Last day in France

I can’t believe that it is my last day in France!  I can hardly quantify how much I’ve learned and experienced these last four months.  Living and participating in a new culture has opened my eyes to new perspectives, that I’m only a part of a larger world of similar and different systems of doing things and looking at life.  It has also taught me that these systems are not so different, and none of them are “right” or “wrong”, just different ways of experiencing life. 

Listening to Smash Mouth’s “All Star” while I write this, a lyric spoke out a truth that I have learned here in France: “What’s wrong with taking the backstreets?  You’ll never know if you don’t go.”  A lot of the best experiences can only be had after exploring off of the beaten path.  This was especially true in Montpellier’s Old Quarter and in Paris’s Montmartre. 

I have made some great friends over the semester and shared many memorable experiences with them.  I regret leaving them all, but earnestly hope to meet up with them again in the not-so-distant future.  My host family has genuinely become like another family.  I couldn’t have asked to live with a more welcoming, more helpful group of people who I have come to appreciate as the de Boutray family. 

I am almost completely packed; there just remains some last-minute things to throw into my suitcase, which is a full kilogram and some under the allowed weight, which is a magical feeling.  My plane leaves at 6:30 in the morning, and I should be stateside a little bit after 4:00 in the afternoon local time.  So here’s to travel!  See you all soon.

Last weekend in France; Congratulations Graduating Chippewas

I've spent the last two days working on my final two papers for my Minnesota Bureau courses, which as you remember are the coursework portion of my internship and my course on French national identity.  I have finished the first paper for the stage class, which is about French immigration and I am over halfway done with my second paper, about the impact of 18th Century Irish immigration on French society (which is overlooked, but very important). 

The weather here today was fantastic: sunny and warm.  My host family and I took both lunch and dinner outside on the patio.  I am really enjoying the warm, sunny weather after the cold rain that I had in the Loire Valley.

It is hard to believe that this is my last weekend here in France before returning home next week.  It is amazing how fast the time flies now that my time here is drawing to an end.

Before I go, I just want to say congratulations to all of my friends at Central who graduated today.  I'll miss you; next semester won't be the same without you around.

Finished all the work for my internship

On Tuesday, the weather was miserable: pouring rain that lasted all day.  That did not stop me from bicycling the 11 miles to Chambord, a massive château that King François I ordered constructed as a super-hunting lodge.  Leonardo da Vinci, who François had given shelter in France, had a hand in the design, including the massive double-spiraling staircase.  This staircase is constructed a bit like DNA, where there are two ascending spirals that will never meet. Chambord, while impressive, was not my favorite château that I’ve visited.  It is simply too large to be effectively lived in.  It had been gutted during the French Revolution, and many of the massive rooms still stand empty despite others having been refurnished with period (and often the original) furniture. 

Yesterday, I took the train back to Montpellier, spending most of the day traveling.  My host-dad picked me up from the train station.  As my host brother and host mom are not back yet from their vacation, my host dad and I made dinner and dined together.  After that, we spent the evening watching television.

Today I went to my internship and finished recording the last of my radio shows.  I am not completely done with my internship, which is a load off, but a little disappointing.  My Irish music radio show has been playing the last three Sundays, and the last episode should be airing next Monday.  Amazing to think that something I put so much time into is over so quickly, but my boss was happy with my work, so that makes me content.

This weekend I will be working on two papers for the classes that I took at the University of Minnesota Bureau, one is about modern day French immigration and the other is about the impact of Irish immigration to France during the 1600s, the migration of Catholic soldiers known as the Wild Geese.