Arrival in Paris and Orientation to the City

Bonjour! We have arrived safely in Paris. I personally didn't sleep a wink on the 8 hour flight, thus we got off of the plane and I was in a daze. We all started the long march through the Charles de Gaulle airport by walking through hallways, riding on very "spongey" escalators that went up and down at strange angles with the grand finale going through the "hamster" tubes pictured. All travelers found their luggage on the carrousel and we went through to "the other side," and the beginning of our Parisian adventures.

Our leader/liason Fatima met us with a motor coach and we made our way to the Cite Universite of Paris and our dorms - 20 students are living at the Fondation des Etas Unis and 10 students and my fellow Professor/chaperone Whitney and I are living in the Maison de Provinces de France.

We toured the neighborhood learning where we could shop and then went to dinner at a lovely restaurant. Our first french lesson under our belts we all attempted to find the MonoPrix which is similar to a Target with food to buy some essentials like toilet paper!

Journeying in a large slow herd we made our way via the tram and Metro to meet with Parisian tour guides for a very wet and rainy walk around Paris "to get our bearings."

Notre Dame de Paris, Sainte Chapelle, the Opera House, the Louvre, Arch de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and so much more, in the rain. We set our charges "free" at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower and they were on their own to find their way home.

Overall, orienting oneself to a new city, a new culture, and a new language is overwhelming for a lot of people. The key to success the the willingness to try. I am personally very thankful that I have shepherded several other groups through Paris. My time in Strasbourg in 2007 was also precious and has allowed me to transition to this time in Paris with relative ease.