Apartment Hunting

Did you know that the word "apartment" in French has two P's? Appartement. It gets confusing. Every time I am writing in English, I want to put that extra P in, yet I question whether it belongs there in French. It's a curious problem to have, especially considering it affects my native language. But then again, it is a common issue—learning languages isn't like any other subject, because it changes the way you think. When I studied abroad in Paris, the work I did to improve my French was on several levels: listening, being surrounded by French 24/7, constantly putting myself into positions in which I would be hearing it, seeing movies, attending classes; speaking, looking to speak French as much as possible, but even more, looking to develop the right habits from the listening I was doing. For instance, I noticed early on that French people do not say "um" when they are unsure of what to say next, but rather "fin" (short for "enfin" or "finally"). So, I started saying "fin" a lot, sometimes at the wrong moments, but the more I said it, the more I got used to saying it. It helped me sound more French, and also feel more French. Little things like that, building new linguistic habits, were an imperative aspect of my study abroad experience. Unfortunately, it leads to little nuisances like not knowing how to spell "apartment."

This might seem like a non sequitur, but it's something I've been encountering a lot lately, as I've been looking for an apartment in Paris. Being a pensionnaire étrangère at the ENS comes with several perks, one of which is a room in the building (or perhaps across the street). The location, as I think I've already mentioned, is ideal. Situated nicely in the middle of the Latin Quarter, it is walking distance to the Panthéon (my favorite site in Paris), the Luxembourg gardens (an excellent place to study), my Lebanese sandwich place, Berthillon ice cream, etc. Here is a map:

I've always wanted to live in this area, as I spend most of my time there anyway. In fact, as a student at the ENS, I will be spending more time in the Latin Quarter than ever (when I studied abroad four years ago, I only took one class in the Latin Quarter, the others were at the Sorbonne—Clignancourt site or Paris 8—Saint Denis). But, I've been informed by several people that the living arrangements at the ENS are far from ideal. It turns out that the laundry facilities are insufficient, that the rooms are filthy, that there are bugs, that students can be rude and even immature, that the co-ed bathrooms are not only disgusting, but that some perverted students sometimes try to take pictures of girls while they shower, and even more. The horror stories go on and on, and while I love the idea of having a free place to live in a wonderful neighborhood, I think I'd rather pay a little extra and be able to sleep at night and on the weekends. I'd pay a lot extra to be able to take a shower and not worry about someone taking a picture.

So, lately I have been spending a lot of time looking for apartments. Since I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, I was looking for studio apartments (in that area, could cost up to 100 euros/month, in others, maybe a little less) as well as two-bedroom apartments and people to share with, and finally for "colocations." What is a colocation? It's essentially finding a flatmate, someone who is looking for a new roommate. The nice thing is, the apartments you'd find this way are generally furnished and all you need to do is move in. Additionally, having a roommate gives you someone to spend time with (if you find a good one) in the best case scenario, or at least someone to let you in if you forget your key (though, that's not generally an issue in France, since you need to lock the door when you leave). I found an excellent site for colocations on a site called appartager.com, which I have to admit, is a clever name. You see, "appartement" means "apartment," but is generally abbreviated in normal speech as "appart." On the other hand, "à partager" means "to share. For instance, "j'ai un appart à partager" means "I have an apartment to share." The website, therefore, is a play on words: appart/à partager. 

I currently have two options, one of which I am leaning towards more than the other. The nice thing is, they are the same price and both walking distance to the ENS. The first would be living with a family. It has its perks. For one, this seems to be an incredibly intelligent and interesting family: the father is a researcher at the ENS and also a professor of the classes préparatoires; their younger daughter is a senior in high school studying art history and also a flautist like me; their current boarder (they are looking for a second one) is studying English in the classes préparatoires; and they apparently speak Italian as well. The only problem is that they are as of yet unsure of whether or not they will be able to take another boarder, since their older daughter might not move out. They have asked me to email them in a week to see if they know yet, given they are extremely interested. The other option (which I'm leaning towards for various reasons) is a two-bedroom apartment in the same area, shared with a 22 year old French student, in journalism. Her name is Louise and when I talked to her on Skype, she seemed like an ideal roommate—in all honesty, she had me when she told me she wants her flatmate to agree to clean the apartment with her every Sunday. She prefers to have an anglophone roommate to have a language exchange—one day speaking English, another speaking French, that sort of thing. The apartment also has an extra bed, because she says that we're both free to invite people to come visit (though, she said if they stay for more than 5 days, she likes them to contribute to the rent or groceries in some way, which I think is more than reasonable). The only problem was that Louise wanted someone in July, and I wasn't planning on getting to Paris until late August or early September, but it turns out she found someone to move in for July/August, meaning I can come in September! It is so much easier this way than finding a tiny studio apartment that would cost me a fortune: this way, I spend 700 euros/month, have a lovely flatmate who likes to keep things clean, will be spitting distance from the ENS, and will have the freedom and comfort that I'd want while still being able to be social and speak French all the time. 

So, there you have it. Yet another aspect of preparing to spend a year in Paris. Next post will be about the visa procedures, which are just a joy, let me tell you...