Always too much to say

Well hi everyone! I am sure you missed me from the last time I decided to post something. This time I will talk to you about how crazy these first five weeks are going to be. To put it as simply as I possibly can- these first five weeks are going to be crazy and full of work.

My first impression of Paris

To begin with I hope to tell you about my first week here. Last time I finished by talking about the fact that I was at the airport in Amsterdam. Well, once I boarded the plane there at around 3:30P (around 8:30A CT), all I knew was that I was getting on a plane to my final destination for four months. Exhaustion can only hardly describe what I was feeling at that moment. At most, the flight was about an hour long. All I remember before that hour was getting onto the plane, getting ready for takeoff, closing my eyes (and somewhat waking-up to the departure) and then nothing. I really did just capitulate to the ongoing war of sleep; though I was quite pleased I did- I was just too tired. I woke up about 15 minutes before the plane landed. When I woke up I was so disoriented- I mean I was right above Paris! I was disoriented but still quite excited. As soon as I got to the airport, I remembered the first that I had been there on my way to Mali, so things seemed somewhat familiar. I remembered the passage ways and just looking at all of the airplanes.

What was my welcoming event into France? Hello men´s restroom; the women’s was being cleaned and so we were told to use the men’s restroom. Quite exciting. Once that was over, I went to look for my bags. Although when I found them I was a bit confused. It wasn’t because I didn’t know what they looked like; it was more because I didn’t go through customs or passport control. I had gone through it in the Amsterdam airport (where I had been talking to the man about my program and explaining to him what exactly I would be doing there; he was really nice and seemed pretty interested)…So I should be fine right? If I have any problems- it’ll be for getting back- and I am positive that they won’t want me to outstay my Visa.

After I had my bags, I went looking for a taxi because my parents decided it would be much safer- especially because they had seen the movie Taken. I was very happy with their decision because my luggage- for four months- was pretty heavy. I had a wonderful conversation with my taxi driver. He was from Algerian roots, but born French. I had learned quite a bit from my French Cinema and Society Course during my spring term with Dana Strand at Carleton, so a lot of the things that he mentioned I had at least a little bit of knowledge. We talked about food (like the kind of food that I want to try while I was here--- cheese, baguettes, and some wine!). He told me that you could also find chili peppers in stores, and that couscous was a huge favorite here. We also compared and talked about our own personal favorite dishes- no matter the origin. He gave me advice on restaurants- foreign restaurants tend to be much cheaper because there are so many of them in Paris.

My room before settling in completely

On our way to my homestay, he gave me a little tour in the car- showing me the Sacre-Coeur, pointing out the Eiffel Tower, etc. He also asked where I was from, since he heard me speak in Spanish on the phone. Then that got us into a conversation of the kinds of ethnicities that I could pass for: Moroccan, northern African, Colombian (which I get quite a bit here), or mixed with black and white. I will say that it is always interesting to see what people think that I am…somehow it never tends to be Mexican. Looks really are deceiving- or perhaps it’s more the notion that certain ethnicities have certain particularities that don’t take into consideration the other’s that have just about the same characteristics. Perhaps the naming of different ethnicities- depending on the country in which you are- has to do more with who people are used to seeing. In other words, they tend to have a tendency to group people into categories that they already know… well that is just me trying to understand something that has occurred to me once before and I am sure will keep occurring.

On the other hand I was told that I spoke quite well. My taxi driver could not believe that this was my first time in France because I had an almost unnoticeable accent.

Okay..so I think that this may be more than enough for my trip to my homestay. I did not realize that I had so much to say, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I still have so much to talk about as this was only the first weekend that I was here. Otherwise, I am working on getting the rest together- hopefully I will make them shorter- or better yet shorter and more in numbers.

Have a great Wednesday!