Welcome to Paris!

Greetings from Paris!

I have now been in Paris for almost a week, but have been so busy that there has been almost no time to write!

The first few days were hard! After flying out of O’Hare at 6pm, I arrived at Charles De Gaulle at 9:30 in the morning. Even though we had time to sleep on the plane, it was almost impossible from my tiny seat in the back of coach. All the people in my program picked up from the airport and took us to our hotel, where we will be staying until we move in with our host families this Saturday. After a full day of activities (and about 35 hours of no sleep) we finally got to sleep!

The next few days were orientation days, where were learned a little bit more about life would be like as students at CIEE and also more about being a student in Paris and living with a family. I will be living in the Seventh Arrondissment in Paris, which is right next to the Eiffel Tower. I am so excited to meet my family and can hardly wait to see the Eiffel Tower every morning on my way to school.

So far I have already done a lot of sight-seeing. As a part of our program, we rode the Bateaux-Mouches (sightseeing boats) up and down the Seine and took a tour of the area around Notre Dame. Some friends and I went to Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum, and explored the surrounding neighborhood.

Right now we are in the middle of a intensive language program that will last the entire week. Most days I have classes in the morning, and the afternoons free to explore and get ready for school. I am in the middle of picking all my classes at CIEE and the university and trying to complete all my paperwork with the French government and also get my metro pass. I will be happy when everything is set to go and the school year officially starts (on Monday) because paperwork is the worst!

After so many days of being on the go all day and all night, I am looking forward to relaxing at the hotel tonight. Believe it or not, our hotel room is messy and I am happy to have a calm night of watching crazy French tv and getting my stuff together for the big move on Saturday!

Katharine