Amiens Ready or Not

Bonjour, tout le monde! First off, if you're reading this...you're probably one of the people off the "I miss you so much" list. I MISS YOU! VOUS ME MANQUEZ! 

Now that that's out, let's talk about FRANCE. I made it to France. yay, finally here! I got into Paris late (9:30 pm to be exact) on the 19th of September. The plan was to rush from CDG airport to Paris Gare du Nord by 10:30 to make the last train to Amiens that night. That didn't happen. Mais c'est la vie.

There were quite a few other assistants on the flight from Reykjavík to Paris. That was nice to meet people in the same boat as me. They all seemed to be really sweet. I'm sure I'll run into them again at some point. Back to the airport shuffle. I wouldn't have minded spending the night (or maybe even the weekend) in Paris. I love Paris. Who doesn't? At that point, I was so ready to be done with all my luggage. Between that and the pain radiating from my knee, I decided Paris would probably be better saved for another weekend. So, like I said, that didn't happen.

The good news is Nancy and I (Nancy is the girl I shared a cab with into Paris) got a little ego boost on our French. We started speaking french immediately. Nothing like jumping right into it. So I'm hauling my bags around Gare du Nord and decide to go to McDonalds to loiter (free wifi). I wouldn't typically recommend loitering (especially not in front of Gare du Nord), but what can I say? Desperate times my friends. 

I managed to get a hold of my friend Ahmed. We already had a back up plan in the case I missed the train luckily, so I didn't have to scramble around looking for a hotel for the night. I let him know I was coming over and then made my way back across the street to Gare du Nord where I snaked my way down the escalators and tunnels of what is the Paris metro. Found myself on the train for about 30 minutes. I made it just in time before the line closed. Woo...

It was great to see Ahmed. We laughed a lot. And he let me have an apple and a banana and some fruit juice. I hadn't really eaten anything since the soup I had at the Reykjavík airport. The next morning, Ahmed helped me haul my stuff to the metro platform. Made my way back to Gare du Nord, got a ticket for Amiens...and there, I MADE IT! Je suis arrivée.

I was greeted at the train station in Amiens by Amilda & Claire, 2 of my new roommates. We made our way to the house where I met Kevin (said with a french accent) and Fabian. So it's us 5 for the year. I feel like my housing situation is going to be like the Friends series (but a lot less money and a lot more french). I will have to post a video of my house soon. It's very european...creaky stairs included. 

I got unpacked and have just been spending a good deal of my time doing what I believe is the #1 extreme sport in France: paperwork. Ooh la la la la

There is a paper to fill out for everything it seems. French bureaucracy is a funny thing. I'm glad I had housing figured out. In order to get housing, you need a bank account. In order to have a bank account, you need an address. In order to get a bus pass, you need an address. In order to get a cell phone (a plan at least), you need a french bank account and an address, etc etc etc. Not to mention forms for health care, forms for any sort of housing aid, the list could keep going. It's not as horrible and negative as it may sound. I'm in France and I'm filling out papers so I can have a life in France. That's not the worst thing to happen to someone. It's just a bit overwhelming at first.

So, at this point I am:

1) unpacked in a house---check

2) waiting for my phone card with Free---check

Free is a french cell phone carrier. It's great though. I can stop it at anytime. I have unlimited calling/texting in France. It also included unlimited international calling to the states and some international texting. All that with a data plan for under 20 euros a month. And I finally got the phone card without a french visa card

3) have an appointment to open a bank account this Thursday---check

4) Got a second job---check

I'll also be teaching at Les Petits Bilingues. Less stress about money is always a good thing. My first class is Tuesday!

5) seeing old friends, meeting new friends---check

So far I've gotten to see quite a few of my friends from last summer. I have also met new french friends and made friends with some of the other assistants working in Amiens. Kelsey (NYC girl born in Colorado) and I have spent an impressive amount of time lingering around the cafés and bars...using each other as soundboards to vent about the paperwork. Like I said, it's not that bad. It just helps to not keep all of the questions swirling around in our heads.

6) speaking french!---check

I speak better some days than I do others. I think my brain is freaking out a bit, but it's getting there. As hard as some days can be, I always notice an improvement.

7) planning lessons---check

8) missing people---check

Hi, I'm Taylor. That's what I do.

9) watching some netflix---check

It's like comfort food for me right now. Netflix is finally available in France and Gilmore Girls just happens to be coming to Netflix. Obvious choice. It really will help to have these small familiar things when I am really missing home from time to time. In my defense, I have watched some french movies.
10) Skyped with Ashley & Baby Ryker---check
One of my oldest and bestest friends had her sweet little boy. So happy for her growing family. Made my week to see their sweet little faces. 

11) breathing---check

This week I go into my schools to introduce myself. I will hopefully have my schedule after that because I am starting that job next Monday. I also have an orientation to go to on Friday. Between now and then, I'll be taking a few more laps in the paperwork pool, planning lessons, and reminding myself that I CAN DO THIS. Lots of change all at once. Huge leaps followed by small steps have become the key to happiness in ma petite vie française.

I will hopefully get better about updating this as important things happen. Not every post will be a novel...unless it's all novel-worthy of course.

Kelsey and I went to the movies the other day. We saw Gemma Bovery. It was cute. No subtitles but easily comprehensible french with english mixed in. Good little boost. We understood. Now I'll stick to movies on Netflix because tickets alone are 11 euros. You all should go see it if you're able to!