So yesterday, amidst all my running around, I got a call from Michelle, another English assistant here in Nancy (I was getting a little starved for company, I essentially told the entire Nancy-Metz assistant facebook group to call me!) Yay, new friends! So we met up at Place Stanislas in the afternoon. Michelle is from Pittsburgh and is teaching at 2 different écoles primaires just outside Nancy. We spent the day getting to know each other (in English...it was nice to have a break from le français, my brain is starting to smoke from being overused!) and wandering about the city. Michelle hadn't done as much wandering as I had so I showed her around downtown a bit and we went to le Parc Pépinière to sit and have a very tasty ice cream...plus it was a beautiful day, 20 degrees! (and yet people were still wearing coats, hmmm.) Anyways, it was great to meet someone new and have a bit of company!
Now, I realize that France is an expensive country, I've lived through it before (as has my bank account), however I wasn't quite prepared how much it would cost me to join a gym. Yes, a gym. I plan on eating a lot of carbs, cream, and sugar, so I need to balance it somehow! Gyms aren't a big thing over here, there are only a couple in the city. I checked out one yesterday morning, Formopolis. It's really nice, pretty much brand new, has all the amenities (fitness studio, weight room, cardio rooms, pool, hottub, sauna, spa, tanning, etc etc.) A very tanned and buff looking french woman gave me a tour in a very Goodlife-like fashion before we sat down to talk about les tarifs (fees). Normally, for a year membership, it works out to about 45 euros a month, plus a 65 euro enrollment fee, but I would get a deal and pay only 25. However, the catch is, since I'm only here for 8 months, I would have to take the "monthly" package...normally a 6-month deal is like, 680 euros, but she would give me 8 months for that price. Hang on...that means...85 euros a month???!??! That's almost $120 a month! Suddenly Goodlife doesn't look so bad...And that was just the basic package! I could have one hell of a VIP membership at a super fancy club back home for that price...screw that!
So off I went to try the next one, Kolysee...thankfully, much more reasonable, albeit further from where I live (15 min walk, plus it's on the tramway...not bad). This one was a bit bigger, was open more often (there's no such thing as 24 hour gyms here...it's a 9-9 operation, with the exception of Tuesdays, which is 12-9, Saturdays 10-4, and Sundays, no dice!) and waaay cheaper. It was also really nice, 3 studios, 2 weight rooms, cardio rooms, hottub sauna etc etc...at least she was willing to give it to me for 50 euros a month plus a 20 euro enrollment fee! Yeesh, what a nightmare...I think I'll check out the recreation centre downtown to see what they offer before I jump into anything. Not exactly cheap to stay in shape...
Which brings me to today, where I've had a surprisingly productive morning! I finally went today to open a bank account, which, I believed, would take me a few weeks and a ton of running around much like it did last time. Pain in the arse. However, this country has surprised me yet again (in a good way, however,) and my file is still on record at BNP Paribas from when I had an account in Toulouse. Yesssss!!! So all my information was there, it just had to be modified a bit, I signed a few papers, and voilà, we're in business! Now I just wait a week for my bank card to arrive and I'm set to go! Easy button, consider yourself pushed! I then hopped along (yeah, I was that happy) to the Phone House so I could set up my internet! My SFR internet box should be arriving in the next 10 days or so, and then I will be connected to the world! Pretty good deal too...30 euros a month (and keep in mind I'll have 2 roommates to help split the cost) for unlimited internet, home phone (calls within France) and cable TV! EAT THAT ROGERS!
Well my time here has just sucked up another 6-7 euros at this damn internet cafe, god I can't wait for my internet box...Michelle and I are going to attempt the transit system today and take it down to the large commercial centre for some cheap shopping! (the necessary kind, not the fun kind...yet...) But first, I'm going to buy some nice chocolate for Anne-Marie and Emilie to thank them for their generosity.
A toute à l'heure!
No comments:
Post a Comment