..how I met my neighbor (2/2)..

My neighbor..

I arrived in Paris on Wednesday, February 4^th. Plane landed at 8:43 AM and it took a little under an hour before I was walking out of the sliding glass doors and headed to a taxi..

It was a particularly stale, cloudy winter day. But in my eyes it was filled with glitzy excitement, after all it was my FIRST day in Paris!

I reached my apartment at about 11:00 AM. I met the guardian of the building. Then, climbing the stairs to my apartment in the 6^th floor proved to be an adventure. There is no elevator and lets just say I had half a year’s worth of luggage to carry!

Once I reached the top and got settled, I surveyed the place, which didn’t take long since it measures 20m²! I knew that if I wanted to beat the jet lag, I should just keep busy and stay awake. So, I started un-packing.

Soon I realized it didn’t take long to unpack 2.5 full-size suitcases plus a few smaller bags, and at about 5:00 PM I felt an unbeatable urge to nap! I wanted to reconcile my restlessness with sleep since I was not able to get any shuteye on the redeye flight.

I woke up at 8:00 PM with my stomach viciously growling because I had not had a proper meal for the past 12 hours! I decided to locate the nearest supermarket and get some basic groceries after taking some time to update my family back in the States. After I finished reliving the day with the family, I descended to the unfamiliar streets.

After retracing my steps backwards from the supermarket, I reached my building at about 9:10 PM with two bags of groceries. I was able to use the entry code and successfully opened the first door. This got me as far as the lobby. Next, I came to a second set of doors but much to my surprise, it was locked.

I reached in my purse and pulled out the key chain the guardian had turned over to me earlier. I had 1 skeleton key and it did not fit in the keyhole. Since I had no clue how to unlock the door, I was stuck.

Suddenly I realized I was alone in a city filled with strangers! I had no one to call and no idea where to go. I was stranded in the lobby for 35 minutes, which felt like a lifetime! By this point I was starving because due to my overwhelming indecision I had not settled on something to eat.

By 9:45ish PM, I resorted to praying that someone comes in or out of the building. I was really praying for a miracle! In my imagination, I had already pictured me spending my first night in Paris in the lobby of my new residence! For all I knew it was the middle of the week and people work and kids go to school and they had no business being out-and-about at that time of night on a weeknight.

My prayers were finally answered when at about 9:47ish PM this tall stranger guy comes out. It took less than a second before I could politely, yet desperately, ask: “Excuse me, how do I open the door..”

Much to my surprise his first response was: “You must be the new American. I told the guardian to let me know if you needed help with anything…”

As I think back to that first day I met my neighbor, I repeatedly thank God because he knew exactly the type of friend I needed while living in Paris. The type of friend who would..

My neighbor and I..
The royal goodbye party! 

..show me how to open the door, have dinner with me on my first night in Paris when I desperately needed company, get up early and walk me to work on my first day, teach me French, accompany me to the metro station over and over and over again, listen to me complain about… (you know), trust me to listen to your business ideas, help me decorate my place, fix stuff, let me borrow things, help me carry my groceries, watch TV with me, run up six flights of stair when I forget the tickets to the party.. thank you..