France-First Impression

         After a bit of a rocky start, I've finally arrived in Montpellier, and thought I would take advantage of this hotel's WiFi to let you know I got here safe and sound.  It's a miracle I made it here at all, considering that my plane from Minneapolis left an hour early than my itinerary said, but I was never notified.  So there I was taking my sweet time in the airport, watching my plane board, telling my mom how I hope that my plane to JFK wasn't so small.  As they were doing the last call, I glanced down at my ticket, and realized they were calling my flight number, so I had just a minute to say a quick goodbye to my parents and run out on the tarmac.  From there, it was 2 hours to JFK, a 4 hour layover, 7.5 hours to Paris, and another hour to Montpellier.  

         I collected all my baggage and made it through customs, found a cab, and headed into the city.  The cab driver had never heard of my hotel, which turns out to be a little family-run thing in some back alley.  It has quite of a lot of character, but unfortunately no windows.  Seriously.  My room is completely sealed shut like a tomb, despite the fact that it's 91 degrees here today.          

         Tomorrow I'll head over to University Paul Valery, where I'll meet my group and see my dorm.  I haven't gotten to see much of Montpellier yet, since my flights pretty much wiped me out, but I'm looking forward to checking it out once I've met some other students.  My plan for the summer is to really focus on studying and picking up the language--I'll probably explore and socialize a little more in Paris.  So far, I've been able to get what I've needed, but still my french is pretty dismal.  But in one day, I've already learned a bunch of vocabulary words relating to airplanes and flying.  So I'm on my way!

         I miss you all already! I still can't believe I'm actually here, and I'm still kind of in shock over how long I'll be gone.  But I know this was the right decision, no matter how scary it seems.  

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