A week in Paris already!

After orientation week, we finally got to move into our permanent foyers. Mine definitely takes some getting used to because it is not similar at all to dorms/life in the U.S. The foyer is pretty old fashioned without an elevator-which meant me lugging my 50 pound suitcases up 4 flights of stairs. Also, ALL of the lights are on timers so that if you want a light to stay on for more than 2 minutes, you have to press it constantly (the same goes for the showers here). This is a definite change from the U.S. where we indulge in lights whenever we want them and forever how long we want them. I'm adjusting though and I'm realized how much electricity/water is saved by these European methods. Also, no one in my dorm (besides Alyssa and I) speak English. It's actually not common for a lot of people to know/speak English here so we've been practicing our French quite a lot. But sometimes there's definite language barriers that are hard to get around. 

This past weekend, a group of us went out to check out the night life. VERY FUN. The clubs are all massive and there are always lines to get in. However, at most places, girls don't have to pay cover, which is nice but drinks are EXPENSIVE. Vodka & anything runs around 10 euro here so it's not a great idea to go out looking to buy a lot of drinks. We've also been going to a lot of smaller cafes and hanging out for awhile and then jumping on the last metro home.

Yesterday, was the FIRST day that I didn't get lost on the metro or take a wrong train. It's been a struggle but I'm close to conquering the extremely confusing Paris metro system. To get to school, it's only about a 25 minute trek but it includes 3 different metro stations and 2 transfers. We've learned to hustle through the metro in order to catch all of the trains at the right times and also that French people do not like lines, so if you want on the metro, you just have to push your way through like everyone else. 

Classes began yesterday and my first class was a 3 hour long French History class.....taught ALL in French. It was a bit hard at first but I think that I'll get used to it in time. Today I had "Romanticisme" which is all about the European Romanticisme period and includes a trip to a different museum (except we go to the Louvre about 10 times) once a week. It seems really interesting and I'm excited to learn some Art History while here. 

I am also taking French Theatre, Phonetics, and Panorama of French Literature. All are taught in French so we shall see how easy/hard those are later this week. 

I'm going to attempt to use the very old washing machines here to do laundry tonight and then wake up early for class and a few metro rides to explore Paris more! Today was beautiful out and we bought paninis and ate in Les Jardins Luxembourg for an hour or so and then ventured over to the Pantheon. There is definitely A LOT to see and do in Paris at all times! 

Alyssa and I with our new French boyfriend. 

2nd-4th day in Paris

Well, a lot has already been seen and done in Paris although it is only my 4th day here. On Monday, all of us had orientation meetings and then a nice boat ride on the Seine. Although it was a bit windy and not the warmest, it was still cool that we got to see all of the sights in Paris. I even got my first pic of the Eiffel Tower this trip (see above). And Happy Valentine's Day from the Seine River.

We then continued to go out at night and explore a few of the local cafes and bars. Had a great time and lots of bottles of wine were shared! On Tuesday, we just had orientation meetings all day and then walked around the neighborhood.

Today, Wednesday, we had an Oral Exam bright and early (9:00 a.m.) at Institut Catholique and then went exploring on the metro. We bought our Pass Navigues (metro pass) for the week and went to L'arc de Triomphe and the Louvre!

Mine & Alyssa's room for orientation week! Straight from Paris in the 60's

Finally in Paris!

I have finally arrived in Paris! The journey began with a 9 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland. Although it was 9 hours long, I can't complain about one second of it. Swiss AirLines was amazing and we all had our own personal TVs and lots of room seeing the flight wasn't too crowded. I got to enjoy hours of my favorite TVs shows, movies, surprisingly good airplane meals, and of course wine. We then transfered through Zurich (got a Swiss stamp on my passport!) and went on to our 55 minute flight to Paris. The flight consisted of seeing the Swiss Alps above the clouds for the first 25 minutes of it which was super cool and then a nice French cheese sandwich. 

Everyone in my program amazingly got reunited with their luggage in Paris and the battle of lugging around more weight than I weigh began! It was not too horrible because our program director found us quickly and we bussed to our FIAP (foyer) where we will be staying for orientation week. A foyer is like a mix between a dorm/apartment/low-end hotel. Our temporary foyer is nice, especially because upon entering the room it feels like you've been time traveled back to Paris in the 60's. (pictures soon to come). The mix between the psychedelic colors and the European bathroom was a bit of a shock at first, but we're getting used to it. To shower here you have to continually press a button every 10 seconds or so to keep the water going. A little hard to get used to at first, but a really great idea to conserve water when it comes down to it.

After a meeting and dinner, 7 of us decided to drink some Heinekens in the bar of our foyer and then venture out on the town for our first night in Paris. We surprisingly found our way to cafes that were open (even at 10:00 on a Sunday night) and sat down at Cafe Rendez-Vous for some more drinks. It was (to me at least) a perfect Parisian bar. The color scheme was entirely black and red (including red velvet drapes), had dimmed lighting, and even some street mice running around inside collecting the scraps off of the floor. 

We called it a night at about 1:00 am and returned to our foyers. After an orientation on the geography of Paris this morning, we'll soon be on our way to a boat road on the Seine this evening. 

The day has (almost) come!

Tomorrow, I FINALLY leave for Paris. It has been a long wait, but I'm sure it has been worth it! Phoebe is making it a bit hard for me to finish my packing though... Once I get her out of my suitcase and finish packing it to its full (50 lb Swiss Air limit) capacity, I'm on my way! Au Revoir!