Paris to Pontlevoy

As of about 4 pm today, I am officially calling Pontlevoy, France my home for the semester. The past few days have been such a whirlwind -- I can't believe that just over two days ago I was sitting at home in Michigan. From encountering a whole new language to lugging 50+ pound suitcases around the metro to the huge culture shock, it's been a fast 48 hours. Since I'm still relatively awake due to the time difference, I might as well record the highlights of the past few days:

1. Layover in Madrid. About ten minutes before I was due to leave for the airport, I got a call saying my flight had been cancelled due to weather, and I had been reassigned to fly Iberia Air's flight to Madrid, Spain, then on to Paris Orly. My first time in Spain was relatively uneventful -- I was surprised at how similar the Spanish I heard was to the Spanish I actually knew from school, but I was glad it was because it was a rough layover due to last-minute gate changes, so knowing the language definitely helped. I also had my first European meal!

Not very exciting, just water and jamon (which was a salted ham very much like proscuitto) on bread.

2. The SIM Card Adventure. The area I stayed in was very non-touristy, which meant very few people spoke English at all. I needed to get a SIM card for my phone to use it in France, so the concierge at the hostel I was in sent me and Anthony a few doors down to a telecommunications store, where neither of the men selling the cards spoke English. After a good 45 minutes of combined pointing, German, Spanish, French, and broken English, I walked out of the store with a new SIM card and a working phone. However, the data plan I bought wasn't activated so I went back to see what was the problem. This time, we were in luck. One of the men who was in the shop happened to speak Spanish and French, so I had him translate my Spanish to French to figure out what the problem was: it was a lot more convoluted than I ever thought was possible, but it worked! My phone, however, still does not have data because I have to wait for it to kick in.

3. Eiffel Tower! This morning, since I had yet to do even one touristy thing in Paris, Anthony and I made it to the Eiffel Tower to at least say we'd been there, although he hasn't yet gone to the top. We did get some good photos out of it though!

Yay we made it there!

The ironwork on the tower was really intricate.

4. Pontlevoy! (last but not least)
After a quick trip to the Eiffel Tower, I had to run back to get my things together to meet the Abbey Program group at the airport to catch a bus to Pontlevoy, where I'm staying for the next three months. I ended up taking a taxi back to the airport -- no way was I about to drag a 50 pound suitcase up and down metro stairs (ironically, as soon as we arrived, we carried our luggage up about three flights of stairs to get to our rooms, so I did end up having to do heavy lifting after all). After we put our things away (kind of), we had a tour of the grounds, which are so much more beautiful than I thought they would be, then a dinner of pizza and crepes, followed by a trip to Le Commerce, the only bar/restaurant in the entire town. It's very different coming from a large city to such a small town because it feels so much quieter, which is both unsettling and peaceful at the same time.

The Abbey, which is so much more beautiful in person!

Hypnose, the resident French Bulldog and (so far) unofficial Abbey mascot. I've felt animal deprived for a while, so I'm beyond thrilled to have him around :)