Successes and Challenges

Success: Starting the day with a plan. First we will get cell phones, then we will use the phones to call ahead from one office to another to speed up the process of getting cartes de sejour (residents' permits) without having to travel all over the city.

Challenge: Being told that we can't get cell phones unless we have cartes de sejour.

Success: I scheduled doctors appointments for both kids. They need to get a TB vaccine to attend school here. Interesting fact about French pediatricians: they do not stock vaccines in their offices. You need to go to a pharmacy first to get the vaccine and bring it with you. Unless, of course, you need a prescription for the vaccine, then you have to go to the doctor's first.

Challenge: Not knowing where to go to buy challah for Shabbat.

Success: Ella and I walked quite a distance looking for a bakery in which to buy challah. We stopped in one bakery and asked if they had it. "No, I have no idea where you can buy that." Then, just as we were leaving, "Wait, there's a bridge club down the street where a lot of Jewish men hang out. Maybe someone there will know." Ella and I find the bridge club and go in and ask the three men sitting there (who look like there are from Long Island, but are all French) if they know where we can buy a challah. They start arguing among themselves about the various options, how far they are, how good the challah is, etc. Then, one asks me how many I want. I say just one or two. He tells me I need two to make the blessing. He asks, "are you on foot?" I say yes and he says, "it's too far for you to go on foot from here. Sit here, watch TV, and I'll get it for you. I protest, but he insists. Ella and I wait a few minutes and chat with the other men. Then, our patron returns. I ask how much I owe him and he insists it is a gift for us. In the bag are two beautiful challot and a candy and toy for Ella. Unbelievable. On the way home, Ella and I find another cell phone store. Abe heads out and two hours later (the amount of time it usually takes to accomplish nothing here), Abe returns with two cell phones. Persistance pays off.


One final success: Jonah no longer wants to pee in the bidet. I guess acculturation has begun!