"Jules et Jim" It Ain't.

Hollywoodland. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Swing Vote. There's no shortage or lack of variety of American films on French television. It's become part of our routine to flip around the channels after dinner in search of movies that we can zone out to (or have on in the background while we blog); the aforementioned are three that we've watched in the last week. The BBC or CNN in the morning is a good way to learn the day's headlines (and what the weather is on every continent in sixty seconds). But after a busy day's work (me), trekking round Paris in search of volunteer opportunities (Ashley) and encountering resistance from some part of the French bureaucracy, such as the post office or l'Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration (the both of us), we gravitate toward lighter fare. And for us right now, the most important aspect of "lighter" is "in a language that we can comprehend."


Since mid-December, "routine" has become a relative term for us. Between navigating the holidays, packing up our lives in Philadelphia, getting our our visas (after initially not getting them), flying over here, starting work and getting to know Paris, no two weeks have looked the same. Tomorrow we move out of the hotel that we've called home since last Wednesday and into the flat that we will call home for at least the next year. That means, among other things, sorting through boxes of clothes and personal effects we haven't seen since before Christmas and finding a boulangerie to replace the great one that we discovered around the corner from our hotel a few days ago. It will be good to be settled in an actual apartment, but between now and settled is a fair amount of heaving, stowing, arranging and re-arranging. Lethal Weapon, Bride Wars or whatever other random movie we find on TV will no doubt continue to prove to be a welcome respite each night (assuming we can tune into one via the antenna we'll have to rely on until I sort out how to sign up for the France Telecom pay-TV package).

We may not have an Internet connection of our own for several days, so the blog is on temporary hiatus. (Don't worry, mom, we'll be back as soon as possible.) Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to find out whether Kevin Costner casts his vote for Kelsey Grammer or Dennis Hopper.

-- MBB