Wrapping up loose ends...

One Week!! :)

I've just finished testing out Skype and getting a phone that not only will work in France, but will hold a French phone number as well. It's not as simple as it sounds... man this better be a good trip.

These past three days i was up at camp Wapo, enjoying the snow and reconnecting with some pretty great people. I don't think there is anything else i would have rather been doing. I love camp :) It was a good soul refresher before heading off to French land. However, my body would disagree with all the bruises it got playing way too much broomball on the lake...

Oh! Today i got a really exciting e-mail telling me who my host family is! La famille Planty. It is a couple with an eighteen year old son. I'm excited! I was starting to get a little worried that i would have to camp out once i got there... but no worries, all is good now.

Tomorrow i have to start practice packing. Mostly just to make sure i won't forget anything once it actually comes time to really pack, but also to see if i can actually make all my stuff fit into a backpack and one big suitcase.....and maybe another little one? We'll see how it goes.

Alright, i have nothing else to say, ainsi....bon nuit! J'espere que vous allez bien!

Kelsey

11 Days and Counting...

11 days from now, at this time, which is currently 2:15 in the morning, i will be arriving in Paris, local time approximately 9:15 am. I will go through customs, show my passport, collect my luggage and then hopefully make it onto a train which will be heading south towards Nantes, my final destination. Upon arriving in Nantes, i will make my way to the IES center, where i will then be connected with my host family, who i will be living with for the next 5 months. Oh and p.s. this will all be carried out in a solo, i've-never-traveled-overseas-by-myself, kind of mission. Wish me luck?

This blog is my attempt to keep all you lovely friends and family members informed as i take on this European adventure. Hopefully there will be pictures and ridiculous blog entries, but i can't make any promises on grammatical accuracy or that it will always be written in the English language... j'etudierai le francais, non? Oh and i'll try to update regularly, but I am a new blogger and this kind of thing does take some getting used to, so i'll try my best. But i'm starting early, so this is a good sign!

I've decided to call my blog "Vivez bien. Aimez beaucoup. Riez souvent," which means "Live well, Love much, Laugh often." I hope to experience all three of these things during my time abroad. There's nothing better than making connections with people and being able to enjoy their company and a good laugh. And goodness i do love to laugh.

Enjoy the rest of 2008!

Kelsey :)