Je suis en Paris!

So despite all the bumps along the way and the French consulate trying to screw me over with my visa, I'M IN FRANCE! I arrived yesterday. Surprisingly enough, I was ready super early and had no problems zipping up my bags. (They weren't overweight either! Go me!) I made my first flight, which went to London, but unfortunately missed my London to Paris connection. They got me on the next flight and I arrived only a couple hours later luckily. I definitely want to try and visit London some time during the semester because the airport was not enough! So Paris is HUGE. I knew it was going to be big but this is insane. I could live here 10 yrs and still not know my way around. (And I could never drive here. I'd be in an accident day one with the way they are here. I had better watch out too because I might be in one as a pedestrian anyways...) I thought I'd be able to see the Eiffel Tower from the airport, like how you see the Washington Monument when you fly into Regan, but it's way far away. One other thing I wasn't expecting about Paris is that there's graffiti EVERYWHERE. Random fact... It's only been a day and already my French is improving. It's not as terrible as I thought it was but it's definitely not where I'd like it to be. My french level placement exam is on Fri so wish me luck! Last night we went out to dinner as a group and it was nice to meet everyone and enjoy good food together. We had wine with dinner and it was incredible! I'm not usually a big red wine fan but it was to die for. And then the dessert was the most delicious creme brulee I've ever tasted. I could eat that every night no problem. After dinner I had no trouble falling asleep. I would say I've adjusted to the time change pretty quickly. I'm tired all the time but the hours seem right. It blows my mind to think of the time difference. For example, when it's 9 pm here and I'm getting ready to go to bed, it's only noon back home in CA. Some days I was just getting up then!
Today has been a long day... We had le petit dejeuner at the hostel. It consisted of hot chocolate, concentrate orange juice (no Simply Orange sadly), a baguette with jam, and a bread roll with chocolate chips in it. I had my interview to place me with a family and that went well so hopefully I get a good one. We leave for Rennes on Thurs. We visited the museum of Jacquemart Andre, walked down the Champs Elysees, went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and to the Eiffel Tower! I couldn't believe it. The museum was ok. It was a huge house that had been converted into a museum. Before we went, we had lunch at a local hostel and it was really weird. You have to go down all these steps to get to this dungeon-looking room. They served us french fries, green beans, and a hamburger patty. (We think they cooked it especially for Americans ;) )There was ketchup to go with it but it was not what we're used to. More of a gel than a liquid and definitely didn't have the same taste... And then for drinks they had a pinkish liquid and a green one. I figured pink was strawberry or some sort of fruit punch and green was lime so I went with the green. It wasn't though! It was mint :S It was like drinking watered down mouthwash without the alcohol. So I went with water instead. ;)
The Champs Elysees was amazing! So many stores! Gap, Zara, Sephora, PRADA, LOUIS VUITTON, CARTIER... I need to win the lottery so I can go shopping there. The Arc de Triomphe was incredible. (What better monument to place at the end of the Champs Elysees right?) You walk through this tunnel underneath the roundabout to get to it and we walked up all these stairs to get to the top. Nothing can compare to the view at the top. I wish I had a panoramic pic of it. And I finally got to see the Eiffel Tower! The building's usually block it and our hostel isn't close by so after walking all the way to the top and rounding the corner of the building, it was a comforting sight. It proves that I finally made it. *grin* Reminded me of Ratatouille too. Love that movie! After the Arc de Triomphe, we walked to the Eiffel Tower. It looked amazing all lit up at night. I couldn't believe we were actually there. Being here has been strange though in that it doesn't feel like it's a big deal at all. Even though nothing's familiar and I'm seeing it all for the first time, it all seems slightly normal. Like oh yeah I'm in France now. Sometimes I live in CA, DC, Vancouver, and now is my stint in France. I guess I've been desensitived a bit? My mentality is more that this isn't necessarily a vacation and more like I'm living here so I need to adjust and work on my French. The Eiffel Tower was still incredible though but it wasn't as overwhelming as I thought it would be. (aka no tears but that could be because it's fricking freezing!) We were going to go up but the third stage was closed so we're going back tomorrow I think.
Yeah haven't mentioned that it's sooooooo cold! No snow yet but there were a few snowflakes in the air. It was 72 when I left LA and now it's about 22. Everywhere you go, you can see your breath. (which I love but gets old when you're traispsing all over Paris and can't get warm) If anyone would like to contribute to the "Let's Help Sam Not Freeze to Death" fund, I will be accepting monetary donations or long johns or underarmor or boots. ;) Anyways I should be getting to bed. Here is a link to my facebook album of pics for those of you who haven't seen it. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034577&id=1065150112&l=5937e34000 Enjoy! A bientot!