belated post

Salut! Today is day four in Paris. I can’t believe how the summer has come and gone. I got to see one more of my Costa Rica friends, making it four during my summer. After having a wonderful time in the UK, I flew out of London on Monday morning and arrived in Paris to meet my program director who took me to meet some of the group at the hotel. That evening we took a boat tour along the Seine River for about an hour. SOOO beautiful! Then we all went out for dinner together, and I tried the famous escargots (pretty good, actually). Ever since we’ve been in Paris, we’ve been pretty much going, going, doing a lot of sight-seeing, getting to know the city, the food, the transportation, PAH-REE.
Tuesday: Versailles, Musee d’Orsay, L’Arc de Triomphe
Wednesday: Notre Dame (went all the way to the top, to the bell), Sainte Chapelle, Musee du Louvre (did see the Mona Lisa), Musee de l’Armee and Napoleon’s Tomb, Les Galeries Lafayette (ginormous department store)
Today: we’re about to visit the Eiffel Tower and when we return, we’ll be starting our trip to Grenoble to meet our families. I’m excited but also beginning to get a little nervous. This will be the forth family I live with this year (only one being my actual family), so I’m used to living with others, but I think it’s different this time because of the language barrier. However, I’m looking forward to meeting them. I’m also looking forward to stability. I’m getting a little tired of living out of suitcases and packing and re-packing them. It will be good to settle in for the semester.
Things are going well. I’m getting to know people from the group. I’ve been noticing many things that we have in common, as well as many things we don’t. I know this will be a challenging semester at times, but I’m looking forward to growth. I think I’ve been able to fit in well enough with them all that the appreciate me and also respect me, knowing I’m different (something I’d been praying for).
Anyway, I don’t know how frequently I’ll be online in Grenoble, so for now I leave you with some pictures of my time in Paris.