I see dead people! And some really pretty art.

So just a little warning before I get started: This post will be pretty long with lots of history and stuff. I'm the history geek so that's what I like to talk about. However, I do understand that many of you do not care quite as much about all this, so feel free to just skim here and there. But most of these stories are pretty interesting, so I would encourage you to try to get into it if you aren't a geek like me.

Arrival in Paris

 I have been in Paris now for 3 full days, and they've been fabulous! I guess I'll start with the host family and work from there. I'm living in a 2-parent home with 5 kids; 4 boys and 1 girl. They are between the ages of 14-22. The two oldest, the girl and boy #1 don't live in the house full time, but they come for dinner or something sometimes. But the family is also playing host to another young boy, about 12 or 13 who's living with them for the year so he can go to the private middle school (collège) that he wants to. This isn't that uncommon, as I understand it. So the apartment is HUGE for