Je suis ici! (I am here!)

Day Two

I'm here! "Je suis ici," as they would say in Paris. My French is, alas, more than rusty. Yes, I got good grades in college French--thirty + years ago. Oh, well... the French give you points for trying.

Yesterday was spent mostly recovering from the flight. Although the flight was pleasant, the landing left me feeling a little wobbly. I took my time, remembering my last visit to Charles de Gaulle airport meeting up with friend Diane Demrick. She'd be proud of me for traveling much lighter this time.

I found my way via le Metro and Bus #91 to the apartment on Rue Arago without any trouble. What a lovely place to live for a month! In spite of knowing better, I slept, then took a long walk going one way on Rue Arago. I watched a little TV, all in French of course, and caught the tail end of an episode of "Law & Order." My body may take a while to catch up with the time zone.

Today I ventured out and walked the other way, managing to massacre the French language at the Pharmacie, the cafe' and the marche' where I bought some groceries. Then I stopped in at the phone store and asked about my voicemail, which I am distressed to learn I cannot access without some serious roaming charges. Between the shopkeeper's broken English and my faulty French, we agreed I should visit the Orange Store which is at Place d'Italie. I had just had an early dinner of crepes and Duvel at Place d'Italie so I know where to go tomorrow.

The thing about traveling is that you feel like such a dufus. Everything is so... foreign. The money. The language. The neighborhood. The map. But that's why I came, oui? To learn. Traveling takes you so far out of your comfort zone, it has to be good for you. I sat at an outside cafe' and watched people coming and going, meeting friends for drinks, picking up spouses from work, kissing each other hello and goodbye (both cheeks, of course) and was amazed at the variety of people. As I'd observed before when visiting in 2007, even the smallest children are tres chic.

T Minus Two

Leaving for Paris in two days--yikes! My plans for preparation have been sidelined by a flooded basement, but not for long. I'm balancing cleaning debris with creating a Paris punchlist so I don't forget anything.

I'm getting recommendations on Paris doings from friends and friends of friends, which is very comforting. I must say I've questioned my sanity from time to time about this trip. Although I've said this trip makes up for missing my junior year abroad, there's no one from a university to set up the curriculum for me. Oh, never mind--that's what I do for a living.

Do I have any expectations? Yes. That my brain will be scrambled because that's what travel does. Travel scrambles your brain so your neural networks start taking a different route to work. Then, once our brains are scrambled we can see new possibilities for ourselves and our work. My plan, if I have any plan at all, is to be open to new ideas that will cultivate my business and the business of my clients. I'm not sure what that will look like but I'm creating it will happen. Just like that--a declaration.