orientation, adaptation, frustration.

my adventure began friday afternoon in lexington. snow was hitting the north east like whoa (a not so rare occurrence these days, my apologies to anna). i boarded for DC at 2, boarded for paris at 5:25, and arrived in foggy paris at a lovely 6:00 am local time.

the organized mayhem began. i exit the plane in attempt not to let my lack of french skills overwhelm me, i followed signs with pictures of baggage.

lesson one: when in doubt follow pictures.

i received an email that an AUP representative would most likely meet me at baggage claim. no AUP representative. just me. my free luggage cart. and my ridiculous amount of luggage for 5 months. at this point i am feeling as though i can conquer anything. i have made it through customs. i have claimed my baggage. i have loaded baggage onto cart.

eventually i find AUP. i find that 3 other girls were on my flight. together we begin the voyage to the fiap. bags are loaded onto carts, taken off carts, loaded onto shuttles, taken off shuttles, loaded into vans, taken off vans. and roughly 1.5 hours later i arrive at the fiap.

fiap (noun) convention center meets hostel meets all around confusion and general lack of comfort.

lesson two: not all of paris is gorgeous. the fiap is in a part of paris that is not gorgeous.

saturday, sunday, and monday night are spent in the lovely fiap. however the real fun did not begin until monday morning at 9:10 am. the housing process began.

i was lucky. i had been granted an early housing slot. 9:30 am on monday morning. i arrive. i have planned to stay in a chic IR, independent room. formerly servants quarters, these rooms are small studio apartments located on the top floor of lavish apartment buildings. sounds glamorous and rugged all at once. right?

WRONG. these small studio apartments are 11 square meters on a good day. yes we all lived in freshman dorms. no these are not the same. my electric toilet was hidden snuggly behind my door. next to it was my kitchen, a meter long counter top with a sink and two hot plates built over a mini fridge. directly adjacent was my shower stall followed by my bed. at the head of my bed was small window, overlooking the river, across from my bed a desk. this was not a studio apartment, this was a large bathroom with a bed and a hotplate. regardless, the independence, the view, and the city were enough reason to take it. so i accepted.

long story short. no immediate internet access (apparently this is a luxury, not the norm in paris) led to panic, led to a housing frenzy, led to frantic bbms to father, led to phone calls with mother, led to housing department hating me, led to a blessing in disguise.

i have found myself in a lofted room above a girl from my program in a homestay in the lovely 17th arr. a bus/metro ride from class and any other cultural excursion i deem necessary.

(explanation of homestay: dana and i live at one end of an older single woman's very nice apartment. dana lives on the main floor, i live in a room lofted above hers. the two of us share a full bathroom, and have access to the woman's fridge and kitchen. )