Reflections on Life in France...

It has been over 5 weeks since I first arrived in Paris. I am getting adjusted to my life here little by little. My paperwork is nearly finished and I am getting situated in a new apartment. I want to give a brief rundown of what has happened since my arrival here. When I came, I had no idea where I would live. I stayed with a friend for the first few days and found out that my school would house me for free, which is a huge blessing. The school is under construction and so a new apartment was built for the assistants and I just moved in a couple of days ago. It is wonderful! I started teaching my second week here. I work about 12 hours a week in 12 different classes. The students are excited, for the most part, about learning English, and it has been fun to teach them. I have quite a bit of free time, which has been really nice for getting settled and visiting Paris. I am excited to really get to know the city and to feel like it is my home. It is such a beautiful place. My French is getting better every day, I think. :) I feel like I understand more and am much more comfortable having conversations than I was when I came. I have a pretty good life here. And, although I am northwest of Paris, so far I haven’t seen anything as far as riots are concerned. I hope that there will be a solution, but unemployment is such a huge problem here, I don’t know what will remedy it. I miss my family and friends at home, but am so thankful for this opportunity. What a great way to spend a year!