Un Mois (1 month)

Now that it is officially less than a month until I leave, I thought I would post something about the last few weeks. I now have a student visa; got rejected once because, of the 25 documents and their copies we sent to LA, we missed one on the never ending list! (ugh, frustrated sigh, ... bureaucracy). Well now that that's over and done with I have everything I need,

1. Adapters
2. Cell phone info (I have decided to get a cheap on-the-go phone once I get there)
3. Skype (?)
4. Umbrella (not needed here in the desert)
5. Packing list (harder than you'd think, 10 months is a long time, but you can't bring too much)
6. a shiny gold debit card
7. and much, much more!

I've been looking for gifts for my host family I have most of them, I really just need one more, but I won't give any specifics here until I have given them out. It seems the closer Aug. 25 gets, the less real this all seems, crazy I know, maybe I've been watching too many twilight zone re-runs!?

LIBRE

I've at last finished my sophomore year at Prep, and can now focus all my attention on France, huzzah! Malheureusement (unfortunately), I still don't have a job because the restaurant I worked in last summer closed. I'll keep looking, never you fear.

A bientot,

e a la france (presque en france)

Map of France with Nord-Pas-de Calais highlighted

Contact

Today I sent my host family an email. I eagerly await their reply. I found the official tourism website of the town Marchiennes. The site is in French so for those of you who can understand click the first link, for all you folks who can't (I had had to translate for maximum comprehension) I've translated it so choose the second link.

ttfn

-e a la france

p.s. I found out its not in Normandy (my dad was wrong) it is in the region called Nord-Pas-de-Calais

http://www.ot-marchiennes.fr/ville/ville.html

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ot-marchiennes.fr%2Fville%2Fville.html&lp=fr_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

a photo of a street in Marchiennes (I didn't take these I found them, they're not mine)

The forest in Marchiennes

Accepted (with family and everything)

Victory!

Today was a momentous day in my abroad experience (and thus in my life): I was simultaneously accepted completely to the program and given a host family. This apparently never happens so quickly, but I guess I got lucky! I will be in a town called Marchiennes close to Lille in Normady. I am very excited! I leave for my Boston orientation August 27th.

more later ttfn

- E a la France (now officially)