Overseas Briefing Perrier and P‚tÈ A day in the city of lights

Author: Franny Bohar

My first official day as a Parisian student is coming to a close. At the risk of being clichÈ, I must admit that as I write to you all I am drinking a glass of white wine and eating p‚tÈ on a fresh baguette. I do not expect every day to be so decadent, but I felt I deserved luxury after living through mon premier jour ‡ Paris.

The day started at about 5 a.m. because I am not quite adjusted to the time change, which is 9 hours forward since I flew from my home in California. I took a shower - not as simple as it sounds. The French have a bad rap in terms of bathing, and after turning on my shower for the first time I forgave them completely. My shower is, well, a showerhead in the wall of my bathroom. I was wrong to think the water would contain itself - I could brush my teeth at the sink while in the shower, I could sit on ma toilette while in the shower, I could walk about four feet in any direction and still be in my shower. It was quite an ordeal, and I'm still not sure if I have an extravagantly large steam room or a sopping wet bathroom. I guess the point, however, is that when I left it, I was clean.

I met up with a few girls from Middlebury who also live in ma maison and we made our way through the metro to the Middlebury School at the Centre Madeleine in the heart of Paris. Over tea and croissants, we learned about the program and were then introduced to Parisian students who will serve as our guides this week. After signing the formidable language pledge, I set off with Jean-Marie. She led me and three others through the streets at the pace of a true local, all the while smoking an elegantly thin cigarette and speaking fluid and fast French. When Jean-Marie came to a halt, it was to bring us to lunch on the top floor of Printemps, a ritzy department store akin to Neiman Marcus. We rode the escalator up from the linens department and were immediately stunned - the restaurant's walls were completely glass, and turning around we could see le Tour Eiffel, les Champs ElysÈes and all of Paris spread out beneath thousands of rooftops.

Sipping Perrier, we did our best to carry on conversation. Although I did spend a lot of time smiling and nodding, I do know that we discussed the sights we would like to see (le Centre Pompidou, l'Orangerie, le Louvre), the new James Bond movie and our musical tastes. Apparently, MC Solaar is not cool anymore - who knew.

After we'd finished, I walked to the grocery store because never again am I eating in the cafeteria (call me uncultured but I just can't eat shrimp that still have eyes and whiskers). I stocked up on cheese and pasta and Nutella and then aimed myself homeward after an exhausting day of navigating a huge city in a foreign language. I sat on the metro and watched the lights flicker in the rain as we sped through Paris, the Eiffel Tower flashing through the window for an instant. I feel as far away from Vermont as I possibly could be, which is terrifying but also thrilling. Mastering French is among my biggest fears, so if I can survive six months here I'll be pretty much ready to take on anything. Tomorrow? Buy a cell phone, open a bank account and attack the day.