i moved!

My address has changed and my bags are on their way to becoming unpacked. Today is the first day of the school year for the French kids and the beginning of what is going to be a great year full of new experiences and lots of great memories.

So my new apartment is really cool if I do say so myself. Its rather small. Actually, really small compared to the last one I showed with pictures on here. I do not have my good camera over here yet so I don't have pictures to show but I was thinking because its so small and there isn't a good place to stand to get good pictures show it, I might just try and do a video and see how that works.

So the logistics: I have 11m2 and for those of you who work in square feet, its 118 square feet. small, yes! but comfy? yes. I have a shower, but no toilet. There is a toilet on my hallway that I must share with several others but I don't mind. Actually, this set up, as my sister described, is a lot like a dorm setting. I have a shower, a sink, a fridge, a hot plate, a futon, and cabinets for all my stuff. So it has all the necessities. It actually has a lot of cabinet space for such a small apartment so I am very happy with that, as I have been to some peoples small apartments and there has been no where to put your stuff. I am anti clutter so I can't stand when my stuff is visible when the space is clean, so its very nice to have all this space for storing stuff. I also am very happy to have my large painting as the walls are all white and this space definitely needed some color. I should be receiving another painting as soon as I go and pick it up and its of the eiffel tower. My good friend Maya loves to paint and she is really good at it and offered to let me store one of her lovely paintings in my apartment. I am on the 7th floor (which is really 8th american) and one of the best parts is that I have an elevator. I'm sure I've mentioned before how elevators are special gifts in France because the buildings are so old and not all have them. Especially for me to live on the 7th floor, which is where the "maids quarters" are and were used as back in the day (or I guess I am a "maid" of sorts, haha) and elevators are even more uncommon for the top floor of buildings. And then to add to all of this, my view is spectacular. Since I am so high up I have a view of the rooftops of Paris which is not a bad view itself, but I face towards the Eiffel Tower which means I have a view of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumph.

Anyways, this weekend has been rather busy for me with moving and working and church and catching up with friends. One of my closest friends and favorite people in the whole wide world showed back up on Friday. Maya spent the summer catching up with her family in the States but returned back here to work and we have been spending a lot of time together. I definitely missed my other half. But it has made for long days and late nights when I needed rest and relaxation this weekend. So i am taking advantage of a Monday morning where I don't have to work and laying in bed watching tv and updating my blog.

Since I am now getting settled in I have been doing a lot of research as well. Now that I live in Paris I need to be more cultural and local and learn about my neighborhood and all that it has to offer. Starting with markets. So last night I spent some time looking up different markets in the area and their hours and what they sell. Sadly, since I moved to Paris, I have yet to visit a market. This kind of disgusts me. So anyways, today I need to head over to my old apartment and grab the last few things I had left there and then I'm off to explore my new neighborhood and find all the hidden treasures in the area.

And this weekend I had a minor scare. I decided it'd be a good time to clean my computer since I was cleaning my new apartment and unpacking and I think a few drops of water accidentally got in the keyboard of my computer and a few of the keys stopped working. I almost died. As my dad put it, "a bit of a drama queen?" But you don't understand, I live in 11m2 in the most residential neighborhood in all of Paris (ok, maybe not the MOST, but theres not much in the way of entertainment around here) and so without a computer I have no music, no way of knowing where the markets are, or watching movies, or anything! A computer is an essential piece of my life these days, so for the keys to not work, which means I couldn't turn on the computer because one of the letters that didn't work was a letter that was in my password, meant that all life had come to a complete hault! Yes, dramatic. But anyways, I consulted every "nerd" I knew in this country, haha. Just kidding. But I did call a few friends who I know have a bit of knowledge on Apple products or computers and they suggested a few things and so I tried to be as patient as possible and see if it would just fix itself. et voila! I came home last night to see if things had improved and my keyboard worked again! It seriously was a miracle! Ok, laugh all you want, it is a bit dramatic but live a day in my shoes and you'll realize how precious this little electronic square is to you. So I am VERY happy that I didn't ruin my keyboard and that its as good as new again and I will think twice before trying to clean it next time. haha.

Anyways, I'm off to go have a few productive hours before work this afternoon. Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day while I have to labor today.

Love, moi