An Important FYI

Tomorrow morning, I will leave for my job corrupting the youth of America. I will have my computer with me and I will have internet access, but I may not have very much spare time. This tends to be something of a 24/7 job, not including days off (when I usually sleep), so I may not write much over the next month. DON'T WORRY! Everything is fine; I haven't forgotten about you or the blog. Consider it the necessary fallow time before this blog reaches its peak of richness and fertility.

In the meantime, I hope you will console yourselves with...a word from our sponsors! No, not really, but it is a commercial. I swear it's funny, though; it kept me and my family laughing for an embarrassingly significant portion of Father's Day yesterday:

The W (at last)

This is a visual approximation of my predicted emotional trajectory during my time abroad (and subsequent return home), courtesy the Student Handbook. Click to enlarge:

Academic Preparation yo yo yo

So, today course pre-registration opened at 9:00AM CST, srsly? Yes. So, at 10:00AM my time, I logged onto the program webpage and pre-registered for my classes. The directions specifically said not to sign up for language classes, since everyone gets placed based on an assessment test administered during orientation, but the form still listed language courses among the options. It looked like some people had signed up for language classes, though (each course had little brackets with a number, like "[-2]," to indicate how many people had already registered for that class), so I'm hoping that I get extra points for following directions. I just really hope I get into my art history class...aside from my language class, that's the only other thing I'll be taking with the center, so it really will make a difference to me. I've got a couple backups -- a French history course, a literature course, and a sociology course on the EU and French identity -- and they all sound pretty interesting, but I just think art history would be the best fit for my schedule, since I've already committed to taking two literature classes at the Université de Nantes (the only way to get credit for my major) and I may end up taking a history class at the University as well.

Finguhz crossed kidz. I think I was one of the first people to sign up, so I'm sure it will be fine.

In an ideal world:

Courses at the Center
- Intensive French of some kind
- Art History

Courses at the University
- Literature
- Literature (lol)
- History
- Not too many strikes

My Masterpiece

A Good Day to Be Me

So, I slept in this morning, and not 30 minutes after rolling out of bed, someone rings my apartment. Now, we were expecting a few deliveries, but not this early in the week, so I was skeptical, but a quick peek at our building's stalker cam in the lobby assured me that my guest was, in fact, the postman. A few minutes later, he comes up and hands me an envelope with my self-addressed label on it. It couldn't be my visa so soon; I was concerned that I had forgotten a form or filled my application out incorrectly. Instead, to my delight, I opened the envelope to find copies of the forms I'd submitted, my passport, and a visa inside said passport. Yes! So so good. After this, I have not a care in the world until packing, pretty much.

Then I had a lovely Skype date -- a notable event. (Also, aside from this blog, Skype will be a really good way to keep up while I am away.) And after that, I ventured up to Best Buy to purchase a digital camera, clearly a necessity for international travel...also for the summer. God bless Father's day (and only having to worry about buying gifts for myself)! Thanks to the sale, I am now the proud owner of a Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital Elph. This lovely thing, to the right. I wanted to post one of the photos I took (srsly, it's a career-maker), but my internet doesn't seem to want to comply. I'll work on that. In the meantime, you can just stare at the camera for a while. That's what I've been doing.

The Loire River

It's time for another visual update since I don't have much to update on. (Although, incidentally, I forgot to mention that I got my international student ID card a few weeks ago. Very painless process and now I get discounts errywhere!)

In my reading/research I have ascertained that Nantes is technically in Brittany, although it sits on the "border" of Brittany and the Loire Valley and is right on the Loire river. Please enjoy the following map and aesthetically pleasing photos of the Loire. Google Image Search: it's what I do.





Lots of chateaux on the Loire, yo.


Also, giant inflatable ducks.

What I still need to buy

An Interactive Shopping List with Visual Aids

(1) Raincoat


(2) International adapters


(3) Guidebook (wayward traveler not included)




That's all I have written down for now, although I imagine I'll also want to invest in some fashionable shoes like these:


All images courtesy of Google Image Search.

Get Money, Get Paid

...or in my case, "Get your parents to pay." On the bright side, I found a pretty good deal on tickets and booked that shit. And now, some Peter, Paul, and Mary (Alias: Peter, Paul, and Mommy):

Visa app is in!

So, I dropped over $100 at the post office yesterday (between shipping and the application fee paid by money order), but the visa application is complete and probably at the consulate right now! Thank goodness. Everytime I thought I was done, I realized there was something extra to do, so it's nice to be done for real now. IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE.

Next hurdle: booking my flights and finding affordable tickets. (Not in that order.)

ALSO, as promised, an awkward visa photo (but is it worthy of http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/?):

This is why I'm still not done with my visa application