Too excited to do anything.

This week has been really uneventful. I'm just trying to keep my sanity before I move. I'm way too excited about that to do much else.
On Tuesday, the American Center hosted a lunch for all the international students from the Americas and so I saw Marie again. She just got back from the Americas and was able to set up a summer semester program between Sciences-Po and Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Not too shabby. I asked her when she was going to add Georgia Tech to that list and we had a good laugh. I mean, Tech's a great school, just not exactly on the same level as those schools. I met a few people at the lunch that I'll have classes with, but I'm ready meet more French people and just get into classes. But, the orientation will be over before I know it and I'll be begging for it back when I get my first assignment, I'm sure.
I posted some pictures online of some scenic views of Paris. Some are pretty random, but the ones at night were taken when I went on the boat ride the other night. I think I'm going to have to go during the day, though, because there were a lot that didn't come out.
I'm ready to move into my apartment, get my first week of classes out of the way, and then pick Liz up from the airport! So many wonderful things are going to be happening, I'm so excited and blessed to have this opportunity!

Oh...the French...

I just got back from the doctor. My appointment was at 9:30 but I got up really early and tried to make sure I was there early in case someone didn't show; I could take their place or something. So, I found the building, its about 3 blocks from the Bastille, and went inside. I knew it couldn't be good when I showed them a slip of paper I was told to bring and everyone just kept saying, "Keep going back, keep going. You're not there yet." So finally, I found a waiting room and sat there. At about 9:10 (woah! yeah, early!) I got called back, the woman spoke very fast French and in about 2 minutes I was weighed, measured, and my eyes were checked and before I knew it I was in this other holding cell. I was told to strip from the waist up and wait. Yeah, right. They were taking x-rays in the room next to me so that was the only thing I could figure out it was. I was not all the way undressed when a woman opened the door and said, "Okay, come here." So I walked out, still clothed, and she was like, "No. No clothes." I was thinking to myself, you know what? Maybe I don't need a visa that badly. Really, lady, you don't want to have me take the rest of my clothes off. Oh well, I was shuffled through and she seemed rather annoyed at my modesty. Then I was sent to wait again. About 5 minutes later, I was called back as we examined my x-ray and determined everything looked fine. Again, sent to wait. Then the receptionist told me it was over and now I could go pay. Wonderful, just get me the heck outta here! So I went to the line where everyone was paying ad receiving their visas, got up to my turn, handed her all my information and the woman looks up at me and says, "Oh, yours isn't here yet. See this? This means you're supposed to come in the middle of October, not now." (Remember, I was SUMMONED by the powers that be in the police prefecture for my doctor's appointment today....how was I supposed to know when my visa would be there? I sort of assumed they would have this system worked out by now.) But of course, why would they schedule an appointment and have me bring all my forms to turn in for some silly visa, and then actually have the visa to give me? One day I'll learn. Silly little frogs...

It's a cold, gloomy day here in Paris...and so far sleeping is way more fun than being awake. It's now 10:30 and, ah, yes, it's nap time.

This weekend has been pretty uneventful. I did get two loads of laundry done, though. And I found out I can move into my apartment on Saturday! On Friday night were going to meet to go over all the appliances and things and then Saturday morning you'd better believe I'll be there setting my stuff up!!

Also! Liz found out her passport is on it's way! She'll be coming over for Fall break, the first weekend in October! And my parents told me they're coming over that next weekend! Poor John...lol. Thankfully I don't have class but on Wednesday-Friday so don't have to leave them to go anywhere! I'm so excited! I'm bummed my brother, Matt, can't come, but he's at school and he can't take off too much time. I understand, I just miss him a lot.

Tonight, I'm going to by the Eiffel Tower to take a boat ride around the Seine river. You can get really great views of the tower, Notre Dame, and just basically Paris from the water. I've done it during the day, but never at night so this will be cool!

Tomorrow I have my physical examination for my visa. I have to go into the prefecture of police and go to a doctor there. Getting my visa isn't hard when you have the right papers, it's just time consuming. They want so much and I'm just like, geez, just let me go to school! I swear I don't have Mad Cow!

Oh well...this is the last week of summer for me. It sure has been a long one! I'm anxiously excited for what this year abroad has in store for me, but I sure do miss America!

Not much has been going on here...I got my last HPV shot this morning. So that's taken care of. The French healthcare system is just wonderful and easy for foreigners like me. All I did last week was walk into this apartment complex (yeah, everything is in buildings, there aren't any stand-alone places like in America...it's still legit, though) and walked up to the floor with the doctor's office. Then I made an appointment and came back today. When the doctor met me we talked for a little bit and then she was like, okay, I'm gonna give you the shot. And I was like, oh all right. Then I paid her in cash (that was kinda sketchy) and left. That was it!

I went grocery shopping for a few essentials and then came home and cleaned my room. I still haven't done laundry since I got here and I'm quickly running out of things to wear. I thought I could wait till I moved again, but I don't think thats gonna happen. Drats. It's like 3E a load.

Tonight I'm supposed to be going to a rugby match, but I haven't heard if it's official yet. T.G.I.F! And one week until move-in!

Oktoberfest is going on in Munich...wondering if it's something I should look into...it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Life has humped my leg once again...

Today I did not feel well. Raspberry vodka is not my friend. At least I know that now, I guess. It's also "that time of the month," so that doesn't help.

There is good news though!

The people that own the apartment I'm renting work for a computer company, so we asked them where the best place to get a hard drive was. Thankfully, they knew a place close by and so I got that today! I'll have a new computer by tonight! I can't TELL you how thankful I am that I know someone here that knows computers! Well, there are 3 Tech guys here, so I guess I'm lucky 3 times over!

I've been craving Moe's, so it's Mexican Night tonight. I can't wait to get my hands on that kitchen. I'm working with 2 pots, a strainer, and plastic silverware. Oh well, less than 2 weeks!

Ugh!

So John and I went to a mall this afternoon to look for a harddrive. The minute I went in there I recognized it. I had been there before with Victoria!! It was such a cool feeling, and how random?!?! We didn't find a harddrive but I did find TONS of great stores I could go shopping in! I can't believe I haven't gone shopping for myself since I've been here. I have been pretty busy, though.

John has been so sweet helping me with everything, I just wish it would cooperate.

I have Linux on a USB drive so I can get online, but that's not gonna fly when school starts...in exactly 2 weeks! And when I called HP they said they have "global coverage", so I thought, sweet, they can send me a new harddrive for free. But no, it only means that they will accept calls from anywhere in the world and help with technical problems. They can't send things abroad. And if I called the HP in France, because it was purchased in the US, they won't send me a new one. So, this is sweet. At least John was able to recover all my files. I'm so so so so so lucky he's here. I'd probably be dead if this happened to me and I was alone. Oh well, I'm sure he'll find a way to even the score...I'll be making dinner for weeks. Lol.

Anyway, that's pretty much it. I hope to get some tourist-y stuff in this week since my class is from 9:30-11:30am. Then I have the rest of the day to do homework (barf-o-rama) and then play (yippee)!

I've been trying to figure out what the fashion is in France, for men and women. Apparently, for both, it's tight jeans. This isn't so cute- especially on boys. However, guys are starting to put their hair in faux-hawks. Their hair is normal on the sides but long enough on the top to put it up in a mohawk. (Family- think Shark Man) The girls are wearing ballet flats with skinny jeans. Leather bags, or possibly pleather, is the fashion, too. Big bags. And these cool Longchamps bags that my mom can find in China for real cheap!

R.I.P. Harddrive 1 on Computer 2

I think that explains what's going on with my computer. So, I'll be purchasing a new harddrive shortly...great.

Went to methodolgy classes today. We have 5 projects in these next 2 weeks. Another wonderful thing.

Hope all is well with you.

Registration Complete!

Well, registration was a breeze. Thank goodness!

I have class on Wednesday from 10a-12p, Thursday from 8a-10a, 12:30p-2:30p, and 5p-7p, and Friday from 8a-10a (and maybe 12:30p-2:30p).

Not bad at all!!

Now I have a whole list of things to do today, so I'm going into "town."

The "t"s are crossed and "i"s are dotted...

And now I have somewhere to live!!! We're moving in on September 30th! I'm so excited. We walked around the square a little bit and there is just so much to do and see, I can't wait. And now, you can send me things and I'll definitely get them!!!!

Stephanie Provow
11 rue du Rendez-Vous*
75012 PARIS
FRANCE


*yes, I live on "Meeting" Street...it must be easy to find!

What a difference a day makes!

Well this week, I have not been so good about posting. A lot has happened, and I just haven't even really had time to sit and think about it all.
French classes are over. Our teacher ended up going really easy on us the last few days, and hardly anyone was showing up. I enjoyed it, overall, and I think I learned a lot. It got me back in the school mindset. These next two weeks we have methodology classes where they go through and tell us all about how the school system here works, how to write an essay and things like that. I've heard that American students are so freaked out by all this information, but by the time they return to the States, their homework seems so easy because of how difficult it is here. Which I suppose is good. I'll enjoy an easy year at Tech. (That sounds really weird, but anyway.)
Tuesday, there was a meeting with an apartment lady, but for some reason it wasn’t ready, so I kind of didn’t keep my hopes up with that anymore. I wanted it to be something wonderful, but time was running out and we needed to move on. So I started looking online for things and e-mailing anyone who had an apartment that looked relatively interesting. By Wednesday, I had a few responses and then started setting up meetings with people. Thursday, I went all the way up to the Sacre Coeur to look at an apartment, only to find that she had embellished the size of the apartment and it was not what I wanted. But she was nice (a fellow Texan), and she had a lot of bags to carry, so I helped her with those and she took me around the rest of Paris and show me a few more of her studios. I also passed the church where *gag* Eva L. and Tony Parker were married. Chills down my spine ensued. But of course, it was next to the Louvre and across from the Seine. Then later, I had set up a meeting with a man who had a huge apartment (2 bedrooms, 2 living rooms) a block or so from the Champs-Elysees. We were really impressed with the place; it was just a bit too expensive. But being on the C-E was amazing. I haven’t really done that much touristy stuff so seeing things like the Arche de Triomphe just randomly are quite a shock to the system. We stopped at this bar that we passed and after a REALLY good bottle of wine and dinner we went home, hoping that we would have our apartment before the week was out. We only had one more option really, and it was on the other side of Paris. A little smaller, but cheaper, too.
Friday we met with the apartment people by the Nation metro station. And we got it. It’s in the 12th arrondissement, close to a church and 2 blocks from a bi-weekly market. When we saw it, we knew it was the one for us, but we had to act fast because they kept talking about how they were going to show it to other people. We asked them what we needed to do to secure this apartment and when we can move in. They are, ironically, moving to America. This is a really cool thing because the wife is American and the husband is French but it’s the first time they’ve ever rented a place out. And this place was their home, so you know they take care of it. But they wanted to rent it to Americans specifically, so that works well for us. And, paying rent is going to be easy because it’ll be transferred from and to U.S. bank accounts. I’ll put up some pictures, but I’ll put up more after we move in and add our touch to it. It’s got a beautiful kitchen and a dryer! I’m so lucky to have such a great apartment. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. I was really stressed that we weren’t going to find a good place in time, but we found a great place with time to spare! Friday night after the meeting, I went to Marie’s for dinner. She just gets nicer and nicer every time I see her. Her kids were all there and they’re so cute. Adrien, her son, reminds me of Matt, an “old soul”. Then she has two little girls, Florence and Alexandra. They’re just all so cute. Marie’s husband wasn’t there, but her mom and brother and sister-in-law were. We just sat and talked, and laughed and it reminded me of home. It was really really nice. I told them all about Facebook. There’s a challenge- seriously. I’ve never really had to explain it and now with all the applications and things, where do you start? Well, I think I got the main point across, so I was pleased. And, you remember how she kept calling me “family”? Well, the minute I tried to help with dishes after dinner, she said, “No, guests don’t do dishes.” So very quickly I reminded her, “Yes, but I’m family…remember?” Haha. Got her! I rode the metro back, and as I was going over a bridge (because it was above ground) I happened to look to my left- and there it was: La Tour Eiffel. All shiny and bright, like it was there just for me. The perfect end to a perfect night.
Saturday, John and I secured our rental’s insurance (one of the things we needed) and then got excited about the Georgia Tech v. Boston College game at 2am. We had a lot of time to kill so I got to talk to Liz for a long time. That was nice, because we hadn’t talked in a long time and it had been a long week. Later that night, I went over to John’s where he has his projector set up and we enjoyed an All-American Classic: pizza and beer. That got us in the spirit and by the time the game started 2 more Tech students and one of their girlfriends came over. It was really fun to watch the game together, and even though we lost, I’m glad I saw it. Today (Sunday), we’re going to sign the contract for the apartment and then we won’t be homeless!!! Thanks, Craigslist!!
These next two weeks are going to be really long. Registration is tomorrow, though. I hope I get all the classes I want.

We Will Never Forget....

Today was/is September 11th (depending on where you are in the world as I type this). I never would have remembered had I not turned on the radio and tuned it on an American station. I listen to my phone which has the radio on it (it's really quite cool) but today I just happened to listen to Q100. I can't believe it's been 6 years. I remember the People Magazine we received a few months later about all the babies that were born without daddies. And now they're 6!! I didn't hear anything about it over here in France, but I bet it was on TV (something I don't have).
Today was all right...registration is coming up next week and people are getting antsy. We only get one chance to register and and they stressed that classes filled up fast. I hope I can get into all the ones I want...most are for my major, so it would be really nice to get them out of the way. I wonder if I can use Marie for help if I'm not able to...maybe. She's so sweet. She invited me to pizza on Friday. I'm going...I feel awful that I haven't been able to go earlier, but I know she's busy with a brand new job and kids going to school, and I know she understands I'm busy. Only 3 more days of French class! I'm still not really sure of what these last 2 weeks of orientation entail, and if it's anything like the other day (i.e. telling us to show up at a certain time and then them not) it's not going to be fun. Things are not too organized over here and my semi-OCD brain is going nutzoid. My French professor has paper flying everywhere from the minute she opens the door to when she leaves. I just want to pick each one up and hole punch them and put them in appropriate sections in a big binder. Also, her hair looks as though she put her hand on one of those static electricity balls and came in. Like she got all wind-blown and her hair stayed like that. Lol. Maybe I'll try to get a pic. It's something else, that's for sure.
John and I are going to see an apartment at 6 p.m. tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers as it is getting closer and closer to the day we need to be out of the Cité and yet we have no where to go. At least we aren't alone. My Australian friend is looking also and it's tough stuff. I think she'll have an easier time, though, because I told her a few places that were practically begging for English speaking female students.
Well, it's time for me to go to sleep. I don't have class until 2 . Good night!

Also, I don't know if there was a big hullabaloo about Pavarotti's death in the U.S., but can I just say it's a real shame. He was an amazing singer and the other day I heard his voice as I was passing a café. Bellissimo.

It wasn't the best day today. Followed a dead lead on housing...and more will follow, I'm sure.

Woke up really early to go to a lecture for all the International Students, and an hour later no one was there still, so all the students left. It was weird- like we had been told the wrong day or something.

At least I had a yummy crepe-y lunch! And no homework tonight!

Tomorrow John and I have an appointment to go see an apartment...but we don't know what time yet...not too promising, but I'm hoping it will all work out. I just want somewhere to rest my head come October 1.

Love y'all...I'll post pics of what we walked around later...just some Musée D'Orsay stuff and my first semi-up-close view of the Eiffel Tower.

Address Correction!

Pay no attention to the address listed in one of my other posts, this is my real address at the Cité:

Stephanie Provow No. 579
Maison Franco-Brittanique
9B Boulevard Jourdan
75014 PARIS

If you post your address or e-mail it to me (stephanie.provow@gatech.edu) I'll try to get something out to you!

xoxo

Also, I got SkypeOut...so you can't hide anymore. I'll get you, my pretty.

FOR MOM: You know how we always used to call our bathrobes penny-wores (sp?) ? Well the French word for bathrobe is peignoir. (pehn-wahr) If you say it enough times, it sounds pretty much the same! Cool, huh?!?!

Mon premier week-end à Paris!/My first weekend in Paris!

Let me continue where I left off...Friday evening there was a soiree for the International Students. Before that, John and I decided to celebrate having our first week complete by visiting our favorite hang out- McDonald's. Our student card was able to get us a discount, too! We had our meals, complete with a BEER! Oh, America, when are you going to allow this? You've got so much going for you! (Mom, it's just been one week, I'll eat better when I can actually cook, I promise. Don't be too mad. ) The soiree later on left a lot to be desired. I think there were a lot more people who came than they were expecting. The plan was to meet at the Bastille and then go to the surrounding bars together. But since there were close to 100 students that met, obviously not everyone was going into the same bar. To make matters worse, that night there was a HUGE France-Argentina rugby match, so the bars were already crowded. A few of us started walking around to look at each bar and try to pick one, but we were all pretty indecisive and just didn't know what was really going on. The point of these activities the Welcome Programme organizes is to meet people that you don't have class with or hang out with outside of class, but because we had to be in groups of around 20 to go to one bar, everyone hung out with the people they knew. I still met people, and we went to a bar called the Iguana, arguably one of the most expensive bars in that area. (10E for a shot of vodka, but 8E for a mixed drink...you gotta pay to get drunk faster.) 4 of us split a bottle of wine, and that set me back 6E. I don't think I'll be going back there. It was still fun to be there though, it was a beautifully decorated area, and the energy that was all around us was amazing. I learned a lot about rugby, and as much as I like it, I'm still loyal to American football. Around midnight, John and I left. France lost, so everyone was leaving anyway.

Saturday, I had written that I was going to meet my exchange student, Victoria. She told me she would call after she got off work, around 2pm. At 2:30pm, with John in a new H&M outfit, and me with spanking-new straight clean hair, we hadn't heard from her. So I called her. She has horrible service, so I never really figured out what she was saying, but she never did call back. I called her a few more times, and finally about an hour later, John and I gave up. We ate at the cafeteria at the Cite (1E for a baguette!!!! I believe I'll be visiting it more often now that I know that...you pay about 4E on the street.) and then went to La Défense. It was simply amazing. There is so much I could say, and yet words could never truly explain everything. It looked like more of an American downtown city, with skyscrapers and green areas. We went to the top of the Grande Arche, and the view was spectacular. The Grande Arche is a square shaped business building, but the center is hollowed out, giving it the name the "Window to the World". It is a really cool piece of architecture and most of the buildings around it are very modern, too. I wish I knew more about architecture, but I still knew enough to appreciate it. Then John and I found the equivalent to Wal-Mart of which we were in awe. We felt right at home watching people pulling the generic brands from the shelves, standing in ridiculously long lines, cursing the woman who had 8 million items in front of them. (Most notable was their 4 aisles of any kind of alcohol in existence. We would have felt bad not patronizing this haven, so we made a few purchases...food, too.) Next to La Défense is a mall, complete with stores like H&M and GAP, many pattiseries (bread shops), a Virgin Records store, a Tie Shop (like in the US), and a Darcy (the equivalent of a Best Buy, I think). This, in my opinion is one of the best things to do in Paris. It is a completely different side of Paris, much newer yet you can see both the Arch of Triumph and the Eiffel Tower from the roof! I'll let the pictures explain the rest. Needless to say, John and I left with smiling faces and I was *almost* thankful I didn't hear from Victoria. I'm not sure we would have ever had the same experience at La Défense. When we got home, we cooked dinner and watched Oregon rip Michigan a new one. Yay for College Football and Slingbox!! Also, congrats to Tech for another embarrassingly high-scoring win against Samford and a "gee, too bad, maybe next time" to all those Georgia and Auburn fans.

Check out the new pics of things I've been up to!

Yesterday was Friday! Finally! John and I went to Sciences-Po early because he had class and I wanted to get my extended visa. (Most people wait hours to get this done) The office didn't open until 10am, so I rolled up there at 9:30am and started waiting. About a minute later a woman came out of the office and told me I could go in there and we could get started early. At 10am I walked out of the office and there was a line of 5 people already. I was so lucky! Then I walked around St-Germain-des-Pres a lot and waited for John's class to get out. I also purchased a pair of ballet flats because I'd been oh so stylish in my tennis shoes before that. A girl in my french class later exclaimed that she had the same ones and we talked about where we got them. I got mine at the department store and she got hers at a shoe store. She paid 40 more Euros than me, too. I can't believe how expensive everything is here! We ate at the cafeteria thats in the basement of one of the buildings (really cheap) and then I went to class. We had a new student- a 40-year-old woman. She said she was doing the master's program at Sciences-Po and wanted to learn French even though the program was in English. I thought that was very ambitious. She wasn't all that bad, either. After class John and I went to H&M to get him some clothes because he STILL hasn't received his baggages. It was nice to get some retail therapy and not empty my bank account. I know of 2 H&Ms close by so I'll probably go with Maggie one of these days.

I'm going to visit my French exchange student this afternoon, so I'll finish up later. xoxo

MY HAIR DRYER WORKS!!!

Going into Paris for dinner and then a soiree for the International Students at Sciences-Po.

It's been a good day.

Sorry I haven't written much...It's been a busy couple of days. To sum up, on Sunday, Daddy retrieved my bags and though they still aren't all unpacked, I'm getting there. Then we (me, John, and Dad) spent a fun day walking around Paris. We walked past the Louvre, to the Seine, and all around that area. It was really neat and made me excited to be there. We also found Sciences-Po, where I'll be going to school. It looked really small at first just because it was on a small street in between some stores and apartments. But I was excited nonetheless. And it helped to go there before so we knew which routes to take. It is only about 20 minutes by metro from where I am staying, which isn't bad. The metro system here is amazing! I haven't waited more than 2 minutes for any train yet. I just hope it stays that way. Sunday night, we went to this restaurant that I've been wanting to go to for years. It's called "Sergeant Recruiter's Tavern". It has a great atmosphere and really good food. When you get to your table, they have baskets filled with all these vegetables and you make your own salad right there at the table along with another basket of sausages that you just cut off however much you want. And of course, arguably the best part is that its all-you-can-drink. It looked like just a hole in the wall from the outside, but it was really neat on the inside, all old and most of the stuff in tact from hundreds of years earlier. The reason it's named Sergeant Recruiter's is because a long time ago, young men would go there and get completely trashed and then recruiters for the French Legion would have them sign up to be a soldier and when the men woke up in the morning, hungover and disoriented, they would be on a ship somewhere out to sea. Quite sneaky, but makes for a good story.
Monday was the first day of school. Daddy had left early in the morning so Maggie, John, and I all met later and rode the metro over. It was a good start. But then we got there. Everyone in the exchange programme was supposed to go early in the morning to meet people and get breakfast. There didn't seem to be enough food for the people and it was not very well organized. We found the other 3 students from Tech and all talked about our travels and how we were doing. Thankfully, I was able to meet my contact from Sciences-Po. She is one of the higherups in the Center of the Americas at Sciences-Po. She was so sweet and met all the Tech kids and assured us that if we needed anything she would be happy to help us. We had a bunch of time to kill so while half of us went to class, the other half went looking around the neighborhood and looked for a place to eat so we could all eat together when they got out of class. We settled on a baguette shop and ate there. It costs extra to sit at the restaurant instead of take it to go, and even more to sit outside on the sidewalk tables, so we sat about 5 feet away from the tables on a bench. It was too funny. Is the restaurant that much better outside? Who knows, but it's like that everywhere. Then I had my first French class. She definitely jumped right in as if it was our 30th day of class and not our 1st. We've had homework every night and we have a project/presentation due next week. This class is supposed to be a 2 week long intensive French class, but we're writing papers more than talking. Each class is 3 hours long, but it's getting easier to withstand. She's finally giving us a break, which helps.
The past few days have all been the same. I'm gonna give you an overall typical day so far just so I'm done catching up. I usually wake up around 8:30am, shower, and then putz around on the computer for a bit. Then I go into town (you know, that little dot on the map called Paris?) and try to get some stuff done, but there is a line for everything so usually not much gets done. Then I eat some where along Saint-Germain-Des-Pres and head up to class. Class is from 2-5pm and then I meet John. We have gotten our phones, our bank cards, and our student cards but not without emptying our own American bank accounts. (It's just unnerving how expensive everything is. How can people afford this?) We still have to get our extended visas, our metro card, and oh yeah, a place to live. But the student card opened up a lot of doors for us, as French businesses give a lot of discounts to students and it's pretty much needed for everything at Sciences-Po. I've seen Marie multiple times and it's great to be able to talk to her about anything from where to eat, to what's going on at the Cite, to the lack of organization of S-P, to my homesickness. She is treating me like family and it makes me feel more at home. It's nice.
That's about it for now. I'm probably going to get something to eat, shower, clean my room a bit, talk to the family, and then go to bed. Here is my information for the next few weeks. I believe it takes about 2 weeks to send something from the U.S.:
Stephanie Provow
98, Boulevard Jourdan
Chambre 579
75014 PARIS
My telephone number here at the Cite is 01 78 09 25 03 (I don't know how to call internationally, so I don't know what it would be from the U.S.)
My cell phone number is 06 79 09 90 76 and I'll have that all year so call away!
I have skype: stephanie.provow3 and my e-mail address is stephanie.provow@gatech.edu

Hope to hear from people!

I'm starting to get very frustrated here. The days are too short, there's too much to do. I leave at 1:30pm for class only to arrive back home at 5:30pm. That's a lot of class. Hope today gets better.

I bought a hair dryer...but, surprise, it doesn't work for some reason. I hope my lunch with a French friend will be full of answered questions like, why do you sell something that won't work in your own country?

I am woman...phenomenally!

I am writing finally in a room that has the internet working, a phone that finally rings, lights that finally turn on without a fuse blowing, and walls that have plugs with which I can charge my computer. All of these have been broken, or not completely useful at some point in my stay. However, I pulled up my big girl panties and got my electricity and wall plugs to work. The internet and phone was mostly Dad and John (one of the kids from GT). However, I should probably start from the beginning as it is Tuesday morning here and I've been here 4 days. I won't be able to do them all at once, but I'll work on it as much as possible. I'm trying to remember everything, but I know I'm forgetting things.

Friday August 31st
This was the day I left. As I was saying good-bye to my mom and Matt (my brother), it finally struck me that I wouldn't be seeing them for quite some time. That didn't help when I got to see Liz, but we were lucky we got to spend what little time we had together. I'm so thankful we have these airline privileges. I was lucky enough to have my dad accompany me all the way to Paris so he could help me get situated in my room. And, man, am I glad he did. Somewhere along the line, my bags didn't make it on our flight to France. Dad, in all his amazingness, was able to get all the information he could and after landing at 6am and searching futilely for the bags that didn't appear, we left the airport at 10am. It was decided that Daddy would return the next morning to continue Mission: Bag Retrieval alone as the baggage claim battlefield was far too dangerous a place for a girl like me.
We took the the metro from the airport straight to my dorm. CDG is on one end of the blue line, and the Cite Universitaire is on the other. It was nice not to have to transfer and much better if anyone comes to see me during the month of September because giving directions won't be hard.
Where I'm living for this month is called the Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris (CIUP). It is basically a bunch of dorms (or, as they say, house) in the south of Paris proper. It looks like a college campus with a student center (post office, cafeteria, theatre, etc) without the classroom buildings and instead just more dorms. These dorms are for international students all over the world, and mainly for graduate students. We are lucky enough to live here now but in October we must find our own lodging because that is when school starts. Each dorm is fashioned after a country in the world. There are a few houses for French themes and then one for Mexico, the US, Norway, Japan, etc. The Guggenheims and Rockefellers have even given money to the CiteU for some of the architecture here. I am in La Maison Franco-Brittanique. (The French-British house) It is an old dark-red brick building that is shaped like a square with one side cut off with a courtyard in the middle. There are 5 floors on one side and 4 on the other and the middle section has 5 floors as well. I am in room 579 facing the courtyard and all the other rooms. Of course, on the side with 5 floors, there is no elevator that works all the time. And the French do not call the floor you enter the building on the "First floor"- it is the "Rez-de-chaussee," or the ground floor for shoes (chausseurs), so I'm really on the 6th floor. Yay exercise! It's actually not that bad, but sure is a lot of stairs. Oh well, me walking is faster than the elevator on the other side of the building most of the time.
As I moved in I saw on of the girls from GT and she lives in this house, too. It was really nice to see a familiar face after all that stress with the bags and the long flight and stuff. We got to my room and, although nice, I'm glad I'm just staying for a month. The paint is chipping on my walls, and like I said before, not everything works 100% of the time. My bathroom is really small. No, I mean, really. Like I sit on the toilet and can wash my hands and run the shower with amazing ease and little effort. I have taken pictures I will attempt to post because no words can truly describe it. I really like having the view of the courtyard, though.
After unpacking my carry-on and having nothing else to do, Maggie, Dad, and I got directions to a supermarket and half an hour later ended up at a market that was just as good. We bought essentials and then headed back to the room. By that time John had landed and gotten to his room- sans bagages too!! I was happy that I wasn't the only one, but I had had a carry on, and his carry on was his laptop bag. He literally has the clothes on his back. Not fun.
After a while we went back to my room where Daddy was taking a nap and then Maggie and I slept while John and Dad went out. When I woke up, I had a huge bouquet of roses next to me. I have the best daddy EVER!! After we freshened up, we went to John's place to watch the Georgia Tech v. Notre Dame game. He's got the technology that he can watch his American TV on his computer. A few bottles of wine and beer and a HUGE win later, Dad and I slowly and steadily made the 15-minute trek home and fell deep asleep.

That's all I have time for right now...I've got a lot to do today at Sciences-Po so when I return later this evening I'll work on the rest.

I'm here...just really busy for these first few days. I promise I'll write soon. xoxo