A Change of Continents...

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Here I am in Paris! The second half of my year abroad... I can't believe I'm already here. Amusingly (or not), internet is also a problem here. Its one thing to have issues accessing internet in a developing country, but here I am, writing my entry to post later, this time in a McDonalds with free wi-fi. The US still takes the cake for technology, but there's always a fleetingly rustic appeal to the search for internet so for now I won't fret.

Anyways... I got here Tuesday safe and sound. Both flights went very smoothly, everything on time and comfortable. My first flight was super empty so I got two seats to myself and the snow in Europe didn't cause any delays, alhamdoulilah. Chesa met me at the airport and we took the train home to our apartment, which is AWESOME! We can see the tip of the Eiffel Tower from our couch and the place is really spacious and nice. We are so lucky to have so much room in this location, at this price... i've seen a few other student apartments and the space is so much smaller yet more expensive. I finally finished the bulk of my organizing today, which involved moving an armoire into my room and using a broom as a tension rod in the supply closet, but hey, it works! My room is the smaller of the two but its not that small at all... in fact, it could definitely fit a full sized bed pretty comfortably--hoh well. The walls are still bare but now that i'm unpacked i can start decorating! Woohoooo! (then i'll put up pictures) I realized today that this is the first time I've lived in an apartment on my own... its nice to have a kitchen and to make dinner or coffee at my leisure, cozy with a book or my computer or what not. Once again, I feel so lucky.

But I am here for a reason! School starts on Monday--well, my two-week long orientation. I'm excited to get into a routine and meet lots of international students, although I'm not looking forward to four hours a day of French and "Methodologie." Hopefully it will be helpful and not a huge waste of time. I don't start till 2 on monday so i'm not too worried about the strenuous student life starting quite yet--though i have heard from several people that Sciences Po is intense with lots of work and the French students are equally intense and sort of stand offish. But I'm excited to see it all for myself, and strangely i'm sortof excited to get back into the academic swing of things! (I know its easier to say that now that i have lots of free time...)

This week has been lots of fun though... I definitely need to start exploring on my own because Chesa and I have mostly been sticking together the past few days, having a great time of course, but it will soon be time for me to figure out how to navigate the city on my own and find the initiative to go out and do things by myself. So far, we've done some shopping in Chatelet (also part of our journey towards installing internet), visited a temporary art exhibit in the Luxembourg Gardens called "De Miró à Warhol," which was really cool, as well as a jazz club in St. Michel and a potluck dinner at one of Chesa's friend's amazing host family houses complete with original art all over the two story apartment. Tonight we went and saw the new Woody Allen movie in the 6th and now I'm in bed "early," taking advantage of some quiet time. (i'm posting this now, Monday, and yesterday I saw a Monet exhibit at l'orangerie, close to the Louvre!)

Otherwise, I've been relaxing, organizing, and adjusting. It is sort of strange how absolutely different this study abroad experience is from my semester in Dakar. I definitely still miss Senegal, as happy and excited as I am to be here. I'm going to have to find things in the city to remind myself of Senegalese culture, which i'm sure won't be too hard to find given the presence of Senegalese immigrants and culture in France. Just the other day I heard a man on the street say he was Senegalese, but I think he was drunk at 1 pm so I decided not to strike up conversation in Wolof. Paris isn't challenging in the same ways Dakar was, but as my dad said, it is a different kind of jungle, so i'm looking forward to exploring it! haha. and i think i might also write a few more entries about Senegal since I sort of let it drop after my rural visit. We'll see if I can find the time for that, but I would like to reflect on it, even if a few months late.

Time for bed! To be continued as things get more exciting...

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