Timeline is almost down to the beginning!

   
   With three days to departure, everyday is full of “this is the last time I will see this place, or this person” moments. It is really a strange time for me, I feel so ready to leave (hello I have been thinking about this for over a year now!!) and incredibly eager; yet the excitement is interrupted with occasional breakdowns as each day is another good-bye.

   I really wish I could turn off all my emotions since there really is no reason to be sad! I am going to be in great hands and in a city that I already love for only ten months, yet I get upset about being without the people that I’ve been with for 15 years!! Logically thinking, it would make sense to be able to simply hug my family good-bye and hop on the plane, but emotionally thinking is…well another story! At least I have the AFS facebook page, and similar thoughts from other AFSers to let me know that I am not alone.

   Another part of departure is leaving friends, which for me has differed from person to person. 


   I want to warn any prospective exchange student that not everybody understands the attraction to spending a year abroad, and it can be really frustrating.
   I know it is hard to imagine someone not thinking AFS is an amazing opportunity, but some do not. I had to work really hard to convince my dad this was worthwhile and there are plenty of people who think like he did. Be it a friend of yours or of your parents, a staff member at school (some of my teachers, and counselor, definitely thought it was a bad idea), or a neighbor, I tend to politely express my view and note to avoid the topic with them again. (which can be hard since it’s on my mind 24/7!)

   On the same note, I also want to warn fellow exchange students that not everybody understands how you are feeling right now.
Pre-departure can definitely create a sort of tension in friendships; simply because AFS has such an impact on a participants life, and well, not so much on their friend’s life (other than taking you away from them!)


   This is kind of an awkward time for me because everyone here is about to go back to school and resume their normal schedule while I am about to start something totally new and different. I have to get used to the fact that everyone’s life here goes on and there will be a lot that I’ll miss out on.


   That being said, I am really lucky to have some of the most supportive friends whom I love. As some of you already know from previous posts, I went to French immersion elementary school and some of my best friends go way back to the years I spent there. They all speak French like me and have been really encouraging about AFS.
I am now going to take this space here to brag about the glorious gifts they got me as going away presents!

A beautiful passport holder, that just happens to be my favorite designer, Kate Spade.
(Thanks Michelle!)

A canadian bracelet that is a replica of the one my friends and I got during our french class's trip to Canada in 7th grade. I think this will help teachers and friends in France remember my name!
(Thanks Jackie!)

Pretty & yummy cup cakes made by Carolyn!
Thank you (:

   In other news, I SKYPED WITH MY HOST FAMILY! To be quite honest I was not to keen on the idea when my host mom first mentioned it. I wanted to preserve my first interaction with them for in France, not through a computer screen. But in the end, I have no regrets; it was really fun and was a great sneak peak into their lives. I talked to my host sisters about American things like Justin Bieber (we are not fans) and desperate housewives (we are all fans!), I talked to my host mom about the school and my schedule and I met my host dad in the kitchen where he was making tomato sauce, from their garden’s tomatoes, for the winter!

   
   I also want to point out that I am very lucky to be alive and with power and Internet right now, with Hurricane Irene that passed overhead just last night. Prior to her menacing appearance, there was definitely a lot of hype that she would be destructive and I have to admit, I did get nervous that the storm would interfere with flights (which it did, but AFS was so clever as to book our flight with a three day cushion from the storm). I hope it is not too soon to say that the hurricane’s effect on me is nothing but an exciting story to tell my host-family!


   I think that's all for now, three more days and I am off! Since I probably will not write until I am in New York or on the plane, I will let you know that all I have planned for the last 72 hours in the U.S is to eat lots of peanut butter (nothing new), laugh at my friends while they are in school tomorrow, and download a bunch of music for the plane ride!

10 Months In a Suitcase

   What began as an experiment to practice packing, became a whole day of picking and choosing and zipping up my closet, all into two relatively small suitcases. That’s right, I am all packed up and ready to go! …with two weeks to wait.


   Now if you’re a girl who takes as much pride in her clothes and materialistic belongings as I do, the 66-pound weight limit may seem like a HUGE burden and slightly impossible to work with. And that my friend is the purpose of this blog post: Sixty six pounds is actually plenty!!! If you do as I explain here that is.

   A few days back I went to SYMS (an over stock store a.k.a good place to find inexpensive luggage!) and found my new:

• 29”x 15” x 17” checked duffel bag suit case
• 22” x 13” x 9” hard shell carry on

   I set them in the corner of my room for later in the month and slowly accumulated a small pile of things that came to mind (i.e, a graphing calculator, 3 plug converters, a pencil case for school, and of course my passport!)

   In the meantime I was also on the search for presents for my host-family. The suitcase I got has a bunch of secret compartments and I found that if you lift up the main section, the bottom is the perfect place to pack their gifts!

Bags were in my house, I did not get them things from Lord & Tayler or Coach or Vera Bradley! haha
Also, the picture frame is of me and my friend, it's for me! haha

   Finally it was time to pick out clothes. As I made these heart-wrenching decisions I documented what I was packing in a notebook. 
Because Tournon-Sur-Rhone has all four climates, I made a page for both warm and cold weather clothes.
Because I am an organization freak I made a list for my carry-on and my purse.
And because I am a girl who likes stuff I also made a page for shoes, accessories and make-up.


   Now since it’s downright impressive how I managed to pack almost everything I wanted to, I think pictures will help you grasp the unthinkable.

I began the process by setting out all the clothes on my bed. In no time at all my closet was reduced to half of its quantity and to my distress, my bed looked like this.

   I called to my mom in a panic, there was simply no way this would all fit in my suit case, and no, the option of taking some things out, did not occur to me!  So we came up with two space saving tricks. 

1. I took out my two pairs of boots, the high heels, winter jacket and some scarves and put them in a box to be shipped! These are all things I won't need immediately and they took up A LOT of space. The price of shipping them outweighs the chance that my bag would be over 44 pounds (not to mention woud explode).
2. Air tight bags!! My clothes shrunk to less than half their size when I put them in these bags, saving so much space that I actually added more clothes to my bag!

   With those two works of magic, everything (and more!) was able to fit into my suit case and weighed in at only 30 (out of 44) pounds!!!

:D

   My next task was my carry on, but it was pretty basic: three outfits for orientation, pyjamas, and whatever clothes didn't fit in my checked bag! 

This weighs only 10 pounds!!! (It can be 22!)

   Up until now I haven't covered toiletries and cosmetics, but don't get me wrong, that is a huge part of packing! 

Personally, I am a huge fan of make-up but I know that part of being an exchange student is compromising,  so I will definitely be cutting back on the amount of make-up that I use, money that I spend on it and time that I spend fixing myself up.  I think that time would be better spent with my host family anyway! (:

I do have make-up packed, but the way I use it will definitely change! For the most part, it will be reserved for special occasions but I also think it could be fun for me and my host sister to give each other make-overs and have fun with it!! Can you say bonding time?!

This is the make-up I'm bringing. I will put some of it in the cosmetic bag (pictured) for my carry-on, to have access to it while in Paris!

I have three other bags for this trip:

1. A large foldable tote. I will pack it away in my suitcase and use it for short trips or sleepovers while I'm there. I also see myself using it on the trip home (and paying for an extra bag) to fit the clothes I get there. The one pictures below is a Le Sport Sac and is seriously SO big. I'm secretly thinking about putting my dog in it and bringing him with me!
2. The purse I will use for the plane trip. This is large enough for my laptop and just about everything else!
3. The purse I will use in France! This one is smaller and better for day outings, and will also be packed in my suitcase.

1. bottom left 2. bottom right 3. top

   That's about it for packing! Can you believe it? I cannot grasp the fact that I am already all packed up, it is so surreal. I had a lot of fun getting everything together, it makes me feel equipped and prepared! haha 

It was great to learn that the weight limit (which was previously fretted) is nothing to stress about. Honestly, I think space in my suitcase was a bigger issue! 

I hope this blog post (which I think we can agree, could pass for a documentary) helped you in some way, whether you are in the midst of packing yourself or are just wondering how much my wardrobe weighs! 

NYC first time around

This is just going to be a short and sweet update since nothing hugely significant has happened since my last post but I feel the need to keep this blog up to date with my ventures as well as my PDF (pre-departure feelings!)

   Since my last post I spent a week in New York City visiting my brother who recently moved up there. My mom and I stayed at his new apartment and had a great time, eating way too much delicious food but making up for it by walking miles a day.


   We went to the MOMA (museum of modern art) and saw original paintings of French artists (among others…but I of course mostly took note of the French ones!)This is one of Seurat’s, a Parisian, who unknowingly invented pixels. 
The French are ingenious.


Here I am spontaneously (just kidding, this is totally staged) reading the museums guide (en Français!)

We then coincidentally passed the French embassy on our way to central park. I am very proud of my two pictures in front of French Embassies; I deeply believe this constitutes a collection.




We also took the oh-so-touristy-Staten-island-ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty. (Obviously French!)
   
   And one morning, before it got too hot, my mom and I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. Pressured by a fellow AFSer, Kevin Schloff, I went on a very serious search for Almondine, a bakery with croissants that he claims to be “one of the best things I’ve ever tasted” well I’ll never know because that one morning there happened to be construction work blocking off the street of the bakery!!!
   In attempt to make up for my failed search I ate croissants at pretty much every bakery that I passed for the remainder of the week. And that, I believe, sums up the parts of my trip that I can relate to France!
   
   It was a really fun trip and I loved seeing my brother’s new life, so Graham-thank you for letting us stay with you and showing us around! I will attempt to do the same for you vicariously through pictures!


   Now that I am home and summer school is over, I have just a little over two weeks to enjoy myself before I go back to New York, but this time to board a plane to Paris!


  Two weeks is no time at all when you are counting down to a whole new chapter in your life and so one would expect that this would be a time of anxiety but for me it isn’t really. 
In fact, I am strangely calm. 
   I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of communication I’ve had with my host family. I have five post cards from them on my bulletin board, they’ve sent me two French books, and I have on going e-mail conversations with each one of them. By getting to know them so well prior to departure I’ve gotten a much better idea of what to expect in this totally new and unfamiliar life that I am about to jump into.
   That being said, I still cannot fathom ten months without my parents, brothers and dog. But with each comforting e-mail from my host family it seems a little more manageable.

Okay well along with this knowledge you are also now aware of my inability to compose a short and sweet blog post. Forgive me (: