It begins...

So...here I am. In Paris. For 3 months. It's finally sinking in. All of the build up from being offered the internship in August, to putting it off until January, to putting off the completion of my thesis and degree, to shifting my life around and finally...I'm here.

Arriving in a city like Paris is indescribable - it has already been so thoroughly constructed in your mind through countless songs, films, stories, paintings, dreams. To arrive is to blast through the ideals or images you have conjured up in your mind, only to find that not only does it surpass them, the city itself, in real time, in real life, transcends them. It slaps you across the face with its authenticity, its grandeur, its relentless array of cozy cafes and bakeries, its cobbled streets, its feisty and painfully stylish citizens, its buzz. A buzz, like the accentuated and intensified tremors of a normal city's vibrations; the vibrations of a vibration, as if everything is alive and waiting to grab your eyes, your ears, your nose.

Walking around my new neighbourhood, I hit the ground running. Walking fast, walking hard, peeking at my map but of course hiding it, because no one wants to feel like a tourist in Paris. I want to feel like I live here, I know where to go. It's a careful act of deception, because I had no clue where I was or where I was going, and I do admit I got turned around more than a few times. The important thing is that I didn't get lost, I didn't get irritated, I just found myself and kept walking.

Looked at a lovely room in a lovely apartment with a lovely Parisian philosophy professor, got the key, set to move in on Sunday. Returned to the B&B I stayed in last night - got seriously hooked up, owned by a friend of the family, lovely man, amazing place and location, 3 terraces, private shower in my room, fireplace, secure, etc etc etc. Ends up he's willing to harbour me for the duration of my stay...which means I went from having no home yesterday, to having a choice between 2 absolutely fantastic homes that somehow I have to choose between. Sigh. It's a tough life.

I have the weekend to explore and play, then it's to work on Monday. I feel like not only have I started a new chapter in my life, but it's an entirely new book. I haven't felt this exhilarated in...well, ever.