Vive La France!

So, I finally have a chance to sit and talk about my arrival in this wonderful country. As all of you know, I'll be here for a year and just arrived on Tuesday morning after one loooooong day of travel. I had two flights on United Airlines and at times I thought I'd never get here. The first flight was uneventful although, I did see Rose McGowan who was sitting in first class. The second flight which was the longer of the two was a bit more interesting in that we almost made an emergency landing when a woman who was sitting a few rows back from my seat began to hyperventilate. They called for any doctors on the flight and luckily there were three including a cardiologist. One of the captains/pilots came to check on the situation and I overheard him asking the doctor if she felt the woman needed a hospital right away. I never heard the answer but was a little nervous when soon after the seatbelt sign was turned on. We never did land and an hour later I noticed the woman was sleeping in her seat. So much for that.

Once I arrived in Paris, I had to wait for a while at the airport since my friend, Emilie, who was picking me up had a meeting at school that she couldn't miss. I didn't mind at all but was becoming extremely tired as the morning wore off and when we finally arrived in Rouen, I was practically dead on my feet. I went straight upstairs, took a much needed shower, and was asleep about 5 minutes later. I slept from 5pm to 8pm when Emilie woke me up for dinner. I had slept like a log. Later, I went to bed once again. I slept till 5am and since it was so early, fell back asleep till 9am. I thought I had the jetlag beat but it hit me again the following day (today). I woke up once again at 5am only this time I wasn't able to fall asleep and ended up reading till 8am when I was able to sleep once more. When I woke up, it was almost noon and I felt like I had a massive hangover complete with a headache and a nauseated stomach.

So far, the things that have struck me the most are the differences I see all around me. I'm not a stranger to this country but I'm still pleasantly surprised and interested in all of the differences I see. From the tolling of the church bells at 7am for about 5 minutes to the layout and product selections at the grocery store. As a matter of fact, stay tuned for a blog dedicated soley to the French grocery store. I tagged along with Emilie on her shooping excursion to the grocery store and since I had nothing to buy, I had a lot of time to observe and take in all of the goings on in the store. By the end, I was furiously jotting down different ideas on what to post about on my blog.

Today, I was able to open a bank account in one of the local banks and Saturday I hope to get a new cell phone. I also went to a rental agency to look for a furnished apartment and I might have found my apartment for the year. It's a bit small since it's actually just a studio but the location is awesome. It's in the middle of everything and I loved that I'm able to access everything easily. I have two bus stops right on the street, a park right around the corner, 4 different markets, and 3 grocery stores not to mention an English bookstore just around the corner. It's the first place I've seen and I don't want to make a hasty decision but I got a good vibe. It's a lot smaller than my apartment in Aix but I don't think I'll ever be that lucky again. Plus, it's a bit old and shabby but with a bit of sprucing up, I think I can make it a happy little home while living in Rouen. I have two other appointments on Saturday and Monday so we'll see what happens. This late in the year, there aren't a lot of options therefore, I can no longer be too choosy.

Anyway, that's the jist of what I've been up to these past few days. I had a meeting with my boss to go over some work stuff and she was very nice and accommodating. I got a bunch of paperwork, including my schedule, the keys to the office, and a card for photocopies. We have a meeting on Monday where I will be meeting my new co-workers.

This weekend, Emilie is taking me to a sort of local flea market. I will take some pictures so stay tuned.

In the meantime,thanks for reading!