Feels Like Home

I am writing this in my new homestay, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, on avenue Mozart. It's right across the street from the Jasmin Metro station, which is very nice! My new host family is amazing. The mom is very down-to-earth and speaks English quite well (which is quite useful when she has important things about locks and whatnot to tell me...I told her I'd prefer to speak French around the house, though, so I can learn, and she agreed). I met the dad briefly tonight because he works til 8pm, but he just set up the Internet on my laptop and that was all. They have three daughters, too, ages 7, 12, and 15, and they are adorable! The youngest is super cute, the middle is very curious, and the oldest is very informative and smart!

My room in the new house is smaller, but I love it! The view is AMAZING! I look right out at the Eiffel Tower! This is my view:

Amazing, eh? I have a MUCH more comfortable bed here (my previous one felt more like a board than a bed), a nice closet, a little TV (I watched French Who Wants to be a Millionaire with my friend Alice today), a set of shelves, and a desk!

Speaking of my friend Alice, she was a HUGE help today and came with me after school to help me move out. It turns out that it was a good thing I had help, because when I called my former host mom, she thought I had said I was going to be there to move out in three minutes, not thirty minutes and was freaking out cause she had a meeting. So, when we got there, she told us we had three minutes to get my things together and leave. I handed her the keys and said, "pour toi," which was a no-no (because I used the "tu" form instead of the "vous" form, which is a big faux pas when you're talking to an "elder"). She didn't say anything about that, but we rushed off into my room and threw everything into my bags. Now, my laundry had just been done that day and Madame de Pommery had put it in a paper shopping bag. I figured this was because she wanted to make it easier for me to get my things and go. But when Alice started putting other things in the paper bag, she told Alice that she still needed the paper bag and we couldn't keep it! I said I thought since she had put my clothes in it, we could use it, but she apparently wanted it, so I said I'd put the clothes in other bags but it'd take a few minutes. She just stared at me, so I just kept the stuff in the bag and Alice and I got it out of the apartment. We noticed the handle of the paper bag was broken, so ended up taking all of the stuff out of it anyways...and leaving it in the hallway where we knew she would see it later.

So, that's my exciting move out story. Both Alice and I were laughing all the way to my new home. It is always good to have fun stories to tell!

I miss you, but I am loving Paris!

Riley =)

PS - I added links on the right to my pictures I've taken so far!