Day 1 and 2 – The Voyage to Paris

Day 1 - My journey began when I left my parents at the airport. My flight was delayed but they never announced it and I only realized it when we boarded after we were supposed to take off. Then the flight took 7 hours and 40 minutes when it was supposed to be 6 hours and 40 minutes. Other than the time issues it was a smooth flight. To my surprise when I got to baggage claim, I heard someone call my name and it was Geneva from my program. She was meeting Katerina and we shared a cab from De Gaulle to our hotel (Hotel Campanile Bastille). When we arrived we were given a packet of information including the details about our host family. I knew that my family lived in the 16^th arrondissement and had two teenage kids. Now that I knew a little about my family and had read that their area was really nice, I was relieved. Since we had just arrived, we wandered around and sat down at a café to enjoy some cheese and wine. We then went to the reception with our program EDUCO (Emory Duke Cornell) where we were served more wine (sparkling apple juice style). After calling our host families we decided to go out to Geneva’s friend Aleta’s apartment. We had some beers and then went out with a Parisian and a guy from Emory who has been here for about six months. The night was a blast. We saw the Eiffel Tower fully lit and a beautiful view of the Seine. If all the nights are as fun as the first, this semester will be incredible.

Day 2 – I woke up in the morning realizing that I had called my family and they had not yet called me back. I left them a voicemail and since my French is a little shaky right now I thought maybe they didn’t understand the phone number I left them. I decided to get breakfast and wait until I arrived at orientation to find out about my family. The breakfast was nice and we got our group together to go to school. On the way to school we saw many of the beautiful sights of Paris and while walking in the Latin Quarter, my phone rang. My host family called and we decided a time for me to move in. Then we had a full day of class and orientation interrupted only by a quick lunch where I had a French version of a bagel and lox. It was smoked salmon and a rich cheese served open face on toast. Finally after a long day of busy work, I returned to the hotel with two girls from my orientation group. On our way back we saw all sorts of landmarks. At the hotel I immediately turned around and took a cab across Paris to my family’s house. They have a 3 story house (4 if you count the basement) and I have a room in the basement with my own bathroom. It is amazing here. They have a gated property in the middle of the city with a beautiful backyard. I’ve added some pictures of my room, but I will take some pictures of the rest of the house soon. The family is really nice and they have repeatedly complemented me on my French. They cooked me a delicious French dinner tonight. It was duck cooked rare with a poivre sauce and scalloped potatoes. Everything was delicious! I am really happy with the way things have worked out. Now I am sure that this is going to be an amazing semester. Au revoir!