For those who have wondered what I do on a daily basis when I have three months to do something in… here is a little bit on that. First off, being in an apartment means doing the usual things to maintain one’s existence: shopping, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and the like. Of course, there’s also exercise, keeping up with old and new friends, researching (bike rentals, French classes, things to see, restaurants to try), and…figuring things out. It’s this latter that I will address today, the challenge of trying to do something seemingly straightforward, that ends up being quite time-consuming.
Recently I needed to print a couple of documents. Friends had been helpful in this regard, but I did not want to burden them with my future printing needs. So, I set out to find an alternative. It seemed, when I was researching this, that no Office Depots, or equivalent, existed. Naturally I looked on the internet to see what others had done and discovered that it was possible to print at a Mediathèque (the expanded version of the Bibliothèque, which just houses books). It happens that there is a Mediathèque only a block away. It is a giant, imposing building.
With my computer tucked away in my day pack, I went over about 11 am, ready to print my files. It would be open at that reasonable time, right? Well, no. On this particular day, it opened at noon (other days it was 10 am). Fine, I would come back. At a few minutes after noon, I returned, only to discover that someone from the library was telling the eight people or so who had gathered at the entrance, that today it would open at 2 pm. Why? I have no idea. But I went back at 2 and told a staff member what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, I was told, it would not be possible to print directly from my computer if I were not a member of the library. However, if I had a flash drive, I could use that on their printers. Great! Except that I did not think to bring such a thing with me from home.
The next day I went to the central shopping mall at one end of the Place de la Comédie (a 15-minute walk) to purchase a flash drive. I found the FNAC store, which was like a Circuit City and Barnes and Noble rolled into one. It seemed to have an endless selection of all manner of goods. I strolled around until I found the flash drives. It then occurred to me that I would need to buy an adaptor, as my new computer had only USB-C ports and the flash drive assumed USB. Plus, I was pretty sure the library would not have the latest and greatest connectors, hence would use the USB port.
So, I bought the USB flash drive and the USB-USB-C adaptor. I downloaded my files onto the flash drive and set off for a return trip to the Mediathèque. As I have noted, the place is HUGE, a city-block’s worth of building. However, I had been there a couple of times and knew where the entrance was (on one side, with the exit on the other, all the way around). I approached the building, ready to have a go at the printers, armed with my new flash drive. For some inexplicable reason, a sign announced that the entrance was now the exit. So, I, along with several French people, equally surprised, went traipsing around the building to the entrance (formerly the exit).
As an aside, I find it interesting that the French are so willing to go with the flow, without any visible signs of frustration when they must change course. I’m going to go out on a limb here to speculate that they generally feel contented with life and are thus able to ride out the minor annoyances of daily living. Pure conjecture, of course, but perhaps there is something in it?
OK, inside! Yay! I went to the room where I now knew the printers lived (from my previous visit) and walked to them, confidently, to insert my flash drive and get those docs on hard copy once and for all! Hmmmm…from the directions in front of me, I had no idea how to do this. So, I went to the staff and asked one of the two to help me. Well, she explained, you need a card on which money has been deposited. OK, how do I get one? She kindly walked me over to the next room, pointed to a machine… and left. I appreciated her giving me credit, however unwarranted, that I was fine on my own at that point. I scrutinized the directions on the machine for a couple of minutes before concluding that a credit card was not a viable option for payment. Credit cards are accepted everywhere for everything! Buying something costing 1 Euro is just fine with a credit card. But…this machine only took la monnaie (coins). I had no change having gotten rid of it earlier.
So, out the (usual) in door and over to the nearest market where I made a purchase, calculating how much money (and, critically, change, I would get, upon giving the cashier a 20 Euro note). Good! Deed done! And one chocolate bar richer!
I returned to the Mediathèque, went back to the machine, inserted a 2-Euro piece, selected the 5-copies button, and held my breath. Out popped the desired card! On my way! I returned to the other staff member this time, not wanting to wear out my welcome, and asked for help, now that I had the card and my flash drive in hand. This staffer, grim-faced, accompanied me to the printers, where he pressed some buttons, showed me where to insert the drive, inserted the card, pressed some more buttons, then, as the copies were emerging, had the nerve to say, dour expression intact, “Voilà! Tout simplement.” Really. Quite simple for you, perhaps…
Epilogue
In the days following, I ran across an Infoprint, which appears to serve a similar function as an Office Depot. Also, while at the Post Office, I noted a machine where you can insert your flash drive and get copies of your documents. Oh well. But that’s OK. I choose to look at it as the learning experience it was. I now know where and what the FNAC is, one way (among many, evidently) to print, and… which library staffer to go to the next time I need help!