Thoughts from Paris

Paris Week 1
So here I am writing this from Paris! Sorry for the delay in a blog post but I haven’t had internet in my apartment and have had to resort to visiting the McDonalds here (I’m so American) to get free wifi. Finally, we realized that we get one tiny bar of signal from an unsecured network in our apartment until our internet arrives God knows when! But on this blogI will post updates about what’s happening here in Paris and some pictures for the millions of people I’m sure are viewing this blog ;-)
This week:
Sunday: Arrived in Paris around 7:35 am Paris time. I found my bags with Courtney and went to wait at the exit of the terminal for Myriam. I found this waiting to be very nerve-wracking since I hadn’t slept at all on the place and I was waiting for a woman and had no idea when she would arrive or what she looked like. Myriam finally found me around 9:30 along with another BC student and brought my to the shuttle to take to my apartment. I said goodbye to Courtney, who had to take about 3 Metros to get to my apartment since she wasn’t part of the BC program but was staying with me for the week. The shuttle picked us up and then took us to terminal 2 where we waiting 30 minutes for four more people to be shoved in the van. The driver dropped off everyone else first and I finally arrived at my apartment a little after 12. Courtney was already there waiting for me to let her in with the key as well as one of my roommates, Amy. We looked around the apartment, which is very chic except for some slightly odd decorations like the ceramic elephant and the urn. Overall it’s very nice. Upside: I have my own little room! Downside: It’s not really a room but rather an office that connects the living area with the other bedrooms. I sleep on a futon but it’s surprisingly comfortable so I’m not complaining. Note to those traveling to Europe: EVERYTHING IS CLOSED ON SUNDAYS. Everything. Thus, we had no food and the only store we could find that was open was a tiny convenience store (kind of like a gas station store) where we got a bag of pasta and some cookies and water for dinner.

Monday: This was our orientation, BC style. This means that I wasn’t touring the city or climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but rather taking notes about how to act French.

Tuesday-Friday: Four hours a day of intensive language revision for writing and oral French. Not exactly fun but a nice way to meet the 15 other BC students on the program. I already knew two girls relatively well who I have been hanging out with during class and get lunch with. Each of these days, I would return a little after three and go out with Courtney to buy food and look around the area. We live near Montparnasse, which is a very nice little center with low tourism but lots to do! Courtney was also very patient with me in looking for a fan, since I’m a light sleeper and am having some trouble being so close to the common area and getting a good nights sleep. Unfortunately, fans are MIA during winter in Paris so my parents are kind enough to send me one so I can get a good nights sleep along with my SNUGGIE which makes me happy J

Saturday: Courtney and I went shopping with my friend Annie on the Champs-Elysees and around Notre Dame. Unfortunately, the driving rain and freezing weather made it a less than pleasant day for sightseeing so we returned to Annie’s AMAZING apartment (her own king size bed?) to watch Paris, Je t’aime. After we returned, Courtney and my roommates were all exhausted so we stayed in and did some homework.

Sunday: Courtney and I decided to scope out her area of Paris, the 19th, since she leaves on Monday. I am going to miss her, it feels like she is one of my roommates, but hopefully we’ll be able to meet up often.

Overall, it has been a truly crazy week! I can’t explain the rush of feelings of excitement and trepidation. Paris is beautiful, but I cannot wait for spring when I feel that I can truly enjoy the city in it’s finest. I’m hoping the future weeks will bring me more sleep, real food (still need to actually go food shopping!) I miss my family and friends so much, but Skype will definitely be my savior during this semester. Sorry for the long post, you must love me to have made it this far. I hope everyone is well and feel free to comment with questions and hellos. I love you all <3