Arrival

Please ignore typos. The keyboards in France are different.

Now, there's no better place to begin than the beginning I suppose. The security measures were not as strict as I expected them to be. Minus the first check where I was nearly stripped searched before a queue of travelers. Fortunately, my pre-flight push ups were not needed.

While waiting in the boarding lounge, I thought I saw my group but thankfully I did not go up to them as they were, in fact, not my group. There were so many young people on my flight, including a Kendra look-alike. The girl seemed like an evil version of Kendra. She worn all black and had curly jet black hair, but she did smile a lot. Totally gorgeous. I overheard her telling a passenger sitting next to her that she is doing her masters in Paris but worked here over the past year. Wow!

Onto the rest of my flight though. It was the best flight I've ever taken. (Zoom Airlines btw.) While flying over Brighton, UK, I looked down and the entire city was illuminated by a bright orange light. It appeared as though we were flying over the world as it ended. lol No dramatics, promise. It appeared as though we were hovering over a land covered in molten lava and a blackened sea that came to an end. It was an amazing sight! Shortly after, at an altitude of 37 000 ft, France came into view. There were fewer lights than in Brighton. The land seemed as it was decorated in silver and bronze bulbs.

By now, the plane had already felt French as we picked up the majority of passengers in Montreal after leaving Toronto. It was a very Francophone journey.

When we arrived in Charles de Gaulle airport, I was prepared for masses of pickpocketers. The horror stories of this airport were clearly exaggerations of tired/bitter travelers. The air was cold when we stepped off the aircraft and said 6am. I walked on the runway toward the shuttle that awaited our arrival. The Kendra look-alike was spotted again. After collecting my luggage, I met the group outside in the lounge. We walked, then, to the RER station. Kendra's evil double was seen again and sadly for the last time… perhaps. Getting through the turnstiles with our luggage was a very difficult task indeed. You see, since most Parisians are waifs (thankfully!), and as such you must turn your suitcase on its side and then drag it under the bars. Good times! The RER is similar to what I remember of La Metro. I took a deep breath in while we were going down the escalator and finally was fully excited. I was in Paris.

My roommate, David, is quite friendly. He's older and is pretty social. His French is very good. I'm waiting for him to get back now. We're suppose to be going to a bar he's read about. It's minutes away from La Tour Eiffel in this chic young area downtown.

Back to my story though…Getting off the train was probably the most difficult part of the journey. My bulky suitcase did not make it very easy when it came to pulling it onto the platform. The woman behind me was in a hurry too. Waw! I had a burning sensation in my palms by the time we reached La Cité Universitaire. The place is gorgeous. I feel like I'm walking through a foreign film. Yayayaya!!

La Maison des Etudiants Canadien (MEC) is very modern. The Argentina House is better, but only because it's a palace lol. My room is quite small but I am thin so I'll be just dandy. There is a balcony like in Gwen's "Cool" video. The other students in the house are so friendly. Dominique, my professor, told us that it is seen as impolite not to greet someone in passing. I love that! I was overwhelmed by my proficiency in French while on the plane but I think I'll be alright by the end.

We walked to the mall to get food from the grocery store. It's weird how similar some things are to Canada. I just ate baguette, cheese, and an apple.

I decided to walk around the building and went to the kitchen. There were students from the University of Paris cooking. They were so friendly and warm. I wish I had stayed longer but I had to go. Just like I must now. Until next time. Sha la la le la…