Continued: Day 1 in Paris!! July 11, 2016

Today, we landed in Paris, France!! I am so excited to be here! It is currently 5:42 am, and around 10:42 pm back home. My body is so thrown off, but being able to be here is a dream! Getting through the airport went smoothly, although it was a lot of steps that had to be done in order! From the airport, we traveled by train to the Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris!! At first site, Paris was not what I expected, hoping to see a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance from our University. Instead, what I saw was a great deal of metal siding, used on the houses and the businesses. It wasn't until we got further in to toward the city that I realized how big Paris actually was, marked by the famous architecture of the French buildings.
Being in France is COMPLETELY different than being back home. Just from observing people on the train, the women were not caked with makeup, nor did they seem to be too concerned with their outward appearance as much as American women are. However, the French are still attached to their cell phones! Navigating the train system was difficult because there were so many people headed on their way to work with a bunch of students with suitcases taking their seats! Unlike what I've heard, it wasn't too hard to keep up with Dr. V, so being able to get everything situated was very nice. By the time we got our information filled out the University, myself and a couple others decided to go exploring!!
Navigating the train system is intimidating!! But once we got the hang of it, we felt more relaxed to be in the country. I realized that my French skills were better than I thought, and it was wonderful to be able to communicate with some of the locals. We found ourselves at Notre-Dame de Paris, which was absolutely beautiful, in hopes of heading to the tower, but on our way, we grabbed a bite to eat at a local cafe. My food was pretty tasty, but by the time we had all eaten, it was time for my class to go back and do a walking tour. On our tour, we walked A LOT!!! What was worse was that I was so, extremely tired!! Nevertheless, I got to see some things that I probably never would've taken the time to see, nor hear all the amazing stories surrounding French History! This makes me so excited for my week to come!!

My day ended with a lovely meal and time spent watching the Eiffel Tower light up!