Testing the Water

This is my journal entry from January 11.

Interesting. I'm glad I didn't have a journal the first 2 days I was here, because the content would be pleasant to re-read. From the time the plane landed until my 2 remaining roommates, Jessica and Jennie, arrived, I was absolutely sure that this, spending a semester abroad in Paris, was the biggest mistake I had ever made, and I was certain that I would be miserable the whole time here.

Luckily, those 2 1/2 days were just enough time to begin to acclimate myself to the unfamiliar city, culture, and language. Also to the very unseasonably cold weather (in the teens). Getting over a stomach bug and jet lag helped too. Definitely not being able to eat for the first 2 days in a foreign city does not already help the already-shaky feeling. By the way, I am pretty sure I got sick from drinking the water, so I am sticking to bottled from now on (no matter how much it costs, and yes, I recycle).

My fourth full day in the city, Friday the 9th, was the first day I woke up not hating the city, and it turned out to be a really great day. Jennie and I got our Carte Orange's, passes to ride the Metro an unlimited amount of times for an entire month, and then we went exploring. Not sure how we did it exactly, but we went the wrong way down the Champs-Elysees, and ended up walking through some beautiful streets and a small park covered in snow. The whole city is covered in snow. It snowed the day before I came and blanketed the city, something that has not happened in many years. It has not yet gotten warm enough to melt any of it, and now most of the streets are covered in dangerous ice (I have the bruises on my behind to prove it!)

So we were walking through Paris, apparently away from the Champs-Elysees, and just happen upon the Eiffel Tower. THE EIFFEL TOWER! Beautiful, even on a bleak, below-freezing day surrounded by the usual bustle of tourists from all over the world. Things I learned: NO, I do not speak English and cannot donate money to you and NO I would not like to buy some tourist-y souvenir for "ONLY 1 EURO!" Got some great pictures, and I can't wait to go back when it's a little warmer to picnic and to go up to the top and look over all of Paris!

The rest of the day was spent wandering around and then eating sushi in a little restaurant off the beaten path in the 12e (arrondissement). The end.