No Habla French
We have arrived! Don't think this gets you out of more newsie posts about our time in Germany, but we did want you all to know we made it to Paris safe and sound on Thursday morning. We took a night train from Berlin to Paris (hilarious bunk beds in a postage stamp, 4 x 6 feet cabin) and were met at the station by our housing representative, Lorena, from INSEEC - Southern Utah University's sister school for the business MBA here in Paris where Burke will be going to school for the next 2 months. She helped us haul our poor tattered luggage across the city to our temporary home at Citie Universitaire de Paris. We will be here for 2 weeks until our apartment on the Champs d'Elysse (3 minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe) opens up and then we will have to haul all our junk to the other end of the city once more. All part of the adventure!
Citie Universitaire is a huge housing complex for international students all over Paris. There are giant buildings, like this main hub, running for several blocks with signs that boast the nationality of the tenants inside; Maison de Mexico, Maison de Canada, Maison de India. The funny thing is, most of these students don't even go to the same school, but use the metro to travel to all corners of the city for their separate universities. Lorena informed us that they have over 50,000 students who are in need of housing, but Citi Universitaire provides only 4,000 spots. We feel lucky to have snagged a spot, even if we are in a tiny dorm room with a two twin beds smushed together and a ten inch walkway between the bed, closet, desk and bathroom. Awesome.
Burke's classmates and professors are a great group of people. On Friday morning we had an orientation at INSEEC where they explained how the 8 weeks of elective MBA courses will run as well as how to be safe and have fun in the city. The professors were all very down to earth, especially Dr. Curtis Young, the man with dreadlocks on the far left who is a New Yorker, but speaks fluent French and will be helping with our French Culture class. I say, "our", because they have graciously permitted me to be able to sit in on Burke's French Culture and French Language classes too! It will be nice to take a break from my 3 BYU Independent Study classes once a week to join Burke on his campus for the day.
We are settling in and enjoying the few days we have before Burke's classes start. France is much warmer than Germany and we are enjoying the site seeing SANS the triple layers! The language is difficult and we feel like dorks whenever we find ourselves unable to communicate. We just have to remind ourselves...it's all part of the adventure.
Citie Universitaire is a huge housing complex for international students all over Paris. There are giant buildings, like this main hub, running for several blocks with signs that boast the nationality of the tenants inside; Maison de Mexico, Maison de Canada, Maison de India. The funny thing is, most of these students don't even go to the same school, but use the metro to travel to all corners of the city for their separate universities. Lorena informed us that they have over 50,000 students who are in need of housing, but Citi Universitaire provides only 4,000 spots. We feel lucky to have snagged a spot, even if we are in a tiny dorm room with a two twin beds smushed together and a ten inch walkway between the bed, closet, desk and bathroom. Awesome.
Burke's classmates and professors are a great group of people. On Friday morning we had an orientation at INSEEC where they explained how the 8 weeks of elective MBA courses will run as well as how to be safe and have fun in the city. The professors were all very down to earth, especially Dr. Curtis Young, the man with dreadlocks on the far left who is a New Yorker, but speaks fluent French and will be helping with our French Culture class. I say, "our", because they have graciously permitted me to be able to sit in on Burke's French Culture and French Language classes too! It will be nice to take a break from my 3 BYU Independent Study classes once a week to join Burke on his campus for the day.We are settling in and enjoying the few days we have before Burke's classes start. France is much warmer than Germany and we are enjoying the site seeing SANS the triple layers! The language is difficult and we feel like dorks whenever we find ourselves unable to communicate. We just have to remind ourselves...it's all part of the adventure.
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