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Bonjour et bienvenue en France

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I’ve finally arrived!  I got to SEA-TAC fifteen minutes later than I was supposed to (typical), but I still made it to my gate with lots of time to spare, and after that everything went smoothly.  It was light enough to see the Alps as my plane flew into Nice, but the sunset came fast while driving from the airport to the apartment I’ll be living in, so I’ll have to wait to explore Antibes until tomorrow.

In the security line at SEA-TAC
In the security line at SEA-TAC

I’m quickly learning that the French are quite comfortable in small spaces.  At the airport in Paris, instead of lining up single file, people crowded the area around the ticket counter, pushing past those who were ahead of them (at least by my standards) to squeeze into any small space that was left around the counter.  Once the line started moving, if you weren’t aggressive you weren’t going to get your ticket scanned until everyone else had passed you.  It’s the same on the road: if you want to merge or change lanes, you better just go for it because no one’s going to stop or slow down to let you in.

Keeping in theme with small spaces, my apartment is like a maze: the furniture packed into each room makes it nearly impossible to get anywhere in a straight line.  Still, there’s plenty of room for everything my hostess, my roommate and I need.

I’m so glad I chose to do a home stay.  My roommate and I have already discovered we listen to the same music, and my host mother is friendly and kind and speaks at a pace that I can understand (thank goodness – the Parisians on my first flight were speaking so rapidly I could only recognize a few words!).

Since I couldn’t sleep on the plane I’m absolutely exhausted, so I’m off to bed!  Bonne nuit!

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