Yesterday was the Big Move. Everything went amazingly well, because I have the best French family here that anyone could ask for. PA and Nathalie took me everywhere I needed to go to get the insane amount of money for a downpayment, helped me figure out the internet situation, and came to read the contract and meet the landlady before I signed something I only half understood. I was really proud and happy they approved of the apartment, and I was more than a little sad when they left to go back home. I miss them already!!
But the apartment is great and my roommate, Schafer, and I had a great time unpacking, grocery shopping, and running around trying to figure out the internet thing. Which we did. We make a pretty good team! We celebrated with a bottle of wine and a nice, home cooked dinner :-)
In the middle of all of this I received a phone call from my mondeling agent...she booked a job for me! I reluctantly called her back...I'm terrifed of speaking on the phone in French b/c you don't get the body language to help you understand. But I did it, and I understood *enough*...I was to meet a lady to discuss somthing that was taking place on Friday. Also, she told me to make myself pretty.
This morning I woke up, put makeup on for the first time in a while, and actually did my hair. I decided to go with heels despite the crooked, tiny sidewalks...the store was surprisingly close to my apartment so I shouldn't have had any problems. (Again, shouldn't have...) So I get to the store Mango (which is actually a huge name, I didn't realize until I researched last night!) at 10h00, and of course they are not opened yet. The stores here have strange hours...they also closed for two hours at lunch. Anyway, I shopped around for a while and came back and talked to the girl at the counter, explaining why I was there. (YAY! French speaking success!) She called someone to come meet me, and soon I was being rushed upstairs. I thought that I was just there to meet them,; to see if they liked me enough to use me in a shoot...maybe for their online store? I wasn't sure. But they kept saying "défilé" which I assumed what they called the meeting we were going to have.
Instead, I was in a room full of clothes and the lady was handing dresses at me, telling me to strip. After the 5th or 6th outfit it finally dawned on me what défilé meant...it was a fashion show!! I would be walking the runway, NOT modeling for a camera, which I know how to do and is a lot less scary. After we determined what my American sizes translated to in French clothing, she chose maybe ten outfits for me. It was SO hot. There was no air, we were in a tiny corner, and I was pulling these tiny dresses off and on, trying my best to avoid painting them with my running make-up. She told me not to worry for Friday, because there would be a person to help us dress backstage.
Then she showed me the runway they were making. It was upstairs on the roof! They had a red carpet and a space cleared for chairs for their clients. She explained to me how to walk, where to pause, and to smile always. My heart started beating fast.
So I have a rehearsal tomorrow, make-up and hair at 4 on Friday and the show starts at 7. There are going to be 4 other models with me, all from Réunion. I am SO excited.
Then I started walking home. I got lost. I was in heels and let me tell you, no ruck march I ever did in the Army was as painful as walking for an hour in the sun, in heels, on the crooked streets of Saint-Denis. FINALLY I found my street and with each careful step, I made it to my apartment building. I took the elevator and breathed a sigh of releif when I pressed the button for the third floor. I turned around to glance in the mirror, my make-up was smeared everywhere, I looked like a racoon.
Oh wait...what the--?? Yep. There is some giant black wasp-like insect on my head.
I took a second to breathe and tried to gently nudge it off with my sunglasses. It grasped down harder onto my hair and stuck out its giant stinger. Great. The door opened on my floor, and I got out into the hall, sticking my head into the elevator and at the same time, twisting my ankle on my heels since my feet decided at that moment that they were done walking. The light in the hallway went out. (They are on timers to save energy, they last like a minute or so.) That's when I freaked out. Thank GOD no one was in the hallway, because they would have seen a raccoon looking girl doing a very strange dance in the dark...trying not to scream, but definitely swearing in many languages.
Anyway, I think the insect landed somewhere in the elevator. I am not sure though because I did not look back when I ran into the apartment and slammed the door behind me.
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