La descente

Bonjour mes amis!

This will be the first time I've truly had to speak or write in English since arriving so excuse me if my grammar comes off weird and French-like haha. I'm in a different mindset!

It's mid-morning on my third day in Paris and I'm happy to say that I've settled in very very quickly, mostly thanks to the wonderful people around me. My landlady, Geneviève, spent almost the entirety of Saturday familiarizing me with our neighborhood and showing me the ropes. She's absolutely precious and is really excited about having an American locataire, so she tells everyone we meet that I am her American tenant who is going to be studying at Sciences Po. The reactions I get when people find out are generally along the lines of "Goodness! That is a lot of work! Good luck with that!" so needless to say that hasn't quite helped to quell my nerves about school haha.

The view from our flat. I'm in love.

I've already started to get why Paris is such an attractive place to live because there really is a strong sense of community that I've never seen in a city this large. Geneviève and I passed multiple neighbors who all stopped for a friendly chat and the residents know each baker and small shopkeeper in the neighborhood. There is also an open-air market very close to me, and an organic shop called "Naturalia" that Geneviève loves, and it's all very quaint.

Geneviève made me a map of the neighborhood with all
of the important things to know! (like where the bakeries are)

Geneviève actually helped me make my first French friend and they don't speak English, so it's been very good French practice! After only three days I've actually started thinking in French which is a very strange feeling.

The vaulted ceilings of the Notre Dame

The first thing I realized about Paris is just how walkable it is. I've only taken the metro twice and that was to go to and from Vincennes to see the château - other than that, I've been walking everywhere! Our flat is near la Place d'Italie so I can, for example, walk to Montmartre or to the Notre Dame in 30 minutes or less. I also walked to Sciences Po just to see where it is and it's in a very chic neighborhood in the 5e arrondissement (and it's right next to a Christian Louboutin, so I am excited about that haha).

The cathedral in the Château de Vincennes
looking super ominous against the cloudy sky this morning

I've already seen so much but I'm ashamed to say I haven't yet made it over to the Champs-Élysées or la tour Eiffel! There's just so much to see in the neighborhood that I haven't felt the need to venture onto the métro yet, besides to see the château in Vincennes, which wasn't my idea haha. I've also found that I tend to like the less touristy areas more, since it feels a lot more genuine and Parisian. Plus, the people-watching des quartiers is stellar.

The cultural differences are really the best part about this experience, yet there is so much to say so I think I'll just make a quick list of things I've noticed:

Café culture exists alongside the historic gothic églises.

• Café chairs outdoors are almost always situated to face the street, which I like to think is for the explicit purpose of prime people-watching. I dig it.
• The French diet seems to consist of mainly Vegetables, Fruits, Meat, Cheese, and Bread, with an emphasis on the bread. Unfortunately, there isn't much protein for vegetarians but I think I can survive on goat cheese and baguettes haha
• On the subject of food, Parisiennes don't eat. The women are very conscious of their figures, to the point that I'm convinced that they just smoke and drink wine instead of eating meals (my friend actually said so haha). There are many skinny, gorgeous and enviable girls.
• Men are much more open and forward with regards to staring and creeping, to the point that they might follow you around the city if you try to gently shut them down (I learned this the hard way. It's a long story but it was kind of scary). Instead, I learned that the proper response is to act cold and tell them "je vais appeler la police", which feels rude to me but apparently it's normal.
• Skinny pants. Everywhere, and on everyone. I approve.
• FRENCH CHILDREN ARE PERFECT
• People are very amused by the fact that I'm American. The French hate Americans on the whole but I guess individually we're okay haha.
• French food ads all have nutrition warnings on the bottom, saying things like "it's important to eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day" and "Incorporate exercise into your life". My friend told me that this is essentially a direct reaction to the American obesity epidemic, so we've got that going for us.
• The idea of Obamacare is popular here, but they're having lots of problems with their social security system because, according to my friend anyways, it's ruining the economy. Their taxes are insane because upon losing their job, people get 70% of their former income for one year from the system and it's becoming very expensive. Zut alors!
• Everyone really does make out in public. I didn't realize how much this really is the "city of love". So much PDA, but yet it's almost not off-putting because it's Paris. It works here.

There are many lovely parks that are the perfect scene for a stroll, or,
depending on your situation, for some serious PDA

So far, I really am loving Paris! And even though I don't understand everyone all the time, I am super appreciative of the kindness I've been getting from all the locals.

I hope you're all doing equally well and I can't wait to see what's in store for the future!

 À bientôt,

Sally