Just about three weeks ago I arrived in Paris with my mom to start my journey in this amazing city! I absolutely cannot believe my time here is just about half way over, but I already feel like I can call this place my new home, especially after being away for the weekend in the north of France.
After an exhausting weekend, it was hard to be motivated to sit through a three hour class the next day! However, although my class is extremely challenging composed of students from all of the world (Japan, China, Korea, Brazil, Poland, Turkey, and of course the US) I look forward to going to class everyday because for those three hours, I do not hear one once of English in my class. Due to the diversity, French, in this case, is the common language amongst all of the different native languages in the room. It has been quite the experience to be able to learn from these other cultures even in the French class itself. For example, the topic we have been discussing this week has been "amour" or love and marriage. We have had various debates in our class concerning what the values of each of these topics mean, and because there are so many different perspectives in the room, it poses for intense discussion that helps me gain an understanding of where these cultures stand in certain areas.
Aside from class, I have also had the joy of being able to see the one and only Mama Maureen Dumbaugh (or as her Delta Flight Attendant friends call her, MoMo) as well as some of the FAs every Tuesday and Wednesday. This week I met her at the Shakespeare bookstore after touring some of Paris with my friends, and then proceeded to walk through St. Michael and eat dinner at a cafe that lasted over two hours! We repeated the same thing yesterday, and while I still feel like I am experiencing Paris for myself, it is still so surreal to me that it has been so easy for me to see her every week! I am so thankful for this.
Tonight marks the beginning of an absolutely wild weekend in Paris because of Bastille Day. This entire city is preparing for what you would think is the turn of a new century, and my friends and I couldn't be more excited to be part of it! We are starting off tonight by going to the "baby bottle" fondue place where you get your wine and drinks served into a baby bottle for the entire night, and of course fondue to go with it. For the rest of the weekend, fire stations apparently turn into clubs, a tradition in Paris that will continue to be a must do on Bastille Day and the day leading up to it as well as a parade down the Champs, concerts, and fire works at the Eiffel Tower!
A bientot!
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