Salut à tous!
After a seemingly endless flight across the Atlantic, I finally arrived in Paris yesterday morning. Confident that my French skills would at least allow me to make it through the airport "sans erreur," I was eager to get off the plane and through customs. ...I got lost before I even left my terminal. After finally arriving at my homestay around noon, after nearly 24 hours of traveling, I was anxious to settle in. My host family lives in the 12e arrondissement of Paris, on the right bank (ou rive droite) of the Seine. They speak very little English, which makes for some difficulty in communication, but they have been very forgiving; asking about my family, pets, major and hometown. Today was the first day of program orientation for ISA students. The 22 of us were greeted with fresh coffee and literal piles of pain au chocolat and croissants, followed with lectures on safety, tourism and "la vie française" and a walking tour of the Latin Quarter, which included famous landmarks like Notre Dame and the Shakespeare and Co. book store. My roommate, Corri, and I took the afternoon to explore Paris and to find local SIM cards that would allow us to use our phones as we wandered around. For ten euros we were able to purchase cars from Free Mobile, a French phone company, and use our own phones right away, which is nice. We also had the chance to explore the city's vast metro system, which is complex, but very efficient. It still seems strange to think of myself as living in Paris, where just my neighborhood is 17 times larger than my hometown, but between the cheese and baguettes, I think I will settle in nicely. À tout! P.S. Since I'm now living in the city and bringing my camera with me, keep an eye on my 'photos' page, as I'm sure it will be updated more frequently with short blurbs about my adventures.
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AuthorHi! My name is Megan Gilbert, and I am studying abroad in Paris during the spring 2017 semester. Follow along! Archives
May 2017
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