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Hey everyone!

As you know, I am in Paris for the spring semester on NYU in France. I am in Program II, which is where you take all your classes in French! I imagine it will be really challenging but so far am impressed with all the staff and the school here. Unlike NYU in Washington Square, it is actually a very intimate and friendly environment and I love that about it so far. All of the students I have met so far seem like good people and I have definitely made some friends to shop and wander around with in the next couple weeks.

When we first arrived, we moved into a student hostel and we will be there until this weekend. It is near the Latin Quarter in a pretty nice neighborhood, and it is about a 25 minute metro ride from campus. Our metro ride is above ground, passing the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, which shines in morning with its gold dome and looks beautiful. The NYU in Paris campus is in this gorgeous mansion complex in the 16th arrondissement (a term for the different districts). The building is where all our classes and many of our events are held. The neighborhood is a bit like New York's Upper East Side if you must compare it. Lots of cute little restaurants to visit, a lot of expensive shopping, and of course a mall with a Starbucks. We were all pretty excited about the Starbucks until one kid came back and said the latte he got was actually about seven dollars, so that isn't happening so much.

Paris is just as beautiful and wonderful as I remember it in past visits. The getting around part is still confusing, but I am an expert at getting lost so I end up alright. In the next few days we will be settling our class schedules and working on more logistical things. We have a two week course of French language review and culture, then our real courses begin. I am working on taking a class at Universite de Paris-Sorbonne to see what it is like and challenge myself a bit more this semester.

Tonight I have a meeting with my host family to go over the rent and to get accquainted. Another girl and myself will be living in their apartment in the 17th arrondissement, which is supposed to be a really nice and fun neighborhood. It is a little bit far from campus (30 minutes by metro and walking) but we are going to figure it out together. I am really looking forward to having my own nice bed and unpacking as that is very important to me in terms of adjusting.

In the mean time, I am enjoying the bread, wine, the Parisian people, and just taking it all in. I will post again as soon as I am set up with my wireless in my apartment.

A bientot!