Whoa, Summer Where are You Going?

I cannot believe that it is already July 19th! I promise I will get better at blogging once I get into France because I will acutally have things to blog about that will be more interesting than discussing power outages in my neighborhood. It is amazing how quickly this summer is going! I have been so busy with tutoring and babysitting that the weeks just seem to fly by. It boggles my mind that I am leaving for France at the end of next month!  I have not even started packing or preparing at all in that respect.

I went to the French Consulate to apply for my visa in order to live/study/have a year long vacation in France. It was fun going downtown with my Mom and being amongst the hustle and bustle. My appointment was early in the morning so we had to be there even earlier and it was really pretty seeing the sunshine reflect off of the buildings. I could very much get used to city life (which I will have to seeing as I will be in Paris!). But boy did my feet hurt afterwards! I decided to wear a new pair of shoes that I will be taking with me to France and let me just say that they need to be broken in or my feet will fall off in France! Anyways, being at the Consulate was fine because I had all of my paperwork (I even had copies of my copies, that was how prepared I was for this!).  Amazingly, a few days later I got my visa in the mail, so it is official I am going to be in France for a whole year!!

Anyways, last night I was laying on the couch watching some tv show with my Mom and I started talking about how nervous I am concerning going to France all by myself and that I just can't believe that it is actually happening!  I have been dreaming about going to Paris to study for so long that it almost seems surreal.  In my typical fashion I started worrying about everything and my Mom knew exactly how to brighten up my spirits.  She went to the huge bookshelves in our family room and pulled off this book that was gray and had an outline of France on the front cover.  Well, this was not just some travel book or history book about France this was my Mom's journal from when she studied in Paris for a year during her college years!  She started reading it to me and let me just say it was hilarious hearing her read her experiences in France.  I was laughing so hard I started to cry!  It made me realize that if my Mom could go to France and live to tell the tale then I can do it too.  Now don't get me wrong I am super excited about living in a city that I fell in love with those many years ago when my Mom and Dad showed me and my sister the wonders of Paris.  However, I think everyone gets a little nervous about the unknown especially when it is right around the corner. But for the time being I think my Mom and I will continue reading her journal and enjoying a good laugh before I have to say goodbye and board a plane.