Things are coming together... but keep your fingers crossed.

Fromage du jour: Warm Brie

As today two of my sisters begin their first day of school I can't help but envy the fact that all they have to do in order to get there is swing by Wal-Mart to buy their supplies and then either walk or be dropped off by my dad at the school doors. I've been preparing for my first day of school since February, and I'm still not totally prepared! But things are coming together in a solid wheel of Brie, or so I hope.

+My Dell broke, and so finally, last night, I purchased a shiny new Macbook that I hope will arrive tomorrow or Saturday. It comes with a free iPod touch, about which I am quite excited. Getting new gadgets is ridiculously fun.

+I bought two pairs of walking shoes that I hope will last me the entire year, protect me from rain, and still look stylish enough so that I won't look too garishly américaine. One is a pair of knee-high black boots (Rieker), and the other a Mary Jane-style flat (Privo).

+I bought my plane ticket, but I'm still quite nervous about that, especially since...

+The earliest appointment date at the consulate was September 4. So, my dad and I will be flying into Chicago-Midway (I think) on the afternoon of September 3, perhaps enjoying a free Andrew Bird concert at Millennium Park that evening, and after a night in which I will not be able to sleep we will arrive at the French consulate at 9:00 A.M. and hope and pray that I have everything I need in order to be accepted for a student visa. If I don't, then I probably don't get to go to France-- my plane leaves three days after that, and if I don't have a visa by then, too bad for me.

+I've been talking to a few people from Caen on Facebook, and they've been very friendly and helpful. One told me that there are weekly salsa dancing sessions on campus. That's my kind of school!

I'm so nervous about getting my visa in order and finding my way from Charles de Gaulle to Gare St. Lazare to Caen. I'm trying to remain optimistic, and in this I can use all of the help I can get. Prayers and encouragement are much needed! Phone calls are also appreciated-- during the day, everyone is at work or school, and so it can get quite lonely with just my dog around!

Lacking-Proficiency Test

Fromage du Jour: Cream cheese, because I am indulging in a cream cheese chocolate brownie at the amazing little Good Foods Cafe. Cream cheese is the slightly more sophisticated cheese of indulgence; the unsophisticated cheese being, of course, American, as I discussed in the last post. I will miss Good Foods, with its quirky people and biodegradable straws.

I took my French Proficiency test online. Or it may have been Greek. It was certainly Greek to me (click here and press the red button)! No, it wasn't actually that bad, but I did terribly. Just terribly. I'm not sure what score I received, but if I even scored an A1 (the levels are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2) I'll be happy. It was that bad. I hope that they were telling the truth when they said that they'll do other things to determine our level. I think the listening part really shot me-- I can't listen to spoken French worth anything, and I certainly don't know all of the vocabulary terms surrounding the subject of global warming. Although, I must say, I should, because many of my French essays have involved polar bears. Les ours blanches vont a la Floride pour leurs vacances parce que il est trop froid dans le nord!

I am thinking of buying a pair of knee-high Rieker boots. I've been told that everyone wears black leather boots in France, and a friend told me that she bought some that were waterproof for a European vacation. They were very comfortable to walk in and served her well. They are definitely out of my usual price range, but I find it easier to buy things when I tell myself that they'll be useful in France.

My friend, Dean, advised me to bring a couple of DVD's of favorite TV shows and movies with me for when I get homesick, especially since websites like hulu.com are blocked outside of the USA. Hmm. I'm thinking that I'll bring the five hour BBC Pride and Prejudice, but I am not sure what else. I suppose this is the classic "If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one movie, what would it be?" question. So, if you were me, what would you take? If you just had a couple of movies to watch all year, what would they be?