Oh Paris

So after a week of a few troubles, no cell phone, no ac adapter which meant no laptop, among other things, I have managed to make it through alive. Even with my lack of human connection, I went to class, finished up my intensive french course, went to the market, and have settled into life here for the most part. My next step will be to pick at courses at my university, start teaching english classes (this friday), find a babysitting a tutoring position, finish opening my bank account, and ofcourse, going out in Paris.

I've even gotten used to the sounds here. I can admit, I was almost homesick there for a bit (with everything going crazy), but I love it here. Each morning, I wake up to the sound of roaring traffic, ambulances, the kids next door who love irish rock, the music conservatory student who lives somewhere in this building who practices flute 24/7, and the sounds of our hot water heater ready for lift off. Haha, all in all, I love it. I get a free concert each day, as well as some fun neighbors, not bad.

Last night, my program hosted a dinner to celebrate the finish of our french intensive class. It was a really great, light meal, composed of tons of cheese, salads, sandwich slices, and ofcourse, wine. After, a group of us hit up one of our favorite bars in Paris (The Student Bar-so original), where it's happy hour until 11 and every drink you can think of is 4.50 euro. So, in our dinner attire and with good friends, we stumbled across a club for international students, Le Mix. They have ERASMUS (exchange program for students in Europe) parties every Thursday night, and there is no cover. So we thought, hey, let's go in and try it. Haha, good choice! Crazy fun, and met a lot of students from all around Europe. It was better than any club I've been to in Albany or New York, and we didn't even stay the whole night! Next week, we hope to live up to the french student standards, and pull an all nighter dancing until the metro starts again.

In other news, work starts on Friday, and I'm pretty nervous. Each week, 8 days in advance, I'm supposed to schedule 3 courses. One in reading, one in culture, and one in fun. So, I've been brainstorming, and trying to come up with some ideas. Unfortuantly, by the time I made my classes I had to schedule them all for Friday, not exactly against the rules, but not something I should have done my first week. So Friday will be an exhausting day, but I'll hopefully get the feel for teaching. I'm also looking for a babysitting position, seeing as Emily, I, and a few other friends are planning trips to Spain, Ireland, Scottland, England, and visiting the rest of France. Then in June, I hope to go backpacking the rest of Europe with some friends. So money would be a good idea, and hopefully I can develop some connection for when I return for grad school. Yep, I'm definetly coming back. Maybe for a year, or perhaps I'll do my entire grad program here? We'll see, but I know it's a great place to be, and I will get more international experience here.

So, I apologize for the slacking of updates, but I will have use of the computer all weekend, so I will try to be more thorough!

Later, bisou bisou!