Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
concierge
So I have a concierge in my new apartment which sounds really fancy but that's just because the word is French. Although I'm not sure about her exact duties, I believe she is in charge of the overall general welfare of the place. I sometimes am awakened by the sound of her sweeping early in the morning and she often greets me as I pass by her apartment on the ground floor when returning from work.
She lives there with her husband. They are portugueses and from my estimate probably in their 80's. I imagine that they have lived here long before I arrived, a permenent fixture to the place.
My interaction with her was limited to the occasional "Bonjour" or "Bonsoir" as I came and left the building until recently .
I was writing my address on a self-addressed envelope when I realized, I didn't know my apartment number. Since I still recieve mail for the British girl, I checked the mail she recieved to find the apartment number only to realize the reason I didn't know it was because there simply wasn't one.
Until this point mail had been magically appearing underneath the apartment welcome matt from time to time and I never questioned how it got there. Was it being left there by the mailman? The concierge? And if so, how did they know what mail went to which apartment?
After a bit of sleuthing I realized that the location of my apartment is based on, well, it's location. What is stated in the apartment chart in the front hallway is the person's last name, their floor and the position of their apartment relative to the elevator. For example I would be 3eme (3rd floor) Face (across from the elevator). My neighbor is apartment 3eme, 2e Porte Gauche (2nd door left). Unfortunately the name next to my apartment location was not mine which meant any mail with my name on it to the apartment complex would probably be returned.
So this is how I came to talk to the concierge, armed with my apartment contract and the British's girl's old mail as stage props in case I had to monkey gesture my way to comprehension.
I knocked on the door of the apartment and was told to come in. The apartment was small which probably didn't matter much to the couple since they each stood under 5 feet tall. They were both there and staring at me inquisitively. I immediately began what I had rehearsed on the way down. The concierge looks at her husband and said in her thick Portugese accent "J'ai rien compris". I understood this clearly. It means "I don't understand a thing".
Prepared for this I shoved my apartment contract and old mail under their thick glasses. After a bit of time and some consorting with each other the way old married couples do when they are pushed off balance by things like the asian girl speaking French with her thick american accent in their living room.
Finally they agreed that they understand what I needed, gave me a pen so that I could write down my name, and told me that the apartment chart will be changed. Satisfied I thank them and left for work.
When I arrived home that evening I checked the apartment chart and wait for it, no change.
Normally I would insist but they are just too adorable. I'll give them another couple of days.
She lives there with her husband. They are portugueses and from my estimate probably in their 80's. I imagine that they have lived here long before I arrived, a permenent fixture to the place.
My interaction with her was limited to the occasional "Bonjour" or "Bonsoir" as I came and left the building until recently .
I was writing my address on a self-addressed envelope when I realized, I didn't know my apartment number. Since I still recieve mail for the British girl, I checked the mail she recieved to find the apartment number only to realize the reason I didn't know it was because there simply wasn't one.
Until this point mail had been magically appearing underneath the apartment welcome matt from time to time and I never questioned how it got there. Was it being left there by the mailman? The concierge? And if so, how did they know what mail went to which apartment?
After a bit of sleuthing I realized that the location of my apartment is based on, well, it's location. What is stated in the apartment chart in the front hallway is the person's last name, their floor and the position of their apartment relative to the elevator. For example I would be 3eme (3rd floor) Face (across from the elevator). My neighbor is apartment 3eme, 2e Porte Gauche (2nd door left). Unfortunately the name next to my apartment location was not mine which meant any mail with my name on it to the apartment complex would probably be returned.
So this is how I came to talk to the concierge, armed with my apartment contract and the British's girl's old mail as stage props in case I had to monkey gesture my way to comprehension.
I knocked on the door of the apartment and was told to come in. The apartment was small which probably didn't matter much to the couple since they each stood under 5 feet tall. They were both there and staring at me inquisitively. I immediately began what I had rehearsed on the way down. The concierge looks at her husband and said in her thick Portugese accent "J'ai rien compris". I understood this clearly. It means "I don't understand a thing".
Prepared for this I shoved my apartment contract and old mail under their thick glasses. After a bit of time and some consorting with each other the way old married couples do when they are pushed off balance by things like the asian girl speaking French with her thick american accent in their living room.
Finally they agreed that they understand what I needed, gave me a pen so that I could write down my name, and told me that the apartment chart will be changed. Satisfied I thank them and left for work.
When I arrived home that evening I checked the apartment chart and wait for it, no change.
Normally I would insist but they are just too adorable. I'll give them another couple of days.
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