Being broke in France.

The main newspaper in Provence just released a list of the country's most expensive cities. Paris tops the list, followed by Ile-de-France, then Nice, and in fourth place...Aix-en-Provence. In a country where $1 buys me .69€, and I am poor to begin with, I need to save every centime I can.

So on that note, I would like to document my voyages through France while trying to save money.

Recent successes:

1.Internet.

Problem:
At the hotel I'm staying at for the week, there is internet access. However, you need to make an account and you only get four hours of online time for free. And when you're trying to communicate with a dozen people 7 hours away and keep all of my affairs in order, that time goes quickly.

Solution:
Make up a fake name and fake email, make a new account, and fool the system. I 'ain't paying for no internet if your system isn't smart enough to recognize the same IP address has made multiple "free" accounts.


2. Kleenex

Problem: I either have a cold, or my allergies (which I'm trying to deny the existence of) are acting up. It is also possible that I'm experiencing a combination of both.

Solution: At the university where we are taking our intensive French class these first two weeks, things are in a state of transition. Not too many people are on campus, and they're trying to get the buildings ready for students to arrive. I went into the bathroom to steal a meter of TP so I wasn't sniffling and miserable all class, only to see that they made a mistake. If you leave the locked door on the TP dispenser open, you're asking for a problem. The extra large roll fit perfectly in my extra large messenger bag. My nose and my wallet thanks whoever made that mistake.


3.Rent

Problem: The rent is too damn high.

Solution: Apparently the French government offers housing subsidies to students of any nationality to help cover the cost of their living arrangements, and can cover around 1/3 of their housing fees throughout the year. The catch in my case is that for reasons I won't go into, the Program Staff here can't help us fill out the paperwork at all. Also, I don't want to fill it out wrong and get in trouble with the French government. That could harm my future career prospects. Once school starts I'll need to find another student who has done it so I can hopefully benefit from this program. Because I need it.


More updates like this to come...



Non tax deductible donations in the form of cash or check can be sent to my house in Greendale where my mother will gladly deposit them into my account. Just gonna throw that out there. Wink wink.