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Hello everyone!
I am in Paris! I left at 11:15 AM on Friday (Seattle time) and arrived at 10:40 AM Saturday (Paris time). Then I bought a train and metro ticket and arrived at my apartment. All by myself! And I didn't get on the wrong train or the wrong metro! There was a bit of confusion because normally you need to get your ticket punched and I didn't know where to do that, but it turns out that the machine was closed, so they made an exception and decided you didn't need to punch it after all.
For the record, I wrote a whole entry yesterday before the internet gave up on me and I lost it forever. So that is frustrating.
Anyways, I took the RER and then transfered to the metro and it took me ages to figure out where to buy a metro ticket before I finally asked someone and they told me. But asking is allowed, so it was alright. Then I hauled my suitcase through the metro to my new apartment! I rang on the intercom and was told to go to the first floor and something about a door to the left. I lugged my suitcase up the stairs and then walked to the left until I found an open door, where I met Ingrid Berger. We spoke for a few minutes and then she told me to relax a bit and unpack, which I did.
While I was doing that, she went out to buy food for her daughter's birthday dinner that night (the real birthday is today) and she told me when she would be back, but I didn't understand that part. Then she gave me a set of keys, explained them, and told me I could leave but to be back by...whatever time she had said she was going to be back. Since I didn't know how long I had, I just stayed home and finished unpacking, and she returned about an hour later.
That night we celebrated her daughter's birthday and a whole bunch of people came over. Ingrid has 3 daughters (who each came with their husbands/boyfriends) and 2 grandchildren (a 7-month old girl and 2 year old boy). There were also a bunch of friends and the party was very fun, although probably one of the most difficult set of circumstances for understanding what the people are saying - 12ish people who all know each other really well, and are therefore talking really fast and interrupting each other with music in the background and children running all around. But I did pretty well with listening and understanding (although worse as the night got on and I got more and more tired).
We ate quiches for dinner, which were tasty, and I tried some french cheese and a delicious chocolate cake. Finally at 12:45, after being awake 32 or so hours, I said I didn't want to be rude, but I needed to go to sleep! And everyone was very nice and said it wasn't rude at all and no worries. So I went to sleep, and it was great.
The next day was free museum day, so I asked for recommendations of where to go, but one of the recommendations ended up being closed and another wasn't free, so instead I walked to the Eiffel Tower, which had appeared in the sky out of nowhere. It was a very busy area with lots of vendors selling different things, but I really felt like I was in France! Then I walked to le Musée d'Orsay and toured that for an hour and a half or so and then walked down les Champs-Elysée to l'Arc de Triomphe. I also went in the Quai Branly Museum for a little while earlier in the day, but moved on pretty quickly.
By then I was very tired because I had walked a ton, so I took a metro directly back to my apartment and hung out with my family a bit until my new roommate Kathy arrived! There is also an exchange student from England who is going to stay with us for 3 weeks and while she won't normally eat with us, we all ate dinner together for the first night (spaghetti with a salmon and cream sauce).
This morning we slept in and then had a 2:00 orientation at our school building. I left early and got there right on time because I had a slight problem finding the building after I got off the metro. My navigation problems seem to occur when I am too stubborn to stop and use my map because I don't want to look lost or confused, but am really just walking in any old direction without really knowing what is going on. So eventually I consulted my map and then found the building. No worries.
At orientation we talked about class schedules and safety and received our metro passes. Classes are usually (but not always) Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15 to 5:50 with an hour and a half for lunch. Which is a lot of class. But really there is another hour and a half off because there are two conversation classes, so one day a week you start at 9:15, and the other at 11. There are also field trips once a week, to places such as Chartres, Fonntainebleu, Versailles, Musée de Picasso, Musée Rodin, le Louvre, and some others.
After orientation Kathy and I went with Justina and Madeleine to go find food. We went to a crepe/gyro place and I had a crepe with nutella. And it was delicious! And they weren't busy at all, so we got to chat with the people who were working there and the younger guy was very friendly. Overall we had a decent conversation, even if we made him repeat practically everything. Oops. Also, I felt like we should be speaking all in french because we didn't want to seem like we were obviously American, so a) it was fun to practice with him and b) when the other people started speaking in English he yelled out "Parlez français! Vous êtes en France!" (Speak French! You are in France!) which I found rather amusing. Also, there was a pigeon who was missing some toes so I started a conversation about a) if "les doigts" meant toes and also fingers (it does) and b) the fact that the pigeon didn't have any toes, and he was amused. Overall it was very entertaining and our food was delicious and also cheap. I am never spending 11 dollars on a crêpe at Pike Place again. Sorry Teresa.
But actually I probably will. Parce que j'aime bien les aventures de crêpes.
Then we walked around a bit more and explored a little and now I am sitting in a park because they all have free wifi. And there are lots of pigeons and some people and I am in France!
Sorry this entry was so long, but I tried to write it yesterday and it didn't work, so this is several days worth. How are all of you? You should all probably leave me lots of comments and messages so that I feel loved. Or at least so that you're not a creepy internet stalker who reads this without telling me (There is an orange tab at the top for "Message Board"). Merci!
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