Bon voyage... ou pas?

Bonjour tout le monde!

I am finally here in Apt, after what ended up being 24 hours of travel instead of the expected 21. And with internet connection now, after today (yay!). So let me tell you all a little about my trip.

You can recall from my last post that it was supposed to be an 18 hour trip. Well I forget about the 3 hour drive to Chicago, which went really well. Got to have a last lunch with my parents and then with two tearful goodbyes, I was off to France! I say two because my dad was also flying out that day and we just happened to take off from the same terminal, we got to go through security and everything together! He even took my first official picture of my travels:

At my gate!

The flight to Paris went pretty smooth (and no, I DID NOT take any Xanax and was fine). I sat next to a very nice woman who is a new empty-nester, so she decided to go to France with some high school friends to kick the blues. Pretty awesome lady! Plus the one time I woke up in the middle of the flight due to a lot of turbulence*, I looked at her for reassurance (read: I probably had my eyeballs bulging out of my skull) and she told me it would be alright and it's just a bumpy ride. What a mother at heart! We arrived in Paris early, got my official stamp in my passport, my bag was the first one I saw when arriving at baggage claim and after asking for help I found the train station and had 2 hours to kill. All was going great.

I learned one thing about the TGV station in the Charles de Gaulle airport, they don't post what platform your train will be on until 15 minutes before departure. As I had ridden the TGV before in Aix and this had not been the case there, I was confused by this but simply waited by the board of times until it was posted a half hour before departure. Also posted with my gate number, a note that the train was running 10 minutes late. This worried me, as I had only 20 minutes originally to find and catch my bus to Apt, and now that time was shaved off by 10 minutes. Either way, I stayed positive. The train ended up arriving 20 minutes late. So now, I just was hoping to arrive into Avignon TGV in time so I could run to find the (hopefully easily marked) bus. I ended up sitting by a young British woman who was very accommodating. We chatted a little bit about the assistantship and told me a little about the station we were going into, so I knew how to make a quick getaway. Rolling in at 3pm (or as they say here 15h) on the dot, which by the way was the exact time my bus was scheduled to leave, I was the first out of the train running with A. my 60 lb suitcase B. my 40 lb carry on and C. my 10 lb crossbody messenger bag. Needless to say, I tripped over my bags several times, running around like a mad woman, and I finally had arrived in Mediterranean climate wearing dark jeans, a dark sweater and scarf. I was sweating buckets.

As I was running out in front of the station, I saw my bus pull away - I tried to get the driver's attention, but he did not stop. And so begins me freaking out in a foreign country.** After asking where the bus would be if it was there (though I knew it had just left), I referred to the schedule making sure it was the same as the printed one I had with me. It was: it showed there wasn't another bus for 2 hours. Now, if I wasn't going to be greeted by my teacher and expected by the secretary at a certain time, I wouldn't have freaked out. But I was supposed to be at my school at 4:30pm (and if something came up, that it was fine - I just needed to get there by 7pm otherwise I couldn't stay there). The bus I would have to take was scheduled to get into Apt at 6:45. It was gonna be a close one.

This is all fine, but again if I had problems getting there by 4:30, I was supposed to call and let them know. Except, I didn't have a working phone on me - we had turned off my service on my cell so I wouldn't get international charges. And there was not a pay phone in sight. Again, after asking, I found out I could buy a pre-paid card to use the one pay phone at the TGV station. Easily enough, I purchased the card and used it to call the one contact I had, my coordinating teacher Mme Richardot. It was my first time speaking with her, and although I was upset, I had little trouble explaining my situation and asked if it would be alright if I arrived this late. She said she would personally meet me at the bus and take me to the school in her car. What a relief!

So then I began to wait outside for a few hours and took a few shots while sitting...

Gare routiere at Avignon TGV

It was beautiful weather to just sit and wait for a few hours!

Also, I had a nice young french man come up and ask me if I was going to Apt as well and clarified the time it was leaving as well. Actually, from Paris all the way to Apt, I had several French people come up to me asking things, either about the train, for a lighter, or about how to get to certain places... in FRENCH. AND I could understand them and respond. Maybe I don't look so American after all....

The bus arrived at the station early and left a little early, so I was happy again, besides being dreadfully tired. The drive was BEAUTIFUL, I will have to go again and explore all the little towns on the way, as it is a really cheap bus. I didn't get any pictures during the bus ride as I was so tired I was just concerned with keeping my eyes open, and the screaming teenagers at the back of the bus helped with that too.

Happy girl 'cause I was on the bus finally (Note: I had been awake for 25 hours at this point, with an hour or two of airplane sleep)

I finally arrived in Apt at 6:45pm, officially 25 hours of travel later. Catherine met me at the bus as promised and even helped my bags into her car and she drove me to the school. So nice after such a long journey! She was speaking so rapidly it was kind of hard for me to keep up, with being so exhausted too, so she would help by adding English every so often. We met up with one of the women at the gate and did inventory of the apartment. I live in a third floor walk up, hello calves! It has three bedrooms, each with a personal sink and beday***. There is a common and dining room, filled with things past assistants have left - books, dvds, lessons, maps, etc. This has been such a big help getting situated here in this town (merci)!! Also, a very small bathroom to share, how european! I will post pictures of it all in my next post so you can see!

After all of this, they showed me how to take meals at the cantine, or the school self-serve cafeteria. Catherine asked me several times if this is really what I want - I was so tired I was just appreciative of whatever I could have. They said their goodbyes and I unpacked all my belongings, even though I was ready to pass out from being tired. First night in, I slept for 12 hours. It was a good night.

I could write more about how my first two days in town went... but this post is already long enough. Will update again soon, with pictures of my town and room!

*Probably the biggest exaggeration of this blog to date.

**Becca's freak out in a foreign country: picture me, malnourished and incredibly sleep deprived, after running and falling over my bags, just standing in the center of the bus station and crying. Got that? Ok good.

***No, I don't plan on using it, though I have heard that it is good for washing delicate clothes.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye....

So here we are: last day in the U.S.A. until about June of next year.* I never thought this day would come; I have spent so long waiting for this grand adventure to begin and now that it is here, I feel like that I haven't had enough time to prepare. I always tend to get a tad nervous before traveling, especially when flying as I do have a bit of flight anxiety**, so these past few days have been stressful to say the least. But I know it will be all worth it once I am there and settled in.

I have been "packing" for weeks. My definition of packing: sorting through all my junk into piles, whittling those piles down with copious edits, doing numerous test packs with weighing my bag, writing down what items I still need, etc. After 3 test packs, countless edits, and several hours of planning and strategy, I have fit all of my necessary belongings in 1 checked bag, 1 carry on and 1 over-sized purse. Now, I am planning on paying overweight charges for my bag (as when I did the final weigh in, it clocked in at 60 lb for my checked bag) but this is a much better deal than paying for another checked bag with the airline I am taking.

9 months worth of stuff (not pictured but also packed: black pea coat, set of bed sheets)

My carry-on and suitcase pre-packing. And look at the shoes: REALLY had to consolidate here.

Mostly, I brought a lot of basics that I can layer once it starts getting colder. I am lucky that I will be living in the south, where I have heard it doesn't get too cold during the winter season. Some of the more odd items that I packed: 1 roll of toilet paper, a set of bed sheets, 2 cell phones, copies of a couple one act drama pieces and maps of MI and the U.S.*** To explain the toilet paper, I will be getting into my town later in the day so I won't really have a chance to go out and get any once I arrive (and the secretary of the school included a reminder in an email that they don't provide this for the rooms, merci beaucoup!)

So I guess this is au revoir for right now until I get overseas! I leave tomorrow from Chicago at 6pm and won't arrive in my new home of Apt until 4:30pm the following day (if you are not keeping track with the math: that means I will be traveling for about 18 HOURS). Although I will be using this as often as I can to share my experiences with all of you, I know that I don't have internet/wifi immediately when I get there. Once I have it, you will be greeted with many stories and pictures!

I hate goodbyes (not taking into account the title of this post), so to everyone reading this from the U.S., I am going to say à bientôt : see you soon! To France, I am going to say allons-y: let's go!

*I say June.. but it will probably be more like the end of May, haven't bought my return ticket home yet.

**This may be the biggest understatement in this blog. 

***I am bringing these items to use in the classroom, one of my coordinating teachers has told me that I will be able to help out with a theatre club while I am there. Putting my performing knowledge to use!

I'll miss you most of all, when autumn leaves start to fall....

Reflecting on my last few weeks here in the U.S., I have been thinking about how many things I am going to miss about this country. Again, I am so excited to spend this year abroad, but everyone always misses home, right? So here's my list of things that I am anticipating missing from my homeland:

1. Family and friends. I think this really goes without explaining but living an ocean away from all the people closest to me is going to be really difficult.

2. Color Guard. It's hard to think that an activity that I have performed and instructed in for the past 10 years does not exist in the country I am moving to. I will miss it dearly as well as all my best friends in the activity, my Interplay family, and all of the students I instruct. It's gonna be weird to not be around for the fall or winter season.

IP love. <3

Will miss the students at Hudsonville (above) and Portage Northern (below). Enjoy every moment performing this year!

It's hard enough being an age-out, will miss performing in this activity as well as being able to easily watch it.

3. Driving in my car. With all the instructing and out of town friends I have, I am used to doing a lot of driving. I actually really love it - the freedom of driving down an open road. Going to really miss that liberating feeling.

4. Working a 40 hour work week. Yeah, you heard it - I really think I am going to miss that. I am the type of person who genuinely likes being busy. I feel like I am going to have to try to not be bored with the 12 hour work week that I will have in France.

5. Fall in Michigan. I am so happy that I am living in the South of France, with it's warm climate and beautiful sunny days by the coast. But autumn in the mitten is my favorite season of the year, and I already know that I will miss the beautiful colors of the foliage and brisk afternoons walks at home.

Pure Michigan.

Looks exactly like my drive home. Who wouldn't love to drive down this everyday?

And who can forget about my love of corn mazes!

Love the apple orchards in the mitten, a fall tradition!

6. Peanut Butter. Kind of in love this stuff, and it is definitely not the same overseas.

My american guilty pleasure.

7. Holidays at home. Especially my favorite, Thanksgiving, which doesn't exist in France. And get this, pumpkins are really hard to find! Looks like no pumpkin pie this year.

Anyone want to send this in a care package?

8. Baking. I don't have an oven in my apartment, which means that I can't practice my favorite stressed-out pastime of baking goodies.

Deserved a re-post.

9. Being able to turn on the TV or radio and easily understand every word.

10. Easily getting things whenever I want them. There are no 24 hour stores in France and most things are closed on Sunday.

A little bit of Michigan 24-hour accessibility.

11. Country Music. Summertime, beer, tractors and trucks all sung with a twang. I know it's pathetic, but it sings to my soul! 

12. Lake Michigan. Although I will be 2-3 hours away from the Mediterranean coast, I am going to miss the easy drive to South Haven, my freshwater paradise.

Just a typical evening at Lake Michigan.

And the beautiful Michigan sunsets over the lake, gonna miss that too!

I'm sure I could go on with things that I will miss, but that is not the point of this experience. I am going to France to be thrown out of my comfort zone and to learn to thrive within this new world, to grow as a person and find new things to become accustomed to. Still, I thought I would show just a few aspects of home that I will surely be missing while I'm gone.

10 jours and then I will be gone for 9 months. Time is passing very quickly...

'merica, I won't miss you

Land of the free, home of the brave, God bless the USA! 

Really though, there is a reason I decided to leave the country for a year.* I love this nation that I am a part of but sometimes, she can really got on my nerves. Reflecting on my pet peeves of the red, white, and blue makes France look better and better each day - here's a list of things I WON'T miss during my year away from the States.

1. Walmart. Besides finding things for ridiculously low prices, this place purely just screams consumerism to me. I am glad to be rid of the temptation of going here for a year.

Look at that maniacal face. Sucks the soul out of you every time.

2. McDonalds. And Burger King. And really just all fast food. Having fresh produce and bread available every day is going to be amazing!

A typical golden arches meal (especially after Interplay rehearsal)

3. Snow. Except for that one-honeymoon-period-occurance of snow that can only happen on christmas eve, I will be happy to be rid of that white, fluffy, wet stuff for a year.

Good riddance.

4. Reality TV. With the obvious exception of the Bachelor, which I will be watching on Project Free TV for sure.

Yeah, not missing much here.

I will accept my rose overseas, Juan Pablo!

5. Paying (or caring about) the ever-changing gas prices. Although I love driving, it is going to be nice to not think about gas and "How many cents did it go up?" each day. Yay for awesome public transportation!**

My thought when passing by gas stations everyday.

Ok so there aren't that many annoyances on this list. I think I forgot a lot of them, probably blocked them out of my mind as they are happening. Really, I am going to miss very many things being away from home (stay tuned for another post).

'merica and all your nuisances, goodbye for now!

*Besides the fact that I am an insufferable francophile.

**And walking. Lots of walking

Done and (not yet) Done

It's been awhile. With teaching band camps and enjoying as much 'merica as I can this summer, I have neglected this little memento in the process. Even with all this going on, progress towards the big move is being made, though I still have so much to do. The anxiety is starting to set in, and gravity of how many things I have to get done is a tad overwhelming.

So to show what I have done (read: to make myself feel better), I am going to make a list of the things I have done in preparation for ma vie francaise.

1. Made a trip to the French Consulate in Chicago and got my long stay visa.

2. Booked my flight to Paris. I officially leave the states Sept. 17

3. Got a copy of my birth certificate, got an apostille for it, got a professional translation done AND got it certified by the consulate. *phew*

4. Made travel plans to see my brother and sister-in-law in Switzerland in Sept, and made tentative plans for Marissa and my european adventure after my contract is done in April (including Paris, Croatia, and a whole lot of Spain) and tentative plans to see a concert in Paris with Katie in November. (PS: I am SO excited for all of these trips!!)

5. Contacted my school about my arrival date and hopefully that I will be able to get into my apartment that day. I am so fortunate to have an apartment already waiting for me, just hoping I can get in it right away!

6. Got a new debit card (since mine was going to expire in December) and let my bank and credit companies know about my foreign travel.

7. Made contact with my future roommate. So happy to have someone to live with during my year in France!

And many others that I can't seem to remember right now. I should feel good about that list.... however, the to-do list is almost twice as long and includes:

1. Buy train ticket from Paris to Avignon on day of arrival.

2. Figure out what to do with cell service/phone during trip abroad.

3. Buy camera, iPod, maybe new luggage, and anything big I will need for my stay.

4. Update computer/backup everything.

5. Find out if there is a way to make all of the copies I need to make for the French government. They will only accept copies in a specific format of paper, called A4. As far as I know, this size of paper does not exist in the States, but I still have to do my research.

6. Eye appt, doctor appt, hair appt, etc. You know, since I will be out of the country all year, need to have every appt imaginable before going.

7. Shop for any other international needs I may have.

8. Spend as much time as I can with friends and family, I am going to miss them so much!

9. PACK. And figure out exactly what to pack......

10. Reread every piece of documentation I have so I feel prepared for this incredibly huge life change and will not freak out completely and entirely on Sept. 17.

Due to my forgetful nature, I'm sure that's not everything but that's all I can think of right now. So clearly my stress level has reached a boiling point. I am very excited to go spend a year in a foreign country, soaking up every bit of francais that I can, but the planning and preparation piece is quite time consuming. It will be all worth it when I get to walk down the narrow lanes of Apt, full of sunshine and the fresh smell of baguettes nearby. Counting down the days to La France: 23. Let's hope I get everything done before then.