Blogs are silly. Why am I doing this? Ashley Casto, I blame you for telling me this is a good idea. Blogging? Seriously? I guess I have finally arrived to the twenty-first century...
It's all happening! It really hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving in the bright and early morning. I don't even think it will until I get the biggest culture shock of my life. Bring it on. The past few months in my downtime I've been practicing my French with silly games online with flashcards, nonstop listening to Coeur de pirate, putting sticky notes around my house, and rolling my eyes at my mother when she says something incorrectly. I'll miss you mommy, don't let Stormy die! Little do I know, I am fully prepared to be the one pronouncing everything wrong. Hopefully taking six years of French has gotten me somewhere...
As I've been preparing for my trip, it hasn't seemed like I am actually leaving. Sometimes I'll be in the middle of my day and pause to think that I am actually on my way to fulfilling my dream of traveling to France, and being completely out of my comfort zone. I've never wanted to stay in Spokane, (yes, I know the Inland Northwest is beautiful, the people are nice, the greenery is spectacular) but growing up I never stayed in one place for too long. So now that I have this opportunity to move myself around to the other side of this world, it blows my mind. I simply cannot wait to sit in the cafés in the same neighborhoods that F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway lived, to kiss the tomb of Oscar Wilde, and walk for days on end.
My trip has been on my mind for so long, like what do I want to do? What do I want to see? Who will I meet? The other day I went for a jog, and the clearest thought crossed my mind and put the biggest smile on my face: on this trip, I am not allowed to say no.
This will be my only rule, the only rule I follow. Anything else is out the door. Then I thought of my goals for this trip, and I'm not one for writing down such things but I feel like when July 19th rolls around (if I'm even still coming home then) I want to look back and confidently say, "Yeah, I did everything I wanted." Or even better, "Ouais, J'ai fait toutes les choses que j'ai voulu." So here I go, allons-y!
1. Never say no.
2. Stick to French as much as possible
3. Go to the discothèques.
4. See the running of the bulls, (even though it's not France, but why the hell not?)
5. Toujours dit oui!
6. Je ne regarderai jamais derrière moi.
