Yanks

I went for a run this morning. Good advice from Amanda as last night I was very tired and feeling a bit overwhelmed and clueless (I can see that once I’m school my reason for being here will make sense). I ran to the Eiffel Tower. Which is about a 20 minute run from my apartment. I found my way there by looking up basically. And a long the way I noted a few core landmarks (like the big bobble building with a golden roof) but on my home I invariably got very very lost. I didn’t take a map. Here I am walking about in a singlet and shorts (and it’s fairly cold here at the moment) trying to look and to see the Montparnasse tower. But I couldn’t! So I walked in what I thought was basically the right direction. It wasn’t. I ended up by the Seine. I was starting to get slightly worried as I began to get really cold, and I was getting a lot of “you are fucking crazy” looks by people…and then I realized I had my trusty new inherited iPhone 3G (Dad upgraded to an iPhone 4 even though he cant even use the 3G!). So I used the GPS function on it and found my way back. About a 30 minute walk. Haha.

Then I spent the rest of the day with a group of American students who have come to Paris for a few days on their holiday from the Spanish immersion school they are at in Spain. Obviously.

Maggie. Annie. Amanda. Shannon. Pat.

They were all a bit younger than me. 20 year olds. Really friendly and inviting. But incredibly indecisive and a tad thick. I can see why the French apparently hate the yanks. These guys made absolutely no effort whatsoever to speak French. I couldn’t believe it! We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and the owners clearly couldn’t speak English yet these guys just spoke English louder and slower. Here’s me translating for them. And them thinking I am this great French speaker. Ha! Had a fun day with them though. Went to Notre Dame and the outside of the Louvre (they didn’t want to go in) and to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. Sat on the steps and listened to this incredibly charismatic busker who was great.

"Tonight. I must go. But I dedicate my last song. To Paris. So beautiful."

I was super tired again by the end of the day and slept like a rock! I’m still recovering a bit from the jetlag it turns out. But had a nice day. Really nice to be with people. I don’t have the same ‘I’m an independent young man’ buzz that I had here last time. I’m finding it a bit different. I’ve seen all the cool stuff before. And now I’m becoming a permanent stayer. So the sensation is different. I’m more oriented to settling I think. And on that note – I better go and start my apartment hunt. I’ve been avoiding it a bit because I know it’s going to be tough. But got to start somewhere! Gonna see Lorenzo from NZ tonight and he speaks fluent French so hopefully he can help me out. :)

Things I’d forgotten about Paris

The Smell – kind of a 2000 year old dust. Distinctive. Most pungent underground.

The Sound of the Metro Buzzer – reminds me of late nights!

The Busyness – there really are people everywhere. And they’re all in a hurry!

The Beautiful Architecture Everywhere – I mean everywhere you look. Fantastic.

The Fashion Sense – slick and black. I gotta get me a better outfit to fit in here!