Paris

Hard to believe that one year ago today I landed in Paris. It was early in the morning when we arrived. The Alice-in-Wonderland-esque Charles de Gaulle airport configuration and lights had me reeling even more than the jet-lag. I had met the world’s “first male Albino supermodel” Shaun Ross whose chauffer gave me a ride to my new home at 29 rue Tholoze. I was tired, I was scared, but my friend Eulalie came from Lyon to stay with me for a night, and having her there made everything a little better.

We explored a little, watched a movie, slept, and soon it was Thursday, time for me to start my internship with Janou Pakter. I felt like a nerd, never looking half as cool as all the girls in Paris, and certainly not any of those in my office. I was constantly stressing about money. The Euro shot to an exchange higher than ever before, and every transaction created a dollar sign in my eyes. I had no idea where anything was, the streets of Paris going round like a spiral. My apartment was freezing. I had a cold. And I was so confused why I had ever come in the first place.

But soon, my friend Martin arrived. And I got a better grasp on the streets. My cold went away and my friends Molly and JP stayed with me for four days. I made friends with the girls at work. We started to go out together, hitting bars in Le Marais, in the 15^th, and wherever else our nights took us. I bought a crepe pan. I got addicted to espressos and Drum. I went to England and fell in love with London, Banksy, curry and fish. Mark came for a week and we had the most amazing week filled with food, laughs, a trip to Germany and a boat party.

And suddenly, the weather changed, the sun shined and the once sultry Paris became warm, inviting and light-hearted. It was a completely different world and I was a completely different person. I was calmer, I better understood my fears, my inability to focus, my love of nature, my need for friends and family around me, my love of fresh food, the amazing ease of the Paris Metro…

I miss it, I miss the arrangement of Paris. It’s size, transportation, the non-skyscrapers, the celebrities, the non-celebrities who were just as fabulous, and the awe you felt standing on a street corner in one of the capitals of Western Civilization. But I know I’ll be back one day. I know that one day, God will make a plan for me to return, be it a week or a decade and it will be the most magical, lesson-giving experience I will have ever experienced…since my last trip to Paris…