L'arrivée

So much to talk about! Well, the trip over here was...exhausting. It consisted of planes, trains, and automobiles, and getting lost dragging two 50 lb luggages around Paris. We all arrived safely on Thursday, and spent the night in a hotel, right around the corner of one of the locations we are taking our classes, the ACCENT center. I feel as if the last few days have been one, complete jet-lagged blur, but as I recollect myself, I am slowly putting it all together. I am glad to say my first real meal in Paris was at a petit café avec mes amis, consisting of red wine and croque monsieurs. Très français. Je l'adore. Friday was a big day, we had our orientation at ACCENT, and so much information was thrown at us. They gave an overview of french etiquette, and little things for us to know about how the French work. Do you know the french NEVER blow their noses with toilet paper, or that biting into a piece of fruit is barbaric to them? I'll think twice before eating my bananas. After a little overview about our French families, we then went to the famous La Sorbonne to take our french placement exams. It took about 20 minutes, and I talked with one of the French professors in order for her to assess where I am in terms of my conversational skills. I think it went well, and we find out our results on the 6th. Still continuing this never-ending day around 5pm, I was put in a taxi by our Director Jim and was sent to my host mother's apartment in the Quatorzième Arrondissement  (14th arrondissement in the northwest area of Paris). It is a part of Paris known as Levallois. It is very chic, and a lot of families live in bigger apartments here. My host mom, Emmanuelle greeted me at the door and we "faisons la bise," which translates to the two french kisses on the cheek. She helped me carry my luggage up to her apartment (which she moved into a week ago), and as I unpacked she prepared a quiche lorraine. Her daughter, Anne Charlotte (18) is here for the weekend, and she came with some of her friends for dinner so that they all could meet me. I felt loved :). We ate dinner, and I chatted with her friend who is also pre-Law, and we compared the French system to the U.S. system- very different. She just got back from doing an internship in Bologna, and I talked to her about my internship at the Department of Justice. I realized I was falling asleep at the table, and I excused myself to go to bed. I was still really jet lagged. The next morning, Saturday, I had to be at the ACCENT center by 10am for our Academic Orientation. Emmanuelle walked me to the metro, and explained to me how to get there. I already knew on the map, and I have pretty much got the Paris metro system down. It's similar to DC, but with a lot more transferring, more options to explore the city. I used my NaviGo pass which I bought for the month, and was on my way. Without any troubles, I got to ACCENT. They told us about our classes at La Sorbonne, focusing on French grammar and phonetics. Unfortunately, our classes are 1:30-3pm Mon-Thurs at ACCENT, 3:30-4:30 is French Phonetics at La Sorbonne (only until Oct. 4th), and 5-7pm is our grammar and language classes at La Sorbonne- both Monday-Friday. Confusing? Yes. I guess everyone is upset that we can't travel as easily on Fridays because of our late schedule, but at least we don't need to get back until early afternoon on Monday. Always need to think positively! Saturday evening, we all decided to go to La Bastille which is a famous area in France, a 2 minute walk from ACCENT. We had dinner, and decided it would be fun to try the Paris nightlife. We started out hanging around La Bastille, but then decided to venture to Le Metro and take the stops where all the student hang out areas are, and we really did explore every area of the city at night. It is weird being able to enjoy night life and bars here without any trouble. We all decided around 1:30 am that we were still tired and jet lagged, and decided to catch the metro before it closes. I feel really safe in my area, and got home very quickly. I let myself sleep in today, and woke up around 11. After showering, Emmanuelle asked me if I wanted to join her, Anne Charlotte, and Anne Charlotte's boyfriend, Alexi, for lunch. I said sure, and we ate together. I could barely understand Alexi, he spoke so fast, and with a lot of slang. Everyone was nice, and they were impressed with my French. I thanked them for lunch, and decided to do some sightseeing at Mont Martre and Sacre Coeur. It was beautiful, even though the weather was overcast, and it rained a little. After, I went home because I didn't want Emmanuelle to eat dinner by herself after Anne Charlotte took the train to go to her university in Normandy. So, we had a very simple dinner consisting of salad, brie, a baguette, some ham, and for dessert, yogurt. She called it a "pique-nique" because we ate in front of the couch, and watched the French news. They speak way too fast, so she changed it to a movie, and I understood it much better. Well, that is the catch-up so far! Welcome to Paris. Bienvenue à Paris! :)
A Bientôt!
-M