Attempt #1: Two weeks ago, Damien and I went to find out information at The Phone House at La Défense in Paris. No problem for Madame to get a phone. She just needs her passport, her bank card, and a rélevé d'identité bancaire (RIB). One must have a RIB for any sort of banking transaction, like auto payment. The passport and RIB I had, but my bank card had yet to arrive.
Attempt #2: Last weekend, Laurence and her son Jules took me to Amiens to get a cell phone at Auchan (the French equivalent of Walmart). I got much further this time: picked out un forfait (a plan) and a phone, handed my necessary paperwork to the gentleman, and waited. After about 15 minutes, he apologetically said that for a 12-month contract, they needed a canceled check. Unfortunately, my checkbook had not arrived yet!
Attempt #3: While I was in Amiens with Véronique earlier today, we went to the Bouyges (pronounced booweeg) store. I explained the forfait that I wanted, and picked out my phone again. I had my bank card. I had my passport. My checkbook. My RIB. And an electric bill just in case. And I got further than before, but Belinda came back to the counter with the look I was getting used to seeing. Because I'm not a citizen of the European Union, I can't have a contract,
she explained. Hmmm, I said, I know many American students who had French cell phones while they were here. Yes, but they had their carte de séjour, or residency permit. And I don't have mine yet. Normally this would have been taken care of in Amiens shortly after my arrival, but because of the confusion with the ANAEM earlier this summer, I am meeting all of the other Fulbright teachers at the end of the month for a meeting, a field trip to the Préfecture de Paris, and for our medical visit. The only solution was to put me on Véronique's account, which I felt terrible about. My friend insisted, because she was not going to let me leave without a cell phone. It's just safer, she said. And you don't want to wait another month. So in the end, I paid Véronique for 2 months' service, and walked out with my new cell phone. Jamais deux sans trois, the French say. Sort of like "third time's the charm."Side note about cell phones in France: when you receive a call, you do not use your minutes. It's the caller who pays. This means that if you dial a cell phone (which begins with 06) from your home phone, it can get quite costly. And for contracts, they talk in hours rather than minutes. When asked how many hours I needed a month, I couldn't tell them. I had 600 minutes a month at home, and free weekends. How am I to know how many phone calls I'll be making here? (Remember, it doesn't matter how many you receive). I ended up choosing a plan called a forfait bloqué which means I cannot exceed 22€ in expenses a month, and give me about an hour of calls. But even if I use up all my minutes, I can still receive calls...kinda neat. And I have unlimited text messages from 5pm - midnight, all day on Wednesdays and on weekends. As a bonus, my unused minutes are reportables, which means they roll over to the next month. We'll just have to wait and see how this all works out.
Yes, it was a complicated and frustrating process. But isn't my phone pretty?
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