This weekend we went to Brugge, which is a picturesque town encircled completely by a moat. It was cute, pretty touristy, and had an interesting flea market. I’ve uploaded a few photos if you are curious.
We also started apartment hunting in earnest. Renting here is a convoluted process, and Travis' company has hired a relocation firm to help us with the operation. So far this help has consisted of emailing me some links to local real estate companies that have rental listings, most of which I had already bookmarked. Later on when we get to the point of having to sign a contract in Flemish, they will certainly be invaluable, though.
Armed with an idea of what area we would like to live in, Travis and I drove up to Gent on Sunday to walk around and write down some possibilities. It was a windy day that threatened rain, and our ears and finger were chilled by the time we had covered the entire Citadel Park area, which is near Gent University, the train station, and not too far from the public library.
When we got home, Travis had some homework to do, while I sat down to call some places. It’s weird; there is no standard way to write a phone number here. Some examples of formats we ran across:
5555.55.55.55
55/555 55 55
5555/55 5555
Anyway, I just started dialing. My search went pretty much like this:
Call 1: Strange beeping noises, and then a dial tone. Could not tell if this was a busy signal, ringing, or alien transmissions.
Call 2: Answering machine message in Dutch. I left an apologetic message in English saying that we were inquiring about the apartment and left our number. No call back yet.
Call 3:
Landlady: Hallo?
Me: Spreekt U Engles?
Landlady: Een beetje.
Me: I’m calling about the apartment you have listed in Ledegangckstraat? How much is it?
Landlady: the sjfof.
Me: Ah…okay. When is it available to rent?
Landlady: right away.!
Me: Hmmm. I’m sorry, could you please say that again?
Landlady: Right away!
Me (still not giving up): Can we come and see it next week?
Landlady: Yes, next week.
Then she hung up.
I’ve repeated that conversation with several other prospective landlords, and since then retreated to sending out emails in response to the real estate company ads instead. I’ll keep you posted.
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2 comments:
The relocation company REALLY should try to help you more - it's very difficult to talk and negotiate in a language that you've only begun to learn. My heart goes out to you! I wish I could be there to help.
oh Juj,
how frustrating! I committed a major faux pas this past week while interviewing due to a language barrier. I was leaving the room with the doc, and the woman was saying something in Spanish that I didn't understand. I assumed she was talking to the doc until he said "She was blessing you" after we walked out of the room - managed a weak "muchas gracias" towards the closing door. *DOH*
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