All Packed Up

I have spent all day trying to fit everything into one bag and I have finally succeeded--or close enough. This whole baggage thing has been a pain in the arse, but I guess there isn't much I can do ab0ut it. I have checked into my flight to New York, so at 6am tomorrow, you can all set your alarms and imagine that you are with me on my flight. Even better, set your alarms for 4am when I will be getting up and you can feel as though you, too are having the full travel experience. Trust me, it will be exciting.

I really want to thank everyone who has helped me out, supported me, or just been really excited with me about this trip. No one can do a big thing alone and I certainly haven't either (No man is an island!! haha). So thank you. I'll be sure to take pictures and let everyone know how everything is going as soon as I can. It may be a couple of days, so let the anticipation build as you wait with baited breath to hear about my travels. ;)

Oh yeah, and a big shout-out to Uncle Dick for the comment. Uncle Dick: While the invitation is always open for the Oregon Schrupps, I think I am still trying to get over my jealous feelings that you are going to be lounging in the Caribbean while I'm freezing in France. Although if I had known you were willing to ride down on a motorcycle, I might have been willing to get over it, just to see you on the bike.

Bon Voyage/Happy 21st, Katie

"Boy in Bag"

Last night we had a 'Bon Voyage' party for me. It was really fun: we had French food, drinks and dessert and everyone was in a good mood. I forgot to take pictures until half way through, so there aren't as many as I would like. I will, however, show some of the highlights of the ones I do have:
Here is a photo of Sarah and I. I didn't resize this one, so it took about 10 minutes to upload. I think maybe I'll resize the next one...I'm kind of new at this.

Here are Karla and Katy! (left)

Mikey, Sarah and Brandon (below)

Ok, so this is the first time I have tried to post pictures with captions and such and in total it has taken me about a half an hour to put up the pictures that you see. Because of this I will conclude this post and, in the future, try to make it look better. These really are the best pictures though, so you're not really misssing out on anything :)

Annoyances

Hola, or should I say, Bonjour...
The one thing I really don't like about having this trip done by AIFS is that it is out of my hands and out of my control. Quite frankly, I feel like I could do a lot of this stuff better than these people, and I might just be right. I had some issues with getting my tickets from AIFS which really stressed me out. Essentially, they didn't send me my tickets because they said I didn't pay in full. The only problem is that they never told me I owed money and I never received an invoice from them. On top of that, no one ever contacted me and told me about this problem. So basically, they were just going to not send me my tickets. WHAT? I personally feel like that is ridiculous. And incredibly irritating. Fortunately, everything got figured out and I should be getting my tickets shortly. I'm trying to get all my stuff together and I'm kind of ready to just be there and not so worried about all this prep stuff...I think I just need to get some sleep and get myself all prepped tomorrow and this weekend...I need to have some positive affirmations.

Kara is in Cannes-Now I'm really nervous!

So I just heard back in detail from Kara about how Cannes is. She is actually doing the Paris program, but there is a two week language orientation at the College that I am staying at before they head over to Paris. It looks like she is having a really good time, but what with seeing the pictures of where I will be living, I am feeling a little nervous about it all! I think that it will be quite a transition, especially since I have such a strong network of people at Chapman that I am accustomed to relying on. I hope that it goes well--deep down I know that it will--but one can't help feeling nerves about such big changes.

I am starting to push it into high gear with getting all the stuff that I need. We just found out that, due to British Airway policy, our maximum luggage capacity will be 1 50lb (32kg) checked bag and one carry-on. Needless to say, it is going to be hard to pack for a six month stay with only 50lbs, so I guess I have my work cut out for me!

Only 10 days before the BIG TRIP begins and the really exciting stuff starts to happen! Let the countdown begin!

Cold

Before it's even time to start packing for a trip, I often find myself making a list in my mind about what I want to bring with me, what the weather will be like, how I will be able to wash clothes. This trip hasn't been much different in that I've tried to put myself in the mindset that it will be COLD. The average temp in Cannes is about 47*F in February and living in Southern California for the last three years, doesn't exactly prepare you for temperatures below 65*F. That being said, Mother Nature and Lady Luck have teamed up together to help me actlimate to colder weather. We have a cold front hitting us and the temperatures are FREEZING-- literally. The high was 50*, but the low is 20*, and I think it's closer to the low out there. This has all been compounded by the fact that our heater just broke last night. Yes folks, it's been a little chilly in the Rose residence today and it doesn't seem to be getting fixed quite soon enough (although, really, when it's this cold, you wanted the heater to be fixed yesterday). So now I'm getting a good sense of how it's going to be for at least the next month...

Les Quotes...

...that I aime:

"The World is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine

"Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own" Goethe

"Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”--JRR Tolkein

"Experience, travel--These are as education in themselves" Euripides

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” --Maya Angelou

“You lose sight of things... and when you travel, everything balances out.” --Daranna Gidel

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”--Miriam Beard

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”--Mark Twain

"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."--G.K. Chesterton

A picture of me near the Statue of Liberty. I'm just testing out the picturing posting feature.

My First Post

Hello. I have decided to set up this blog for my travels abroad this semester. I will be living in Cannes, France for four months and then extending my stay and traveling around Europe with my fantastic friend, Kara. In all, I will be there for six months. That's a pretty long time. Hopefully by writing down my thoughts as I go, I will come out with not only a record of my experiences, but also perhaps a few insights that come with seeing new places.