Always with the anglais

I went to sleep furious with myself last night.

I slipped and fell in the street yesterday. And while I was fine, my camera was not. I had it (in its protective case, thank you) in my purse, and it plummeted with me--nose down--to the cobblestones below. I immediately turned it on and off, and everything seemed fine. But when I got it home and had a real chance to survey the scene, I found the lens had crunched up, and that the whole thing is now completely smoosh-jammed.

Major stomach punch. Major.

I am officially trying to embrace this attitude: I didn't get hurt and a camera lens can be replaced! This was not something I did on purpose and it can happen to anyone, anywhere! (Because it certainly keeps happening to ME, everywhere.) But here is my actual attitude: Oh god oh god oh god, does this mean I have to "parlez-vous anglais?" my way through a French camera store??

Since Nichole left Paris a couple days ago, I am now fending for myself. And although this is the part of traveling I like--seeing myself take on a new challenge in an unfamiliar place--I'm noticing that I'm delaying a few items on my to-do list simply due to my lack of decent French skills. (Getting a SIM card for my cell phone...printing out and mailing some documents at the post office...that sort of stuff.)

I'll get those things done--I always do--but after losing the lens last night, I blew my top. Granted, jet lag is a contributor and I'm mad that I now need to shell out extra money. But, more than that, I was stupid-angry at myself for not knowing French--a language I never learned in school (I'm the Spanish sort) and one that only crept into my mouth when I started studying it six weeks ago after we decided to come to Paris.

Obviously, it's ridiculous to feel this way. Just like tripping in the street, it's not something I have complete control over at this very moment. But I do know it's something that will get better once I start making the effort.

So I am heading to a nearby cell phone shop this afternoon to parlez-vous and s'il vous-plait my way into a SIM card. Because I can't properly communicate with my friends here in Paris without it. And lord knows I need to make a call to somebody ASAP who can tell me not only where to find a good camera shop, but also teach me how to best translate the term "smoosh-jammed."

Hello, and now I'm living in Paris.

A few days ago, I moved to Paris. It's a temporary move -- just three months long -- but I have grand plans for my time here. I can't quite go into the "whys" just yet, but it has to do with writing projects and exploring the city and finding ways to make things happen. I'm sharing an apartment with Nichole Robertson of Obvious State and I am currently caught in a whirlwind of map-reading, idea-creating, language-interpreting, and butter-spreading.

Nothing could be better. Nothing at all.

I'll have lots of things to tell you about soon, but I wanted to share a few photos I took on my first walk around the neighborhood without Nichole as my guide. Truthfully, I got a little lost. But I'm finding that getting lost might be the best way to figure out where I really am.

Countdown on the Menu Board

Oh good heavens, I can't wait to share news with you about what I'm currently working on. More to come, but let's just say that my new most-used iPad app is Duolingo.

!!!