Ten Little Chances to be Free (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tenlittlebullets) wrote2009-08-27 10:56 pm
tenlittlebullets) wrote2009-08-27 10:56 pm
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IN PARIS YAY
I AM IN PARIS. :D :D :D
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elyse24601 and I have a couple days in a hotel before we get settled in with our host families, and the hotel is very posh but the internet is very expensive. So as I write this, I am perched uncomfortably on a protrusion of a wall in the rue de la Harpe, stealing somebody's wi-fi. Every part of me except my butt is happy about this situation.
The thing about Paris is that I have a very good sense of direction and of where things are, but my sense of distance is all screwed up. I need to remind myself that just because it is possible to walk from the Gare Montparnasse to the Marais doesn't mean it's a good idea. My legs are killing me--DC is not very conducive to walking everywhere, so they're not used to the abuse--but it was a pretty good walk. One of the antiquarian booksellers in the stalls by the Seine saw us ogling his books as we passed by, and struck up a conversation. It started with him complimenting our French, continued in the general vein of romanticism in general and George Sand in particular, and ended with him showing us a giant pile of beautifully-bound books for under €10 each, which we manfully (but apologetically!) resisted the urge to buy.
I'm still somewhat dazed and confused. It's mostly jetlag--being in Paris doesn't daze me, in fact it helps me ground myself. But I couldn't sleep on the plane, and somewhat unwisely took a nap in the afternoon, and now I have to keep telling myself it's still Thursday. Woke up and had a moment of panic that we were late for orientation, which is Friday. Or maybe Saturday. God I am jetlagged.
elyse24601 and I have a couple days in a hotel before we get settled in with our host families, and the hotel is very posh but the internet is very expensive. So as I write this, I am perched uncomfortably on a protrusion of a wall in the rue de la Harpe, stealing somebody's wi-fi. Every part of me except my butt is happy about this situation.The thing about Paris is that I have a very good sense of direction and of where things are, but my sense of distance is all screwed up. I need to remind myself that just because it is possible to walk from the Gare Montparnasse to the Marais doesn't mean it's a good idea. My legs are killing me--DC is not very conducive to walking everywhere, so they're not used to the abuse--but it was a pretty good walk. One of the antiquarian booksellers in the stalls by the Seine saw us ogling his books as we passed by, and struck up a conversation. It started with him complimenting our French, continued in the general vein of romanticism in general and George Sand in particular, and ended with him showing us a giant pile of beautifully-bound books for under €10 each, which we manfully (but apologetically!) resisted the urge to buy.
I'm still somewhat dazed and confused. It's mostly jetlag--being in Paris doesn't daze me, in fact it helps me ground myself. But I couldn't sleep on the plane, and somewhat unwisely took a nap in the afternoon, and now I have to keep telling myself it's still Thursday. Woke up and had a moment of panic that we were late for orientation, which is Friday. Or maybe Saturday. God I am jetlagged.