My First Day in Paris

Hello again, I hope you are all ready to start reading about all of my adventures, this post will focus on my travesty from the day I left and the day I arrived. And I am three weeks behind on posts, so maybe I will write more to catch up.

The day I left NYC everything was normal, even the last minute packing, up until we got to the airport and it was getting close to the time to board the plane. The flight before my flight was changed from gates around 3-4 times, and my friend and I thought that the passengers must have been extremely upset because of that. Moments later it was our turn because the gate where we were supposed to board from "wasn't" ready, then we move to another gate, and that one was switched to another flight, long story short, we switched a third time (our flight was already delayed by 20 mins.) and we were just waiting until they were "ready" to board. 

We finally start boarding after 40 mins. and our surprise when we get on the plane is that there was no air conditioning, therefore it felt like 90 degrees on the plane ("due to a problem with something I cannot remember"). After we are on the plane, sit, and try to accommodate with the heat it took us 40 more minutes to actually depart the airport. 

The flight was fine I did not complain about anything else, but the fact that we left 80 minutes after we were supposed, however, we did not arrive that late (apparently there was no air traffic). When we landed in Paris I felt that where to go was not properly labeled, but after squinting a bit I was able to find Immigration (which was fast). When we get our luggage  we were supposed to have a SuperShuttle notification to confirm we have landed, so my friend got the confirmation and I didn't. SuperShuttle arrives and he has my friend's confirmation, but he doesn't have me on the list. In the best French I could I communicated with the driver and he gently lend me his phone and I called the company, for some reason I was not able to get through and he had to leave. So I went inside to the information desk and asked them for help (yes, in French) , the lady didn't let me finish what I was saying and she sent me to the Tourisme Information Desk (it was 3 gates down). I spoke to the guy and he told me to call them through their public phone and told me how to dial. When I finally get the company, they tell me that they will send the driver to pick me up. When the driver arrives, guess who it was? Yes, the driver that picked up my friend, and my friend was laughing in the front seat. 

When the guy drops me off at my destination, the office tells me that I have to run to my Dorm because their office was closing soon so I could get my key, and for me to come back during the week to sign all the paperwork. When I go to the lobby, I ask the guy at the help desk how to order a taxi (also in french), since I didn't know that in Paris there were Taxi stops on the street (only been to Europe once and it was Greece). So the guy points at an absolute different direction because I didn't see the taxi spot (I was dealing with three luggages); I asked a lady on the street and she points at the taxi stop, which was across the street from where I was. So here I go with my luggages to the taxi stop (it was an odyssey and a half). I get to my dorm and get my key and get settled in my apartment (which to my surprise I was living by myself, instead of with a roommate)

So after I was settled in my apartment and feeling down because it was too quiet, I decided to go to my friend's apartment (I don't know how to take the train and my phone wasn't working). I did the route on Google Maps and knew how to get there by train, but for some reason the card wasn't working in the  ticket machine, so I decide to walk. I was walking and walking and walking, and did not know where I was going. So after like 30 min. and a girl walking away from me because she didn't understand me, I found this newsstand and I asked the owner how to get to that address, he kindly told me how to get there and I was able to get my train tickets and get to my friend's house.

So for a first day in Paris, I spoke a lot of French and dealt with not knowing where I was and how some French things worked.

Ps: My apartment was EMPTY, thanks to IKEA and other stores to stock my kitchen with supplies.