First Fortnight

Hello one and all and welcome to my new blog! I aim to use this a forum to write about my experiences over the following year in Paris, vent my agressions and passions and I'm also doing it because Natalie David said I should "write a blog and get it turned into a million pound book deal". This scheme based, not on the merit of my writing skills, but on the likelihood of my getting into ridiculous situations resulting in equally ridiculous stories to tell!!!

So thus far, my Parisian life has predominantly revolved around looking around horrible flats and sleepless hostel nights. The room I was staying in, in the hostel in Montmartre seemed to attract some strange characters (maybe that's why I was placed there?!). My favourite room-mates had to be 'Jen and Jen' the two blonder than blonde Californians who proudly announced to me one night that they intended to visit "Shar-tray" the following day where apparently there's "like a big church or something". Having never heard of this place I took it upon myself to look on the map. Scrutinising the area around Paris, I realised that actually they had been talking about Chartres! Another Jen and Jen highlight was a conversation we had on their final night in Paris. It went something along the lines of:
"Hey Natalie you speak French right? So, like everyone keeps saying Bonjour all the time. What is that, like hello or something?"
"Yes, it means hello"
"Oh wow. That is so coooool."

If anyone ever says that flat-hunting in Paris is anything less than a hellish, soul destroying experience then I'm a tee-total vegetarian. It's legacy is the most horrendous cold I've had in years (and no it's not, as everyone keeps enquiring, swine flu.) I'm so run down and battered by the whole thing. On my final full day of searching I turned up at Helena's in the evening, as had become habitual, to perouse the internet for the following day's appointments. She was totally horrified by the state I was in (I don't really remember!). I was horribly ill, coughing, almost no voice and practially falling asleep standing up! (well it wouldn't be the first time!)

Now I have found myself possibly the most beautiful room in Paris, at a bargain price, it almost seems worth the: fleeing from the gender defying Algerian; the finding myself in the middle of a film set and consequently being shouted at by an important looking man with a walkie-talkie; the 12 hours or more I spent on the metro crossing Paris; the "you don't mind me sleeping in my jocks do you?" septuagenarian Aussie room-mate; and of course the highly attractive snot and coughing fits.

On the social side of life, it has been really great to see some of the old Erasmus lot again. Zuzanna, Julie and Henri have provided several evenings of wining and dining, so thank you guys for that and a specific thank you to Zuzanna for saving me a lot of stress and hassle by helping me open a bank account.

So today, my first truly free day I went to the supermarket to stock up on the important things in an English girl in Paris' life: teabags; crisps; Uncle Ben's curry sauce and sliced bread. I think I'll probably go to some sort of French hell for the heinous crime but hey after the week I've had, no patriotic glares of disgust are going to stop me getting at my home comforts! And this afternoon, in what may seem like a strange choice of locations for celebrating my newfound freedom from the grasps of Parisian flat-hunting, Helena and I hit the Père Lachaise cemetery to do a bit of celeb-spotting. Unfortunately we were rubbish and only found Colette, Rossini, Felix Faure and Oscar Wilde but we will definitely return and hunt down Jim and co.
Somewhat bizarrely, and certainly unexpectedly it was a really relaxing and pleasant place to spend a beautiful autumnal afternoon in Paris. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the light made the city look beautiful. Things got a little fantastical and dark as Helena and I indulged in some plots for short stories and got horrendously lost in the labrynthine city of tombs but we eventually made it out before the gates were locked for the night...!

Now I look forward to 2 weeks of freedom to explore the city before work begins on the 28th. It's been a stressful first 10days or so, but as my father always reassures me "It's all character-building stuff girl"! And it most definitely makes me appreciate the flat that I am now in. I have no idea what the coming year has in store, but I can certainly expect an element of the ridiculous (it follows me wherever I go) and lots of Parisian fun! Finally, I have to say thanks to Helena, who despite only knowing me for just over a week has looked after me well in my hour of desperation, be it through the use of her apartment as an escape hide-out or just pouring me a glass of wine when things were really bad! I think it's time for the adventure to really start!!! :)