Je suis bien arrivée!

Bonjour tout le monde!

Well, after many hours of travel, I've managed to arrive safely at my destination. It's been a long day (actually, 2 days), so I will sleep really well tonight.

I can't say I have any spectacular things to write about just yet, considering I've been here for less than a day, but I'll write a bit about my trip here.

Basically, yesterday was a long day of travel. I left Milwaukee super early in the morning, only to sit in the Newark airport all day, waiting for my flight to Paris. The flight was about 7 hours long. I slept a little, but of course, not nearly enough...and naturally, I was already sleep-deprived from staying up most of the night packing. Yes, typical for Sarah, I know. Anyway, the flight was fine. I got lucky and didn't have a seat mate, so I got to kind of lay down for part of the flight. Also, I met a guy in the seat in front of me who went to UW-Madison (I saw his sweatshirt) and who currently lives and works in Paris. He gave me a lot of insider tips, including the name of a restaurant in the Montparnasse area. (He even wrote down what I should order when I go. Yes, very specific. Food is important.)

Once I landed, my Charles de Gaulle experience wasn't terrible. My heavy (yes, 8 pounds overweight) came out near the end, but I didn't mind. I then proceeded to the nearest public phone to call the shuttle service and tell them I was there. Then, the guy in charge found me, and we waited a little bit for a few other passengers that were arriving a little later. However, once we were in the shuttle itself, we had to sit there for about an hour before leaving. What happened was that these three younger guys, dressed almost like tourists, were interrogating our driver and the guy in charge. Apparently, these were undercover police officers. One of the passengers was Parisian, so she explained to us that last year, there was an incident where a fake taxi driver took a girl and killed her...so now they're very careful. I appreciate that. However, it took forever. Then, I got to experience beaucoup d'embouteillage (a lot of traffic), typical of big cities. I was the last stop for our shuttle, and since CDG is north of Paris, and I'm staying in the 14e arrondissement in the southern part, I got to ride straight through the heart of the city. The driver and guy in charger were basically silent the entire ride, so I was just taking in all the sites. Then, all of a sudden, the buildings started to look really familiar, and I turned left to see the Louvre! I was so excited! It was pretty surreal, and all I could do was smile to myself.

Finally, the driver announced my stop and explained that they couldn't park right by it. I had to traverse my first Parisian street with all my luggage. No big deal, but I didn't even see a crosswalk light. I found what I thought was the door to the apartment building, tried the code my host mom gave me, and to my delight, it worked! I was so relieved. I knew they live on the 2nd floor, so I'd have to take the elevator. However, I couldn't find it. Then, I realized that the small door that looked like a closet was what I was looking for. Needless to say, I would be a pretty unhappy girl had I gotten stuck in that elevator. I got off, and couldn't figure out which apartment was mine, so naturally, I rang the doorbell of the wrong door. Luckily, the woman who answered was nice. Then, I tried the other door, and voila! I had arrived!

My host mother, Christine, answered the door, and I quickly met the housekeeper, Cecily (I think). A few minutes later, while I was drinking tea and scraping my brain for French vocabulary, I met Christine's youngest daughter, Audrey. She is 18-years-old and leaving for Berlin in the morning. I soon learned that the information IES sent me about the family was a little off. It turns out that Christine has four children, not two...and her son is NOT in Japan right now. I have no idea where that came from. 

Her son, Matthew, is the oldest, is married with children and an engineer. However, his work brings him into the city from time to time, so sometimes, he stays here. I actually met him tonight when he joined us for dinner. He's incredibly nice and constantly translated things for me during dinner...which probably isn't the best for my "full immersion", but on my first day, I appreciated it. In turn, I taught him the English terms, "cucumber" and "apple sauce", haha.

Next, Christine has three daughters. Marine lives in Paris, is a doctor, and lives here at the apartment also. Her twin (name unknown as of now), lives in Nigeria, doing some sort of economic work...? Then, there is Virginie, who apparently lives in Paris too, but I have yet to meet her, and I have no idea what she does. Christine and Audrey (the youngest daughter) just got back from visiting the daughter who lives in Nigeria, and at dinner, they talked about the constant threat of scorpions they experienced in the desert. They also talked about the animals they saw on safari...but beyond the mention of various creatures, I was lost during most of that conversation...in fact, the entire dinner conversation. 

I honestly feel somewhat intimidated by the language right now. However, I'm not panicky or anything. I keep reminding myself that I JUST got here, and it will become easier to understand in time. At the moment, it's the speed that throws me off. I can understand Christine when she talks directly too me, but I get lost when I try to listen to a conversation between her and her children. I think it's just going to take me a couple days to adjust and flip my brain fully into French mode.

Anyway, what else can I say? The apartment I'm in is beautiful. I have my own small room with a great view of the street below, and the kitchen overlooks a small courtyard. I keep staring out the windows, which I think they've noticed and probably think I'm strange or something. I just can't believe I'm here! I'm a little worried about the city noises outside my window...which I love, but that have the potential to hinder my sleeping (although that won't be an issue tonight). Also, I'm pretty sure my window faces east, and with the thin curtains, it's going to be pretty bright in the morning. Whatever. Silly details.

Okay, I need to get to bed soon. Keep in touch, everyone! If that means writing a comment, by all means, go for it!

Bon nuit!