Hey! The first couple days in Paris have been AMAZING, as one might imagine. I got in at 6:35am yesterday along with about 5 other kids in the program, so we were at the hostel where we're staying by 9am and on the streets of Paris by 11 (we had to meet with the organizers, etc). We walked to the Notre Dame cathedral on the Seine river...and it was amazing. I can't believe it's been around for as long as it has. My friend Heimunn and I got approached by a gypsy, who pulled the stereotypic "I am lost, you speak English?" trick with a kid with sticky fingers waiting in the wings, but luckily we got away. It's hard to believe that sort of thing still works, but apparently it does. Stupid tourists, lol. Anyway we discovered "vin chaud" or hot wine, which is delicious and warms the cockles of your heart (haha). Being warm is of the essence here since it hangs out around freezing every day, although its been really sunny so far. So its cold, but cheerful. Today we had lots of meetings and got our bank accounts organized and talked about security in the city and "le jeux des hommes et des femmes" aka how to avoid that sketchy guy trying to take you out for coffee.
Things are really different here...predictably enough. Everyone is always very put together, and everyone dresses well. People also are generally more attractive, or at least thats the group consensus for now. There are lots of rules that people follow that are unwritten (as everywhere), but some that require some attention til they become natural. For example, people don't eat in public. Also, to make eye contact with a member of the opposite sex and smile, even a little, is considered an invitation. People do not ever eat on the metro, or talk to those they don't know. Not a huge deal, but still things to keep in mind. Right now I'm waiting in the lobby of our hostel for people to grab their stuff upstairs and we're going to go charge our Navigo passes, which work like metro cards that you just reload with money each month. Navigo cards are also good for buses and renting bikes as well, so its a good investment.
Alright, time to go. Hope to talk to all of you soon! :)
peace
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