Paris so far has been an amazing place. Everything definitely picked up after the nauseating ride to the dorm. My first venture into the city, to avoid taking a nap, was with a few girls on my hall on a quest to find hairdryers. All of us knew we needed a shower as soon as possible. Nothing like an eight hour plane ride to make you gross. First, we had heard that the grocery store down the street might have hair dryers. Whoever suggested this was wrong. So we went back to the dorm to ask the lady at the front desk where we could find one. First though, we couldn't even figure out how to get back in the gate. We had been given rather vague instructions and were essentially waving our keys around in vain trying to get in until apparently someone saw us on the security camera and came out to help us. Then, she wrote down a place and showed us how to get there, telling us that they have everything electronic you could ask for, including hair dryers.
So we schlepped across the city trying to find this place and we eventually make our way to a massive store that was basically a combination of a Best Buy and a book store divided among four flours. We made our way through every single floor, searching desperately, but we couldn't find anything. We wanted to ask someone, but none of us knew the French word for "hair dryer." So we left and went into every store we passed on the way back that might possibly have one. We even looked at a slightly sketchy store that advertised tampons. No hair dryer there and I didn't even see any tampons.
Later, we met up with almost everyone else on the trip for an excursion to the Monoprix, which is like a French Target. We bought out their selection of cheap hairdryers and a few people bought some wine, which we enjoyed in a park close to our dorm. I normally am totally a white wine girl, but even the cheap red wine in France is way better than the red wine in America. I'm trying to expand my horizons, and one of those horizons is red wine.
The rest of the night consisted of trying to fight off sleep so I could go to bed at a normal hour and not be jet lagged. I managed to make it until about 10:00 and passed out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next morning, breakfast consisted of a baguette, cereal, and tea in a bowl. No mugs. I didn't spill it on myself and that is a miracle in itself. Then, we had our orientation where one of the leaders told us that most things that will happen to us are "not a drama." We broke for lunch and I got to eat my first real French food outside the cafeteria. We stopped at a walk up sandwich shop where I knew enough French to order my ham and cheese croissant. Shout out to Zach for teaching me how to order food politely, even if I didn't understand what she said when she asked if I wanted it heated up. My croissant was amazing. Beautiful is really the best word to describe it. I've never met a croissant I didn't like, but this one blew the rest away.
After lunch we had a bus tour of the city, which was really interesting, but difficult to stay awake through at some points. Our tour guide was a British man with a dry sense of humor and a soothing voice that was hard not to nod off to. We got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower and I got my cheesy tourist picture in front of it. After driving to a few more places, we got off again at Saint Etienne du Mont, which is a really beautiful structure and the home of a relic of Saint Genevieve. Right outside of there is also the street where Owen Wilson goes back in time in Midnight in Paris.
After a reception at the study abroad office, we took the metro back to the dorm. The ticket machines don't like my credit card, so that was a struggle, and it took us all a second to realize that you have to manually open the door to the subway car. We then all got ready to go out, and met up in the same park with more wine. The park closed, so we had to find somewhere else to go. Thankfully a girl on the trip knows a girl who is in college in Paris, and she took us to finish our wine by the Seine. I felt so American, because the cheapest cups at the grocery store were red plastic, so my roommate and I bought those to drink out of. Still, sitting along the Seine was a beautiful experience.
We started out as a large group, but we eventually started splitting up into smaller groups as the night went on. I stuck with the French girl because I don't trust my own sense of direction here yet. We had a cocktail at this nice bar where it also cost half a euro to use the bathroom. I ordered a martini, which came in a straight glass (not like the martini glass we're used to) and I had never tasted anything like it, but I liked it a lot more than dollar well drinks back in Athens. Then a few of us went to this cool little salsa club. They played Pitbull and I was really culturally confused, but it was fun. We made it back safe (that's for you, Mom) and I accidentally slept until noon. My first two days here have been great and I'm really excited to see what the next six weeks have in store!
So we schlepped across the city trying to find this place and we eventually make our way to a massive store that was basically a combination of a Best Buy and a book store divided among four flours. We made our way through every single floor, searching desperately, but we couldn't find anything. We wanted to ask someone, but none of us knew the French word for "hair dryer." So we left and went into every store we passed on the way back that might possibly have one. We even looked at a slightly sketchy store that advertised tampons. No hair dryer there and I didn't even see any tampons.
Later, we met up with almost everyone else on the trip for an excursion to the Monoprix, which is like a French Target. We bought out their selection of cheap hairdryers and a few people bought some wine, which we enjoyed in a park close to our dorm. I normally am totally a white wine girl, but even the cheap red wine in France is way better than the red wine in America. I'm trying to expand my horizons, and one of those horizons is red wine.
The rest of the night consisted of trying to fight off sleep so I could go to bed at a normal hour and not be jet lagged. I managed to make it until about 10:00 and passed out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next morning, breakfast consisted of a baguette, cereal, and tea in a bowl. No mugs. I didn't spill it on myself and that is a miracle in itself. Then, we had our orientation where one of the leaders told us that most things that will happen to us are "not a drama." We broke for lunch and I got to eat my first real French food outside the cafeteria. We stopped at a walk up sandwich shop where I knew enough French to order my ham and cheese croissant. Shout out to Zach for teaching me how to order food politely, even if I didn't understand what she said when she asked if I wanted it heated up. My croissant was amazing. Beautiful is really the best word to describe it. I've never met a croissant I didn't like, but this one blew the rest away.
After lunch we had a bus tour of the city, which was really interesting, but difficult to stay awake through at some points. Our tour guide was a British man with a dry sense of humor and a soothing voice that was hard not to nod off to. We got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower and I got my cheesy tourist picture in front of it. After driving to a few more places, we got off again at Saint Etienne du Mont, which is a really beautiful structure and the home of a relic of Saint Genevieve. Right outside of there is also the street where Owen Wilson goes back in time in Midnight in Paris.
After a reception at the study abroad office, we took the metro back to the dorm. The ticket machines don't like my credit card, so that was a struggle, and it took us all a second to realize that you have to manually open the door to the subway car. We then all got ready to go out, and met up in the same park with more wine. The park closed, so we had to find somewhere else to go. Thankfully a girl on the trip knows a girl who is in college in Paris, and she took us to finish our wine by the Seine. I felt so American, because the cheapest cups at the grocery store were red plastic, so my roommate and I bought those to drink out of. Still, sitting along the Seine was a beautiful experience.
We started out as a large group, but we eventually started splitting up into smaller groups as the night went on. I stuck with the French girl because I don't trust my own sense of direction here yet. We had a cocktail at this nice bar where it also cost half a euro to use the bathroom. I ordered a martini, which came in a straight glass (not like the martini glass we're used to) and I had never tasted anything like it, but I liked it a lot more than dollar well drinks back in Athens. Then a few of us went to this cool little salsa club. They played Pitbull and I was really culturally confused, but it was fun. We made it back safe (that's for you, Mom) and I accidentally slept until noon. My first two days here have been great and I'm really excited to see what the next six weeks have in store!
