Here at last!

So, after all the preparation, stress, time spent flying etc. I am finally here in Montpellier. We arrived yesterday morning, after an what seemed like a week of travel. I left home at 10:30 Wednesday morning, drove to Newark airport (after a brief episode with the car overheating) checked my bags (one of them was 2 pounds overweight, but luckily I didn't have to pay extra, just run the risk of dislocating my arm), said goodbye to my parents (there were hardly any tears involved which was rather impressive on both ends--for me, I got all my crying done on Tuesday) and met up with the group. Honestly, I can't imagine doing this without a group... I'd be either a. lost b. dead c. a sobbing mess or all of the above.

The flight into Paris was uneventful, but very long, and true to form I didn't sleep a wink, despite my best efforts. We got into CDG airport somewhere around 8:30 am Paris time, waited for a few hours (after very nearly getting lost), and took another brief flight to Montpellier where we were met by Amy and went to the hotel. I'm in France! I keep forgetting this fact, actually, and keep thinking I'm in New Orleans, or maybe Montreal. Nope. I guess that I, like the rest of the world, equate France with Paris. So, Muoyo and I are rooming together which is good, and I figure that if we can make it for 5 days in a tiny hotel room sharing a double bed, than living together during the semester will be just fine. All I really wanted to do at this point was to pass out for a very long time, but instead, after unpacking as much as was possible (aka taking out my toothbrush) I convinced Sara to come out with me, and we spent the next two hours walking around the town. Luckily she has a wonderful sense of direction, or I'd have been found sometime next week in Madrid. It's really a beautiful town, with pale-colored buildings and everything is old. There are a ton of little parks and fountains, and people are sitting around and talking and eating everywhere. Oh, and we found this Amazing gelato shop which must have had at least 50 flavors.

Let's see... Oh, another interesting thing is that the streets follow no logical pattern, so there are little alleys and streets everywhere, but these "alleys" are totally different from those at home, in that there are shops and restaurants in them. I'd love to go back to some of the places we saw, but I don't think I'll be able to find them again. So, we returned and had a group dinner at a place called "La Coquille" which is right across the street from the hotel, and I then proceeded to go to bed, at long, long, long last. I admit, though, that I was sort of scared to sleep--I had been so busy and so active throughout the past day and a half that I hadn't really given myself a chance to think about what I had just done--left home, family, friends, boyfriend, school, state, country, a language I understand, and I was worried about what would happen when I did let it all sink in. Mostly, that my brain would explode. Luckily, that hasn't happened. Yet.

The exciting events of today began with breakfast. Oh my. It was so wonderfully French! Bread, jams, butter, tea, fruit, croissants, and I even tried cafe au lait (dad, aren't you proud?). After I ate, we all went to Amy's house and had a bit of orientation, which seemed to revolve around "be smart and a bit paranoid" concerning safety things. Pickpocketing is rather common, it seems. After that, lunch, and then cell phone buying! I decided not to get one quite yet, but I think I will, mostly to keep in touch with people here, as it's less useful for over-seas calling. Then, there was lots of walking around and shopping! The really exciting purchase of the day was a leather shoulder bag. The hemp one just wasn't cutting it. I must've gone into 6 stores before I found it. A bit pricey, but not too terrible. It's pretty straightforward black leather, but it has a bow on it which makes it a bit cute. I'm very pleased. After that, Sara and I went into a brasserie and we got the equivalent of shandis--mine with a shot of grenadine. It was very tasty considering the fact that it was beer-based, and cheers to being able to buy alcohol! And now, it's time for a grammar review with Sara! Photos to come when I find the cord to hook up my camera.