Paris has been an adjustment. The feel of living here couldn’t be any more different than the feeling of just visiting.

There is some unique opportunity here that I am looking forward to. Creativity and design are playing increasingly more important roles in my life, and this city is an incredible playground. I saw Kandinsky at 11pm last Saturday during a late night exhibition at the Centre Pompidou. Earlier today, I sketched outside of Sacré Coeur until the sun went down. I look closely at clothes, architecture, and signs to pick apart the intentions of creators and to learn to discern quality. On Sunday, I tried on shirts at Loft Design By… in order to figure out just what could make a thin grey cotton shirt worth 70 euro. There are two screenings for a film festival that I want to catch later this week.

Some days, I just walk around my part of town, trying to get a feel for the shops and the people. A few nights ago I did this at midnight, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that a handful of restaurants were still open, and people were chatting under the street lights. I pointed a pair of American tourists to Moulin Rouge on my way home.

Other days, I aim for places. I dug through stuff posted online, and I found a Qigong group that was introducing beginners to the art in a park. Why not? It turned into a great evening after we decided to have a beer afterward. The group that ended up at the bar was great: the girls were French, Romanian, American and the guys were British, French, and Canadian (that was me). A memorable quote—“the second beer is all about the cheeks.”

I have noticed an odd loneliness to the metro: everyone is so used to cramming next to each other in the morning that they stop seeing one another.

This is my third major adjustment of context in a row. Two semesters ago, I was doing intense traveling as well as research at Georgia Tech Lorraine. The semester afterward, I studied engineering in French in the tiny town of Compiègne. I have learned some patterns that help in making the adjustment. I find that I have to avoid over planning and over commitment while simultaneously not being scared to just jump in and do things. Being familiar with the Buddhist concept of Beginner’s Mind makes moments of total confusion an opportunity instead of a burden. I feel pressure to get as much out of the city as possible, but I know that stamping it down is key to actually appreciating my time here. Even though the patterns are familiar, the process is never quite easy.

Bring it on.