Des premiers photos

     Finally I have a few photos to post! The first two photos, I took last night from my bedroom, where you can see the Eiffel Tower from the balcony. The next few and the last two were also taken from the balcony this morning as the sun rose. In the fourth picture, taken looking to my right, on the opposite side of the street, the green cross signals a pharmacy. There are so many in Paris. I was told that French people go to the doctor and the pharmacy much more than Americans, and that medicines are much cheaper than in the United States. This makes sense, considering their health care system.

     When you take a left by that pharmacy, it takes you down an adorable street with a bakery that my host mother says is especially good. Everything looks amazing to me though. We went on a walk through the local area this morning, and she showed me where the supermarkets (which is misleading because they are not much like American supermarkets) are and which are cheaper (le Monoprix), and where the two nearest metro stations are (approximately a five minute walk). Anything you could possibly want or need is in such close proximity to the apartment, I will definitely be well taken care of. Also, the street the bakery is on leads you to Avenue Charles de Gaulle (which, when you look to your left, is l'Arc de Triomphe - more massive than I ever imagined, or as my host mother said, "forte," strong, like Napoleon himself).

     I tried to take a panoramic shot of my bedroom but because it is too small a space it is distorted. The other two pictures aside from the window/ door/ balcony are of the ceiling.

     A little while ago, I went to the supermarket on and bought some groceries for the first time. The store was so different than American supermarkets, and I spent a lot of time wandering around. First, the upper floor of the supermarket, le Monoprix, where you walk in is actually non-food items like clothes and perfumes. It is almost comparable to a Target. On the bottom floor is the food. The meat, dairy, and produce section is easily twice as big as American stores (or maybe packaged meat and produce are the same, and the store is just smaller but the dairy/cheese and butcher sections are definitely larger). The rest of the store is not half as filled as American markets. Less than half of the store is filled with prepackaged and processed dry goods and drinks. The soda selection is unbelievably small compared to American stores, and there are almost no frozen foods except for ice cream and similar products. On Sunday and some mornings during the week, there is a local openair market, so I will probably try that sometime, too. My trip today to le Monoprix was semi-successful - I got chicken, some fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and rice but when I went to pay I did not realize you were supposed to weigh the produce yourself beforehand, like I think you can do at some places like Stop n' Shop. The cashier did not seem upset at all, though, and now I know for next time. Oh, and I also thought the water I bought tasted funny, and just realized it is fortified with calcium and magnesium and "aide à l'élimination des déchets et des toxines." I never even realized anyone could or would put calcium in water... Eh bien. 

    I am about to go meet with Devan in a while, who is also living in the suburbs not too far from me. We are going to explore, so I will have more pictures soon.