Day Zero

Sooooo... I made it! I've had ten minutes of sleep in the past two-ish days but I am alive and in Paris! Short recap: the flight was fine, we actually landed early (good one, American Airlines) but there were no TVs on the flight and the plane rattled so much they had to leave the seatbelt sign on almost the entire flight (try harder, American Airlines). I got through customs around 6:30 in the morning, Frenchie time, and had to hang out for a bit because my shuttle pick-up was for 7:30. I basically sat in a chair and stared blankly in front of me, sleep-deprived, until I went outside and found the shuttle. Once the driver found out I was an exchange student, he got super excited and started talking about how the USA and France are so different but there are good things about each country and I will like new things about France that I might not like about America, such as healthcare. Okay. He also told me to buy this new phone plan that just came out but I had no idea what he was talking about because he kept saying I can link it to internet in an apartment so it works better and I just smiled and nodded and thanked him. He dropped me off, causing a severe traffic jam with lots of people honking at us, and then I went up to the door to the apartment building and put in the code my host mom had given me. And nothing happened. I tried a couple more times and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong so I awkwardly wandered down the block for a bit, made eye contact with some lady staring at me out her window, and then wandered back. Luckily luckily luckily a woman was leaving the building by the time I walked back to the door and held it open for me and I was able to find my way to Brigitte's apartment in no time.

Which brings me to... Brigitte, host mom. This lady has energy! She still has energy! She is bouncing off the walls as I type! But actually, she's like a little bumblebee buzzing all over the apartment. When I first showed up I was so exhausted it was immediately decided that I would go straight to bed. I'm in her daughter's old bedroom, it is quite tiny but there's just enough space that it doesn't feel claustrophobic, even with my suitcases. I have a nice view of the courtyard and a big window and as Brigitte happily pointed out, I can lock my bedroom door with a fancy antique key. Anyway, I slept/zoned out on the bed for about two hours, and then started unpacking. Brigitte basically flits in and out of the room asking random questions and talking a mile a minute and bringing me to the kitchen to eat and then bringing me to the living room to show me something and then bringing me back to the kitchen and then going "oh, what I was going to tell you?" She also has this thing about putting me in rooms and then closing the door so I'm, for example, alone in her kitchen with the door closed eating (French breakfast at noon - tea, bread with a side of bread, jam, honey, and a clementine that wasn't on the plate but I stole it since she said I could help myself and I have a fruit problem), except she knocks on the wall asking if I can hear her because she's thought of something else she wanted to ask me. (I read in one of my culture books that closed doors don't really mean the same thing here as they do in America, so I guess this is French Culture In Action and thus not as weird as it sounds. Okay maybe a little odd.) She had me make a list of things I need to buy, but then she forgot about it, and brought me a mini radio to listen to the French classical music station instead. I think maybe we are supposed to go shopping together for metro cards and phone cards and such later after she finishes her work (she works from home). We shall see!     

I'm sure there are other things I could share, but my brain is so fogged I can't seem to think clearly even in English (eek). I haven't met my host brother, Charles, yet but I think I heard him talking when he woke up after I had gone to fake-sleep, but I haven't seen/heard him since so I am assuming he's out. Pictures of the apartment or at the very least my room will be coming soon!

x R.