Back by Popular Demand

I've been in France since the first of June. The first two weeks, I didn't have web access. Seems that a huge lightening storm blew out the telephone and computer modem sometime in May.

I called France Telecom to have them send a replacement. I was talking to the service department and having a difficult time getting the woman to speak slowly so that I could understand her. I asked her, in French, if she or anyone in the service department spoke English. She said that no one did. I said that was weird, because when the SALES department called to sell us the DSL service, they spoke perfect English.

I asked her to send the modem as soon as possible because my husband would be arriving in seven days and I absolutely had to have it up and running by then. She said I might get it within ten days! Okay, that's France . . . it's teaching me to give up my demanding ways.

The next day, I answered the ringing telephone and there was a woman from France Telecom speaking perfect English asking me if I wanted to subscribe to their DSL service. I was alarmed that maybe the connection had somehow been cut off. I said that as far as I knew, we had DSL service, I was just waiting for her company to send me the new modem. She said, "Oh, I just have this message on my desk to call you."

I asked, "Can you check to see if we're signed up for the service and if the modem has been mailed out?"

She said, "I can't today. My computer isn't working!"