The End is Near...

Well family and friends, my stay in France is coming to a close (this has made me extremely sad). But, as the French say, "il faut profiter". This is a saying that translates to, "one must take advantage [of the situation]"...but I like the French version better. Anyway, I have been "profiting" with what little time I have left here.

It seems highly improbable that I will be returning next year. It is not definitive, but basically I have a place only if next year's assistants decide not to come. Apparently this is a new thing this year...no one is really happy with it, either. My friend Stéphane has said he will try to help me get a job so I don't have to leave, so last night I translated my CV into French. My fingers are crossed!

This is what I have been up to lately:

Gad Elmaleh
---I drove to Nancy (about an hour away) with Cait to see the stand-up comedy of Gad Elmaleh, a Moroccan actor/comedian who is in most of my favorite French movies. It was fantastic, aside from getting stuck in the parking lot for an hour afterwards and getting home at 2:30 am when I had to be at work at 8:30. It was well worth it though! I don't know if I have ever laughed that hard in my life.

Jules' Birthday
---Jules is my favorite student, and I also happen to be friends with his mom. Cait, Kat, and I were invited to his birthday party. His whole family was there plus us and some other family friends. It was beautiful out, so we had a long, very French lunch outside on the patio. Sylvie (Jules' mom) bought him a bike for his birthday, and he had no idea - it was the cutest thing when she disappeared and reappeared with a bike much to Jules' surprise.

Chantilly and the Prix de Diane
---This last weekend, Cait and I went to Paris and Chantilly. We didn't do a whole lot in Paris on Saturday, just walked around and then hung out in a park for an hour and a half. Sunday we went to Chantilly (about 30 min away from Paris by train) to see the Prix de Diane (aka the French Oaks)! It was beautiful out (I got sunburned), and we walked around les Grandes Ecuries (the Grand Stables of Paris) and the Château before the races. Everyone was dressed so nicely, and there were many an extravagent hat to be seen! All the photos are on my webalbum.
Did I mention the horses were breathtakingly beautiful?

An American Breakfast for some very French children
---I decided to treat two of my classes to a classic American breakfast consisting of pancakes and maple syrup, bacon, and orange juice. It was, needless to say, a huge success. Photos are on my webalbum.

Reims and Champagne!
---Cait and I didn't work yesterday (I didn't work today either, but that wasn't my fault) so we decided to take the train to Reims (pronouced rhnnce), one of the two capitals of the Champagne region (Epernay being the second). We toured the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims, the Basilica of Saint Remigius, and the champagne cave of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. The weather was beautiful - I am again sunburned (I swear I wore sunscreen both times!), and we did a lot of walking. Reims, with a population of 200,000+ is a little bit bigger than Bar le Duc (18,000) and requires a lot more walking than we were really prepared to do. It was a Wednesday well spent, and I would love to go back and tour more caves! Photos on webalbum.

So today I did everything I could possibly do to prepare for my departure, other than packing my bags. My insurance, internet, bank account, social security and address are all lined up to be canceled now...sigh. I don't want to leave! But hey, at least I have a week in Barcelona before I go back to the States!

I apprehensively return to the States July 13th, around 7pm. See you then!

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/koehn.kathryn