I am safe in France after a long 8-hour flight, and am sitting here with four of my peers who are staying in the Hotel St. Sebastian in Paris with me. I am exhausted and really want to nap but as it is only a quarter to four here, I can't mess up my sleep schedule! So i'm going to probably turn in early tonight. We haven't done any sightseeing yet as we literally were just able to rid ourselves of our heavy burdensome suitcases! In a bit, after we've all sent our e-mails, we're going to explore a bit more of this area and we're planning on meeting a friend at Notre Dame at 7 p.m.
We'll be in this hotel until Friday, when we'll take the TGV to Besancon and meet up our group leader. She's going to buy us dinner and we're going to talk about our first few experiences. I can already say that I was impressed with even the beggars who played the accordion on the RER as opposed to your usual street beggar on the streets of Detroit. I can associate accordions (as many do) with sounds of Paris and it was kind of a cheap welcome into the city.
I am craving a shower and some authentic, cheap French wine and cheeses, so I bid you goodbye for now and I promise I will write as often as the opportunity arises! More later!

1/2/08

On the plane…

It’s 12:46 a.m right now where we’re currently at over the ocean on the Airbus. I’m listening to Ragtime with the plane’s complimentary headphones as I try and attempt to achieve fatigue. Last night I rolled around in bed for about 2 hours because of the anxiety that overwhelmed me- I’m on my way to Paris, France, for the first time in my life. I’m overcome with joy and curiosity. The flight is about 7 hours, but it doesn’t feel like 4 have passed by already. I just watched a movie called “Unfaithful” with Diane Lane and Richard Gere. I thought maybe the movie would make me a bit more tired but it failed to do so. Even the tiny bottle (complimentary, I might add) of red wine wasn’t enough to put me out. I wonder where we’re at right now over the ocean….somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic I would assume. I think of Rod as this music is playing because he and I listened to this soundtrack in his dad’s SUV earlier this winter break. I wonder what everyone is doing right now back in Walled Lake and Kalamazoo. I know I’ll miss my family and friends but right now there is nowhere else I’d rather be than on this plane, about to arrive in the country I’ve longed to visit for all my life.