Le premier jour

24 Avril
I made it to Paris! The flight was long and uncomfortable as always but it felt so good to finally be here after so much anticipation.  A shuttle came and picked us up to take me and two other girls in the study abroad that were on my flight to our hotel.  I forgot how crazy driving is here!  It was quite scary.  We had to drop off some other people in the shuttle at their hotels and so our driver gave us a nice tour of Paris as we drove past everything.  We drove past Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, and les Invalides.  It was fun to see all the sights that I will go back to explore later on.  


During our prep class at BYU, they told us girls to not be friendly or smile at French men because they will take subtle actions as meaning something more or as an invitation.  I didn't believe them, but it is very true.  My friend Amanda was being friendly and talking to our driver throughout the whole shuttle ride, and then at the end he asked for her number--he was a middle aged man and wanted to hang out with her on the weekends and she politely declined saying she wouldn't be here very long.  Très bizarre.  


When we finally got to our hotel it was 1pm and we just wanted to go to sleep, but knew that that was a horrible idea.  So we went out and walked in rainy Paris around our neighborhood for several hours.  We found some really cool shops and just all of Paris is gorgeous with old, cool buildings.  We found a really neat church down the road.    

We ate some crepes and visited a bakery where I got a baguette and pain du chocolat.  The cheap foods here are bread, cheese, and fruit so that is probably what I'll be eating for most of the summer which is fine with me! 

Then my friend and I went and saw The Lion King (Le roi lion) in 3D at a movie theater we had found.  It was super fun to watch in French and it was funny to listen to the songs in French because the lyrics weren't the same as the English version, probably because they had to make French words fit the rhythms.  

We went back to our hotel and watched some French TV (I found Dr. Quinn in French!) and then chilled until about 8:30 when we allowed ourselves to finally go to bed.  Here is the view from our hotel window. Tu peux voir le Tour Eiffel!

La Joie de Vivre

The title of this blog is a French phrase that literally translated means a joy of life.  More specifically, it means an exultation of spirit.  It is finding joy in anything and everything that one might do--a comprehensive joy.  I hope to apply this life philosophy to my summer adventures as I look for the positive and the beautiful while spending 4 months in France.  This blog is in part a school assignment for the classes that I will be taking over the summer, but is also a way to keep in contact with family and friends back home.  Here are three things that put me in a good mood everyday.  They are pictures that I took in trying out my new camera. 

Temples! Temples remind me to have an eternal perspective and that things that bum me out in my daily life really don't matter because God loves me and is always rooting for me.

Flowers! Springtime has become my favorite season in recent years.  I love seeing the world wake up  and burst with happiness and color through flowers.  Flowers and nature are a way for me to forget my daily stresses and marvel in a world with fascinating and beautiful creations.  If I ran a flower shop for the rest of my life, I think I would be perfectly content.  

Best Friends! Have you ever found a person that was so similar to you, it was kind of creepy? That's me and my best friend and roommate Amelia.  She will be getting married this summer and I am devastated that I will not be able to be there.  But I love her and know it will be great!