Le Voyage

Wow, now that was an epic journey!  Got to O'Hare at 1:30pm, flight left at 4:15 pm.  Had a cute little glass of red wine on the flight, but I still didn't fall asleep.  Landed in Düsseldorf at 7:15am.  Waited around Düsseldorf airport a few hours.  Took some photos with goofy German billboards and browsed at the duty free shop.  Also realized that German people, from our observations, seem to be quite tall.  Flight left for Paris around 10:45am.  Got in to Paris around 12ish.  Waited in the train station at Charles de Gaulle until our TGV left at 4:52pm.  The US totally needs TGVs... I love trains.  Made it into Avignon at 8:10, where I met my host mom.  That's about 24 hours of transit, and I have been awake for about 32 hours.  Holy jetlag, Batman!  

But I am here safe and sound, and my host mom is totally great!  She lives about two minutes away from the Institut on foot, right on the main street.  I have my own room with internet, and she couldn't possibly be a nicer host!  Over dinner, we talked about our families, the difference between French and American diets, even Weight Watchers!  (Yes, they have Weight Watchers in France... her dad and stepmom are on it and have lost 20 lbs a piece).  We also talked about Obama and the recession.  Okay, so I know talking politics on the first night sounds like a mistake, but we really saw eye to eye, so it worked out (phew!).  Dinner was yummy, and I got to have French bread and my pick of cheeses.  Feeling surprisingly at home.