Bonjour tout le monde!
Jours 1-7
April 23-Aril 29
Hello friends, family and other readers! This part of my blog will
contain “Ma vie quotidienne” aka my daily life. My walks and excursions are
part of my culture class, but even though this section is also, I am going to
be much less formal here. Also, this post will be longer than most because I
have a whole week to cover, sorry!
Paris is AMAZING. I am so in love
with this city I cannot even describe it to you. Arriving here in Paris was a
little nerve-wracking because I had to find my friend who was supposed to
arrive at the same time as me but my flight was an hour late. I had no idea if
she was still waiting for me and we both didn’t have a phone but no worries, we
found each other fine. The first thing Melissa and I did in Paris? Take a four
hour nap. Probably not the best idea but it was amazing. That night we walked
to the Eiffel Tower and got lost trying to find this other building that looked
pretty. However, a construction worker did help us out and it was so much fun
to actually talk to a French person.
The "peace wall" and the eiffel tower I saw on my first day |
On Sunday we had our first church
in French. Actually, quite a bit of it was in English but it was still overwhelming
and I will be excited for when I can actually speak this language.
On Monday we got to meet our host family! The first thing our mom did
was sit us down on the couch and talk to us only in French. It was a little
scary but we made it through. While unpacking I got to meet my host sister,
Cassandre, and she is the sweetest thing. She took us shopping at La Défense,
also known as the “Manhattan” side of Paris, aka the only modern portion of
Paris. Also, for dinner I ate fish, radishes, and asparagus, all things that I
would’ve avoided with my life back in Paris. Look what France can do!
La défense-I didn't actually take this picture but just so you have an idea of what it looks like |
The Catacombs |
Tuesday I went to the market with my host family and got to buy a purse
which my mom calls my “do-do”, French for teddy bear, because I bring it
everywhere with me. I also went to the Catacombs with some friends which was
super cool, and obviously a little creepy. It was also my host sister’s
birthday today! Her mom surprised her with a bunch of friends coming to visit
which was awesome for Melissa and me because we spoke French with them for four
hours. It was a good thing that a lot of them spoke English to help me out but
it was so much fun!
The market that I went to with my host family |
Wednesday I had my first day of classes and my first walk (described in
a previous post) and by the end I was exhausted! Thursday went pretty similarly
with a walk and a class. However, at the end of our walk on Thursday my friends
and I went to Angelina and I drank the best hot chocolate of my life there. It
was ridiculously overpriced (8 euros) but it was so amazing and it was so much
fun to sit in a posh French restaurant that the experience made up for it.
The delicious, yet expensive, African dark chocolate hot chocolate |
Today (Friday) I went to Chartres, one of the most beautiful cities I
have ever been to. You can read all about it in my other post.
Another beautiful Picture of Chartres |
I know that this has been way too long and you probably didn’t read all
of it, however, here are some fun facts that I have learned while here in
France.
Fun Facts
1. The Paris
Arts card for students is a MIRACLE. I get into almost everything for free,
Notre-Dame, art museums, cathedrals, anything.
2. It seems
that Parisians only know two styles of shoes, heals and sneakers.
3. Cheese
comes in many colors. For example, today I ate green and red cheese and it was
delicious.
4. There is
no such thing as a butter knife in my home, only steak knives.
À Bientôt,
Claire Hunsaker