Hold it right there! For those of you whose fingers magically flip to the last page of the book to read how it ends while you are still on the first chapter (you know who you are!) you might need a little background information. I wish you could see the word document that I am typing this out on – there are tidbits of paragraphs and ideas all over the place. Honestly, it’s going to take some getting used to my random thought processes because even I get confused sometimes. Just go with it. I swear I have a method to the madness somewhere between the lines; you might have to search a little first. Maybe it just seems extremely jumbled right now because that is literally my brain at this point. Or maybe I’m nervous to start blogging because I don’t normally pour my thoughts out on the internet (I absolutely hate cell phones because they are so impersonal – oh technology) however, this is the mode of communication I have chosen in order to both document and inform you guys about my exchange year in France. Once my thoughts are a little less questioning and a little more interpretive when I arrive in my host country, things will most likely get easier. Then the really fun part begins. You as the reader must look for the signs, kind of like a super cool detective. Keep your eyes peeled for errors! If you ever correct my grammar or spelling, I will take that as a really good sign. I’m excited for when my English completely goes down the drain and I’m pretty sure that my brain is an all or nothing system for language because after nine days in Norway my English sounded like it was my second language (either that or I had gone all Benjamin Button). I will probably get all sentimental or random on you too when I’m on more solid ground – French ground would be nice – because I’ll be more comfortable with blogging and sharing my adventures and thoughts. So in short, this will be an astoundingly amazingly awesome unique blog and I think that you should subscribe to it, you might just have to get used to the quirks.
You and me, we are both going through that same process – you totally have the better end of the deal, lucky person, you – but it’s like the first time you drink a cup of coffee and it tastes awful. You wonder why anyone, especially your parents, could like such a detestable sewage drink. Then, after that cup of coffee, you start to like it. Okay, who am I kidding… you pour as much sugar and cream in as you can possibly have until you can’t ask yourself, “would you like more coffee with that cream and sugar?” Only then can we both begin to wean off of the additives and delve into the purer coffee flavor until the extras take away from the experience altogether. While you get used to my writing, I’ll be getting used to my daily life in southern France. Right now I’m clinging to the sweetness of sugar and cream coming from words of encouragement, not knowing what France will really feel like. I am hoping that by the end of my experience I will be able to say that I, both literally and figuratively, drank a full cup of rich French roast coffee, and enjoyed it.
You and me, we are both going through that same process – you totally have the better end of the deal, lucky person, you – but it’s like the first time you drink a cup of coffee and it tastes awful. You wonder why anyone, especially your parents, could like such a detestable sewage drink. Then, after that cup of coffee, you start to like it. Okay, who am I kidding… you pour as much sugar and cream in as you can possibly have until you can’t ask yourself, “would you like more coffee with that cream and sugar?” Only then can we both begin to wean off of the additives and delve into the purer coffee flavor until the extras take away from the experience altogether. While you get used to my writing, I’ll be getting used to my daily life in southern France. Right now I’m clinging to the sweetness of sugar and cream coming from words of encouragement, not knowing what France will really feel like. I am hoping that by the end of my experience I will be able to say that I, both literally and figuratively, drank a full cup of rich French roast coffee, and enjoyed it.
I think I’m more nervous to start blogging than I am to actually live in France for a year. Maybe I’ve done some self-brainwashing lately because whenever I am asked about what my future plans are, my automated response is usually, “I am going to be a Rotary exchange student living in France for a year. My city, Puget-sur-Argens, is fifteen minutes from the Mediterranean Sea, thirty minutes from Nice , and an hour away from Italy.” That is usually followed by several doses of “It’s going to be great!” and “I can’t believe how lucky I am!” By the time my cheeks start hurting from smiling so much (very genuinely, I might add), I have to break it to them and to myself. This year will undeniably be as difficult as it is rewarding; many of my favorite memories will come from working through a difficult situation but I will feel even more accomplished. Even though I only have a partial idea of what I just wrote there, I’m definitely trying to stay in the mindset of a person trying to learn, not a vacationer.
As for now, I know that my first host family, the Guèye’s, have three daughters: Mary (21), Lucie (24), and Diatou (18) who will be coming to Northfield. My host mom, Simone, is French and is a great cook from what Diatou has told me… I am so excited especially to learn some new recipes. My host dad, El Hadj, is Senegalese and I am really interested to learn about his culture which will be an African/French mix. Admittedly I have Google mapped Puget-sur-Argens many times, trying to imagine myself there on that street, talking to those people, and visiting that neighboring town (Nice, Cannes, Fréjus…). There are about 7,100 people living in my town which is located in the Var department of France in the Provence-Alps-Cote-d’Azur southern region. The only description I can muster is that it looks like mix between Arizona and Greece; there are palm trees, stucco houses, whitewashed buildings, and little towns nestled where the tapering edges of the Alps make way. However, surrounding the town, much like Northfield, is farmland. Interestingly enough, and to my great excitement, the Var department is known for being the largest grower of cut flowers, and cultivates an abundance of figs, wine grapes for their famous rose wine, olives, and honey. For those of you who know me pretty well might be wondering why I of all people will be going to what seems like bee capital of the world, remembering that I am allergic. Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing. But then I make a mental pro-con list and let me tell you - I can take ‘em.
The whole point of Rotary is to find yourself completely intact, bearing your burdens, faults, and past experiences in a whole other country and still be you. I am not going to let one little part of who I am get in the way of my experience. Instead, I am going to do what I love most: without stress and a jam-packed schedule there’s nothing I love more than to have spontaneous excursions. My friend, Kiana (going to Japan!!), and I have our second annual bucket list that had items ranging from going to a concert (we landed 14th row Chicago tickets right outside of Chicago)to having a mud day (… best day ever). I know most of the other exchange students are making mental or jotted bucket lists as a way to feel like they are already in their respective countries. Because, really, how else are we to prepare? We’ve been preparing for things all our lives like high school, college, ACTs and SATs, work, and who we want to be, and now there are so many variables that it can be overwhelming at times.
My mom and I were talking the other day about being present. She reminded me that by having all these ideas in my head and expectations I spend way too much time waiting for those things to happen only to be disappointed. But each of those disappointments could have been avoided if I just went and did something without a preconceived outcome. That’s where the remember-that-one-time type of stories come from that will make the question “so, what was your favorite part about Rotary?” a little easier to answer.
No matter how much I scream “TWO MONTHS!” in my head, the echo is always, “two months…” Today is my two month mark and I am both excited and nervous because I’ve been waiting for a long time now and I actually have to leave. It’s weird to think that I had decided to be an exchange student a year ago and I wasn’t ready then and I’m not now. I have come to realize that the word “ready” isn’t in the Rotary Youth Exchange dictionary; it never has and never will because it’s life. I can’t prepare for life but I can take it in strides and judge what will be beneficial to me, like Rotary, and what is not. The act of leaving has always appealed to me because that means there are new faces and things to see and do – I’m ready for that. But I will never be ready for Rotary because an evolving process and the more I think about it the more I want to laugh! So cheers to two months and to my fellow outbounds: it’s going to be amazing and scary, maybe even funny, but most of all, it will be one jam-packed year and I wish you all the best. I also want to thank Vicki Dilley, Rick Estenson, the current Northfield inbounds, Gabrielle, my friends, readers, and especially my family – I am going to miss you guys so much!!!!
