Arrivée à Paris!

Wednesday, my adventure began. My parents drove me to the Springfield airport, I hopped on a plane to Dallas, and from there I flew to the Paris CDG airport! My flights were very nice, with no problems. I then lugged my two suitcases and large backpack onto the RER, then the metro, and then down the street to my host family's house in the Marais. Although it wasn't a pleasant experience, there weren't any bumps in the road.

It turns out that my host family thought I was arriving the following day, so although I arrived a little after noon on Thursday, no one was at the house to let me in until around 5pm. However, it was a nice day and I had a book to read, so I sat out on the staircase and enjoyed the sun and my book. Later, we all had a lovely dinner together and caught up. I brought my host family homemade chocolate chip cookies and a photo book full of pictures of us all from my previous visits. They really enjoyed my gifts!

The next day, Friday, I decided to walk to Bercy Parc/Bercy Village. I had a nice walk, but I got somewhat lost, and the area around Bercy isn't the safest, so I eventually gave in and got on a nearby metro to take it two stations to Bercy. It had begun to rain, so I looked around the Bercy Village shops, and then sat down at the Frog pub to have a beer and hopefully wait out the rain. The beer was good, but the rain didn't go away, so I was unable to enjoy the park.

On my way to Bercy -Lovely Autumn in Paris!

Bercy Village

Bercy Parc - you can see the raindrops on the water!

Luckily, the next day, Saturday, was gorgeous - perfect weather. My host sister, Constance, and I went to the Versailles gardens. We had a picnic of French bakery bread, Camembert cheese, and apples. It was delicious! American bread, cheese, and fruit come nowhere close to comparing with French food! We walked around a lot and just really enjoyed the amazing views and gardens. Versailles is my favorite place I've been, and Saturday was just the perfect day.

Versailles on a perfect day!

Baguette for our picnic - yummm

Me - in front of Versailles!

Today, Constance and I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Even though Constance is Parisian, she had never been up the Eiffel Tower! It was fun and we got some great pictures. It was cloudy, but a nice day.

Beneath the Eiffel Tower

 

 

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Happy on top of the Eiffel Tower!

Unfortunately, it is supposed to rain every day in the following 5-day weather forecast. Tomorrow I plan to spend most of the day exploring the Louvre - it is huge, so definitely a full-day adventure! Paris is great, and I love my French host family, but I am beginning to remember how fed up I get with big cities! I am glad I was placed in a medium-small sized town. I will probably leave for Mende either Wednesday or Thursday. My first day of work is October 1 - coming right up!

Déjà vu ?

Four years ago, I had just arrived in France for my first semester abroad. I was a junior in college, and this was my first time out of the US. I remember being nervous about meeting all new people, about living with a French host family, and especially about my shaky French skills. This time around, thankfully, I have a lot more confidence, I am not shy anymore (people who know me now would never guess how shy I used to be!), and although I do not have native fluency, I know that I have a good accent and that I can have a conversation about most anything with a French person. I am not at all nervous, just excited and thankful. 

The Seine River, Paris -- I get to see this in 12 days!

This time, I am prepared. Prepared to be super outgoing and meet people and join clubs. Prepared to not understand everything the French say, but to be able to get the gist of the conversation. And as prepared as I can be for the homesickness that I know will come no matter how much I love France. My time in France in 2008 was amazing, but I remember throughout it all, there was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, longing for “home”.  I missed my family most of all – my parents and sister in Arkansas and my aunt, uncle & cousin in California, but I also missed some modern conveniences – bathrooms in the grocery store, stores open 24/7, airlines that weren’t ryanair (ughhhhh), even the freedom that driving gives you (although I hate driving in general). This time I'm older, wiser, and more independent.

Me, Older and Wiser in 2012! ;)

Three and a half years ago, I spent the 2^nd semester of my junior year in Salamanca, Spain…next year I hope to apply for the Teach in Spain program! One of the best things about the study abroad program (IES) was that we would take trips together. Hopefully I will make friends who want to travel during our breaks! 

Traveling with friends in Granada, Spain, 2009

My cousin is coming to visit during Christmas break, during which time we will visit Montpellier, Paris, Dublin, and London!!

Streets of Dublin, Ireland

 Another awesome aspect of studying abroad was the opportunity to live with a host family. I lucked out and got awesome families in both Paris and Salamanca. Although I won't be living with a host family, I will be living in the dorms of the school, and one of the English teachers at the school emailed me yesterday to say that the students who live in my hallway are super excited to have an American neighbor! Things are looking pretty amazing!

My Spanish host family on my host dad's birthday!