Je suis arrivé!

I'm here! Rue Pernety, Paris. And I must say, our neighborhood is ADORABLE. I was a bit nervous, having moved from the 2nd arrondissement in the dead center of Paris to the 14th, a bit off the beaten path, Rive Gauche, in the south of Paris. But I love it. Our little 4 block radius is filled with bars, restaurants, supermarkets, boulangeries, bric-a-brac shops (knick knacks) and all sorts of other vendors / retailers / little slices of french life. We're close to an Ed too, which is just about the coolest French super discount supermarket ever, and they sell Soy patties and taboulé (a mediterranean rice dish) so I can continue on my path toward Veganism. And Monoprix sells tofu and quinoa as well! I haven't even tried to find tempeh or seitan in the normal shops, but Alix assures me that a few blocks away we have a Bio (organics) food store and it should be stocked full.

On that note, yes, I realize now it will be a challenge to be a vegan in France. Let's get past just the reactions I receive when I use the word "vegetalien" in French... which is very close to vegetarien, their word for vegetarian. But no, vegetalien means vegan, and when uttered it elicits a reaction of dismay, horror, and pity. The usual question is "Mais, qu'est-ce que tu peux manger?!" (but what can you eat?) To which I usually try and explain that there is much more out there than meat and eggs and dairy products, but essentially, if you added wine and bread to that list, that's ALL the French eat. Vegetables are an after thought.. kinda like "please move that green stuff further off the edge of my plate." I mean, they don't even know what alternative grains are.. and try to mention the nutritional values of food to the French and you'll also receive a sneer. The French eat food to enjoy the taste, to delight in the pleasure of the experience. Once you break a food down to its composite parts, you're obviously doing something wrong. But, I do like to know what I put in my body, so I'll continue to live my new path and try to speak openly to those who will listen.

That was a weird tangent from my "Arrival" but I guess it needed to be said. Oh, and I'm literally 1/2 block away from le Laurier, the favorite bar/hangout of Hannah and a whole bunch of other ILCF'ers from last year, who lived on rue Didot in my neighborhood in a student foyer. Needless to say Hannah is back in the US finishing her undergrad degree and insanely jealous, but I'm just happy to have a connection to my new abode. It's great!

The abode itself is tiny but perfect for me and Alix - we really don't need a lot of room. And our reunion has been lovely. We've already walked the neighborhood a few times, watched some Six Feet Under, and made plans with 2 nearby couples for an apero tonight. I'm feeling a bit useless until school starts.. I'm completely unpacked and just spending my last few days of vacation reading, playing video games, and chatting with friends.

But.. it won't last long since I start school tomorrow, HEC, Jouy-en-Josas. Yay! I've already made the mistake of calling a male employee "Madame" via email.. but I don't feel terrible considering that he and I have never met, his name is Fabrice, and I have only been speaking with women from the time I was admitted (I guess I assumed the whole administrative staff was composed of ladies). Oh well, he wants to place me in the French language electives because as he said "vous etes fluent" (you're fluent) even if I kinda disagree with that.. I've left myself the option of switching into the English language classes because I'll be taking strategy and marketing courses, and I'm a bit nervous the subject matter might be difficult for me, especially because I've never studied them before.

HEC it outside of Paris and I've been nervous about transportation, because the French trains are notorious for strikes, and my monthly rail card was going to cost me somewhere around $100. But some other students and I have been emailing back and forth and it seems like a good portion of us live in Paris, and about 3 or 4 have cars and are willing to put together a carpool! That's great news, plus I can make some friends that way.. when forced into a box for 1 hour each way back and forth from school, you're pretty much obligated to chat.. and maybe to go out for a drink afterward ;)

So that's the arrival! I haven't taken any photos yet but as soon as I do I'll toss a few up. Hope you enjoyed the read.