I arrived on Sunday, took a shower and a nap to recuperate from my fourteen hour trip, ten of which were spent in flight. I woke up energized, eager to explore the neighborhood. I was also hungry and went out to buy groceries. Nothing was open, except a Chinese restaurant a block from the house. So for my first meal in Paris I had Lo-mein and Sesame Chicken which I ordered in French to a Chinese girl.
My host mother is the lovely Madame De Lastrade. I have my own room with a bathroom sans the toilet. I was excited to meet Kaci and Brooke, two fellow students who are staying in the house. They are both from the USA; and of course, I was happy to be able to communicate with them in Enlgish. We have agreed to practice as much French with each other as possible, but that seems like a tall order. Sometimes it's just refreshing to understand and be understood. My brain keeps on mixing English, Spanish, and French into my own creole language.
I left the house at quarter to eight so as not to be late to my first day of class. Needless to say traveling in a new city can be a daunting task even without the language barrier; so I got lost and arrived half an hour late to the school to find it closed since today was a holiday. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day so I spent it exploring the 17th arrondissement. C'est la vie!
