Premier Post

          Bonjour mes amis!! Oh wow, I really miss everybody. :) Don't get me wrong, Paris is great (évidemment!) but there's nothing like a familiar smile or hug when things get tough. Which they do, once in a while, when everything is new.
          But at last, I'm getting settled in here. It's been about three and a half weeks (I think?) but it feels like a lot longer. As of now, it's still pretty thrilling--although our program director warned us that at some point we'll experience a parabolic "down period". But what good is worrying about that now? The sun is shining, it's a breezy beautiful 21 degrees Celsius (I think about 70 Farenheit?), and I'm done with school for the weekend.
          Next week, I start auditing classes at Université Paris-Diderot (Paris 7) so that I can choose which one I want to take this semester, in addition to the courses I already have at my study abroad program's center. More about those in another post! It's a little bit stressful, though, because once we choose the class(es) we want to take at the university, we have to go up to the professors and ask them to sign us up for the class, and I think talk with them a little bit about why we want to take it! Seems almost as nerve-wracking as my first French phone call was--when I had to first call my landlady/family (propriétaire, or "proprio" for short)!
          Speaking of which--and I feel I can confide in you, my friends--I have not been placed in an ideal housing situation! Many things contribute to my discomfort with where I am living, among them mice, no proper windows in my tiny tiny bedroom, and the fact that my "host family" actually lives in Normandy and the Madame only returns a few times a month--leaving me to house-sit. For the sake of not complaining too much, I will leave it at that, and not go into any more unpleasant details (of which there are many). Long story short, I'm being moved, and the result is a week and a half or so of mild upheaval and uncertainty while the program tries to place me somewhere else. I'll keep you updated! But here's to hoping the next place is comfortable and conducive to much more creativity and good work (i.e. has an actual desk space for me to work at!).
          AND speaking of studying, today was the final day of our three-week STAGE INTENSIF (French intensive!) where we drilled grammar and did oral presentations and learned about Montmartre and Montparnasse. So interesting! Those are two of three INTENSE epicenters of artistic talent of all kinds. The third one is the Saint-Germain earlier, which I've been told we'll start learning about next week.
          Well! Because I don't want to over-share or be too overwhelming, I think that's enough for now. :) Love you all!

Bisous (kisses),
Shannon