Bonjour tout le monde!

WARNING: This is just a bunch of rambling with no logical order. I have a lot of ideas and I'm very tired so sorry in advance. :)

I've been in Paris for about 36 hours and I love it!

My host family is SO nice, and I don't know why everyone thinks the French are so rude. Everyone has been really nice to me. I already got lost, and the lady I asked for directions went out of her way to help me! And the lady that I couldn't even understand at the cafe was really nice and helpful too (unless of course she was just smiling while she told me to go fuck myself and I didn't understand it).

And I'm amazed at how the French think their English is so bad. Some of the people I've talked to in English keep telling me their English is no good when they're speaking perfectly! Makes me wonder what they think of my French....

One thing I've noticed already is how clean it is (minus the dog shit on the sidewalks in the morning. thats kind of gross. BUT, the people who have to clean it are very efficient and by noon its all gone). The metro is clean, the stations are clean, the buses are clean, and the people don't smell. Everyone that walks by me smells like perfume. Its a huge change, especially if you are one of the people who has ever had to take the EL. Imagine, a train that doesn't smell like piss! It's almost like a fairytale. Oh, and on that note, there's also no creepy homeless drunk people that hang out in the back of it and stare at you the entire ride.

Speaking of homeless people, I've seen very few. I guess I haven't been to any of the touristy spots where I would assume they hang out, but even by the metro I've only seen one or two and they don't yell at you like homeless people in Chicago hahaha.

Last night I watched a tv show called "le chef", its about a guy who goes to villages to teach people who can't cook how to (maybe he'll stop in Paris for me?) and I noticed that even though everything is obviously spoken in French, all the background music was in English. At one point, paparazzi by Lady Gaga came on hahahaha it was so strange to hear it.

Everyone in my group seems really nice, although we only met for a few hours today. The girl I sat next to on the plane is in the same program, isn't that weird? She's really nice and I think we'll be friends. She has friends in Italy and Spain which is nice. And we have the same coat which means she has impeccable taste (hahahahahahaha).
The orientation today was good, they just told us about the safety issues and what to expect culturally. Then we took a visit to the school which was nice, since that means theres less of a chance i'll get lost on my way there on Monday. This week we have a bunch of orientations and meetings to go to, but they all seem to be about interesting topics. Thursday there's a free cheese and wine tasting at my school so that the local students can meet us foreigners. I'm obviously attending, given that there is free cheese and wine hahahaha. Friday we're taking a boat ride down the Seine river which should be fun. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures because I'm always in crowded areas that aren't very touristy and I don't want to draw more attention to myself than necessary. Although I must say, thus far I seem to be the only redhead in Paris. I'll keep everyone updated on that status.

I hate to admit this, but as of now I have very little to report on the food. I was so tired I slept most of yesterday, and because of the time change my body is never hungry during the day (its a 7 hour difference so when its time to eat around here I should be sleeping). Sophie, my "host mom" made a really good dinner yesterday. I'm not sure what it was, however I think one of the things included duck. Who knew I would like duck? And since I've been here I've been constantly parched hahaha I can't drink enough water. It's weird.

Also, for dessert, she made this cake that I can't remember the name of. It was a flaky crust and had cream on the inside, and its baked with a little figurine of a king inside (so its called something "roi" - which means king in french). On top of the cake is a cardboard crown, and whoever eats the piece with the king inside of it is supposed to wear the crown on their head for the rest of dessert. hahahaha i thought that was a funny tradition, and it was delicious!

I think that's all I have to report on for now! Miss everyone back home - wish you were here!