First Week in Paris!

Hello all,
It is hard to describe my first week in Paris. If I had to narrow it down to one word, it would be, "overwhelming". After one of the longest and most hectic travel days ever, I landed in a snow covered Paris at 6:35 am and was met by two peppy student advisers from the American University of Paris (my school). We then trekked across the airport and after getting stuck on the moving walk way in between all of my bags I fell face first into a surprised french man's shoes. Hello Paris.
The city is so striking; from the elaborate, old buildings to the cobble stone streets littered with little boulangeries and patisseries, it is hard to take everything in at once. The only downside to these adorable pastry and sandwich shops is that tea here costs around 4 euros, which adds up to almost 6 dollars. We live in an awesome area and our apartment is right across the street from a preschool and a little park. Hence, my new favorite past time is now stalking little french children to hear them speak. There is an amazing patisserie right on the corner of my street and a relatively good priced grocery store. I literally want to eat everywhere. Every restaurant looks so delicious...until you see the prices. I was lucky to find my rice cakes, special yogurt and almond milk here (some things never change).
Our school is literally right under the Eiffel tower and is next to a famous cobblestone street, Rue Cler, which is where most students grab lunch and coffee on their way to class. We are also located near a famous chocolate shop. HOLLA!
The school is tiny, there are 4 buildings and a library spread throughout 4 streets in the seventh arondissement. It takes about 35-45 minutes to commute, which is the only downfall of living in our area. The student body is roughly 1,000, but is comprised of over 100 nationalities, making AUP the second most diverse university in the world. Pretty bad ass.
My french is improving already, but it will take time to carry on a full time conversation without giving them a blank stare for a minute while I try and figure out what the hell they just said.
I went to the Notre Dame today and it was awe inspiring. The arched ceilings, artwork and stained glass windows transport you back in time and make you forget what century you are actually living in; until you walk outside and are hassled by french sales people peddling umbrellas and Notre Dame statues.
It is so fun going to bars and conversing with french people. They love all of our shows and want to know a lot about our movies and what America is really like. Plus they have the most amazing vodka caramel shots that I am actually obsessed with and drink like candy. He he :)
I got to go on a Paris by Night tour, which was basically a drunk student adviser holding a microphone at the front of the bus and rattling off french history and jokes while the rest of us drank wine and socialized. Surprisingly it was still pretty educational.
Last night we went on a pub crawl and got acquainted with popular bars in the 3rd arondissement.
Overall it has been, again, overwhelming. I have finally settled into my apartment and learned how quickly you can shower before the hot water shuts off, what times are ok to flush the toilet so your neighbors dont hate you, and that the space heater was the best invention of all time. I am posting pics of my apartment so take a look!
More to come!
Bri