aidez-moi, s'il vous plait!

i have always been a very independent person. i usually face each problem individually and silently, rarely asking for input or advice. it is not very often that i will discuss what is bothering me, or issues that i am facing. i tend to deal with things like that personally.

when i first arrived in london, i had very little trouble adjusting. yes, things went wrong. but i faced them myself, and bandaged over the problem.

upon arrival in france, i assumed my first few weeks would mimic those in london and i would acclimate with little turbulence and grace. but now i know better, i think i have to come face with some issues i cannot solve. usually, when in over my head, i consult my parents. i love them; i could not have asked for better parents, i have turned out a little carbon copy of them. but as much as i love them, they are little help here. they have very rarely traveled out of the states, and the last time was surely twenty years ago.

so, i realized recently that i have an entire world of help at my disposal. i mean, what is the point of having a blog if i do not reach out to the blogging community? many of you have already offered advice, and i have enjoyed reading it. but now i am desperate.

i sit here writing this, in a wrinkled plaid shirt and holey tights, smelling like the common parisian bums camping in their tents on the sidewalk or in the metro. the airline has lost one of my checked baggage, unfortunately they lost the one with all my clothes, toiletries, electronics, and mementos. basically, i left my whole life somewhere between phoenix, arizona and paris, france. i was returned one bag, but it was the bag packed at the last minute, with forgotten shirts found at the bottom of the hamper and the yarn i couldnt bear to part with. the tiny suitcase held simply this: my truffle cardigan, one thin hoodie, an even thinner boyfriend cardigan, two pairs of tights, one pair of underwear, one dress, three tunics, a scarf, two pairs of glasses, a toothbrush sans toothpaste, and about thirty pounds of yarn. now that might seem like a lot, but paris is cold and i have no jeans, so i have been forced to layer. thus, i have been wearing the same thing over and over again, alternating which shirt and which pair of tights is the outermost layer, so it looks as if im changing my clothes. but, alas, i am not. i am frumpled, dirty, breathtakingly smelly, and at a loss of what to do about it.

the main issue is this: the airline is now saying they have no record of my bag, or even a record of my claim. the numbers are always busy, the voicemail is always full, and if i do manage to get through, the call is always dropped and i get nowhere. i have sent my father to the airline in phoenix to try to sort this out, as it is a really big adventure for me to trek my way to charles de gaulle. he has not yet found anything out, but i am on pins and needles.

i refuse to say the bag is lost forever. my heart and my mind cannot even begin to fathom that. but do i admit defeat and buy new clothes, new toiletries, new electronics, a new life? or do i wait it out, hoping a miracle occurs and the bag is delivered within a few days?

i ask you this, dear bloggers: have any of you ever lost a bag? what did you ultimately have to do? what would you have done if that bag contained what you were expected to need for the next seven months of your life, perhaps longer?

sadly, this is not even the worst of my problems. i am having trouble with my bank. it started in london, when skype charged me some hundred dollars in fraudulent charges. i canceled the card they used, and was sent a new one by chase. that new one could be swiped in stores and used online, but when i went to withdraw money from the atm, it simply said i had the wrong pin. i waited it out, returned home, dragged myself to the bank, and reassigned my pin. with a hopeful heart, i moved to paris and approached a french atm. naively i pressed the buttons, without a worry in my head. my good mood quickly plummeted, upon being told i had the incorrect pin.

this time, i know the pin is correct. everything is correct. the card works in stores, use in europe has been approved. so why isnt my pin working? i have also sent my dad to the chase bank to sort this out, but they arent very accommodating. i have only been in charge of my own finances since august, but in the few months since then, my experiences with them have all been negative.

again, i need help. has anyone ever heard of something like this happening? is this common?

being over here has destroyed my credit. due to hidden fees, conversion charges, and sporadic access to the internet, i am constantly going over on my balance. i have tried to avoid credit-ruining purchases, but sometimes you get stuck somewhere and have to charge a train ticket or get cash back for a taxi fare. i would like to open a new bank account in bank of america (they have a sister bank in most european countries), but i am afraid my credit is not good enough now. my parents' definitely is not, though great parents they are, money is definitely not their strong point. [theyre artists and hippies, i could never expect anything more from them. i am glad they taught me to live and be happy, rather than worrying about status or income. just times like this i wish i could open a bank account!]

does anyone know how to open a bank account abroad? can it be done? are there any banks to go through that work abroad and accept poor-ish credit?

beyond this, i now have six days to find permanent housing in paris. i have been offered many places, all of them turning out to be scams. luckily i have seen through their alluringly worded emails and shockingly low prices, managing to hold onto my 1100 euros. but i am no closer to housing!

i wish i could show my pictures though, they are breathtaking. i took a late night boat ride on the seine, floated down the river and watched the eiffel tower sparkle. i drank a beer and ate popcorn in the terrace of a cafe, flirting with the waiter in my broken french. my meals have consisted of bread and cheese and wine. i explored paris, playing in the freshly fallen snow that builds up on the sides of sidewalks. it truly is a magical time, only slightly blemished by all my frustrations that have built up.

i do have one picture, taken by my friend katy, outside our housing and in the snow.

please give me some advice!! i am at a loss!!