New York?

Today, I want to add some description to all of the summary I’ve been giving you. This morning, it rained. Not like the dreary rain in New York, but the melodramatic rain in the movies. Rain puts everything in a different light, and this rain was not depressing, but exciting. I was excited to walk through my first European storm! It didn't last for long, but wearing rain boots and carrying an umbrella makes me feel ready and prepared for the day; however, I was not prepared at all for some events that happened later.

My friend down the street and I left a little too late to catch the metro and make it to class. We (she) knew where we were going though, so it worked out fine. We met the other people in the program, and we seem to all get along so far! I think we're just happy to speak English to each other. Some know more french than others, but I think there are some who are as lost as I am too ;) We had a little orientation and introduction to the classes and other things we’ll be doing. We got our passes to the Louvre, so I’ll take advantage of that ASAP. Then we went to lunch at a little restaurant. YUM is all I have to say. I had une salade avec du thon mariné, avec du pain, bien sûr, et un clafouti de cerises. It’s a custard tart with whole cherries in it, pits and all, and I could eat it with every meal. Seriously, so good. My family ended up making the same exact salad for dinner actually, but I didn't care because it was delicious! I also tried more cheese at dinner. I forget the name, but it’s another type of goat cheese. It gets better and better each time I try it. (The wine I had last night was a Bordeaux.)

To backtrack, after lunch my friend and I walked around a bit around Charonne and made our way back to our apartments. We got on the metro, only for it to break down four stops in. So we had to get off, walk past four more stops to get to the next metro line we needed, only to discover that someone stole her phone when the crowd was moving on and off the metro. On top of that, it was hot and humid. We walked through a very touristy part of the city, which reminded me a lot of New York City. Sex shops everywhere, people shoving pamphlets in your face, and trinket shops on every block. We passed by the Moulin Rouge, but would have had to cross the street to get a good look at it. For some reason, I can't upload my pics at the moment, so I'll try to add them tomorrow.

After dinner, my host family and I watched a video of a concert called Le Quatuor (?), with a quartet of 3 violinists and a cellist, who played some popular songs with lots of humor thrown in. After having dinner with them and having a tough time understanding and responding to them, it was nice to know that music and comedy is universal. They have a large collection of videos, french and english videos dubbed in french, but I wanted to watch something simple and comforting with music. (side note- earlier when I first came home, the girl was watching a dubbed episode of NCIS, and Diddy was on as a special guest, and the girl didn’t know who he was, so I had to explain that he is un rappeur!)

At the end of the day, I’m a bit overwhelmed and wish I knew my way around the city better. I know that it will eventually feel more comfortable with my surroundings, but everything takes time and effort.

Please pray that I can find my way and settle into this new lifestyle. Know that I miss you all and are always in my prayers <3

“Fear is useless, what is needed is trust.”

Love,

Anna