I'm here! (and I have internet!)

Bonjour! It's about 1:30 pm right now and I'm just sitting in my room.  So, you might be wondering what I've been up to the last couple of days...

Day 1 (Tuesday):

We got off the plane and took a bus to the MIJE, the hostel that we stayed at for the first couple of days.  Once we got there, runners (French college students who helped us out for the first 2 days) took us to get lunch and walk around.  Later in the afternoon we got assigned our rooms and I was in a 7 person suite, which was a really great way for me to get to know a lot of people. We were all so tired from traveling and walking around that we were in bed by 10.

Here's a couple of pictures from the MIJE:

This is a view of the courtyard from our window.

This is what you see when you walk in.

These stairs lead upstairs to where my bed was.

Upstairs. My bed is on the left.

Hallway leading to our bathroom.

Same hallway, but looking back towards the table and the beds that were downstairs.

Day 2 (Wednesday):

We got up early, had breakfast at the MIJE and headed over to the NYU in Paris center, which is in the 16th arrondisement.  I don't have pictures of it yet, but it's on rue de Passy, which is extremely commercial, with a Gap, Zara, Sephora, McDonald's, and lots of other restaurants. To get to NYU, you go through these big blue doors and you find yourself in a courtyard.  The NYU center is this really cute house in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by trees and some other buildings.  From Wednesday to Friday, we had orientation everyday at NYU, with info sessions about classes, housing, and life in Paris.  

The most exciting part of Wednesday was that we got our housing assignments and then we all got to meet our landlords (if you have an apartment)/homestay parents.  I went with my new roommate Erin, (who is from Columbus, Ohio!) and our apartment is 45 rue de Beauséjour in the 16th arrondisement and is a 10 minutes walk from school.  The 16th is a very rich residential area, so it was no surprise when our apartment ended up being huge.  

We are living with Beatrice, who is an older woman who lives with her dog, Pudding.  She lives on the ground floor of her apartment building, but a lot of her sisters and children live in the same building so there are constantly people going in and out.  In fact, I've been woken up by the sounds of her grandchildren the past couple of days.  She has an actual backyard with a shed, patio, sandbox, and  mini playhouse (having a backyard is as uncommon in Paris as it is in New York).  Erin and I each get our own separate rooms and a bathroom that we share.  Beatrice gives us breakfast every morning, makes us 2 dinners a week and does our laundry for us.  When we first met her, she said that our only jobs are to work hard at school and have fun in Paris.

This weekend, I've just been getting settled in my new room (though I still haven't unpacked yet - that's today's project) and just walking around Paris.  NYU students are housed all over the city, so visiting other people is a really good way for us to get to know other areas in Paris that we might not otherwise visit. Tomorrow starts a 2 week intensive language course based on a French test that we took on Friday, so that should help my french a lot.  Then, in 2 weeks when the course is done, we start classes. 

I'm having lots of fun but I miss everyone.  Send me lots of emails!

Love,

Ali