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My name is Caitlin, and I'm a recent graduate of the University of Oregon. I'm currently living in Paris, France and will be for the next seven months -- working as an English assistant at an Elementary school in the NW suburbs of Paris.
This blog is going to follow the adventures and experiences of what happens while I live in Paris. A look into the quirks and differences of a new culture and starting a new in a different country -- all while speaking a different language. Mainly, this is a fun way to stay in touch with my family and loved ones, but maybe you'll find something of interest or helpful throughout my posts. My boyfriend may also be adding additional notes from his perspective of this experience.
So, I'm a little behind on starting this blog. I've been in Paris for almost a month now, and though I've had plenty of adventures so far to write about, I have yet to actually sit down and put keyboard to screen. So what a better time than to start now on a drizzly Wednesday afternoon?
My adventure started before the sun had even risen on the 25th of September when my boyfriend, Nick, and I packed his car to the brim with my four suitcases and left for the Portland Airport. The unexpected started immediately, when I went to check my luggage and received a whopping $600 fee from my bags. (Side note: Triple check the baggage rules of your airlines for international flights, and if they will be charging you for cross country luggage or international. Later on, I learned that I was charged for flying my bags to JFK where I caught my transfer flight-- not the same as the international price!) After a rushed and tearful goodbye, I was on my way to the city of lights.
I arrived in the beautiful city of Paris on September 26th bright and early-- completely overwhelmed, sleep deprived and tear stained. Luckily, I had a ride from Charles de Gaulle from the Lovely Monique to her apartment. After she whisked me away down the chaotic and windy streets of Paris and set me up in her apartment, the full load of what I was about to do started to settle in.
Tired, homesick and lost in translation, I began my first day in Paris with Monique as my guide. We went to get my picture taken for my Navigo (Metro, Train and Bus pass), to the phone store (a whole other story) and almost to the train station before I completely collapsed of exhaustion.
I finally went to bed at the ripe hour of five p.m. after 20 hours of traveling and a full day of errands to be wide awake three hours later. I can only say thank the technology gods for the Laptop, Internet and Skype, or else I wouldn't of made it through those first few days of homesickness.
After two days of staying at Monique's, I went to join my new room mates Lauren and Lindsey at a hotel where we stayed for the next two weeks until our apartment was ready.
Over the last month I have learned: Nothing is simple in France (opening bank accounts, phone plans and apartments), the challenges of working in a foreign country, of the difficulties of language barriers, and the test of living with four girls in a two bedroom apartment.
