La France est SI belle!

First off, even my most wild imaginings could not have come close to the beauty and adventure and yes, amazingly delicious food of France! I have neglected to write recently I know, but it is quite hard to sit down at a computer when your whole world is different, exciting, and new!

First off, I had a lovely good bye party the 26th before my departure, and I'll miss all my Americans a TON. They make my days and I know we shall keep in touch! The next days held a sufficient amount of traveling( just about 20 hours to be exact!) but it was all well worth it. I've even recovered my lost suitcase now ;)

The village we live in, St, Sulpice, which is quite close to Muret and Toulouse, is absolutely gorgeous. Our house is 800  years old and reminds me so much of some old forgotten time. The whole town is like that too; approachable, scenic, and in short, perfectly lovely. The night of my arrival I was greeted with all the kindness one could imagine. A spacious and sweetly furnished room with 2 clocks(one with French time and one with American time), open arms and les bisous!, and of course, a meal fit for even the most important person(and much too grand for me!) We started with a scrumptious aperitif of fresh garden tomatoes, then we had duck and potatoes, all types of cheeses, mousse and macaroons for desert, and a delectable french coffee served in a dainty porcelain cup.

I could not imagine a better family! Their kindness, sense of humor, and readiness to help me learn the language is amazing. I haven't been speaking much of any English lately, which I'm quite glad about!

Further, today I went to my school for my books and I was told that I may be in track L! This means that I would study mainly literature in school, which would be a dream come true (: Mais pour maintenant, on attend!

I'll write more soon...but for now...

a la prochaine!
bisous :)

Procrastination Station: Closed

And I say, gone are my whimsical ways.

Okay fine, that is definitely not likely. However, I have succeeded in a great feat. For, unless my perception of time is significantly askew, today is not the night before I begin trekking the globe. It is in fact, ONE WEEK (give or take a day ;) before my voyage. And....and....I am packed!!! (crazy I know!) Packed in your dreams? you may ask. Partially packed? Almost packed but actually totally not? NO! I am so thoroughly packed that I have proceeded to weigh my bag some odd 5 times on my wii fit balance board. That takes some intense dedication if you didn't know. I will not, be the person I have been so many times before, who is in a miserable heap on the airport floor rifling through their suitcase and at the mercy of the "nice" check in lady who utters the unspeakable: overweight baggage.

And if you don't believe me...

 

 For some reason the silly picture wouldn't rotate even after I edited it! But there you have it, one suitcase and one carry on ready for action :)

Further, on my oh so riveting life, I met Lexington's most famous man today. No joke. The Henry Earl. Arrested 1333 times, more than anyone ever. I know, it's pretty fly. Plus, it was even better because I just so happened to be with two of my lovelies, Caroline and Aaron, sipping coffee, attempting to share cake, and dancing animatedly in the rain (aaron excluded in this endeavor). I will miss them both an extremelyclosetoseriouslyunfathomable amount. But hey, that means we have more adventures to share in the long run.

That would be Caro and me soaking up the drizzle. :) cheers to Aaron-the photographer. ;)

One more thing, I even have my very Rotary inspired traveling outfit ready for take-off. I'm hoping it actually helps me find some fellow rotarians :) 

Can't wait until it's covered in worldly "je ne sais quoi"! I'll just let it have a mind of its own.

A bientot...j'espere (:

Sunshine and Goodbyes

So, yesterday I forgot to post...and thus, I'll attempt to make up for it now. :) 

Yesterday I had quite the day with my sister snatched at birth ;) The lovely, Anna Katori Smith-Sargent!

 

Yes...I am quite aware that we look absolutely ridiculous. That's the way we like it! Anna helped me shop for some host family gifts, (delicious kentuckian bourbon truffles!) and then we proceeded to walk some odd 5 miles up to the woodland art fair and back. Might I add it was not at all a relief to "be back"  as we were not home for ten minutes before we had a lovely night of babysitting. Ah the joys of teendom... Nevertheless, it was another epic time to add to our list, and I'll miss her fiercely! Although every time she mentioned that "Eva...this is one of our last days together..." I sincerely wanted to whap her on the head endearingly.

Today was another bittersweet interlude. I got up early( and yes 9 is early ^^), and we went to the Arboretum(really gorgeous flower garden) to take pictures of the family before I go off on my own adventure. It was one of those perfect days that makes you really appreciate what you have, with the sun beating down on your face as you smile up into it and see flowers as far stretching as the sea...  It was weird thinking that my 4 and 6 year old sisters won't be jumping on my back, pulling my hair, and acting out stories wherein I'm a magical dancing leaf a week from now. It really is surreal. 

Again on the bittersweet note, I said a final goodbye to my grandparents today. Thankfully, they've discovered whatsapp(an amazing free international texting app that you should all get btw!) and I'll be keeping in touch. :) 

p.s. Eva the procrastinator actually made a to do/to pack list today! I know I shouldn't be too proud of myself but....well...a little self approval isn't awful right?

Salut pour maintenant ;)

Sweet Suspense/Aching anxiety!

School started.

It's one of those moments when you can see your life changing. Of course, you don't notice it to its full extent because you're the one standing in the whirlwind but yet, you're vaguely aware that everything you knew for certain is no longer certain at all. I realize this. I realize that my life will never go back to this point again. In ten days, I turn over one of those age old "new chapters" and my life begins anew. It's exhilarating. The Thrill. Pure adrenaline rushing already as I think of the insignificance of ten days.  Even now that everyone I know here has gone back to the normal way of things, routine-get up, go to school, come home, I realize how much more I want! I thought maybe I'd miss going to school, that I'd feel lonely or out of place, but I feel pleasantly free. More than that, I feel a hope that I haven't felt in a long time. Of course, with every passing day I worry, I stress, I wonder if France will be everything I always wanted it to be. Yet, then I realize it shouldn't be. It should be something entirely  different that I shouldn't be able to imagine. So yes, suspense is sweet, bittersweet that is...and my heart is pulsing with yearning for what is, and yearning for what will be. Being human is crazy sometimes. I'm not too great at keeping up with things, but this is something I'll really try to commit to. At least weeklyish. :) So here we go. Let the countdown begin! 

p.s. If anyone's interested, here's my school in Muret, France!