I made it!

**This post is being written on Friday night, August 21^st. But I haven’t been able to get internet access so I’m writing the post now and will post it later when I can get back on wireless**

Bonjour, tout le monde! I’m currently sitting in one of the main “socializing” rooms in the foyer on a couch with Emily. There are some other students here as well (you have to be between the ages of 18 and 24 to live in the foyer [for no more than two years]). We wanted to take our laptops to a park and enjoy the lovely night but the nearest park is closed and it probably wouldn’t be the safest thing to do at night, anyway.

Emily and I agree that this has been the longest day EVER. I’m so glad I got to travel with her because if I had to go through the long journey myself, I’m pretty sure I would have cracked at some point. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare before the flight, and I only had one minor breakdown. I knew I was going to get sad or upset at one point, so I did, and it was ok. I’m going to miss everyone so much. Sometimes four months seems like a daunting, long time, and other times it really doesn’t feel like anything at all. It’s a good thing Em and I went through security early because we almost had to rebook our flight to Paris since our flight from BWI to New York was running late. Luckily, they changed the warning from all connecting international flights prior to 6 (ours was 5:45) to prior to 5. The plane was the size of my pinkie. No really, it was the tiniest thing I’ve ever flown on—there were 50 seats with only 35 taken, two seats grouped on one side and a single seat on the other. (!) Any carry-ons bigger than a briefcase had to be specially checked since they wouldn’t fit. Needless to say, I was really nervous during the short flight. It was like a toy plane—it didn’t belong in the air!

The flight to Paris was much smoother and I felt a lot safer. We were in the third-to-last row (in the middle group) which I didn’t mind so much because we were closer to the flight attendants. I told one I was a nervous flyer and he made sure to tell the whole crew to keep an eye on me. I know, I’m 20 years old, but airplanes still really, really scare me. Luckily, I was fine throughout. My only complaint was (OH MY GOODNESS PEOPLE ARE SAYING HI TO US RIGHT NOW AND WE’RE INTERACTING WITH FRENCH STUDENTS) that it was boring and really uncomfortable so we got almost no sleep. But it was so exciting to land in Paris! It didn’t finally hit me until we walked into the airport. I thought I would be able to have some time to adjust to the transition from English to French but it was GO, SPEAK FRENCH, right from the very beginning. In all honestly, that’s really good. I need a lot of practice with my French and there’s no better way than to dive in headfirst. I have a lot of goals for myself. I definitely need to be more confident when I speak. I also want to make sure that when people are talking to me, I really listen and can pick up on more key words so I don’t just have a vague idea of what they’re saying. I want to speak fast, too! Like second nature.

It’s pretty surreal to be here. Em and I spent the day filling out paperwork, buying things for our foyer (dorm): there was no trashcan or toilet paper in the bathroom! We’re in single rooms on different floors but each room has its own bathroom, which is really nice and unexpected. We took a walk this afternoon and more recently, one to find a café to eat dinner. We figured that since it’s our first night here, we could go out to eat and treat ourselves a little. But I really have to be careful about my spending for the semester. I want to travel a lot and so if that means that I have to eat small, cheap meals to counteract that, then I will. We’ve basically been up since 7 am yesterday—out of the last 33 hours, we’ve slept 2. I’m SO ready to crash for bed, but it was important to try to stay awake all day to get back on a good sleeping schedule.

I like my room, although it feels kind of bare and lonely at times. Everything is in its place and put away neatly, but the walls are white and screaming for some decorations. I brought a lot of things from home to put up on them, so I can’t wait to decorate J I got sad once again for a little, and I think moments like that are going to come every now and then, at least for the beginning of the trip. The bathroom is so small it feels like I’m in the airplane bathroom. I even get weird motion sickness and feel like I’m rocking and moving when I’m not. We’ll see how the shower goes…..

Well, it’s about time for me to get to bed. I foresee a good night’s sleep tonight. A tout alors!