New Accommodations

I moved to my homestay today! I'm living in a 5th floor walk up apartment in the Latin Quarter, in the 6th arrondissement. I recently read a Wall Street Journal article that said the 6th is the most desirable area to live in, and so far, so good. I have a very nice host mom and my own room, which is great. She has had a lot of visiting students in the past, so I think it will work out well. Also with all the stairs and all the walking I do, I'm sure to get some kind of workout.

When I arrived my host mom was very kind but it was the first time I deeply missed my family. Not that I haven't been missing them before this, but moving to a new apartment with a woman I don't know is quite different from living in an apartment with American students. I'm excited for how my French will improve through this experience. She speaks English, but she only speaks to me in French, which is preferable for actually learning the language!

After I settled in we left the apartment to get lunch. We stumbled upon a woman who was holding a map, and my host mom asked if she needed help. Jane, the woman is Australian (from Adelaide) and we ended up taking her to four different places to find a SIM card and then she came with us to the pizza restaurant for lunch. It was very fancy! And very delicious. My host mom is quite dramatic (she used to be an actress and you can certainly tell) and she doesn't seem to know a stranger. She kept joking with all the people in the restaurant. I have a feeling everything is going to be fine.

After that I ended up going with Jane to see some of Paris. She had just arrived this morning. We went into Notre Dame, and oh my goodness, so beautiful. A Venezuelan orchestra was playing and the cathedral is gorgeous and it was fantastic. Then we went into the Palais de Justice, which I think is a courthouse, just because we could, and then tried to see Saint Chapelle but it was closed today. We checked out the Pompidou too. Unfortunately I left my camera and phone in the apartment so I couldn't take any photos. Never did I think I would've spent the afternoon with a woman from Australia but it was definitely fun.

I was near CEA at this point (my school here) and decided to head over there for the 5 pm "gouter" which was a welcome snack of crepes and cider for the new students! There are now over 100 American students instead of just the 15 there were two days ago. It'll be great to meet all the new people. Unfortunately on the way to CEA my phone fell out of a hole in the pocket of my rain jacket and hit the ground, and now it seems to be potentially broken. So I'll need to figure that out tomorrow.

Tonight my host mom cooked dinner for me and it was quite delicious. Chicken with mustard and cream sauce, peas, and carrots. There also were some other vegetables in the sauce but I wasn't sure what. Also there was champagne, salad, bread, and cheese. Then we had creme caramel and two little biscuits for dessert. She'll cook for me two nights a week, Monday and Wednesday. I will eat breakfast here each morning as well, and she already laid out all my food for breakfast because I have to be at orientation at 8:30 AM tomorrow. So I am being very well taken care of! I'm missing everyone at home but loving the Parisian life!

First "authentic" French meal!

Bonjour!

Hello from Paris! I have been meaning to write this post since I got here last week, but I haven’t had a lot of time. But here we are!

I got here last Monday afternoon so I’ve officially been in Paris for a week. It feels like a lot longer; I have done so much in that short time! I have seen the Eiffel Tower, the Musée D’Orsay, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and a few smaller museums for class. I have been to the movies and to a mall, and plenty of restaurants. I have ridden the metro all over the city and even have a monthly metro card, which makes me feel very official when I swipe it on my way to class.

The night of my first full day here I went to the Eiffel Tower with some people from my class. It was a little bit surreal; I still didn’t feel like I was in Paris! But it was amazing to see it in person; it’s a lot bigger than I thought and it’s really fun to watch the light show. My class has been a great refresher to French, since I haven’t taken a class in over a year. I now feel pretty much comfortable ordering in restaurants and cafes, but I have a long way to go!

Sunday I went to the cinema with three of my new friends, Rachael, Emilie, and Ariana, to see La Reine des Neiges (aka Frozen), which was dubbed in French. I saw it at home but it was cool to see it in French and see how much of it I could understand. The cinema in France is pretty much the same as in the US except it was smaller and the end of the theater that has the screen was slanted upward instead of being downward like at home (I don’t know if that makes sense).

After that we made a quick stop for pain du chocolat in the metro and went to the Louvre! What a cool experience. I definitely feel like I am in Paris now. We saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, as well as a lot of other pieces I learned about in my art history class in high school. One of the sculptures I wanted to see, Winged Victory of Samothrace, is being restored until the summer so I am bummed about that, but not too bummed because I am in Paris, after all! One thing I found interesting about the Louvre is that on the ground level there are two Starbucks cafes a two minute walk away from each other. There is also an Apple store, Swarovski, and lots of other stores. I didn't expect there to be shops in the Louvre. Also, Starbucks and McDonald's are everywhere here. America at its finest ;)

My housing situation is great. I am in a two bedroom apartment for four people in the 13th arrondissment. It is just a couple minutes walk from the metro, around the corner from the grocery store, and takes about half an hour to get to school. Two of the roommates have been here all year and are away traveling, but my roommate Rachael is new as well. She is great. We go on adventures and explore the city together. I will be moving to a homestay next week, so I’m sure that’ll be an adventure as well.

I have much more to say, especially plenty of observations about the metro, but I will save those for a later post. Just know that the food is delicious and I am doing so much walking! I am so grateful to be in Paris and really excited to see what’s ahead.

Beginnings

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Ever since I was a little girl and carried a notebook with me everywhere I went, I’ve been fascinated by words, the way the perfect combination can make you sit there in silence just thinking about their impact, the way they teach and empower and shape everything we do, the way you can string them together to make magic.

I always thought newspapers were pretty cool too. I used to sit on the front porch on Sunday mornings and read the newspaper with my mom in middle school. I majored in journalism because I couldn’t really imagine spending four years studying anything else. I spent evenings in the college newspaper room because that was where I felt safest, surrounded by “my people”, the ones who loved putting words together in just the right way as much as I did. I love that journalism is a public service: a way to educate, bring attention to issues, and help people. I can’t ever see myself doing anything different.

I've blogged in the past, but not like this. I’ve been wanting to start a new blog since October, and I finally got my ideas together in place to do it. I hope to write about journalism, study abroad, books, international affairs, education, women’s empowerment, and anything else I find worthy. I leave for my semester in Paris in just a couple of days, so I'm sure to have interesting content right away.You can find a link to my published clips on the left, as well as my social media profiles. Journalism and books mean the world to me, and I'm excited to share my thoughts.