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It's been nearly a week since my last entry. There's a good reason too, I have no internet connection in my apartment. I don't have very good cell phone reception either. Thus when I am in my apartment there is a virtual information blackout. I'm working to get an Internet connection in the apartment. Until then I am reliant on public wifi. And those are hard to come by.
I've found I need a local bank account. Thus I'm working to establish one. However, the bankers here seem to come to work when they please so it's a bit hit and miss. Last week I tried to get an appointment but found that the banker at the place the school recommended was out. A bit overwhelmed and very frustrated, I decided to wander through Paris. I found a very nice park near the Institut de France. It's a small park but thankfully quiet. I put on headphones and enjoyed a bit of the radio stations from the US on my phone. After that I wandered across the Seine, on the Pont Des Arts. Across the bridge I noticed a number of padlocks locked to the sides of the bridge. On the locks was writing. The tradition goes something like having your lock on the bridge symbolizes an unending love between two people.

After that I sat and watched the people out by Notre Dame. It was a nice sunny day so it was quite enjoyable. Across from Notre Dame was a small english bookstore called Shakespeare and Company. I hear it is quite famous.

So today is my first day of classes. I have two, Factors and Theories of Analysis in International Relations and Diplomacy and the second is Foreign Policy formulation and Diplomacy. I hope these go well.

You may know Paris, you don't know Paree...

For those of you who may follow me on this blog, and do not know me, my name is Chris. I am an American Graduate student in Paris, France studying at the American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy. I've never been to Paris before and on this my first trip, I will be staying for six months. I speak a few words of French but honestly, I am far from fluent.

I'm keeping this blog as a means of keeping everyone back home up to date on what's new with me and what I'm working on or not working on. I have a thesis for my first master's degree at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania due in April. That will finish my requirements for the degree there and I will have earned my first Master's degree. That'll be nice. Getting that out of the way by April.

I'll be in Paris until July 15th. After that I'm heading back to New Jersey to spend time with friends and family and spend time with my girlfriend, Jess.

"Hi Jess!!!"

That's a little shout out to her there. My plane landed in Paris yesterday and I got to my apartment in Paris at noon. It's 4 here now so for the past hours I have been learning my way around Paris and trying to find a way to connect to the internet. So far my cell phone works but coverage in the apartment is spotty. I bring that up because I was hoping to use it with my laptop to access the internet. Evidently it works in the US but in Europe, not so much. Verizon says they are working on it. We'll see. I wandered around last night, after seeing a restaurant that looked familiar in a book I was reading. It wasn't the same restaurant. Then I got lost. In a fortuitous turn of events, I stumbled on a Starbuck's that I think might have Wi-Fi. Now if only I can find it again.

Paris is taking some getting used to. The people are friendly enough, and thankfully they do not speak as quickly as I feared they would. Now I feel like I can learn the language easier. The classes are in English, but the students and professors are helpful in learning the language. Other than the language the apartment is taking some getting used to as well. It's about the size of a dorm room in the US, with a bathroom that is about the same size as I had when I lived back in Pennsylvania. I thought Europe was supposed to have small bathrooms. I guess I just expected less room. The apartment, being older, lacks heat. As a result, we have a plug-in heater. I plugged it in and turned it on and looked at the electric meter. I've never seen the meter spin so quickly before. I'll have to just get used to that and dress warmly. What worries me is what will happen when summer arrives. An apartment at 50f degrees is not too unpleasant, but at 80f-90f that will be very unpleasant. For now, I'm getting by.