Well, friends, I am officially on French soil, typing this on a French computer with French software and a French keyboard (which I had to switch to English so I could touch-type). I'm at P's apartment in Vincennes and we haven't successfully figured out (yet) how come her computer's ethernet connection won't work when plugged into my laptop, but help is on the way tomorrow.
My flight over was relatively uneventful although a little bumpy from time to time, and I did experience a touch of airsickness albeit BEFORE the turbulence; I'm chalking it up to an overheated airport in Newark and the stress of the move. But I cleared security and customs with ZERO problems on either end, changed some greenbacks into the more colorful euros, and located my shuttle van into the city. I even got a scenic refresher tour of Paris including an up close and personal "bienvenue" from the Eiffel Tower, because the other two passengers (a British couple from the north of England who came over for her birthday -- HER first trip to Paris!) were staying in a hotel nearby.
P's apartment is very cozy and quintessentially French, with digicode access to a cobblestoned courtyard and a 1930's building with tiny "lift", and doorknobs in the center of the door. The toilet is separate from the bathroom which to an American is very strange, but is normal for France. Just one of the many cultural differences to which I need to acclimate myself.
Yesterday P took me around the village to orient me to what's where. I now have a pass for the metro and bus for the rest of November, and know where to find the video store, post office (where I bought postcard stamps, in FRENCH), several food stores and produce markets and boulangeries, and more. Vincennes is a very nice town and seems to have many amenities -- and a LOT of shoe stores, for some reason (hmmm, note to self: must explore shoe stores).
Today we slept in, watched a video while P finished packing for her month away while I'm living here, and then we went out to do more errands, allow me to stock up on a few provisions for the next couple of days, and now we're back here while she does more packing. I'm pretty well unpacked myself other than a few things which I'll find space for eventually.
Tomorrow I'm off on my own for the early part of the day. I have to find my way to the metro, get on the metro and find my way across town to the 15th arrondissement where I am going to see Apartment #2 which I expect to be taking for a year starting mid-January. Then I'm going to do some sightseeing (perhaps a trip to the Rodin Museum) and then come back to Vincennes to see P off and get any last minute instructions from her about the apartment (still haven't met the concierge yet but her husband was so kind yesterday, helping me drag my heavy bags across the courtyard to the elevator - today we met him again in the grocery and his youngest son who was proud to say a few words to me in English!)
After P leaves tomorrow, I'm really on my own. And yes, a bit nervous about it -- right now I have her to translate all the stuff I don't understand. But I'm grateful she's been here to help me get settled in and find my way around the local neighborhood. The rest will be up to me!
Thank you all for your many good wishes and your excitement for my adventure. Rest assured I will continue to post regularly about everything I'm doing (maybe it will become a book someday!) If I'm not posting much the next couple of days, chalk it up to technology difficulties until I get all of that straightened out.
For now though, I'm tired and a bit jet lagged, hungry (my stomach is still on New Jersey time, but dinner is cooking), and looking at the Eiffel Tower from the window. It's all lit up and simply gorgeous. Does life get any better than this?
