"Experience" overload

I've come to realize that even in Paris, I need a sense of normalcy sometimes (I prefer "normality," but since Warren Harding made up the word back in the day, I'll just go with it).

It's Sunday, it's raining and just plain gross outside. Usually, I like to go exploring somewhere in Paris, most of the time by myself, just so I can feel like I'm really experiencing the city. Most Sundays I'll try to go to a museum or some other historical site in Paris, but today, I just need to chill out.

Back in Philly or D.C., I have no qualms about sleeping in on the weekends and spending the day inside to do work (a luxury that is typically not afforded to me in D.C. because of The Eagle, but once in a while comes around). But living in Paris makes me feel like I have to be going 100 percent of the time, always jumping around from place to place, operating on what I like to call "experience overload" because everything here is part of "The Experience" to me. Getting to class late because an RER derailed and those who crammed on the train that finally pulled in refused to get off even though they were blocking the doors? Part of The Experience. Not finding a taxi home at 3 a.m. on a Saturday night because a) they all have passengers already, b) there aren't enough taxis working in Paris and c) because they don't want to drive me all the way to the 20th arrondissement? Part of The Experience. Having men stare me down to the point where they're obviously undressing me with their eyes, some of them even trying to cop a feel on the metro? All part of The Experience.

Sometimes living for The Experience just tires me out. Every morning I wake up at 6:10 and am out the door by 7:15. Some days I'm not back at my host family's apartment until close to 6 p.m., later on other days. As much as I love living here and love seeing what the city has to offer, I do need to sleep sometimes. Only sometimes, though.

So right now, I'm getting a head start on my homework and enjoying the afternoon from my apartment since I slept through the entire morning. Even though I do wish I could go to a museum and absorb more of Paris today, I need to let tiny breaks now and then enter into The Experience.