It's 3 am here and I'm wide awake so I figured I should start recording my adventures. I slept from 8 pm to 2 am because I couldn't stay awake any longer at eight...hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep again in a few hours, make it through tomorrow without a nap, and get on a regular schedule (that's my plan at least).
So far, everything has gone well. The flight went by quickly. I sat next to a couple from Cameroon who had been in the US for a month visiting their children. They were charming and I spent a while talking to each of them (in English...I started speaking French but they switched to English about 2 minutes into the conversation). We didn't take off from JFK until almost 9 p.m., but the flight was short so we were only about half an hour late arriving in France. The lady from the car company was not pleased about this, plus my luggage was the last off the plane (so it took me another half hour to get to the car), but after a gentle scolding from the driver about him having to wait, things were fine. The driver was Sri Lankan...I note this b/c the first thing my host mom asked was if a black drove me. The ride into Paris was very short, no traffic at all.
M. Beguin met me when we first arrived at the appartment. He asked if I spoke French, then spoke to me in English the whole way up. They live on the seventh floor (top) of a beautiful building. Mme. Beguin's father built it and the one next-door in 1964, and at least half the appartments are filled with family members. I imagine that is in part how they afford to live in such a nice location, directly across the street from the park. The appartment is spread out length-wise, starting with my room, then a small sitting area, a kitchenette/bathroom, Mme. Beguin's workshop, their bedroom, then the kitchen/living/dining rooms. So if I want to get to the kitchen or living area from my room, I have to go through their bedroom. Luckily their is also a terrace that runs along the entire appartment on both sides, so I can use that to get to the main area. That terrace looks out on Luxembourg Gardens, and on the other side of my room is a terrace that looks out at the Eiffel Tower. The views are amazing.
My room is very nice. My bed is very comfortable, though very low to the ground (I cannot fit my suitcases under the bed). I have plenty of room for all my clothes and supplies, and there is a bookshelf filled with all the books previous American students have left behind (every guide to Paris you could imagine). I have my own sink in the room, and I think my own bathroom next to the kitchenette. The area of the appartment that Laure (the daughter) and I share has its own entrance.
The Beguin family is great. They are all very, very artsy. The appartment is decorated with tons of artsy things, including stuff that Mme. made. She makes jewelry (for a hobby I guess, but she sells it) and knits and sews and seems extremely crafty. M. Beguin likes to work on old cars and he's building a new door for my room. The daughter is studying design at a Parisien art school and our shared living space is basically her studio. Mme. Beguin is extremely nice, very vibrant and energetic. She took me on a tour of the neighborhood in her car, which is ancient and adorable and would fit in the trunk of my car. I'll take a picture of it soon. M. Beguin is more reserved and speaks to me in a combination of French and English (which is great b/c I have more trouble understanding him). Mme. Beguin speaks nice, slow French, and won't speak English but will translate words for me if I don't understand. They had dinner plans with family for last night, but I'll be eating with them tomorrow. She offered to cook me dinner, but I said I'd find something. I went walking to explore the neighborhood and wandered for about an hour, then found a little panini both and got a baguette for dinner. I made friends with the guy who sold it to me, who was extremely nice and spoke very slowly once he found out it was my first day in Paris. I'll definitely be going back there.
I'm starting to get sleepy again, so i'm off to read some Paris guides and hopefully sleep some more.
No comments:
Post a Comment