Finally in Lyon

It's like a dream being here. I can't quite explain how weird it is for this experience to be a reality

Allison and I left Dublin relatively on time. My carry-on was just over the 10 kilo weight limit (22 lbs) so they had to check my bag. Fortunately, it was free! Thank you Aer Lingus! We left at 12:10 Irish time, as captain Tom Brady was saying, and the flight took two hours. It was so interesting hearing all the different languages over the intercom. Everything in English was followed by an Irish translation, but the flight attendants' accents were so thick, Allison and I had a hard time figuring out which language they were speaking. We met a very nice elderly Irish couple on the plane that insisted we visit Ireland. We saw them multiple times in the airport and kept having to say hello and goodbye.

Allison and I took the tram called the Rhônexpress to the center of Lyon. Everything was going great: Allison and I were one of the first to get our luggage, we got some cash, we bought our tram tickets, and then I tripped on one of my suitcases and fell flat on my face. In front of everybody. Well, I never said I was graceful.

I arrived at my host family's house without a problem. Fortunately there was an elevator in their building. I really wasn't feeling like carrying 70+ pounds of stuff up the stairs. Rabiâa is my host mother and she is wonderful. Olga is my Russian roommate for a few more nights. She is studying French here for the month of August. Art is also here for August. He is Canadian and studying theater. I am so grateful for them. I am constantly surrounded by French. I don't mind messing up in front of them because they are in the same situation as me, but I still have to speak French. I get so in the mindset that sometimes I accidently think of titles or sentences for the blog in French!

The most exciting part of the day was dinner. Rabiâa made fish and a pasta side and...salad. With dressing. One of the promises I made to myself was that I was going to try different kinds of food, even if I thought I didn't like it. So I had some salad. And you know what? It wasn't too bad. (Cue the angelic voices).The greens weren't bitter or too leafy, but nice and fresh. The dressing added an unexpected flavor,the key being it wasn't too vinegary. I still like the original flavor of food without any flavoring, but I didn't find myself only eating it to be polite.

I took a nap after dinner, being thoroughly exhausted. Eight hours of flying on four hours of sleep is pretty taxing for one person, then add layovers and different languages and it becomes a stew of incoherence. Olga came back into the room as I was asking up from my nap. At first I couldn't believe it. It really felt like I dreamt it all, like when she came back, it was me changing from one dream to the next and that I was going to wake up at home in my bed. But it was real. It is real. As soon as I was conscious enough to recognize that, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over me and my first thought was I want to go home. But I am here for the long haul and I think I will be just fine.