Salut! I can't believe it is almost May! As of today, I am officially unemployed, and we have entered the portion of my stay where I travel everywhere and become very poor! I finished teaching on Monday, which was a bit strange, but mostly anticlimactic. Mondays I don't really have my favorite classes, and at that point I thought I would be teaching on Tuesday. I then found out that most of my classes weren't happening for various reasons, so I just went home and that was it. I am planning to visit a few of my favorite classes in May to really say goodbye, and we still have a concert with my chorus at the end of the month. So I haven't really had to say goodbye quite yet! A few of the assistants are heading back to the US this week, though, so life here will be a bit different.
I have spent a lot of time travelling since my last update-- Pamela and I went to Cannes in southern France in February, and it was very warm, but not quite like summer yet. Mostly we just visited with her friend Elizabeth and walked along the beach. The next week we accompanied some students from my school to London, though we spent most of our time with the few teachers who went as well. I got to see Mike again for a crazy night in Brighton with his very international coworkers!
I also celebrated my 24th birthday with the assistants and my teacher-friend Aurelie, whose birthday is March 18th. Then it was off to Amsterdam two days later to meet up with Auntie Susan and my cousin Nick from California. We stayed with her friend Anthony who was very welcoming and has an amazing apartment. We spent some time sightseeing at the Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh museum, the Rijksmuseum, and seeing all the canals (and the Red Light district!). We also dined really well all week, and I don't think I've ever eaten so much good vegetarian food.
Lately I have been really trying to experience life in Lorraine. I've been to a bingo night in the middle of the countryside with the two Aurelie's, and a soccer game between Nancy and Paris with Brady and Sabine. I have been going to new areas of Nancy as well, whether for bowling or walking or drinking. To get to know French people better, I decided to look into doing a language exchange. I have been seeing a 24-year old riot cop, Marc, often and comparing the French and American outlook on a lot of things. This vacation he showed me the Vosges mountain range in southeast Lorraine, so I got to do some hiking and speak with his family as well. I hate that I finally feel that I'm making French friends and fitting in here and getting comfortable, and it is almost time to pack it up. Marc tells me there is a French expression that says travelling gives you an experience of both birth and death, and I think that couldn't be more true.
Now I am starting to focus more on my travel plans-- my family is coming to Paris tomorrow! We will be spending three days there, then two days in Nancy meeting everyone here, and then we're off to Germany to see the Mannheim area and Cologne. I am so excited, but I really can't believe that it is already May. Then I have just a few weeks to arrange things, and Kelly will arrive May 21st, and then we will travel for 7 weeks in June and July. I think it will be a nice transition between life here and back home, and give me some time to adjust. Well, I have to get to the grocery store before it closes-- we are having a Mexican dinner night at the apartment, and I will have to say goodbye to Pamela ce soir. I hope all is well with everyone at home. I look forward to seeing everyone and hearing your stories from the year. A bientot!
