deux mois.

"Even here, there is still so much more ahead of you." -Morgan Harper Nichols

Two months in Paris. Two months of adventures, baguettes, cheese, gardens, new friends, our charming neighborhood, attempting to learn French, navigating the Metro system, and becoming part of our ward. Two months including some stress, anxiety, homesickness, a bout of depression, trying too hard to fit in, loneliness, discomfort, fear, and learning and growing from all of the above. 

What did I expect from Paris? Pretty architecture, baguettes for days, lots of museums, maybe not super friendly people, a language barrier, a quirky ward, and fitting in with all the Parisian babes (hahaha).

My actual Paris experience? People. People, people, people. They're the best part of Paris. Take, for example, the kind cashier at the grocery store who handed me my receipt, looked me in the eyes, and said, "Bonne soirée" with so much sincerity that I could have cried right then (you get lonely working from home, okay?). Not to mention our fellow ward members who come from all walks of life from all over the world: Tahiti, Holland, Argentina, the Ivory Coast, China, just to name a few countries. 

To sum up what two months living in Paris has been like for me: all the quintessential Parisian things, plus a lot of growing pains, plus throngs of beautiful people that make this place the wonderful, flourishing, diverse home that it is.