Il n'est pas toujours à propos de nous - It's not always about us!

Perhaps one of the most terrifying things about being in a foreign country is the language barrier. Losing the ability to communicate is intimidating, humbling and terribly inconvenient!  Simple conversations that you would have with vendors, repairmen or neighbor on the elevator come to a screeching halt after...."Je suis désolé. Je ne parle pas Français".  They shake their head and maybe a "poof" or "uuoof" sound escapes from their lips.  Pretty much a conversation end-er!!!  Many times there is an effort made by both parties to get some meaning across but it is hard and while I understand the "gist" of what they are saying, I don't understand the words they are saying.  

I have learned the polite hello's and goodbye's, the good-morning, good-afternoon and good-nights, how to wish a good Sunday, and of course how to order a sandwich and now adding a baguette to my order.  After six weeks in France I desperately WANT to understand what is being said but it is just not there.  I want the interpretation of tongues gift.  I want to turn on a switch inside of me that makes speaking and understanding French possible.  It is frustrating having a deep desire to know, but also having complete inability and inadequacy.    

Living in an apartment I do not have the choice of living in isolation and avoiding any and all opportunities to offend someone or break social rules or cultural taboos.  I have to have some level of social awareness and adhere to anything I can identify as the etiquette rules of their culture as we have to share common areas like elevators, gardens, garages, lobbies and basements.  

As any apartment caretaker would do, notices that are meant for the tenants to understand and comply with are posted in obvious areas to give notices, correction and policies.  Here are a few....

I have no idea what this means, but it looks important and has something to do with official decisions, work, hot and cold water and something about June 11th.

This says that they are cleaning the small garbage shoot and not to throw your trash down the hatch on June 26th.

The top note says that our "gardienne," who is the person who keeps our common spaces clean and basically manages everything in our apartment is going on vacation from July 7th to July 27th (she does an amazing job!  The long hallway to the garbage disposal cans smells as fresh as a daisy and there isn't a dust bunny or stray piece of garbage to be found.  You could take a meal in the room where the garbage cans are kept it smells so good and looks so clean -- I won't-- but someone could).

This is a somewhat important looking notice and has something to do with the water meters and making sure your animals are contained and they can have access to your apartment on July 17th...I can't forget this one!!!
 
 There have been other signs posted that I don't have pictured here that have presented similar challenges as Justin, Mike and I stand over them trying to get some meaning out of them.  Many, many times I see what the notes meant by seeing what happens that day around the complex.  One day it was that they were trimming the hedges and they didn't want you to park your car in front of them so the workers could do their job.  One day they didn't want you to park in the first five spaces because a hoist company was moving someone in our out.  There are lots of things and reasons why they post things!! 

It is this picture that inspired the title of this blog.  This notice is taped onto the recycling disposal can in the basement.  It says something about "DO NOT", and something about bottles, and something about "everything else can go in this can."  

As I mentioned, there is a certain level of paranoia that comes when you don't understand the signs that are posted in places that you now frequent.  Did the signs only start to appear after we arrived?  Are we breaking some social or cultural rule? 

This sign on the dumpster had Justin and I worried that we "weren't doing it right!"  We skimmed over the note looking for anything familiar....We crush our cans as flat as we can; we tear down our boxes (although this one is so inconvenient and laborious....Justin and I never realized how much work it is to be kind to the planet, some days I wish Mother Earth wouldn't be so demanding that I crush my Kleenex box!); we make sure to separate the non-recyclable from the recyclable; we carry it down and carefully put it into the bins and never leave it outside the cans like pigs!  

We examined everything we could think of....Finally I said, "Justin, maybe it isn't all about us!  Maybe WE are the ones doing it correctly!"  Funny that the thought never crossed my mind before....