Homestay Life

Homestay life has its difficulties, mostly because it involves living with a complete stranger in their house, with their rules.  Thankfully my house mother is pretty chill and she buys me a baguette every day so she obviously knows that the way to my heart is through food.  

My room is actually a really good size and I have plenty of storage, which is rare.  My only major complaint is the world’s worst mattress that I am forced to sleep on every night.  It's made of three sections of the hardest material known to man placed together on top of some wooden slats about an inch off the floor.  I don’t think I have ever slept on anything as uncomfortable and sometimes painful as this so-called mattress.  I never knew something could be lumpy and hard at the same time but this lovely torture devise manages both.  I think a prison mattress would be more comfortable.  I wake up with my body aching in the middle of the night and I walk around all day doing weird gymnastics moves trying to realign my spine.  I’m definitely going to need a chiropractor when I get home.

Here are some pictures of the shoebox I share with her...

A Little Taste of Home

On Monday, my friend Chloe and I both had off of work so we decided to meet up for lunch in the Latin Quarter.  While wandering the streets looking for a place to eat, we stumbled upon this strange woman in rollerblades that seemed to jump out at me as I turned the corner.  On closer inspection, we saw that it was an advertisement for a 50s inspired American diner.  It was so cute, we had to try it, and I am so glad that we did.  The menu had all the diner classics like burgers and milkshakes, and even had a section for "New York bagels."  The waitress spoke perfect English, which is always slightly annoying when you're trying to practice your French, but it did add to the American feel of the place.  I had the best avocado burger ever and a chocolate milkshake that tasted a little like peanut butter.  It's hard to explain just how good it feels to have a real American hamburger when you've been living on baguettes and pasta for the past three weeks.  It's my own fault that I can't cook anything for myself, and I do love the meals I have at French restaurants.  I'm not complaining but that meal just really made my day.  

After our meal, we walked around a little bit and found some people giving free massages in a little square by a church.  I was a little skeptical at first, but it seemed that they were there to practice from some school, so we gave it a try.  I don't know if it was just because I've been sleeping on a rock for three weeks or because I've been walking hundreds of miles a day, but that massage was the best I have ever received.  After my free ten minute rub down, my body felt like butter and I happily strolled over to the Luxembourg Garden where we sat on the grass and wondered how we ever got so lucky (at least I did).  

Minor Adjustments

Having lived in France for four months prior to this experience, I should be used to the French style of procrastination and blatant disregard for doing anything in a timely manner.  Unfortunately, I lived in an apartment with all American students and went to an American based school in Paris, so I didn’t exactly have to deal with real French people that often.  This time I am living with a French woman in her apartment and am working at a French company.  So many more French habits to adjust to than last time.  My personal favorite was when the toilet broke in our apartment and didn’t get fixed for six days.  I would ask my host mother what was taking so long and she’d say that she called the plumber every day but couldn’t get anyone to come fix it.  This still makes absolutely no sense to me since there has to be hundreds of plumbers in this city and surely one of them was available any of the six days that we went without a flusher.  When I catch myself thinking this way, I have to stop and remember: it doesn’t have to make sense, this is France.  

My latest French debacle involves my wonderful, though possible make-believe, internship.  After last week’s false start, I was excited to finally get to know my company and begin having a real work week.  Yesterday, I was all set to meet my boss at 2:30 after her client meeting when I received a text informing me that she was not going back to the office afterwards and that I should just meet her today at the normal time (11am).  This morning I got up, showered, and got all ready to go in when my phone went off and the universe laughed at me once again.  My boss now apparently has a fever and will be in bed all day and possibly tomorrow.  Is this a joke?  If so the universe has a ridiculous sense of humor.  I am now going to be working from home today, which is better than nothing, translating the company’s website into English and checking Facebook every 5-10 minutes out of boredom.  At least I get to wear sweatpants :) 

Sunday Funday

Yesterday was quite possibly the longest day ever... besides the day I flew here of course.  Our intern group did a day trip to the Loire Valley to see three beautiful châteaux: Cheverny, Chenonceau, and Chambord.  This happens to be the exact same day trip that my mom and I did in November when she came to visit me but who doesn't want to see three giant castles twice?  The bus left at 7am which meant that I had to get up at 5... not so fun.  Fortunately we had a three hour bus ride to the Loire, so we had a little nap time.  We also had the most ridiculous conversations known to man, the type that can only be had when running low on sleep and feeling completely delirious.  If I haven't mentioned it before, I love my GE friends.  We laugh so much when we are together and everyone has the best sense of humor; I love it.  Anyway, needless to say, I didn't mind the early morning or the long bus ride so much with those hooligans on board.  All in all, we were gone from 7am to 7pm.  Like I said: longest day ever (almost).  

So Much Free Time...

I was supposed to start my internship this week, on Monday, but nothing ever happens on time here in France.  On my first day of work, I showed up to the office about ten minutes early and was told to wait in the waiting area because my boss was not there yet.  My “office” has a few different companies all on the same floor so there are always people there working, but not from my company.  I waited for about 45 minutes until my boss finally showed up and told me that I wasn’t supposed to start until Thursday.  Apparently her mother was getting an operation the next day and she needed to be with her.  I was supposed to get an email from someone but that never happened, so she showed me where I will be working and then sent me away to go “enjoy my free time.”  On Thursday, I arrived at the office again and was let in by an old man who told me that my boss was not coming in today and that she emailed me to tell me not to come.  I don’t have a data plan for my iPhone here, so I can only check my email when I have wifi.  I went all the way back home and found out that by boss had emailed me at 8:30 in the morning (an hour and a half before I have to leave) telling me that her mom was still sick and that I should just send her an email summarizing my mission at the company.  This really confused me because I haven’t even started at the company yet and no one has told me what my mission is going to be.  Thankfully, my boss is really sweet and she understands that I don’t speak fluent French, so when I emailed her back saying that I was confused about what she wanted from me, she just said to come in on Monday and we will figure everything out.  Basically, as annoying as it was to get all ready in the morning and run across Paris with my giant laptop for no reason, it has been nice to have the week off.  I've been sleeping quite a lot and walking around this beautiful city of mine.  Who could ask for anything better? 

Here We Go Again...

Surprise, surprise, I'm back in Paris and my heart is finally content again.  I spent almost 5 whole months back in the U.S. and then promptly jumped on a plane back to France one week after the end of my second semester.  Needless to say, my mom was not pleased that she only got to spend one week with me in between my moving home from school and then leaving for Europe.  Thankfully, I have the best mom in the world and she just lets me be my ridiculous, ambitious self without putting up too much of a fight.  

It all started about a week before I left my study abroad life in Paris last December.  I was sitting in a hostel in London waiting to see my friend who was studying there when I realized that my life in Europe was too good and there was no way that I was going to just go back to the U.S. quietly and let my life go back to its boring, monotonous routine.  I quickly decided that I was coming back in the summer no matter what and that there must be some way to get an internship in fashion that would convince my parents to let me go.  I searched for hours online for fashion internships in Paris and eventually found a site for a company that helps students from all over the world find international internships.  PERFECT.  I immediately requested more information and within a week had already done my initial interview via Skype and was all set to apply (all before I even left Paris).  Having a set plan and knowing exactly when I was coming back made it a lot easier to leave (even if my parents didn't even know it yet).  That's just how I operate.

Fast forward several months, and a lot of parental persuading on my part, and I am once again happily living in the city that I'm pretty sure I was born to live in.  I have been here for two weeks getting settled and preparing for my internship that begins this week.  I will be working for a personal shopping company called Au Boudoir de Babou, helping them expand their marketing efforts to the U.S.  There are 11 other American and Canadian interns in our group that all have really interesting jobs as well.  We have all become really close in the past two weeks since we are basically each others' only friends in the city.  We have spent almost every day/night together exploring the city and getting closer as a group.  From picnics in parks, to bar hopping, to watching them get drunk in the courtyard of Notre Dame, I can honestly say this is one of the best groups of people I have ever met and I am so excited to spend the summer with them in my favorite place.  

From top to bottom: toasting to our first night out together, our welcome boat cruise on the Seine, Caitlyn's 21st birthday celebrations

Last Days of the Good Life

It's hard to believe that a week ago I was spending my first day in Morocco and today I am sitting in my bed in America uploading my final photos from traveling and reliving the excitement one more time.  Being home these last few days has been really hard for me.  I miss Paris so much already, and I am having trouble adjusting to the idea of having nothing to do for a whole month.  

I had the best final trip with my friend Jen in Morocco.  We experienced a serious culture change, and saw some pretty amazing parts of Marrakech.  We held snakes, monkeys, and even got to ride a camel.  It was so much fun to walk around the markets and see things that don't exist in the U.S. and to see how completely different people's lives are there.  My favorite part of the trip was our hot air balloon ride over the desert to watch the sun rise.  Our experience in Marrakech was a little difficult at times but it was incredibly worth it for all that we got to do and see.  

After we got back to Paris, I spent my last day visiting my favorite parts of the city and saying goodbye to the place I have called home for four months.  It was really hard for me to know that I was no longer going to be able to wake up in my apartment with all of Paris outside my doorstep.  I went from having so many things to do and see every day to sitting in my little suburban town in Massachusetts wondering how I ever was happy living here.  I am hoping that I will eventually stop missing everything about Paris as I get more used to being home, but it will definitely take a while to get used to this huge change in my life.