The first week or so.

Well, I'm here. I've finally made it to Paris.

The flight to Paris was manageable (thank God for Weeds on my iPod and tylenol PM) and before we knew it, Allie, Megan and I had arrived in Paris. Once I had successfully wrangled all four of my luggage pieces into a cart, the three of us were approached by a man who gave us a ride to the UC Center for 20 Euros each (not as shady as it sounds, I promise). The UC Center is in an adorable courtyard off of Rue Faubourg-Saint Antoine in the Bastille neighborhood of Paris. Once we had checked in, we dragged our suitcases a few blocks to our residences. Our building is in another quaint, quiet courtyard and we each have our own decently-sized single rooms with our own bathrooms and kitchenettes. (I'll try and upload pictures of my place here later, but the internet here SUCKS and won't let me do it at the moment).

Later that day, we were given a walking tour of our neighborhood, met up with Mai-Lan, and had our first real French meal at a great cafe across the street. I had a salad nicoise (yumm) and an espresso (of course). During the course of the meal, a nice, old French man engaged us in conversation about Paris and our lives and what we were doing here. He gave us lots of advice (although I remember none of it) and was eager to learn about us, but my favorite moment came when he called both Sarcozy and Bush "idiots" and laughed when we agreed whole-heartedly.
That first night we went out with some other people in the program to a bar in the Bastille neighborhood, which is quite a lively area. It was fun to see a snapshot of Paris nightlife, but albeit it it is August and most Parisians are away on vacation, so I have yet to see this city really come to life.

The second and third day we had orientation meetings at which I was very impressed with the staff. There is a guy named Jim working for the ACCENT Center (which runs our classroom/living facilities) that appeared to be a nicer David Sedaris. Absolutely hilarious. Spent one night attempting to participate in/admiring salsa dancing at a local salsa club - Bario Latino. It was definitely an entertaining experience...

Friday we all headed out to the Latin Quarter (with my guide book in hand, of course) to check that out. We lunched at an American Diner which was cheesy and wonderful and then strolled the streets. It was pretty touristy and crowded, however, so I want to go back and find better parts of the neighborhood. We did get a chance to see the outside of the Sorbonne and the Luxembourg Gardens, which were quite a sight. The Luxembourg Gardens are unbelievable -- just this huge sprawling, perfectly kept-up park with fountains in the middle, scores of chairs for people to lounge in, snack shacks, and old buildings surrounding the property. I cannot wait to come back with a good book or my iPod and just sit and relax. The French really know how to make everything in life that much more enjoyable. Things here are incredibly expensive, but you are always paying for more than the material possession you hope to obtain -- you are paying for an experience. To sit and read a book in the company of great friends in a beautiful park as the sun is setting is priceless to me.

Friday night Allie, Megan, Mai-Lan and I headed out to see the Eiffel Tower at night. It was so beautiful! Although you might call the new light show cheesy, I really liked how it was lit up blue and how it would sparkle every now and then. It provided some good photo ops... It also provided a good meeting place for our first real conversation with -- gasp -- real Parisian youths. Three guys approached us while we sat on a bench watching the light show and started talking to us about how we liked Paris and all that. We of course made up names (Megan's idea) and tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible, but of course ended up getting along with them quite well after a very disfunctional photo shoot and a few mangled translated conversations. It was a fun outing to say the least!

Saturday came time for the Marais, my favorite area so far. It is the Jewish/Gay neighborhood (my favorite people!) and was a mecca for fashionistas, coffee drinkers, and vintage store shoppers. I found some great finds for cheap at these fantastic vintage stores chock full of hidden treasures (will be making a return trip, obviously). Jewish delis next-door to gay bookstores ... classic.

Saturday night was Pub Crawl time! The Crawl consisted of a group of tourists (highlights including 6'8" South African twins, BBMAK styled Pittsburgh boys, hilarious Australian girls, and anti-American Canadians) being led around by young, English-speaking tour guides who took us to four pubs and a club. It was a blast, met a lot of great people, saw some great parts of the city, and really felt the excitement of nightlife here for the first time. Another highlight had to be the Australian kid who was excited to meet me because I had at one point attended school with Lo from "Laguna Beach," his favorite TV show...hmm....

School has been pretty good so far. For the first 10 days we have French immersion from 9-12 EVERY MORNING and then excursions on Monday, Wed, and Friday afternoons. My (very) limited is slowly coming back to me as I pick up more from what I hear around me in Paris. Class is pretty painful though... We went to Cite de la Musique for an excursion in the rain last Friday and Monday we went to Montmartre (the neighborhood where Amelie was filmed) and saw Sacre Couer. Very exciting but hot!

So.. that has pretty much been my trip so far. It's been exciting but also very comfortable -- I'm already pretty much in a routine of city life here. I love using the metro, it is so easy and convenient. I make most of my meals in my room with Allie (mostly pasta and fresh baguette), I go to the same Boulangerie every day for my daily baguette sandwich, I am starting to know the owner of the cafe across the street (where I go to get my groceries), I am memorizing the neighborhoods and which metro line gets where... basically, I love it here. But I miss home tremendously and I miss all the people in my life at home. I am so lucky to be here with Allie, Megan, and Mai-Lan who are so much fun to be with and make any possiblity of being homesick negligible. But nonethless, I have been listening to all my mixes from home, posted up pictures of you, and been thinking about you constantly.

Best wishes from Paris, I wish you were all here with me!
I have horrible internet here, so please get skype, it is the only way I can talk...

I forgot to mention that I have met some really great people in my program who I will talk about later!

Good story before I go: So we decided to go to ED, the cheapest line of grocery stores to get our food last week, but they are too cheap to provide you with bags, so you have to pay for them. I was not aware of this, and therefore was thoroughly confused when an elderly woman shoved an empty Pampers box into my arms and pointed to my groceries with a satisfied "I've Just Done a Good Deed" look on her face. So, I filled up the box and walked the two blocks home with a giant Pampers box in my arms, passing most of my UC Center Class along the way, of course.

Also, getting change here has been the most confusing thing.
And stores are open on really random days -- 11 PM on Friday night but not Tuesday morning? Really?

Okay, more tidbits and stories are coming next time!!

BISOUS!