I am at the Accent Center, which is where the Paris study abroad program for AU is run. Everyone on my program is pretty much clueless as to what is going on, but I assume that's normal...Tomorrow we have an orientation all day, where apparently we find out the family we are living with, our class schedule, etc. But for now, they have stuck us in a hotel/hostel/merde-hole, with the misleading name Hotel de France. You'd think the Hotel of France would be luxurious, non? Non.
The elevator, (which is really just a black box attached to a string) goes up to the third floor. I am on the fourth. Picture, if you will, carrying a three-foot-wide, 68.7 pound suitcase up a narrow spiral staircase with no air-conditioning. Lovely. But, I won't complain - I am in Paris! The city of light, love, and expensive beverages! I will keep you posted as I learn more.