jag lag is a serious bitch. i would have picked a less explicit term (probs not haha) but honestly there is no other way to describe the severe fatigue i have been experiencing for the past 24 hours.
the plane ride wasn't has bad as i thought it would be. we got to charles de gaulle in 9 hours rather than 11 and there wasn't too much turbulence (which i despise with a fiery passion).
however, it was impossible to get even ten minutes of sleep. while my parents enjoyed a little bit of extra leg room in the business elite class, kelly and i experienced the joys of coach. one could say we got the lesser lot of seats on the plane (no offense to my lovely father who bought my ticket. i'm ever so thankful to be in paris!) but the AC didn't work, the window wouldn't stay open, we could really only see the wing of the plane when we looked out the window, and i can't forget the fat russian man who insisted he have his chair reclined the entire flight. oh, and he couldn't sit still.
my dad gave me half an ambian to help me fall asleep (because i have a hard time falling asleep on planes), however i didn't even get close to sleep. i was mainly loopy for most of the flight.
i did finally fall asleep for a few minutes. the only sleeping position i found decently comfortable was laying my head on my bag/pillow/blanket on the tray in front of me. and once i got comfortable i drifted into what i thought was almost sleep. however i jolted awake when the fat russian sat back down in his sleep. yes. i was severely pissed.
but on a more positive note, kelly and i watched bridesmaids (hilarious) and midnight in paris (pretty good...but i didn't think it was as good as everyone was making it sound. except the cinematography was beautiful!)
and i'm not even going to explain the car rental service. in short...they didn't have our car that my parents already payed for, so we had to wait at the airport for almost 2 hours until they got that sorted out. which they did.
freeways in paris are pretty close to hell. no one cares about anyone but themselves. the vespas can go between lanes and scared the living daylights out of you. honestly they appear out of nowhere. we also got lost trying to get to versailles...kind of scary.
but i was quite intrigued by all the cars here. all i've seen are VWs, BMWs, mercedes, audi, and a few french names. and everything is so small and compact. i can't believe we fit 8 suitcases into the small car my parents are renting (oh i failed to mention that they are dropping me and kelly off and then going on their own little trip for 10 through the french countryside). i also enjoy the fact that most taxi cabs are mercedes.
in the car...
me: "ha, their taxis are mercedes, this is great!"
dad: "not a big change for you, since your taxi cabs in the US are mercedes"
(making a joke because my parents drive mercedes at home and drive us everywhere...or used to i guess...since i have my own car)
with a HUGE sigh of relief, i am happy to announce that i am finally in france. our study abroad program doesn't officially start until tomorrow, so today (or rather tonight, since it is almost 10:00 pm) i am in versailles.
we got to our hotel (which is right next to the palace!) around 3 or 4. i took a shower (and i'm pleased to say that my curls are in fact curling the way i want them to....now if only my hair would grow faster!) and after my shower, i fell asleep until 6 or 7. me, kelly, and my parents walked around versailles and bought baguettes du jambon (probably the wrong use of du...but whatever...)
i can say that i successfully ordered a sandwich...in french.
so yeah. i'm here and i love it. can't wait for the real adventure to start tomorrow.
more to come soon...and pictures.
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