Je suis une parisienne - for real!

I can finally say it - I LIVE IN PARIS! - although it has all been quite surreal and there have been moments where I have actually forgotten that I'm not in Wisconsin anymore.
The flight took about seven and a half hours, but it went rather smoothly. Luckily there were four other girls from the program on the same flight, and I think it helped to make the time pass more quickly. Charles de Gaulle wasn't very busy, but it was still hard to function because I was so exhausted from being on the plane.
As the five of us were standing around waiting for our driver (one of the girl's moms had arranged for a car to pick us up so that we wouldn't have to pay for a cab) we started talking about how we all needed a shower after being on a plane for so long. I'm not sure if what happened next happened because we were severely jet lagged or simply because it's inherently funny, but somehow we wound up laughing about how the French word for "shower" is douche. So there we were, in the middle of one of the busiest airports in Europe, saying things like, "Takin' a douche," and, "Could you point me in the direction of the nearest douche?" I don't think we could have made it any more obvious that we were American. I personally feel that it speaks to our superior maturity levels.
The ride from Charles de Gaulle was weird in the sense that France, from the freeway, doesn't really look all that different from Wisconsin, although the lack of mountainous snow piles helps.
After checking in with the Accent center (the organization that has put together the whole program), we had to drag our luggage over to our hotel. There are about fifteen girls from Milwaukee and Madison, so you can imagine the scene we caused trying to get our bags and suitcases up the tiny spiral staircase.
Once we had gotten settled, Adrien from Accent came to take us on a short walking tour of the neighborhood. After that, we were free to do whatever we wanted, so the five of us who were on the same flight went to this charming little crêperie, where I got une galette au fromage et jambon (a salty crêpe with cheese and ham) and a café crème. I couldn’t believe how delicious the crêpe was, and I ate the whole thing in about three minutes. The coffee was a life saver, and it was so good that I decided to have a second cup.


There are several things I've noticed about Paris that lead me to believe it could soon become my favorite city:
1. Rooftop gardens. Why don't we have more of these in Milwaukee?
2. Coffee shops. There is literally a place to get coffee on every corner in Paris. And it's good.
3. Florists. I think that for every coffee shop, there's a florist down the street. It gives the city some color and it smells wonderful!
4. Funny-looking cars. I want to drive one!

Although blending in has been one of my main concerns (not only because it makes you less of a target for pickpockets, but also because I think it will help me get better at speaking French), the girls have helped me to come to the conclusion that I'm allowed a two-week grace period in which I will be a tourist (taking excessive pictures, laughing too loudly, etc.). his includes taking a picture of every sign with the word douche on it. Needless to say, the phrase douche creation was used quite frequently throughout the remainder of our first night in Paris.
To finish the evening, we bought some baguettes, some camembert, and a few cans of Orangina and had a delicious late-night snack. Overall, I can't see how my first day in Paris could have turned out any better.
Tomorrow I get to meet my host family - I'm excited to see what they will be like. I hope they like me!