Everything is lovely in its old traditional charm, lovers are definitely not afraid of public displays of affection (you can spot them eagerly making out across the Seine, overlooking the Eiffel Tower), and the boutiques around here are ridiculously chic. Oh, and old French ladies, well, they're monsters (my mother bumped into one of them par accident and she started to "sternly scold" my mom).
The children here are great. Not that I'm some pedophile purposely scoping out little kids. But, really, these children have this air about them and this genuine love for playing outdoors that predates the days when children began to not like anything that didn't have to do with things that involve the word "Nintendo" or "playstation".
This orientation week (that ends with a placement test) and the next two week's cram course in the French language (that we've been placed in after the test, duh) will be a very tiring experience.
Yesterday was the first orientation.
Basically we met up at the FIAP in the 14th district. We chatted, and I met a couple of people, but I really couldn't get the full "Hey! I'm Jessica, I like long walks on the beach and Woody Allen. No, not just his movies, but he himself too."
So, right now, I'm feeling kind of like I did when I first started at NYU. I'm scared about the making friendships thing. Not so bad of feeling, because everyone has that, but I know that if I keep dwelling on it, it's going to become more of a burden than anything.
Right now I sit here as I await my second orientation, which should hopefully help clear up some questions about Parisian lifestyles.
Like today, getting a SIM card in Paris. I researched about this a little bit, and what I've come to the conclusion is:
1. Buy a SIM card. I'd recommend getting a carte Orange. This is one of the better services in Paris/France and they have this rechargable minutes program happening. You can get these at any tabac or cell phone store, or even cybercafé.
2. If you don't have an unlockable phone, and you're going to get a new one in Paris, make sure you get a SIM card with a service that your phone is adaptable with. Par example: don't buy an Orange phone and get a Virgin Mobile rechargable SIM card. They don't communicate well.
3. Cell plans in France are so much more expensive than in the US. For example, in the US, we have things like nights and weekends free, with 1000 anytime minutes etc. But no such thing in France. Rather, we have a set number of minutes, and if you're done, you're done. Recharging the minutes with a plan like me is nice too, but it is costly. Thus, go ahead, get the plan, and text message like crazy!
They gave me this nice deal, and when my minutes are up, I just go back to the store and ask for more, which will be great.
At the orientation, we also received a temporary student ID card. Oddly enough it's not really "finished" yet, as our picture is still missing. And, we all seem to be labeled as majors in art history.
Great. Not that I'm against art history...it's just funny.