Moved into the Homestay!

Okay so I have finally moved into the house where I will be living for the next 4 months and it is wonderful. The family is really sweet and helpful. There are three kids, but I have only met one so far and will meet the others on the weekend. I have dinner 4 nights a week with the family and they speak to me in French which is going to help a lot. When I get really stuck they give me a little something in English to help me out. It definitely feels strange living in someone else's house that you don't really know. I feel like I hang out in my room a lot because I don't want to be invading their space at all. I'm sure things will get better with time.

This is where I live!

I think the best part about Paris so far is getting to meet so many interesting and fun people. All of the people in my program are funny and nice. I love the idea that I will be leaving here not only with memories, but with new friends.

The worst part about Paris so far is that everything is so expensive! There is nothing here that is actually cheap, just things that seem cheap. I've started keeping track of my spending so that I don't come home completely broke. Here's hoping!

First Day of Class

So today was the first day of our French Practicum class which consisted of a three hour class and an excursion into somewhere in Paris.The good thing was last night was the first full night of sleep I have gotten since arriving in Paris. I hoped this meant I would be on top of my game, but instead I was not doing so well. Nerves made me use the wrong verb choice and I essentially called a boy a girl. Not the best start to the day, but as the lesson went on I realized that I knew more French than I thought I did, I just don't ever use it.

The excursion was to a beautiful park that has all kinds of buildings enclosed in it. There was a science center and a museum of music which was incredible. I spent about an hour looking through the museum where we got to listen to many different types of instruments through our own personal headsets.

I will try to remember to post some pictures tomorrow!!!

Becoming a Parisian...

So today was a big day. The day where we found out our home stays. It is so strange to think that in a few days I will be living with a family of complete strangers, complete with three kids! I am excited and nervous to meet them, but I think it will all be worth it.

Today a friend and I went shopping near Hotel de Ville and had a great time. The best part was not the shopping, but the adventure we took trying to get to a beautiful church we saw on the other side of a bunch of construction. We ended up finding this cute little street where everyone was eating outside at tables. We decided to join the French and eat our sandwiches outside and people watch as well. It was nice to be surrounded by people who weren't tourists for a change.

Well all this busyness has made me exhausted!

Day 1ish

So even with all my tiredness I still managed to get to go to the Eiffel tower last night. It was like a dream come true seeing it up close. As we were walking to it from the metro I said to my roommate, "It sure looks small from here"... So not true up close. A bunch of us went and sat in the grass ans looked up at its massiveness.

Today's adventures included the market this morning, where I ordered two of the best croissants I have ever had without using any english! It was only one thing, but it made it seem like this isn't going to be such a feat. Orientation was pretty standard but then a bunch of us decided to go to the Latin Quarter and see Notre Dame. No hunchback (so dissapointing) but sitting along the Seine and staring it was definitely not a dissapointment.

Just a short post tonight as someone (AKA me) has to get up early tomorrow for another orientation.

From the hotel lobby

So, after two flights, a ride on the RER, a ride on the metro and a ride in a cab, I am safely in the hotel in Paris that I will be living in until Sunday when I move in with my homestay family. It is so strange to finally be in the place I dreamed forever of visiting, After being awake for 24 hours I am almost to tired to enjoy it fully. So instead, I will sit here like a zombie and recount my trip here.

Plane number 1: Calgary to Montreal.
This was definitely the easiest leg of the journey. Other than having a tearful goodbye with the family, there were no problems. I got to watch a bunch of movies on the plane and made it to Montreal on time and unscathed.

Plane number 2 on the other hand (Montreal to Paris) was the worst flight of my life. We were stuck on the ground for about an hour and a half due to late passengers and lightning. I didn't mind because this plane had a whole bunch of new movies. The only problem was the man seated next to me. For the purposes of this blog, let's call him loud snoring-seat hog-Italian guy. He snored the ENTIRE flight. And not the peaceful "oh he must be tired" snoring. This was the "Ohmigod! I must turn around to see if someone is dying" type of snoring. He also quite enjoyed taking up all the foot space, including mine, and using the middle arm rest as an extension of his seat, so much that he was elbowing me every ten seconds so I never got to sleep.

I was so exhausted by the time I got to the Paris airport that I was glad I had painted my suitcase in glitter or I would have watched it go by in the monotonous river of suitcases. I started my way to the RER train, which I had to take to connect to the metro, and realized I had lost my directions to the school where I had to check in! Not to worry, the magical mind of Kirsten Rowland had memorized it making it a lot easier.I got down to the RER station when a wonderful Brazilian man named Bruno informed me a wheel had fallen of my 52 pound suitcase as I brought it down the stupid stairs. We ended up on the same RER train to the same Metro stop and he helped me all the way so that I didn't get lost and continued to follow behind me, picking up my broken suitcase wheel every time it fell off. He was my hero of the train ride. The lovely Bruno, a man with a PhD in neuroscience and a heart of gold. Also he lived in Canada so of course he is a good guy!

Too bad Bruno wasn't there when I had to drag my suitcase from the metro 3 blocks to my school. I arrived there a sweaty, smelly, tired mess. Not cute AT ALL. And I was so tired that I was basically crying at every nice thing someone did for me. The poor man at the front desk of the school probably thought I was insane. Anyways, he helped me get a cab to take me to my hotel, which is only a 15 minute walk  but would have been a day with my broken suitcase.

The best feeling in the whole world was getting to go to my room and shower before I had to actually meet people. All of the homestay students are in the same hotel and we all have bonded together for the fact that we are all lost, confused, and can speak English. I am so glad that all these people are in the same boat as me because I don't think I could do this alone. I think we keep each other from getting scared about the enormity of what we are undertaking.

Well tomorrow is orientation, so hopefully I will be a little less tired and a lot more organized. I bet I will even get to post some pictures of this beautiful city, or at least the two streets that I know how to get to.

Au revoir!

Packing...

So, as per usual, I decide to start packing only two days before I leave. Pushing the deadline, yet again. The good thing is the house is looking a lot cleaner without all my stuff all over the place.

As most people already know, because I can't stop talking about it, I am leaving to study abroad in Paris for 4 months. I have never even been outside of North America, so this is big news for me!  After months and months of filling out paperwork, I am finally getting to go to the place I have dreamed about visiting forever.

Though I am more excited than nervous, there are little things that continue to get me a little worried. Like flying from Calgary to Montreal and then Montreal to Paris. First, I have the worst luck travelling out of everyone I know. Second, I will have to get to my school from the airport on the metro, during rush hour.

I fly out this Sunday, so wish me luck and follow my blog for posts from gorgeous Paris.