Mere Мир: Bienvenue a Paris!

The past 2 days have been completely unreal.

This morning I woke up in Paris, but let's start from the very beginning...

When I woke up on Friday morning little did I know I would literally be awake for the next consecutive 24 hours. When I went through all the security at the airport and got to my gate I had to check in to receive my seating assignment. I was placed in a middle seat which typically isn't ideal, but I wasn't disappointed. In my mind a person on each side is two potential new friends.

As I was getting comfortable in my middle seat I was approached by a young couple asking if I could switch seats with one of them so they can sit together. The girl pitched the seat by telling me that hear original seat was in the aisle row, so I accepted although I would have allowed her to have my seat either way. I walk over to my new seat (also a middle seat contrary to what I had heard) and the passengers in the seats adjacent to mine were already there. Two large men.

I was determined to make the most of my 7.5 hour flight in any case so since my new friend to the left fell asleep, I asked the other if he was visiting Paris or just coming home. He seemed caught of guard and said he was visiting for a day. I ask him why he's going all the way to France for just one day and he proceeded to look around and in an ever so quiet voice tells me that he and the guy to my left are US Air Marshals.

So after flying to France in the safest seat on the plane, I arrive. At this point it is 7AM so without as little as a nap I was starting another day not having ever ended the previous one. However I had so much adrenaline from the idea that I was finally in Paris that it didn't matter. I picked up my luggage and proceeded to get picked up by a shuttle driven by a very welcoming gentleman who goes by Antoine.

We exchanged some interesting conversation which was a solid mix of broken French and broken English. Finally, we arrived at what is going to be my home for the next 3 and a half months. It looks just like I imagined. This city looks exactly as it did in the pictures I saw.

I began to get settled in when my host mom, a whimsical woman by the name of Marie-Christine, asked if I wanted to come with her to the market. I figured it was best to keep going rather than go to sleep so I joined her. That's when the adrenaline started to die down and on this very hot Parisian day I became absolutely drained. By the time I got back into the house it was close to the time making it 24 hours of not a wink of sleep.

I had a nice dinner with Marie-Christine as we watched a French comedian on TV. Shortly after I headed back to my bedroom and within moments was sleeping comme une bebe.

And here I am this morning with a fresh mind and body. Yes, it's 4AM in NJ right now, but I'm straying far from thoughts like these for the sake of minimizing jet lag as much as possible. Last night there was a thunderstorm, so this morning is sunny and extremely refreshing.

Here are some images of where I'm staying. Many more to come of the beautiful outdoors...