.fr

we wake up and head for la poste/western union to pick up the money that seth's parent's have hopefully sent. that was our best idea. the next best idea involved maxing our daily atm withdrawls for about a week and hoarding the money at the etap. have i mentioned how much we need up front to get a place? in france, you typically get an apartment through an agency and they take a hefty finders fee, usually less then a months rent, but our chi chi agency charges more. then there's first months rent, and a security deposit of two months rent. also taxes, renters insurance, paper fees. so we have a huge stack of money we're carrying and i'm nervous. but we make it unmugged, and we sign all the paperwork and viola, the place is nearly ours. but not yet. we are informed that we will have to wait until the first of the month. afterwards, i realize that i have been bitten alive the night before by mousquitos.