Les premiere semaines

I love Paris. It's beautiful, its embracing, it leaves you wanting more. The people have been living up to their stereotype unfortunately, but we're manging just fine. Speaking of we, that is
me and my roommate Ellie. Ellie's from Nebraska who i thankfully met through our mutual from Jen. For lack of better words, Ellie is the ying to my yang. Without her this past week, I wouldn't be able to laugh at the phone people who tell us to come back on Tuesday when it is only Thursday, to grimace at the mold on one of the apartments we looked at, or to laugh out loud at the bank teller when she told me today the machine worked this morning and to come back tomorrow, which has been their response to almost everything.

Anyways, after a week long adventure in the housing world (i'll spare you the details, but lets just say you were only supposed to go through 2 rounds of housing and we went through 7; we're legendary. i had many a fight with the housing director, i actually YELLED in her face) we have now settled into our wonderful, newly redone, everything brand new apartment in the 16th arrondisement. it's like living on the upper east side, which is perhaps why i feel so comfortable here.

For the inauguration we went to an american bar where i randomly ran into a friend from GW, which was so nice. We hooped and hollared, cried and screamed of excitement. I was the loud annoying american but i didn't care. when aretha franklin finished her superb rendition of america the beautiful, i had to encourage the rest of the bar to respect the queen of soul. it was a fantastic night, while all we wanted to do was be in washington, dc for that day, we made the best
of the separation. I actually teared up when I heard Wolf Blitzers voice.

Classes are good, not great, and makes me appreciate GW a bit more. My 19th/20th art professor snapped at me when I pointed out a Native American in a painting we were looking at, saying, "actually, they prefer american indian." someone missed a step...

The French do everything 5x slower than at home. I find myself constantly having to remind them that the business day concludes at 5 or 6 NOT 3 or 4. Come back tomorrow, they keep telling me.

BUT even after the unpoliticaly-correct professor, the weird business
style/lack of, and the long search for an apartment, I still am in
love with this city.

Bisous,
Remy