The City of Lights

I have finally arrived in Paris to spend what will hopefully be the best semester of my life. This trip is something that I have been looking forward to since high school and I honestly still can't believe I'm here.
   
L'arrondissement 
I'm living in the Bastille neighborhood of Paris and I absolutely love it. This is the view outside my window. There are apartments like this all up and down Avenue Daumesnil, the street I live on.

 
The actual Bastille is not a far walk from where I live. It's a very important historical landmark-- it was stormed by the French as a protest and that day is now their independence day.

Bastille from across the street at night.

La langue
I have been trying very hard to speak as much French as possible. I think most people here speak at least a little English, or at least enough to be able to communicate with someone who doesn't speak a lot of French. I haven't had too many problems with it and most of the Parisians I've encountered have understood what I was trying to say. This makes me very happy because it means that 7 years of French have paid off!