Back in Paris

Being back in Paris has been a roller coaster of mixed emotions.  There are moments where I am enjoying life back in the big city and there are moments where I have questioned what I am doing here and if I am capable of jumping through all the hoops to even just get a simple métro pass let alone open up a French bank account.  You see, when I studied abroad in Paris for a year I had a program with a director right here in Paris (and was rather spoiled).  She told us where we would be living, helped us get our phones, open a bank account, get a métro pass, etc., etc.  In the beginning she held our hand through the whole process and at any point during our time here you could go to her for help.  Well, this time around I am rather alone in the whole process of living abroad.  I do have a contact person in the French government but when one is working with the French expect slow responses and not much help in jumping through the hoops of 'becoming a local.'  It can be rather daunting when you have to open a bank account, get a métro pass, find a permanent place to stay, find a place that will translate your birth certificate and that the French government will accept as a valid translation, amongst other things.

So I left on a Wednesday and it was hard saying goodbye to my parents but I did and caught my flight to Stockholm, Sweden.  I tried to sleep on the plane but as per usual it was in vain.  I then had to sit around the Stockholm airport for a few hours and I caught my flight to Paris, they changed the gate on me but thankfully it was just across the hall so I didn't have to go very far.  The flight was packed and I was surrounded by the chattiest people so trying to catch any sleep was no use.  I make it to the airport in Paris and got my suitcases and found a phone to call the shuttle company.  The guy that was picking me up was waiting for me and took me out to the van.  There were two other ladies already in the van and we were going to pick up the last woman.  Traffic was horrible going into Paris so I got to the apartment I'm staying at temporarily a bit late.  I am staying in the 11th arrondissement with an American woman who has lived/worked in Paris for 22 years and has just recently retired and decided to stay in France.  She is very nice for letting me stay with her for a bit before I find somewhere else to stay for the rest of my time here.  I got a tour of the apartment/apartment building and we chatted for a bit.  I was able to contact my family and let them know I made it to Paris.  Nothing else exciting really happened on Thursday because I was tired and went to bed early.

On Friday I did some grocery shopping at 2 of the nearest grocery stores and was not impressed with the one but the other one isn't too bad.  I also took a chance and found out that I can use Maissie's old French cell phone so that was good news (just one less thing I had to worry about).  I walked around the neighborhood for a bit in the afternoon and came across a street that has a lot of nice looking shops that sell cheese, or meat or wine.  I think I'll be stopping back there to check it out more closely.  I also just walked around and happened upon a church and a school that was letting kids out for the day.

Saturday I got up and hung out around the apartment.  I then had to be out of the apartment between noon and 5pm because Carolyn was having some friends over to celebrate her birthday.  So I bought some métro tickets and went over to my old neighborhood in the 8th arrondissement.  It was nice being back in that area but things had changed somewhat since I was living there.  I definitely felt more comfortable walking around there and could kind of go on "auto-pilot mode."  I went over to Parc Monceau and walked around for a bit and found a nice bench and just sat there for hours.  It was really nice and I was able to read and just enjoy one of my favorite spots in the city.  I then walked to the Arc de Triomphe and a gypsy tried to play the "you lost your ring" trick on me but I just said no and walked away.  I then headed down the Champs-Elysées and stopped to sit on a bench in the park across from the American Embassy.  It was also perfect timing because my mom called to see how things were going.  I eventually headed back to the apartment and just hung out before going to bed.

Sitting in Parc Monceau, it always does me well

Checking out the Arc de Triomphe

Today I went to church at the American Church in Paris and really enjoyed being there.  I am hoping to get involved with their young adult group this time around since the last time I wasn't able to because I had service-learning at the same time.  ACP (the American Church in Paris) has a bulletin board with people looking for housing/offering housing options.  The majority of the options were way out of my budget but there were a few that I will contact.

Heading over to ACP for church and this is the view I get to see (not too shabby, right?)

This coming week I will just be trying to get stuff done before I start up at school and have meetings with the program.