February 16, 2021

Tuesday

I met Catherine outside at 10am. Our first stop was the Gendarmerie Nationale in Pont-Chéruy. I learned that local police in France do not have the ability to deal with thefts, instead you have to go to the national police. Why they cannot both deal with thefts, I do not know. I’m pretty sure you can go to the state police to report a theft in the US, right? Anyway! Catherine and I sat and filed the report with an officer. I gave all the details down to the time I was on the train platform and the location Find My iPhone reported. The phone is not unable to be used with any of the networks in France because it has been registered with the police. Still, it seems unlikely that I’ll get it back.

We made a brief stop at the bank to withdraw some cash. I still haven’t received a debit card, even though I opened my account January 8th. It typically takes a week to receive a card. Catherine complained loudly at the woman behind the desk and set up an appointment for the 26th so I could chat with the bank councilor about the issue. I asked why I needed an appointment and couldn’t just complain by email, but Catherine insisted it needed to be done in person. That’s just the way things are done in France.

Our next stop was the phone company. I bought a new SIM from them and got it in a little envelope so I could use it immediately when my new phone came in.

Finally, we headed to Eleclerc so I could get some food for the week. The store was absolutely packed. It was difficult to navigate the aisles and find what I wanted. Catherine insisted that we share a cart, increasing my stress. She kept trying to throw cans of food on top of my bread- I finally had to just carry it along with me. I grabbed a few comfort foods even though they were more expensive so that I’d be able to relax a bit later that evening.

When I got back to my place, my landlady came by with her grandkids to deliver a package to me. It turned out to be my new phone! I got to work setting it up as best I could, but I realized I didn’t have the tool to pop open the SIM card. I knew that Mme Bodet’s son would have one and resolved to go over for dinner later that evening.

I went over around 7:30. We watched the fun singing show together and a bit of the news before going to the table. We talked about the visit to Lourdes and everything that happened with the phone. I gave Mme Bodet a little rosary that I dipped in the holy water for her. We had a delicious dinner with red wine. As we watched the arts report on TV, I got Janja’s help with my phone. Mme Bodet let me know that she told some of her friends I would be coming with them to the mountain the next day. I would need to be ready by the car around 8am. I laughed and said okay, even though I was socially drained from the week I’d just had.

I had a lovely call with some friends before heading off to bed.