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.