Finally here!

PARIS!!!! So I finally have internet at the apartment! I was kind of going crazy with out it because my blackberry is not a good substitute at all! Let's catch up on what I've been doing:

Monday I arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport around 11am. Fortunately all my luggage got there safe and sound. I was worried one of the bags was going to get lost somewhere because I've heard the Paris airports are bad at handling luggage. I met up with 15 other people from my flight and headed to CEA, my host school for the next four months. Later in the afternoon I arrived at my apartment in the 14th arrondissement. The area is really cool, only 10 minutes from the Metro and close to the American dorms where many people in my program live. There is also a park across the street from me that is gorgeous. Tuesday was lots of orientation, which was VERY tiring. I met lots of people though which is great. We also took a 2.5 hour bus tour of the city which gave me an idea of places I want to explore more (especially the areas with lots of shops). Yesterday was orientation day 2 which was very boring but I guess they have to do it. I went out with a bunch of girls last night which was very fun. Today we had to go to school for more orientation and then we grabbed lunch and shopped a little. I finally got a phone here which I had been wanting to get since Monday.

So far Paris has been wonderful to me...I am finally settling in and realizing that this place will be my home for the next 4 months. I think it will fly by! Some things that I am not used to yet are the cultural differences between the French and Americans. We smile a lot in the US but apparently the French do not smile very often. This is virtually impossible for me to do, I smile way too much. They also wear dark colors all winter long while we tend to wear yellows and other bright colors all year round, another difference that will be hard for me to adapt to.

Despite what we may think in the US, I have only had good interactions with the French people. They are very kind and helpful when you get lost on the Metro (this has happened to me already!) and I really think that they only get annoyed by us when we are very loud and obnoxious.

Ok enough for now, I hope to update more often...

-MEP