Day 4

Hello Folks,
Another day is closing with much success and relaxation, and though I am currently still out of internet, that problem should be fixed tomorrow (or whenever this gets posted!).  I will predate them for you to keep things straight so make sure to scroll down to the others before you finish this post.  I can't believe I have only been here four full days; it feels like at least a couple of weeks.  After the host parents got up, we had a short cup of coffee and then they took me down to the flea market of sorts that is behind the apartment building.  It was an odd mixture of rather nice leather jackets, rice bowls, computer parts, pottery, old shoes, fancy chopsticks, children’s books, a rather suspicious pile of wallets, rice cookers, and the like.
I should mention that I live in the Chinatown part of Paris, so basically I am the only blue-eyed person within a mile of here and every store around is Asian.  It is quite different from the parts of Paris that I spent my first few days in, and this area is much more culturally diverse which I am quickly learning to like.  Instead of having a crepe and espresso stall every couple meters, there are authentic kabob, sushi, gyro, stir-fry, falafel, tea, curry, naan, and bubble tea (!!!!!) stands everywhere, strings of cooked duck in the windows, animal feet on display, and the smell of jasmine rice coming from every restaurant.  I only have to walk about 20min. before I get to an area that looks as European as the Latin quarter which really means that I am getting the best of both worlds.  I highly doubt that I would have walked into this part of the city simply because it is more foreign and thus automatically seems more unsafe or off limits, but now that I am forced to be here I am finding more and more that I enjoy: the colorful lanterns and beads hanging in the doorways and windows, the calligraphy on the outdoor menus, the sweet yet bitter smell emanating from the tea shops, the colorful clothes and bouncy language of the African immigrants, the cabbage and lettuce peddlers on bicycles, the young boys practicing their karate in the alley below my window; there is so much.
Enough of that weepy, discover the world stuff.  While my host father continued indulging his never-ending love for flea markets, my host mother took me on a tour around our apartment building to show me the major streets and transit stops.  There are two metro stops within a few minutes of here and a bus route that goes directly up to the center of Paris by le Jardin des Tuileries, le Musée du Louvre, la Sorbonne, et le Jardin du Luxembourg.  Thus, I will be able to take my pick of easy routes to school.  Mme. Souraqui highly suggested taking the bus because that way you can get a tour of Paris everyday and better learn the streets and shops.  The metro is easy and fast, but you go underground for a few minutes in one place and pop up in another place with no since of direction or relative location.  Thus, I think I’m going to try to use the bus.
After out little walk, my host mother went back to the apartment, I continued north on the Avenue de Choisy to the Place d’Italie, the main hub/round about of the 13th, to spot out a good café and boulangerie (bakery) for my dejeuner (lunch).  Success was easy to find and soon I was settled at a little table with a perfectly plated coffee and croissant.  Ah, la joie de vie!  I ended up having a rather nice, if not a bit challenging and jumbled, conversation with an extremely pregnant woman sitting next to me, who despite speaking perfect English, was kind and patient enough to let me practice my French.  So far I have only met very kind Parisians and thus have yet to believe the hype over their standoffish and rough personalities.  Granted I have witnessed three yelling matches, a theft at the grocery, two car accidents, a host of stone faced strangers on the metro, and enough car horns to last me a lifetime, but I am still not yet willing to give in to the stereotypes about them.

My bit of Paris at sunset 

Yours truly :)

The view down from my window

Anyways, I returned to the apartment at about 14:30 and am now about to go see if I can help with dinner.  I love yall much as always.
Bises,
Kate Alice