I do not know where the last four months go. I can't seem to decide if they passed quickly or slowly. In some ways it feels like I've been here forever, and in some ways I think that I just stepped off of the plane yesterday. The time has passed quickly, but I have gotten so used to life here that it's hard to even guess what I will miss or not miss or what will seem different upon my return to the USA.
I finished classes last Thursday. Kind of bittersweet, as classes at my school here are a little bit less than challenging. I do however, love my language teacher. Here he is with my friends Mackenzie and Dennis.
My last weekend in France was just about the best that I could have imagined, minus the fact that I had to take my first final exam on Saturday.
I started the weekend off with lunch with three friends at Le Favre D'Anne, a really nice one Michelin star restaurant in Angers. We splurged on one last great (amazing!) meal on a terrace overlooking the river and Angers' castle and cathedral. It was perfect. For more detailed information, you might want to check out my friend Dennis' blog. He's a much better blogger than I am, and he's kind of a French food expert.
Here's a picture of Laure and I at lunch, right before we ate our main dishes:
But the rest of the weekend included going to my host sister's orchestra concert and going on a brief shopping trip in centre ville with my host sisters.
We also had a small dinner party at my host family's house, which three of my American friends attended as well as some of my host family's friends. The French love long dinners, especially when they have people over their house: aperitif in the living room, meals with a few courses, followed by cheese, dessert, and then coffee, with plenty of time in between for chatting. The irony of how absurdly long their meals seem to us? They are such fast eaters! They eat each course very quickly, but they eat several courses. Seriously, on Saturday us four Americans were half way through each course by the time that everyone else was ready for the next one.
On Sunday, I went to mass at the French Church down the street from me one last time, followed by one last big Sunday lunch in the garden. (See my blog entry about Sundays).
Sunday afternoon our Notre Dame group had a fabulous goodbye picnic in a park I hadn't been to yet all the way on the other side of town.
Yesterday (Monday) I took another final, and another one today.
Tonight we have a going away celebration dinner at a nice restaurant in Angers, which I'm pretty excited about.
Still on my to-do list:
-lots of lasts, like visiting my favorite boulangeries for the last time
-still buying a few souvenirs
-three more finals
-fitting everything I came with (and everything I've acquired since) into my two suitcases!
-figuring out how to say goodbye to this country, this city, and most of all my incredible host family
-hopping on a bus at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning in Angers, only to arrive home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and crash in my bed TWENTY-FOUR full hours later
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