First days

So I made it to Paris successfully. The plane ride was rather uneventful, although the flight from JFK to London was very turbulent, especially during dinner service, which made things quite fun. The flight from London to Paris was short and not very full. In fact, a lot of the people on the flight appeared to be from the US. Upon arrival at the airport and a short pass through customs where they barely glanced at my passport, we grabbed our very very heavy bags and went out to meet the owner of the apartment, Daniel Ballet (how french!) who graciously took two of the bags and led us to his car. Now, I would think that when picking up two women at an airport who are staying in Paris for more than five months, that one would expect a good amount of luggage - which we had - two large bags each, plus our computer bags and purses. Perhaps he did expect this, but when we got to his car, I almost had a heart attack. It was a tiny four door car that I did not think would fit us and our carryon luggage, let alone our bags. Mr. Ballet was determined, however, and he managed to somehow fit us and our stuff into his tiny car - although he had his seat up so far that I can't believe he was able to drive. But he did and guided us to our home away from home for the next few months. His wife was at the apartment to greet us. While Mr. Ballet spoke a bit of English, his wife spoke none, and after traveling for almost a day and not being up to speed on conversing in French, we had a bit of a hard time communicating. But they explained it all to us, and gave us lists of everything in the apartment, all the appliances, and how to work everything. We've figured out some things, such as how to get online and use the phone and turn on the tv, but haven't got it all down yet -still have to tackle the French washing machine and figure out if we can get the cable box to work and use the kitchen appliances. I'm sure it will be a slight comedy of errors, but it will get done. The apartment is really nice, not very big, but not so tiny that Jaime and I are on top of each other. It is very clean and well decorated and most of the stuff in it appears to be pretty new.

So after the owners left, we headed out to the store for a few provisions, knowing that we had to stay up as long as possible to try to get on Paris time as soon as possible. There is a Monoprix nearby, which I would compare to a Walmart type store - although smaller, but bigger by Paris standards. We were on the hunt for an adaptor as I stupidly did not notice that mine did not have the proper set up to allow me to plug in my computer. It took trips to several different stores, including the shopping center at the Place d'Italie before it was found in a hardware store. I was very excited, to say the least. We then took in an early dinner at a cafe across the street from the shopping center where I had a "croque" which can best be compared to a grilled cheese sandwich, but with the cheese on the outside and I had it with chicken on the inside. I would have it again. The French seem to like their ham, which is slightly unfortunate since I don't, but I may have to acquire a taste for it. We then took the metro back to the apartment - there is stop right across the street, which is nice. The metro is super easy to use - much like the NYC subway system, but with much more graffiti, at least on the lines I was on. I have been told that the ones in the center of the city are nicer - I will have to check them out. The only problem with the metro is that the refillable cards must be ordered (or if you luck out and find a metro station or Tabac where someone will get you one) so we are using single ride cards at present. The refillable card is called the Navigo and we have applied for it, so hopefully it will come in the mail soon.

After we got back to the apartment, we unpacked, which seemed to take forever, and then I went to sleep - exhausted from all the traveling. I think I was up for something like 32 hours and I am a girl who needs her sleep! Woke up this morning and went out for a bit with Jaime to explore the city, but I only made it two hours because it is FREEZING!! So, I left Jaime to do her thing and hopped on the metro and came back here to write about my travels instead. It is weird to be here and be in such a different culture. So far, every French person that I have dealt with has been nice, except the cashier at the hardware store, who was a bit rude, but she was also a teenager who probably hated her job, so I didn't take it personally. I haven't had to speak more than a little bit of French, which has been fine, but I still feel unsure of my ability to communicate since I have such a limited vocabulary. I also need to get used to hearing French and understanding more than just a littlle bit of it. Luckily, I have plenty of opportunity since I am surrounded by it. I am scared about the Archives Nationales initial visit, since I think I may need to interview or something, but I am hoping that it won't be as bad or painful as I think it will. Not sure what the rest of today will hold - probably call up my advisor who happens to be in Paris for the next two weeks and make him take us out to dinner. I just wish it weren't so freaking cold!

I miss everyone so much, especially DAN!!!, and would love to hear any comments from familiar folks back home. Sorry this post has been so boring - just wanted to document the first 24 hours, which were relatively uneventful. Until next time...