Days 1, 2 and 3 in Paris
To say a lot has been done and it is only the end of the 2nd full day, is an understatement.
Let's start with Saturday morning. Chrys and Raf graduated from De Anza College (YAYYYYY) that morning then it was go go go go go time.
My parents graciously rented a big ass pick up truck and drove it from Colorado here, to be here for my sisters graduation, and to drive all of my stuff back to Colorado while I boarded a plane to fly halfway across the world. After the graduation ceremony, while mom and Dan were at the house getting the graduation party underway, dad, Kittery, Chrys, Raf, Tasha, Kyle and I went and loaded up the pick up truck with all my stuff. Everything fit except 5 boxes of stuff that was going to my dads storage unit, 4 bags of stuffies (again, unit), a bag of bedding, an extra blanket and an old barbie car that I am keeping for my kids. AMAZING! I had doubts about the trucks capabilities, but all the stuff I wanted at the apartment fit!
With the truck packed, we go back to the house to enjoy the last few hours of family time, eat a wonderful meal cooked by mom and then I need to hop in the shower to rinse off the days grime before getting ready to board a hot, crowded 10 hour flight.
Check in was a bit rough because the airlines website sucks and you could not check in early, nor was I able to find anything regarding baggage limits... So I get there and only one bag is free to check, which is fine, i expected that. However, you are only allowed ONE carry on item UNDER 5 kg (which is about 10 pounds)... any extra luggage is $140 per piece! And I had a giant back pack because I will be here for over 6 weeks! Needless to say I was not happy...
Then came the saying goodbye part. I had to walk away from Chrys, Raf, and Tasha... She was the hardest. Tasha is more than just my best friend, she is my sister, my person, my other half. She knows me better than I know me. And I don't know when I will see her next. And I can't even text her every day to annoy her. So I cried, a lot. And then I called Charles, and I cried some more, because... well really I don't know. I knew I had skype and could call him, and I knew he was getting internet so we could video chat soon enough, but the thought of boarding that plane and walking away from Tasha for who knows how long, and not having instant access to my boyfriend (who was already over 1000 miles away) just down right terrified me. Add to that I have never been further east than Missouri, let alone flown for that long, let alone been out of country, I was nearly pissing my pants, and shaking so hard Charles could barely understand me at times...
But board that plane I did, sit on that flight I did, land in Europe I did.
The flight itself was all right I suppose. Because we were flying into the morning, and up OVER the North Pole, all the windows were shut to keep out the daylight so people could sleep... I didn't really sleep, though I dozed off and on for 8 of the 10 and a half hours. Classical music blasting, jacket across my lap, pillow in the small of my back, I was as comfortable as could be expected. Legs got tripped on when I stretched them into the aisle, shoulder, elbow and knee kept getting banged into as people tried to pass, I even had steward's ass in my face... But we were fed dinner and breakfast, and they were decent meals.
When I finally do get to land it is about 5:30 and it takes me nearly an hour to retrieve my luggage because there were over 500 people on my flight and a tiny ass baggage area so it was super crowded and I decided to wait for the crowd to thin a little bit. Then I finally found a taxi (because the shuttle I had arranged was cancelled the day prior and nothing would let me book within 24 hours...) Well the taxi cost me 75.80 euros, but the ride was amazing. I sat in awe and wonder as we drove through the country side then eventually Paris itself, and it was just breathtakingly beautiful... I even caught my first IN REAL LIFE glimpse of La Tour Eiffel!!!!! I almost cried. And I passed over the Seine, twice! The buildings are amazing!!! They have character, history, beauty, and each one is soooo different from the next! There is over 10 centuries of buildings, pathways and stones here in the city! Even some of the stores and restaurants have ORIGINAL wall sections IN their stores! As in, walls from the days of the Romans and the early French!
When I finally arrived at Foyer de l'Enfant Jesus-Christ it was nearly 7:40 in the evening and dinner had started at 7:30 and had already been put away (which I didn't even know at the time). Our dorm was to have a mini orientation at 8:00 which gave me exactly 20 minutes to drop my stuff (oh, by the way, I am on the third floor with a suitcase, large back pack, and back pack with no elevator... workout!), shower and get back down to the kitchen.
The orientation was quick, disorganized and a bit confusing for everyone. The Professors in charge of the program seem to be scattered and do not communicate very much, they don't even have each others phone numbers...
Afterwards, I am FINALLY able to connect to the internet, which took fenagling on my part and technical skills I did not know I possessed. I got to talk to Charles, called Tasha, Chrys and Raf, Kittery and dad, and mom and Dan. Then I was bombarded with people asking me how I got the internet to work and whether I could help them or not, and when thir iPods, iPads and phones wouldn't connect, let them all borrow my laptop to phone home or drop a quick email. Then myself and two other ladies (Cynthia and Raquel) went on an adventure to find food. I was starving, had missed dinner and all I wanted was to find something quick and get to bed.
We went out and walked around our arrondissement for about 20 minutes before finally stopping at Pomme de Pain to enjoy a sandwich and potato wedges then head back for the night.
Btw, since Paris is above the 49th parallel, the sun starts to rise about 4:45 and sets about 10, very weird!!! Throws you off entirely! it's 9pm and it looks and feels likes it is only 7 pm!!!
When we get back, the internet is not working, I'm tired but not tired, so I decide to lay down and read. That lasted for about 20 minutes before I finally felt ready to sleep. At this point it is about 11:30 pm. I slept for about 2 hours before waking up again then slept again until about 4:30... I tried sleeping more but it just wouldn't happen so I decided to get up and see if the internet was working yet and lo and behold it was! So I made my calls again, Charles, mom and Dan, Tasha and Chrys and Raf, even called Jeff and got to talk to him for a few minutes. Then I finally decided the day should start.
I took a shower (which, by the way, water shoots out of the head AND the hose near the head... and my basin doesn't drain very well, so the Nuns are looking into it for me), then head down to breakfast. Talk about different! I had coffee (out of an instant packet), baguette hunks with jam and I think that was it... Not a whole lot.
Go back up to my room to finish getting ready and turns out my power adapter may or may not work for my hair straightener, the straightener has a higher voltage than most things and I don't want to chance possibly blowing anything up so several of us are going to go in on a hair straightener.
We walk to our first Parisienne bus stop, find this amazing little market about a 5 minute walk from the foyer and ride over to the Conde. There we have mass orientation and then split up into our prospective groups. Some of us are studying at l'Institut Catholique and are receiving credit for our class, while others are taking survival French, which is basically a crash course with additional tidbits like how to flirt in French.
We walk over to l'Institut Catholique where we get to take a written and oral placement test to see which class we will be placed in. That's done by about 12 so Raquel and I decide to walk back to our dorm to meet Cynthia for lunch... and end up getting lost... Then finally make it to our dorm with about 45 minutes until we have to meet back at the Conde for our afternoon Civilization lecture. So we decide to head to the Carrefour super marche since we can't find Cynthia, to get some things to put in our lockers to supplement meals, such as bananas, cereal, jam, etc of our own and of course some wine, cheese and a fresh baguette.
When Raquel and I finally make it back to the dorm, it is now 1:15, the Conde is about a 15 minute walk from our dorm and we haven't even made lunch. So we hurriedly throw together a delicious sandwich if baguette, cheese, tomato and some chicken slices. Best. Sandwich. Ever!
We finally make it to the Conde and are about 20 minutes late but it's ok.
When that is done, we get into groups to be taken on a tour of St. Germain. The tour lasted about 2 and a half hours and was both beautiful/breathtaking/amazing and awful all at the same time. We walked for 2 and a half hours and most of us were running on 3 and 4 hours of sleep.It's now 3 pm, some of us had been up as early as 3:30 after not sleeping well the night before, jet lagged, and being run ragged. Our feet hurt, we were all tired, thirsty, hungry and just wanted to stop for a while. But in the end it was worth it.
We walked through several historic parts of Paris, saw pieces of the original walls that once surrounded Paris in its many stages of construction and advancement, walked through le Jardin de Luxembourg, through St. Germain and into the Church where the Nun in The Davinci Code is shot. it was beautiful and awe inspiring! Amazing! Words alone cannot express the wonder and awe we all felt, and the pictures just don't do it justice!
Afterwards we have about 2 hours until dinner and we all go to take naps. i ended up talking to Charles for about thirty minutes, then dozed for about 10 before going down to dinner. We had just enough time after dinner to relax for another maybe 30 minutes before heading back to the Conde for a trip on the Seine.
As if the day couldn't get anymore breathtaking!!! We're all still dog tired, our feet still hurt and we're all getting rather grumpy, but once the boat pushed off the edge and we started sailing down the historic river and seeing all the Chateau's and older buildings, as soon as La Tour Eiffel came into view, everything was worth it! The blisters on our feet, our exhausting, even the windy chill! It was just beautiful! Last about an hour!
Afterwards, Cynthia, Raquel, Lauren, Michelle, Sheryl and another lady who's name I have yet to get went and found a cafe for a snack and hot chocolate and sat out on the patio for about 30 minutes just talking, sipping chocolat chaud and enjoying the busy city night life. However, all too soon we had to head back to our dorm as the nuns have a curfew of midnight. We made it just in time, only to discover one lady who had just arrived that day had not returned and since none of us had phones, we had no way of getting in contact with her. Eventually we went to bed (turns out she got a hotel).
Get upstairs to bed, it is nearly midnight and photobucket is not cooperating. I tried uploading pictures last night but it just kept failing...
When I crawled into bed, it was well after 1 am and I had to be up at 6:30. Passed out cold.
Got up this morning, showered, woke Raquel up, went and ate breakfast, came back to finish getting ready to go and then headed off to our first day of classes at l'Institut Catholique. Both Raquel and I placed into the elementary 3rd level (which apparently doesn't technically exist in the French system but it's being implemented for the program for those of us not elementary but who have problems in grammar or other areas enough so that the intermediate levels would be a bit too challenging). We are both quite all right with where we are placed. She spent the entire three hours speaking in French and we understood everything she said just fine. We both feel that if we were to step up a level we'd be pulling our hair half the time, frustrated because things are just not making sense.
Class finally ends at noon and we meet up with Michelle to go get lunch. We walk around the neighborhood near the Conde to find something and found this quaint little restaurant that had a meal deal for 12 euros, an entree, a main dish and a dessert. So we sat down, ordered meals, sipped wine and all around enjoyed the early afternoon. We were supposed to be back at the Conde at 2 for our second civilization lecture but we're too busy enjoying the food, day and Paris to make it. The class is technically optional so we didn't feel too bad skipping it.
Since we did skip it, and it was being held in the entrance foyer of the dorm Michelle is staying at, we couldn't go back and just relax so we walked around and browsed windows, then all of us bought a bunch of postcards and then found some stamps.
We finally make it back to the Conde, meet back up with Cynthia and decide to go the Gibert (the big bookstore in Paris which is not just one building but SEVERAL!!!!). So we board the metro (which, by the way is AMAZING and runs every 4 minutes!!!! and goes everywhere! You can be ANYWHERE in ANY direction in a mere matter of minutes!!!)
So we take the metro to St. Michel/Notre Dame (which is BEAUTIFUL!!!!) and find the bookstore, where we promptly get side tracked, buy more post cards (seriously, some for 20 cents!!!) as well as go browse the bandes-dessines! (Basically the comic books) where I found SOOOOO MANY Asterix et Oubelix comics!!! For as cheap as 6.90 Euros!!! For the TWO I have that I bought at a USED bookstore in California, I paid nearly 53 dollars... ~_~
So we finally make it to the bookstore with the language books to purchase our text books (which, btw, textbooks here are SUPER CHEAP!!!!!). I bought the textbook (15.93 euros) which is required, the workbook which is not but Raquel and I are going to share the cost of it (8.80 euros!!!) and Michelle, Sheryl and Cynthia are going to look at too, and a pocket dictionary that has over 70,000 words! The one I bought in the US had barely 10,000 words and VERY short explanations.
Afterwards, we came back to our dorm, dropped our stuff off, went to the Carrefour to buy some champagne, cheese, another baguette and a few other items then came back. We had a petit snack before dinner or some of our delicious stuff, ate dinner, then studied for a while.
We FINALLY got our metro stop figured out and walked Michelle back to the platform so she didn't get lost, then came back and parted ways.
Currently two nuns are working in my bathroom on the shower problem so maybe tomorrow I won't have to turn off the water between wetting down, rinsing off and washing up!
It has only been two full days and an evening and it already feels like a lifetime has passed in the sights, sounds, smells, people, places, food and things that have been experienced! I am exhausted but I wanted to get that all down before the little things started disappearing.
More tomorrow!
Let's start with Saturday morning. Chrys and Raf graduated from De Anza College (YAYYYYY) that morning then it was go go go go go time.
My parents graciously rented a big ass pick up truck and drove it from Colorado here, to be here for my sisters graduation, and to drive all of my stuff back to Colorado while I boarded a plane to fly halfway across the world. After the graduation ceremony, while mom and Dan were at the house getting the graduation party underway, dad, Kittery, Chrys, Raf, Tasha, Kyle and I went and loaded up the pick up truck with all my stuff. Everything fit except 5 boxes of stuff that was going to my dads storage unit, 4 bags of stuffies (again, unit), a bag of bedding, an extra blanket and an old barbie car that I am keeping for my kids. AMAZING! I had doubts about the trucks capabilities, but all the stuff I wanted at the apartment fit!
With the truck packed, we go back to the house to enjoy the last few hours of family time, eat a wonderful meal cooked by mom and then I need to hop in the shower to rinse off the days grime before getting ready to board a hot, crowded 10 hour flight.
Check in was a bit rough because the airlines website sucks and you could not check in early, nor was I able to find anything regarding baggage limits... So I get there and only one bag is free to check, which is fine, i expected that. However, you are only allowed ONE carry on item UNDER 5 kg (which is about 10 pounds)... any extra luggage is $140 per piece! And I had a giant back pack because I will be here for over 6 weeks! Needless to say I was not happy...
Then came the saying goodbye part. I had to walk away from Chrys, Raf, and Tasha... She was the hardest. Tasha is more than just my best friend, she is my sister, my person, my other half. She knows me better than I know me. And I don't know when I will see her next. And I can't even text her every day to annoy her. So I cried, a lot. And then I called Charles, and I cried some more, because... well really I don't know. I knew I had skype and could call him, and I knew he was getting internet so we could video chat soon enough, but the thought of boarding that plane and walking away from Tasha for who knows how long, and not having instant access to my boyfriend (who was already over 1000 miles away) just down right terrified me. Add to that I have never been further east than Missouri, let alone flown for that long, let alone been out of country, I was nearly pissing my pants, and shaking so hard Charles could barely understand me at times...
But board that plane I did, sit on that flight I did, land in Europe I did.
The flight itself was all right I suppose. Because we were flying into the morning, and up OVER the North Pole, all the windows were shut to keep out the daylight so people could sleep... I didn't really sleep, though I dozed off and on for 8 of the 10 and a half hours. Classical music blasting, jacket across my lap, pillow in the small of my back, I was as comfortable as could be expected. Legs got tripped on when I stretched them into the aisle, shoulder, elbow and knee kept getting banged into as people tried to pass, I even had steward's ass in my face... But we were fed dinner and breakfast, and they were decent meals.
When I finally do get to land it is about 5:30 and it takes me nearly an hour to retrieve my luggage because there were over 500 people on my flight and a tiny ass baggage area so it was super crowded and I decided to wait for the crowd to thin a little bit. Then I finally found a taxi (because the shuttle I had arranged was cancelled the day prior and nothing would let me book within 24 hours...) Well the taxi cost me 75.80 euros, but the ride was amazing. I sat in awe and wonder as we drove through the country side then eventually Paris itself, and it was just breathtakingly beautiful... I even caught my first IN REAL LIFE glimpse of La Tour Eiffel!!!!! I almost cried. And I passed over the Seine, twice! The buildings are amazing!!! They have character, history, beauty, and each one is soooo different from the next! There is over 10 centuries of buildings, pathways and stones here in the city! Even some of the stores and restaurants have ORIGINAL wall sections IN their stores! As in, walls from the days of the Romans and the early French!
When I finally arrived at Foyer de l'Enfant Jesus-Christ it was nearly 7:40 in the evening and dinner had started at 7:30 and had already been put away (which I didn't even know at the time). Our dorm was to have a mini orientation at 8:00 which gave me exactly 20 minutes to drop my stuff (oh, by the way, I am on the third floor with a suitcase, large back pack, and back pack with no elevator... workout!), shower and get back down to the kitchen.
The orientation was quick, disorganized and a bit confusing for everyone. The Professors in charge of the program seem to be scattered and do not communicate very much, they don't even have each others phone numbers...
Afterwards, I am FINALLY able to connect to the internet, which took fenagling on my part and technical skills I did not know I possessed. I got to talk to Charles, called Tasha, Chrys and Raf, Kittery and dad, and mom and Dan. Then I was bombarded with people asking me how I got the internet to work and whether I could help them or not, and when thir iPods, iPads and phones wouldn't connect, let them all borrow my laptop to phone home or drop a quick email. Then myself and two other ladies (Cynthia and Raquel) went on an adventure to find food. I was starving, had missed dinner and all I wanted was to find something quick and get to bed.
We went out and walked around our arrondissement for about 20 minutes before finally stopping at Pomme de Pain to enjoy a sandwich and potato wedges then head back for the night.
Btw, since Paris is above the 49th parallel, the sun starts to rise about 4:45 and sets about 10, very weird!!! Throws you off entirely! it's 9pm and it looks and feels likes it is only 7 pm!!!
When we get back, the internet is not working, I'm tired but not tired, so I decide to lay down and read. That lasted for about 20 minutes before I finally felt ready to sleep. At this point it is about 11:30 pm. I slept for about 2 hours before waking up again then slept again until about 4:30... I tried sleeping more but it just wouldn't happen so I decided to get up and see if the internet was working yet and lo and behold it was! So I made my calls again, Charles, mom and Dan, Tasha and Chrys and Raf, even called Jeff and got to talk to him for a few minutes. Then I finally decided the day should start.
I took a shower (which, by the way, water shoots out of the head AND the hose near the head... and my basin doesn't drain very well, so the Nuns are looking into it for me), then head down to breakfast. Talk about different! I had coffee (out of an instant packet), baguette hunks with jam and I think that was it... Not a whole lot.
Go back up to my room to finish getting ready and turns out my power adapter may or may not work for my hair straightener, the straightener has a higher voltage than most things and I don't want to chance possibly blowing anything up so several of us are going to go in on a hair straightener.
We walk to our first Parisienne bus stop, find this amazing little market about a 5 minute walk from the foyer and ride over to the Conde. There we have mass orientation and then split up into our prospective groups. Some of us are studying at l'Institut Catholique and are receiving credit for our class, while others are taking survival French, which is basically a crash course with additional tidbits like how to flirt in French.
We walk over to l'Institut Catholique where we get to take a written and oral placement test to see which class we will be placed in. That's done by about 12 so Raquel and I decide to walk back to our dorm to meet Cynthia for lunch... and end up getting lost... Then finally make it to our dorm with about 45 minutes until we have to meet back at the Conde for our afternoon Civilization lecture. So we decide to head to the Carrefour super marche since we can't find Cynthia, to get some things to put in our lockers to supplement meals, such as bananas, cereal, jam, etc of our own and of course some wine, cheese and a fresh baguette.
When Raquel and I finally make it back to the dorm, it is now 1:15, the Conde is about a 15 minute walk from our dorm and we haven't even made lunch. So we hurriedly throw together a delicious sandwich if baguette, cheese, tomato and some chicken slices. Best. Sandwich. Ever!
We finally make it to the Conde and are about 20 minutes late but it's ok.
When that is done, we get into groups to be taken on a tour of St. Germain. The tour lasted about 2 and a half hours and was both beautiful/breathtaking/amazing and awful all at the same time. We walked for 2 and a half hours and most of us were running on 3 and 4 hours of sleep.It's now 3 pm, some of us had been up as early as 3:30 after not sleeping well the night before, jet lagged, and being run ragged. Our feet hurt, we were all tired, thirsty, hungry and just wanted to stop for a while. But in the end it was worth it.
We walked through several historic parts of Paris, saw pieces of the original walls that once surrounded Paris in its many stages of construction and advancement, walked through le Jardin de Luxembourg, through St. Germain and into the Church where the Nun in The Davinci Code is shot. it was beautiful and awe inspiring! Amazing! Words alone cannot express the wonder and awe we all felt, and the pictures just don't do it justice!
Afterwards we have about 2 hours until dinner and we all go to take naps. i ended up talking to Charles for about thirty minutes, then dozed for about 10 before going down to dinner. We had just enough time after dinner to relax for another maybe 30 minutes before heading back to the Conde for a trip on the Seine.
As if the day couldn't get anymore breathtaking!!! We're all still dog tired, our feet still hurt and we're all getting rather grumpy, but once the boat pushed off the edge and we started sailing down the historic river and seeing all the Chateau's and older buildings, as soon as La Tour Eiffel came into view, everything was worth it! The blisters on our feet, our exhausting, even the windy chill! It was just beautiful! Last about an hour!
Afterwards, Cynthia, Raquel, Lauren, Michelle, Sheryl and another lady who's name I have yet to get went and found a cafe for a snack and hot chocolate and sat out on the patio for about 30 minutes just talking, sipping chocolat chaud and enjoying the busy city night life. However, all too soon we had to head back to our dorm as the nuns have a curfew of midnight. We made it just in time, only to discover one lady who had just arrived that day had not returned and since none of us had phones, we had no way of getting in contact with her. Eventually we went to bed (turns out she got a hotel).
Get upstairs to bed, it is nearly midnight and photobucket is not cooperating. I tried uploading pictures last night but it just kept failing...
When I crawled into bed, it was well after 1 am and I had to be up at 6:30. Passed out cold.
Got up this morning, showered, woke Raquel up, went and ate breakfast, came back to finish getting ready to go and then headed off to our first day of classes at l'Institut Catholique. Both Raquel and I placed into the elementary 3rd level (which apparently doesn't technically exist in the French system but it's being implemented for the program for those of us not elementary but who have problems in grammar or other areas enough so that the intermediate levels would be a bit too challenging). We are both quite all right with where we are placed. She spent the entire three hours speaking in French and we understood everything she said just fine. We both feel that if we were to step up a level we'd be pulling our hair half the time, frustrated because things are just not making sense.
Class finally ends at noon and we meet up with Michelle to go get lunch. We walk around the neighborhood near the Conde to find something and found this quaint little restaurant that had a meal deal for 12 euros, an entree, a main dish and a dessert. So we sat down, ordered meals, sipped wine and all around enjoyed the early afternoon. We were supposed to be back at the Conde at 2 for our second civilization lecture but we're too busy enjoying the food, day and Paris to make it. The class is technically optional so we didn't feel too bad skipping it.
Since we did skip it, and it was being held in the entrance foyer of the dorm Michelle is staying at, we couldn't go back and just relax so we walked around and browsed windows, then all of us bought a bunch of postcards and then found some stamps.
We finally make it back to the Conde, meet back up with Cynthia and decide to go the Gibert (the big bookstore in Paris which is not just one building but SEVERAL!!!!). So we board the metro (which, by the way is AMAZING and runs every 4 minutes!!!! and goes everywhere! You can be ANYWHERE in ANY direction in a mere matter of minutes!!!)
So we take the metro to St. Michel/Notre Dame (which is BEAUTIFUL!!!!) and find the bookstore, where we promptly get side tracked, buy more post cards (seriously, some for 20 cents!!!) as well as go browse the bandes-dessines! (Basically the comic books) where I found SOOOOO MANY Asterix et Oubelix comics!!! For as cheap as 6.90 Euros!!! For the TWO I have that I bought at a USED bookstore in California, I paid nearly 53 dollars... ~_~
So we finally make it to the bookstore with the language books to purchase our text books (which, btw, textbooks here are SUPER CHEAP!!!!!). I bought the textbook (15.93 euros) which is required, the workbook which is not but Raquel and I are going to share the cost of it (8.80 euros!!!) and Michelle, Sheryl and Cynthia are going to look at too, and a pocket dictionary that has over 70,000 words! The one I bought in the US had barely 10,000 words and VERY short explanations.
Afterwards, we came back to our dorm, dropped our stuff off, went to the Carrefour to buy some champagne, cheese, another baguette and a few other items then came back. We had a petit snack before dinner or some of our delicious stuff, ate dinner, then studied for a while.
We FINALLY got our metro stop figured out and walked Michelle back to the platform so she didn't get lost, then came back and parted ways.
Currently two nuns are working in my bathroom on the shower problem so maybe tomorrow I won't have to turn off the water between wetting down, rinsing off and washing up!
It has only been two full days and an evening and it already feels like a lifetime has passed in the sights, sounds, smells, people, places, food and things that have been experienced! I am exhausted but I wanted to get that all down before the little things started disappearing.
More tomorrow!