This break is getting to be quite long. Life has been moving slow since I went to the French Consulate in Chicago to get my visa. It came back to me in the mail, a sticker in my passport, within a week which was very exciting. I was nervous that I was cutting it close turning in all my materials so late. But it's all good now. Now I am just working on collecting everything I want to take with me. It is recommended that I only take one to two weeks worth of clothing, which is absolutely blowing my mind. Although I have heard that, while American women look at an outfit and think, "I can't wear that again, I wore it four, five days ago!" French women look in their closet and think, "Wow, that outfit looked great a few days ago, I should wear it again!" So I am thinking that I won't feel too out of place! Also, I am sure to buy a lot of new clothes while I am there, being in the fashion capital of the world and all.
I have been in contact with my French hostess and she seems very nice. She is an older woman who lives alone but has family near by. She has clearly done this for a number of years, so I am pretty confident that my living arrangements will be quite comfortable. Also, I am almost sure to be living with other students in the same household, so that will be exciting and comforting as well.
I leave February 4th and have been getting nervous as of late. I know I will be that person to get extremely homesick, so hopefully it comes and goes quickly. I am very close with my family and friends so it will be a real challenge to be away for such an extended amount of time. I am also nervous about the placement test. All incoming students have to take a French placement test so CIDEF knows what classes in which to place us. I struggled a little last semester with all the new material we were thrown into and I will probably be more than a little rusty after two months of no French classes whatsoever. And the fact that I will be expected to speak French and only French pretty much 24/7 is quite daunting in its own right.
With all my worries, however, I am still extremely excited to go because I know that I will gain more insight and experience than I can even imagine right now. This is certainly the chance of a lifetime! I will probably write again just before I head out, so make sure to check up on me every now and then! I greatly appreciate your audience as I begin this new and exciting chapter in my life and I welcome any comments and questions you may have.
À bientôt mes amis!
