Paris, Je t'aime

My flight to Paris was one of the easiest in recent memory. I got through customs rather quickly and didn't have much trouble finding my bags or Nadine, the ISA representative. There were only a few students who were meeting Nadine there, so it didn't take long to get everyone organized. Our driver dropped us off one by one at our host family's apartments and we all seemed so frightened as if it were the first day of school. I live with a young single woman in the 11th arrondissement. She teaches French to immigrants and seems to be gone most of the day. She has a cute little dog who looks like Benji, and although he was afraid of me at first, he seems to be warming up to me now. The apartment is on the first floor and my room looks out onto a courtyard. I like my room very much, especially since I am able to get free wi-fi here! After eating some lunch, I went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top. The view from there is quite enjoyable since you can see most of Paris and the surrounding areas. While I was there, a ceremony for war veterans was held as the Arc de Triomphe is also the resting place of an unknown soldier from WWI. I walked along the Champs Elysees afterwards and enjoyed window shopping and watching all the people. For those who aren't familiar with Paris, the Champs Elysees is to Paris as 5th Avenue is to New York. In fact, the 6th arrondissement is the most expensive neighborhood to live in. I returned home around 6pm and ate the pot au feu (soup of turnips, leeks, beef, and noodles) that Carole, my host mother, had prepared.
Today, Wednesday, I went to my school, l'Institut Catholique de Paris, for a meeting with all the other exchange students. All of the students seem very nice, and I'm sure we'll all get on pretty well. At the meeting, the ISA staff arranged for us to buy cell phones to use in France. We went to lunch around noon, and I ate a fabulous ham and cornichon (pickle) sandwich with butter, a piece of apricot flan tarte, and some orangina. It was absolutely delicious! In the afternoon, we took a bus tour of Paris which was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing Saint Germain de Pres where Sartre and many other authors used to hang out at a cafe called the Deux Magots. This evening, some of the students are planning on going out to some of the bars near where I live. There is an Irish Pub near by and, with luck, they'll have some Harp. Yum.