amis en paris

i'm living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. i get to eat delicious food, drink tasty wine, and smell crepes on every corner. im studying at a world renown school and improving my french while i'm here. but something was missing. 
it's scary having to start fresh- new city, new people, i have to learn the metro system, and try not to get lost, and living in such a large and busy city can feel really lonely (which hasn't helped my homesickness at all). but today, despite the rain and gray clouds, things were looking brighter. 
meeting everyone at the isa orientation yesterday was not only overwhelming but also pretty awkward. everyone is trying to figure everything out, and asking themselves questions like: where do i belong? where should i sit? should i eat that second croissant, or will people judge me? it's a lot to handle. 
i met each student but still couldn't figure out who my friends would be, not the greatest feeling. i called my best friend at clemson (shout out Brenna Theodore) last night for her 21st birthday, and being the good friend she is, she reassured me that i would have friends in no time- her magic fairy dust worked.          

                                                   today, a friendship began to blossom.
betsy and andie. as if their names aren't cool enough. these two girls and i just seemed to click, and i was so grateful. the friendship basically started when a group of asian tourists saw the three of us walking and started shrieking and asked to take a picture with us. they thought we were pretty and french and pushed their son into a picture with us. it was semi awkward but mostly precious and very flattering. (note to self: wearing sunglasses and all black makes one look more french...and prettier) 
our day started at the isa office, listening to another powerpoint presentation, this time about the sorbonne. we then walked to one of the campus' buildings to take our placement tests. the test wasn't easy. there were definitely some words i didn't know and the listening section was difficult. hopefully i'll be placed in the most appropriate level. 
after our test, betsy, andie, and i spent way too much time trying to find somewhere to eat (this is a very tourist-y thing to do and we're trying to blend in as much as possible. get more tourists to take pictures with us, duh) we finally found a place and it was delicious. we ordered a variety of things. i ordered a croque monsieur and a glass of white wine. so delicious. conversation flowed, and we laughed continuously. paris is SO much more fun with friends. 

we then took the metro to the louvre. it was so amazing. i was in awe of it. even the outside was art. it was truly incredible. here are some pictures outside the louvre. the guy with the chalk wasn't directly outside of the louvre but he was close! and so talented!

i took that. im artsy.

this is us outside of the louvre.

after we got lost in the egyptian art exhibit, we were exhausted, and our feet were in pain. we left the louvre and headed to a coffee shop for a crepe and a cup of hot tea. 

  

the day ended with a very happy and at peace hannah. the friends i've just made are wonderful. deep thinkers, intellectual, funny, interesting, and slightly weird. i like them.

 i ate dinner at my host family's, and we had curry on turkey. it was really yummy. and for dessert, more cheese. 

tomorrow i have a meeting with a fashion designer here in paris who i'm hoping to intern for while i am here. this means i have to wear a very "fashion forward" outfit tomorrow. now the search starts for the perfect first day outfit.

One final shoutout to my sister Olivia. It's officially her birthday in Paris and its killing me to not be there with her. happy sweet 16 nig nog.