This morning Mom and A.B. drove me to Paris and dropped me off at my host mom’s apartment. They were going to come up for a drink and meet my host mom, but it’s impossible to find a parking spot in the middle of Paris (it’s impossible to drive in Paris, period) so we nixed that plan. A.B. pulled over and Mom walked me to the elevator, which was too small to fit me and my suitcase and her. So we said goodbye.
My host mom lives on the 4th floor of the building in a little apartment smack in the middle of the 1er arrondissement of Paris, near the Châtelet metro station. She is perfect for me! She’s so nice; she welcomed me in and we sat down in the living room and drank coffee (I don’t even like coffee, but somehow this I enjoyed. Go figure). Then she took me for a walk around the neighborhood, showing me her favorite flower shops (she bought some flowers for her miniature “garden” on the balcony) and the grocery store and the FNAC, which is my new favorite place. I couldn’t tell you now where any of that stuff was, but at least I know it’s nearby somewhere. The FNAC is a huge book/music/computer/everything store, and it turns out my host mom loves books just as much as I do, which bodes well for our relationship.
The apartment is tiny, but perfect for two people. I have a cute little room with a big window and several mirrors and an armoire. There’s a little livingroom with a TV and another window with the balcony that holds the little garden, and a little kitchen and a little bathroom. The floors creak a lot and some of the ceilings have gorgeous moldings. It’s so old and cute and…perfect.
Kind of like my host mom. She’s probably in her 60s; she has a daughter who’s 35 and lives in another part of Paris. She used to be a psychologist, now she’s retired and she’s a painter. She really appreciated the painting I brought her of the mountains in Flagstaff, so I guess that was a good choice on my part! I think I’m going to be very happy with her.
When we came back from looking around I found a weak WiFi connection on my computer, which lasted about 5 minutes before I lost it and couldn’t find it again. My host mom doesn’t have internet, which is inconvenient but I know it’s probably really good for me. I managed to send a belated happy birthday message to Audrey and check my e-mail to find messages from Dad and Roya. My host mom said I should be able to get internet at the garden near by, so that’s good. Anyway, those few minutes made me feel a little more grounded and connected to the world, and that was nice.
Now I’m just hanging out in my room trying to get my bearings and not flip out; I don’t think I’m really in any danger of flipping out, this is all just very new at the moment.. It’s exciting more than anything. I know I’ll get used to it soon, and things will start to feel familiar.
Apparently my host mom has students from Arizona in Paris stay with her every summer, and other students throughout the year. She said she’s been doing Arizona in Paris for around 20 years – basically, my entire lifetime. That makes me feel good and not so nervous; she obviously knows what’s going on.
Later in the afternoon a friend of my host mom’s came over. She was very friendly; she’s from Venezuela. I felt a little awkward because they were chattering away and I was trying my best to understand but I was still a little out of it from all the new-ness. No big deal, though. Later in the evening we ate dinner and then watched part of this awful French soap opera that she’s addicted to, and then a documentary about the Incas.
Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be meeting up with my group and I think that will be really good – to see some familiar faces and have people to do things with. And I’m really looking forward to Monday and starting classes and having a schedule and everything. I have a feeling that once that starts, time will fly by.
