Tuesday, September 2, 2008

September 2, my b-day!

What a wonderful birthday I've had!! I've had so many good wishes from people on Facebook and by email. Thank all of you for taking the time to wish me happy birthday.

I didn't even remember it was my birthday until I got to breakfast and my new South Korean friend, Deborah, wished me happy birthday. I said, "Oh yeah, it's my birthday." That's never happened to me before. I guess the first day of orientation took over my brain. Or I could just say jet lag. It hasn't been a month yet...

Orientation was ok. I am now more orientated. That part of the day didn't feel very birthday-like. My first class was all in French all ready! My brain was hurting. It takes so much concentration. And the first class was just information and getting to know one another. I was the only one who asked for clarification when I got lost. Then after class a classmate approached me and said, "By the way, we were all lost too. We just didn't say anything." That made me feel a little better. I will always be that kid that asks lots of questions.

Now the fun part!

Hannah asked what I wanted to do to celebrate. I wanted a real French meal at a French style restaurant. So we asked Saraly, the school director, to recommend a place. She printed off directions. We invited some new friends, arranged a time to meet, and off we went to Chez Papa's. It was perfect! The cuisine is from the southwest part of France. It was small and cozy. We were at a long table surrounded by strangers, yet strangely we felt at home. When we left it was a beautiful walk to the train station. The Paris streets glistened from the rain and there was a peaceful calm.

God is so good.

I will write more soon. I want you to know a little about the amazing people I am meeting. And yes there will be pictures! My friends took some great ones. Tomorrow we will go as a school group to tour the city on the bateaux-mouche (boats). I am sure there will be more pictures and stories from that too.

And yes, I tried escargot (snails). I really liked them! Who knew.

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