It's only the seventh day of January and there are still eighteen days until I leave for Aix (but who's counting?) and already I stayed up way too late last night watching French videos and bandes-annonces on YouTube in anticipation of the semester abroad. As I blink the sleep from my eyes over breakfast, I mentally prepare a list of all the tasks I must accomplish today… visit the bank to tell them I will be out of the country, order a travel-safe wallet on Amazon, show my parents how to use Skype, and oh… it would probably be a good idea to clean my room. When I got home from college two weeks ago for les vacances de Noël, I carried my bags up to my room and dumped them on the floor, where they are still sitting. I have to admit that at the time, unpacking them seemed like a waste, only to have to repack them in a few weeks to go to France. But the smarter part of my brain reminds me that all of my junk not only keeps tripping me every time I leave my room, but it will have to fit in one single suitcase that’s currently sitting in the basement, and not in smaller duffels, which would be assez difficile to carry on my own.
As I clear my dishes from the table, I glance outside at the thinning snow and I wonder what the weather will be when I arrive in Aix. I imagine that it will be somewhat of an anomaly compared to what I have experienced in my twenty-one years in Missouri and Pennsylvania, where winter has always included at least three or four major snowfalls. This year, however, the skies have grudgingly dispensed the soft white neige, not even enough to make a proper snowman. I might as well be making sandcastles, as I expect I’ll be doing in the not-too-distant future! Which reminds me... I've just bought a new swimsuit in preparation for occasional visits to Marseille to sunbathe sur la plage. I haven't gone swimming in so long that it's time to get a new bathing suit anyway. But I also make a mental note to bring lots of sunscreen to avoid un coup de soleil from the harsh Mediterranean sun, which I expect would be rather painful!
I can’t help feeling a twinge of excitement every time thoughts of the semester cross my mind. There’s still quite a bit to do before I arrive and a lot of chores to cross off the list, but I know that whether the experiences I end up having in Europe are full of suitcases, snow, or sunburns, one thing’s certain: it’ll be an adventure.
l’attente: the expectation, waiting
bandes-annonces: movie trailers
les vacances de Noël: the Christmas holidays
assez difficile: rather difficult
neige: snow
sur la plage: on the beach
un coup de soleil: a sunburn
As I clear my dishes from the table, I glance outside at the thinning snow and I wonder what the weather will be when I arrive in Aix. I imagine that it will be somewhat of an anomaly compared to what I have experienced in my twenty-one years in Missouri and Pennsylvania, where winter has always included at least three or four major snowfalls. This year, however, the skies have grudgingly dispensed the soft white neige, not even enough to make a proper snowman. I might as well be making sandcastles, as I expect I’ll be doing in the not-too-distant future! Which reminds me... I've just bought a new swimsuit in preparation for occasional visits to Marseille to sunbathe sur la plage. I haven't gone swimming in so long that it's time to get a new bathing suit anyway. But I also make a mental note to bring lots of sunscreen to avoid un coup de soleil from the harsh Mediterranean sun, which I expect would be rather painful!
I can’t help feeling a twinge of excitement every time thoughts of the semester cross my mind. There’s still quite a bit to do before I arrive and a lot of chores to cross off the list, but I know that whether the experiences I end up having in Europe are full of suitcases, snow, or sunburns, one thing’s certain: it’ll be an adventure.
l’attente: the expectation, waiting
bandes-annonces: movie trailers
les vacances de Noël: the Christmas holidays
assez difficile: rather difficult
neige: snow
sur la plage: on the beach
un coup de soleil: a sunburn