Une aventure par jour, une victoire par jour

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After nearly 24 hours of travel, I finally arrived in Paris last night! I was the last member of my program to arrive, and had my first full conversation in French with a Parisian on the ride from the airport to my home stay. I had about 10 minutes of whirlwind check-in and basic information at the CEA headquarters before making my way to the apartment where I will be staying, and was met at the door by another international student who is staying with my same host. We dragged my two suitcases up four flights of stairs, and I finished unpacking just in time to meet my host, Dominique, who made us all our first dinner together. I ate a salad with beets! And they still taste like mud to me, but I decided to get in the spirit of trying new things right away. The apartment is incredible--it is huge with high ceilings, a beautiful kitchen, and giant windows that look out onto a courtyard.

After a night of barely 3 hours of sleep (thanks to the jet lag), I woke up early for the first day of orientation. My apartment is only a 10 minute walk from the CEA headquarters, so I got to explore my neighborhood a little on the way over. We jumped right in getting to know each other and where we are all from, and then had a group lunch at a café across from Places des Voges, which is only a block away from Victor Hugo's house. I also ate quiche! I buried the eggs in my salad, and tried to get as much crust as possible, but I was still proud of my accomplishment.

After lunch, we continued on with orientation, and the director gave us some really great starting advice. She said, "une aventure par jour, une victoire par jour," meaning an adventure a day, a victory each day. She then went on to describe her little adventures/victories as starting out small--simple things like buying produce at a grocery store and exploring the metro system. She made sure to stress that as long as we are getting out each day to explore something new or walk a new neighborhood, we are making small victories in the process of getting acclimated and settling in. After the day's sessions had ended, half of our group decided to go out and find a "tabac" (convenience stores) to buy our first metro passes. We got pretty turned around, but ended up finding one in the end. Now we are free to roam the metro of Paris! As i walked back to my apartment, I got lost in the winding streets, but ended up popping out at a major street facing directly across the Hôtel de Ville, which was one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. I am planning on going back there tomorrow to get some photos in the daylight. I register for classes tomorrow, and enjoy my last day of freedom before school starts! Should be a great day for exploring.

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Comments

[Alimom]

Ali- It sounds like you are off to a fantastic start to your \"victorious adventures\". Way to go!