And the countdown begins!

Less than one month before I leave for France! Three and a half weeks to be exact. I know, it's crazy. Luckily I feel like I'm pretty on top of all my preparations for the year. Besides the whole birth certificate translation, which I happen to still be avoiding, I have almost everything else I am going to need. I got my passport back in just 8 days, with the visa inside (it appears that the passport photo I had given them was to their liking, since that is the photo they used, and I guess they still had my fingerprints from my last visit). Also my visa doesn't expire until the middle of June so I'll be able to travel around and stuff after my contract ends! I also got my apostille (if you're curious as to how to say it, like I was, it's ah-post-eel) on my birth certificate, for $5. I bought a new rain/winter jacket to get me through the wet winter I am expecting, along with some cardigans for extra layering. I wish there was more I could do though, because just waiting around is hard.

This week though, my boyfriend's sister and her friend are visiting DC and staying with me during their stay, so that is cool and I'll get a chance to practice some more French before the big move.

I also joined the gym with my mom for this last month home, so I can get in shape before all the cheese and baguettes.

It's starting to hit me though that soon I am going to be leaving for 8-9 months, and won't see my friends or family until next May or June. So I'm basically trying to spend as much time as I can with my family and my friends.

Time to make the most of these last three and a half weeks!

Visa Visa Visa

So on Monday I went into DC with my mom for my visa appointment. We got to DC like an hour early, so we walked around a little bit, then my mom waited in the car while I went to the appointment. I was supposed to go at 12:15, but they took me at 11:45 when I got there. I handed the guy all of my forms and stuff, then he gave me a number and then I waited for someone else to call me up. Then I signed some papers, then sat down again, and then the last guy called me up and told me my folder is complete and that I should get my visa in the mail in 2-3 weeks. Pretty easy. Except on the section referring to teaching assistants on the website for the DC consulate, they said nothing about filling out the OFII form. I had heard of other assistants needing it so I printed it out and filled it out anyways. Good thing, since they asked for it. Also, I am a bit concerned because they didn't take my picture there or take my fingerprints, which I thought they always did. But I'm thinking that maybe they still have it on file since I studied abroad so recently. Oh well, guess I'll have to wait and see and hope it all goes well!

I have also been in contact with last year's assistant for my schools and she has been super helpful. Apparently Saumur doesn't have much of a young crowd and she hung out in Angers a lot of the time and was mostly friends with the assistants there. I've talked to the other English assistant for Saumur this year and she seems nice, so I hope she will live in Saumur, because apparently last year the other assistant lived in Angers.

Also, I realized that I've never really talked about where I'll be in relation to the rest of France. Soo here it is!

Nantes, Angers, and Saumur. And you can see Paris up there on the top right. It looks like Paris is about 3 hours by train, maybe a little less.

 I looked at my itinerary for my flight again, and I realized that I am flying into Orly and not Charles De Gaulle. Glad I didn't buy a train ticket from there ha. Good thing is I think there is a shuttle bus that goes from the airport to Montparnasse which is the other train station that will take me to Saumur

I am also trying to decide what kind of luggage I want to bring. I have one of those big backpacking backpacks already that holds 40L. And today I just bought a smaller normal sized backpack. That covers a carry-on and a personal item, so that just leaves my big checked bag. I'm not sure if I want to bring a big suitcase or a big duffle bag. A duffle bag might be lighter, but a suitcase might hold more. I think I'll have to wait until I know how much I'll actually be bringing before I can decide. I have also bought a luggage scale and another plug converter, which I am waiting to get in the mail, and today I bought a travel towel. The travel towel is super thin and really light, which is good, and it will be useful for when I am staying in hostels and if I don't have towels or something when I first get to my apartment.

Still need to get the apostille on my birth certificate and maybe get it translated, but everything is slowly becoming more and more real!