Wow, I'm talented!

So, I have done some traveling, but blogging about that is just going to have to wait. I had something very, very special happen to me this week.

My passport, credit cards, bank cards, and basically my life was stolen. Or, my purse in other words. Yes, it's not good to carry your passport around, but in France I've had to show my passport almost every day, or I can't get money out of the bank, or get a bus pass, or even ride the train. Thus, my passport stays with me. Except now I have no identity cards whatsoever. I do, however, have a Hamline I.D. somewhere in Minnesota.

What happened was that I went to the apartment of a friend (ok, yes, my new French boyfriend). His apartment was unlocked when I went there, so I walked right in and put my purse, my shopping bag from H & M (I didn't bring any warm sweaters with me, and now it's cold), and my coat on a chair and walked up to the second floor of the apartment where he was. No one else was there. When we walked downstairs not that long after, my bag was gone. I knew right away that it had been stolen. Of course everyone else thought I had probably left it at H & M when I bought my clothes, but I had had a chocolate bar in my bag that I had kept for the walk back to the apartment. I remember fondly taking out that Mars bar a couple blocks away and savoring its deliciousness. I definitely had my bag when I got in the apartment. Oh, but the great thing (it is actually, but I'm also being sarcastic) is that my bag of new clothes was still sitting there, along with Sid's laptop and 4 guitars.

It was about 6 in the evening when I realized it was stolen. There is a police station only a couple blocks away from the apartment, and we walked there. It was closed. We got in the car (I still hadn't cried or screamed or even swore) and drove to the next closest station that Sidney knew of. It, too, was closed. Where do police stations close before 6 at night? Yes, that's right, in France they close. We had to drive across the river to get to the one that was open. At this point, I said, "I can't handle this," grabbed onto the door, and starting sobbing. I realized that I was in a foreign country with no form of identity, no money, and someone could have spent thousands of dollars with the cards in my purse. And I no longer had my passport stamps from Egypt or New Zealand. Oddly enough, that really made me sad, and I'm usually not that sentimental.

Anyway, I managed to get it together (thank you Sidney) before getting to the police station. We got in there, Sid spoke for me as all my French was jumbled and I didn't even want to try. The police said, "Elle est americaine? Il faut qu'elle aille a Paris." Meaning, she's American? She has to go to Paris. They just told us to go to Paris and didn't do a damn thing. Sid started to become fuming mad, but I started laughing. Yes, of course this would happen to me, and of course the police would tell me I had to go to Paris!

To add to our troubles, the internet wasn't working in Sid's apartment, so we had to drive back to Elbeuf. We got back, and my #1 business was cancelling my credit card. The company I have has just merged with another, so the international number didn't work. I tried to find the new international number on the internet, but everything was 1-800, which doesn't work in France because 18 is the emergency number here. I would end up calling an ambulance. That is where my dear mother came in. I called her, not caring what the fee was at that point, and she was able to cancel my credit cards and my American bank cards. Sid called and canceled my French bank card and his mother canceled my cell phone. I also called the U.S. embassy to report my stolen passport and see what I had to do to get a new one. Of course, go to Paris. But first, I needed a Police report.

Sid and I went back to the same police station (because it was the only one open) and luckily new people were on duty, who were very helpful directly. And my French was restored. We made the report and were out by 1 a.m. And then we took the 7:30 train to Paris the next morning.

So, after 5 hours of sleep we tackled the embassy. All I had were photocopies (thank goodness I had multiple photocopies of everything, made it a lot easier, if that's possible) of my identity. Luckily, not many people had lost or had their passports stolen in France recently, and I didn't have to wait in line to fill out a new application. And another report about my stolen passport. They of course had to put my name through the computer to make sure I'm an outstanding citizen and am not wanted anywhere, so we did have to wait a little. During that time, we played a "who's American and who's French" game. Strangely, it was very amusing.

To make the day not just about the embassy, we walked down the Champs Eylsees to the Arc De Triomphe and to the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge really isn't that exciting, I wouldn't recommend it. And I don't think I can count how many old men I saw walking out of porn shops across the street from it.

So, that was my exciting last two days. I've checked all my accounts, and it doesn't seem like any money was taken out of them. My Ipod was in my purse, too, so that's gone. But, it really isn't the end of the world. I wasn't planning any trips recently, so that's no problem. And, today, I received a message from the police that my purse has been found. And my passport was in it. Hmm, maybe I should have waited, but I really didn't think it'd be found. I haven't gone to retrieve my purse yet, so all I know is that my purse and "autres objets" were found in it. Maybe the criminal was so stupid that he/she didn't open the little pocket that contained my passport and my Ipod. We'll see. But of course the police station for lost and found objects is only open Monday through Friday from 2-5:45. Of course. I love France, but I also love that things are open almost all the time in the U.S.