Je suis en France!

Bonjour, 


I have so much to tell that I might have to split the stories up into separate posts! I have been in Paris for almost a week now and WOW things are so different here. Let me begin my telling you all my itinerary and about my day of arrival. Most of you know Kevin Louie and being the sweetheart that he is, drove me to the airport so that my parents didnt have to take work off. My flight left at 8:30 so we had to be at the airport by 7-7:30ish. I hardly slept the night before because I was full of so many emotions and had so many things racing through my mind. Once I got on the plane, I was able to relax a little bit. I arrived at JFK at 5:45pm, New York time, which in California it was only about 2:45pm. When we landed, I had to go to the baggage claim and pick up my bags. I hadnt thought about the fact that in SF, Kevin had helped me carry my bags. Now, I was going to have to do it alone. I had two big suitcases weighing 50 lbs each and my carry-on duffle bag which was equally as heavy PLUS my purse! I was able to grab my two bags off the rounder but then had to wheel both of them behind me with my duffle across my body and my purse on one shoulder. I asked for directions to my terminal and he told me I was going to have to walk across the street, into the parking lot and up onto the elevator and then jump on the lil train that would take me over to the terminal. All the while, Im thinking, How in THE WORLD am I going to make it over there with all my bags!?! So I started walking toward the parking lot, very slowly and then made it to the elevator where I found a "Smart Cart" that no one was using and loaded my stuff onto it. Thank goodness because I almost tipped over several times. My two big suitcases together weigh just about as much as do so, it was very very difficult. 
 My next plane left from JFK at 8:30pm but we taxied on the runway for about an hour. The weather was a little bit bad so the runway was backed up. I watched an entire Glee episode before take-off and was already feeling like I wanted to be off the plane already. We finally got up in the air and because it was an overnight flight, all the lights were off and it was cozy except that I couldnt sleep. I couldnt get comfortable and I was still on California time so it wasnt that late for me. That was the worst leg of my trip because I was just restless and uncomfortable the whole time. 
I arrived in Rejkevik, Iceland at 6:30am and my flight left about an hour later. At this point, I was totally exhausted and ready to be on solid ground. As soon as we took off, I began to feel very anxious and nervous! It was starting to hit me that in a few hours I would be landing in PARIS! I tried to sleep but it just wasnt gonna happen, so I gave up and just watched movies on the lil LCD screen that was on the chair in front of me. 

Finally, we landed! I followed the other passengers to the baggage claim and grabbed my bags. This time I found a cart right away and headed off to go look for Florence who was picking me up! I found her and we headed off to the car. On the way home, she drove me by the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomph and a few cool museums that I plan on going to soon. I couldnt believe how big the Eiffel Tower was. Ive only seen in it movies and postcards, etc and it is HUGE! So we made it home okay and Florence showed me around the flat and I took a shower and relaxed a little bit before we went to go pick up the kids from creche (the nursery). It was quite a walk and I was feeling almost sick because I was so tired. But I really wanted to meet the babies and so I toughed it out. Their oldest, Antton, 3 years old, was pretty shy and didnt really acknowledge me much but Florence reassured me that with time he would love me.  
That night, Matthieu came home from work awhile later and I got to meet him as well as Florence's sister who was in town from Marsailles on a business trip. She was so sweet and even helped me get my room put together and all situated before I passed out. And that was my first day in Paris. It went by very quickly and was a blur because I was so outta it and jet-lagged. Each day that I have been here, so much has happened! I will write next time about my first Sunday at church here as well as when I got hassled by a gypsy on my walk home from school. à toute à l'heure mes amis!