Well, I am here! After a week in London and Geneva the hubs and I made our way to Paris. We arrived at my apartment and have been settling in ever since. The apartment itself is great! I found it on Airbnb (click here to get $25 off your first trip) a few months ago and every part of the transaction was smooth. Muriel, the owner, is so kind and has been awesome at communication. It is located in the 6th arrondissement – right next to the Seine! I really couldn’t ask for more!
The hubs, who is a native french speaker, has been helping me a TON! I am so beyond grateful he is here! I am actually so scared that he leaves in a day. He has been able to communicate to every waiter, sales clerk, teacher, taxi driver, and so on. He has made the entire transition really easy and I am terrified to have to figure it out on my own, although I know that is the point of this trip. That is actually something I didn’t expect to experience – this feeling of complete n ervousness. Up until this point I have been excited to be alone and explore a new city but now it is here and I am a bit panicky. I did have a moment earlier today where I looked at him and just teared up. I know it is a mixture of things: one that he is leaving and I am away from him for so long but also a realization that I am in a city that I don’t know and with a language I don’t speak. I could actually cry as I type this. What is my problem?
He keeps telling me that he has to leave for me to learn. He is actually “enabling me instead of helping me”. And I agree. I don’t want to agree, but I do. I am not being forced to speak the language or figure out the lay of the land. However, that doesn’t mean I am ready for him to go. I think everyone must have this moment when they are about to start a new journey which is out of their comfort zone. A moment of “oh my gosh, what the f&** did I sign up for?” I know I need to be patient with myself as I will be fine once I start my school and get a routine going but for now I am a bundle of nerves.
So there it is. I am not as brave or as adventurous as I projected in my previous posts. I am nervous to be alone, scared to not know people, and worried I will be the worst one in my class. Although in my gut I know this is right and I know it will all be okay, for now I can’t quite remember if I was of sound mind when I signed on for this.
As I document this journey I hope I can go back and re-read this post and laugh. That I will actually be able to say to myself, “wow, look how far you came. You now know the city, the language, and you really grew as a soul.” That will be the best feeling in the world! So here it is! The start of my very exciting and scary Paris journey! Stay tuned…