BonjourBonjour

Today marks the first sunny day I've had in Paris and the end of my first week here. It's been the longest week ever, full of start up costs, paralysis, nostalgia, finding my footing once more, schisms, and late nights out. It's so liberating to have already seen all of the huge tourists sections of Paris, leaving me with time to wander, guilt-free.

So far, my homestay situation has been most educational. It's very interesting to not just visit a French apartment, but be forced to adapt to living there. So far their have been issues over my forgetting to close the door to the W.C., not locking the door correctly with the key that strangely resembles a fork, and not cranking my garage door-esque blinds over my giant bedroom window at the appropriate time. I live with just one retired woman who is fascinating. She grew up in Tunsia, so her cooking reflects that of a colonizer, whose native French cuisine is infected with an exotic flare. She does not speak English, so that's extremely helpful. She also seen everything in Louvre, after having spent five hours of every day for a whole month viewing the paintings.

Today I had my first full day at the Sorbonne, and my class was most interesting. The topic was "why is the French language SO DIFFICULT to pronounce?'. We spent an hour dissecting words by syllables, discussing why certain vowels were omitted in pronunciation. It cleared up many of my age-old issues. Tomorrow I have my culture class, which I am extremely excited about!

So you know, until next time....