For those of you who don't already know, finding a place and settling into Marseille proved to be very challenging. More challenging than we expected. Let's just put it this way---we arrived on the 24th of September and signed on a place on the 10th of October.
It was 16 days of alternating excitement and hell. We were able to stay with a friend for the duration who literally had to move out of her place to stay with another friend in order for us to have a place to crash. We owe the fact that we made it through those first two weeks to her generosity. The only problem was that she lives at least a 20-40 minute walk from our schools and where we needed to find a place. Each morning we dragged ourselves out of bed as early as possible, put on the same clothes (we had only a daypack while we looked for a place), and proceeded to walk for the next 12 hours through Marseille looking for someone who would rent to us, practically throwing money at them. Note to whoever is planning on visiting: pack something other than flip-flops. It was not a pretty sight.
The main problem lied in the fact that in order to sign a contract on a place you need a bank account but in order to open a bank account you need an address and proof that you live there (like a bill with your name on it). All of that red tape is something we are coming to accept in France now that we are settling in but it was anything but charming when we were starting to wonder if we would have to start sleeping on the stoop of our schools. There was actually a low moment when Jeremy and I walked by a homeless guy that was nicely installed on these steps, all of his belongings in one place, and a content look on his face. Jeremy and I actually caught ourselves looking at that guy with some level of envy. That is what 12 hours of walking a day and no one to throw you a bone will do to you.
But that all seems like a funny memory now that we are settling into our cozy apartment. Despite all the craziness of the search, we really did luck out on this place and it is all thanks to a lady named Madame Bravi. She is this super old-school French lady that wears one of three outfits every day and whose apartment is completely decorated with hundreds of perfume bottles and cut-out pictures of some famous guy all over her walls. She is the watchdog of this apartment building we live in and I swear she spends all day looking out her peep-hole surveying everyone. She was very suspicious of us when we first came to see her about finding a place (the looks of desperation and dirty clothes might have played a role in this) but since she turned the corner into liking us, she has done everything to help us. She personally took us to sign the contract (bossing the boss around to hurry up because we were in a rush to move in) and handed us our keys that same day. She is full of advice on how to cheat the French system and has given us personal references to her doctor, plumber, and insurance company. We feel like we have someone on our side now and as far as we are concerned, she can tiptoe around with her ear to our door as much as she likes.
Our apartment has two main rooms (bedroom and family room) and a kitchen in between. The bathroom is another story because in some weird stroke of creativity, the landlord put the bathroom with the shower and sink off the kitchen and the toilet sits alone in a tiny room off of the family room. This means that if you have to tinkle in the middle of the night, you have to go through a total of 4 doors across cold tile to get to the toilet and then walk back the way you came to wash your hands before returning to the bedroom. Needless to say Jeremy and I have invested in slippers and my bladder has reached new limits. This set-up also means that if we have company that is hanging out in the family room, it is an act of courage to go into our “bathroom” because with the flimsy door you might as well be in the same room as your guests. The shower set-up is also interesting and humbling, as not only does the door open onto the kitchen and a huge window overlooking a main street but you can literally stand upright in our shower while washing your hands in the sink. It is a toss-up between closing the shutters and kitchen door and stripping down before entering the bathroom or fighting the coffin-sized bathroom while trying to undress. The location, however, is the big pay-off as we are right downtown, can see the port and sailboats from our front door and as we are on the 4th floor on a main street, have great people-watching potential and a view of the mountains in the distance. It is a two minute walk to one of my schools and no more than fifteen to the rest and Jeremy wins the prize with his only school being exactly 7 minutes away. We are happy here and find it feeling more and more like our little home away from home as we settle in and get accustomed to our surroundings. The experience of being here and all that it entails seems infinitely more exciting than frustrating now that we have a place of our own.
-Jessica
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