. She wanted to know why I was not there, despite the appointment. She came across Pierre, who knew nothing and replied that the code of the porch or the bell or something might have become dysfunctional. She fixed the next appointment for January the 3rd. Pierre told her that we leave on the 31st. - "Sort things out yourself!"
Some monopolistic trade practices are still showing.

Tue, 25 Dec 2007

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:08:34 +0100

We wish you a merry Christmas. To tell you our last interview with our banker cannot make it dreary. We have 2 banking accounts: one personal and one for business. In France, when you work as a professional, it is not mandatory to have 2 different accounts, since your incomes are 100% liable for tax, but it is easier to manage your money. We will have no longer personal spendings in France, but we still have pending invoices to be paid. We had decided to close our personal account and our saving account (as you know, we have plans to spend our nest egg). Some weeks ago, we asked an employee what we would have to do.
- "Almost nothing. You come some days before leaving and close your accounts."
Last week, we went at the bank to close the accounts. How naive! We needed an appointment. We asked for one and came back on the given day.
First, the employee we met had to transfer the money of the saving account into the personal account. Then, he had to cancel a lot of insurances we did not know we had. At last, he had to transfer what remained from the personal account to the business account. The whole process had already taken an hour. We should have stopped here.
To make things clear, we asked to have our mail address printed on our future checks. We have subscribed to the services of a mail company: they receive our mail, throw the ads, scan the envelopes, open and scan the letter inside if required, or send them where we want. It is convenient: we do not know when we have a fixed address.
We asked the banker not only to print the address of the company on our checks, but also to send the monthly bank statements to this address.
- "I need a certificate. How can I know that you have asked this company to take care of your mail?"
- "Look! It's us. We are talking to you. We are telling you that we want you to print another address."
- "If you have no certificate, I'd rather keep the current address."
- "But you know that we leave within days, that the current address will be a fake address?"
- "Yes. But your case is not provided for in the bank. We, bankers, are cautious."
- "But not cautious enough to avoid the subprime disaster. (I started to be somewhat angry.) Do you know that even the taxman (not a fake power, in France) allows us to be "homeless" for 6 months, without being considered as homeless? And by the way, how do you treat the travellers?"
He did not answer. From his silence, we guessed that the answer was: "We don't treat gypsies at all".
It is said that Chilean bankers are stiffer than French's. It may be wise not to mention my father's origins for a while.

Thu, 20 Dec 2007

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:10:36 +0100

We do not know if Paypal owns eBay or if it goes the other way, but Paypal and eBay are joined at the hip. When you register either to sell or to buy, eBay insist more than heavily for their customers to use Paypal. They cannot stop selling the service, which is so secure, and so easy to use, and so everything.
After our furniture was sold, we wanted to close our eBay account. We still owed them some Euros and had to settle up the bill before leaving. Quite natural! We could send a check, or pay by credit card. But no Paypal.
What does that mean? Hip replacement?

Tue, 18 Dec 2007

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:23:33 +0100

Now, we have no washing machine, no micro-wave oven, no cooker and no fridge. We can do without the fridge: the cupboard under the sink replaces it. It is even colder because there is a ventilation grating that gives way to a -2°C cold air (28°F). On mornings, the butter is harder than it was in the fridge.
We eat salads and cheese at every meal. It is like the Summer menus we prepare when we go for a long walk in holidays, without Summer, walk and holidays.
As for the washing machine, no problem. I have kept old, but clean, clothes for months instead of throwing them in the bin and now we wear them a last time and throw them. That is to say: we look as though we were dressed by the Salvation Army. You know the clothes are ours because they are neither too small nor too large. We do not look poor, we look mean!

Fri, 14 Dec 2007

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:17:32 +0100

Some days ago, I canceled my subscription to EDF (the historic electricity provider). I did it through the internet, gave my new address (in fact, the address of the service that will forward our mail when we know where to send it) and asked for an electricity worker coming to note down the figures on the meter. Nothing simpler in the world, nothing more usual. It took hardly 5 minutes without costing a dime. The last point should have warned me.
This morning, I called GDF (the historic gas provider, and once, the same entity as EDF, which means that both have the same list of customers) because I was unable to get them through the internet. It was a paying call, that is to say, the more you wait, the more they earn. Why should they hurry? They did not. At last, I was put through. I explained that I wanted to cancel my subscription. I gave my future address and asked for the visit of the gasman. "Could you come the same day as EDF?" I asked. "They will come on December 28th." But the gasman could not. The lady on the phone told me that he would come on 26th. I agreed (how to do otherwise?) and, a billionth second before she hung down, I added: "Can you note the figures without turning off the gas, since my owner wants to take over the subscription". Two long seconds of silence. "That's not the same thing" came the reply. But she agreed to tick some case on her screen (I suppose, I could not see her) and we parted.
I began to wonder if there were some additional case to tick at the EDF site so that my owner could keep the subscription (and the electricity) running. Nothing so specific and no way to contact them. Not because of a lack of a contact button, but because it led to a FAQ, in which, of course, there was nothing about closing a subscription without closing the meter.
I phoned. A paying call. I explained that I had an appointment with the electricity man...
- "No, you don't."
- "But I've got an email that reads: date 28th, hour: between 10 and noon."
- "It doesn't appear on my screen. No-one will come. And anyway, you are not allowed to cancel the subscription which is in the name of Mr Guichard."
- "How is it that GDF went with a Mr or Mrs file and you with a Mr only file?"
- "Things are like that. Mr Guichard will have to phone."
I refrained from asking how she would know who will be calling. The rule is: any man among the billions of them is allowed to cancel the subscription (which is mine), but I am not.
Right now, I do not know who will win the contest. If it is the internet team, the electricity will be switched off 3 days before we leave. If it is the phone team, who knows?, since anyone but me can manage the subscription.

Wed, 12 Dec 2007

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:43:42 +0100

Till then, we were working to overcome barriers and had little time to build our future: the art and language school. Yesterday, we laid the first brick: a website called AprenderFrances.cl and Marco spent most of the night (our night, but his day) running in Santiago to pay the hosting company. We had 48 hours to pay them before they canceled our order, and we wasted a full day because the banking information we had got did not allow international transfers.
On the whole, it was a good experience since, because of the hurry, Marco phoned us (his day, our night) instead of sending emails, as usual. It was the first time we heard his voice. Chileans speak softly; it is so pleasant! I think it will not be our accent that will tell everyone we are foreigners; it will be the noise. I wonder how the dogs bark in Chile.

Mon, 10 Dec 2007

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:55:08 +0100

I had always believed that I would like to live like an Oriental princess. I was wrong. On Saturday, the big drawers that held up our bed were sold. Now, the slatted bed base lies directly, not on the floor, but on beautiful Persian carpets. We sleep in a Scheherazade's story. There is no problem as long as we sleep, but we have to creep down first and to get back on our feet then. I bet that Oriental princesses never have to get up from their couch. They do not know how low is the ground.
And think that I am lucky enough to have very long legs that go all the way down.

Fri, 7 Dec 2007

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 11:40:02 +0100

This morning, I sent the moving company a form that read that I committed myself not to fill my boxes with radioactive material. Huh! What am I supposed to do with my parts of the yellow cake? Any hungry terrorist around?
Really, who can think that someone who would be bad enough to send uranium bars without regards for the safety and well being of their fellow travelers would hesitate to make a false promise? It reminds me of the declarations of wars. You can kill as many people as you want, but warn them first, in case they cannot hear the bombs whistling and exploding. The counterpart, in the civil life, would be that you are allowed to stab your neighbor as long as you disinfect the blade.
By the way, I have no radioactive material in my luggage. Does that mean that I am not able to make a false promise?

Sun, 2 Dec 2007

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 18:04:40 +0100

We have sold almost all our belongings and almost collected what we needed to ship, in fact: to fly, our books and the engraving paraphernalia. The household appliances, fridge, micro wave oven, cooker and washing machine, won't go before December 15th. So, as I told my friend Sandra, from this day to our departure we are going to live on salads, pÂtÉs, sardines, coffee, bread and butter. Someone has bought our curtains, someone else our armchairs, another our bed base. Tell us about Spartan life.
We had contacted a lawyer in Chile but their prices did not fit into our budget. They do not fish for small fish. Too many bones for too little flesh. This is my interpretation; I may be wrong, but I often have the feeling that only hypermarkets understand that the poor outnumber the rich.

Thu, 29 Nov 2007

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:52:01 +0100

Day after day, problems are solved. "Problems" is too strong a word: some are no more than a pebble in the shoe. But there are so many pebbles and so few shoes!
At last, we have got our health insurance as French abroad. So now, we pay to be taken in charge abroad and we also pay not to be taken in charge abroad, but to be rushed to home in case anything should go wrong, since Chile makes the repatriation insurance mandatory to get a long-term visa.
If we break our legs, I assume we will be operated on in some transit room.

Thu, 22 Nov 2007

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:40:07 +0100

We try to get to the end of administrative issues. I happen to think that "they" (whoever they are) create problems just to test us. They are not genuine problems; rather time consuming speed reducers.
Yesterday morning, I went to the prefecture to get an international driving license. I had come with what was requested: 2 photos (the new official type on which you are not allowed to smile), my national driving license and a bill (and its copy) to prove that I was living where I said I was living. In my case, the usefulness of the proof was theoretical. Once there, I was told that I needed a copy of my identity card. I xeroxed it (they charged twice as much as the bookseller), and came back to the counter. Of course, I had lost my turn. I waited. When called, I gave the form, the photos, the photocopies and my driving license.
"It is old (yeah! 1971!) It must be renewed. I can do it right now. Just give me 2 extra photos."
Which I had not. She made the international document and advised me to come back (you know this tone of advice that sounds: Do you really want your nails stay with your fingers?) So, in the afternoon, I went back to the prefecture with 2 photos (we had bought a set of 12, knowing we would have a lot of documents to illustrate) to renew my driving license.
Another lady at the counter, who called a colleague:
"Are those photos corresponding to the norms?"
Why? They had changed the norms during lunch time?
"Yes," the colleague said.
I resumed breathing.

Wed, 21 Nov 2007

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:27:18 +0100

In order to take advantage of the Social Security for French abroad, we needed to do some paperwork. No surprise. Among many things, we had to prove that we were professionals. Working as professionals, we do not get salaries and we have neither a shop nor an agricultural estate. As we are not shopkeepers, we are not registered as such and have no trade register number. As we did not know what to provide to prove our station, we asked them to tell us which document would fit the demand.
"Your trade register number will be enough," came the answer.
"But as professionals, we do not have any," we replied.
"We cannot process your request without your trade register number."
And they wonder why more and more people want to run away!

Wed, 14 Nov 2007

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:30:51 +0100

Yesterday, we received good news -at rather low cost, which is not bad news either, from the law chambers we had contacted, Spencer Global. We do not know a lot (take time to admire the understatement) about how to set up a Chilean company and very little (here, we are flirting with lie) about how our educational institution can get government approval.
This morning, I sent the last missing document for our visa request to the consulate of Chile: a repatriation insurance certificate.
This afternoon, to keep in good shape, I packed some extra books. That's weight lifting for intellectuals.

Thu, 8 Nov 2007

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 15:55:32 +0100

The price of crude oil is flirting with $100. We bought our airline tickets several months ago. We hope we will not have to change them; should the case occur, we would be bound to leave extra money.
We thought we could afford to come back to visit the family every other year. With a skyrocketing price of energy, we might have to contemplate either never coming back or sailing back.
Or rowing back. Who knows about a second-hand galley on sale?

Wed, 31 Oct 2007

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:47:51 +0100

Yesterday we left our file at the consulate of Chile. Till then we had made unofficial moves only. Now it's official.
We hardly have time to be delighted that new problems arrive. In order to get a long-stay visa we needed a repatriation insurance so we filled a form to get one. But because I have been operated on 13 years ago, they ask for my medical records, which I do not have. I'm not the one who cans things. What's funny, so to speak, is that I found the file some weeks ago, while filling cardboard boxes, buried among a lot of old wall paper rolls and threw it away. Why did not they ask for the wall paper? I am sure I have still some rolls in the attic.

Sun, 28 Oct 2007

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 08:57:54 +0100

We have an appointment at the consulate of Chile to present our project. Next Tuesday. There had been black Mondays and Thursdays. I hope Tuesday is a blue day. Or yellow. Or that the lady we are going to meet will wear pink glasses. The project fits our means and abilities. We see no reason for it not to fill the criteria of Chile as well since Chile welcomes entrepreneurs and teachers. It is neither complex nor pretentious. We don't plan to create the largest Art and Language school in Latin America; but the best one. That's not pretentiousness; it's our intention.
In the meantime, our belongings and furniture are selling. We need about 4000⁈ to pay for the sending off of the books and the engraving paraphernalia without making a dent in our savings. So far, we have got one tenth in cash and one tenth in promise. In the process, we have met a lot of kind people. Yes, we have also met some blockheads; they make other people all the more shining.

Wed, 24 Oct 2007

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:58:59 +0200

Just as we are toiling to gather all the certificates, forms and other papers we are requested to produce in order to get our long-term visa, Chile administration has announced an amnesty for about 20,000 illegal immigrants. Interior Minister Belisario Velasco urged Peruvians and Bolivians to come forward. Why not Frenchies? We were ready to jump aboard any plane to go and line up with other immigrants looking for amnesty and a working permit.
Will there be a second round?

Sun, 21 Oct 2007

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 12:24:36 +0200

We have gathered our photos, police records, medical certificates, bank statements, invitations from Marco, our Chilean associate, checks for fees; we have prepared our business plan and written letters (in Spanish, with Marco's help) to request our visas.
Of course, something is missing. As you may guess, French administration is not completely absent from the problem. We are waiting for the social welfare to send us the attestation to the effect that we are up to date with our subscriptions. The lady on the phone told us she would post it right after she hung down. I presume that she has not put the receiver down properly.

Mon, 8 Oct 2007

Mon, 8 Oct 2007 10:06:51 +0200

We've received our police records. They are completely blank. There is something of a flaw in the system: you can conclude that we've never been caught. I forgot to tell you : we have found in Paris our correspondent in Santiago. A Chilean guy who had come in France to study arts. His name is Marco and he has the best quality in the world: he is an engraver. It may work the other way: to do engraving requires some fine qualities that are not found in anyone. Marco specializes in lithography, so that he will be the right complement for Pierre in the engraving workshop.

Sat, 29 Sep 2007

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 18:49:19 +0200

We've got the list of the documents to come with our application for a long-term visa. Nothing really strange or scary, except for the covering letter that has to be written in Spanish whereas we are still studying the 14th lesson: "Hay que". Si, hay que escribir la carta-solicitud en espaÑol.
We also need 3 photos, you know, these passport photos: full face, no earrings, no smile, closed mouth. Is not this funny to ask people to wear an inscrutable face to make them easier to decipher? Never mind! We went at the photographer's this morning and came back with a handful of photos that could be very helpful in case we apply for any henchman roles.
And now, the police record. No-one having seen the photos can believe we have clean police records. I hardly can believe it. I must learn how to say "I'm not guilty" in Spanish.

Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:55:19 +0200

On Saturday, we bought a bottle of Chilean wine. Yum! Another good reason to settle in Chile. We hope that the prices there are lower than here because the bottle was quite expensive. I suspect that some people try to protect their market by inflating the price of foreign wine. It's a mere guess. Bottles may be shipped one by one.
Another good news: we won't have to sleep on the floor or to stand to eat cold meals at the end of the year. During December, the collection of old stuff will take place on Mondays in Versailles, like usual, even if the last two Mondays of December are Christmas and New Year's eves. We feared that we have to throw away everything we don't move to Chile earlier in the month. Of course, we plan to take with us neither old mattresses nor kitchen chairs, to say nothing about torn dish towels and chipped plates, but we think of putting the finishing touches to them when the paraphernalia in good condition is packed.

Tue, 18 Sep 2007

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:30:52 +0200

The more we took down and wrapped paintings and engravings, the more the flat became somewhat hotel-like. We bought several maps of Chile and tapped them on the walls. OK, the map is not the territory; not the territory of the country; but it does a pretty job as the territory of dreams. And when it comes to Chile, being able to travel from North to South within a second is worth consideration.
We look at the map, pinpoint an area and then zoom into it with GoogleEarth. It works like magic... for a while. Then, the computer's knees give way. But in the meantime, what a ride! Had we had such a tool at school, we would have turned geography addict.

Tue, 11 Sep 2007

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:31:20 +0200

To carry out our health program, this morning we went to the ophthalmologist.
Then, we took advantage of being in Paris to pay a visit to the general consulate of Chile in order to ask which documents we would have to provide to obtain a long stay visa. If you want to stay in Chile more than 3 months, you need to get the long stay visa before entering the country.
Ooops! There is a student visa: not the kind we need. There is a worker visa, for those who have signed a work contract: we are not in this case either. The people at the consulate did not know if there were something for a third category of exiles, ours: people who want to go, create and invest in their own company. If they don't know at the consulate, I wonder who will.

Wed, 5 Sep 2007

Wed, 5 Sep 2007 14:43:10 +0200

The day before yesterday, we started sorting out our photos. Bad idea.
"Do you remember this day? And this one? I wonder where these people are. What was her name? No, this's her sister's. It had rained all day long. It was the sunniest day of the Summer. Did I really wear that skirt? etc."
So far, we have sorted out only one box. Let's do the math: 32 years of marriage,a box a year = for a whole month evenings have to be devoted to photos and memories.
Of course, we could take them all but why should we pay to make carry photos of places or people we have forgotten? To scan them to create a DVD? It'd take as much time as it takes to sort them out.
We have hundreds pictures of trees. I like trees. I've always dreamed I could plant a forest. I had started gathering tree grains, but I've learned that I wouldn't be allowed to export them to Chile. Never mind! I will plant indigenous trees and bushes. A good forest is always handy, at least for wolves and little red riding hoods.

Tue, 28 Aug

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:26:09 +0200

We try to solve one problem a day (not sure there remain enough days till December 31th); so yesterday we went to the doctor for him to establish a vaccination schedule. Most vaccinations are optional to visit Chile but several are recommended and some are mandatory to stay there.
We are absolutely delighted at the idea of having series of injections, of course. Tomorrow morning, we also have to undergo a blood test to know if we have enough antibodies or if a vaccination against hepatitis will have to be added. I wonder if I am not allergic to injections. I don't feel very well.

Thu, 23 Aug 2007

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:21:32 +0200

We are back after some holidays and find our flat in the state that was its own when we left: piles of cardboard boxes full of books. We feel ready to attack the juicy tasks, those that the French administration has in store for any occasion.
You may not know that in France you have to keep the phone bills for 1 year and the electricity and gas bills for 5 years. 2 years: insurance policy and receipts; between 1 to 9 years: fiscal paperwork, etc. I've just learnt that I was supposed to keep hotel and restaurant bills for 1 year (I've never kept one), prescriptions for 2 years and X-ray, results of tests, even doctors' addresses for lifelong storage.
Did you ever meet a doctor who trusted a colleague enough to rely on their files? Neither did I.
We should be able to store our essential archives in 2 boxes. To file all the remaining paperwork, we've bought a shredder. It's easy to use, though somewhat noisy. If anyone feels like flying thousands of kilometers to ask for our old voting card, he is welcome.

Sun, 5 Aug 2007

Sun, 5 Aug 2007 13:57:36 +0200

Is there anything more suspicious than importing copper in Chile? You imagine someone going to Sahara with their own sand? I put the smallest plates in the book boxes, to protect them. Of course, on the packing-list I specify: engraved copper plates; nevertheless, I'm not sure it will be enough, mainly because there are so little people who know anything about engraving.
The custom officer: "So, you are importing copper in Chile?"
Us: "Huh... er..."
The custom officer: "Do you think we want to import lunatics of your kind?"
Us: "Huh... er..."
I have to elaborate more convincing answers.

Fri, 27 Jul 2007

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:07:23 +0200

2 shelves = 11 cardboard boxes. I'll have to fill 30 boxes to empty one bookcase. When a bookcase is empty, it still occupies the same surface area on the floor, to which you have to add the surface occupied by the 3 piles of boxes. That is to say, our lebensraum is shrinking.
The flat has never been too large, except the first day I saw it, when there was only Paprika's cushion in the middle of the bedroom, but now I feel as if I were trapped in a novel whose title escapes me. Any idea that doesn't imply burning all books is welcome.

Mon, 23 Jul 2007

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:02:16 +0200

I fear the worst: this morning, I filled 5 boxes with books and hardly emptied 1 shelf. And the labels I stuck are turning into falling leaves. The customs want 2 labels per box, one on the top and one on one side, with a number on them. Why not to write directly the number on the cardboard? Administrative mystery. I'm sure that if you could ask the person who wrote the rule, and press them a little, they would end saying that they had not thought of it.
The number must have its counterpart on a list that gives details about what the box contains. Books are books. To mention "books" is enough; but not everything is so basic. Clothes can't be labeled "clothes". Too easy. You have to tell the customers if you export skirts or trousers. So far, they don't ask for the size and the color.
The labels must also show the consignee's name and address. No problem with the name, I know mine, but the address... Right now, we have not the slightest idea about our future residence. When we are in Chile and have found a roof, we will send the address to the mover who will put it on the boxes before sending them. Only one mover replied your request for a quote (tell me about competition), but he is kind.

Thu, 19 Jul 2007

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:51:31 +0200

The name of the buyer, the VAT rate, the amount of VAT, the total amount minus VAT and the total amount actually paid, all have to appear on an invoice. When you buy a 1.35 euro cardboard box and ask for an invoice, and that the shopkeeper knows you'll be back 5 minutes later to do it again, magic!... "Wait a minute, please, I believe I remember having seen a lot of 20 boxes upstairs." And not only there was one lot, but also a dozen of orphan boxes; I took all of them, restrained from asking for a discount, got the invoice and waved "till next week". I'm sure she has already ordered extra boxes. Of course, I am perfectly able to prove as mean as she is, but I need the boxes.

Wed, 18 Jul 2007

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:08:00 +0200

There is nothing as difficult as spending your money, I mean if you know what you want to get. Of course, if it's a matter of buying anything with a price tag, it's far easier. What I wanted was pretty simple: cardboard boxes, small enough to be lifted when they are full of books, and large enough to contain 2 dozen books. Oh, and sturdy enough for the bottom not giving way somewhere above the ocean.
I'd found everything I needed, had I been living in Paris. Either I had to go at the merchant's and fetch the boxes, and not only the return ticket costs 9 euros but I can't imagine how I could bring the whole bunch back (we have no car), or I had to pay 20 euros for the delivery. If I were that rich, I'd have a car.
At last, I've found a shop in Versailles where they have boxes of the right size. You won't believe it: the lady sells them one by one. For sure, she could sell them, let's say, by 20 at a time, but she would feel bound to give a discount. The trip is free, the delivery is free, but I am going to need to go to the shop around 60 times. Who knows? After a dozen times, she may mind me coming bothering her every 5 minutes.

Fri, 13 Jul 2007

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:54:08 +0200

I can't believe it. This morning, we bought the plane tickets. I've never signed a check with so much happiness before. Seats 36a and 36b. Departure from Paris on December 31st at 11:15pm, landing at Santiago on January 1st at 9:25am. We are going to spend the New Year's Eve aboard the plane. A new year for a new life. We are delightfully excited. It will be Summer there.
We have been able to purchase the tickets because the company that owed us thousands of euros has paid at last. The judge's command scared them, I guess. And there remains some change to pay for moving the books.
We feel as if we were caught in an ascending wind. It's good!

Tue, 10 Jul 2007

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:47:29 +0200

We won't start packing books first, actually. I filled one of the cardboard boxes with comic books and tried to lift it up. No way. For sure, I'm slightly less muscular than furniture movers, nevertheless I bet they can do with lighter boxes. We are going to use these ones to pack clothes, linen and so on and to buy smaller boxes for books.
I think I begin to understand why so many people read so little.

Fri, 6 Jul 2007

Fri, 6 Jul 2007 10:53:37 +0200

Reality is coming nearer. No more smoke signals: yesterday, Pierre brought back the first lot of cardboard boxes. Frankly, they are the prettiest cardboard boxes I've ever seen; or at least the less ugly ones. I put one in shape, put a large piece of sticky tape at the bottom and stared at it. What to start with?
Yes, books: we sell our bookshelves; but which ones first? Which books are we sure we are not going to feel like reading from now to next year? The comics, I think. At 5⁈ per kilo, it will cost us more than 1000⁈ to set a library of French comic books for our Chilean students. But that's something I missed when I studied English. A bit of fun cannot hurt. Thus, I'm going to pile up boxes full of comics first.

07-02-2007

Mon, 2 Jul 2007 13:25:02 +0200

We had decided to start our Spanish Lessons on July 1st. So, yesterday was the grand opening day. I already knew how to order a beer and an omelette (I like neither one nor the other) and Pierre knew how to ask : "When are we going to eat?". Huh, French interests.
Now, we are proud to be able to do so in a polite manner. We can add "good morning", "please", "thank you" and "good night". We only need the fill the gaps.