January 13, 2014
11:20 AM
Bonjour! Today I am embarking on a study abroad trip to
France to immerse myself in the culture, gain fluency beyond my current
cave-man-French abilities, study great works of art in the same place that
those artists lived, but most importantly eat good cheese.
At the moment, though, I am still lying on my bed at home while typing this since my flight was cancelled. Instead of
flying from Miami to JFK (just to wave to the Washington Square campus) to Orly, I
am making a layover in Madrid. No parle español plus. (Frenchspañol?)
Mom, Dad, Joe, and Dori, thanks for letting me do this!!!
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January 14, 2014
8 PM
Today has stretched into one long day, full of airports and
time travel. Somehow, I’ve managed to fit a semester’s worth of clothes, books,
school supplies, and a good load of snacks into a spinny-wheel suitcase
(thanks, Mom and Dad!) and a backpack. This is a vast improvement from the
three to four bags I usually haul to school for a semester in New York. Travel
cuts down all the excess, and I’m left with the necessities, which apparently
include rainbow Goldfish.
My experience in Spain was basically one long winding,
never-ending hallway. I had to go through security twice because I forgot to
spill out my water. Four years of Spanish, and the only useful words were
“hola,” “gracías,” and “los baños.” It
has overall been useful for understanding announcements and reading signs, too.
I finally landed in Paris, welcomed by warm rays of sun
slicing through the clouds and reflecting off the shiny black pavement. Prior to traveling, I purchased a Paris
Shuttle ticket to get to the hostel that half of the NYU kids are staying at. I
thought this was a good idea, especially since there is currently a taxi strike
going on. However, there were problems with the shuttle (mislabeled vans and
confusing instructions), so I ended up encountering the beastly and highly
efficient French transportation system.
First I took a bus and then the metro, ran up and down too many stairs,
and got off at the stop where the hostel is located.
I stood at the exit of the metro for a while, trying to
orient myself and follow the directions to the hostel. It didn’t take long
before an older woman approached me and immediately stated (in English), “You’re
looking for this hostel, right? Go straight for two streets and then take a
left.” Do I look that obviously American?
Since I am directionally disabled, though, I still got
turned around. I had used my fragmented French skills since, after the older woman,
no one seemed to speak any English or know where the hostel was located. I
found it shortly after, though, and quickly got settled into my room and met
with other students. We were ushered
into an orientation meeting, fought off jet lag, and received welcome week
packets, which included an astoundingly full schedule of weekly meetings and
activities.
We used meal tickets for dinner, served school cafeteria
style scooped onto trays. (I had fish,
broccoli, potatoes, fruit, and an interestingly textured dessert, if you were
wondering…first meal in France did not include cheese! Conspiracy!) The staff
also told us “bon appétit!” This is the greatest sense of community I’ve felt
at NYU thus far.
Overall, it was a long day of travel and quite a bit of confusion,
but I’m enjoying trying out my French. It’s kind of a game: see how long I can
carry on a conversation before the other person switches over to English.
Bonne nuit!
