The part I love the most about being in charge of this part of the blog is how open-ended the category is. “Paris Underground” will have some very obvious features – the metro, the underground “Crypte” museum – but underground can also mean a fascinating movement exploring new forms of lifestyle and art. 

            I was actually considering finding some way to write a “Paris Underground” blog entry when we were on the plane, because I thought the irony would be fabulous. Yet, there is little underground Parisian culture noticeable on any American plane, which I realized when the safety video showed at the beginning of the flight featured words in English only, spoken by a man with one of the thickest, Southern drawls I’ve ever heard.  Plus, I was too excited to really focus on anything, and all I really wanted to do was stare out of the window at the stars, pressing my nose onto the glass like a dog trapped in a hot parking lot in the middle of summer.

            But I digress!

            My pictures are kind of all over the place, so I’ll be posting a lot more once I get those figured out. In the meantime, though I just wanted to introduce this section. I also kind of wanted to mention two of the things I see and enjoy here. I don’t know if it counts as “underground culture,” but it’s definitely culture. Time seems to slow down here – though it’s still a bustling city, people take their time. It’s been so nice to spend hours eating meals, just getting to know everyone in our group. Also, I’m noticing a sort of flowing rhythm to the French language. I’m still kind of pitiful when it comes to speaking and understanding, but I’m definitely getting better. Eventually – hopefully – I’ll get to the point where people here don’t mercifully switch back to English for me after I attempt to order petit déjeuner (breakfast).

Oh yeah, and a random picture of a metro stop - the only one I can seem to find right now.

 More to come!