9:05 AM (Paris Time)
We have arrived! YES! The airport makes me feel like we’re on an episode of the Amazing Race...it is so chaotic and people are running around everywhere with luggage. I seriously thought Rachel was going to get knocked out at baggage claim as she continued to get hit like a tennis ball on the left and right as people flung 50 lb+ bags off of the conveyor belt.
And it is surprisingly warm. Although gloomy, the 55 degree (F) weather is very pleasant and much appreciated after experiencing a deep freeze that left the Rockies with lows in the -15 degree (F) range last week.
Now to find the shuttle....
Open the door to the shuttle bus and BAM... there is a friend from high school who neither Rachel or I have seen for about 3 years. I knew he is also studying abroad in Paris but seriously what are the odds that we would end up on the same shuttle? These are the moments when you know the world is such a small place!
SURREAL
Paris is the most dramatic city to drive into. First there is the traffic which is better to close your eyes and pretend isn’t there. I have no idea how our shuttle driver is maneuvering the honking cars flying down the street and motorbikes and bicycles that weave through the cars without any fear.
I know one thing for sure: I will take public transportation here, thank you very much.
Next your eyes are met with the most beautiful architecture that starkly contrasts the cookie cutter design of American suburb living. Every building adorned with intricate carvings, molding, plaster work. Every store front with individual signs and welcoming cafes you could spend an entire day with a cafe au lait people watching. That’s an invitation I can’t wait to accept. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep...or food....but I feel like I am living in a dream as we weave past the Louvre, Seine, and La Tour Eiffel.
We finally arrive to our little apartment that we will call home for the next 4.5 months right in the heart of the 6th Arrondisement. I am rapidly realizing just what an amazing city this is and how lucky I am to get to study here for a semester....now it's time to explore...but first a nap!
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OOH LA LA!
With high-end retail, boutiques and designer stores on every corner, I am quickly discovering that I am living and going to school (starting Monday) in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in one of the most expensive cities in the world. If there were a store like Wal-Mart in France the residents of this area and my future classmates definitely would not shop there or most likely even know what it is. This is quite the posh area which leaves me realizing that I am going to have to look exceptionally put together when I go to school. This is a 360 from what is acceptable in hippie land, aka Boulder, CO. Workout apparel is a major no-no. Tennis shoes? You better be playing tennis if you’re wearing those.
All of that aside this is a wonderful place to get to call my stomping ground for 4.5 months. It is spectacular. The shopping is amazing (although given the high class status let’s be real that most of the stores are not within a college student’s budget). And the gardens and buildings are beautiful.
I can’t wait to see and explore.
HUH????
My 2.5 years of French help but I’m still not sure what is being said about 25% of the time. I am going to be doing a lot of smiling, head nodding and pretending to understand until I master the accent and rapid lingo that spills out of the native French speakers and sounds nothing like the language that I learned in an American classroom.
AWAKE
Here’s the strange thing about jet lag: you are exhausted into oblivion and still can not sleep.
This is what my first night looked like:
Fell asleep at 7:20 pm (old granny much?); woke up at 7:50pm...went back to bed at 8:30 pm....slept until 11 pm....fell back asleep at 11:30 pm...should have slept longer than two hours but yet again was wide awake at 1am....Rachel and I had a chat....back to sleep....awake again at 6am....back to bed....awake at 8am...still exhausted....and then up at 11 am Paris time and still tired.
WHAT IS THIS?
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