Arrival in France

France is a wonderful place to visit. Getting here, however, is not so easy. The plane rides were rough. I had the hardest time trying to sleep without being to put my seat back and having to deal with all the announcements and people passing by. After the 2 hour drive to San Francisco starting at 3:30am on Saturday, the hour of waiting in the airport, the 5 hour trip to Philadelphia, the 2 hour layover, and the 7 hour trip to Paris, came the 2 hour wait for the train and the 3 hour train ride. Add to that a time change of 9 hours from California and the trip takes about a day and a half. Well, I got a little sick and grumpy towards the end, but managed to muster up enough energy to converse with Emily’s host parents and their friend. My French is better than their English, if that gives you a clue to how good their English is. My French has been better than predicted, but it is certainly frustrating to not be able to communicate everything you want to say. Still, for only one class, I’m pretty impressive. =) Thanks to Stasia’s mom.

And how is France? Well, the first thing I noticed is that they drive on the same side of the road as we do. And the driver’s seat is in the same place too. I was really surprised at that. Also, given the fact that the US economy is so poor and the dollar isn’t worth much, I quickly realized how expensive this trip will be. The vending machine had bottles of water for 2€ which is nearly $4. A small sandwich and drink ran 6.5€, more than $10! Oh boy. But I just went to the local supermarket, and you can get a huge thing of cheese for a couple of dollars. So all is not bad.

Actually, the food has been fantastique so far. My first meal was a large lunch at her parents’ house. It was so typical French. We started with an aperitif (means having some sort of alcohol) and a plate of melon and ham (but French ham). Then we had a plate of rotisserie chicken. Then some salad. Then came…the French fries! And finally some bread with cheese and ice cream for dessert. So delicious! And then croissants for breakfast. J’aime beaucoup la cuisine française.

Besides this, her family has been so kind and I’m having a great time. Can’t wait to see more!