House Boyfriend

So I don't start classes until Sept 28th, as I just found out yesterday when visiting l'Institut for the first time. (I was pleased to see that my school is only one block away from a good friend of Alix, and 3 blocks away from the Jardins du Luxembourg). Further than that my oral exam is on the 24th which is still a week away, so in the meantime I've relegated myself to the role of House Boyfriend. And to be perfectly honest, I'm okay with that. Alix generally leaves around 8-9am for her classes which take her to the other side of Paris, and while I miss her throughout the day I've been taking advantage of that time to tackle my to do list, which ranges from registering with the office of immigration to posting flyers for private English lessons, to simply buying necessaries for the apartment. Simultaneously the charm of the city is growing as my initial fears are subsiding. Communication is for the most part good, I'm discovering more friendly faces than not, and I keep walking down seemingly quiet streets to discover that I was no more than 50 feet from a huge city landmark. Maybe that's what's striking me most about Paris, because I don't really know the layout I keep happening upon beautiful places, and that beauty isn't lost on me.

We hosted some friends at our apartment for the first time last night, and it was truly great. Two of Alix's friends from NY were in town with their mutual international boyfriends, so we chatted in English and French, drank at least 7 bottles of wine and beer, and topped off the evening with some dancing. It wasn't supposed to be a late night but it lasted until at least 1am, at which point we left the apartment to find a bar and failed. I enjoyed reconnecting with everyone, who asked me the obligatory questions about finally making it to Paris and being together with Alix (obligatory, but not unwelcome!). They complimented us on the apartment, and invited us to Alsace this weekend. Many, many plans are being made. Before the party, Alix and I walked over to the Cine Cite at Les Halles to see Julie and Julia, but because of a crazy 4 euro promotion the place was packed and the show sold out. We walked a few more blocks south up the Quai de la Meggiserie to buy some plants and check out the little pet shops interspersed between. Strange combination, pet shop, plant shop, pet shop, plant shop, repeat, but somehow it works. The beauty and scents of the flowers compliment the warmth and friendliness of the pets, enough to overshadow the fact that it was a cold, cloudy day.

Today I'm off again to make my way around city center, looking for the American Church, the American Cathedral, and the American Library (sense a theme?). From what I've read there are all sorts of bulletin board postings there, so I'll bring a few flyers to put up and probably take a few flyers with me. I'm craving to join an expat group to talk about all the things I should be doing, see how others have managed their moves to Paris, and generally avoid the 3 month depression that's supposed to set in. After that I think I'll do some food shopping and start preparing a dinner from my Les Basiques cookbook by Marabout. (I highly recommend this book for any francophones/francophiles - great recipes, very simple directions, and amazingly tempting photos).

I've been snapping some random pics here and there but still have limited internet access, so I'll probably throw them up later.