Beginning

I arrived at 8:12 yesterday morning. The flight was OK, no screaming babies or boisterous snorers. Granted, I couldn’t sleep—I never really do on airplanes—thus persuading me to nap strangely throughout the day to the point of a somewhat sleepless night.
I experienced a rather delightful moment of serendipity on the plane involving the woman next to me. We got to talking and it turns out that she went to SUNY Buffalo a lifetime ago in hopes of getting a PhD in English, and never quite finished her dissertation. Long story short, she was in a feminist reading group with Jill Robbins and wanted to know if Jill was still with “that terribly passive aggressive boyfriend.” I told her I, of course, had no idea—Jill must remain a terribly elusive creature without a personal life in my world in order for her to maintain her dark mystique. (Jill Robbins, for those unfortunate readers who do not know her, is a comparative literature professor at Emory).
Somehow I awkwardly navigated my way through the airport with a whole lot of bulky luggage and got to the Latin Quarter around 10am. A very kind American neighbor of the Camus gave me my key and let me in. After a bit of wandering around the neighborhood aimlessly and a bit of napping I headed out the suburbs to meet up with Sarah, my future roommate, to go over forms for—wait for it—our apartment! I’m heading over to visit in a few hours. Our lease will start October 1st, which also happens to be the same day we start work. Busy, Busy! I returned to Paris in the evening, came back to the apartment and accidentally fell asleep again around 9:30pm. Curiously, there were a few lights on when I came back that I had no recollection of turning on--I decided not to think much of it. Then, around 11:30, I woke up and there were people in the apartment, which really freaked me out because Monsieur and Madame Camus weren’t due home until the 20th. I creeped out of bed, half-asleep, hair amess and found Monsieur Camus in the hallway. I didn’t really get the whole story in my half-conscious stupor, but it looks as though they came home earlier than expected…
After a rather restless night, I arose later than expected this morning and wandered around my beloved Latin Quarter this morning until I found the café from which I’m writing to you. In the jet-lagged confusion and gray weather of yesterday, I almost forgot how much I love this place. Thankfully, this morning’s sunshine and bustling streets have completely restored my love affair. That’s all for now, more to come in a few days.
All my love.