An American in Paris

Yes, I'm in Paris! It took a couple days to sink in (it still hasn't entirely). Ever since I left home, I've been blogging things in my head, so I'm really excited to have Internet access again. Wendy, I'm going to copy your good thing/bad thing post to tell you about my travels and my first day here.

Good thing: Because of my layover in London, I am now the proud owner of a passport with two stamps in it.

Bad thing: I had to get from Gatwick to Heathrow (an hour-long bus ride).

Good thing: My few days in Germany were a great transition between home and school. I think coming to Europe helped with the culture shock--it hasn't been too bad. So far. It was also the perfect combination of planned things and non-planned things. Thanks again, Doris! It was great (and when I got here I was the only one in the group not suffering from excessive jetlag loopiness)!

Bad thing: The bus that I was told to take from the airport to the hotel apparently doesn't exist...so I had to take a bus, then lug my luggage into the metro, then change lines, and walk for at least another half hour before I found it, only to discover when I got there that I could've taken a more direct metro route and not had to change lines. The nice lady at the airport information desk lied.

Good thing: When I needed help, I spoke French to the people and they actually understood and spoke back! I thought it was way cool the first time it happened. If he ever reads this, I want to thank the very nice policeman who knows a "leetle beet" of English for making my life easier.

Good thing: SO excited to see my friends Jacqueline (my roommate here, who lived two doors down freshman year) and Emma (her very good friend from home who lived the floor above us freshman year) again!

Bad thing: Our hotel was sketchy (not to mention the clerks hated us), but I guess that's to be expected when you want a relatively inexpensive hotel in Paris. Also, the restaurant where we ate Saturday night was nothing special. I've enjoyed the meals with my host family much more.

Good thing: We had a way fun night in the hotel (despite the unpleasant smells) looking at Emma's pictures (she's into photography almost as much as Kaci is...maybe more), listening to music and eating Nerds, the last American junk food we'll have for a long time.

When I arrived, Bro. Welch took another girl and me (our arrivals were so scattered that it was just the three of us) to the restaurant where we ate in the Latin Quarter and gave us a mini-history/geography lesson on the way. He pretty much knows everything. That was my first glimpse of Notre Dame, the Palais de Justice, and everything in that area. We went inside an old church, Saint Severin. It's on the smaller side as far as churches go so it was cool to see the stained glass up closer.
We went to a Paris branch on Sunday (which meets in the Institute building where all our classes are), which was really cool. There were all kinds of missionaries there and already I've met one who is so familiar...must be the friend of a friend at BYU. After church we went with Bro. and Sis. Welch, the faculty directors, to the Eiffel Tower!
My first view, complete with traffic light. I included that for Matthew. :)

The Seine.
A statue of some guy near the tower.
The view from underneath. That thing is ginormous.
Then we walked to the Welch's apartment where they served us ratatouille (kind of--the pasta was separate) and we watched the Tower sparkle on the hour after it got dark (we could see about the top quarter of it from the living room). It was their way of helping us relive the movie "Ratatouille." This is some typical Paris architecture I saw on the way.


The entrance to the church/Institute/school. There are two doors to the chapel/classrooms inside the courtyard. It was built in the 17th century and after passing through many hands, the Church bought part of the building in 1997. The rest is still private residences. We read all this on a pamphlet the Welches had. I'll have to find one or google the name of the building if I can remember it. It's very interesting.
The staircase that leads to where the institute meets upstairs. I haven't attended yet. This is immediately to the left of the previous picture.
On Monday we began classes and then, after a long bus ride from the hotel and getting lost several times, Jacqueline and I finally met our host family and moved in! We were both really nervous, but they are SO nice. They are Monsieur et Madame de Martene, they have five children of which two are still at home. Their 24-year-old daughter, Amelie, is just staying until she can find an apartment in Paris. We especially like their 13-year-old son, Quentin, because he reminds us of our little brothers (he's even the same age as you, Logan!). Last night he was the only one home at dinnertime but he was very good at making polite, yet interesting conversation (since we weren't really helping) but still letting us know things about himself. (And we had real ratatouille.) I asked him if he likes his school and he said he likes it but it doesn't like him. They also have a dog, but I actually like him and he doesn't make me sick! I haven't had any allergy or asthma problems here *insert sigh of relief here*. This is my room!


Isn't it adorable? That's not even the best part. As if the family wasn't nice enough, Jacqueline and I have our own "flat," as the dad calls it (he likes to practice English with us). It's a basement with two bedrooms, bathroom, our own private door and a KITCHEN!!! And they have WiFi which pretty much = heaven after being Internet-deprived. We were so excited. Also, the neighborhood is adorable and Mme de Martene told us she'd show us around on Friday since we don't have class. In short, I'm doing great! I could go on about my classes, but that's for another post. Hope everyone's doing well!