Paris Noir Overture

Meocha Belle 6/5

Yesterday was great! Despite the fact that I didn't really sleep on the plane and was out until 10 at night, my first day in Paris was wonderful! From start to finish I was astounded by everything I observed.
Beginning in the taxi ride to the hotel, I took note of the fast pace driving, billboard advertisements and overall scenic route of the city from Charles DeGaulle Airport to the Citadines Hotel where I'll be staying during my time here. Luckily, my taxi driver knew the vicinity of where the hotel was on Place d'Italie because the address was inside of my dead phone.
After a few minutes inside of the Citadines, I noticed another American who looked like a student and approached him to inquire if he too was here for Paris Noir. He in fact was and after storing our luggage, we decided to walk around the neighborhood and grab some tea and coffee. We had hours until check-in time, so we explored Place d'Italie and got to know each other a bit. I then found that we were both from New Jersey and that he-Mike-was from Amherst College.
We stayed at an internet cafe for a while then went back to the hotel for the our debriefing with Professor Mayes. The schedule was given out and expectations made clear, past program experiences shared and personal introductions of the 2010 Paris Noir students and TA were made. Since many of my fellow students had not yet arrived, this did not take too long.
After meeting everyone, we were told that we were having lunch at the Botequim Restaurant and had to find our way there as a group with no directions, just a map. Although we were caught off guard, we got on the bus and soon found the restaurant with little problems. After traveling so long, I had worked up a great appetite and was ready to eat good at that point. Professor Mayes claimed the restaurant was good and she was absolutely right! Even though I am a picky eater, I decided that I would try everything and am glad I did! I had beef and rice with a new spice, all made in a way I had never had before yet it tasted like something my grandmother would make. We each talked about our food selection and listened to one another's relish.
We also talked about how our flight were. Thankfully my travel experience was smooth, especially compared to the stories I heard from everyone else. It also turns out that myself, Jasmine, Alana, and Mike were all on the same flight from Newark and didn't even realize it.
Once we finished our full course meal, we headed back to the hotel for another meeting where we got to meet Patricia LaPlant. She spoke of her experience as a black in Paris by way of Atlanta and explained her salon's that she throws for the community. After questions and comments, a group of us took the Metro to go see Common perform at the Amphitheater in Stalingrad. There were so many people there, and of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds enjoying Common's performance. It was awesome! Although we got there towards the end, we felt the energy and it made me excited to see what was to come for the rest of my stay in Paris!

~Paris Noir 2010