Bon Anniversaire PlayingParisian.com!!!!!

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the day I landed in France (As I'm sure you remember, given the avid loyalty my readers have to the blog, I was delayed due to Hurricane Irene).

So here are my thoughts as I'm reflecting upon my 1 year here:

• I still get that "I can't believe I live here" feeling a lot and it never gets old. I get a little breathless when I walk through the Louvre and tuileries garden, I'm giddy when I see the eiffel tower sparkle, and I'm still amazed at how good the produce tastes. I hope it lasts and I have a feeling it will, as I could say the same thing about the skyline of NYC (which I could see out of my bedroom when I lived there and I woke up every morning thinking "WOW").
• Working in France still feels 'different'. The cultural differences are never more evident then when I am working, which probably has to do with communication as the basis of success in most jobs -- and even in English I'm not the best at it. It's challenging and thrilling at the same time and I still wake up every day ready to go to work. (except in July..in July I just wanted to be on vacation :)
• I'm still wearing scarves a lot, but it's funny that the second I step off the plane in North america they are no where to be seen. Apparently they are part of my Paris Persona and I'm okay with that.
• I feel like I'm finding my groove. I know which restaurants are hip, I don't always need to use google maps to find a metro, I velib like a pro, and I have a few friends (ok, maybe more than just a few :) And although that's a bit disrupted now that Andrew is in Fonty, I know that we're good at adjusting our footing and I'm ready to add 'living in the country' to my French resume of life.

After a year, I could definitely use a few more lessons in French (I was asked if I was Quebecois once...such a compliment!) and I still don't look like a Parisian, but in general, La vie est Belle a Paris. And I couldn't be more grateful.